Doc. of Life (Dick) n. 112

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112. The case is similar, with all kinds of theft and fraud; with all kinds of murder and revenge; and with all kinds of false witness and lies. No one can be cleansed and purified from these of himself; for in every lust there are infinite things which man does not see except as one simple entity, but the Lord sees in most particular detail the things in every series. In a word, man cannot regenerate himself, that is, form in himself a new heart and a new spirit, but the Lord alone [can effect this], who is Himself the Reformer and Regenerator. Therefore if a man seeks to make himself anew from his own prudence and intelligence, it is only like putting rouge on a deformed face and applying a superficial wash to a part affected with inward putrefaction.


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