A treatise of original sin ... proving that it is

First, Every one may easily see this is nothing to the Prophets conception or birth in sin, for what is said here in the Text, is attributed to Jeremiah before any of these; so that all that could be proved from hence would be, that Jeremiah had no original sin, either before he was conceived or born, and who saith a man hath original inherent sin before he hath a being? But

First, Every one may easily see this is nothing to the Prophets conception or birth in sinne, for what is said here in the Text, is attributed to Jeremiah before any of these; so that all that could be prooved from hence would be, that Jeremiah had no original sinne, either before he was conceived or born, and who saith a man hath original inherent sinne before he hath a being? But

Secondly, There is a two-fold sanctification, the one by setting a part to an office, and the other by making internally holy through renovation: now the Context is clear, that this Verse speaketh of the former sanctification, (viz.) That God had from his very beginning, while in the womb, purposed and decreed, that he should in time be a Prophet to preach to the people of Israel, for that is expressly added, to show what kind of sanctification he meaneth, I ordained thee to be a Prophet to the Nations; we have two expressions like this, one to the Prophet Isa. 49. 1, 5. which though in an eminent manner is to be applied to Christ, yet was in some sense also true of the Prophet, The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name: And again, The Lord formed me from the womb to be his servant: This is spoken of the office he was set apart unto; The other instance is, Gal. 1. 15. Paul saith of himself, That God had separated him from his mothers womb, that ⟨p. 395⟩was not surely from original sin, for he speaketh immediately before of the sinfulness he had once been guilty of; but his meaning is, he was separated from the womb in Gods Decree to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ, though for a long while he was a persecutor of his Church; Thus you see it is the former sanctification the Apostle speaketh of, and not the latter, and if we do suppose that Jeremiah even in his mothers womb was then also sanctified in the later way (for none can deny, but that even then God might renew his nature by grace) yet that will not exclude him from sin but necessarily suppose it, for he that needed to be made holy in the womb, it is plain he was sinful in the womb; Ludovicus de Tena. who handleth this Question about Jeremiah (lib. 2. Isa. scrip. diffic. 12a) concludeth, That by this expression is meant the cleansing of Jeremiah from original sin in the womb of his mother, and in debating arguments pro & con, doth refuse that interpretation of the deputation of the Prophet to his ministerial office, because otherwise here would be no more peculiar thing promised to Jeremiah: And making an Objection to himself from Austin, Renasci per gratiam supponit nasci per naturam, whereas Jeremiah is thus sanctified before he was born, therefore we cannot understand it of regeneration;