Rom. 8.13. Deut.30.6. Col. 2. 11. troublesome, deformed, dangerous gefture; and there is no cure for this, like cutting of the right foot. 9. Lay hold on Guds ftrength for the mortifying of thy beloved fin: fureby this is no eafie work, fee how it is expreffed in Scripture, fometime it is called the mortification of our members, is to mortifie a part of the body an eafie work? fometimes the circumcifing of the foreskin of our bearts Deut. 10. 16. did the Sichemites count Circumcifion an eafie work? by crucifying of the affections and lufts, Gal. 5. 24. was crucifixion an eafie death? And here in the Text, it is called a plucking out the right eye, and cutting off the right band: the Apoftle Paul in the forementioned place, tells the Romans, if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body you fball live. He who is the fountain of spiritual life, is also the principle of this fpiritual death: this is a work to be done by us,but through the Spirit. Hence in Scripture God is faid to do this: The Lord thy God will circumcife thy heart,and the heart of thy feed: and the Apoftle expreffes this by cirumcifion made without bands: intimating that it is not a work of mans hands, but Gods. 2. If any ask me, but how fhall we lay hold on Gods ftrength & R. By faith, great things are attributed unto this grace, because it lays hold on God, and fets God at work, 1 Joh. §. 4. This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith: it overcomes not only the ho nours, and riches, and pleasures of the world, but the lufts of the world, of which you have mention, 1 Job.2.16. Faith is a felf-emptying grace, a poor beggarly hand, rich only in receiving from another: fomething like Davids fling and stone against Goliab lufts: but in the name of the Lord of Hofts, and by his ftrength, even a babe in Christ through faith fhall overcome the world: I must tell you that Hannibal, and Alexander, and all the glorious Victors that we read of, were but fresh-water Soldiers,in comparifon of one that is born of God. I fhall only to what I have faid, add a few Motives, to quicken you to your duty, and fo commend all to Gods bleffing. Motive 1. Right-eye fins, and right-hand fins are the greateft binderances of the fouls closing with Chrift. When you flay any creature, the skin comes off with cafe, till it comes to the head, and there it fticks, more than or.. dinary skill is required to get it thence. Now I muft tell you the fin that 1am diffwading you against, is, not only the eye-fin, and the band fin, but the bead fin, and here converfion fticks. The finner forbears many fins; and performs many duties: but when it comes to this, Ob Mater, faith Beth and blood, pity thy felf, beware what thou, doft, what, be thine own Executioner? pluck out thy right eye? cut off thy right band? A mans fin is himself, to deny ungodlinefs, is to deny thy felf, this is a kind of autoxaçía, felf-murder: No man ever yet hated his own flesh. Is there no getting to heaven, unless a man leave himfelf behind? This is durus fermo, an hard faying: As Naamun the Syrian, 2 Reg.5.18. When my mafter goetb into the houfe of Rimmon, to worship there, and he leaneth on my bind, and I bow my self in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy fervant in this thing: So the finner, the Lord pardon thy fervant in this thing. The young man in the Gofpel tells Chritt, That he had kept all the commandments from his youth: but when Chrift said to him ; One thing thou lackest, go thy way, fell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasures in heaven, and come and take up thy cross and follow me: Here he sticks: ver.22. he was fad at that saying, and went away grieved, for he bad great poffeffions, or his great poffeffions had him, Alas, this poor young man little thought, that notwithstanding his forwardness to keep the Commandments, he was under the power of worldly lufts. Oh 3irs! there is great strength in a river, when it runs smoothly, and without noife, Motive 2. As these fins are the greatest hinderances of the fouls clofing with Chrift, fo they prove the greatest trouble to the foul afterwards. Your Eye G will prove your Eye-fore, yea, and your Heart-fore: My meaning is, your confcience will fuffer moft upon the account of this fin all your days. Thus Job, cap. 13.26. Thou writeft bitter things against me, and mikelt me to poffefs the iniquities of my youth. When a mans confcience is difquieted and tormented for the fins of his youth, then he may be faid to poffefs them: yea, it may occafion not only grief, but guilt. Of all fins, this is many, times moft unmortified even after Mortification: Soldiers that have received wounds and bruifes when young,have fmarted by them when they have been old. I bere are many good fouls,that after cure bave gone to heaven balting on the old maim, Motive 3. Mark 10.20, 21 The mortifying of our darling laft, our right-eye fin, and our rightband fin is a choice evidence of regeneration: truth of grace barth as much as any way been declared thus. Paul after converfion, becomes a Preacher of that name, which he before blafphemed. Thofe of Ephefus that were given to witchcraft, and forcery, after their converfion, brought A&t.19. 19% their books together, and burned them before all men: and many other inflances of the like nature are urged by Divines to this purpose. Cranmer. that had fubfcribed the Popish Articles with his right hand, afterwards Rom. 7. 9. as a piece of revenge,put that hand firft into the flames. A true Convert, 1. The forbearing of any outward act of fin whatfoever, is no evidence of Mertification, or Converfion: Sin may be reftrained when it is not mor tified; a chained Lion is a Lion ftill; a Swine washed, is a Swine ftill. In fome fenfe you may be faid to be a new mm, and yet you may not be a new creature. This may come to pals partly from the fense of temporal inconveniences, partly from the clamours of natural conscience, or from fear of wrath. Such principles as these are not strong enough to kill fin, or to heal the Soul, but are like thofe odours which we ufe, to raise men out of a fit of the Falling fickness, but doth not at all cure them of the disease. 2. The mortifying of our darling fin is joyned with an univerfal hatred of all fin: A true Convert hates every falfe way, as the Pfalmift phrafes it, fin is often expreffed in Scripture by abomination: it is fo to God,it fhould be fo to man; anger is only with reference to particulars, but hatred is gos Td yern against the kind; a godly man hates fin as fir, and therefore he hates every fin; the Devil hates goodness, as goodness, and therefore he hates all goodness, a quatenus, ad omne valet confequentia, a man may be angry with fin, and not kill fin: but as he that bates bis brother is a murderer, fo he that hates fin is a mortifier. When the right eye is plucked out, and the right hand is cut off, the whole body of fin hath its deaths wound. The man that keeps himself from his iniquity, will keep bimfe f from every iniquity: the beart with one bole referved for fin is not Sound. Motive 4. Mortification is a duty becoming the best of Saints whileft they are in this world. I told you in the beginning of this difcourfe, that the Text was part of Chrifts Sermon upon the Mount; and if you confult the fitt and fecond verfes of this Chapter, you fhall find that it was preached to Chris own Difciples, Vir bonus & piss, non eft qui carnem non habet, fed qui carnem fuam mortificat: a good man is not one that hath no flesh, but he that hath crucified the flesh with the affections and lufts, Gal. 5. 24. It is with our finful body,as with our natural body : If you cut a Wen, or any Excrefcence of that nature, it will grow again, and again, and it will be an hard matter to be rid of it all your days: So though every day! we be paring away our lufts, yet they grow again. L To clofe all, Gon and perfevere in the fubduing and killing of thy beloved Luft: Mortification is a work once done, and yet in this life it is al wayes a doing: There are fome things that confift of an iteration of multiplied acts, as in Wedlock,perfons are actually married at once, the Husband furrenders himself unto the Wife, and the Wife furrenders her felf unto her Husband, and yet if they live together, fuitably to that near relation,marriage is as it were renewed every day: there is a continual furrender of themselves each to other: So 'tis here, when the foul is first converted, the beloved fin is mortified, and yet there is a continual mortification of it: this is a duty that confifts not in any one act, though pever fo good, never fo vigorous: but 'cis a continued act of the whole life.. 'Tis not killing fin at one blow; the ftrength of fin decays by degrees, it begins in the weakning of fin, and ends in the deftroying of fin, Sin dies alingring death, therefore let us go on in this great and neceffary work. You know Sampfon deny'd, and deny'd Dalilab for fome time, and would not difcover where his ftrength lay: but not bolding out; he loft his ftrength and his life to boot: beware of Apoftacy. Crabs that go backward are reckoned amongst unclean creatures, Lev. 11. 10. Fallum non dicitur, quod i non perfeverat is a maxime, a Will not finished, is no Will: a Deed, unlefs it be figned, fealed, and delivered; is no Deed. The Sacrifice that was offered up unto God, was not to want fo much as the tayl, Lev. 3.6. True Chriftians hate fin fo perfectly, that they cannot be quiet till it be utterly abolished. First, they go to God for Juftification, ne damnet: then for Sanctification, ne regnet; then for Glorification, ne fit. Let us be faithful ass to this fpiritual death, that we may receive a crown of life.. Gal. 5.24 What For it is impoffible for those who were once enlightned, and have tafted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost; And have tafted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come: If they shall fall away, to renew. them again to repentance, seeing they crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. I Could fay (Beloved) of the Interpretation and Application of this Scripture, before I begin to open it (containing the Doom and fad Sentence pronounced against Apoftates and Relapfarians) as once Daniel did to the King,before he opened his mouth to give the fenfe Dan. 4.19. of his Ominous Dream, The Dream be to them that bate thee, and the Interpretations to thine enemies; yet fhall I not wifh fo much ill to our worst Enemies; but the Text be to them that hate God, and the Interpretation, only to the enemies and defpifers, or defpiters of his grace. It is one of the moft ftartling Scriptures in all the Bible, and one of the moft Terrible flying fiery Roules in all the Book of God, utterly con |