Human Nature in Its Fourfold State: Of Primitive Integrity, Entire ... - Thomas Boston - Google 图书

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CONTENTS.

Į. THE State of INNOCENCE, or PRIMITIVE INTEGRITY,

discoursed from Eccles. vii. 29.

Or man's original righteousness,

His understanding a lamp of light,

His will straight with the will of God,

His affections orderly and pure,

The qualities of his righteousness,

Of man's original happiness,

Man a glorious creature,

The favourite of heaven,

The covenant of works,

Lord of the world,

The forbidden tree, a stay to keep him from falling,ib.

His perfect tranquility,

Life of pure delight,

Instructions from this state,

PRAVATION.

Three sorts of persons reproved,

A lamentation over the ruins,

11. THE State of NATURE, or State of ENTIRE DE

Of the corruption of the understanding,

Weakness with respect to spiritual things,

Three evidences of it,

Gross darkness in spiritual things,

THAT man's nature is corrupted, proven,

From God's word,

From men's experience and observation,

Fallen Adam's image natural to men, in eleven partic-

HEAD I. The SINFULNESS of Man's Natural State, dis-

coursed from Gen. vi. 5.

Four evidences of it,

A bias in it to evil,

Six evidences of that bias,

Aversion to spiritual truths,

Three evidences thereof,

Proneness to lies and falsehood,

Man naturally high-minded,

Of the corruption of the will,

Utter inability for what is truly good,

Two evidences of it,

Averseness to good,

Four evidences of it,

Proneness to evil,

Five evidences of it,

Enmity against God,

Against the being and nature of God,

Five queries, for conviction, on this head,

Against the Son of God,

In his prophetical office,

Two evidences of it,

In his priestly office-Three evidences of it,

In his kingly office-Three evidences of it,

A peculiar malignity against the priestly office, cor-

rupt nature lying cross to the gospel contrivance of

Four proofs of it,

❤

Of the corruption of the affections,

of the conscience,

Bent to the way of the law, as a covenant of works, 92

Four proofs of it,

Against the Spirit of God,

Against the law, as a rule of life,

Two evidences of it,

Contumacy against the Lord,

Perverseness in reference to the chief end,

ib.

ib.

The body partaker of this corruption,

How man's nature was corrupted,

The doctrine of the corruption of nature applied,

The natural man can do nothing but sin,

God takes special notice of the sin of our nature,

Evidences of men's overlooking the sin of their nature, 113

Wherein that sin is to be specially noticed,

Why is it to be specially noticed,

How to get a view of the corruption of nature,

HEAD II. THE MISERY of Man's Natural State,

discoursed from Eph. ii. 3.

MAN's natural state, a state of wrath,

What this state of wrath is,

Wrath in the heart of God against the natural man,

Wrath in the word of God against him,

Wrath in the hand of God against him,

On his body and soul,

On his enjoyments,

He is under the power of Satan,

Hath no security for a moment's safety,

Wrath against him at death, and at the general judg-

The qualities of that wrath,

The doctrine of the state of wrath confirmed and vin-

Several instructions from it,

Alarm to the unregenerate,

They are under the covenant of works,

Their misery in that respect,

They are without God,

Their misery in that respect,

Instances of the wrath of God,

A view of the nature of God, whose wrath it is,

How to flee from wrath,

A few words to the saints, and a few to all,

The perfection of law-obedience, four-fold,
He cannot satisfy the justice of God for his sin,

ib

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HEAD III. MAN'S UTTER INABILITY to recover him-

self, discoursed from Rom. v. 6. John vi. 44. 1.

ONLY two ways of man's recovering himself sup-

poseable, viz. the way of the law, and the way of

Man unable to recover himself, in the way of the law, 1
He cannot keep the commands perfectly,

1

Object.-God is merciful; we hope to be saved, if

we do as well as we can, Answered,

Man unable to recover himself in the way of the gos-

pel, to embrace and use the help offered for his re-

covery,

Proved by several arguments,

Object. (1.) If we be under an utter inability to do

any good, how can God require us to do it? An-

swered,

Object. (2.) Why do you then call us to believe, re-
pent, and use the means? Answered,

Object. (3.) The use of means needless, seeing we

are utterly unable to help ourselves out of the state

of sin and wrath: Answered,

Quest. Has God promised to convert and save them,

who, in the use of means, do what they can to-

wards their own relief? Answered,

The conclusion of this head,

The mind illuminated, and the will renewed,

Cured of its utter inability to good,

Endued with a fixed aversion to evil,

bent and propensity to good,

Reconciled to the covenant of peace,

Disposed to receive Jesus Christ,

The affections are changed,

rectified and regulated,

The conscience renewed,

The memory bettered by regenerating grace,

The body changed in respect of use,

The whole conversation changed,

The resemblance betwixt natural and spiritual gene-

ration, in nine particulars,

Trial of one's state, whether born again, or not,

Some cases of doubting Christians resolved,

III. THE State of GRACE, or Begun Recovery.

HEAD I. REGENERATION, discoursed from 1 Pet.i. 23. 169

Or the nature of regeneration,

Partial changes mistaken for this change,

The change made in regeneration, what it is,

In general and particular,

Case (1.) The precise time and way of one's con-

version not known,

Case (2.) Sin prevailing,
ib.
Case (3) Corruptions more violent than formerly, 200
Case (4.) Affections to the creature stronger than
to the Creator.-Glowing affections to God
gone,

Case (5.) Attainments of hypocrites and apostates,

Case (6.) Falling short of the Saints mentioned in

Scripture, and of others,

Case (7.) No child of God so tempted,

Case last. Strange and unusual afflictions,

The necessity of regeneration,

To qualify one to do good,

To communion with God in duties,

To make one meet for heaven,

To one's being admitted into heaven,

Advices to the unregenerate,

HEAD II. THE MYSTICAL UNION betwixt CHRIST and

Believers, discoursed from John xv. 5.

A GENERAL view of the Mystical Union,

The natural stock of all men, Adam,

Originally a choice vine,

Now a degenerate stock,

Fruits growing on the branches of the nature of the

The condition of the branches in that

201

A killing stock,

The condition of the branches in that

The branches taken out of the natural stock, and

grafted into the supernatural stock, the elect,

How cut off from the natural stock, in twelve parti-

How ingrafted into Christ,

ib.

The supernatural stock, into which the branches are

ingrafted, Jesus Christ,

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