SECT. IV.
Why Original Sinne is called Man.
THerefore let us see the reason, why it's called Man, and then the Old man; original sinne may be called a Man,
First, Because that so farre as we are men, quanti sumus, we are all over pollu∣ted; So that the old man is the whole man polluted in this sinne before he be rege∣nerated: Insomuch that this phrase may sadly and deeply humble us, that the Scripture gives the name of man to sinne, as if that were all we are: Hence (as you have heard) to walk as a man, to speak as a man, is to do a thing sinfully, as farre as thy humanity reacheth, so farre thy pollution reacheth; So that the very calling of thee a man may greatly debase thee; for though thou art a rich man, a great man, yet this Old man doth infect thee.
Secondly, In that original sinne is called a Man, there is implied the Subject of it to be every man, as well as every part of man, Totus homo, and totum homi∣nis, yea ad omnis homo, not one exempted that is by natural propagation: So that every little Infant hath this Man in it; Every one that needeth a Christ, that wanteth a Saviour, hath this Old man abiding in him.
Thirdly, It's called Man, Because of the heap or collection of all sinne that is in it; For as a man is not one part of the body, the finger, the eye, or the hand, but the whole Compages and Fabrick of all the parts united together. Thus original sinne is not one particular sinne, but the mass or spawn of all; It's not a stream, but the ocean, and therefore this sheweth the horridness also of it, that it is the womb wherein all sinne is conceived; Let a man be totally cleansed from this, as the glorified Saints in Heaven are, and then no actual sin can come from him.
Lastly, It's called a Man, Because of the intimate and tenacious adhesion of it to the whole man, there being no way to sever our Natures and that, while we abide in these mortal bodies: So that it supposeth sinne to be in us, as fire in the iron when it is red hot (though there is some dissimilitude also) that we cannot see