The fountain opened, or, The great gospel privilege of having Christ exhibited to sinful…The fountain opened, or, The great gospel priviledge of having Christ exhibited to sinfull…

6. The Children of God, when they do their best, do still bitterly bewail themselves that they can do no better. It must needs be granted that such imperfection in us, as is a just ground for the sorrow and mourning of the people of God, and which they do and ought to cry out of as their burden and bitterness, is a short coming in them which ought not to be, else all those complaints, and self judgings about it, must needs be superfluous and unreasonable: Not that the sense of this should drive them to despair of Gods gracious acceptance of them, sin•• he hath provided for that in Christ, notwithstanding all this: but yet it excite• Godly Sorrow in them, and helps to keep them humble and mournful all their days and directs them where to fix their hope ⟨p. 201⟩viz. upon Gods free mercy in and through Christ. We find therefore how Paul amplifieth in his bemoaning of himself on this account in, Rom. 7. And though it hinders not, but helps his thanksgiving, verse 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Yet •he complains of it as a thing that was grievous to him, verse 15. That which I do, I allow not; for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate that do I. And verse 23. I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. And upon the review of all this he cries out as one that was in very sore distress, verse 24. Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? And this was not a representation of his natural state, when under the legal convictions of sin, and remorses of Conscience by reason of it; but under the conflict between. Grace and Corruption in him, as the whole tenor of his expressions doth evince. Nor was it on the account of bold Transgressions, and more enormous and scandalous prevarications; •or he could make that challenge, 1 Thes 2. 10. Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily, and justly and unblameably we behaved our selves among you, that believe. But it was the mixture which he experienced ⟨p. 202⟩of sinful corruption with his grace which discovered him not as yet arrived at full perfection.