A53712:395
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.
Fourthly, God accomplisheth this work by Arguments taken ab honesto, from what is good and honest, what is comely, praise-worthy, and acceptable unto himself. This is the great road wherein he walks with the Saints under their temptations, or in their conceptions of sin. He recovers effectually upon their minds a consideration of all those springs and motives to obedience, which are discovered and proposed in the Gospel, ⟨p. 212⟩some at one time, some at another. He minds them of his own love, mercy, and kindness; his eternal Love, with the fruits of it, whereof themselves have been made partakers. He minds them of the blood of his Son, his Cross, sufferings, tremendous undertaking in the work of mediation, and the concernment of his Heart, Love, Honour, Name, in their obedience. Minds them of the Love of the Spirit, with all his Consolations which they have been made partakers of, and privileges wherewith by him they have been entrusted. Minds them of the Gospel, the glory and beauty of it as revealed unto their souls. Minds them of the excellency and comeliness of Obedience, of their performance of that duty they owe to God, that peace, quietness, and serenity of mind that they have enjoyed therein. On the other side, he minds them of being a provocation by sin unto the eyes of his glory, saying in their hearts, Do not that abominable thing which my soul hateth. Minds them of their wounding the Lord Christ, and putting him to shame; of their grieving the holy Spirit, whereby they are sealed to the day of redemption; of their defiling his dwelling place. Minds them of the reproach, dishonours, scandal which they bring on the Gospel and the profession thereof. Minds them of the terrors, darkness, wounds, want of peace, that they may bring upon their own souls. From these and the like considerations doth God put a stop to the progress of the Law of sin in the heart, that it shall not go on to bring forth the evil which it hath conceived. I could give instances in Arguments of all these several ⟨p. 213⟩kinds recorded in the Scripture, but it would be too long a work for us, who are now engaged in a design of another nature. But one or two examples may be mentioned. Joseph resists his first temptation on one of these accounts, Gen. 39. 9. How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?