A treatise of original sin ... proving that it is, by pregnant texts of Scripture vindicated from false glosses / by Anthony Burgess.

SECT. I.

JOHN 1. 13.

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

THe original pollution of the Vnderstanding, Conscience and Memory, hath been largely and fully discovered; We now proceed to the other part or power of the rational soul, which is the will; That is in the soul like the primum mobile in the Heavens, that doth carry all the inferiour orbs away in its own motion, or like the fire among the elements that doth as∣simulate every thing else to it self. This is the whole of a man; A man is not what he knoweth, or what he remembreth, but what he willeth; The understanding is but as a Connsellour; The will is as the Queen sitting upon its Throne, exercising its dominion over the other parts of the soul; The will is the proper subject and seat of all our sinne, and if there could be a Summum malum, as there is a Summum bonum, this would be in the will. Seeing therefore that our will is the master power of the soul, and is to that, what the heart is to the body, the principle of all motion and action, the more we find this will, tho∣rowly infected with sinne, the greater will our misery appear: Neither mayest thou fear that the doctrinal discovery of that poisoned fountain in thee, and the representation of thy soulness and loath somness upon thee may discourage thee, but hereby thou wilt be brought to loath thy self, and admire the riches of grace in Christ, which shall pardon and glorifie such a noisome wretch as thou art by nature. Indeed Lorinus (Comment. in 17. chap. Act.) relateth of Ptolomy King of Aegypt, that he banished one Hegesius a Philosopher and eloquent Orator, because he did so pathetically and sensibly Declaim upon the miseries of mans life, that many were thereby cast into such grief, that they made away themselves; but our end in discovering of this universal leprosie of sinne upon us by nature, is to bring us into an holy despair of our selves, a renouncing of our righteousness, that so Christ may be all in all.

Come we then to make inquiry into the original pollution of our will, which is a subject of very large territories; The Disputes about it are voluminous, but I shall be as brief, as the nature of this truth will permit, and whereas concerning the will, we may consider the nature of it absolutely, in its proper works and

operations, or relatively in its state, as free or enslaved. I shall treat of both, because herein original sinne hath put forth it self more then in any other parts of the soul. And

First, I shall begin with the will absolutely considered, as it is the great and mighty part of the soul, and that from this Text, which because of the differ∣ent thoughts of learned Interpreters, doth deserve a diligent explication. And

For the Coherence of it, you may take notice of the sad and bitter event de∣scribed by the Evangelist, of Christs coming as light into the world; Though he came to his own, and that as a Physician to the sick, as a Saviour to such who were lost, yet his own received him not. Now lest it might be thought this reje∣ction of Christ was universal, he addeth, Some did receive him, and 〈…〉〈…〉 d∣clareth the unspeakable benefit and priviledge vouchsafed to such. So that in the words we may take notice,

1. Of the Subject, who are thus honoured and highly blessed by Christ, Such as received him, and what this is, is explained, viz. Such who believe on his Name. In this is comprehended all our Evangelical Duty, and that both in∣wardly and outwardly, onely faith is expressed, because this is virtually all. This is the seed and the root, the soul and life, the salt that seasoneth the whole man.

2. We have the Priviledge or Benefit, which is said to 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the right or dig∣nity of being the sonnes of God, for so the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, is to be understood, and therefore Popish Disputes about the power of free-will in holy things from this place. is wholly impertinent, onely the difficulty is,

Quest. How they who believe in Christ can be said to have this priviledge given them of Sonship, seeing that they could not believe, unlesse they were first born of God, and so the sons of God?

Answ. Some therefore do understand this Sonship in respect of that future glo∣ry, which in Scripture is sometimes called Adoption, and 1 John 3. 1. Then it will properly appear that we are sonnes of God; But we may well enough un∣derstand it of our Adoption and Sonship even in this life, and this is said to be obtained by faith, because in our sense and feeling there must be believing, be∣fore we come to know this priviledge doth belong to us; or else though faith and Sonship be together in time, yet in order of nature one precedeth the other.

Thus we have the Subject and the Priviledge; But in the next place, we have the Description of the efficient cause, for it was not their own power and free∣will that made them believe; Therefore the efficient cause is set down, first, Ne∣gatively, and then Positively; Negatively, by removing those false causes that men might imagine; and we have a three-fold enumeration of them, Not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. Divers Interpreters go divers wayes, though much to the same sense: Some think the Evangelist by blood doth not in the general mean natural generation, and then afterwards distribute it into two particulars, not of the will of the flesh, that is of the woman; Nor of the will of man, that is not of the man. Others (supposing the general) interpret the distribution thus; Not of the will of the flesh, that is not naturally; Nor by the will of man, that is, not by humane adoption, for so some are made legal sonnes amongst man. Others, they think all these enumerations are but to signifie one thing, and therefore the opposition to all is God; But we may not think the holy Ghost doth so industriously reckon up these several wayes, but that some special thing is intended by every one; Although, as Erasmus obser∣veth, the emphatical Article is not in the original. By blood therefore we under∣stand any dignity or excellency of birth, it's bloods in the plural number, either by an Enallage, and so an Hebraism, as Maldenate; Or else because of the long suc∣cession

by birth: And this may well oppose the carnal opinion reigning both with Jew and Gentile, for all know how the Jew boasted in his birth, because he was the seed of Abraham, therefore he thought the favour of God necessarily an∣nected to him; And for the Gentile, What a vanity and sinfull humour is in per∣sons to be proud of their birth, that they come of noble parents? For, although this be an outward civil dignity amongst men, yet it maketh nothing at all to their spiritual dignity, yea many times hindereth it, according to that observation, Heroum filiinoxae, Regeneration then doth not come according to such civil and political respects.

2. Not of the will of the flesh] that is, not of the natural will and choice of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 he hath no power or ability in him so much as to will a better condition then 〈◊〉〈◊〉 is in.

Lastly, Not of the will of man] that is, not by the will of man, though per∣fected and adorned with many acquired perfections; Not by the will of a Plato, or an Aristotle, or a Seneca; So that here is a two-fold will denied from efficacy in grace, the will considered in its natural abilities, or in its acquired abilities: Thus 2 Pet. 1. 21. The prophesie in old time is said, Not to come by the will of man, but the will of God; The will of man is there supposed to be in some raised and eminent ability above what it naturally hath, and therefore opposed to the will of God in a more peculiar and extraordinary manner putting forth it self. Thus we have all false causes removed, and the true one affirmed, which is God himself.

So that this Text doth plainly triumph over all the proud opinions of Pelagi∣ans, Socinians, Arminians and Papists, who either give whole or part of the work of conversion to the will of man; For the Evangelist is very diligent to exclude the will from any efficiency herein, under any respect whatso∣ever. Observe,

The will of every man is naturally so polluted, that it cannot produce or cause our regeneration. It is not by the will of the flesh, or by the will of man, that we are born again.