day by day in the spirit of his mind. The old man is described to have a body of sin with all his members, his affections and his lusts; these must not be obeyed, but mortified. "Let not sin reign in your mortal body "that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof, neither "yield ye your members as instruments of unrighte"ousness unto sin," Rom. vi. 12, 13. The saints at Rome had sin in them, and it wanted to reign as it had done heretofore in the lusts hereof, but,

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Secondly, They were not to obey them. There was in them a new man who was to fight against those fleshly lusts which war against the soul. "The flesh lust"eth 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." Gal. v. 17. Here is battle between two, the flesh, the whole nature of the old man, and the spirit of the new man, born again of the spirit; the cause of it is, the one wills what the other hates, each wants to carry his own will into execution, and these being contrary the one to the other, they fight for mastery; in the battle, the flesh, the old man, is defeated, and the spirit working in the new man conquers, and this lusting and fighting is in one and the same person, in him who is said to be not under the law, to be led by the spirit and to live and to walk in the spirit. In Rom. viii. 7. the apostle calls the flesh the carnal mind, and he says, "It is enmity against God: for it is not "subject to the law of God, neither indeed "can be ;" since it is enmity itself there is no reconciling it, it will not, nay it cannot obey God, but is ever lusting and rebelling against his law. The nature of the battle is described at length in Rom. vii. The chapter consists of three parts, first, the believer's liberty from the law to ver. 6. secondly he answers some objections made against the law from its nature and properties, and that in his own person, because it had been the means of bringing him to the right knowledge of sin, ver. 7. and sin being discovered by the law through the corruption of nature, raged and rebelled the more in him, ver. 8

and the law had made him sensible of God's anger against sin, and of his deserving death and hell for it, ver. 9. to 14. and from thence to the end of the chapter he describes the conflict between the old man and the new, the one consenting to the law, and the other resisting the law. In this conflict there were sharp attacks, in the first he found in himself two contrary principles of action always resisting each other, the old man fighting against the new, from ver. 14, to 18; secondly, when the will of the new man was good through the opposition of the old man, it had not the desired effect, ver. 19, 20; and thirdly, he felt in himself two contrary laws, both requiring obedience, the law of the members warring and rebelling against the law of God written in the renewed mind: for no sooner did his mind, guided by the Holy Spirit, set about any thing which God's law commanded, but he found the law of the members making a strong resistance. This he groaned under as an heavy burden, and was humbled for it before God, expecting pardon from him, and victory every day, and perfect deliverance at last.

I cannot enlarge upon this chapter. Turn to it, and read it over upon the plan which I have here laid down, remembering all along, that St. Paul is describing himself. He ten times says it is himself he is speaking of, from ver. 7. to ver. 14. where he is shewing of what use the law had been to him, when he was first convinced of sin, and from thence to the end he mentions himself thirty-eight times. I the apostle Paul, I myself, my very self, and not another; I myself am, now, at this present, at the very time of writing this; I myself whom the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made free from the law of sin and death; I myself to whom now there is no condemnation, for I am in Christ Jesus, and I walk after the Spirit, am still at war with sin that dwelleth in me, with the old man, with the flesh, with the law of the members, with the body of sin. Although I have a new nature, and God is on my side, yet it is a hard and a sharp battle.

I find it so. The length of it makes it still more pain❝ful, and forces me to cry out, O wretched man that “I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this "death?" Paul was not out of God's favour, or accursed, but as the word rendered wretched means, he was weary and tired with his continual fighting; troubled. with the filthy motions of sin rising and striving and rebelling in him, and giving him no rest; this was such a hard warfare, that he was ever looking out and pray"ing, Who shall deliver me ?" He meant wholly, perfectly, deliver me from this corruption. He sighed for it, not because he had sure and certain hope of it; not because he was ignorant who his deliverer was, but because he had stedfast faith in him. "Thanks be to "God through Jesus Christ." This comforted him, and kept him fighting on with courage. He knew that he should gain the victory, and through Christ, not through his own virtues or works, but through faith in the life and death, in the blood and righteousness of Christ, he should at last be more than conqueror.

Since this was the case with the apostle, who can expect a discharge from this warfare until death? What! says one, is it to continue so long? Yes. The scripture is very clear to this point, as I was thirdly to shew.

The seat of the corruption of the old man or of the flesh is not only in our nature, but is also our very nature itself. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, altogether carnal and corrupt. It is a filthy fountain always sending forth impure streams; and therefore while the believer is in the body, he must either be fighting against the flesh, or else be led captive by it. We that are, says Paul, in this tabernacle of flesh, do groan, being burdened with sin and sorrow. And when did they expect an end of their groaning, and rest from their burdens? Not till the tabernacle was dissolved by death. Ourselves, says he, who have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our

body. The body will be redeemed from the grave, and raised like the glorious body of Jesus Christ; this is promised, and this we wait for, and until death deliver us from this mortal corruptible body, we shall be groaning under the burthen of it. This was St. Paul's case. He had long sighed to be discharged from his warfare, and like an old weary tired soldier, he wished the hard tedious campaign was ended, that he might enter into rest; but hear with what joy he at last cries out, “I "have fought the good fight." Have fought it? What is the battle over? Yes, just over.“ I am "now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand-I have finished my course:"-My battle and my life are finished together, and so must thine, reader: Thou art to resist unto blood, striving against sin; for thou art called to fight the good fight of faith, until thou lay hold of eternal life. Since thou art a believer, however weak, and hast a new man in thee, as well as an old, they will be fighting against each other, till thou finish thy course. And if this discourage thee, consider what God has spoken concerning this warfare, and what exceeding great and precious promises he has made to them who are engaged in it. He has promised to pardon those corruptions of the old man, to subdue them, and to deliver thee from the very being of them. Canst thou desire more. Mark well what he says to thee, and be not faithless but believing.

First, although the believer has an old man corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, always warring against the new man, yet the Lord God has promised a free and a full pardon; because he has imputed sin, all thy sin, to the Son of his love, who bore it in his own body upon the tree. After the apostle in Rom. vii. had described the battle between them, he makes this inference, “There is therefore now no condemnation to "them who are in Christ Jesus," to them who are in Christ, united by faith as members to him their head, and thereby partakers of his righteousness, there is now while they are fighting against their corruptions

no condemnation; "For, says he, the law of the spirit "of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the "law of sin and of death," Rom. viii. 2. These words demonstrate, that Paul was speaking of himself in the 7th chapter. Although he had the corruption of nature still in him, and was fighting against it, yet being in Christ by faith he was made free from the guilt and punishment due to it, therefore he had, and every believer shall have, a full pardon. In consequence of which,

Secondly, he shall subdue the corruptions of the old man. This is promised and shall be made good. The Lord encourages believers to oppose the reign of sin their mortal body, and not to obey it in the lusts thereof, with this promise-" Sin shall not have dominion over "you," Rom. v. 14. Ye are under grace, and grace is almighty to subdue sin: because it is atoned for. In like manner he says to the Gal. v. 16. " Walk in the "spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh." Ye shall not fulfil them either in word or deed. lusts of the flesh will be in you, but not one of them shall reign over you: the spirit of Jesus will teach you to resist, and enable you to overcome them, yea to crucify and mortify them day by day. And besides this the Lord has promised,

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Thirdly, deliverance from the very being of thy corruptions. The time is coming, when they shall not exist in the believer, nor any more be suffered to tempt him. He shall be made holy and blameless, without spot or wrinkle of sin or any such thing. In this perfect state the Father now sees him, and accepts him in the beloved, and after death admits the soul into his presence cleansed with the blood, clothed with the righteousness, adorned with the graces of his dear Son, and body, soul and spirit, shall be in this perfect state in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ-they shall be unblameable in holiness before God, even our father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. It doth not yet appear how great a perfection