Chapter IV
What is come both to the strivings of natural conscience against sin, and the
conflict of grace against it in a regenerate man. To find out the true differ ence between them, we must consider the cause and ground of the quarrel, and
the weapons with which it is managed.
Though all these things, and many more, be true, yet that we may come more narrowly to search out the immediate and fundamental difference be tween the combat of grace against sin, and that which only natural conscience maintains against it, I will first shew what is common to both.
1. This must be yielded and granted as common to both, that not grace
only, but natural conscience also, when the pulse thereof beats strongly, may and doth cause a commotion and a combustion against an act of sin in the whole man. The whole man may be disquieted, disturbed, and moved
against it. For a passion of fear, a passion of horror (which kind of storms conscience can raise about sin), we find in other things do move and make
impression upon the whole man, and cause a quelling, a recoiling, and a
faltering to be in the whole heart, when a man is about to do a thing. And such a disturbance may conscience raise in the whole man, when a man is about to commit some kind of sin, as in the case of murder, and the like, when horror seizeth upon the whole man.
2. And natural conscience may create this disturbance in the will as well
as in other faculties. It may cause a great unwillingness to commit a sin ; not only a remissness, but a displicence and reluctancy, and heart-rising
against it, so as the man shall not sin with a full consent of will. Thus Darius was displeased with himself for the injustice and wrong which he did
to Daniel : Dan. vi. 14, Then the king, when he heard these words, was
sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him ; and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Thus Herod was exceeding sorrowful, and grieved that he should put so holy a man as John the Baptist to death : Mat. xiv. 9, And the king was sorry
: neverthe
less for the oath s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded
it to be given her. And grief hath always a renisus voluntatis, a resistance
of the will to accompany it. For when the understanding is strong against a thing, it doth cause some stand in the will, and a bearing of it back more
or less, that a man cannot be so fully willing as else he would. There is no
sin which any man commits, but some inconveniences present themselves, and they will take somewhat off from the will s eagerness.
3. This commotion which conscience makes shall be intense and great ;
it will strike up the drum, especially when conscience is awakened, and cause
as great an alarm, as great an uproar, clamour, and noise, and hurley hurley, as grace shall do.
4. Conscience will not only alarm the man before, but also in some measure in the very act itself, and while it is doing, so as the impression which is made upon the whole man, and on the will, shall not be worn out, but continue in the commission of the act. So as all the will is not over come by the sin and the pleasure of it, but bears off, and is grieved, and
abates something of that full delight which would otherwise be in it, and
ClIAP. IV.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 271
which, if his will was wholly and altogether in the sin, he might find. Thus
it was in Herod, who when he gave command for the above-mentioned murder, was exceeding sorrowful. So as these are not to be assigned as the exact
differences of this combat, for that there may be a conviction in the whole man against sin both in an unregenerate and a holy soul.
In what then shall be put the true difference ?
1. The ground of the quarrel against sin is to be considered. As it is not
dying which makes a martyr, but the cause, so not every resistance against sin argues grace, but the ground and cause of it. Now what is the cause of
this war in a gracious heart, you shall know best if you search into the
thoughts and consultations of the leaders, for they set the armies on fighting. Observe diligently, therefore, what thoughts run through thy understanding, and what apprehensions they are which thou hast about sin that cause this ado in thy heart. Observe whether thy first thoughts be of the evil of sin
in itself, the foolishness, the heinousness, the contrariety of it to God s
holiness and his law ; the unkindness which is in it to God and Christ, the
injury and wrong that is in it to God, who is so good, both in himself and
to thee. Observe whether thy quarrel against sin begins principally upon such thoughts as these ; or is the original of thy being angry with sin, the inconveniences which attend upon it in this world or in that which is to come ? Do the threatenings annexed to the law and the wrath of God as
offended, only occasion this commotion ? Then though this opposition to
sin be in the whole man, yet it is not the combat of grace.
2. As the ground of the quarrel is thus narrowly to be searched into, so the weapons also with which they fight.
,. The motives and arguments which
are used by the leaders to stir up the heart against sin are to be considered. Motives drawn from self, and proportioned to self, are the weapons which
strike and pierce through the whole man ; and though the whole man be moved against sin, yet when it fights but with such weapons, I may say the
weapons of its warfare are carnal, which awakens and rouses self in a man, and then that stirs and moves the whole army.
3. This commotion in unregenerate men is maintained wholly by logical
disputes, and arguments, and motives to work the heart against sin, and while the pleading lasts, the heart is exasperated a little, but no longer ; it
is only while the combatants are in the field. But the heart-rising, and
opposition of a godly man, though it be whetted and sharpened by such
arguments, yet it hath a farther principle, and that is, a natural inbred an
ticipation, an innate, habitual contrariety and enmity, which works in the man at the first view of a sin ; as a commotion is wrought in a lamb at the
sight of a wolf, or in a lion at the crowing of a cock, and is natural and
real. And therefore it is quick and up when a man is taken on the sudden, and before he musters up thoughts or arguments, his heart riseth at the first view of the sin. Yea, and therefore sometimes when motives drawn from heaven and hell, and many such considerations, would not have been effectual
to keep a man from a sin, yet then this inward antipathy withholds him, Christ backing it in the heart ; so that a man can say, I cannot do it, not so much because of such and such considerations, but because / cannot, for my renewed nature will not let me. As a man loves out of sympathy beyond what reason suggests, so he hates out of antipathy too. There is a seed within which cannot sin, a seed from Christ which hath an enmity to sin, the seed of the serpent
: 1 John iii. 9, Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him : and he cannot sin, because he
* For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other : so
is born of God. Gal. v. 17,
272 AN UNREGENERATE MAN S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK VII.
that ye cannot do the things that ye would. And we have an instance in
Joseph, who, by reason of grace in his heart, could not do that sin to which he was tempted
: Gen. xxxix. 9, There is none greater in this house than
I ; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art
his wife : how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God ? There is a seed within that cannot sin. And thus Paul asserts of himself and others regenerate
: 2 Cor. xiii. 8, For we can do nothing against the
truth, but for the truth. I cannot do such a holy duty, is the voice of nature, but / cannot sin is the voice of a divine nature in a man ; / must not sin for these or these reasons, is the voice of reason and conscience ; I must not sin works in the heart of a natural man ; but the holy nature s / cannot sin, acts
in one regenerate. It is the voice of the new nature in him, like to what was in Esther, when she said to Ahasuerus, Esther viii. 6, For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people ? or how can I endure
to see the destruction of my kindred ? A arogyjj, an innate pious affection
wrought in her this cannot, a not being able to bear it. A man may have many reasons not to murder his enemy, because he must not do it ; but a man cannot kill his child, he cannot find in his heart to do it, for a father s nature withholds him. And it is said of the regenerate part, that it cannot
sin, as of the sun, yet it cannot mingle with darkness, as of the fire, that it cannot but resist water, as God cannot lie ; so his image remaining, such cannot sin.
4. In an unregenerate man terrors of conscience, and impressions of
wrath, and the smart of sin felt in the conscience, or the inconveniences by which a man hath been hurt, or with which he is threatened in his thoughts, those fight against the pleasures of sin in him. But in a godly man delight in the law, and in God, and communion with him, and the impression of the sweetness which he hath tasted therein, fights against and countervails the pleasures of sin. And therefore Paul, speaking of this combat, puts it upon delighting in the law : Bom. vii. 21, 22, I find then a law, that, when
I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God, after the inward man. And so Solomon says that knowledge, when it is
pleasant to a man, keeps him from evil : Prov. ii. 10, 11, When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, discre
tion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee. When the holy man is tempted to sin, his having recourse to thoughts of God, and of his
love, and his own duty, and what communion he hath had with God, bring a fresh present delight, which fights against the delights of sin, and so puts the heart out of taste that it cannot relish it.
5. Conscience works this commotion in unregenerate men by the way of
fear, but grace works it by the way of hatred against sin. Accordingly Paul
* For that which I do, I allow not: for what
says of himself, Rom. vii. 15,
I would that do I not ; but what I hate that do I. And there is a real and
sensible difference between fear of sin and hatred of it. And you will dis cern it if you have recourse to the temptation in which you have been when
fear seized on you, and to that temptation when hatred of sin rose in you ; you will find that both fear and hatred stir the whole man, but differently. If a man hath on a sudden a sword drawn with the point bent toward him, this stirs up fear, and that causeth a commotion in the whole man to avoid
it ; but bring the same man to a place where so many toads are, and this
causeth a commotion in the whole man to eschew them ; but the commotion
is different from the other, for it is out of an inward loathing and abhorrency which he hath of them. Now, thus differently affected are natural men and
godly men about sin when presented to them. Men whose consciences are
CHAP. IV.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 273
not enlightened, or have not been scared, they can handle the sword when
in the velvet scabbard, but when conscience presents death in the point of
it, and draws it out of the scabbard, this causeth fear, and that fear raise th an inward perturbation in the whole man. But now such a fear is not all the cause of that reluctancy which a godly man finds in his heart against sin, but there is an inward dislike and loathing, and irreconcileable hatred. He hates sin, and would always do so, and carefully avoid it, though the conse
quent misery, and torment, and hurt which it doth, could be separated from
it. As though a man thinks and knows that the toad cannot sting him to
death, nay, that it cannot any way hurt him, if the poison could possibly be taken out, yet he would hate it out of an antipathy. The lion is moved
at the crowing of a cock, and yet the cock cannot hurt him ; yet he is moved and shudders at it, because he hates the noise. Or, to express it by another
similitude, a child sees a fired coal, there is a commotion of fear when his
little finger shall but come near it ; but if it be brought to a toad, there is a commotion of hatred. Thus, whilst conscience views fire in the coal, the flames of hell in the sin, when any strong temptation carries on the heart to
it, there is a commotion of fear in and near the acting of the sin, but this is
differing from the commotion of loathing and hatred which a godly man hath. For fear is but a passion, and soon over, and the conviction of sin raised by it
is as transitory, and the combat against sin, therefore, ceases as soon as the
fear is blown over. But hatred is constant, and though it works more stilly and calmly, yet more strongly, and is more lasting ; and such is the convic
tion of regenerate men. Hatred works against all or any having to do with
sin, against all dealings with it of what kind soever, so as not to touch it, nor so much as to see it, as a man cannot endure, not only to handle, but not to look on a toad. But a man who is but afraid of a coal can endure to see
it, though he cannot bear to carry it in his hands ; and thus unregenerate men can roll sin in their thoughts, view it with pleasurein their unclean
fancies, and act it in imagination, though their conscience works against the outward acting of it. And when the fire is gone out of it, then they can bear to touch it. When the sense and smart of sin is out of their consciences, then they can freely and boldly defile themselves with it. As familiarity with the most savage wild beasts, as bears and tigers, will take away the fear of them, though at first a man was afraid, so a man by degrees, wear
ing off the fears and horrors of his conscience, grows bold with those sins at which he first trembled ; after a while he is familiar with them, but where there is a hatred of sin in the heart this familiarity increaseth hatred, and therefore a man s spirit in the end riseth most against those sins into which he oftenest falls.
6. And hence, sixthly (which will afford another difference, or at least
help us to discern the former), natural conscience will cause a conviction in the heart against sins which a man s own self is to commit, and the guilt whereof will redound to his person, because self-love stirs up fear, and that
stirs the man. But grace will work as great an heart-rising and commotion
against the sins of others, the guilt whereof will not redound to him. For sense of guilt is from conscience of a man s own, not of another s sin, though indeed conscience, out of pride, or because of the reflection which it makes, that the sin becomes his, if he doth not tell the man of it, may make a man
reprove another for sin. But grace riseth against sin in others, and is afraid
lest another should offend, swear, blaspheme, &c. He is afraid of oaths in others as well as of blasphemous thoughts in himself, and he loathes them as much. He is one who fears an oath : Eccles. ix. 2, All things come alike VOL. X. S
274 AN UNREGENERATE MAN S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK VII.
to all : there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked ; to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean ; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacri-
ficeth not : as is the good, so is the sinner ; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. An oath startles him as if a piece of ordnance were let off behind him. Thus Job feared the sin of his sons as well as his own : Job i. 5,
* And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered
burnt-offerings according to the number of them all : for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. Thus Lot s righteous soul was vexed at the abominable
sins of Sodom : 2 Peter ii. 7, 8, And delivered just Lot, vexed with the
filthy conversation of the wicked : for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with
their unlawful deeds. And the reason why a regenerate man is afraid of the sins of others as well as of his own, is because his fear of sin, arising from the hatred which he bears to it, which is general to sin as sin, and not as his sin only, he is therefore afraid of the sins of all men as well as of his
CHAPTEE V.
What great difference there is between that regret to sin which unregenerate men
have under convictions of natural conscience, and that unwillingness to sin which is in a godly man.
That I may farther clear the difference between the strife which is in a
regenerate man s heart against sins, and opposition which only natural con
science makes,, I come now to consider what is that unwillingness to sin, which men unregenerate may express to have, and how much it is different from that inward aversion which a godly man hath to sin.
The will is the especial centre and seat of this war, and, therefore, it is
: Gal. v. 17, For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other ; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. And the more the will is in a sin, the greater is the aggravation. This, therefore, is made the aggrava tion of Ephraim s sin in the matter of Jeroboam s calves, which he com manded them to worship, that they went willingly after this wicked command ment; Hosea v. 11, 12,
expressed by lusting
* Ephraim is oppressed, and broken in judgment
because he willingly walked after the commandment. Therefore will I be unto Bphraim as a moth ; and to the house of Judah as rottenness. And
it is urged against the pharisees by Christ, that they would sin : John
viii, 44, Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do ; he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of
his own : for be is a liar, and the father of it, And so as a heightening of their guilt who apostatize, it is eaid, that they sin wilfully after the
knowledge of the truth received ; Heb, x. 26, For if we sin wilfully after
that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more
sacrifice for sins.
Now in regenerate* men there may be gome strife in their wills against
sin, so as their wills may bear off, and they have some remissness and reluc-
tancy, as in Herod and Darius ; so as it may be truly said there is some
* Qu. unregenerate ? ED.
CflAP. V.] IN KESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 275
unwillingness, by reason of conscience, in many sins. When, indeed, con
science is past feeling, then wicked men sin with greediness, and their will
are wholly let out in the sin, and yet not before : Eph. iv. 19, Who being
past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all un-
cleanness with greediness. But to clear this farther to you,
1. Consider that there is a double unwillingness, or averseness, in the will
to things presented to it, as also a double willingness, for the distinction is
applicable to both, and therefore we will use one part of the distinction of
the one, and the other part of the other.
(1.) There is a willingness per se, i. e. a direct, innate^, full inclination, and going out of the will to a thing suitable to it, when the will is of itself
carried to an object for itself.
(2 .) There is an unwillingness per accidem, an: accidental unwillingness,
indirect, and by the by, when there is some inconvenience annexed to the
thing which we desire, which the mind apprehending is made less willing than otherwise it would be. Thus it was with the young man in the history of the Gospel, whose will of itself was fully set upon the world, and the plea sures of it, as things which were suitable to him; ;: and: yet when Christ told him that he could not enjoy heaven and them both together, this caused some sorrow and unwillingness in him, and took off his mind somewhat from
them, yet so as in the issue he followed the innate swing of his will and
heart, though with some mixture of unwillingness ; but it was only. an acci--
: Mat. xix. 21, 22; Jesus said unto him,,If,thou wilfe-. be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou sbalt , have treasure in heaven ; and come and follow me. But when .to young, man heard that saying, he went away sorrowftrl : for he had great posses sions. And thus a wicked man s heart is of itself fully for sin, wholly for
dental unwillingness
sin, and the pleasures of sin, as suitable to his desires. Well, but there are inconveniences which attend upon sin, and which conscience represent?
, as ,
inseparable from it, the fearful consequences which follow upon it, such as
-. shame, misery, hell, and damnation. This takes off the edge of the wilL somewhat, that it cannot be so keen towards sin, and it makes a stand ;in the
diverse motions of the will, which otherwise were going out to sin, with a full
propension, and without any reluctancy. And so in wicked men there may be also some willingness to good, but it is so only accidentally, not foe good ness sake, but Lr some pleasing consequences which follow upon; it, which, may candy and sweeten it, when for itself it is not liked. Now such a mixture of a direct willingness for sin, joined with some acci-. dental unwillingness to it, makes not the combat of flesh and spirit,, for then the most of men would have it in them; for there is no action which a man s, heart is ever so fully for, but some inconveniences make him lesswilling ; and, indeed, all this may rather be said to make a man less willing than otherwise he should be, out not indeed, and really unwilling. Thus water, whose direct course and stream is to run one way, may have (as in mills) some bar, that stops, and hinders, and takes off some of the stream ; but it turns it not the contrary way. And that this part of an unregenerate man s will, which is. unwilling, is not against sin, appears by this, that he wisheth those inconveniences and impediments removed, that his will might fully and wholly pour out itself to the sin. He is vexed rather at the impediments than at the sin, and, thinks he, if there were no conscience, nor no hell, I might then sin freely. But now the combat in a godly man is occasioned between two direct
wills, that which is of itself for sin, and that which is of itself, and directly against sin. He is like a needle between two loadstones, and there ia &n
? S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK VII.
276 AN UNREGENERATE MAN
inward inclination which carries him both ways, and therefore it is said the law of the members fights against the law of the mind, i. e. one inclination m him against another inclination : Rom. vii. 23, But 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. But unregenerate men, in all their loathness to sin, are but as iron, which is but by some
external accident detained, and fore-slowed in its motion towards the load stone ; and, therefore, notwithstanding this accidental unwillingness, they are still said to sin with a full consent, because they wish those inconve niences removed, which make them unwilling. When the iron is detained, the hand which holds it shall find the inward drawing power, and the incli nation as strong as if it were let go. Thus, though an unregenerate man is
kept from sin, yet his inward bent is to it, and if the feared inconveniences were removed, the will of itself would be wholly for it.
2. That the difference of these two wills, so directly contrary, may be more fully understood, we will compare these contrary motions of the will with all other diverse kinds of motions of it whatsoever which may be thought
of, or which man is capable of.
(1.) There may be in the same man two direct desires to contrary things, but then they are not seated in the same appetite, neither are they indeed
contrary, but subordinate each to other ; as, for example, the natural appe
tite may crave meat when a man is hungry, when yet the reasonable appe
tite, or his will guided by reason, may be bent upon some business to be
done, which shall put off his eating ; yet these are not seated in the same
will, neither are they contrary, unless this natural appetite rebel, and make
impressions upon the reasonable will, so as to hinder it in its desires ; for
otherwise they are subordinate, as in Christ, when he was an hungry, and
yet he refrained eating, because it was sweeter meat and drink to him to
convert a soul: John iv. 81-34, In the mean while his disciples prayed him,
saying, Master, -eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man
brought him aught to eat ? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the
will of him that -sent me, and to finish his work. There were two desires
in him, but yet subordinate, and not in the same appetite ; and so it was in
Christ too, when nature abhorred death and shrunk at it, and yet he sub mitted his will to God, even unto death.
(2.) A man may have a mixed will to the same thing, i. e. he may be
willing, and some unwillingness be mixed with it, but then the one is only accidental. A man wills the saving of his goods directly, but a storm comes, and he throws them overboard to save his life ; this willingness to lose his
goods is only accidental. Water running with a full stream in its natural
course may be interrupted by windings, as in rivers, or stopped part of it, as in mills, so as the current is not so full and strong as else it would be.
(3.) Or, thirdly, a man may have a divided will, and both directed to
contrary objects. Thus Paul was divided between two, and was in a strait, and knew not what to choose. He had a desire to depart, and to be with
Christ, and a desire >to stay here on earth, and to glorify Christ : Philip.
i. 21-24, For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the
flesh, this is the fruit of my labour : yet what I shall choose I wot not. For
I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with
Christ ; which is far better : neverthelesss to abide in the flesh is more
needful for you. Yet these desires in him, though carried contrary ways, did not fight one against another, and therefore they were not truly contrary, but agreed in the same love of Christ being the ground of both ; so that he
CHAP. V.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 277
did not in that manner desire to live with Christ, as withal that desire should
rise up against the other, so as to wish it expelled, and not to be at all ;
because, though the streams went different ways, yet they had but one
spring, viz. love to Christ, which was shewn different ways. The objects were incompatible, but the desires not contrary. It is like a stream dividing into two channels, and yet meeting in one at first. Thus also a wicked man s will is of itself carried to prodigality, and also to covetousness, that he is in a strait, and knows not which to choose, yet so as self-love is the
ground and spring of both ; so that, to put all together, the same will may be carried to contrary objects with contrary acts, and to the same object with contrary acts. But now the two wills in a regenerate man are every where directly contrary, so that he cannot do the things which he would, Gal. v. 17.
[1.] There is not only a mixture of an accidental unwillingness, as in
a man in a storm, who casts out his goods, but there is a direct unwilling ness to sin.
[2.J And this unwillingness is in the same will ; not in two appetites sub
ordinate, but in the same will contrary to itself; and there are two parties in
it, which fight one against the other, as the law of the flesh and the law of
the mind are said to do: Rom. vii. 23, But I see another law in my mem
bers warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin, which is in my members.
[3.J And these are not contrary only in regard of two several objects, as
a man may love covetousness and prodigality at the same time, but hate
neither ; but they are two contrary acts one to the other, seeking to destroy each other. They lust one against another, says the apostle, and the one would destroy the other. A godly man hates not only the pleasures of sin, but hates his love of it, and abhors himself for loving it in any degree.
[4.] Which is more, there are contrary wills directly thus contrary to wards the same objects ; and then, says Aquinas, wills are contrary, when
in eodem et circa idem, when in the same and about the same thing. To
love the pleasures of sin for themselves, and yet to hate them at the same
time, and to hate his very loving them, these are contrary acts about the same object. Here is not only a divided stream meeting in one channel, but a contrary stream running in the same channel, having two contrary
springs, which would be a miracle in nature, a paradox which Aristotle would have hissed out of the schools, and it is a riddle indeed to all but godly men. Adam in paradise had experience of no such contrary acts, nor Christ, nor have the fallen devils, nor the angels in heaven, nor wicked men, though never so much enlightened, but only a godly man ; and therefore wonder
not, if you understand it not, though it be told you, for there is no instance
like it by which to make it plain. And the reason is because in no other
case a man hath, as it were, two men, and two wills in him. Toward all
other objects he hath but one self, but here be hath two, a new man and an old man, which have contrary wills. Bring two men to the same thing, and the one may hate it, and the other love it, for the same thing which
each see in it, because they are two men ; and now a godly man hath as it were two men in him, and therefore hath such contrary motion in the same
will toward the same thing ; and of such contrary motions no instance can
be given in the will of any reasonable creature towards any kind of objects, but only in this will of a regenerate man, and in his will only toward sin and grace.
278 AN UNREGENERATE MAN*S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK VIII.