SERMON XXII. The war of the flesh and the spirit. SERM. GALAT. V. 17. For the flesh lufteth against the spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and thefe are contrary the one to the other: So that ye cannot de the things that ye would. Τ' HIS diftinction of flesh and spirit, and the great oppofition between them, is entirely new under the Gospel, wherein it is made so much use of that it runs through the whole ftile of the new Teftament. The heathen Philofophers did indeed diftinguish nicely, between the fenfitive appetite which is common to us with brutes, and that rational faculty which they found in themselves, (i. e.) between fenfe and reafon; and this was foobvious they could not mifs it. They faw a mighty difference between these two, that they often clashed and difagreed; they found themfelves drawn two different ways at once by an oppofite opposite force, and that the violence of their 5 ÅR M. fenfual appetites hurried them on to the doing XXII. of things contrary to the dictates of their rea fon, and the full conviction of their minds; this they felt and complained of; but they little imagined what was the first fpring and true caufe of all this contradiction within us; namely, that there are two distinct parts of our frame of a very different nature, endued with contrary qualities, and oppofite in all their inclinations and tendencies. This is peculiar to the Gospel, and fuch a key of knowledge, as opens to us thofe difficulties both of nature and grace, which were lockt up from the whole race of mankind before: And no man is aware at first reading how far this one text leads us into the knowledge both of ourselves, and of religion in general. The Hef lufteth against the fpirit, and the spirit a= gainst the flesh, and thefe are contrary the one to the other; fo that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Infomuch that I would put this one faying of St. Paul's in the ballance with the united moral wisdom of the heathen world. For as it fuppofes the original of our corruption by the fall, which they knew nothing of, fo likewife it intimates to us that there are two very diftinct parts of our make, and contrary in their whole nature. The true feat of this great corruption of humanity, with the exact manner and cause of it, namely the contradiction of that flefhly part to the genuine dictates of the spirit, which then becomes par K 2 taker SER M.taker of its corruption, when it yields and is XXII. captivated by it; that the reason of our yielding to fin is because of that impetuousness and violence of our fleshly inclinations, which like a mighty stream bear down all the resistance of that spiritual part of us, fo that this makes men act against the clear light of reason and full perfuafion of their minds; that this contradiction of the upper part to the motions of the lower, is a fufficient demonstration of the effential goodness of the laws of God, (which is the use he makes of it,in the vii. of Romans,) and confequently that the true perfection of human nature confifts, in bringing the fleshly part in fubjection to the fpiritual, this is the true παλινγηνεσία, or renovation of our natares; and laftly that the only effectual means of doing this, is by conftant habitual oppofition to the inclinations of the flesh, and thwart-. ing and croffing all its appetites till it is brought to be tame, and yielding and ready to comply with the genuine fentiments of the pure mind. This is the philofophy of the text, this is philofophy for all the world, they are things of the laft confequence to mankind; and therefore the contemplation of them must be profitable and delightful. But because I am not now to write a tract, but make a discourse, I fhall put what I have to speak to these into this method. ift, I fhall confider a little more particularly, what is here meant by flesh and spirit. 2dly, I fhall confider in what inftances they SER M. are contrary to one another, and the nature XXII. of their oppofition. 3dly, I fhall fpeak fomething as briefly as I can, to thofe feveral things which are either exprefly contained in this text, or directly deducible from it. I. As to the first then. By the flesh is here meant not only those bodily appetites which are common to us with brutes, but likewife those irregular paffions and affections of the foul, which are proper only to rational creatures. By the Spirit is fignified, that most refined and excellent part of us, by which we are more immediately formed after the image of God: That which the Hebrews expreffed by the word Ruah, that immaterial immortal part of us, which is the feat of the pure underderstanding and will; in oppofition to Napash, the feat of all carnal defires and affections (i. e.) the fenfitive foul as it includes all those evil inclinations of the mind, which proceed from any compliance with fenfual appetites, and as far as it is tainted by any intercourse, or commerce with them. ; But because it is a diftinction of no small ufe, both in the theory and practice of religion, that we may apprehend the difference more exactly, we must confider that it is an opinion founded on very good reason, that our frame is compofed of three diftinct parts, each of them severally expreffed by St. Paul, in 1 Theff, v. 23. And I pray God your whole K 3 Spirit SERM. fpirit, and foul, and body be preferved blameless, MAII unto the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift. The Greek word is plainer to this purpose, it calls these three parts oxox Apor ur the whole of you. It is not likely that St. Paul here would have made ufe of a frivolous and groundless diftinction with fo much folemnity: And a learned man, in his comment upon the text, remarks, that the fame difference might be obferved from the words of the creation of man, where there is mention made diftinctly of the duft of the earth, the living foul, and the breath of life; and fhews withal, how this text of St. Paul's was fo taken by the learnedeft fathers of the church; which is not at all to be wondered at, fince I cannot fee how it can be underftood any otherwife, without a needless tau tology. Now by the body we are to underftand this bulky weight of flesh and blood, this unweildy groffer part of us which we fee and feel as we do any other body, and lies as plain and obvious to our fenfes as any other mass, a tock or a ftone, By the fpirit is fignified that fprightly im, material part of us without bulk or quantity, not confined even to motion; which comes immediately out of the hands of God like himself a pure uncompounded being, the only feat of our understanding and reason, which the Greeks expreft, by the Tonynμovizor, the commanding principal part, τὸν ἐν ἡμῖν θεὸν, the God in us; and the Latins by particulam auræ divina, |
