Precious faith considered in its nature, working, and growth

Leaving the Pagans, let us search among the Jews, a People to whom the Divine Oracles were committed, there the Believers had a true sense of Original Sin; David senses it, in primo ardour, in the first warmth of Natural Conception, Psal. 51.5. But such among them as wanted Faith, wanted a sense thereof. Indeed they had the Law, but the veil being on their hearts, they understood it only as prohibiting manum, non animum, the outward act, not the Will; and, Non concupisces, Thou shalt not covet; was rather taken tor a Moral sentence, than a Divine precept among them. ⟨p. 255⟩This was the opinion of the Jewish Masters about our Saviours time, when Rabbinical Learning was at the height in the Schools of Hillel and Shammai; St. Paul a man brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, whom the Jews accounted the honour of the Law, while he was in his Pharisaism knew not concupiscence to be Sin, Rom. 7.7. And they that understood the Law no better, could understand but little of Original Sin. Their Circumcision was a memento of it, and so they understood it, casting the Praeputium thereby cut off into the dust, as a morsel to feed the old Serpent withal. But alas, they were uncircumcised in heart, and upon that account reckoned up among Egyptians. Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites, uncircumcised in flesh, Jer. 9.29. The Jewish Rabbins speak of the [Greek or Hebrew] the evil figment in mans heart, as an implacable enemy. One man (say they) walks with another but one hour, and they become friends, but this evil figment is born with man, and grows up with him all his days, and yet if it find an opportunity, will after 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 years, precipitate and cast him down headlong. But they make it a very small matter at first. At first (say they) it is weak as a woman, afterwards strong as a man; at first it is as a small ahread, afterwards as the cable of a Ship; at first it is as a Viator, at last as a Lord. And withal they made it subject to the power of mans free will. Concupiscence (say they) would fain ruin thee, but thou mayest, if thou wilt, rule over it, Gen. 4. And whosoever obeys the good figment, ⟨p. 256⟩that is, his own reason, shall be delivered from the evil one. They cried up Reason and Will, and understood little of Original Sin; Hence Regeneration, the necessity whereof may be naturally deduced from a right knowledge of that Sin, was so unintelligible to them.