V a R.18. Ephefianr,Chap. 4. 517 ofour firft Parents, we lye before him guilty, from the wombe we re- bell : God hath his fpirituall darknefre, he giveth men into the hands ofSatan his jaylor , he takethaway his fpirituall light from them,let- ting the Devill hold them in chaínes ofignorance, luft, fearfull expo elation ofjudgement. o6je.l. But we feele no fuchthing. llnfv. That is becaufe we are all darkneffe,and never fawnor heard . fome ofus other, that maketh us think there is no fuch matter; thofe that are in hell wot there is noother heaven. Our firft Parents were leire miferable then we in this regard; for they knew that the glorious light of Godwas gone from them , and that their foules were in all kindofdarknefie , becaufe they had left that lightfome and blefred condition ; but we that never knew other, we think there is no ocher. Ifmen at ho.yearesof judgement fhould bePhut up in a dark dungeon, they could perfcétly know what a comfortable world , what goodly heavens, what a fruitfull earth, they were deprived of: But fay they fhould geta child in this dungeon, hee could not tell further then hee were told, and fo conceive by hearefay that there were fuch a matter So itis withus, becaufe wee areborne and bredup in fpirituall dark - neffe, we think there is no other light. Thefe Heathens were fome of them fuch as had great knowledge inNature, in Policy, in the do- 6-trine ofCivill verrues, in Arts, Hiftory,nay in curious Arts, judicial! Aftrologie, Alchymie, Magick, for the Ephefians, vlits 19. are no- tedfor curious Arts, andMagick by name, yet the Apoftle pronoun- ceth ofthem, that inregard of Gods things , their thoughts were dark. ned, there isnone that underftandeth by nature, which the knowledge ofthem did lead them to fee in fome fort, for fome knew that they did know nothing,and fome exclaimed, .P.Ltantum c.ee nellu!&c.How great a night is there in their under_ fanding ! The reafoning and dif- courfe of the natural! man,the devil! bath conjured it in fuch a Circle, that it cannot turne it frlfto any thing but what is evill, or bath an ap- pearance ofgood onely. This then mutt let us fee what wee are by nature, and what inpart weare, for we are regenerated but in part, we may fay there- fore that our underflanding in fome meafure is darkened, that wee know nothing as we ought to know it. In which confideration wee mull lecke toChriftto helpus with eye- falvc, and cry as the poorc blinde man did for mercy inthis behalfe. a. Wee fee, how by nature wc are all voidofthe lift of God ; though we live this naturali lifewhich the foule prefent with the body eau- feth,yet wewant that life which theSpirit ofGodbegetteth inprefent in the foule. For the lifeof God is fometime put for that life where- with God livech inhimfclfe. a. The life ofnature is in a fort Gods life. TheSpirit ofGod doth efficiently worke itin us ; and therefore líls 57. thefe Gentiles are faid to live, move andhave their being in God ; fay, in regard of life natural!. 3. It is alfo put for the lifeof grace wrought by the Spirit of God, and thus thofe that lived is God are fe. De void bynature of the life of God. The lift of God is three fold. The life ofna- ture in Come fort is the life of God.
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