A53712:181
The Nature, Power, Deceit, and Prevalency of Indwelling Sin
The nature, power, deceit, and prevalency of the remainders of indwelling-sin in believers together with the ways of its working and means of prevention opened, evinced, and applied with a resolution of sundry cases of conscience thereunto appertaining.The nature, power, deceit, and prevalency of the remainders of indwelling-sin in believers together with the wayes of its working and means of prevention opened, evinced, and applyed with a resolution of sundry cases of conscience thereunto appertaining.
London: printed for Thomas Cockerill, 1675
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
First, Ofttimes when the soul is broken loose from the power of renewing grace, God deals with it to keep it within bounds by preventing grace. So the Lord declares that he will deal with Israel, H•s. 2. 6. seeing •hou hast rejected me, I will take another course with thee. I will lay obstacles before thee that thou shalt not be able to pass on whither the fury of thy lusts would drive thee. He will propose that to them from without, that shall obstruct them in their progress.
Secondly, These hinderances that God lays in the way of sinners, as shall be afterwards at large declared; are of two sorts.
Secondly, These hinderances that God laves in the way of sinners, as shall be afterwards at large declared; are of two sorts.
First, Rational considerations taken from the consequence of the sin and evil that the soul is solicited unto, and perplexed withal. Such are the fear of Death, Judgement, and Hell, falling into the ⟨p. 97⟩hands of the Living God, who is a consuming fire. Whilst a man is under the power of the Law of the Spirit of Life, the Love of Christ constraineth him, 2 Cor. 5. 14. The principle of his doing good and abstaining from evil, is faith working by love, accompanied with a following of Christ because of the sweet •avour of his name. But now when this blessed […] yoke is for a season cast off, so as was manifested before, God sets an hedge of terror before the soul, minds it of Death and Judgement to come, flashes the flames of Hell Fire in the face, fills the soul with consideration of all the evil consequence of sin to deter it from its purpose. To this end doth he make use of all threatenings recorded in the Law and Gospel. To this Head also may be referred all the considerations that may be taken from things temporal, as shame, reproach, scandal, punishments, and the like. By the consideration of these things, I say, doth God set an hedge before them.