gefted a familiar fyllogifm from whence to infer it. For if we are fallen creatures, have loft the image of God, and are defiled by fin; we must be born again, feeing without boliness no man fhall fee the Lord; but the spirit of God has convinced me that I am fuch creature; therefore, I must be born again. The fyllogifm is hypothetical, if we are fallen creatures, we must be born again; and if we must be born again, we are fallen creatures. In the truth of the former of these, is inferred the neceffity of the latter; and the neceffity of the latter evinces the truth of the former.

Yet will the cleareft reafonings, and the moft cogent arguments concerning spiritual things, be efteemed obfcure, confufed, and unintelligible by the natural man, * who has not a capacity to receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can be know them, because they are fpiritually difcerned, 1 Cor. ii. 14.

This

R* Pfeuchikos anthropos, the natural man, this phrase is fneered at by fome, as if it had no place in the bible, nor were any fuch men in the world as it defcribes. Others, will have the apostle to mean no other by the word, than one who lives in a courfe of intemperance, and indulges the defires of a fleshly mind. But as fcripture beft interprets feripture, let the apostle Jude be Paul's expofitor, and he will furnifh us with a sense of the phrase more comprehenfive, and much better according with the fcope of Paul's reafoning. (Pfeuchikoi) fenfual, that is, as immediately expounded by himself, not having the spirit, Jude 19. Therefore Paul's meaning appears to be, the natural man, that is, he who hath not the spirit of God, renewing his foul, and inftructing him in divine matters, receiveth not the things of the fpirit of God, being incapable thereof, by reafon of the darknefs of his understanding, through his alienation from God.

This is the wretched ftate of poor fallen mortals wretched indeed when we are led by the hand of the spirit, to see the mystery of iniquity within; but more wretched ftill while the thick darkness remains on the mind, and both our ftate and danger are hid from our eyes. May thefe awful truths fink deep into the hearts of all whom they concern, and fuitably impress the minds of thofe to whom they appertain.

20th, That the imputation of that one fin of Adam may yet be more fully manifested, let us attend more particularly to the apostolic account concerning it. By one man fin entered into the world, and death by fin, and fe death passed upon all men, for that all have finned, from which words, we may produce the following arguments. ift, From the fcope of the apoftle, which is to prove the doctrine of juftification, by the imputation of the righteousness of Chrift, of which he had spoken before, chap. iv. 3, &c. and because such proceeding might feem marvellous and unusual, that one perfon fhould be juftified by the righteousness of another, the apoftle proves the truth of the fact by coinparing Adam, and Chrift, from whom imputation is made; and from the oppofite method of proceeding, wherein God derives condemnation upon all, by imputing the fin of one; that in like manner as guilt, and death thereby, is derived from Adam, who was conftituted the head and root of mankind by divine appointment; fo Chrift the fecond Adam is appointed the head of all his people, that by his obedience they all might be juftified. 2d, It is faid concerning fin, that by it death entered into the world, and paffed upon all, which cannot be referred to inherent fin,

which itself fuppofes actual; but to that actual fin, by which death paffed upon Adam, and all his offspring, as appears from ver. 18, where express mention is made of that one fin. 3d, That fin must be understood concerning which it can truly be faid, all have finned, and by which death entered into the world; but fin entered by that fin of Adam, and as all are declared finners in that they fuffer the penalty of fin, and not being in a capacity to fin perfonally, can only become fuch imputatively; therefore the fin treated of by the apostle, must be the fin of Adam imputed.* 4th, Paul not only fpeaks of fin in general, but of one fin, and of one offence, the guilt of which is come upon all, ver. 17, 18, 19, as by one man's offence, death reigned, as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, and by one man's disobedience many were conftituted finners, &c. Wherefore doth the apostle make fuch frequent -mention of one man, one offence, disobedience of one, 1&c. not fewer than five times in a few verses, ¿but in order to imprefs our minds with the truth of the doctrine now infifted on? For if we are nguilty not by the imputation of that one fin, but -in confequence of a polluted generation, condemnation could not with propriety be faid to have past upon us by one offence, but by many. Lastly, in ver. 14, the apoftle calls Adam the figure of him that was to come, even Christ, and confirms

* Verbum (hemarton) propriè non poteft trahi ad habitum peccati, vel ad corruptionem habitualem et inhærentem, fed propriè peccatum aliquod actuale notat; idque præteritum, quod non poteft aliud effe, quam ipfum Adami peccatum. Turett.

firms the truth of the imputation of Adam's fin to his pofterity, by the certainty of a truth then received and believed in the churches, viz. the imputation of the righteousness of Chrift. which more hereafter.

Of

21ft, When Adam is thus viewed and confidered, as the father of mankind, the prince of his people that should defcend from him by ordinary generation, and the reprefentative of all the human race in the covenant God was pleased in mercy to make with his people; I fay, when viewed in this light, wherein can it be either un juft or cruel, to punifh as well the reprefented, as the reprefentative for breach of covenant; feeing both alike were entitled to the promised felicity refulting from obedience thereto? We have inftances in fcripture, not a few, where families and friends have fuffered for the faults of others, which themselves in no wife abetted or encouraged. In the cafe of Achan, Jof. vii. 24, 25, the pofte rity of Amalek, 1 Sam. xv. 2, 3. The fons of Saul, 2 Sam. xxi. 6, &c. &c. Now as all, or most of these examples appear to have the ap probation of heaven, we can in no wife doubt, but the penalties were inflicted in juftice; feeing he who rules over all cannot approve what is not right.

22d, Sins merely perfonal, and fins of a common and public nature, are to be diftinguished from one another; the former ought not to be imput ed to their children, and of these that law is to be understood. Deut. xxiv. 16, the fathers ball not be put to death for the children, neither fball the children be put to death for the fathers, every man fhall be put to death for his own fin: But the

lat

latter, of which kind was the fin of Adam, may justly be imputed. The act of one man, cannot be faid to be an univerfal act, if it is merely perfonal, of which kind are the fins each of us daily commit; but this cannot be faid of a common, or univerfal act, which pertains to all mankind, and of which fort was Adam's fin in the garden.

It is true, Adam was in himself, a fingle, individual perfon; but not fo in refpect to the capacity he acted in, but as the principium, and head of all mankind. Hence Adam's will in the propriety of this action may be faid to be fingular; but by the right of reprefentation, univerfal; fingular, as done by one individual perfon, univerfal, as all mankind was reprefented by that perfon. So the righteoufnefs of Chrift is the act of one, yet nevertheless by imputation it becomes the property of all the faithful; that which one did, they are all reckoned to have done, if one died, all are dead. 2 Cor. v, 15. Now although Adam acted as a public perfon in his perfect ftate, and therefore by finning, involved his pofterity in the common guilt and ruin with himfelf; yet he is not to be confidered as fuch in the pardon he did, or might obtain, this being merely perfonal; as the favour and benefit, was fupernatural, and gratui

tous.

It cannot with due confideration be faid, that the other fins Adam committed might with equal right be imputed to his offspring; feeing that in his firft fin he acted as our reprefentative, but his following fins were perfonal and therefore concerned himself only. Adam indeed by that one fin, did not ceafe to be our bead originally, as we

were.