David here speaks of the corrupt nature he inherited from his first parent Adam. "By one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom. 5:2). All of us are sinners by nature, even from the moment of conception, because Adam's polluted blood flows in the veins of our parents, and in their parents before them, and so on back to Adam. His sin is imputed to all those who were represented in him (the human family), just as the righteousness of Christ is imputed to all those who were prepresented in Him (the elect family). 

    This is shown very clearly by the apostle in Romans 5:19 when he says, "For as by one man's (Adam's) disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Christ) shall many be made righteous." 

    It is difficult to look into the face of a precious little infant, especially when it is smiling and cooing, and realize that all the existing seeds of evil dwell within its little breast, and that unless God in His mercy intervenes in the course of nature, hell will be its eventual doom. Paul tells us in Romans 6:23 that "the wages of sin is death." Therefore every little babe who dies in infancy is a testimony to the fact that they come into this world with a sinful nature. They could not have died if they had not been sinners by nature. And the fact that the others, who do not die in infancy, all grow up to be sinners, is likewise a clear testimony to the same thing. 

    We all grew up to be sinners because of the fact that we were sinners by nature. We do not become sinners because we sin, but we sin because it is our nature to do so. 

    God visits His people in time and gives them a new nature that loves righteousness and hates evil. If He did not do this they too would go to their grave loving the world and its sinful ways. They would die in their sins just as do the wicked, or non-elect, and eternal torment would be their doom. If we have a sweet hope in Christ it is because we are among those upon whom He showed mercy, and we therefore owe Him a life of service and praise.