A treatise of original sin ... proving that it is, by pregnant texts of Scripture vindicated from false glosses / by Anthony Burgess.

¶. 5.

It doth objectively occasion much sinne to the Soul.

FIfthly, The body is not only a tempter thus to sinne, and so as Saul pur∣posed about Michal, is become a snare to us, a worse evil then is in that imprecation, Let their table become a snare to them, for our body, which is so dear and so intimate, that is also become a snare, But then objectively it doth occasion much sinne to the soul. In the former particular our bodies had some kind of efficiency and working in those sinnes, but here it is passive (as it were) an object that doth allure and draw out the soul inordinately to it, so that we mind the body, look to the body, provide for the body more than the soul; so that whereas the soul is farre more excellent and worthy than the body; so that our thoughts and studies should be infinitely more zealous to save that then the body, yet till grace doth sanctifie and life us up to the enjoy∣ment of God, who doth not look after his body more than his soul, which yet is, as if (saith Chrysostom) a man should look to his house to see that be re∣paired, and that be in good order, but neglect his own self: The soul that is properly a man, the body is but his house, and a vile one also, is an house of clay; it is but a garment to the soul, and a ragged tottered one. Now it is good to take notice in what particulars our bodies are thus objectively a cause of sinne to us. And

First, It is evident in that diligent and thoughtfull way of car we have about the feeding and cloathing of it. Doth not our Saviour even to his very Disciples, prohibit this perplexing care, Matth. 6. 25. Take no thought for your life what ye shall eat, nor for your body what ye shall put on; but how faulty are we here, comparatively to our souls? we that have so many thoughts to provide for the body, how few have we about the soul? Is not the body well fed, when the soul is starved? Is not the body well cloathed, when the soul is naked? How justly may thy soul cry out murder, murder, for thou art destroying and damn∣ing that every day? Will not thy soul witness against thee at the day of judge∣ment, the body was taken care for, the body was looked to, but I was negle∣cted? Will it not cry out in hell, Oh if I had been as diligently attended unto, as the body, I had not been roaring in these eternal torments.

The second particular, wherein the body doth objectively and occasionally tempt the soul to sinne, is about the adorning and trimming of it, not only the care to provide for it, but the curiosity to adorn it doth provoke the soul to much sinni. And whereas our very garments should put us in constant mind of our original pollution (for there was no shame uponnakedness till that first trans∣gression) and thereby greatly humble us; we now grow proud and vain from the very effect of the first disobedience: Every morning we put on our gar∣ments, we should remember our original sinne; The body before sinne was not exposed to any danger by cold and other damages, neither was the naked∣ness thereof any cause of blushing, but all this and more also is the fruit of the first sinne, and if so, how inexcusable is it, to be curious and diligent in trim∣ming up, and adorning our bodies by those very garments, the thoughts where∣of should greatly debase us, but this is not all; The great attendance to the glory of the body doth wholly take off from the care of the soul; How happy were it, if persons did take as much pains to have their souls cloathed with the robes of righteousness, to have them washed and cleansed from all filth, as they do about their bodies, one spot, one wrinkle in the garment is presently spied out, when the soul at the same time, though full of loathsomness, is al∣together

neglected, as if our souls were for our bodies, and not our bodies for our souls. The Platonists indeed had such high thoughts of the soul, and so low of the body, that their opinion was, Anima est homo, the soul is the man, they made the body but a meer instrument, as the Ship is to the Pilate, or musical instruments to an Artificer; This is not true in Philosophy, though in a moral sense it may have some affinity with truth, but if we do regard the affections and actions of all by nature, we may rather say, The body 〈◊〉〈◊〉 man; Yea the Apostle goeth higher, he maketh it some mens God, Phil. 3. 19. Whose belly is their God, Why their God? Because all they look at in Religion, all they mind is only to satisfie that. The Monks belly in Luther's time was their god; When then a man liveth his natural, civil and religious life onely to have his belly satisfied, this man maketh his belly his god. And again, there are per∣sons, whose backs are their god; For never did Heathens or Papists bestow more cost upon their Idols and Images to make them glorious, then they do on their backs, little remembring that we came naked into the world, and that we shall not carry any thing out with us; If this care were for soul-ornaments, if thou didst spend as much time in prayer to God and reading the Scriptures, whereby thy soul might be made comely and beautifull, as thou doest about thy body, this would prove more comfortable; If thou didst as often look in∣to the glass of Gods word, to find out every sinne thou doest commit, and to reform it, as thou doest into the material glasse to behold thy countenance, and to amend the defilements there, thou wouldst find that the hours and day so spent will never grieve thee, whereas upon the review of thy life spent in this world, thou wilt at the day of judgement cry out of, and bewail all those hours, all that time in unnecessary adorning of the body; The Apostle giveth an excellent exhortation, 1 Pet. 3. 3, Whose adorning let it not be of plating the hair, or of wearing of gold—but let it be the hidden men of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, The Apostle doth not there simply and absolutely for∣bid the wearing of gold in such who by their places and calling may do it, for Isaac gave Reb••ccah earings of gold; but he speaketh comparatively, rather look to the adorning of the soul, then of the body, spend more time about one then the other. It is a known History of that Pambo, who seeing a woman very industriously trimming her self to please that man with whom she intended naughtinesse, wept thereupon, because he could not be as carefull to dresse up his soul in such a posture as to please God: Oh then look to thy body hereaf∣ter; Let it not steal so much time from thee, as thereby to neglect thy soul, and to lose those opportunities thou mayest have of humbling thy self before God!

Thirdly, The body doth objectively draw out sinne from the soul, In that the fear of any danger to that, especially the death thereof, will make us damne our soules and greatly offend God, which doth plainly discover, that our bodies are more to us, then God or heaven, or our soules are: Therefore we have our Saviour pressing his Disciples against this fear, if fear about hurt to the body may insnare the godly, and keep them from their duty, no wonder if it totally prevail with the natural man. Mat. 10. 28. Luk. 12. 4. I say to you may friends, fear not them which can kill the body only but fear him who can cast both body and soul into hell; But what Apostacies, what sad perfidiousness in religion hath this love to the body caused? the inordinate fear of the death thereof hath made many men wound and damne their soules: Times then of dangers and persecutions do abundantly discover how inordinate men are in their love to their bodies, looking upon bodily death worse then eternal damnation in hell; although our Saviour hath spoken so expresly, What will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul, Mark 8. 36. It is the Scriptures command that we should glorifie God in soul and body which are Gods, our body is Gods, that

is bought with a price as well as your soul, so that it ought to be our study how we should glorifie God by our eies, by our ears, by our tongues: It is not enough to say thou hast a good heart and an honest heart if thou hast a sinful body; now though there be many wayes wherein we may glorifie God by our bodies, yet there is none so signal and eminent as when we do willingly at the call of God give our bodies to be disgraced, tormented and killed for his sake, then God saith to thee, as he did to Abraham upon his willingness to offer up his son Isaac, Now I know thou lovest me; Thus you have Paul professing, Gal. 6. 17. I bear in my body the marks of the Lords Jesus, The Greek word sig∣nifieth such markes of ignominy as they did use to their servants, or fugitives, or evil doers, now though in the eies of the world such were reproachfull, yet Paul gloryed in them, and therefore he giveth this as a reason why noue should trouble and molest him in the work of the Ministery this ought to be a demonstration to them of his sincerity, and that he seeketh not himself, but Christ, hence also he saith, Phil. 1. 20. Christ shall be magnified in his body, whether by life or by death. By this it is evident that we owe our bodies to Christ as well as our souls, and that any fear to suffer in them for his sake ar∣gueth we love our bodies more then his glory.