Choice Grounds and Principles of our Christian Religion, Treatise · Questions 5,6
Quest. 5. What are wee to know, concerning our selues? Answ. What we are by Nature, and what by Grace. Quest. 6. What are we by Nature? Answ. We are by Nature the children of wrath, full of sinne and corruption, and heires of Hell, and condemnation. Ephes. 2.3. Rom. 7.18, &c.
EXPOSITION.
THis is not to bee vnderstood of mans nature, as he was in his first estate, and before his fall. For the nature of man by Creation, and in his first beeing, was without sinne: yea, euen after the very image and likenesse of God, as Gen. 1.Gen, 1.26.27. Let vsus make Man in our owne Image (saith God) according to our likenesse. Also, Thus God created Man in his Image, in the Image of God created hee him: that is to say, in righteousnesse, and true holinesse, as the Apostle expounds it, Ephes. 4.Ephes. 4.24. He gaue vntounto man, not onelyonly a minde to know, and acknowledge rightly the Nature, the Will, and the workes of God: but also a will freely to obey God, and to apply all his desires, inclinations, and doings, according to the will of God. As his body, in respect of the outward forme, and proportion, was maiesticall, beautifull, gracious, purchasing feare, and reuerence of the inferiour creatures, and fauour euen in the sight of God: Immortall also, wherof there can be no question, seeing death came in by reason of sinne, as Rom. 5.Rom. 5.12. and 1. Cor. 15.1. Cor. 15.56. So, the happinesse of Adam in like maner, as touching his soule, was exceeding great, he hauing a minde, not onelyonly illuminated with the true knowledge of God, and of all other things which did any way belong vntounto him: but his will and affections were also free from all immoderate desires, and grieuous passions, which might any way molest or trouble him. His whole person was adorned with this crowne of glory, that he had the Lordship and dominion of the inferiour creatures giuen vntounto him. And to conclude all in a word; in the presence of God did he liue most happily, and with him he had most louing and familiar conuersation. God many wayes reuealing himselfe vntounto him, especially in the Garden, wherein he had placed him And this may rightly be called perfect felicitie: For hee who hath God, who is the Fountaine of all blessednesse, ioy, and pleasure, hath all things belonging to perfect happinesse: as Psal. 16.Psal. 16.11. Thou wilt shew me the path of life. In thy presence is the fulnesse of ioy, and at thy right hand there are pleasures for euermore.
Whereas therefore it is said, that wee are by nature the children of wrath, &c. it must be vnderstood of our nature, as it is now degenerate, and corrupted. For such a fearefull exchange hauehave wee made by sinne Man by his sinne, and disobedience, in eating the fruit, whereof the Lord had said vntounto him, Thou shalt not eate of it, did separate himselfe from God, lost the coniunction which he had with him; yea, all holinesse, and happinesse, both spirituall, and personall, and was cast out of the presence of GOD, and out of Paradise, wherein God did reueale himselfe, and his glory to man after a speciall manner; and so hee losing the fountaine of happinesse, did withall lose all the streames that flowed from thence, belonging either to soule or body. Thus, you see, Reason how we are become by nature the children of wrath, &c. For whatsoeuer gifts it pleased ye Lord to bestow vponupon the nature of man, he left the same with Adam: and therefore when Adam lost them, after he had receiued them, he lost them not onelyonly from himselfe, but from all his posteritie. The History of the fall of Man, is expressely recorded, Gen. 2.Gen. 2.15, &c. In which it appeareth, that the frée liberty of choise, which God permitted to the will of man, he so abused, that he kept not the Law of his Iustice, but swarued therefrom, and most wretchedly transgressed the Commandement of God, by obeying the Diuell, and in giuing credit to his lying speeches, performing thereby vntounto the Diuell such faith, and obedience, as was due to God alone; whereby hee stripped and bereaued himselfe, and his posteritie of the state of perfection, and goodnesse of nature, and the grace of God, and those good gifts of righteousnesse, and the Image of God, which in his cre…tion were ingrafted in him; he partly lost them, and partly corrupted, and defiled them: by this meanes casting headlong both himselfe, and all his off-spring, into sinne, death, and all kinde of miseries in this life, and into eternall punishment in the life to come. Of this wretched and miserable estate, (thus become naturall, as naturally descended from our first Parents; and so infecting, and corrupting all the parts and faculties of soule and body, as that by nature, we hauehave now no power so much as to thinke a good thought, to desire, or to performe any thing, purely, and holily before the Lord: but are all without exception, spiritually dead in trespasses and sinnes:) the holy Scripture witnesseth in diuers places: as Ioh. 5.Ioh. 5.21.25 where our Lord Iesus Christ termeth them euen dead, that are the very elect of God. Not hauing relation to the death of the body, nor speaking of such as lye in the graues; but vntounto the power and dominion, that sinne, and naturall corruption hath ouer all men, and wherewith they are so miserably intangled, and ouerwhelmed, as that there is no more power in man by nature, to recouer the spirituall life lost, then there is in a dead carkasse to restore it selfe to a naturall life. In this sence so speaketh the Apostle of the faithfull, Ephes. 2.Ephes. 2.1.5 and Col. 2.Col. 2.13. plainely; signifying, that as dead men are destitute of all strength, & are able to doe nothing to execute the functions of this life: so by nature standeth the case with all, vntill such time as they be regenerate, and borne anew. The Lord (saith Moses, Gen. 6. and 8.Gen. 6.5. cha. 8.21.) saw that the wickednesse of man was great, and that all the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart are onelyonly euil continually euen from his youth. Hereupon also saith the Prophet Ier. cha. 17.Jer. 17.9. The heart of man is deceitfull, and wicked aboue all things, who can know it? And in this regard Iob 15.Iob 15.16. is man called Abominable and filthy, which drinketh iniquity like water. Also Psalm. 51.Psal. 51.5. Behold, I was borne in iniquity, and in sinne hath my mother conceiued me: and Io. 3.Io. 3.6. That which is borne of the flesh (saith Christ) is flesh. And Rom. 8.Rom. 8.6. to be carnally minded, is death. And Io. 8.Io. 8.34. Whosoeuer committeth sinne, is the seruant of sinne. And hereunto also belongeth that, which the Apostle beateth vponupon out of the Psalme, there is none righteous, Rom. 3.10, 11, 12. Psa. 14.1, 3.no not one, There is none that vnderstandeth, there is none that seeketh GOD: they hauehave all gone out of the way, they hauehave bin made altogether vnprofitable, there is none that doeth good, no not one. EueryEvery of these testimonies plainely prouing, not onelyonly, that as our Father Adam was himselfe corrupt, depraued, and full of sinne, so hath hee begotten all vsus his children corrupt, depraued, and full of sinne, and wretchednesse, it being vnpossible, that flesh should bring foorth any thing, but that which is fleshly, and corrupt. And therefore Gen. 5.Gen. 5.3. it is said, that Adam begat a child in his owne likenesse, after his image, that is to say, corrupt, and sinfull, as himselfe was: but also, that so long as we remaine meere naturall men, we doe not only delight, and please our selues, to will, to desire, and to performe whatsoeuer is according to the lusts of our owne hearts, but whatsoeuer also we doe but muse, and thinke vponupon, it is corrupt, and whatsoeuer we doe, in the whole course of our life, it is euen abominable, and guilty of eternall death before the Lord.
If our Father Adam had continued in his innocencie, then as the bodies of his posteritie should hauehave beene maiesticall, and excéeding comely in eueryevery part, so should their soules hauehave beene also without inordinate appetites, and vnlawfull lusts, all their thoughts, words, and actions, should hauehave beene pure, holy, sound, and good. But by reason of his transgression, as he begat a Son in his owne likenesse: euen so doe all his posterity beget Sonnes and Daughters like themselues, in all manner of corruption and prophanenesse. And whereas many Fathers, being afterward regenerate, and born themselues anew, through the mighty worke of Gods grace, doe beget such children, as are, in like manner, godly, and well affected: this is not by any naturall act of theirs, but through the speciall worke of the holy Ghost; The grace of God goeth not by descent; A godly Father cannot with all his owne godlinesse, and skill, engraffe it in his Sonne, but as our Sauiour speaketh, Io. 3.Ioh. 3.8. The winde bloweth where it listeth. According, as besides the testimonies of the Scripture, in Adam, who had Cain, as well as Abel, in Abraham who had Ishmael, as well as Isaac, &c. this is manifest by experience. Many good and godly Preachers, hauing lewd and vngracious children: And many other godly and religious Christians, whose sonnes and children doe swarue as farre from the steps of their Fathers, and proue as vnlike vntounto them in all kinde of vertue, and godlinesse, as if they had neuer heard from them any godly exhortation, nor séene any good example, to induce them thereunto. All which proueth the great corruption of our nature, and not, if the Father be a good and godly man, the Son of necessity must be so too: but that whatsoeuer goodnesse be either in Father, or in the Sonne, it commeth wholy from the speciall grace, and free gift of God.
Reason 2 And surely not without iust and good reasons, is the nature of man thus degenerate, and he become the child of wrath, and a worthy inheritour of hell, and condemnation. For all manner of sinne is so filthy, and noysome, that it doth not onelyonly defile those that commit it, but euen all their actions of greatest deuotion: as Leuit. 18.Leu. 18.24. and Ezech. 20.Ezech. 20.30, 31. where they that commit it, are expresly said to be defiled with it. As also Hag. 2.Hag. 2.14, 15. where it is said, that as the touching of holy flesh by a polluted person, doth make it vncleane: So is this people, and so is this Nation before me, saith the Lord, and so are all the workes of their hands, and that which they offer here, is vncleane.
Secondly, as the Lord God hateth all Reason 3 them that worke iniquity, as the Prophet saith, Psal. 5.Psal. 5.4, 5. so, he cannot in his iustice but also punish them, as being in his account, and in very deede, his vtter enemies. And what hee threatneth, and thundreth out against his enemies, wee may see among other places, Psalm. 92.Psal. 92.9. For lo, thine enemies, O Lord, (saith Dauid) for lo, thine enemies shall perish, and all the workers of iniquity shall bee destroyed. And if together with this, wee did also consider, in what measure the hatred of God is against sinne, how farre it proceedeth, in what bounds it is comprehended (if it hauehave any bounds or limits at all) we should runne into an infinite discourse, the hatred of God against sinne, being indeede infinite, altogether without measure, or limitation, no tongue of men, or Angels, being able to make it manifest, as it is in truth. But let vsus now consider, what vse may be made of this.
As heereby the Popish doctrine of Vse 1 Fréewill is euidently discouered, to be false, and blasphemous, they attributing that to the nature of man, which is the speciall worke of Gods grace, and blessed Spirit. The which assertion of theirs, although we disclaime, yet doe we not hold; neither doth it follow vponupon that which hath now beene spoken, that man by nature is no better then a stone, or stocke, without any vnderstanding, or will at all left, but that by sinne hee is spoyled of all ability, either to vnderstand, to will, or to doe any thing aright. He is spoyled (I say) not of his will, but of the soundnesse of his will; that which in his first nature was sound, and good, being become in quality euill, and naught. To will euill wee are able, but to will well, there is in vsus, no power, or ability at all.
Vse 2 Secondly, wee may gather from that which hath beene deliuered, that it is a first step to Gods grace, when men truly know, and acknowledge themselues to be wretched, and miserable sinners, by nature the children of wrath, and in the state of condemnation. The knowledge of this being a knowledge of so great weight, and importance, that without a true feeling, and consideration thereof, there can be no true feeling, or consideration of the grace, and mercy of God in Christ Iesus, nor any fit matter for the same to worke vponupon. But yet, howsoeuer this be the naturall condition of all without exception, yet fewe there be that truly know it, and fewer that doe vnfainedly acknowledge it, Cain, Pharaoh, Esau, Ahab, Iudas, saw their seuerall sinnes to be very great, and in some sort made confession of them, but they neither seriously considered their sinne, as sinne, nor vnfainedly made confession of them, but all they made shew of, was in hypocrisie, and dissimulation, to bleare the eyes of God, if it had beene possible, and so to escape the fearefull execution of his heauie wrath, which they saw likely to fall vponupon them, as he was a iust, and righteous Iudge. If wee diligently search, and examine our selues, wee may finde this corruption of nature, euen in our best actions, and of greatest deuotion. I will discouer it in one, or two, that you may the better discerne it in all the rest. When through the motion of Gods Spirit wee prepare our selues to prayer; if we looke into the corners of our hearts, wee shall finde much vnfitnesse for so holy an action, and no such cheerefulnesse as we ought to hauehave: and in the action it selfe of prayer, great weaknesse, many idle and wandring cogitations, and so, as very often, wee hauehave one thing in our mouthes, and another thing in our mindes. VponUpon examination, wee shall finde our faith in God, and in Christ full of much infidelity, and distrust: That we seldome, or neuer come to the hearing of Gods word, so prepared as wee should doe, and in the act of hearing, are so hindred from a religious attention, through by-thoughts, and wandring imaginations, arising from the corruption of nature, and cast in our way by Satan, the arch enemy of our saluation, that oftentimes we returne home againe, without reaping any profit, or comfort by that which is taught. And thus stands the case with vsus in all other actions, and duties of Gods worship and seruice, wee neuer comming to the Lord with all our heart, soule, & minde, a great part of eueryevery of them being intangled with the cogitations, or delights of earthly things.
Vse 3 The third and last vse then hereupon must be this, that seeing we are all naturally sinners, and the children of wrath, no man being able truly to say, that his heart is cleane,Pro. 20.9. Iam. 3.2. but in many things (as Saint Iames saith) we sinne all, that therefore wee be duly mindfull, as wee tender the glory of God, & our own saluation,1. Ioh. 1.8, &c. not onelyonly with penitent hearts to acknowledge our wretched and miserable estate, by reason of this sinne which cleaueth so fast vntounto vsus, with all other our open, and secret sinnes which spring from thence, our pronenesse to that which is euill, and our backwardnesse, and vntowardnesse to that which is good: but also to pray and beseech the Lord, to draw and bring vsus out of this bondage of corruption and misery, into the glorious liberty of his adopted children, and to sanctifie vsus to serue him in holinesse and righteousnesse, all the dayes of our life.