A Treatise of Original Sin, Part 2 · Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
Of the Name Evil Treaſure of the Heart, given to Original Sinne.
SECT. I.
MAT. 12. 35.
And an evil man, out of the evil treaſure of his heart, bringeth forth evil things.
THeſe words are part of an Apologetical Anſwer, that our Saviour made againſt the Phariſees, who were guilty of blaſpheming the holy Ghoſt, becauſe they did maliciouſly oppoſe the known truth, and what was done by the Spirit of God, attributing it to the power of the devil. And in this Apology the fervency and zeal of our Saviour, doth appear in the compellation he giveth them, Generation of vipers: Here you ſee, That it is not alwayes railing and indiſcreet zeal, to call wicked men by ſuch names that their ſinnes do deſerve.
In the next place, he giveth the reaſon of this their blaſphemy, it is no wonder if they ſpeak ill, who have ill and naughty hearts, which he expreſſeth emphatically:
1. By an interrogation, How can ye?
2. By the impoſſibility, How can ye?
3. From the matter mentioned: he doth not ſay, How can ye being evil de good things, but ſpeak; We might think wicked men might eaſily forbear evil words, though not evil actions, but their heart is firſt ſet on fire with hell, and then the tongue. The Phyſician diſcovers how the heart is by the tongue, and ſo doth Religion alſo. Now that good words cannot proceed from a bad heart, viz. naturally (for on purpoſe, and artificially many evil-minded men, may ſpeak religiouſly, and men may have butter words, whoſe hearts are like ſwords) our Saviour proveth from the common and even proverbial rule; A good man hath a good heart, and a good treaſure, and ſo of this ſweet fountain cannot come bitter ſtreams. But a bad man hath an evil treaſure in his heart, and ſo from theſe thorns men cannot gather grapes, nor from theſe thiſtles figs; we ſee here then a good man and a bad, diverſified by that which is wholly hidden and ſecret, not known to any, but God, till he diſcover it by words or actions. Now this evil treaſure in every mans heart is two-fold,
1. That which is Natural, that which he cometh into the world with, thus every man hath an inexhauſted treaſure of wickedneſs, which he ſpends upon all his life time, and yet never cometh to the bottom of it; And in this ſenſe our Divines do well prove, That no natural or unregenerate man is able to do any thing, though never ſo little that is good, becauſe he is a bad Tree, and being alſo of the ſeed of Serpents, there cannot come any honey, or ſweet thing from him.
2. There is an acquired and increaſed treaſure of ſinne, which a man ſtoreth up by daily cuſtom in ſinne, ſo that he becometh to have two treaſures of evil in his ſoul, as if one were not enough, natural, and voluntary, innate, and voluntarily contracted: For you muſt know, That original ſinne, though it be a full fountain of poiſon, ready of it ſelf to overflow, yet cuſtom in ſin doth ſtrengthen, and inable it to be more vigorous and operative; we may put more wood to this fire, and ſo make it more dreadfull: Even as theſe Phariſees, though they were by nature, the Serpents ſeed, yet becauſe of their voluntary and contracted malicious diſpoſition in them, ſuperadded to the former, our Saviour calleth them, Generation of vipers. Now although the Phariſees had this two-fold evil heart, naturally, and voluntarily, yet I ſhall of the former onelyonly, and ſo handle it not, as relating to the Phariſees, but as it is a general Truth, to be affirmed of every one, till renewed by grace, that he hath an evil treaſure, an evil heart within him; And from thence obſerve,
That original ſinne is the evil treaſure that is in a mans heart. Sometimes the heart it ſelf is ſaid to be evil, to be deſperately wicked; but then it's not taken phyſically, as it's a corpulent ſubſtance in a man; but morally or theologically, as it is the ſeat and principle of all evil: For as the Sea hath all the Rivers in it, from which they come, and to which they return again; ſo the heart is the fountain of all evil, and all evil is ſeated in it, coming from the heart, and going back again to it.
But let us open this treaſure, which is not like the opening of that Alablaſter Box, which perfumed the whole houſe; but like the opening of a noiſom Sepulchre or dunghil, from whence cometh only what is loathſome; Therefore it's not called a treaſure in a good ſenſe, as commonly the word is uſed; for we do not uſe to treaſure up vile and loathſom things; but becauſe in a treaſure there is plenty and fulneſs, therefore is this evil heart, this original pollution called a treaſure, and that very properly, for theſe reſemblances.
SECT. II.
How Original Sinne reſembles a Treaſure.
FIrſt, A treaſure hath fulneſs and abundance. A poor man that hath only money enough to diſcharge his daily expences, is not ſaid to have a treaſure, for that denoteth abundance, more than enough: Thus is original ſinne deſervedly called a treaſure, becauſe it's a fulneſs of wickedneſs: As in Chriſt the treaſures of wiſdom are ſaid to be in him, Col. 2. 3. So in every man, there is a treaſure of folly and wickedneſs; ſo that every man is rich enough to ſinne, let him be never ſo poor, never ſo ſtraitned, not a morſel of meat to eat, not a farthing to buy any thing with, yet he hath a rich heart, a full heart to ſinne, he is never deſtitute of plenty and power to do that; which conſideration ſhould greatly humble thee to think, in ſtead of that good treaſure, which God once put into my heart, being throughly furniſhed with every grace; now there is a treaſure of evil; now darkneſs is where all that light was; evil, and nothing but evil, where all that good was; Though thou art a rich man, and a great man, glorying in thy treaſures of wealth, yet the treaſures of evil in thy heart, may make thee fear and tremble.
Secondly, Here is denoted in this expreſſion, That all ſinne is potentially and ſeminally in our hearts; For it's not ſaid to be an evil heart in ſome reſpect, and as to ſome actings, but indefinitely and generally, an evil treaſure of the heart. Hence Rom. 3. 14, 15. There are in man by nature crimſon actual ſins of the greateſt guilt, viz. The poiſon of Aſps is under their tongues, their mouth is full of curſing, their feet are ſwift to ſhed blood, &c. Theſe ſins which ſome few of mankind only, and thoſe the worſt of men, do ordinarily commit, yet they are attributed to every man by nature; And why? becauſe there is the treaſure of theſe in his heart; you cannot name the vileſt actions that are, though for the preſent like Hazael, thou wouldſt defie ſuch things, ſaying, Am I a dog, a devil, that I ſhould do them? yet did not God bind up this treaſure of evil in thee, as he doth the clouds, that are his treaſures of rain, thou wouldſt quickly be overwhelmed with them; what trembling ſhould this make in a mans heart, when he ſhall conſider, there is not the vileſt and moſt prophane atheiſtical man breathing, but thy heart would carry thee out to do the like, did not God ſay to this ſea of corruption within thee, Hitherto thou ſhalt go and no further? It is becauſe of this, that David and other eminent godly men, have fallen into ſuch groſs and loathſom ſins, that you would have thought they had not been in the leaſt danger of, that they were as farre from, as the Eaſt from the Weſt, yet how quickly could theſe materials for ſinne in their hearts ripen, and break out into a flame? How quickly did even the green Tree burn? What then would the dry Tree do? Look then upon thy ſelf, as the vileſt ſinner in the world, in reſpect of thy principles, and propencity to all ſin; Say, it is not becauſe I have a better nature, I have leſs original ſin in me, but becauſe God is pleaſed to put a reſtraint upon me! Certainly, if this will not make us like Job, abhorre our ſelves, as it were, upon the dunghill, what will?
Thirdly, In that original ſinne is compared to a treaſure, there is denoted the inexhauſted nature of it, though we ſinne never ſo much, yet the ſtock of ſin is not quite ſpent. As God, becauſe he hath a treaſure of mercy, and therefore ſaid to be rich in grace; though he ſheweth never ſo much mercy, and vouchſafeth never ſo much grace, yet his treaſure is not impoveriſhed thereby, he is as fully able to beſtow freſh grace, and new mercy to thee, as if this were the firſt time that ever he began to be mercifull: Thus, though with great diſproportion, it is with a man that hath this evil treaſure in his heart; Though he ſinne all the day long, though from this abundance his mind thinketh, his tongue ſpeaketh, his hand acteth that which is evil, yet ſtill his corruption is not abated, yea it is the more ſtrenghned and increaſed: As it is with poiſonous creatures, though they vent never ſo much poiſon, yet they cannot caſt out the root and cauſe of it as long as they live: So though a natural man be all the day long ſending forth nothing but ſinne and folly, yet his heart is as full as ever, this fountain is not dried up; Therefore although it may fall out, that many bodily ſinnes cannot be any longer committed, becauſe the body groweth old and infirm, yet this original ſin is never weakned, while a man is unregenerated, but in a natural man, though an hundred years old, yet it is as vigorous and active, as in youthfull ſins. It is reported of a liberal Emperour, who was much in free munificence, that he would ſay, foreign Draw from me, as from the River Nilus, meaning, that he would never be weary, that he was like a fountain, of which all travellers might drink, yet he be as 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.