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

¶. 9.

3. The Bondage of the Will is evident by its utter impotency to any thing that is Spiritual; And wherein that inability consists.

THirdly, This bondage of the will to sinne is evidently manifested in its utter impotency and inability to any thing that is spiritual. It's like Samson, that hath lost its strength, God made man right, whereby he had an ability to do any thing that was holy, there could not be an instance in any duty, though in the highest degree, which Adam had not a power to do, and now he is so greatly

polluted, that there is not the greatest sinne possibly to be committed by the vilest of men, but every man hath the seed and root thereof within him, for this rea∣son man by nature is not onely compared to the blind and deaf, but also to such who are wholly dead in sinne: So that as the dead man hath no pow∣er to raise himself, so neither hath a man who is spiritually dead in his sinnes.

That this Truth may greatly humble us, Let us consider, wherein this ab∣solute impotency to what is holy, is in every man, for this is a great part of the demonstration of our spiritual bondage to sinne and Satan. And

First, Such is the thraldom of the will, That a man by nature cannot resist the least temptation to sinne, much lesse the greatest, without the special grace of God helping at that time. We matter not those Pelagian Doctors who hold a man by his own power may resist lesse temptations, yea more grievous ones, though not continually; for when our Saviour teacheth us to pray, That we may not be lead into temptation, doth not that imply, whatsoever is a temptation, whether it be small or great, if the Lord leave us thereunto, we presently are overcome by it. Certainly, if Adam while retaining his integrity in a temptation, and that about so small a matter comparatively, for want of actual corroborating grace, was overtaken by it: Is it any wonder that we who have no inward spiri∣tual principle of holiness within us, but are filled with all evil and corruption, that we are reeds shaken with every wind? The rotten Apple must fall at every blast: Know then that it is either sanctifying or restraining grace, that keeps thee from every snare of sinne thou meetest with; Thou wouldst every hour fall into the mire did not that uphold: These Dalilahs would make thee sleep in their laps, and then as Jael to Sicera, so would they do to thee. Herein is our bondage discovered.

Secondly, Our thraldome is manifested, In that we are not able of our selves to have one good thought, in reference to our eternal salvation; But if any serious apprehension, if any godly meditation be in thy soul, it is the grace of God that doth breath it into thee; The wilderness of thy heart cannot bring forth such ro∣ses: Thus the Apostle, We are not able of our selves (2 Cor. 3. 5.) to think any thing as of our selves; Though the Apostle speaketh it occasionally in his mini∣sterial imployment, yet (it holdeth generally true of every one, of thy self) then thy heart is like a noisome dung-hill, nothing but unsavoury thoughts doe arise from it; but if at any time any good motion, any sad and serious thought stirreth within thee, know this cometh from without, it is put into thee, as the cup of gold in Benjamin's sack; and therefore this must greatly debase us.

Thirdly, We are not able of our selves to have the least desire or longing after grace, and a state of holinesse. Not only Pelagianism, but Semi-pelagianism is a dangerous rock to be avoided: The later made our desires to begin, and then Gods grace to succeed and accomplish; But there is not so much as the least groan, the least desire can arise in thy heart: Oh that God would change me! Oh that I were in the state of those that do truly fear God! And the reason is, because the Scripture describeth us by nature to be dead in sinne, and compareth the work of grace to a spiritual resurrection: Oh how great is thy bondage which doth so farre oppress thee, that thou canst not so much as long for any freedom! Oh hopeless and wretched man, if left to himself!

Fourthly, From this followeth the next demonstration of our vassalage and spiritual impotency, That we cannot pray to God, that he would deliver us out of this misery. No natural man can pray, it is the grace of God that doth inable thereunto, he may utter the words of prayer, he may repeat the expressions, but (alas) he doth not, he cannot pray, as God requireth, and so as he will ac∣cept of it. The Apostle is clear for this, Rom. 8. 26. The Spirit helpeth our in∣firmities,

for we know not what to pray for as we ought; Is not this unspeakable misery, who needeth to pray more then thou, and yet thou canst not pray? Thou art sinning, thou art dying, thou are damning, and yet canst not pray: Is not thy heart like an adamant, if this break thee not?

Fifthly, Such is our impotency and bondage, That we are not able to affect our selves with the fear and terrour of the Law, thereby to be convinced and humbled in our selves. If we cannot do the preparatories for grace, much lesse grace it self; if we cannot do the lesse, How shall we do the greater? Now one great preparatory work is, To have a divine and powerfull fear in our souls, by reason of the Law, whereby we are afraid of hell, of the day of Judgement, and can∣not have any rest in our spirits, because of this. Now this is wrought by the Spirit of God in a preparatory way, Rom. 8. 15. It is called The Spirit of bon∣dage: And Joh. 14. The Spirit doth convince the world of sinne; So that in and through the preaching of the Law, and discovery of sinne, the Spirit of God doth awaken and terrifie the conscience of a man, maketh him afraid, that he cannot eat, or drink, or take the delight he used to do. It is true, the slavish sinfulness of this fear the Spirit of God doth not work, but the heart being like a mudded pool, when it is moved, such slavish fears will arise likewise; But how farre is every natural man from this, he is secure and jolly, blessing and applaud∣ing himself, crying peace, peace, all is at quiet within him, because the strong man doth keep the house? It is the voice of the Lord only that can make these mountains to quake and melt.

Sixthly, Such is our weakness, That we cannot barden or soften our hearts in the least manner, but they remain obdurate and like brasse and iron. Thy heart is like a stone within thee, and thou art no wayes able to mollifie it; Therefore God maketh it his work, and he graciously promiseth, I will take away the heart of stone (Ezek. 11. 19.) and give an heart of flesh; As if God had said, I know this work is above you, you are not able to do it: And certainly, if the godly themselves (because of the remainders of original corruption doe complain of the hardnesse of their hearts,) cannot mollifie or soften them, as they desire; Is it any wonder if the wicked man be not able to remove the stone from him.

Seventhly, A man cannot by the power of nature believe, no not so much as with an historical faith, till grace prepare the heart therein. Now faith is the first foun∣dation-stone, Heb. 11. He that cometh to God must believe he is, and so he must believe the truth about Christ; But we see by the Pharisees, who heard Christ preach, saw the wonderfull miracles he did, yet in stead of believing in him did deride and oppose him; so that all the acts of faith, whether dogmatical or sa∣ving, we are enabled unto only by the grace of God, Matth. 13. 11. To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but not to them: Thus Act. 18. 27. the Disciples are said to believe through grace, faith then is the gift of God, not the work of mans free-will.) And if he cannot do this, it is plain, he cannot move one foot of himself towards Heaven.

Lastly, Such is our impotency, That when grace is offered and tendered to us, the will of it self hath no power to consent to it, or make improvement of it. It can, and oft doth resist and refuse grace, but of it self it cannot imbrace it. It is true, Papists and Arminians plead hard for this power of the will, but this is to give more to mans will then to Gods grace, this is to make man to differ himself from others.

It might be thought, that the will indeed cannot chuse Christ, or receive him as a Lord, because there is no revelation or manifestation of a Christ; They are a people happily who sit in darkness, and have no light; and therefore though they may have an inward power to see, yet for want of light to actuate the me∣dium they cannot; so that the defect ariseth not from the power within, but the

manifestation of the object without: And this indeed is gratly to be consider∣ed, whether an Infidel or Pagan (for example) doth not believe, because there is no proposition of the object in the Ministry, otherwise if he enjoyed that, then he had power over his own to assent to it. Now even the Pelagians themselves, and their followers, yea even all that give not grace its full due, yet thus farre they do acknowledge there must be a doctrinal revelation by the Spirit of God, of the truths to be acknowledged; and when this light is set (as it were) upon the Can∣dlestick, then a man of his own self is able to see; but such is the corruption of man, that not only grace must bring in the light, but it must also give the eye to see; So that the work of Gods grace is both objective and subjective, objective in revealing the object, and subjective in preparing and fitting the subject; It being the Lord who doth give the seeing eye, and the hearing ear, Prov. 20. 12. Yea the Arminians go further, acknowledging that grace doth irresistibly work upon the understanding of a man, for it being a passive faculty it cannot with∣stand its illumination, but the will that retaineth its indifferency, when grace hath done all it will do: This therfore is granted, That without the grace of God enlightning and revealing, we are not able to believe the mysteries of Christ Kingdom; but though all this be granted, yet we say, That without further grace (even grace regenerating and sanctifying the will.) we are not able to cleave to that which is good: You must not then conceive, as if God only offered grace in the Ministry, and then the will of man by its own self doth love and delight in it; No, the heart of stone is first to be removed, we are to be new born, and made new creatures, before we can put forth any spiritual life at all; Not that a man is converted without his will, or that he doth not believe or repent, but the grace of God, only God changeth the will, he quickneth it, and enliveneth it so, that whereas it was like Sarah's dead womb before, now it was made fruitfull. The grace of God doth not compel the will, but change it; As if water which natu∣rally descendeth be turned into air, then it doth as naturally ascend; Indeed this is a physical change, but the moral change by grace in the will, is as notable to its operations. To consent therefore to grace is the work of grace; It is grace that maketh us to will and receive grace: Hence we see by experience of those many who enjoy the means of grace, how few do effectually and powerfully im∣prove them: Whence is this difference? Is it because one doth use his free-will better then another? Surely this would attribute farre more to free-will, then to Gods grace; for it's the will of man that maketh grace effectual, not grace that maketh the will of man pliable: By this Peter should be no more beholding to the grace of God then Judas; nor David then Saul, seeing (ex parte Dei) all had grace alike, onely one used this grace of God by his own power better then another, and thus we shall have something that we did not receive, and we shall make our selves to differ from other; How derogatory and injurious is this to the grace of God?