Twenty sermons preached at Oxford before His Majesty, and elsewhere

the Lord of Heaven must do it, if ever we will be brought to know our selves aright. St. Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the learnedst Doctors of the Pharisees, and yet he could not teach him this. When he studied the law, he thought himself unblameable, but coming to an higher and better Master; he knows that in him, that is, in his flesh dwells no good thing, Rom. 7. By self-examination ⟨p. 25⟩a man may find many faults in himself, but to find that which the Apostle afterwards found in himself, to see the flesh a rottenness, the sink of iniquity that is within him, and to find himself so bad as indeed he is, unless it please the Lord to open his eyes, and to teach him, he can never attain it.

the Lord of Heaven must do it, if ever we will be brought to know our selves aright. St. Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the learnedst Doctors of the Pharisees, and yet he could not teach him this. When he studied the law, he thought him•elf unblameable, but coming to an higher and better Master; he knows that in him, that is, in his flesh dwells no good thing, Rom. 7. By self-examination ⟨p. 25⟩a man may find many faults in himself, but to find that which the Apostle afterwards found in himself, to see the flesh a rottenness, the sink of iniquity that is within him, and to find himself so bad as indeed he is, unless it please the Lord to open his eyes, and to teach him, he can never attain it.

Now we come to this place of the Apostle, wherein we see the true glass of our selves, the Spirit knows what we are, better then our selves and the Spirit shows us that every man of us either was, or is such as we are here set down to be. We are first natural before we can be spiritual, there is not a man, but hath been, or is yet, a natural man, and therefore see we the large description of a natural man before he is quickened, before God, which is rich in mercy, enlivens him being dead in sins, and saves him by grace in Christ. Thus is it with us all, and thus must it be; and we shall never be fit for grace till we know our selves thus far, till we know our selves as far out of frame, as the Spirit of truth declares us to be. In this place of Scripture consider we