The Mystery of the Gospel in Salvation, Sermon 2
SERMON II.
ACTS XVI.30.
And said, Sirs, What must I do to be saved?
I Began, in the Morning, to consider the Nature of that Salvation which is proposed to us in the Gospel, and said, it includeth in it a Deliverance from all that Evil which the humane Nature is subject to, whether Moral, or Penal; and that moral Evil is to be considered as comprehending both Guilt, and Depravity, in it. I shall now, by divine Assistance, go into a more parti…ular Consideration of that Guilt, and Depravity, …ich we are saved from; and therefore, I observ… ▪
(1.) The Sinner is said to b… saved, when he is delivered from all that Guilt wh…ch is justly chargeable upon him. 'Tis a most sad, and melancholly Truth, That every Man is a Sinner; there is a dreadful Charge against him, a mighty and heavy Load of Guilt, lying upon him; Part of which Guilt he brought into this World with him, and Part thereof he has contracted, whilst he has tabernacled in the Flesh.
1. Part of his Guilt, I say, every Sinner has brought into the World with him. It very much puzzled the Wits of former Ages, and has exercised the bright Genius's of the present to give a satisfactory Account, how Moral Evil entred into our World. If it be asked, How came the first Man to sin, and be obnoxious to suffering? The Answer seemeth not to be difficult; viz. Whatever Abuse a free Agent should make of his Powers, is unavoidably, and in itself, vicious and sinful; and whatsoever is sinful, necessarily inferreth Punishment: And it can no more be inconsistent with the Perfections of the great Maker of the World, that a free Agent should be left to abuse his Powers, than it is a Contradiction to them, for him to make a free Agent; which, I suppose, none will be so hardy as to affirm. However, all we are now properly concerned about is, how Sin and Suffering have taken Place upon the Humane Race; or how can we account for what we plainly see, that Men are sinful, and liable to suffer? Whence arises this Sinfulness of our Nature, and the Punishments we are subjected to? There is no Dispute, whether a Man that personally violates the divine Law, becometh guilty; but whether all Mankind are chargeable with Guilt before God, upon the Account of Adam's Transgression, doth not appear so evident to some. Yet, whatever be the Sentiments of Men of deeper Penetration, I cannot but conclude, from the Scripture-Account of this Matter, and, I think, from the Reason of Things, that every Child of Adam, descending from him, in the ordinary Way of Generation, becometh legally guilty of his first Transgression. For the Proof of this, I shall confine myself to the Scripture-Account of this Matter, which seemeth, to me, necessarily to infer it. What less did David mean, when he said, (Psal. li.5.) Behold, I was shapen, (or brought forth) in Iniquity, and in Sin did my Mother conceiv… me; but to notify to us, that we all come guilty into this World? For, certainly, David did not intend, by that Passage, to give us an Account of any particular Sin of his Mother, as if she had been guilty of any unlawful Commerce, which rendred him an illegitimate Conception, and Birth: In this his Father would have been as deeply concerned, as his Mother, and it may be more so, whom, yet, he takes no Notice of: And, besides, David being Iesse's Eighth Son, rendereth it very unlikely, that there should be any criminal Congress, in the begetting of him. But it is evident that David spake of that Crime which he looked upon as his own, a Guilt chargeable upon himself, and that from his very Birth, yea, from his very Conception; and therefore before he could have personally violated any Law. Nor is there any Reason to suppose, that David spake of this as a particular Case, and what was appropriated to himself only, to be thus guilty from the Birth and Conception, but it is that which is common to all Mankind with him; which therefore speaks the universal Guilt of the humane Nature, by the Apostacy of Adam. And, what less, than the universal Guilt of all Mankind, by Virtue of the first Man's Transgression, could the Apostle Paul intend, when he said, Wherefore, as by one Man, Sin entred into the World, and Death by Sin; and so Death hath passed upon all Men, for that all have sinned? Rom. v.12.
I am very sensible that great Pains have been taken by some, of late, as well as by Erasmus, and others, formerly, to evade the Force of this Text, as a Proof of the original Guilt of Adam's first Sin, or Fall, cleaving to the humane Nature, by torturing it, in such a Manner, as to make it speak little short of evident Nonsense. But after all, let the unprejudiced Reason of Mankind but duly observe the Intention, and Force, of the Apostle's Reasoning, in this, and the preceeding, and the following Verses, and nothing can be more evident than, that he designed a Proof of the Sin, and Guilt, of all Mankind, in, and by, the Sin, and Fall, of the first Man. For the Apostle plainly aimed, at the giving a Reason of the Necessity of Christ his dying to reconcile us unto God, and the illustrating the Grace of God, in sending his Son into the World, to be made a Sacrifice of Atonement for us; wherefore is all this? And he giveth this strong Reason, and Necessity, for it, that all were originally, and by Virtue of the first Sin, guilty, and therefore, without Christ's atoning Sacrifice, all were dead: By one Man, Sin entred into the World, and Death by Sin, and so Death hath passed upon all Men, for that all have sinned. What Argument would there be in the Apostle's Words, why Christ should die for us, if all were not dead? And, what Consequence would there be, from one Man having sinned, and deserved Death, to the passing the Sentence of Death upon all Men, if the Sin of that one Man were not chargeable upon all, and did not necessarily bring the Sentence of Death upon all Men, as well as upon himself? And what Justice could there be, in the Sentence of Death passing upon all Men, for the Sin of that one Man, if all Men were not, some Way or other, in the Eye of the Law, and Justice of God, truly guilty of that Sin? Either, by that one Man being constituted the publick Head of all Men, or by his including all Men in his Loins, or, possibly both Ways. Some have made a mighty ado, in their Criticisms upon the Greek Phrase, here used, (eph o) rendering it, Quatenus, as far forth, or so far, as if by this they thought to overthrow the Force of the Apostle's Reasoning; but, alas, they forget, that this Preposition, with a dative Case, as Grammarians speak, usually signifieth in; and we have a famous Instance among many others, of this very Phrase, as used by the sacred Writers, which necessarily determines the Sense of it; I mean, in the Gospel of Mark, (Mark ii.4.) where we are told, that when they could not come nigh unto him, (namely Christ) for the Press, they uncovered the Roof where he was; and when they had broken it up, they let dow… the Bed, (eph o) in which the sick of the Palsy lay. And accordingly the plain Meaning of the Phrase, in the Apostle's Use of it here, is, in whom, that is, in that first Man, in Adam, in whom all have sinned. That is, all are truly guilty of that first Sin, or Lapse of the first Man, which brought Death into the World; and therefore the Sentence of Death hath been passed upon all Men, as well as upon that one first Man, as the just Desert of his first Transgression, and all are become dead; and therefore there is a Necessity of Christ's dying for us, both to recover us from Death, and reconcile us to God.
But that no Stone may be left unturned, by which if possible, to undermine the Doctrines of the Gospel, we are told, by some of the admired Writers of the present Age, That Death is no Punishment, and therefore no Sign and Proof of Sin, and Guilt lying at the Door. But, I beseech you, was not Death threatened, as a Punishment, to Adam, in Case of his Disobedience? Was not the Sentence of Death pronounced upon him, in the Day of his Apostacy, and this, as the Fulfilment of the Threatning, and as a designed Punishment upon him, for his having transgressed the Law of his Maker? Was it not this very Sentence, Dust thou art, and unto Dust shalt thou return, or dying thou shalt die, that rendred the humane Nature, or Adam, and his Posterity, mortal? And after all this, is not Death a Punishment? No, say some; because God knoweth how to make Death to become a Mercy to us, and recompence the Loss of the present Life, with a State of everlasting Life, and Happiness, in Heaven. And it is well for us, that an infinitely wise, and good, God will abundantly make up for all the Sorrows, and Labours, and Loss, of the present Life, by conferring an everlasting Life, upon his People, in a better World. But, all this while, it is forgotten, that this is the sp…ial Grace of the Gospel-Dispensation, to render Death a Mercy to us; whereas the Sentence of Death is denounced, upon the humane Nature, antecedent to all the Grace of the Gospel, and under that original Dispensation of the Law, or Covenant of Works, as 'tis called, which knew of no Act of Favour to a guilty Creature, nor any Act of Punishment upon an innocent one. So that, under the original Constitution, either Adam's Posterity would not have been mortal, or else their Death is a Punishment upon them, and included in the Threatening. And, therefore, I conclude, that Death is, by the original Sentence of Heaven, a Punishment upon all Mankind, and consequently, a plain Indication of the Interest, and Share, which all Mankind has in the Lapse, and Guilt, of the first Man. Accordingly, the Apostle goes on to observe, Rom. v.14. That Death reign…d from Adam, even over them that had not sinned after the Similitude of Adam's Transgression: That is, over Infant Children, who had never violated any Law, by their own personal transgressing of it, as Adam had done. And further, the Apostle informs us, Ver. 17. By one Man's Offence, Death reigned by One: That is, it reigned over the whole humane Nature, by the one Offence of that one Man. And, to put it beyond all Dispute, he adds, Ver. 18, 19. By the Offence of one, Iudgment came upon all Men to Condemnation; for, by one Man's Disobedience, many were made Sinners. That is, by that one Man's Disobedience, and Offence, all were rendred guilty, and subject to Condemnation. And when the Apostle says, of all, that they are, by Nature, Children of Wrath, Eph. ii.3. it necessarily inferreth, that all Men are, by Nature, guilty, or they could not be, by Nature, Children of Wrath.
Nor can I see any Thing repugnant to right Reason, in considering the first Man, from whom all were to descend, as a common Head; and all his Descendants as sharing, and partaking with him, in his Innocency, or Guilt, and the Fruits thereof. This Conception of Adam as a common and publick Head, in whom all Mankind were virtually included, and with whom they were to stand, or fall, the Scripture plainly leadeth us into, by opposing Adam, and Christ, as two publick Heads of two very different Stocks, and from whom very opposite Virtues and Powers flow; 1 Cor. xv.22, 47. As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive;— The first Man is of the Earth, the second Man is the Lord from Heaven. Now here it might be asked, How are all made alive in Christ? Is it what naturally and necessarily followeth upon Christ's being made alive? Or is it not rather the Fruit and Effect of the Merits of Christ that Life is procured for us? Why thus Death is not merely consequential upon the Mortality of the first Head, but the Effect of his Deserts; so that as Righteousness and Life are from the Merits of the second Head, in like Manner is Sin and Death, the Fruit of the Transgression of the First to all his natural Descendants.
And if all Mankind were included in the Loins of Adam, which seemeth to be the Truth of the Case, the Reason, why all should partake in his Guilt, is so much the stronger. But, after all, if we could not see into the Reason of the Thing, yet, since we have so plain, and full, Account of it in the holy Scriptures, it is to be numbered among the Credenda, the Things to be believed by us; and we may be satisfied in this, that the divine Mind knoweth how to reconcile it to his Justice, and Goodness, though we should not be able to do it. So that I reasonably conclude, that there is such a Thing a…, an Original Guilt, chargeable upon every natural Child of Adam; or, that every Man is born into this World guilty, by Virtue of Adam's first Transgression. But then
2. There is a Guilt chargeable upon every Man, as that which he has personally contracted, by his own Disobedience to the Law of God, his rightful Sovereign, while he has lived in this World. There is no Man that liveth to such Years of Understanding, as that it may be properly said of him, he acteth voluntarily, but what becometh guilty, by his personal Transgressions against the Divine Commandments, either, by doing what is forbidden, or, by leaving undone what is required: So that we may all say, in the Strain of the Apostle Iames, In many Things we all offend, Jam. iii.2. For what is Sin, and Guilt, but as we are told, 1 Joh. iii.4. a Transgression of the Law; whosoever committeth Sin transgresseth also the Law. And what Man is there to be found, amongst all the Descendants from the first Man, that has not transgressed the divine Law innumerable Times, in Thought, in Word, and in Deed? The Law of our Sovereign is very extensive, and reacheth not only to every Man, but to all of Man, to the Government of all our Actions, natural, civil, and religious, of all our Words, of what Kind soever, and of all the Thoughts that come into our Hearts; so that we cannot speak a Word, nor think a Thought, any more than do an Action, which does not, some Way or other, fall under the Cognizance of the Law. And who, then, can say, I have kept my Hands clean, and my Heart is pure from mine Iniquity? Both Iews and Gentiles, are all under Sin; for all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God. Rom. iii.23. 'Tis a true Observation of the Preacher, Eccles. vii.20. There is not a just Man upon Earth, that doth good, and sinneth not.
And because the Law is transgressed, therefore it bringeth its Charges, and Articles against the Sinner, that, in this and the other Instance, he has departed from the Rules of the Law, and become guilty, of doing what was plainly prohibited to him, and of neglecting to do what was positively required of him. For he that offendeth against a Law, by transgressing its Injunctions, or Prohibitions, is guilty; Jam. ii.10. and this the Law accuses him, and passeth Sentence upon him, and condemneth him, for all his sinful Violations thereof. And not only does the Sinner stand charged, and condemned, by the Law of God, for every Transgression found upon him, but his own Mind taketh Part, with the Law, against him; by witnessing to all his sinful Actions, and severely reproaching him for them; and thus the natural Conscience, that is in every Man, joineth with the holy and righteous Law of God, in bringi…g in the Man as guilty, because he has departed from the Law of his Maker, his Sovereign, and his Judge, which he was under the strongest Obligations carefully to have observed. Agreeably the Apostle, in his Epistle to the Romans, observeth, Rom. ii.14, 15. The Gentiles are a Law unto themselves, — their Conscience also bearing Witness, and their Thoughts the mean while, accusing of them.
This sheweth us, that Guilt is an Evil that is contrary to the very Nature of the Soul, as a spiritual, intellectual Agent, whose first Property, as such a Being, is to act rationally, or, to do that which is right, and fitting to be done; because all Guilt ariseth from an acting contrary to what is Right, and Equity, and is a doing of what ought not to have been done: And therefore it is, that the Soul cannot take a View of her own Sinfulness, in violating the divine Law, which is the Result of the highest Reason, and unsullied Intellect, without rising up against herself, and charging her own Guilt Home upon herself, with bitter Taunts and Reproaches; which is truly to be in a miserable State, as being her own Tormentor.
This, therefore, is included in the Sinner's being saved, namely, for him to be delivered from all this Load of Guilt, which is justly chargeable upon him; for till this is done for him, he is under a Sentence of Condemnation, and continually exposed to the Stings of an enraged Conscience. The Soul is saved, when its high Crimes, and Misdemeanors, are no longer imputed, or reckoned to it, but her Guilt is cancelled, and her Iniquity is taken away.
Though it be true, that the Soul cannot so cease to be guilty, as to have it said of it, that it has never done any Thing amiss, yet it ceases to be guilty, as to the Imputation, or Charge of any Crime, or Blame, to it, for what it has done; it is delivered from the prevailing Force of any Accusation against it, and is set Rectus in Curia, by a free, full, and absolute Pardon of all its Transgressions. Hence the Psalmist prayed, Psal. li.1. Have Mercy upon me, O God, according to thy Loving kindness, according to the Multitude of thy tender Mercies, blot out my Transgressions; and, Ver. 9. Hide thy Face from my Sin, and blot out all mine Iniquities: And he instanceth in one particular Sin, in such Terms as these, Ver. 14. Deliver me from Blood-Guiltiness, O God of my Salvation: By which he did not mean, to be delivered from the Act of shedding innocent Blood, for that was past, and could not be recalled; but he prayed, that the Guilt he had contracted, by shedding …nnocent Blood; might be pardoned, and forgiven to him, and never be articled against him; and, as a Fruit of this Pardon, he prayed, Ver. 12. that God would restore to him the Ioy of his Salvation: That is, that he would graciously give him such a Sense of the Pardon of his Sin, as might rescue his Mind from the inward Shame, and Confusion, the Horror, and Anguish, which his Guilt had brought upon him; that his Guilt being taken away, his Soul might have restored to it, its lost Peace and Joy, in a Sense of the divine Favour towards him.
And because all Sin carries, in the very Nature of it, the highest Affront, and Indignity, to our Sovereign, and Judge, as being the vilest Insult upon his Authority, and Contempt of his Law, which rendereth it unreasonable to hope for a free, and full Pardon, without a due asserting the Honour of the Lawgiver, and the Rectitude of his Law, therefore it seemeth necessary, that a Mediator appear on our Behalf, who, by the Perfection of his Obedience, and the Validity of his Atonement, should purchase the Forgiveness of Sin for us, and take away all our Guilt, by his bearing it for us, and so clear the Way, for the infinite Mercy of God to reach us, and cover all our Iniquities, and impute not our Transgressions to us. Hence the great Redeemer weareth the Name of Jesus, because he saveth his People from their Sins. Mat. i.21.
(2) The Sinner is said to be saved, when he is delivered from the Depravity, the Pollution, and Power, of Sin over him. For, there is not only a Guiltiness chargeable upon the humane Nature, in having transgressed the Law of its Maker, but there is a Depravity also of that Nature, consisting in the perverting, and disordering, of its Powers, by which it is defiled, and polluted, and brought under the Dominion of Sin; and this as the Result of the Apostacy, or Defection of the first Man from the Paths of Virtue.
It is, I think, readily acknowledged, on all Hands, that the infinitely wise, and good, and holy God, could not form a rational Creature, a moral Agent, with viciated Powers; that is to say, whose Powers should be incapable of performing their several Offices, in that regular Manner, which its very Nature plainly declareth, it was intended they should, and by which it would, in it self considered, necessarily, and unavoidably, become subject to Disorder, and Irregularity, in its Actions; because, this would be evidently to make the most holy God the Author of Sin, than which nothing is more inconsistent with his very Nature. Accordingly, the sacred Writings inform us, Gen. i.27. That God created Man in his own Image, in the Image of God created he him. And, doubtless, this Image of God, in which Man was created, did not consist only, nor chiefly, in that Dominion which God gave to him over the Creatures, but in the moral Rectitude, and Purity of his Nature; that is to say, in the perfect Harmony of his Powers, and the regular Subordination of the lower Powers to the Influence and Government of the higher; or, the Subjection of the Will, and Affections, and lower Appetites, to the Dictates of the supream Intellect in us. That this is, that Image of God, in which Man was at first created, is best understood by considering, wherein the divine Likeness is restored to the humane Nature; because this sheweth us what was lost by the Fall, and therefore what our Nature was, at first, possessed of; and this, we are told, from the unerring Oracles of Truth, consisteth in a being renewed in …nowledge, after the Image of him that created him, Col. iii.10. and after God, (that is, after the Image of God) is created in Righteousness, and true Holiness. Ephes. iv.24. Which plainly sheweth, that that Image of God, after which Man was at first created, chiefly consisted in the Understanding, the pure Intellect, in us, having the Sway over us; and that, under the Influence thereof, all our Actings, whether, within ourselves, or respecting those about us, should be right, and pure, and that there should be nothing contrary to Equity, and Holiness, found upon us.
Though this was the Condition of the humane Nature, as it came out of the Hands of God, yet, we may easily observe, that this is no… the Case with us at present; and that Man must be very ignorant of himself, or arrogantly stubborn, who will not own, that he findeth within himself, the sad Want of this divine Image, and such a Depravation of his Nature, as hath put his Powers out of their regular Course, and subjected his Reason, and Understanding, to the domineering Influence of his boisterous Will, and turbulent Appetites, and Passions; so that he either seeth not what is right, and fitting for him to do, or, if he has some weak Prospect thereof, yet he hath no Power to perform it. The uninlightened Heathen saw something of this Depravity, and confessed it;*Hence were those Sayings, Nitimur invetitum. Video meliora probo que deteriora sequor. Facilis Descensus Averni, …ed re…ocare Gradum, superas que …vadere ad Auras, Hic Labor, Hoc Opu… …st. and we who enjoy the Benefit of divine Revelation cannot remain Strangers to this Depravity of our Nature, unless we wilfully shut our Eyes against the Light, or imagin… ourselves too big to entertain the Thought of what, we suppose, casteth such a Blemish upon us. But whatever be the Reproach brought upon us, by such an universal Depravity, we find the sacred Scriptures clearly painting out our Nature, in all the Deformity, and Ugliness, of Corruption, Defilement, and Si…ulness, as blind to Reason, and under the Government of divers Lusts, and Passions, and that from the very Birth. Hence, as long ago as the early Days of Iob, you have Zophar saying, Job xi.12. Vain Man would be wise, though Man be born like a wild Ass's Colt. Fond as Man is of his Wisdom, and Sagacity, yet he is, by Nature, and from the Birth, as ignorant as the dull Ass, as ungovernable, and intractable, as the wild Ass, and as truly under the Influence, and Power, of his Appetites, as the very Brutes, which have nothing else to govern them. And what less can the Psalmist mean, when he described the natural State of Man, as corrupt,—they have all gone aside, they are altogether filthy,— they have no Knowledge. Psal. xiv.1, 3, 4. Hence also the Prophet Isaiah, under the Similitude of a disordered, defiled, Body, giveth us a lively Description of our Depravity, saying, Isa. i.5, 6. The whole Head is sick, and the whole Heart faint; from the Sole of the Foot, even unto the Head, there is no Soundness in it; but Wounds and Bruises, and putrifying Sores. And the Prophet Ieremiah giveth us an Account of the gross Ignorance, and general Propensity of Mankind to that which is Evil, saying, Jer. iv.22. They are sottish Children; they have no Understanding; they are wise to do Evil, but to do Good they have no Knowledge. And our blessed Saviour, who perfectly well understood Mankind, speaketh of them, Matth. xii.33. as corrupt Trees, that must first be made good, their Nature must be altered, before they can bring forth good Fruit. And, if our Saviour's Rule hold good, That a Tree is known by its Fruits, the universal Depravity of the human Nature is known, by the universal Inclination, and Tendency, there is in all Mankind, unto that which is evil and sinful: Which every Man, by a little Observation may evidently perceive in himself. And hence, the Apostle tells us, in the latter Part of the seventh Chapter to the Romans, of Sin dwelling in us; of a Law in our Members warring against the Law of our Minds, and bringing us into Captivity to the Law of Sin; and that we are sold under Sin; and because hereof, in us, in our Flesh, dwelleth no good Thing; and that we cannot find how to perform that which is good. In his Epistle to the Ephesians, the inspired Writer further acquaints us, Eph. iv.18. … have our Understandings darkened, being a … the Life of God, through the Ignorance … is in …, because of the Blindness of our Hearts. And … any Thing more plainly point out, the Depravity, Pollution, and Defilement, of the human Nature, and the Power, and Dominion which Sin hath over it, than this Account which the sacred Scriptures gives us of it, as having our Understandings darkened, our Wills perverted, our Affections disordered, and even our Mind, and Conscience defiled. Tit. i.15.
Nor need we to fear to look upon this Depravity▪ and Pollution, of our Nature, as a moral Evil, or to call it by the Name of SIN, for the Scripture plainly calleth it so; Rom vii.17. Sin that dwelleth in us; Rom. vi.12. Sin, that reignet… in … mortal Bodies: And, Sin, that worketh Death in us. Rom. vii.13. The Apostle, having observed, that Sin, taking Occasion by the Commandment, deceived him, and slew him, started an Objection; Was then that which is good, (as the Commandment is) made Death unto me? To this he answered, God forbid; but Sin, that it might appear Sin, working Death in me, by that which is good, that Sin, by the Commandment, might appear exceeding sinful. That is, it is not the Commandment, but our own Corruption, that worketh Death. Sin sheweth itself to be Sin, by its Opposition to the Commandment, and this operateth unto Death. 'Tis easy to observe, that Sin must be in us, before it can operate; it cannot oppose the holy, just, and good Commandment before it has a Being in us; and therefore it is in us radically, originally, 'tis wrought into our Make, and Constitution, since the Fall, and is that which operateth in us, to the breaking of the divine Commandment, and so worketh Death. Besides, this Depravity of our Nature, and Power of Sin over us, is evidently a Defection from the original Law of our Make, and that Rectitude, and Purity, which the human Nature was at first formed in; for it came out of the Hands of its almighty Creator very good; and therefore this Depravity cannot but be be a moral Evil, as every, even the least, Departure, from what ought to be, truly is.
But, perhaps, some Man will say, How came the humane Nature to be thus universally depraved, and sunk under the Power of Sin? To which I answer, that I am not ashamed to acknowledge, that I know no more of the particular Manner of the communicating this Depravity, than I know how the Bones do grow in the Womb of her that is with Child; or whence the Wind cometh, and whither it goeth. Yet, I think, I may venture to affirm, in the general, that it is the Fruit of the Sin of the first Man. The concurring Influence of the Almighty Creator, and supream Ruler, of the World, is necessary to every Creature's regular Exercise of those various Powers it is furnished withal. Whenever, therefore, this divine Influence is withheld from any Creature, the Powers of that Creature will be …, will be thrown into Darkness, Disorder and Confusion, and the Actings thereof will become irregular. And what is there more just, and reasonable, than that a Creature, who wilfully acted irregularly, while under that divine Influence, should have it withheld from him for the future? Which unavoidably renders his Nature depraved. And because the human Nature, by its original Apostacy, forfeited the Concurrence of the divine Influences to render its Actions regular, therefore our Depravity is an evil Disposition in us, communicated to us, from a Nature so evilly disposed, by Virtue of its Apostacy from God: Though, at the same Time, it is allowed that repeated Acts of Sin strengthen the Habits thereof. It appeareth exceeding strange, to me, that any, who are ready enough to acknowledge, that the Fall has brought many Disorders, and Weaknesses, upon the human Body▪ should suppose this to be all, and that the supreme Spirit, in us, is no Ways viciated, and tainted, thereby, or, weakened, and disordered, in its Powers. For who can reasonably imagine, that the Body, which is but the bare Instrument in sinning, should be made to suffer in any of its Interests, and the Soul, or Spirit, the chief Agent in sinning, be allowed to escape unpunished. It seemeth, to me, that a pure Spirit upon its first Act of Sin, must unavoidably suffer in its Nature, in the Confusion it is thrown into, and the disorderly Working of its Powers; because the very first Act of Sin, it can be guilty of, necessarily carries in it, the irregular Exercise of its Powers; and the Appetites must have gained the Ascendency over the Intellect, before it could possibly fall into any Sin: And what can be more just, than for that Spirit to be left under the Government of its Appetites, which first, contrary to the Law of its Nature, subjected itself to their Rule over it? Is it not thus with fallen Angels? And why should it not be thus with fallen Man also? (Though, through the infinite, and distinguishing Goodness of God, there is a glorious Method proposed for the Recovery of Mankind from this Depravity, while there is none for fallen Angels.) How was it possible for fallen Man to communicate his Nature, to his Descendants, any otherwise than as it was, polluted, and depraved? For, who can bring a clean Thing out of an unclean? Not one. Job xiv.4. And therefore, (Job xv.14.) What is Man, that he should be clean? And he which is born of a Woman, that he should be righteous? And it may be, the various Disorders brought upon the Body, by the Lapse of the first Man, may necessarily involve the Spirit, while in Union to the Body, in this Depravity, and Subjection to Sin, by interrupting those clear Perceptions of the Mind, which otherwise it would have had, and by infl…ming the Appetites, and Passions. For whatever weakneth Reason, and strengtheneth the Appetites, bringeth a moral Pollution upon the human Constitution, and necessarily leadeth into Sin. Possibly, from this Consideration it is, that the holy Apostles of our Lord, particularly Paul, so often stileth the Sinfulness of our Nature, Flesh; and termeth the working thereof in us, fleshly Lusts, and stigmatizes the Mind with the Brand of, a fleshly Mind; and calleth upon us, to mortify our Members which are upon the Earth; to crucify the Flesh, with its Affections, and Lusts; and to make no Provision for the Flesh, to fulfil the Lusts thereof.
Now, from hence, we plainly see, that this Depravation of our Nature, is an Evil, which every Sinner, that is, every Man, needeth to be saved from; and therefore our Salvation consisteth, partly, in the Recovery of our Nature, from the Pollution, as well as from the Guilt of Sin. For, until the spiritual Part in us, is recovered from the usurped Power of Flesh, and Sense, and the lower Appetites, and Passions; and is restored to the Throne in us, and gives Law to the Will, and Affections, and keepeth the Body under, bringing it into Subj…ction; that is, until the divine Image is renewed upon us, in Knowledge, and Righteousness; the Man is not saved; but is a Servant unto Sin, a Drudge to the World, and a Slave to the Devil: And if there were no other Evil attending him, this were enough to render him an unhappy, and miserable Creature.
This Part of our Salvation is accomplished for us, by the Son of God, in our Nature, undertaking to be the Head of all spiritual Influences to us, as Adam is the Head of all corrupt Ones; first purchasing the Holy Spirit, and his divine Revelations, for us, and then sending that Divine Spirit to accompany the Preaching of his Word, upon our Hearts, to open our Eyes, and turn us from Darkness, to Light▪ and from the Power of Satan, unto God; that thus enlightning of our dark Minds, and renewing our stubborn Wills, all that is amiss in us may be rectified, and we may be enabled to put off, as concerning our former Conversation, the old Man, which is corrupt, according to deceitful Lusts, and may put on the new Man, and so have the Image of our heavenly Father renewed upon us. Therefore Christ is said, To give himself for us, that he might redeem us from Iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar People, zealous of good Works: Tit. ii.14. And we are said, Chap. iii.5. To be saved by the Washing of Regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. That is, we are saved, when there is that blessed Change produced in us, by Workmanship of the divine Spirit, whereby our Tempers are altered for the better, our Lusts are mortified, Sin is subdued, and Grace reigneth in, and over us, by our supream Intellect's being restored to its proper Ascendency, and duly influencing of our Wills, and regulating our Affections; and thus we become the Children of God, having our Fruit unto Holiness, and the End everlasting Life.
This Work of Renovation in us, which is so great a Part of our Salvation, is, indeed, but begun in the Soul, and carried on unto greater Perfection, while we are in the present World, attended with the Remainders of Corruption in us, and surrounded with manifold Temptations; and will be perfected in the upper World, when Grace shall be compleated in Glory.
I should now go on and consider the second Thing proposed, namely, The Sinner's Salvation as including in it a Deliverance from all that Punishment which is due to him for his Sin: But I will shut up, at present, with a brief Reflection.
USE. See then, what a sad, and lamentable, Condition Sin has brought all Mankind into; a most deplorable State indeed, a Condition from which they stand in infinite Need of being saved; and yet from which they are utterly unable to save themselves. To be guilty, and depraved, is the first born of Misery, and the Inlet to every other Kind, and Degree, of Unhappiness. And if ever any poor Creature can stand in Need of Salvation, most certainly those who are chargeable with these do. Yet this is the lamentable Case of every individual Person, that is born into this World, in the ordinary Descent from the first Man: For both Iews, and Gentiles, are all under Sin,— and the whole World is become guilty before God. Rom. iii.9, 19. This is the sad Fruit, and Effect, of Adam's Transgression, that there never was, nor ever will be, any Man in the World, the Man Jesus only excepted, but what is concluded under the Guilt of Sin, and depraved thereby.
Jesus Christ, indeed, knew no Sin, he was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from Sinners; Satan could find no Depravity in him, to fasten his Temptations upon, neither was Guile found in his Mouth; there was no original Guilt, by a Descent from Adam, cleaving to him, for he was neither included in his Loins, nor in his Covenant: But as for all others that have descended from Adam, by ordinary Generation, they come guilty, and polluted into this World, and are sadly perishing in their Iniquity. Our first Father sinned, and we in him, and so all Men are under Sin, and in a State of Misery, by Means of his first Transgression.
As the human Nature, at first, came out of the Hands of its Maker, it was a pure, and a happy Creature; it knew no Imperfection in its Frame, was unacquainted with the Stings of G…ilt, the Fury of its Passions, and an utter Stranger to every Degree of Misery; it had no inward Guilt to abase, and torment it, nor any Disorder to confound, and prey upon it. But, alas! How dreadfully has the Venom of Sin poisoned our very Souls! and the fell Monster devoured us! The Fall has brought Ruin and Misery, upon one of the most noble of the Creatures of God; it has strip'd this high, and heaven-born Thing, of its primitive Lustre, and Vigor, has invaded its Powers, and rendered them weak, and feeble, and laid it groveling in the Dust, wallowing in the Mire, unable to help itself, and unworthy that any else should; it has brought the ignoble Stain, and Blemish, of Guilt, and Pollution, upon it, banished Peace from its Breast, and filled it with Shame, and Remorse, with Regret, and Horror, rendered it a Terror to itself, an Offence to Heaven, and the Insult of Devils; that well may we lament, in the Strain of the weeping Prophet, Lam. v.16. The Crown is fallen from our Head, w… unto us that we have sinned.