this law of sin. The heart, as it is the entire principle of moral operations, of doing good or evil, as out of it proceed good or evil. Here dwells our enemy; this is the fort, the citadel of this tyrant, where it maintains a rebellion against God all our days. Sometimes it hath more strength, and consequently more success; sometimes less of the one than of the other, but is always in rebellion whilst we live.

That we may in our passage take a little view of the strength and power of sin from this seat and subject of it, we may consider one or two properties of the heart that exceedingly contribute thereunto. It is like an enemy in war, whose strength and power lie not only in his numbers, and force of men or arms, but also in the unconquerable forts that he doth possess. And such is the heart to this enemy of God and our souls, as will appear from the properties of it, whereof one or two shall be mentioned.

First, It is unsearchable, Jer. xvii. 9, 10; "Who can know the heart? I the Lord search it." The heart of man is previous to God only, hence he takes the honour of searching the heart to be as peculiar to himself, and as fully declaring him to be God, as any other glorious attribute of his nature. We know not the hearts of one another, we know not our own hearts as we ought. Many there are that know not their hearts as to their general bent and disposition, whether it be good or bad, sincere and sound, or corrupt and naught; but no one knoweth all the secret intrigues, the windings and turnings, the actings and aversations of his own heart. Hath any one the perfect measure of his own light and darkness? Can any one know what actings or choosing or aversations his will bring forth, upon the proposal of that endless variety of objects that is to be exercised with? Can any one traverse the various mutability of his affections? Do the secret springs of acting and refusing in the soul lie before the eyes of any man? Doth any one know what will be the motions of the mind or will, in such and such conjunction of things?

Such a suiting of objects, such a pretension of reasonings, such an appearance of things desirable? All in heaven and earth, but the infinite all-seeing God, are utterly ignorant of these things. In this unsearchable heart dwells the law of sin, and much of its security, and consequently of its strength, lies in this, that it is past our finding out. We fight with an enemy whose secret strength we cannot discover, whom we cannot follow into its retirements. Hence oftentimes, when we are ready to think sin quite ruined, after a while we find it was but out of sight. It hath coverts and retreats in an unsearchable heart, whither we cannot pursue it. The soul may persuade itself all is well, when sin may be safe in the hidden darkness of the mind, which it is impossible that he should look into; for whatever makes manifest is light. It may suppose the will of sinning is utterly taken away, when yet there is an unsearchable reserve for a more suitable object, a more vigorous temptation than at present he is tried withal. Hath a man had a contest with any lust, and a blessed victory over it by the Holy Ghost, as to that present trial, when he thinks it is utterly expelled, he ere long finds that it was but retired out of sight. It can lie so close in the mind's darkness, in the will's indisposition, in the disorder and carnality of the affections, that no eye can discover it. The best of our wisdom is but to watch its first appearances, to catch it first under earth heavings and workings, and to set ourselves in opposition to them; for to follow it into the secret corners of the heart, that we cannot do. It is true, there is yet a relief in this case, namely, that he to whom the work of destroying the law of sin, and body of death in us, is principally committed, namely, the Holy Ghost, comes with his axe to the very root, neither is there any thing in an unsearchable heart that is not open and naked unto him, Heb. iv. 12. But we, in a way of duty, may hence see what an enemy we have to deal withal.

Secondly, As it is unsearchable so it is deceitful, as

in the place above-mentioned; it is deceitful above all things, incomparably so. There is great deceit in the dealings of men in the world, great in their counsels and contrivances, in reference to their affairs, private and public; great deceit in their words and actings; the world is full of deceit and fraud. But all this is nothing to the deceit that is in man's heart toward himself, for that is the meaning of the expression in this place, and not towards others. Now incomparable deceitfulness, added to unsearchableness, gives a great addition and increase of strength to the law of sin, upon the account of its seat and subject. I speak not yet of the deceitfulness of sin itself, but the deceitfulness of the heart where it is seated, Prov. xxvi. 25; "There are seven abominations in the heart:" that is, not only many, but an absolute complete number, as seven denotes: and they are such abominations as consist in deceitfulness; so the caution foregoing insinuates, trust him not; for it is only deceit that should make us not to trust in that degree and measure which the object is capable of.

Now this deceitfulness of the heart, whereby it is exceedingly advantaged in its harbouring of sin, lies chiefly in these two things.

First, That it abounds in contradictions, so that it is not to be found and dealt withal according to any constant rule and way of procedure. There are some

men that have much of this from their natural constitution, or from other causes in their conversation. They seem to be made up of contradictions; sometimes to be very wise in their affairs, sometimes very foolish; very open, and very reserved; very facile, and very obstinate; very easy to be entreated, and very revengeful, all in a remarkable height. This is generally accounted a bad character, and is seldom found, but when it proceeds from some notable predominant lust. But in general, in respect of moral good or evil, duty or sin, it is so with the heart of every man; flaming hot, and key cold; weak, and yet stubborn; obstinate

and facile. The frame of the heart is ready to contradict itself every moment. Now you would think you had it all for such a frame, such a way; anon it is quite otherwise; so that none know what to expect from it. The rise of this is the disorder that is brought upon all its faculties by sin. God created them all in a perfect harmony and union. The mind and reason

were in perfect subjection and subordination to God, and his will; the will answered, in its choice of good, the discovery made of it by the mind; the affections constantly and evenly followed the understanding and will. The mind's subjection to God was the spring of the orderly and harmonious motion of the soul, and all the wheels in it. That being disturbed by sin, the rest of the faculties move cross and contrary one to another; the will chooseth not the good which the mind discovers; the affections delight not in that which the will chooseth, but all jar and interfere, cross and rebel against each other. This we have got by our falling from God. Hence sometimes the will leads, the judgment follows. Yea, commonly the affections, that should attend upon all, get the sovereignty, and draw the whole soul captive after them. And hence it is, as I said, that the heart is made up of so many contradictions in its actings. Sometimes the mind retains its sovereignty, and the affections are in subjection, and the will ready for its duty. This puts a good face upon things. Immediately the rebellion of the affections, or the obstinacy of the will, take place and prevail, and the whole scene is changed. This, I say, makes the heart deceitful above all things; it agrees not at all in itself, is not constant to itself, hath no order that it is constant unto, is under no certain conduct that is stable, but if I may so say, hath a rotation in itself, where oft times the feet lead and guide the whole.

Secondly, Its deceit lies in its full promisings upon the first appearance of things. And this also proceeds from the same principle with the former. Sometimes the affections are touched and wrought upon, the whole

heart appears in a fair frame, all promiseth to be well. Within a while the whole frame is changed, the mind was not at all affected or turned, the affections a little acted their parts, and are gone off, and all the fair promises of the heart are departed with them. Now add this deceitfulness to the unsearchableness before-mentioned, and we shall find, that at least the difficulty of dealing effectually with sin in its seat and throne, will be exceedingly increased. A deceiving and a deceived heart, who can deal with it? especially considering that the heart employs all its deceits unto the service of sin, contributes them all to its furtherance. All the disorder that is in the heart, all its false promises, and fair appearances, promote the interest and advantage of sin. Hence God cautions the people to look to it, lest "their own hearts should entice and deceive them."

Who can mention the treacheries and deceits that lie in the heart of man? It is not for nothing that the Holy Ghost so expresseth it, "It is deceitful above all things;" uncertain in what it doth, and false in what it promiseth. And hence moreover it is, among other causes, that in the pursuit of our war against sin, we have not only the old work to go over and over, but new work still, while we live in this world; still new stratagems and wiles to deal withal, as the manner will be, where unsearchableness and deceitfulness are to be contended with.

There are many other properties of this seat and subject to the law of sin, which might be insisted on to the same end and purpose, but that would too far divert us from our particular design, and therefore I shall pass these over with some few considerations.

Never let us reckon that our work in contending against sin, in crucifying, mortifying, and subduing of it, is at an end. The place of its habitation is unsearchable; and when we may think that we have thoroughly won the field, there is still some reserve remaining that we saw not, that we knew not of. Many conquerors

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