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ruling lust, against the dictates of his natural conscience. Whereas, in truth, he does not own a customary indulgence to any the least sin in external practice; much less to any great wickedness, and gross sins of presumption. But he evidently speaks in his complaint, of unallowed frailties, or sins of infirmity, incident to the best of men. And if his language in representing the case seems too expressive and emphatical, we may fairly resolve this into his humility; a grace that always makes the Christian willing to see the worst of his case, and to lay himself low before God and man. From this principle, we must conceive it was that this same Apostle elsewhere describes himself under those debasing characters, the least of the apostles; less than the least of all saints, yea, the chief of sinners. Though an eminent example of holiness, yet being not already perfect, he readily confesses it: and, under an humbling affecting sense of his imperfections and remaining corruptions, he breathes out his complaints in very animated and striking forms of speech. However, his self-abasing expressions (taken in this view) do all of them well consist, with the brighter and commendatory representations he sometimes makes of himself, when considering his case in another light: and they are all reconcilable with every scripturecharacter of regenerate professors, as well as with the universal experience of real Christians, even the best upon earth. For do not they all own themselves conscious of indwelling sin, and "fleshly lusts that war against the soul?" Do not they all confess themselves not as yet perfectly spiritual their hearts not as yet perfectly enlarged to run the

way of God's commandments-their graces not as yet perfectly free in their exercise, but often under a very sensible restraint, so that they cannot produce them into act, as they would and ought-their corruptions insinuating and intermingling with their best performances of duty-their lusts, though by divine grace conquered within them, yet striving still for the mastery; yea, sometimes usurping the throne seemingly, and acting the tyrant over them for a season, against the fixed judgment and settled bent of their mind and heart, which in the account of Gospel-grace is the man? Now, looking upon themselves, if tried by the law and justice, as liable to be condemned with the world, they have therefore no hope of being "saved by any works of righteousness which they have done," but only look for mercy, the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be magnified in their deliverance out of the present state of imperfection. In the mean time, their sins, yea, their unavoidable infirmities, are their burden, under which they sigh and bemoan themselves; ashamed and grieved even for disallowed frailties, more than unregenerate sinners for their wilful and scandalous enormities. Is it any uncommon case for a child of God, in a repenting frame, passionately to lament in the strain of Rom. vii.? Judging himself for carnality, complaining of spiritual captivity, and crying out, "Oh wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?" Nor finding any refuge, but the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Where is any injustice done the inspired writer, or the least injury to Christianity, by supposing this to be the very case the Apostle had in view? Or what one

word is there in all his description of the case before him, but is fairly accommodable to this interpretation? And what occasion then to suppose the Apostle uses such a metachematism here, as some do suppose; transferring to himself those odious things which belonged only to an unregenerate legalist, and putting them in his own case, merely out of modesty, and to avoid giving offence to the party reproved?

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2. We find the Apostle here giving characters of himself that are the distinguishing marks of a regenerate state; characters that do not, that can not, agree to any unconverted person in the world. is, for instance, the peculiar property of a child of God to hate that which is evil, and to have a will present with him to that which is good. No unregenerate person is able truly to say, that he would do that which is good, and would not do that which is evil. The conscience, indeed, and the judgment of an unregenerate man, may in some sense be said to be against the sin: but his will is for it, and the lusts of a depraved will habitually govern the man, so that he always inclines to sin, in one kind or another, in one degree or another, and does always actually indulge himself in sin, except only when under some special restraints by shame or fear of punishment. He can never be said to hate sin; though he hate the misery that is like to be the consequence of it; but he rather hates the law that punishes sin. And to be sure, it cannot be said of any unregenerate man, that he hates evil and would do good, indefinitely; that is, that he hates all evil, and would do all good, without any distinction or

reserve; as the Apostle here affirms of himself. No, there is some Delilah in reserve, some bosom lust retained, some methods of vital piety (either of heart or life) rejected, by the greatest proficients in morality among the unconverted world. None but the truly regenerate can say with David, "I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right: and I hate every false way."

To this I may add, that it is the distinguishing character of a child of God, to "delight in the law of the Lord after the inward man." An unregenerate man may, by the lashes of an awakened conscience, and terrors of the law, be kept under some slavish restraints, and be forced to some servile endeavours of obedience: but could he with a quiet conscience, and hopes of salvation, enjoy his choice, he would break through all these restraints, and always gratify his sinful and sensual inclinations. To have our inward man, our very heart and mind, delighted in the law of God, is to have our souls delighted in a conformity to God, the law being but a transcript of his moral perfections. That is, in other words, it is to love God himself, to delight ourselves in his nature and government, to love to be like him in the inward man, having the law written on the tables of our heart, which is the sum of all religion, the whole and only evidence of vital Christianity, all other marks and characters of a Christian indeed being contained in it. Whence it is that the Psalmist so often mentions his delight in God's commandments, which he had loved, as a mark of his uprightness. No unregenerate professor does really delight in God, as the holy and righteous

Governor and Judge of the world; and therefore no unregenerate person can truly say, as the Apostle here, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man."

I may likewise add, that it is the distinguishing character of a child of God, to groan under the burden of the body of death, to long for deliverance from it, and to have a war maintained between the law of his members, and the law of his mind.— Awakened sinners may groan under a sense of guilt and danger, and have a war between their consciences and their lusts. But they are believers, and none but they, who groan under the burden of their heartcorruptions, and after a further progress in holiness.. Unrenewed sinners may have a law in their members, warring against their awakened consciences; but they have no contrary law in their minds, no such habitual bent of soul, or stated and settled disposition of their affections, as has the force of a law with them, and maintains a constant war with their inward corruptions, their vain imaginations, sinful appetites and passions. They do indeed love the Lord, that thus hate evil. And they who thus fight the good fight of faith, will lay hold on eternal life. It is one characteristic of a true believer, that he resists sin, in all the lusts thereof, even the most secret and hidden from the eye of the world. Every creature has its antipathies; the new creature, as well as any other: and as sin is the greatest contrariety to its temper and taste, to its interests and comforts; the divine nature always is disposed to exert itself in an opposition to indwelling sin, studying to mortify it more and more.

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