Religion & morality > Human nature in its four-fold state ... in several practical discourses

64. The Corruption of State II. j
flight him as they do: A View of his Glory would J
fo darken all created Excellency, that they would |
take him for, and inftead of all, and gladly clofe ? I
with him, as he offereth himfelf in the Gofpel, John 1
iv. 10. Pfal. ix. 10. Mattb. xiii. 44, 45, Do
they know what Sin is, who hug the Serpent in
their Bofom; hold faft Deceit, and refufe to let it <
go ? I own indeed they may have a natural Know¬
ledge of thofe Things, as the unbelieving 'Jews had
of Chrift, whom they faw and converfed with :
But there was a [piritual Glory in him, perceiv’d
by the Believers only, John i. 14. and in refpeft of
that Glory, the (unbelieving) World knew him noti
Ver. 1 o. But the fpiritual Knowledge of them they"
cannot have ; ’tis above the Reach of the carnal
Mind, 1 Cor. ii. 14. ‘the natural Man receivetb not
the ^things of the Spirit of Godt for they are Feoljh-
nefs unto him : Neither can he know tbemy for they
are fpiritually difeerned. He may indeed difeourfe
of them ; but no other Way than one can talk of
Honey or Vinegar, who never tailed the Swectnefs
of the one, nor the Sourneft of the other. He has
fome Notions of fpiritual Truths, but iees not the
things themfelves,that are wrapt up in the Words of
Truth, 1 ’Tim. i. 7. Underftanding neither what they
fay, nor whereof they affirm. In a Word, natural
Men fear, feek, contefs they know not what. Thus
you may fee Man’s Underftanding,naturally, is over¬
whelmed with grofs Darknefs in fpiritual Things.
thirdly, There is in the Mind of Man a natural
Byafs to Evil, whereby it comes to pafs, that
whatever Difficulties it finds, while occupied about
Things truly good, it ads with a great Deal of
Eafe in Evil; as being in that Calc, in its own
Element, Jer. iv. The carnal Mind drives heavi-