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to their own luft, the temptations of the world, and the power of Saran a: whereby it comes to pass, that they harden themfelves, even under those means which God ufeth for the foftening of others b.

fpirit, and made his heart obftinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. 2 Kings viii. 12. And Hazael faid, Why weepeth my lord? And he anfwered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Ifrael; their strong holds wilt thou fet on fire, and their young men wilt thou flay with the fword, and wilt dafh their children, and rip up their women with child. V. 13. And Hazael said, but what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha anfwered, the Lord hath fhewed me that thou fhalt be king over Syria.

Pfal. lxxxi. 11. But my people would not hearken to my voice: and Hrael would none of me. v. 12. So gave them up unto their own hearts Jults, and they walked in their own counfels. 2 Theff. ii. 10. And with all deceiveablenefs of unrighteouf nefs in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth; that they might be faved. V. 11. And for this caufe God fhall fend them strong delufion, that they fhould believe a lie. v. 12. That they all might be damned, who believed not the truth, but had pleafure in unrighteousness.

b Exod. vii. 3. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my figas and my wonders in the land of Egypt. With Exod. viii. 15. But when Pharoah faw that there was refpite, he hardned his heart, and hearkned not unto them; as the Lord had faid, v. 32. And Pharaoh hardned his heart at this time

VII. As

alfo, neither would he let the people go. 2 Cor. ii. 15. For we are unto God a fweet favour of Chrift, in them that are faved, and in them that perish. v. 16. To the one we are the favour of death unto death; and to the other, the favour of life unto life: and who is fufficient for thefe things? a. viii. 14. And he fhall be for a fanctuary; but for a stone of ftumbling, and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Ifrael, for a gin, and for a fnare to the inhabitants of Jerufalem. 1 Pet. ii. 7. Unto you therefore which believe, he is precious: but unto them which be difobedient, the ftone which the builders difallowed, the fame is made the head of the corner, v. 8. And a ftone of ftumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which fumble at the word, being difobedient, whereunto alfo they were appointed. Ifa. vi. 9. And he faid, Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but underitand not; and fee ye indeed, but perceive not. v. 10. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and fhut their eyes : left theyfee with their eyes, and heat with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. With Acts xxviii. 26. Saying, Co unto this people, and fay, Hearing ye fhail hear, and fhall not understand: and feeing ye shall fee, and not perceive. v. 27. For the heart of this people is waxed grofs, and their ears are duil of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; left they fhould fee with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and underfland with

VII. As the providence of God doth, in general, reach to all creatures; fo, after a most special manner, it taketh care of his church, and difpofeth all things to the good thereof c.

CHAP. VI. Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof.

UR firft parents being feduced by the fubtilty and temptation of Satan, finned in eating the forbidden fruit a. This their fin, God was pleased, according to his wife and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory b.

II. By this fin they, fell from their original righteousness, and communion with God , and fo became dead in fin d,

their heart, and fhould be converted, and I should heal them.

VII. c 1 Tim. iv. 10. For there fore we both labour, and fuffer reproach, because we truft in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, efpecially of thofe that believe. Amos ix. 8. Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the finful kingdom, and I will deftroy it from off the face of the earth; faving that I will not utterly deftroy the house of Jacob, faith the Lord. v. 9. For lo, I will command, and I will Gift the house of ifrael among all nations, like as corn is fifted in a fieve, yet fhall not the leaft grain fall upon the earth. Rom. viii, 23. And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Ifa. xliii. 3. For I am the Lord thy God, the holy one of Ifrael, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Sheba for thee. v. 4. Since thou waft precious in my fight, thou halt been honourable, and I have loved them; therefore will give men for thee, and people for thy

and

life. v. 5. Fear not, for I am with thee, I will bring thy feed from the east, and gather thee from the weft. v. 14. Thus faith the Lord, your Redeemer, the holy One of Ifrael, for your fake I have fent to BabyIon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whofe cry is in the ships.

I. a Gen. iii. 13. And the Lord God faid unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman faid, The ferpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 2 Cor. xi. 3. But I fear leaft by any means, as the ferpent beguiled Eve through his fubtilty, fo your minds fhould be corrupted from the fimplicity that is in Christ.

b Rom. xi. 32. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

II. c Gen. iii. 6. And when the woman faw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be defired to make one wife; fhe took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave alfo unto her husband with her, and he

did

Chap. VI. and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of foul and body e.

III. They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this fin was imputed f, and the same death in fin and corrupted na

did eat. v. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked: and they fewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons. v. 8. And they heard the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden, in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the prefence of the Lord God, amongst the trees of the garden. Eccl. vii. 29. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have fought out many inventions. Rom. iii. 23. For all have finned and come fhort of the glory of God.

d Gen. ii. 17. Eut of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou fhalt furely die, Eph. 1. And you hath he quickned, who were dead in trefpaffes and fins.

e Tit. i. 15. Unto the pure all things are pure, but unto them that are defiled, and unbelieving, is nothing pure, but even their inind and confcience is defiled. Gen. vi. 15. Aud Gotl faw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart, was only evil continually. Jer. xvii. 9. The heart is deceitful above all things, and defperately wicked, who can know it? Rom. 10. As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one, v. 11. There is none that understandeth, there is none that feeketh after God. v. 12. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doth

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good, no not one. V. 13. Their throat is an open fepulchre; with their tongues they have afed deceit ; the poifon of afps is under their lips. v. 14. Whofe mouth is full of curfing and bitterness. v. 15. Their feet are fwift to shed blood. v. 1ới Destruction and mifery are in their ways. v. 17. And the way of peace have they not known. v. 18. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

III. f Gen. i. 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him: male and female created he them, v. 28. And God blessed them, and God faid unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and fubdue it: and have dominion over the fifh of the fea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And Gen. ii. 16. And the Lord God commanded the man, faying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayft freely eat. v. 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou fhalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eateft thereof, thou shalt furely die. And Aus xvii. 26. And hath made of one blood, all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. With Rom. v. 12. Wherefore, as by one man fin entered into the world, and death by fin; and fo death paffed upon all men, for that all have finned. v. 15. But not as the offence, fo alfo is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead;

much

ture conveyed to all their pofterity, defcending from them by ordinary generation g.

IV. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indifpofed, difabled, and made oppofite to all good h, and wholly inclined to all evil i, do proceed all actual tranfgreffions,

much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jefus Christ, hath abounded into many. v. 16. And not as it was by one that finned, fo is the gift for the kingdom was by one to condemnation; but the free gift is of many offences unto juftification. v. 17. For if by one man's offence, death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteoufnefs, thall reign in life by one Jefus Chrift t. v. 18. Therefore as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation: even fo by the righteoufnefs of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. v. 19. For as by one man's disobedience, many were made finner's: fo by the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous. And I Cor. xv. 21. For fince by man came death, by man came also the refurrection of the dead, v. 22. For as in Adam all die, even fo in Chrift shall all be made alive, V. 45. And so it is written, The firft man Adam was made a living foul, the last Adam was made a quickening fpicit. V. 49. And as we have born the image of the earthly, we allo fhall bear the image of the heavenly.

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g Pfal. li. 5. Behold I was fhapen in iniquity and in fin did my mother conceive me, Gen. v. 3. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a fon in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth. Joḥ xiv. 4. Who

can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. Job. xv. 14. What is man that be fhould be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous ?

IV. b Rom. v. 6. For when we were yet without ftrength, in due time Chrift died for the ungodly. Rom. viii. 7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not fubject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Rom. viii. 18. For I know, that in me, (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is prefent with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. Col, i. 21. Andy you that were fometimes alienated, and ene⚫ mies in your minds by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.

iGen. vi. 5. And God faw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Gen. vii. 21. And the Lord smelled a sweet favour, and the Lord faid in his heart, will not again curfe the ground any more for man's fake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth: neither will I again fmite any more, every thing living as I have done, Rom. ii ro As it is written, There is none righteous, no not one: it. There is none that understandeth, there is none that feeketh after Gød. v. 12, They are all gone out of the way, they are altogether become unprofitable, there is none that doth good, no not one.

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k James

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V. This corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in thofe that are regenerated : and although it be through Christ pardoned and mortified, yet both itself, and all the motions thereof, are truly and properly fin m.

VI. Every fin, both original and actual, being a tranfgreffion of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto n, doth, in its own nature, bring guilt upon the finner o, whereby

k James i. 14. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own luft, and enticed. v.5. Then when luft hath conceived, it bringeth forth fin: and fin when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Eph. ii. 2. Wherein in time paft ye walked according to the courfe of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the fpirit that now worketh in the children of difobedience. v. 3. Among whom alfo we all had our converfation in times paft, in the luft of our flesh, fulfilling the defires of the flesh, and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Mat. xv. 19. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, aZulteries, fornications, thefts, falfe witnefs, blafphemies.

V. 1 John i. 8. If we fay that we have no fin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, v. ro. If we fay that we have not finned, we make Jim a liar, and his word is not in us. Rom, vii14. For we know that the law is fpiritual: but 1-am carnal, fold under fin, v. 17, Now, then, it is no more I that do it, but fin that dwelleth in me, v, 12. For I know that in me,(that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is prefent with are, but how to perform that which is good, I find not, v. 23. But I fee another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into

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captivity to the law of fin, which is in my members. James iii, 2. For in many things we offend all, If any man offend not in word,the fame is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body, Prov. xx. 9. Who can fay, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my fin? Eccl. vii, 20. For there is not a juft man upon the earth that doth good and finneth not,

m Rom. vii. 5. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of fin which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. v. 7. What shall we fay then? Is the law fin? God forbid, Nay, I had not known fin but by the law: for I had not known luft, except the law had faid, Thou shalt not covet. v. 8. But fin taking occafion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupifcence. ner of concupifcence. For without the law fin was dead. v. 25. I thank God, through Jefus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myselfferve the law of God; but with the flesh the law offin, Gal. v. 17. For the flesh lufteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the fefb: and these are con. tray the one to the other, fo that ye cannot do the things that ye would. ·

VI. John iii, 4. Whofever commiteth fin, tranfgreffeth alfo the law, for fin is the tranfgreffion of the law.

• Rom. ii. 15. Which Thew the work

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