1. And this is certain, the scripture gives us no reason, to think any otherwise of them. On the contrary, all the above-cited passages of scripture, refer to those who lived after the flood. It was above a thousand years after, that God declared by _David_ concerning the children of men, _They are all gone out of the way_ of truth and holiness, _there is none righteous, no, not one_. And to this bear all the prophets witness, in their several generations. So _Isaiah_, concerning God’s peculiar people, (and certainly the Heathens were in _no better_ condition) _The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no soundness, but wounds and bruises and putrifying sores._ The same account is given by all the apostles, yea, by the whole tenor of the oracles of God. From all these we learn, concerning man in his natural state, unassisted by the grace of God, that _all the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart_ are still _evil, only evil_, and that _continually_. 2. And this account of the present state of man, is confirmed by daily experience. It is true, the natural man discerns it not: and this is not to be wondered at. So long as a man born blind, continues so, he is scarce sensible of his want. Much less, could we suppose a place where all were born without sight, would they be sensible of the want of it. In like manner, so long as men remain, in their natural blindness of understanding, they are not sensible of their spiritual wants, and of this in particular. But as soon as God opens the eyes of their understanding, they see the state they were in before; they are then deeply convinced, that _every man living_, themselves especially, are by nature _altogether vanity_, that is, folly and ignorance, sin and wickedness. 3. We see, when God opens our eyes, that we were before ἄθεοι ἐν κόσμῳ· _without_ God, or rather _Atheists in the world_. We had by nature no knowledge of God, no acquaintance with him. It is true, as soon as we came to the use of reason, we learned _the invisible things of_ God, _even his eternal power and Godhead, from the things that are made_. From things that are seen, we infered the existence of an eternal, powerful Being, that is not seen. But still, although we acknowledged his being, we had no acquaintance with him. As we know there is an Emperor of _China_, whom yet we do not know; so we knew, there was a King of all the earth; yet we know him not. Indeed we could not; by any of our natural faculties. By none of these could we attain the knowledge of God. We could no more perceive him by our natural understanding, than we could see him with our eyes. For _no one knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son willeth to reveal him. And no one knoweth the Son but the Father, and he to whom the Father revealeth him._