Man through the perswasion of the Devil transgressed and hence is our corruption and misery derived Thirdly the first sin of man sprang not from God but from the instigation of the Devill and from the free will of man For the Devill provoked Man to fall away from God Man yeelding to the enticeing allurements of the Devil freely revolted from God and wilfully forsook him Fourthly the effects of mans first sin are first guiltinesse of death and privation of Gods image in our first Parents Secondly originall sin in us their posterity that is to say the guilt of eternall death and the corruption and aversnesse of our whole nature from God Thirdly actuall sinnes which are sprung of originall for quod est causa causae est causa causati That which is the cause of the cause is also the cause of the effact But the first finne in man is the cause of his originall and originalâ— sinne is the cause of his actuall sinne Fourthly all the evills of punishment are inflected for sinnes Therefore the first sinne of man is the cause of all other his sinnes and punishments Fifthly originall sinne is a want of originall righteousnesse which should be in us for originall righteousnesse was not only a conformity of our nature with the law of God but also it comprehendeth in it Gods acceptation and approbation of this righteousnesse Now by the fall of man instead of conformity there succeeded in mans nature deformity and corruption and guiltinesse instead of approbation And thus much briefly by way of explication what sinne in generall is The generall nature of sinne the difference or formall essence of sinne and the property which cleaveth fast unto it What the first sinne was the causes of it the effects of it and what originall sinne is Come we now to prove the position That this sinne originall sinne will have a being in the best of men so long as their souls have a being in these houses of clay And thus we prove it First that the spirit by the law intitleth us to Adams sin as a derivation from the root to the branches as poyson is carried from the fountaine to the Cisterne and as the children of traytors have their blood tainted with their fathers treason and the children of bondslaves are under their parents condition John 3.5 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh c. Rom. 5.12 16 17 18 19. Wherefore as by one man sinne entred into the world and death by sinne and so death passed upon all men for that all bad sinned and not as by one that sinned so is the gift for the judgment was by one to condemnation but the free gift is of many offences unto justification For if by one mans offence death reigned by one much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reigne in life by one Jesus Christ Therefore as by the offence of one judgement came upon all men to condemnation even so by the righteousnesse of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life For as by one mans disobedience many were made finners so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous 1 Cor. 15. 37 48 49. The first man is of the Earth earthy c. By nature we are the children of wrath 2 Ephes 3.14 Job 4. Who can bring a cleane thing out of an unclcane 51 Psal 5. In sin was I conceived c. I called thee a transgressour from the womb Isa 48.8 G. p. 8. 21. The imaginations of a mans heart are evill from his youth We were all one in Adam In uno universi and with him saith S. Augustine In him legally in regard of the stipulation and covenant between God and him We were in him paries in that covenant had interest in the mercy and were liable to the curse which belonged to the breach of the covenant and in him naturally and therefore unavoidably subject to all that bondage and burthen which the humane nature contracted in his fall And herewith agree most of the Fathers Adde we hereunto these two Arguments First every thing which is borne carrieth with it the nature of that which bare it as touching the substance and the accidents proper to the speciall kind But we are all born of corrupted and guilty parents We therefore all draw by nature in our birth their corruption and guilt Secondly by the death of Christ who is the second Adam we receive a double grace justification and regeneration Therefore it followeth that out of the first Adam there issued and flowed a double evill I meane the guilt and corruption of our nature otherwise we had not stood in need of a double grace and remedy This then is the first charge of the Spirit upon us Participation with Adam in his sin Adams person being the fountaine of ours and Adams will the representative of ours Secondly In this sin there is universall corruption which hath in it two great evills First a generall defect of all righteousnesse and holinesse in which we were at first created And Secondly an inherent deordination evill disposition disease propension to all mischief antipathy and aversation from all good which the Scripture calls the flesh The wisdome of the flesh the body of sin Earthly members the law of the members the works of the devill the lusts of the devill the hell that sets the whole course of nature on fire John 3.6 Rom. 8.6.7 James 3.15 Ephes 4.22 Col. 3.5 Rom. 7.23 1 John 38. And this is an evill of the through malignity whereof no man can be more sensible and distinctly convinced as in the evidence of that conviction to cry out against it with such strange and bitter complaint then Paul himself Rom. 7.24 O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Untill his understanding was opened to conceive the spiritualnesse penetration and compasse of that holy law which measureth the very bottome of every action and condemneth as well the originalls as the acts of sin Luke 24.25 Rom. 7.14 Heb. 4.12 Psal 119.96 Luke 10.27 But for more cleare satisfaction let us consider the universality of this sin First the universality of times from Adam to Moses even when the law of Creation was much defaced and they that sinned did not sin after the similitude of Adam against the cleare Revelation of Gods holy will for so I take the meaning of the Apostle in these words Rom. 5.13 14 20 21. For untill the law sin was in the world but sin is not imputed when there is no law Neverthelesse death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adams transgression who is the figure of him that was to come further see 20. and 21. Vntill the law sin was in the world but sin is not imputed where there is no law verse 13. Though the law seemed quite extinct between
of Adam is destroyed and passed away and all things are become new Quia Christianus renevatus est per omnia because a regenerate man is renewed in all things throughout in every part and power both of body and soul and therefore the Regenerate are quite free from all corruption of sinne and indued with all perfection of grace Resp I answer that it is not the meaning of the Holy Ghost in those or the like places to shew that sin is quite abolished and grace perfected in the Saints no otherwise then I shewed unto you before Inchoative non perfective by way of inchoation not perfection But the spirit of God by these formes or phrases would give us to understand two special things First To assure us that now sin is like a serpent crushed in the head according as God said Gen. 3.15 That the promised seed should bruise the Serpents head and therefore can never recover his former strength nor any wayes hurt the regenerate man but only to bruise his heel that is by the wrigling of her tail to cause some temporary affliction to light upon them Secondly to signifie unto us that this should be the main scope of all Saints to strive continually to mortifie the deeds of the flesh and to doe their best endeavors to be clean rid of them and for to perfect holiness in the fear of God 2 Cor. 7.1 And this is plainly intimated unto us in all the exhortations of the Scriptures as where we are advised to abstain from filthy lusts and mortifie the deeds of the flesh and the like For if there were no lusts no deeds of the flesh in us to what end are we bidden to mortifie them Script 3 1 John 3.9 quoted before He that is born of God sinneth not therefore say they the regenerate sin not Answ First He sinneth not to death For they doe not wholy forsake God albeit they may sin against their Consciences but they retein still some beginnings of true godlinesse by which as by sparks they are stirred again to repentance as David Peter and others Secondly He sinneth not as he is regenerated but he sinneth as long as he abideth in this life sin not reigning in him and yet sometimes reigning too as he is regenerated but in part and in part carnall For regeneration or renewing us to the Image of God is not perfected in an instant but is begun only in this life as I have formerly shewed you and in the life to come is at length finished for so doth John himself pronounce of himself and all the Saints in this life 1 John 1. If we say c. And if we acknowledge our sinnes he is faithfull and just to forigve us our sinnes this therefore is the meaning of St. John that the regenerate indeed doe sinne but yet not so as that they make much of their sinne Or doe so at any time yeeld and assent to evill desires that they cast away all love of godlinesse and repent not For alwayes in the regenerate there remaineth some remnant of a regenerate nature Which causeth either a strife against sinne or else true repentance that is it suffereth them not to sinne to everlasting destruction Or thus more briefly He that is born of God makes not a trade of sinning he lives not in his sinne he lies not in his sinne he delights not in his sinne he sinnes not with purpose with pleasure with malice with perseverance sinne raigneth not but as the Apostle saith the evill that I doe I would not doe c. Object It is said His seed remaineth in him neither can he sinne because he is born of God Sol. The Spirit of God remaineth in him so that he cannot sinne a sinne unto death he cannot come under the power of sinne Script 4 1 Pet. 1.23 Bring born a new not of mortall seed but of immortall by the word of God who liveth for ever If therefore say they the seed of Gods word never dieth in them that are born a new they ever remain regenerate and ever retain Grace neither ever fall into sinne Answ I answer first that the regenerate may loose and doe often loose Grace and the holy Spirit as concerning some guifts sometimes more somtimes fewer although they loose it not if we respect all the guifts For still there abideth in them some beginning or print of true Faith and conversion which although when they yeeld to evill inclinations or desires it is so oppressed and darkened that it neither can be known of others neither confirm them of the Grace of God and their own Salvation for the present yet it suffereth them not wholly to forsake God and the known Truth and to cast away their purpose of embracing by Faith the Merits of the Sonne of God So David prayeth Psal 51.10 11. Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me and restore me to the joy of thy Salvation He had lost therefore cleanness of Heart rightness and newness of Spirit and the joy of Salvation which he beggeth of God to be restored unto him and yet he did not wholly want them for otherwise he would not have asked neither would he have looked for from God this renueing and restoring Secondly The Seed of God that is the Word of God working true Faith and Conversion in the Elect abideth and dyeth not in the regenerate as concerning their coversion and finall perseverance how ever they may fall often grievously and foully before their end If they had been of us they would have continued with us saith the Apostle 1 John 2.19 Script 5 A good tree cannot bring forth evill fruit Answ I answer it cannot as it is good which shall so come to passe in the life to come But if it be partly good and partly evill such is the fruit also whereof we have sufficient tryall and experience in this life Script 6 Eph. 5.25 26 27. This shews us how Christ in this life by the Word Sacrament and the operation of Grace doth cleanse us that in the state of glory we may be perfectly holy without spot or wrinkle and that the words are to be understood of the state of glory I shall prove by these ensuing Reasons Reas 1 First Reason Because here we are absent from Christ and know but in part and so although we love inchoatively yet we love not perfectly Reas 2 Second Reason Because otherwise there would be no distinction between the state of Glory and the state of Grace if Grace were consummate in this mortall life Reas 3 Third Reason Because the Saints on Earth have sinne remaining in them and they that deny it are lyars and no truth in them And we shall finde that all the Fathers against the Novatians and Donatists so understand the place The Church Triumphant without spot or wrinkle and not the Church Militant Script 7 2 Tim. 4.7 Paul had fought a good fight and finished his course And
perfect It must follow that by our strength the virtue of Christs Crosse must be abated 2 Cor. 12.9 And in 2 Cor. 5.20 the Apostle saith God hath made Christ to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousnesse of God as I said before he doth not say actively that we should make or work our own righteousnesse but passively That we should be made that is ex indebita misericordia of Gods free mercy the righteousness of God and that Not by our selves lest we should glory in our selves but by another Jesus Christ blessed for ever more And thus the Apostle 3 Phil. 9. relinquisheth his own righteousnesse That he might be found in Christ c. No man therefore by grace infused by the Holy Ghost can perform such perfect obedience unto the Law of God in this life as not to offend against the same or to be thereby justified c. I grant that unto the Regenerate the Law in some sort is possible As first concerning outward order and discipline Secondly as concerning the imputation of Christs righteousnesse that is by the benefit of justification and regeneration both which benefits we obtein by faith For such God looketh upon in the face of his Son in whom he is alone well pleased Mat. 3.17 And his fulfilling the Law is their fulfilling though not in the same manner yet in as good effect as if it had been by themselves done and that thus Hee for them they by him He actually performed they by imputation He by virtue and merit they by gift and grace And thirdly as touching the beginning of inward and outward obedience in this life This is the love of God that we keep his Commandements 1 John 5.3 But the Law is impossible to the Regenerate in respect of God that is as touching the perfect inward and outward obedience of the Law as Psalme 143.2 Enter not into judgement with thy Servant c. For first They fulfill not the Law perfectly because they doe many things contrary to the Law In many things we offend all James 3.2 And who knowes the errors of his life c. Psalme 19. And those things also which they doe according to the Law are imperfect For in the Regenerate as I shewed you in the former position there are many sins yet remaining as originall sin ignorances and impurities c. which they themselves acknowledge and bewail Isay 64.6 We have been as an vnclean thing and all our righteousnesse is as filthy rags Or thus the perfect obedience to the Commandements of Gods Law is fulfilled in us two manner of wayes First by application of Christs righteousnesse to us He is our Head and we his Members and are so united with him that now we are not to be taken as sundry but as one body with him By virtue of the which Communion it comes to passe that that which is ours is his and that which is his is ours So that in our Head we have fulfilled the Law and satisfied Gods justice for our sinnes as I shewed you before Secondly it will be fulfilled in us by our perfect sanctification though now we have but begun obedience and in part The Lord Jesus at the last day when the last enemie which is death shall be be subdued shall bring it in us to perfection This is the end which Christ hath proposed unto himself Eph. 5.26 and whereof he cannot be frustrate as he hath begun it so he shall finish it He shall conform us to the Law the righteousness thereof shall be fulfilled in us There shall not be left in our nature so much as a sinfull motion or desire but he shall at the last present us pure and without blame to his Father He shall make us perfectly answerable to that holinesse which the Law requireth and in his own good time shall bring it to passe But that the Law is fulfilled in men in this life is denyed by some of their own fraternity Sin is condemned saith Cajetan but not extinguished Again the Apostle affirmeth possitively That no man shall be justified by the works of the Law as in Gal. 2.16 remarkable Rom. 10.4 Christ is the end of the Law for righteousnesse to all that believe and in 2 Gal. 2. If righteousnesse come by the Law then Christ died in vain And in the 3. and the 11.1 it is evident that no man is justified by the Law for the just shall live by faith And in the 18. verse if the Inheritance be of the Law it is no more of Promise But God gave it to Abraham by promise and it is Faith that answers the promise obedience holds no proportion with it Again in Rom. 8.3 the Apostle saith For that that was impossible to the Law in as much as it was weak because of the flesh God sending his own sonne in the similitude of sinfull flesh and that for sin condemned sin in the flesh Where the Apostle having in the first verse set down a Proposition of comfort belonging to them who are in Christ and confirmed it in the second verse he here proceedeth to the explication of the confirmation and doth declare how it is that Christ hath freed us from the Law of sin And first he sheweth us in this place how Christ hath freed us from the condemning power of sinne Namely that he taking upon him our nature and therewithall the burthen of our sinnes hath condemned sinne in his blessed body and so disanulled it that it hath no power to condemn us And this benefit he amplifies showing that by no other means we could obtein it For where without Christ there is but one way for men to come to life namely the observance of the Law He lets us see it was impossible for the Law to save us And least it should seem that he blamed the Law he subjoyns that this impotencie of the Law proceeds from ourselves Because that we through fleshly corruption that is in us cannot fulfill that righteousnesse which the Law requires Now the impotencie of the Law appears in these two things First It craveth of us which we had not to give namely perfect obedience unto all the Lords Commandements and that under pain of death which albeit most justly it be required of us considering that by Creation we received from God a nature so holy that it was able to doe the Law yet now by reason of the depravation of our nature drawn on by our selves it is impossible that we can perform it Secondly The Law could not give that unto us whereof wee stood in need namely That the infinite debt of Transgression which we had contracted should be forgiven unto us This I say the Law could not doe for the Law commands obedience but promises not pardon of disobedience Yea rather It binds the curse of God upon us for it And again We stand in need of a suparnaturall grace to reform deformed nature and this also the Law could
not doe it being a doctrine that shews us the way of life but doth not minister grace unto us to walk therein But all these which the Law could not doe Jesus Christ by whom commeth grace and life hath done unto us Therefore there is no life to be found in the observance of the Law It being impossible for the Law to give They therefore that seeke life only in the observance thereof shall never find it Again the Apostle in another place calls the Law the Ministery of death and condemnation and that because it instantly bindes men under death for every transgression of her Commandements So that he that hath eyes to see what an universall rebellion of nature there is in man to Gods holy Law Yea what imperfections and discordance with the Law are remanent in them who are renewed by grace may easily espy the blinde presumption of those who seek life in the ministry of death Yet so universall is this error that it hath overgone the whole posterity of Adam Nature teaching all men who are not illuminated by Christ to seek salvation in their own deeds that is to stand to the covenant of works But the Supernaturall doctrine of the Evangelist teacheth us to transcend nature to goe out of our selves and to seek salvation in the Lord Jesus And so to use the Law not that we seek life by fulfilling it which here is impossible but as a School-master to lead us unto Christ in whom we have remission of our sin sanctification of our nature acceptance of our imperfect obedience benefits which the Law could never afford us Thus you see it is impossible for us in our own persons to fulfill the Law of God no such grace being given from above as I shewed you before or if we could yet it is not possible for the Law to save us not in respect of any desert or imperfection in the Law For the Law is just good and holy Rom. 7.12 But in regard of the corruption of our nature which is not able to yeeld such perfect obedience unto the Law as the Law requireth Nay I say further that although the Law be good yet it is not good to this end neither was it ordained of God for this purpose For the Law was given to a double end First common to all men Secondly proper to two sorts of men First to the Elect and Reprobates First in respect of all men the Law was given First to shew unto all men what was sin for by the Law commeth the knowledge of sin Rom. 3. and I had not known that lust had been sin had not the Law said thou shalt not lust Secondly to shew the wrath of God for sinne and by the transgression thereof to make all men see how justly they be worthy of eternal death And therefore the Apostle saith in 1 Cor. 3. that the Law causeth wrath and is the ministry of condemnation because it sheweth unto us how justly we deserve wrath and condemnation Thirdly to be a rule of righteousnesse to restrain all men from sin and to retein them in a civill course of living for the common good of humane society Secondly the Law was given to these two proper ends First in respect of the Reprobate to make them without excuse because the Law teacheth them what should be done and what should be left undone And therefore it leaves them without excuse if they leave the one and commit the other Secondly In respect of the elect the Law was given to be a means by the sight of their sinnes to seek out a Saviour that should deliver them from their sinnes And in this respect As he that informeth us of some dangerous disease doth tacitly advise us to seek for some expert Physitian So is the Law said to be our Schoolmaster to teach us by the manifestation of our sinnes to seek unto Christ for our deliverance But the Law was never intended to that end that it should justifie us and of it self bring us to eternall life For first if eternall life had been promised only to them that keep the Law then the promise had been made vain because it was impossible for our corrupt nature to perform it Secondly if righteousnesse could have come by Law then Christ had died in vain because it was superfluous for him to dye for us when as we might procure life by the works of the Law And therefore it is apparent that by the works of the Law no flesh living can be justified Thirdly For hypocriticall Gospellers such as seem Saints in ostentation that they may play the Divels without supicion which say they have Faith but shew no works that are not vayled with hypocrisie and intended to wrong ends let Esayas tell you how acceptable these works are to God Esay 1. and whether they be like to justifie them before God or not For the Lord complayneth that he is weary of them that his Soul hateth them and biddeth them to bring no more such sacrifice unto him Fourthly For the true Christians that are born not of Blood nor of the Will of the Flesh but of God If any works could justifie it must needs be that their works wrought in them and thorow them by the Spirit of God should justifie them And yet we say that the best works of the best regenerate men cannot justifie them before God And thus we prove it First Because all the Graces that we receive in this life are but in part given unto us as I shewed in the proof of the other position and so imperfect Graces Not that the Spirit of God works imperfectly but that he means not here to inrich us with any Grace while we are conversant with sinfull men in this vale of misery but only so farre forth as he seeth fit to bring us to the Kingdome of perfection where that which is in part shall be done away 1 Cor. 13.10 and therefore our inherent justice being but as our knowledge in part and therefore imperfect it is impossible that it should perfectly justifie us before God Secondly Because that although our good works are perfect in respect of Gods Spirit which effecteth them Yet seeing as fair water is defiled by running through a dirty Channell so our best works are tainted when they passe through us that are so subject to sinne and so many times polluted with so many iniquities It is unpossible we should be justified before him in whosepresence nothing in the least manner polluted can stand uncondemned and therefore as the Prophet saith all our righteousnesse is as astained clothe Esay 64.6 And as Gregory saith Moral lib. 21. cap. 15. lib. 5. cap. 7. All mens righteousnesse should be found unrighteousnesse if God should strictly Judge it And Aug. Wo to the most laudable and best life of man If God laying aside his mercy should discusse the same in the strictnesse of his Justice for alas who knoweth not that God is a God of