Sermon II
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in sins and trespasses; wherein
in time past ye walked according to the course of this ivorld, tfcc. VER. 1, 2,c.
THE coherence of these words I did largely give the last day. For the general
scope, they are the application of the common misery of mankind unto these
Kphesians, and unto the Jews also, ver. 3. And it is a description of it under
* dead in sins and trespasses;
all sorts of considerations : both of sin they were
* by nature children of wrath. Or else, to take a more particular division, here is
and, secondly, of punishment they were
I. The internal state, condition, and constitution of every man by nature :
he is in a state of death, and he is dead in sins and trespasses.
II. Here is his misery, in respect of his outward conversation and his con
stant course : walking, ver. 2 ; having his conversation, ver. 3. And this
outward conversation of theirs, and the sinfulness and misery thereof, is set
forth to us by three causes of it.
I opened the last day the first, the inward state expressed here by death ; nnd it is a death, you see, in sin. It is not a physical death of the soul, for
the soul is immortal, and all things immediately made by God never die;
that is a certain truth : and therefore the soul and the faculties of it remain
ill, as we all see by experience. It is therefore a moral death ; namely, n sn, as here the Apostle distinguished! it, in respect, not of the being, but
of the well-being. The life of the soul is in God, and it is sin only that
separatcth between God and us : and as death is the separation of soul
iind body, so sin, being the separation of God and the soul, hence it is
called a death, a death in sin, or by sin. For God, he is the fountain of
life ; you have that expression, Ps. xxxvi. 9. And of his Son Jesus Christ
it is said, 1 John v. 12, He that hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath
not the Son, hath not life. You must know this, that the soul of man lives
not in itself, it was made to live in another, and it was made to live in God; and the tnith is, when God shall take not only himself away, but all things
else, the soul dies, as the fire does when the fuel is taken away; there f..iv men die in hell. Now then, this death is but cutting off God from a man, and all influence from God. And look, how many ways that God had or
hath an influence into men s souls by a spiritual way, so many lives a man
had whilst he had the image of God in him, and so many deaths he hath ly
sin, and in sin. Now there is a threefold life from God, that I mentioned
not last day, though the heads of the death I mentioned thru.
There is, first, tlic favour of God, the good-will of God towards a man,
that God doth bear good-will to one, and accepteth him ; and then -in li< s his
4 in thy ^>od-will, or
life: Ps. xxx. 5, In thy favour is life; the word is,
in thy I ii"W to be out of favour \vitli God
. .1 man. a <iod is God, so great a sov-ivign, as his
favour or disfavour kill.s or makes alive.
EPH. II. 1, 2, &C.J TO THE EPHESIANS. 17
Then, secondly, to have comfort and joy in God, therein life lieth likewise,
spiritual life : Ps. Ixiii, That I may see thy glory, ver. 2. So it follows, Thy loving-kindness is better than life, ver. 3. The seeing and enjoying of
the glory of God and his loving-kindness is called life, yea, better than life :
Ps. xxii. 20, Your heart shall live for ever. And compare it with Ps. Ixix.
32, Your heart shall live ; the words before interpret it, shall be glad. Then, thirdly, there is a life of grace and holiness, the image of God, which is communicated from God, by which we are enabled to enjoy him, and for want of which carnal men cannot enjoy him. Eph. iv. 18, They are strangers from the life of God. It is clear that the special meaning of
the life of God there is the life of holiness, the image of God ; for he
speaks of corruption, the contrary to it, in the verses before ; and in the same verse he saith that they are strangers from the life of God, through
ignorance, and the hardness of their hearts, being given up to all uncleanness. And in the 24th verse, he saith that the image of God is created in right eousness. So that indeed the image of God is there especially the life of
God, in ver. 18.
Now then, as there is a threefold life from God, which is the fountain of
life, so answerably there is a threefold death by sin.
There is, first, a death of guilt. Every sin casteth a man out of the
favour of God, and that is death, bindeth a man over to the wrath of God.
If that the wrath of a king be as messengers of death, as it is, Prov. xvi. 14,
that is, it is as good as a warrant sealed up for a man condemned, for his
execution, then much more the wrath of God. Thou art but a dead man, saith God to Abimelech, Gen. xx. 3 ; that is, thou art guilty of death, by reason of this fact of thine.
Then, in the second place, there is a death in respect of the power of sin, and that answereth to that life of holiness we have from God, the image of God. In Col. ii. 12, he saith they were dead in the uncircumcision of their
flesh j that is, in respect of the power of sin, corruption of nature derived
by birth, and increased by actual sin : for both are meant, putting the sign for the thing signified. For the changing of the heart and mortifying cor
ruption is called circumcising the heart ; and, on the contrary, the corrup tion itself is called the uncircumcision of the flesh. The one you have
in Deut. x. 16, the other in that Col. ii. 12.
Thirdly, there is a death in respect of joy and comfort. Now though wicked men live in respect of comfort from God that is, from the creature
whilst they are here in this world, yet they are dead in respect of receiving any comfort in God. Not only so, saith the Apostle, but we joy in God, Rom. v. 11, or pursue after that joy; either the one or the other every Christian doth, as after his life. But now every carnal man is cut off from
God, both from the comfort that is in God himself, or the pursuit after it. And though they have comfort in the creatures, and therefore do as it were
sit but in the shadow of death, as the phrase is, Luke i. 79 ; yet when hell
cometh, then all comforts, all creatures, all their good things, as it is said, Luke xvi. 25, their pomp departs from them, and then men die, and that sin
in the comfort of which they live will be their greatest executioner, as I shewed the last clay. Now then, if the question be, Which of these deaths are meant when he saith of these Ephesians, they were dead in sins and trespasses 1 I answer, the first and second ; that is, a death in respect of guilt, being under the disfavour of God, and in respect of the power of sin ; but not the third death, or as the Scripture calleth it, in reference to our natural dying, the second
VOL. ii, B
18 AN EXPOSITION OF THK ITI-TLE [SERMON II.
death. He doth not mean they were dead in that respect, for they could not
be dead in that respect, because they were not yet in hell, had not execution,
done upon them ; only by way of inclination, by way of beginning, they v
dead in that respect, they were under the beginnings of it, they were under
the fear of death all their life long ; and they were cut off from receiving comfort in God, and so in that respect they were privatively dead, though the
fulness of the execution of it was not come. Now then, the text speaks hero
especially of those two first deaths, and more especially of the second. And
that is clear, as I shewed in the former discourse, because this death refers to-
that quickening power which raised them up in their conversion, the same
that raised up Jesus Christ, as appears by the coherence both in the oth
verse following, and in the 19th verse of the former chapter.
Now when it is said, they were dead in sins and trespasses, there i&
: What distinction there is between sins
this question moved by interpreters
and trespasses? Or whether actual sins only, or corruption of nature be also meant ?
Zanchy upon the place saith, actual sins arc only meant. And his reasons,
are these : First, because, saith he, the word casa-rc^cctf/, which is trans
lated trespasses, doth signify actual sins ; manu aberrare, to err with one s, hand in working, or the like. Secondly, because in the second verse it is
* in which ye walked. Now you do not walk in original sin, but in,
said,
actual sin, saith he. And his third reason is, because it is said, sins and
trespasses in the plural, whereas original sin is one great sin. But to me it seems I shall give but my judgment in it that both arc
meant, and my reasons are these (I shall answer his by and by)
First, From the coherence ; for the death here must needs answer to the
quickening. Now the quickening is the infusion of a new habit, a new spirit of life ; therefore the death of sin must needs be in respect of corruption, and the power of sin in a man. Sin is opposite to that new life, as a,
death, which not only was traduced from Adam, but is increased by every actual sin ; every actual sin makes a man anew a dead man, in respect of the
l>ower of it; I mean one that is in an unregenerate condition, for I speak of
such a man.
Secondly, That original sin is meant and intended appears by that in Col.
iL 13, which epistle interprets this, where he saith they were dead in the
uncircumcision of the flesh.
And then, thirdly, as in ver. 3 he saith they were children of wrath by nature ; so when he saith in this first verse they were dead in sins and
trespasses, his meaning is, in respect of their natures also. And then again, if that actual sins were only meant, I do not see how
the power of sin here at all should be intended, which yet it Is evident i j
principally intended, because it is opposed to a spiritual life infused into
the soul.
Now to answer his reasons. He saith, in which ye walked, therefore
actual sins are intended. It is true they are, but not only : that makes that
actual sins are intended, but other things make that original sin or corrup tion of nature is intended.
Secondly, Whereas he Baith that the word translated trespasses fiinilii-.-
nly, yet let me add this. In Rom. v. 17, tin nspeaking of Adam s sin, he calls it ri cajaTruj/iar/, that sin which we arc all iruilty of,
original an. No anther u>-th this word rajaTrwza for sin, but only the
Scripture; and, as 1 take it, tli.- iir>t timthS-riptunus.-th it, is applying
it unto Adam s sin. It signifies a fall properly, as some, would have it, or an
EPH. II. 1, 2, &C.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 19
aberration with the hand, for the derivation may be from both. Hence you call it Adam s fall. And then, whereas he saith it is sins in the plural, therefore not original
sin, I answer, that original sin is sins in the plural ; for original sin and the
corruption of nature hath all sins in it ; it is the guilt of Adam s sin, and it
is the guilt of a body of sin ; so it is called, Rom. vii. And if the first word, translated trespasses, should be only meant of actual sins, yet notwithstand
ing, the word translated sins is general, and will include both. So much for the clearing of that.
06s. 1. I gave an observation or two the last day. One was this : That the soul could die by nothing but by sin. I will not enlarge upon that. Satan himself could not kill it ; only it was in man s will to sin against God, and so to kill himself. It was and is self-murder in every man, which of all sins else is accounted the greatest, next to the sin against the Holy Ghost, as certainly it is the greatest sin that can be committed : yet every man killeth himself spiritually whenever he sinneth.
Obs. 2. And then, again, the second thing I observed was this : That in
every sin, in a man s natural estate, there is a killing virtue. He doth not
say, dead in sin, but he saith, dead in sins and trespasses, of all sorts.
and Tr/Vrw, manu aberrare, when a man doth a thing unawares, doth it with his hand, and his hand slippeth. So that it is not only Adam s sin that kills
us, that is the observation I make, but it is every sin that a man committeth ; I mean, that is a natural man. That a man s sin who is in the state of grace is not unto death, is by reason of the death of Christ, and the Holy Ghost in him, though in itself it tendeth unto death. But every sin, the least a man committeth, makes a man a dead man in all those respects mentioned ; it binds him over unto death, casteth him out of the favour of God yet more ; and not only so, but it adds a new power, it makes him the child of death more than he was before. And so I shall solve that question which necessarily falleth into the words, for I shall still profess to handle but what is necessary to open them, Whether there be degrees of this
spiritual death, yea or no ? I answer, Yes, there are, as there are degrees of
life. Saith Christ, John x. 10, I came that they might have life, and have
it more abundantly. So, though a man is born dead, yet he is capable of being dead more abundantly, and that in respect of the power of sin, and that of death in it. But you will say unto me, for the privative part, death is the privation of
life, and one man cannot be said to be dead more than another.
I answer, it is true here, in respect of life that he hath been deprived of, one man is as dead as another ; but in respect of raising again unto life, in order unto that, one man may in that respect be more dead than another, even the privative part of original corruption, that is, further off from being raised again, that there must be a greater power to restore that man than another. As for instance, a man may be killed with one wound that strikes him to the heart, or otherwise, and that takes away his life, as much as ten thousand wounds ; but if you should give him so many wounds after he was dead, if this man were to be raised again, here was so much the more power ; he had in this respect so many deaths, which the power of God must salve, and cure, and supply, and overcome, and heal all these wounds, the least whereof were mortal. And so likewise, as it is in the body, one man is not
20 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SKRMONlL
more dead than another, yet in order to raising again such a one as Lazarus, that had been dead four days and did stink in the grave, it is, and s> Martha-
thought, harder to raise such a one. So it is of men that continue in sin. And therefore now our thankfulness should be the greater, by how much the more we continued longer in sin, or had our souls more wounded.
Then again, as there are degrees of this death in respect of privation, so
likewise in the positive part ; for there is a positive part of this death. You know it is called a body of death, Rom. vii. 24. A dead carcass hath no
similitude to express this positive part of this original sin, as it is a death : my reason is this, because there is no active living principle still remaining in a dead carcass, but there is an active living principle still remaining in the
soul ; that lives a natural life still, only, being deprived of the life of God, it
positively works into all ways of death and sin. Now then, there may ba~
degrees of this death, one man may still increase the power of sin, and he doth so by every actual sin he commits, a proneness to dead works ; so you know actual sins are called, as I opened it before. And so much for the
second observation.
Ohs. 3. A third observation I give, and I shall but touch it, is this : There is a great deal of difference between a regenerate man and an unregene-
rate, and that in respect of this expression, dead in sins and trespasses. Even when ye were dead, saith he, ver. 5. And ye being
* dead in sins and
trespasses, when sometime yc walked in them, saith my text. So that now to be dead in sins and trespasses is proper to an unregenerate man. But now take a regenerate man, and you cannot say he is dead in sins and
trespasses ; this you may say indeed, that he hath a body of death in him, Who shall deliver me from this body of death ? but the man is quickened, he hath life in him, he hath a state of life, he is passed from death to life. He hath indeed a body of death, as the living, you know, were joined to the
dead, or as if a man should have a body that is half-dead. But it is clear
by the context here that it is proper to the state of unregeneracy to be dead
in sins and trespasses. Therefore you shall find the expressions that the
Scripture useth of regenerate men to be otherwise. As he saith he hath
* body of death, so he calleth it a sleep, not a being dead, Eph. v. 14, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead. For my part, I have
long since thought that scripture meant and spoken to regenerate men ; and my reason is this, because before and after he speaks to the Ephesians, as
children of light, not to have any fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but to reprove them rather, ver. 11. And in the 15th verse, the
verse after the 1 4th, See ye walk circumspectly. And between these two he interposeth, Awake thou that sleepest,
<kc. That is, Thou that art a
child of light, and art a regenerate man, if there be any such amongst you, and that are fallen amongst the dead, and that converse with carnal ]* <,],],
in their carnal way ; lie not among graves, saith he, but rise, and Chri>t -hall
give you life. I quote it for this, that they are said to be asleep ; as there
* 1 sleep, but my heart waketh. She waked, but yet so as
in the Canticles,
she might be said to be asleep ; as the five virgins slept, but dead they were not And in a regenerate man things may be ready to die, as in Kcv. iii. 2,
Strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die; but still they me to be dead in sins and trespasses, but if they be once alive in
st, as death hath no more dominion over them, no more hath this death dominion -v< r tli. i -o I have done wholly with this first \-
I n ! -., -. Tli. : ihini: I f !_ >t t> mention, that is this. Tin.- re is a very great controversy upon that first verse;
EPH. II. 1, 2, &C.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 21
Whether, yea or no, every unregenerate man be a dead man, in respect of all
ability to do good 1 Whether there be no principle of life in him, yea or no 1 Whether he be not as a man asleep or wounded 1 It is a controversy both with the Papists and with the Remonstrants. But because I have
slipped it, I will refer it to the 5th verse, where I shall meet with it ; and
therefore I will now go on to the second verse : Dead in sins and trespasses; ivherein in time past ye walked according to
the course of this world.
Now in this second verse here is
I. A continued course of life ; expressed by walking. II. The path in which they walked ; in sins and trespasses. III. The guides which they were guided by in walking :
1. The world, the course of it.
2. The devil, the prince of the power of the air.
3. The flesh, which in Horn. viii. is called walking after the flesh.
First, Their continued course, expressed by walking It is strange that dead men should walk ; we call it, if a dead man appear, walking ; it would
affright us all to see a dead man walking ; yet, you see, dead men here are
said to walk. Walking, therefore, first of all, importeth life : though it be a death in sin, yet it is a life in sin too, Col. iii. 7, In which ye also walked some time, when yc lived in them. And so, in 1 Tim. v. G, She is dead
whilst she liveth. That I may open this unto you, you must know that sin
is in itself but a mere privation of spiritual life, yet it is a privation in a
positive being that liveth. The soul is alive as it is a soul, all the activity of it remaineth still, no naturals are taken away ; it is dead only in respect of God and spiritual good. It is not in this as it is in the death of the
body, that there is no life remaining ; yes, here is a life remaining, but it is not life spiritual. It is as if you should suppose the reasonable soul only left a man, and that the fancy of man, the sensitive soul, remains still such
as in beasts, or higher, for it is higher raised in a man, which hath all the
powers of reason in it still. So it is here. Now then, walking in sin fol lows upon being alive ; for this soul having all its inclinations, all its desires
still, only it is cut off from the life of God and communion with him, must
live ; in itself it cannot live, God hath so ordered the soul of man that it should not livein itself, it must live in something else ; it is like the
stomach, if it hath not meat it dies j or as fire, if it hath not fuel it dies ; in
respect of the well-being of it. Now this soul that liveth a natural life, being cut off from the life of God, estranged from it, its activity must work some where ; therefore now it falls upon the pleasures of sin, and all its comfort
lies in sin. Therefore, Eph. iv. 18, 19, we read that the soul being estranged from God through the ignorance that is in them, they have given themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. The soul must have comfort, therefore having it not in God, it will run out some other where.
And hence now, they are not only said to be dead in sin, but to be alive
in sin too, which is a strange contradiction, but it is not in the same respect. They are dead in sin in respect of God, being cut off from life in him j but
they are alive in sin too. Why? Because all the comfort of their lives lies
in what comes in by sin, and by inordinate affections, even as it is distin
guished by our Saviour Christ, John ix. 40. When he told the Pharisees
they were blind, say they, Are we blind? Blind they were, utterly blind, there was a sight in respect of which they were utterly blind ; for the natural man perceiveth not the things of God j yet saith Christ,
* If you did not see,
AN EXPOSITION OF Till-: KITTLE [SERMON II.
you had no sin. So you may say here, they are dead in respect of God, but it they were not alive, they would have no sin. And therefore as they are dead in sin, so they are alive in sin too; yea, and it is their litV ; and the more life, thejnore activity any one s soul hath, the more sinful he is. In that Col. iii. 7, the place I quoted even now, saith he,
* in which ye walked, whilst you lived in them. They arc dead in sin, as here, and they are there said to be alive in sin too. And you see likewise that their having lit,, and having all the comfort of their lives lying in sinning, and all their acti
vity running out that way, it is the cause of their walking in sin ; in which ye walked, saith he, whilst ye lived in them. The Apostle indeed speaks philosophically ; as we say, there is the operation, and power from which it Hows; there is actus primus, and actus secundus. So here, the reason, saith he, why ye walk in sin is because you live in sin. The one is the cause, the other is the effect.
^ As, on the contrary, why doth the godly man walk in the Spirit ? Read Gal. v. 2j, If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Hence, therefore, because whilst a wicked man is dead in one respect, he is yet alive in sin, (all his life, his comfort for life is taken for comfort, as in Luke xiL 15 lieth in sinning,) he is said to walk in it. There is only this difference : they need no exhortations to walk in sin, but we need exhortations to walk in the Spirit, though we live in the Spirit. Why ? Because we are natu-
ally dead in sin, and we have a body of death in us, and we have no more life nor actings of life than is infused into us. It imjwrteth then, you see, a life ; for that the soul hath, notwithstanding it is thus dead ; yea, and a life in sin, though it is dead in sin, because it is cut off from the life of God. And, indeed, their being dead in sin is the cause of their living in sin ; and their living in sin, or having a life of sin, is the cause of their walking in sin. Therefore the Apostle fitly joins these together, being dead in sins and tres
passes, in which i/ou ivalked. I will only add this, that their living in sin is only in this life, this walk ing in sin is only while they are in vid, while they are viatores, while they arc in their way ; therefore, it is said, they shall perish in their way, or from their way, Pa ii. I do not say they do not sin hereafter ; but in hell, though men sin, that Is, though their actions are contrary to the law, yet it is not their life ; and the reason is this, because then they are stripped from all objects whatsoever; therefore the soul dies, for it cannot live in itself. And though men set up themselves here, yet in hell they are lost in themselves : therefore they are said to be lost creatures; not only dead creatures, in
esj>ect of living in any thing else, but they are lost to their own ends, there is no way to accomj)lish any end in hell ; therefore the creature if . is undone, the creature dies there. Only whilst it liveth here in this w>rH it may live in sin and walk in sin ; hereafter it shall not.
^ Now then this word, in which ye walked, sets out their miserable con dition. We may consider it in a twofold notion. First, as it sets
<<f *!,,;, miserable estate in res/wet of tin, how sinful it was, for that is one scope
; the Apostle would let them see how sinful their liv. n, And
1 -hra.se of walking doth exceedingly express the sinfuln- .- <>t a man fl
" (lltl " n 1itinii. Secondly, it may be con>i.lnv,l as it is an in-
" (regenerate estate. And l..tli air int. n.l.-.l ;
i hmnbli ?:- Kphi ,ianiin<l r the Hijit of their Mnfiil-
> it, h.- l.th BZpKM their 1;. a walkinin sin. And thcr w as clearly exj.res.scd and hdd f.-rtli; in whih uwalked
Em. II. 1, 2, &C.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 23
time, implying that now they did not ; and therefore it is a proper character of an imregenerate man for to walk in sin.
For the^V^; as this phrase, ivalking in sin, is here put to express the
libundancy of sin that was in them, it implies, in the first place, that all
their life and every act thereof ivas sinful; they could not act or walk out of
sin ; there was not a step in their way but was sinful. And, my brethren, every thought is a step, every power, and faculty, and motion is a step ; a man walketh by every desire, by every thought, by every purpose, by
every end and passion that stirreth in him. I may compare the ungodly soul of a sinner to those black worms that walk upon so many feet : so doth the soul walk ; every power and faculty of it is a foot, and there is not the least motion but it is a step. Now, did they walk in nothing but sin ? Oould they not get out of it 1 What abundance of sin must then this rise up to, as the Apostle here representeth it ? Every thought and every ima
gination in the heart was evil, continually evil ; for it was a walking. This
is that which the Apostle here expresscth ; they were never out of sinning in some path or other, they were never out of that circuit, go whither they ivould.
In the second place, walking implieth that as every action of theirs was a sin, every thought, and the like, so it implies that they ivere never idle, they never stood still ; but this soul of theirs was continually doing some
thing, and all that was sin. Saith the first Psalm, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the way of the ungodly; the Hebrew word that is there put for ungodly or signer signifies restless. The w
rord is opposed unto quietness, in Job xxxiv. 29. And therefore walking and restless are in Ps. i. joined
together ; walk in the way of the restless, that is, of the ungodly, that are
continually restless, continually going up and down. In Isa. Ivii. 20, the wicked are like the troubled sea, that cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. So that now the meaning is this, they hurried up and down, for indeed it is not an ordinary walking, it is but a tumbling up and down. As Seneca said well of a man that had done no good in his life, that he had
but tumbled up and down in the world, like a ship, saith he, that hath been
tossed up and down in the sea, but never sailed ; so this walking is not a
proper walking, it is but a restlessness, a continual activity. And in Eccles.
vi. 9, you shall find there that the w
rord walking is put for restlessness.
* Better, saith he, is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the spirit; the word in the original is, than the walking of the spirit ; his meaning is
this, than for a man to be always desiring, and his spirit continually wander
ing up and down for new desires and objects ; he speaks of the restlessness of a covetous man, that is continually looking down for more, walking up and down. And then again, in which ye walked ; he saith not, in one sin
only, but in sins and trespasses, that is, in all sorts of sin. And, fourthly, walking with the greatest security, for so walking irnplieth, as men that walk in the highway, or in their gardens, thinking nothing. He knoweth not, saith Solomon, Prov. vii. 23, speaking of the foolish man, that
it is for his life. Walking implies a secure condition too, and such was
yours, saith he. And, fifthly, delighting in nothing else, that the word im
plies too ; as men walk for recreation, as they walk up and down in their
gardens to refresh themselves, so, saith he, do you. It is an observable
thing that in Scripture men s continuing in sin is expressed by all sorts of postures. In Ps. i., you have three, walketh in the counsel of the un
godly, standeth in the way of sinners, and sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
24: AX EXFi Till-: EPISTLE [SERMON II.
* wallowing in the mire, and the world lyinin wickedness; the phrase there, lying, is put for lying down, as in Luke
And elsewhere it is called
ii. 12. For variety of postures is that which causeth delight and ease in man, he could not be always in one posture; and here walking is put for them all. And then again, sixthly, in which you walked that is, you walked in them as those that would not be put out of their way, you went on obstinately and perversely, for so an unregenerate man doth. In that first
Psalm, as he is said to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, so to stand in the way of sinners; one would think that walking and standing are opposite, but the meaning is, he persisted in it; it implies only a firmness and steadi
ness, he would not be put out of it. And then again, walking implies a
going from strength to strength. In Ps. Ixxxiv. 7, it is said that the
godly go from strength to strength, till they appear before God in Zion ; so
the wicked go from strength to strength, and increase in it.
Then, eightlily, walking, they departedfrom God all the while. I remember once a man that was turned to God, when he had considered his miserable
condition, this was the sum of all that was set upon his spirit
: I have run from God, saith he, all my days. A man in sin still goes from God all his
days, and there is still a further elongation ; it is therefore called a departing from the living God, a turning the back upon him, and not the face. Lastly,
it is called a walking, because at last they should have arrived at a miserable
journeys end. The end, saith the Apostle, is death. It is therefore called
the way of death, Prov. ii 18, v. 5. Their steps, saith he, take hold of
death. And therefore now they arc fitly joined here, dead in sin, and walk
ing in sin; for the issue of all sin, the end of the journey, is death; they walk but as men do through a green meadow to execution. And so much now for that part of the phrase, walking in sin, as it expresseth their sinful-
ness and their misery.
Secondly, We are to consider it as it is a character of an unregenerate condition. It is proper to men whilst unregenerate to walk in sin; after wards they walk in good works, as the expression is in the 10th verse of
this chapter; they walk in the Spirit, as elsewhere it is. That this is his
scope, to set forth the character of an unregeuerate man in this expression, is
clear too. You see he coupleth it with being dead in sins and trespasses
so that he that is dead in sin walketh in sin ; and he that walketh in sin is dead in sin. And it is evident, likewise, by the word of distinction, some time ye walked, for this observation now explaineth only the word some
time, but not now that God hath tunied you. The first Psalm was on pur pose made to distinguish carnal men from godly men in David s time. The world then magnified others, and thought those that had riches and est;
&c., blessed. Bleeped is the man, saith he, that walketh not in the counsel
of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners; whose way shall perish, saith he in the latter end of that psalm ; but the way of the godly Is known
to the Lord. Now, a carnal man walketh in sin, not only because all his
actions are nothing else, because he performs all with delight, securely, and the like, but because there is usually some one way, some one tract in
life which may discover him an unregenerate man to himself, if he nar-
ri ii his \\. rch me, saith David, Ps. cxxxix. 23, and knmv m\ ; We it then be any way of wickedne inij h in-j; that
Is in unn-L" ii.-.tl h;.d it, he had l.-rn an unn-
generate man. And the rea.suri is this : look, \ r prinnpli of life is
wit:. .ilkin^ and way of a man will ! man
< an Jive without delight, and dcii-ht i.-> his life; if his life lie in .-in, he will certainly
EPH. II. 1, 2, &C.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 25
walk in some sin or other. And though he may be scared out of his way, and fall into the ways of God for a while, yet notwithstanding, as it is in Ps. cxxv. 5, there are crooked ways maintained, for which God leads them forth at last with the workers of iniquity. A godly man may fall into the ways of sinners, yet he walketh not in them. And a wicked man may strike into the ways of godly men for a while, as Judas did, yet walketh in the ways of sin. Like to the planets, as Jude compares them, though they go with the common motion of the heavens, yet they have a secret motion of their own, so it is with carnal professors. You may know it likewise by this : what a man sets up for his chiefest end, and it is a certain thing that a carnal man s end is carnal, that is his way; so it is called in 2 Pet. ii. 15, They follow the way of Balaam. What was that ? He loved the wages of unrighteousness. And so much now for the opening of that. Although every action of an unregenerate man is sinful, and it is a walking in sin ;
yet, to discover him to be an unregenerate man to all the world at the latter
day, and unto himself now, if he would search himself, God leaveth him to walk in some way. Therefore let every man examine the haunts of his
heart, which for recreation s sake he walketh in, and the like. And so much for that phrase. Now I come to the guides; for all this is but still proper to the text. Here are three guides. Here is
1. The world; c
according to the course of this world, saith he.
First, What is meant by world here 1 Some interpreters say the things of the world are here meant; as often in Scripture the world is taken for the things of the world, as 1 Cor. vii. 31, using the world, as not abusing
it; 1 John ii. 15, Love not the world, nor the things of it. And so, they say, the meaning is this : men that are worldly, and seek after worldly things. That was your case and your condition whilst you were in unregeneracy. But certainly that is not the meaning of it; because following the world that is, worldly objects, and worldly pleasures, and the things of the world
is evidently included in the 3d verse, where he saith, fulfilling the lusts of the flesh; for to fulfil the lusts of the flesh and to walk after the world
is all one ; for the objects of a man s lusts are the world, and some things in
it or other. Therefore you shall find in that 1 John ii. 15, when he had
said, Love not the world, nor the things of it, he adds, All in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. He calleth the objects of the world the lusts, because that they are the objects of
lusts; as the doctrine of faith is called faith, because it is the object of faith. Therefore here now world is to be taken strictly for the men of the world; as when he saith, The whole world lieth in wickedness, 1 John v. 19; and, The world will love its own, John xv. 19. It is usual in Scripture. And so now, my brethren, by the way, do but take notice of this : that there is a mistake, I have perceived it often in many men s speeches; they say they love not the world, and they are not for the world, and they are not worldly, because, say they, we love not riches, and the like. But world is not only nor chiefly taken when flesh and devil are joined with it, as here; and, as you know you use to say, there are three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil; by flesh are meant all the lusts that are set upon the things of the world, now world is not taken in this division for the things of the world, but it is taken for the carnal men of the world. Therefore, if thou joinest with the carnal men of the world, thou art a man worldly in that
.sense; thou art a man under the power of that enemy, therefore under the
power both of flesh and devil too. Men understand not that vow they made
26 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SdiMON II.
iu baptism, to renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil : tin.- world is not
only the things of the world, but it is the men of the world; yea, it is strictly and properly so taken, and not for the other, in that vow, and so not here.
Now then, by world here is meant all carnal men, live they where they
will, in the church, or wherever else; all the heap, the fry, and the cluster
of them. These are the world, and these will all join together, as I shall shew by and by. And there doth arise a strength from the union of one
Avith another in their ways and courses, and in their rage against godliness and the power of it. As in coals, though every coal hath fire in it, yet lay
;ill these coals together and the fire is strengthened
: so there is an intension from the union of all the parts, from the connexion of this world. So that now the collection of all carnal men in one and the same principles, practices, and ways, these are meant here by the world.
Then, secondly, for that word, course of the ivorld, I shall open that
briefly. You must know this, that that word in the Greek which is hero
* the course of the world, itself in the original signifies the world according to the ivorld of tlie world; both these words, both aiuv and y.6ff/j.o;, signify the world in Scripture. God hath delivered us out of
translated,
this evil world, Gal. i. 4 ; it is the same word that is here translated course. Be not conformed to the world, Rom. xii. 2 ; it is the same word that is
translated course of the world here. Now when that word which is trans
lated course is distinct from the word world, it implies two things. First,
it implies an age, or a time in which men live, and the word world implieth
persons. And so then here is one meaning of the text. They lived accord
ing to the course of the world, that is, according to the time, according to the
age of the world that then was, or of men in the world that then were.
Every age hath almost a new dress, though it is the same world, and still
carnal men live according to it. But yet, secondly, it signifies that custom, that manner, that mould and trade of life, that the world, or generality of
carnal men, take the stream, the gang, as I may call it, of men in a cluster, walk by and hold forth ; the opinions and practices that are in the world.
Thus, in KOHL xiL 2, Be not conformed to the world ; it is the same word
that is translated course here ; it is the custom of the world, and the
Apostle speaks it in matter of worship, the shape of the world. First, the word there, be not conformed, is, be not cast into the figure of the world.
Therefore, in 1 Cor. vii. 31, it is said, The fashion the schema, it is the same word of the world passeth away. There is a fashion, a mould, that
the world is cast into, and every age almost casts the world into a new
mould, and men conform themselves to it, and are apt so to do. So that now clearly the meaning is but this : that these Ephesians, whilst unregene-
rate, walked according to the custom of the world ; they did de facto as the most of the world did ; for their judgments, they were ruled by the saim-
principles the world were ruled by ; they judged as the world did, they cried
up what the world magnified, walked in the same counsels, framed their
lives to the same pattern, configured themselves to the fashion of the world ; and the stream, and course, and tide of it carried them, being dead m :
tream uscth to carry dead fish. This is plainly and rlrarly, in a word,
meaning of this h n -. they walked according to the coins* i.f thi.- \\orld. Look \sli rid thru was, such were they, and that in t
interpreters well observe :
li fur tin U they walked in the same sins, the Ramutiles walked in. Kj.h. iv. 17. Walk not as other. HI
th<-y had done. And therefor.- th-y aiv railed by Peter, (2
EPH. II. 1, 2, &C.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 27
Peter ii. 20,) the defilements of the world ; because the world defile them selves and live in them.
And then again, secondly, in respect of religion, which, Zanchy saith, is
principally here meant and intended; that worship, that idolatry, which then they were zealous for, and were carried away with the stream. And how the world went with Ephesus in this respect you may read at large in Acts xix. 34, 35. There you may see how the gang went. They all with one voice, for the space of two hours together, cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And all the world knows, saith the town-clerk, that this city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter. Now this is that the Apostle aims at, and Zanchy gives some three or four reasons for it : because afterwards, in this
epistle, which he wrote to these Ephesians, he saith they were strangers from God, aliens from the promise, and now made nigh ; they were then Gentiles. Remember that ye were Gentiles, saith he, not only Gentiles for your morals, but for idolatry, and for all sorts of idolatry. You may see in that Acts xix. what a mighty torrent there was, what zeal for their false worship ; they broke through with rage. They rushed, saith the text, with one accord uno impetu into the theatre. Thus the world went at Ephesus, and thus the Ephesians were carried. You have the like in 1 Cor. xii. 2 ; for when he tells them of their unregenerate estate, still he hath an eye unto that : You know, saith he, that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. The word is emphatical, you were carried away with madness, with the stream ; and, saith he, in point of religion men are easily led.
So that now you have clearly what the Apostle here intendeth, when he
saith, In which ye walked, according to the course of the world, viz., all the
principles of the world that then were, the things that the world then cried
up, the ways of the world, and the sins that the world then lived in. Now
then, to come to some observations from hence, for all this is for exposition.
Obs. 1. The first observation is this, That in all ages, there is and will be a combination of carnal men, in a uniformity and conformity of ways and courses. They will all cling together ; these Ephesians did so, and the course of the world, the stream runs still, and will do while the world is. And the reason of it in one word is this : in every man there is the same common nature and the same lusts and the same corrupt principles; origi nally there is in every one the seeds of them all. And therefore in 1 Peter
iv. 2, the lusts that are in every man s heart are called the lusts of men ; not
only a man s own lusts, but the lusts of others : That ye should no longer live to the lusts of men, saith he. And the hearts of men savour the same
things that one another do. In Matt. xvi. 23, Thou savourest the things of men, saith Christ, speaking to Peter, in whom the devil had then stirred up an unregenerate part. Now what was in him in part is in all mankind ; they savour the things of men, one of another. It is the same like phrase that
is used in Rom. viii. 1, they savour the things of the flesh, and there fore walk after the flesh ; so they savour the things of men, therefore
they walk after men and the course of the world. What most men are for and relish in their judgments, that every carnal man is for, and they ah
agree in their judgments. Now, in 1 Cor. ii. 12, saith the Apostle, We have not received the spirit of this world. Mark it, there is a common spirit of the world in every man, not the spirit that is in him, but the spirit of the world, that doth possess one and the same, and all sorts of men more or
less. But, saith he, we have received the Spirit of God. Now as that
28 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SERMON II.
Spirit leadeth the saints into the same truths, for the substance ; so the spirit of the world leads wicked men, in their judgments, in their principles, prac
: therefore you shall have them cry up the same thing, magnify the same thing, one that another doth. There is a spirit in them that is presently capable of what the world saith, of worldly understanding; therefore the children of the world, as they are called, Luke xvi. 8, an sai.l to be wiser in their generation than the children of light ; because they have another kind from the children of God, and they are wiser in that kind, and with the like kind of wisdom. I shall not need to enlarge upon it. Now
tices, and opinions
all these men, meeting with the same kind of principles one with another, from the collection of them together cometh a union, a strength, and a
prevalency. As I said before, a company of coals laid together, what a mighty heat do they cause ! The sea being a collection of waters, from the union of the sea what a vast body is it ! how it tumbleth up and down ! You shall have it tumble tins way, and then that way, and all the waters will go that way. And thus it is with the world. And their being thus
joined together in one corporation or body, as I may call it, it makes that mighty rage against the power of godliness, and their zeal, for they are
zealous, not only for themselves, but one for another, for their own principles.
And, my brethren, you must know this, that the reason why this world is thus combined together in all ages is this : because it is under the power of Satan ; so it follows in the text, according to the course of the world, and,
* the prince of the power of the air. For it is the devil that makes that gang, though they do not see it. They are a sea, being united toge ther, and of themselves they tumble one way; but if the wind comes and bloweth upon that sea, how it rageth, how strong are the streams then! There is a breath, a spirit ; the spirit of the power of the air, the word signi
fies, as I shall open when I come to it, viz., the devil seudeth forth an influence whereby, as the wind that boweth the trees which way it bloweth, so he boweth and swayeth the hearts of the multitude one way. For he is a monarch, a prince ; therefore he doth not divide, but the world is subject to him as to a monarch, therefore they are still carried one way; there is one
course, one stream, which still the world hath, for he is the god and prince of the world. And the devil is cunning in it so to do; you know he doth not divide his own kingdom, and he can do no hurt upon men but by the world, or at least he doth a great deal of hurt that way ; therefore he carries them in one stream, sways them, bows them one way. I shall give you an instance for it. When Popery was to be set up, it is said, Rev. xiii. 3, that
all the world wondered after the beast Nay, in Ilev. xvii 13, it is said, that the kings of the earth did agree to give their power to the beast ; the maddest act that could be, for kings to subject their power to the Pope. They were no way constrained to it, it was but a tacit agreement. What was the reason ? Why, the devil was in it So chap. xiii. 4, the dragon, the devil, gave that power he had in the Roman empire unto the Pope, and made the
king! of the earth thus to agree, to be all of one mind; and so he swayed the world thus one way, that the whole world ran wondering after the beast. The
1, 1 say, hath a mighty hand in this. When all the coals lie together, they make a great fire ; but if bellows come, they make the fire much more int
In tinsecond place, you may consider these words not simply, but is a great cause of prevailing upon the hearts of JIM n. Takleaians singly; you walk.-d, .siith he, according to the course
(> f .irnal man squanth his course to it, he is carried down with the stream, id, as I said, is a sea, wherein all men may
EPH. II. 1, 2, &C.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 29
find themselves to be of a like nature, and agree in the same lusts. Now, take a carnal man, when he grows up in this world from a child, he is as a drop iii that sea, he mingleth in that sea; and which way the sea goes, he goes with it ; he finds them suitable to his principles, and the world finding him suitable to them, hugs him, embraces him : arid thus it comes to that mighty power and prevalency, especially Satan working together with it. And men are apt to please others, to live to the lusts of men, 1 Pet. iv. 2 ; to receive honour one from another, John v. 44, and the examples of the most : for what the most do, all will do ; these have great influences upon men.
Therefore, man being a sociable creature as he is, he goes with the drove of the rest of mankind ; and the world being before him, and having been always before him, he grows up to it, is moulded into it, and so is carried with the stream that carrieth to perdition and destruction. It is a hard matter therefore, my brethren, to be converted and turned to God ; it is hard for a man to come out of this world, to swim against this stream, to bear the contradiction of sinners, as it is said of Christ, Heb. xii. 3 ; to be a man
alone, a wonder to the world, for the world will observe anything that differs from them. It is a hard matter to be crucified to this world ; the meaning is, the world, when a man leaveth it, and forsaketh it in any of the common courses of it, looks upon him as a lost man, let him have never so much learning, as Paul had. And so much for a second observation. Obs. 3. A third observation is this, That the general course of most men in the world, they are courses which if a man will live by, he shall be an unregenerate man. Let the world be never so refined, let a man be made never so much a temporary believer, for the truth is, the world hath had many refinements, and new fashions and dresses, put upon it since this Ephesian world, wherein the devil was worshipped, yet still there shall be so much of carnal principles left, which if a man walk by, he shall be no better than an unregenerate man; for here he describeth their unregeneracy by walking according to the course of this world. Christ distinguished, in that Luke xvi. 8, the children of this world from the children of light. It is therefore called the present evil world. Therefore Christ, that made a prayer for his disciples to the end of the world, for he prayed not only for his apostles, but for all that should believe in his name, Keep them, saith he, from the evil that is in this world. And, in 1 John v. 19, The whole world lieth in wickedness. And, therefore, everywhere you have opposed the things of God and the things of men. Thou savourest not the things of God, but the things of men, saith Christ to Peter, Matt. xvi. 23. The spirit of the world and the Spirit of God are opposed, 1 Cor. ii. 12.
< The things that are in great esteem with men are an abomination unto God, Luke xvi. 15; that is, not but that the world may turn to many things that are good, but still there shall be something left, that if a man will walk according to the latitude, according to the most, he shall be an unregenerate man, he shall cry up that which is abominable unto God. Therefore, my brethren, take it for a certain sign of an unregenerate estate, to be carried thus along with the stream, and to be moulded to the same
principles the generality of the most of men are ; and the generality of the most of men are civil men. It is a sign, I say, of death ; dead in sins and
trespasses, wherein ye walked according to the course of this world. A fish that is alive will and can swini against the stream, but a fish that is dead the stream carries it along with it. And the truth is, he that walketh in the world, walketh with Satan. Why ? It is clear,
according to the course of the world, according to the prince, saith he. As those that walk with
<
30 AN EXPOSITION OF THL EPISTLE
[ Sl-:i:MoN II.
the saints walk with God, so he that walketh with the world, certainly he walketh with Satan, though he sees it not, nor knows it I might likewise
enlarge ui>oii this, that men that are holy walk contrary to the world, but I will not stand upon it. OU 4. Another observation is this, and it is proper to the text, for I shall give you no other. It is one of the greatest mercies in our salvation and redemption, to be delivered from this world, to be turned out of it, to be turned from the opinions and practices of it, from the stream of it. This is clearly the Apostle s scope here, for all this is but to magnify the mercy and the grace of God. God, saith he, ver. 4, who is rich in mercy, according to his rich grace quickened us, and raised us, and pulled us out of this world. I will give you but a scripture for it, and so pass from it : Gal. i. 4, speaking of Christ, saith he, who gave himself for our sins. What to do ? Surely some great matter ? That he might deliver us from the present evil world.* There is never a vain tradition that thou suckest in, and there are I know not how many traditional sins that men receive in, traditional ill opinions that men have of the ways of God, a company of apocryphal sins, as I may say, received from their fathers down from one age unto another, which men suck
in, to be delivered from any of these cost the blood of Christ. Therefore now, not only thy being pulled out of the world at first, when first converted, but to be turned from any carnal principle the rest of the world goes on in, and perhaps some godly men too, is a fruit of the redemption of Christ. I will give you a clear place for it: 1 Peter L 18, Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from our fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ. He speaks to the Jews, for Peter wrote to the Jews that were dispersed throughout Pontus, Galatia, &c. Now they had received a world of traditions from their fathers, which had made their con
versation, even in the worship of God, in many particulars, vain ; they had washings and the like, in religious respects. Bless God, saith he, that he hath redeemed you from all these traditions, and hath shewed you the mercy to clear up your judgments in them. This is the fruit, saith he, of the blood of Christ ; nothing else could have done it. Our Lord and Saviour Christ therefore spent a great deal of time to work out these traditions ; as he spent his blood for it, so he spent a great deal of his breath for it, as-
apiHjareth by many of his sermons, especially that in Matt. v. I have but a word to open, and that is this : according to the course of this world ; and so in other places still you shall find it,
* from this present evil world, <kc. Now there is a double sense of it, which will afford us an observation or two, and so I will end.
Either it is called this world in opposition to that to come, as in the former chapter;
* this world, saith he, and that to come. Or else, tbifl world hath a relation to that present age, because he speaks of these Ej sians, they lived according to the course of that world then, as other unregenerate men afterward ; let the world alter never so much, they live still according to the most, and the most will still be corrupt. And there is something besides : that which is translated now, signifies the age, the spirit that now works, that is, in this age. I shall join both in one observation, and it is this : -That though the world do alter in several ages in th- <-<>iir>;e and
i. hion of it, y-t still it will Inthe world. And it will l.e so far the
:.ility of tliprinciples of it, that if men should live ac cording to them, they would Uunrc^.-nenitMC world alter never so
EPII. II. 1, 2, &C.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 31
much, as indeed since Christ s time the world hath had mighty alterations,
yet still it will be the world. They lived according to the age of that
world, and were unregenerate men, and others will do so too, still as the world alters, as it puts on new dresses, new fashions ; one generation cometh, and another passeth ; there is no new thing under the sun for substance,
still the same corruption goes on. You must know this, my brethren, that
Christ, when he went up to heaven, he had a kingdom to come, he meant tomake a new world, and step by step to alter that world that was then when these Ephesians lived, to alter it by degrees, till he take the kingdom unto
himself, and make a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth right eousness. Saith Christ, in John xii. 31, Now is the judgment of this
world; that is, now I begin it. The world had continued before in one way for three thousand years, and there had been no alteration in matter of
religion; but now is the judgment of this world; that is, the reformation of it. And Christ did then begin to mould it, to fashion it, to throw down
heathenism, and set up Christianity ; and he will be still doing of it to the end of the world, whilst it is Satan s world. There is a world to come, which is called new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous
ness, 2 Peter iii. 13. And the kingdoms of the world are to become the
kingdoms of Jesus Christ, as Rev. xi. 15. But it is spoken at the end of the world, and of the end of the world, for it is spoken at the end of the seventh trumpet, which ends all, and the history of the church begins at the next chapter. Now though Christ hath taken to himself the kingdoms of the world
fully and completely, though he make mighty alterations and judgments in
it, and is still throwing out Satan by degrees, yet it is Satan s world still, that which the Apostle here speaks of in opposition to that which is tocome. Now, I say, this world, let it turn Christian world, as it did, yet it
will still be the world, it will still be an evil world, it will still lie in wicked
ness, it will still so far hold forth unregenerate principles, that if a man will walk according to the common stream, he will be damned, that is certain ; and let the world be refined never so much, so it will be, till Christ make new heavens and a new earth. When the empire turned Christian, one Christian said to another, it is a famous speech in ecclesiastical history
, Oh now, saith he, we shall have persecution cease, for the Emperor and
all the world is turned Christian. But, saith the other, the devil is not turned Christian for all this. And this world is the devil s world, believe
it, brethren, for the generality of men. And therefore, in Rev. xii., when heathenism was thrown down, the dragon and all his angels with him were cast out of heaven ; one would have thought there would have been much
joy; but, saith the text, ver. 12, Woe to the inhabitants of the earth! Why ? Because the devil is come down amongst you, with a new rage ; and he went on still to persecute those that lived according to the command ment of Jesus.
And therefore now, notwithstanding all refinements, though there come new schemes, yet you shall still have the generality so far corrupt that they will be the world still, and they will oppose the power of religion still. In Bom. xii. 2, the Apostle did lay a very strict injunction upon the Church of Rome who did little keep it, but the Holy Ghost did it by way of prophecy beforehand that they should not conform themselves unto the world ; he
speaks it principally in respect of their worship ; yet they did not observe that injunction. AYhen heathenism was gone, and the world was turned
Christian, then all the world went wondering after the beast, except those
AX EXPOSITION OP THE EPISTLE [SERMON II.
whose names were written in the book of life, Rev. xiii. 8. And when there is a reformation from Popery, as the Holy Ghost prophesied of Popery itself, and that apostasy, in 1 Tim. iv. 1 ; therefore he saith, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, which speak lies in hypocrisy. Which place a learned man hath most excellently opened to be meant of the Popish times. So, in 2 Tim. iii. 1, he speaks of another fry, when Popery was off the stage, at least when it was declining and he distinguished it from the other, which were to be in the latter days, but these are to be in the last days. In the last days, saith he, perilous times shall come ; and so he names a company of men covetous, boasters,