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

What are the most excellent and choice parts of that Original Righteousness that we are deprived of.

But because the greatest part of the privative way of original corruption, is in losing that Image of God, and concreated holiness, and we have only spoken in the general of that, that we may be the more affected with it, and the loss thereof may pierce to our very hearts; Let us consider, what are the most excellent and choice parts of this original righteousness that we are deprived of, that so we may not only see our loss in the bulk, but be able to account of every particular in this, and that we have lost.

BUt because the greatest part of the privative way of original corruption, is in losing that Image of God, and concreated holinesse, and we have onely spokan in the general of that, that we may be the more affected with it, and the losse thereof may pierce to our very hearts; Let us consider, what are the most excellent and choice parts of this original righteousnesse that we are deprived of, that so we may not only see our losse in the bulk, but be able to account of every particular in this, and that we have lost.

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