Riches of mercy to men in misery, or, Certain excellent treatises concerning the dignity…

Last of all, there is a difference in the continuance of ¹this fight; for a natural man doth make resistance, yet he groweth weary of it, and layeth down the wasters in the end, and yields to the sin; and saith thus with himself, Well, I see I shall never get the victory over this or that particular lust, therefore I will contend no more against it. But now in the regenerate this fight continueth ⟨p. 368⟩to the end. As you shall see in Peter, Peter saith our saviour, when thou art old, they shall gird thee and carry thee whether thou wouldest not. There was a resistance, he was carried whether he would not, he was carried where the spirit would, but where the flesh would not, and this was when he was old, so there was a continual resistance: so it was with Nicodemus; he began, and he held out, because grace in him was as a spring that still enlargeth it self more and more. In others it is not so. Judas, he was like a pond, and not like a spring, though he held out a long while, and was on Christs side, and carried his colours, yet he continued not so, Joash, and Amaziah, they made resistance, but we see they continued not. And the reason is, because in a natural man, the combatants do not continue, those good things that are in him, are but as blossoms, they vanish; Now when that which should maintain the contention vanisheth, there must needs be an end of the combat, but in the other it continues to the end.

Last of all, there is a difference in the continuance of ¹this fight; for a natural man doth make resistance, yet he groweth weary of it, and layeth down the wasters in the end, and yields to the sinne; and saith thus with himself, Well, I see I shall never get the victory over this or that particular lust, therefore I will contend no more against it. But now in the regenerate this fight continueth ⟨p. 368⟩to the end. As you shall see in Peter, Peter saith our saviour, when thou art old, they shall gird thee and carry thee whether thou wouldest not. There was a resistance, he was carried whether he would not, he was carried where the spirit would, but where the flesh would not, and this was when he was old, so there was a continual resistance: so it was with Nicodemus; he began, and he held out, because grace in him was as a spring that still enlargeth it self more and more. In others it is not so. Iudas, he was like a pond, and not like a spring, though he held out a long while, and was on Christs side, and carried his colours, yet he continued not so, Ioash, and Amaziah, they made resistance, but we see they continued not. And the reason is, because in a natural man, the combatants do not continue, those good things that are in him, are but as blossoms, they vanish; Now when that which should maintain the contention vanisheth, there must needs be an end of the combate, but in the other it continues to the end.