Religion & morality > Human nature in its four-fold state ... in several practical discourses

6 Mans Original State I.
on Mount Sinai-, to the Ifraelites; called by us
the Moral Law : And Man’s Righteoufnefs con¬
futed in Conformity to this Law or Rule. More
particularly, there is a twofold Conformity re¬
quired of Man ; a Conformity of the Powers of his
Soul to the Law, which you may call habitual
Righteoufnefs; and a Conformity of all his Actions
to it, which is affual Righteoufnefs. Now, God
made Man habitually righteous ; Man was to make
himfelf actually righteous : The former was the
Stock God put into his Hand; the latter, the Im¬
provement he ftiould have made of it. The Sum of
what I have faid is. That the Righteoufnels where¬
in Man was created, was the Conformity of all the
Faculties and Powers of his Soul to the Moral Law.
This is what we call Original Righteoufnefs, which
Man was originally endued with. We may take
it up in thefe three Things.
Firji, Man’s Underftanding was a Lamp of
Light. He had perfect Knowledge of the Law,
and of his Duty accordingly : He was made after
God’s Image, and confequently could not want
Knowledge, which is a fart thereof, Col. Hi. 10.
ithe new Man is renewed in Knowledge, after the
Image of him that Created him. And indeed this
was neceflary, to fit him for mrcerfal Obedience ;
feeing no Obedience can be according to the Law,
unlefs it proceed from a Senfe of the Command¬
ment of God requiring it. ’Tis true, Adam had
not the Law written upon Tables of Stone ; but
it was written upon his Mind, the Knowledge
thereof being concreated with him. God imprefled
it upon his Soul, and made him a Law to himfelf,
as the Remains of it among the Heathens do tefti-
fy, Rom. ii. 14, 15. And feeing Man was made
to