The trial of a Christians growth in mortification, purging out corruption, or vivification, bringing…The tryall of a Christians growth in mortification, purging out corruption, or vivification, bringing…

but when that heat is over, and intention dismissed, a man recovers his stomach again; and so do men their appetites, to sin, when they come forth of terrors. And this will help you to find out the true reason, why that young Christians are often more dead to all pleasures of sin, then those who are grown up, or then themselves are when grown up: they are often then altogether dead to all mirth and other contentments, and yet they are not more mortified then afterwards: For then legal humiliation adds to their deadness. And besides that first deadly blow which Christ gave their lusts then in part, the Law also and the bitterness of sin did lay that part of their lusts which remained unkilled, in a sw•••e, that one would think all were dead. Sin revived, saith Paul, and I dyed, Rom. 7. He speaks of that time when he lay humbled for sin; during which time, we read in the Acts, he fasted: He had no mind to meat nor drink, for three days, he forgot all. And again, as then they are usually so taken up about pardon of sin, and the obtaining ⟨p. 101⟩thereof, that all the spirits retire to the heart to relieve it, and to encourage it to seek out for pardon; and so sin is left in a swoon, and it seems quite dead: but by degrees men come out of that swoon, and sin revives, and then men think they decay in mortification. Again, young Christians sometimes, and others afterwards for some honey-moons of their lives, are entertained with raptures, and ravishments, joy unspeakable and glorious, and then they seem in a manner wholly dead to sin, and walk so, but as the other are in a swoon, so they are in an ecstasy; but when they are out of it, then sin comes to it self again: Those joys whilst they last, make a mans actual present deadness to sin seem more then habitually and radically it is indeed: As a man that hath tasted some sweet thing, whilst the impression upon his palate lasteth, he hath no relish of meat; so whilst the impressions of spiritual joy: but when their mouths are washed once, and their sense of that sweetness gone, they find their wonted relish of them. Thus spiritual joys do, for the time they are upon the heart, much alter the taste;

but when that heat is over, and intention dismissed, a man recovers his stomach againe; and so doe men their appetites, to sinne, when they come forth of terrors. And this will help you to find out the true reason, why that young Christians are often more dead to all pleasures of sinne, then those who are grown up, or then themselves are when grown up: they are often then altogether dead to all mirth and other contentments, and yet they are not more mortified then afterwards: For then legall humiliation adds to their deadnesse. And besides that first deadly blow which Christ gave their lusts then in part, the Law also and the bitternesse of sinne did lay that part of their lusts which remained unkilled, in a swe, that one would think all were dead. Sin revived, saith Paul, and I dyed,