And the first particular to be insisted on, is that great dignity God put on man, making him with a Free will to do what is holy. Free-will is a great perfection, though the mutability in it, as in Adam was a negative Imperfection, this was admirable in Adam, that he had power, if he willed to do any holy action whatsoever: There was not in him any clog, any impediment to stop the exercise of this Free will; but as he had dominion over all creatures, so also over hi• whole soul; and indeed if God had not created him with this dominion over his actions, his obedience had not been so eminent, nor his disobedience so culpable▪ But this flower is withered, this Crown is fallen to the ground; Man hath now no free will, no power to do any thing that is holy; He hath power to eat and drink, he hath power to do civil & moral actions, he hath power to do actions externally religious, to come to the Congregation, to hear; but for those things that are internally holy, to love God, to believe on him, to repent of sin; This the Scripture doth in many places deny to him, making him to be dead in sin, and until born again by the Spirit, unable to do any holy duty. This Raymundus (Theol. Natur. de lapsu hominis) doth well urge, That the soul as to spiritual actions, and in reference to God, is wholly dead; so that as a dead man is not able to produce any vital actions, so neither can any natural man spiritual actions; and because man being dead is not sensible of this loss, therefore doth the same man compare him to a mad man, that knoweth not how it is with him; yea he much pursueth that similitude of wine degenerated into vinegar, saying, That as vinegar retaineth ⟨p. 120⟩nothing of the sweetness or goodness it had when it was wine: Thus neither doth man retain any thing of that light in his mind, or love in his heart, which once he had: Man (saith he) is not become of good wine bad, which though bad, retaineth some taste, and hath a little relish of the nature of wine; but he is as when Wine is degenerated into vinegar, which hath all clean contrary to what is had when once wine. This comparison he the rather urgeth, Because (saith he) man doth not, or cannot discern in himself the difference between his created condition, and his fallen, therefore he must see how it is with him in similitude by other things.
And the first particular to be insisted on, is that great dignity God put on man, making him with a Free will to do what is holy. Free-will is a great perfection, though the mutability in it, as in Adam was a negative Imperfection, this was admirable in Adam, that he had power, if he willed to doe any holy action whatsoever: There was not in him any clog, any impediment to stop the exercise of this Free will; but as he had dominion over all creatures, so also over hi• whole soul; and indeed if God had not created him with this dominion over his actions, his obedience had not been so eminent, nor his disobedience so culpable▪ But this flower is withered, this Crown is fallen to the ground; Man hath now no free will, no power to do any thing that is holy; He hath power to eat and drink, he hath power to do civil & moral actions, he hath power to do actions externally religious, to come to the Congregation, to hear; but for those things that are internally holy, to love God, to believe on him, to repent of sin; This the Scripture doth in many places deny to him, making him to be dead in sinne, and untill born again by the Spirit, unable to do any holy duty. This Raymundus (Theol. Natur. de lapsu hominis) doth well urge, That the soul as to spiritual actions, and in reference to God, is wholly dead; so that as a dead man is not able to produce any vital actions, so neither can any natural man spiritual actions; and because man being dead is not sensible of this losse, therefore doth the same man compare him to a mad man, that knoweth not how it is with him; yea he much pursueth that similitude of wine degenerated into vinegar, saying, That as vinegar retaineth ⟨p. 120⟩nothing of the sweetnesse or goodnesse it had when it was wine: Thus neither doth man retain any thing of that light in his mind, or love in his heart, which once he had: Man (saith he) is not become of good wine bad, which though bad, retaineth some taste, and hath a little relish of the nature of wine; but he is as when Wine is degenerated into vinegar, which hath all clean contrary to what is had when once wine. This comparison he the rather urgeth, Because (saith he) man doth not, or cannot discern in himself the difference between his created condition, and his fallen, therefore he must see how it is with him in similitude by other things.
