And as for the second particular, we will readily grant, That the actual impiety of all men generally was exceedingly heightened, so that this gave the occasion to mention that internal corruption which is upon all mankind, but yet we must necessarily say, that besides those actual impieties, original sin is also aimed at as being the cause of them; for the scope of Moses is to give an universal cause of that universal judgement; seeing therefore the deluge drowned Infants as well as grown persons, and they could not be guilty of actual impieties, it remaineth that the native pollution they were born in, was the cause of their destruction; and indeed original sin did greatly aggravate those actual wickednesses, for hereby was demonstrated the incurableness of their natures; No patience, no mercy would do them any good; for they are not only evil, but their hearts the fountain of all was evil likewise, and then how could grapes ever grow from such thorns? Neither may we limit it, (as some would) to particular great ⟨p. 350⟩sinners, who then lived, because Chap. 8. 21. we have the same sentence in effect repeated, when yet the wicked men of the world were destroyed, when those eight persons only were alive and preserved, God giveth this character of mans nature. Besides, it is spoken indefinitely, the imagination of mans heart, not of those men, or of such particular men.
And as for the second particular, we will readily grant, That the actual impiety of all men generally was exceedingly heightned, so that this gave the occasion to mention that internal corruption which is upon all mankind, but yet we must necessarily say, that besides those actual impieties, original sinne is also aimed at as being the cause of them; for the scope of Moses is to give an universal cause of that universal judgement; seeing therefore the deluge drowned Infants as well as grown persons, and they could not be guilty of actual impieties, it remaineth that the native pollution they were born in, was the cause of their destruction; and indeed original sinne did greatly aggravate those actual wickednesses, for hereby was demonstrated the incurableness of their natures; No patience, no mercy would do them any good; for they are not only evil, but their hearts the fountain of all was evil likewise, and then how could grapes ever grow from such thorns? Neither may we limit it, (as some would) to particular great ⟨p. 350⟩sinners, who then lived, because Chap. 8. 21. we have the same sentence in effect repeated, when yet the wicked men of the world were destroyed, when those eight persons onely were alive and preserved, God giveth this character of mans nature. Besides, it is spoken indefinitely, the imagination of mans heart, not of those men, or of such particular men.
