Abyssus mali, or, The corruption of man's nature briefly handled in some of its principal parts grounded upon Psal. 14: 1, 2, 3 : together with Man's salvation by faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, on Acts 16:31 / by W.G.

CHAP. XII.

Ver. 3. THere is none that doth good, no not one.

According to the original, there is not doing good, even not one. When we spoke to this Proposition, (for the words are a pro∣position in themselves) from the first verse, I di∣stinguished of good, 1st, Good is either Moral, or Spiritual: 2dly, Materially or formally good, I only desire you to look back, if you please, and pass on more particularly, to enquire into this phrase of doing good, towards the better explica∣tion of the thing. There is implied,

1. An aiming at the good we do; for 'tis impossible a man should do good, i. e. do good well, that never minds nor means what he doth. Thus David said, Psal. 119.121, He had done judgment and justice. They are great words, ver. 117, will explain it, I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. 2 Chron. 24.16, They bu∣ried Jehoiada amongst the Kings, because he had done good in Israel, both towards God, and towards his house. Which I should explain thus: towards the house of God, for Gods sake. On the con∣trary, Chap. 25.2, Amaziah did that which is right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a per∣fect heart, i. e. with aim to Gods glory.

2. There is implied, propensio ad actum, a readi∣ness in doing good; which is not so much a fa∣cility

or dexterity (which depends upon grea∣ter strength and skill) as a proneness thereunto. Man can never be said to do that morally, which he hath no heart to. In this sense David says again, Psal. 119.166, I have done thy command∣ments. This is a great word (as I said before), but I count the next verse explains it, v. 167, My soul keepeth thy Testimonies, and I love them exceedingly. He had kept them out of love, and therefore had done them.

3. There is implied data opera, with set pur∣pose and endeavour, 1 Joh. 2. ult. If ye know that he is righteous: ye know that every one that doth righteousness is born of him.

4. There is implied, actus continuus, a continued act, Psal. 119.44, So shall I keep thy Law con∣tinually, for ever and ever: which though it ad∣mits of intermission or interruption; yet it hath no absolute cessation. As they are said to pray always, that use this trade upon all occasions, Eph. 6.18, Wherefore we labour, that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him, 2 Cor. 5.9, i. e. that we may do those things that please him.

5. There is implied complacentia in agendo, pleasure and delight in so doing, that is in some measure and degree, Rom. 7.22, I delight in the Law of God, in the inward man. Paul was a doer, if any man; and yet he could not do what he would, ver. 19. But he delighted in the Law of God: and therefore concludes, ver. ult. himself to be Gods faithful servant: So then with my mind, I my self serve the Law of God, i. e. with the whole renewed part, opposed unto flesh, i e.

the whole corrupt part: Not as some would have it run, in favour of their wretchedness, that they may expose their bodies to Idolatry or uncleanness, and yet keep their minds pure, Psal. 119.14, I have rejoyced in the way of thy Testimonies, as much as in all riches. Though e∣very Christian be not of David's, pitch, yet he hath something of David's spirit.

2. The demonstration of the proposition, That no natural man doth thus do good,

1. Because they have no good root; for the first Adam can be no good root to them; for nothing but sin and death came by him. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, which is the only good root, John 15.4, is no root unto them; for they have nothing which joyns or engrafts them to him, therefore they can do no good.

2. Because they have no root in them; no good in them by nature. Why should I insist upon that which I have been about all this while? I only give you in that place, Rom. 3.18, which Paul makes the long and the short of his dis∣course from the beginning of the Chapter, There is no fear of God before their eyes.

2. They have none by transfusion or spiritual conveyance. To descend a little to particulars.

1. They have no Faith, therefore no good. I take Faith here as a root of Sanctification: though the first and primary Office of it be to carry the soul to Christ; yet the secondary is to act in a way of good works and well doing, Heb. 11.33, By faith they wrought righteousness. Ver. 8, By faith Abraham left his country. Verse 27, By faith Moses left the court. And though I grant eve∣ry other grace hath its part in well doing,

yet deny, that there is any of them where Faith is not. But natural men have not Faith. Their description is, they are unbelievers both in re∣lation to Christ and the Word too, 1 Pet. 2.8.

2. They have no root of love. All well-doing must proceed from love: love is made the cause of service or obedience, Luk. 16.13, and there∣fore made the great Commandment, Mat. 22.37, 38, to let us know no man can keep any Commandment, that keeps it not out of love: but no natural man hath this. For every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God, 1 John 4.7.

3. They have no obediential spirit: for obe∣dience is properly when we accomodate our will to the will of another, Rom. 6.16, His servants ye are, whom ye obey. There are therefore many good servants in common phrase, which indeed are very bad servants: To speak properly, i. e. though they can do well if they list, yet they will do nothing but what they please. A good work must be done, ex intuitu voluntatis divinae, with respect to the divine Will, according to that, 1 Pet. 2.19, If a man for conscience toward God suffer evil, or do well, this is obedience; and therefore Gods children are called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, children of obedience, 1 Pet. 1.14, because they have hearts flexible to Gods perswasions. But no natural man hath any such spirit, for they are all at once called, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, children of dis∣obedience, Eph. 2.2. Men that cannot be per∣swaded, according to the sense of the word, The spirit that now rules in the children of dis∣obediencc: amongst whom we all had our conver∣sation in times past.

3. Because they have their hearts full of many bitter roots, which are all in general opposite to well-doing; and every one in particular to some good work or other; and those altogether unmortified too. Some are of a general evil in∣fluence, as atheism. infidility, vanity of mind, darkness of understanding, hardness and sensless∣ness of heart, &c. where these are in prevalency, there can be no good. You may as well expect corn where all is over-grown with briars and thorns. So in particular, they have pride, con∣trary to humility; passion, to meekness; sensu∣ality, to purity; earthly-mindedness, to heavenly-mindedness; these natural men are full of, and that in dominion, Rom. 1.29.

4. Because they have all of them a close ad∣herence to some lust or other which spoils all: as Solomon says, One sinner destroys much good, Eccl. 9.18. So some one sin destroys not only much good, but all good; and speaks a man void of all godliness, because it takes up all the heart. Thus pride eats up the heart of one, takes up all his thoughts; covetousness of another, makes him good for nothing, nor any body but himself, much less for God, So uncleanness spoyls some Body and Soul, that they have no heart, no room for God, nor any thing that is good, Hos. 4.11, When ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness, Rom. 6.20. There is not a dram of grace, where men are set upon any of these, or such like.

5. To have done. They have not so much as the bud of a good thought, nor the blossom of a good desire: How then can they bring forth any

fruit of well-doing? All well-doing must come from some good beginnings: Doing well must proceed from thinking well. But they have not so much as this, Gen. 6.5, Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Not, but that sometimes they may have thoughts of good, but no good thoughts; because they are to no good end, or purpose: And what is not to good purpose, is bad, not only in Divinity, but in Morals. And for desires, see Prov. 17.16, Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom seeing he hath no heart to it? Deut. 5.29, O that there were such a heart in them!

Object. 1. But have they not a desire of happi∣ness?

Answ. Yea, but this is natural. The poorest, and most wicked creature in the world would be happy, and many cheat and undo themselves by mistaking this very thing, for true desire: where∣as what happiness consists in, they neither know, or the way to it, or desire it.

Object. 2. But cannot they pray?

Answ. I have answered this in the former dis∣course on this subject. This is materially good, but nothing to the purpose in hand.

Object. 3. Why may we not say (as some have said), That man at first was made in an indifferency to good and evil?

Answ. This is no Scripture-divinity, that man was made in such an indifferency, that he was e∣qually inclinable to good and evil. For, 1. Then

what means the Image of God, in which man was created? Gen. 1.27, God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him. And the Apostle explains this to be in knowledg, in righteousness, and true holiness, Col. 3.10. Eph. 4.24. And was he for all this equally in∣clinable to good and evil? He was capable in∣deed of evil, because of the mutability of his na∣ture. 2. This opinion makes the Image of God to be natural-understanding, and free-will; and then the Devils retain the Image of God. 3. If it consist in free-will in their sense, what is it, but to make God indifferent both to good and evil! Whereas he is necessarily determined to good.

Object. 4. Though man have lost something by the fall, yet not all: he is as the man going from Jerusalem to Jericho, Luk. 10.30, but semi mor∣tuus, half dead; not so disabled, but some good remains in him: therefore some good he may do.

Answ. 1. Why is sin then called a man, an old man? Rom. 6.6. Eph. 4.22. A body of sin, ibid. a body of death? Rom. 7.24. What do these speak, but the integrity of it? It is weakned in∣deed, and brought under in Gods people, but not in natural men.

2. What is the meaning of that phraseology then, Rom. 6.6, That henceforth we should not serve sin? Doth it not plainly imply, that be∣fore they did nothing but serve sin? and he that serves sin, what is he but a servant of sin, ac∣cording to Christs-logick, Luk. 16.13, No man can serve two masters? and Rom. 6.20. When ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteous∣ness,

q. d. ye did nothing at all that was good. And so the Apostle backs his Exhortation to ho∣liness: When ye were the servants of sin, ye did no good at all: Therefore now, ye have all the reason in the world to betake your selves to it, with all diligence.

Quest. 3. But why not one? No, not One.

Answ. Because it one, he must have an exemp∣tion from the common state of nature, and the universal curse of God upon Adams Children. And what can any man shew for that? Or,

2. He must have an exemption by the grace of God And then he must be more than a meer Son of Adam, a Child of God: which can belong to no natural man, as such.

Then, 1. What riches of goodness, long-suffer∣ing, and pateince, doth God shew towards man! If a man had a servant that could do him no good, but lie upon his hands, as an unprofitable burden, would he endure him from years end to years end? And yet all is despised, little thought on, little valued.

2. Why do men cheat themselves with an ima∣ginary righteousness, at the present, or presump∣tion for the future? Though men be never so bad, debauch and debase themselves every day, yet they will establish their own righteousness: Some good they have, and some they do; and this good they will set against their bad, and make account they may shift well enough for heaven; At least they have strong prsumptions, they can do good for the future, and will to. They will repent, and turn, and lead a new life,

and make God amends before they die. They presume at least, they can do something which shall commend them to his grace, and ob∣lige him to do for them. And on these pre∣sumptions, they are as well as can be. The cur∣rent of time will sweep away all these refuge; of lyes, and a few dayes more will undeceive you.

3. Why do men deceive themselves, that they shall be saved by Jesus Christ? The plain English of this conceit is, That do well, do ill, do good, or do none, Christ will save them, especially if they have but so much time, as to call upon God for mercy: and 't may be, they will quote you the Text, Rom. 10.13, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. It is not long since I told you, that mistaken, or mis∣applied-scriptures, are one of those sandy Founda∣tions men rest upon. The true sense of the Text before us, is, That he is rich unto all that call up∣on him, be he Jew, or be he Gentile, that's no matter, as appears, vers. 12. But then, How shall they call on him, in whom they have not be∣lieved? Vers. 14. The sum is, he must be one that calls upon the Lord in truth, and hath accept∣ed of the Lord Jesus: which is another thing, than these men count of; not a presumptuous con∣fidence, which faith they have alwayes ready at hand. Again, do not deceive your selves, to think that a believer is an evil-doer, i. e. an absolute evil-doer. For though he may do what is evil, and often doth; yet, it is not with absolute in∣tention, inclination, design and purpose; it is not a continued act, or trade of life, and that where∣in

he takes complacency, and blesses himself: much less is it a course, and common way of gros∣ser evils; wherein men will willingly mistake, (say what we can) and believe, that a man may be a Christian, and a common Swearer, or Drunk∣ard, &c. and yet bless himself in his wickedness too.

Quest. But how should a natural man be con∣vinced of this, that these are meer cheats, and that he can do no good?

Answ. 1. Let him mind the carriage of his heart, in his duties, wherein he counts his Religion lies; and see, whether in them he really stand affected towards God, and upon what account.

2. His graces, or his gracious actings (as he counts them) his faith, and repentance, &c. (For it's possible a natural man may go no day, with∣out some shadow of repentance, &c. Let him mind, I say, what Fountain they come from, and whither they tend. Observe whether they be not some natural issues, and meer self, from first to last; his repentance, some kind of natu∣ral revenge for wronging himself.

3. Whether Christ be any more to him, than he is to every body; good in the general notion of a Saviour, without any special relation to him, or desire of it.

4. If so, then you see how this Doctrine makes way for Christ; and how subservient the Law is unto the Gospel: Why the law was added, as the Apostle sayes, Gal. 3.19, and why it is preached. It unbottoms a man quite, that he may build upon the Foundation. If a man can do no good, it drives to Christ, as an universal Saviour, to give us salvation, and work that in us which accompanies salvation.

5. What remains then, for a poor, humbled, convinced sinner, but to take to the remedy of the Gospel, which exhibits one that wrought righteousness for us, and that works righteous∣ness in us? Let us not go on presuming (as we use to do) of our own power and strength, and what we could do, nor slip into that other by-way of despair; but avoiding these two rocks, di∣rectly steer our thoughts and course towards the Lord Jesus. It remains only to give answer to a Query or two, and I will shut up all.

Quest. 1. Why is this Doctrine so ingeminated, and repeated? We have it, vers. 1. vers. 3. Psal. 53. and yet again Rom. 3. from 9. to 20.

Answ. 1. Because man is a very proud creature, and this Doctrine wholly humbling: And there∣fore as it hardly enters, so it is inculcated again, and again.

2. Because we are hardly brought to believe it, when all is done; all Scripture seems to be too little sometime.

3. The Holy Ghost foresaw, that this Doctrine would be mightily opposed with great subtilty, and many declamations. The Devil is against it; the Pope against it; men of our own Profession against it; and (which is worst of all) our selves against it, as I said before.

4. Because it is highly advantageous well to learn it. For, 1. It brings a natural man in proxi∣mam potentiam, into an immediate disposition for the revelation of grace. 2. Because the evidence of this is of great advantage in many puzling temptations about effectual calling. 3. Because it

doth more and more prepare the way of the Lord, and dispose the soul for his better reception.

Quest. 2. But why, such a vehement exclusive at the last? No, not one.

Answ. 1. Because man is very prone to grant it, as to others, yet deny it, or not own it, as to himself: as may be gathered from Rom. 2.1. Wherefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest, &c. Every man in parti∣cular is apt to judg so well of himself, that if there be but one in the world exempt, it is he.

2. Because unbelief is highly critical. It would be turning it off as an indefinite proposition, not owning it as an universal negative. It is some∣times so critical, there is no silencing it, but by neglect and contempt.

Though I have now done speaking to this sub∣ject; yet should it be the subject of our every∣dayes Observation and Meditation.