An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…

Fourthly, We may say, God assists the motions of sin, but not the motions to sin, or the sinfulness of the motion. The strength of a wicked mans hand, while he sins is from the Lord, but the Lord doth not strengthen his hand to sin. A sinner hath natural help from God, but he hath no moral help from God; he hath all that from himself, from his own wicked heart, or from Satan. To eat was a natural act in our first parents, this was from God; but to eat against the command was a moral act, and that was from man, and the serpent. As suppose that a Musician should touch or play upon a Lute that is out of tune, his touching the Lute is an artificial act, but the sounding of it comes from the nature of the instrument: the sounding of the instrument is from the hand of him that plays upon it, but, that it sounds untuneably, is, because the instrument is out of tune. So the Lord by natural assistance puts the hearts and hands of wicked men into motion, but that they move irregularly, that they make such harsh music, that there is so much discord in their actions, that's from the disorder and untuneablenesse of their own spirits, not from the hand of God. They have not any moral assistance from God in sin, but a natural only.

Fourthly, We may say, God assists the motions of sinne, but not the motions to sinne, or the sinfulnesse of the motion. The strength of a wicked mans hand, while he sins is from the Lord, but the Lord doth not strengthen his hand to sinne. A sinner hath naturall help from God, but he hath no morall help from God; he hath all that from himself, from his own wicked heart, or from Satan. To eat was a naturall act in our first parents, this was from God; but to eat against the command was a morall act, and that was from man, and the serpent. As suppose that a Musician should touch or play upon a Lute that is out of tune, his touching the Lute is an artificiall act, but the sounding of it comes from the nature of the instrument: the sounding of the instrument is from the hand of him that plaies upon it, but, that it sounds untuneably, is, because the instrument is out of tune. So the Lord by naturall assistance puts the hearts and hands of wicked men into motion, but that they move irregularly, that they make such harsh musick, that there is so much discord in their actions, that's from the disorder and untuneablenesse of their own spirits, not from the hand of God. They have not any morall assistance from God in sinne, but a naturall only.