1. Originsil sin hatli depravTd the intel- lectual part. As in the creation " darkness was upon the face of the deep," Gen. i. 2., so the understanding, — darkness is upon the face of this deep. As there is salt in every drop of sea, bitterness in every branch of wormwood, so there is sin in ever}'* fa- culty ; the mind is darkened, we know little of God. Ever since Adam did eat of the tree of knowledge, and his eyes were open- ed, we lost our eye-sight. Besides igno- rance in the mind, there is error and mis- take; we do not judge rightly of things; we put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bit- ter, Isa. v. 20. Besides this, there is much pride, superciliousness, and prejudice, many fleshly reasonings, Jer. iv. II., " How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?"
2. Original sin hath defiled the heart ; the heart is mortiftrum, deadly wicked, Jer. xvii. 9., it is a lesser hell. In the heart are legions of lusts, obdurateness, infidelity, hypocrisy, sinful estuations ; it boils as the sea with ])assion and revenge. " Madness is in their heart while they live," Eccl. ix. 3. The heart is, officina diaboli, the devil's shop or workhouse, where all mischief is framed.
3. The AVill. Contumacy is the seat of rebellion. The sinner crosseth God's will to fulfil his own, Jer. xliv. 18., " We \vill burn incense to the queen of heaven." There is a rooted enmity in the will against holi- ness ; it is like an iron sinew, it refusetli to betul to C»od. Where is then the freedom of the will, when it is so fuH not only of in- disposition, but opposition to what is s])irit • ual?
4. The affections. These, as the stringy of a viol, are out of tune. These are the lesser wheels, which are strongly carried by the will, the master-wheel. Our affec- tions are misplaced, set on wrong objects. Our love is set on sin, our joy on the crea- ture. Our affections are naturally as a sick man's appetite, he desires things which are noxious and hurtful for him; he calls
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for wine in :i fever: so we have impure seems good, yet, when temptation blows,
lustings, instead oflioly longings
how may original sin discover itself, niak-
2d The adherency of original sin. It ^ ing thee foam with lust and passion, mo
cleaves to us as blackness to the skin of the Ethiopian, we cannot get rid of it. Paul shook off the viper on his hand, but we cannot shake off this inbred corruption. It may be compared to a wild fig-tree grow- ing on a wall, though the roots of it are pulled up, yet there are some strings of it in the joints of the stone-work which will not be eradicated but will sprout forth till the wall be pulled in pieces. Original con- cupiscence comes not as a lodger, for a night, but as an indweller, Rom. vii. 17., « Sin which dwelleth in me."— It is a 7nalus genius,— nn evil Spirit, that haunts us where- soever we go, Gen. xiii. 7., " The Canaanite dwelt in the land."
3^. Original sin retards and hinders us in the exercises of God's worship. Whence is all that dulness and deadness in religion ? It is the fruit of original sin: it is this rocks ixs asleep in duty, Rom. vii. 19., " The good that I would, I do not." Sin is compared to a weight, Heb. xii. 1. A man that hath weights tied to his legs can- not run fast. It is like that fish Pliny speaks of, a sea-lamprey, that cleaves to the keel of the ship, and hinders its progress when it is under sail.
Ath. Original sin, though it lies latent in the soul, and be as a spring which runs un- der ground, yet oft it breaks forth unex- pectedly. Christian, thou canst not believe that evil which is in thy heart, and which will break forth suddenly, if God leave thee, 2 Kings viii. 13, 15., " Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?" llazael could not believe he had such a root of bitterness in his heart that he should rip up the women with child : is thy ser- vant a dog? Yes, and worse than a dog, when that original corruption within was stirred up ! If one had come to Peter, and eaid, " Peter, within a few hours thou wilt deny Christ," — he would have said, »' Is thy servant a dog?" But alas ! Peter did not know his own heart, nor how far that corruption within would i)rcvail upon him. The sea may be calm and look clear ; but when the wind blows, how doth it
would have thought to have found adultery in David, and drunkenness in Noah, and cursing in Job? If God leave a man to himself, how suddenly and scandalously may original sin break forth in the holiest men alive !