Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulness of sin. The life…Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulnesse of sinne. The life…

Sixthly▪ consider the War and Rebellion of this sin; I find ¹a Law in my members warring against the law of my mind. The flesh lusteth against the spirit. Fleshly lusts war against the soul. Which passages are not so to be understood, as if when lust doth fight it fights against nothing but the spirit, but yet it may be so disheartened and crushed, that it shall not always rebel (which is the late, wretched, and ignorant gloss of our new Pelagians, who expressly contrary to the doctrine of S. Paul, and the Articles of the Church of England, with the Harmony of other Reformed Churches, deny the sinfulness of original concupiscence, or that it always lusteth against the spirit;) but the meaning of them is, that while we are in the Militant▪ Church, we shall have hourly experience of this traitor in our bosom; and whensoever we go about any spiritual work, this evil will be present with us, and fight against us. And this war is not at a distance, but it is an intimate and close contrariety in the same part, like the combat between heat and cold in the same water, no room nor space to hold a Mediator, or to entertain a Treaty, or to shift and evade the conflict. The same soul² that commands obedience doth it self resist it. In the same mind the wisdom of the flesh which is sensual and devilish fighting against the wisdom of the spirit which is meek and peaceable. In the same will a delight in the Law of God, and yet a bias and countermotion to the law of sin. In the same understanding a light of the Gospel, and yet many relics of humane principles, and fleshly reasonings; much ignorance of the purity, excellency, and beauty of the ways of God. In the same heart singleness and sensibleness of sin, and yet much secret fraud and prevarication, hardness and dis-apprehension of sin and wrath. In the same affections, love of God and love of the World, fear of God and fear of men, trust in God and doubting of his favour. Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief, was the cry of³ ⟨p. 158⟩the poor man in the Gospel; and such must be the complaints of the best of us: Lord, I will, help thou mine unwillingness: Lord, I hear thee, help thou my deafness; Lord, I remember thee, help thou my forgetfulness: Lord, I press towards thee, help thou my weariness: Lord, I rejoice in thee, help thou my heaviness: