Will fin feparate between thee and God, and exclude thee from the blissful prefence of thy inaker, intercept the rays of communicated felicity, and expofe thee to the indignant and killing frowns of offended majefty? How neceffary is it then, that I should turn away from, and avoid the very paths that lead to fin, as I would wish to avoid, and escape thofe unquenchable flames of divine wrath, which the impenitent finner must be for ever exposed to. My foul, thou art myself, I know it is but a little while, and I fhall be all foul; this earthly tabernacle my body must be diffolved and moulder into it's primitive particles of duft and ashes; but thou must furvive, return to God, and receive a righteous reward of all the deeds done in this body. May I esteem it then the highest wisdom, as, fure I am it will ensure the greatest happiness; while others are making provifions for the flesh to fulfill the lufts thereof, to regard this one thing needful, may I put on the Lord Jefus Chrift; may I defire above all other things to be found in bim. Come difeafe, come deaths in all your dreadful forms, befiege this citadel, break down it's walls, lay it level with the ground; yet fhall the inhabitant defy your utmoft rage, and taking refuge beneath the crofs of a bleeding, dying Saviour, fhall laugh at your menaces, and defpife your power, triumphing with the bleffed Paul, death where is thy fting? Grave where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who maketh us more than conquerors, and giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jefus Chrift.

7th, Adam being thus created in the image of God, his obligations to love and gratitude, arifing from the munificence of his creator and benefactor,

muft needs be indifpenfible; and the law then engraved on his heart, and afterwards in tables of ftone, the fubftance of which is, thou shall loge the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy foul, and with all thy ftrenth, must be the reasonable fervice, of a reafonable creature, the object being the greatest good, must needs be worthy of fupreme love and veneration. That the most high fhould condefcend to enter into a covenant, with his new-made creature, by which he would engage himself to reward that obedience he by fovereign right had a claim unto; is an inftance of condefcenfion and goodness, we can never fufficiently admire ; feeing all the poffible advantage arifing from fuch compact, muft folely respect man, whofe obedience and goodness could not fo extend unto the Lord, as that he should receive any addition to his compleat, and perfect felicity, nor on the contrary could the difobedience of an offending creature in any wife prejudice his effential bleffedness. In confequence of this covenant God was pleased to enter into with Adam, he was not only influenced to obedience, and excited to an expectation of happinefs, from God's philanthropy, but herein alfo the divine veracity and faithfulness were engaged to fee the fulfillment of every promise ftipulated in the compact.

8th, In this first covenant, or covenant of nature, there are as in mutual compacts among men, two parties, viz. God, and man; God by right, as the creator and governor of man, might impose a law, and require obedience thereto, without engaging himself, by covenant and promife, to reward that obedience, and man, as a dependent

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Gent creature, and endued with rationality, was laid under a double obligation to obey, 1ft, As She was made upright, and capacitated to keep the law of his maker; which was a reafonable fervice, and 2d, As he was now encouraged by the promise of reward. Although the covenant we' now speak of is not exprefly afferted by Mofes, yet it is fufficiently manifeft, both from the fymbol of the tree of life, and from the penal sanction in the commination of death, which comprehended in it, the promise of life as it's contrary; as is manifeft from various fcriptures. Levit. xviii. 5, which if a man do, he shall live in them, Deut. xxvii, 26. Math. xix, 17. Gal. iii. 12. Why may not the prophet Hofea be supposed to refer to this covenant, chap. vi. 7. When the Ifraelites are faid to have tranfgreffed the covenant like Adam*; like parent, like children, for can a bitter fountain fend forth fweet waters? And who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one. This covenant, was partly general, and partly fpecial, as it refpected the moral or natural law, and the fymbolical. It was general, as it had refpect unto the knowledge and true worship of God, and love to man, &c. with all manner of B 2 holi

* Vehemmah keadam hhahru berith, i. e. they like Adam have tranfgreffed the covenant. Although thefe words may be expounded with an eye to man's inconftancy in general; yet they appear to me, to have a fpecial reference to the covenant made with Adam in particular.-A fimilar way of fpeaking we meet with in the book of Job, ch. xxxi. 33. If I covered my tranfgression (keadam) like Adam, which plainly refers to Adam when attempting to hide himself from God, Gen. iii. 8, and to exculpate himself from the srime he ftood accused of, ver. 12.

! How could I?

holinefs; and it was fpecial in refpect to the for-, bidden fruit, in which, the obedience of the whole law was contained, as in a fpecimen, or compendium. The former was founded on the law of nature, not written in a book, but engraven and deeply impreffed on the heart; the latter was fymbolical and positive. That was fpecial and primary; this only fecondary. And notwithstanding the command was fpecial which refpected the fymbolical law; yet obedience to the natural or moral law, was the thing chiefly required, and intended hereby, and of which obedience this was the teft.

9th, To enquire what degree of happiness Adam enjoyed in paradife before his fall, how long his probationary ftate fhould have continued had he perfevered in his obedience, and whether after full and fufficient proof given, he should have enjoyed a more bleffed life on earth, or have been taken up to heaven, and been admitted to clofer, and more intimate fellowship with his maker, &c. &c. 1 fay to enquire into things of this nature, is to grope in the dark, and conjecture at the greatest uncertainty, feeing the scriptures are in a great measure filent in fuch points; and where these have not a tongue to speak, we should be very cautious how we lend an ear to hear.

However it is an opinion moft commonly received among the orthodox, that the promife of life made to Adam, and which was figured in the tree of life, not only refpected a continuation of felicity in paradife; but a ftate of bleffednefs, heavenly and eternal. I fhall not at present tarry to produce the arguments that might be urged in favour of this opinion; but I beg leave to ob

ferve, although we know not certainly what would have been, had Adam stood in his integrity; and primitive rectitude; yet we know by bitter ex-, perience what is, now that he has fallen from that ftate by fin and disobedience.

10th, This appears to be an undeniable truth, and deferves attention; that whatever Adam's ftate was before his fall, in other respects, it was less eligible than the true believer's in this; that whereas Adam was left to ftand or fall, by his own ftrength, the believer in Jefus is upheld by one greater than himself; and while the former was left under a poffibility of falling, the latter, has heaven and glory fecured unto him by the power and faithfulness, of an almighty and unchangeable God. Adam in his integrity, enjoyed a present happiness, in a degree proportioned and fuited to his ftate; but the foundation of his hope of abiding in that ftate or of an increase of that happiness, was feeble and tottering; whereas the true believer enjoys at prefent a happiness, which although lefs perfect in kind, and inferior in degree; yet has a hope of a perpetuity, increase, and perfection of that happiness, built on the most firm and stable basis. Hence to reprefent the ftate into which believers are brought by the death of Christ, and faith in his meritorious blood, as fimilar to that of Adam before his fall, is not only a grofs mifreprefentation of the believer's state, but greatly derogates from the worth and excellency of the mediator's blood, and depreciates almoft to a mere nothing his fpotlefs, and perfect righteousness.

11th, Adam in his first eftate was free from fin, but not fecure from falling by it, nor exempt from temp

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