and I did eat. Once more obferve, that whatsoever be the temptation, or enfnarement to fin, it will be no excufe before GOD. Friendly. Was it in Adam's power to have yielded a continual obedience to the law of GoD, and thereby have secured his conftant happiness in paradife? Truth. Thus far it was, as the perfection of Adam's nature was every way anfwerable to the perfections of the law of GOD, doubtless then it was in his power to yield an obedience commenfurate thereunto. God did not require impoffibilities from Adam; for if the law of GOD was his rule and covenant of life, it was written in his heart ready to yield obedience thereunto; but remember, it is one thing for me to have health, but it is another thing to have my health conftantly preferved and maintained. So it was one thing for Adam to be created pure, holy and happy, but it was another act for GOD infallibly and eternally to fecure his purity, holiness and happiness. For no creature, as a creature (whether man or angel) is above the poffibility of finning against his Maker; for this reafon, becaufe his will is mutable and fubject to a change; for if the purity and power of any creature was able of itself to preferve itfelf unchangeable in that ftate, then the glory of men and angels would be independent of JEHOVAH'S pleafure, which would be impious to fuppofe. But that this is not the cafe is evident, for the purity of angels in glory, and Adam in innocency, did not preferve them from a ftate of mutation, from being fubject to a change, they made a choice, tho' it was an unhappy one. A perfect creature has a power to perform perfect obedience to his Maker, tho' not to preferve the perfection of his purity; for unchangeableness is the property of GCD, and not of any creature; therefore, he fays, I am the LORD, I change not. Hence obferve, that fin is the confequence of mutability, or the creature being fubject to a change; for GoD is not under any obligation by the covenant of works, to preferve the mind of any creature to the conftant choice of that which is good; therefore, fin flows from the creature's mutability and changeableness, and not from any decree or determinate act in GOD, though I own it was the pleasure of GoD that men and angels fhould fin, or it was his pleasure not to prevent their finning, yet their fin did not flow from his pleasure: his pleasure that they fhould fin, did not caufe them to fin, but their mutability was the cause of it, and their own act was the deed. 3 Friendly. What preferved angels from finning and maintaining their happiness, if the purity of their nature does not? Truth. I answer,, the happiness of the angels in glory is not owing to, neither is it maintained by, the purity of their ftate by creation: for those that fell were as pure by creation, as thofe that stand in the enjoyment of glory; therefore, if the holiness of those that stand had been fufficient to maintain the happiness of their created ftate, then confequently the holiness of them that fell, would have been fufficient to maintain the happiness of their created state, as both were equally holy by nature. Friendly. Then what made the difference? Truth. An act of diftinguishing favour to fome in fettling their happiness, by additional grace, fecure in CHRIST, thereby unchangeably determine their minds to things fpiritual, holy and divine, on which account they are called Elect Angels, 1 Tim. v. 21. but the other angels that fell ftood upon the foot of their obedience as creatures, and could advance no higher; yet being fubject to a mutation they might fink lower, which, by a fatal act of rebellion against their Maker, they miferably did, and are referved in chains of da kness. Hence obferve the fovereignty of GOD towards angels, fome he fecures by additional favour in an unchangeable state of happinefs and glory, whilft he left the happiness of others to stand or fall upon their obedience. This was the cafe with regard to Adam in a state of innocency, he was left to the freedom of his own will, and as it was not JEHOVAH's pleasure unchangeably to determine his mind to that which was fpiritually good, he, like angels, made an unhappy choice for himself and his pofterity; and as his difobedience was attended with fuch a complication of evil, pride and rebellion, horrid ingratitude, unbelief and prefumption; fo his punishment, both of foul and body, was attended with a train of mifery. As to his bodily punishment, that was great,-banifhed out of paradife, the garden of pleasure, which abounded with a variety of fruits fuited to an innocent feaft, with new and fresh delights to entertain the happy pair every moment, to till the earth thas was curfed for his disobedience; with forrow to eat of the fruit of it all the days of his life; and to get his bread that he was to eat with forrow, by the fweat of his brow; and at laft to return unto the duft. dust thou art, and unto duft shalt ̧ thau return. But ftill the punishment of his mind was yet more weighty and ponderous; death, darkness, confufion, aliena tion, enmity, rebellion, hardness and infenfibility, poffeffed his whole foul. The thoughts of his heart were evil, and that continually; and what was worfe, he had a fearful looking for judgment to devour him as an adverfary; therefore, it is faid, Gen. iii. 24. that he drove out the man; which not only denotes his temporal exile and punishment, but the banishment of his foul from the favour of GOD, from that delight in him, that love unto him, and from that freedom and familiarity that he was wont to enjoy with his GOD. Methinks, he said, What banifhed from thee my God! my Heaven and my Home! my fweet enjoyment loft! my life! my peace! my joy! my Heaven! my all is loft! What, banifhed? What, from thee, my GOD! my fource of joy! my fpring of blifs? with whom I have enjoyed fuch fweet communion! fuch friendly walks! fuch intimacy of heart and foul! to whom I have paid the fweet facrifices of love and delight, joy and praife; what, from thee, my God! my life! my all!-where must I go?-to meet the thiftles and briars that grow with fharp accufations, to pierce me afresh with my tranfgreffion? Thus, doubtlefs, Adam lamented his ftate as he took his folitary steps out of paradife, and doubtlefs in his folitary walk, Adam thought of the tree of life that grew in the midst of the garden, and gave a longing look towards it, if it were poffible he might pluck and eat, and live for ever. But, alas! now was his foul overwhelmed with forrow; his laft look pierced him to the heart, to view the Cherubims, and a flaming fword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. Gen. iii. 24. Ah? faid he, now every hope is cut off,-what, not only drove out, but barred out by angels that were wont to be my intimate companions?—no accefs now to the tree of life!-a flaming fword turns every way to guard it!-where muft I flee for help!-where muft I look for fuccour?—if Į caft my guilty eyes to heaven, there I view my offended GOD; if I view the earth, I fee it curfed for my tranfgreffions; if I look within, I find guilt, horror and diftrefs there;-alas my cafe! who can tell the number of my woes! Friendly. But was it not poffible for Adam to have relieved himself? Truth, No, for three things were abfolutely neceffary for the relief both of body and mind, that were now out of his power to perform. Firft, he had broken an infinite law which required an infinite fatisfaction for the offence, which a finite creature is never able to give. Second, the law ftill demanded a finless righteousness, a perfection of obedience; but by his tranfgreffion, the thoughts of his heart were become evil, and that continually; therefore he could never yield the obedience to it that it required. Third, by fin Adam's nature was fo vitiated, that it was thereby unfit for communion with GOD, and enjoyment of him; it was become a fountain of enmity aganft GOD, and therefore, unless he could remove the enmity of his heart, change his nature, again ftamp the image of GoD upon his mind, obey the law perfectly, fatisfy juftice eternally; (icts that neither men nor angels are able to perform,) he could never poffibly retrieve himself from his unhappy cafe; therefore Adam's misery, and the misery of all mankind (confidering them in Adam's loins, as he was the head of nature) became, by his tranfgreffion, irretrievable as to all human help and power. This leads me to obferye to you, my dear Friendly, in the feventh place, the glories of redeeming love, in the promife and provifion it made for man's falvation, when he had finned and forfeited all. First, in provifion, for God had provided for the recovery of his people long before Adam fell; he foreknew that the tranfgreffion of Adam would take place, and that his elect, by virtue of their natural union to Adam, as their head of nature, would be the children of wrath, even as others; therefore, in infinite love to them, provided a remedy long before the disease took place; fettled and fecured their recovery by counsel and covenant, by grace, fettlement, and divine favour, before the morning ftars fung together, or ever the fons of GOD fhouted for joy; therefore, it is faid, 2 Tim. i. 9. That grace was given us in CHRIST JESUS before the world began, fo that his love to us is from everlafting, Jer. xxxi. 3. But, fecondly, the glory of redeeming love appears in the promise it made to Adam, that the feed of the woman fhould bruife the ferpent's head. Gen. iii. 15. Friendly. But whom am I to understand by the feed of the woman? Truth. The LORD JESUS CHRIST, Gal. iv. 4. zuho is made of a woman, and made under the law, and by being called the feed of the woman, I understand his taking upon him. our nature in union to his divine, Heb. ii. 14. for as much as the children were made partakers of flesh and blood, be alfa himself likewife took part of the fame, for verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the feed of Abraham, Now to Abraham and his feed were the promises made; but what was Abraham's feed? The apoftle fays, not unto feeds as af many, but as of one, and thy feed, which is CHRIST. Gal, . 16. Therefore, fays GoD to Abraham, Gen, xxii. 18. In thy feed fhall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Upon which account, it is obferved by the HOLY GHOST, that his name fhall endure for ever, his name fhall continue as long as the fun, and men fhall be blessed in him, all nations shall call him blessed. Pfal. lxxii. 17. To this not only give all the prophets witnefs, but even the faints in glory, Rev. v. 9. for thou waft flain, and haft redeemed us to GOD by thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, people and nation; thus in CHRIST all nations of the earth are blessed. Friendly. But I obferve the woman faid, that the serpent had beguiled her, and he did eat;-how could the ferpent beguile her? Truth. It appears evident unto me, that the ferpent there mentioned had an extraordinary measure of fubtilty, not only being more fubtle than all the beafts of the field, which the LORD GOD had made, Gen. iii. 1. but being actuated, moved and operated by Satan, who is thereby called the old ferpent, the devil, Rev. xii. 9. He in this fubtle creature, exerted all the fubtlety and artful policy of hell, by foftening the threatening, by falfe and fallacious promifes, and doubtless by his own example, by firft eating of the tree; because it is said, when he faw it was good for food. And I likewife conceive, that the ferpent that deceived our first parents, walked or moved uprightly as a man doth, thereby the more fit inftrument for the devil to accomplish his defigns; for the devil was the agent, the ferpent was the inftrument, and our first parents the aggreffors; for which the ferpent was punished with a curfe, Gen. iii. 14. Thou art curfed above all cattle, The devil with fresh condemnation, ver. 15. It shall bruife thy head. Whilft the guilty fears of Adam's trembling foul were fanned away, by the dawning hope of a precious promife, The feed of the woman fhall bruife the ferpent's head, which was an act of unexpected grace, and offered the richeft refocillation to his mind; for nothing lefs than love's preparation, in all its richest manifeftations, could poffibly fupport a mind from defpair, that was charged with the weight of so much fin, and felt the weight of fo much forrow: According to the great decree The plan was laid, 'tis there I fee |