A53712:297
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.
Secondly, An unwillingness to be stirred up unto its duty, Prov. 19. 24. The slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. There is an unwillingness in sloth to take any notice of warnings, calls, excitations, or stirrings up by the Word, Spirit, Judgements, any thing that God maketh use of, to call the mind unto a due consideration of the ⟨p. 156⟩condition of the soul. And this is a perfect evidence that the mind is made slothful by the deceit of sin, when especial calls and warnings, whether in a suitable word, or a pressing judgement, cannot prevail with it to pull its hand out of its bosom, that is, to set about the special duties that it is called unto.
Secondly, An unwillingness to be stirred up unto its duty, Prov. 19. 24. The slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. There is an unwillingness in sloth to take any notice of warnings, calls, excitations, or stirrings up by the Word, Spirit, Judgements, any thing that God maketh use of, to call the mind unto a due consideration of the ⟨p. 156⟩condition of the soul. And this is a perfect evidence that the mind is made slothful by the deceit of sin, when especial calls and warnings, whether in a suitable word, or a pressing judgement, cannot prevail with it to pull its hand out of its bosome, that is, to set about the special duties that it is called unto.
Thirdly, Weak and ineffectual attempts to recover its self unto its duty, Prov. 26. 14. As the door turneth it self upon its hinges, so doth the slothful man upon his head. In the turning of a door upon its hinges, there is some motion, but no progress. It removes up and down, but is still in the place and posture that it was. So is it with the spiritually slothful man on his bed, or in his security. He makes some motions or faint endeavours towards a discharge of his duty, but goes not on. There where he was one day, there he is the next; yea, there where he was one year, he is the next. His endeavours are faint, cold, and evanid; he gets no ground by them, but is always beginning and never finishing his work.