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…

Secondly, this Impotency and Disability is Partial, even in the most Regenerate; so much flesh as they have in them, so much deadness and unserviceablenesse still; and this may be seen in two points. First, there is a great disability in the best to work and go on with patience and comfort in Gods service. How apt are we still to quench and grieve the Spirit? How doth every mans experience constrain him to cry out, In me dwelleth no good thing, to will is present with me, but I cannot perform the things which I would, Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief? How do we faint and wax weary of well-doing? How are we led captive to the law ⟨p. 251⟩of sin which is in our members, so that we cannot do ¹the things which we would? for though the Scripture call the Saints perfect, and testify of some that they served God with their whole heart, yet that is only in opposition to Cord duplici, a double heart, denoting such an integrity only as doth not admit a purposed division of the heart between God and sin. Therefore we meet still with exhortations to grow, and abound, and with promises of bringing forth more fruit, and mention of proceeding from faith to faith, and from glory to glory, and of supplies of the spirit, and growing to the measure of the stature of Christ, and the like expressions, all which denote the admixture of Impotency in the best. And this Impotency is so great, that of themselves they can never do any thing, but return to their wonted coldness and dullness again: for it is nor their having of Grace in them barely which makes them strong, but their Communion and fellowship with Christs fullness, I am able to do all things through Christ that strengthens me. The branch can bear no fruit, nor preserve or ripen that which it hath, but by its unity with the root; light continues not in the house but by its dependence on the Sun, shut out that, all the light is presently gone. Take water away from the fire and its nature will be presently stronger then the heat it borrowed, and suddenly reduce it to its wonted coldness: So we can do nothing but by the constant supplies of the Spirit of Christ; he that begins must finish every good work in us, Phil. 1. 6. He that is the Author must be the finisher of our faith too, Heb. 12. 2. Without him we cannot will nor do any good,