928. Because the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. That this signifies that man's will part is utterly evil, is evident from what has just been said. The "imagination of the heart" signifies nothing else. Man supposes that he has a will for what is good, but he is quite mistaken. When he does good, it is not from his will, but from a new will which is the Lord's; thus it is from the Lord that he does it. Consequently when he thinks and speaks what is true, it is from a new understanding, which is from the new will, and it is from the Lord that he does this also. For the regenerate man is an altogether new man formed by the Lord, and this is why he is said to be created anew.
