Bondage is It s being carried out unto sinne voluntarily and with delight ¶ 9. Thirdly It is evident by its utter impotency to any thing that is spiritual Here is shewed wherein that inability consists ¶ 10. That man naturally loves his thraldom to sin and contradicts the means of Deliverance ¶ 11. It s Bondage is seen in its Concupiscential Affection to some creature or other never being able to lift it self up to God ¶ 12. That when it doth endeavour to overcome any sinne it is by falling into another ¶ 13. The more means of grace to free us the more our slavery appears ¶ 14. The Necessity of a Redeemer demonstrates our thraldome to sinne ¶ 15. An Examination of the Descriptions and Definitions of Freedom or Liberty of Will which many Writers give it Shewing That none of them are any wayes agreeing to the Will unsanctified CHAP. V. Of the Pollution of the Affections Col. 3. 2. Set your Affections upon things above not on things on the earth SECT I. The Text opened SECT II. Of the Nature of the Affections SECT III. How the Affections are treated of severally by the Philosopher the Physician the Oratour and the Divine SECT IV. The Natural Pollution of the Affections is manifested 1. In the Dominion and Tyranny they have over the Understanding and Will ¶ 2. Secondly In regard of the first motions and risings of them ¶ 3. Thirdly In respect of their Progress and Degrees ¶ 4. Fourthly In respect of the Continuance or Duration of them SECT V. They are wholly displaced from their right Object SECT VI. Their sinfulness is discovered in respect of the End and Use for which God ingraffed them in our Natures SECT VII And in their Motion and Tendency thereunto SECT VIII In respect of the Contrariety and Opposition of them one to another SECT IX The Pollution of the Affections in respect of the Conflict between the natural Conscience and them SECT X. In respect of the great Distractions they fill us with in holy Duties SECT XI Their Deformity and Contrariety to the Rule and Exemplary Patern SECT XII Their Dulness and senslesness though the Understanding declare the good to be imbraced SECT XIII The Affections being drawn out in holy Duties from corrupt Motiveâ— shews the Pollution of them SECT XIV That they are more zealously carried out to any false way than to the Truths of God SECT XV. They are for the most part in-lets to all sinne in the Soul SECT XVI The Privacy of them SECT XVII Their hurtfull Effects upon a mans Body SECT XVIII The sad Effects they have upon others SECT XIX And how readily they receive the Devils Temptations CHAP. VI. The Sinfulness of the Imaginative Power of the Soul Gen. 6. 5. And God saw that every Imagination of the thoughts of mans heart was only evil and that continually SECT 1. The Text explained and vindicated against D. J. Taylor Grotius the Papists and Socinians SECT II. Of the Nature of the Imagination in a man SECT III. 1. The Natural Sinfulnesse of the Imagination appears in its making Idols Supports and vain Conceits whereby it pleaseth it self SECT IV. 2. In respect of its Defect from that end and use which God did intend in the Creation of man with such a power SECT V. 3. Restlesnesse SECT VI. 4. Universality Multitude and Disorder of the Imaginations SECT VII 5. Their Roving and Wandring up and down without any fixed way SECT VIII 6. Their Impertinency and Unreasonableness SECT IX 7. The Imagination eclypseth and for the most part keeps out the Understanding SECT IX In the Imaginations for the most part are conceived all actual impieties SECT X. That many times Sinne is acted by the Imagination with Delight and Content without any relation at all to the external actings of Sinne. SECT XI It s Propensity to all evil both towards God and man SECT XII It continually invents new sins or occasions of sins SECT XIII The Sinfulness of the Imagination manifesteth it self in reference to the Word of God and the ministerial preaching thereof SECT XIV It is more affected with Appearances then Realities SECT XV. It s Sinfulness in respect of fear and the workings of Conscience SECT XVI Of the Actings of the Imagination in Dreams SECT XVII The Imagination is not in that orderly Subordination to the rational part of man as it was in the Primitive Condition SECT XVIII It is according to Austin's Judgement the great instrument of conveying Original Sinne to the Child SECT XIX How prone it is to receive the Devils Impressions and Suggestions SECT XX. Some Corollaries from the Premisses CHAP. VII Of the last Subject of Inhesion or seat of Original Sinne viz. the Body of a man 1 Thess 5. 23. And the very God of peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and Body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ SECT II. The Text explained SECT III. Scripture-proofs of the sinfull Pollution of the Body SECT IV. The sinfulness of the Body discovered in particulars ¶ 1. It is not now instrumental and serviceable to the Soul in holy Approaches to God but on the contrary a clog and burden ¶ 2. It doth positively affect and defile the Soul ¶ 3. A man acts more according to the Body and the Inclinations thereof then the mind with the Dictates thereof ¶ 4. The Body by Original Sinne is made a Tempter and a Seducer ¶ 5. It doth objectively occasion much sinne to the Soul ¶ 6. It s indisposition to any service of God ¶ 7. How easily the Body is moved and stirred by the passions and affections thereof ¶ 8. The Body when sanctified is become no lesse glorious then the Temple of the holy Ghost CHAP. VIII Of the Subject of Predication Shewing that every one of mankind Christ only excepted is involved in this sinne and misery Luk. 1. 35 Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God SECT I. The Text explained SECT II. The Aggravations of Original Sinne. ¶ 1. The Aggravation of Adam's Actual Transgression ¶ 2. The Aggravation of Original Sinne inherent ¶ 3. An Objection Answered SECT III. That every one by Nature hath his peculiar Original Sinne. SECT IV. That Original Sinne in every one doth vent it self betimes SECT V. How soon a Child may commit Actual Sinne. SECT VI. Whether Original Sinne be alike in all CHAP. X. A Justification of Gods shutting up all under Sinne for the Sinne of Adam in the sense of the Reformed Churches against the Exceptions of D. J. Taylor and others Gal. 3. 24. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sinne that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe SECT I. The Text explained SECT II. Prâ—positions to direct us in this great Point of Gods Proceedings as to the matter of Original Sinne. SECT III. Objections Answered The Contents of the
live where you have the duty supposed to mortifie that implieth it is not enough to forbear from the actings of sinne but they must kill it Sinne may be left upon many considerations yet not mortified Look therefore that sinne be dead in thee and not asleepy or onely restrained for a season Again To mortifie signifieth the pain and renitency that is in the unregenerate part against this Duty A wicked man had almost as willingly be killed as leave his lusts This sheweth how fast sinne is rooted in us more than a tooth in the jaw or the soul in the body and if any of these are not taken away without much pain and trouble no wonder if the leaving of our corruptions be so troublesom to us Lastly This word supposeth It 's a constant work we are alwayes mortifying alwayes crucifying This is spoken to comfort the godly that they should not wholly be dejected if they find some actings and stirrings of sinne still within them SECT III. SEcondly There is the Object of this Duty and that is The deeds of the body Many translate it The deeds of the flesh for that which was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before is here called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now this body is not only sinne putting it self forth in bodily actions but it is the same with flesh which is original corruption defiling the whole man So that the body here as Beza doth well observe is The whole man in soul and body while unregenerate for the flesh the body here spoken of by the Apostle is in the soul as well as body it is every thing that is opposite to God in a man whether it be in his mind or in his flesh So that Austin said The Epicurean he saith Frui carne meâ est bonum to enjoy the flesh is good The Stock he saith Frui mente meâ est bonum to enjoy my mind is good but both are deceived for to enjoy God only is good and both the body and the mind are all over defiled with sin SECT IV. LAstly There is the Efficient Cause by which we mortifie the deeds of the body and that is the Spirit It 's not our power but Gods Spirit that conquereth these lusts for us Observe That original sinne is a body in us It is a body both in our soul and body it 's called a body not properly as if it were a substance but metaphorically and allusively So Rom. 6. 6. it 's called The body of sinne and certainly it may as well be called so as flesh and the old man SECT V. Why Original Sinne is called a Body BUt let us consider Why it hath such a name given to it And First It is to shew That original sinne doth not lie latent in our breasts but putteth it self forth visibly in all the operations of the body That as the Godhead is said to dwell in Christ boaâ—ly and the Word was made flesh because the Divine Nature which is immaterial and invisible did through the body become as it were visible Thus we may say Original sinne dwelleth in us bodily and that it is made our flesh because in and through all bodily actions it doth manifest it self both to our selves and others It is then the body of sinne because it makes it self outward visible and doth as it were incarnate sinne hence it is called the outward man Indeed it is disputed whether 2 Cor. 4. 16. where the Apostle saith Though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed daily By outward man there is meant the body only or original sinne in the bodily deeds thereof Most do interpret it of the body only yet Paraeus understands it of original sinne with the body That as the body and original corruptions with the effects thereof are constantly dying being mortified by the Spirit of God so the inward man which is the work of grace is daily more confirmed Howsoever this be yet it is plain Rom. 7. 22. That the work of grace within us being called the inward man that by opposition original corruption must be the outward man and therefore called The Law in our members It is thought by Nerimbergius that the Apostle taketh this distinction of an outward and inward man from Plato out of whom he quoteth a place with some vicinity to Paul's expression This is certain That original sinne may well be called a body and the Law in our members because by these it doth so palpably put forth its self Insomuch that we may wonder any will not believe there is original sinne for it is obvious to the sense they may behold the effects of it that as you may know a man hath a soul because he speaketh and laugheth though you cannot see the soul Thus though you cannot see original sinne yet because as soon as ever the child can speak or do any thing you see vanity and sinne put forth it self therefore you may conclude there is original sinne Thou then that wilt not be convinced of it by Scripture by reasons and several Authorities we send thee to experience You cannot go from house to house from Town to Town from company to company but you may see the effects and actings of original sinne If you say It 's mens actual sins and custom therein that makes them so vile It is true But still we ask Whence came the custom Whence came they to have those actings Certainly those streams could not have been polluted if the fountain had not been and if original sinne did not infect our natures why should not men generally as well act that which is good and obtain a custom in that which is commendable Therefore experience thy eyes thy ears may convince thee of this bodily sinne Secondly The Apostle calleth it a Body to answer those other expressions that he useth about it for he often calleth upon us to mortifie to kill to crucifie this original sinne Now to mortifie and crucifie are properly relating to a Body we do not say properly accidents or qualities are crucified To make therefore the expression harmonious he calleth it a Body Howsoever therefore it is with our natural body that no man ever yet hated his own flesh we are to nourish and cherish that and it would be murder to mortifie that body yet this Body of sinne is to be kept under we are not to spare it but by the Spirit of God to be constantly crucifying of it neither let that discourage thee because as you heard this will be painfull and grievous to flesh and blood for you must conclude upon this That the way to Heaven is narrow and straight there must be constant violence and opposition to all natural inclinations Every godly man may well be called a Martyr for though he may feel no pain in the killing of his natural body yet he must and will feel much exercise in killing the body of sinne but better endure some grief here than eternal torments hereafter
Our Saviour speaks to this twice as it 's mentioned by the Evangelist Matthew Chap. 5. 30 18. 3. It is better saith he to go halt and blind into life than with two hands and eyes to be cast into everlasting fire Think then whether will be more burdensom to leave the pleasures of sinne here or hereafter to be tormented to all eternity Thirdly Original sinne may be called a Body To shew the reality of it that it is not a meer fancy or humane figment as some call it or a non ens as the late Writer D. J. T. Answ to a letter We know the Scripture and so our use of speech opposeth a body to a shadow The Legal Rites are called a shadow and Christ the body Thus original sinne it is not the shadow or the notion of a sinne it liveth and moveth as well as actual it provoketh God it curseth and damneth as well as actual sins So that we are not to flight it or to be fearless of it but rather to tremble under it as the fountain of all our evil and calamity The word Body is sometimes taken for that which is substantial and real in which sense some have excused Tertullian and others that attributed a body to God and Angels as if they intended nothing but a real substance as the aâ—iome of the Stoicks was Omne quod est est corpus Hence they made Virtues and the Arts Bodies But whatsoever their intentions might be the expression is dangerous for God is a Spirit but there is no danger to call original sinne a Body thereby to express the full and real nature of it and thus farre Illyricus his intention was good though his opinion was absurd to amplifie those terms the Scripture giveth to original sinne in opposition to Popery wherein they speak so coldly and formally of it only that he should therefore make it to be more than an accident even the substance of a man in a theological consideration hence he did overthrow all Philosophy and Divinity So that properly the Lutheran Poet cannot be excused when he saith Ipse Deo eoram sine Christo culpa scelumque Ipse ego peccatum sum proprieque vocer In a figurative expression it may pass but he intended Flaccianism hence Contzen speaks of Illyricus by scorn Cujus vel substantia est peccatum Yet thus much we must take notice of That the Scripture doth not in vain use such substantive names about our natural defilement for hereby it doth aggravate it and would have us also know the greatness and vileness of it For how few are there till sanctified and enlightned by the Spirit of God that do bewail this as an heavy burden They can complain of the pains the aches the troubles of their natural body but do not at all regard this body of sin whereas to a spiritual tender heart this body of sinne is farre more grievous than any bodily diseases or death it self yea death is therefore welcome to them because that alone will free from this body of sinne so that they shall never be molested with it more Fourthly Original sinne is called the Body of sinne Because it is a mass of sin a lump of all evil It is not one sinne but all sinne seminally And this seemeth to be the most formal and express reason why the Apostle giveth it this name calling it a Body and attributing members to it for as a body is not one member or one part but the whole compounded of all Thus is original sinne it is not the defilement or pollution in one part of the soul but it diffuseth it self through all It is a body of sinne and herein it doth exceed all actual transgressions and for this reason we ought the more to grieve and mourn under it The body is heavier than one part why are actual sins a load upon thee but this which is the cause of all and comprehends all thou art never affected with O pray more for the Spirit of conviction by the Word Look oftner into the pure glass of the Law Compare thy universal deformity with that exact purity It is for want of this the pharisaical and the natural man is so self-confident trusteth so much in his own heart doth so easily perswade himself of Gods love whereas if we come to a Christian like Paul complaining of this Law of sinne within him finding it captivating and haling of him whither he would not then we have much a do to comfort such an one all our work is to make him have any hope in Christ he thinketh none are so bad as he that the very devils have not worse in them than he feeleth in himself and all this is because original sinne is such a loathsom dunghill in his brest that as those who have putrified arms or other parts of their body they cannot endure themselves they would flie from themselves Thus it is with them because of this original pollution Fifthly Original sinne may be called a Body Because it inclineth onely to carnal earthly and bodily things not at all savouring the things of God and his Spirit Hence it is called so often the flesh because it only carrieth a man to fleshly things being contrary to God and full of enmity to his will as Rom. 8. And doth not experience confirm this Take any man till renewed by grace and all the bent and impulse of his soul are to such things alone that are earthy and sensual Jam. 3. 17. The Apostle James doth there excellently describe the nature of all natural wisdom It is earthy sensual and devilish Every one by nature is both beastly and devillish This body of sinne presseth him down to the earth and hell Insomuch that you may as soon see a worm flying in the air like a bird as a man abiding in this natural pollution having his conversation in heaven So that being made thus bodily and carnal all the spiritual things of God are both above our apprehension and contrary to our affections Now this very particular if there were no more is as deep as the Sea and containeth unspeakable matter of humiliation viz. That by this natural pollution we are destitute of Gods Spirit Spiritual things are no more apprehended by us than melody by the deaf ear Do ye not see wise men learned men yea great Scholars when you come to discourse with them about spiritual things they are very fools and are as blind as moles that live wholly in the earth But of this more in the effects of original sin Lastly In the Scripture Body is used sometimes for the strength and power of a thing And thus original sinne is the body as that which giveth life and motion to all actual sins Let the Use be greatly to humble thee under this notion Gods word gives original sinne This sinfull body It troubleth thee thou hast a mortal body a corruptible body but above all this body of sinne should be a burden to
is causally and seminally in the first man so propagated from man to man but this hath deservedly been acknowledged the hardest knot to unty in all this doctrinal truth about original sinne how the soul can come to be polluted if created from God In this Argument The Pelagians did much tryumph and Austin was so puzled with it that he many times confesseth his ignorance at least his doubt in this point yea he saith That he could neither legendo erando or ratiocinando find out how the propagation of original sinne and the creation of the soul could be defended together But of this more in its time SECT II. The great Objections that are against asserting the Souls Creation IT is certain that here are dangerous rocks on both sides for if we say the soul is created then seeing God cannot but make every thing holy he cannot make a sinfull soul how then can it be infected with sinne Again if the soul be created then it was not virtually in Adam then it could not be said to sinne in him because it was never in him for why did not Christ sinne in him but because he was not seminally in him and if the soul was never radically in Adam how can it be polluted is it just with God to punish that with Adams sinne which never sinned in Adam If it be said that the soul when united to the body doth from that receive infection as if pure liquour were powred into a stinking vessel This will not solve but increase the doubt for a vessel indeed may pollute liquour because they are both bodies and so act by a corporall contact but the soul is a spirit and its a rule say they received by all that a body cannot act upon a spirit Besides sinne is properly in the soul and must from that be conveyed to the body The body whie without a soul is not capable of sinne no more then a bruit beast It hath no reason it is under no law how then can that communicate sinne to the soul when it hath none at all it self Thus you see what strong cords here are even that a Sampson can hardly break SECT III. Objections against holding that the Souls come by Generation Multiplication c. THen on the other side if you think that the only way to maintain the propagation of original corruption is to hold that the souls are not immediately created of God but either by generation or multiplication or some other way Then here also are more dangerous rocks for if we hold this we seem to contradict some strong Texts of Scripture that maketh God the immediate giver of the soul Besides we must then necessarily make it material yea though they who hold the traduction of the soul will not grant that consequence yet it cannot be avoided but what is generable is corruptible and so the soul must be mortall and that rule of Aquinas seemeth to carry much evident light with it Quod dependet a materiâ quoad fieri dependet quod existere This rule holds true in every thing else and why should it be denied about the soul if the soul in its beginning depends upon the body it cannot continue seperate from it and so be immortal SECT IV. THus you see there is a veil upon the face of this Doctrine But although modesty and sobriety be necessary in this point as also in the Doctrine of the Trinity and Christs incarnation yet as in them its necessary to search the Scriptures and so farre to improve the light shining from them that we may be able to convince heretical gainsayers Thus it is also in this truth so much knowledge as is not forbidden yea as is revealed in the Scripture let us thankfully acknowledge and humbly yet with diligence and constancy improve against those who by reason of these difficulties would overthrow the fundamental Truth it self we must not for some seeming Objections forsake the clear Texts of Scripture It commonly falleth out that almost in every great and fundamental truth in Religion as the Doctrine of the Trinity the Doctrine of Justification There is some Objection above all the rest that hath more difficulty in it then ordinary and so it is here but let us not be afraid to get Canaan because of some Anakims in the way SECT V. The severall Wayes that learned Men have gone to remove the aforesaid Difficulties TO guid you therefore in this wilderness to it let us consider what are the several waies that many either of learned or of corrupt judgements have said to the clearing of this And First There are and have been some in the Church following Origen who also followed Plato deriving many opinions from him who did thus think to make this truth easy By holding that the souls were created long before the bodies and that upon their evill and sinne committed they were adjudged to be put into bodies and so from hence it is that they say man is so propense to all evill Therefore they will not say That the souls of men are either by traduction or immediate creation and infusion into the body but that they were created long before the body and while preexistent before it they deserved to be put into this dark prison of the body There was one Vincentius Victor according to his name bold and audacious who disliked Austin for his cunctation and deliberation in the point of the traduction of the soul which occasioned Austin to write four Books De origine animae Now this Vincentius he affirmed That the soul was created before the body and did deserve to be made part of that man who is a sinner yea that it did deserve to be made peccatrix a sinner Some have also thought that this was a general received opinion amongst the Jewes and they proove it from that question proposed to Christ concerning the man born blind yea they were Christs Disciples that did make that question so that it seemeth they were still infected with that vulgar error for Joh. 92 They say Master who did sinne this man or his parents that he should be born blind They ask whether the sinnes of the mans parents or his own sinnes made him to be born blind now he could not have any sinnes before he was born unless his soul did preexist before his body and it seemeth the Pharisees concluded that they were his own sinnes for they say ver 34. Thou wast altogether born in sinnes They did not happily mean original sinne for they say sinnes which must be actual sinnes either his own or his parents But this opinion is so wicked and absurd that to name it is enough to refel it and for this monstrous figment might Origen be called Centaurus as well as for others Only two things are to be said to it First If souls for sinnes acted were adjudged to their bodies how is it that the Scripture giveth that command of Increase and multiply how is it
these earthly things therefore it is that as we have inordinate delight in the possessing of them so immoderate sorrow in the losing of them For that is a true Rule about all these things Non est earendo difficultas nisi cum in habendo est cupiditas Now all this trouble and perplexing grief ariseth from the pollution of the soul being destitute of that glorious Image Sixthly Man having lost the Image of God thus in his soul hence it is that he liveth a wretched instable and unquiet life for being off in his heart from God he therefore is tossed up and down according to the mutability of every creature Hence no man having no more then what he hath by Adam can live any quiet secure and peaceable life but is tossed up and down with contrary winds sometimes fears sometimes hope sometimes joy sometimes sorrow so that he is never in the Haven but alwayes floting upon the waters Thus miserable is a mans life till the Image of God be repaired in him Lastly From this universal pollution upon a man it followeth That be abuseth every good thing he hath that he sinneth in all things and by all things That whether he eateth or drinketh whether he buyeth or selleth he cannot refer any one of these to the ultimate end which is Gods glory but to inferiour and self-respects Oh wretched and miserable estate wherein thou hast abused every mercy God hath given thee to his dishonour and thy damnation Thou hast turned all thy honey into gall and poison thou wast never able to fulfill that command 1 Cor. 7. So to use the world as not to abuse it Thy meat thy raiment thy health thy wealth they have all been abused neither hath God been glorified or the salvation of thy soul promoted thereby CHAP. VII Of the last Subject of Inhesion or Seat of Original Sinne viz. the Body of a Man SECT I. 1 THES 5. 23. And the very God of peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ HItherto we have been discovering the universal pollution of the soul by original sinne and that both in the upper and lower region the rational and sensitive part thereof Our method now requireth that we should manifest the defilement and contagion that is upon the Body also For as it was in the deluge that did overflow the world the cause did precede both from above and beneath Gen. 7. 11. The fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of Heaven were opened from above and below did come the overflowing of waters Thus it is in that spiritual deluge of sinne which doth overflow all mankind There is corruption in the superiour parts of the soul and there is also in the body the lowest and meanest part of man So that whatsoever goeth to the making of man is all over defiled There is nothing in soul or body but is become thus polluted we therefore proceed to the last subject of Inhesion or seat of original sinne and that is the body of man which will be declared from the Text we are to insist upon SECT II. The Text explained FOr the Coherence of it observe that the Apostle having in the former verses enjoyned many excellent and choice duties In this verse he betaketh himself to prayer to God in their behalf that God would sanctifie them and inable them thereunto for in vain did Paul water by this Doctrinal Information unless God did give the increase and withall we see that is a true Rule That precepts are not a measure of our power They declare indeed our duty but they do not argue our power otherwise prayer thus to God would have been needless In the prayer it self we may consider the matter it self prayed for and that is set down 1. Summarily and in the General And then 2. Distributively in several particulars The General is That they may be sanctified wholly or throughout 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Thessalonians were supposed to be sanctified already but yet the Apostle doth here pray for their further sanctification which doth evidence That the Doctrine of perfection in this life is a proud and presumptuous errour If they had attained to the highest pitch of sanctification already why should they still grow in it Thus the Apostle doth often press Gospel-duties upon such as attain to them already but because they have not perfection therefore they are to be urged forward Thus the Apostle writing to those that were reconciled 2 Cor. 5. 20. saith We pray you be reconciled to God So to the Ephes 4. 23 24. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man c. He speaketh as if the work were now to begin as if they had not as yet been partakers of this new-creature Not but that they were so onely there was much behind still to be perfected much leaven was to be purged out they were still imperfect and therefore are to forget what is behind pressing forward to the mark In the second place you have the Distribution of this whole in its parts This Sanctification is to be exercised in a three-fold subject your Spirit Soul and Body It is not Sanctification simply he prayeth for but growing and increasing that it be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in the Original that it have all that the lot 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a lot what the condition of them doth require what holiness is the spirits portion the souls condition to have that they are to partake of but because this will never be gradually perfect in this life though integrally it is therefore he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without blame Though the godly are not preserved without sinne yet they may without fals such as may make them notoriously culpable and faulty before men but because it is not enough for a time to be preserved and then afterwards to be left to our selves for then we should quickly lick up our old vomit again he therefore addeth that this preservation should be even to the coming of Christ Now that which I intend chiefly out of these words is the Subject to be sanctified and that not the two former viz. Spirit and Soul of whose uncleanness we have largely treated already but of the Body which is last of all Only it is necessary to speak a little to the explication of these three parts of man how they differ for commonly when the Scripture speaketh of man it enumerateth but two parts the Soul and the Body as Eccles 12. 7. and in the creation of man we have only two parts instanced in which are his Soul and his Body Because of this there have been various conjectures upon this place for some have hence made three parts of man his Body his Soul which they make to be the sensitive part of man and his Spirit which they make to be some
part as it were flowing from the essence of God and this they acknowledge immortal but the soul and the body they say are mortal And the ancient Heretiques the Apollinarists might runne to this refuge who denied Christ to have any rational soul but his Divine Nature and his sensitive soul and body do make upon Christ The Manichees also affirmed two souls in men the one rational that was good and of God The other evil and the fountain of evil the sensitive soul coming from the Devil Yea Cerda upon Tertul. de anima lib. 3. saith not only Dydimus but others of the ancients did incline to this opinion that the Spirit was a distinct part in a man from soul and body which opinion Austin opposed Thus this Text hath favoured as some think that opinion of two souls in a man his rational and sensitive not in the Manichean way but in a Philosophical way and some learned men indeed have thought by holding two distinct souls many inconveniences would be avoided which are maintained in Philosophy and also the conflict and combate that is between the flesh and the spirit would be better explicated But certainly the Scripture speaketh constantly of man as having but one soul What will it profit a man to winne the whole world and lose his soul not his souls which Chrysostome used as an argument to make man watchfull to the salvation of it saying If thou hast lost one eye thou hast another to help thee if one arm another to support thee but if thou losest thy only soul thou hast not another to be saved Others therefore that they may avoid this inconvenience of holding three parts in a man do by spirit understand the work of grace in a man Thus the Greek Interpreters of old and some learned men of late but this doth not appear any wayes probable nor will the Context runn smoothly to make grace as it were a part of a man neither is it coherent to pray that God would preserve our grace our soul and body but rather grace in them Therefore we take spirit and soul for the same real substance in a man onely diversified by its several operations Lactantius cals it an inextrieable Question Whether animus and anima be the same thing in man meaning by anima that whereby the body is enlivened by animus that whereby we reason and understand but there seemeth to be no such difficulty therein the Scripture promiscuously calling it sometimes a soul and sometimes a spirit It 's called the spirit in regard of the understanding and reason as Ephes 4. 23. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind and soul because of the affectionate part therein so that the Apostle doth not mean two distinct parts in a man but two distinct powers and offices in the same soul You have a parallel expression Heb. 4. 12. where the word of God is said To divide between soul and spirit which afterwards is expressed by discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart Thus when Mary said Luke 1. 46 47. My soul doth magnifie the Lord and my spirit hath rejoyced in God she meaneth the same part within her only giveth it divers names This being explained whereas we see the Apostle praying for the sanctification of the body as well as the soul it is plain That it is unclean and sinfull as well as the soul else it did not need Sanctification From whence observe That the body of a man naturally is defiled and sinfull Sanctification extendeth adequately to our pollution Seeing then it is required of man that his body be holy and he is to glorifie God in that as well as in his soul and this cannot be without the sanctification of it it remaineth that our bodies are not only mortal but sinfull And indeed under the corruptibility of them we do readily groan and mourn under the diseases pains and aches of the body but spiritual life is required to be humbled for the sins of the body Object And if you say How can there be sinne in the body seeing that is not reasonable all sinne supposeth reason now the body being void of that it should seem that it is no more capable of sinne then bruit beasts are Answ To this it is answered That the body is called sinfull not because sinne is formally in it for so it is in the soul but because by it as an instrument sinne is accomplished The subjectum quod or of denomination of sinne is the person man himself The Principium quo formale is the soul the mind and will The medium or instrumentum quo is the body not that the body is only an instrument to the soul for it is an essential part of man with the soul as is further to be shewed Thus we truly call them sinfull eyes sinfull tongues because they do instrumentally accomplish the sinfulness of the heart when the Apostle prayeth That they might be sanctified wholly in spirit soul and body he prayeth for the reparation of Gods Image again Now when that was perfect in Adam the spirit was immediately subject to God the soul to the spirit the body to the soul So that what the spirit thought the soul affected and the body accomplished but now this excellent harmony being dissolved as the spirit is disobedient to God the affections to the spirit so also in the body to both and thereby it becometh a co-partner with the soul in sinne and therefore must be joyned with it in eternal torments SECT III. Scripture Proof of the sinfull pollution of the Body THat the very body of a man is sinfull and needeth sanctification is plain from these Texts 2 Cor. 7. 1. Having these promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holinesse This is spoken to those also that are regenerated none is perfect they must be perfecting As Apelles when he drew his line would write faciebat in the Imperfect tense not fecit as if he had finished it he would be still making it more exact so should we be in our best holy duties Amabam not amavi credebane not credidi there remaineth a further complement and fulness to be added to our best graces Now this perfection is by cleansing of the flesh and spirit that is the body and the soul It is a great errour among some Papists that they hold the spirit and mind of a man free from original contagion and therefore confine it only to the inferiour bodily parts but that hath sufficiently been confuted yet we deny not but the bodily part of man is likewise greatly contaminated and like an impure vessel defileth whatsoever cometh into it The uncleanness of the body appeareth also from that command Rom. 12. 1. where the Apostle enjoyneth that we should present our bodies a living Sacrifice holy and acceptable So that whatsoever we do by our body it is to be holy and acceptable unto God Now this exhortation was needless if we did
not naturally offer up our bodies a sacrifice to sinne and to the Devil For meerly a natural man serveth sinne and the Devil with all the parts of his body Therefore the Apostle speaking to persons converted Rom. 7. 19. saith As ye have yeelded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity so now yeeld your members servants to righteousness Thy eye was once the Devils and sinnes thy tongue was thy ear was by all these sinne was constantly committed so now have a sanctified body an holy eye a godly ear an heavenly tongue a pure body And indeed we need not runne for Texts of Scripture experience doth abundantly confirm the preparedness and readiness of the body to all suitable and pleasing iniquity Consider likewise that pregnant place Heb. 10. 22. Let us draw near with a pure heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water As the heart must be cleansed from all sinnes that our consciences may condemn us for so our bodies likewise must be washed with pure water it is an allusive expression to the legal custom which was for all before they drew nigh to the service of God to sprinkle themselves with pure water to take off the legal uncleanness of the body And thus we must still in a spiritual way that so the body may be fitted for Gods service As it is said of Christ Heb. 10. 5. A body thou hast prepared for me because the Spirit of God did so purifie that corpulent mass of which Christs body was made that being without all sinne he was thereby fitted for the work of a Mediator For as for the Socinian Interpretation who would apply it to Christs body made immortal and glorious as if it were to be understood of Christ entring into Heaven the Context doth evidently confute it that which the Apostle following the Septuaginnt in the original calleth Preparing the body out of which it is alledged Ps 40. 6. It is my ears hast thou opened aliuding to the Jewish custom who when a servant would not leave his Master his ears were to be boared and so he was to continue for ever with him The ears were boared because they are the instrument of hearing and obedience and thereby was signified that he would diligently hearken to his Masters commands Thus it was with Christ his ears were opened his whole body prepared to do the will of God Now as it was thus with Christ so in some respect it must be with us God must prepare and fit a body for us till grace sanctifie and polish it there is no readiness to any holy duty The seeing eye and the hearing ear God is said to make both Prov. 20. 12. By these instances out of Scripture you see what a Leprosie of sin hath spread over the body as well as the soul Oh that therefore we were sensible of these sinfull bodies that are such clogs to us such burdens to us in the way to Heaven But let us proceed to shew the sinfulness thereof in particulars SECT IV. The Sinfulness of the Body discovered in particulars ¶ 1. It is not now Instrumental and serviceable to the Soul in holy Approches to God but is a clog and burden FIrst The Body is not now instrumental and serviceable to the soul in holy approaches to God but is a clog and burden whereas to Adam abiding in the state of innocency the body was exceeding usefull to glorifie God with The body was as wings to the soul or as wheels to the chariot though weighty in themselves yet they do ableviate and help to motion They are both Onera and adjumenta oneranda exonerant Thus did the body to Adam's soul but now such is the usefulness yet the hinderance of the body to the souls operations that the very Heathens have complained of it calling it Carcer animae and Sepulchrum animae the prison of the soul the very grave of the soul as if the soul were buried in the body How much more may Christianity complain of this weight of the body while it is to runne its race to Heaven Mezenius is noted for a cruel fact of binding dead bodies to live men that so by the noisom stink of those carkasses the men tied to them might at last die a miserable death Truly by this may be represented original sinne not fully purged away by sanctification The godly do complain of this body of sinne as a noisom carkass joyned to them and with Paul cry out Wretched men that we are who shall deliver us from this bondage ¶ 2. It doth positively affect and defile the Soul SEcondly The bodies sinfulness doth not only appear thus privatively in being not subservient and helpfull to the soul But it doth also positively affect and defile the soul not by way of any phisical contact for so a body cannot work upon a spirit but by way of sympathy for seeing the soul and body are two constituent part essentially of man and the soul doth inform the body by an immediate union hence it is that there is a mutual fellowship one with another there is a mutual and reciprocal acting as it were upon one another the soul greatly affected doth make a great change upon the body and the body greatly distempered doth also make a wonderfull change upon the mind and if thereby man fall into madness and distractions why not also into sinne and pollutions of the mind Thus the corrupt soul maketh the body more vile and the corrupt body maketh the soul more sinful and so they do advance sinne in a mutual circle of causality Even as vapours cause clouds and clouds again dislolving do make vapours Thy sinful soul makes thy body more wicked and thy sinful body heightens the impiety of thy soul ¶ 3. A man acts more according to the body and the inclinations thereof then the mind with the Dictates thereof THirdly Herein is the pollution of the body manifested In that a man doth act more according to the body and the inclinations thereof then the mind with the dictates thereof He is body rather then soul for whereas in mans Creation the soul had the dominion and the body was made only for the use of the soul now this order is inverted by original sinne the body prevaileth over the soul and the soul is enslaved to the propensities thereof Even Aristotle said that homo was magis sensus quam intellectus more sence then understanding and so more corporeal then spiritual man is compounded of two parts which do in their nature extraemly differ from each other the body that is of dust and vile matter and such materials God would have man formed of even at first he did not make mans body of some admirable quintessential matter as Philosophers say the heavens are made of but of that which was most vile and contemptible to teach man humility even in his very original and most absolute
grace to sanctifie them and prepare them for any heavenly duty Prov. 20. 12. The hearing ear and seeing eye the Lord hath made even both of them Let the Use be even to amaze and astonish thee with the thoughts of this universal pollution upon thee the soul in all the parts thereof the body in all the members thereof Nothing clean and pure but all over leprous and ulcerous How canst thou any longer delight and put confidence in thy self Why doest thou not with Job sit abhorring of thy self and his indeed were ulcers of the body only and they were a disease but not sinne whereas thou art all over in soul and body thus defiled and that in a proper sinfull way Oh that the Spirit of God would convince all of this sinne The Prophet Isaiah was to cry All flesh is grasse and the floâ—rer thereof fadeth away to prepare for Christ but in that was chiefly comprehended All flesh is sinne and the fruit thereof damnation What though this be harsh and unpleasing to flesh and bloud What though many erroneous spirits deny it or extenuate it yet seeing the Scripture is so clear and evident with which every man that hath experience of his own heart doth also willingly concurre Believe it seriously and humble your selves deeply think not transient and superficial thoughts will prevail as the weighnness of the matter doth require If ever thy heart can be broken and softned let it be discovered here rise with the thoughts of it walk with the thoughts of it and leave it not till thou find the belief thereof drive thee out of thy self with fear and trembling finding no rest till thou art interessed in Christ CHAP. VIII Of the Subject of Predication Shewing that every one of Mankinde Christ onely excepted is involved in this common sinne and misery SECT I. The Text opened and vindicated LUKE 1. 35. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Sonne of God WE have at large though not according to the desert thereof described and amplified the subject of original sinne wherein it is seated By which it appeareth that man all over is become corrupted both the totus homo and the totum hominus the whole man and the whole of man The next thing to be considered is the omnis homo or the Subject of predication as Divines call it The former being called the Subject of Inhesion Our work then is to shew That Christ onely excepted every one of mankind is involved in this common sinne and misery there is none that can plead any exemption from it For seeing it is made the peculiar priviledge of Christ to be so born because conceived after a miraculous manner it therefore necessarily followeth that all others are comprehended under this guilt Though you may see some men from the youth up lesse vicious then others more ingenuous and civil then others yet even these are by nature all over sinfull so that there is no such thing as a natural probity and goodness of which the Socinians dispute as in time is to be shewed That it is the prerogative of Christ only to be freed not only from all actual sinne but also original and birth-sinne is evident by this Text which containeth an answer of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary who with some trouble and amazement had questioned how she should conceive a Sonne who knew not a man The Angels answer consisteth in the information of the manner how it shall be and the consequent issue and event thereof The Manner is expressed in the efficient cause and his efficacy The Efficient cause is said to be the holy Ghost and the power of the Highest A person not the vertue only of God as the Socinians blaspheme as appeareth â—n that we are baptized into the name of the holy Ghost who is reckoned one of the three with the Father and Sonne as also by the personal operations and characters attributed to him which cannot be cluded with the figure of a Proso 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as some endeavour It is true The works of God ad extra are common to all the three Persons yet there is a peculiar order and appropriation and therefore the preparing and forming of Christs body out of the Virgin Mary is peculiarly ascribed unto the holy Ghost The Efficacy is set down in two words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is to be understood of the operation of the holy Ghost not his essence for that is every where The like expression though to another purpose is Acts 1. 8. The second word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 concerning which there is more difficulty The word in the New Testament is applied to a Cloud covering a man with a Dative Case though Favorinus and Stephanus make it to have usually an Accusative Matth. 17. 5. Mark 9. 7. and Acts 5. 15. such an overshadowing as they expected virtue and efficacy thereby So Heysichius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the Old Testament by the Septnagint it is often rendreed for defence and protection because in these hot Countreys the shadows of trees were a great preservation against the extream scorchings of heat And in this sense rather then in any other we take the word in the Text that the holy Ghost should protect and defend her not only in the inabling of her against nature to conceive without a man but also against all accusations and dangers she was to be exposed unto by this means Thus Virgil used the word Et magnum Reginae nomen obumbrat Others which may be additional to the former render it The holy Ghost shall fill her with glory therefore she is said to be highly favoured And thus also among Poets the word is said to be used Olympiacis umbratur tempora ramis Stat. Some make it to be as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if the meaning were the holy Ghost should as it were pourtray and draw the lineaments of the body Others make it an allusion to the hen which by covering her egg doth by the heat thereof produce a live young one to which also the Scripture is said to allude Genes 1. 2. when it is said The Spirit moved or was incumbent as the water Thus by the power of the holy Ghost in an unspeakable manner the body of Christ was formed of the mass and fleshly substance administred by the Virgin Mary But this we are to take heed of lest the mind of man should apprehend any indecent thing in this great mystery Therefore Smalcius the Socinian his assertion is to be rejected with great abomination that feared not to affirm That by this expression is secretly and modestly implied the work of the holy Ghost as supplying the place of a man his blasphemous and abominable expressions I shall not relate Smal. refut Smigl cap. 17 18 19. We shall then keep to the first interpretation understanding it of Help and Protection in this wonderfull work The
object is to our corrupt hearts one way or other as the forbidden fruit was to Eve not that God doth forbid us to see or hear such things but because the soul cannot be excited by those objects and affected with them but it is in a sinful manner If then thy head were a fountain of teares it could not weep enough for the desolation that is upon thee Thy eye maketh thee sinne thy ear maketh thee sinne Thus thou art compassed about with sinne from evening and morning 2. These suddain motions of sinne sometimes arise from the imagination and fancy of a man And truly how often do displeasing and sinful imaginations disturb the peace and quiet of thy soul Is it not thy fancy thou complainest of how volatique and roving is that It stayeth no where it is not fixed in holy duties It is like a market place where there is a croud of people so that the imagination doth very often help this original lust and sinne to bring forth What a quiet srene and blessed life should a man live if his imagination could be kept in an holy fixed frame if he could bid it go and it goeth do this and it did it 3. The perturbation of the body by distempers that many times causeth this original sinne to be working in us Though the body be corporeal and the soul a spirit and so cannot act physically upon it yet because they are both the essential parts of a man immediately united together there is by sympathy an acting and affecting of one another especially the body being instrumental to the soul in many operations Hence it is when that is disturbed and indisposed the soul also is hindred in its operations and therefore from the distemper of the body we are easily moved to anger to sorrow to fear to lusts So that the motions of the soul are many times according to the motions of the body as Gerson instanceth Compend Theol. in a simile which he saith some use concerning the water when the Sunne-beams are upon it as the water moveth or danceth up and down so do the Sunne-beams which are upon the water Thus as the body is in any commotion so the soul which is more immediately united to the body then the beams of the Sunne are to the water doth work according as it finds this instrument disposed Fourthly This original lust is often stirred up to entice us by the sensitive appetite by the passions and affections that are in us This we told you some did limit lust to in the Text but very unsoundly yet it cannot be denied but because the affectionate part of a man is so prevalent and operative that very often sinne is committed here even without the consent of the will These affections doe suddenly transport us and we can no more command them to be quiet then we are able to compose the waves of the Sea Now though we would withstand and gain-say them yet they are our sinnes for all that as we see Paul sadly complaining herein Rom. 7. Austin delighteth De Trinit lib. 13. to expresse our manner of sinning by allusion to the first sinne When any object doth present it self to allure and affect us then the Serpent saith he sheweth us the forbidden fruit When the sensitive appetite of a man is drawn out to consent unto it then Eve doth eat of this forbidden fruit when the rational part of the soul is enticed likewise to consent to this sinne then Eve giveth of this fruit to Adam and he eateth Thus Reason is like Adam Eve like the sensitive part and as Eve when she did eat the forbidden fruit alone did thereby grow mortal and would have died though Adam had not consented to eat Thus the affectionate part of a man carrying us away to sinne though the superiour part of the soul will not agree thereunto yet this maketh us to be in a state of damnation This maketh the action to be damnable Lastly When none of these wayes doe stirre up original sinne then the thoughts and apprehensions of a man in the intellectual part they may And indeed the former provoking causes were most conspicuous in grosse and carnal sinnes but this is influential in spiritual sinnes from the minde come vain thoughts ambitious proud malicious thoughts from the mind arise blasphemous atheistical and unbelieving thoughts Thus you see how poor and wretched man is become in his soul as Laezarus was in his body all over with ulcers and sores no place is free from sinne Oh that God would deliver us from our blindnesse of minde from our self-fulnesse whereby we are so apt to fall in love with our selves so as to think we want nothing when we are without God without Christ without the Image of God without all holinesse and peace within either of soul or body How should it pity thee to see this glorious building thus lying in its own ruines and rubbidge Now from all these particulars thus joyned together you may observe how sinne carrieth us away in a pleasing enticing manner So that although we cannot but sinne yet this is very delightsome and satisfactory insomuch that man is drawn aside to sinne as he said Trahit sua quemque voluptas And this is more to be observed because the adversaries do so tragically exclaim against us in affirming that we lie under a necessity of sinning we cannot but sin Why then say they Why should God damn us for sinning any more than for being thirsty or hungry which do necessarily affect us But the Answer is two-fold 1. This necessity of sinning is voluntarily contracted and brought upon us it is not as hunger or thirst which were necessary properties of man at his Creation though without that grief and pain which now we feel And 2. This necessity is also voluntary and pleasing it seizeth upon the mind will affections and the whole man and therefore as we cannot help it so neither will we help it We love and delight to eat this poison Lastly There are these three degrees whereby it 's said Lust cometh to be accomplished Though some differ in their expressions herein The first is Suggestion and that is when any lust doth begin to arise in the soul This is very imperceptible and undiscerned but by those who are exact in the spiritual exercises of thier soul It is true some say this word Suggestion is not proper because that doth properly come from without the Devil or the world but this is internal arising of our selves But we need not strive about words The second is Delight From this motion the soul presently findeth some secret pleasure and accordingly thinketh of it with delight receiveth it with delight Lastly There is the consent unto these to will them to be joyned to them And thus when sinne hath made this progresse a man is an adulterer a murderer before God though not actually done in the eyes of men as our Saviour witnesseth Matth. 5. 28. for
and death So that they conclude it injurious and contumelious to Paul reproachfull to the grace of the Gospel and a palpable incouragement to sinne and wickedness to interpret the 7th of the Rom. of a regenerate person But because this is a truth of so special concernement we shall take these things in a more particular consideration for it would be found an heavy sinne lying upon most orthodox Teachers in the Reformed Church if they have constantly preached such a Doctrine as is injurious to Gods grace and an incentive to sinne as also slothfulness and negligence in holy duties for the present this Text will bear us out sufficiently that where ever the Spirit of God is in persons while in the way to heaven they have a contrary principle of the flesh within them whereby they are more humbled in themselves and do the more earnestly make their applications to the throne of grace and that all have such a conflict within them may appear by these following Reasons yea we may with Luther say so farre is it that any do attain to such a measure of grace as to be without this combate that the more holy and spiritual any are the more sensible they are of it for they have more illumination and so discover the exactness and spiritual latitude of the law more then formerly they did and also their hearts are more tender whereby they grow more sensible even of the least weight of any sinful motion though never so transient It is true the godly do grow in grace they get more mastery and power over the lustings of sinne within yet withall they grow in light and discovery about holiness they see it a more exact and perfect thing then they thought of they find the Law of God to be more comprehensive then they were aware of and therefore they are ready to cry out as Ignatius when ready to suffer Nunc incipio esse Christians Oh me never godly but beginning to be godly I believe but how great is my unbelief This Paul declareth Phil. 3. 12. Not as if I had already attained either were already perfect but I follow after c. Thus Paul is farre from owning such commendations which happily others may put upon him It is true indeed Amyraldus denyeth that any are absolutely perfect but yet he goeth beyond the bounds of truth in attributing too much to Paul or other Apostles which will appear First Because the most holy that are have used all meanes to mortifie and keep down the cause of these sinful motions If they did not continually throw water as it were upon those sparks within the most holy man would quickly be in a flame Even this Apostle Paul doth not he confess this of himself 1 Cor. 9. 27. I keep down my body and bring it into subjection c. He doth not mean the body as it is a meer natural substance for the glorified Saints will not keep down their bodyes but as it is corrupted and made a ready instrument to sin for though the Apostle call it not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet these are not opposite but suppose one another as Rom. 6. 12. Let not sinne reign in your mortal body and it is a very frigid and forced Exposition of Amyraldus as if the Apostle did understand it of the exposing his body to hunger and thirst and all dangerous persecutioâ—s for the Gospels sake For this was not Paul's voluntary keeping down of his body those persecutions and hardships to his body were against his will though he submitted to them when by Gods providence he was called thereunto but he speaketh here of that which he did readily and voluntarily lest from within should arise such motions to sinne as might destroy him yea it is plain that even in Paul there was a danger of the breakings forth of such lusts because 2 Cor. 12. God did in a special manner suffer him to be buffetted and exercised by Satan that he might not be lifted up through pride neither is this any excuse to say with Amyraldus That such sinnes are apt to breed in the most excellent dispositions for it is acknowledged by all that such sinnes have more guilt in them then bodily sinnes though not such infamy and disgrace amongst men Luther calleth them the sublimia peccat the sublime and high sins such the Devil was guilty of and they were the cause of his final overthrow and damnation If then the most godly have used all means to mortifie sinne within them it is plain they found a combate and that if sinne were let alone it would quickly get the upper hand Secondly That there is a conflict of sinne appeareth in those duties enjoyned to all the godly that they watch and pray that they put on the whole armour of Christ Yea the Disciples are commanded to take heed of drunkenness and surfetting and the cares of this world Luke 21. 34. and generally Paul's Epistles are full of admonitions and exhortations to give all diligence in the wayes of holinesse especially that command is very observable 2 Cor. 7. 1. Having these promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthinesse of flesh and spirits perfecting holinesse in the fear of God Here you see both flesh and spirit that is the rational and sensitive part have filthiness and that those who are truly godly are to be continually cleansing away this filthiness and to perfect what is out of order What godly man is there that can say This command doth not belong to me I am above it I need it not No lesse considerable is that command of Peter 1 Pet. 2. 11. Dearly beloved I beseech you as pilgrims and strangers abstain from fleshly lusts which warre against the soul Not as if this were wholly parallel with my Text as Carthusian is said to bring it in thereby proving that by flesh is meant the body and by spirit the soul but onely it sheweth that no godly man in this life is freed from a militant condition and that with his own flesh his own self which maketh the combate to be the more dangerous For this cause David though a man after Gods own heart though Gods servant in a special consideration yet prayeth Psal 19. 13. Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins which expression denoteth that even a godly man hath lust within him that would carry him out like an untamed horse to presumptuous sins did not the Lord keep him back But we need not bring more reasons to confirm that which experience doth so sadly testifie SECT III. A Consideration of that part of the seventh Chapter to the Romans which treats of the Conflict within a man Shewing against Amyraldus and others that it must be a regenerate person onely of whom those things are spoken ¶ 1. THe next Proposition that may give light to the weighty truth about the spiritual conflict that is in the most regenerate persons is this That besides the
Sinne resembles a Treasure CHAP. VII Of the Name Body given to Original Sin Rom. 8. 13. But if you through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live SECT II. What is implied by the word Mortifie SECT V. Why Original Sinne is called a Body CHAP. VIII Of the Privative Part of Original Sinne. SECT I. Of Adam's begetting Seth in his own likeness Gen. 5. 3. And Adam begat a son in his own likeness after his Image and called his name Seth. SECT II. What Original Sin is as to the Privative Part of it CHAP. IX Wherein the making man after Gods Image did consist CHAP. X. Corollaries informing us of the Nature and Aggravations of our loss by sinne and shewing what were the most excellent and choice parts of that Original Righteousness that we are deprived of CHAP. XI A further Consideration of Original Righteousness proving the thing and answering Objections against it CHAP. XII More Propositions about the Nature of the Image of God which man was created in Shewing what particular graces Adam's soul was adorned with CHAP. XIII Reasons to prove That the Privation of Original Righteousness is truly and properly a sin in us CHAP. XIV The Aggravations of the losse of Gods Image SECT II. By the losse of Original Righteousness Gods end in making man was lost SECT III. The Harmony and Subordination in mans Nature dissolved SECT IV. The Properties of this loss CHAP. XV. Of the Positive Part of original Corruption John 3. 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh SECT II. Of the use of the word Flesh in Scripture and why original Corruption is called by that Name SECT III. How carnal the Soul is in its actings about spiritual objects CHAP. XVI Reasons demonstrating the Positive Part of Original Sinne and why Divines make Original Sinne to have 〈◊〉 Positive as well as Privative Part. CHAP. XVII Objections against the Positive Part of Oâ—â—â—al Sinne answered CHAP. XVIII A Second Text to prove Original Sinne to be Positive opened and vindicated Rom. 7. 7. For I had not known lust except the Law had said Thou shalt not covet SECT II. The word Lust expounded SECT VI. A Three-fold Appetite in man SECT VIII A Consideration of this Concupiscence in reference to the four-fold estate of man SECT X. Why Original Sinne is called Concupiscence or Lust CHAP. XIX The Description of Original Sinne. CHAP. XX. A clear and full knowledge of Original Sinne can be obtained onely by Scripture-light SECT II. Whether the wisest Heathens had any knowledge of this Pollution CHAP. XXI That Reason when once enlightned by the Scriptures may be very powerfull to convince us of this Natural Pollution CHAP. XXII A Comparison and Opposition between the first and second Adam as introductory to this Question How this corruption is propagated 1 Cor. 15. 49. As we have borne the Image of the earthly we shall also bear the Image of the heavenly CHAP. XXIII The various Opinions Objections and Doubts about the manner how the Soul comes to be polluted CHAP. XXIV That the Soul is neither by Eduction or Traduction but by Introduction or Immediate Infusion proved by Texts of Scripture and Arguments from Scripture SECT V. The Authors Apology for handling this great Question SECT VI. Propositions to clear the Doctrine of the Propagation of Original Sin notwithstanding the Souls Creation The Contents of the Third Part. HAndling the Subject of Inhesion CHAP. I. Of the Pollution of the Mind with Original Sinne. Ephes 4. 23. And be ye renewed in the Spirit of your Mind CHAP. II. Of Original Sinne polluting the Conscience Setting forth the Defilement of Conscience as it is Quiet Stupid and Senslesse and also when it is troublea and awakened Tit. 1. 15. But even their mind and Conscience is defiled CHAP. III. Of the Pollution of the Memory 2 Pet. 1. 12. I will not be negligent to put you alwayes in Remembrance of these things c. SECT II. What we mean by Memory SECT III. A Two-fold weaknesse of the Memory SECT V. It s great Usefulnesse SECT VI. Of the Nature of it SECT VII Demonstrations of the Pollution of it SECT VIII Instances of the Pollution of the Memory 1. In forgetting the Objects that we should have in our Memory both Superiour and Inferiour SECT X. 2. In respect of its inward vitiosity adhering to it 3. In not attaining its End 4. In that it is made subservient to the corrupt frame and inclination of our hearts 5. It is not subject to our will and power Hence 6. We remember things that we would not CHAP. IV. Of the Pollution of the Will of Man by Original Sinne. John 1. 13. Which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God SECT II. Propositions concerning the Nature of the Will SECT III. ¶ 1. The Corruption of the Will in all its several operations ¶ 2. It s Corruption in its General Act which is called Volition ¶ 3. In its absolute and efficacious willing of a thing ¶ 4. In its Act of Fruition ¶ 5. In its Act of Intention ¶ 6. In its Act of Election or Chusing ¶ 7. In its losse of that Aptitude and readinesse it should have to follow the Deliberation and Advice of the Understanding ¶ 8. In its Act of Consent SECT IV. The Desilement of the Will in its Affections and Properties or the sinfull Adjuncts inseparably cleaving unto it Rom. 9. 16. So then it is not of him that willeth or of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy ¶ 1. This Scripture opened vindicated and improved ¶ 2. The Will is so fallen from its primitive honour that it s not worthy to be called Will but Lust ¶ 3. It s wholly perverted about the Ultimate End ¶ 4. It s Privacy and Propriety ¶ 5. It s Pride and Haughtiness ¶ 6. It s Contumacy and Refractoriness ¶ 7. It s Enmity and Contrariety to Gods will ¶ 8. It s Rebellion against the light of the Mind and slavery to the sensitive part in a man ¶ 9. It s Mutability and Inconstancy SECT V. Of the Natural Servitude and Bondage of the Will with a brief Discussion of the Point of Free-will John 8. 35. If the Sonne therefore shall make you free ye shall be free indeed ¶ 2. The Text opened ¶ 3. Of the several kinds of Freedom which the Scripture speaketh of ¶ 4. The Names the Scripture expresseth that by which we call Free-will ¶ 5. Some observations concerning the Promoters of the Doctrine of Free-will How unpleasing the contrary Doctrine is to flesh and blood with some advice about it ¶ 6. The first Demonstration of the slavery of the Will is from the Necessity of sinning that every man is plunged into ¶ 7. That a Necessary Determination may arise several wayes some whereof are very consistent with liberty yea the more necessary the more free ¶ 8. The second Argument of its
abandoned John 15. when separated from Christ we cannot do any thing and therefore are said to be not asleep but even dead in sinne so that no Infant new born is more unable to help it self than we are to promote the good of our own souls This therefore must be laid as a foundation without this our humiliation doth not goe deep enough We are to lie bemoaning our selves as that poor Cripple which had no power to put himself into the water And indeed till we be sensible of this impotency we cannot expect that Christ will help us When that Cripple said He had no man than our Saviour relieved him Oh then bewail the strait and misery thou art in If it were a temporal calamity thou wert in and such as neither thou thy self or any man in the world could help thee How greatly would it afflict thee But now though neither men or Angels can deliver thee out of this spiritual evil yet thou doest not lay it to heart Secondly As it densteth that our power to good is lost by this original sinne So also our will and desire For why should it be said to beset us so easily But because we have neither power or will against it so that till the principle of Regeneration be infused into us sinne hath defiled our will as well as our power as we cannot so neither we will not gain say the lusts thereof We must not then conceive of man as indeed miserably polluted and such as cannot help himself but is very willing and heartily desireth to be freed from this bondage but his will is as grosly polluted as any thing He willeth not the things of God he loveth not yea he hateth every thing that is spiritual and holy Insomuch that we may truly say That the actual wickednesse in mens lives doth not onely arise from weaknesse and impotency to what is holy but from an unwillingnesse and an aversnesse to it Though they be allured with the glorious promises of Gods favour and eternal glory Though the terrors of God and the everlasting flames of hell be set before them yet they will not Though their consciences be convicted though the word of God be plain against their lusts so that they cannot tell what to say yet they will not So that herein lieth the sad and dreadfull efficacy of original sinne that it hath corrupted the will all over so that whereas we will the lusts of the flesh the pleasures of sinne the comforts of the world we have no will to what is good If then the will which is the appetitus universalis and like the primum mobile that doth carry all the inferiour orbs with it be thus infected with sinne no wonder if we be easily beset by it This is to bribe the Commander in Chief that ruleth all and so it is no wonder if all be at last betrayed into the hands of sinne and Satan Thirdly When original sinne is said thus to beset us and compasse us about hereby is denoted What an impediment and hinderance it is to us in our way to Heaven that were it not for this clog upon us we should with all chearfulness and alacrity runne the way of Gods Commandments It is this that makes the Chariot-wheels of the soul move so slowly It is this that stops us in the way that makes us draw back SECT III. How many wayes Original Sinne is a Burden and an Hinderance unto us NOw because this property is chiefly aimed at by the Apostle in this expression viz. that it is a burden an hinderance a stop to us while we are in our race Let us consider How many wayes original sinne is a burden and hinderance so that if this were removed there would be no complaints of the difficulty that we find to what is good yea the more perfect and spiritual any duty is the more pleasing and acceptable it would be to an heart eased of this burden And First Original sinne is a burden incurvando By bowing down and pressing to the soul to these creatures here below So that now by nature the creature with the comforts thereof is the center of a mans heart is the ultimate object his soul is placed upon God indeed made man after his own image and then his heart his affections they did all ascend upwards to God then he could not satiate or fully delight himself in any thing but God but through this original sinne a man is habitually averse to God and converted to the creatures So that God is not in all his thoughts yea Ephes 2. 2. they are said to be without God in the world Even as the body of a man when deprived of its sense falleth prostrate presently upon the ground so when that original righteousness was removed which was the soul of the soul presently we fall downwards to the creatures knowing no better good nor desiring any better comforts but what are in them No marvel then if this make the godly go stooping and bowing down because it depresseth and leaneth to the creature leaving God That as you see the body is a burden to the soul especially if diseased which made Plato say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the very grave and sepulchre of the soul Thus original sin is a spiritual burden to it that there cannot be those ascensions and elevations of the mind to God as ought to be Secondly It 's an impediment in our race Obnitendo by a plain opposing and contrary thwarting of any good that the Spirit of God either externally offers or internally operates Thus this native sinne doth with all violence oppose and thwart whatsoever is spiritual Therefore you see the Apostle expressing this resistance by military words that it doth warre against him and sometimes lead him into captivity Thus even a Paul is like a poor captive or prisoner carried up and down whether he would not Now this obnitency and reluctancy of original sinne is seen two wayes against what is good 1. There is a good published and tendered by the preaching of the Gospel God doth by that proffer unto us everlasting and eternal life but this original sinne stirreth up a man to reject it and to refuse it it 's no sutable or acceptable offer to our natures no more than pearls or sweet flowers are to the beastly Swine Indeed when a people have lived long under the preaching of the Gospel yet do reject it and oppose it loving darkness rather than light these have a double blindness and hardness upon them The natural one by original sinne and the habitual contracted one which they are justly delivered up into by God for the contempt of the light they do enjoy but I speak here only of the natural blindness and natural hardness upon our hearts So that upon the very first offers and tenders of grace the first Sermon that ever we hear the first time that the Gospel doth sound in our ears we
sting into all Lastly This loss is incurable as to any humane or angelicall power The image of God is so lost as that by our own power we are never able to recover it again Insomuch that when God doth repair it in us it 's a new Creation and a spiritual Resurrection we could not further it in the least degree Let the Use then be deeply to humble us to break our hearts far this and yet still to break them more and more When Tamar was defloured she went with ashes upon her head weeping and saying I whither shall I go Oh do thou much rather mourn and sigh and pray We oh wretched we Whither shall we go What shall we do Call to the Angels they cannot help you Cry to the mountains they cannot hide you from Gods wrath Shall Saul seek for his lost Asses the woman for her lost Groat Micha for his lost gods and wilt nor thou bitterly lament the loss of the true God and his Image in thee CHAP. XV. Of the Positive Part of Original Corruption SECT I. JOH 3. 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh THe Privative Part of original corruption being largely discovered we come now to the Positive Part of it For although many of the Papists deny it laying the whole nature of it in a meer want of original righteousnes yet not only the Protestants generally but Aquinas and some who follow him do plead for this Positive Part in original corruption as well as the Privative and is therefore called Flesh as here in the Text and in other places lust Of which in its due time We are not then to conceive of this birth-sinne as a meer privation of the Image of God but as including also therewith a propensity and inclination to all evil To the discovery of this Truth we shall find this Text pitcht upon will be very subservient and herein we are to take notice That it is part of that famous Colloquy and Conference Christ had with Nicodemus a Master in Israel wherein several things in the general are briefly obserable As First The Mercy that is to the Church in having this Discourse upon Record For by Nicodemus his carnal cavillings we see the necessity of Regeneration our Saviour is the more powerfull in his asseverations Verily verily I say unto you c. that hereby every one may see that though he be great rich wise learned ingenious yet he must be born again Secondly We may take notice of our Saviours wisdom that pitcheth upon this Subject rather than another to treat upon for herein Nicodemus did grosly erre Nicodemus had learning enough knew the Law of God and the Scriptures but was wholly ignorant of Regeneration Thirdly We therefore see That the work of Regeneration is a mystery even to wise and learned men Twice or thrice saith that great Doctor How can this be What poor and childish Objections doth he make against it and all because this is a thing spiritually discerned Lastly The great cause why Nicodemus did not know what Regeneration was or see the necessary of it was Because of his blindnesse about original sinne Had he believed how carnal and sinfull every one was born he would presently have bewailed his condition and said O Lord it is true I am all over polluted I find nothing of thy Spirit in me I am all over flesh and do therefore need thy Spirit to regenerate and quicken me But this was the root of his destruction from hence did arise that gross miscarriage about a new-birth because was so sensless and unacquainted with the pollution he was born in So that the Text is an Argument to prove the Doctrine of Regeneration and the necessity of it which Nicodemus did so carnally cavil against For although our Saviour did so vehemently assert the truth of it in these expressions twice geminated Verily verily I say into thee c. Yet because Nicodemus still asketh How can this be therefore our Saviour discovereth to him the root and fundamental cause of the necessity of this birth and that not of Nicodemus only but of every man Therefore he speaks generally Vnlesse a man be borne again c. The fundamental cause therefore of the necessity of Regeneration is from that universal Proposition laid down in the Text That which is born of the flesh is flesh which is also illustrated by the contrary That which is born of the Spirit is spirit The strength of the Argument lieth in this Every thing resembleth that it is produced of from a Serpent there cometh a Serpent from a Toad a Toad so from a Dove a Dove a Sheep a Lamb There being therefore two contrary effective principles in us The flesh and the Spirit The flesh that produceth what is flesh the Spirit what is spirit In the first Proposition we have the emphatical expression of this defilement 1. In the Vniversality of the Subject of Predication That which is born of the flesh is flesh There 's none exempted great men noble men Even Kings and Emperors they are flesh of flesh 2. There is the Vniversality of the Subject of Inhesion All is flesh that comes of flesh so that not only the body but the soul also is flesh in this sense for by flesh here as in other places is meant The whole man consisting of soul and body as he is unclean and impure and this appeareth by the opposition which is the Spirit of God and the effects thereof Another emphatical expression is In using the abstract for the concrete is flesh that is fleshly is spirit that is spiritual We see then here a Proposition affirmed concerning all mankind born in a natural way which no humane Philosophy could ever inform us in yea to which it is wholly contrary viz. That we all by nature both in soul and body are nothing but flesh for flesh is here put for the vicious and sinfull quality that is in us and so the mind the intellictual and choisest parts of the soul are thus condemned as well as the more gross and sensitive as in time is to be shewed This is a clear Text to prove our universal contagion by sinne yet upon what weak and poor grounds would the Remonstrants oppose it They therefore by flesh understand Man simply as man flesh and blood begotten in a fleshly and bodily manner not as sinfull and corrupted as if our Saviours Argument had been as what is born of man is man so what is born of the Spirit is spiritual But this is very unsound For what Argument would this be to prove Regeneration Must a man be new born meerly because he is a man Certainly had Adam continued in the state of integrity there would have been procreation of children yet then there would not have been a necessity of Regeneration Our Saviour therefore is giving a reason why there must be a new birth and that is from the sinfull pollution every one is born in And
thus it is no wonder if original sinne which doth so tenaciously and inwardly adhere to all natures be transmitted to every one born in a natural way The last Objection is That there is no necessity of supposing such an habitual vitiosity in a man It 's enough say they that a man be deprived of the Image of God and when that is lost of it 's own self man's nature is prone to evil It needs no habitual inclination to weigh him down as if a wild beast be tied in cords and chains lose him unty him and of himself he will runne into wild and untamed actions But to answer this First The Papists they cannot consequentially to their principles say thus For they hold That if this Image of God be removed he doth continue in his pure naturals there is no sinne inhering in him upon the meer losse of that For they confesse That although by acting from his pure naturals he could not deserve Heaven or love God as a supernatural end yet in an inferiour way as the ultimate natural end so he might love God and that above all other things But secondly That is granted This positive inclination to all evil followeth necessarily from the removal of this Image of God from us If the Sunne be removed then necessarily darknesse doth cover the face of the soul If the loco-motive faculty be interrupted then there is nothing but halting and lamenesse Disturb the harmony and good temperament of the humours and then immediately diseases and pains do surprize the whole man It cannot therefore be avoided that when this disorder is come upon the soul but that our lusts break out as at a flood-gate and we are in a spiritual deluge all over covered with the waters of sin but then here is a positive as well as a privative Besides It is not for us to be curious in giving a reason of such positive corruption in a man by nature it is enough that Gods word is so clear and full in the discovery of it that he must needs wilfully shut his eyes that will not be convinced by the light of Gods word herein And this may suffice to dispel that darknesse which some would have covered this Truth with and as for what knowledge about this positivenesse of original corruption is further necessary We shall then take notice of it when we speak of original sinne as it is called lust or concupiscence SECT III. LEt therefore the Use from the former Doctrine delivered be To affectus and wound us at the very heart that we are thus all over covered with sin that we have not an understanding but to sin a will but to sin an heart but to sin May not this be like a two edged sword within thee What will fire thee out of all thy self-confidence thy self-righteousnesse if this doe not What delight what comfort canst thou take by beholding thy self by looking on thy self thus corrupted and depraved And the rather let this consideration go to the very bottom of thy soul Because First Thy propensity and inclination is to that onely which God onely hateth which God onely loatheth and hath decreed to punish with his utmost wrath to all eternity Consider that sinne is the greatest evil All the temporal evils in the world are but the effect of it that is the cause Now can it ever humble thee enough to think that the whole bent and constant tendency of thy soul is unto that which is the most abominable in the eyes of God Thou canst not do that which is more destructive to thy own soul and more dishonouring unto God then by committing sinne and yet thou canst do nothing else thou delightest in nothing else Thy heart will not let thee do any thing else Look over thy whole life take notice how many years thou hast lived and yet if not regenerated and delivered in some measure from the power of original corruption thou hast done nothing but sinned Every thought hath been a sinne every motion a sinne within thee and yet sinne is the greatest evil and that alone which God hateth Secondly If yet thy heart be hard and nothing will enter take a second naile or wedge to drive into thee and that is being thus all over carried out to sinne not the least good able to rise in thy heart that hereby the very plain Image of the Devil is drawn over thee Hence it is that wicked men are said to be of their Father the Devil and he is said to rule in the hearts of the children of disobedience Ephes 2. What a wofull change is this to be turned from a Sonne of God to become a Devil While Adam retained the Image of God God abode with him and in him there was a near union with God but upon his Apostasie the Devil taketh possession of all and so now man is in a near union with the Devil Every mans soul is now the Devils Castle his proper habitation The Spirit of God is chaced away and now thy heart is made an habitation for these Satyrs Thy soul is become like an howling wildernesse wherein lodge all beastly lusts whatsoever Thou that wouldst account it horrible injury to be called beast and Devil yet thy original sinne maketh thee no lesse Thirdly This further may break thy heart if it be not yet broken enough that hereby thou art utterly impotent and unable to help thy self out of this lost condition For how can a dead man help himselfe to live again How can thy crooked heart be ever made straight unlesse a greater power than that subdue it If thou didst judge thy condition an hopelesse one as to all humane considerations then thou wouldest tremble and have no rest in thy selfe till God had delivered thee out of it Lastly Let this also further work to thy Humiliation that being thus positively inclined to all evil not onely proper and sutable temptations draw out thy sinnes but even all holy and godly remedies appointed by God they do increase this corruption the more And is not that man miserable whose very remedies make him more miserable Doth not the Apostle complain sadly of that Law of sinne in him even in this respect that by this means the Law wrought in him all evil The more holy and spiritual the Law was the more carnal and sinfull was he thereby occasioned to be Oh then What wilt thou do when good things make thee evil spiritual things make thee more carnal CHAP. XVIII A second Text to prove Original Sinne to be Positive opened and vindicated SECT I. ROM 7. 7. For I had not known lust except the Law had said Thou shalt not covet WE are discovering the Nature of original sinne in the Positive part of it For although Corvinus the Remonstrant cavilleth at the Division of original sinne into two parts therein gratifying the Papists as it were yet we see the Scripture speaking of it fully as having these two parts And whereas
pledge of theirs The second Reason which is pertinent to my matter in hand is from the Collation between Adam and Christ As Adam was the common root and principle of death to all that come from him so is Christ the common Head of Salvation and Life to all who are of him The Apostle Rom. 5. maketh such a Comparison between Adam and Christ as two common Principles and Heads but to another purpose there it is in respect of spiritual death viz. Sinne by one and Righteousnesse by the other but here it is principally in respect of temporal Death and Resurrection by Christ The Apostle having thus cleared this Truth he then enters into a second Debate viz. itâ—â—eth â—â—eth a corruptible body but it shall be raised an incorruptible one It dieth a natural body but it shall be raised a spiritual Last this Distinction of a natural and spiritual body should seem uncouth and very absurd he asserteth and confirmeth it by Scripture And here again in the second place he taketh up a Collation between the first Adam and the second and therein we have them compared 1. In regard of their Condition and State 2. In respect of their Originals And 3. In respect of their Qualities and Properties This illustration the Apostle is large in because the strength of his Argument lieth in this Such as the Principles are such are the Effects Such as the Root is such are the Branches Now all men have from Adam earthly mortal bodies which will die Therefore all that are Christs shall have from him heavenly and spiritual bodies Let us diligently open the particulars wherein we have this Collation between Adam and Christ made for from hence we shall have a fair occasion to examine How from Adam we come thus to have his Image upon us which is the great difficulty in the Doctrine of original sinne SECT II. THe first particular therefore wherein they are compared is Adam's estate is proved from Scripture ver 5. As it is written The first man Adam was made a living soul we have this related Gen. 2. 7. where God is said Adam's body being made out of the dust and formed thencefrom was yet without life and motion therefore God did with him farre otherwise than with bruit beasts for He breathed into him the breath of life This is spoken after the manner of men in a figurative way we are not to think God took on him the form of a man and so breathed life into Adam Neither may we say This was a particle or part of the divine Essence which God communicated to man But the meaning is God inspired into him his soul which gave life and sense and motion to the body by which he becoming a living soul that is a living creature This is Adam's condition But as for Christ who is here called the last Adam Adam because a common Person and last because there is no more to succeed him This last Adam is said To be made a quickening Spirit not but that Christ was man yea and had such an humane Nature as Adam had like to him in all things Sinne onely excepted But this is spoken of Christ principally after his Resurrection For Christ while he lived on earth had an animal body he needed food and rest but after his Resurrection then he had a spiritual body so that it is in reference to this that Christ is called a Spirit but with this Epithete A quickning Spirit that is which giveth life to others He hath not only life in himself but he giveth it also to others and therefore no wonder if he raise those that belong to him But seeing Christ is thus a quickening Spirit it may be said Why then have the people of God their natural bodies still If they be in the second Adam Why are they not as he is To this the Apostle answereth verse 46. That which is natural is first and afterwards that which is spiritual It is the will and appointment of God that the imperfect things should be first and afterwards that which is more perfect In the next place The Comparison is made between the two Adams in respect of their Originals The first was of the earth earthly his body was made of the dust of the earth The Aegyptians had some confused knowledge of this and therefore defined man to be Animal terrenum è limo natum Hence in their Feasts they offered unto their gods an herb that grew in their lakes to signifie what man was But the second man is the Lord from Heaven This place hath an appearance of some difficulty for from this Text did some Anabaptists who revived an old Heresie viz. That Christ had not his body of the Virgin Mary indeavour to prove That Christ had his body from Heaven else say they what opposition could there be made to Adam's body Christs body was in the Virgin Mary but not of her as they affirm But this is grosly to mistake For the Apostle doth not intend to make a comparison in the Materials of which both bodies were compounded but the Originals from whence they are The one is from Earth the other from Heaven being the Lord of Heaven and Earth Some indeed have said That Christ is therefore said to be from Heaven because though it was materially of the Virgin Mary yet because the Conception was in an extraordinary manner by the holy Ghost therefore it might be said to be from Heaven This may have some truth yet Adam was in an extraordinary manner and that in respect of his body formed by God called therefore the Sonne of God yet he cannot be said to be from Heaven So that the most solid Interpretation is to understand it of the Person of Christ and so he is wholly of Heaven being the true and eternal God in which respect John 3. 13. he is said to be The Sonne of man which is in Heaven John 6 38 41. he is said To come from Heaven So that although his body was of the Virgin Mary yet as God in which respect he hath his personality so he is from Heaven The third and last Collation is in respect of their qualities and properties The first man is of the earth earthy in a three fold respect 1. Because his affections are only to earthly things 2. Because the place where he is to be is the earth 3. Because of his mortality he is to return to dust again But the ' second Adam is heavenly in a three-fold contrary respect 1. He is heavenly in regard of his life and conversation 2. In regard of the place where now he is sitting in Heaven at the right hand of God and thus all Christs members shall be heavenly for they likewise shall be in Heaven for ever with the Lord. 3. Heavenly Because of his immortality for he shall never die more SECT III. THus we have the Apostles elegant opposition between the first and second Adam and my Text is a
to prove the Creation of the soul shall be from Eccl. 12. 7. Then shall dust returne to the earth as it was and the spirit shall returne to God who gave it This seemeth to be very clear for he speaketh of every man that dieth he considers the two essential parts of man his body which he calleth dust because it was made of dust and then his soul which he cals a spirit because of its simple and incorporeal nature again which strengthens the Argument he compareth these two in their contrary or divers originals The body returneth to the earth the Spirit unto God that gave it Though we would think this might satisfie yet Austin of old and those that are Traducians they say God indeed giveth the soul by propagation as well as by Creation God giveth two wayes by Creation or by Propagation as saith Austin God is said 1 Cor. 15. 38. to give every several grain its body yet it is by seminal propagation and God is often in the Scripture said to give us our eyes and our ears and our bodies yet they are by natural generation or if this will not serve then they say This is true onely of Adam not his posterity because Adam's body was only made of the dust not ours and God did breath a soul into him at first But every one may see these are weak exceptions as for the later it 's plain he doth not speak of Adam but every man that dieth For having advised the young man to improve his youth for God he tels him old-age is coming and then death then shall he return How can this be applied to Adam who had returned to the earth many hundreds of years before that was spoken And whereas it is said That only Adam's body was made of dust The answer is easie That though our bodies be of flesh and bone immediately yet the remote principle is dust and therefore Abraham though his body was not made as Adams yet he said 〈◊〉 was but dust and ashes Thus this Text stands firm for the immediate Creation of the soul Though let me by the way give you rightly to understand that later clause The spirit returneth to him that gave it The meaning is not as if the soul of every man was saved but that it goeth into the hands of God as a Judge to dispose of it according to what hath been done in the flesh As for the next exception that will be answered in the following Argument only in the general this may be said That if God gave the soul onely mediately by propagation then the body might be said to return to him as well as the soul SECT II. WE will proceed to a second and that is from Zech. 12. 1. The Lord which stretcheth forth the Heavens and layeth the foundation of the earth and formeth the spirit of man within him Here we see the Lords power described by a three-fold effect the making of the Heavens the laying of the earths foundation and making the spirit of man Now it is plain that the two former were by Gods immediate Creation therefore the later must be So that the Context doth evidently shew That Gods making of the soul of a man within him is no lesse wonderfull then the making Heaven and earth This Text was also of old agitated by Austin in this controversie and to answer it he runneth to his old refuge of forming a thing immediately and by natural propagation God is not to be excluded saith he from having a special hand in giving being to the soul yet it doth not follow that therefore it must be by creation out of nothing To this purpose they bring that of Job Chap. 10. 10 11. where Job attributeth the making and forming of his body to God Hast thou not poured me out like milk c Thou hast cloathed me with skin and flesh So Psal 139. 13 14 15. where David acknowledgeth the wonderfull wisdom and power of God in making his body Then hast curiously wrought me As the curious needle-woman doth some choice piece now we cannot from hence prove that therefore the body is of God by immediate Creation But this cannot weaken the Text for we told you That the Argument is not meerly from that expressing of forming the spirit of man within him but from the upper two Attributes Besides the Scripture tels us plainly of what materials the body is formed of whereas they who hold the propagation of the soul are extreamly streightned and difficultated to say what the soul is made of They say it is not ex animâ but ab animâ not of the soul but from the soul of the Parent but then are divided amongst themselves when they go to explicate how the soul hath its being if not from Creation Some say it hath its being by a corporal seminal manner but then it must be a body which Austin would constantly deny for he dissents from Tertullian in that though both held the natural Traduction of the soul Austin I mean only suppositively but Tertullian positively yet he professeth his dissent from Tertullian who made it a body This therefore being thought absurd others they tell us of an incorporeal and immaterial seed from the soul of the Parents which causeth the soul of the child To this purpose Tertullian in his book de animâ distinguisheth of semen animale which cometh from the soul and semen corporeum which cometh from the body But this may easily be judged as absurd as the former If therefore the Scripture when it speaketh of the forming of mans spirit within him had discovered the materials of which it is formed as well as when it speaketh of the forming of the body there would have been some pretence for the Argument But calling it a spirit and as you see in the Text comparing the forming of it with the making of the Heavens and the Earth this makes the creation of the soul more than probable Tarnavius the Lutheran would likewise avoid this place Comment in loc by saying the Hebrew word Jahac doth most commonly signifie not an immediate creation out of nothing for so the Hebrew word Barah doth for the most but a mediate out of some prejacent matter yet indisposed but this Rule being not universal it hath no strength in it Besides the Hebrew word is in the Present tense who formeth so that it cannot relate to the making of Adam's soul at first Indeed the fore-named Tarnavius doth from the participle Benani draw an Argument against us saying It doth not alwayes signifie actum secundum but habitum and potentiam and so maketh the sense to be God who hath this power immediately to create the soul if he will but all will confess this to be forced That is more considerable when he saith As God in stretching out the Heavens and laying the foundation of the earth is not thereby declared to create new Heavens and a new earth every day so neither is it
the Sacrament what endlesse controversies hath it begotten And therefore it was the King of Navarr's counsel to the Divines when the Lutherans and Calvinists were upon pacification about the Sacrament that they should not De modo ultra modum disputare Now although this be good counsel yet when heretical and erroneous opinions have invaded the Modus then it is our duty to maintain not onely the truth of a thing but the manner of it also What is a greater mystery then the Sonne of God having his being from the Father He that will touch this mystery with meer natural reason doth as if the Smith should handle his live-coals with his hands and not the Tongs saith Chrysostome yet because of the Socinians who say He is onely a made God in time and hath his Deity by donation We are forced not to be content onely to believe that he is the Sonne of God but also how viz. By eternal Generation So in the great Controversie with the Arminians about the conversion of man It is not enough to say we are converted by grace but are necessitated also to expresse the manner How not by a moral suasion or per modum sapientiae onely but by invincible efficacy and power also Thus the manner of Christs presence in the Sacrament was necessarily to be determined against the Lutherans Thus it is in our point in hand we might well enough sit down with this Truth That original sinne is communicated to every sonne of Adam and enquire no further as the primitive Church did till Austin's time in a great measure But when Heretiques will deny the true Doctrine because the manner is difficult to expresse or when men will deny the Creation of the soul then it 's our duty in a sober manner to search into the way how we partake of it Neither doth the fore mentioned Text contradict this For though we know not how the bones grow in the womb exactly and punctually yet we know in the general that they do by virtue of generation So although we know not particularly how the soul cometh to have its being in the body yet in the general that it is by Creation we have had Scripture light fully to convince us therein This then premised Let us proceed to clear the Doctrine of the Propagation of original sinne and that by several Propositions which will be as so many steps and degrees to the main Truth SECT VII Propositions to clear the Doctrine of the Propagation of Original Sinne by the Souls Creation FIrst We lay this for a foundation That God doth create the soul of every man a spiritual substance This Proposition must be the foundation-stone to build upon That God doth create the soul immediately you have heard several Texts attesting thereunto So that Bellarmine was too dissident when moved it seemed by Austin doth wave all Texts of Scripture for the creation of the soul and so proceedeth to other Arguments Perierius on 2 Chap. of Genes vers 7. giveth a better censure of Austin for having produced some Texts for the Creation of the soul he saith Conatur Augustinus sed frustra hos locos elidere I shall adde one more fit for that purpose also The Text is 1 Pet. 4. 19. Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls unto God as to a faithfull Creator Here the afflicted children of God are required as Christ did to commend their souls to God and the reason is Because he is a faithfull Creator of them So that Gods Creation of them is here made an engagement to God to keep them they being now sanctified and made holy Our souls then are created In the next place I say they are created Substances This is to obviate those that make the soul onely an accident or the crasis and temperament of the humours Galen as Cerda on Tertull de animâ alledgeth him in his second Book of prediction by the pulses hath this passage Hitherto I have doubted what should be the substance of the soul but by age and experience being made wiser I dare be bold to affirm it is no other thing then the temperament He was not made wiser but more absurd and foolish in this thing Yea there is one Dicaearchus much spoken of that said The soul was nothing it was but an opinion And the Mortalists they directly joyn with Galen's opinion Who would think that when we have the Scripture speaking so plainly about the soul that it is a spirit that it removeth when the body is killed that any should be delivered up to such licentious and abominable Doctrines Again I adde God createth it a spiritual substance This opposeth the Sadduces who denied any spirits It is plaine by Scripture that they are substances and spiritual ones because they subsist without the body Tertullian though he doth so acutely perstringe the Philosophers about the soul yet some of them were more sound then he Men saith he have thought about the soul either as Platonis honor Zenonis vigor Aristotelis tenor Epicuri stupor Heracliti maestor Empedoclis furor persuaserint It is true some of these thought the souls to be bodies and so doth Tertullian and happily he might have been excused by taking body largely for that which is not nihil in which sense he attributeth a body to God but that he saith the soul is not only a body but effigiated and shaped also yea that the souls differ in sex which is very irrational We may then conclude this with a saying of Numertus That if any souls are corporeal it is of those who say souls are corporeal A second Proposition is That though God doth create immediately the souls of all men spiritual substances yet they are not compleat and perfect substances as Angles are but the essential parts of men Upon this Proposition depends much weight of this Truth about the communicating of original sinne for we are apt to think God createth our souls like Angels perfect and having subsistency of themselves whereas they are created as parts of a man neither do they come from God any otherwise If God should create a soul to subsist of it self and not to be united to the body to constitute a man that soul would not be polluted But because every soul is created as an essential part of man and so hath its being Hence it is That it cometh into the world part of Adam and so obnoxious to that curse which he had deserved whatsoever then in its first being is part of man that is partaker of Adam's sinne and curse But the soul in its first instant of being is part of man therefore no wonder if it became polluted and cursed The example of that miraculous Resurrection of Lazarus and others may something clear this they were fully dead their souls and bodies union dissolved yet because their souls were not made perfect and pure without sinne and translated into Heaven but
by the power of God detained here on earth that the glory of Christ might be exalted he doth unite this soul though with pollution to the body Now Gods uniting of the sinfull soul to the body did not make him the cause of any sinne therein Because he united it as part of that man who yet was not wholly purged from sinne Now the reason why the soul is created not as a perfect substance in it self is Because it 's the forme of man not an assisting forme and therefore is not in the body as when an Angel did assume bodies or as a man in his house or as a Musician useth an Instrument but a form informing whereby it is made an intrinsecal essential part of a man The truth of this will give much light to our point in hand the soul is created by God The informing forme of a man and so hath no other consideration but as an essential part of him and therefore seeing the man is in Adam whose soul this is that is thereby exposed to all the sinne of Adam Hence it is that there is some difference between the creation of Angles and the Chaos at first which were made absolutely of nothing and of the soul For the soul though it be created of nothing yet because a form hath an essential respect to its matter for which cause Contarenus as Zanchy saith affirmed The soul had a middle way of being between Creation and Generation and therefore is that distinction of some learned men that though the soul be not ex materiâ yet it is in materiâ God did not create it but in the body though not of the body and thus farre it may be said to be of man as that he is the cause though not of the being of the soul yet of the being of it n this body The third Proposition The soul being thus created an essential part of a man and the form informing of him Hence it is That we must not conceive the soul to be first created as it were of it self subsisting and then infused into the body but when the materials are sufficiently prepared then as the Schoolmen expresse it well Infundendo creatur and creando infuditur it 's infused by the creating of it and created by infusing So that the soul is made in the body organized not without it so the Scripture Zech. 12. 1. Who formeth the spirit of man with him and because of the souls unon to the body when thus disposed Hence it is that man may truly and univocally be said to beget a man though his soul be created for seeing man who is the compositum is the Terminus generationis Hence it is that man begets man as well as a beast though the soul of a beast be from the matter as we see in Christ the Virgin Mary is truly said to be the mother of Christ though she was not the mother of his Divine Nature nor of his soul Thus man doth properly beget another man though the soul be by Creation as the matter also according to Philosophy is ingenerable because the soul is united to the body prepared and disposed for it by man from which union resulteth the whole person or compositum consisting of soul and body So that although man be not the cause of his childs souls being yet that it hath a being in this body and thereby such a person produced he is the cause of it and by this if well understood you may see original sinne communicated to every one though the soul be created In that way which the humane nature is communicated to every one So that if we truly know how a man is made a man from his parents we may also know how sin is thereby also communicated The fourth Proposition is Although God doth daily create new souls yet his Decree and Purpose to do so was from all eternity And therefore in this respect we may say all men consisting of souls and bodies were present to God in Adam in respect of Gods Decree and also his Covenant with Adam so that although there be a new Creation yet there is no new institution or ordination on Gods part Whereas therefore it 's thought hard that because Adam was so many thousand years ago the soul created now should partake of his sinne The Answer is That in respect of Gods Decree and Covenant we were all present to God in Adam There is no man hath his being De Novo but unto God he was present from eternity so that though the things in time have a succession of being yet to God all are present in eternity Not that we can say they were actually sinners or actually justified but in respect of Gods purpose all were present and this will help much to facilitate this difficulty we are as present to God in respect of his Decree and knowledge as if we had been then actually in Adam in which sense it 's said Omnes fuerunt ille unus homo and Act. 15. 18. Known to God are all his works from the beginning The fifth Proposition Hence it is that the just and wise God is not to alter and change that course of nature because man hath sinned It is vain to say Why will God unite this soul to the body when thereby both shall be polluted For though man hath by his sinne deserved that this should be yet God is not therefore to cease of the continuing and multiplying of mankind God doth keep to the fixed course of nature notwithstanding mans sinne And therefore we see that even to those who are begot in fornication and whoredome yet even to such in that unlawfull act God giveth souls because he will not interrupt the course of nature The sixth Proposition Adam by his first transgression did deserve that all who should be of him should be deprived of the Image of God and the privation of that doth necessarily inferre the presence of all sinne in a subject susceptible As take away light from the air and it must be dark so that this Proposition answereth the whole difficulty Adam deserved by his transgression that all his posterity should become dead in sinne and as he had thus deserved it so God had ordained it and appointed it The soul then of every one being made part of that man who is thus cursed in Adam it becomes deprived of the Image of God and so full of sinne So that although God create the soul naturally good yet because part of man condemned by his sentence he denieth it that original righteousnesse it once had God doth not infuse any evil into the soul nor is the Author of any sinne therein but as a just Judge denieth that righteousnesse which otherwise the soul might have had So that you must not look for an efficient cause of original sinne in the soul but a deficient and a meritorious cause So that the Summe is this If you ask How cometh the soul defiled if created of
remember then they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hence they say that sometimes a man thinketh he remembreth when he doth not yea he cannot tell whether he remembreth such a thing or no because say they the Phantasma is thus absolutely presented and not as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Even as a man may look upon a picture either absolutely as having such lineaments and colour or relatively as an Image whereby we come to remember such an one But these Philosophical notions about Phantasmata and Species are so obscure that it is better with Austin to acknowledge our ignorance of this noble and admirable power in the soul whereby it doth remember things whatsoever it be though given us as an admirable and usefull gift yet now it is grosly polluted and is the conserver of all evil and vanity SECT VII Demonstrations of the Pollution of the Memory THat the memory is thus polluted will appear 1. By several discoveries thereof And 2. By the particulars wherein In the former way herein we have a full demonstration of the depraved nature of our memory In that we need the Spirit of God to sanctifie and help it So that one work or office of the Spirit of God is to be a remembrancer unto us about holy things It 's the gift of Gods Spirit to give thee a good memory to make thee able to remember holy things This is clearly and unquestionably affirmed John 14. 26. The comforter which is the holy Ghost I will send in my name and he will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you Here we see the Spirit of God hath a twofold office or work to do 1. To teach us holy things We are blind and unbelieving not knowing spiritual objects till Gods Spirit doth teach us But this is not all suppose we be taught and instructed is all done then Do we need the Spirit of God no more Yea. Therefore 2. The Spirit of God putteth it self forth in a further work which is to bring the things thus taught to our remembrance As then the mind in respect of understanding and knowing cannot do any thing about what is spiritual without the Spirit of God so neither can the mind about remembring Certainly if the memory of it self could do these things the Spirit of God would be in vain If the Moon and Starres could give so much light as to make a day the Sun would be in vain Hence the children of God do evidently find and feel the work of Gods Spirit upon their memories as well as their understandings for in their temptations how ready to be overwhelmed how ready to be swallowed up with such thoughts and then the Spirit of God doth seasonably re-mind the soul of such Promises of such comfortable Arguments So also upon the temptation to any sinne the Spirit of God doth interpose and prevent it by making them to remember such a threatning such a place of Scripture and this stoppeth them from the evil they were ready to do for they are the Disciples themselves though sanctified and made so eminent to whom this Spirit of remembrancing is promised as usefull and necessary If then the Spirits presence and assistance be thus necessary even to a regenerate mans memory this argueth the natural defilement and impotency of it to any good thing for where nature is able there the Spirit of God is not necessarily required A second Discovery of the pollution of the memory may be from the end of the Scripture why God would have it written so as to be a perpetual monument to his Church Among other ends this is one to be a memorial to us to put us in continual mind of the duties required of us Thus the Apostle Peter indeavoureth to make believers alwaies remembring of the Gospel by those Epistles he did write to them It is true the Orthodox do justly refuse that of Bellarmine who will make the Scripture to be onely utile communitorium as if that were the chief end why the Scriptures were written viz. to serve for our memory only and not to be a rule of our faith for he himself doth acknowledge it to be a partial rule But the principal and chief end why the Scriptures are delivered to the Church is to be a Canon and Rule to it so that the Church must not believe worship or live otherwise then the Scripture commands This is not a partial but a total Rule neither may any thing be added to it or detracted from it But yet we grant also That the Scripture may have other secondary and subservient ends whereof this is not the meanest to be usefull to our memory And certainly one great cause of so much evil committed by thee is forgetfulnesse of the Scripture The Apostle James Chap. 1. 25. doth notably instance to this purpose for he compareth a forgetfull hearer of the Word to one that looketh in the glasse and going away straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was If therefore we did abide and continue looking in this glasse take notice what we are by the direction of the Word how quickly would we reform He that doth make a practical use of remembring the Scripture so as to regulate and order his life accordingly can never miscarry To have the word of God in thy memory against such and such a temptation would prevent all the evil thou fallest into John 15. 20. when our Saviour would encourage his Disciples against the hatred of the world he saith Remember the Word that I said unto you the servant is not greater then his master Remember this truth and that will make thee suffer more willingly So John 16 4. These things have I told you that when the time shall come ye may remember that I told you of them To remember Scripture in the season to have the Word of God in thy mind when a temptation like Joseph's Mistress is soliciting of thee this will cause that no deadly thing shall hurt thee for the word of God is a two edged sword it 's an hammer it 's fire it 's the sword of the Spirit by it both the Devil and all temptations are subdued Christ overcame the Devil by Scripture Now if that be not in thy memory then it cannot be any waies serviceable to thee in the time of need Exercise your memories therefore in the Scripture and that not for memories sake much lesse for ostentation to shew what a good memory you have above others but for a practical and holy use Treasure up such a place against thy drunkennesse thy whoredoms Treasure up such a place against pride earthlinesse and covetous desires What a precious and excellent memory is that which is like a mine of gold or an Apothecaries shop that can from the Scripture presently fetch what Antidotes against sinne or cordials to revive that he pleaseth And truly our memory should be filled up only with Scripture considerations
more predominant then the understanding It is with man the little world as the great world God made in this two great lights the Sunne and Moon one to rule in the day the other in the night Thus man hath two lights created in him which are to direct him in all his operations the Sunne that is the Understanding the Moon is like the Imagination which giveth a glimmering light and that onely in particular and corporeal things Now as it would be an horrible confusion in the world if the Moon should shut out the Sunne and take upon it to rule in the day time all the light the Moon hath let it be supposed it hath some of its own would not suffice to make a day Thus it is in man his fancy which hath not light enough to guide him in his actions to his true end yet that usurpeth upon the understanding and doth in effect command all Thus the inferiour light prevaileth over the superiour Oh what groaning should the new creature be in till it be delivered from this bondage See then to thy self and examine all things that passe through thy soul more narrowly and exactly It may be thy imagination is the cause of all thy Religion of all thy opinions It may be it is not faith but fancy It may be it is not conscience but imagination that instigateth thee Those expressions me thinks and I imagine so are not high enough or becoming those glorious actings of faith in the soul which the Apostle calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 11. 1. The substance of things hoped for Aristotle opposeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to those apparitions that are made in the air as the Rain-bow which hath no real subsistency and truly such are the conceits and apprehensions many have in Religion and Piety They are not of a solid true and well-grounded knowledge but are like meteors in the air Thus do their opinions flie up and down in their head We may observe it a very ordinary thing in controversies and polemical writings that both parties will often charge one another with their fancies and their imaginations that there is no such thing in Scripture or in reason but a figment in the brain Yea the Pelagians and Socinians call this very Doctrine of original sinne Austin's fancy as if it were an evil imagination to hold That the thoughts and imaginations of the heart are only evil and that continually Thus you see in what confusion we are in when sometimes the solid Doctrine of the Scripture is traduced for a meer imagination And again meer fancies applauded and earnestly contended for as sundamental pillars of Religion and Piety Seeing then our imaginations are so apt to get into the chair of the understanding and as Athaliah destroyed the seed royal that she might reign so fancy bolteth out all solid reasons and arguments that it alone may do all it behoveth us the more to watch over our hearts in this respect and to be sure they are the solid works of faith and not the fickle motions of the fancy that do guide thee and the rather because it is the perpetual custome of wicked and ungodly men to brand and stigmatize both the true faith and all solid piety with the reproach of a meer fancy Do not Papists Arminians Socinians and the like exclaim against the Protestant Doctrine as if it were but an Idol of Calvins and Luthers making when they condemned the blessed Martyrs to burn at the stake they concluded such suffered but for their fancies and their humours It being therefore the constant charge by all enemies to truth that it is not thy faith thou pleadest for thou sufferest for but thy meer fancy it behoveth thee to be the more diligent in Scripture knowledge and to pray that the Spirit of God may thereby quicken thee up to a found and sure faith Thus also it is in practicals Let a man set himself to the power of godliness walk strictly in opposition to the loosness and profaneness of the world Let his soul mourn for sinne and his heart grieve for his evil wayes what do carnal people presently say This is your fancy these are your melancholly conceits they judge it to be some distemper in your imagination that it is a kind of a madness Now that we may withstand such accusations it behoveth us to seek after and pray for such a thorough work of sanctification that we may be assured it is no more fancy then that we live or have our being that if to be godly if to be converted be a fancy onely then to be a man or to be a wicked man is only a fancy also Well though we must take heed of calling faith a fancy and the work of grace a melancholly conceit for that is a kind of blaspheming the holy Ghost yet experience doth evidence That many have not faith have not true piety but meer empty shadows and imaginations in Religion witness the Scepticism of many in these dayes who are of no faith and no Religion who change it often as they do their garments who have no rooting or immovable foundation but are as the water which receiveth every impression but retaineth none that are Reeds shaken with every wind and are clean contrary to Christ for they are not the same yesterday and to day and for ever Can you say this is the work of Gods Spirit Can we say this is the Scripture-truth No you read the Character of such who have true faith and that in a sanctified manner If it were possible to deceive the very elect Matth. 24. 24. Certainly the prevalency of the imagination above the understanding in religious things is one of the sore evils which original sinne hath brought upon all mankind SECT IX In the Imagination are conceived for the most part all Actual Impieties SEventhly This also doth greatly manifest the sinfulness of the Imagination That as in the affections so likewise in it are conceived for the most part all actual impieties The Imagination and the Affections joyned together are commonly that dunghill wherein these serpents lay their eggs yea sinne many times lieth a long while breeding in the imagination before it be brought forth into action yea many times it is never brought forth but the womb of sinne is also the tomb it lived and died in the imagination We may observe the Scripture attributing the greatest works of impiety to the imagination as the cause of it Psal 21. Why do the people imagine a vain thing All the opposition of wicked men and their carnal policy to overthrow the wayes of Christ flow from this imagining Thus Psal 38. 12. They imagine deceits all the day long Zech. 7. 10. All the injustice oppression and fraud that may be used to other men is attributed to this Let none of you imagine evil against his brother in his heart It is true this Imagination spoken of in the Text comprehends also acts of the mind
estate now in being consistent thus of a body he doth partake with beasts and agreeth with them But the other part of man is spiritual immaterial and immortal substance breathed at first into Adam by God himself and herein he doth agree with Angels According to these two constituent principles a man doth act either according to the soul or the body In the state of integrity his soul was predominant he was like an Angel in this particular but now since man is fallen his body is principal and chief and thereupon is become like the bruit beaâ—â— living and walking according to the inclinations and temptations of the body This the Psalmist observed Psal 49. 12. Man being in honour abideth not he is like the beasts that perish And vers 20 man that is in honour and understandeth not is like the beasts that perish Here you see that though a man be exalted to never so much glory and dignity in the world yet if he understand not if he doth not live according to the true principles of reason and grace he is but like a beast not only in that he perisheth like a beast but also in that he liveth and walketh like one Hence it is that the Scripture doth so often compare wicked men to beasts to the Ass to the Wolf to the Dog and Swina because they fall from the principles of a rational soul and become like them in their operations Thus evil men are said 2 Tim. 2. 26. To be taken captive by the Devil at his will or as in the Greek taken alive As the hunter doth drive wild beasts into his nets and so taketh them alive Thus are wicked men brought as it were willingly into the Devils hands and are tame under him and if so be the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his will be referred to the Devil as some do then it sheweth in what willing subjection they are in to Satans lusts but because it 's not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it therefore relateth rather to the remote antecedent which is God implying that it is by Gods just judgement that man is thus become a miserable slave and doth the Devils drudgery even as we make beasts do our work And thus it is with all men since the fall they are not worthly the name of a man therfore the whole body of wicked men are compared to the Serpents seed as if they were the off-spring of such a poisonous creature rather then of man yea doth not experience confirme this take men without the work of grace either internally sanctifying of them or externally restraining of them take them as left to their own natural principles and having no more to walk by what do you perceive in them more then a beast Indeed their body is still upright and so they differ from them but in their life and manners they are conformable unto them Oh that men would consider and lay this to heart to be affected with this original sinne that hath thus degraded us even from the honour as it were of a man There doth not appear in us the actings and workings of a rational soul we are as our body and the inclinations thereof do carry us away ¶ 4. The Body by original Sinne is made a Tempter and a Seducer FOurthly The body by original sinne is made a tempter and a seducer it doth administer daily matter and occasion to sinne As the Devil is a tempter without so the body is the tempter within we are incited and drawne away to many bodily sinnes from the temptations thereof hence we read in the Scripture that the word flesh is so often put for the sinful part of a man and spirit for the regenerate part and why is it called flesh but because it is so intimately adhering to the body and by the body so much iniquity and sinfulness is expressed Thus sinne is called our flesh as if it were no longer a quality polluting of us but our very bones and corporeal substance There are several bodily sinnes which are bred as it were in this noisome pudddle of the body as drunkenness this is a bodily sinne and where this vice is accustomed unto how greatly doth the body crave and importune for the accomplishing of it this maketh repentance of it and a through reformation so difficult because it is now soaked as it were in the body that as you see it is with the food we eat while in the mouth or stomack it is with some ease exonerated but when digested and by nourishment turned into the very parts of the body then it cannot be separated Thus when sinnes come to be incorporated into thee when thy body is habituated to any vice it requireth much prayer and agony much humiliation and supplication ere such a lust can be disposessed Oh then bewail thy body that is thus become an enemy to the soul that is like a furnace sending forth continual sparks of fire That as the tree by the moisture and softness thereof doth cause wormes to breed in it which do at last destroy it Thus out of thy body arise such lusts that will at last be thy eternal perdition As drunkenness so uncleanness this is also a lust of the body this sinne ariseth from it and although that be very true which the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 6. 18. That fornication and such uncleanness they are against the body because the body is to be kept holy and pure it being the temple of the Holy Ghost where a man is sanctified yet take it as corrupted and polluted so these lusts are very sutable and consonant to it who can think then that the body is such as at first Creation such a ready instrument to much bodily wickedness yea a tempter and a seducer This is the Dalilah that doth so often plunge us into soul sinnes there was no root of bitterness in mans body at first but as it was with the ground when cursed for mans sinne then it did naturally and of it self bring forth weeds and thorns so doth the body thus defiled it is now the continual nourisher and fomenter of vice we damn our souls to please our bodies we are become slaves to our bodily pleasures and delights though we know they are to the eternal perdition both of soul and body at last nourish it we must provide for it we must yet we cannot nourish that but sinne also is thereby strengthned Hence you have that holy Apostle himself much afraid of his body that it may not rise up in rebellion against the work of grace 1 Cor. 9. 27. he useth two emphatical words to this purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I keep under my body an allusion to those who did fight for masteries by way of exercise so that when one did beat the other black and blue about the face 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the countenance and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are those marks upon the face Hence
having named two contrary principles and their lustings one to another there is no reason to limit it to one but that we understand it thus That even in had things a godly man is not carried out with the full command of the flesh but the Spirit of God doth in a great measure check and prohibit it And also in good things though the Spirit of God doth enlighten and enlarge the soul yet the flesh doth something retard and by its opposition causeth that we cannot do holy things with that fulness purity and perfection as we would do Thus you have this noble Text explained which will afford excellent practical matter concerning that property of original sinne that it remaineth in some measure even in the most holy and that therefore there is no perfection in this life None is all spirit without any flesh at all in them Therefore the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Text may have its emphasis The same things ye cannot do that ye would For what godly man doth not feel that it is not the same prayer the same faith the same repentance he desired The duty like Jeremiah's vessel cometh to be marred upon the wheel in the very doing so much deadness distraction lukewarmness and senslesness of spirit appeareth that he wondereth to see how different the duty exercised is from the desire and purpose in his soul From the words thus declared observe That original sinne remaineth in every man though never so godly in some measure whereby there is a combate between the flesh and the Spirit so that we cannot do any holy duty perfectly in this life I limit my Discourse only to the good will in the Text not the bad because that is most homogeneous with my subject And besides The Pelagians calumniated this Doctrine of original sinne as a discouragement unto holiness and that hereby perfection could never be attained because this sinne is said to have some being and working in the most holy though it have not dominion It is from original sinne that the most holy men find a combat within them more or lesse that alwayes in this life they find a need both of pardon of sinne and of the righteousness of Christ which if any deny as the Pelagians did we will not believe them with Austin in that they say but attribute it to their arrogancy and hypocrisie pretending more holiness to the world then they have for their self-advantage or else to their stupidity and senslesness not feeling what doth indeed annoy and oppose the Spirit of God and truly they who have not the Spirit of God abiding in them How can they discern of such a combate That moral conflict which Aristotle speaketh of in the incontinent person he may perceive within himself but this of the Spirit and the flesh He cannot know because it is spiritually discerned SECT II. Several Propositions clearing the truth about the Combat between the Flesh and Spirit in a godly man ¶ 1. The Difference between Original and Actual Sinne. THe only way to comprehend the latitude of this excellent truth about the Conflict between flesh and spirit in the true believer because of original sinne still adhering to him is to lay down several Propositions wherein we may at the same time assert truth and obviate some error First Original sinne doth greatly differ from actual sinne in this particular that when an actual sinne is committed there remaineth no more but the guilt of it which upon repentance by justification is wholly removed away and thus an actual sinne is as if it had never been but in original sinne although the guilt of it be taken away yet the nature of it abideth still though not with such dominion as formerly it did It is true the Schoolmen except Biel and some others say actual sinnes leave a macula a blot or defilement upon the soul as well as a reatus or guilt and what this macula is they are different in their explication of but we must necessarily grant that every actual sinne doth defile the soul depriving it either of the beauty it hath or ought to have but yet still the act of sin is passed away whereas in original sin the sin it self doth still continue by which it is that though to those who are in Christ there is no actual condemnation yet there is that which is damnable in them insomuch as without Christ there is a wo to their most holy and praise-worthy actions It is true the Papists and others look upon this as non-sense or a contradiction that sin should be in a man and not make him guilty as if actual condemnation might not be separated from sinne though indeed the desert of condemnation cannot It cannot be but wheresoever sinne is it doth deserve hell it hath enough in it to provoke God to wrath but yet when humbled for and withstood then through the bloud of Christ this actual guilt though not the potential one is taken away Yea original sinne doth not only differ from actual sinne but also habitual because though habitual sinnes do abide in a man yet when a man is regenerated and made a new creature all the habits of sinne are expelled for if the habits of sinne and grace should abide together then a man might at the same time be holy and unholy the sonne of God and the sonne of the Devil seeing our denomination is from the habits that are within us therefore that cannot be But though in our Regeneration the habits of sinne are removed yet it is not so with original corruption that is not an acquired but an innate habit of sinning within us Thus our original corruption is farre more pertinaciously cleaving unto us then any habits or customs of sinne can be though of never so long continuance ¶ 2. IN the second place That is a false position which the Remonstrants have Exam Censurae cap. 11. pag. 128. that the difficulty which new converts have to leave their former lusts doth arise chiefly from their former custome and exercise in wayes of impiety not from original sinne For they distinguish of godly men such as are incipients new beginners that are but newly converted unto Christ and these they say have a great conflict within them they have much ado to leave their former lusts and impieties they have been accustomed unto and then there are the Adulti such who are proficients and grown up now these they say may arise to such a measure of holiness as to be without any conflict at all between flesh and spirit or to feel it very rarely but that is directly to contradict this Text which speaketh it universally of all that have the Spirit of God in them while in this life they do meet with opposition not only from the devil without but the flesh within Therefore they would elude this Text as if it did not mean an actual reluctancy or lusting against one another but only potential that it is the
of this to tender hearts and ears is confutation enough For is not this truly and properly to make God the Author of sinne that he put a rebellious thorn in our sides at first and that because we are his creatures made of a soul and a body therefore we must necessarily be divided within our selves Thus those who charge original sinne with Manichism do herein exceed the Manichees themselves for they attribute this evil in a man to an evil principle but these make the good and holy God to be the Author of this rebellion Neither is it any evasion to say This rebellion of the sensitive part is no sinne unless it be consented unto for it is such which is contrary to the Law of God it is to be resisted and fought against And certainly that demonstrateth the evil nature thereof Luther indeed speaks of a Franciscan which maketh this concupiscence to be a natural good in a man as it is in the fire to burn or the Sunne to shine But certainly such qualities or actions are not to be resisted or fought against as these are How can that be good which is confessed to be a sinne if consented unto ¶ 4. VVHen we say the flesh and the Spirit do thus conflict with one another you must not understand it of them as two naked bare qualities in a man but as actuated and quickned from without For the gracious habit in a man is not able to act and put it self forth vigorously without the Spirit of God exciting and quickning of it And although inherent sinne of it self be active and vigorous yet the Devil also he continually is tempting and blowing upon this fire to make it flame the more impetuously So that we are not to look upon these simply as in themselves but as subservient to the Spirit of God and the Devil The Spirit of God by grace in the heart doth promote the Kingdom of God and the Devil by suggestions doth advance the kingdom of Satan in our hearts So that grace and sinne are like the Deputies and Vicegerents in our souls to those Champions that are without us Now because the Spirit of God is stronger and above the Devil therefore it is that the flesh shall at last surely be conquered Nay if the godly at any time fail if sinne at any time overcome it is not because the Spirit of God could not overcome it but because he is a free agent and communicateth his assistance more or lesse as he pleaseth only in this combat the godly are to assure themselves that they shall overcome all at last that the very root of sinne will be wholly taken away never to trouble or imbitter the soul any more ¶ 5. FIfthly In natural and corrupt men there is no sense or feeling of any such conflict They never groan and mourn under such wrestlings and agonies within them and the reason is because they are altogether flesh and flesh doth not oppose flesh neither is Satan set against Satan It is true there is in some natural vicious men sometimes a combate between their conscience and their appetite their hearts carry them on violently to sinne but their consciences do check them and they feel a remorse within them but this is farre different from that spiritual conflict which the Apostle doth here describe and is to be found only in such men who have the Spirit of God No wonderthen if there be so many who look upon this as a figment if so many even learned men write and speak so ignorantly and advisedly about it for this truth is best acknowledged by experience It 's not the Theologia ratiocinativa but experimentalis as Gerson divideth Divinity that will bring us to a full knowledge of this It cannot then but be expected that you should see men live at ease and have much quietness and security in their own breasts thanking God as if their souls hearts and all were good within them all were as they desire it for the strong man the Devil keepeth all quiet flesh would not oppose flesh It is true one sinne may oppose another covetoufness drunkenness and so a man who would commit them both be divided within himself one sinne draweth one way and another sinne the other way but still in the general here is an agreement all is sinne all tendeth one way still and therefore is not like this combate in the Text but of this more in its time ¶ 6. SIxthly In all regenerate persons though never so highly sanctified there is a conflict more or less It is true some are more holy then others some are babes and some are strong men some are spiritual some in a comparative sence are carnal some are weak some are strong and according to the measure of grace they have received so is this conflict more or less Amyraldus a much admired Writer by some neither do I detract from that worth which is due to him doth industriously set himself Constd cap. 7. ad Rom. to expound the 7th of the Romans of a person not regenerated but in a legal state yet disclaiming Arminianisme and Socinianisme which Exposition being offensive and excepted against as justly it might by William Rivet he maketh a replication thereunto wherein he delivereth many novel assertions Among which this may be one That making four ranks or classes of Christians he apprehendeth the first to be such who have attained to so high a degree of sanctification that they consult and deliberate of nothing but from the habit of grace that is within them and that this conflict within a man is rather to be referred to the legal work upon a man then the Evangelical condition we are put into hence he understands this Text not universally but particularly of the Galathians who were then in that state viz. a legal one not Evangelical which he thinketh the next Verse will confirme where the Apostle saith If ye be led of the Spirit ye are not under the law now of this sort who may be apprehended ordinarily to live without such a combate he placeth the Apostles especially when plentifully endowed with the Spirit of God after Christs resurrection and for Paul he is so far ravished with the Idea of godliness represented in his life that he saith Consid in cap. 7. ad Rom. cap. 74. if God had pleased so to adorne Paul with the gifts of the Spirit that in this life he should attain to that perfection which other believers have only in heaven none might find fault herein The general rules he goeth upon and others though disclaimed by him is because there are many places of Scripture which shew that some godly persons are victorious and tryumphing above this conflict as when this Apostle saith afterwards ver 24. They that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof and Rom. 8. 2. The law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ hath made me free from the law of sin
to say so But Austin answereth It 's therefore called two wils or therefore it is said to will and nill because it doth will sickly and faintly It 's not so throughly and totally carried out to God as it ought to be and this halting like that of Jacobs thigh will go with us to the grave Thus we are as weak men that are partly well and partly sick as the twy-light when it is partly light and partly darkness or as wine mingled with water not that in such a mixture we are able to say this part is water and the other part is meer wine So we must not think that in a regenerate man one part is meerly spiritual the other meerly carnal but the corruption in a man doth adhere to every part that is sanctified and therefore as the principle is mixed so are the actions which flow from it But it is time to hasten to the last Proposition which is ¶ 10. Of the Regenerates Freedome from the Dominion of sinne And whether it be by the Suppression of it or by the Abolishing part of it THat though original sinne be in a regenerate person yet it is not in its dominion there it is in part abolished For there are these things to be considered in this inbred defilement there is 1. The Guilt 2. The Dominion and both these are removed in a regenerate person 3. There is the sense or presence of it and that is not taken away but by death 4. Some adde the Root of it and that they say is not destroyed till the body be consumed to ashes For although it be true that death putteth an end to all sinne yet that must be understood of an ultimate and final death otherwise if it be a dispensatory death as it was to Lazarus and some others as that did not put a period to their bodily miseries when they lived again so neither did it to sinfulness in their souls But even Lazarus and such like persons raised upon a special economy were regenerated but in part and this conflict of flesh and Spirit was in them and so they needed to pray for forgiveness of sinne But though we must acknowledge that original sinne hath not the power in a godly man it once had All the difficulty is Whether it be by suppression of it onely or abolishing part of it and if original sinne be in part diminished How can the whole of it be propagated to the child Or why may not the last part of it be consumed in this life It may be this Question may be more subtil then profitable Scotus as Pererius alledgeth him in Rom. cap. 7. thinketh that in a godly man original sinne is not at all abated onely grace is every day augmented and so that cannot weigh us down as it did before As saith he if an Eagle should have any weight upon her but the strength of her wings be increased then though the weight were not diminished yet because her strength is increased it would not hinder her in flying But to answer this Question we must conclude that in regeneration original sinne is more then suppressed there is a qualitative change and so a diminishing of darknesse in the mind by light of evil in the will by holinesse So that the encreasing of these graces do necessarily argue the decreasing of original sinn And For this purpose the Scripture useth those termes of crucifying and mortifying onely when we say original sinne is diminished You must not understand it hath quantative parts as if they were cut off by degrees but potestative that is the power and efficacy of original sinne is not so lively so vehement as it was once yet where it is thus weakned a regenerate person begetteth a sonne in an unregenerate estate because he is the sonne of Adam fallen and is not a father as he is godly but as he is a man Now though it doth thus tenaciously adhere unto us yet death will give it a final and full blow not death meerly as it is a dissolution in a natural way so that Castellio doth absurdly endeavour to perplex this Doctrine with curious interrogatories but as the nature of it is altered by Christ the Spirit of God putting forth its greatest efficacy at that time Yea though a godly man should be so overcome by a disease that he were not able to act faith in Christ at that time for the utter subduing of sinne in him yet his faith formerly put forth on Christ for that purpose and the promise of God at that time will effectually conquer all This being so how ought the godly gladly to submit to death The terrible vizour of it is now taken away No vain thoughts no wordly or distempered affections shall ever molest thee more It is not death to thee but to thy sinne It is not a death to thy graces and comforts but to thy corruptions Miseria non home moritur said the Martyr when he was to die It is misery not man that dieth CHAP. IV. Of Death coming upon all men as another Effect of Original Sinne. SECT I. The Text explained 1 COR. 15. 22. For as in Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive THe chief scope of the Apostle in this Chapter as was formerly declared from the 49th verse is to establish that fundamental and necessary Article of the Resurrection of the dead which because of the incredibility of it to meer humane reason was much derided by the Heatheus and Paul for the preaching thereof was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Acts 17. 18. A trifling babler Hence because of the difficulty to receive this truth Synesius was ordained Bishop though as yet not perswaded of the Doctrine which afterwards by the grace of God towards him he did acknowledge Yea it 's observed That the Philosophers when made Christians received this as the last Article of their Christian faith because so contrary to those Philosophical principles they had been accustomed unto The Sadduces also denied this main Article but they might be supposed to do it upon corrupt grounds futable to their lusts for being though not so numerous nor so applauded for piety by the people as the Pharisees were yet for the most part the richest and most wealthy they imbraced that opinion which denied the Resurrection as being more convenient for their carnal hearts and that they might with more delight and security give themselves up to this present world But the Apostle doth here most industriously and powerfully confirm this Doctrine which if not true all our Christian Religion would be in vain The principal Argument to prove this Doctrine is from the Resurrection of Christ For the rising as our Head it necessarily followeth his members should also rise to such glory and immortality So that Christs Resurrection doth necessarily inferre outs which made the primitive Christians so affected with it that in their ordianry salutations whenmeeting with one another they did use to
Cor. 15. 56. which Austin expounds in this sense as that by sinne death is caused as that is called Poculum mortis a cup of death which causeth death or as some say The Tree of life is called so because it was the cause of life If then original sinne be a sinne it must have a sting and this sting is everlasting death So that if we attend to what the Scripture speaketh concerning us even in the womb and the cradle that we are in a state of sinne we must conclude because it is a sinne therefore it deserveth damnation Hence you heard the Apostle Rom. 5. expresly saith Judgement came by one to condemnation and Rom. 3. That the whole world is guilty before God Secondly The Scripture doth not only speak of this birth-pollution as a sinne but as an hainous sinne in its effects whereby it doth admis of many terrible aggravations as you have heard It is the Law in our members it 's the flesh tho body of sin the sin that doth so easily beset us the sin that warreth against the mind and the Spirit of God that captivateth even a godly man in some measure which maketh Paul groan under it and cry out of his miserable condition thereby so that it is not meerly a sinne but a sinne to be aggravated in many respects and therefore necessarily causing damnation unlesse God in his mercy prevent Let Bellarmine and others extenuate it making it lesse then the least sinne that is of which more afterwards let them talk of venial sinnes that do not in their own nature deserve hell yet because all sinne is a transgression of Gods Law the curse of God belongeth thereunto therefore it hath an infinite guilt in respect of the Majesty of God against whom it is committed and they who judge sinne little must also judge the Majesty of God to be little also What shall one respect of involuntariness which is in original sinne make it lesse then others when 〈…〉 so many other respects some whereof do more immediately relate to the nature of sinne then voluntariness can do farre exceed other sinnes Thirdly Original sinne must needs deserve damnation because it needeth the bloud of Christ to purge away the guilt of it as well as actual sins Christ is a Saviours to Infants as well as to grown men and if he be a Saviour to them then they are sinners if he save them then they are lost As for that old evasion of the Pelagian Infants need Christ not to save them from sinne but to bring them to the Kingdom of Heaven it 's most absurd and ridiculous for the whole purpose of the Gospel is to shew That Christ came into the world to bring sinners to Heaven through his bloud his death was expiatory and by way of atonement therefore it did suppose sinne hence he is sad to be the Lamb of God that taketh away the sinne of the world John 1. 29. which is both original and actual Fourthly That eternal damnation belongeth to the sinne we are born in appeareth by those remedies of grace and Ordinances of salvation which were appointed by God both in the Old and New Testament for the taking away of this natural guilt Circumcision in the Old Testament did declare that by nature the heart was uncircumcised and that every one was destitute of any inherent righteousnesse hence circumcision is called The seal of the righteousnesse which is by faith Rom. 4. 11. To this Baptism doth answer in the New Testament the external never whereof with the formal Rite of Administration doth abundantly convince us of our spiritual uncleanness as also the need we have of the bloud of Christ and also of his Spirit for our cleansing Now because the known Adversary to this truth affirmly That he knoweth of no Church that in her Rituals doth confesse and bewail original sinne As also that we might see the Judgement of our first Reformers in England about Baptism as relating to original sinne It is good to observe what is set down in the Publique Administration of Baptism as by the Common-Prayer-Book was formerly to be used there the Minister useth this Introductory Forasmuch as all men be conceived and born in sinne adding from hence That none can enter into the kingdom of Heaven unlesse he be born again It is the sinne he is born in not pure Naturals as the Doctor saith that inferreth a necessity of regeneration Again In the Prayer for children to be baptized there is this passage That they coming to thy holy Baptism may receive remission of sins Now what sinnes can children have but their original It is spoken in the plural number because more than one child is supposed to be baptized Again in the same Prayer we meet with this Petition That they being delivered from thy wrath What can more ashame the Doctors opinion then this That which he accounteth so horrid is here plainly asserted That children are born under Gods wrath therefore prayer is made that they may be delivered from it Lastly In another Prayer after the Confession of Faith we have this Petition That the old Adam in these children may be so buried that the new man may be raised up in them Why doth he not seoff at this expression saying as he doth upon another occasion That they change the good old man with these things that he never thought of No doubt but he will force these passages by some violent Interpretation as he doth the 9th Article but certainly it would be more ingenuity in him to flie to his principles of liberty of prophesying rather then to wrest these publick professions of original sinne It is true the Ancients and so the Papists put too much upon Baptism For Austin thought every child dying without Baptism yea and without the participation of the Lords Supper was certainly damned But of this extream more afterwards It is enough for us That Christs Institution of such a Sacrament and that for Infants doth evidently proclaim our sinfulnesse by nature and therein our desert of eternal wrath Fifthly To original sinne there must needs belong eternal wrath because of the nature of it and inseperable effects flowing from it The nature of it is the spiritual death of the soul by this a man is alienated from all life of grace and therefore till the grace of God appear it 's true of all by nature as followeth in the Chapter where this Text is vers 12. Without Christ alient from the Commonwealth of Israel strangers from the Covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world Thus Davenant upon that Text Dead in sinne Col. 2. 13. saith All the sons of Adam are accounted dead first because they lie in a state of spiritual death having lost the Image of God and partly because they are under the guilt of eternal death being obnoxious to the wrath of God for by nature we are the children of wram If then original sinne put
degree laid in the dust that thy will and desires may be accomplished Farre be this from thee Surely the great and high thoughts we ought to have of Gods wisdom goodness and holiness ought to keep us from opening our mouths any more in this point saying As I leave my self so my children in the hands of God who disposeth all things according to his own will And as we say of the nature of God he is that Bonum quo nihil melius cogitari potest The same must we apply to all his dispensations likewise Furthermore we are to remember That whatsoever the first Adam hath brought upon mankind the second Adam will totally and fully remove in all that are his members Insomuch that at the last there shall not remain as it were an hoof of any of these calamities That original corruption within thee shall no longer tempt thee incessantly like Joseph's Mistress saying Come and lie with me we shall then in the issue of all have more cause to rejoyce because of Christ and the benefits by him then ever we were cast down and dejected because of the transgression of the first Adam and the unspeakable evil that came by him So that if these particulars be duly considered every believer may with comfort and quietness sit down under this truth while men of pharisaical and self-justifying spirits rage and revile at these things But you will say Grant that there is such a thing as Original Sinne and that we have delivered nothing but Scripture truth in this point yet may we not be too tragical in exclamations about it As there are those who erre in the defect so are there not many that do offend in the excess that make it more hainous then it is This is the last Question wherewith I shall conclude this Subject And First All the Popish Arminian Socinian party with their adherents look upon the Calvinists as excessive in this point hence are there several complaints of them about this matter in all their works But certainly if we do regard the scope of the Scripture it is wholly to debase man and exalt Christ To discover our incurable and sinfull estate that thereby Christ may be the more magnified which is done by nothing so much as to make known that horrid pollution which is upon all by nature And certainly that one Text Genes 6. 5. affirming The thoughts of the imagination of a mans heart to be only evil and that continually speaketh more emphatically the deplored and sinfull estate of man then ever any Calvinist hath yet exprest Yet though this be so we grant that some may go too farre in their opinions and expressions about original sinne though for the most part such is a mans self-fulness and self-righteousness that Pelagianism is likelier to poison the world then Flacciâ—â—ism We must know therefore that one Illyricus a Lutheran in opposition to Victorinus Strigelius a Lutheran also but a Synergist holding the will of man to concurre actively with the grace of God to a mans conversion and thereby extenuating original sinne This Illyricus I say out of a vehement opposition to that party and the School-Doctrine about original sinne making it to be an accident in a man did fall into another extream saying That original sinne was a substantial evil in a man and that the very substantial form of a man was now made sinfull This Illyricus was a man of a very turbulent and unquiet spirit a desperate enemy to Melancthon whose heart it is said he broke Melch. Adam in vita Illyrici At first he was well reputed of by the Orthodox and being sadly tempted in his spirit about sinne and the wrath of God but afterwards delivered from it it was judged so great a mercy that thanks was given to God in the publick Congregation for his behalf but afterwards among other erroneous assertions he maintained That original sinne was a substantial evil in a man We may read his whole opinion with the declaration of himself and his Arguments in his Tractate on purpose concerning this point Clavis Script 2d parte Tractat. 6. de originali peccato wherein he hath many absurd and monstrous expressions Although it must be acknowledged that with that dung and filth he hath there is also some gold Some there are that wholly excuse him saying That his words only were improper but that his sense was orthodox and that out of hatred to that Doctrine which extenuateth original sinne he would pretending the Scripture for his Rule use substantive expressions to declare the nature of it But whatsoever his end may be certainly his sense and opinion as declared in his words is justly to be condemned and exploded For by Adam's fall he maketh a substantial change to be made upon a man That the Image of God is turned into the image of the Devil not accidentally but substantially as when wine is made vinegar or when the parts of a statue or house that were built in some comely harmony representing some glorious thing they should be pulled down and built into another deformed shape As suppose the Image of some comely person should be pulled in pieces and made the image of an horrible Dragon or Serpent He distinguisheth of the material substance of a man and his formal He granteth That the matrial substance of a man still remaineth our body and parts thereof but the formal substance is altered As when a vessel that was once made a vessel of honour is afterwards made a vessel of dishonour the material substance is the same but not the formal He doth no wayes endure that we should call original sinne an accident for he saith This sinne is a transcendent and is in all predicaments it 's sometimes a quality sometimes an action c. sometimes a substance Neither will he distinguish between the substance of a man and his sin adhering thereto between the subject and the privation in it between the abstract and concrete God he saith is angry with concretes punisheth concretes not abstracts and therefore he saith Those that distinguish between the substance of a man and his sinne do as the Alchimists separating from the oyl oleity from a stone lapideity so these from Adam Adameity Thus he and much more But certainly herein he betrayeth horrible ignorance in Philosophy and Theology for both these will necessitate us to distinguish between the substance of a man and the sinfull privation in him otherwise Christ could not have taken the same nature with us upon him sinne only excepted and regeneration would be a substantial change not a qualitative Neither by this opinion could the same substantial bodies be said to be glorified in Heaven So that as the Leprosie in the body is not the body neither is original sinne in man the nature of man and therefore when we read that the flesh and spirit are opposite that opposition must be understood in praedicamento qualitatis not substantiae The greatest support
it Is Sanctification a Condition of Justification because they are inseparable one from another That distinction of Faith justifying quae viva but not quâ viva which IS lively and working but not AS lively and working is not trifling as the Remonstrants say nor is there any cheat in it Most of the Fundamentals of Religion are distinguished from confining errours by such distinctions If a man say Christus qui Deus mortuus est saith true but if he should say Quâ Deus would he not speak blasphemy And this I bring in the rather because there are some who affect and glory in a moderating way thinking the Papists and Protestants do not so Fundamentally differ in the Point of Justification but that they may be reconciled whereas our learned Worthies at first declared that if the Romanists and we differed in no other point but this this were enough to have no Communion with them Spalatensis one of the unhappy Catholique Moderators writing of the Protestants who affirm that Faith alone Justifieth yet such a Faith as is lively and worketh by love so that although Faith Justifieth yet other graces are present though not proximely attingent of Justification Ecce saith he Formalitates Theologicas adding that the Romanists may grant to the Reformed that the dispositions to Justification are not merits And again the Reformed grant to the Romanists that by these dispositions being joyned with Faith Justification is acquired not from merit but Divine mercy alone It is true he declareth his own notion how Faith Justifieth alone viz. Absque necessitate ullius alterius humanae positivae actionis non tamen absque negativâ illa dispositione non faciendi quicquam quod sit á Deo vetitum But in the protract of his Discourse he maketh our differences herein to be pura quaedam metaphysicalia ad salutem nihil necessaria sed Galaticamur planè fratres as Tertullian of old There is a propensity in all to Galatize to joyn Faith and Works under some notion or other as to our Justification whereas the Apostle maketh an immediatie opposition between them not in the person Justified but as to the manner of Justification The learned Brother alledgeth a place out of Doctor Twisse in the title page with a signall accent upon it The words are Verum in diverso genere ad justitiam Dei refertur Christi satisfactio fides nostra Christi satisfactio ad eandem refertur per modum meriti condignitatis nostra verò fides ad eandem refertur per modum congruae dispositionis Who would not think by this passage thus barely quoted that the Doctor was speaking of Justification that Christs satisfaction is meritorious of it and our Faith a congruous disposition to it But my Brothers oversight is very great in this allegation for the learned Twisse is there speaking of Gods Justice and Mercy tempered together in Election taken terminativè as it effectually comprehends Salvation Therefore he said before Electionem ad salutem non fieri sine intuitu miseriae nostrae satisfactionis Christi fidei nostrae resipiscentiae c. So that his words oppose Doctor Hammond and Mr Pierce with others who odiously charge the Calvinists as if they held irrespective Decrees in Election and Reprobation either to sinne or holiness Whereas the excellent Doctor sheweth that Salvation the terminus of Election is not accomplished without the satisfaction of Christ and our Faith and Repentance as fit dispositions to Salvation he doth not say to Justification The Doctrine of Justification hath been greatly polluted of old by Platonicall and Aristoteticall Philosophy and we must take heed we do not defile it in a new way by running to the Civil Law and deductions from it What are Bartolus and Baldus in this point As Justification is a mercy wholly revealed in Scripture and supernaturally vouchsafed so the Words and Phrases are observed by the Learned to be peculiar as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So that the Scripture expressions being compared together will best discover the manner how we are justified for it is wholly at Gods appointment what way he will take therein and from them we shall only discover a righteousness of Faith not of Love or any other particular grace It was the ruine of Socinus to conclude of the Truths of Divinity according to principles of the Civil Law this made him deny Christs satisfaction The Discourse of the Apostle James concerning Justification by Works doth not at all patrocinate the Reverend Brothers Opinion For first It is to be observed that the Apostle doth not mention any particular grace but Works in the generall as externally and visibly practised Had the Apostle said Abraham was justified not only by Faith but love then there had been some colour for his Assertion And secondly The expressions used by the Apostle concerning Justification by Works comply not with a conditio sine quâ non For ver 26. he saith As the body without the spirit is dead so is faith without Works Is the soul a conditio sine quâ non of life Again ver 22. By Abrahams Works his Faith was made perfect and his Works did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with his Faith Doth a condition sine quâ non 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I urge not this as owning the Papists Expositions of Causality of Works and Merit only they make not for a conditio sine quâ non We must take Justification and Faith in another sense then the Papists do When the learned Brother explicateth that passage of the Apostle Faith is dead being alone after this manner That Faith is dead as to the use and purpose of Justifying for in it self it hath life according to its quality still Adding afterwards that Works make Faith alive as to the attainment of its end of Justification Can this be applyed to a conditio sine quâ non But the Discourse swelleth too big I have done what I thought sufficient in this matter The good Spirit of the Lord so lead us into his Truth that we may serve him with one heart and one way and wherein we have not yet attained reveal such Truths unto us A CATALOGUE Of the Chiefest of those Books as are Printed FOR THOMAS UNDERHILL By Col. Edw. Leigh Esquire A Treatise of the Divine Promises in Five Books The Saints Encouragement in Evil Times Critica Sacra or Observations on all the Radiees or Primitive Hebrew words of the old Testament in order Alphabetical Critica Sacra or Philological and Theological Observations upon all Greek words of the New-Testament in order Alphabetical By Samuel Gott Esquire Nova Solymae Librisex Sive Institutio Christiani 1. De Pueritia 2. De Creatione Mundi 3. De Juventute 4. De Peccato 5. De Virili Aetate 6. De Redemptione Hominis Essayes concerning Mans true Happiness Parabolae Evangelicae Litinè redditae Carmine Paraphrastico varii generis Morton His Touchstone of
declared the loathsom and abominable objects we are to God as soon as ever we have a being We are unclean that is filthy loathsom abominable such as the pure eyes of God cannot behold with the least approbation Hence Job 15. 16. man is called abominable and filthy so that no Toad or noisom creature can be more irksom and loathsom to our eyes than we are to God while abiding in this natural pollution God indeed when he made man at first saw that all was exceeding good If Adam had continued in his integrity then there had the clean been brought out of the clean then man would have been glorious and comely thirsting after and drinking down righteousness like water then the imaginations of the throughts of his heart would have been holy and good and that continually but now we are become sinfull and thus polluted of our own making It is from us that of once clean we are made unclean For although none but God can make the unclean clean yet Adam by the liberty and mutability of his will did quickly make the clean unclean Oh then how deeply should this thought pierce us that we came into the world abominable and loathsom in Gods eyes The object of his wrath and displeasure finding nothing of that holy Image in us which was at first put into us Oh consider how great and glorious and powerfull that God is to whom thou art thus loathsom If all men and Angels should abhorre thee it is nothing to this that God abominates thee Secondly This also implieth That we should be loathsom and abominable in our own eyes that when we are grown up and shall be truly informed upon what terms we come into the world we should be as so many spiritual monsters in our own eyes Job you see here though so godly a man and who had such a glorious character given him by God himself yet because of this doth loath himself The ulcers and sores upon his body for which he sate abhorring of himself upon the dung-hill seem not more to affect him then this spiritual vileness and loathsomness that is upon him It 's observed That though Herod and others have kept a festival Commemoration of their birth-day yet we never read that ever any godly man did so though Calvin saith it 's mos vetustus and so not vituperabilis because of the good use may be made of it in the Scripture Indeed the day of their death hath been celebrated and called their birth-day because then and never till then did they begin indeed to live And if Solomon meerly because of the miseries and vexations that do accompany this humane life Eccles 4. 2. praised the dead above the living and he that never had been that was not born better than both How much rather will this bold true if we consider how man is born in a sinfull estate and cannot but sinne all the day long Certainly we may say it had been farre better thou hadst never been born if not new born if not delivered from this native filthiness as if thou must have a being better have been any bruitish creature than a man better be a Toad a Tyger a Serpent than a man if not washed by the bloud of Christ from this uncleanness For although we have cause to bless God that he made us men rather than bruit beasts in respect of natural considerations yet in a theological sense because they are not subject to hell and damnation as man is therefore their estate is not so miserable For In the third place In that men is born unclean thereby is proclaimed That he cometh into the world upon farre more dangerous and wretched terms than other creatures do The bruit creatures they are not unclean God doth not loath and abhorre their young ones They are not by nature the objects of his wrath neither are they exposed to eternal torments but thus is the sinfull off-spring of all mankind Thou canst not see a worm crawling on the ground thou canst not hear a snake hissing in the hedge but thou mayest think these are not as bad as I am these have no sinne in their natures God is not angry with these as he is with mankind For though History report of a devout man who seeing a Toad fell a weeping because of the goodness of God who had made him a man and not that Toad yet upon the consideration of original sinne he might as deeply have mourned because he was worse than that Toad Thou canst not see the fatted beasts driven to the slaughter but thou mayest say They are happier than I am for they are killed and there is an end of them but I am a miserable and wretched man born in sinne and if not cleansed from it must necessarily perish to all eternity Luther while in the deeps troubles and sorrows of heart because of his sinne had this passage Oh quoties optavi me uunquam fuisse hominem He went from place to place his heart aking and throbbing crying out Oh that I had never been a man So that by sinne a man is not onely made like the beast that perisheth but worse for the beast perisheth totally but so shall not he Fourthly In our natural uncleanness is declared our manifest similitude and agreement with the Devils themselves that we and they are now under the same consideration for man is naturally unclean and the Devils have this appropriated attribute all along the New Testament for the most part that they are the unclean spirits The Devil is an unclean spirit and man is unclean in body and spirit Hence because of this natural pollution we are all by nature the seed of the Serpent The Devils is said to rule in us and we are therefore under his Kingdom for being not born in a state of grace but of sinne we are therefore under his dominion and upon this supposition even in Austin's time there were exorcisms used at the Baptism of Infants which was not a Scripture institution no more than giving honey and milk to the baptized child which was very ancient and yet now laid aside even by the Roman Church it self that amongst other Rites in Baptism they had this of exorcismes and insufflation by which they signified not that the child was possessed bodily with the Devil but that it was under the power of him This Austin instanceth in to Julian the Pelagian where he tels him Ipse à toto orbe exufflandus esset si huic exufflationi qua princeps mundi ejicitur for as contradicere voluist is I mention not this to allow or commend that Ceremony for it was an absurd one though brought into the Church â—etimes for it had been happy if the Church alwayes had contented her self with the pure plain and sole institutions of Christ but to inform you what even the ancient Church thought about Infants new born that they were wholly under the power of the Devils Yea the Heathens had
up against it makes him rage at it as the Apostle doth abundantly testifie in this Chapter he tels us This Law of sinne did warre and fight against the Law of God it did lead him captive it conquered and subdued him against his will If then a godly man find this Law of sinne so powerfull and operative in him No wonder if men wholly carnal and natural they finde the Law of sinne as fully prevailing over them as the Devils did on the herd of Swine which they hurried violently into the sea without any resistance As then the Devil when he possessed some bodies provoked and moved them to many violent and sudden actions which they could not gainsay Thus doth the Law of sinne in men naturally it provoketh it instigateth it turneth the soul upside down it is continually pressing and enclining to evil which makes the Scripture say Gen. 6. That the imaginations of the thoughts of mans heart is only evil and that continually Thirdly Original sinne is a Law because by this a man is bound and captivated to the lusts thereof there is an indissoluble union till death Thus the Apostle argueth from the Law of an Husband and his Wife she cannot marry another while her Husband lives Neither can we be married to Christ while this is predominant yea we must die ere we be wholly freed of it Fourthly Original sinne is called a Law of sinne within us because of the injurious command and rule it hath in every man by nature And this indeed is the most explicite and formal reason why it is called a Law for to a Law there is not onely required a directive power for so counsels and admonitions have which are no Laws but there must be also a preceptive and commanding power so that a Law hath vim coactivum a compelling force to have a thing done and in this respect the Apostle gives it this Title of a Law of sinne within us for even in the person of a regenerate man What sad complaints doth he make of this tyrannical power of sinne within him He is not his own man he cannot do what he would yea he doth what he would not insomuch that he cals himself carnal and sold under sinne These expressions are so great that therefore some have thought they could not be applied to a godly man For it is said of Ahab as a sure Character of his wickednesse That he sold himself to do evil 1 Kings 21. 20. but Ahab did that willingly Paul is here passive he is sold against his will because sinne hath such tyranny over him Therefore the afflicted Israelite did not more groan to be delivered from his oppression than Paul crieth out to be delivered from this body of sinne Well therefore may this birth-pollution be called The Law of sinne within us for it ruleth all it commands the whole man what sinne bids us think we think what it bids us do we do No natural man can do othewise The Apostle speaks peremptorily They that are in the flesh cannot please God Rom. 8. 7 8. And the carnal minde is not subject to God neithe indeed can be Oh the miserable and unhappy estate we are all then in by this original sinne We cannot but sinne we do not love that which is good neither can we The Law of sinne hath wholly enslaved us Though all the curses of the Law be denounced against us yet we cannot but sinne As venemous creatures cannot vent that which is sweet but necessarily that which is poison yet as Bernard of old said well This necessity in sinning doth not take off from voluntarinesse and delight in it neither doth the delight take off from the necessity Lastly It may be called The Law of sinne saith Aquinas Because it 's that effect of Gods penal Law inflicted upon mankind because of Adam's transgression So that upon Adam 's sinne God hath so ordered that it should be by way of a punishment upon us to be prone unto all evil For as you heard this original sinne is both a sinne and a punishment So that as God hath appointed that every man should die it is a Law that shall never be repealed so likewise that every one born of man in a natural way should be unclean and have a fountain within him daily emptying it self into poisonous streams Vse To be informed whence it is that thy heart is so out of all measure evil whence it is that no godly thing is pleasing to thee whence it is that upon searching into thy heart thou findest a noisom dunghill there that thou art never able to go to the bottom whence it is that lust is so ready at hand alwayes that sinne alwayes appeareth first in thy soul All this is because original corruption is by way of a Law in thee That teacheth to sinne that instigateth to sinne yea that commands and imperiously puts thee on to all manner of evil If you do not feel this heavy thraldome and pressure upon you it is not because it is not there but because thou art dead in sin and hast no feeling of it Solemon speaking of a good woman hath this notable expression Prov. 31. 26. The Law of kindnesse is in her lips The Law of kindnesse she cannot but be loving and friendly in all she saith Now on the contrary The Law of sinne is all over thee The Law of sinne is in thy heart the Law of sinne is in thy mind the Law of sinne is in thy eyes in thy tongue thou canst not but sinne in and by these CHAP. III. Of the Name The Sinne that dwelleth in us given to Original Sinne. SECT I. Of the Combate between the Flesh and Spirit ROM 7. 17. Now then it is no more I that do it but sinne that dwelleth in me THis excellent Chapter which containeth the heart and life of the Doctrine of Original Sinne so that it may be called the Divine Map thereof describing all the parts and extents of it will afford us many testimonies for the confirmation of it We therefore proceed to another name that we find here described to us in this Text viz. The sinne that dwelleth in us The Apostle you heard as we take for granted doth here speak in his own person and so of every regenerate man that there is a conflict and a combate between the flesh and the Spirit In all such there are two Twins strugling in the womb of the soul which causeth much grief and trouble of heart which the Apostle doth in a most palpable and experimental manner relate in this passage vers 15. That which I do I allow not for what I would that I do not but what I hate that I do Now you must understand this aright lest it prove a stumbling blâ—ck For First The Apostle speaks not this as a man meerly convinced but yet carried away with strong corruptions This is not to patrocinate those who live in sinnes against their conscience but have some
full as ever Thus it is with this treasure of original sinne all the sins that have come from it to this day have not at all diminished the fountain it 's as full and as overflowing as ever yea as sudden showrs make the rivers fuller causing a flood Thus do all actual and customary sins they make this original corruption like Nebuchadnezzar's fornace seven times hotter than it was before Fourthly In that it is called a treasure we thereby see the delight and pleasure that we naturally take in what is sinfull Our Saviour saith Where a mans treasure is there his heart is also how much more when this treasure is his heart when his heart and treasure is all one Therefore this expression doth denote the futable and pleasing nature of sinne to us it sheweth that what water is to the hydropical man as Job 15. so is sinne to a man by nature Hence Heb. 11. they are called The pleasures of sinne Who would think so you would rather think we might as well say The pleasures of hell and the pleasures of damnation that a man would be as willing to be damned as to sinne But thus sweet and pleasing is sinne to every man by nature because his heart is upon it it is a treasure to him That as the godly account Gods will sweeter than the honey-comb so do they the will and lusts of sinne Do ye not pity such who are so distempered in their palate that they cannot forbear eating those things which will be their death at last How much more miserable is man to whom nothing is so pleasant so much sought after as that which will prove his eternal damnation And certainly if sinne be not such a delight to thee naturally how cometh it about that no threatning no fear of hell all the curses in the Law denounced against thee cannot make thee forbear If you regard sinne in its own nature so the Scripture represents it most irksom and loathsom comparing it to gall to a bitter root to mire to vomit And who can desire to swallow down these things But because original sinne hath infected all hath made us like so many beasts therefore what is in it self abominable to our corrupt natures is become exceeding pleasant Fifthly Because it 's a treasure therefore it is that every day there cometh from us some new corruption or other some new sinne or other to be matter of condemnation to us That when we might think if once we had got our hearts to such a frame if once we could subdue such a corruption then we hope we should be at some ease but no sooner have we obtained such desires but this treasure of evil poureth out new matter of sorrow corruptions rise fresh again when we began to hope all were dead So that the soul begins to be even hopeless crying out O Lord how long When shall this bloudy flux be stopped When shall it once be that I may be quiet and free from this molesting enemy within But it is with thy heart as with the sea when one wave is over presently there cometh another and again another and it cannot be otherwise as long as this treasure is in us as Job saith Chap. 14. A Tree though the boughes of it be cut yet the root will spring again and be as big as ever if suffered to grow Thus original sin though it may be mortified and crucified in some measure though there may be much stopping and abating the strength of it by grace yet because the root is there still it will quickly sprout again Hence are the godly put upon those duties of crucifying and mortifying the flesh because they will have this work to do as long as they live there is a treasure and so out of this as the good Scribe cut of his good treasure Mat. 13. 52. doth bring out new and old thus doth he old lusts and new Vse Of Instruction Have we all by nature an evil treasure in our hearts then see why it is that thou art alwayes sinning that thou art never weary that all the world cannot change thee or make thee of another mind Is it not this evil treasure within As it is a treasure of sinne so it is of wrath and punishment Rom. 2. some are said To treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath and this is thy case and never do thou flatter thy self because thou dost not feel and perceive any such evil upon thee for therein art thou the more miserable Treasures use to be hidden and secret therefore in the Scripture called hidden treasures and thus is this treasure of evil in thy heart it is hidden from thee thou dost not know it till God open thy eyes till he give a tender heart CHAP. VII Of the Name Body given to Original Sinne. SECT I. ROM 8. 13. But if ye through the Spirit doe mortifie the deeds of the Body ye shall live I Come now to the last Name I shall insist upon that the Scripture giveth original sinne and that is a Body For although the most famous and notable name is flesh yet because that will most properly be considered when we speak of the Nature and Definition of it I shall put it off till that time Only we must necessarily take notice of this Title given to it here and elswhere viz. a Body Not that this word is to foment the Illyrican absurdity That original sinne is not an accident but a substance but hereby is manifested the real and powerfull efficacy of it upon the whole man For the coherence of the words the Apostle at vers 12. from that glorious and precious Doctrine of Justification by Faith and also Sanctification begunne in us doth inferre this Exhortation by way of Conclusion That therefore we are not Debtors to the Flesh we have received such great and unspeakable favours from God that we owe all to him as for sinne called here the Flesh we owe nothing at all to that sinne will not justifie us sinne will not save us Neither hath the Devil shewed that love to us which Christ hath done By this then we see That though Justification and Gospel-mercies be not for any works or merits of ours yet Believers are to study and abound in holiness as that which Christ aimed at by the work of Redemption as well as our Justification Now for this reluctancy against and mortification of sinne the Apostle useth several Arguments as in the Text the danger that will accrew even to the godly If they live after the flesh they shall die that is eternally The godly need this goad to prick them forward they must not please themselves as if because they were elected justified they may live as they list and walk after the flesh No if they do so they shall surely be damned SECT II. What is implied by the word Mortifie BUt on the contrary If they mortifie the deeds of the body by the Spirit they shall
noble creature worse than other creatures if he had not created him with such perfect and suitable qualifications as would inable him to obtain true blessedness for every creature else had an implanted ability in it to accomplish his end and why then should God do lesse bountifully with man one of the chiefest instances of his glorious workmanship But of this I must necessarily speak more because of the Socinian who cals this Doctrine of original righteousness Faetida fabula an old stinking fable SECT V. 5. ORiginal sinne is a privation not only of that righteousness which was a natural perfection due to him upon supposition of his Creation for the enjoyment of God but also of whatsoever supernatural and gracious favour Adam had We do not say That Adam had nothing supernatural in him for assisting and co-operating 〈◊〉 supernatural as also that prophetical light he had concerning 〈…〉 God did superadde many glorious ornaments which were 〈…〉 and which he did not absolutely need as means to make him 〈…〉 and such likewise were those consequents of holinesse mentioned before 〈◊〉 to be the Sonne of God and to be the Temple of the holy Ghost Now all these gratuita are lost as well as the naturalia we are no more the children of God or the Temple of God but our souls are possest with Satan and he ruleth in our hearts as in his proper possession Some Divines call original righteousnesse the absolute Image of God and our sonship and filial relation to God for Adam is called the Sonne of God Luke 3. ult the relative Image now whether absolute or relative Image all is lost and therefore that assisting grace which was then ready at hand for Adam to enjoy that thereby he might bâ—â—nabled to do any good action we are naturally without Oh then the 〈◊〉 and undone estate we are in being without inberent grace dwelling in us and assisting grace from God without us without eyes and the light of the Sun also Who can think that God at first made us such sinfull mortal and wretched creatures It would be much against the wisdom and goodness of God he would then have done worse with man than with any flie or worm SECT VI. What are the most excellent and choice parts of that Original Righteousness that we are deprived of BUt because the greatest part of the privative way of original corruption is in losing that Image of God and concreated holinesse and we have onely spokan in the general of that that we may be the more affected with it and the losse thereof may pierce to our very hearts Let us consider what are the most excellent and choice parts of this original righteousnesse that we are deprived of that so we may not only see our losse in the bulk but be able to account of every particular in this and that we have lost And the first particular to be insisted on is that great dignity God put on man making him with a Free will to do what is holy Free-will is a great perfection though the mutability in it as in Adam was a negative Imperfection this was admirable in Adam that he had power if he willed to doe any holy action whatsoever There was not in him any clog any impediment to stop the exercise of this Free will but as he had dominion over all creatures so also over hiâ— whole soul and indeed if God had not created him with this dominion over his actions his obedience had not been so eminent nor his disobedience so culpable But this flower is withered this Crown is fallen to the ground Man hath now no free will no power to do any thing that is holy He hath power to eat and drink he hath power to do civil moral actions he hath power to do actions externally religious to come to the Congregation to hear but for those things that are internally holy to love God to believe on him to repent of sin This the Scripture doth in many places deny to him making him to be dead in sinne and untill born again by the Spirit unable to do any holy duty This Raymundus Theol. Natur. de lapsu hominis doth well urge That the soul as to spiritual actions and in reference to God is wholly dead so that as a dead man is not able to produce any vital actions so neither can any natural man spiritual actions and because man being dead is not sensible of this losse therefore doth the same man compare him to a mad man that knoweth not how it is with him yea he much pursueth that similitude of wine degenerated into vinegar saying That as vinegar retaineth nothing of the sweetnesse or goodnesse it had when it was wine Thus neither doth man retain any thing of that light in his mind or love in his heart which once he had Man saith he is not become of good wine bad which though bad retaineth some taste and hath a little relish of the nature of wine but he is as when Wine is degenerated into vinegar which hath all clean contrary to what is had when once wine This comparison he the rather urgeth Because saith he man doth not or cannot discern in himself the difference between his created condition and his fallen therefore he must see how it is with him in similitude by other things We may adde to this similitude another of the body of man while living and an instrument of the soul with it self when dead and separated from it that body then though formerly never so beautifull and comely never so lively and active now is loathsome and hath the clean contrary qualities Such a thing is man now fallen if compared with his Creation SECT VII A Second instance of a particular in this Image of God which we have lost is Faith and dependance upon God as a Father As God made Adam his son in holinesse so Adam had a filial dependance and belief on him resting alone in Gods protection and preservation and thereby was not subject to any fears grief or troublesom dejections of mind about his soul or body This was an excellent pearl in that Crown of glory which God set on mans head but how totally is this lost Every man by this original sinne may justly go up and down trembling like a Cain fearing that every thing should not only kill him but damn him Yea whence is it that the Sea is not fuller of monsters than thy heart is of unbelieving doubting and diffident thoughts about God Why art thou so fearfull suspicious and despairing about God naturally Is not this because God and thy soul are separated Doth not thy conscience secretly suggest to thee that God is offended with thee Is not this a plain discovery of thy losse of God and his Image that thou hast naturally fears and doubts within thy self Thou thinkest of God and art troubled as Adam when he heard Gods voice ran and hid himself All the natural tremblings and
him as Austin said they did rem scire but causam nescire they evidently saw we were miserable but they knew not the cause of it whereas original sin according to Scripture light though not personally voluntary yet is truly a sinne and maketh a man in a damnable estate Therefore the word original when we divide sinne into original and actual is not terminus restrictivus or diminuens as when we did divide ens into ens reale and rationis but terminus specificans as when animal is divided into rationale and irrationale both properly partaking of the general nature of sinne So that whatsoever apprehensions they had and complaints they made about man yet they did not believe he was born in sinne though experience told them he was in misery The Persians as Plesseus in the above-mentioned place saith had every year a solemn Feast wherein they did kill all the Serpents and wild beasts they could get and this Feast they called viâ—iorum interitum the slaying of their vices By which it doth appear that they had a guiltiness about their sinfull wayes and that none were exempted from being sinfull Yea Casaub Exâ—rcit 16. ad Annal. Bar. pag. 391. speaking of the sacred mysteries among the Grecians the discharging whereof was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 affirmeth That therefore they called the scope of those holy actions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because it was as they thought a perduction of the soul to that state in which it was before it descended into the body which he interpreteth of the state of perfection from which we fell in the old Adam so that even in this errour there was some truth which made Tertullian say Omnia adversus veritatem de ipsà veritate constructa esse operantibus aemulationem istam spiritibus erroris Thus you see how the wisest of the Heathens have been divided in this point Some making the soul of a man to come without vice or virtue as a blank fit to receive either Others acknowledging a disease and an infirmity upon the soul yet ignorant of the cause of it neither acknowledging it to be a sinne and so deserving punishment In the second place Although the Heathens did not see this sinne nor could truly bewail it yet so farre many of them were convinced that if they had any sinfull desires or lusting in the soul or any wicked thoughts in their hearts to which they gave consent that these were sinnes and wholly to be abstained from though they did not break forth into act Grotius in his Comment upon the 10th Commandment sheweth out of several Heathenish Writers That all secret lustings of the soul with consent thereunto were were wholly unlawfull Yea as one of them is there said to expresse it they are not so much as to covet a needle the least thing And as for Seneca he hath high assertions about the governing of our thoughts and ordering the inward affections of our souls so as that the gods as well as men may approve us Tully saith That an honest man would do no evil or unjust thing though he could have Gyges his ring which they feigned made a man invisible And this is the rather to be observed because herein they surpassed the Pharisees who though brought up under the Law and had constantly the word of God to guide them yet they did not think any covetings or lustings in the heart to be a transgression of the Law as appeareth by our Saviours information and exposition he gave them Matth. 5. And Josephus is said to deride Polybius the great Historian for making the gods to punish a King meerly because he had a purpose and an intent to commit some enormious iniquity Yea This principle of the Heathens may make many Christians ashamed and be greatly confounded who live as if their thoughts were free and their hearts were their own so that they might suffer any poisonous evil and malicious actings of soul to be within them and to put to check or controll upon them As they matter not original sinne so neither the immediate effects and working thereof Though their hearts be a den of theevish lusts and their souls like Peter's sheet wherein were a company of innumerable unclean creeping lusts yet so as their lives are unblameable they wholly justifie themselves but you are to know that the strength of sinne lieth in your hearts The least part of your evil is that which is visible in your lives SECT III. THirdly We see that original sinne is so hardly discernable that though men do enjoy the light of Gods Word yea and read it over and over again yet for all that they are not convinced of this native pollution We see in all the Heretiques that have been in all ages who have denied this original sinne they were summoned to answer the Word of God Scripture upon Scripture was brought to convince them but a veil was upon their eyes they would wrest and pervert the meaning of it rather than retract their errour so that Scripture-light objectively shining therein is not enough Paul is a clear instance in this he was most exact and strict about the Law yet wholly ignorant of this fundamental truth before he was converted he knew the Commandment Thou shalt not covet yet he did not fully and throughly attend thereunto Hence In the fourth place To have a full and clear understanding of this native defilement we are to implore the light of Gods Spirit The light of the Word is not enough unlesse the Spirit of God be efficacious to remove all errour and impediments as also to prepare and fit the soul to receive it Hence it 's made the work of Gods Spirit to lead into all truth if into all then into this while the eyes remain blind the Sunne with all its lustre can do no good It is true Gods Word is compared to a light and to a lamp but that is only objective without us there must be something subjectively within us that shall make a sutableness between the object and the faculty To be made then Orthodox and to have a sound judgement herein it must be wholly from the Spirit of God For why is it that when one heareth and readeth those Texts We are by nature the children of wrath Who can bring a clean thing out of unclean He adoreth the fulness of these Texts he is convinced of such heart-pollution and blesseth God for the knowledge of this truth But another he cavilleth at the Texts he derideth and scorneth at such a truth Is not this because the Spirit of God leadeth one into the truth and leaveth the other to his pride and blindness of mind SECT IV. FOurthly It is not enough to know this sinne in an orthodox speculative manner to acknowledge it so But we are also in a practical experimental manner to feel and bewail the power and burden of it And happily this may be part of Paul's meaning when he saith He did not
necessary that he should create souls daily but conserve the order appointed as he doth about the Heavens The Answer is easie therefore do the words relate to the Creation at first with the conservation of them because new Heavens and new earths are not every day made but both they and we do acknowledge new souls are every day produced as often as a man is born and God at first making Adam's soul by breathing into it the same order is still to be conserved This Text thus cleared we may adde as proofs also of the like kind Isa 42. 5. Though Austin thought by spirit there might be meant the sanctifying Spirit of God But that hath no probability Psal 33. 15. the Psalmist saith God hath fashioned the hearts of men alike or wholly throughout By which is meant the soul of a man in all its thoughts and workings because the soul puts forth its vital actions in the heart That also is remarkable which yet I find not mentioned by any in this Controversie Jer. 38. 16. where Zedekiah maketh an oath to Jeremiah that he will not kill him after this manner Thus saith the Lord who made us this soul not this body but this soul he putteth that into the oath intimating what an heavy sinne it would be to kill a man that is innocent seeing he hath his soul from God I shall mention but one Text more and that is in the New Testament which seemeth clearly to demonstrate the creation of the soul Heb. 12 9. We have had fathers of our flesh that corrected us c. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of Spirits I think this Text may put us out of all doubt God is opposed as a Father to our natural parents God is called a Father of Spirits natural parents father of our flesh Now if our souls did come from our parents they might be called fathers of our spirits as well as of our flesh The Apostles Argument would have no force if the Creation of the soul by God alone and the generation of the flesh only by natural parents be not asserted Thus Numb 16. 20. as also Chap. 27. 16. God is there styled The God of the spirit of all flesh in a peculiar manner It may be wondered that though Austin busied himself so much in finding out of this Truth diligently attending to the Scripture yet he never mentioned this place Certainly this Text might have removed his doubt and made him wholly positive in affirming the creation of the soul That which I find later Writers reply to it is That God is called the Father of Spirits in respect of Regeneration because he sanctifieth and maketh holy But the opposition to our fathers of the flesh evidently confuteth this and withall they can never shew that God is called a Father of Spirits or a God of Spirits but in respect of Creation not Regeneration It is true the word spirit may sometimes be used for a man as regenerate as flesh is for a man wholly corrupt but they can never shew that the word spirits in the plural number is taken for men regenerate Vse Of Exhortation To quicken up your attention to this Truth do not think this is unprofitable and uselesse that this Question is like those of which Paul complaineth some doted foolish and endlesse No it is very profitable for in knowing the original of thy soul how it cometh even from God himself may it not shame thee to make thy self like a beast as if thou hadst no better soul then they have Prophanenesse and sottish ignorance do greatly oppose the nature of thy soul Why do men say in effect Let us eat and drink for to morrow we shall die but as if they and beasts were all alike And why is it that you see so many have no understanding but that they are like the horse and the mule Why doth the Scripture compare wicked men to so many kind of beasts but because they live as if God had put no rational soul into them That though in the making of their bodies they differ from beasts yet in their souls they do greatly agree SECT III. THus you see we are examining Whether that Doctrine of the Propagation of souls from parents be a sure foundation to build upon in clearing the conveyance of original sinne to Adam's posterity And we have evidently proved That the soul hath its immediate creation from God So that to runne to the Sanctuary of the Souls Traduction would be to implore a dangerous errour to assist the Truth As God needeth not a lie so neither doth his Truth any error And indeed Although I shall not call the Doctrine of the Creation of the soul an article of faith because so many learned men have hesitated therein So that it would be an high breach of charity to commaculate such with the note of heresie yet we may with Hierom call it Ecclesiasticum dogma a Doctrine that the most Orthodox have alwayes received So that the contrary opinion seemeth to be absurd as Whitaker well saith Although Vorstius would make this dispute to be meerly philosophical in his Antibellarm Having therefore laid down those Texts which are a sure pillar of this Truth we shall adde some further reasons and then make use of this point which is very fruitfull SECT IV. Arguments from Scripture to prove the Souls Creation THe first Reason which may appear in the defence of the Souls immediate Creation from God is From the historical Narration which Moses makes of the beginning and original of Adam 's soul For as God when he was to create man did it in a more transcendent and glorious way then when he made beasts or the other creatures For then he said Let there be light and Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creatures that have life Gen. 1. 20. And so Let the earth bring forth the living creatures the beasts after their kind But when he comes to make man then the expression is altered Let us make man in our Image and Gen. 2. 7. where we have the manner of the execution of this counsel it is said He formed the body of Adam out of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life No such thing was done to other creatures So that you see Adam's soul was from God immediately though his body was from the earth This breathing of life into Adam was infusing of the rational soul Some Ancients thought that it was the bestowing of the holy Ghost upon Adam and that he had his rational soul before They compare it with Christs breathing on his Disciples whereby was communicated the holy Ghost Now it is plain they had their rational souls before This is vain because by the breathing of this life it 's said Adam became a living soul so that he was but a dead lump of earth as it were before And indeed this Text is so clear that I know
none of the Adversaries to the souls immediate Creation do deny it Now then If the soul of Adam was by creation Is it not probable that all other souls were in the like manner What a great disproportion would there be between Adam and us if his soul was by creation and ours by generation Some have questioned Whether it would not make a specifical difference between Adam and us But that is not to be affirmed For Christ as man was of the same species with other men though his Conception and Nativity were miraculous But the Argument from the Creation of Adam's soul to the Creation of ours though it be not cogent yet it maketh it more then probable because God at first did appoint that order which afterwards was to continue So he appointed the animate creatures to multiply in their way making their bodies and forms to be educed out of the power of the matter as Philosophers expresse it though very obscurely but he did not do so with Adam's soul Can we think that our souls are lesse glorious and precious before God I mean as meet creatures then Adam's was It is true There was a necessity that Adam 's body should be otherwise made then ours because he was the first Parent and so he could not be bygeneration Thus the other living creatures they had their bodies at first out of the earth or out of the water not by generation as afterwards Thus for the body there was a necessity but then for the soul there was none at all Why might not Adam's soul have been with his body out of the prejacent matter as well as it was with other living creatures But because the soul of man is of an higher nature coming from God alone This Argument will appear in further strength if you consider that Eve though she was made in such an extraordinary manner out of Adam yet she had not her soul from him but her body only For when he awakened see what he saith This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh He doth not say This is soul of my soul and yet as Austin in this matter though doubting doth well argue That if Eve had had her soul from Adam Quid charius potuit dicere saith he This would have been a more indeared and affectionate expression to have called her soul of his soul then flesh of his flesh It is true some say it is a synecdochical speech By flesh they say is meant whole Eve her whole person soul and body but that is easier said than proved No doubt if it had been so Adam would have expressed it as being a manifestation of greater unity then what was in the body only If you say But why is it not said then that God created Eve 's soul as well as Adam ' s If God had so immediately breathed a soul into her would not the Scripture have mentioned it No that is not necessary it 's enough that we read what God did to Adam about his soul and the Scripture saith Genes 1. 27. God created man in his Image male and female created he them Thus you see they were both as in respect of Gods Image made alike So Chap. 5. 2. Male and female created he them and called their name Adam And thus much for the first Reason The second is more cogent and that is taken from the soul of Christ If Christ had his soul by creation then we had ours also The consequence is clear because Christ is said to be like us in all things sinne onely excepted Hence it is that he also would have assumed our humane Nature in an ordinary way of generation but that it could not be without sinne If then Christ became like us in all things wherein sin was not necessarily adherent then if he had his soul by immediate Creation we had ours also This Argument doth divide the Adversaries to the Creation of the soul For some say Christ had not his soul by immediate Creation no more then we but from his mother But the most wary will not say so Austin in this controversie doth alwaies except Christs soul and indeed there is this Argument which may nforce us to it taken from the comparison that the Apostle maketh between Levi and Christ affirming Levi did pay tythes in Abraham's loynes but not Christ Heb. 7. 9. Now if Christ was every way in Abraham's loynes as Levi was then must Christ have paid tythes in Abraham as well as Levi and so the Apostles Argument would be without any force But it may be and indeed it is urged by Austin and others This will prove Levi's soul to have been in Abraham else Levi could not have been said to have paid tythes in him but as because Christs soul was not in Abraham originally therefore he did not pay tith so neither might Levi To this therefore the solid Answer is That the reason why Christ did not pay tythes in Abraham in the Apostles sence was not because his soul was immediately from God for so also was Levi's but because Christ was of Abraham only Quoad corpulentam substantiam not seminatam rationem his fleshly substance was from Abraham but not by natural propagation he was from Abraham only materialiter not effectivè whereas Levi was both waies and hence he cometh short of Christ Thirdly If so be that the soul of the parents did beget or multiply the souls of children then this would hold also in Angels for the multiplication of another must needs be acknowledged a perfection where the subject is capable of it Certainly generation of another is not in it self an imperfection for then in the blessed Trinity the Sonne could not be begotten of the Father but generation as in creatures denoteth imperfection If then souls may come from souls why not Angels from Angels but this is acknowleged by all That no Angel can produce another but that there are as many and no more or less then was at first Creation As for that example of the soul producing another as we see one candle light another that is nothing to this purpose for therefore doth the candle inlighten another because there is prepared and fitted matter to receive this light so that its from prejacent materials the light is produced but how can this be applied to the soul which is wholly spiritual what preexistent matter that can be made of Fourthly If so be the soul be not by immediate Creation then it must be material corporal and mortal for although this consequence is denied yet the evidence of natural reason will commend this It s traduced saith Tertullian and is a body yet is immortal It is by propagation say the Lutheran Divines and yet is not a body but a spirit and immortal But above all those abominable Mortalists they make it to be only the crusis of the body of which opinion Galen also is said to be and so they make it mortal We see
then that its necessary to have a sound judgement about the original of the soul for the Mortalists have fallen into that deep pit of heresy because they erred in this first It is with men as they say of Fishes they begin to putrify in the head first and so commonly men fall into loose opinions and then into loose practises But this rule must be acknowledged That whatsoever depends upon matter in being doth also depend upon it in existency It 's Aquinas his rule as you heard Quicquid dependet à materiâ in fieri depend quoad esse et existere That is the reason why the souls of all beasts are mortal because they depend upon the matter in being They cannot be produced but dependently on that and therefore their souls cannot subsist without their bodies As it is plain the souls of men do after death till the resurrection So that this Doctrine is injurious and derogatory to our spiritual and immortal souls Fifthly If souls were not by immediate Creation but by natural propagation from the parents then either from the mother alone or from the father alone or from both together This Argument Lactantius of old as Cerda in Tertull. alledgeth him formed to himself and answers it 's neither of those waies but from God Not from the Father alone because David doth bewail his mothers co operation hereunto Psal 51 Iniquity did my Mother conceive me Not the Mother alone because the Father is made the chief cause of conveighing this original sinne by the Apostle he layeth it upon Adam more then Eve though Eve is not excluded Not from both together for then the soul must be partible and divisible part from the Father and part from the Mother and so it cannot be a simple substance Under this Argument Meisuer doth labour and confesseth it is inexplicable how the soul should come from the parents though he assaieth to give some satisfaction Lastly There is something even of nature implanted in us to believe our soules come from God who hath not almost some impression upon his conscience to think that he had not his soul from his parents even nature doth almost teach us in this thing Hence the wisest Heathens have concluded of it as Plato and also Aristotle who confuteth the several false opinions of Philosophers about the soul for it was a doubt as Tertullian lib de animâ expresseth it whether Aristotle was parasior sua implera aut aliena inantre and affirmes it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to come from without and that it is a divine thing Thus it was with some Heathens though destitute of the Light of Gods Word yet in somethings they did fall upon the truth as saith Tertullian The Pilot in a tempestuous black night puts into a good haven sometimes prospero errore and a man in a dark place gropeth and finds the way out sometimes caecâ quâdam felicitate Thus did some Heathens in some things SECT IV. IF you aske What Arguments have they who hold the traduction of the Soul I answer There is none out of Scripture that is worth the answering The two things they urge are First If the soul be not propagated then man doth not beget a man as a beast doth a beast and he is more imperfect then other creatures but this is to be answered hereafter The other is Because original sinne cannot else be maintained but this is to be answered in the Explication how we come to pertake of it Let us proceed to the Uses Vse 1. Doth God create the soul then he must know all the thoughts all the inward workings and motions of thy soul As he that maketh a Clock or a Watch knoweth all the motions of it Therefore take heed of soul-sinnes of spirit-sinnes What though men know not your unclean thoughts your proud thoughts your malicious thoughts yet God who made thy soul doth and therefore this should make us attend to Gods eie upon us Vse 2. Did God make and create the soul then he also can regenerate it and make it new again he made it as a Creator and he only in the way of regeneration can make it again This may comfort the godly that mourn and pray Oh they would have more heavenly holy souls They would not have such vain thoughts such sinnefull motions Remember God made thy heart and he can spiritualize it 3. Doth God create the souls then here we see that it 's our duty to give our souls to him in the first place John 4. God is a Spirit and will be worshipped in spirit This hath been alwaies a complaint men have drawed nigh to God bodily but their hearts have been farre from him God made thy soul more then thy body and therefore let that be in every duty Lastly If Parents do not make our souls then here we see Children must obey Parents but in the Lord Should thy Parents command thee to doe any sinfull action to break the Sabbath you must not obey you may say My father and mother they help me but to my body God doth give me my soul and therefore they are but parents of your bodies not of your conscience and souls SECT V. The Authors Apologie for his handling this great Question THe false wayes which some have wandered in to maintain the Propagation of Original Corruption to all mankind being detected our work is now to explicate that Doctrine which seemeth most consonant to solid Reason and Scripture But before we essay that we are to informe you of one sort of learned Authors who because of the difficulty attending this Point Whether we hold the Traduction or Creation of the soul have thought it the most wife and sober way to acknowledge the Propagation of original Sinne But as for the manner How there to have a modest suspense of our judgement to professe a learned ignorance herein to believe That it is though How it is so we know not And Tertullian concerning the original of the soul Lib. de Animâ hath this known saying Praestat per Deum nescire quae ipse non revelaverit quà m per hominem scire quae ipse praesumpserit In this way of suspense Austin continued as long as he lived thinking that this might be one of those Truths we shall not know till we come into the Academy of Heaven and to this modest silence we have one place of Scripture which might much incline us Eccles 11. 5. As thou knowest not the way of the Spirit nor how the bones doe grow in the womb c. This Text should teach us not to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to venture too farre but to observe the light of the Scripture as they did the Pillar and Cloud in the wildernesse to stand still where that stands still And indeed the Disputes about the Modes of things is very intricate The known saying is Motum sometimes Modum nescimus the manner of Gods working in conversion The manner of Christs presence in
This is the cabinet and choice closet of thy soul If a man should take his cabinet that was for jewels and precious stones and fill it only with mud and dirt would it not be exceeding great folly No lesse is it when thy memory is full of stories and merry tales and in the mean while rememberest not what God saith in his Word which would be so usefull to thee for thy souls good acknowledge then the goodnesse of God to thee in providing the Scriptures as an help to thy memory and withall know that seeing the Spirit thought it necessary to commit them to writing hereby is fully declared the pollution and sinfulnesse of thy memory For in Heaven when the memory will be fully sanctified and perfected then there will be no more use of the Bible we shall not then need to read the Scriptures to quicken up our minds for all imperfection will then be done away Thirdly The sinfulnesse and weaknesse of the memory is manifested not only by the end of the Scriptures in general but also several parts of the word of God are peculiarly so ordered that they might be the more easily conserved in our memory Thus when any great deliverances were vouchsafed to the Church those mercies were made into Psalms and Songs that for the meters sake and the pleasantness of the matter all might have them in remembrance This method did signifie how dull and stupid our memories are and how apt to forget the benefits and mercies of God and therefore our memories are to be helped therein Thus the 119th Psalm is put into an alphabetical order thereby to further our memory about it yea there are two Psalms Psal 8. 1. and Psal 70. 1. which have this Title To bring to remembrance And the matter of those two Psalms containeth a complaint under afflictions and earnest importunity with God for deliverance The Spirit of God by instruments made them to be composed for this end that afflicted and troubled soules should have them in remembrance and indeed we may say of every Chapter as well as of those Psalmes A Chapter to bring to remembrance yea of many Verses A Verse to bring to remembrance And because the memory is so slow and dull about holy things you may read of a peculiar command to the Jews in this case and although the same obligation doth not belong to us yet it teacheth us all what forgetfullness and oblivion is ready to seize upon us about holy things Numb 15. 39 40. God doth there command Moses to speak to the children of Israel that they make fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations It was a perpetual Ordinance And why must this be done To remember all the Commandments of God This was Gods special command The Church under the Gospel may not in imitation hereof prescribe Ceremonies or appoint Images to stirre up the dull memory of man The Popish-Church commendeth their Crucifixes and their Images upon this account because so helpfull to the memory being the Lay-mens Books But though the memory be greatly polluted yet it belongs not to man but to God as part of his regality to appoint what he pleaseth to stirre up and excite the memory in holy things God hath appointed other things the Word and Ministery and Sacraments for our memory as is to be shewed and therefore this is a devotion which God will reject because not having his superscription upon it Fourthly That the memory of man is naturally polluted is plain By the Ministry appointed in the Church of God by Christ himself for one end of that is to bring us to remembrance Thus you heard the Apostle Peter speaking he thought it meet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 just and righteous while he was in the flesh to put them alwayes in remembrance of these things so Jude also Thus Paul injoyneth Timothy 2 Tim. 2. 14. Of these things put them in remembrance so 1 Tim. 4. 6. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things thou shalt be a good Minister of Jesus Christ He is not a good or faithfull Minister of Christ tha is not diligent to put you in mind of Scripture-things The Ministery is not only to instruct the ignorant to convert the prophane but also to put in t mind those that do know and are converted They are like Peter's Cock upon his crowing Peter was brought to remembrance and he went out and wept bitterly Every Sermon we preach should bring thy sinnes and thy duties to remembrance The Spirit of God you heard had this office to bring things to your remembrance and the Ministery is the instrument by which he doth it Alexander would have a monitor to be alwayes prompting this mementote esse hominem And the Romans when riding in glorious triumph would have some to remember them of their mortality But Christ hath provided a more constant help for thee to have spiritual watchmen and remembrancers who are never to cease minding of thee Say not then what should I go to hear a Sermon for I know already as much as can be said For though that be false yet if it were granted you must know the Ministery is for your memory as well as judgement and who needeth not to have that often quickned to its duty Fifthly In that Christ hath appointed Sacraments in the Church which among other ends are to quicken up and excite our memory it is plain that they are polluted that we are prone to forget all the benefits of God though never so precious Sacraments have for their generical nature a sign They are signs and that not only obsignatives and in some sense exhibitive but also commemorative hence in the very Institution of the Lords-Supper we have this injunction Do this in remembrance of me 1 Cor. 11. 24. Not that the commemoration of Christs death with thankfullness and joy is the total and adequate end of the Lords-Supper as the Socinians affirme making us to receive no new special influences of Gods grace thereby upon our soules or any renewed exhibitive Communion of Christ with his benefits to us but meerly a commemoration of what benefit is past As say they the Israelites when they celebrated that publick mercy of deliverance out of Egypt had not thereby a new deliverance but only there was a celebration of the old Thus they would have it in the Sacrament of the Lords-Supper But the principall and chief end of the Lords-Supper is to conveigh further degrees of grace and comfort to the true receivers yet we acknowledge it also a speciall and great end in the Sacrament to be commemorative and that Christ hereby would have our memories quickned about that infinite love shewed to us in dying for us Now what can be more demonstrating the naughtiness and sinfullness of the memory then this very thing For who would not think that Christs voluntary giving up of himself to such an accursed and ignominious death for us would
is by the grace of God that we come to acknowledge the grace of God Error in mind is part of our bondage as well as lust in our heart It is therefore by th◠grace of God that we are delivered from both these thraldoms we have a freed mind from ignorance and a freed will from concupiscence It is the Spirit of God that leadeth us into all truth called therefore the Spirit of truth John 14. 17. It is by the grace of God that thou fallest not in this errour of advancing free-will It 's by the grace of God that thou art no Pelagian or Arminian It is this that maketh thee to differ from them Thy judgment thy heart would be self-confident herein did not the Spirit of God teach thee Lastly Consider that the grace of God is necessary to guide us in this point Because this Question hath alwayes seemed very difficult Austin acknowledged it so Hence he saith That when grace is defended we are thought to destroy free-will and when a free-will is acknowledged though in some sense onely we are thought to deny free-grace Indeed the Truth is not so difficult viz. that we have no spiritual liberty to what is good or that grace onely maketh the will free but how to reconcile this with the natural liberty of the will that it shall not be as a stock or stone that hath seemed to some even insoluble and therefore they advise to captivate our understandings in this point as we doe in the Doctrine of the Trinity however whether soluble or insoluble the difficulty argueth the necessity of Gods assistance while we preach and you hear about it ¶ 6. The first Demonstration of the slavery of the Will is from the Necessity of sinning that every man is plunged into SEveral particulars being premised as introductory to our intended matter our next work is to shew Wherein this servitude slavery of the will doth consist Not that you are to conceive of the will as some prisoner who is chained up in a dungeon that hath power to walk and run only those external impediments do hinder him which is Bellarmine's similitude about the inability of a natural man to supernatural good So the will hath some inward power and ability to do that which is holy onely there are lusts which are vincentes and vincientes as Austin expresseth conquering and binding this will that it cannot actually perform what internally it hath a power to do here is no such thing for we must conceive of this habitual depravation and defilement of the will in its state and condition more inward and deeply rooted in it First therefore That the will of man is destitute of any freedome to what is good appeareth In the Necessity of sinning that every man is plunged into that he cannot but sinne in all that he doth That as the Angels and Saints in Heaven have Beata Necessitas a blessed necessity of loving of God and delighting in him so that no temptation in the world can draw them off Thus every man by nature is in an unhappy and wretched necessity of sinning Dura Necessitas as Austin called it Insomuch that though the Scripture doth represent the things of Heaven in a most glorious manner to affect us yet we cannot be taken off from our sinne to love that Hence it is that every man till regenerated is compared to an evil tree and Tit. 1. they are said to be unclean and every thing made unclean to them The person being not accepted neither can any duties be This is our sad and miserable condition by nature But whose heart is throughly affected with it Thy eating thy drinking thy buying and selling yea thy praying and all other duties as they come from a man not sanctified by grace are sinnes in the eyes of God Think then to what an infinite aggravation they will arise and whether thou mayest not truly complain they are more then the sands upon the Sea-shore so that as the Toad and Serpent do necessarily vent what is poison and can never do that which is sweet and wholsom Thus no man in his natural estate can ever do any thing but be sinning and so damning of himself all the day long Onely when we say it is thus naturally necessary to a man to sinne in all things he doth you must know that we do not herein make him absolutely like a bruit beast which is not capable either of vice or virtue for this necessity is voluntarily brought by man upon himself he did wilfully strip himself of all power and ability to do that which is good and so having shut out the light from himself he doth necessarily remain in the dark having chaced away the Spirit and presence of God from his soul which is the life thereof he becometh spiritually dead and so in a necessity of sinning But it is not thus with Serpents and Toads for whether they were at first created solely with such a poisonous nature or whether upon Adam's fall it was inflicted upon those creatures as a curse it is plain that these creatures could not with any will or consent bring themselves into this estate but man did voluntarily at first having no seed of evil or inward propensity to sinne transgress the Commandment whereupon his soul became more shamefully naked then his body This necessity therefore whereby he is determined onely to sinne ariseth from his own free and voluntary impiety As a man that hath wilfully put out his own eyes must blame himself for ever if he cannot see If then this bondage be upon thee that in all things thou sinnest whatsoever thou undertakest evil is presently over ruling of thee blame not God or any providence of his no nor the Devil neither for though he doth tempt yet he doth not necessitate to sinne but thy own self for from thy own bowels this destruction doth arise ¶ 7. That a Necessary Determination may arise several wayes some whereof are very consistent with Liberty yea the more necessary the more free IT is good to observe and it may clear many difficulties in this point That a necessary determination may arise several wayes some whereof are very consistent with liberty yea the more necessary the more free Thus God himself doth necessarily will that which is good and yet freely also And if you ask Whence doth it arise that God is thus determined to what is good I answer It is from the infinite and absolute perfection of his holinesse whereby he is not nor cannot be a God that willeth iniquity Arminius indeed maketh it little lesse than blasphemy to say God is liberè bonus but that is because he cannot part with his Helena or Dalilah viz. That liberty consists in an indifferency to good and evil and in this sense to say God doth so freely will good that he can as freely will evil would be blasphemy but to will evil is no part at all of freedome it is a defect in
have no more proportion or sutablenesse with spiritual and supernatural objects then the eye hath with immaterial substances so that as the eye cannot see a spirit neither can material affections terminate upon immaterial objects But the Answer is That the affections being implanted in us as hand maids to the rational parts and subjected to them by an essential subordination therefore it is when those superiour parts of the soul do strongly imbrace any spiritual good the affections also by way of concomitancy are stirred up therein onely as it is with the will though that be made to follow the understanding and as some say doth necessarily yeeld to the ultimate and practical Dictate thereof yet the will doth need a peculiar sanctification of its own nature neither is the illumination of the mind all the grace the will wanteth So it is with these affections although they be appointed to follow the directions and commands of the mind and will yet they must be sanctified and enlivened by the peculiar grace of God else they move no more than a stone Now this necessity of enlivening and quickning grace upon the affections the godly are experimentally convinced of How often doe they complain they know Christ is the chiefest good they know eternal glory is an infinite treasure Oh but how barren are their hearts no affections no cordial stirrings of their soul when they think of these things Doe the children of God complain of any thing more than their want of affections in holy things They have them as hot as fire for the things of the world but are clods of earth in spiritual duties This maketh them cry so often with the Church Draw us and we will runne after thee This maketh them pray Arise O Southwind and blow O North upon the garden of my soul that the flowers thereof may send forth a sweet fragrancy Thus that saying is true Citò prevolat intellectus tardus sequitur affectus If therefore there were no other pollution upon the affections then their dulnesse and senslesnesse as to holy things This may make the godly go bowed down all their life time Their affections are green wood much fire and frequent blowing will hardly inflame them and hence it is that the godly are so well satisfied and do so thankfully acknowledge the goodnesse of God to them when they find their affections stirring in any holy thing Insomuch that they judge that duty not worth the name of a duty which is not an affectionate duty That prayer not worthy the name of prayer which is not an affectionate prayer But how dull and heavy are these till sanctified as to any holy object Yea such is the perverse contrariety that is now come upon the superiour and inferiour parts of the soul that when the more noble parts are intensively carried out to any object the inferiour are thereby debilitated and wholly weakned so that many times the more light the lesse heat the more intellectual and rational the lesse affectionate Now this is contrary to our primitive creation for then the more knowledge of heavenly things the more affections also to them did immediately succeed But now experience doth confirme That those men whose understandings are most deeply ingaged in finding out of truths their affections are at the same time like a barren wildernesse Hence you may often find a poor inconsiderable believer more affectionately transported in love to Christ and holy things than many a great and learned Scholar That as natural fools have a greater stomack to meat and can digest better than wise men whose animal spirits are much tired and wearied out So it is here the lesse disputative the lesse head-work a godly man hath many times he hath the better heart-work Oh then bewail this in thy self as a most degenerating thing from primitive rectitude when thou findest thy knowledge thy controversal Disputes dry up thy affections So that truth is indeed earnestly sought after but the goodnesse of it doth not draw out thy affections When David commended the word of God above the honey and the honey-comb it was evident he found much experimental sweetnesse of the power of it upon his affections SECT XIII The Affections being drawn out to holy Duties from corrupt Motives shews the Pollution of them THirdly Herein also is apparent the original pollution of our affections That when they are moved and stirred up in any holy duties yet it is not a spiritual motive that draweth them out but some corrupt or unlawfull respect Thus there is a world of guile and hypocrisie in our affections we think it is the love of God that affecteth us when it is love to our selves to our own glory to accomplish our own ends Thus in our sorrow we think it is for sinne that we grieve when it is because of temporal evil or some outward calamity Insomuch that this very consideration of the hypocrisie and deceitfulnesse of our affections may be like an Abysse or deep to swallow us up when the heart is said to be so desperately wicked and that none can know it but God by that is meant in a great part our affections none knoweth the depths of his love of his fear of his sorrow How often doth he blesse himself when he finds these things moving in him especially in holy duties Whereas alas it is not any consideration from God any heavenly respect moveth him but some earthly consideration or other You may observe this in Jehu what ardent and burning affections did he shew in the cause of God destroying Idolatry and executing the judgements of God upon his enemies But what moved his affections all this while It was not the glory of God but self-respects self-advancement Oh this is the treacherous deceitfulnesse of our affections we may find them very strong in preaching in publick prayer with others and the fire to them be onely vain-glory Yea our affections may be blown up with our own expressions and delight in them so that as it is a long while ere thou canst get thy affections up to any holy duty so it is as difficult to search out What is the cause of them Why they rise up Those in Mat. 7. 21. that would cry Lord Lord did by the ingemination of the word demonstrate lively affections yet they were such whom God would bid depart as not knowing of them Here therefore is the misery of man that as all the speculative knowledge in the world unlesse it be also accompained with an affectionate frame doth not at all commend us to God so all hot and strong affections do not presently suppose the truth of grace within Experience doth sadly confirm this that many who have had great affections and workings of heart in the profession of godlinesse have yet desperately apostatized and become at last a senslesse and as stupid about heavenly things as any prophane ones are The Jews are said for a while to rejoyce in Johns light Joh. 5. 35.
yet because as you heard the mind acteth dependently upon the imagination therefore we conjoyn them together How polluted then must that fountain be which sends forth so many polluted streams Sinne as we told you may be a long while breeding here before it be compleatly formed and actuated yea and God beholdeth and taketh notice of thy sinnes thus prepared in thy imagination long before the commission of them We have a notable instance for this Deut. 31. 21. where Moses in the name of God testifying against the people of Israel that when they come into Canaan they do not fall off from God useth this expression For I know their imagination which they go about even now before I have brought them into the Land which I sware unto them God did before they come into Aegypt see what was working in their imaginations what they were making and fashioning in their hearts in which sense some expound that place of the Psalmist Thou knowest my thoughts afarre off Psal 139. 2. And this is good and profitable for us to consider we many times wonder to see how such gross and loathsom sinnes can come even from the godly themselves Alas marvel not at it these Serpents and Toads were a long while breeding in the imagination The pleasure or profit of such a sinne was often fancied before It was again and again committed in thy thoughts before it was expressed in thy life so that a man can never live unblameably in his life that doth not keep his imagination pure and clean Hence you have so often evil thoughts complained of as the root of all bitterness Jer. 4. 14. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge in thee Mark 15. 19. Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts As exhalations and vapours ascending from the earth which are scarce perceptible yet at last are congealed into thick and dismal clouds so those sins which while in the thoughts and imagination were scarce taken notice of do at last grow into soul and enormous transgressions SECT X. That many times sinne is acted by the Imagination with delight and content without any relation at all to the external Actings of sinne THirdly The sinfulness of the Imagination is further to be amplified In that many times sinne is acted with delight and content there without any relation at all to the external actings of sinne So that a man while unblameable in his life may yet have his imagination like a cage of unclean birds and this is commonly done when there are external impediments or some hinderances of committing the sinne outwardly The fear of mens laws outward reproach and shame want of opportunity may keep men off from the outward committing of some lust when yet at the same time their imaginations have the strong impressions of sinne upon them and so in their souls they become guilty before God The Adulterous man Is not his imagination full of uncleanness The proud man Is not his fancy lifted with high and towring conceits As the Apostle Peter speaketh of some whose eyes were full of adultery and that cannot cease from sinne 2 Pet. 2. 14. or as some read it according to the original Adulteresse imagination made them have her in their eyes continually though absent for if their eyes were their imaginations also must necessarily be because of the immediate natural connexion between them so then when there are no outward sores or ulcers to be seen upon a mans life yet his imagination may be a noisom dunghill what uncleanness fancied what high honours imagined that whereas thou art restrained from the actings of sinne yet thy heart burneth like an oven with lusts inwardly It is the emphatical similitude that the holy Ghost useth Hos 7. 8. They have made ready their heart like an oven The meaning is that as the oven heated is ready to bake any thing put therein so was the heart of those evil men prepared for any kind of naughtiness Some understand it of the adultery of the body only as if that were the sinne intended by the Prophet Others of the spiritual adultery of the soul by which name Idolatry is often called in Scripture Others referre it to both we may take it to be a proverbial expression denoting the readiness of a mans heart to commit any sinne that it lieth in the heart and the imagination day and night men highly sinning against God inwardly when outwardly they are restrained Know then that when the grace of sanctification shall renew thy spirit soul and body thou wilt then be very carefull to look to thy very imagination that no tickling fancies or conceits of any lust do defile thee thou wilt keep thy imagination as a precious Cabinet wherein precious pearls shall be treasured up not dirt and filth As we fitly use an expression concerning delight in sinne that it is the rolling of honey under the tongue so there is a rolling of sinne in the imagination with great titillation and pleasure when sinne cannot be committed in action we do it in our imagination Hence it is that by the imagination old men become guilty of their youthfull lusts when they have not bodies to be as instrumental to filthiness as they have been yet in their imaginations they can revive their by-past sinnes many years ago committed Thus men became as it were perpetual sinners in their imaginations Consider of this more seriously and pray for an holy chaste and pure imagination knowing thou hast to do with an omniscient God that knoweth what is working therein though it be hid from the world besides think not sinfull imaginations will escape the vengeance of God though no sutable operations of impiety do accompany them SECT XI It s Propensity to all evil both towards God and towards man NInthly Our Imagination is naturally corrupted Because of its propensity to all evil both towards God and towards man And First Towards God Let us take up that which was but glanced at before and that is How prone we are to provoke God in his worship declining from the true Rule and meerly because of our Imaginations The pleasing of them hath been the cause of all that displeasure which God ever had in his Church concerning the worshipping of him No sinne doth more provoke God then the corrupting of his worship to adulterate this is to meddle with the apple of his eye God beareth other sinnes a long while till his worship become to be corrupted and then he will endure no longer Now the original of all sinfulness in this kind hath been our imagination we have not attended to what God hath commanded we regard not his institutions but our own fancies the pleasing of them Hence when God promiseth a restauration to the people of Israel and a reformation from their former Idolatries he saith Neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart Jer. 3. 17. It was this Imagination carried them out to Idolatry whence came those goodly
do phantasmes and imaginations move the understanding The Devil then though he hath no imperious efficacy over thy will yet because he can thus stirre and move thy imagination and thou being naturally destitute of grace canst not withstand these suggestions hence it is that any sinne in thy imagination though but in the outward works of the soul yet doth quickly lay hold on all and indeed by this meanes do arise those horrible delusions that are in many erronious wayes of Religion all is because their imaginations are corrupted yea how often are these diabolical illusions of the imagination taken for the gracious operations of Gods Spirit Divines give many excellent Rules how we may discern between those delusions of the imagination by Satan and the savourie workings of Gods Spirits in illumination and consolations It is not my purpose to enter on that Subject only bewail and humble thy self under this that the Devil hath such command over thy fancy that he can so quickly dart in like so much lightning so many unclean or blasphemous imaginations it is from hence that many have pretended to Enthusiasmes that regard dreames that they leave the Scripture and wholly attend to what they perceive and feel within them And thus much for the opening of this noisome dunghill also SECT XX. Some Corollaryes from the Premises NOw from the corruption which you have heard of all the parts of the soul both the rational and sensitive part of a man conjoyned together we may see the unspeakable misery of man in these particulars and oh that every auditor would smite upon his brest and say O Lord I am the man thus polluted O Lord all this poison and pollution lyeth here For First In having all the powers of the soul thus defiled both superior and inferior hereby man hath lost all liberty and is become a miserable slave and vassal to sinne and Satan For whereas man was made only to serve God and by love to cleave to him the creature is come in his room and thereby man is inslaved in his affections to these temporal things only so that we do very improperly say that a man is the Master or the Lord of such an estate of such an house for indeed he is a slave to them Fiunt servi dum domini esse desiderant as Austin while thou dost so earnestly desire to be master of such an estate thou art indeed made a servant to it but remember thou canst not serve God and the creature these are two contrary masters Secondly He hath by this pollution lost all true judgement to discern of things he doth not know what are the best things yea he doth grossely misjudge he prefereth earth before gold dross before pearles The natural man cannot discern spiritual things because he wants a spiritual eye he mistaketh about God he mis-judgeth about true blessedness he is deceived about the true nature of godliness so that he can no more judge of these things then a worm can of Angelical actions The Apostle speaketh fully to this 1 Cor. 2. 14 15. Thus we are become like children yea natural fools as to spiritual things when we are invited to this feast we pretend excuses when Christ is tendered to us we had rather keep our swine when exhorted to labour for everlasting bread and riches and an eternal crown of glory we had rather have our Barley-Corn then all these Thus we have lost all spiritual judgement and will not part with our bables though for an inheritance in heaven Thirdly A man being thus in his intellectuals and affectionate parts of his soul carried out only to these earthly things and from God hence is it that he is as it were made one with them we may say earth thou art not only in respect of thy body but also of thy soul for if the Apostle say 1 Cor. 6. 17 he that is joyned to the Lord is made one spirit may we not also say he that is joyned to sinne to creatures is made as it were the same with them Although saith Austin the mind when it inclineth to these bodily things is not made corpus a body yet by these appetites and desires quodammodo corporascit it doth as it were become bodily It is as if a mighty Prince should come from his throne of glory and wallow in the mire like a swine this is our state comparatively to that primitive happiness and holiness we are now no better then those lusts and those creatures that we do adhere unto Junge cor tuun aternitati Dei cum ille aeternus eris and again Si terram amas terra es Thou art in Gods account that which thy heart is set upon Oh then God cannot look upon thee as his primitive creature he seeth his image and superscription defaced and another brought in the stead thereof very loathsome and deformed Even as they that worshipt Idols are said to be like them to become as abominable yea and as sensless and as stupid as they are so it is in this case Fourthly From hence also ariseth that impossibility of loosing our selves from the creature to return again to God from wnâ—m we fell Had not the Lord shewed mercy to some of mankind none of them could ever have recovered out of their lost estate no more than the Devils can to that habitation which they forsook All these creatures are the bird-lime that now hinder the wings of the soul from flying to Heaven Oh that we could say The snare is broken and we are delivered Who will give me wings that I may flie as a Dove and my soul find rest with God! Yea as a man hath no power to break these bonds of sinne so neither hath be any desire for he is kept thus fast joyned to sinne by delight and by pleasure so that the more sinne and the creatures delight him the more strongly is he possessed Samson was as much under Dalilah's power though it was by his delight and consent as when under the Philistims by force and constraint So that the will and affections of man are hereby so glued to sin and the creature That nothing is more offensive and troublesom to them then to be divided from these things So that whereas David having experience of the sweetness of Gods favour saith It is good for me to draw nigh to God They on the contrary judge it their greatest good to draw nigh to and possess the creature Hence In the fifth place There is that difficulty in man to bear the want of the pleasures of sinne and the delight of the creatures yea the exceeding great sorrow under the losing of them Were not man fallen from that glorious state of holiness and enjoyment of God he could not so sadly deplore and bewail the loss of any creature no more then a man should be troubled to have the Moon taken away when the Sunne is in the room thereof but because when fallen from God we center upon
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 signifieth 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 argueth we love our bodies more then his glory ¶ 6. The Bodies indisposition to any service of God a Demonstration of its original Pollution BUt let us proceed to another particular wherein the original pollution of the body may be manifested and that is by the indisposition that is in the body to any service for God though it may be the soul is willing and desirous The drousinesse dulnesse and sleepinesse of the body doth many times cause the soul to be very unfit for any approaches unto God Our Saviour observed this even in his very Disciples when he said The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak Matth. 26. 41. when our Saviour was in those great agonies making earnest prayer unto God and commanding his Disciples To watch and pray that they might not enter into temptation yet they were heavy and dull and therefore were twice reproved for their sleep and this sleepinesse of theirs was at that time when if ever they should have been throughly awakened but thus it falleth out often that in those duties and at those times when we ought most to watch and attend then commonly the body is most heavy and dull Hence is that drousinesse and sleepinesse while the Word is preached whereas at thy meals or at thy recreations and in wordly businesses there is no such dulnesse falleth upon thee This ariseth partly from the soul and partly from the body The soul that is not spiritual and heavenly therefore it doth not with delight and joy approach unto God and then the body is like an instrument out of tune as earth is the most predominant element in it so it is a clog and a burden to the soul Therefore bewail thy natural condition herein Adams body was expedite and ready he found no indisposition in his body to serve the Lord but how often even when the heart desireth it yet is thy body a weight and trouble to thee Nazianzene doth excellently bewail this How I am joyned to this body I know not saith he how at the same time I should be the Image of God and roll in this dirt so he calleth the body It is a kind enemy a deceitfull friend How strange is this conjunction Quod vereor amplector quod amo perhorresco Doth not God suffer this wrestling of the body with the soul to humble us that we may understand that we are noble or base heavenly or earthly as we propend to either of these Orat. de pauperum curâ This should also make thee earnestly long for the coming of Christ when all this bodily sinfulnesse shall be done away Oh what a blessed change will there then be of this vile heavy dull and indisposed body to an immortal glorious and spiritual body then there will be no more complaints of this body of thine then that will cause no jarre or disturbance in the glorious service of God ¶ 7. How easily the Body is moved and stirred by the passions and affections thereof FOurthly The body is from the original defiled in that it is easily and readily moved and stirred by the passios and affections thereof It cannot be denied but that Heathens and Heretiques have declamed against and reviled the body of man as appeareth by Tertul de Resurrect Carmi. as if it were an evil substance made from some evil principle hence it is written of Piotinus the great Platenist that he was ashamed his soul was in a body and therefore would by no means yeeld to have the picture of it drawn neither would he regard parents or kindred or countrey because his body was from them but we proceed not upon these mens account we follow the Scripture-light and by that we see the body consociated with the soul in evil whereof this of the passions is not the least The passions they are seated in the sensitive and material part of a man and therefore have an immediate operation upon the body being therefore called passions because they make the body to suffer they work a corporal alteration Hence anger is defined from its effect an ebullition or bubling forth of bloud about the heart and thus grief because it is so immediately seated in the body is therefore said to be rottennesse to the bones and it is said to work death 2 Cor. 7. 10. But it was not thus with the body from the beginning Adam indeed had such passions as do suppose good in the object such as love and delight though they were bounded and did not transgresse their limits but then he was not capable of those passions which do suppose evil and hurt as anger fear and grief for these would have repugned the blessed estate he was created in
which if done he declareth the blessed effect and issue thereof Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh Some as Beza readeth this imperatively because of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but the Text he instanceth in is not parallel to this And Grotius bringeth in several places where this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 relateth to the future This then is the happy issue of a man who keepeth wholly to the Spirit of God inlightning and working by the Word that he shall get dominion over the lusts of the flesh He shall not fulfill them He doth not say he shall not have them he shall not feel and perceive them working in him for that cannot be in this life only he shall not fulfill them which is the same as to walk in the flesh and to mind the things of the flesh which those that live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit cannot do In the next place The Apostle giveth a reason why they are thus to give themselves up to the Spirit else the flesh will quickly prevail and that is from the contrary nature and inclinations of these two expressed in that Proposition The flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh By flesh and spirit we are not to understand the body and the soul nor the spiritual sense and literal sense of the Scripture as Origen most absurdly nor as many Papists and others the rational part and the sensitive as if the Apostle were here speaking no more then Aristotle doth about his incontinent person as distinct from an intemperant one Therefore that is too frigid and dilute of the late Annatator on this place in his paraphrase as if the opposition were between the carnal and rational wils between the carnal and rational part of a man instructed out of the Gospel for this ariseth to no more then that ethical and moral conflict which Heathen Philosophers describe whereas the Apostle is here speaking of that which the godly find in themselves and that from the two contrary principles of the flesh and spirit within them Neither are we to understand this with the Remonstrants as if the Apostle spake in the general or Idea only making the sense to be no more then the flesh of a man opposeth the Spirit of God putring it self forth in the powerfull preaching of the Word for the context maketh it evident that he speaketh of this opposition as it is in the subject by which no godly man can do the things that are holy with that perfection as he desireth Lastly Neither are we to understand this of persons as if the Apostle meant the carnal man and the spiritual man as Isaacl did Isaac will alwayes oppose one another For it is clear he speaketh of two principles within us the one whereof is flesh that is our whole man so farre as it is unregenerate the mind and the will as well as the affections for by sinne incarnavimus animas nostras as the Ancient said our souls are become flesh and the whole man so farre as he is regenerate For this in several respects a godly man is both flesh and Spirit This contrariety in their nature is declared by the effect thereof They lust one against another He doth not say they work one against another though that be true but the Apostle would direct us to the head and spring of all outward evil or good and that is the desire within In the next place the Apostle amplifieth this contrary motion between the flesh and the Spirit from the nature of them They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 immediately set one against another even as darkness and light as fire and water Now although it be a Rule That contraries do expell each other yet it is also another Rule That contraries while they are in pugnâ in fighting with one another they may be together as also in remisse degrees And thus it is with the godly the flesh and the Spirit are alwayes in conflict These are the twins in the womb that by their opposition make the godly mourn and long for Heaven where the flesh shall be wholly overcome Lastly Here is the consequent and issue of this Combate So that the things ye would not those ye do which words are subject to many interpretations Some say they are only to be interpreted as the end to which these contrary principles do encline not that they do denote the event By the flesh we are carried out to this end not to do the good things we would do yet this event doth not alwayes at least follow because Gods Spirit worketh in us both to will and to do This exposition they are the more confirmed in because in the Greek it is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which would denote the event but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This seemeth to have no great strength for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is taken eventually sometimes But then if so still there is a difference among Interpreters Some understand it of the good will only as if the meaning were those good things you would do the flesh doth hinder and retard you therein Grotius with others that follow him understand it of the evil will in this manner The Spirit lusteth against the flesh so that those evil things which otherwise you would doe if the flesh did prevail in you now ye cannot do And the late Writer Vnum Necessarium cap. 7. pag. 482. is so peremptory for this Exposition That he saith we cannot make it sense else with what had gone before being beholding to Arminius for this Argument For the Apostle bid us Walk in the Spirit so we should not fulfill the lusts of the flesh and this is the reason Because the Spirit lusteth against the flesh and so we cannot do what that would have us whereas if by the flesh we were hindred from what the Spirit would have us do this would directly contradict what he had said before But to answer this Some read all the former verse by a parenthesis and make this clause to belong to the precept vers 16. Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh so that ye cannot do those things which the flesh would incline you unto But this seemeth too much forced Though therefore we understand it of the good will as well as the bad yet the sense runneth smoothly neither is this brought as a reason of the later part You shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh for so it would have some apparent contradiction but of the duty commanded why they should walk in the Spirit For if they do not such is the contrariety of the flesh to every thing that is spiritual that if yeelded unto it will carry you away to act those lusts which otherwise you would not do and so the connexion is very harmonious But for my part I think this must be understood generally both of the good will and bad also For the Apostle
a two-fold part of the soul the rational and that which hath not reason or which doth repugn reason The rational part saith he Lib. 1. Ethic. cap. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth provoke and incite to what is good but the rebellious part gain-sayeth Even as in the paralytical parts of the body when a man would move such to the right side they fall to the left side Now this Discourse of Aristotles we acknowledge as having some truth for even Heathens have by nature their consciences accusing or excusing of them Rom. 2. 15. But Papists and others do horribly perveâ—t this when they bring it into Divinity and so put a new piece of garment into the old thereby making a rent because there is no agreement with them otherwise we grant such a combate yea it is in too many men whose convictions are strong but their lusts stronger and no doubt this is in a regenerate person so farre as nature still abideth in him but such mens dislike and renitency of conscience doth not excuse them though they be not such great sinners as those that sinne without any remorse yet their condition is damnable Though such have many good sentences and you shall hear many good speeches come from them yet they are still under the bondage of sinne for though they have a knowledge condemning their sinne yet it is but universal when they come to the particular then they are carried away or their knowledge is but habitually in them not actually as with drunken men or men in a sleep so that the good sayings they utter they have no practical application of them and therefore compared by Aristotle Lib. 7. to a City which was derided by this saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The City consulteth and adviseth that yet regardeth not Laws or like such who did utter Empedocles his grave sentences A sad thing it is And oh how often is it for some men to speak excellent religious truths in discourse of which they have no practical power Solomon hath two excellent expressions to this purpose Prov. 26. 7. The legs of the lame are not equal so is a parable in the mouth of fools As the legs of a lame man being not equal make the going uncomely so it is when a man hath good speeches but evil actions Again vers 9. As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard so is a parable in the mouth of fools As a drunkard feeleth not the sharpness of a thorn running into his hand so neither doth such an incontinent person the power and efficacy of the most excellent and savoury truths which he speaketh yet all the while such convictions of light are upon man there is the more hope and he may be the more easily cured insomuch that he is not as evil as a man habituated and sensless in his sinne Hence Aristotle saith That though an incontinent person doth the same things with an intemperate yet he is not an intemperate person as was said of the Milesians They are not fools but they do the things that fools do 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lib. 7. Ethic. cap. 9. ¶ 9. Another Combate in those within the Church which yet may not be godly IN the second place There is a second Conflict that is in those who are in the Church of God and are in a preparatory way to conversion These besides the natural light of conscience have the supernatural light of the Word which doth powerfully awaken them enlighten and humble them so that they feel a troublesome warre within themselves yet for the present obtain not that grace which setteth them at full freedom Many men before their conversion have been in this soul-fight a long time Prudentius the Christian Poet hath his Psycomachia wherein some sins and virtue as chastity and uncleanness covetousness and liberality are brought in combating with one another And thus many times some godly persons in their unregenerate time have been entangled in some special lust or other There are many assaults and skirmishes ere the work of grace doth take full possession Austin doth excellently declare this in his own experience lib. 8. Confess Velle meum tenebat inimicus meus c. My enemy did take hold of my will and made a chain thereof whereby he was fast bound and hereupon he did sigh and groan to be delivered being ligatus non ferro alieno but ferreâ meâ voluntate bound with his iron will In these aestuations of spirit he lay wearying himself till at last the grace of God came in with full power upon him making a through change cutting off the fetters that were upon his soul ¶ 10. Of the Combate in the godly between the Flesh and the Spirit and how it may be discerned from the former IN the third place There is the Combate in regenerate persons between the work of grace and the flesh in them The former was only between the natural conscience and lust The second between the Spirit of God but moving and working only in a man and his corruption The last between the Spirit of God inhabiting and dwelling in a man and the flesh in him So that if a Christian ask How shall I know whether the combate I feel be between the Spirit and the flesh or conscience and my lust Though practical Divines give many differences yet briefly in these three particulars one conflict may be discovered from the other 1. From the principle and root In the godly this ariseth from a total renovation or the Image of God placed in a man In the other it is only from partial illumination or natural light 2. In the motive This combate in the godly is upon holy grounds out of hatred to sinne out of love to that which is holy In the other it is out of terrour and slavish fear it is because they would not be damned it is because of horrour upon them not any delight in God 3. In the manner In the other the fight is between two parts of the soul only the mind against the appetite or if there be any work upon the heart it is but transitory and vanishing whereas in the godly man this combate is universal he hath will against will love against love as well as his mind against these Thus Austin ibidem speaketh of the two wils he had his carnal will and his spiritual will his meaning is that because his will was not so full and efficacious as it should therefore he had two wils as it were Non igitur monstrum c. saith he It is not therefore a monster partly to will and partly to will but the sickness of the mind that cannot rise up fully to what is good and therefore there are two wils because one is not wholly and fully carried out to that which is good This expression of Austin fully answereth that Objection when they demand How can the will will and nill at the same time It is a contradiction
they are brought to believe they are brought out of the bondage of sinne only Justification and such Gospel-priveledges are actually bestowed upon none till they do beleive we have not time to proceed in the discovery of other waies and opinions of the learned to answer this doubt only thus much we have heard that may make us therefore to bewail original sinne that we are in such a dark ignorance that we do but grope about the propagation had Adam continued in integrity he would not have only communicated righteousness to his posterity but they would also have certainly known the manner how but now we are wholly miserable and know not exactly the manner how we know little about the soul so that the soul which only is knowing in man knoweth very little of it self of its nature of its original like the eie that seeth other things but not it self Let us then be more sollicitous about our going out of the world then how we came into it Be more desirous to come out of this pit then to stand wondring how thou didst fall into it dost thou not observe more ready to inquire curiously about the one then daily to pray about the other SECT V. HItherto the expedients thought upon to ease that great difficulty about the propagation of original sinne have appeared very improbable and in some respect very absurd like unwise Chyrurgians not healing but vexing the wound worse We shall now proceed to some more probable ones and dispatch them with convenient speed lest you should think these are such 〈◊〉 upon which no grapes can grow of more difficulty then usefulness although you shall find that even in this wilderness we may meet with Mâ—ona The truth discussed will not only be for doctrinal Information 〈◊〉 doctrinate Application The next therefore that I shall instance in is 〈…〉 of those who hold The soul is not by the immediate Creation of God but 〈◊〉 or multiplication and this they are so confident in That they 〈◊〉 Doctrine of original corruption cannot be maintained unless we affirme so Thus you heard Austin affirming That neither by reading praier or disputing could he find out how one could be defended without the other It is true Bellermine saith That the opinion of the traduction of the soul from the parents doth no way at all either advantage or incommodate the Doctrine of original sinne but that the difficulty will still be as great so also Arminius Thes pri de primo peccato maketh the dispute about the original of the soul in the matter of the propagation of this hereditary defilement unusefull and needless But certainly the clearing of the souls original is very influential into this point especially because we are forced to it by the adversaries of this truth for it seemeth very probable that Austin would readily have believed the immediate creation of every of every soul but that the dispute about original corruption was the remora for he regarded not any other Objection This opinion then That the soul cometh originally from the parents as well as the body hath had its grave and learned abettors Tertullian of old who wrote a book De animâ And as for Austin it is true he did not defend this opinion neither did he deny it he wrote four Books De origine animae against one Vincentius Victor who blamed Austin for his hesitancy in this point and in those Austin doth still persist in the same doubt and doth answer those Arguments which are usually brought out of the Scripture yet so as that he doth not determine against the souls Creation but desired stronger Arguments and therefore doth rebuke that young man for his bold presumption in determining that controversie so confidently Austin also in his tenth Book upon Genesis ad literam doth shew the same doubting mind within him as also in his Epistle to Hierom wholly about the original of the soul wherein he doth earnestly desire of Hierom that he would teach him and satisfie him in this point by strong and sure evidence likewise he maketh the original of the soâ—â— the subject of this Epistle to Optatus It appeareth that Austin did more incline to hold the Creation of the soul therefore he saith to Hierom That although none can by wishing make a thing to be true yet if it could he would by wishing have the Doctrine of the Creation of the soul to be the truth No wonder that Austin thus doubted seeing Hierom saith the greatest part of the western Doctors were for the traduction of the soul But the eastern the greek Fathers they did generally hold the immediate Creation of it In the latter daies of the Church since the Reformation there have also been eminent and able Divines asserting the traduction of the soul from the parents and thereby original sinne Vostius mentioneth Johnius and Marnixius The Lutheran Divines seem generally to be of this opinion as appeareth by Brechword and Meisner The latter whereof relateth of Luther that he should say He would never trouble the Church about any opinion about the original of the soul yet his private opinion was that it was not by Creation and they do pitch on this as holding it most convenient to remove all doubts although Meisner confesseth there are even unanswerable Objections if they do hold the generation of it from the parents But I must tell you that those who affirm the soul to be from the parents as well as the body differ amongst themselves for some say it is by eduction out of the matter that it is generated as the body Others they say by traduction that the soul is not corporally begotten but the parents soul doth multiply the infants soul even say they as you see one candle doth inlighten another In the confession of the Aethiopick Faith as Hornebeck summa Cont. de Gracis relateth it is affirmed Omnes sine ullâ hesitantiâ in hâc sententiâ versamur c. All of us are in this opinion without any hesitancy that all our souls come of Adam as well as our flesh and that we are all Adam's seed both in flesh and soul CHAP. XXIV That the Soul is neither by Eduction or Traduction but by Introduction or immediate Infusion proved by Texts of Scripture SECT I. BUt whatsoever learned men have thought therein we may say That it is against Scripture and true reason that the soul is either by Eduction or Traduction but by Introduction or immediate Infusion and that by God himself And I shall instance in some Texts of Scripture to which though they give exceptions yet I suppose the Truth stands immoveable neither do you think this work needless for it 's worth the while if there were no other use but to informe you against a dangerous sect that are called Mortalists who hold the soul is nothing but the temperament of the body and that it is mortal to which abominable opinion the Socinians also do strongly incline The first Text
of them plead hard that it doth not deserve hell and eternal damnation But no wonder this is done in Babylon seeing in Jerusalem there are such oppugnators and extenuators of it vs if the Welsh Pelagius had not been enough there is now a new English one started up who what with some absurd opinions from the Socinians some from the most Heterodox of the Papists as Durand Pigbius Catharinus c. and many things from the old Pelagian hath stuffed his late writings with much glory and pomp of words especially against this original sinne what with his Hyperbolyes and Metonymyes it is made no sinne but an original curse rather then original sinne Answ to the Letter of Rom. so pleasing it is to be Pigmilions and to fall in love with our own purity unwilling to be shut up under sinne that the gracious mercy of God may be alone exalted And as the Socinians plead their reverence and zeal of honour to the Father while they deny the Deity of the Son so here is pleaded much reverence and tender regard to the Justice Mercy and Goodness of God much zeal to holiness and piety as if the Doctrine of original sinne did undermine all these But of these cavills in time for the present let us not judge of sinne and the guilt thereof by humane principles and phylosophical Arguments but by the Word of God And First The hainousness of it doth appear as heretofore hath been hinted In that it is not like any actual sinne that hath its proper specifical guilt and so is opposite to one vertue only and thereby doth contaminate but one power of the soul but it is the universal dissolution and deordination of all the parts of the soul Vncleanness hath the guilt of that sinne only and is opposed to that particular grace of chastity and so of every sinne else but now this hereditary defilement is contrary to that original righteousness God created man in and as that was not one single habit of grace but the systeme of all Thus original sinne is not one particular sinne but the comprehension of all It is the sinne of the mind of the will of the affection of the body of the whole man so that as when we would aggravate the goodness of God we say all the particular respective goodnesses in the creatures are eminently contained in God so we may say all the particular pollutions and guilt which is in respective sinnes is eminently contained in this so that if there could be a summum malum in man though that is impossible because malum moris fundatur in bono naturae this original sinne would be it Look upon this original sinne then as the deordination of the whole man as that which maketh every part of thee sinfull and cursed as that which maketh thee to bear the image of a Devil who once hadst the glorious and holy Image of God Secondly This sinne is greatly to be aggravated Because it is the root and cause of all actual sinnes Some question Whether all our actual sinnes proceed from this fountain or no And certainly we may conclude that all kind of actual sinne whether internal or external soul sinnes or body-sinnes do either mediately or immediately flow from it This is the evil treasure of the heart Mat. 12. 35. Hence one of the Names that original sinne hath is Fomes peccati because that is the womb in which all sinnes are conceived The Apostle James fully confirmeth this Chap. 1. 14. Every man is tempted and drawn aside by his own lust neither is it any wonder that many sinnes being in their particular nature opposite to one another that yet they should all come from one common principle seeing they all have the same generical nature of filthiness and the particularization of them is according to several temptations Even as out of the same dunghill several kinds of vermine which are produced out of putrid matter may be brought forth so that all the streames of iniquity do meet in this ocean they all come from this root even as all men do from Adam Not that the most flagitious crimes are instantly committed but by degrees they do at last biggen into such enormities if then that Rule be true That there is more in the cause then in the effect and what is causa causae is causa causati then certainly may all our iniquities be reduced to this as the fountain hence David Psal 51. in his humiliation for his murder doth go up to the cause of all even that he was born in iniquity Thirdly It is to be aggravated In the incurableness of it for though Adam had power to cast himself into this defiled condition yet he had no power to recover himself out of it as Austin expresseth it A living man may kill himself but when dead he cannot recover himself to life This you heard is made part of the reason why God would not proceed to destroy the world again although mans corrupt heart is so corrupt even because there was no hope that any judgments would cure them They would proceed still further in impieties all that water did not wash the Blackmore nature of man hence it is that the grace of God whereby we are quickened out of this death is wholly supernatural It 's no wonder that they who are doting to set up the Idol of free-will do begin to lay their foundation in this that there is no such thing as this natural pravity in man But there was no more in man to recover him out of this original filth then is in the Devils to restore them to their pristine felicity So that thy actual sinnes are not alone to be humbled for were it possible for thee to live with this sinne alone thou didst need the grace of Christ to redeem thee from this bondage Fourthly Herein also it is unspeakably to be aggravated That it taketh away all spiritual sense and feeling It 's the spiritual death of the soul we are dead men by nature in respect of spiritual things and therefore though exposed to all the curses in the Law yet we feel nothing we do not tremble and cry out for help The Physitian seeketh us not we him grace finds us out not we grace and hence it is that we think we have no such thing as original sinne in us Oh it is an heavy temptation to be given up unto to think there is no such thing as original sinne that we have no such enmity against God naturally in our hearts Wo be to that man who begineth to think this thing little or none at all What can we pray for such a man but that which the Prophet did for the Syrians when they were brought into the midst of their enemies Lord open their eyes saith he which when done they saw themselves in the midst of their adversaries and so looked upon themselvet but as so many dead men Thus if the Spirit of God by the Word make
thee see the dunghill in thy heart the general pollution of thy soul thou wilt cry out Oh how blind was I till now how sensless till this time Oh I am a damned man an undone man if God do not recover by his grace Therefore that of Austin though formerly mentioned can never enough be inculcated That in their controversie with Pelagians there is more need of prayer then syllogismes The truth of this Doctrine as it is primarily discovered by the Scripture so secondarily by the experience of the regenerated who as Paul said were alive once secure and blessed according to their own thoughts in the state they were in but when once convinced of the spirituality of the Law and their own carnality and contrariety therunto then sinne becometh out of measure sinfull and they die and are undone in their own thoughts Therefore concerning the Writers in this Controversie we are not only to enquire what acquired learning they have but what inspired grace what experimental workings of Gods Spirit in the humbling of them and to make them renounce all their own righteousness and fullness that Christ may be all in all Thus Austin who of all the Fathers hath most orthodoxly propugned this truth so none of them discover such an experimental conversion to God and a gracious change upon their hearts as he doth in his Books of Confessions I do not detract from the piety of the other Ancients only it is plain Austin discovereth a more peculiar and higher degree of an experimental knowledge of his own unworthiness and Gods gracious power in bringing him out of darkness into light and no question but the efficacy and power of this experience made him so orthodox and couragious in maintaining that truth which political and phylosophical principles did much gainsay but this is the wofull effect of original sinne that it taketh away all power to discover it self and as those deseases are most dangerous which take away the sense of them so is original sinne to be aggravated in this respect that it maketh a man insensible of it Fifthly The aggravation of this sinne is seen That it is the habituall aversion of the soul from God and conversion to the creature It is true original sinne is not an habitual acquired sinne but yet it is per modum habitus as Aquinas expresseth it That is the soul of every Infant born into the world cometh with an innate and habitual averseness to God and what is holy as also a concupiscential conversion to the creature so that the two parts expressed in an actual sinne of commission mentioned by the Prophet Jermiah Chap. 2. 13. My people have committed two evils they have forsaken me the fountain of life there is the aversio à Creatore and have hewed to themselves broken cisterns there is the conversio ad creaturam the same hath some representation in original sinne for every man by this hereditary pollution stands with his back upon God and his face to the creature Even as the child cometh bodily into the world with his face downwards and his back upon the heavens so it is with the soul of a man and this maketh our sinne of native pollution to be out of measure sinfull in that a man standing thus at a distance yea at enmity against God can never turn his face again towards God but by a supervenient grace from above Sixthly The great heightening of this sinne is In the deep radication of it It is so intimately and deeply rooted in all the powers of the soul that while a man is in this life he can never be freed from it hence it is that the ordinary determination of the Protestant Writers concerning original sinne even in regenerate persons is That it is taken away Quoad reatum though not Quoad actum There is original sinne in every man living yea in the most holy only it is removed from them Quoad reatum the guilt shall not be imputed and Quoad Dominum though it be in them yet it doth not reign in them only it is in some degree present there and therefore called by the same Divines Reliquiae peccati which expression though scorned by Corvinus yet both Scripture and some experience doth justly confirme such a phrase And although the late Adversary against original sinne Tayl. a further Explication of the Doct. of Orig. pag. 501. doth positively and magisterially according to his custome dogmatize that it is a contradiction to say sinne remaineth and the guilt is taken away and that in the justified no sinne can be inherent yet herein he betrayeth his symbolizing with Papists for all our learned Protestants have maintained this Position against Papists Bishops and others distinguishing between reatus simplex that is inseperable from sinne or the merit of damnation and Reatus redundans in personam which is when this is imputed There is therefore alwayes abiding in every man though justified original sinne in some measure it is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The sinne dwelling in us as the Apostle calleth it Rom 7. and therefore in regard of the immobility and inseperability of it from mans nature while here on the earth it is more to be aggravated then all actual and habitual sins For though in Regeneration there is an infusion of gracious habits whereby the habits of sinne are expelled yet this original depravation is not totally conquered by it And thus much may suffice for the aggravating of it because something hath already been spoken to this Point ¶ 3. An Objection Answered THere remaineth one great Objection against the hainousness of this sinne That it is wholly involuntary and therefore we are traduced in this particular that we charge our sinnes hereby upon Adam or God himself freeing our selves Thus we accuse others and excuse our selves Is not this to do as Adam who put off all to the woman whom God had given him so we to clear our selves put all upon Adam's score Therefore many Papists and others complain of us as aggravating it too much whereas one of them saith Rundus Tappor Disp de peccato origin that it is minus minimo peccato veniali lesse then the most least venial sinne But to answer this First As this Doctrine about original sinne is wholly by revelation so we are to judge of the hainousness of it according to Scripture-principles It is true as hath been said formerly the Heathens did complain of the effects of this original sinne but they did not know the cause so that as by the Word we come to know that from our descendency from Adam we do contract this original pollution thus also by the Word we are to passe sentence about the greatness of the sinne If the Scripture saith We are by nature the children of wrath If God in destroying of the world doth not simply look to actual sins but as they flow from such a polluted principle If by this we are in bondage to Satan and are