A Christian instruction, containing the law and the Gospel Also a summary of the…A Christian instruction, conteyning the law and the Gospell Also a summarie of the…

Of the comparison and agreement of the first estate, and of the fall of man, with that of the Angels, and their first estate: and in to what necessity man hath brought himself through his sin.

Of the comparison and agreement of the first estate, and of the fal of man, with that of the Angels, and their first estate: and in to what necessitie man hath brought himselfe throughe his sinne.

T. J Understand well by that which thou hast said, what the nature & will of man should have bin, if he had continued in the first estate in which God did create him. For as concerning his will, it should necessarily have bin ruled by the will of god, as that of the Angels which have remained ⟨p. 493⟩steadfast, is at this present: in such sort that he should have bin no more able to sin than they: and so should not at all have lost the liberty of his will, nor done any thing by constraint. And even so should he have been in a good necessity, which should have proceeded from the riches of the goodness and grace wherewith GOD had endued him and made him a part taker of it. But when he turned from this way, it came to pass with him as it did with the Angels, when they turned from GOD, and hath declared thereby, that he was in such sort created of GOD, good and just, and of a good and holy will, and yet was he notwithstanding not so created that he should or mought be unchangeable of his own nature and force, for the causes which have been already alleged, which in their behalf do as much pertain to man as to the Angels. Wherefore seeing that man through the enticing and counsel of the Devil, which was the first transgressor, is turned away from the will and obedience of GOD his Creator, and did make ⟨p. 504⟩an alliance with the first offender, who made himself enemy to God through his pride and ingratitude, he hath ben part taker of his iniquity, with whom he made an alliance. From whence it followeth, that his good and holy nature & will hath been corrupted and perverted, and made like to the same, of him to whom he hath joined himself, & that he hath taken him not only for his fellow, but for his guide, his leader, his master, & his Lord. Wherefore, even as before, abiding united and joined to God, and having God in him, and being governed by his holy spirit, he could do nothing but good, and that without enforcement or constraint: even so by the contrary being separated from god, & joined with the devil, being lead and governed by him, he can do nothing but evil, and doth it of his own will, without constraint of any but only of him self, only because his nature is such, by reason whereof he taketh as great pleasure in doing of evil, as he did in well doing, when he was in his first state of innocency.