[How sin, by the help of the soul, destroys it.]
Secondly, That I may yet show you what a great thing sin is with the soul that is to be damned, I will show how corruption, with the help of the soul, is managed, from the motion of sin, even till it comes to the very act; for sin cannot come to an action without the help of the soul. The body does little here, as I shall further show you.
There is then a motion of sin presented to the soul (and whether presented by evil itself or the devil, we will not at this time dispute); motions of sin, and motions to sin there are, and always the end of the motions of sin is to prevail with the soul to help that motion into an act. But, I say, there is a motion to sin in the soul; or, as James calls it, a conception. Now behold how the soul deals with this motion in order to finish sin, that death might follow (Rom 7:5).
1. This motion is taken notice of by the soul, but is not resisted nor striven against, only the soul lifts up its eyes upon it and sees that there is present a motion to sin, a motion of sin presented to the soul, that the soul might midwife it from conception into the world.
2. Well, notice being taken that a motion to sin is present, what follows is that the fancy or imagination of the soul takes it home to it, and does not only look upon it and behold it more narrowly but begins to trick and trim up the sin to the pleasing of itself and of all the powers of the soul. That this is true, is evident, because God finds fault with the imagination as with that which lends itself to sin in the first place, and that gives it the first lift towards being helped forward to act. 'And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth' (Gen 6:5, 12, 13). That is, many abominable actions were done; for all flesh had corrupted God's way upon the earth. But how came this to be so?
Why, every imagination of the thoughts, or of the motions that were in the heart to sin, was evil, only evil, and that continuously. The imagination of the thoughts was evil—that is, such as tended not to deaden or stifle, but such as tended to animate and forward the motions or thoughts of sin into action. Every imagination of the thoughts—that which is here called a thought, by Paul to the Romans, called a motion. Now the imagination should, and would, had it been on God's side, have so conceived of this motion of and to sins, all to have presented it in all its features as so ugly, so ill-favored, and so unreasonable a thing to the soul, that the soul should forthwith have let down the sluice, and pulled up the drawbridge, putting a stop, with the greatest defiance, to the motion now under consideration; but the imagination being defiled, it presently, at the very first view or noise of the motion of sin, so acted as to bring the said motion or thought into act. So, then, the thought of sin, or motion thereto, is first of all entertained by the imagination and fancy of the soul, and thence conveyed to the rest of the powers of the soul to be condemned, if the imagination is good; but to be helped forward to the act, if the imagination is evil.
And thus the evil imagination helps the motion of and the sin towards the act, even by dressing it up in that guise and habit that may best delude the understanding, judgment, and conscience; and that is done in this manner: Supposing a motion of sin to commit fornication, to swear, to steal, to act covetously, or the like, be propounded to the fancy and imagination; the imagination, if evil, presently dresses up this motion in that garb that best suits the nature of the sin. As, if it be the lust of uncleanness, then is the motion to sin dressed up in all the imaginable pleasurableness of that sin; if to covetousness, then is the sin dressed up in the profits and honors that attend that sin; and so of theft and the like; but if the motion be to swear, hector, or the like, then is that motion dressed up with valor and manliness; and so you may count of the rest of sinful motions; and thus being trimmed up like a Bartholomew baby, it is presented to all the rest of the powers of the soul, wherewith joint consent it is admired and embraced, to the firing and inflaming all the powers of the soul.
Hence it is that men are said to inflame themselves with their idols under every green tree. 'And to be as fed horses, neighing after their neighbor's wife' (Jer 5:8). For the imagination is such a forcible power, that if it putteth forth itself to dress up and present a thing to the soul, whether that thing be evil or good, the rest of the faculties cannot withstand it. Therefore, when David prayed for the children of Israel, he said, 'I have seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee;' that is, for preparations to build the temple. 'O Lord God,' saith he, 'keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, and prepare their hearts unto Thee' (1 Chron 29:17, 18). He knew that as the imagination was prepared, so would the soul be moved, whether by evil or good; therefore, as to this, he prays that their imagination might be engaged with apprehensions of the beauteousness of the temple, that they might always, as now, offer willingly for its building.
