108 An Expofition of the Epiflle ~ Rom.7.17. It is inwrapped in thy Natur.e, that thou wilt never get it out: Like ~ an Houfe, that fl:andeth upon a Foun~uon that hath Salt-Peter in it, it will ne– ver be got out, do what you can; fo ts tt here. Obferv. 2. The fccond Obfervation is this: That to fin, as it is thy N_ature, thy natural' Incli11ation ; fo tho1t hajltt by B~rth : For fo I told you, [ by Nature J is alfo ta– ken for Birth, and it's clear to be the Apofl:le's fcope here: For he had !hewn all the external Caufes of Sin, the Wortd, and the Devil ; the internal Caufe the Flefh, which caufeth Lufl:s. Now what is the.caufe ~f this Fle!h ? Nature,'faith he, your Btrth : .And were by Nature (that ts, ~Y Bmh,) .Children of Wrath, M well as others. I need not quote many places for tt, the Scnpture is abundant in it: Man born of a Woman, faith Job, is filthy and abominable: And, That which ?<born of the Flcjb, is Flejb. And not only that whiclt is born, but that which is conceived: So faith David, Pfa1.51.5. I was conceived in Sin. And his meaning is,to !hew that not only as foon as he was born, he was finful; but, faith he, I'was finful too in my very Conception : ·Look when firfl: I had the Nature of Man commu– nicated to me, then was I a Sinner ; that which conveyed my Nature to me as Birth doth, and Conception cloth before Birth, that which did confl:itute m~ a Man, did confl:itute me a Sinner likewife, made me a Sinner. Therefore Men are not only faid, to be Tt·an.Ji,rejfors from the Womb, as in lfo. 48. 8. and to go ajlray from the Womb, as in Pfol. 58. 3· but in the Womb alfo; for fo, you fee, David fpeaks of himfel£ .Auflin, who was one of thofe that moll: cleared this DOCI:rine, of the Corruption of Man by Nature, againfl: Pelagiw, that called it in quefl:ion, (for God doth clear Truths ftill as they are controverted) he for– bore on purpofe to call it natural Sin, or Sin in Man's Nature, becaufe ifit !hould be fo called, the Manichees, that held there was a God, which was the caufe of all Evil in Man's Nature, would have been imboldened and encouraged by it iri their Error ; therefore he called it Original Sin, (for he was the firfi that gave it that Title, tho it agrees with tl>e Scripture, he might have called it the other, for it is all one): And he called it fo, not only becaufe it is the original of all Sin elfe, the Womb in which all Sin is conceived: When Lujl hath conceived, (faith JameJ, chap. 1. 15.) it bringeth forth Sin. But chiefly becaufe it is ab •rigine in Man, from the Time that the foundation of a Man's Nature· is laid ; that which at once giveth him his Natnre, gives him Sin .with it; it is from the very firft Moment of Conception, elder indeed than that which we call Birth, or his being brought forth out of the Womb into the World ; it is when a Man begins fir[\ to be a Man, and~uft necdfarily be then. . Now when he faith, We are by nature (meaning [by Nat11re J a Man's BirtD) the Cpildren of Wrath, it implies two things: It implies, that whatfoever is Sin is fOnveycd to a Man in his Conception ; and that he hath it by Nature, one part of the Sinfulnels, as well as the other. Both thefe I am to open, and to make good. The Apofl:le doth not fpeak here meerly of our inherent Corruption; but if there be any other Sinfulnefs which a Mao contraCl:s by Birth, he hath it by Natnre. _Now you know, that our Divines do make, and moft truly and rightly accor,ding to the Scriptures, a twofold Sinfulnef$, which we have hereditarY. to us,: as from onr fir[\ Parents: Tlte.firft is, The Guilt of thatfuft Act of fiririing, v;hich lldam committed; and the fecond is, An inherent Corruption, or Fle!h, the Inclinations t.o a)! S,in, derived as the Punilhment of the Guilt of that Fact. B~re th,et;efore lies two things before U$, for the Apoille plainly means both; for wh~1j(~ver ma\i.es a Man a Child of Wrath, obnoxious to the Wrath of God in liis fi.J:ft Conception, that is it he intendeth. Now it is not only !inherent Cor· ruptibp, that makes us Children of Wrath; bnt it is alfo the Guilt of that firft Acf: Nay, \ve ~ould never have had inherent Corruption to be as a Sin in ~/Jt,.}f,(jV~·,were not ('ome way involve<! in the Guilt of that firll: Act; and both ~ljfb~~e ~y N~!llfe. Now th~~ we !hould have inherent Corruption, that that '!li:;pifl,lJ~ propagate<! by Birth. aJ;i~.Generation, there is a more. ~afinefs in it; ~KZ)(1,)!)~qufe et"JYlthing begetS us hke ; outr of an unclean thmg you ca.nnot BJ'I!)g1a.~1e~o,; 1 ii·!Jl;t{t•needs be,- that fu~h a Nature as the Father had, (for mhe– ,f~~~~'tidtih"'!.qi<;m~), (uch a Nanu:e ~e ~hild mull- have : But that a Man fhou~~ ") l.. ., .....,
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