so. There is great deceit in the dealings of men in the world; great
strength we cannot discover, whom we cannot follow into its fortresses. So often, when we think that sin is quite ruined, after a while we find it was only out of sight. Its refuge is an unsearchable heart, where we cannot pursue it. The soul may persuade itself all is well, when sin may be safe in the hidden darkness of the mind; for whatever is visible, is light. It may suppose the will to sin is utterly taken away, when yet there is an unsearchable reserve for a more vigorous temptations. Has a man had a contest with any lust, and a blessed victory over it by the Holy Ghost? When he thinks it is utterly expelled, he soon finds that it was only hidden from view. It can lie so close in the mind's darkness, in the will's weakness, in the disorder of the affections, that no eye can discern it. The best of our wisdom is to watch its first appearances, to catch its first workings, and to set ourselves in opposition to them; for we cannot follow it into the secret corners of the heart. It is true, there is yet a relief, - namely, that he to whom the work of destroying the law of sin and body of death in us is principally committed, namely, the Holy Ghost, comes with his axe to the very root; neither is there anything in an unsearchable heart that is not "naked and open to him," Hebrews 4:13; but we may thus see what an enemy we have to deal with.
2. As it is unsearchable, "It is deceitful above all things," incomparably so. There is great deceit in the dealings of men in the world; great deceit in their counsels in reference to their affairs; great deceit in their words and actions: the world is full of deceit and fraud. But all this is nothing to the deceit that is in man's heart towards himself. Now, deceitfulness added to unsearchableness gives great increase of strength to the law of sin. I speak not yet of the deceitfulness of sin itself, but the deceitfulness of the heart where it is seated. Proverbs 26:25, "There are seven abominations in the heart;" that is, not only many, but a complete number, as seven denotes. And they consist in deceitfulness; so the caution advises, "Do not trust him:" for it is only deceit that should make us not to trust in that degree and measure which the object is capable of.
Now, this deceitfulness of the heart, which makes it so able to harbour
sin, lies chiefly in these two things: -
(1.) It abounds in contradictions, so that it is not to be dealt with according to any constant rule. Some have much of this, from their natural constitution, or from other causes, in their lifestyle. They seem to be made up of contradictions; sometimes to be very wise in their affairs, sometimes very foolish; very open, and very reserved; very pliable, and very obstinate; very easy to be entreated, and very revengeful, all to a remarkable degree. This is generally accounted a bad character, and it generally proceeds from some predominant lust. But, in respect of moral good or evil, duty or sin, it is so with the heart of every man, flaming hot, and icy cold; weak, and stubborn; obstinate, and pliable. The attitude of the heart is ready to contradict itself every moment. Now you would think you had really grasped such an attitude, such a way; soon it is quite otherwise: so that none know what to expect from it. This disorder is brought on all the faculties by sin. God created them all in perfect harmony. The mind and reason were in perfect subjection to God and his will; the will answered, in its choice of good, the revelation made of it by the mind; the affections constantly followed the understanding and will. The mind's subjection to God was the spring of the harmonious motion of the soul and all the wheels in it. That being disturbed by sin, the rest of the faculties move contrary one to another. The will chooses not the good which the mind shows; the affections delight not in what the will chooses; but all rebel against each other. This is the result of our falling from God. Hence sometimes the will leads, the judgement follows. Yea, commonly the affections, that should follow, get the sovereignty, and draw the whole soul after them. And hence the heart is made up of so many contradictions. Sometimes the mind retains its sovereignty, and the affections are in subjection, and the will ready for its duty. This puts a good face on things. Immediately rebellion of the affections or obstinacy of the will takes place and prevails, and the whole scene is changed. This makes the heart deceitful above all things: it has no order that it is constant to, no stability; but turns within itself, so often the feet lead and guide the whole.
(2.) Its deceit lies in the false promises of its initial good resolutions. Sometimes the affections are touched and worked on; the whole heart appears to be good; all promises to be well. Within a while the whole picture is changed; the mind was not at all turned; the affections acted their parts a little and are gone off, and all the fair promises of the heart have gone with them. Now, add this deceitfulness to the unsearchableness before mentioned, and we shall find that the difficulty of dealing effectually with sin will be exceedingly increased. A deceiving and a deceived heart, who can deal with it? - especially considering that the heart employs all its deceits to the service of sin. All the disorder in the heart, all its false promises and fair appearances, promote the interest of sin. So God cautions the people to take heed, lest their own hearts should entice and deceive them.
Who can mention the treacheries that lie in the heart of man? It is not for nothing that the Holy Ghost expresses it, "It is deceitful above all things," - uncertain in what it does, and false in what it promises. And so it is, that, in the pursuit of our war against sin, we have not only the old work to go over and over, but new work still, new stratagems and wiles to deal with.
First, Never let us reckon that our work in contending against sin, in putting it to death, has finished. Its dwelling place is unsearchable; and when we think that we have thoroughly won the field, some reserve still remains that we did not see, that we did not know. Many conquerors have been ruined by carelessness after a victory, and many have been spiritually wounded after great successes against this enemy. David was so; his great fall into sin was after many years of godliness, manifold experiences of God, and carefully keeping himself from sin. This is one of the reasons why the faith of many declines in their old age; which we will deal with later. They have given over the work of putting sin to death before their work was at an end. There is no way for us to pursue sin in its unsearchable habitation but by being endless in our pursuit. And that command of the apostle which we have, Colossians 3:5, on this account is as necessary for those who are towards the end of their race, as those who are at the beginning: "Put
to death what is earthly in you;" be always doing it whilst you live in this world. It is true, great ground is obtained when the work is vigorously and constantly carried on; sin is much weakened, so that the soul presses forwards towards perfection: but the work must be endless whilst we are in this world. If we give over, we shall quickly see this enemy exerting itself with new strength and vigour. It may be under some great affliction, it may be in some eminent enjoyment of God, in the sense of the sweetness of blessed communion with Christ, we have been ready to say that there was an end of sin, that it was dead and gone for ever; but have we not found the contrary to be true? has it not been evident that it was only retired into some unsearchable recesses of the heart, as to its in-being and nature, though greatly weakened in its power? Let us, then, reckon on it, that there is no way to have our work done but by always doing it; and he who dies fighting in this warfare dies assuredly a conqueror.
Secondly, has it its residence in what is deceitful above all things? This calls for perpetual watchfulness. An open enemy, that deals by violence only, always gives some respite. You know where to have him and what he is doing, so as that sometimes you may sleep quietly without fear. But against adversaries that deal by deceit and treachery (which are long swords, and reach at the greatest distance) nothing will give security but perpetual watchfulness. It is impossible we should in this case be too watchful. The heart has a thousand wiles; and if we are in the least off from our watch, we will be surprised. Hence are those reiterated commands given for watching, for being diligent, careful, and the like. There is no living for those who have to deal with an enemy deceitful above all things, unless they persist in such an attitude. All cautions that are given in this case are necessary, especially that, "Remember not to believe." Does the heart promise fair? - rest not on it, but say to the Lord Christ, "Lord, undertake for me." Does the sun shine fair in the morning? - reckon not on a fair day; the clouds may arise and fall. Though the morning give a fair appearance of serenity and peace, turbulent affections may arise, and cloud the soul with sin and darkness.
Thirdly then, commit the whole matter with all diligence to Him who can search the heart, and knows how to prevent all its deceits. In the trials lies our duty, but here lies our safety. There is no treacherous corner in our hearts but he can search it; there is no deceit but he can frustrate it. This course David takes, Psalm 139. After he had set forth the omnipresence of God and his omniscience, verses 1-10, he cries out: verse 23, "Search me, O God, and try me." As if he had said, "I know little of my deceitful heart; but I would be sincere; I would not keep room for sin. So, O Lord, who are present with my heart, who know my thoughts long before, undertake this work, perform it thoroughly, for you alone are able so to do."
There are yet other arguments to show the strength of indwelling sin, whence it is termed a "law," which we must pass through.
CHAPTER 4.
Indwelling sin is enmity against God - Its resulting power - Allows no peace nor rest - Is against God himself - Acts against God, and tendency to evil - Is universal - To all of God - In all of the soul - Constant.
SECONDLY. WE have seen the seat and subject of this law of sin. In the next place I shall consider one property of it that always belongs to its nature. And this is what is expressed by the apostle, Romans 8:7, "The carnal mind is enmity against God." What is here called "the wisdom of the flesh," is the same as "the law of sin" which we insist on. And what does he say? Why, it is "enmity against God." It is not only an enemy, - for so possibly some reconciliation of it to God might be made, - but it is enmity itself, and so unable to accept terms of peace. Enemies may be reconciled, but enmity cannot; the only way to reconcile enemies is to destroy the enmity. So the apostle tells us, Romans 5:10, "We, who were enemies, are reconciled to God;" that is, a work brought about by the blood of Christ, - the reconciling of the greatest enemies. But when he comes to speak of enmity, the only way is for it to be abolished: Ephesians 2:15, "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity." There is no way to deal with enmity but by its abolition.
And as it is enmity, that if the least degree of it that can possibly be remains in any one, it is enmity still. As every drop of poison is poison, and will infect, and every spark of fire is fire, and will burn; so everything of the law of sin, the least of it, is enmity, it will poison, it will burn. Our apostle, who may well be supposed to have made as great a progress in the subduing of it as any one on earth, still cries out for deliverance, as from an irreconcilable enemy, Romans 7:24. The most imperceptible working of it, is work of enmity. Putting sin to death reduces its force, but does not change its nature. Grace changes the nature of man, but nothing can change the nature of sin. Whatever is worked on it, nothing is worked in it; it is enmity still, sin still. So this is our condition: - "God is love," 1 John 4:8. He is so in himself, eternally excellent, and desirable above all. He is so to us, he is so in
the blood of his Son and in all the inexpressible fruits of it, by which we are what we are, and where all our future hopes are wrapped up. Against this God we carry in us an enmity all our days; an enmity that is incapable by nature of cure. Destroyed it shall be, but cured it cannot be. If a man has an enemy to deal with that is too mighty for him, as David had with Saul, he do as David did, - consider what provoked his enemy against him, and so address himself to remove the cause and make up his peace: 1 Samuel 26:19,
"If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they are the children of men, may they be cursed before the LORD."
If it is from God or man, there is yet hope of peace. But when a man has enmity itself to deal with, nothing is to be expected but continual fighting. If it is not destroyed, it will destroy the soul.
Here lies no small part of its power; it allows no terms of peace. There may be a compromise where there is no reconciliation, - there may be a truce where there is no peace; but with this enemy we can obtain neither the one nor the other. It is never quiet, conquering nor conquered; which was the only kind of enemy that the famous warrior complained of old. It is in vain for a man to expect rest from his lust except by its death; of absolute freedom but by his own. Some, in the tumult of their corruptions, seek for quietness by labouring to satisfy them, "making provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts" as the apostle speaks, Romans 13:14. This is to put out a fire by wood and oil. As all the fuel in the world being cast into the fire, will not at all satisfy it, but increase it; so sinning will not satisfy sin, - it only inflames it. If a man parts with some of his goods to an enemy, it may satisfy him; but enmity will have all, and is not one whit the more satisfied than if he had received nothing, - like the lean cattle that were not less hungry for having devoured the fat. You cannot bargain with the fire to take only some of your houses; you must put it out. It is like the contest between a wise man and a fool: Proverbs 29:9, "Whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest." Whatever temper he be in, his folly makes him
troublesome. It is so with this indwelling sin: if it is violent, as it will be in provocations, it will be outrageous; if it seems to be contented, all is one, there is no peace, no rest to be had. If it were of any other nature, some other way might have been fixed on; but it consists in enmity, so the soul will only find relief in its ruin.
Secondly, It is not only said to be "enmity," but it is said to be "enmity against God." It has chosen a great enemy. It is described as our enemy in various places: 1 Peter 2:11, "Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;" they are our enemies. Sometimes as an enemy to the Spirit that is in us: "The flesh lusts, or fights, against the Spirit, Galatians 5:17. It fights against the Spirit in us, to conquer it; it fights against our souls, to destroy them. It has special designs against our souls, and against the principle of grace that is in us; but its proper object is God: it is "enmity against God." It is its work to oppose grace; as a result it opposes our souls; but its nature is to oppose God; as the lawgiver, as holy, as the author of the gospel, of a way of salvation by grace, and not by works. Why does it oppose duty, so that the good we would do we do not? Why does it render the soul carnal, unspiritual, weary, wandering? It is because of its enmity to God, whom the soul aims to have communion with. It has that command from Satan which the Assyrians had from their king:
"Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel," 1 Kings 22:31.
It is God himself, the King of Israel, that sin sets itself against. There is reason for all its opposition; it relates to God. Is a road set up, where communion with God is not aimed at, but only the duty itself, as is the manner of men in most of their worship? the opposition against it from the law of sin will be very weak. The Assyrians, because of his show of being a king, assaulted Jehoshaphat, but when they found that it was not Ahab, they turned back from pursuing him; so when there is a show of the worship of God, sin may make head against it at first, but when the duty cries out in the heart that God is not really there, sin turns away to seek its proper enemy, God himself, elsewhere. So many