> PRINCETON, N. J. ^ I Shelf. Division . . Section Number r*. * ' ) f Waffle THE ^^ f/ Great Chriftian Doctrine O F ORIGINAL SIN Glided ; Evidences of it's "Truth produced,, AND Arguments ta the Contrary anfwered. Containing, in particular, A Reply to the Objections and Arguings of Dr. John Taylor, in his Book, trititlecf, " The Scripture-Doctrine of Original Sin pro- 11 pofed to free and candid Examination, 8cc, By the late Reverend and Learned Jonathan Edwards, A.M. Prefident of the College of Nezu-Jerfey. Matth. ix. 12. They that be whole ^ need [ not a Phyjkian 5 but they that are fick. — -Et haec non tantum ad Peccatores referenda eft ; quia in omnibus Maledictionibus primi Hominis, oinnesejus Gene- rationes conveniunt.--- R. Sal. Jarchi. Propter Concupifcentiam, innatam Cordi humano, dicitur, I.-t. Iniquitate genitus Turn ; alque Senfus eft, quod a Nativitate implantatum fit Cordi humano Jeizer bajrang, Figmentuiri malum.-— Aden-Ezra. Ad Mores Natura recurrit damnatos, fixa et mutari nefcia.--- Dociles imitaridis turpi bus et pravis ornnes fumus.— Juv* BOSTON, NEW-ENGLAND: Printed and Sold by S. Rneeland, o^pofue to the Probate- Office in Queen- ftreet. 1758. ■ A brief Account of the Book and it's A T JT HO R. AS the Rev. Author of the following Piece has been removed by Death, before its coming into public View, Cuflom has made it decent to introduce ic with a prefatory Page. The Copy he brought to the Prefs fometime the laft Year, and a Number of Sheets pa(Ted his own Review. But a Variety of Incidents retarded finiming the Work till now. — It is hoped, no material Miftakes of the Printer have efcaped Correction, befides what are noticed in the Table of Errata. They that were acquainted with the Author, or know his juft Character, & have any Tafte for the feriousTheme, will want Nothing to be faid in Recommendation of the enfuing Tract, but only that Mr. Edwards wrote it. Several valuable Pieces on this Subject, have lately been publifhed, upon the fame Side of the Quefiion. But he had no Notice of fo much as the very firft of them, till he had wholly concluded what he had in View : nor has it been thought, any Thing already printed mould fuperfede this Work of his ; being defigned on a more extenfive Plan ; comprising a Variety of Arguments, and Anfwers to many Objections, that fell not in the Way of the other worthy Writers ; and the Whole done with a Care of familiar Method and Language^ as well as clear R.eafoning, in ge- al accommodated very much to common Capacities. It muH: be a feniible Pleafure to every Friend of Truth, that fo mafterly a Hand undertook a Reply to Dr. Taylor ; notwithstanding the various Anfwers already given him, both at home and abroad. — And lliould the faid ,i>r. or any other in his behalf, attempt to vindicate his Book, though our Author being dead, this his Work will have the Difadvantage of wanting his pen iq defend it, A 2 ye: ii A Brief '.Account of the Author, 5 not doubted but other diffident Hands will be :d to eng; , & ftipport labouring Truth. As it has been tb an this Pofthumqus Book Should go unatten . ch a refpe&ful Memorial pf the 'leader will candidly accept the folic vlinut is Life and Character ; chiefly' ex- ccountS'' given of ;hkn w thfc public Prints, j on. of his Deceafe. Mr. Ebw a R d s was the only Son of the late Rev. Mr. Ti:' Edwards, long a faithful Pallor of a :hin Winfor, in Connecticut ; who (together with his •ur Author's pious Mother) was living, in a very ad- v :ed Ape, till a-little before the Death of this his ex- c ent Son, who had for many Years been his Parents Joy and Grown. He had his Education in Yale- College. -—At the I ge of about Eighteen, commenced Batchelor of Arts, Anno I 720. — Afterwards refided atCollege for fomeTime, purfuing his Studies with a laudable Diligence. — Took theDegree of Mafter, at theufual Time : and for awhile ferved the College in che Station of a Tutor. He foon entered into the Mini (fry, artd was fettled at Northampton, in MafTachufetts, as Colleague with his aged Grandfather, the Rev. and famous Mr. Solomon Stod- iDARn ; with whom, indeed, as a S->n zvith the Father, he ferved in the Gofpel, till Death divided them, — There he continued his Labours for many Years, in high Efleem at home,, as well as abroad ; till uncomfortable Debates arifmg about a Right to Sacraments, and after his beft At- tempts finding no rational Profpecl of any fafe and fpeedy Iflue of them, he at length amicably rfefign'd his Pailora.1 Relation, and had an honourable Quietus, Anno 1750. Scon after this, there being a Vacancy in the Miflion at S'tockbridge, by the Death of the Rev, and learned Mr. J 6 h n S e r g e a n t , theBoard of Commillloners at Boflon, who acl under the Society in London, for propagating the Gofpel among the Indians in and about New-England, turned their Eyes to Mr. Edward s, for a Supply of that ' ' U Mifliop. bis Life and Char after. iii Million. And upon their unanimous Invitation, in Con- currence with the Call of the Church (confiding of Indians and Eriglifh) at Stockbridge, he removed thither, and was regularly re -inflated in the Paftoral Office. He continued his Miniflry there, until on Occafion of the Death of his worthy Son-in-law, the Rev. and Learned Mr. Aaron Burr, who had fucceeded the Rev. and Learned Mr. Jonathan Dickinson (To memorable as an Author) in the Station of Prefident of the College of New-Je rse y, he was by the Hon. and Rev. Tr ust e es of that Society chofen to be his Sueceflor. The Com- mifTioners at Bodon having received a Motion from them for his Tranilation, did in Deference to the Judgment of fo refpeclable a Body, as. well as from an Eftcem for Mr. Edwards, and a View to his more extenlive Ufefulnefs, generoufly confent to his Removal : and the venerable Council, to whom he finally refer'd himfelf for Advice on this important Occafion, giving their unanimous Opinion for the Clearnefs of his Call to the Prefident's Place, he at Length (tho with much Reluchncc and Self-diffidence) relinqiuihed his Pafloral Charge and Miniderial Million at Stockbridge, and removed to Prince-Town in Ncw-Jerfey, where NassauaHall (lands, lately erected. But that fatal Biftemper; the Small-pox, which has in former Days been 10 much the Scourge and Terror of Am e r i c a , breaking out, in or near the College, about that Time, and Inoculation being favoured with great Succefs, Mr. Edwards, upon mature Thought and Confutation, judged it advisable to go into thisMethod. Accordingly he was inoculated on the 23d of February 1758. And tho his Difeafe was comparatively light, the Pock of a miltler Sort, and few, yet f. amber happened to be feated in his Throat and Mouth, as prevented his receiving the necefiary cooling and diluting Draughts ; and fo, upon the Turn of the Pock, a fecondaryFever came on, which pre- vailed to the putting anEND (on March 22ck)iothe important Life of this good & greatMan. — As he lived chearfully re- ftgnedin all-Things to the Will of Heaven, fo he died, or rather, iv A Brief Account of the Author, rather, as the Scripture emphatically exprefles k, in relation totheSaint in Chrid Jefus, hejfr// afleep, without the lead Appearance of Pain, & with great Calm of Mind. ] ndeed, when he firft perceived the Symptoms upon him to be mortal, he is (aid to have been a-little perplexed for a while, about the Meaning of this myfterious Conduct of Providence, in calling him out from his beloved Privacy, to a public Scene of Action and Influence ; and then \o fuddenly, jtifr. upon his Entrance into it, rranilating him from thence, in fuqh a Way, by Mortality ! However, he quickly got believing and composing Views of the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God in this furprifing Event : and rea- dily yielded to the fovereign Difpofal of Heaven, with the moil placid Submilfion. Amidil the Joy of Faith, he departed this World, to go and fee Jesus, whom his Soul loved ; to be with him-, to behold his Glory, and rejoyce in his Kingdom above. But he left a bereaved Family (his beloved and amiable Spoufe, with Ten defirable Children *) and a bereaved young Seminary of Learning, to fit in the Puft, and mourn the unfpeakable, yea, in fomc obvious Rei peels, irreparable Lofs, of a molt affectionate, wile and faithful Head ! And this, in a Seafon of general Calamity, and thrcatning Danger to Church and State. Oh, when a. holy God rakes away flicH righteousBerfons, fuch invaluable jewels, in repeated Instances and in cjuick Succeilion, from our guilty Land and Nation, and that in the Beginning of a earl: gathering Temped, big with the Fate of Nations, furely it is an awful Omen, claiming our ferious Attention and Regard. — May we not jiiilly lament over this excel- lent Man, in Language like that of David over his Royal . . . :; ; " Oh, die Bzauty of f One of them, his pious and lovely Daughter, Mrs. Burr, foon followed him : only leaving two agreable Children ; for whom there can fcarce be a better or greater sWifh, than that they may live, and mine ie Image of their excellent I Grand- parents, bis Life and Cbarafler. y of Ifrael is flain" ! — Or, as he mourn' d over a brave "War- riour, €< Know ye not, that a Great Man is fallen this Day in Ifrael 1" Or, in the penfive Strains of Elidia, la- menting after Elijah, that eminent Prophet, and Head of the Schools, as he faw him afcending from Earth to Hea- ven ; u My Father, my Father, the Ci-i ariot s of Ifrael, and the Horsemen thereof I" Though, by the preceedingAccount of Mr. Edwards, the Reader may form a general Idea of his Character ; yet doubtlefs a more particularDefcription will be expected. In Perfon, he was tall of Stature, and of a flender Make. — There was fomething extreme delicate in his Con- ftitution ; which always obliged him to the exafteft Ob- fervation of the Rules of Temperance, and every Method of cautious and prudent living. He experienced very fig- nally the Benefit hereof, as by fuch Means he was helped to go through inceflant Labours, and to bear up under much Study, which, Solomon obferves, is a Wearinefs to the Flelh. — Perhaps, never was a Man more conftantly retired from the World ; giving himfelf to Reading, and Contemplation. And a Wonder it was, that his feeble Frame could fubfift. under fuch Fatigues, daily repeated and fo long continued. Yet upon Occafion of fome Re- mark upon it by a Friend, which was only a few Months before his Death, he told him, " He did not find but he was then as well able to bear the clofeft Study, as he was 30 Years before ; and could go through the Exercifes of the Pulpit with as little Wearinefs or Difficulty." — In his Youth, he appeared healthy, and with a good Degree of Vivacity ; but wa3 never robnft. — In middle Life, he appeared very much emaciated (I had almoft faid, mortified) by fevere Studies, and intenfe Applications of Thought. — Hence hisVoice was a-little languid, and too low for a large AlTembly ; though much relieved and advantaged by a proper Emphafis, juft Cadence, well-placed Paufes, and great Diftinclnefs in Pronunciation. — He had a piercing Eye, the trueft Index of the Mind. — His AfpecT: andMein had a Mixture of Severity and Pleafancy. He had a na- tural vi A Brief Account of th'd Author, tural Turn for Gravity and Sedatenefs ; ever contem- plative ; and in Converfation ufua'ly refervcd, but always obfervant of a genuine Decorum, in his Deportment } free from fullen, fupcrcilious and contemptuous Airs, and without any Appearance of Gftentation, Levity, or Va- nity. — As to Imagination, he had Enough of it for a great and good Man : but the Gaieties of a luxuriant Fancy, fo captivating to many, were what he neither afFecled himfelf, nor was much delighted with in others. — He had a natural Steadinefs of Temper, and Fortitude of Mind; which, being fanctified by the Spirit of God, was ever of vaft Advantage to him, to carry him through difficult Services, and fnpport him under trying A-fHictions, in the Courfe of his Life.-— Perfonal Injuries he bore with a becoming Meeknefs and Patience, and aDifpofition to Forgivenefs. — The Humility /Modefly, and Serenity of his Behaviour, much endeared him to his Acquaintance ; and made him appear amiable in the Eyes of fuch as had the Privilege of converfing with him. — He was a true and faithful Friend ; and fhewed much of a difinterefled Benevolence to his Neighbour. — The feveral Relations fuftained by him, he adorned with an exemplary Conduct j and was felicitous to fill every Statjon with its proper Duty. — He kept up an extenflve Correfpondcnce, with Minifters and others, in various Parts ; and his Let- ters always contained fome fignificant and valuable Com- munications.-— In his private Walk, as a Chriltian, he ap- peared an Example of truly rational, confident, uniform Religion and Virtue : a filming Inftance of the Power and Efficacy of that holy Faith, which he was fo firmly at- tached to, and fo firenuous a Defender of. He exhibited much of Spirituality, and a heavenly Bent of Soul. In him one faw the lovelieftAppearan.ee,— a rare Aflemblage of Chrifian Graces, united with the richeft Gifts,and mu- tually fubferving and recommending one another. As a Scholar, his intellectual Furnkure exceeded what is common, under the Difadvantages we labour of in this remote Corner of the World. He very early difcovered a his Life and CharaBer. vii a Genius, above the ordinary Size : which gradually ripened and expandcd,by daily Exertment and Application. He was remarkable for the Penetration and Extent of his Underdanding.for his Powers of Criticifm and accurate Didmcdion, Quicknefs of Thought, Solidity of Judgment, and Force of Reafoning ; which made him an acute and ftrong Difputant. By Nature he was formed for a Logician, and a Metaphyfician ; but by Speculation, Obfervation, and Converfe, greatly improved. He had a. good Infight into the whole Circle of liberal Arts and Sciences : pofiefTed a very valuable Stock of Claffick Learning, Philofophy, Mathematicks, Hidory, Chrono- logy, &c. Bj the Blefling of God on his indefatigable Studioufnefs, to the lad, he was condantly treafuri.ng up ufeful Knowledge, both human and divine. Thus he appears uncommonly accomplished for the ar- duous and momentous Province, to which he was finally called And had Heaven indulged us with the Continu- ance of his precious Life, we have Reafon to think, he would have graced his new Station, and been a fignal Blef- fing to the College, and therein extenfively ferved his Ge- neration, according to the Will of God. After all, it mud be owned, Divinity was his .Favorite- Study ; and rhe Minidry, his mod delightful Employment. Among the Luminaries of the Church, in thefe American Regions, he was juftly reputed a Star cf the firft Magni- tude. Throughly verfed in all theBranches of Theology, didactic, polemic, cafuiftic, experimental, and practical In Point of divine Knowledge and Skill, had few Equals, and perhaps no Superiour, at leaft in thefe foreign Parts. On the matured Examination of the different Schemes of Principlcs,obtamingin the World, & on comparing them with the f cred Scriptures>theOraclesof God, & the great Stan- dard of Truth, he was aProteftant & aCalvinid injudgment; adhering to the main Articles of the Reformed Religion with an unfhaken Firmnefs, and with a fervent Zeal, but tempered with Charity & Candour, and governed by Dis- cretion. He feemed as little as mod Men under the Bias viii Ahrjef Account of the Author, of Education, or the Poflcllion of Bigotry. — As to practi- cal £: vital Cljrjlikinity, no Man appeared to have a better Acquaintance with itsNature 8z Importance ; or to under- Hand true Religion, & feel it'sPower, more than he ; which made him an excellently fn Guide to inquiring Souls, and qualify'd him to guard them againft all falfe Religion. Hia internal Senfe of the Intercourfe between God and Souls, being brought by him to the fcvere Ted of Reafon and Revelation, preferved him, both in Sentiment & Conduct, from the lcatlTinchire of Enthufiafm. — The accomplilh- ed Divine enters deep into his Character. As a Preacher, he was judicious, foHd, and inftrucYive. Seldom was he -known to bring Controverfy into the Pul- pit ; or to handle any Subject: in the nicer Modes & Forms cf fcholailicDifTertation. .His Sermons, in general,feemed exceedingly to vary from his controversial Compositions. In his Preaching, ufuaily all was plain, familiar, fententi- ens, practical ; and very difiant from any Affectation of appearing the great Man, or displaying his extraor- dinary Abilities as a Scholar. But fiill he ever preferved the Character of a ikilful and- thorough Divine. The common Themes of his Miniftry were the moil weigh- ty and proftabie ; and in fpecia], the great Truths of the Gofpel of Chrift, on which he himielf lived by Faith. His Method in preaching was, firft to apply to the Underflanding and Judgment, labouring to enlighten and convince them ; and then to perfuadc the "Will, engage the Affections, & excite the active Powers of the Soul. — His Language Was with Propriety and Purity, but with a noble Negligence ; nothing ornamented. Florid Diction was not theBeauty he preferred. HisTalents were of a fu- periour Kind. He regardedThoughts, rather thanWords. Prccifion of Sentiment and Clcarnefs of Exprcfllcn are the principalCliaraclerifiicks of hisPulpit-Stile. Neither quick nor flow of Speech, there was a certain Pathos in his Ut- terance, and fuch Skill of Addrefs, as feldom failed to draw Attention, warm the Hearts,and Simulate the Confci- :i of the Auditory. lie fludied to flicw himfclf ap- proved his Life and Char after. jx proved unto God, a Workman that needed not to be a- Ihamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. — And he was one that gave himfelf to Prayer, as well as to the Miniilry of the Word. Agreabiy it pleafedGod to put greatHonour upon him,by crowning hisLabours with furprifingSuceeffos, in the Converfion of Sinners, & the Edification oi' Saints, to the Advancement of the Kingdom and Glory of God our Saviour Jefus Chrilh Mr. E o\v ar d s diftingui filed himfelf as a Writer, efpe- cially in Controverfy, which he was called to on a Variety of Occafions. Here the Superiority of his Genius emi- nently appeared. He knew to arrange his Ideas in an exa$: Method : and clofe Application of Mind, with the uncom- mon Strength of his intellectual Powers, enabled him in a Manner to exhauft every Subject he took under Confide- ration. He diligently employed the latter Part of his Life in defending Chriftianity, both in its doclrinal and practical Views, againfl the Errors of the Times. Befides his excellent Writings in Behalf of the Power of Godf- nefs, which fome Years ago happily prevailed in mary Parts of the Britifli America ; he alio made a noble Stand againfl: Emhufiafm & faife Religion, when it thi ned to fbread, by his incomparable Treatife upon re ous AiFecYions. And more lately in Opposition to Feia- gian, Arminian, and other fa'Pe Principles, he publifhed a very elaborate Treatife- upon the Liberty ci the human Will. A Volume, that has procured him the Eiogy o^ eminent Divines abroad. Several ProfeiTors of Divinity hi the Dutch Univerh'ties very lately fent him theirTlianks, for the Aififtance he had given them in their Inquiry into fome controverted Points ; having carried his own further than any Author they had ever feen. — And now this Vo- lume of his, on the great Chriftian Doctrine of Original Sin, is prefented to public View. Which, thj ftucfioufiy adapted to lower Capacities, yet carries in it the evident Traces of his great Genius, and feems with fuperiour Force of Argument to have intirely baffled the Oppo- nent. a a 2 BcfLics x A Brief Account of the Author. Befldes numerous other fairManufcripts,he has aVolume on the Nature of Virtue ; which he defigned mould follow ^the prefent one into the public Light. It is hoped, that we ill all yet fee it ; and that they who have the Care of his Papers, will confuk the common Benefit, by pub- lishing more of the valuable Remains of this great Man : by which.he being dead > may Hill fpeak, for the InftrucYion of Survivors. His Writings will perpetuate his Memory, and make his Name bloiTom in the DufL And the Blefling of Hea- ven attending the I'erufal of them, will make them effect- ually conducive to the Glory of God, and the Good of Souls ; which will brighten the Author's Crown, and add to his Joy, in the Day of future Retribution. In fine, the candid Reader will excufe the Imperfecti- ons in this Sketch of a Character and Account of the de- ceafed Man of God. It is hoped, fome good Hand will give us the Memoirs of his Life at large, and l\o greater Julnce to his Merits. Some Lines in Verfe, publifned on Occafion of his Death, deserve a Place here. Great EDWARDS dead ! how doleful is the Sound ? How vaft the Stroke ! how piercing is the Wound ? Heaven now impatient of our num'rous Crimes, Scourges the bold Rebellion of the Times : The fatal Me(Tenger, commifTion'd firfl To bring the learn'd and pious Burr to Duff, Scarce gave us Leave to dry our weeping Eyes, And bid the Dawn of glimm'ring Hopes arife, When lo ! with dreadful Aim and pointed Dart, The Arrow flics, and pierces Edwards' Heart. Oh painful Stroke ! diilrefling Hand of Death 1 No vulgar Mortal then refign'd his Breath ; Nor can the Mufe in deeped Numbers tell, " How Zion trembled, when this Pillar fell. 11 Sure Nature's felf, with all her ample Store, f* Can furnifh fuch a Pomp for Death no more I The ( *i The Author's PREFACE. THE following Difcourfc is intended, not rtieeriy as an Anfwer to any particular Book writrijp againft the Doctrine of* original Sin , but as a genera! Defence of that great important Doctrine. Neverthdefs, I have in this Defence taken Notice of the main Things faidagainftthis Doctrine,by fuch of the more noted Oppofers of it, as I have had Opportunity to read ; particu- larly thofe two lateWrirers, Dr.TuRNBULL,and Dr. Taylor of Norwich ; but efpecially the lat- ter, in what he has publifhedin thofetwo Books of his, the fir ft intitled, The Scripture-DoBrine of Original Sin propofed to free & candid Examination ; The other, his Key to the slpojlolic Writings ,with a Taraphraje and Notes on the Epi/iie to the Ro- mans. According to my Obfervation, no one Book has done io much towards rooting out of thefe Weftcrn Parts of New- England, the Princi- ples and Scheme of Religion maintain'd by our pious and excellent Fore-fathers, the Divines and Christians who firft fettled thisCountry, and alie- nating theMinds of many from what I think are evidently fome of the main Doctrines of the Gof- pel, as that which Dr. Taylor has publifhed againft the Doctrine of Original Sin. This Book has now for many Years been fpread abroad in the Land, without any Anjwer^o it, as an Anti- dote ; and fo has gone on to prevail with little Controul. I have indeed heard, that an Anfwer to xii The Authors PREFACE. to it has been publiftYd by Dr. Jennings of London : but never faw it, nor beard of its being in thefe American Parts : So that, however fufli- cient it may be, it has been of no Service to that Purpofe here. And in as much as about -fifteen Years (if I miftake not) have elapfed, fince Dr. Taylor's Piece has been in the Hands of fome, there is manifeft Need of fome other Antidote, for the fake of fuch as dwell in this Part of the World. The providing one is what I have at- tempted in the following Work; wherein I have clofely attended to that ¥iecv 9 ih ail it's Parts, and have endeavoured that no one Thing there (aid, of any Confequence in this Controverfy, fhould pafs unnoticed,or that any Thing which has the Appearance of an Argument, in Opposition to this Doftrine, fhould be left unanfwered. . I look on the Doclrine as of 'great Import a nee ; which every Body will doubtlefs own it is, if it be true. For, if the Cafe be fuch indeed, that all Mankind are by Nature in a State of total Ruin, both with ref- pecl to the moral Evil they are the Subjecls of, and the affliflive Evil they are expofed to,theone as the Confequence and Punifhnientof the other, then doubtlefs the great Salvation by Christ Hands in direclRelation to this/JH/V/.as theRemedy to the Difeafe ; and the whole Go/pel, or Doctrine of Salvation, muft fupfofe it ; and all real Belief, or true Notion of that Gofpcl, muft be built upon it. Therefore,as I think the Doctrine is mod cer- tainly both true and important, I hope, my at- tempting a Vindication of it, will be candidly inter- preted ; and that what I have done towards it's Defence The Authors PREFACE. xiii Defence, will be impartially con{idcred 9 by all that will give themfelves the Trouble to read the en- fuin? Difcourfe. N. B. I had finifhed my Defence of the Do6t- rine of Original Sin, and prepared the Copy (as here you have it) for the Prefs,and had wrote the ♦proceeding Part of this Trcfaee, before I had re- ceived the leaft Intimation of any Thing .written or intended to be written by theRev.Mr.NiLEs, in Aniwer to Dr. Taylor. — But having heard, that his Anfvver is chiefly confined to two Parts of Dr. Taylor's Scripture-DoBrine, • — • without fo particularly replying to the third Part of that Book, or the large Supplement ; and it being the Defign of the following Difcourfe to examine every Thing material throughout the whole Book, and many Things in thatotherBook of Dr. T — r's, containing his Key and Expofition on Romans ; as alfo many Things written in Oppofition to this Doctrine by fomc other modern Authors- and moreover, my Difcourfe being not only intended for an Anfwer to Dr. Taylor, and other Oppo- fers of the Doctrine of Original Sin, but (as was obferved above) for a general Defence of that Docl- rine ; producing the Evidence of the Truth of the Doctrine, as well as anfwering Objections made againlt it : — confidering thefe Things, I fay, I hope this Attempt of mine will not be thought: needlefs, nor be altogether ufelefs. And poffibly, even in thofe Parts, where the fame Subjects and Arguments are handled by us both,thetwoBooks may receive Light from each other,and may con- firm one another; and fo the common Defign be the better fubferved. I ziv The Authors PREFACE. I would alfo hope, that the Extenfivenefs of the Plan of the following Treatife will excufe the Length of it. And that when tt is considered, how much was absolutely requifiteto the full executing of a Defign formed on filch a Plan ; how much has been written again ft the Doctrine of Original Sin, and with what Plaufibility ; and how firong the 'Prejudices of many are in Favour of what is faid in Uppofition to this Doclrine ; and that it ain't be expected, any Tiling fhort of a /^//Confedera- tion of atmbft every Argument advance by the main Oppoiers, especially by this late & ccious Writer, Dr. Taylor, will iatisfv many Readers; and alfo, how much mull una void y belaid in Order to a full handling of the . gumenfs hi Defence of the Doclrine ; and how --■■ \ tfint the Doclrine mull be, if true ; I fay, when fuch Cir- cumftances as thefe are confidered, I trufr, the Length of the following Difcoprfe will not be thought to exceed what die Cafe really required. However, this muft be left to the Judgment of the intelligent- and candid Reader. Stockbridgei May 26. 1757. ADVERTISE M E N T 'VKT'Hcn the Page is refer'd to in this Manner [P. 40. P. 50 ] * ^ without mentioning the 2foa£ 9 th.ercby is to he understood fueh a Page in Di.Tavlcr's Scripture- Dofirine of Original Shi. When the Word, A>, is ufed to fignify the Book refer'd to, thereby is to be understood Dr. Taylor s Key to the ApofalU Writings ThisMark [§] with Figures or a Number annexed, fignrfies fuch a Section or Paragraph in his Key — The Letter T. alone,is ufed to fignify Dr. Taylor's Name, and no other.-- The Edition of Dr. T-rs Scripture- Doflrine &c. which I pofTefs and have made Ufe of,is the Third Edition^rinted at Belfaft \ containing 452 Pages. The imprelTion of the other Book,namc- ly the A>/and Expofition on Remans, which I have ufed, is that of Dublin j containing 460 Pages. 1 ^ e ( *Y ) The Contents. part I. W Herein are considered fome Evidences of original Sin from i^^f and Events, as found by Obfer- vation and Experience : together with Reprefentations and Teftimonies of holy Scripture, and the Confeflion and AiTertions of Oppofers. CHAP. I. The Evidence of Original Sin from what appears i» Fact, of the Sinfulnefs of Mankind. Sect. I. All Mankind do eonftantly, in all Ages, without Tail in any one Inftance, run into that moral Evil, which is in Effect their own utter and eternal Perdition, in a total Pri- vation of God's Favour, and fufrering of his Vengeance and Wrath. Pag. 1,-17. Sect. N. It follows from the Proportion proved in the fore- going; Section, that all Mankind are under the Influence of a prevailing effectual Tendency in their Nature, to that Sin and Wickednefs, which implies their utter and eternal Ruin. Pag. 17,-26. Sect. III. That Propenjity, which has been proved to be in the Nature of all Mankind, muft be a very evil, depraved, and pernicious Propenfity ; making it manifetl, that the Soul of Man, as it is by Nature, is in a corrupt^fafkn & ruin'd State : Which is the other Part of the Confequci.ee, drawn from the Propofition laid down in the firft Section. Fag. 27,-33. Sect. IV. The Depravity of Nature appears by a Propenfity in all, to fin immediately, as foon as they are capable of it, and to fin continually and progrejjiucly ; and alfo by the Remains of Sin in the left of Men. Pag. 33,-30, Sect. V. The Depravity of Nature appears, in that the ge- neral Co?ifequence of the State and Tendency of Man's Nature is a much greater Degree of Sin, than Righteoufnifs j not only with Refpeet to Value and Demerit, but likewife Matter and Quantity. Pag. 39,-— 49* Sect. VI. The Corruption of Man's Nature appears by it's Tendency, in it's prefent State, to an extreme Degree of Folly and Stupidity in Matters of Religion. Pag. 49,-62. Sect. VII. That Man's Nature is corrupt, appears, in that vaftly ths greater Part of. Mankind, in all Ages, have been wicked Men, Pag. 62,-— 76. S f 2 Sect. VIII. M The Content $. Sect. Vfll. The native ©epravity or' Mankind appears, in that there has been fo little good Effeft of fo manifold & great Means ufed to promote Virtue in the World. Pag. 76,-- ioc. Sect. IX. Several Evafiom of the Arguments for Depravity of Nature, from Trial and Events, confidered. Eva/ion I. Adam's Nature, and the Nature of the Angeh that ftll, was not firiful, yet they ^hw«/ : and all Mankind may, without a fmful Nature, fin as well as they. Pag. 1 00,- — 1 06. Evafion II. Man's own Free-will is a Caufe fujficient to account for the general Wjckcdncfs of the World. Pag. 106,— 108. Eva/ion III. The Corruption of the World, may be owing,not to a depraved Nature, but to bad Example. Pag. ic8,--ii5. Evafion IV '. The general Prevalence of Wickednefs may with- out fuppofinu; a corrupt Nature, be accounted for by our Senjes btmgfirjl in Exercife, and our animal Pafjions getting the Start of F.tafon. Pag. j 15,-- -1 18. Evafion V. Men in this World are in a State of Trial -, it is therefore fit, that their Virtue fhould be tried by Oppofition, both from without and from within. Pag, 118,— -121. CHAR II. Univerfal Mortality proves original Sin ; particularly the Death of Infants , with its various Circumftances. Pag. 1 2 r ,-- 1 -8. PART II. Containing Obfervations on particular Parts of the holy Scrip- tures, which prove the Doctrine of original Sin. Pag. 139. C H A P. L Obfervations ' ;ating to Things contained in the three fir/1 Chapters t ^ENESIS, with Reference to the Doclrine of Origin... oin. Sect. I. Concerning" original Right eonfnefs ; and whether our nrftParents were created with Righteoufnefs or moral Recti- tude of Heart ? Pag. 139,— 155. Sect. Ii. Concerning the Kind of Death, threatned to our ririt Parents, in Cafe they fhould eat of the forbidden Fruit. Pag. 1 55. ---164. Sect. III. Wherein it is enquired, whether there b.- any thing in the Hiftory in the three firft Chapters of Genefis, which fhould lead us to fuppofe, that God> in his Conftitution with ADAM, dealt with Mankind in general, as included in their firft Father ; and that the Threaining of Death, in Cafe he fhould eat the forbidden Fruit, had Refpecl, not only to him, but to his Pojhrity ? Pag- 164,-184. C H A P. II. Obfervations on other Parts of the holy Scripiures, chiefly in the Old Tejlameni ,that prove original Sin. Pag. 185,--- 199. CriAi , The Contents. xvii CHAP. III. Obfervatlons on various other Places of Scripture, principally in the New-Eejiament, proving the Doctrine of Original Sin. Sect. I. Obfervations on Job. iii. 6. in Connection with fome other Paffages in the New-Teftament ; (hewing all to be FIeJh 9 by natural Birth. Pag. 199,— -209. Sect. II. Obfervations on Rom. iii. 9, ---24.. (hewing, that All in thcfr firfi State are Wicked. Pag. 209,— -220. Sect. HI. Obfervations on Rom. v. 6,— 10. Eph. ii. 3. with the Context ; and Rem, vii. confirming it, that All in their firft State are Wicked. Pag. 22c,-— 237. CHAP. IV. Containing Obfervations on Rom. v. 12, to the End. Sect. I. Remarks on Dr. T~-r'$ Way of explaining this Paragraph. Pag. 238,-- -271; Sect. II. Obfervations, (hewing the true Connexion, Scope and Senfe of this remarkable Paragraoh ;' with fome Reflexions on the Evidence, which we here have, of the Doctrine of original Sin. f* ;. 271,-289. PART ? T I. Obferving the Evidence given us, relative SESsaT^etrine of Original Sin, in what the Script. ~s horning the Redemption by Christ. Pag, 2 09. CHAP. I. The Evidence of Original Sin from the Nature pf Redemption, in the Procurement of it : which is fuperfhlfcd by Dr. 5T— r's Scheme. Eag. 289,-290. CHAP. II. The Evidence of the Doctrine of Original Sin from what the Scripture teaches concerning the Application of Redemption. Pag. 298,— 311. PART IV. Containing Anfwers to OBJECTIONS. P,-g. 311. CHAP. I. Concerning that Objection, That to fuppofe Men to be born in Sin, without their Choice, or any previous Act of their own, is to fuppofe what is inconfiftent -with the N: SJI\ T . And Reflections (hewing the Inconfjhnce of Dr. /--A Ar- guings from this Topic. Eag. 311,--; C H A P. II. Concerning that Objection agairift the Doctrine of rlat*v - ruption,That to fuppofe, Men receive their firfi: Exiilci: Sin, is to make Kim who is the Author cf their Bting, alfo the Author of their Depravity. Pag, 31 6,-- -326. CI:' xviii The Contents. C II A P. III. That great Objection againft the Imputation of Adam's Sin t© his PofUrity confidered, That Juch Imputation is unjufr and un- reafonable, in as much as Adam and his Pofterity are net One and the fame. With a brief Reflection fubjoined, on what fbme have fuppofed, of God's imputing the Guilt of Adam\ Sin to his Pofterity, but in an infinitely lefs Degree, than to Adam himfelf. Post* 326-- -?<;<:. c H A p. IV. Wherein feveral other Objections are confidered. — Viz. That at the Reparation of the World after the FJood,God pro- nounced equivalent, or greater Blcffmgs on Noah and his Sons, than he did on Adam at his Creation. Z 3 ^- 356,- -359. That the Doctrine of Original Sin difparages the divine Good- nefs in giving us our Being, and leaves us no Rcafon to thank God for it, as a Gift of his Beneficence. ^' < § r -359>-— 363. That at the Day of Judgment ^ the Judge will deal with every Man fingly ahdfeparattly, rendring to every Man recording !@ his own Works, and his improvement of perfonal Talents. m pa S- 3 6 3v--3 6 5- That the Word, Impute, is never ufed in Scn^ture, but with RefpeCV' 7 ' 7 ' 1 *-^ own peffmal Acts. Pag. 365,-367. That////// Children are pre poled as Patterns of Humility, Meeknefs, and Innocence. P°g- 368. That the Doctrine of Original Sin pours Contempt upon the hu- man Nature. Pag. 369. That it tends to beget in us an /// Opinion of our Fellow-Crea- tures, and to promote Ill-will and mutual Hatred. P^.369. That it hinders our Comfort, and promotes Gloominefs of Mind. Pag. 370, That it tends to encourage Men in Sin, and leads to all Manner of Iniquity. P. 371. That if this Doctrine be true, it mud be unlawful to beget Chil- dren. Pag. 371,372. That it's ftrange, this Doctrine fnould be no oftner, and not more plainly, fpoken of in Scripture; it being, if true, a very important Doctrine. Pag. 373,374. That Chrijl fays not one Word of this Doctrine throughout the K four Gofpels. Pag. 374,-382. The CONCLUSION. Containing feme brief Obfervations on certain artful Methods, ufed by Writers who are Adverfaries of this Doctrine, in order to prejudice their Readers againft it. Pag. 382,^. ? $& c^2d c££> <£& £%} && cSfe & qj? Grace inter pofing. * cording to the real Nature and true Demerit of Thlnc?s,as they are in themfelves, implies his utter Ruin, That muft "be look'd upon as an evil Tendency or Propehfity ; how- ever divine Grace may interpofe, to fave him from defer- red Ruin, and to over-rule Things to an Blue contrary to that which they tend to of themfelves. Grace is a fove- reign Thing, exe'rcifed according to the good Pleafure of God, bringing Good out of Evil ; The Effect, of it be- longs not to the Nature of Things themfelves, that other- wife have an ill Tendency, any more than the Remedy "belongs to the Difeafe ; but is fomefhing altogether .inde- pendent on it, introduced to oppo'fethe naturalTendency, £nd reverfe 'the Gourfe of Things. But the Event that Things tend to, according to their own Demerit, and ac- cording to divine Juftice, That is the Event which they tend to in their own Nature; as Dr. T* — r's own Words fully imply (Pref. to Par. on Rom. p. 187.) " God a- pravity we are fpeaking of; and therefore when we arc confidering whether fuch Depravity don't appear by a Tendency to a bad Effect or Blue, 'tis a moral Tendency to fuch an Blue, that is what is to be taken into the Ac- count. A moral Tendency or Influence is by 'Defert* Then may it be faid, Man's Nature or State is attend- ed with a pernicious or deitructive Tendency, in a moral Senfe, when it tends to that which deferves Mifery and Deftruclion. And therefore it equally lhews the moral ©eprayity of the Nature of Mankind in their prefenc B 3 grate, 6 Grace no Argument Part I. o State, whether that Nature be univerfally attended with an effectual Tendency to deflruclive Vengeance actually executed,or to their deferving Mifery & Ruin,or theirywj? Expofednefs to Deftruclion, however that fatal Confe- rence may be prevented by Grace, or whatever the actual Event be. One Thing more is to be obferved here, viz. That the Topic mainly infilled on by the Oppofersof theDoclrine ©f Original Sin, is the Juflice of God ; both in their Ob- jections againft the Imputation of Adam's Sin, and alfo againft it's being fo order'd that Men fhould come into the World with a corrupt and ruin d Nature, without having merited the Difpleafure of their Creator by any perfonal Fault. But the latter is not repugnant to God's Juflice, if Men can be, and actually are, born into theWorld with a Tendency to Sin, and to Mifery and Ruin for their Sin, which actually will be the Confequence, unlefs meer 'Or ace fleps in and prevents it. If this be allowed, the Argument from Juflice is given up : For it is to fuppofe that their Liablenefs to Mifery & Ruin comes in a Way of Juflice ; otherwife there would be no Need of the Inter- pofition of divineGrace to fave 'em ; Juflice alone would be fufficient Security, if exercifed, without Grace. 'Tis ^all one in this Diipute about what is juft & righteous, whe- ther Men are born in a miferable State, by a Tendency to Ruin, which aclually follows, and that juftly ; or whether they are born in fuch a State as tends toaDefert ofRuin, which might juftly follow, and would aclually follow, did not Grace prevent. For the Controverfy is not, wha* Grace will do, but what Juflice might do. I have been the more particular on this Head, becaufe k enervates many of the Reafonings and Conclufions by which Dr. T. makes out his Scheme ; in which he ar- gues from that State which Mankind are in by divine Grace, yea, which he himfelf fuppofes to be by divine Grace; and yet not making any Allowance for this, he from hence draws Conclufions againfl what others fuppofe of the deplorable and ruin'd State, Mankind are in by the Fall Chap, i.") againft a corrupt Nature, 7 [Fall.f Some of his Arguments and Conclufions to this EfFect, in order to be made good, muft depend on fucha Suppofition as this ; That God's Difpenfations of Grace are Re&ifications or Amendments of his foregoing Confti- tutions and Proceedings, which were meerly legal ; as tho* the Difpenfations of Grace, which fucceed thofe of meer Law, implied anAcknowlegement, that the prececding Legal Conflitution would be unjuft, if left as it was, or at lead very hard Dealing with Mankind ; and that the other were of the Nature of a Satisfaction to his Creatures, foe former Injuries, or hard Treatment : fo that put together, the Injury with the Satisfaction, , the legal and injurious Difpenfation taken with the following good Difpenfation, which our Author calls Grace, and the Unfairnefs or im- proper Severity of the former amended by the Goodnefs of the latter, both together made up one Righteous Di£. .penfation. The f He often fpeaks of Death and Affiie~Hon.as coming onJdam's. Pofterity in Confequence of his Sin ; and in P. 20,21. and many other Places, he fuppofes that thefe Things come in Confequence of his Sin,not as a Punifhment or a Calamity, hut as a Benefit : But in P. 23. He fuppofes, thefe Things would be a great Calamity and Mifery,if it were not for the Refurreclion ; which Refurrection he there, and in the fol- lowing Pages, and many other Places, fpeaks of as being by Chrift ; and often fpeaks of it as being by the Grace of God in Chrift. P. 63, 64. fpeaking of our being fubjected to Sorrow, Labour and Death, inConfequence of Ada?ns Sin ; He reprefents thefe as Evils that are reverfed, and turned into Advantages, and that we are delivered from through Grace in Chrift. And ia P. 65, 66, 67. Ke fpeaks of God's thus turning Death into an Advantage through Grace in Chrift, as what vindicates the Juftice of God in bringing Death by Adam. P. 152, 156. 'Tis one Thing which he alledges againft this Propofition of the AfTembly of Divines, That we are by Nature Bond-llaves to Satan ; That God hath been providing* .from the Beginning of the World to this Day, various Means and Difpenfations^ to prefervs and re [cue Mankindfrom the. Devil. ' P. i69, woMrg*' ag u corrupt Nature. Par.L Reader is defired to bear this in Mind, whieh I have faid coacerj ing interpofition of divine Grace,it's not altering the Nature of Things, as they are in them- felves; and accordingly, when I fpeak of fuch and fuch an evil Tendency of Things, belonging to the prefent Nature P. *68, 169, 170. One Thing alledgsd, in Anfwcr to that Objection againft his Doctrine, That we are in worfe Cir- cumfbnees than Adam, is the Ha ppy Circumftances we are under by the Provifion and Means furnifhed, through free Grace in Chrifl. , P. 228. Among other Things which he fays, in anfwering that Argument againfr his Doctrine, and bro't to ihew Men have Corruption by Nature, viz. That there is a Law in our Members, bringing us into Captivity to the Law of Sin and Death, fpoktn of Rom. vii. He allows that the Cafe of thofe who are under a Law threatning Deaih for every Sin (which Law he elfewhere fays, Jhews us the natural and proper Demerit of Sin, and is perfectly confonant to evcrtajiing "Truth and Right ecufnejs) fnuft he quite deplorable, if they have no Relief from the Mercy of the Lavjgiverl P. 367, 370. In Oppofition to what is fuppofed of the mi- ferable State Mankind are brought into by Adams Sin, one Thing he alledges, is, The noble Defigns of Love, maniffed by advancing a nezv and happy Difpenfaticn, founded on the Obedience and Righteoujnefs of the Son of God ; and that altho' by Ada?n we are iubjecled to Death, yet in this Difpenfation a Refur- reCrien is provided ; And that Adams Poiienty are under a mild Difpenfation of Grace he. t V f 388, 389. He vindicates God's Dealings with Ada?n, in placing him at firlt. under thcRigour of Law,Tranfgrefs and die ("which, as he exprefles it, vc as putting his Happinefshn a Foot extremely dangerous) by faying, that as God had before de- termined in his own Breafl, fo he immediately ejlablijhed his Cove- nant upon a quite different Bottom, namely, upon Grace. P. 398, 309. againit what R. R. fays,ThatGod forfook Maa when he fell, and that Mankind zfrerAdam's Sin were born without the divine Favpur &c. He alledges among other Things, ChrifFs coming to be the Propitiation of the Sins of the whole World And the Riches of God's Mercy in giving the Prornife of a Redeemer to dejlroy the Works of the Devil,— 'thai He caught his finning falling Creature in the Anns of his Grace* '■ • J A All Men fin, Chap Sect Nature and State of Mankind, underftand Me to mean their Tendency as they are in themfehes,ab{\r2i&e& from any Confederation of that Remedy the fovereign and infi- nite Grace of God has provided. Having premifed thefc Things, I now proceed to fay, That Mankind are all naturally in fuch a State, as is attended, without Fail, with this Confequence or IfTue ; that they univerfally run themfelves into that which is, in Effect, their own utter eternal Perdition, as being fi- nally accurfed of God, and the Subjects of his remedilefs Wrath, thro* Sin. From which I infer, that the natural State of the Mind of Man is attended with a Propenfity of Nature, which is prevalent and effectual, to fuch an IfTue ; and that there- fore their Nature is corrupt and depraved with a moral Depravity, that amounts to and implies their utter un- doing, Here I would firfl confider theTruth of thePropofition; and then would ihew the Certainty of the Coniequences which I infer from it. If both can be clearly and cer- tainly proved, then I truft, none will deny but that the Doctrine of original Depravity is evident,and fo theFalfe- nefs of Dr. T — fs Scheme demonftrated ; the greaueft Paft of whofe Book, that he calls the Scripture DGclrine of Original Sin &c. is againfl the Doctrine of innate ^De- pravity. In P. 383. He fpeaks of the Conveyance of a corrupt and finful Nature to Adam\ Pofterity as the grand Point to be proved by the Maintainers of the Doctrine of original Sin. In order to demonftrate what is averted in the Propo- rtion laid down,there is Need only that thefe two Things fhould be made manifeft : One is this Fact, thai all Man- kind come into the World in fuch a Stare, as without fail comes to this I flue* namely, the univerfal CommilTion pf Sin ; or that every One who comes to act in the World as a moral Agent, is, in a greater or fefler Degree, guilty pf Sin. The Other is, that aU Sia defer* es ana expofes to io All Men fin. Part L to utter and eternal Deftru&ion, under God's Wrath and Curfe ; and would end in it, were it not for the Interpo- sition of divine Grace to prevent the Effect. • Both which can be abundantly demonftrated to be agreeable to the Word of God, and to Dr. jT — r 9 s own Doctrine.* That every one of Mankind, at lead of them that are capable of acting as moral Agents, arc guilty of Sin (not jiow taking it for granted that they come guilty into the World) is a Thing mod clearly and abundantly evident from the holy Scriptures ; i Kings viii. 46. If any Man Jin again/} thee, for there is no Man that ftnneth not. £ccl. vii. 20. 'There is not ajufk Man upon Earth that doth Good, <& ftnneth not. Job ix.2,3. I know it is fo of a 'Truth, ( i. e. as Bildad had ]\i(l before faid, That God would not caft away a perfect Man &c.) but how Jhould Man be jujl with God f If he will contend with him* he cannot anfwer him one of a Thoufand. To the like Purpofe, Pfal. cxliii. 2. Enter not into Judgment with thy Servant \ for in thy Sight fhall no Man living be juftified. So the Words of the Apoftle (in which he has apparent Reference to thofe Words of the Pfalmift) Rom. iii. 19,20. That every Mouth may be flopped, and all the World become guilty before God. Therefore by the *Deeds of the Law there fhall no Flefh be juflifed in his * JnhisA^on Rom. v.20. P.379. He fays as follows : "The and the Executing of it inconfiftent ConftantEffeSt provesTendency. 17 deny, that the Propofition that was laid down, is fully proved, as agreeable to the Word of God, and Dr.T* — f% own Words ; viz. That Mankind are all naturally in fuch a State, as is attended, without fail, with this Confequence or Ifliie, that they univerfally are the Subjects of that Guilt and Sinfulnefs, which is, in Effect, their utter and eternal Ruin,being caft wholly out of the Favour of God, and fubjected to his everlafting Wrath and Curfe. SECT. II. 2/ follows from the Propofition -proved In the fore- going Seclion,that all Mankind are under the Influ- ence of a prevailing effectual Tendency in their Nature,^ that Sin and Wickednefs >which implies their utter and eternal Ruin. THE Propofition laid down being proved, the Confe-* quence of it remains to be made out, viz. That the Mind of Man has a natural < Te?:de?icy or Propenfity to that Event, which has been fhewn univerfally and in- fallibly to take Place ; (if this bcn't fufficiently evident of it fclf, without Proof ;) and that this is a corrupt or depraved Propenfity. I fhall here confider the former Part of this Confe- quence, namely, whether fuch an univerfal, conflant, in- fallible Event is truly a Proof of the Being of any Ten" dency or Propenfity to that Event ; leaving the evil and corrupt Nature of fuch a Propenfity to be confidered af- terwards. If any mail fay, they don't think that it's being a thing univerfal and infallible in Event, that Mankind com- mit fome Sin, is a Proof of a prevailing Tendency to Sin ; becaufe they don't only fin, but alfo do Good, and per- haps more Good than Evil : Let them remember, that the Queftion at prefent is not, How much Sin there is a Tendency to ; but,Whether there be a prevailingPropenfi- Jy to th?t Xflue, which it is allowed all ftfth m actually C come >8 Aconjlant EffeEl Part I. come to,th»t all fail of keeping the Law perfectly ; — Whe- ther there ben't a Tendency to fuch Imperfection of Obe- dience, as always without fail comes to pafs ; to that De- gree of Sinfulnefs, at lead, which all fall into ; and fo to that utter Ruin, which that Sinfulnefs implies and infer?. Whether an effectual Propenfity to this be worth the Name of Depravity, becaufe of the Good that may be fuppofed to balance it, fhall be confidered by and by. If it were fo, that all Mankind, in ail Nations andAges,were at leaft one Day in their Lives deprived of the Ufe of their Reafon, and run raving mad ; or that all.even every individual Perfbn, once cut their own Throats, or put out their own Eyes ; it might be an Evidence of fome Ten- dency in the Nature or natural State of Mankind to fuch an Event ; tho' they might exercife Reafon many more Days than they were diffracted, and were kind to and tender of themfelves oftener than they mortally and cru- elly wounded themfelves. To determine whether the unfailing Conflancy of the above-named Event be an Evidence of Tendency, let it be confidered, — What can be meant by Teride ncy, but a pre- vailing Liablenef3 or Expofednefs to fuxh or fuch an E- vent ? Wherein confiffs the Notion of any fuch thing,but fome ftated Prevalence or PrepOnderation in the Nature or State of Caufes or Occafions, that is- followed by, and ib proves to be effectual to, a dated Prevalence or Common- nefs of any particularXind of Effect ? Or,fomething in the permanent State of Things, concerned in bringing a cer- tain Sort of Event to pafs, which is a Foundation for the Conftancy, or flrongly prevailing Probability, of fuch an Event? If we mean this by Tendency (as I know not what elfe can be meant by it, but this, or fomething like this) then it is manifeit, that where we fee a ftated Pre- valence of any Kind of Effect or Event, there is a Tendency to that Effect in the Nature and State of it's Caufes. A common and fteady Effect fhews,that there is fome-where a Preponderation, a prevailing Expofednefs or Liablenefs in the State of Things, to what comes fo fteadily s C £ HAP 'il L \ proves Tendency. ig fteadily to pafs. The natural Dictate of Reafon fhews, that where there is an Effect, there is a Caufe, andaCaufe fufficient for the Effect ; becaufe, if it were not fufficient, it would not be effectual : and that therefore, where there is a dated Prevalence of the Effecl:, there is a ftated Pre- valence in the Caufe : A fteady Effecl: argues a fteady Caufe. We obtain a Notion of fuch a Thing as Tenden- cy, no other Way than by Obfervation : And we can ob- ferve nothing but Events : And 'tis the Commonnefs or Conftancy of Events,that gives us a Notion of Tendency in all Cafes. Thus we judge of Tendencies in the natural World. Thus we judge of the Tendencies or Propensi- ties of Nature in Minerals, Vegetables, Animals, rational and irrational Creatures. A Notion of a ftatedTendency or fix'd Propensity is not obtain'd by obferving only a fing;e Event. A ftated Preponderation in the Caufe or Occafion, is argued only by a ftated Prevalence of the Effecl:. If a Die be once thrown, and it falls on a par- ticifar Side, we don't argue from hence, that that Side is the heavieft ; but if it be thrown without Skill or Care„ many Thoufands or Millions of Times going, and con- ftantly falls on the fame Side, we have not the leaft Doubt in our Minds,, but that there is fomething of Pro- penfity in the Cafe, by fuperiour Weight of that Side, or in fome other refpect. How ridiculous would he make "himfeif, wholhould earneftly difpute againft anyTenden- cy in the Srate of Things to Cold in the Winter, or Heat in the Summer ; or fhould ftand to it, that altho' it often happen'd that Water quench'd Fire, yet there was no Tendency in it to fuch an Effecl ? In the Cafe we are upon, the human Nature,as exifting in- fuch an immenfe DiverHty of Perfons and Circumftan- ces, and never failing in any one Inftance, of coming to that Iifue, viz. that Sinfulnefs which implies extreme Mifery and eternal Ruin, is as the Die often caft. For it alters not the Cafe, in the leaft, as to the Evidence of Tendency, whether the Subject of the conftant Event be an Individual, or a Nature and Kind. Thus,if there be a C 2 Succedion 20 Umverfal Sin proves Part L Succeflion of Trees of the fame Sort, proceeding one from another, from the Beginning of the World, growing in all Countries, Soils and Climates, and otherwife in ( as it were) an infinite Variety of Circumftances, all bearing ill Fruit; it as much proves the Nature and Tendency of the Kind, as if it were only one Individual Tree, that had temain'd from the Beginning of the World, had often been tranfplanted into different Soils &c. and had conti- nued to bear only bad Fruit. So, if there were a particu- lar Family, which, from Generation to Generation, and thro' every Remove to innumerable different Coun- tries and Places of Abode, all died of a Confumption, or all run diffracted, or all murder'd themfelves, it would be as much an Evidence of the Tendency of fomething in the Nature or Conftitution of that Race, as it would be of the Tendency of fomething m the Nature or State of an Individual,if fome onePerfonhad liv'dall that Time, and fbme remarkable Event had often appeared in him, which he had been the Agent or Subject of, from Year to Year, and from Age to Age, continually and without Fail, f Thus Kt m I II II a—— ——■ ■ ■ n i I .... i. n- i. iniT i. ■ ._ f Here may be obferved the Weaknefs of that Obje6lion,made againft the Validity of the Argument for a fix'd Propenfity to Sin, from the Conftancy and Univerfality of the Event, That Adam fin'd in one Inttance,without a fix'd Propenfity, Without Doubt a tingle Event is an Evidence, that there was fome Caufe or Occaiion of that Event : But the thing we are fpeaking of, is a fefd Caufe : Propenfity is a fated continued thing. We jtfftiy argue, that ijlated Effeft mud have zftated Caufe \ and truly obferve, that we obtain the Notion of Tendency, or Jlated Preponderatim in Caufes, no other Way than by obferving a dated Prevalence of a parti- cular Kind of Effect. But who ever argues a fix'd Pro- penfity from a fingle Effect ? And is it not ftrange arguing, that beeaufe an Event which once comes to pafs, don't prove any ftated Tendency, therefore the unfailing Conftancy of anEvent is an Evidence of no fuch thing ?— But beeaufe Dr.T. makes fo much of this Objection, fromJdam's finning without a Propenfity, I (hall hereafter confider it more par- ticularly, in the Beginning of the 9th Sefiion of this Chap- ter; where will alfo be confidejred what is objected from ths Fall of the Angels, Chap, j. — -. 'sect ' ii' } Prope?ifay to Sm. Thus a Propenfity attending the prefent Nature or na- tural State of Mankind, eternally to ruin themfelves by Sin, may certainly be infer'd from apparent and acknow- ledged Fact — And I would now obferve further, that not only does this follow from Facls that are acknowledged by Dr. T but the Things he ajferts, the ExprefTions and Words which he ufes, do plainly imply that ail Mankind have fuch a Propenfity ; yea, one of the higheft Kind, a Propenfity that is invincible, or a Tendency which really amounts to a flx'd conftant unfailing Necefjlty* There is a plain Confemon of a Propenfity or Prcnenefsr to Sin, P. 143. — " Man, who drinketh in Iniquity like Water ; who is attended withfo many fenfual Appetites, and fo APT to indulge them— " And again P. 228, " WE ARE VERY APTinaWorld full of Temptation, to be deceiv'd, & drawn into Sin by bodily Appetites." — If we are very apt or prone to be drawn into Sin by bodily Appetites, and fmfully to indulge them, and very apt or prone to yield to Temptation to Sin, then we are prone, to Sin : for to yield to Temptation to Sin, is finfuL — In the fame Page he reprefents, that on this Account, and on Account of the Confequences of this, the Cafe ofthofe ivho are under a Lazv threatning 'Death for every Sin % mufl be quite deplorable, if they have no Relief from the Mercy of the Laugher. Which implies, that their Cafe is hopelefs, as to an efcape from Death, the Punifhment of Sin, by any other Means than God'sMercy. And that implies,that there is fuch an Aptnefs to yield to Tempta- tion to Sin, that 'tis hopelefs that any of Mankind mould wholly avoid it. But he fpeaks of it elfewhere, over and over, as truly impojfible, or what can't be ; as intheWords which were cited in the lad SecJion from his Note onRom* v. 20. where he repeatedly fpeaks of the Law, whicfe fubje&s us to Death for every TranfgreiTion, as whac CANNOT GIVE LIFE ; and reprefents.thatif God -offer'd us no other Way of Salvation, no Man from the Beginning of the World COUUD be faved. In the £ame Place he with Approbation cites Mx.Locke\ Words, C 2 in 2 2 That all do Jin, proves Part I. in which, fpeaking of the Ifraelites, he fays, ifpe?fation fui table to the Infirmity of the human Nature in its pre- fent State. Thefe Things amount to a full ConfelTion, that the Pronenefs in Men to Sin, and to a Demerit of and jufl Expofednefs to eternal Ruin by Sin, is univer- fally invincible, or, which i.s the fameThing, amounts to abfolute invincible NecefTity ; which furely is the higheft Kind of Tendency, or Propenfky : and that not the lefs for his laying this Propenfky to our Infirmity orAVeaknefs, which may fcem to intimate fome Defect, rather than any Thing pofitive : And 'tis agreable to the Sentiments of the beft. Divines, tjiat.all Sin originally comes from a de- fective or privative Caufe. But Sin don't ceafe to be Sin, or a Thing not juftly expofmg to eternal Ruin (as is imply'd in Dr. jT~- r's own Words) for arifing from In- firmity or Defect ; nor does an invincible Propenfity to Sin ceafe to be a Propenfity to fuch Dement of eternal Ruin, becaufe the Pronenefs arifes from fuch a Caufe. \^f It is manifefr,that this Tendency which has been prov- ed, don't confifl in any particular external Circumstances, that fome or many are in, peculiarly tempting and influ- encing their Minds j but is inherent, and is feated in that Nature which is common to all Mankind, which they car- ry with them wherever they go, and ftill remains the fame, however Circumflances may differ. For it is implied in what has been proved, and ihewn to be confefs'd,that the fame Event comes to pafs in all Circumflances, that any of Mankind ever are or can be under in the World. In God's Sight no Man living can be juflified ; but all are Sinners, and expofed to Condemnation. This is true of Perfons of all Conftitutions, Capacities, Conditions, Man- ners, Se"t P, ii'^ Propenfity of Nature. 23 ners, Opinions and Educations ; in all Countries,Gimates, Nations and Ages ; and through all the mighty Changes and Revolutions, which have come to pafs in the habitable World. We have the fame Evidence, that the Propenfity in this Cafe lies in the Nature of the Subject, and don't arife from any particular Circumitances, as we have in any Cafe whatfoever ; which is only by the Effects appearing to be the fame in all Changes of Time and Place, and un- der all Varieties of Circumftances. It is in thisWay only we judge, that any Propenfities, which we obferve in Mankind, are fuch as are feated in theirNature,in all other Cafes. 'Tis thus we judge of the mutual Propenfity be- twixt the Sexes, or of the Difpofitions which are exercifed in any of the natural Paflions or Appetites, that they truly belong to the Nature of Man ; becaufe they are Gbferved in Mankind in general, through all Countries, Nations and Ages, and in all Conditions. If any fhould fay, Tho' k be evident that there is a Tendency in the State of Things to this general Event, that ail Mankind fhould fail of perfect Obedience, and iliould fin, and incur a Demerit of eternal Ruin ; and alfo that this Tendency don't lie in any diftinguifhing Circumitances of any particular People, Perfon or Age z yet it may not lie in Man's Nature, but in the general Con- ilitution & Frame of thisWorld,into which Men are born* Tho' the Nature of Man may be good, without any evil Propenfity inherent in it ; yet the Nature and univerfal State of this earthly World may be fuch as to be full o£ fo many and ftrong Temptations every where,and of fuch a powerful Influence on fuch a Creature as Man, dwell- ing in fo infirm a Body &c. that the Refult of the whole may be, a ftrong and infallible Tendency in fuch a State cf Things, to the Sin and eternal Ruin of every one of Mankind. To this I would reply, that fuch an Evafion will not at all avail to the Purpofe of thofe whom I oppofe in this Controverfy. It alters not the Cafe as to this Queftion, C 4 Whether 54 Tthat all do Jin , proves Part I. Whether Man is not a Creature that in his prefent State is depraved and ruin'd by Propenfities to Sin. If any Creature be of fuch a Nature that it proves evil in its proper Place, or in the Situation which God has afligned 5t in the Univerfe, it is of an evil Nature. That Part of the Syftem is not good,which is not good in it's Place 5n the Syftem : and thofe inherent Qualities of that Part of the Syftem, which are not good, but corrupt, in that Place, are juftly looked upon as evil inherent Qualities. That] Propenfity is truly efteemed to belong to the Nature of any Being, or to be inherent in it, that is the •neceflary Confequence of it's Nature 3 confidered together with it's proper Situation in the univerfal Syftem of Ex- iftence, whether that Propenfity be good or bad. 5 Tis the Nature of a Stone, to be heavy ; but yet, if it were placed, as it might be, at a Diftance from this World, it would have no fuch Quality. But feeing a Stone is of luch a Nature, that it will have this Quality or Tenden- cy, in it's proper Place, here in this World, where God has made it, 'tis properly look'd upon as a Propenfity be- longing to it's Nature : And if it be a good Propenfity here in it's proper Place, then it is a good Quality of it's Nature ; But if it be contrariwife, it is an evil natural Quality. So, if Mankind are of fuch aNature,that they Iiave an univerfal effectual Tendency to Sin and Ruin, in this World, where God has made and placed them, this is to be looked upon as a pernicious Tendency belonging to their Nature. There is, perhaps, fcarce any fuch thing in Beings not independent and fe If- ex iflent, as any Power or Tendency, but what hasfome Dependance on other Beings, which they ftand in fome Connection with, in the univerfal Syftem of Exiftence : Propenfities are no Propenfities, any otherwife, than as taken with their Objects. Thus it is with the Tendencies obferved in natural Bodies, fuch as Gravity,Magnetifm,Eleclxicity &c. And thus it is with the Propenfities obferved in the vari- ous Kinds of Animals ; and thus it is with moft of the Propenfities in created Spirits, It Chap. I. ECT «J-2 Propenfity of Nature, 25 It may further be obferved, that it is exactly the fame thing, as to the Controverfy concerning an Agreeablenefs withGod's moral Perfections of fnch a Difpofal of Things, that Man fhould come into theWorld in a depraved ruin'd State, by a Propenfity to Sin and Ruin ; whether God Jhas fo ordered it, that this Propenfity fhould lie in his Nature confidered alone, or with Relation to it's Situa- tion in the Univerfe, and it's Connexion with other Parts of the Syftem to which the Creator has united it ; which is as much of God's ordering, as Man's Nature it fclf, mofr. (imply confidered. Dr. T. (P. 1 88,1 89.) fpeaking of theAttempt of Some to folve the Difficulty of God's being the Author of our Nature, and yet that our Nature is polluted, by fuppo- fing that God makes the Soul pure, but unites it to a polluted Body [or a Body fo made, as tends to pollute the Soul ;] He cries out of it as weak and infufficient,and too grofs to be admitted : For, fays he, Who infufedthe Soul into the Body ? And if it is polluted by being in- fufed into the Body, who is the Author and Caufe of ifs Pollution f And who created the Body &c ? — But is not the Cafe juft the fame, as to thofe who fuppofe that God made the Soul pure, and places it in a polluted World, or a World tending by it's natural State in which it is made, to pollute the Soul, or to have fuch an Influence upon it, that it fhail without fail be polluted with Sin, and eter- nally ruin'd ? Here, mayn't I alfo cry out, on as good Grounds as Dr. T. — Who placed the Soul here in this World ? And if the World be polluted, or fo conftituted as naturally and infallibly to pollute the Soul with Sin, who is the Caufe of this Pollution ? And,who created the World — ? Tho' in the Place now cited, Dr. T. fo infifh upon it, that God mud be anfwerable for thePollution of the Soul, if he has infufed or put the Soul into a Body that tends to pollute it ; yet this is the very Thing which he himfelf fuppofes to be Faft, with refpeel: to the Soul's being cre- ated by God ; in fuch a Body as it is ; and in fuch aWorld as 26 That all Men do Sin> proves a Par.I. as it is ; in a Place which I have already had Occafion to obferve, where he fays, " We are apt, in a World full " of Temptation, to be drawn into Sin by bodily Appe- " tites." And if fo, according to his Way of Reafoning, God muft be the Author and Caufe of this Aptnefs to be drawn into Sin. Again P. 143. we have thefe Words, " Who drinketh in Iniquity like Water ; who is attend- " ed with jo many fenfual Appetites, and fo apt to in- " dulge thern^ In thefe Words our Author in Effect fays the individual thing that he cries out of as fo g rojs, viz. The Tendency of the Body, as God has made it, to pollute the Soul, which he has infufed into it. Thefe fenfual Appetites, which incline the Soul, or make it apt to a finful Indulgence, are either from the Body which God hath made, or otherwife a Pronenefs to finful Indul- gence is immediately and originally feated in the Soul it felf, which will not mend the Matter, for Dr. Taylor. I would here laflly obferve, that our Author infifts upon it, P. 317,318. That this lower World where we dwell, inks prefent State, " Is as it was, when, upon a " Review, God pronounced it, and all it's Furniture,very " good. — And that the prefent Form and Furniture of " the Earth is full of God's Riches, Mercy & Goodnefs, " and of the moft evident Tokens of his Love & Bounty " to the Inhabitants." If fo, there can be no Room for fuch an Evafion of the Evidences from Fact, of the uni<« verfal infallibleTendency of Man'sNature to Sin & eternal Perdition, as, that the Tendency there is to this Iflue,don't lie in Man's Nature, but in the general Conftitution and Frame of this earthly World, which God hath made tq be the Habitation of Mankind. Sect Chap Sect.III 1 - XDeprav d^ruiri dStateof Nature. 2 7 Sec t. III. That Tropenfity which has been proved to be in the Nature of all Mankind, muft tea very evil, de- praved and pernicious Propenfiry ; making it manifeft that the Soul of Man, as it is by Nature, is in a corrupt, fallen and ruin'd State : -which is the other 'Tart of the Conference y drawn from the Tropofition laid down in the fir ft Seclion. THE Queftion to be confidered, in Order to deter- mine whether Man's Nature is not depraved and ruirfd, is not, Whether he is not inclined to perform as many good Deeds as bad ones ? But,Which of thefe two he preponderates to, in the Frame of his Heart, and State of his Nature, a State of Innocence and Righteoufnefs, and Favour with God', or a State of Sin,Guiltinefs and Abhorrence in the Sight of God t — Perfevering finlefs Righteoufnefs, or elfe the Guilt oF Sin, is theAlternative, the Decifion of which depends (as is confefled) according to the Nature and Truth of Things, as they are in them- felves, and according to the Rule of Right and of perfect Juftice, Man's being approved and accepted of hisMaker, and eternally blefTed as good ; or his being rejecl:ed,throvvn away and curfed as bad. And therefore the Determi- nation of the Tendency of Man's Heart and Nature with refpecl to thefe Terms, is that which is to be look'd at, m Order to determine whether his Nature is good or evil, pure or corrupt, found or ruin'd. If fuch be Man's Na- ture, and ftate of his Heart, that he has an infallibly e£- feclual Propenfity to the latter of thofe Terms ; then it is wholly impertinent, to talk of the innocent and kind Actions, even of Criminals themfelves, furpajftng their Crimes in Numbers ; and of the prevailing Innocence y good Nature, Induflry, Felicity and Chearfulnefs of the greater Part of Mankind, Let never fo many Thou- fends, or Millions of A&s of Honefty,' good Nature &c. be 2 8 Hois Propenfity ^ mojl Part I. be fuppofed; yet, by the Suppofition, there is an unfail- ing Propenfity to fuch moral Evil, as in it's dreadfulCon- fequences infinitely out-weighs all ErTe&s or Confequen- ces of any fuppofedGood. Surely thatTcndency, which, in EfTeft, is an infallibleTendency to eternal Deflru&ion, is an infinitely dreadful & perniciousTendency : And that Nature & Frame of Mind, which implies fuch aTendency, to uft be an infinitely dreadful & pernicious Frame of Mind. It would be much more abfurd, to fuppofe, that fuch a State of Nature is good, or not bad, under a Notion of Men's doing more honeft and kind things, than evil ones ; than to fay, the State of that Ship is good, to crofs the Atlantick Ocean in, that is fuch as cannot hold together through the Voyage, but will infallibly founder and link by the Way ; under a Notion that it may probably go great Part of the Way before it finks, or that it will pro- ceed and fail above Water more Hours than it will be in finking : — Or,to pronounce thatRoad a good Road to go to fuch a Place, the greater Part of which is plain and fafe, tho' fome Parts of it are dangerous, and certainly fatal to them that travel in it ; or to call that a good Pro- penfity, which is an inflexible Inclination to travel in fuch a Way. A Propenfity to that Sin which brings God's eternal Wrath and Curfe (which has been proved to belong to the Nature of Man) is not evil, only as it is calamitous and forrowj III, ending in great natural Evil ; but it is odious too, and deteftable ; as, by the Suppofition, it tends to that moral Evil, by which the Subject becomes odious in the Sight of God, and liable, as fuch, to be condemned, and utterly rejected and curfed by him. This alfo makes it evident, that the State which it has been proved Mankind are in, is a corrupt State in a moral Senfe, that it is in- confident with the Fulfilment of the Law of God, which is the Rule of moral Rectitude and Goodnefs. That Tendency, which is oppofne to that which the moral Law requires and infills upon, and prone to that which the moral Law utterly forbids, and eternally condemns the s* 1 * ffl 1 corrupt and pernicious. 2 9 the Subject for, isdoubtlefs a corrupt Tendency, in a mo- ral Senfe. So that this Depravity is both odious > and alfo perni- cious, fatal and deftruclive, in the highefl Senfe, as ine- vitably tending to that which implies Man's eternal Ruin ; it Ihews, that Man, as he is by Nature, is in a deplorable and undone State, in the highefl Senfe. And this proves that Men don't come into the World perfectly innocent in the Sight of God, and without anyjuft Expofednefs to his Difpleafure. For the being by Nature in a loft and ruin'd State, in the highefl Senfe,is not confiflent with be- ing by Nature in a State of Favour with God. But if any ihould flill infifl on a Notion of Men's good Deeds exceeding their bad ones, and that feeing the good that is in Men more than countervails the Evil, they Can't be properly denominated evil ; All Perfons and Things being moil properly denominated from that which prevails, and has the Afcendant in them : I would fay further, That I prefume it will be allowed, that if there is in Man's Nature a Tendency to Guilt and Ul-Defert, in a vafl Over-balance toVirtue 8c Merit ; or a Propenfity to that Sin, the Evil and Demerit of which is fo great, that the Value and Merit that is in him, or in all the virtuous A6is that ever he performs, are as Nothing to it ; then truly the Nature of Man may be {aid to be corrupt and evil. That this is the true Gafe,may be demonflrated by what fs evident of the infinite Heinoufnefs of Sin againfl God, from the Nature of things. TheHeinoufnefs of this mufl rife in fome Proportion to the Obligation we are under to regard the divine Being ; and that mufl be in fome Pro- portion to his Worthinefs of Regard ; which doubtlefs is infinitely beyond the Worthinefs of any of our Fellow- Creatures. But the Merit of our Refpeft or Obedience to God is not infinite. The Merit of Refpe6l to any Being don't increafe, but is rather diminifh'd in Propor- tion to the Obligations we are under in {tricl Juftice to pay him that Refpecl, There is no great Merit in paying a Debt 3 outweighs their Virtue. *zi Sect. III. 5 ^ ° Creature, without any Regard to the Merit of all his good Deeds* unlefs that be in Truth the Cafe, that the Value and Merit of all thofe good Anions bear no Proportion to the Heinoufnefs of the lead Sin ? If it were not fo, one would think, that however the offending Perfon might have fome proper Punifhment, yet feeing there is fo much Virtue to lay in the Balance againfl the Guilt, it would be agreeable to the Nature of Things, that he fhould find fome Favour, and not be altogether rejected, and made the Subject of perfect and eternal Deftru&ion ; and thus no Account at all be made of all his Virtue, fo much as to procure him the leaft Relief or Hope. How can fuch a Conftitution reprefentSin in its proper Colours, and according to its true Nature and Defert (as Dr.T", fays it does) unlefs this be it's true Nature, that it is fo bad,that even in the leaft Inftance it perfectly fwallows up all the Value of the Sinner's fuppofed good Deeds, let 'em be ever fo many. So that this Matter is not left to our Metaphyficks,or Philofophy ; the great Lawgiver,and infallible Judge of the Univerfe, has clearly decided it, in the Revelation he has made of what is agreeable to ex- acl: Truth> Juftice and the Nature of Things, in his re- vealed Law or Rule of Righteoufnefs. He that in any Refpecl: or Degree is aTranfgreflbur of God's Law, is a wicked Man, yea, wholly Wicked in the Eye of the Law ; all his Goodnefs being efleemed No- thing, having no Account made of it, when taken together with hisWickednefs. And therefore, without any regard to his Righteoufnefs,he is,by theSentence of theLaw, and fo by the Voice of Truth arid Juftice, to be treated as wor- thy to be rejected, abhor'd and curfed forever ; and rnufr. be fo, unlefs Grace interpofes, to cover his Tranfgreffion. But Men are really,in Themfelves, what they are in the Eye of theLaw,and by theVoice of ftri&Equity &: Juftice ; however they may be looked upon, and treated by infi- nite and unmerited Mercy. So that, on the whole, it appears, all Mankind have an infallibly effectual Jftopenfity to that moral Evil,which infinitely 3 2 Sin infinitely outweighs &c. Part I. infinitely our- weighs theValue of all the Good that can he in them ; and have fuch a Difpofition of Heart, that the certain Confequence of it is, their being, in the Eye of perfect Truth and Righteoufnefs, Wicked Men. And I leave all to judge, whether fuch a Difpofition be not in the Eye of Truth a depraved Difpofition. Agreable to thefe Things, the Scripture reprefents all Mankind, not only as having Guilt, but immenfe Guilt, which they can have no Merit or Worthinefs to counter- Vail. Such is the Reprefentation we have in Matth. xviii. 21, to the End. There, on Peter's enquiring how often his Brother Jhould trefpafs againjl him and he for- give him, whether until f even Times f Chrift replies, / fay not unto thee, until feven Times, but until feventy Times feven ; apparently meaning, that he fhouid efteem no Number of Offences too many, and no Degree of In- jury it is poffible our Neighbour mould be guilty of towards us, too great to be forgiven. For which this Reafon is given in the Parable there following, that if ever we obtain Forgivenefs and Favour with God, He muft pardon that Guilt and Injury towards his Majelly, which is immenfely greater than the greatefl Injuries that ever Men are guilty one towards another, yea,than the Sum of all their Injuries put together ; let 'em be ever fo many, and ever fo great : fo that the latter would be but as an hundred Pence to ten Thoufand Talents : which immenfe Debt we owe to God, and have No- thing to pay ; which implies that we have no Merit, to countervail any Part of our Guilt. And this muft be becaufe, if all that may be called Virtue in us, be com- pared with our Ill-defert,it is in the Sight of God as No- thing to it. The Parable is not to reprefent Peter's Cafe in particular,but that of all who then were,or everfhould be Chrift's Difciples. It appears by theConclufion of the Difcourfe ; So likewife fball my heavenly Father do, if ye, from your Hearts } forgive not every one bis Brother their Trefpajfes, Therefore s^cT P iv'(* dU MenJiniftit/iediately&Q. 33 Therefore how abfurd mud it be for Chriftians to ob- jeand Chearfulnefs of the greater Part of Mankind ? Infinitely more abfurd, than it would be to infift, that the Domeflic of a Prince was not a bad Servant, becaufe tho' fometimes he contemned and affronted his Matter to a great Degree, yet he did not fpit in his Mailer's Face fo often as he performed A£ls of Service ; Or,than it would be to affirm, that his Spoufe was a good Wife to him, be- caufe, altho' fhe committed Adultery, and that with the Slaves and Scoundrels fometimes, yet fhe did not do this fo often as fhe did the Duties of a Wife. Thefe Notions would be abfurd, becaufe theCrimes are too heinous to be atoned for, by many honefl AcYions of the Servant or Spoufe of the Prince j there being a vafl Difproportion between the Merit of the one, and the Ill-defert of the other : but in no Meafure fo great, nay infinitely lefs than that between the Demerit of our Offences againfl God, and the Value of our A&s of Obedience. Thus I have gone through with my firfl Argument ; having fhewn the Evidence of the Truth of the Propofi- tion I laid down at firfl, and proved it's Confequence- But there are many ether things, that manifefl a very corrupt Tendency or Difpofition in Man's Nature in his prefent State, which I fhall take Notice of in the follow- ing Seclions. Sect. IV. The Depravity of Nature appears by a Tropenfety in all to fin immediately, asfoon as they are capa- ble of it, and to fin continually tf/z^progreffively ; andaljobythe Remains ofSininthebtft. of Men. THE great Depravity of Man's Nature appears, not only in that they univerfally commit Sin, who- fpeod any long Time in the World, but in that Men ar e D naturalW 34 dll Men Jin Immediately. Part I. naturally fo prone to Sin, that none ever fail of immedi- ately tranfgrefllng God's Law, and fo of bringing infinite Guilt on' themfelves, and expofing themfelves to eternal Perdition, as foon as they are capable of it. The Scriptures are fo very exprefs in it, that all Man- kind^// Flejh, all theWorld, esizxy Man living, are guilty of Sin ; that it mult at leaft be underftood, every one that is come to be capable of being aftive/m Duty to God, or Sin againft him,is guilty of Sin. There areMultitudes an the World, who have but very lately begun to exert their Faculties, as moral Agents ; and fo" are but juft en- tred on their State of Trial, as adYing for' themfelves. There are many Thoufands conftantly in the World,who have not lived one Month, or Week, or Day, fince they have arrived to any Period that can be affigned from their Birth to Twenty Years of Age. And if there be not a ftrong Propenfity in Man's Nature to Sin, that fhould as it were hurry them on to fpeedyTranfgreflion,& they have no Guilt previous to their perfonal Sinning, what mould hinder but that there might always be a greater Number of fuch as aft for themfelves on the Stage of theWorld, and are an- fwerable forthemfelves toGod,whohave hitherto kept them- felves free from Sin, and have perfeftly obeyedGod's Law, and fo are righteous inGod'sSight with theRighteoufnefs of theLaw; and if they fhould be called out of theWorld with- out any longerTrial (as innumerable die at all Periods of Life) would be juftified by the Deeds of the Law ? And how then can it be true, that in God's Sight no Man living can be juftified, that no Man can be juft with God, and that by the Deeds of the Law no Flejh can be juftified, becaufe by the Law is the Know lege of Sin ? And what fhould hinder but that there may always be many in theWorld, who are capable Subjects of Inftrufti- on and Counfel, and of Prayer toGod, for whom theCalls of God's Word to Repentance, and to feek Pardon thro* the Blood of Chrift, and to forgive others their Injuries, becaufe they need that God fhould forgive them, would jiot be proper j and for whom the Lord's Prayer is not fuitable, Chap. 1. 7 yjn M en fi n immediately, i c Sect. IV. 3 J */ o j fuitable, wherein Chrift directs all his Followers to pray, that God would forgive their Sins, as they forgive thofe that trefpafs againfl them ? If there are any in the World, though but lately be- come capable of acting for themfelves, as Subjects of the Law of God, who are perfectly free from Sin, fuch are moft likely to be found among the Children of Chriftian Parents, who give 'em the moft pious Education, and fet them the beft Examples : And therefore fuch would ne- ver be fo likely to be found in any Part or Age of the World, as in the primitive Chriftian Church, in the flrft Age of Chriftianity (the Age of the Church's greateft Pu- rity) fo long after Chriftianity had been eftablifhed, that there had been Time for great Numbers of Children to be born, and educated by thofe primitive Chriftians. It was in that Age, and in fuch a Part of that Age, that the Apoftle John wrote his firft Epiftle to the Chriftians that then were. But if there was then a Number of them,, come to Underftanding, who were perfectly free from Sin, why does he write as he does? i Joh. i. 8,9, 10. If we fay that we have noSin, we deceive our f elves ^and the Truth is not in us. If we confefs our Sins, he is faithful and juft to forgive us our Sins, and to cleanfe us from allUnrighteoufnefs \ If we fay that we have not fin- ned, we make him a Liar, and the Truth is not in us. \ D 2 Again, If any mould object,that this is an overtraining of Things ; and that it fuppofes a greater Nicenefs and Exactnefs, than is obferved in Scripture-Reprefentations andExpreffions, to infer from theie Expreflions, that all Men fin immediately, as foon as ever they are capable of it : To this I would fay, that I think the Arguments ufed are truly folid, and do really and juftly conclude* either that Men are bom guilty, and fo are chargeable with Sin before they come to act for themfelves,or elfe commit Sin immediately, without the leaftTirne intermitting,after they are capable of under- ftanding their Obligations to God, and reflecting on them- felves j and that the Scripture clearly determines, there is $& Men fin continually. Part L Again, the Reality and Greatnefs of the Depravity of Man's Nature appears in this, That he has a prevailing Propenflty to be continually finning againft God. What has been obferved above, will clearly prove this. That fame Difpofition of Nature, which is an effectual Propen- flty to Immediate Sin, amounts to a Propenfity to conti- nual Sin. For a Being prone to continual finning is no- thing but a Pronenefs to immediate Sin continued. Such appears to be the Tendency of Nature to Sin, that as foon as ever Man is capable, it caufes him immediately to fin, without fuffering any confiderableTime to pafs withoutSin. And therefore, if the fame Propenfky be continued undi- miniih'd, there will be an equal Tendency to immediate finning again, without any confiderable- Time paffing. And fo the fame will always be. a Difpofition Hill imme- diately to fin, with as little Time patting, without Sin af- terwards, as at firft. The only Reafon that can be given why Sinning mult be immediate at firft ; is that the Difpo- iltion is not one fuch Perfon in the World, free from Sin. But whither this be a (training things up to too great an Exact - nefs,or not ; yet I fuppofe, None that don't entirely fet afide theSenfe of fuch Scriptures as have been mentioned, and deny thofe Proportions which Dr. T himfelf allows to be contain'd in fome of 'em, will deny they prove, that no confiderable Time paffes after Men are capable of acting £ox themfelves, as the Subjects of God's Law, before they are guilty of Sin;' becaufe if the Time were confiderable, it would be great enough to deferve to be taken Notice of, as an Exception to fuch univerfal Proportions, as, In thy Sight fi)oll no Man living be juftified, &c. And if this be allowed, that Men are fo prone to Sin,that inFactall Mankind do fin, fisit ?mv,immediately, after they come to be capable of it,or fail not to fin fo foon, that no confiderable Time paffts before 'they run into Tranfgremon againft God ; It don't much alter the Cafe, as to the prefent Argument. If the Time of Freedom from Sin be fo fmall, as not to be worthy of Notice in the forementioned univerfal Proportions of Scrip- ture, it is alfo fo fmail 5 as not to be worthy of Notice in ths prefent Argument. Chap. i. 2 Men fin increanngly. 77 Sect.iv.^ J j &*/ 0/ fition is fo great, that it will not differ any confiderabie Time -to pafs without Sin : and therefore, the fame Dif- pofition being continued in equal Degree, without fome new Reftraint, or contrary Tendency, it will (till equally tend to the fame Effect. And tho'it is true, the Pro- penfity may be diminifhed, or have Reftraints laid upon it, by gracious Difpofals of Providence, or merciful In- fluences of God's Spirit ; yet this is not owing to Nature. That ftrong Propenfity of Nature, by which Men are fo prone to immediate Sinning at firfl, has no Tendency in it felf to a Diminution ; but rather to an Increafe ; as the continued Exercife of an evil Difpofition, in repeated actual Sins, tends to ftrengthen it more & more : agreea- ble to that Obfervation of Dr. T—r\, p. 228. " We •*' are apt to be drawn into Sin by bodily Appetites, and €i when once we are under the Government of thefe Ap- V petites, it is at leaft exceeding difficult, if not impracti- ** cable, to recover our felves, by the meer Force of "^ Reafon." The Increafe of Strength of Difpofition in fuch a Cafe, is as in a falling Body, the Strength of it's Tendency to defcend is continually increafed, fo long as k's Motion is continued. Not only a conftant Commiffi- on of Sin, but a .conflantlncreafe in the Habits ^Practice of Wickednefs, is the true Tendency of Man's depraved Nature, if unreftrained by divine 'Grace ; as the true 'Tendency of the Nature of an heavy Body, if Obftacles are removed, is not only to fall with a continual Motion, but with a conftantly increafing Motion. And we fee, that increafing Iniquity is actually the Confequence of natural Depravity, in moft Men, notwithflanding all the Reftraints they have. Difpofitions to Evil are commonly much flronger in adult Perfons, than in Children, when they fM begin to act in the World as rational Creatures. If Sin be fuch a Thing as Dr. T. himfelf reprefents it, P. 6o. " A Thing of an odious and destructive ■" Nature, the Corruption and Ruin of our Nature, and " infinitely hateful to God ;" then fuch a Pronenfity -to continual and increafing Sin, mult be a very evil Difc t> 3 pofiticn, 3 8 Sin in the befi. Part I. pofition. And if we may judge of the Pernicioufnefs of an Inclination of Nature, by the Evil of the Effect it naturally tends to, the Propenfity of Man's Nature mull be evil indeed : For the Soul being immortal, as Dr. T. acknowleges, P. 370. it will follow from what has been obferved above, that Man has a natural Difpofition to one of thefe two Things ; either to an Increafe of Wicked- nefs without End, or 'till Wickednefs comes to be fo great, that the Capacity of his Nature will not allow it to be greater. This being what his Wickednefs will come to by it's natural Tendency, if divine Grace don't pre- vent, it may as truly be faid to be theEffecl: whichMan's NaturalCorruption tends to, as that anAcorn in a proper Soil truly tends by it's Nature to become a great Tree. Again, That Sin which is remaining in the Hearts of the be ft Men on Earth, makes it evident, that Man's Na- ture is corrupt, as he comes into the World. A remain- ing Depravity of Heart in the greatefl Saints, may be ar- gued from the Sins of mod of thofe who are fet forth in Scripture as the moil eminent Inftances and Examples of Virtue and Piety : And is alfo manifeft from this, That the Scripture reprefents all God's Children as (landing in Need of Chaitifement. Heb. xii. 6, 7, 8. For whom the Lord loveth, he chafteneth ; and fcourgeth every Son ivhom he receiveth. — What Son is he, zuhom theFather chajlneth not f — If' ye are withoutChaftifernent y — then are ye Baftards, and not Sons. But this is directly and fully aflerted in fome Places ; as in that foremention'd Ecclef. vii. 20. There is not a juftMan uponEarth,that doeth Good and finneth not. Which is as much as to fay, There is no Man on Earth,that is fo juft,as to have attain'd. to fuch a Degree of Righteoufnefs, as not to commit any Sin. Yea, the Apoflle fpeak* of all Chriftians as often finning, or committing many Sins ; even in that primitive Age of the Chriftian Church, an Age diftinguifhed from all others by eminent Attainments in Holinefs ; Jam.iii.s. In many Things we all offend. And that there is Pollu- tion in the Hearts of all, as the Remainder of moral Filth that Chap. 1. 2 More Sin. than Virtue. so Sect. V.5 **' that was there antecedent to all Attempts orMeans forPu- rification, is very plainly declared in Prov. xx. 9. Who can fay, I have made my Heart clean , I am pure from my Sin ? According to Dr. T. Men come into the World wholly free from finful Propenfities. And if fo, it appears from what has been already faid, there would be Nothing to hinder, but that many, without being better than they arc by Nature, might perfectly avoid the Commidion of Sin* But much more might this be the Cafe with Men after they had, by Care,Diligence and good Practice, attained thofe pofitiveHabits of Virtue,whereby they are at a much great- er Diftance from Sin, than they were naturally : — which thisWriter fuppofes to be the Cafe with many good Men. But fince the Scripture teaches us, that the bed Men in the World do often commit Sin, and have remaining Pollution of Heart, this makes it abundantly evident, that Men, when they are no otherwife than they were by Na- ture, without any of thofe virtuous Attainments, have a finful Depravity; yea, muft have greatCorruption of Na- ture. Sect. V. The Depravity of Nature appears, in that the gene- ralConfequenceoftheState ^/Tendency of Mans Nature is a much greater Degree of Sin, than Righteoufnefs ; not only with refpetl to Value and Demerit, but Matter and Quantity. IHave before fhewn, that there is a Propenfity in Man's Nature to that Sin, which in Heinoufnefs and Ill-defert immenfely outweighs all the Value and Merit of any fuppofed Good, that may be in him, or that he can do. I now proceed to fay further, that fuch is Man's Nature, in his prefent State, that it tends to this lamentable Effeft, That there fhould at all Times, thro* D 4 the 40 All hdve more Sin Part I. the Courfe of his Life, be at lead, much more Sin, than Righteoufnefs ; not only as to Weight and Value , but as to Matter and Meafure ; more Difagreement of Heart and Practice from the Law of God, and from the Law of Nature and Reafon, than Agreement and Conformity. The Law of God is the Rule of PJgbt,as Dr. Tf, often calls it : h is the Meafure of Virtue and Sin : So much Agreement as there is with this Rule, fo much is thereof Rectitude, Righteoufnefs, or true Virtue, and no more ;, and fo much Difagreement as there is with this Rule, fo much Sin is there. Having prernifed this, the following Things may be here obferved, I. The Degree of Difagreement from this Rule of Right is. to be determined, not only by the Degree of Diftance from it inExcefs,but. alfc inDcfecl ; or in other "Words, not only in pofitive Tranfgreilion, or doing what 5s forbidden, but alfb in witholding what is required. The divine Lawgiver does as much prohibit the one as the other, ?.nd does as much charge the latter as a finful Breach of his Law, expofmg to his eternal Wrath and Curfe, as the former. Thus at the Day of Judgment, as defcribed Matth. xxv. The Wicked are condemned, as curfe d, to everlafting Fire, for their Sin in Defect and Omiilion : / was an hungred, and ye gave me rw Meat fez. And the Cafe is thus, not only when the Defecl: is in Word or Behaviour, but in the inward Temper and Exercife of the Mind, i Cor.xvi.22. If any Man love not the Lord *Jefus Chrift, let him be Anathema Maranatha, Dr. jf. Ipeaking of the Sentence and Punlfhment of the Wicked (Matth.xxY.41, 46.) fays, "It was manifeftly forWANT f* of Benevolence, Love and Companion to their Fellow* f; Creatures, that they were condemned." And elfe- where, as was obferved before, he fays, that the Law of God extends to the LaUntPrinciples p£ $\\\\.o forbid them, and to condemn to eternal DeftrucY a for them. And if fo, it doubtlefs alfo extends to the inward Principles of Holinefs,to require them, and in like manner to condemn the Want of them, II, The Chap I. > t } )an Right eouf?iefs. 41 II. 1 he Sum of our Duty to God, required in his Law, is Love to God ; taking Love in a large Senfe, for the true Regard of our Hearts to God, implying Efleem, Honour, Benevolence, Gratitude, Complacence &c. This is not only very plain by the Scripture, but it is e- vident in it felf. The Sum of what the Law of God re- quires, is doubtlefs Obedience to that Law : No Law can require more than that it be obeyed. But 'tis manifeft, that Obedience to God is Nothing, any otherwife than as a Teftimony of the Refpedt of our Hearts to God : With- out the Heart, Man's external Acts are no more than the Motions of the Limbs of a wooden Image; have no more of the Nature of either Sin or Righteoufnefs. It mud therefore needs be fb, that Love to God, or the Refpecl: of the Heart, muft be the Sum of the Duty required to- wards God. in his Law. III. It therefore appears from the Premifes, that who- foever withholds more of that Love or Refpecl: of Heart from God which his Law requires, than he affords, has more Sin, than Right ^cufnefs. Not only he that has lefs divine Love, than Paffions & Affections which are oppoflte; but alio be that dont love God half fa much as he ought, or has Reafon to do x hasjuftly more Wrong, than Right, imputed to him, according to the Law of Cod, and the Law of Reafcn ; he has more Irregularity, than Recti- tude, with Regard to the Law of Love. The finful Dif- refpect or Unrefpectfulnefs of his Heart to God, is greater than his Refpect to him. But what confidents Perfon is there, even among the more virtuous Part of Mankind, but what would be a- lhamed to fay, and profefs before God or Men, that he loves God half 10 much as he ought to do ; or that he exercifes one half cf that Efteern, Honour and Gratitude towards God,which would be altogether becoming Him ; conlidering what Go\ is, and what great Manifestations he has made of his tranfcendent Excellency and Good^ nefs, and what Benefits he receives from him ? And if tew or none of the beft of Men can with Reafon and Truth 42 All have more Sm y Part I, Truth make even fuch a ProfefTion,how far from it muft the Generality of Mankind be P The chief and moll fundamental of all the Commands of the moral Law, requires us, to love theLord ourGod, .with all our Hearts, and with all our Souls, with all our Strength, and all our Mind : that is plainly, with all that is within us, or to the utmoft Capacity of our Na- ture : all that belongs to, or is comprehended within the utmoft Extent or Capacity of our Heart and Soul, and Mind and Strength, is required. God is in Himfelf wor- thy of infinitely greater Love, than anyCreature can ex- ercife towards him : He is worthy of Love equal to his Perfections, which are infinite : God loves Himfelf with no greater Love than he is worthy of, when he loves him- felf infinitely : But we can give God no more than we have. Therefore, if we give him fo much, if we love him to the utmoft Extent of the Faculties of our Nature, we are excufed : But when what is propo'ed, is only that we fhould love him as much as our Capacity will allow, this Excufe of Want of Capacity ceafes, and Obligation takes hold of us ; and we are doubtlefs obliged to love God to the utmoft of what is poffibie for us, with fuch Faculties, and fuch Opportunities andAdvantages to know God,as we have. And 'tis evidently implied in this great Commandment of the Law, that our Love to God fhould be fo great, as to have the moft abfblute PofTeflion of all the Soul, and the perfect Government of all the Princi- ples and Springs of Action that are in our Nature. Tho' it is not eafy, precifely to fix theLimits of Man's Capacity, as to Love to God ; yet in general we may determine, that his Capacity of Love is coextended with his Capacity of Knowledge : The Exercife of the Un~ derftanding opens the Way for the Exercife of the other Faculty. Now, tho' we can't have any proper pofitive Underftanding of God's infinite Excellency ; yet the Ca- pacity of the human Underftanding is very great, and may be extended f jr. 'Tis needlefs to difpute, how far Man's Knowledge may be faid to be ftri&ly comprehenflve of se H ct"'v.1 than Ri g hteou f ne f s - 43 of Things that are very great, as of the Extent of the Expanfe of the Heavens, or of the Dimenfions of the Globe of the Earth ; and of fuch a great Number, as of the manyMillions of it's Inhabitants. The Word, Com- prehenfive,feems to be ambiguous. But doubtlefs we are capable of fome proper pofitive Underflanding of the Greatnefs of thefe Things, inComparifon of otherThings that we know, as unfpeakably exceeding them. We are capable of fome clear Underflanding of the Greatnefs or Confiderablenefs of a whole Nation, or of the whole World of Mankind, as vaflly exceeding that of a parti- cular Perfon or Family. We can pofitively underftand, that the whole Globe of the Earth is vaflly greater, than a particular Hill or Mountain. And can have fome good pofitive Apprehenfion of the flarry Heavens, as fo great- ly exceeding the Globe of the Earth, that the latter is as it were Nothing to it. So the human Faculties are capable of a real and clear Underflanding of the Great- nefs, Glory and Gooclnefs of God, & of our Dependence upon him, from the Manifeflations which God has made of himfelf to Mankind, as being beyond all Expreffion above that of the mod excellent human Friend, or earth- ly Object. And fo we are capable of an Efleem and Love toGod, which fhall be proportionable, and as much exceeding that 'which we have to any Creature. Thefe things may help us to form fome Judgment, how vaflly the Generality of Mankind fall below their Duty, with refpeel: toLove to God ; yea, how far they are from coming half-way to that Height of Love, which is agre- able to the Rule of Right. Surely if our Efleem of God, Defires after him, and Delight in him were fuch as become us, confidering the Things foremention'd, they would exceed our Regard to other Things, as the Hea- vens are high above the Earth, and would fwallow up all other AfFecYions, like a Deluge. But how far, how ex- ceeding far, are theGenerality of the World from anyAp- fearance of being influenced and governed by fuch a )egree of divine Love as this ! If 44 More Corruption^ Par.L If we consider the Love of God with refpeft to that one Kind of hxercife of it', namely, Gratitude, how far indeed do the Generality of Mankind come fhort of the Rule of Right and Reafon in this 1 If we confider how various, innumerable and vaft the Benefits are we receive from God, and how infinitely great and wonderful that Grace of his is, which is revealed and offered to them that live under the Gofpel, in that eternal Salvation which is procured by God's giving his only begotten Son to die for Sinners ; and alfo how unworthy we are all, deferving (as Dr. T. confefTes) eternal Perdition under God's Wrath and Curfe : how great is the Gratitude, that would be- come us, who are the Subjects of fo many and great Be- nefits, and have fuch Grace towards poor finful loft Man- kind fet before us in fo affecting a Manner, as in the ex- treme Sufferings of the Son of God, being carried thro' thofe Pains by a Love flronger than Death, a Love that conquered thofe mighty Agonies, a Love whofe Length and breadth and Depth and Height paffes Knowledge ? But oh, what poor Returns— ! How little the Gra- titude ! How low,howcold and inconitanttheAffecYion in the beft, compared with the Obligation ! And what then fliall be faid of the Gratitude of the Generality ? Or rather, who can exprefs the Ingratitude ? If it were fo, that the greater Part of them that are called Chriftians, were no Enemies to Chrift in Heart and Practice, were not governed by Principles oppofite to him and his Gofpel, but had fome real Love and Gratitude ; yet if their Love falls vaflly fhort of the Obligation or Occafion given, they are guilty of fhameful and odious Ingratitude. As, when a Man has been the Subject of fome Inftance of tranfeendent Generofity, whereby he has been reliev'd from the moil: extreme Calamity, and brought into very opulent, honourable and happy Cir- cumltances, by a Benefaclor,of excellent Character ; and yet expreffes no more Gratitude on fuch an Occafion,than would be requifite for fome Kindnefs comparatively in- finitely fmall, he may juftly fall under the Imputation of vile ^ HAP 'v'V *^ an Right eotifnefs, in all. 45 vile Unthankfnlnefs,and of much more Ingratitude, than Gratitude ; tho' he may have no Hi- Will to his Bene- factor, or no pofitive Affection of Mind contrary to Thankfulnefs and Benevolence : What is odious in him is his 'Defect, whereby he falls fo vaftly below his Duty. 'Dr.Tu'rnbuU abundantly infills, that the Forces of the Affections naturally in Man are well proportioned ; and often puts a Queftion to this Purpofe, — How Man's Na- ture could have been better conftituted in this refpect ? How the Affections of his Heart could have been better proportioned ? — I will now mention one Inftance, out of many that might be mentioned. Man,if his Heart were not depraved, might have had a Difpofition to Gratitude to God for his Loodnefs, in Proportion to his Difpofition to •Anger towards Men for their Injuries. When I fay, in Proportion, I mean confidering the Greatnefs and Num- ber of Favours and Injuries, and the Degree in which the one and the other are unmerited, and the Benefit received by the former, and the Damage fuftained by the latter. Is there not an apparent and vaft Difference and Inequa- lity in the Difpofitions to thefe two Kinds of Affection, in the Generality of both old and young, adult Perfons and little Children ? How ready is Refentment for Injuries received from Men ? and how eafily is it raifed in molt, at belt, to an Equality with the Defert ? And is it fo with refpect to Gratitude for Benefits received from God> in any Degree of Comparifon ? . Dr. T'urnbull pleads for the natural Difpofition to Anger for Injuries, as being good and ufeful : But furely Gratitude to God, if we were inclined to it, would be at lead as good and ufeful as the other. How far the Generality of Mankind are from their Duty with refpect to Love to God,will further appear, if we confider,that we are obliged not only to love him with a Love of Gratitude for Benefits received ; but true Love to God primarily confifls in a fupremc Regard to him for what he is in himfeif. The Tendency of true Virtue is to treat every thing as it is, and according to it's Nature, ' And 46 More Corruption, Part I. And if we regard the mofl High according to the infinite Dignity and Glory of his Nature, we ihall efteem and love him with all our Heart and Soul, and to the utrnofl of the Capacity of our Nature, on this Account ; and not primarily bccaufe he has promoted ourlntereff. If God be infinitely excellent in Himfelf, then He is infinitely lovely on that Account ; or in other Words, infinitely worthy to be loved. And doubtlefs, if he be worthy to be loved for this, then he ought to be loved for this. And 'tis manifeft, there can be no true Love toHim, if he be not loved for what he is in himfelf. For if we love him not for his own Sake, but for fomething elfe, then our Love is not terminated on him, but on fomething elfe, as it's ultimate Object. That is no true Value for infinite Worth,which implies no Value for thatWorthinefs in itfelf confidered, but only on the Account of fomething foreign. Our Efteem of God is fundamentally defective, if it be not primarily for the Excellency of his N ature, which is the Foundation of all that is valuable in him in any Re- flect. If we love not God becaufe he is what he is, but only becaufe he is profitable to us, in Truth we love him not at all : If we feem to love him, our Love is not to him, but to fomething elfe. And now I muft leave it to every one to judge for himfelf, from his own Opportunities of Obfervation and Information concerning Mankind, how little there is of this difinterefted Love to God, this pure divine Affection, in the World. How very little indeed in Comparifon of other Affections altogether diverfe, which perpetually urge, actuate and govern Mankind, and keep the World, through all Nations and Ages, in a con- tinual Agitation and Commotion ! This is an Evidence of an horridContempt of God,reigning in theWoHd of Man- kind. It would be juftly efleemed a great Inftance of Difrefpect and Contempt of a Prince, if one of his Sub~ jects, when he came in to his Houfe.fnould fet him below his meaneft Slave. But in fetting the infinite JEHO- VAH below earthly Objects and Enjoyments, Men de- grade &$$] than Ri g hteou f m f s > in al1 * 47 grade him below thofe Things, between which and him there is an infinitely greater Diftance, than between the higheft earthly Potentate and the mofl abjecl: of Mortals. Such a Conduct, as the Generality of Men are guilty of towards God, continually and thro' all Ages, in innume- rableRefpe&s, would be accounted the moft vile contemp- tuousTreatment of aFellow-Creature, of diftinguifh'dDig- nity. ParticularlyMen's Treatment of theOrTersGod makes of Himfelf to them as their Friend, theirFather,theirGod and everlafling Portion ; their Treatment of the Exhibi- tions he has made of his unmeafurable Love, and the boundlefs Riches of his Grace in Chrift, attended with carneft repeated Calls, Counfels, Expostulations, and In- treaties ; as alfo of the mofl dreadful Threatnings of his eternal Difpleafure and Vengeance. Before I finifli this Seflion, it may be proper to fay fomething in Reply to an Objection, which fome may be ready tolmake againft the Force of that Argument, which has been ufed to prove, that Men in general have more Sin than Righteoufnefs, namely, That they don't come half way to that Degree of Love toGod, which becomes them, and is their Duty. The Objection is this : That the Argument feems to prove too much, in that it will prove, that even good Men themfelves have more Sin than Holinefs ; which alfb has been fuppofed. But if this were true, it would follow, that Sin is the prevalent Principle even in good Men, and that it is the Principle which has the Predo- minancy in the Heart and Practice of the truly pious \ which is plainly contrary to the Word of God. I anfwer ; If it be indeed fo, that there is more Sin, confiding in Defect of required Holinefs, than there is of Holinefs in good Men in this World ; yet it will not follow, that Sin has the chief Government of their Heart and Practice ; for two Reafons. I. They may love God more than other Things, and yet there may not be fo much Love, as there is Want of due Love j or in other Words, they may love God more than 48 More Sin, than Virtue. Part I. than the World, and therefore the Love of God may be predominant,and yet may not love God near half fo much as they ought to do. This need not be efleemcd a Para- dox : A Perfon may love a Father, or fome great Friend and Benefactor, of a very excellent Character, more than fome other Object, a thoufand Times lefs worthy of his Efteem and Affection, and yet love him ten Times lefs than he ought ; and fo be chargeable, all Things confi- dered, with a Deficiency in Refpect and Gratitude, that is very unbecoming and hateful. If Love to God prevails above the Love of other Things, then Virtue will prevail above evil Affections, or pofitive Principles of Sin ; by which Principles it is, that Sin has a pofitive Power and Influence. For evil Affections radically confift in inor- dinate Love. to other Things befides God. And there- fore, Virtue prevailing beyond thefe, will have the go- verning Influence. The Predominance of the Love of God in the' Hearts of good Men is more from the Nature of the Object loved, and the Nature of the Principle of true Love, than the Degree of the Principle. The Object is One of fupreme Lovelinefs ; immenfely above i& other Objects in Worthinefs of Regard ; And 'tis by fach a tranfeendent Excellency, that he is God, and worthy to be regarded and adored as God : And he that truly loves God, loves him as God : True Love acknowledges him to be God, or to be divinely and fu- premely Excellent ; And muft arife from fome Know- ledge, Senfe and Conviction of his Worthinefs of fu- preme Refpect : And tho' the Senfe and View of it may be very imperfect, and the Love that arifes from it in like Manner imperfect ; Yet if there be any realifing View of fuch divine Excellency, it muft caufe the Heart to refpect God above all. 2. Another Reafon, why a Principle of Holinefs main- tains the Dominion in the Hearts of good Men, is the Na- ture of the Covenant of Grace, and thePromifes of that ^Covenant, on which true Chriftian Virtue relies, and which engage God's Strength and /Usance to be on it's Side, ^ectvt" Extreme Stupidity &c. 49 Side, and to help it againfl it's Enemy, that it may not be overcome. The Juft live by Faith. Holinefs in the Chriftian^or his fpiritualLife, is maintained, ask has Ref* peel: by Faith to it's Author and Finifher, and derives Strength and Efficacy from the divine Fountain, and by this Means overcomes. For, as the A pottle lays, This is the Viclory that overcomes the JVorld, even our Faith. 'Tis our Faith in him who has promifed, never to leave nor forfake his People, and not to forfake the "Work of his own Hands, nor furfer his People to be tempted above their Ability, and that his C race fhali be fufficient fbr them, and that his Strength iliall be made perfect inWeak- nefs, and that where he has begun a good Work he will carry it on to the Day of Chrifr. Sect. VI. The Corruption of Man's -Nature appears by it's Tendency, in ifs prefent State, to an extreme Degree of Folly and Stupidity in Matters of Religion. IT appears, thatMan'sNature is greatly depraved, by an apparent Pronenefs to an exceeding Stupidity andSot- tillinefs in thofe Things wherein his Duty and main In- tereft are chiefly concerned. I fhall inftance in two Things ; viz. Men's Pronenefs to Idolatry. ; and fo general and great a g Difregard of eternal Things, as appears in them that live under the Light of the Gofpel. 'Tis manifelt, that Man's Nature in it's- prefent State is attended with a great Propenfity to forfake the Acknow- ledgment and Worship of the true God, and to fall into the mod ftupid Idolatry, This has been fufficiently proved by known Fa&, on abundant rial : Inasmuch as the World of Mankind in general (excepting one (ball people, ouraculouflly delivered and preserved) through £ all $o The Idolatry of the World Part L all Nations,- in all Parts of the World, Ages after Ages, continued without the Knowledge and Worihip of the true God, and overwhelmed in grofs Idolatry, without the lead Appearance or Profpect of it's recovering it felf from io great Blindnefs, or returning from it's brutifh. Principles and Cuftoms, 'till delivered by divine Grace. In Order to the raoft juft arguing from Fa£t, concern- ing theTendency of Man's Nature, as that is in it felf, it fliould be enquired what the Event has been, where Na- ture has been left to k felf, to operate according to it's own Tendency, with leaft Oppofition made to it by any thing fupernatural ; rather than in exempt Places, where the infinite Power and Grace of God have interpofed, and extraordinary Means have been ufed to (tern the Current, and bring Men to true Religion and Virtue.' As to the Means by which God's People of old, in the Line of ^Abraham, were delivered and preferved from Idolatry, they were miraculous, and of meer Grace :■ Notwithstand- ing which, they were often relapfing into the Notions and Ways of the Heathen : and when they had backflidden, never were recovered, but by divine gracious Interpofiti- on. And as to the Means by which many Gentile Na- tions have been delivered, fince the Days of the Gofpel, they are fuch as have been wholly owing to mod won- derful, miraculous and infinite Grace. God was under no Obligation to beftow on the heathen World greater Advantages than they had in the Ages of their grofs Darknefs ; as appears by the Fact, that God a&aally did not, for fo long a Time, beftow greater Advantages. Dr. T*. himfelf obferves {Key P. i.) That in about 400 Tears after the Flood, the Generality of Mankind iv ere fallen hito Idolatry. And thus it was everywhere through the. World, excepting among that People that was faved, and preferved by a conftant Series of Miracles, through a Variety of Countries, Nations and Climates, great enough, — and thro' fuccefliveChanges, Revolutions andAges. numerous enough, to be a fufficientTrial of what Mankind are prone to y if there be any fuch thing as a fuffitienc Trial That Chap. 1. J proves corrupt Nature. r i Sect. VI. 3 * * ■'* J That Men fhonld for fake the true God for Idols, is an Evidence of the mod allonifhing Folly and Stupidity, by Gods ownTeftimony. Jer. ii. 13. Be aftowjbed, O yeHeaverts, at this, and be ye horribly afraid, be ye very defo late, faith the Lord : For my People have committed two Evils ; They have forfaken me the Fountain of living Waters, and have hewed out to themfelves Cifterns, broken Cijlerns, that can hold no TVater. And that Mankind in general did thus, fo foon after the Flood, was from the evil Propenfity of their Hearts, and becaufe they did not like to retain God in their Knowledge ; as is evident by Rom. 1. 28. — And the Univerfality of the Effect fhews that the Caufe was univerfal, and not any Thing belonging to the particular Circumftances of one, or only fome Nations or Ages, but fomething belonging to that Nature that is common to all Nations, and that remains the fame thro' all Ages. And what other Caufe could this great Effect poffibiy arife from, but a depraved Pifpofition., natural to all Mankind ? It could not arife from Want of a fufficient Capacity or Means of Know* ledge. This is in Effecl: confeffed on all Hands. Dr. Turnbull, (Chrif. Phil P. 21.) fays as follows ; " The " Exigence of one infinitely powerful, wife and good <{ Mind, the Author, Creator, Upholder and Governour " of all Things, is a Truth that lies plain and obvious << to all that will but think." And (Ibid. P. 245.) li Moral knowledge, which is the mod important of all ei Knowledge, may eafily be acquired by all Men." And again, (Ibid. P. 292.) "- Every Man by himfelf, if he " would duly employ his Mind, in the Contemplation of t( the Works of God about him, or in the Examination " of his own Frame, might make very great Pro- " grefs in the Knowledge of the Wifdomand ©bddriels " of God. This all Men, generally fpeaking, might d * with very little Affiftance ; for they have all furh " Abilities for thus employing their Minds, and hav " fufficient Time for it." Mr. Locke fays, (Hum. I 5. IV. Chap. iv. P. 242. Edit. 11.) « Our own E z iftencc-.. 52 The Idolatry of the World Part L *** iftence, and the fenfible Parts of the Univerfe, offer *' the Proofs of a Deity fo clearly and cogently to our " Thoughts, that I deem it impoffible for a confidence <; Man to withftand them. For I judge it as certain and " clear a Truth, as can any where be delivered, that the 4< invisible Things of God are clearly feen from the * c Creation of the World', being understood by the things " that are made, even his eternal Power and Godhead.'' And Dr. T. himfelf, (in P, 78.) fays, " The Light «' given to all Ages and Nations of the World, is fufficient u for the Knowledge and Practice of their Duty." And in P. in, 112. citing thefe Words of the Apoitle, Rom. ii. 14, 15, fays, " This clearly fuppofes that the Gen- " tiles, who were then in the World, might have done 4t the Things contained in the Law by Nature, or their " natural Power." And in one of the next Sentences, he fays, i(f The Apoftle in Rom. i. 19, 20, 21. affirms ** that the Gentiles had Light fufficient to have feen ff God's eternal 1 Power and Godhead, in the Works of 4,1 Creation ; and that the Reafon why they did not glo* *' rify him as God^ was becaufe they became vain in their * c Imaginations, and had darken'd their foolifh. Heart ; u fo that they were without Excufe." And in his Para- phrafe on thofe Verfes in the ill of Rom. he fpeaks of the " veryHeathens, that were without a written Revela- f* tion, as having that clear and. evident Difcovery cf * c God's Being and Perfections, that they are inexcufable *' in not glorifying him, fuitably to his excellent Nature, * c and as the Author of their Being and Enjoyments." And in P. 422, he fays, " God affords every Man fuf- * c ficient Light to know his Duty." If^all Ages and Nations of the World have fufficient Light for the Know- ledge of God, and their Duty to him, then even fuch Nations and Ages, in which the mod brutifli Ignorance and Barbarity prevailed, had fufficient Light, if they had had but a Difpofition to improve it j and then much more thofe of the Heathen, which were more knowing ani Boli&'d, and in Ages wherein Arts and Learning had made greased- ^Eei^vi^ prove* corrupt Nature. 53 /greateft Advances. But even in fuch Nations and Ages,' there was no Advance made towards true Religion ; as Dr. Winder obferves, (Hift. of Know /. Vol. II. P. 336,) in the following Words ; " i he Pagan Religion degene- " rated into greater Abfurdity, the further it proceeded ; •" and it prevailed in all it's Height of Abfurdity, when *' the Pagan Nations were polifhed to the Height. Tho* 4C they fet out with the Talents of Reafon, and had folid *' Foundations of Information to build upon, it in Fact 375> 37 6 > 4Q9> 4*e« ScT^vii V Mankind are TFichd. 65 Now I leave it to be judged by every One that has any Degree of Impartiality, whether there be not fufficient Ground's to think, from what appears every where, that it is but a very fmall Part indeed, of the many Myriads and Million? which overfpread this Globe, who are of a Character that In any wife anfwers thefe Defcriptions. However, Dr. Tl infifls,that all Nations, and every Man on theFace of the Earth, have Light and Means fufficient to do the whole Will of God, even they that live in the grofTeft Darknefs of Paganifrm Dr. Tl in Anfwer to Arguments of this Kind, very impertinently fromTime to Time objects, \ That we are no Judges of the Vicioufnefs of Men's Character, nor are able to decide in whatDegree they are virtuous or vicious. As tho' we could have no goodGrounds to judge, that any thing,appertaining to theQualities orFropertiesortheMind, which is invifible, is general or prevailing among a Miilti- tude'or collective Body, unlefs we can determine how it is with each Individual. I think,! have fufficient Reafon, from what I know 8c have heard of fat American Indians, tojudge, that there are not many goodPhilofophers among them ; tho' the Thoughts of their Hearts, and the Ideas and Knowledge they have in their Minds, are Things in- vifible ; and tho' 1 have never feen fo much as the thoufandth Part of the Indians ; and with- refpedt to moft of them, fhould not be able to pronounce peremp- torily, concerning any one, that he was not very knowing in the Nature of Things, if all fhould fingly pafs before me. And Dr. T. himfelf feems to be fenfible of the Falfenefs of his own Conclufions, that he fo often urges againfl others ; if we may judge by his Practice, and the Liberties he takes, in judging of aMultitude himfelf. He, it feems, is fenfible that a Man may have good Grounds to judge, that Wickednefs of Character is general in a collective Body j becaufe he openly does it Himfelf, {Key, P. 147.) After' declaring the Things which be- F long t P. 3 2 ?> 339> 340* 343- 344> 34$. \ 66 Wichdnefs general Part I. long to the Character of a true Chriftian, he judges of the Generality of Christians, that they have cad off thefe Things, that they are a People that do err in their Hearts, and have not known God's Ways. P. 259, he judges, that the Generality cf Chrijlians are the mofl Wicked of all Mankind, — when he thinks it will throw icrocDifgrace on theOpinion of fuch as he oppofes. The like we have from Time to Time in other Places, as P. j 68. P. 258. Key, P. 182. But if Men are not fufficient Judges, whether there arc Few of the World of Mankind but what are Wicked, yet doubtlefs God is fufficient, and his Judgment, often declared in his Word, determines the Matter. Matth. vii. 1 3, 14. Enter ye in at the Jlrait Gate : For wide is the Gate, and broad is the Way that leadeth to T)e- Jlruclion,and many there be that go in thereat ; Becaufe Jlrait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way that leadeth to Life, and jew there be that find it, ? Tis manifeft, that here Chrift is not only defcribing the State of things, as it was at that Day, and don't mention the comparative Smallnefsof theNumberof them that are faved,as a Con- frequence of the peculiar Per'verfenefs of that People, and of that Generation ; but as a Confequence of the general Circumftanc.cs of the Way to Life, and the Way to De- ilru&ion, the Broadnefs of the one, and Narrownefs of the other. In the Straitnefs of the Gate, &x. I fuppofe none will deny, that Chrift hasRefpecl: to theStri&nefs of thofe Rules, which he had infilled on in the preceeding Sermon, & which render theWay toLife very difficult to Mankind. But certainly thefe amiable Rules would not fee difficult, were they not contrary to the natural Incli- nations of Men'sHearts ; and they would not be contrary to thofe Inclinations, were thefe not depraved. Confe- quently the Widenefs of the Gate, and Broadrrefs of the Way that leads to DeftrucHon, in Confequence of which many go in thereat, mud imply the Agreeablenefs of this Way to Men's natural Inclinations.- The like Reafon is given by Chrilt, why few are faved. Luke "xiii. 23, 24. Then SSSk f in al1 A ^> 6 7 Then /aid one unto him, Lord, are there few faved t And he /aid unto them, Strive to enter in at the ftrait Gate: for many, I fay unto you, will feek to enter in, andfball not be able. That there are generally but few good Men in the World, even among them that have thofe moft diftingufliing & glorious Advantages for it,which they are favoured with that live under the Gofpel, is evident by that Saying of our Lord, from Time to Time in his Mouth, Many are called, but fezv are chofen. And if there are but few among thefe, how few, how very few indeed, muft Perfons of this Character be, compared with the whole World of Mankind i The exceeding Small nefs of the Number of true Saints, compared with the whole W orldi appears by the Reprefentations often made of them as diilmgtnihed from the World ; in which they are fpoken of as called and chofen out of the World, redeemed from the Earth, redeemed from among Men ; as being thofe that are of God, while the whole World lieth in Wicked- nefs, and the like. And if we look into the Old Tefta- ment,we mall find the fameTeftimony given. Prov. xx. 6. Moft Men will proclaim every Man his ozvn Good nefs .- but a faithful Man who can find f By a faithful Man, as the Phrafe is ufed in Scripture, is intended much the lame as a fincere, upright or truly good Man ; as in Pfal. xii. i. and xxxi. 23. and ci. 6. and other Places.' Again] Eccl. vn. 25, 29. I applied mine Heart to know, and tofearch,and to find out Wifdom, and the Reafon of Things, and to know the Wickednefs of Folly, even of Foolifhnefs and Madnefs : And I find more bitter than 'Death, the Woman whofe Heart is Snares, &c— . Behold, this have I found, faith the Preacher, counting; one by one, to find out the Account, which yet my Soul feeketh, but I find not : One Man among a Thoufand have I found ; but a Woman among all thefe have I not found. Lo, this only have 1 found, that God made Man upright ; but they have fought out many Inventions. Solomon here fignifles, that when he fet himfelf diligently xp find out the Account or Proportion of true WiTdom, F 2 or 63 Wkhdnefs general Part L ©r thorough Uprightnefs among Men, the Refttlt was, that he found it to be but as one to a Thoufand. &<\ Dr. T. on thisPlace, P. 1 84. fays, " The wlfeMan inthe *' Context is inquiring into the Corruption and Depra- *« vity of Mankind, of the Men and Women, THAT V LIV'D IN HIS TIME." As tho' what He faid reprefented Nothing of the State of Things in theWorkl in general,but only in hisT'ime. But doesDr, Tl or any Body elfe fuppofe this only to be theDefign of that Book, to reprefent the Vanity and Evil of the World in that Time, and to fhew that all was Vanity and Vexation of Spirit mSolomons Day ? (WhichDay truly we haveRea- ion to? think, was a Day of the greateft Smiles of Heaven on that Nation, that ever had been on any Nation from the Foundation of the World.) Not only does the Sub- ject and Argument of the whole Book fhew it to be other- wife ; but alfo the declared Defign of the Book in the iirit Chapter ; where the World is reprefented as very jnuch the Jame, as to the Vanity and Evil it is full of, from Age to Age, making little or no Progrefs, after all it's Revolutions & reftlefs ^otions,Laboursand Purfuits, like the Sea, that has ail the Rivers confiantly emptying them- felves into it, from Age to Age, and yet is never the fuller. .As to that Place, Prov. xx. 6. A faithful Man who can fndf there is no moreReafon to fuppofe, that the wife Man has refpe<5t only to hzsT'ime, in thefe Words, than in thofe immediately preceeding, Counfel in the Heart of -a JMan is like deep Waters ; but a Man of Under/land* hlg will draw it out.- Or in the Words next following, yhejujl Man walketh in his Integrity : his Children are hkJTed after him. Or, ' in any other Proverb in the whole Book. And if it were fo, that Solomon in thefe things meant only to defcribe his own Times, it would not at all weaken the Argument. For, if we ob ferve the 3Hiilory of the Old Tellament, there is Reafon to think there never was any Time from Jofhua to the Captivity, wherein Wickednefs was more retrained, and Virtue and Religion more encouraged and promoted, than in 'David's. and fSvi] ^ all Ages, ' 69 and Solomon's Times. And if there was fo iifcde true Piety in that Nation that was the only People of Gcd underHeaver^ven in their very be(tTimes,what may we fuppofe concerning the World in general, take one Time with another ? - , Notwithftanding what fome Authors advance concern- ing the Prevalence of Virtue, Honefty, good Neighbour- hood, Cheerfulnefs, &c. in the World, Solomon, whom we may juftly efteem as wife and juir. an Obferver of human Nature, and the State of the World of Mankind, as moft in thefe Days (befides, Chriftians ought to remem- ber, that he wrote by divine Infpiration) judged the World to be fo full of Wickednefs, that it was better never to be bom, than to be born to live only in fuch a World. Eccl. iv. at the Beginning, So I returned and confidered all the Opprejfions that are done under the Sun ; and behold, the Tears of fuch as were opprtjfed, and they had no Comforter : and on the Side of their Oppreffbrs? there was Power ; but they had no Comforter. IVhere* fore, I praifed the dead, which were already dead, more than the living which are yet alive, Tea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been ; WHO HATH NOT SEEN THE EVIL WORK THAT IS T>ONE UNDER THE SUN. Surely it will not be faid, that Solomon has only refpect. to his Times here too, when hefpeaks of the Oppreflions of them that were in Power ; fince He himfejf, and others appointed by him, and wholly under his Controul, were the Men that were inPower, in that Land, and in almoft ail neighbour- ing Countries. The fame infpired Writer fays, Ecclef. ix. 3. The Heart of the Sons of Men is full of Evil \ and Madnefs is in their Heart while they live ; and after that they go to the dead. If thefe general Expreffions are to be underilood only of fome, and thofe the leffer Part, when in general, Truth, Honefty, Good-Nature, &c. govern the World, why are fuch general Expreffions from Time to Time ufed ? Why don't this wife and noble, and great- F 3 foul'd jo Wicludnefs general Part I. foul'd Prince exprefs himfelf in a more generous and be- nevolent Strain, as well as more agreeable to Truth, and fay, Wifdom is in the Hearts of the Sons of Men while they live, &c.-r-in Stead of leaving in bis Writings fo many fly, ill-natur'd Suggestions, which pour fuch Con- tempt on the human Nature, and rend fo much to excite mutual Jealoufy and Malevolence, to taint the Minds of Mankind thro' all Generations after him ? If we confider the various fucceffive Parts and Periods of theDuration of theW r orld,it will, if pofiible,be yet more evident, that vaftly the greater Part cf Mankind have in all Ages been of a wickedCharacter. The fliort Accounts we have of Adam and his Family are fuch as lead us to fuppofe, that far the greater Part of his Pofterky, in his Life-time, yea, in the formerPart of his Life, were Wicked, It appears, that his elded Son, Cain, was a very wicked Man, who flew his righteous Brother Abel. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty Years before Seth was born : And by that Time, we may fuppofe,his Poflerity began to be confiderably numerous : When he was born, his Mo- ther called his Name Seth ; for God, faid She, hath appointed me another Seed, in Stead of Abel. "Which na-* turally fuggefis this to ourThoughts ; That of all herSeed now exifting, none were of any fuchNote for Religion and Virtue,as that theirParents could have any greatCcmfort in them, or Expectation from 'em on that Account. And by the brief Hiftory we have, it looks as if (however there might be fomelntervals of a Revival of Religion, yet) in the general, Mankind grew more and more corrupt till the Flood. 'Tis Cjgnifiecl, that when Men began to mul- tiply on the Face of the Earth, Wickednefs, prevailed exceedingly, Gen. vi. at the Beginning. And that before God appeared to Noah, to command him to build the Ark, 1 20 Years before the Flood, the World had long continued obftinate in great and genera] "Wickednefs, and the Difeafe was become inveterate. The Expreiiions we have in the 2, 5, and 6 Vexfes of thatChap. fuggeft as much : And , the lord faid, My f pint Jball not ALJVATS ftriye zvith Sect.vii.5 ^ ' with Man. And God faiv, that the Wickednefs of Man -was great on the Earthy and that every Imagina- tion of the 'Thoughts of his Heart was evil, only evil CONTINUALLY ; and it repented the Lord,that he had made Man on the Earth, and it grieved him at his? Heart. And by that Time all Flejh had corrupted his Way upon the Earth, f. 12. And as Dr. T. himfelf obferves, P. 122. '*" Mankind were univerfally debauch' d ** into Luff, Senfuality, Rapine and Injuftice." And with refpect to the Period after the Flood, to the Calling of Abraham ; Dr. T. fays, as has been already obferved, that in about 400 Years after the Flood, the Generality of Mankind were fallen into Idolatry. Which was before the paflingaway of one Generation ; or before all they were dead, that came out of the Ark. And it can't be thought, the World jumpt into that fb general and extreme Degree of Corruption, all at once ; but that they had been gradually growing more and more corrupt ; tho' it is true, it mult be by very fwift Degrees, (however foon we may fuppofe they began) — to get to that Pafs in one Age. And as to the Period from the Calling of Abraham to the Coming of 'Chrift, Dr. T. juftly obferves as follows {Key P. 190.) " If we reckon from the Call of Abra- u ham to the Coming of Chriit., xhtjewi/h Difpenfation *' continued One Thoufand nine Hundred & twenty-one " Years : during which Period, the other Families and " Nations of the Earth, not only lay out of God's pecu- " HarKingdom,fcut alfo lived in Idolatry, great Ignorance, " and Wickednefs." •And with Regard to that one only exempt Family or Nation of the Ifraelites, 'tis evident that Wickednefs was the generally prevailing Character among them, from Age to Age. If we confider how it was with Jacob's Family, the Behaviour of Reuben with his Father's Concubine, the Behaviour of Judah with Tamar, the Conduct of Jacob's, Sons in general (tho* Simeon and Levi were leading) towards the Shechemites, the Behaviour of Jofeph's tea Brethren in their cruel F 4 Treatment 7 2 Wickednefs general Part U Treatment of him ; we can't think, that the Character of true Piety belpnged to many of them, according to Dr. ■3~L_ r s own Notion of fuch a Character ; tho' it be true, they might afterwards repent. — And with refpecl: to the Time the Children of Ifrael were in Egypt ; the Scrip- ture, fpeaking of them in general, or as a collective Body, often reprefenis them as complying with the abominable Idolatries of the Country.* And as to that Generation which went out of Egypt, and wandred in the Wilder- nefs ; they are abundantly reprefented as extremely and almofl univerfally wicked, perverfe, and Children of di- vine Wrath. — And after Jojhua's Death, the Scripture is very exprefs, that Wickednefs was the prevailing Charac- ter in the Nation, from Age to Age. So it was till Samuel's Time, i Sam. viii. 7, 8. They have rejecled me, that IJhould not reign over them ; . according to all their Works which they have done, fine e the 'Day that I brought them out of Egypt, unto this 'Day. Yea, fo it was °till Jeremiah's and EzekiePs Time, Jer. xxxii. 30, 31. For the Children s/Tfrael, and the Children of Judah, have only done Evil before me from their Youth ; for the Children of Ifrael have only provoked me to Anger with the Work of their Hands, faith the Lord : For this City hath been to me a Provocation of mine Anger, end of my Fury, from the Day they built it, even unto this Day. (Compare Chap. v. 21, and 23. and Chap. vii. 25, 2 6, 27.) So, Ezek. ii. 3, 4. I fend thee to theChildren' cf Ifrael, to a rebellious JN r aiion,that hath rebelled againji me, they and their Fathers have tranfgreffed againji me even unto this very Day : for they are impudent Chil- dren, Mi&ftiff -hearted.— And it appears by the Difcourfe ©f Stephen (Acts vii.) that this was generally the Cafe with tha|; Nation, from their firft Rife, even to the Days of the Apoftles. After his fummary Rehearftl of the Inftances of their Perverfenefs from the very Time of their {dYmgJofeph into£^;^,he concludes(y. 51^2,53.) Ye i» ■ * Levit. xvii. 7. Jom. v. 9. 2nd xxiv. 14. Ezek. xx. 7, 8. and xxiii. 3. Ye ftiff-necked, and uncircumcifed in Heart and Ears, ye do ALWAYS rejift the Holy Ghoft. As your Fa- thers did, fo do ye. Which of the Prophets have not your Fathers perfecutedf And they have/lain them which fietved before of the Coming of that jufl One, of whom Te have been now the Betrayers and Murderers : Who have received the Law by the TDifpofition of Angels, and have not kept it. Thus it appears, that Wickednefs was the generally prevailing Character in all the Nations of Mankind, lill Chrift came. And fo alfo it appears to have been fince his Coming, to this Day. So in the Age of the Apoftles ; tho* then, among thofe that were converted to Chriftianity, were great Numbers of Perfons eminent for Piety ; yet this was not the Cafe with the Greater Part of the World, or the greater Part of any one Nation in it. There was a great Number of Perfons of a truly pious Character in the latter Part of the apoftolick Age, when Multitudes of Converts had been made, and Chriflianity was as yet in it's primitive Purity. But what fays the Apoftle John of the Church of God at that Time, as compared with the Reft of the World ? i Joh. v. 19. We. know that %ue are of God, and the whole World lieth in Wickednefs. And after Chriftianity came to prevail, to that Degree.that Chriftians had the upper Hand in Nations and civilCom- munities, ftill the greater Part of Mankind remain'd in their old Heathen State ; which Dr. Tl fpeaks of as a State of great Ignorance and Wickednefs. And betides, this is noted in all Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, that as the Chriftians gain'd in Power and fecular Advantages, true Piety declined, and Corruption and Wickednefs prevail'd among them. — And as to the State of the Chriftian World, iince Chriftianity began to be eftablifhed by human Laws, Wickednefs for the mod Part has greatly prevailed ; as is very notorious, and is implied in what Dr. T. himfelf fays : He, in giving an Account how the Doctrine of Original Sin came to prevail among Chriftians, fays, P. 443. " That the Chriftian Religion was very early and j* grievouily 74 Conjlant general Wickedness Part I. vin \ i0 ?PP°f e Wickednefs. 79 Life of Man, to about one half of what it ufed to be. The ihortning Man's Life, Dr. T. fays, P. 68. " Was, «« that the wild Range of Ambition and Lull might be " brought into narrower Bounds,* and have lefs Oppor- " tunity of doing Mifchief ; and that Death,being ftill cc nearer to our View, might be a more powerful Motive 44 to regard lefs the things of a tranfitory World, and to " attend to the Rules of Truth and Wifdom." And now let us oblerve the Confequence. Thefe new and extraordinary Means, in Addition to the former, were fo far from proving liifficient, that the new World degenerated , and became corrupt, by filch fwift Degrees, that, as Dr. T. obferves, Mankind in general were funk into .Idolatry, in about 400 Years after the Flood, and fo in about 50 Tears after Noah's Death : They be- came fo v/icked and brutim, as to forfake the true God, and turn to the Worihip of inanimate Creatures. When Things were come to this dreadful Pafs, God was pleafed,for a Remedy, to introduce a new and won- derful Difpenfation ; feparating a particular Family and People, from all the reft of the World, by a Series of molt aftoniihing Miracles, done in the open View of the World ; and fixing their Dwelling, as it were in theMidft of the Earth, between jifia, Europe and Africa, and in the Midft of thofe Nations which were mofl: confiderable and famous for Power, Knowledge and Arts ; that God might, in an extraordinary Manner, dwell amongft that People, in vifible Tokens of his Prefence, manifefting himfelf there, and from thence to the World, by a Courfe of great and miracuousOperations and EfFe&s, for many Ages : that that People might be holy to God, and as a Kingdom of Priefts, and might ftand as a City on an Hill, to be a Light to the World : withal gradually ihortning Man's Life, till it was brought to be but about one twelfth Part of what it ufed to be before the Flood ; and fo, according to Dr. Tl — vaftly cutting off and diminifh- ing his Temptations to Sin, and increafing his Excitements to Holinefs.— And now let us confider what the guccefs of 86 General obftinate JVkhednefs Part I« of th efe Means was, botli as to the Gentile World, and the Nation of Ifrael. Dr. ?. juftly obferves {Key, § 50.) " The JewMi «* Difpenfation had Refpe61 to the Nations of the World, id ever People hear the Voice of God fpeaking out of the Mid ft of the Fire, as thou haft heard, and live f Or hath God aJTayed to take him a Nation from the Mid ft of another Nation, &c ? And thefe great Things were to that End, to imprefs their Minds with fach a Conviction and Senfe of divine Truth, and their Obligations to their Duty, that they might never forget them : As God fays, Exod. xix. 9. Lo, I come unto thee in a t hi ckC loud, that the People may hear when Ifpeak with thee, and believe thee for ever. But what was the Effect of all ? Why, it was not more than two or three Months, before that People, there, under that very Mountain, returned to their old Egyptian Idolatry, and were fmging and dancing be- fore a golden Calf, which they had fet up to worfhip. And after fuch awful Manifestations as there were of God's Difpleafure for that Sin, and fo much done to bring 'em to Repentance, and confirm 'em in Obedience, % was but a few Months before they came to that Vio- G 4 Ienc«" 88 He Obdtnacy of the Jews Part I. lence of Spirit, in open Rebellion againft God, that with the utmorl Vehemence they declared their Refolution to follow God no longer, but to make them a Captain to return into Egypt. And thus they went on in Ways of perverfe Oppoiition to the moft High, from Time to Time, repeating their openActs of Rebellion, in theMidfl of continued aitcni filing Miracles, till that Generation was s Sake, and for Jerufak?nh Sake, that he had chofen ; and ufed more extraordinary Means with them ; efpecially by thofe great Prophets, Ifa'iah and 'Jeremiah ; but to no Effect : So that at lafr it came to this, as the Prophets reprefent the Matter, that they were like a Body univerfally and defperately difeafed and cor- rupted, that would admit of no Cure, the whole Head {ick, and the whole Heart faint, &c. Things being come to that Pafs, God took this Method with them : He utterly, deflroyed their City and Land, and the Temple which he had among them, made thorough Work in purging theLand of 'em ; as when a Man empties a t DiJb,zvipes it,& turns itupfide down ; or when a Veffbl is caft into a fierce Fire, till its Filthinefs is thoroughly burnt cut. 2 Kings xxi. 13. Ezek. Chap. xxiv. They were carried into Captivity, and there left till that wicked Generation was dead, and thofe old Rebels were purged out ; that afterwards the Land might be refettled with a more pure Generation. After the Return from the Captivity, and God had built the Jewifh Church again in their own Land, by a Series of wonderfulProvidences ; yet they corrupted them- felves again, to fo great a Degree, that the TranfgrefTbrs were SH^vJiii in their Wichdnefs. 91 were come to the full again in the Days of Antiochus Epipbanes ; as the Matter is reprefented in the Prophecy o£ Daniel, Dan. viii. 28. And then God made them the Subjects of a Difpenfation, little, if any Thing, lefs terrible, than that which had been in Nebuchadnezzar's Days. And after God had again delivered 'em, and re- ftored the State of Religion among them, by the Inftru- mentality of the Maccabees, they degenerated again : So that when Chrift came, they were arrived to that ex- treme Degree of Corruption, which is reprefented in the Accounts given by the Evangelifts, It may be obferved here in general, that the yews, tho' fo vaftly diftinguifhed with Advantages, Means and Motives to Holinefs, yet are reprefented as coming, from Time to Time, to that Degree of Corruption and Guilt, that they were more v&cked, in the Sight of God, than the very word of the Heathen. As, of old, God fware by hit; Life, that the Wickednefs of Sodom was fmall, compared with that of the Jews. Ezek. xvi. 47, 48, &c. alfoChap. v. 5 10. So, Chrift fpeaking of the Jews, in his Time, reprefents 'em as having much greater Guilt than the Inhabitants of Tyre and Si don, or even Sodom and Gomorrah. But we are now come to the Time when the grandefl Scene was difplayed, that ever was open'd on Earth. After all other Schemes had been fo long and fo tho- roughly tried, and had fo greatly failed of Succefs, both among Jezvs and Gentiles ; that wonderful Difpenfation was at length introduced, which was the greateft Scheme for the fuppreffing and retraining Iniquity among Man- kind, that ever infinite Wifclom and Mercy contrived ; even the glorious Gofpel of Jems Chrift. " A new Dif- " penfation of Grace was erected (to ufe Dr. T—r\ own " Words, P. 239, 240) for the more certain, and effectual «< San&ification of Mankind, into the Image of God ; the " delivering them from Sin and Wickednefs, into which ct they might fall ; or were already fallen ; to redeem 11 'cm from all Iniquity, and bring 'em to the Knowledge " and 92 *Tht Go/pel generally reftfted. Part I. c< and Obedience of God." In whatever high and ex- alted Terms the Scripture fpeaks of the Means & Motives which the Jews enjoyed of old ; yet their Privileges are reprefented as having no Glory, in Comparifon of the Advantages of the G ofpel. Dr. T — r's Words in P. 2 3 3 . are worthy to be here repeated. " Even the Heathen « c (fays he) knew God, and might have glorified him as •• God ; but under the glorious Light of the '> ofpel, we < 4 have very clear Ideas of the divine Perfections, and " particularly of the Love of God as our Father, and as « c the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jefus «' ChrifL We fee our Duty in the utmoft Extent, and < c the moft cogent Reafons to perform it : We have Eter- *' nity open'd to us, even an encllefs State of Honour and « c Felicity, the Reward of virtuous Actions ; and the Spi- « c rit of ^od promifed for our Direction and AiTilbnce. 4t And all this may and ought to be applied to the purify- « l ing our Minds, and the perfecting of Holinefs. And «« to thefe happy Advantages, we are born : for which * c we are bound for ever to praife and magnify the rich * c Grace of «j'od in the Redeemer." And he eliewhere fays, * if The Gofpei-Conftitution is a Scheme the mod *' perfect and effectual for ref coring true Religion, and " promoting Virtue and Happinefs, that ever the World «' has yet feen." And f admirably adapted to enlighten our Minds, and fanclify our .Hearts ; And % never were Motives Jo divine and powerful propofed, to induce us to the Praclice of all Virtue and Goodnefs. And yet even thefe Means have been ineffectual upon the far greater Part of them with whom they have been ufed ; of the many that have been called, few have been chofen. ^s to the Jews, God's ancient People, with whom they were ufed in the firft Place, and ufed long by Chrifl and his Apoitles, the Generality of them rejected Chrift and his Gofpel, with extreme Pertinacioufnefs of Spirit. _ They * Key, § 139. f Noti en Rom. i. 1 6. % Pref. to Par, on Rom. P. 203. ? HAP ; *; T I hy Tews and Gentiles. 01 Sect. VIII. 5 J J ^ They nof only went on (till in that Career of Corruption, which had been increafing from the Time of the Macca- bees ; but Chrift's Coming, and his Doctrine & Miracles, and the Preaching of his Followers, & the gloriousThings that attended the fame, were the Occafion, thro' their perverfe Improvement, of an infinite Increafe of their Wickednefs. They crucified the Lord of Glory, with the utmoft Malice and Cruelty, and perfecuted his Fol- lowers ; they pleafed not God, and were contrary to all Men ; and went on to grow worfe and worfe, till they filled up the Meafure of their Sin, and Wrath came upon them to the uttermofl ; and they were deliroyed, and cafi out of God's Sight, with unfpeakably greater Tokens of the divine Abhorrence and Indignation, than in the Days of Nebuchadnezzar, The bigger Part of the wholeNa- tion were flain, and the reft were fcattered abroad thro* the Earth, in the moil abjecl and forlorn Circumftances. And in the fame fpirit of Unbelief and Malice againft Chrift and the Gofpel, and in their miferable dilperfed Circumftances, do they remain to this Day. And as to the Gentile Nations, tho' there was a glo- rious Succefs of the Gofpel amengft them, in the Apoftles Days ; yet probably not one in ten of thofe that had the Gofpel preached to 'em, embraced it. The Powers of the World were fet againft it, and perfecuted it with in- fatiable Malignity. And among the Profeflbrs of Chrifti- anity, there prefently appeared in many a Difpofition to Corruption, and to abufe the Gofpel unto the Service of Pride and Licentioufnefs. And the Apoftles in their Days foretold a grand Apoftacy of the Chriftian World, which fhould continue many Ages ; and obferved, that there appeared a Difpofition to fuch an Apoftacy, among profefTing Chriftians, even in that Day. 2 Thefl ii. 7. And the greater Part of the A ges which have now elapfed, have been fpent in the Duration of that grand and general Apoftacy, under which the Chriftian World, as it is called, has been transformed into that which has been vaftly more deformed^more di&onourable, & hateful toGod, and repugnant' 94 T%e G of pel generally Tart % repugnant to true Virtue, than the State of the heathen "World before : Which is agreeable to the prophetical Defcriptions given of it by the Holy Spirit. In thefe latter Ages of the Chriitian Church, God has railed up a Number of great and good Men, to bear Tefti- moriy again!! the Corruptions of the Church of Rome, and by their Means introduced that Light into the "World, by which, in a fhortTime, at lead oneThird Part of Europe were delivered from the more grofs Enormities of JLntl- chrifl i "Which was attended at firft with a great Refor- mation, as to vital and practical Religion. But how is the Gold foon become dim ! To what a Pafs are things come in Proteitant Countries at this Day, and in our Nation in particular ! To what a prodigious Height has a Deluge of Infidelity, Profanenefs, Luxury, Debauchery and Wickednefs, of every Kind, arifen ! The poor favage .Americans are meer Babes and Fools (if I may fo fpeak) as to Proficiency in Wickednefs, in Comparifon of Mul- titudes that the Chriitian World throngs with. Dr. T. himfelf, as was before obferved, reprefents, that theGene* rality ofChrifiians have been the moft tvicked, lewd, bloody and treacherous , of allManklnd ; and fays {Key, §. 356.) " The Wickednefs of the Chriitian Yv r orld renders it fo 4C much like the Heathen, that the good Erfecls of our " Change to Chriftianity are but little feen." And with refpeel to the dreadful Corruption of the prefent Day, it is to be confidered, befides the Advantages already mentioned, that great Advances in Learning and philofophic Knowledge have been made in the prefent and pad Century, giving great Advantage for a proper and enlarged Exercife of our rational Powers, and for our feeing the bright Manifeftation of God's Per- fections in his Works. And it is to be obferved, that the Means and Inducements to Virtue, which this Age enjoys, are in Addition to mod of thofe which were men- tioned before, as given of old ; and among other Things, in Addition to the iliortening of Man's Life, to 70 or So Years, from, near a Thousand* And with regard to this, if<£v\im.j obftinately refifted. 95 I would obferve, that as the Cafe now is in Chriftendom, take one with another of them that ever come to Years Difcretiony their Life is not more than forty or forty- five Years ; which is but about the twentieth Parth of what it once was : And not fo much in great Cities, Places where Profanenefs,Senfuality andDebauchery, commonly prevail to the greateil Degree. Dr. jT. {Key, § i.) truly oh ferves, That God has from the Beginning exercifed wonderful and infinite Wifdom, in the Methods he has, from Age to Age, made ufe of to oppofe Vice, cure Corruption, and promote Virtue in the World ; and introduced feveral Schemes to that End. 'Tis indeed remarkable, how many Schemes and Methods were tried of old, both before and after the Flood ; how many were ufed in the Times of the Old Teftament, both with Jews and Heathens ; and how ineffectual all thefe antient Methods proved, for 4000 Years together, till God introduced that grand Difpenfation, for the re- deeming Men from all Iniquity, and purifying them to himfeif, a People zealous of good Works ; which the Scripture represents as the Subject of the Admiration of Angels. Bat even this has, now fo long, proved Co in- effectual, with refpect to theGenerality, that Dr. T'. thinks there is Need of a new ^Difpenfation, Chriftians being 7iozu y as he fays, in a Manner reduced to a State of Re- ligion, as low as that of Heathenifm, & may be ranked among the c Dead ; the prefent Light of the Gofpel prov- ing infufficient for the full Reformation of the Chriftian World. (Note on Rom. i. 27.) — And yet all thefe Things, according to him, without any natural Biafs to the con- trary ; no Stream of natural Inclination or Propensity at all, to oppofe Inducements to Goodnefs ; no native Op- position of Heart,to withdand thofe graciousMeans,which God has ever ufed with Mankind, from, the Beginning of the World to this Day ; any more than there was in the Heart of Adam t the Moment God created him in perfect Innocence, Surely g6 7 he Obfiinacy of the World Part I, Surely Dr. T — r's Scheme is attended with ftrange Paradoxes. And that his myflerious Tenets may appear in a true Light, it mufi be obferved, — at the fame Time while he fuppofes thefeMeans,even the very grea- ter!: and bed of 'em, to have proved fo ineffectual, that Help from them, as to any general Reformation, is to be defpaired of ; yet he maintains, that allMankind, even the Heathen in allParts of theWorld, yea, every finglePerfon in it (which muft include every Indian in America, be- fore the Europeans came hither ; and every Inhabitant of the unknown Parts of Africa, and 'Terra Auftralis) has Ability,Light, and Means fufficient., to do their whole Duty ; yea (as many Paffages in his Writings, plainly fuppofe) to perform perfect Obedience to God's Law, without the leaft Degree of Vice or Iniquity. * But I muft not omit to obferve, — Dr. T. fuppofes, that the Reafon why the Gofpel-Difpenfation has been fo ineffectual, is,that it has been greatly mifunderftood and perverted. In P. 183. he fays, " Wrong Reprefentati- * fc ons of the Scheme of the Gofpel have greatly obfeured M the Glory of divine Grace, and contributed much to " the Corruption of it's Profeflbrs. Such Doctrines " have been almoft univerfally taught and received, as 41 quite fubvert it. Miftaken Notions about Nature, " Grace, Election and Reprobation, Juftification, Rege- * c neration, Redemption ; Calling,Adopiion, &c. have quite 34-9. Chat. I. "> proves Corruption of Nature. 97 Sect.VIH. 5 -* unintelligible ; he reprefents it as exhibiting the cleared: and moff glorious Light, to deliver the World from Dark- nefs, and bring 'em into marvellous Light. He fpeaks of the Light which the Jews had, under the Mofaic Dif- penfation, as vaftly exceeding the Light of Nature, which the Heathen enjoyed: And yet hfe fuppofes, that even the latter was (o clear, as to be fuiheient to lead Men to the Knowledge of God, and their whole Duty to him. And he fpeaks of the Light of the Gofpel as vaftly ex- ceeding the Light of the Old Teftament. He fays of the Apoftle Paul in particular, < c That he wrote with great <* Perfpicuity ; that he takes great Care to explain every « Part of his Subjecl ; that he has left no Part of it unex- « plained and unguarded ; and that never was an Author " more exa£ and cautious in this." * — Is it not ftrange therefore, that the Chriftian World, without any native Depravity to prejudice and darken their Minds, fhould be fo blind in the Midft of fuch glaring Light, as to be all, or the Generality, agreed, fromAge to Age, {o effentially to mi/under ft and that which is made fo very plain ? Dr. T. fays, P. 443. " 'Tis my Opinion, that the " Chriftian Religion was very early and grievpufly cor- " rupted, by dreaming, ignorant, fuperftitious/^/Uv, too «* conceited to be fatisned with plain Gofpel ; and has " long remained in that deplorable State." — But how came the whole Chriftian World, without any blinding Depravity, to hearken to thefe ignorant foolifhMen, rather, than unto wifer and better Teachers ? Efpecially, when the latter had plain Gofpel on their Side, & the Do&rines of the ether were (as our Author fuppefes) fo very contrary not only to the plain Gofpel, but to Men's Reafon and common Senfe ! Or were ail the Teachers of the Chrif- tian Church nothing but a Parcel of ignorant Dreamers t If fo, this is very ftrange indeed, unlefs Mankind natu- rally love T)arknefs, rather than Light, ; feeing in all Parts of the Chriftian World, there was fo great a Mul- titude of thofe in the Work of the Miniftry, who had the H * Gofpel * Pref. to Paf. on Rom, 98 The Ohjlinacy of the IVorlcl Part I. Gofpel in their Hands, and whofe whole Bufinefs it was to ftudy and teach it j and therefore had infinitely greater .Advantages to become truly wife, than the Heathen Phi- lofophers. But if it did happen fo, by fome ft range and inconceivable Means, that notwithftanding all thefe glo- rious Advantages, all thcTeachers of theChriflian Church thro' the World, without any native evil Propenfityv very early became filly 'Dreamers, and alfo in their dreaming, generally flumbled on the fume individual mohflrous Opinions, and fo the World might be blinded for a while \ yet why did not they hearken tot that wife and great Man, Pelaghis, and others like Hiri, when he plainly held forth the Truth to theChriflian/ World ? Efpecially fee- ing his Infractions were fo agreeable to the plain Doc- trines, and the bright and clear Light of the Gofpel of Chrift, and alfo fo agreeable to the plaineft Dictates of the common Senfe and Underffanding of all Mankind ; but the other fo repugnant to it, that (according to our Author) if they were true, it would prove Under/land- to be no Under/landing, and theiJVord of God to be no Rule of 'Truth, nor at all to be Relied upon, and God to be a Being worthy of no Regara) ! And befides, if the Ineflectualnefs of the Gofpel to reflrain Sin and promote Virtue,! be owirjg- to/fne general Prevalence of thefe Doctrines, vyhich aj/e fo^pofed to J*e fo abfurd and contrary to the GofpeM/fiepe is this further to be accounted for ; namely, Wiry^unce there has fo great anlncreafe of Light in religious Matters (as be fuppofed on Dr. T—r\ Sch#rop) in this and t) Age, and thefe monftrous Doctrine's of Original Sin, Elec- tion, Reprobation, Juftiflcatiop, Regeneration, &c. have been fo much exploded, efpedalw in our Nation, there has been no Reformation attending this great Advancement of Light and Truth : But on the contrary, Vice & every thing that is oppofite r*6 practical Chriftianity, has gone on tfoincreafe, with fuch a prodigious Celerity,. as to become like an overflowing Deluge, threatning, unlefs God mer- cifully interpofes, ipeedily to fwallow up all that is left of what is virtuous and praife-worthy. Many si" t^viii } P roves Corruption of Nature. 99 Many other Things might have been mentioned under thisHead,of theAIeans whichMankind have had to reflrain Vice, and promote Virtue ; fuch as — Wickednefs being many Ways contrary to Men's temporal Intereit and Com- fort in this World, and their having continually before their Eyes fo many lnilances of Perfons made miferablc by their Vices ; the Refiraints of human Laws, without which Men cannot live in Society ; the Judgments of God brought on Men for their Wickednefs, with which Hiitory abounds, and the providential Rewards of Vittue • and innumerable particular Means, that God has ufed from Age to Age, to curb the Wickednefs of Mankind, which I have omitted. But there would be no End of a par- ticular Enumeration of fuch Things. Enough has been faid. They that will not be convinced by the lnilances which have been mentioned, probably would not be con- vinced, if the World had flood a Thoufand Times fo long;, and wc had the mod authentick and certain Accounts of Means having been ufed from the Beginning, in a Thou- fand Times greater Variety ; and new Difpenfations had been introduced, after others had been tried in vain, ever fo often, and flili to little Effect He that won't be con- vinced by a Thoufand good Witnedes, 'tis not likely thac he would be convinced by a "Thoufand Thoufand. The Proofs that have beeta extant in the World, from Trial and Fa£fc, of the Djtpravity of Man's Nature are inex- vpreffible, and as it were infinite, beyond the Reprefenta- tion of all Companion and Similitude. If there were a Piece of Ground, w lich abounded with Briars 8c Thorns, or fome poifonous Slant, and ail Mankind had ufed their Endeavours, for a Thoufand It'ears together, to fupprefs that evil Growth, & to bring that • round by Manure and Cultivation, Planting and Sowing, to produce better Fruit, but all in vain, it would (till be over-run with the fame noxious Growth ; it would not be a Proof, that fuch a Produce was agreeable to the Nature of that Soil, in any wife to bs compared to that which is given in divine Pro- vidence, that Wickednefs is a Produce agreeable to the H 2 Natui© J oo Evafeons of the Proof Part L Nature of the Field of the World of Mankind ; which has ha d Means ufed with it, that have been fo various, great and wonderful, contrived by the unfearchable and bound lefsWifdom of God ; Medicines procured with infi- nite Expence, exhibited with fo vail an Apparatus ; fo marvellous a SuccelTion of Difpenfations, introduced one after another, difplaying an incomprehenfible Length and Breadth,Depth and Height, of divine Y/ifdom,Lovc and Power, and every Perfection of the Godhead, to the eternal Admiration of the Principalities and Powers in heavenly Places. S 3 C T. IX. Several Etfafi&ns of the Srrgumcnts for iheDepra^ vity of Nature, from Trial and Events, confulereJ. EVafion I. Dr. % fays, P. 231, 232. " Adair? % " Nature, it is allowed, was very far from being *- finful ; yet he finned. And therefore, the common " Doctrine of Original Sin, is no more neceffary to at* " count for the Sin that hath been in the World, than it " is to account for Adanf s Sin." Again, P. 328, e.c " If we allow Mankind to be as wicked as R. R. has re* " prefented them to be ; and fuppofe that there is net •■* one upon Earth that is truly righteous, & without Sin, ct and that forne are very enormous Sinners, yet it will Ci not thence fonow,that they are naturally corrupt. - *' For, if fmful Action infers a Nature originally corrupt, " then, whereas Adam (according to them that hold the " Doctrine of Original Sin) committed the moil heinous * ; and aggravated Sin, that ever was committed in the World ; for, according to them, he had greater Light than any other Man in the Yv r orld, to know his Duty, and greater Power than any other Man to fulfil it, and was under greater Obligations than any other Men to " Obedience - 7 he finned when he knew he was the Re- prefentative ^ CT - k/l froniExperience.confAcicd. 101 Chap.ix. 5 x 44 prefentative of Millions, arid that the happy or mifcr- 44 able State of all Mankind depended on his Conduct ; * 4 which never was, nor can be, the Cafe of any other 4 < Man in the World :— then, I fay, it will follow, that 44 bis Nature was originally corrupt, &c. Thus, 44 their Argument from the Wickednefs of Mankind, to 44 prove a finful and corrupt Nature, mnft inevitably 44 and irrecoverably fall to the Ground. -Which 44 will appear more abundantly, if we take in the Cafe 44 of the Angels ; who in Numbers finned and kept 44 not their firft Eftate, tW created with a Nature fu* 44 periour to Addmh" Again, P. 421. " When it is 44 enquired, how it comes to pafs that our Appetites and *7> 22, and many other Place*,. 1 1 2 TJje Evafo?i> Part 1. When England grew very corrupt, God brought over a Number of pious Perfons, & planted 'em \nNew-Eng+ land, and this Land was planted with a noble Vine. But how is the Gold become dim ! Plow greatly have we forfiiken the pious Examples of our Fathers 1 So prone have Mankind always proved themfelves to Degeneracy, and bent to Backfliding. Which fhews plainly their natural Propenfity ; and that whenGocd had revived., and been promoted among Men, it has been by Tome divine Interposition, to oppofe the natural Current ; the Fruit of fbjrrie extraordinary Means, the Efficacy of which has foon been overcome by conuant natural Biafs, and the Effect of good Example prefently loft, and Evil .has regained and maintain^ the Dominion : Like an heavy Body, which may by fome great Power be caufed to af- cend, againft it'sNature, a little while, but foon goes back again towards the Center, to which it naturally and con- ftantly tends. So that evil Example will in no wife account for the Corruption of Mankind, without fuppofmg a natural Pronenefs to Sin. The Tendency of Example alone will not account for general wicked Practice, as confe- quent on good Example. And if the Influence of bad Example is a Reafon of fome of the Wickednefs that is in theWorld,that alone will notaccount forMens becoming worfe than the Example fet, and degenerating more and more, and growing worfe and worfe, which has been the Manner of Mankind. ' 2. There has been given to the World an Example of Virtue, which, were it not for a dreadful Depravity of Nature, would have Influence on them that live under the Gofpel, far beyond all other Examples ; and that is the Example of Jefus Chrift. God, who knew the humanNature, and how apt Men are to be influenced by Example, has made anfwerable Provificn. His infinite Wifdom has contrived that we fhould have fet before us the mo ft amiable and perfect Example, in fuchCircumftances as fhould have the greateft Tendency Chap. t. £ f rom bad Example, considered. 113 Sict. IX. \ J Tendency to influence all the Principles of Man's Nature* but his Corruption. Men are apt to be moved by the Example of others like t hem/elves, or in their own Na* ture :* therefore this Example was given in our Nature. Men are ready to follow the Examples of the great and honourable : and this Example* tho' it was of one in our Nature, yet it was of one infinitely higher and more ho- nourable than Kings or Angels. A People are apt to follow the hxamplc of their Prince : This is the Ex- ample of that glorious Perfon, who (lands in a peculiar Relation to Chriitbns, as their Lord & King, the fupream Head of the Church ; and not only fo but the King of Kings, fupream Head of the Univerfe, and Hend over all Things to the Church. Children are apt to follow the Example of' their Parents : This is the Example of the Author of our Being, and one who is in a peculiar and extraordinary Manner our Father, as he is the Author of our holy and, happy Being ; beiides his being the Creator of the World, arid everlatting Father of the Univerfe* Men are very apt to follow the Example of their Friends : The Example of Chriit is of one that is infinitely our greateft Friend, (landing in the mod endearing Relations of our Brother, Redeemer, fpiritual Head and Hufband s whofeGrace and Love exprefled to us, tranfcends all other Love and Friendmip, as much as Heaven is higher than the Earth. And the Virtu.es and Acts of his Example were exhibited to us in the mod endearing and engaging Circiimftances that can polTibly be conceived of : His Obedience and Submiflion to God, his Humility, Meek- nefs, Patience, Charity, Self-Denial, &c> being exercifed and expreded in a Work of infinite Grace, Love, Conde- fcenfion and Beneficence to us ; and had all their higheft Expreflion in his laying down his Life for us, and meek- ly, patiently and cheerfully undergoing fuch extreme and unutterable SufFering,for our eternal Salvation. Men are peculiarly apt to follow the Example of fuch as they have great Benefits from : But it is utterly impoflible to con* ceive of greater Benefits, that we could have by the Vir« 1*4 7>fe Evajion^ from Part L tues of any Perfon, than we have by the virtuous A&s of Chrift ; who depend upon being thereby faved from eter- nal DeftrucYion, and brought to inconceivable immortal Glory at God's right Hand. Surely if it were not for an extreme Corruption of the Heart of Men, fnch an ample would have that ftrong Influence on the Heart, that would as it were fwallow up the Power of all the evil and hateful Examples of a Generation of Vipers. 3. The Influence of bad Example, without Corruption of Nature, will not account forChildren's univerfally com- mitting Sin as foon as capable of it ; which, I think, is a Fa£r. that has been made evident by the Scripture. ] t will not account for this, in the Children of eminently pious Parents ; the firil Examples, that are fet in their View, being very good ; which, as has been obferved, was efpe- cially the Cafe of many Children in Chriftian Families in the Apoftles Days, when the Apoftle John fuppofes that every individual Perfon had Sin to repent of, and confefs to God. 4. What Dr. T. fuppofes to have been Facl: with refpeel: to great Part of Mankind, cannot confidently be accounted for from the Influence of bad Example, viz. the State of the Heathen World, which he fuppofes, confidered as a collective Body, was helplefs, dead in Sin, and unable to recover it felf. Not evil Example alone, nomor as united with evil InftrucYion, can be fuppofed a fufficient Reafoii why every new Generation that arofe among them,fhou Id not be able to emerge from the Idolatry and Wicked nefs of their Anceftors, in any Confidence with his Scheme, The ill Example of Anceftors could have no Power to oblige them to fin, any other Way than as a ftrong Temp- tation. But Dr. 7". himfelf fays, P. 348. " To fuppofe " w Men's Temptations to be fuperiour to their Powers, 2** 1 1 6 The Eva/ton^ from Senfe Part !o « c of their Conftitution. And therefore, tho' they may be il froward and apt to difpleafe us, yet how far this is Sin cc in them, we are not capable of judging. But it may * 4 fuffice to fay, that 'tis the Will of God that Children *' fhould have Appetites and PafFtons to regulate and re* *' {train, that he hath given Parents Inftruclions and Com* « ; mands to difcipline and inform their Minds, that if Pa= " rents firft learned true Wifdom for themfelves, and then *' endeavoured to bring up their Children in the Way of «' Virtue, there would be leis Wickednefs in the World P Concerning thefe Things I would obferve, that iuch a Scheme is attended with tne very fame Drflicukies,which they that advance it would avoid by it ; liable to the fame Objections, which they makbagainft God's ordering it fo that Men fhould be brought into Being with a prevailing Propenfity to Sin. For this Scheme fuppofes, the Author of Nature has fo ordered Things, that Men fhould come into Being as moral Agents, that is, fhould firft have Ex- igence in a St:.te and Capacity of moral Agency, under a prevai ing Propenfity to Sin. For that Strength, which fenfitive Appetites and animal PafTions come to by their habitual Exercife, before Perfons come to the Exercife of their rational Powers, amounts to a flrong Propenfity to Sin, when they firft come to the Exercife of thofe ratio- 3ial Powers, by the Suppofition : becaufe this is given as a Reafon why the : cale is turned for Sin among Man* kind, and why, generally /peaking, the whole World lies snJFickednefs, and the Study of Virtue is a fever e Strug* gle againft bad Habits, early contracted, and deeply looted. Thefe deeply rooted Habits muft imply a Ten- dency to Sin ; otherwife they could not account for that which they are brought to account for, namely, prevail- ing Wickednefs in the World : For that Caufe can't ac- count for an Effect, which is fuppofed to have no Ten- dency to that Effect And this Tendency which is fup- pofed, is altogether Equivalent to a natural Tendency : *Tis as neceflary to the Subject For it is fuppofed to be orought on the Pcrfon who is the Subject of it, when he has sifcT^'ix \ & ett * n & f ^ e Start of Reafon. 1 1 7 has no Power to withfland or oppofe it : The Habit, as Dr, Turnbu/I fays, becoming very flrong, before Reafon can have Force enough to call the Palfions to Account, or aflume Authority over them. And 'tis fuppofed,that this Neceflity, by which Men become fubjecl to this Pro* penfity to Sin, is from the Ordering and Difpofal of the Author of Nature ; and therefore mufl be as much from bis Hand, and as much without the Hand of the Perfon himfelf, as if he were flrft brought into Being with fuch a Propenfry. Moreover, it is fuppofed that theEffe£t, which the Tendency is to, is truly Wickednefs* For 'tis alledgr ed as a Caufe or Reafon why the whole World lies in Jf / ickedmfs, and why all but a very few are firft in the Clafs of the Wicked, and not among the Righteous that need no Repentance. If they need Repentance, what they are guilty of is truly & properly Wickednefs,or moral Evil ; for certainly Men need no Repentance for that which is no Sin, or blameable Evil. If it be fo, that a$ a Confequence of this Propenfity, the World lies in Wickt dnefs, and the far greater Part are of a wicked Character, without Doubt, the far greater Part go to eter- nal Perdition : For Death don't pick and chooie, only for Men of a righteous Character. And certainly that is an evil corrupt State of Things, which naturally tends to, and iilues in that Confequence, that as it were the whole World lies and lives in Wickednefs, and dies in Wicked* nefs, and perifh.es eternally. And this by the Suppofitioit is a State of Things wholly of the Ordering of the Au> thor of Nature, before Mankind are capable of having any Hand in the Affair. And is this any Relief to the Difficulties, which thefe Writers object againft theDoctrine of natural Depravity ? And I might here alfo obferve, that this Way of ac- counting for the Wickednefs of the World, amounts to juft the fame Thing with that Solution of Man's Depra- vity, which was mentioned before, that Dr. T. cries ouf: of as too grofs to be admitted, (P. 188, 189.) viz. God's creating the Soul pure, and putting it into fuch a Bcdy f I 3 as 1 1 8 Of that Evafion, that Part L as naturally tends to pollute it. For this Scheme fup« poles, that God creates the Soul pure, and puts it into a Body, and into fuch a State in that Body, that the natural Confcquence is a ftrong Propensity to Sin, as foon as the Soul is capable of finning. Dr. 'Turnbull feems to fuppofe, that the Matter could not have been ordered otherwife, confident with the Na- ture of Things, than that animal Paffions fliould be fo aforehand with Reafon, as that the Confequence fhoUid be that which has been mentioned j becaufe Reafon is a Faculty of fuch a Nature, that it can have Strength ad Vigour no otherwife than by Exercife and Culture, 1 * But can there be any Force in this ? Is there any Thing in Nature, to make it impoffible, but that the fuperiour Prin- ciples of Man's Nature fhould be fo proportioned to the inferiour, as to prevent fuch a dreadful Confequence, as the moral and natural Ruin, and eternal Perdition of the far greater Part of Mankind ? Could not thofe fuperiour "Principles be. in vaftly greater Strength at firft, and yet be capable of endlefs Improvement ? And what fliould hinder it's being fo ordered by the Creator, that they fhould im- prove by vaftly fwifter Degrees than they do ? If we are Chriftians, we mud be forced to allow it to be poftible in the Nature of Things, that the Principles of human Na- ture fliould be fo balanced, that the Confequence fliould be no Propenfity to Sin, in the firft Beginning of a Capa- city of moral Agency ; becaufe we mult own, that it was fo in FacT: in jldam, when firft created, and alfo in the Man Chrift Jefus ; tho' the Faculties of the latter were fuch as grew by Culture and Improvement, fo that he in- creafed in Wifdom, as he grew in Stature Evafton V. Seeing Men in this World are in a State of Trial, it is fit that their Virtue fliould meet with Trials, and confequently that it fliould have Oppofition-& Temp- tation to overcome ; not only from without, but from with- in, in the animalPaflions & Appetites we have to ftruggle with j that by the Conflict and Victory our Virtue may be PhiL P. in, Chap J 1 Virtue mull be tried. i in Sect. IX. 5 be relaned & eftabliilied. Agreeable to this Dr. 7". (P. 2 5 3.) fays, " Without a right Ufe and Application of our 44 Powers, were they naturally ever fo perfect, we could * l not be judged fit to enter into the Kingdom of God. — " This gives a good Reafon why we are now in a State of st Trial and Temptation, viz, to prove and difcipline our " Minds,to feafon ourVirtue, and to fit us for the Kingdom 6i of God ; for which ? in the Judgment of inhniteWifdom, " we cannot be qualified, but by overcoming our prefent f* Temptations." And in P. 354. he fays, " We are st upon Trial, and it is the Will of our Father that our is Conftitution fliould be attended with various PafTions 6i andAppetites,as well as our outwardCondition with vari- " ous Temptations." He fays the like in feveral other Places. To the fame Purpofe very often Dr. Turnbull 1 particularly, Chrlj. Phil. P. 310. " What Merit (fays he) except from Combat ? What Virtue without the En- counter of fuch Enemies, fochTcmptationsasarifeboth from within, and from abroad f To be virtuous, is to prefer the Pleafures of Virtue, to thofe which come into Competition with it, and Vice holds forth to tempt us ; and to dare to adhere toTruth and Goodnefs, what- everPains &Hardfhips it may cofl. There muft there- fore, in Order to theFormaiion and Trial, in Order to the very Being of Virtue, be Pleafures of a certain Kind to make Temptations to Vice." In Reply to thefe Things I would fay, either the State of Temptation which is fuppofed to be ordered for Men's Trial, amounts on the whole to a prevailing Tendency to that State of general Wickednefs and Ruin, which has been proved to take Place, or it does not. If it does not amount to a Tendency to fuch an EfFe6t, then how does it account for it ? When it is enquired, by what Caufe fuch anEffeft fliould come to pafs, is it not abfurd to alledge a Caufe, which is own'd at the fame Time to have no Tendency to fuch anEfTecl: i Which is as much as to confefs> that it will not account for it, I think, it has been demonftrated that this £fle& muft be owing to fom,e prevailing Ten- J 4 dency. 2 20 Of * Virtue h being tried. Part I, dency. If the other Part of the Dilemma be taken, and it be fald, that thisState of Things does imply a prevailing Tendency to that Effect which has been proved, viz. that all Mankind, without the Exception of fo much as one, fin againfi God, to their own deferved and juft eternal Ruin ; and not only fo, but fin thus immediately, as foon as capable of ir, and fin continually, and have more Sin than Virtue, and have Guilt that infinitely outweighs the Value of all the Goodnefs any ever have, and that the Generality of the World in all Ages are extremely ftupid and foolifh, and of a wicked Character, and actually perifh forever ; I fay, if the State of Temptation implies a na- tural Tendency to (uch an Effect as this, it is a very evil, corrupt and dreadful State of Things, as has been already largely fh.ewn. Befides, fuch a State has a Tendency to defeat it's own fuppofed End, which is to refine, ripen and perfect: Virtue in Mankind, and fo to fit Men for the greater eternal Happinefs and Glory : Whereas, the Effect it tends to, is the Reverfe of this, viz. general, eternal Infamy and Ruin, in allGeherations. ? Tis fuppofed, thatMen's Virtue muft have Paflions and Appetites to flruggle with, in order to have the Glory and Reward of Victory : but the Confe- -quence is, a prevailing, continual, and generally effectual Tendency, not to Men's Victory over evil appetites and PaJ/Ions, and the glorious Reward of that Victory, but to the Victory of evil Appetites and Lufb over Men, and utterly and eternally dettroying them. If a Trial of Vir- tue be requifite, yet theQueftion is, Whence comes fo ge- neral a failing in the Trial, if there be no Depravity of Nature ? If Conflict & War be neceffary, yet furely there is no Ncceffity that there fhouid be more Cowards than good Soldiers ; unlefs it be necefTary that Men fhouid be overcome and deftroyed : Efpecially is it not neceffary that the whole World as it were fhouid lie in Wickednefs, iand fo lie and die in Cowardice. I might alfo here obferve, that Dr. TurnbuII is not very aonfiflent, in fuppofing, that Combat with Temptation is recniifitc Chap. ii. Arg u from umverfalWLoYt&Vity. 121 requifite to the very Being of Virtue. For I think it clear- ly follows from his own Notion of Virtue, that Virtue mud have a Behag'prior to any virtuous or praife-worthy Combat with Temptation. For by his Principles, , all Virtue lies in good Affe&ion, and no A&ions can be vir- tuous, but what proceed from good AffecYion.* There- fore, furely the Combat it felf can have no Virtue in it, unlefs it proceeds from virtuous Affection : And th- re- fore Virtue mud have an Exiftence before the Combat, and be the Caufe of it. Chap, II. Univerfal Mortality proves Original Sin ; particularly the Death of Infants, with us various Circumjlances. THE univerfal Reign of T>eath, over Perfons of all Ages indifcriminately, with the awful Circumftances and Attendants of Death, proves that Men come finful into the World. It is needlefshere particularly to enquire, WhetherGod has not a fovereigr Right to fet Bounds to the Lives of his own Creatures, be they finful, or not ; and as he gives Life;, fo to take it away when he pleafes ? Or how far God has a Right to bring extreme Suffering and Calamity on an innocent moral Agent ? For Death, with the Pains and Agonies with which it is ufually brought on, is not meerly a limiting of Exiftence, but is a moft ter- rible Calamity ; and to fuch a Creature as Man, capable of conceiving of Immortality, and made with fo earned a Defire after it, and capable of Forefight & of Reflection on approaching Death, and that has fuch an extreme Dread pf it, is a Calamity above all others terrible, to fuch as are «u ' 1 11 iii j 1 ill IMllWiWiwirrw; 8 Chrif. Phi}, ?, 1 13, U|, 115, 122 ^ffiiBion and Death Part 1 ; are able to reflect upon it. I fay, 'tis needlefs,elaborately to confider, whether God may not, confident with his Per- fections, by abfolute Sovereignty, bring fo great a Cala- mity on Mankind when perfectly innocent. It is liiffici- ent, if we have goodEvidence from Scripture, that 'tis not agreeable to God's Manner of dealing with Mankind, fo to do. 'Tis manifeft, that Mankind were not originally fub- jected to this Calamity ; God brought it on them after- wards, on Occafion of Man's Sin, at a Time of the Man;- feftaticn of God's great Difpleafure for Sin, and by a De- nunciation and Sentence pronounced by him, as acting the Part of a Judge ; as Dr. Tl often confeiles. Sin entred into theWorld,&Death bySin, as theApoitle fays. Which certainly leads us to fuppofe^ that this Affair was ordered of God, not meerly by the Sovereignty of a Creator, but by the Righteoufnefs of a Judge. And the Scripture e= very where fpeaks of all great Afflictions and Calamities, which God in his Providence brings on Mankind, as Tefti- monies of his Difpleafure for Sin, in the Subject of thofe Calamities ; excepting thofe Sufferings which are to attonc for the Sins of others. He ever taught his People to look on fuch Calamities as his Rod, the Rod of his Anger y his Frowns , the Hidings of his Face in Difpleafure. Hence fuch Calamities are in Scripture fo often called by the Name of Judgments, being what God brings on Men as a Judge, executing a righteous Sentence forTranfgrefilon : Yea, they are often called by theName of Wrath, efpe- cially Calamities confiding or ifTuing in Death.* And hence alfo is that which Dr. T. would have us take fo much Notice of, that fometimes in the Scripture, Calamity and Suffering is called by. fuch Names as Sin, Iniquity, being guilty, &c. which is evidently by a Metonymy of the Caufe for theEffect. 'Tis not likely, that in theLan- guage * See Levit. x. 6. Num. i. 53. and xviii. 5. Jo(h. ix. 20. 2 Cliron. xxiv. 18. and xix. 2, 10. and xxviii. 13. and xxxii. 25. Ezra vii. 23. N«hi xiii, i§, Z«cll. vii. 12? and many c\hsr Plaw 4 Chap, il prove Original Sin. 123 guage in Ufe of old among God's People, Calamity or Suffering would have been called even by the Names of Sin and Guilt, if it had been fo far from having any Con- nection with Sin, that even Death itfelf, which is always fpoken of as the mod terrible of Calamities, is not fo much as any Sign of the Sinf ulnefs of the Subject, or any Tefli- mony of God's Dilpleafure for any Guilt of his, as Dr* T. fuppofes. Death is fpoken of in Scripture as the chief of Calami- ties, the moft extreme and terrible of all thofe natural Evils, which come on Mankind in this World. Deadly Deflruciion is fpoken of as the moft terrible Defiruclion, I Sam. v. 1 1 . Deadly Sorrow, as the moft extreme Sor- row. Ifai. xvii. 1 1 . Matt. xxvi. 3 8. and deadly Enemies, as the moft bitter and terrible Enemies. Pfal. xvii. 9, The Extremity of Chrift's Sufferings is reprefented by his Suffering unto 'Death. Philip, ii. 8. and other Places. Hence the greateft Teftimonies of God's Anger for the Sins of Men in this World, have been by inflicting Death : As on the Sinners of the oldWorld, on the Inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, on Onan, Pharaoh and the Egyp- tians, JSiadab and Abihu, Korah and his Company, and the reft of theRebels in theWildcrnefs, on the wicked In- habitants of Canaan, onHophni & P hinehas , Ananias and Sapphira, the unbelieving^-^'/, upon whom Wrath came to the uttermoft in the Time of the laft Deftruclion of Jerufalcm. This Calamity is often fpoken of as in a peculiar Manner the Fruit of the Guilt of Sin. Exod, xxviii. 43. That they bear not Iniquity and die. Levit. xxii. 9. Left they bear Sin for it and die. So Num, xviii. 22. compared with Levit. x. 1, 2. The very Light of Nature? or Tradition from antient Revelation, led the Heathen to conceive of Death as in a peculiar Manner an Evidence of divine Vengeance. Thus we have an Ac- count, Acls xxviiu 4. That when the Barbarians Jaw the venomous Beaft hang ^Paul's Hand, they /aid among tkemf elves, No Doubt this Man is a Murderer, whom the? he hath efcaped the Seas, yet Vengeance fufFereth not :o live, Calamities s 24 JJffiiSlion and Death Part L Calamities that are very fmall in Comparifon of the £- niverfal temporal DeftrucYion of the whole World of Man- kind by Death, are fpoken of as manifeft Indications of God's great Difpleafure for theSinfuinefs of the Subject ; fuch as the Definition of particular Cities, Countries or Numbers of Men, by War or PefUlence. Deut. xxix. 24. •All Nations fhall fay , Wherefore hath theLord done thus unto this Land f what meanzth the Heat of this great .Anger f Here compare Deut. xxxii, 30. 1 Kings ix 8. and Jer. xxii. 8, 9. Thefe Calamities, thus fpoken of as plain Tefti monies of God's great Anger, confided only in haftening on that Death, which otherwife, by God's Dif- pofal, would moil certainly come in a fhort Time. Nov/ the taking off of 30 or 40 Years from 70 or 80 (if we fiiouid fuppofe it to be fo much, one with another, in the Time of thefe extraordinary Judgments) is but a fmall Matter, in Comparifon of God's firft makingMan mortal, .cutting off his hoped for Immortality, fubjecYing him to inevitable Death, which his Nature fo exceedingly dreads ; and afterwards fhortening his Life further, by cutting off more than 800 Years of it : So bringing it to be lefs than a twelfth Part of what it was in the firft Ages of the .World. Befides that innumerable Multitudes in the con> mon Courfe of Things, without any extraordinary Judg-. ment, die in Youth, in Childhood and Infancy. There- fore how inconfiderable aThing is the additional or hailen'd Deftru&ion, that is fometimes brought on a parpcularCity or Country by War, compared with that univerfal Havock which Death makes of the whole Race of Mankind, from Generation to Generation, withoutDi(tin£lion of Sex, Age, Quality or ondition, with all the infinitely various dif~ xnal Circumstances, Torments and Agonies which attenJ the Death of old and young, adult Perfons and little In- fants ? If thofe particular and comparatively trivial Cala- mities, extending perhaps not to more than the thoufandth Part of the Men of one Generation, are clear Evidences of God's great Anger ; certainly this univerfal vaft De- ftru&ion, by which the whole World in all Generations Chap. 11. prove Original oin. 12$ is fwallowed up, as by a Flood, that Nothing on re( mu fl be a moft glaring Manifeftation of God's Angof fof theSinfulnefs of Mankind* Yea, the Scripture is etfprefs in it, that it is fo. Pfal. xc. 3, &c. Thou turneft Man tt Deftrucli$n,& fay ft, Return, yeCh'ldren of Men.— Thou earn eft them away as withaFlood : They are as aSleep i In the Morning they are like Grafs, whish groweth up ; in the Morning it flourifheth and groweth up ; in the Evening it is cut down and withereth. For zve are con- fumed by thine Anger, & by thy Wrath are we troubled* Thou haftfet our Iniquities before hee, our fecret Sins in the Light of thy Countenance. For all our Days are pa/Ted away in thy Wrath : We fpend our Tears as a Tale that is told. The "Days of our Tears are Three- fcore Tears and ten : and if by Reafon of Stren th, they be Four/core Tears, yet is their Strength Labour and Sorrow ; for it is foon cut of, and we fit e away. Who knoweth the Power of thine Anger ? According to thy Fear, fo is thy Wrath. So teach us to number our Days, that we may apply our Hearts to Wifdom. How plain and full is this Teftimony, that the general Mortality of Mankind is an Evidence of God's Anger for the Sin of thofe who are the Subjeas of fuch a Difpenfation ? Abimelech fpeaks of it as a Thing which he had Rea- fon to conclude from God's Nature and Perfe&ion, that he would not flay a righteous Nation. Gen. xx. 4. By righteous, evidently meaning innocent. And if fo, much lefs willGodflay a righteous Wor Id (confiding offo many Nations,— repeating the great Slaughter in everyGenera- tiofl) or fubjeft the whole World of Mankind to Death, when they are confidered as innocent, as Dr. T fup- pofes. We have from Time to Time in Scripture fuch Phrafes as— worthy of Death, & guilty of Death : But certainly the righteous Judge of all the Earth won't bring Death on Thoufands of Millions, notonly that are not worthy of Death, but are worthy of no Punifhment at all Dr. T. from Time to Time fpeaks of Affliction and Death as a great Benefit, a$ they ^create the yajiity °£ © - - all 126 j^fflitfion and Death Part I all earthly Things, and tend to excite fober Reflections, and to induce us to be moderate in gratifying the Appe= tites of the Body, and to mortify Pride & Ambition, &c.# To this I would fay, i. 'Tis not denied but God may fee it needful for Mankind in their prefent State, that they fhould be mortal, and fubjeft to outward Afflictions, to reftrain their Luds, and mortify their Pride and Ambition, &c. But then is it not an Evidence of Man's Depravity, that it is fo ? Is it not an Evidence of riftemper of Mind, yea, drong Dif- eafc, when Man (lands in Need of fuch (harp Medicines, fuch fevere and terrible Means to reftrain his Lufts, keep down his Pride, and make him willing to be obedient to God ? It muff be becaufe of a corrupt and ungrateful Heart, if the Riches of ood's Bounty, in bellowing Life and Profperity, and Things comfortable & pleafant, won't engage the Heart to God, and to Virtue and child- like Love and Obedience, but that he mud: always have the Rod held over him, and be often chaftifed, and held under the Apprehenfions of Death, to keep him from running wild, in Pride, Contempt & Rebellion, ungratefully ufing the Blcflings dealt forth from his Hand, in finning againft him, and ferving his Enemies. If Man has no natural Difingcnuity of Heart, it muft be a myfterious Thing in- deed, that the fweet Bleflings of God's Bounty have not as powerful an Influence to reftrain him from finning a- gainfl God, as terrible AfflicYions. If any thing can be a Proof of a perverfe and vile Difpofition, this muft be a Proof of it, that Men fhould be mod apt to forget and de= fpifeGod, when his Providence is mod kind ; and that they fhould need to have God chadife them with great Severi- ty, and even to kill them, to keep them in Order. If we were as much difpofed to Gratitude to God for his Bene- fits, as we are to Anger at our fellow-Creatures for Inju- ries, as we muft be (fo far as I can fee) if we are not of a depraved Heart, the Sweetnefs of the divine Bounty, if continued in Life, and the Height of every Enjoyment that * P, 2i, 67, and other Places, Cha?. iL prove Original Sin. 127 that is pleafant to innocent human Nature, would be as powerful Incentives to a proper Regard to God, tending as much to promote Religion and Virtue, as to have the World fili'd with Calamity, and to have God (to ufe the Language of Hezekiah, Ifai. xxxviii. 13. defcribing Death and it's Agonies) as a Lion, breaking all our Bo nes ,and from 'Day even to Night, making an End of us. Dr. T. himfelf P. 252. fays, " That our firft Parents * 4 before the Fall were placed in a Condition proper to " engage their Gratitude, Love and Obedience." Which is as much as to fay, proper to engage them to theExercifc and Practice of ail Religion. And if theparadifaical State was proper to engage to all Religion and Duty, and Men dill come into the World with Hearts as good as the two firft of the Species, why is it not proper to engage 'em to it (till ? What need of fo vaftly changing Man's State, de- priving him of ail thofe Bleffings, and in Stead of them allotting to him a World full of Briars and Thorns, Af- fliction, Calamity and Death, to engage him to it P The taking away of Life, and all thofe pleafant Enjoyments Man had at firft, by a permanentConftitution,would be no ftated Benefit to Mankind, unlefs there were a ftated Difc pofition in them to abufe fuch Bleffings. The taking them away is fuppofed to be a Benefit under the Notion of their being Things that tend to lead Men to Sin : bun they would have no fuch Tendency, at lead in a ftated Manner, unlefs there were in Men a fix'd Tendency to make that unreafonable Improvement of 'em. Such a Temper of Mind as amounts to a Difpofition to make fuch an Improvement of Bleffings of that Kind, is often fpoken of in Scripture, as moft aftonifhingly vile and perverfe, So concerning IfraePs abufing the BlefTmgs of Canaan, that Land flowing with Milk and Honey ; theirlngratitude in it is fpoken of by the Prophets, as enough to aftonifh all Heaven and Earth, and as more than brutim. Stupidity and Vilenefs. Jer. ii. 7. I brought 'em into a plentiful Country, to eat the Fruit thereof and the Goodnefs there* of Put when ye enter' d, ye defiled my Land, &c» See the 1^8 Fatherly Chaflifemmts Pari I. the following Verfes, efpecially^. 12. Be aflon'tjhed, Q ye Heavens at this. So Ifai. i. 1, 4. Hear, O Heavens, and give Ear, O Earth ; I have noUriJhed and brought up Children, and they have rebelled agdinjt tne 'The Ox knows his Owner, and the Afs his Maf* te^s Cnb ; but my People doth not know, Ifrael doth not conjider. jlh, finful ]S ation ! a People laden with Ini* guity ,aSeed of Evil-doers , Children that are Corrupters — ■ Compare T>eut. xxxii. 6, 19. If it Ihow'd fo great Depravity, to be difpofed thus to abufe theBleffings of fo fruitful and pleafant a Land as Canaan, furely it would be an Evidence of a no lefs aftonifhing Corruption, to be inclined to abufe the Blcffings of Eden, and the Garden of Cod there. 2. If Death be brought on Mankind only as a Benefit,, and in that Manner which Dr. T. mentions, viz. to mor- tify, or moderate their carnal Appetites & Affections, wean 'em from the World, excite 'em to fober Reflections, and lead 'em to theFear andObedience of God, ccc. — is it not {lrange,that it fhould fall fo heavy on Infants, who are not Capable of making any iuch Improvement of it ; fo that many more of Mankind fufFer Death in Infancy, than in any ther equalPart of theAge of Man ? OwrAuthor fome* times hints, that the Death of Infants may be for the good of Parents, and thofe that are adult, and may be for the Correction and Punifhment of the Sins of Parents : But hath God any Need of fuch Methods to add to Parents Afflictions ? Are there not Ways enough that he might increafe their Trouble, without deflroying the Lives of fuch Multitudes of thofe that are perfectly innocent, and have in no refpect any Sin belonging to 'em ; on whom Death comes, at an Age, when not only the Subjects arc not capable of any Reflection, or making any Improvement of it, either in the Suffering, or r xpectation of it ; but alfo at an Age, when Parents and Friends, who alone can lnake a good Improvement, 8c whomDr.T. fuppofes alone to be punifhed by it, fufFer leafl by being bereaved of them ; tho 5 thelnfajtf s themfelves fometimes fuffer to great Extremity ? J* To Chap. II are for Sin. 129 3. To fnppofe, as Dr. T. does, that Death is brought on Mankind in Confequence of Adam's Sin, not at all as a Calamity, but only as a Favour and Benefit, is contrary to the DocVme of the Gofpel < which teaches, that when Chnit. as the kcond Adam, comes to remove and deftroy thatDcath,which came by the bfoAdamfc finds it not as a Friend,but anEnemy. I Cor.xv.22. "For as in Adam all die,foin Chrift fhall all be made alive :" with f. 25.&2S. For he mufl reign, ft 11 be hath put all Enemies under his Feet. The laftElS 'EMTthat [ball be d pyedjs&ezth. Dr. 7". urges, that the Affii&ions which Mankind arc fubjefted to, and particularly their common Mortality, are reprefented in Scripture as the Chaftifements of our hea- venly Father ; and therefore are defined for our fpirnuai Good : and confequently are not of the Nature of Pun- Iftiments. So in P. 68, 6 „ 314, 3 15. Tho' I think the Thing aflerted far from being true> viz. that the Scripture reprefents the Afflictions of Man- kind in general, and particularly their common Mortality, as the Chaftifements of an heavenlyFather ; yet 'tis need- iefs to ftand todifpute that Matter : For if it be fo, it will be no Argument that the Afflictions and Death of Man- kind are not Evidences of their Sinfulnefs, Thofe would be ftrange Chaftifements from the Hand of a wife and good Father,which are wholly forNothing ; especially inch Se- vere Chaftifements, as to break the Child's Bones ; when at the fame Time the Father don't fuppofe any Guilt, Fault or Offence, in any refpeft, belonging to the Child ; but it is chaftifed in this terrible Manner, only for hie that it will be faulty hereafter. I fay, thefe would be a ftrange Sort of Chaftifements ; yea, tho' he fhould be . ble to make it up to the Child afterwards. Dr. 5 . tells or Representations made by the whole Current of Scripture : - I am certain, it is not agreable to the Currrent of ' crio- ture, to reprefent divine fatherly Chaftifements after this Manner. ? Tis true, that the Scripture fuppofes fuch Chaftenings to be the Fruit of God's Goodnefs ; yet at the fame Time it evermore repreients them as being for K the J 30 Fatherly Chajlifemenis Parti. die Sin of the Subject, and as Evidences of the divine Difpleafure for it's Sinfulnefs. Thus the Apoftle in I Cor. xi. 30, 31, 32. fpeaks of God's. chaftening his Peo* pie by mortal Sicknefs, for their Good, that they might not be condemned with the TVorld, and yet (ignifies that it was/*r their Sin ; FOR THIS CAUSE many are weak and ftckly among you, and many fie ep : that is, for the Profanenefs and finfuIDi (order before- mentioned. So Elihu, Job xxxiii. 16, &x. fpeaks of the fame Chaftening by Sicknefs, as for Men's Good ; to withdraw Man from his finful Purpofe, and to hide Pride from Man, and keep back his Soul from the Pit ; that therefore God chaftens Man with Pain on his Bed, and the Multitude of his Bones with flrong Pain. But thefe Chaftenings are for his Sins, as appears by what follows, >■ 28. Where 'tis obferved, that when God by this Means has brought Men to repent, and humbly confefs their Sins, he delivers them. Again, the fame Elihu, freaking of the unfailing Love of God to the Righteous, even when he chaftens them, and they are bound in Fetters, and holden in Cords of Affliction, Chap, xxxvi. 7, &c ; yet fpeaks of thefe Chaftenings as being for their Sins,/ 9. ihen he Jheweth them their Work, and their Tranfgr efforts, that they have exceeded. So'David, Pfal. xxx. fpeaks of God's Chaften- ing by fore Afflictions, as being for his Good, and ifiuing joyfully ; and yet being the Fruit of God's A.nger for his Sin, i 5. God's ANGER endureth but for a 'Moment, Sec. — Compare Pfal cxix. 67, 71. 7^. God's fatherly Chaftifements are fpoken of as being for Sin, 2 Sam, vii. 14, 15. Twill be his Father, and he fhall be my Son. If he commit Iniquity, I will chaflen him zvith the Rod of \ n, and zvith theStripes oftheChildren of Men ; but lercy fhall not depart away from him. So theProphet Jeremiah fpeaks of the great Affliction thatGod'sPeople of young Generation fuffered in the Time of the Capti- ity, as being for their Good. Lam. iii. 25, &c. But yet e Chaftifements are fpoken of as being for their Sin 5 fee efpecially eath. So the Pfalmift a Pfal. lxxxviii. 15. fetting forth the Extremity of his Af- fliction, reprefents it by this, that it was next to Death. / am affliaed,& ready to die— while IJufer tbyTerrenJ am diflraded. So 'David, 1 Sam. xx. 3. So God's Ten- dernefs towards Perfons under Chaff ifement, is from Time to Time fet forth by that, that he did not proceed fo far as to make an End of 'em by Death ; as in Pfal. lxxviii. 38, 39. and Pfal.ciii. 9. with f 14, 15. Pfal. xxx. 2,29. lob xxxjh, 22, 23, 24. So we have God's People ofteri Ji 2 praying 132 The Death of Infants proves Part I. praying, when under great AfHicYion, that God would not proceed to this,as being the greater! Extremity. Pfal.xiii.3. Confider, and hear me, O Lord my God] lighten mine Eyes, left IJJeep the Bleep of Death. So Job x. 9. Pfah vi. I, —5. & lxxxviii. o, 10,11'. cxllii. 7. Efpecially may Death be look'd upon as the mofl ex* treme of all temporal Sufferings, when attended with fuck dreadful Circumftances, and extreme Pains, as thofe with which Providence fometimes brings it on Infants ; as on the Children that were offered up to Moloch, and fome other Idols, who were tormented to Death in burning Brafs. Dr. T. fays, P. 359, & 404. » The Lord of all " Being can never want Time and Place and Power to " compenfate abundantly any Sufferings Infants now tui- " dergo in Subferviency to his good Providence." But there are no Bounds to fuch a Licenfe, in evading Eviden- ces from Fa£t. It might as well be raid, that there is not and cannot be any fuch thing as Evidence, from Events, of God's Difpleafure ; which is moil contrary to the whole Current of Scripture, as may appear in Part from Things which have been obferved. This Gentleman might as well go further ft ill, and fay, that God may cafl guiltlefs Perfons into Hell-Fire, to remain there in the mofl unutter- ableTormentsforAges of Ages (which bear no greaterPro- portion to Eternity than a Quarter of an Hour) and if he does fo, it is no Evidence of God's Difpleafure ; be- caufe he can never want Time, Place and Power, abun- dantly to compenfate their Sufferings afterwards. If it be fo, it is not to the Purpofe, as long as the Scripture does Co abundantly teach us to look on great Calamities & Suffer- ings which God brings on Men, efpecially Death, as Marks of his Difpleafure for Sin, and for Sin belonging to them that fuffer. (2.) Another Thing, which may well lead us to fappofe Death, in a peculiar Manner, above other temporal Sufferings, intended as a Teflimony of God's Difplea- fure for Sin, is, that Death is a Thing attended with that awful Appearance, that gloomy and terrible Afpeft, mac natural^ / ' Chap.il Original Sin. XJS naturally fuggefts to cur Minds God's awful Difpleafure* Which is a Thing that Dr. T. himfelf takes particular Notice of, P. 69/Speaking of Death, " Herein, fays he, « have we before our Eyes a finking Demonftration, that " Sin is infinitely hateful to God, and the Corruption and " Ruin of our Nature. Nothing is more proper than « fuch a Sight to give us the utmoft Abhorrence of all " Iniquity, &c." Now if Death be no Teftimony of God's Difpleafurc for Sin, no Evidence that the Subject is looked upou,by him who infli&s it, as any other than per- feftly innocent, free from all Manner of Imputation of Guilt, and treated only as an Obje& of Favour, is it not flrange,that God fliould annex to it fuch affixing Appear- ances of his Hatred and Anger for Sin, more than to othet Chaftifements ? which yet the Scripture teaches us are al- ways for Sin. Thcfe gloomy & ftrikingManifeftatipns of God's Hatred of Sin attending Death, are equivalent to awful Frowns of God attending the Stroke of his Hand. If we mould fee a wife and juft Father chaflifing his Child, mixing terrible Frowns with fevere Strokes,we fliould juftly a>gue,that the Father confidered his Child as having fome- tning in him difpleafing to him, and that he did not thus treat his Child only under a Notion of mortifying him, and preventing his being faulty hereafter, and making \i up to him afterwards, when he had been perfectly innocent, and without Fault, either of A&ion or Difpofition hitherto. We may well argue from thefe Things,that Infants are not looked upon by God as Sinlefs, but that they are by Nature Children of Wrath, feeing this terrible Evil comes fo heavily on Mankind in Infancy. But befides thefe Things, which are obfervable concerning the Mortality of Infants in general, there are fome particular Cafes of the Death of Infants, which the Scripture fets before us, that arc attended with Circumftances, in a peculiar Manner, giving Evidences of the Sinfulnefs of fuch, and their- juft Expofednefs to divine Wrath. As particularly, The deflroying the Infants in Sodom, and the neigh- bouring Cities ; which Cities, deitroyed in fo extraordinary JC 3 " miraculous 134 Of the Infants of SoAom. Part L miraculous and awful a Manner, are fet forth as a ffgnal Ex- ample of God's dreadful Vengeance for Sin to the World in all Generations ; agreable to that of the Knoft\e,Jude $ 7. God did not reprove, but manifeftly countenanced *Abra- ham, when he faid,withRefpecr. to theDeftrucYion of Sodom (Gemxviii. 2 3,25.)^//; thou deftroy tbeRightecus withthe Wicked ? —That be far from thee, to do after this Manner, to flay theRighteous with iheJVicked,&that theRighteous fhould be as the Wicked, that be far from thee, Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right f Abraham\ "Words imply thatGod would not deftroy the innocent with five guilty. We may well underftand innocent as included in theWord righteous, according to the Language ufual in Scripture, in fpeaking of fuch Cafes of Judgment & Pun- ifhment ; as is plain in Gen. xx. 4. Exod. xxiii. 7. Deut. xxv. 1. 2 Sam. iv. 11. 2 Chron. vi. 23. and Prov. xviih 5. Eliphaz fays, Job iv. 7. Who ever perifned, being innocent ? or where were the righteous cut offf We fee what great Care God took that Lot fhould not be involv'd in that Deftruction. He was miraculously refcued by Angels, fent on Purpofe ; who laid hold on him, and bro't him, and fet him without the Gates of the City ; and told him that they could do Nothing till he was out of the Way. Gen. xix. 22. And not only, was he thus miracu- lously delivered, but his two wicked Daughters for his Sake. The whole Affair, botn the Deft ruction, and the Refcue of them that efcaped, was miraculous : And God could as eafily have delivered the Infants which were in ihofe Cities. And if they had been without Sir, their perfect Innocency, one fhould think, would have pleaded much more ftrongly for them, than thofe lewd Women's Relation to Let pleaded for them. When in fuch a Cafe, we muft fuppofe thefe Infants much further from deferv- ing to be involved in thatDeftrucYion ; than evcnLot himfelf. JTo fay here, that God could make it up to thofe Infants in another World, muft be an infufficient R.eply. For fo be could as eafily have made it up to Lot, or to ten or fifty right ecus, if they had been deftroyed in the fame Fire ; Neverthelcfs Chap. ii. an j j t l e old World. 135 Neverthelefs it is plainly fignified, that this would not have been agreable to the wife and holy Proceedings of the Judge of all the Earth. Since God declared, that if there had been found but ten righteous in Sodom, he would have fpared the whole City for their Sake, may we not well fuppofe, if Infants are perfectly innocent, that he would have fpared the old World, in which there were, without Doubt, many Hun~ dred Thoufand Infants, and in general, one in every Fa- mily, whofe perfect Innocence pleaded for it's Preferva- tion ? Efpecially when fuch vait Care was taken to lave Noah and his Family (fome of whom, one at leaft, feem to have been none o£ the belt) that they might not be in- volved in that DeftrucYion. If the perfect Sinlefnefs of Infants had been a Notion entertain'd among the People of God of old, in the Ages next following the Flood, handed down from Noah and his Children, who well knew that vaft Multitudes of Infants perifhed in the Flood, is k likely that EUphaz, who lived within a few Generations of Shem and Noah, would have faid to Job, as he does in that foremention'd Job iv. 7, Who ever perifhed, being Innocent f & when were theRighteous cut off? Efpecially fince in the fame Difcourfe (Chap. v. 1.) he appeals to the Tradition of the Antients for a Confirmation of this very Point ; as he alfo does in Chap. xv. 7, 10. and xxii. 1 5, 1 6. In which lad Place, he mentions that very Thing, theDeilruclion of theWicked by the Flood, as an Inftance of that perilling of the Wicked, which he fuppofes to be peculiar to them, for Job's Conviction ; ^ in which the Wicked zuere cut down out of Time, their Foundation being overflown with aFlood. Where 'tis alfo obfervable, that he f peaks of fuch an Untimelinefs of Death as they fufiered by the Flood, as one Evidence of Guilt ; as he alfo does, Chap. xv. 3 2, 3 3. It (hall be accompli jhed be- fore his Time ; and his Branch frail not' be green. But thofe that were deftroyed by the Flood in Infancy, above all the reft were cut down out of Time ; when in Stead ef living above ooo Years, according to the common Pe- lt 4 riod 136 Ofthelnfantsof Canaan, Egypt, Parti. riod of Man's Life, many were cut down before they were one Year old. And when God executed Vengeance on the antient In- habitants of Canaan, not only did he not fpa-re their Cities and Families for the fake of the Infants that were therein, nor take any Care that they fliould not be involved in the Deftru.5V.on ; but often with particular Care repeated his exrrefsCommonds, that theirlnfants fliould not be fpared, but fliould be utterly deliroyed, without any Pity ; while Rahab the Harlot (who had been far from Innocence, tho* 21 e exprciTed her Faith in entertaining, and fafely difmiffing the Spies) was preferved, and all her Friends for her fake. And when God executed his Wrath on the Egyptians by flaying their firfr. born, tho' the Children of Ifrael, who were moft of 'em wicked Men, as was before fhewn, were wonderfully fpared by the deflroying Angel, yet fuch firft born of the Egyptians as were Infants, were not fparell. They not only were not refcued by the A.ngel, and no Miracle wrought to fave 'em (as was obferved in the Cafe of thelnfants of Sodwi) but theAngel deflroy'd 'em by his own immediate Hand, and a Miracle was wro't to kill them. Here not to flay to be particular concerning the Com- mand by Mofes, concerning the Deflru&ion of the Infants of the Mi dianites, Num. xxxi. 17. And that given to jS:?<7' 7 to dcflroy all the Infants of the Amalekites, 1 Sam. xv. 3. and what is faid concerning Edom, Pfal. exxxvii. 4. Happf Jhall he be that Jh all take thy little ones, and daflj them again/I the Stones. — I proceed to take Notice of fomething remarkable concerning the Deflruclion of ye- rufalem, reprefented in Rzek. ix. when Command was v}\-rn to them that had Charge over the City, to deftroy tie Inhabitants, f. 1 ,- ■ 8. And this Reafon is given for it, that (h >ir Iniquity required it, and it was ajuft Re- corft pence of their Sin. «'-. 9, 10. And God at the fame Spine was moft particular and exact in his Care that fuch ft uld b / no Means He involved in the Slaughter, as had proved by their Behaviour, that they were not Partakers in Chap, it, anc [ Jerufalem. 137 n the Abominations of the City. Command was given to the Angel, to go through the City, and fet a Mark upon their Foreheads, and the destroying Angel had a drift Charge not to come near any Man on whom was the Mark ; yet the Infants were not marked, nor a Word faid of fparing them : On the contrary, Infants were exprefly mentioned as thofe that fhould be utterly deflroyed, with- out Pity, f, 5, 6. Go through the City, and finite : let not you r Eyefpare, neither have yePity. Slay utterly old and young, both Maids and little Children : But come not near any Man upon whom is the Mark, And if any fliould fufpecl that fuch Inftances as thefe were peculiar to a more fevere Difpenfation, under the old Teilament, let us confider a remarkable Inftance in the Days of the glorious Gofpel of the Grace of God ; even the laft Deftru&ion of Jerufalem ; which was far more terrible, and with greater Teftimonies of God's Wrath and Indignation, than the DeftrucVion of Sodom, or of Jerufa- lem in Nebu:hadnezzar\ Time, or any thing that ever had happened to any City or People, from the Beginning of theWorld to thatTime : agreable toMatth. xxiv. 21. and Luke xxi. 22, 23. But at that Time particular Care was taken to diftinguifh and deliver God's People, as was fore- told, Dan. xii. 1. And we have in the New-Teflament a particular Account of the Care Chrift took for the Pre- servation of his Followers : He gave them a Sign, 'by which they might know when the Defolation of the City was nigh, that they that were in Jerufalem might flee to the Mountains, and efcape. And as Hiftory gives. Ac- count, the Chridians followed the Directions given, and efcaped to a Place in the Mountains called Pella, and were preferved. Yet no Care was taken to preferve the Infants of the City, in general ; but according to the Pre- dictions of that Event, they were involved with others in that great Deftru&ion : So heavily did the Calamity fall upon them, that thofe Words were verified, Luke xxiii, 29. Behold the "Days are coming, in which they flmll fay, JBlejjTed are the barren, and the Warnbs that never bare* 1 3 ° fy ^ e I n f ants °f Jerufalem Part I. bare, and the Paps vjhich never gave Suck. And that Prophecy in Deut. xxxii. 21,- 25. which has undoubt- edly fpecial Refpeft to this very Time, and is Co applied by the bed Commentators. / will provoke than to jea- loufy, with thofe thdt are not a People : For a Fire is kindled in mine .Anger — and it Jhall burn to the lowejl Hell. I will heap Mi/chiefs upon them : I vAll fpend mine ^Arrozus upon them. They Jhall be burnt with Hunger, and devoured with burning Heat, and bitter f Deftru&io?i. The Szvord zvithout, & Terror within, Jhall deftroy both the young Man, and the Virgin, 7 HE SUCKLING alfo, with the Man of grey Hairs. And it appears by the Hiftory of that Deftruclion, that at that Time was a remarkable Fulfilment of that in Deut. xxviii. 53 > 57* concerning Parents eating their Children in the Siege, — and the tender & delicate Woman eating her New-bom Child. And here it mud be remembered, that thefe very DeftrucYions of that City and Land are fpoken of in thofe Places forementioned, as clear Eviden- ces of God's Wrath, to ail Nations, which fhall behold them. And if fo, they were Evidences of God's Wrath towards Infants ; who, equally with the reft, were the Subjects of the DeftrucYion. If a particular Kind or Rank of Perfons, which made a very confiderable Part of the Inhabitants, were from Time to Time Partakers of the Overthrow, without any DiftincYion made in divine Pro- vidence, and yet this was no Evidence at all of God's Dif- pleafure with any of 'em ; then a being the Subjects of fuch a Calamity could not be an Evidence of God's Wrath a- gainft any of the Inhabitants, to the Reafon of all Nations, or any Nation, or fo much as one Perfon, PART ( »39 ) PART II. Containing Obfcrvations on particular Parts of the holy Scripture, which prove the Doctrine of Original Sin. CHAP. I. Obfervations relating to Things contained in the three firft Chapters of Genefis, r Wiib Reference to the Doctrine of Original Sin. Sect. I. Concerning Original Righteonfnefs ; and whether our firfi "Parents ivere created with Rigbteoufnefs cr moral Rectitude of Heart ? THE Doctrine of Original Rigbteoufnefs, or the Creadon of our firft Parents with holy Principles andDifpofitions, has a clofe Connection, in feveral Refpects, with the Doctrine of Original Sin. Dr.T. — wasfenfible of this ; and accordingly he ftrenuoufly oppofes this Doct- rine, in his Book againft Original Sin. And therefore it* handling the Subject, I would in the firft Place remove this Author's main Objection againft this Doctrine ; and then fhew how the Doctrine may be^infer'd from the Account which Mofes gives us, in the three firfl Chapters of Genefis. Dr. T'—rh grand Objection againft this Doctrine, which he abundantly infills en, is this : That it is utterly incon- fiftent with the Nature of Virtue, that it ihould be con- created with any Perfon ; becaufe, if fo, it muft be by an Act of God's abfolute Power, without our Knowledge or Concurrence ; and that moral Virtue, in it's very Nature kipiieth the Choice and Confent of the moral Agent, without I4-Q Of Original Righteoufncfs. Part II. without which it cannot be Virtue and Holinefs : that a necefTary Holinefs, is no Holinefs. So P. 179, 180. "Where he obferves, " That Adam mud exift, he muft be ** created, yea he muft exercife Thought and Reflexion, •* before he was righteous." See alfo P. 2^0, 251. In P. 437. he fays, " To fay, that God not only endowed 4< Iddam with a Capacity of being righteous, but more- " over that Righteoufr.efs and true Holinefs were created ** with him, or wrought into his Nature, at the fame Time 44 he was made, is to affirm a Contradiction, or what is in- '* confiftent with the veryNature of Righteoufncfs." And in like Manner Dr. T'urnbu/i in many Places infills upon it, that it is necefTary to the very Being of Virtue, that it be owing to our own Choice, and diligent Culture. With refpect to this, I would obferve, that it confifts in a Notion of Virtue quite inconfiflent with the Nature of Things, and the common Notions of Mankind ; and alio inconfiflent with.Dr.T'— r's ownNotions of Virtue. There- fore, if it be truly fo, that to affirm that to be Virtue or Holinefs which is not the Fruit of preceeding Thought, Reflection and Choice, is to affirm a Contradiction, I mail fliew plainly, that for him to affirm otherwife, is a Conr irad : ction to himfelf. In the firil Place, I think it a Contradiction to the Na- ture of Things, as judged of by the common Senfe of Mankind. It is agreable to the Senfe of the Minds of Men in all Nations and Ages, not only that the Fruit or Effect of a good Choice is virtuous, but the good Choice it (elf, from whence that Effect proceeds ; yea, and not only fo, but alfo the antecedent good Difpofjtion, Temper or Affection of Mind, from whence proceeds that goodChoice, is virtuous. This is the general Notion, not that Prin- ciples derive their Goodnefs from Actions,but that Actions derive their Goodnefs from the Principles whence they proceed ; and fo that the Act of chufing that which is good,isno further virtuous than it proceeds from a good Principles virtuousDifpofition of Mind. Which fuppofes, that a virtuousDifpofition of Mind may be before a virtu- ous Chap. i. i Qj Original Righteoufnes. 141 ous Act of Choice ; and that therefore it is not neceflary that there fliould firft be Thought, Reflection and Choice, before there can be any virtuous Difpofition. If the Choice be firft, before the Exigence of a good Difpofition of Heart, what fignifies that Choice ? There can, accord- ing to our natural Notions, be no Virtue in a Choice which proceeds from no virtuous Principle, but from meer Self- love, Ambition,or fome animal Appetite. And therefore a virtuous Temper of Mind may be before a good Act of Choice, as a Tree may be before the Fruit, and the Foun- tain before the Stream which proceeds from it. The following Things in Mr. Hutchefonh Enquiry concerning moral Good and Evil, are evidently agreable to the Nature of Things, and the Voice of human Senfe and Reafon. Sect. II. P. 132, 133. " Every Action ** which we apprehend as either morally good or evil, is « always fuppofed to FLOW FROM fomeAffections to- '< wards fenfitive Natures. And whatever we callVirtue MAN upon it : I, even my Hands, have ftretched cut the Heavens. Jer. xxvii. 5. / HAVE MADE the- Earih, the MAN and the Beaft that are upon the Ground, by my great Pozcer. All thefe Texts fpeak of God's SElJ ^/"Original Righteoufnefs. 153 God's/noi/^JWbffyby theWord,il/7^,was to have had ever. laflbng Life and Happinefs, in perfett Holinefs, Union with his Maker,and Enjoyment of his Favour, and this was the Life which was to be confirmed by the Tree of Life; then doubtlefs theDeath threatned in Cafe of Difobedience, which (lands in direct Oppofition to this, was a being given over to everlafling JVickednefs & M'ifery, in Separation from God and in enduring his Wrath. And it may with the greateft Reafon be fuppofed, that when God fir ft made Mankind, and made known to them the Methods of his moral Government towards them, in the Revelation he made of Himfelf to the natural Head of the whole Species ; and let him know, that Obedience to Him was expected as his Duty ; and inforced thisDuty with the. Sanction of a threaten'd Punifhment, called by the Name of 'Death ; I fay, we may with the greateft Reafon fuppofe in fuch a Cafe, that by Death was meant that fame Death which God efteemed to be the moft proper Punifhment of the Sin of Mankind, and which he fpeaks of under that Name, throughout the Scripture, as the proper Wages of the Sin of Man, & was always from the Beginning underftood to be fo in the Church of God. It would be ftrange- indeed, if it (ho ad be ctherwife. It would have been ftrange, if 'when the Law of God was firfi given,'& inforced by the'Threatning of a Punifhment, Nothing at all had been mention' d of that great Punifh- ment, ever fpoken of under the Name of "'Death (in the Revelations which he has given to Mankind from Age to Age) as the proper Punifhment of the Sin of Mankind. And it would be no lefs ftrange, if when the Punifhrnea* which was mentioned and threatned on that Occafion, was called by the fame Name, even Death, yet we mull not underftand it to mean the fame Thing, but fomething infi- nitely uiverfe, and infinitely more inconfiderable. But now, let us confider what that Death is, which the Scripture ever fpeaks of as the proper Wages of the Sin Mankind, and h fpoken of as fuch by God's Saints in i$8 Evidence of the DoEirine Part II. he fays, P. 252, " That in the Difpenfation our nrfr. Pa- '■< rents were under, before the Fall, they were placed in a ct Condition proper to engage their Gratitude, Love and " Obedience." But it will follow on our Author's Prin- ciples, that Adam while in Innocency, was placed in far worfeCircumflances,than he was in after his Difobedience, and infinitely worfe than his Pofterity are in ; under un- fpeakably greater Difadvantages for the avoiding Sin, and the Performance of Duty. For by his Doctrine Ada?n\ Pofterity come into th eWorld with their Hearts as free from r.ny Propensity to Sin as he,and he was made as deilitute of say Propen(ity toRighteoufnefs as ihey : and yet God, in Favour to them, does great Things to reft rain them from Sin, & excite them to Virtue, which he never did for Adam in Innocency, but laid him, in the high eft Degree, under contrary Difadvantages. God, asanlnftanceof his great Favour, and fatherly Love to Man, fmce the Fall, has denied him the Eafe and Pleafures of Paradife, which grati- fied and allured his Senfes, and bodily Appetites ; that he might diminifh his Temptations to Sin : And as a ftili greater Means to reftrain from Sin, and promote Virtue, has fubjecled him to Labour, Toil & Sorrow in th eWorld : And not only fo, but as a Means to promote his fpiritual and eternalGood far beyond this,has doom'd him toDeath : And when all this was found infufhxient, he, in further Profecution of the Defigns of his Love, ihortned Men's Lives exceedingly, made them twelve or thirteen times shorter than in the ftrft Ages. And yet this, with all the innumerable Calamities, which God in great Favour to Mankind has brought on the World, whereby their Temp- tations arefo vaftly cutfnort, and the Means and Induce- ments to Virtue heaped one upon another, to fo great a Degree, all have proved infufficient, now for fo many Thoufand Years together, to reftrain from Wickednefs in any confiderableDegree ; innocent humanNature,all along, coming into the World with the fame Purity and harmlefs Difpoiitions, that our firft Parents had in Paradife. W r hat vnft Difadvantages indeed then mud Adam and Eve be in, that f?b$ l' } °f ° ri g inal Righteoufnefs. 1 5 9 that had no more in their Nature to keep them from Sin or incline 'em to Virtue, than their Pofterity, and yet were without all thefe additional & extraordinary Means I Not only without fuch exceeding great Means as we now have, when our Lives are made fa very fhort, but having vaftly lefs Advantages than their Antediluvian Pofterity, who to prevent their being wicked and to make 'em good, had fo much Labour and Toil, Sweat and Sorrow, Briars and Thorns, with a Body gradually decaying and returning to the Dull ; when our firft Parents had the extreme Dif. advantage of being placed in the midft of fo many and exceeding great Temptations ; not only without Toil or Sorrow,Pain or Difeafe,to humble and mortify 'em, and a Sentence of Death to wean 'em from theWorld, but in the midft of the moft exquifite & alluring fenfitiveDelights 3 the Reverfe in every refpect, and to the higheft Degree of that moft gracious State of requifite Means, and great Ad- vantages, which Mankind now enjoy 1 If Mankind now under thefe vaft Reftraints, and great Advantages, are not reftrained from general, and as it were universal Wicked- nefs, how could it be expected that^ldam & Eve y created with no better Hearts than Men bring into the World now, and deftitute of all thefeAdvantages. and in the midft of all contrary Difadvantages, fhould efeape it ? Thefe Things are not agreable to Mofesh Account ; which reprefents an happy State of peculiar Favours and Bleffings before the Fall, and the Curfe coming after- wards : but according to this Scheme, the Curfe was be- fore the Fall, and the great Favours and Teftimonies of Love followed the Apoftacy. And the Curfe before the Fall muft be a Curfe with a Witnefs,being to fo high a De- gree the Reverfe of fuch Means, Means fo nece ; Tary for. fuch a Creature as innocentMan,andin all their Multitude and Fulnefs proying too little. Paradife therefore muft be a meer Delufion ! There was indeed a great Shew of Favour ; in placing Man in the midft of fuch Delights. But this delightful Garden, it feems, with ail it's Beauty and Sweetnefs, was in it's real Tendency worfe than the Ap- ples 1 6b Thefirft Threatning imply d Part II. way thereof is no Death. So in Chap. x.2. — x'1.4. — xii*. ijl. — xiv. 27. and many other Places. But we find, this fame Wife man obferves, that as to temporal Death, and temporal Events in general, there is no Diftjn&ion, 'but that they happen alike to good and bad. Eccl. ii. 14, 15, 16. — viii 14, & ix. 2,3. His Words are re- markable in Eccl. vii. 15. There is a jujl Man that pe- riiheth in his Right eoufnefs ; and there is a wj eked Man that prolongeth his Life in hisJVickednefs. — So we find, 'David in the Book of Pfalms ufes the Word "Death in the fame Senfe,when he fpeaks of it as the proper Wages and IfTue of Sin. PfaL xxxiv. 21. Evil f ball day the Wicked. He fpeaks of it 2s a certainThing, Pfal.cxxxix. 19. Surely Thou wilt flay the TVicked, O God. And he fpeaks of it as a Thing wherein the Wicked are diflin- guifhed from the Righteous, Pfal lxix. 28. Let them he blotted out of the Book of the Living, .and not be written -with the Righteous. — And thus we find the Word De '1 ufed in the Pentateuch, or Books of Mofes : in which Part of the Scripture it is, that we have the Account of the Threatning of Death to Adam. When Death, in thefe Books, is fpoken of as the proper Fruit & appointed Reward of Sin, it is to be underftood of eternal Death. So Deut. xxx. 15. See, I have fet before thee thisD ay, Life and Good, and Death ahdEvil Ver.19. 1 call Hea- ven and Earth to Record this Day againfl you, that 1 have fet before you Life and Death, Blejjing & Curftng. TheLife that is fpoken of hcre/is doubtlefs the fame that is fpoken of inLev .xviii. 5 .Ye pal 7 therefore keep my Statutes and my Judgments ,zvhich if aMan do,hef;all live in them. This the Apoftle understands of eternal Life ; as is plain. by Rora. x. 5. and Gal, iii. 12. — But that the Death threatned forSin in thoLzw 6£Mofes meant eternal Death, is whatDr.jT abundantly declares. So in his Note on Rom. v. 20. Such a Conftitution the Law of Mofes was, fubjecling thofe who were under it to Death for every Tranfgrejjion ; meaning by Death ETERNAL "DEATH, Thefe are his Words. The like he aflerta in Ot a? i. ~> fpiritual and eternal Death. 1 6 I Sect. II. 3 * in many other Places. When it is faid, in the Place now mentioned, I have fet before thee Life & Death, Ble fling andCurfing, without doubt, the fame Ble fling and Curfing is meant which God had already fet before them with fuch Solemnity, in the 27th and 28th Chapters; where we have the Sum of the Curfes in thofe lad Words of the 27 th Chapter, Curfed is every one, which confirmeth not all the Words of this Law to do them. Which the Ap'oflie fpeaks of as a Threatning of eternal Death ; and With him Dr. T. himfelf.* In this Senfe alfo Job and his Friends, fpake of Death, as the Wages and End of Sin, who lived before any written Revelation, and had their Religion and their Phrafeology about the Things of Re- ligion from the Antients. If any mould infill upon it as an Objection againft fup- pofing that Death was intended to fignify eternal Death in the Threatning to Adam, that this Ufe of the Word is figurative : tho' thisfhould be allowed,yet it is by noMeans fo figurative as many other Phrafes ufed in the Hiftory contained in thefe three Chapters : As when it is faid, God f aid, Let there be Light ; God f aid, Let there be a Firmament, &c as tho' God fpake fuch Words with a Voice. So when it is laid, God called the Light, Day : God called the Firmament, Heaven, Sec, God reded on the fevenih Day ; as tho' he had been weary, and then relied. And when it is fold, 'They heard the Voice of: God walking ; as tho' the Deity had two Feet, and took Steps on the Ground. Dr. T. fuppofes, that when it is faid of Adam and Eve, Their Eyes were opened, and they J aw that they were naked ; by the Word naked, is meant a State of Guilt. (P. 12.) Which Senfe of th \ Word, naked, is much further from the common Ufe of the Word, than the fuppofed Senfe of the Word Death. So this Author fuppofes the Promife concerning the Seed N of Note on Rom. v. 20. In his Exp. on Rom. P. 371, 373, 374, 376. There in P. 37 r, he fays exprefly, " The Law of Mofes fubje&ed thofe who were under it to Death, mean- ing by Death, eternal Death," 162 The firji Threatning imply d Part IL of the Woman's bruifing the Serpen? s Head, while the Serpent fliould bruife his Heel, is to be underftood of the Js/lejjlah\ deftroying the Power and Sovereignty of the 'Devil, & receiving fome flight Hurt from him. (P. 15,1 6.) Which makes the Sentence full of Figures, vaftly more befide the common Ufe of Words. And why might not God deliver Threatnings to our firft Parents m figurative Expreifions, as well as Promifes ? Many other ftrong Figures are ufed in thefe Chapters. But indeed, there is noNeceflity of fuppofag iheWord "Death, or the Hebrexv Werd fo tranflated, if ufed in the Manner that has been fuppofed, to have been figurative at all. It does not appear but that this Word/in it's true and proper Meaning, might fignify perfectMifery, and fenfible iUeftrucYion ; tho' the Word was alfo applied to fignify fomething more external and vifible. There are many Words in our Language, fuch as Heart, Senfe, View, Dif Covery, Conception, Light, and many others, which are applied to fignify external Things, as that mufcular Part of the Body called Heart ; external Feeling called Senfe ; the Sight of the bodily Eye called View ; the finding of a Thing by it's being uncovered, called Difcsvery ; the firfl Beginning of the Fcetus in ihe Womb, called Con- ception ; and the Rays of the Sun, called Light : Yet thefe Words do as truly and properly fignify other Things of a more fpiritnal internal Nature, as thofe : Such as the Difpofition, Affection, Perception & Thought of theMind, and Manifeftation and Evidence to the Soul. Common Ufe, which governs the Propriety of Language, makes the latter Things to be as much fignified by thofe Words, in their proper Meaning, as the former. 'Tis efpccially common in the Hebrew, and I fuppofe, other oriental Lan- guages, that the fame Word that fignifies fomething exter- nal, docs no lefs properly and ufually fignify fomething more fpiritual. So the Hebrezu Words ufed for Breath, have fuch a double Signification ; Nefbama fignifies both Breath, and the Soul ; and the latter as commonly as the former : Jxuach is ufed for Breath or Wind } but yet more commonly Chap, i ? Spiritual and eternal Death. 161 Sect. II. V r ° commonly fignifies Spirit. Nephejb is ufed for Breath, but yet more commonly fignifies Soul. So the Word Lbh, Hearty no lefs properly fignifies the Sou!, efpecially with Regard to the Will and Affections, than that Part of the Body fo called. The Word Shalom, which we render Peace, no lefs properly fignifies Profperity and Happinefs, than mutual Agreement. The Word tranflated,Z//>, fig- nifies the natural Life of the Body, and alfo the perfect and happy State of fenfible active Being ; and the latter as properly as the former. So theWord,!D*0^fignifies De- ftruction, as to outward Senftbility, Activity & Enjoyment : But it has moil evidently another Signification, which, in the Hebrew Tongue, is no lefs proper, viz. perf eel, fen- fible, hope lefs Ruin and Mifery. ? Tis therefore wholly without Reafon urged,that Death properly fignifies only the Lofs of this prefent Life : and that therefore Nothing elfe was meant by thatDeath which was threatned for eating the forbidden Fruit. Nor does it at all appear but that Adam, who from what God faid concerning the Seed of the Woman, that was fo very figu- rative, could underftand,that Relief was promifed,as to the Death which was threatned (as Dr. T'. himfelf fuppofes, P. 18.) underftood the Death that was threatned, in the more important Senfe ; efpecially feeing temporal Death, as it is originally, and in itfelf, and is evermore, excepting as changed by divine Grace, an Introduction or Entrance into that gloomy difmal State of Mifery, which is fliadow'd forth by the dark and awful Circumftances of this Death, naturally fuggelting to the Mind the molt dreadful State of hopeiefs, fenfible Ruin. As to that Objection which fome have made, that the Phrafe, c Dy/;zg- then Jhalt die, is feveral Times ufed in the Books of Mofes to fignify temporal Death,it can be of no Force. For it has been fliown already, that the fame Phrafe is fometimes ufed in Scripture to fignify eternal Death, in Inltances much more parallel with this. But indeed No- thing can be certainly argued concerning the Nature of the Thing intended, from it's being exprefled in fuch a N 2 Marnier, 164 Adam dealt with Part If. Manner. For 'tis evident,that fuch Repetitions of a Word in the Hebrew Language, are no more than an Emphafk upon a Word in the more modern Languages, to fignify the great Degree of a Thing, the Importance of it, or the Certainty of it, &c. When we would fignify and imprefs thefe, we commonly put an Emphafis on our Words : In Stead of this, the Hebrezcs, when they would exprefs a Thing flrongly, repeated or doubled the Word, the more to imprefs tjie Mind of the Hearer ; as may be plain to every one in the leaft converfant with the Hebrezu Bible, The Repetition in theThreatning to Adam, therefore only implies the Solemnity, and Importance of the Threatning. But God may denounce either eternal or temporal Death with Peremptorinefs and Solemnity, and Nothing can cer- tainly be infer'd concerning the Nature of the Thing threatned, becaufe tis threatned with Emphafis, more than this, that the Threatning is much to be regarded. Tho' it be true, that it might in an efpecial Manner be expected that a Threatning of eternal Death, would be denounced with great Emphafis, fuch a Threatning being infinitely important, and to be regarded above all others. Sect. III. erein it is enquired, whether there he any thing in the Hi/lory of the three fir ft Chapters of Geuefis\ ivhich Jhould lead us tofiippofe, that God, in his Con flit uiion with Adam, dealt with Mankind in general, as included in their firft Father, and that the Threatning of Death, in Cafe he Jhauld eat the forbidden Fruit, had Refpect not only to him, but his Polterity ? DR. T. rehearfing that Threatning to Adam, Thou Jbalt furely die, and giving us his Paraphrafe of if, P.. 7, 8. concludes thus ; " Obferve, here is not one JVord \* n Ada?]?** Pofterity." But it may be obferved in CrfAp.i. I m a federal Head. 165 Sect. III. S in Oppofition to this, that there is fcarcely one Word that we have an Account of, which God ever faid loAdam or Eve, but what does manifeftly include their Pofterity in the Meaning and Defign of it. There is as much of a Word faid about ^darn's Pofterity in that Threatning, as there is in thofe Words of God to Adam and Eve, Gen. i. 28. Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenlfh the Earth, andfubdue it ; and as much in Events, to lead us to flip- pofe Adam's Pofterity to be included. TJiere is as much of a Word of his Pofterity m that Threatning, as in thofe Words, f. 29. Behold J have given you every Herb bear- ing Seed and every Tree in which is the Fruit of a Tree yielding Seed, &c. Even when God was about to create Adam, what he faid on that Occafion,had not Re- fpect only to Adam, but to his Pofterity. Gen. i. 2 6. Let us make Man In our Image, and let them have ^Dominion over the Fijh of the Sea, &c. And, what is more re- markable, there is as much of a Word faid about Adam's Pofterity in the Threatning of Death, as there is in that Sentence, Gen. iii. 19. Unto T>uft Jhalt thou return. Which Dr. T. himfelf fuppofes to be a Sentence pro- nounced for the Execution of that very Threatning, Thou Jbaltfurely die : A nd whichSentence he himfelf alfo often fpeaks of as including Adam's Pofterity. And^ what is much more remarkable ftiil, is a Sentence which D. T. himfelf often fpeaks of, as including his Pofterity, as a SENTENCE OF CONDEMNATION, as a JUDI- CIAL Sentence, and a Sentence which God pronounced withRegard xoAdamh POSTERITY, ACTING THE PART OF A JUDGE, and as fuch condemning them to temporal Death. Tho' he is therein utterly incon- fiftent with himfelf, inafmuch as he at the fame Time a- bundantly infifts, that Death is not brought on Adamz Pofterity, in Confequence of his Sin, at all as a Pumfli- ment ; but meerly by the gracious Difpofal of a Father, bellowing a Benefit of the higheft Nature upon them* But % P- Z°Z % 1 66 Adam dealt with Part II. But I (hall (hew that I don't in any of thefe Things falfely charge, or mifreprefent Dr. T — He fpeaks of the Sentence in Chap.iii.19.as pronounced in Purfuance of the Threatning in the former Chapter, in thefe Words, P. 17,18. '* TheSentence upon the Man, 'f. 17,18,19. firft 11 affe&s the Earth, upon which he was to fubfift : The c< Ground (hould be incumbred with many noxiousWeeds, " and the Tillage of it more toilfom : Which would ob- Ci lige Man to procure a Suftenance by hard Labour, till ct he fhould die, and drop into the Ground, from whence " he was taken. Thus Death enter'd by Sin into the " World, and Man became mortal, ACCORDING TO « THE THREATNING IN THE FORMER " CHAPTER." Now, if Mankind becomes movtal,and muft die, according to theThreatning in theformerChapter, then doubtlefs the Threatning in the former Chapter, Thoujbalt die, had Refpe£r. not only to Adam, but to Mankind, and included Adam's Pofterity. Yea, and Dr. T. is exprefs in it, and very often fo, that the * Sentence concerning dropping into the Ground, or returning to the Dull, did include Adam's Pofterity So,P- 19,2.0. (peak- ing there of that Sentence, " Obferve (fays he) that we 4i their Pofterity are in Fac"b fubje&ed to the fame Affiifti- " on & Mortality ,here by Sentence inflicted upon our fir(l " Parents.— P 42. But yet Men, thro' that long Traft, " were all fubjecl: to Death, therefore they muft be in- " eluded in the Sentence-" The fame he affirms in innu- merable other Places, fome of which I (hall have Occailon to mention prefentfy. The Sentence which is founded on the Threatning, and (as Dr. T. fays) according to the Threatning, extends to as many as were included in the Threatning, and to no more. If the Sentence be upon a collective Subject, in- finitely (as it were) the greateft Part of which were not included in the Threatning, nor were ever threatned at all by any Threatning whatfoever, then certainly this Sen- tence is not according to the Threatning, nor built upon it. If the Sentence be according to the Threatning, then we Chap I J as a federal Head. 167 Sect. 111. 3 ' we may juftly explain the Threatning by the Sentence ;■ And if we find the Sentence fpoken to the fame Perfon, to whom the Threatning was fpoken, and fpoken in the iecond Pcrfonfmgular, in likeManner with theThreatning, and founded on the Threatning, and according to the Threatning j and if we find the Sentence includes./&fa/»'s Pofterity ; then we may certainly infer, that fo did the Threatning : And hence, that both the Threatning and Sentence were deliver'd toAdam as the publick Head and Reprefentative of his Pofterity. And we may alfo further infer from it,in anotherRefpcft directly contrary to Dr. T — r's Doctrine, that the Sen- tence which included Adanvs Pofterity, was to Death as a Punifhment to that Pofterity, as well as to Adam him- felf. For a Sentence pronounced in Execution of a Threatning, is to a Puniihment. Threatnings are of Pun* ifhments. Neither God nor Man are wont to threaten others with Favours and Benefits. But left any of this Author's Admirers fliould ftand to it, that it may very properly be faid, God threatned Mankind with beft owing great Kindnefs upon them, I would obferve, that Dr. T. often fpeaks of this Sentence as pronounced by God on all Mankind as condemning them, fpeaks of it as a Sentence of Condemnation judicially pronounced, or a Sentence which God pronounced on all Mankind acling as their Judge, and in a judicial Pro- ceeding : Which he affirms in Multitudes of Places. In P.20. fpeaking of this Sentence, which,he there fays, fub- jects us, Adam's and Eve's Pofterity, to Affliction and Mortality, he calls it a judicial Act of Condemnation.' " The judicial Acl of Condemnation (fays he) clearly " implies, a taking him to Pieces, and turning him to the " Ground, from whence he was taken." And P. 28, 29. te In all the Scripture, from one End to the other, there " is recorded but one Judgment to Condemnation, which " came upon all Men, and that is, Gen. iii. 17, 18, 19, " T>ufl thou art, &c." P. 40. fpeaking of the fame, he fays, « M Mm are brought under Condemnation.' 9 In P,2 7; 1 6 8 Abfurdiiy offtippofing Adam Part II. ?. 27,28. " By Judgment, Judgment of Condemnation, it " appeareth evidently torn©, he [_Paul~] means the being u adjudged to the forementioned Death ; he means x\\eSen~ u fence of 'Death, of a general Mortality, pronounced upon u Mankind, lnConfequencQ of Adam's firftTranfgrefliQiij et And the Condemnation inflicted by the Judgment of " God, anfwereth to, and is in EfTeft the fame Thing * c with, being dead." P. 30. " The many, that is Man*- " kind, were fubjedl toDeath by the judicial Act of God." P. 3 1. " Being made Sinners, may very well Ggnify, being ** adjudged, or condemned to Death. For the Hebrew €i Word, Sec. fignifies to make one a Sinner by a judicial iC Sentence, or to condemn" — Paraph, on Rom. V. 19. in his Exp. of the Epidle, " Upon- the Account of one * c Man's Difobedience, Mankind were judicially confti- " tuted Sinners ; that is, fuhjected to Death, by the Sen- ct fence of God the Judge." And there are many other Places where he repeats the fame Thing. And 'tis pretty remarkable, that in P. 48, 49. immediately after citing Prov. xvii. 15. He thai jujlif.eth the Wicked, and he that condemneth the Jufl, are both an .Abomination to the Lord ; And when be is careful in citing thefe Words, to put us in Mind, that it is meant of a judicial Acl ; yet in the very next Words, he fuppofes that God himfeif does fo,fince he conflantly fuppofes that^^m'sPoiierity whom God condemns, are innocent. Bis Words are thefe, " From all which it followeth, that the Judgment, that 6i pafled upon all Men to Condemnation, is Death's com- " ing upon all Men, by the judicial Act of God, upon 46 Occafion of Adarns Tranfgrelfion."-^And 'tis very remarkable, that in P. 279, 280, and 283 he infills, * c That in Scripture no Action is faid to be imputed, rec« " kon'd or accounted to any Perfon, either for Righte* " oufnefs or CONDEMNATION, but the proper Aft " and Deed of that Perfon." — And yet he thus continu- ally affirms, that all Mankind are made Sinners by a judi- cial Ac! of God the Judge, even to Condemnation^^ judi- cially conftituted Sinners, and fo fubjc&ed to a judicial Sentence Sc^'iii } mt a ^ era * Mead. 169 Sentence of Condemnation, ottOccafion of Adam's Sin 5 and all according to the Tbreatmng denounced to Adam ? Thou f halt fur ely die : Tho' he fnppofes Adam\ Po'te- rity were not included in the Threatning, and are looked upon as perfectly innocent, and treated wholly as fuch I am fenfib!e,Dr. T". don't run into all this incontinence, only thro' Ovenight and Blundering ; but that he is driven to it, to make out hisMatters in his Evafion of that noted Paragraph in the fifthChapter of Romans ; efpecially thofe three Sentences, f. 1 6. The Judgment was by one to Condemnation, f. 18. By the Offence of one, Judgment came upon all Men to Condemnation, and /. 19 By one Mans T>lfobedlence many were made Shiners. And I am alfo fenfible ofw] la] ' T ^^nv^nience, viz. " T at if the Thteatning had immediatcl) 11 ex- " ecuted nAdam, he would have had no Pofterity ; and " that fo far the poflible Exigence of .Adam's Pofterity " fell under the Threatning of the Law, and into the " Hands of the Judge, to be difpofed of as he mould ** think fit : And that this is the Ground of the Judg- cc ment to Condemnation, coming upon all Men."* But this is trifling, to a great Degree : For, 1. Suffering Death, and failing of poflible Exigence, are entirely different Things. If there had never been any fuch Thing as Sin committed, there would have been in- finiteNumbers of poflible Beings, which would have fail'd of Exifience, by God's Appointment. God has appointed not to bring into Exigence numberlefs poflibleWorlds, each replenished with innumerable poflible Inhabitants. But is this equivalent to God's appointing them all to fuffer Death'? 2. OurAuthbr reprefents, that by Adam's Sin the pojji* hie Exlftence of his Pofterity fell Into the Hands of the Judge, to be difpofed of as he fhould think fit. But there was no Need of any Sin of Adam's, or any Body's elfe, in order to their being brought into God's Hands in this O Refpecl. *^^" i *^^a»" ■■- -■■■■ -■ ■! . uj. ■ . ■■■■ ' 1 *■ I 1 .. jl ■ 1 1 urn — «m mi * P. 95. 366, 367, 170 Abfurdity offuppoftng Adam Part II. Refpect. The future poffible Exigence of all created Be- ings is inGod'sHands, antecedently to theExiftence of any Sin. And therefore by God's fovereign Appointment, in- finite Numbers of poffible Beings, without any Relation \oAdam 1 or any other finning Being, do fail of their pofli- ble Exiftence. And if Adam had never finned, yet it would be unreafonable to fuppofe, but that innumerable of his poffible I ofterity, would have fail'd of Exiftence by God's Difpofal. For will any be fo unreafonable as to imagine, that God would and muft have brought into Ex- igence as many of his Pofterity as it was poffible fhould be, if he had not fin'd ? Or that in that Cafe, it would not have been poffible, any other Perfons of his Pofterity fhould ever have exifted, than thofe individual Perfons, who now actually fall under that Sentence of fuffering Death, and returning to the Duft ? 3, We have many Accounts in Scripture, which imply the actual failing of the poffible Exiftence of innumerable Multitudes of Adams Pofterity, yea, of many more than ever come intoExiftence. As, of the poffible Pofterity of Abel, the poffible Pofterity of all them that were deftroy'd by the Flood, and the poffible Pofterity of the innumera- ble Multitudes, which we read of in Scripture, deftroyed by Sword, Peftilence, 8cc. And if the Threatning to Adam reached his Pofterity, in no other refpecl than this, that they were liable to be deprived by it of their poffible Exiftence, then thefe Inftances are much more properly a Fulfilment of that Threatning, than the fuffering of Death by fuch as actually come into Exiftence ; and fo is that which is mod properly the Judgment to Condem- nation, executed by the Sentence of the Judge, proceeding on the Foot of that Threatning. But where do we ever find this fo reprefented in Scripture ? We read of Multi- tudes cut off for their perfonal Sins, who thereby faiPd of their poffible Pofterity. And thefe are mentioned as God's Judgments on them, and Effects of God's Condemnation of them : but when are they ever fpoken of as God's ju- dicially proceeding againft, and condemning their poffible Pofterity I 4. Dr. Chap. I. ? not a federal Head. 171 Sect. IF. 5 4. Dr. T. in what he fays concerning this Matter, fpeaks of the Threatning of the Law delivered to Adam, which the poflibl-e Exigence of his Polierity fell under, as the Ground cf the Judgment to Condemnation corning upon all Men. But herein he is exceeding inconfiftent with himfelf : For he affirms in a Place forecited, that the Scripture never fpeaks of any Sentence of Condemnation coming upon all Men, but that Sentence in the third of Genejis, concerning Man's turning to Duff. But accord- ing to him, theThreatningof the Law delivered to Adam, could not be the Ground of that Sentence ; for he greatly infills upon it, that that Law was entirely abrogated before that Sentence was pronounced, that this Law at that Time was not in Being, had no Exijlcnce to have any fuch In- fluence, as might procure a Sentence of Death ; and that therefore this Sentence was introduced entirely on another Foot, viz, on the Foot of a new Difpenfation of Grace. The Reader may fee this Matter flrenuoufly urged, and particularly argued by him, P.389,- 396. So that this Sentence could not, according to him, have theThreatning of that Law for it's Ground, as he fuppofes ; for it never flood upon that Ground. It could not be called a Judg- ment of Condemnation, under any fuch View ; for it could not be viewed under Circumfiances, under which it never exifled. 5. If it be as our Author fuppofes, that the Sentence of Death on all Men comes under the Notion of a Judg- ment toCondemnation by thisMeans, viz. that the Threat- ning ioAda?n was in fome refpeel: the Ground of it ; then it alfo comes under the Notion of a Punifhment : For Threatnings annexed to Breaches of Laws, are to Punifli- ments ; and a Judgment of Condemnation to the Thing threatned, muft be to Punifhment ; and the Thing con- demned to, muft have as much the Notion of a Punifh- ment, as the Sentence has the Notion of a Judgment to Condemnation* But thisDr. T> wholly denies : he denies that the Death fentenced to, comes as any Punifhment at all j but infills that it comes only as a Favour & Benefit, O 2 and 172 Adam mojl evidently Part II. and a Fruit of fatherly Love toAdamh Pofterity, refpecl:- ed not as guilty,but wholly innocent. So that his Scheme will not admit of it's coming under the Notion of a Sen- tence to Condemnation in any Refpecl: whatfoever. Our Author's Suppofition,that thepoiTible Exigence of Adam's Pofterity comes under the Threatning of the Law, and into the Hands of the Judge, and is the Ground of the Condemnation of all Men to Death, implies, that Death by this Sentence is appointed to Mankind as an Evil, at leaft, negatively fo ; as it is a Privation of Good : for. he roanifeftly fpeaks of a Non-exiftence as a negative Evil. But herein -he is inconfutent with himfelf : for he conti- nually infills, that Mankind are fubjected to Death only as a Benefit, as has been before fhewn. According to him, Death is not appointed to Mankind as a negative Evil, as any CeiTation of Exigence, #s any CefTation or even Di- minution of Good ; but on the contrary, as a Means of a Xtiore happy Exiflence, and a great Increafe of Good. So that this Evafion, or Salvo of Dr. T* — r's is fo far from helping the Matter, or faiv'mg the Inconullence, that it increafes and multiplies it. And that the Conftiiution or Law, with the Threatning of Death annexed which was given to Adam, was to him as the Head of Mankind, and to his Pofterity as included in him, not only follows from fome of our Author's own AfTertions, and the plain and full Declarations of the A- poftle in the fifth of Romans (of which more afterwards) which drove Dr. T. into fuch grofs Inconfatencies. But the Account given in the three firft Chapters of Genejis, directly and inevitably lead us to fuch a Conclufion. Tho' the Sentence, Gen. iii. 19, — Unto T>ufl thou fialt return, be not of equalExtent with theThreatning in the foregoing Chapter, or an Execution of the main Curfe of the Lav/ therein denounced ; for, that it fhould have been fo, would have been inconfiflent with the Intimati- ons of Mercy juft before given : yet tis plain,this Sentence is in Purfuance of that Threatning, being to fomething that was included in it. TheWords of the Sentence were delivered ? HAP ; r H # federal Head. 173 Sect. III. 5 *° delivered to the fame Perfon, with the Words of the Threatning,and in the fameManner,inlike fingular Terms, as much without any exprefs Mention of his Pofterity : And yet it manifeftly appears by the Confequence,as well as all Circumftances, that his Pofterity were included in the Words of the Sentence ; as is confefs'd on all Hands, And as the Words were apparently deliver'd in the Form of the Sentence of a Judge, condemning for fomething that he was difpleafed with, and ought to be condemned, ?72r. Sin ; and as the Sentence to him & hisPofterity was but 6ne, dooming to the lame Suffering, under the fame Cir- cumftances, both the one and the other fentenced in the fame Words, fpoken but once, and immediately to but one Perfon, we hence juftly infer, that it was the fame Thing to both ; and not as Dr. T. fuggefts, (R 67.) a Sentence to a proper Punifhrnent to Adam, but a meer Promife of Favour to his Pofterity. Indeed, fometimes our Author feems to fuppofe, that God meant the Thing denounced in this Sentence, as a Favour both to Adam and his Pofterity. * But to his Pofterity, cr Mankind in general, who are the main Sub- je£, he ever infills, that it was purely intended as a Favour, And therefore, one would have thought, the Sentence ifiould have been delivered, with Manifeftations and Ap- pearances of Favour, and not of Anger. How could Adam underftand it as a Promife of great Favour, conn"- dering the Manner and Circumftances of the Denunciati- on ? How could he think, that God would go about to delude him, bycloathing bimfelf with Garments of Ven- geance, ufing V/ords of Difpleafure and Rebuke, fetting forth the Heinoufnefs of his Crime, attended with Che- rubims and a flaming Sword ; when all that he meant was only higher Teftimonies of Favour than he had before in a State of Innocence, and to manifeft fatherly Love and Kindnefs, in Promifes of great Bleflings ? If this was the Cafe, God's Words to Adam mult be underftood thus *■ * Becaufs P. 301, 32r 5 1 74 Adam mojl evid Iy federalHead. Part II. ' Becaufe thou had done fo wickedly, haft hearken'd unto ' the Voice of thy Wife, and haft eaten of the Tree of ' which I commanded thee, faying, Thou (halt not eat of * it ; therefore I will be more kind to thee than I was in 4 thy State of Innocence, and do now appoint for thee 4 the following great Favours : Curfed be the Ground for 4 thy fake, &c.' And thus Adam muft underfland what was faid ; unlefs any will fay (and God forbid that any fliould be fo blafphemous) that God cloathed himfelf with Appearances of Difpleafure, to deceive Adam, and make him believe the contrary of what he intended, and lead him to expect a difmal Train of Evils on hisPofterity, con- trary to all Reafon and Juftice, implying the mod horribly unrighteous Treatment of Millions of perfectly innocent Creatures ! 5 Tis certain, there is not the leaftAppearance in what God faid, or the Manner of it, as Mofes gives us the Account, of any other, than that God was now tefti- fying Difpleafure, condemning the Subject of the Sentence he was pronouncing, as juftly expofed to Panifhment for Sin, and for that Sin which he mentions. When God was pronouncing this Sentence, Adam doubtlefs underftood, that God had Refpect to hisPofterity, as well as Himfelf ; tho' God fpake wholly in the fecond Perfon fingular, Becaufe thou haft eaten, — ; — In Sorrow flmlt thou eat, Unto theT>uft flmlt thou return. But he had as much Reafon to underfland God as having Re- fpect to his Pofterity, when he directed his Speech to him in like Manner in the Threatning, Thou flmlt fur ely die* The Sentence plainly refers to the Threatning, and refults from it. The Threatning fays, If thou eat, thou fhalt die ? The Sentence fays, Becaufe thou haft eaten, thou flmlt die. And Mofes, who wrote the Account, had no Reafon to doubt but that the Affair would be thus under- ftood by his Readers ; for fuch a Way of fpeaking was well underftood in thofe Days : The Hiftory he gives us of the Origin of Things, abounds with it. Such a Man- ner of fpeaking to the firft of the Kind, or Heads of the Race, having Refpect to the Progeny, is not only ufed in almoft Chap l | Qf t fc Curie on the Ground. 1 7 1 Sect. III. $ ' ' -> almoft every thing that God faid to Adam and Eve, but even in what he faid to the very Birds and Fijhes, Gen. i. 2 2. And alfo in what he faid afterwards to Noah, Gen, ix. and to Shem, Ham and Japheth, and Canaan, Gen. ix. 25, 26, 2 j. So in Promifes made to Abraham, in which God directed his Speech to him, and fpake in he fecond Perfon Angular, from Time to Time, but meant chiefly his Pofterity : To thee will I give this Land. In thee jb all all the Families of the Earth be blejfed,8cc.8cc. And in what is faid of Ifhmael, as of his Perfon, but meant chiefly of his Pofterity, Gen. vi. 12. and xvii. 20. And fo in what Ifaac faid to Efau and Jacob, in his Blefling ; in which he fpake to them in the fecond Perfon fingular ; but meant chiefly their Pofterity. And fo for the moft Part in the Promifes made to Ifaac and Jacob ; and in Jacob's Blefling of Ephraim and Manaffeh, and of his twelve Sons. But 1 fhall take Notice of one or two Things further fhewing that Ada?n\ Pofterity were included in God's E- ftabhfhment with him, and the Threatning denounced for his Sin ; and that the Calamities which come upon them in Confequence of his Sin, are brought on them as Punidi- ments. This is evident from the Curfe on the Ground ; which if it be any Curfe at all, comes equally on^^az/rsPofterity with himfelf. And if it be a Curfe, then againft whom- foever it is defigned, and on whomfoever it terminates, it comes as a Punifhment, and not as a Blefling, fo far as it comes in Confequence of that Sentence. Dr. T.(P.i^.) fays, " A Curfe is pronounced upon the " Ground, but no Curfe upon the Woman and the Man." And in P. 321, 322. He in(ifts,that the Ground only was curfed, and not the Man : Juft as tho* a Curfe could ter- minate on lifelefs, fenfelefs Earth ! To underftand this Curfe otherwife than as terminating upon Man, thro' the Ground, would be as fenfelefs as to fuppofe the Meaning to be, The Ground (hall be -punlfbed, and Jhall be mifera* bU for thy fake, Our Author interprets the Curfe on the Ground, 176 Of the Curfe on the Ground. Part If 6 Ground, of it's being incumbred with noxious Weeds : But would thefe Weeds have been any Curfe on the Ground, if there had been no Inhabitants, or if the Inha- bitants had been of fuch a Nature, that thefe Weeds fliould not have been noxious, but ufeful to 'em ? It is faid, Denr. xxviii. 1 7 . Curfed flmll be thy BaJJiet and thy Store : And would he not be thought to talk very ridiculously, who fhould fay, 'Here is a Curfe upon the Bafket ; but not a Word of any Curfe upon the Owner s And therefore we have no Reafon at all to look upon it as any Punifhment upon him, or any Teftimony of God's Difpleafure towards him !' How plain is it, that when lifelefsThings, which are not capable of either Benefit or Suffering, are faid to be curfed or blefled with regard to fenfible Beings, that ufe or poffefs thefe Things, or have Connection with them, the Meaning muft be, that thefe fenfible Beings are curfed or blefled in the other, or with refpecl to them ?, In Exod, xxiii. 25. 'tis faid, He Jlmll blefs thy Bread & thy Water. And I fuppofe, never any Body yet proceeded to fuch a Degreeof Subtilty in diflinguifhing, as to fay, ' Here is a Bleffing on the Bread and the Water, which went into the Poffeflbrs Mouths, but no Bl effing on them.' To make fuch a DiftincYion with regard to the Curfe God pronoune'd on the Ground, would in fome Refpe&s be more unrea- fonable, becaufe God is exprefs in explaining the Matter, declaring that it was for Man's fake, exprefly referring this Curfe to him, as being with Refpect to him, and for the Sake of his Guilt ; and as confirming in the Sorrow & Suf - fering he fhould have from it : In Sorrow fhalt THOU eat of it Thorns & Thiflles flo all it bring forth TO THEE. So that God's own Words tell us. where the Curfe terminates. The Words are parallel with thofe in T)eut. xxviii. 16, but only more plain & explicit, Curfed fhalt THOU be in the Field, or in the Ground. If this Part of the Sentence was pronounced under no Notion of any Curfe or Punifhment at all upon Mankind, but on the contrary,as making anAltcration in the Ground, that fliould be for the better, as to them ; that in Stead of f HAP 'ni ? Of Eves ?ww Name. 177 of the Cwcct, but tempting, pernicious Fruits of Paradife, it might produce wholfome Fruits, more for the Health of the Soul ; that it might bring forth Thorns & Thirties, as excellent Medicines, to prevent or cure mortal Diftem- pers, Difeafes which would iluie in eternal Death ; I fay, if what was pronounced was under this Notion, then it was a Bleffing on the- Ground, and not a Curfe ; and it might more properly have been faid, ' BLESSED Jhall theGrcund be for thy fake, — I will make a happy hange in it, that it may be a Habitation more fit for a Creature fo infirm, and fo apt to be overcome with Temptation, as thou art.' The Event makes it evident, that in pronouncing this Curfe, God had as much Refpecl: to Adam\ Pofterity, as to himfelf : And fo it was underrtood by his pious Pofte- rity, before the Flood ; as appears by what Lantech, the Father of Noah, fays, Gen. v. 29. And he called his Name No^h ; fayi ng,T his fame fhal I comfort us concern- ing our ffifork, and the Toil of our Hands, " becaufe of the Ground which the Lord hath curfed." Another Thing which argues, that Ada?rCs Pofterity were included in the Threatning of Death, and that our firft Parents underrtood, when fallen, that the Tempter, in perfwading them to eat the forbidden Fruit, had aimed at the Punifhment and Ruin of both them and their Pofte- rity, & had procured it, is Adam\ immediately giving his Wife that new Name, Eve, or Life, on the Promife or Intimation of the Difappointment and Overthrow of the Tempter in that Matter, by her Seed ; which Adam.wa* derftood to be by his procuring Life ; not only for them- felves, but for many of their Porterity, and thereby deli- vering them from that Death and Ruin which the Serpent had brought upon them. Thofe that fhould be thus deli- vered, and obtain Life, Adam calls the Living .* and be- caufe he obferved,by what God had faid, that Deliverance and Life was to be by the Seed of the Woman, he there- fore remarks, that/^ is the Mother of all Living, and thereupon gives her a newName, calls ha;Chavah,LiFE, Gen, in,' 20, P There 178 Eve's new Name> anArg 1 - of Part II. There is a great deal of Evidence, that this is the Oc- cafion of Adam s giving his Wife her new Name. This was her newHonour, & the greatedHonour, at lead in her prefentState,that theRedeemer was tobe of herSeed. New Names were wont to be given for fomething that was the Perfon s peculiarHonour. So it was with regard to the new Names o{'Abraham,Sarah^ndIfrael. Dr.T. himfelf(A>y §• 2550 obferves, that they who are faved by Chrid, are called the Livers, hi tyvtK (1 Cor.iv.i 1 .) The living, or, ibev that live. So we find in the old Tedament, the Righteous are called by the name of theLivhig. Pfal lxix. 28, Let them be blotted out of the Book of the Livings J not be written with the Righteous. If "what Adam meant by her being the Mother of all Living, was only her being the Mother of Mankind, and gave'her the Name Life upon that Account, it were much the mod likely that he would have given her this Name at firft ; when God fird united them, under that BiefTmg, Be fruitful and multiply, and when he had a ProfpecT: of her being the Mother of Mankind in a State of Immorta- lity, living indeed, living and never dying. But that A- dam fhould at thatTime give her only the Name of Ifta, and then immediately on that melancholy Change,by their coming under the Sentence of Death,wtth all their Potle- rity, having now a new awful Profpecl: of her being the Mother of Nothing but a dying Race, all from Generation to Generation turning to Dud, thro' her Folly : I fay, that immediately on this, he fnould change her Name mtoLife, calling her now the Mother of all living, is perfectly un- accountable. Befides, it is manifed, that it was not her being the Mother of all Mankind, or her Relation as a Mother, which die dood in to her Poderity,but tYieQiia- lity of thofe die was to be the Mother of, which was the Thing Adam had in View, in giving his Wife this new Name ; as appears by the Name it felf, which flgnifies Life. And if it had been only a natural and mortal Life which he had in Yiew ; this was Nothing didinguidiing of her Chap. I? t f je Threat* include Pofterity. 170 Sect. III. S ' * her Pofterity from the Brutes ; for the very fame Name of living ones, or living Things, is given from Time to Time in this Book of Genefis to them : As in Chap. i. 21,24,28. Chap. ii. 19. Chap. vi. 19. — vii.23. & viii.i. and many other Places in the Bible. — Andbefides, if by Life was not theQuality of herPofterity meant, there was nothing in it to diltinguiili her from Adam ; for thus Hie was no more the Mother of all living, than he was the Fa- ther of all living ; and (lie could no more properly be called by theNatne of Life on any fuchAccount, than he: But Names are given for Diitinction. Doubtlefs Adam took Notice of fomething diilinguifliing concerning her, that occafioned his giving her this new Name. And I think, it is exceeding natural to fuppofe,that as Adam had given her her firft Name from the Manner of her Creation, fo he gave her ' her new Name from Redemption } and as it were new Creation, thro' a Redeemer, of her Seed. And that he fhould give her this Name from -that which comforted him, with refpect to the Curfe that God had pronounced on him and tbeEarth,as Lamech named Noah, (Gen. v. 29.) Saying, This fame fball comfort us concern- ing our Work } and Toil of our Hands , becaufe of the Ground which the Lord hath cwfed. Accordingly, he gave her this new Name, not at her firft Creation,but im- mediately after the Promife of a Redeemer, of her Seed, See Gen. iii. 15, — 20. Now as to the Confequcnce which I infer from Adam's giving his Wife this Name, on the Intimation which God had given, that Satan fhould by her Seed be overthrown and difappointed, as to his malicious Defign, in that Deed of his which God then fpake of, viz. his tempting theWo- man; Adam infers from it, that great Numbers of Man- kind mould be faved,whomhe calls the Living ; they fhould be faved from the Effects of this malicious Defign of the old Serpent, and from that Ruin which he had brought: upon them by tempting their firft Parents to Sin ; and fo the Serpent would be, win refpecl: to them, difappointed and overthrown in his Defign. But how is any Death or P 2 Ruin, 1 8o Objection, thai Man was to die Part II. Ruin, or indeed any Calamity at all brought upon their Posterity by Satan's Malice in that Temptation, if inflead of that, all the Death and Sorrow that was confequent,was the Fruit of God's fatherly Love, & not Satan's Malice, and was an Inflance of God's free and fovereign Favour, fuch Favour as Satan could not poiTibly forefee ? And j£ Multitudes of Eve's Pofterity are faved, from either fpirituai or temporal Death, by a Redeemer, of her Seed, how is that any Difappointment of Satan's Defign, in tempting our flrit Parents ? How came he to have any fuch Thing in View, as the Death of Adam's and Eve's Pofterity, by tempting them to Sin, or any Expectation that their Death would be the Confequence, unlefs he knew that they were included in the Threatning ? Some have objected againft Adam's Pofterity's being included in the Threatning delivered to Adam, that the Threatning itfelf was inconfiflent with his having any Pofterity : It being that he fliould die en the 'Day that he finned. To this I anfwer, that the Threatning was not ineon- fiflent with his having Poftenty, on two Accounts : I. Thofe Words, In the T>ay thou eattfl thereof thou fbalt furely die, according to the Ufe of fuch- like Ex- preffions among the Hebrews, don't (ignify immediate Death, or that the Execution fhall be within twenty-four Hours from the Commiffion of the FacT: ; nor did God by thofe Words, limit himfelf as to the Time of executing the threaten'dPunifhment ; bat that was dill left toGod's Pleafure. Such a Phrafe, according to the Idiom of the Hebrew Tongue, figrjifies no more than thefe two Things : I. A real Connection between the Sin and the Punifli- ment. So Ezek. xxxiii. 12, 13. The Righteoufnefs of the Righteous J; all not deliver him IN ^THE T>AT of his Tranfgreffion. As for the JVickednefs of the Wicked, He fhail not fall thereby IN THE T) AT that he tumeth from his JVickednefs : Neither fball the 'Righ- teous be able to live IN THE T>AT THAT HE SINNETH: But for his Iniquity that he hath com* 7iiiited i £ HAP - {• l in the Day he fin*d, anfwered. 1 8 i Sect .IIL ) J J mhted, HE SHALL 'DIE for it. Here tis faid, that in the Day he finneth, he fhall not be able to live, but he fhall die ; not fignifying the Time when Death fliall.be executed upon him, but the Connexion between his Sin & Death ; fuch aConnecYion as in our prefent com- mon Uie of Language is fignified by the Adverb of Time, When ; As if One fhould Yay, " According to the Laws % being fuppofed to be a federal Head for his Pofterity, that it gives him greater Honour than Chrift, as it fuppofes that all his Pofterity would have had eternal Life by his Obe- dience, if he had flood ; and fo a greater Number would have had the Benefit of his Obedience, than are faved by Chrift. * — I think, a very little Confideration is fufficient to ihew, that there is no Weight in this Objection. For the Benefit of Chrift's Merits may neverthelefs be vaftly beyond that which would have been by the Obedience of Adam. For thofe that are faved by Chrifl, are not meerly advanced to Happinefs by his Merits, but are fa- ^ed from the infinitely dreadful LfFects of Adam's Sin,and many from immenfe Guilt,Pollution & Mifery by perfonal Sins ; alfo brought to a holy & happy State,as it were thro 5 infinite Obflacles ; .and are exalted to a far greater De- gree of Dignity, Felicity & Glory, than would have been due for Adam's Obedience ; for aught I know, many Thoufand Times fo great. And there is enough in the Gofpel-Difpenfation, clearly to manifeft the Sufficiency of Chrift's Merits for fuch Effects in all Mankind. And how great the Number will be, that fhall aftually be the Subjects of them, or how great a Proportion of the whole Race, confidering the vaft Succefs of the Gofpel,that mail be in that future extraordinary, exempt, and glorious Sea- fon, often fpoken of, none can tell. And the Honour of thefe two federal Heads arifes not fo much from what was propofed to each for his Trial, as from their Succefs, and the Good actually obtained ; and alfo the Manner of ob- taining : C hrift obtains the Benefits Men have thro' him by proper Merit of Condignity, and a true Purchafe by an E- quivalent : which would not have been the Cafe with A* dam, if he had obeyed. I have now particularly confidered the Account which Mofes gives us in the Beginning of the Bible, of our firft Parents, and God's Dealings with them, the Constitution __ he MM. M ...II — ■ ... * P. 396, &c. 1 84 Sum of tkeArg^frofrMofesAcct-Vaxt IX. he eflablifhed with them, their TranfgrefTion, and what. followed. And on the whole, if we confider the Manner in vvhich God apparently fpeaks to Adam, from Time to Time; and particularly, if we confider how plainly and iindeniably his Poflerity are included in the Sentence of Death pronounced on Adam after his Fall, founded on the foregoing Threatning ; and confider the Curfe de- nounced on the Ground for his fake, and for his and his Poflerity's Sorrow : And alio confider what is evidently the Occafion of his giving his Wife the new Name of Eve, and his Meaning in it, and withal confider apparent Fact in conilant and universal Events, with Relation to the State of our firfl Parents, and their Poflerity from that Time forward, through all Ages of the World ; I can't but think, it muft appear to every impartial Perfon, that Mofes's Account does, with fufficient Evidence, lead all Mankind, to whom his Account is communicated, to underftand, that God, in his Confiitution with Adam, dealt with him as a publick Perfon, and as the Head of the hu- man Species, and had Refpect to his Poflerity, as included in him : And that this Hiilory is given by divine Direct- ion, in the Beginning of the firfl-written Revelation, to exhibit to our View the Origin of the prefent finful, mi- ferableState of Mankind, that we might fee what that was, which firfl gaveOccafion for all thofe confequent wonder- ful Difpenfations of divine Mercy & Grace towards Man- kind, which are the great Subject of the Scriptures, both of the old and newTeflament ; and that thefe Things arc not obfcurelyand doubtfully pointed forth, but delivered in a plain Account of Things, which eafily and naturally exhibits them to our Underflandings. And by what follows in this Difcourfe, we may have, in fome Mcafure, Opportunity to fee how other Things in the holy Scripture agree to what has been now obferved from the three firfl Chapers of Genefis. Chap, ( i»S ) Chap. II. Obfer vat ions on other Parts of the holy Scrip- turesy chiefly in the Old Teftament, that prove the DoEirine of Original Sin. ORiginal Depravity may well be argued from Wick- ednefs being often fpoken of in Scripture as a Thing belonging to the Race of Mankind, and as if it were a Property of the Species. So in Pfal. xiv.2 3. The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the CHILDREN OF MEN, to fee if there were any that did under ft and, and feek God. They are all gone afide ; they are altogether become filthy : There is none that dothGood ; no, not one. The like we have again, Pfal. liii.2,3. — Dr.Tlfays, "The " holySpirit don't mean this of every Individual ; becaufe " in the very fame Pfalm, He fpeaks of fome that were " righteous. >\ 5. God is in the Generation of theRigh- " tebus" But how little is thisObfervation to thePurpofe ? For who ever fuppofed, that no unrighteous Men were ever changed by divine Grace, and afterwards made righ- teous ? The Pfalmift is fpeaking of what Men are as they are the Children of Men, born of the corrupt human Race ; and not as born of God, whereby they come to be the Children of God, and of the Generation of the Righ- teous. The Apoftle Paul cites this Place in Rom. iii. 10,11,12. to prove the univerfal Corruption of Mankind ; but yet in the fame Chapter he fuppofes, thefe fame Per- fons here fpoken of as Wicked, may become righteous. thro' the Righteoufnefs and Grace o*f God. So Wickednefs is fpoken of in other Places in the Book of Pfalms, as a Thing that belongs to Men, as of the humanRace, asSons of Men. Thus, in Pfal. iv. 2. O ye Sons of Men, how long will ye turn myGlory intoShame ? Hovj long will ye love Vanity &c ? Pfal. Ivii. 4. — I He among them that are fet on Fire, even the Sons of Men, whofe "Teeth are Spears and ^Arrows, and their Tongue a/harp Sword, Pfal. lviii. 1, 2. T>o ye indeed f peak Q^ Righteoufnefs, 1 86 Texts, chiefly of the old Teft nt - Part If. Right eoufn fs, O Congregation ? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye Sons of Men ? Tea, in Heart ye work Wickednefs ; ye weigh out the Violence of your Hands in the Earth. Our Author mentioning thefe Places, fays, "There was a ' ; flrong Party in Ifrael difaffected to David's Perfon and <* Government, and Sometimes be chufeth to denote them " by the Sons or Children of Men." But it would have been worth his while to have enquired, Why the PTalmift fiiould chufe to denote the wickedeft and word Men in Jfrael by this Name ? Why he mould- chufe thus to dis- grace the human Race, as if the Compel lation of Sons of Men mod properly belonged to fuch as were of the vikft Character, and as if all the Sons of Men, even every one of them, were of fuch a Character, and none of them did good ; no, not one ? Is it not flrange, that the Righteous mould not be thought worthy to be called Sons of Men , and ranked with that noble Race of Beings, who are born into the World wholly right and" innocent I It is a good, eafy Sz natural Reafon why he chufeth to call the Wicked Sons of Men, as a proper Name for 'em, That by being of the Sons of Men, or of the corrupt ruin'd Race of Man- kind, they come by their Depravity. And the Pfalmifl himfelf leads us to this very R.eafon, PfaL lviii. at the Beginning. Do ye judge uprightly, O ye Sons of Men ? yea, in Heart ye work IVickednefs, ye weigh out the Vio- lence of your Hands, The Wicked are eft ranged from the \Vomb,&c. Of which I would fpeak more by & by. Agr cable to thefe Places, is Prov. xxi. 8. The Way of MAN is froward and Jl range ; but as for the pure, his. Work is right. He that is perverfe in his Walk, is here called by the Name of Man, as dillinauifhed from the pure : which I think is abfolutely unaccountable, if all Mankind by Nature are pure, and perfectly innocent, and all fuch as are. froward and flrange in their Ways, therein depart from the native Purity of all Mankind. TheWords naturally lead us ro fuppofe the contrary ; that Depravity and Perverfenefs properly belong to Mankind as they are naturally, and that a Being made pure, is by an After- work €hap. II. proving Original Corruption. 187 work, by which fome are delivered from native Pollution, and diftingnifhed from Mankind in general : Which is per- fectly agreable to the Reprefentation in Rev.xiv.4. Where we have an Account of a Number that were not defiled, but were pure, and following- the La?nb ; of whom it is ftid, Thefe were RE'DEEMED FROM AMONG MEN. To thefe Things agree, Jer. xvii. 5, 9. In the 5 y\ it is (aid, Curfed is he that trufleth in MAN. And in the 9th >.-. this Reafon is given, The Heart is deceitful a- bove all Things, and defperately zvicked ; who can know it I What Heart is this fo wicked and -deceitful ? Why, evidently the Heart of him who, it was faid before , we muft not truft ; and that is MAN. It alters not the Cafe as to the prefent Argument, whether the Deceitful- nefs of the Heart here fpoken of, be its Deceitfulnefs to the Man .himfelf, or to others So that forc-mention'd Eccl. ix. 3/ Madiiefs is m the Heart of the SONS OF MEN, while they live. And thofe Words of Chrift to Peter, Matth, xvi.23. Get thee behind me, Satan — For thou favourefl not the Things that be of God, but the Things that be of MEN. Signifying plainly, that to be carnal and vain, and oppofite to what is fpiritual and' divine, is what properly belongs to Men in their prefent State. The fame thing is fuppofed in that of theApoftle, 1 Cor. iii. 3. For ye are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you Envying and Strife, are ye not carnal, and walk as MEN ? . And that in Hof. vi. 7. But they like f&IEN, have tranfgrefjed the Covenant. To thefe Pla- ces may be added, Matth. vii. r r. If ye being Evil, know how to give good Gifts — Jam. iv. 5. T>o ye think that the Scripture faith in vain, The Spirit that dwelleth in us, lufteth to Envy ? — 1 Pet. iv.2. That he no longer fii out d live the reft of his Time in the Lufls of MEN, but to the Will of God. — Yet above all, that in Job xv.i 6. How much more abominable and filthy is MAN, v 'who drink- $th Iniquity like Water ?" Of which more prefently. CL 2 Mo;v 1 88 Texts, chiefly of the old Teft nt - Part IL Now what Account can be given of thefe Things, on Dr. T — r's Scheme ? How ftrange is it, that we fhould have fuch Defcriotions, all over the Bible, of MAN, and THE SONS OF MEN ! Why fhould Man be fo conti- nually fpoken of as evil, carnal, perverfe, deceitful, and defperately Wicked, if*all Men are byNatureas perfectly innocent, and free from any Propenfity to Evil, as Adam was the firft Moment of his Creation, all made right, as our Author would have us underftand Eccl. vii. 2-9 ? Why, on the contrary, is it not faid, at lead as often, and with equal Rcafon ; that The Heart of Man is right and pure ; that The Way of Man is innocent and holy ; and that he who favours true Virtue and Wifdom, favours the 'Things that be of Men ? Yea, and why might it not as well have been faid, The Lord looked down fromHeaven on the Sons of Men, to fee if there were any that did under/land, and didfeek after God', and they were all right, altogether pure, there was none inclined to do Wickednefs, no, not one ! Of the like import with theTexts mentioned, are thofe which reprefent Wickednefs as what properly belongs to the WORLD ; and that they who are otherwife,areya^i from the World, and called out of it. As, Joh vii. 7. The WORLD cannot hate you ; but me it hateth ; becaufe I teflfy of it, that the Works thereof are evil Chap, viii. 23. Ye are of this WORLD : lam not of this WORLD. Chap. xiv. 17. The Spirit of Truth, whom the WORLD cannot receive ; becaufe it feet h him not, neither knoweth him : But ye know him. Chap.xv.i 3, 1 9. If the WORLD hate you, ye know that it hated n.e be- fore it hated you. If ye were of the WORLD, the WORLD would love its own : But becaufe ye are not of the WORLD, but I have chofen you out of the WORLD, therefore the WORLD hateth you. Rev, xiv. g ,4. Thefe are they which were redeemed from the j&ARTH, — redeemed from among Men. Joh. xvii. 9. I pray not for the WORLD, buifor them which thou haft given me, $ % 14, I have given them thy Word ; and the Chap. II. proving Original Corruption. 189 the WORLD hath hated them, becaufe they are not of the WORLD, even as I am not of the WORLD. 1 Joh. iii. 13. Marvel not, my Brethren, if theWORLD hate you. Chap. iv. 5. They are of the WORLD, therefore fpeak they of the WORLD, and the WORLD heareth them. Chap. v. 19. We are of God, and the whole WORLD lieth inWickednefs. 'Tis evident,that in thefe Places, by the World is meant the World of Man- kind ; not the Habitation, but the Inhabitants. For, 'tis the World fpoken of as loving, hating, doing evil Works, fpeaking, hearing Sec. It fhews the fame Thing, that Wickednefs is often fpoken of as being Man's OWN, in Contradiftinction from Virtue & Holinefs. So Men'sLufls are often called their own Heart'sLufts, and their praclifingWickednefs is called walking in their own Ways, walking in their own Counfels, in the Imagination of their OWN Heart, and in the Sight their OWN Eyes, according to their OWN Devices &c. ThefeThings denote Wickednefs to be a Quality belong- ing properly to the Character and Nature of Mankind, in their prefent State : As, when Chrift would reprefent that Lying is remarkably the Character and- the very Nature of the Devil in his prefent State, he expreffes it thus, (Joh. viii.44.) "When he fpeaketh a Lye, he fpeaketh of his O WN ) For he is a Liar, and the Father of it." And that Wickednefs belongs to the Nature of Man- kind in their prefent State, may be argued from thofe Places which fpeak of Mankind as being wicked in their Childhood, or from their Childhood. So, that in Prov. xxii. 15. Foolijimefs is bound in the Heart of a Child \ but the Rod of Correction fball drive it far from him. Nothing is more manifeft, than that the Wife man in this Book continually ufes the Word FcIly,or Fooliflinefs,for Wickednefs : And that this is what he means in thisPlace, the Words themfelves do fhew : For theRod of Correction is proper to drive away no other Fcolifrnefs, but that which is of a moral Nature. The Word render'd Bound flgnifies, as is obfef vcd in Pool's Synopfis, a clofe & firm Uflioi^ i go That noted Text, Gen.viii. 2 if . Part IL Union. The fameWord is ufediii Chap.vi.21. Bind them continually upon thine Heart. And Ch. vii. 3. Bind them upon thy "Fingers, write them upon the "Table of thine Heart. To the like Purpofe is Chap. iii. 3. and Deut. xi. 18. where this Word is ufed. The. fame Verb js ufed, 1 Sam xviii. 1. The Soul of Jonathan -was knit (or bound) to ^S^/£/David,a7?U dv: ap. II. a Proof of Original Sin. 191 Dr. T". fays (P.i 24.) that he "conceives,/™/?/ theTouth; is a Phrafe (ignifying the Grcatnefs, or long Duration of aThing." But if by long Duration he means anyThing eife than what is literally exprefs'd, viz. from the Begin- ning of Life,he has no Reafon to conceive fo ; neither has what he offers, fo much as the Shadow of a Reafon for his Conception. There is no Appearance in the Words of the two or three Texts he mentions, of their meaning any thing elfe than what is moft literally lignified. — And 'tis certain, that what he fuggefts, is not the ordinary Import of fuch a Phrafe among the Hebrezus : But that thereby is meant, from the Beginning, or early Time of" Life, or Exigence ; as may be feen in the Places following, where the fame Word in the Hebrew is ufed, as in this Place in the eighth of Genejis. 1 Sam. xii. 2. I am old, and grey* headed — and I have walked before you from my Child- hood, unto this "Day : where the original Word is the fame. Pfal. lxxi. 5,6. 'Thou art my Trujl from my Youth ; By thee have I been ho/den up from the IVomb. 7 h r u art he that took me out of my Mothers Bowels, y. 1 j, 1 8. O God, thou haft taught me from my Youth ; and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous Works : No-w alfo, when I am old and grey-headed, forfake me not. PfU. cxxix. 1,2. Many a time have they afflicted me from my Youth, may Ifrae now fay : many a Time hqve they afflicled me from my Youth ; yet have they not pre- vailed againfl me. Ifai. xlvii. 12. Stand now with the Multitude of thy Sorceries, wherein thou haft laboured from thy Youth. Soy. 15. and 2 Sam. xix. 7. r will be worfe unto thee., than all the Evil thai befel . from thy Youth, until now. Jer. iii. 24, 25-. Shame hath devoured the Labour of our Fathers, from cur Youth, — IV e have fin d againfl the Lord our God, from our "Youth, even to this Day. So Jcr. xxxii. 30. & xlviii. 1 1 Jcb xxxi. 18. Gen. xlvi. 34. Ezek. iv. 14. Zech. xiii. 5. And it is to be obferved, that according to the Manner of the Hebrew Language, when it is (aid, fuch a thing has been from Youth, or the firft Pare of Existence, the Phrafe is i g2 Proof from ¥&\. Win. 3. Part II. is to be underftood as including that firft Time of Exig- ence. So,Jofh.vi.2 1. They Utterly deflroyed all, from the Young to the Old (fo it is in the Hebrew') i. e. including both. So Efth. iii. 1 3. and Gen. xix. 4. And as Mankind are reprefented in Scripture, as being of a wicked Heart from their Youth, Co in other Places they are fpoken of as being thus from the Womb. Pfal. Iviii. 3. 'The Wricked are efl ranged from the Womb : They go aftray as foon as they be born, fpeaking Lies. 'Tis obfervable, that the Plalmid mentions this as what belongs to the Wicked, as the SONS OF MEN : for, thefe are the preceedingWords ; il T>o ye judge uprightly, ye Sons of Men ? — Yea,inHeart ye work Wickednefs." (A Phrafe of the like Import with that in Gen. viii. 2 1. The Imagination, or Operation, as it might have been render'd, of his Heart is evil.) Then it follows, The Wicked are eflranged from the Womb, &c. The next Verfe is, Their Poifon is like the Poifon of a Serpent. 5 Tis fo remarkably, as the very Nature of a Serpent is Poifon : Serpents are poifonous as foon as they come into theWorld : They derive a poifonousNature by their Ge- neration. — Dr.T.(P. 1 34,1 35-) fays, " 'Tis evident that " this is a fcriptural figurative Way of aggravating Wick- *■* ednefs, on the one Hand, and Virtue on the other, to " fpeak of it zs being from the WombP And as an In- flance of the latter, he cites that in Ifai. xlix. 1. The Lord hath called me from the Womb ; from the Bozuels of my Mother, he made Mention of my Name. But I apprehend, that in order to feeing this to be evident, which he afTerts, a Man muft have Eyes peculiarly affected. I humbly conceive,that fuch Phrafes as that in the 49th of Ifai ah, of God's calling the Prophet /hw* the Womb, are evidently, not of the Import which he fuppofes ; but mean truly from the Beginning of Exiftence, and are manifeflly of like Signification with that which is faid of the Prophet Jeremiah, Jer. i. 5. Before I formed thee in the Womb, 1 knew thee : Before thou cameft out of the Womb, I fanclifed thee, and ordained thee a Prophet of the Na- tions^ Chap.il Proof from job xv. 1 4, 1 6. 193 tions. Which furely means ifbmethingelfe befides a high Degree of Virtue : it plainly (lgnifies that he was, from his firil: Exigence, fet apart by God for a Prophet. And it would be as unreafoiiable to underftand it otherwife, as to fuppofe, the Angel meant any other than that Sam- fori was fet apart to be a Nazarite from the Beginning of his Life, when he fays to his Mother, Behold, thou Jhalt conceive and bear a Son : and nozv drink no Wine, nor ftrong "Drink, &c. For the Child (ball be a Naza- rite to God, from the Womb, to the T>ay of his "Death, By thefe Instances it is plain, that the Phrafe, From the Womb, as the other, From the Youth, as ufed in Scripture, properly (lgnifies from the Beginning of Life. Very remarkable is that Place, Job xv. 14, 15, i<5. JVhat is Mart) that he fhmld be clean ? And he that is born of a Womm,tbat he fhould be righteous ? Behold, he puiieth no 'Truft in his Saints ; yea,the Heavens are not clean in his Sight : How much more abominable and filthy is Man, which drinketh Iniquity like Water ? And 1 no lefs remarkable is Our Author's Method of managing of it; The 1 6th >\ exprefles an exceeding Degree of Wickednefs, in as plain and emphatical Terms, almoft, as can beinvented ; every Word reprefenting this in the ftrong* eitManner: How much more abominable and filthy is Man, that drinketh Iniquity like Water ? 1 can't now recollect, where we have a Sentence equal to it, in the whole Bible, for an emphatical, lively & ftrong P.eprefentation of great W r ickednefs of Heart, Any one of the Words, as fuch' Words are ufed in Scripture, would reprefent greatWicked- nefs : If it had been only fa\d,How much more abominable is Man I Or, How much more filthy is Man ? Or, Man drinketh Iniquity. — '■ But all thefe are accumulated, with the Addition of — like Water, — the further to reprefent the Boidnefs or Greedinefs of Men, in Wickednefs : Tho' Iniquity be the mod deadly Poifon, yet Men drink it as boldly as they drink Water, are as familiar with it as with their common Drink, and drink it with like Greedinefs, as he that is thirfty drinks Water. That Boidnefs & Eascr- R neG 1 94 Proof from job xv. 1 4, ! 6. Part IL nefs in perfecting the Saints, by which the great Degree of the Depravity of Man's Heart often appears, is repre- fented thus (Pfal. xiv. 4.) Have theWorkers of Iniquity no Knowledge ,%u ho eat up my People, "as they eat Bread ?" And the greatefl Eagernefs of Third is represented by thirfting as an Animal thirlls after Water, Pfal. xlii. 1. New let us fee the foft, eafy, light Manner in which Dr. T". treats this Place. P. 143. " Hovj much more abo~ « mlnabte and filthy Is Man, IN COMPARISON « OF THE DIVINE PURITY, -who drinkethl- " nlquity like Water" ? Who is attended with fo many €t fenfual Appetites,and fo apt to indulge them. You fee * c the Argument ; Man in his prefent weak, and fkihly 4t State, cannot be clean before God. Why fo ? Becaufc ** he is conceived and bom in Sin, by Reafbn o£ddam 9 s " Sin ? No fuch thing. But becaufe the pureft Crea- "Jty oneMan Sin entred into theWorld,and Death by Sin" ? Nor indeed have they any more Reafon to doubt of it, than to doubt of the whole Hiftory of our jSrft ParentSjbecaiife^fow's Name is fo rarely mention'd.. on any Occaflon in Scripture, after that firft Account of him, & Eve's never at all ; and becaufe we have no more any exprefs Mention of the particular Manner, in which Mankind were firft brought into Being, either with refpeft to the Creation of Adam, or Eve. 5 Tis fufficient, that the abiding, moft vifible Effects of thefe Things remain, in the View of Mankind in all Ages, and are often fpeken of in Scripture ; and the particular Manner of their being introduced, * P. 5. 64, 96, 97, 98, 102, ro3, 112, 118, 120, 122, 123, 127, 12$, 176, 1423 14-, 152, 1555 229, 149. f H 2 / igS Onz plain Revelationfaf&ciznV Partll. introduced, is once plainly fet forth in the Beginning 01 the Bible, in that Hiftory which gives us an Account of the Origin of all Things. And doubtlefs it was expected*} by the great Author of the Bible, that the Account in the three firft Chapters of Gsnefis fhould be taken as a plain Account of the Introduction of both natural and moral Evil, into the World ; as it has been fkewn to be fo in- deed. The Hiftory of Adanis Sin, with itsCircurmian- ccs, God's Threatning, and the Sentence pronounced up- on him after his Tranfgreilion, and the immediate Conse- quences, conGPcing in fo vail an Alteration in his State,and the State of the World, which abides {till, with refpect to all his Pofteriry, do moft directly and fufficiently lead tG an underftanding of the Rife of Calamity, Sin & Death, in this finful miierablc World. 3 Tis fit, we all fhould know, that it don't become us to tell the moil High, how often helhall particularly explain and give the Reafon of any Doctrine which he teaches, in order to our believing what he fays. If he has at all given us Evidence that, it is a Doctrine agreable to his Mind, it becomes us to receive it with full Credit and Submifficn ; and not fallen! y to reject it, becaufe cur Notions and Humours are not fuited in the Manner, and Number of Times, of his particularly explaining it to us. How often is Pardon of Sins promis'd in the Old Tefta- ment to repenting and returning Sinners ? How many hundred Times is God's fpecial Favour there promifed to the fmcerely Righteous, without any exprefs Mention of thefe Benefits being thro' Chrift ? Would it therefore be becoming us to fay, that in-as-much as our Dependence on Chrift for thefe Benefits, is a Doctrine, which, if true, is of fuch Importance, that God ought exprefly to have men- tion'd Chrift's Merits as the Reafon and Ground of the Benefits, if he knew they were the Ground of 'em, and fhould have plainly declar'd it fooner, and more frequent- ly, if ever he expected we fhould believe him, when he did tell us of it ? — How often is Vengeance and Mifery threaten'd in the old Tefiament to the Wicked, without aliy £ H 4 P,I i IL iProofs chiefly from theN.Tzft^ 1 99 any clear and exprefs Signification of any fuch thing in- tended, as that everlafting Fire, where there is Wailing and Gnailiing of Teeth, in another World, which Chrift fo often fpeaks of as the Puniiliment appointed for all the Wicked ? Would it now become a Chriftian,to object and fay, that if God really meant any fuch thing, he ought in Reafon and Truth to have declared it plainly and fully ; and not to have been fo filent about a Matter of fuch vail Importance to all Mankind, for four Thoufand Years together ? Chap. III. Qhfervatio7ison various mherPlaces of Scrip- ture^ principally of the New Teftament, proving the Docirine of Original Sin. Sect. I. Obfirvations on Job. III. 6. in Couneclionwithfome other TaJJages in the New Teftament. THofe Words of Chrift, giving a Reafon to Nicode- mus, why we muft be born again, Joh. iii. 6. That which is horn of the Flefh, is Flefh ; and that which is horn of the Spirit, is Spirit] have not without good Rea- fon been produced byDivincs, as a Proof of the Doctrine of Original Sin : fuppcfing, that by Flefh here is meant the human Nature in a debafed and corrupt State. Yet Dr.T^P. 144,). thus explains thefe Words, That which is horn of the Flefh, is Flefh ; « That which is born by na- " tural Defcent and Propagation, is a Man confiding of " Body and oul, or the meerConftitution andPowers of " a Man, in their natural State.'' But the conftantUfe of thefe Terms, Flefh, and Spirit, in other Parts of the New Teftament, when thus fet in Oppofition one to ano- ther,and the latter faid to be produced by the Spirit of God, as 2 00 Proof from Job. iii. 6. Part IiJ as here ; and when fpeaking of the fameThing,whichChrift is here fpeaking of to Nicodemus , viz. the requ if] te Qua- lifications to Salvation,this will fully vindicate the Senfe of our Divines. Thus in the 7th & 8th Chapters bj Romans, where thefe Terms Flefh, and Spirit {?*$% and tivivpz) are abundantly repeated, and fet in Opposition, as here. So, Chap. vii. 14. The Law is fpirfrtral ( wjp'xr;x:s ) but I am carnal, (fra^ittos) fold under Sin. He can't only mean, ' I am a Man, confifting of Body and Scul,and having the Powers of a Man? Ver. 1 8. I know that in me, that is, in >. y Flefh, dzvelieth no good thing. He don't mean to condemn his Frame, as confifting of Body and Soul; and to a{Iert,that in his human Conflitution ,with the Pozvers of a Man, dwells no good thing. And when he fays in the lad Verfe of the Chapter, With the Mind I my felf fervt the Law of God, but with the Fleih the Law of Sin ; He can't mean, C L my felfferve theLaw of God\ but with my innocent human Con/I 'i tut ion, as hav- ing the Pozvers cf a Man,I ferve the Law of Sin.' And when he fays in the next Words, in the Beginning of the 8th Chapter, 'There is no Condemnation to them — that walk not after the Y\c(\i,but after the Spirit ; and ver.4. 'The Right eoufnefs of the Law is fulfilled in us, who -walk not after the Flefh ; He can't mean, ' There is no Con- demnation to them that walk not according to the Pozvers cf aMan? &c. And when he fays, ver. 5>& 6.They that are after the Fleih, do mind the things cf the Flefh ; and to be carnally minded is Death ; He don't intend, 4 They that are according to the human Conflitution and the Pozvers of a Man, do mind theThings of the human Con- ftiiuiion and Pozvers ; and to mind thefe, is Death.' And when he fays, ver. 7,8c 8. The carnal (or flelhiy) Mind is Enmity againflGod,and is notfubjecl to the Law cf God, nor indeed can be ; So that they that are in tbe¥\e1h,can~ not pleafe God ; He can't mean, that to mind theThings which are agreable to the Pozvers and Conflitution of a Man (who, as our Author fays, is conftituted or made right) is Enmity againft God ; And that a Mind which is agreable Chap. in. - ) inConneSiionwithotherlexts. 201 Sect. 1.3 agreable to this right human Conftitution, as God hath made it, is not fubject to the Law of God, nor indeed can be ; and that they who are according to fuch a Conftitution, cannot pleafe God. And when it is faid, f. 9. Ye are not in the Fleih, but in the Spirit ; the Apoftle can't mean, Ye are not in the human Nature, as conflituted of Body and Soul, and with the Povjers of a Man, 'Tis mod manifeft, that by the Flejb here the Apoftle means fome Nature that is corrupt, and of an evil Tendency, and directly oppofite to the Law, and holy Nature of God ; fo that to be and walk according to it, and to have a Mind conformed to it, is to be an utter Enemy to God and his Law, in a perfect Inconfiilence with being flibject to God, and pleafing God ; and in a fure and infallible Tendency to Death, and utter Deftruction. And it is plain, that here by being and walking after, or according ; - to the Fle/b, is meant the fame thing as being and walk- ing according to a corrupt and finful Nature ; and to be and walk according to the Spirit, is to be and walk ac- cording to a holy and divine Nature, or Principle : and to be carnally minded, is die fame as being vicioufly and corruptly minded; to be fpiritually minded, is to be of a virtuous and holy Difpofition. When Chrifl fays, Job. iii. 6. That which is born of the Flefh, /V Flefh, he reprefents the Flefb not meerly as a Quality ; for it would be incongruous, to fpeak of a Quality as a Thing born : 'tis a Perfon, or Man, that is born. Therefore Man, as in his whole Nature corrupt, is called Flefh : Which is agreable to other Scripture-Repre- fentations,where the corruptNature is called the Old Man, the Body of Sin, and the Body of 'Death. Agreable to this are thofeReprefentations in the 7th and 8th Chapters of Ro- mans : there Flefh is figuratively reprefented as a Perfon, according to the Apoftle's Manner, obferved by Mr. Locke % and after him byDr.T — r\ who takes Notice,that the Apo- file, in the 6th and 7th of Romans reprefents Sin as a Perfon ; and that he figuratively diftinguifhes in himfelf two Perfons, fpeaking of Flefh as his Perfon, For I S know 202 Proof from J oh. in. 6. Part IL know that in ME, that is, in my F\efh,dwelletb no good thing. And it may be obierved, that in the SthChapter, he (till continues this Representation, fpeaking of > the Flejb as aPerfon : and accordingly in the 6th & 7thVerfes, /peaks of the Mind of the Flejb, $gpvp« tra^tos and of the Mind of the Spirit, 0^vfM vmvfwros ; as if the Flejb and Spirit were two op polite Perfons, each having a Mind contrary to the Mind of the other. Dr. T~. interprets this Mind of the Flejb, and Mind of the Spirit, as tho' the Flejb and the Spirit were here fpoken of as the different Objefls, about which the Mind fpoken of is conversant. Which is plainly befide the Apoftle's Senfe ; who fpeaks of theFlefh. and Spirit as the Subjects and Agents, in which the Mind fpoken of is ; and not theObje£ts,about which it acts. We have the fame Phrafe again, /. 27. He that fearcheth the Hearts, knoweth what is the MIND OF THE SPIRIT, fg^ ^topwbs ; the Mind of the fpi- ritual Nature in the Saints beino; the fame with the Mind of the Spirit of God himfelf, who imparts and actuates that fpiritual Nature ; Here the Spirit is the Subject and Agent, and not the Object. The fame Apoftle in like Manner ufes the Word, v dSt in Col. ii. 1 8. Vainly puffed up by his fleihly Mind, «tq m vo© 1 tvs ca^s avn, by the Mind of his Flejb. And this Agent fo often called Flejb, reprefented by the Apoftle, as altogether evil, without any good Thing dwelling in it, or belonging to it, yea perfectly contrary to God and his Law, and tending wholly to Death and Ruin, and directly oppofite to the Spirit, is what Chrift fpeaks of to Nicodejnus as born in the firft Birth, as giv- ing a Reafon why there is a Neceffity of a New-birth, in order to a better Production. One thing is particularly obfervable in that Difcourfe bf the Apoftle, in the 7th and 8th of Romans, in which he Co often ufes the Term Flejb, as oppofite to Spirit, which, as well as many other things in his Difcourfe, makes it plain, that by Flejb he means fomething in itfelf corrupt and finful ; and that is, that he exprefly calls it finful FleJJj, Rom. viii. 3. >Tis manifeft, that by finful Flejb ho Ch ap.iii. i inConneSIion with otherTexts. 201 SECT. I. 3 he means the fame Thing with that Flefli fpoken of in the immediately foregoing and following Words, and in all theContext : And that when it is faid, Chrift was made in the Likenefs of ftnful Flefb, the Expreffion is equipol- lent with thofe that fpeak of Chrift as made Sin, & made a Curfe for us. Flefb and Spirit are oppofed one to another in Gal. v. in the fame Manner as in the 8th of Romans ; And there, by Flefb cannot be meant only the hu/nan Nature of Body and Snd, or the meer Conftitution and Pozuers of a Man, as in its natural State, innocent and right. In the 1 6th f. the Apoftle fays, " Walk in the Spirit, and ye " fhall not fulfil the Lufts of the Flefb :" where the Flefli is fpoken of- as a Thing of an evil Inclination, De- fire or Luft. But this is more ftrongly fignified in the next Words ; For the Flefli lufteth again/l the Spirit, and the Spirit againft the Flefli ; and theft are contrary one to another. What could have been faid more plainly, to fhew that what the Apoftle means by Fleft, is fomething very evii in its Nature, and an irreconcileable Enemy to all Goodncfs ? And it may be obferved, that in thefe Words, and thofe that follow, the Apoftle full figuratively repre- fents the Flefb as a Perfon or Agent,- defiring, acling, having Lufts, and performing Works. And by Works of the Flefb, and Fruits of the Spirit, which are oppofed to each other, from f. 19. to theiind, are plainly meant the fame as Works of a finful Nature, and Fruits of a holy renewed Nature. Now the Works of the Flefli are manifeft % which are thefe ; Adultery ,Fornication,Uncleannefs ,Laf civioufnefs, Idolatry, Witchcraft, Hatred, Variance, Wrath, Strife, Seditions, Herefies, &c. — But the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Long-fuffering, Gentle^ tiefs, Gcodnefs, &c. The Apoftle, by Flefb, don't mean any thing that is innocent and good in itfelf, that only needs to be reftrained, and kept in proper Bounds ; but fome- thing altogether Evil, which is to be deftroyed, and not only reftrained. 1 Cor. v. 5. To deliver fuch an One to Satan, for the Deftruclion of the Flefli. We muft have S 2 no 204 Prcof from Joh. iii. 6. Part II. no Mercy on it ; we can't be too cruel to it ; it muft even be crucified. Gal. v. 24. They that are ChrijTs, have crucified the Flefh, with the Affections and Lujls. The Apoftle John, the fame Apoftle that writes the Account of what Chrifl faid to JNicodemus, by the Spirit means the fame thing as a new, divine and holy Nature,, exerting itfelf in a Principle of divine Love, which is the Sum of all Chriftian Holinefs. 1 Joh. iii. 23, 24. And that we fliould love one another, as he gave us Command- ment ; and he that keepeth his Commandments - f dwelleth in him, and he in him : and hereby we know that he a- bideth in us, by the Spirit that he hath given us. With Chap. iv. 12, 13. If we love one another, God dzvelleth in us, and his Love is perfecled in us : Hereby knozu we, that we dwell in him, becaufe he hath given us of his Spirit. The fpiritual Principle in us being as it were a Communication of the Spirit of God to us. And as by mn-jo^ is meant a holy Nature, fo by the Epithet 'wzvp'ZTLKQs, fpiritual, is meant the fame as truly virtuous and holy, Gal. vi. 1. Ye that are fpiritual, re- ft ore fuch an one in the Spirit of Meeknefs. The Apoftle refers to what he had juft faid, in the End of the forego- ing Chapter, where he had mentioned Meeknefs, as a Fruit of the Spirit. And fo by carnal, or fiefbly, ca^Ms is meant the fame as finful. Rom. vii. 14. 'The Laze is fpiritual (i. e. holy) But I am carnal, fold under Sin. And 'tis evident, that by Flefb, as the Word is ufed in theNew Tcftament, & oppofed to£/>/>//,when fpeaking of the Qualifications for eternal Salvation, is not meant only what is now vulgarly called the Sins of the Flejb, con- fiding in inordinate Appetites of the Body, and their In- dulgence ; but the whole Body of Sin, implying thofe Lulls that are molt fubtil, and furthefl from any Rela- tion to the Body ; fuch as Pride,Malice ? Envy, &c. When the Works of the Flefb are enumerated, Gal. v. 19, 20, 21. they are Vices of the latter Kind chiefly, that are mentioned ; Idolatry , Witchcraft, Haired, Variance, E- mulations, Wrath, Strife, Seditions, Herefies, Envyings. So, Chap. in. "> j n ConneSiion with other "Texts. 20 c Sect. I. 3 So, Pride of Heart is the Eife£r. or Operation of the Flefh. Col. ii. 18. Vainly puffed up by his flefhly Mind : in the Greek, by the Mind of the Flefh. So Pride, En- vying, Strife and Divifon, are fpoken of as Works of the Flefh, 1 Cor. iii. 3,4. For ye are yet carnal ( «ra ? v. ix o{ flefhly.) For zu here as there is Envying, and Strife, and 'Divifon, are ye not carnal, and walk as Men ? For while one faith J am of J?zu\,and another, lam of A polios, are ye not carnal ? Such kind of Lulls don't depend on the Body, or external Senfes ; for the Devil himfelf has them in the higheft Degree, who has not, nor ever had, any Body or external Senfes to gratify. Here, if it fhould be enquir'd, how Corruption orDe- pravity in general, or the Nature of Man as corrupt and finful,came to be called Flefh ; and not only that Corrup- tion which confins in inordinate bodilyAppetites? I think, what the Apoftle fays in the laft cited Place, Are ye not carnal, and walk AS MEN ? leads us to the true Rea- fon. 'Tis bccaufe a corrupt and (inful Nature is what properly belongs to Mankind, or the Race of Adam, as they are in thefnfelves, and as they are by Nature. The Word Flefb is a Word often ufed in both old Teftamcnt and new to fignify Mankind in their prefent State. To enumerate all the Places, would be very tedious; I iliall therefore only mention a fewPlaces in theNewTeftamenr. Matt. xxiv. 22. Except thofe Days fhould be fhortned, no Ylzftiflmild be faved. Luk. iii. 6. AltFk&ifkaMfe* the Salvation of God. Joh.xvii.2. Thou haft given himPozuer over all Flefh. See alfo A£t. ii. 17. Rom. iii. 20. 1 Cor. i, 29. Gal. ii. 16. Man's Nature, being left to it felf, forfaken of the Spirit of God, as it was when Man fell, and confeqnently forfaken of divine and holy Principles, of it felf became exceeding corrupt, utterly depraved and ruined. And fo the Word Flefh, which fignifles Man, came to be ufed to fignify Man as he is in himfelf, in his natural State, debafed. corrupt and ruin'd. And on the other Hand, the Word Spirit came to be ufed to fignify a divine and holy Principle, or new Nature ; becaufe that is 2o6" Proof from Joh. iii. 6. Part II. is not of Man, but of God, by the Indwelling and vital Influence of bis Spirit. And thus to be corrupt, and to be carnal, ox flefhly, and to walk a? Men y are the fame thing with the Apoftle. And fo in other Parts of the Scripture, to favour the Things that be of Men, and to favour Things which are corruptee the fame ; and Sons of Men, and zuicked _M?;?,alfo are theTame,as was obferv- ed before. And on the other hand, to favour the Things that be of God, and to receive the Things of the Spirit of God, are Phrafes that fignify as much as relifhing and embracing true Holiness or divine Virtue. All thefe Things confirm what we have fuppofed to be Chrift's Meaning, in faying, That which is born of the Flejh, is Flefh ; and that which is born of the Spirit, is Spirit. His Speech implies, that what is born in the firff. Birth of Man, is Nothing but Man as he is of himfelf, without any thing divine in him; depraved, debafied,finfiil, ruin'd Man, utterly unfit to enter into the Kingdom of God, and incapable of the fpiritnal divine Happincfs of that Kingdom : but that which is born in the new Birth, of the Spirit of God, is a fpiritnal Principle, and holy and divine Nature, meet for the divine & heavenly Kingdom. ? Tis a Confirmation that this is the true Meaning, that it is not only evidently agreable to the conftant Language of the Spirit of Chrift in the New-Teftament ; but theWords underftood in this Senfe, contain the proper and true Rea- fon, why a Man muff be born again, in order to enter into the Kingdom of God ; the Reafon that is given every where in other Parts of the Scripture for the Neceflity of a Renovation, a Change of Mind, a new Heart &c. in or- der to Salvation : To give a Reafon of which to Nicode- mus, is plainly Chrift's Defign in the Words which have been infilled on. Before 1 proceed, I would obferve one Thing as a Co- rollary from what has been faid. Corol. If by'Flcfh and Spirit when fpoken of in the New Teflament, and oppofed to each other, in Difcourfes on the neceflary Qualifications for Salvation, we are to understand c^p.iii.? Proof from i Cor. ii. 14,^. 207 underiland what has been now fuppofed, it will not only follow, that Men by Nature are corrupt, but zv holly cor- rupt, without any good Thing. If by Flefh is meant Man's Nature, as he receives it in his firft Birth, then therein dwelleth no good Thing ; as appears by Rom.vii. 18. 'Tis wholly oppofite to God, and to Subjection to his Law, as appears by Rom. via. 7, 8. 'Tis directly contrary to true Holinefs, and wholly oppofes it, and Holinefs is oppofite to that ; as appears by Gal. v. 17. So long as Men are in their natural State, they not only have no good Thing, but it is impoflible they mould have, or do any good Thing l^s appears by Rom. villi 8. There is nothing in their Nature, as they have it by the firfr. Birth, whence fliould arife any true Subjection to God ; as appears by Rom. viii. 7. If there were any thing truly good in the Flefh,ox in Maris Nature, or natural Difpo- fition, under amoralView, then it fliould only be amended ; but the Scripture reprefents as tho' we were to be Ene- mies to it, and were to feek nothing fhort of its entire De= flruction, as has been obferved. Andelfewhere the Apo- file directs not to the amending of the old Man, hut put- ting it ojf,and putting on the new Man ; and feeks not to have the Body of 'Death made better, but to be delivered from it ; And fays, That if any Man be in Chrifl, he is a new Creature (which doubtlefs means the fame as a Man new-born) Old Things are (not amended) but paffed away, and ALL Things are become new. But this will be further evident, if we particularly con- fider the Apoflle's Difcourfe in the latter Part of the fe- cond Chapter of 1 Cor. & the Beginning of the third. There the Apoftle fpeaks of the natural Man, , and the fpiritual Man : where natural and fpiritual are oppos'd juft in the fame Manner, as I have obferved carnal and fpiritual often are. In Chap. ii. 14,15. he fays, The na- tural Man receiveth not theThings of theSpirit of God : for they are Foolifbnefs unto him ; neither can he know them, becaufe they are fpiriiually difcerned. But he that is fpiritual, judgeth all Things, And not only does ao8 Prof from i Con ii. \j\0c. Part IL does theApoftle here oppofe natural and fpiritual, juft as he elfewhere does carnal 2li\<& fpiritual, but his following Difcourfe evidently fliows, that he means the very fame DiftincYion, the fame two diftin6b and oppofiteThings. For immediately on his thus fpeakingof theDiffcrence between the natural and the fpiritual Man, he turns to the Co- rinthians, in the firlt Words of the next Chapter, connect- ed with this, and fays, And I, Brethren, could not [peak unto you as unto fpiritual, but as unto carnal. Preferring manifeftly to what he had been frying, in the immediately preceeding Difcourfe, about fpiritual and natural Men, and evidently ufing the Word, carnal, as fynonymous with na* tural. By which it is put out of all reafonable Difpute, that the Apoftle by natural Men means the fame as Men in that carnal, finful State, that they are in by their firft Birth ; — notwithstanding all the GloiTes and Criticifms, by which modern Writers have endeavoured to palm upon us another Senfe of this Phrafe, and fo to deprive us of the clear Initrucdon the Apoltle gives in that 14th ver. con- cerning the finful miferable State of Man by Nature. Dr. T. fays, by 4oX:ho>% is meant the animal Man. the Man who maketh Senfe and Appetite the Law of his Action. If he aims to limit the Meaning of the Word to external Senfe,and bodiiyAppetite,his Meaning is certainly not the A^poftle's. For theApoflle in his Senfe includes the more fpiritual Vices of Envy,Strife, Szc. as appears by the four firft Verfes of the next Chapter ; where, as I have obferv- ed, he fubftitutes the Word carnal'm the Place of tyXitoSi So the Aroll e Jude ufes the Word in like Manner, oppo- fing it to fpiritual, or having the Spirit, ver. 19. Thefe are they that fepar ate themfelves, ferfual ( 4v%wos) ** not having the Spirit." The Vices he had been juft fpeak- ing of, were chiefly of the more fpiritual Kind. tf. 16. Thefe are Murmurers, Complainers, walking after their awn Lujls ; and their Mouth fpeaketh great fiveUing Words, having Men's Perfons in Admiration becaufe of Advantage. The Vices mentioned are much of the fame Kind with thofe of the Corinthians, for which he calls s?c? II 1 ' \"R emar ks on Rom iii. 9,-24. 209 calls them carnal ; Envying, Strife and T)ivifions, and faying, I am of Paul, and I of Apollo s ; and being puffed up for one againfl another. We have the fame Word again, Jam. iii. 14, 15. If ye have bitter Envying and Strife, glory not, and lie not againfl the Truth : This Wifdom defcendeth not from above, but is earthly, fenfual (+vX»nO and devilifb ; where alfo the Vices x the /- N poille ipeaks of are of the more fpiritual Kind. So that on the whole, there is fufficient Reafon to un- derhand theApoftle, when he fpeaks of the natural Man in that 1 Cor. ii. 14. as meaning Man in his native corrupt State. And his Words reprefent him as totally corrupt, wholly a Stranger and Enemy to true Virtue or Holinefs, and Things appertaining to it, which it appears are com- monly intended in the New Teftament by 'Things fpiri- tual, and are doubtlefs here meant by Things of the Spirit of God. Thefe Words alfo reprefent, that it is impoflible Man fhould be otherwife, while in his natural State. The ExprefTions are very ftrong : The natural Man re* ceiveth mt the Things of the ^Spirit of God, is not fuf. ceprible of Things of that Kind, neither can he know them, can have no true Senfe or Relifli of them, or Notion of their real Nature and true Excellency ; Becaufe th-v are fpiritually difcerned ; they are not difcerned Sis of any Principle in Nature, but altogether by a Principle that is divine, fomething introduced by the Grace of God's holy Spirit, which is above all that is natural. T!u Words are in a confiderable Degree parallel with thofe of our Saviour, Joh.xiv. 1 6, 1 7. Hejball give you theSpirit of Truth, whom the iVorld cannot receive, becaufe it feeih him not, nei- ther knaweth him : But ye know him ; for he dzvelletb with you, and ft all be in you. Sect. II. Obfer vat ions on Rom. iii. c 1 F the Scriptures reprefent all Mankind as wicked in their firft State, before they are made Partakers \ f the T Benefits 210 Proof from Rom. iii. 9,-24. Part II. Benefits of Chrid's Redemption, then they are wicked by Nature : For doubtlefs Men's fird State is their native State, or the State they come into the World in. But the Scriptures do thus reprefcnt all Mankind. Before I mention particular Texts to this Purpofe, I v/ould obfervc, that it alters not the Cafe as to the Argu- ment in Hand, whether we fuppofe thefe Texts fpeak di- rectly of Infants, or only of fuch as are capable of fome Underflanding, fo as to underdand fomething of their own Duty and State. For if it be fo with all Mankind, that as foon as ever they are capable of reflecting and knowing their own moral State, they find themfelves wicked, this proves that they are wicked byNature ; either born wicked, or born with an infallible Difpofition to be wicked as foon as podible, if there be any Difference between thefe; 'and either of 'em will prove Men to be born exceedingly de- praved. I have before proved, that a nativePropenfity to Sin certainly follows from many things faid in the Scrip- ture, of Mankind ; but what I intend now, is fomething more direct, to prove by direct Scripture-Ted imony, that all Mankind in their fird State are really of a wicked Character. To this Purpofe is exceeding full, exprefs & abundant that Pafiage of the Apodle,in Rom. iii. beginning with the 9th >\ to theEnd of the 24th ; which 1 fhall fet down at large, didinguifhing the univerfal Terms which are here fo often repeated, by a didincr. Character. The Apodle having in the fird Chap, f, 16, 17. laid down his Propo- rtion, that none can be faved in any other Way than thro' the Righteoufnefs of God, by Faith in Jefus Cbrid, he proceeds to prove this Point, by fhewing particularly that all are in themfelves Wicked, and without any Righteouf- nefs of their own. Fird, he infids on the Wickednefs of the Gentiles, in the fird Chapter ; and next, on the Wick- ednefs of the Jews, in the fecond Chapter. And then in this Place, he comes to fum up the Matter, and draw the Conclusion in theWords following : " What then, are we * v better than they ? No, in no wife j for we have before " proved Chap.iii. i A u in their fir ft StateW\zVe&. 2 1 1 Sect. II. J J J ' proved both Jezus and Gentiles, that they are all under 8 Sin : As it is written, There is NONE righteous, NO, ■ NOT ONE ; there is NONE that underftandeth ; 6 there is NOInE that feeketh after God ; they are ALL ; gone out of the Way ; they are TOGETHER become 5 unprofitable ; there is NONE that doth Good, NO, * NOT ONE. Their Throat is an open Sepulchre ; 1 with their Tongues they have ufed Deceit ; the Poifon c of Afps is under their Lips ; whofe Mouth is full of 1 (Turfing & Bitternefs ; their Feet are fwift to JOhedBlood ; 4 Destruction and Mifery are in their "Ways, and the Way ' of Peace they have not known ; there is no Fear of God 4 before their Eyes. Now we know, that whatfoever 4 Things the Law faith, it faith to them that are under '■ the Law, that EVERY Mouth may be flopped, and ' ALL THE WORLD may become guilty before God. 4 Therefore by the Deeds of the Law, there fhall NO ' FLESH be juftified in his Sight ; for by the Law is the * Knowledge of Sin. But now the Right eoufnefs of God ; without the Law, is manifefl, being witnefTed by the 4 Law and the Prophets ; even the Righteoufnefs of God, 4 which is by Faith of Jefus Chrift, unto ALL, and upon 4 ALL them that believe ; for there is NO DIFFE- 6 RENCE. For ALL have finned, & come fliort of the ' Glory of God. Being juflified freely by his Grace, * thro' the Redemption which is in Jefus Chrift." ■ Here the thing which I would prove, viz. thatMankind in their firft State, before they are interefted in the Bene- fits of ChriiVs Redemption, are univerfally wicked, is de- clared with the utmoft poflible Fulnefs and Precifion. So that if here this Matter ben't fet forth plainly, exprefly and fully, it muft be becaufe no Words can do it, and it is not in the Power of Language or any Manner of Terms and Phrafes, however contrived and heaped up one upon another, determinately to fignify any fuch Thing. Dr. jf. to take off the Force of the whole, would have us to underffand (P.104 — 107) that thefe PafTages,quoted from the Pfalms, and other Parts of the old Teftament, T 2 donV 2 r2 Proof from Rom. iii. o, — 24. Part If, don't fpcak of all Mankind, nor of all the Jews ; but only of them of whom they were true. He obferves, there were many that were innocent and righteous ; tho' there were alfo many, a ftrong Party, that were wicked, corrupt, &c. of whom thefe Texts were to be underftood. Concerning which 1 would obferve the following Things. 1. According to this, the Univerfality of the Terms that are found in thefe Places, which theApoftle cites from the old Teftament, to prove that all theWorld, both Jews and Gentiles, are under Sin, is nothing to his Purpofe. The Apoftle ufes univerfal Terms in his Proportion, and in his Conclufion, that ALL are under Sin, that EVERY MOUTH is flopped, ALL THE WORLD guilty ,— that by the Deeds of the Law NO FLESH can be juflified. And he chufes out a Number of univerfal Say- ings or Clanfes out of the Old Teftament, to confirm this Univerfality ; as, There is none righteous ; no, not one : 'They are all gone out of the Ti^ay ; There is -none that under flandeth, Sec. But yet the Univerfality of thefe Expreflidns h nothing to hisPurpofe ; becaufethe univerfal Terms found in 'em have indeed no Reference to any fiich Univerfality, asthis theApoflle fpeaks of,nor any thing a-kin to it ; they mean no Univerfality, either in the collective Senfe, or perfonal Scnfe ; no Univerfality of the Nations of the World, cr of particular Perfons in thofe Nations, or in any one Nation in the World : " But only of thofe of i( whom they are true P That is, There is none of them righteous, of whom it is true, that they are not righteous ; no, not' one ; There is none that under ft and, of whom it is true, that they underftand not : They are all gone out cf the JVay, of whom it is true, that they are gone out of t u e Way, &c. — Or thefe Expreffions are to be underftood concerning that ftrong Party in Ifrael, in T>avid's and Solomon's Days and in the Prophets Days : they are to be under' 1 ood of them univerfally. And what is that to the Apoftle's Purpofe ? How does fuch an Univerfality cf Wickednefs,as this, — that all were wicked in Ifrael, who were wicked, — or, that there was a particular evilParty,all of 's?ct P 'ni Al1 ** their firJiStateWvkfA. 2 1 3 of which were wicked, — confirm that Univerfality which the Apodle would prove, viz. That all Jews and Gen- tiles, and the zvhole World were wicked, and every Mouth flopped, and that no Flejb could be judified by their own Righteoufnefs. Here nothing can be faid to abate the Nonfenfe, but this, That the Apodle would convince the Jews, trnt they were capable of being wicked, as well as other Na- tions ; and to prove it, he mentions fome Texts, which fhew that there was a wicked Party in Ifrael, a Thoufand Years ago : And that as to the univerfalTerms which hap- pened to be in thefe Texts, the Apodle had no Refpeft to thefe ; but his reciting them is as it were accidental, they happened to be in fome Texts which (peak of an evil Party in Ifrael, and the Apodle cites 'em as they are, not be- cauie tney are any more to his Purpofe for the univerfal Terms, which happen to be in them. But let the Reader look on the Words of the Apoftle, and obferve the Vio- lence of fueh a Supposition. Particularly let the Words of the 9th and i oth Verfes, and their Connection, be ob- ferved. ±411 are under Sin : as it is written, There is none righteous ; no, not one. How plain is it, that the Apodle cites that latter univerfal Claufe out of the 14th Pialm, to confirm the preceeding univerfal Words of his own Proportion ? And yet it will follow from the Things which Dr. T. fuppofes, that theUniverfality of the Terms in the lad Words, There is none righteous ; no, not one, have no Relation at all to that Univerfality he fpeaks of in the preceeding Claufe, to which they are join'd, All are under Sin : and is no more a Confirmation of it, than if the Words were thus, e There are fome, or there are many in Ifrael, that are not righteous.' 2. To fuppofc, theA pottle's Defign in citing thefePafla- ges, was only to prove to the Jezus, that of old there was a confiderable Number of their Nation that were wicked Men, is to fuppofe him to have gone about to prove whet none of the Jezus denied, or made the lead Doubt of. Even the Pharifees, the moil felf-righteous Sett 2*4 ProoffromRom.nl 9,-24. Part II. Sect of them, who went furthefl in glorying in the Dis- tinction of their Nation from otherNations,as a holy Peo- ple, knew it, and own'd it : they openly confefTed that their Forefathers killed the Prophets ', Matth. xxiii. 29, 30, 31. And if the Apoflle's Defign had been only to refrefh their Memories to put 'em in Mind of the antient Wickednefs of their Nation, to lead to Reflection on them- feives as guilty of the like Wickednefs (as Stephen does, Acts vii.) what Need had theApoflle to go fo far about to prove this ; gathering up many Sentences here and there, which prove that their Scriptures did fpeak of fome as wicked Men ; and then, in the nextPlace, to prove that the wicked Men fpoken of mufl be of the Nation of the yews, by this Argument, That zvhat things foever the Law faith, it faith to them that are under the Law, or that whatfoever the Books of the Old Teflament faid, it mud be underflood of that People that had the Old Tefla- ment ? What Need had the Apoflle of fuch an Ambages or Fetch as this, to prove to the Jews, that there had been many of their Nation in fome of the antient Ages, which were wicked Men ; when the Old Teflament was full of Paflages that afTerted tfrs expreily, not only of a flrong Party, but of the Nation in general ? How much more would it have been to fuch a Purpofe, to have put 'em in Mind of the Wickednefs of the People in general, in worshipping the golden Calf, & the Unbelief, Mumur- ing and Perverfenefs of the whole Congregation in the Wildernefs, for forty Years, as Stephen does ? Which Things he had no need to prove to be fpoken of their Nation, by any fuch indirectArgument,as that; Whai foever Things the Law faith, it faith to them that are under the Law. 3. It would have been impertinent to the Apoflle's Purpofe, even as our Author underflands his Purpofe, for him to have gone about to convince the Jews, that there had been a flrong Party of bad Men in 'David's, & Solo- mon's, and the Prophets Times. ForDr. T. fnppofes, the Apoflle's Aim is to prove the great Corruption of both Jews Chap. III.? All j n t ] je ' tr firfiStateWicV^A. 2 I c bECT. II. 3 J J Jews and Gentiles at that Day, when Chrift came into the World * In order the more fully to evade the clear & abundant Teitimonies to the DocVine of original Sin, contained in thisPart of theholyScripture, our Author fays, The Apo- ftle is here fpeaking of Bodies of People, of Jews and Gentiles in a collective Senfe, as two great Bodies into •■ which Mankind are divided ; fpeaking of them in their collective Capacity, and not with refpe&to particular Per- fons ; that the Apoflle's Deflgn is to prove, neither of thefe two great collective Bodies, in their collective Senfe, can be juftified by Law, becaufe both were corrupt ; and fo,that no more is implied, than that the Generalicy of both were Wicked, fj On this I obferve, (i .) That this fuppofed Senfe difagrees extremely with the Terms and Language which the Apoftle here makes ufe of. For according to this, we mull: underftand, either Firjl, that theApoitle means noUniverfality at all, but only the far greater Part. But if the Words which the Apoftle ufes,don't mod fully and determinately fignify an Univerfality, no Words ever ufed in the Bible are fuffi- cient to do it. I might challenge any Man to produce any one Paragraph in the Scripture, from the Beginning to the End, where there is fuch a Repetition and Accu- mulation of Terms, foftrongly and emphatically and care- fully to exprefs the mod perfect & abfoluteUniverfality ; or any Place to be compared to it. What Inftance is there in the Scripture, or indeed any other Writing, when the Meaning is only the much greaterPart,where thisMeaning is (ignified in fuch a Manner, by repeating fuch Expressi- ons, They are all, — They are ally — They are all — toge- ther, — every one,— all the World ; join d to multiplied negative Teems, to fhew the Univerfality to be without Exception ; faying, There is no Flefh, — there is none — there is none — there is none — there is none four times over ; befides the Addition of, No, not one, — no, not one, — once and again ! Or * See Key % 275, 278. || P. 102^ 104, 117, 119, 120. and Note on Rom. ill. 10 19, 2i6 Proof J rem Rom. iii. 9,-24. Part II. Or Secondly, if any Univerfality at all be allowed, it is only of the collective Bodies fpoken of ; and thefe collect- ive Bodies but two,as Dr.T. reckons them, viz. ihejewijh Nation, and the Gentile World ; fnppofing the A pottle is here reprefenting each of thefe Parts of Mankind as being Wicked. But is this the Way of Men's ufing Language, when fpeaking of but twoThings, to exprefs themfelves in nnherfalTerms,of fuch a Sort,and in fuch a Manner, and when they mean no more than that the Thing affirm'd is predicated of both of them? If a Man fpeaking of his two Feet as both lame, fhould fay, All my Feet are lame, They are all lame. All together are become weak, None of my Feet are ftrong, None of them are found ; No, not one ; would not he be thought to be lame in his Under- ftanding, as well as his Feet ? When the Apottle fays, Vjhat every Mouth may be flopped, mutt we fuppofe,that he fpeaks only of thofe two great collective bodies, figura- tively afcribing to each of them a Mouth, and mean that thofe two Mouths are flopped ! And befides, according to ourAuthor's own Interpreta- tion, the univerfal Terms ufed in thefe Texts cited from the old Teftament, have no refpect to thofe two great col- lective Bodies, nor indeed to either of them ; but tofome in Ifrael, a particular disaffected Party in that one Nation, which was made up of wickedMen. So that his Interpre- tation is every way abfurd and mconfiflent. (2.) If the A pottle i? fpeaking only of the Wickednefs or Guilt of great collective Bodies, then it will follow, that alfo the Juftification he here treats of,is no other than the Juftificationof fuch col le&iveBodies. For, they are the fame he fpeaks of as guilty and wicked, that he argues cannot bejuftijzed by the Works of the Law, by Reafon of their being JVkked. Otherwife his Argument is whol- ly difanr.uPd. If the Guilt he fpeaks of be only of col- lective Bodies, then what he argues from that Guilt, mutt be only, that collective Bodies cannot be juflified by the "Works of the Law, having no Refpect to the Juftification of particular ferfons. And indeed this is Dr. T—r's de- clared Chap.iii^ aji i n t heir fir/lStateWicked. tin Sect. If. S J clared Opinion. He fuppofes, the Apoftle here, and in o- the'r Parts of this Epiftle, is fpeaking of Men's Juftification confidered only as in their colleclive Capacity. \ But the contrary is mod: manifeft. The 26th and 28th Verfesof this thirdChapter can't,without the utmoftViolence,be un- derftood othervvife than of the Justification of particular Perfons. That he might be juflland theyuflifier of HIM that believeth in Jefus. — Therefore we conclude that A MAN is juflif.ed by Faith, without theDeeds of the Law. So Chap. iv. 5. But to HIM that worketh not, but be- lieveth on him that jufiineth the ungodly, HIS Faith is counted for Righteoufnefs. And what the Apoftle cites in the 6, 7, & 8th Verfes from the Book of Pfalms,evidently fhews, that he is fpeaking of the Juftification of particular Perfons. Even as David alfo defcribeih theBlejfednefs of THE MAN unto who n God imputeth Righteoufnefs zvithout TVorks, faying, Blefed are they zvhofe Iniquities arc forgiven, and whofe Sins are covered. 'David fays thefcThingsinthe 32dPfalm, with a fpecial refpeft to his own particular Cafe ; there exprelling the great Diitrefs he was in, while under a Senfe of theGuilt of his perfonal Sin, and the great joy he had whenGod forgavehim; asiny.3,4. And then," it is very plain in that Paragraph of the third Chapter, which we have been upon, that it is the Juftifi- cation of particular Perfons that the Apoftle fpeaks of,by that Place in the Old Teftament,which he refers to in \ 20. Therefore by the T>eeds of the Lazv, there (ball no Flefh bejuflified in his Sight. He refers to that in Pfal.cxliii.- Enter not into Judgment with thy Servant ; for in thy Sight '-all NO MAN LIFING be juftijed. Here the Pfalmift is not fpeaking of the Juftification of a Nation, as a colie&ive Body, or of one of the two Parts of the World but of a particular Man. And 'tis further mani- feft, that the Apoftle is here fpeaking of perfonal Juftifi- cation, in-as-much as this Place is evidently parallel with that, Gal. iii. to, 11. For as many as are of the IForks of V the t Sec Note on Rom. iii. 10,-19. and on Chap. v.n. and on Chap. ix. 30, 31. anu on Chap, xi. 31. 2i8 Proof from Rom. iii. 9, — 24. Part IL the Law, ar? under the Curfe : for it is written, Cur fed is EVERT ONE that continueth not in all things that are written in the Book o the Law to do them. Bui that NO MAN is juflified by the Works of the Law, is evi- dent ; for the jufl Jhall live by Faith, It is plain, that this Place is parallel with that in the 3d of Romans, not only as the Thing a ferted is the fame, and the Argument by which it is proved here, is the fame as xheve,viz. that all are guilty, and expofed to be condemned by the Law ; But the fame Saying of the Old Teftament is cited here in the Beginning of this Difcourfe in Galatians. (Chap, i. 16.) And many other Things demonflrate, that the A* poftle is fpeaking of the fame Juflification in both Places, which I omit for Brevity's fake. And befides all thefe Things, our Author's Interpre- tation makes the Apoftle's Argument wholly void a* nother Way. The Apoftle is fpeaking of a certain Sub- ject, which cannot be juflified by the Works of the Law; and his Argument is that, that fame Subject is guilty, and is condemned by the Law. If he means,that one Subject, fuppofe a collective Body or Bodies, can't be juftifled by the Law, becaufe another Subject,another collective Body, is condemned by the Law, 'tis plain, the Argument would be quite vain and impertinent. Yet thus the Argument muft ftand according to Dr. "T — r's Interpretation. The collective Bodies,which he fuppofes are fpoken of as wick- ed, and condemned by the Law, confidered as in their collective Capacity, are thofe two, the Jezuifh Nation, and the heathen World : But the collective Body which he fuppofes the A poftle fpeaks of as juflified without the Deeds of the Law, is neither of thefe, but the Chriftian Church, or Body of Believers ; which is a new collective Body, a new Creature, and a new Man, (according to our Author's underftanding of fuch Fhrafes) which never had any Exiftence before it was juftifled, and therefore never was wicked or condemned, unlefs it was with regard to the Individuals, of which it was conftituted : and it does not appear, according to our Author's Scheme, that thefe In- dividuals Se H ct P 'ii 1 '^ A ^ in f ^ eir fi r fi S taU Wicked. 219 dividuals had before been generally wicked. For accord- ing to him there was a Number both among the^i^r and Gentiles, that were righteous before. And how does it appear, but that the comparatively few Jezvs & Gentiles, of which this new-created collective Body was conftituted, were chiefly of the bed of e^ch ? So that in every View this Author's way of explain- ing this Paflage in the third of Romans, appears vain and abfurd. And fo clearly and fully has theApoftle exprefs'd himfelf, that 'tis doubt lefs impofTible to invent any other Senfe to put upon his Words, than that which will imply, that all Mankind, even every Individual of the whole Race but theirRedeemer Himfelf, are in their hVft original State corrupt and wicked. Before I leave this Paftage of the Apoftle, it may be proper to obferve, that it not only is a moft clear, and full Teftimony to the native Depravity of Mankind, but alfb plainly declares that natural Depravity to be total and exceeding great. 'Tis the Apoftle' s manifeft Defign in thefe Citations from the Old Teftament, to fhew thefe three Things, i . That all Mankind are by Nature cor- rupt. 2. That every one is altogether corrupt, and as it were, depraved in every Part. g. That they are in ev#ry Part corrupt in an exceeding Degree. — With refpect to the fecond of thefe, that every one is wholly, and as it were in every Part corrupt, 'tis plain, the Apoftle chufes out, and puts together thofe particular PafTages of the old Tefta- ment, wherein mod of thofe Members of the Body are mentioned, that are the Soil's chief Inftruments or Organs of external A&ion. The Hands (implicitly) in thofe Ex* preiTions, "They are together become unprofitable, There is none that doeth good. The Throat, Tongue, Lips and Mouth, the Organs of Speech ; in thofe Words, Their Throat »> an openSepulchre : with theirT on ffiQS they have ufed Deceit : The Poifon of Afps is under their Lips ; w/^Mouth is full of Curfing and Bitternefs. TheFeet, in thofe Words, f. 1 5. Their Feet are fwift to Jbed Blood. Thefe Things together fignify, that Man is as it were all V 2 over 2 20 Proof from Rom. v. 6, — ic. Part II. ever corrupt, in every Part. And not only is the total Corruption thus intimated,by enumerating the feveralParts, but by denying of all Good ; any true Underftanding or fpiritual Knowledge, any virtuous Action, or fo much as truly vinuous Defire, or feeking after God. There is none that underitanderh ; There is -none that feeketh after Cxod : There is none that doth Good ; The Way of Peace have they not known. And in generally den-yingall true Piety or Religion in Men, in their firfl State, f. i 8'. There h no Fear of God before their Eyes. — The ExprefTions alfo are evidently chofen to denote a moil: extreme & def- perate Wickednefs of Heart. An exceeding Depravity is afcribed to every Part : to the Throat, the Scent of an open Sepulchre ; to the Tongue and Lips, deceit and thePoi- fori of Afps ; to the Mouth, Curfing and Bitternefs ; of their Feet it is faid, they are fwift to Jhed Blood : And with regard to the whole Man, 'tis faid, T)eftruftion and JVlifery are in their Ways. The Reprefentation is very flrong, of each of thefe Things, viz. That all Mankind are corrupt ; that every one is wholly, and altogether cor- rupt ; and alfo extremely and defperately corrupt. And it is plain, 'tis not accidental, that we have here fuch a Collection of fuch flrong ExprefTions, fo emphatically fignifying thefe Things ; but that they are chofen of the Apoftle on Dtfign, as being directly and fully to his Pur- pofe ; which Purpofe appears in all his Difcourfe in the whole of this Chapter, and indeed from the Beginning of th Epiftle. Sect. III. Obfervations on Rom. v. 6, to. and Eph. ii. 3. imth the Context^ and Rom. vii. A Nether PafTage of this Apoftle in the fame Epiftle to the Romans, which fhews tint all that are made partakers of the Benefits of ChrifVs Redemption, are in their firft State wicked and defperately wicked, is that, Chap. Chap.iii.-) au i n their firjl State Wicked. 221 Chap. v. 6, 10. For when we were yet without Strength, in due Time Chrift died for the Ungodly. For fcarcely for a righteous Man will one die ; yet per adven- ture for a 'good Man, fome would even dare to die. But God commendeth his Love towards us, in that while we were yet Sinners, Chrift died for us. Much more then, being now juflified by his Blood, we Jhall be faved from Wrath through him. For if zvhile we were Enemies, we were reconciled to God through the Death of his Son ; much more, being reconciled, we [hall be fared by his Life. Here all that'Chrift died for, and that are faved by him, are fpoken of as being in their firit State Sinners, Ungod- ly, Enemies to God, expo fed to divine Wrath, and with" out Strength', without Ability to help themfelves,or deliver their Souls from this miferable State. D. T. fays, TheApoftle here fpeaks of xhtG entiles only in their hgathen State, in ContradiftincYion to the Jews ;. and that not of particular Perfons among the heathen Gen- tiles, or as to the State they were in perfonally ; but only of the Gentiles colleclhely ta en, or of the miferable State of that great collective Body, the heathen World : And that thefe Appellations, Sinners, Ungodly, Enemies, &e. were Names by which the Apoflles in their Writings were wont to fignify and diilinguifh the heathen World, in Op- pofition to the Jews ; and that in this Senfe thefe Appel- lations are to be taken in their Epiflles, and in this Place in particular.* And 'tis obfervable, that truYY/ay of in- terpreting thefePhrafes in the apoftolick Writings, is become fafhionable with many late Writers ; whereby they- not only evade feveral clear Teftimonies to the Doctrine of original Sin, but make void great Part of the New Tefta- ment ; on which Account it deferves the more particular Confideration. ' 'Tis allowed to have been long common and cuftbmary among the Jews, in Chrifi's and the Apoftles Days, es- pecially * P. 114, 120. See alfo Dr. T— r's Pharaph. and Notes on the Place. 222 Prcof from Rom. v. 6, — io, Part II, pecially thofe of the Se£l of xhePhartfees, in their Pride, and Confidence in their Privileges as the peculiar People of God, to exalt themfelves exceedingly above other Na- tions, and greatly to defpife the Gentiles, and call them by fuch Names as Sinners, Enemies, 'Dogs, &c. as Notes of DiftincYion from themfelves, whom they ac- counted in general (excepting the Publicans and the notor rioufly profligate) as the Friends, fpecial Favourites, and Children of God ; becaufe they were the Children of .Abraham, were circumcifed, and had the Law of Mofes, as their peculiar Privilege, and as a Wall of Partition be- tween them and the Gentiles. But it is very remarkable, that a ChriiYian Divine, who has ftudied the new Teftament, and the Epiftle to the Romans in particular, fo diligently as Dr. T, — fhould be ftrong in an Imagination, that the Apoftlesof Jefus Chrifl fhould fo far countenance,and do fo much to cherifh thefe felf-exalting, uncharitable Difpofitipns and Notions of the jfews y which gave Rife to fuch a Cuftom, as to fall in with that Cuftom, and adopt that Language of their Pride and Contempt ; and efpecially that the. Apoftle Paul fhould do it. 'Tis a moft unreafonable Imagination, on many Accounts. I. The wholeGofpel-Difpenfation is calculated entirely to overthrow & abolifh every thing to which this felf-diftin- guilhing, felf-exalting Language of the Jews was owing. It was calculated wholly to exclude fuch Boafting, and to deftroy that Pride and Self-Righteoufnefs, that were the Caufes of it : It was calculated to aboiiih the Enmity, and break down the Partition- Wall between Jews & Gentiles, and of Twain to make one new Man, Jo making Peace ; to deftroy all Difpofitions in Nations and particular Per- fons to defpife one another,or to fay one to another, Stand by thy/elf, come not near to me, for lam holier than Thou \ and to eftablifh the contrary Principles of Humility, mu- tual Efteem, Honour and Love, and univerfal Union, in the moft firm and perfeft Manner. 2. Chrift, s^T-'tS"] Al1 in their M ' StateWv&sA. 223 2. Chrift, when on Earth, fet himfelf, through the Courfe of his Miniftry, to militate againft this Pharifaical Spirit Practice and Language of the Jews ; appearing in fuch Reprefentations, Names and Epithets, fo cuftomary among them ; by which they fliew'd fo much Contempt of the Gentiles, Publicans, and fuch as were openly lewd and vicious, and fo exalted themfelves above them ; call- ing them Sinners and Enemies, and themfelves Holy and God^s Children j not allowing the Gentile to be their Neighbour, &c. He condemned the Pharifees for not efteeming themfelves Sinners, as well as the Publican^ trufting in themfelves that they were righteous, and de- fpifing others. He militated againft thefe things in his own Treatment of fome Gentiles, Publicans and others, whom they called Sinners, and in what he faid on thofe Occa- fions.* He oppofed thefe Notions and Manners of the Jews in his Parables ; f and in hislnftru&ions to hisDifci- ples how to treat the unbelieving Jews ; |) and in what he lays to Nicodemus about the Neceffity of a New- Birth, even for the Jews, as well as the unclean Gentiles with Regard to their Profelytifm, which fome of the Jews looked upon as a new Birth •, And in Oppofi« tion to their Notions of their being the Children of God, becaufe the Children of .Abraham, but the Gentiles by Nature Sinners and Children of Wrath, he tells them that even they were Children of the Devil. % 3. Tho' • — ■ — -^- • 1 — — , * Matth. viii. 5,--i3.Chap.ix. 9,-13. Chap.xi. 1 9,-24. Luk. vii. 37, to the End. Chap. xvii. 12,-19. Chap.xix. 1,— 10. Matt. xv. 21,-28. Joh. iv. 9, &c. ver. 39, &c. Compare Luk. x. 29, &c. f Matt. xxi. 28,— -2. Chap, xxii.i,— 10. Luk.xiv. 16,-24. Compare Luk. xiii. 28,29,30. (I Matt. x. r 4 , 15. t Joh. viii. 33,-44. It may alfo be obferved, that John the Baptijl greatly contra- di&ed the 7*wOpinion of Themfelves, as being a holyPeo- ple, and accepted of God, becaufe they were the Children of 224 Proof from Rom. v. 6,-~ to. Part II. 3. Tho' we mould fuppofe the Apofrles not to have been thoroughly brought off from fuch Notions, Manners and Language of the Jews, till after Chrift's Afcenfion ; yet after the pouring out of the Spirit on the Day of Pen-* recoil, or at leaif, after the Calling of the Gentiles, .begun in the Converfion of Cornelius, they were fully indocfri-= nated in this Matter, and effectually taught no longer to call the Gentiles Unclean, as a Note of DiflincYion from the Jews (Acfx.24.) which was before any oftheApolto- lic Epiftles were written. 4. Of all the Apoflles none were more perfectly in- Unified in this Matter, and none fo abundant in in{lrucl> ing others in it, as Paul,xh% great Apoftle of xheG entiles. He had Abundance to do in this Matter : None of the A- poftles had Co much Occafion to exert themfelves again!! the foremention'd Notions and Language of the Jezvs, in Oppofition to Jewijb Teachers, zhdjudaiz'zng Chriflians, that (trove to keep up the Separation~Wall between Jews and Gentiles, and to exalt the former, and fet the latter at nought. 5. This Apoflle does efpecially drive in this Matter in this Epiftle to the Romans, above all his other Writings ; exerting himfelf in a mod elaborate Manner, and with his utmoit Skill and Power to bring the Jewijb Chriftians off from every thing of thisKind; endeavouring by all Means, that there might no longer be in them anyRemains of thefe old Notions they had been educated in, of fuch a great DiftincYion between Jews and Gentiles, as were expreffed in the Names they ufed to diflinguiili them by, calling the Jews of Abraham, and on that Account better than the Heathen, whom they called Sinners, Enemies, Unclean, &c. in bap* tizing the Jews as a polluted People and Sinners, as the Jews ufed to baptize Prolelytes horn among theHeathen ;calling; them to Repentance as Sinners, faying, Think not to fay zviihin ycurjefoes, We tawAbraham to our Father ; for 1 fay unto you, tbatGod is able, of thefe Stones, tojfmfe upChilaren unto Abraham ; and teaching the Phanje.es, that inftead of their being, a holy Generation and Children ot God, as they called themfelves, were a Generav.m of Vipers. s E H cT P i!i L } A ^ in dwrfirft $ tate Wicked. 225 Jews holy, Children of Abraham, Friends and Children of God , but the Gentiles Sinners, Unclean, Enemies, and the like. He makes it almoft his whole Bufinefs; from the Beginning of the Epiille, to this PafTage in the 5th Chapter which we are upon, to convince them that there was no Ground for any fuch Diftinclion,and to prove that in common,both Jevjs and Gentiles, all were defperately wicked, and none righteous, no, not one. He tells them, Chap. iii. 9. that the Jews were by no Means better than the Gentiles ; and (in what follows in that Chapter) that there was no Difference between Jews and Gentiles ; and reprefents all as without Strength, or an^ Sufficiency of their own in the Affair of Juftification & Redemption : A nd in the Continuation of the fame Difcourfe,in the 4th Chapter, teaches that all that were juftified bydrift,were in tbenifelves ungodly ; and that being the Children of •Abraham was not peculiar to th$Jews. In this 5th Chap, fiiil in Continuation of the fame Difcourfe, on the fame Subject, and Argument of Juftification thro' drift, and by Faith in him, he fpeaks of drift's dying for the Uwodly and Sinners, .and thofe that were without Strength or Sufficiency far their own Salvation, as he had done all along before. But now, it feems, theApoftle by Sinners and ungodly muft not be underftood according as he ufed thefe Words before ; but muft be fuppofed to mean only the Gentiles, as diitinguifhed from the Jews ; adopting the Language of thofe felf-righteous, felf-exalting, difdainful Judaizing Teachers, whom he was with all hisMight op- pofing : Countenancing the very fame thing in them, wbi ;h he had been from the Beginning of the Epiille discounte- nancing, and endeavouring to difcourage, and utterly -to abolilh,with all his Art and Strength. One Reafon, why the Jews looked on themfelves better than the Gentiles, and called themfelves holy. and the Gen- tiles Sinners, was,that they had theLaw ofMofes. They made their Boajl of the Law. But the Apoftle fliews them, that this was fo far from making them better, that it condemned them, and was an Occafion of their being X Sinners. 226 Proof from Rom. v, 6,— io. Part II. Sinners in a higher Degree,and more aggravated Manner, and more effectually and dreadfully dead in and by Sin, Chap yii. 4, 13. agreable to thofe Words of Chrifr, Job. v. 45. It can't be juftly objected here, that this Apoflle did in- deed ufe this Language, and call the Gentiles Sinners, in Contradiflinction to the Jews, in what he laid to Peter^ which he himfelf gives an Account of in Gral.ii.15, 1 6. We who are Jews by Nature .and 'not Sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a Man is not julijied by the Works of the Law, but by Faith in Jefus Chrift. 'Tistrue, that the Atoflie here refers to this Diflinction, as what was ufual-ly made, by the felf-righteous Jews, between themfelves and the Gentiles ; but not in fuch a Manner as to adopt, or favour it ; but on the contrary, fo as plainly to mew his Difapprobation of it '; q.d. 'Tho we were born Jews&A by Nature are of that Feople which are wont to make their Boaft of the Law, expecting to be justified by it, and tiuft in themfelves that they are righteous. defpifing others, calling theGentileS;S//27Z£7\f,in Diflinction from themfelves; yet we being now inflructed in theGofpel of Chrift, know better ; we now knew, that a Man is not justified by the Works of theLaw ; that we are all juflified only by Faith in Chrift, m whom there is no Difference, no Diflinction of Greek or Gentile, and Jew,bvtd\\ are one in Chrift Jefus.' And this is the very thing, he there fpeaks of, which he blamed Peter for; that by his withdrawing and fepara- ting himfelf from the Gentiles, refufmg to eat with them &c. he had countenanced this felf-exalting, felf-diitin- guifhing, feparating Spirit and Cuflom of the, Jews, where- by they treated the Gentiles, as in a diftinguiihing manner Sinners and Unclean, and not fie to come near them who were a holy People. 6. The Words themfelves of the Apoftle in this Place, ihew plainly, that he here ufes the Word, Sinners, not as fignifying Gentiles, in Opposition to Jews, hut as denoting the morally evil, in Oppofition to fuch as are righteous or good : "becaufc this latter Oppofition or Diflinction be- tween Chap III ? A \\ fa fafr frft StateWkkcd. 2 2 7 bECT. 111. .) J I tween Sinners and Righteous is here expreVd in plain Terms. " Scarcely for a righteous Man will one die ; yet '• " perad venture for a good Man forrie would even dare to !C die : But God commended his Love towards us, in " that while v/e were yet Sinners, Chrift died for us." By righteous Men are doubtlefs meant the fame that are meant by fueri a Phrafe,thronghout this Apoftle's Writings, and throughout the New-Teftamcnt, and throughout the Bible. Will any one pretend, that by the righteous Man, whom Men would fcarcely die for, and by the good Man, that perhaps fome might even dare to die for, is meant a Jew ? Dr. C T. himfelf don't explain it fo, in his Expofi- tion of this Epiftle ; and therefore is not very confident with himfelf, in fuppbfing, that in the other Part of the Diftinclion the Apoftle means Gentiles, as diftinguifhed from the Jews. The Apoftle himfelf had been labouring abundantly, in the preceeding Part of the Epiftle,to prove that the Jews were Sinners in this Senfe, namely in Op- pofition to righteous ; That all had finned, that all were under Sin, and therefore could not bejuftified, could not be accepted as righteous, by their own Righteoufnefs. 7. Another thing which makes it evident,that theApoftle when he fpeaks in this Place of the Sinners and Enemies which Chrift died for, don't mean only the Gentiles, is,that lie includes himfelf among them, faying, while TVE tuere Sinners, and vthen IF^E zvere Enemies. Our Author from Time to Time fays, The Apoftle, tho' he fpeaks only of the Gentiles in their Heathen State, yet put s hi- f elf with them, becaufe he was the Apoflle of the Gentiles. But this is very violent and unreafonable. There is no more Senfe in it, than there would be in a Father's ranking himfelf among his Children, when fpeak- ing to his Children of the Benefits they have by being be- gotten by himfelf; and faying, We Children — : Or in a Phyfician's ranking Himfelf with his Patients, when talking to them of their Difeafes and Cure ; faying, TVe fick Folk's. — Paul's being the Apoftle of the Gentiles, to fave ? em from their Heathenifm, is Ho far from being a X 2 Reafon 228 Proof from Rom. V. 6,— 1 o. Part II. Reafon for him to reckon himfelf among theHeathen,that on the contrary, 'tis the very thing that would render it in a peculiar Manner unnatural and abfurd for him fo to do. Becaufe, as the Apoftle of the Gentiles, he appears as their Healer and Deliverer from Heathenifm ; and therefore in that Capacity does in a peculiar Manner ap- pear in his Diftin&ion from the Heathen, and in Qppofi- tion to the State of Heathenifm. For 'tis by the mod: oppofite Qualities only, that he is fitted to be an Apoitle of the Heathen, and Recoverer fromHeathenifm, As the clear Light of the Sun is the Thing which makes it a properRenorative from Darknefs ; and therefcre,the Sun's being fpoken of as fuch a Remedy,none would fuppofe to be a good Reafon why it iliould be ranked with Darknefs, or among dark Things. And befides (which makes this Suppofition of Dr. T—rs appear more violent) the A- poftle, in this Epiftle, does expreily rank himfelf with the Jezvs, when he fpeaks of them as diftinguifhed from the Gentiles ; as inChap/iii.o./Fito then f are WE better than They ? That is, are we Jews better than the Gentiles? It can't juftly be alledged in Oppofition to this, that the ApoRle Peter puts himfelf with the Heathen, i Pet.iv 3. For the Time pa ft of OUR Life may fuffice US to hare wrought the Will of the Gentiles ; when WE walked in Lafcivioifnefs, Lifts, Excefs of Wine, Reviling, Ban- quetings, & abominable Idolatries. For theApoftleP^r (who by theWay was not an Apoftle of the Gentiles) here don't fpeak of himfelf as one of the Heathen, but as one cf the Church of Chrift in general, made up of thofe that had been Jezvs, Profelytes and Heathen, who now were all one Body, of which Body he was a Member. 'Tis this Society therefore, and not the Gentiles, that he refers to in the Pronoun US. He is fpeaking of the Wick- cdnefs that the Members of this Body or Society had lived in before their Converfion : not that every Member had lived in all thofe Vices here mentioned, but fome in one, others in another. Very parallel with that of the Apoitle Paul to Titus, Chap. iii. g; For WE our fihes (i.e. We W*m I Al1 in their fi r ft State Wicked. 2 2 9 of the Chriftian Church) fometimes alfo were foolifjj, dif- obedient } deceived, fcrving divers Lufts and Pleafures y (ibme one Luft and Pleafure, others another) living inMa- lice, Envy, hateful and hating one another ,&c. There is Nothing in this but what is very natural. That the Apoftle, fpeaking to the Chriftian Church, and of that Church, confelling it's former Sins, fhould fpeak of him- felf as one of that Society, and yet mention fome Sins that he perfonaily had not been guilty of, & among others, heathenilh Idolatry, is quite a differentThing from what it would have been for the Apoftle, exprefly diftinguifhing thofeof the Christians which had beenHeathen,from thole which had been Jezvs, to have ranked himfelf with the former, tho' he was truly of the latter. If a Minifter in fome Congregation in England, fpeak- ing in a Sermon of the Sins of the Nation, being himfelf of the Nation, fhould fay, **WE have greatly corrupted " our felves, & provoked God by our Deifm,our Blafphe- " my, our profane Swearing, our Lafcivioufnefs, our Ve- " nality, &c.fpeaking in the firft Perfon plural,tho' he him- felf never had been a Deift, and perhaps none of hisHear- ers, and they might alfo have been generally free from other Sins he mention' d ; yet there would be nothing un- natural in his thus exprefling himfelf. But it would be a quite different Thing, if one Part of the Britifi Domi- nions, iuppofe our King's American Dominions, had uni- verfally apoffatized from Chriftianity to Deifm, and had long been in fuch a State, and if One that had been born and brought up inEngland among Chriftians.the Country being univerfally Chriftian, fhould be fent among them to fliew them the Folly and great Evil of Deifm, and convert them to Chriftianity ; and this MifTionary, when making a Diftinclrion between Englifb Chriftians, and thefeDeifts, ihould rank himfelf with the latter, and fay, WE Ameri- can T)eifls, We f,olifl? blind Imdsls &c. This indeed would be very unnatural and abfurd. Another Paflage of the Apoftle, to the likePurpofe with that which we have been confideringinthe 5 th of : Romans, is 230 Proof from Epb. ii. 3, 8cc. Part II. is that in Epb. ii. 3.— — *And -were by Nature Children of Wrath, even as others. This remains a plain Tefti- mony to the Do&rine of original Sin, as held by thofe that u fed to be called orthodox Chriftians, after all the Pains and Att ufed to torture and pervert it. This Doctrine is here not only plainly and fully taught, but abundantly Co) if we take the Words with the Context ; where Chriftians are once and again reprefented as being, in their flrft State, dead in Sin, and as quickened, and raifed up from fnch a State of Death, in a mod marvellous Difplay of the free and rich Grace and Love, and exceeding Greatnefs of the Power of God, &c. With refpect to thofe Words 5f*«* rittp» qvaei o$yis We -were by Nature Children of Wrath, Dr. T. fays (P. 1 1 2 , 113,1 14.) " The Apoftle means no more by this, than " truly or really Children of Wrath ; ufmg a metaphc- " rical Expreffion, borrowed from the Word that is ufed " to (ignify a true and genuine Child of a Family, in " DiftmcYion from one that is a Child only by Adoption : u To exprefs this we fay, he is by Nature a Child." In which 'tis own'd, that the proper Senfe of the Phrafe is being a Child oy Nature, in the fame Senfe as a Child by Birth or natural Generation ; but only he fuppofes, that here the Word is ufed metaphorically. The Inftance he produces as parallel, to confirm his fuppofed metaphorical Senfe of the Phrafe as meaning only fruly, really or properly Children of Wrath, viz. the Apoftle Paul's call- ing 'Timothy his own Son in the Faith, yvmov t*kkv> is fo far from confirming his Senfe, that it is rather directly a- gainft it. For doubtlefs the Apoflle ufes the Word yvxaiov in it's original Signification here, meaning his begotten Sof2; yvw.os being the Adjective from yon, Offspring, or the Verb y&vati, to beget ; as much as to fay, Timothy my begotten Son in the Faith ; only allowing for the two Ways of being begotten, fpoken of in the new Teftament, one natural, and the other fpiritual ; one being the firft Generation, the other Regeneration ; the one a being be- gotten as to the human Nature, the ether a being begot- tl All in their fir ft State Wicked. 2 % 1 Sect. III. 3 J J ° ten in the Faith, begotten in Ch rift, or as to one's Chrifti- anity, The Apoftle exprefty fignifies which of thefe he means in this. Place, 'Timothy my begottenSon in the Faith, in the fame Manner as he fays to the Corinthians, 1 Cor. iv. 1 5. In Chrift J ejus I have begotten you through the G of pel. To fay, the Apoftle ufes the Word, tpveet, in Eph. ii. 3. only as fignifying real, true and proper, is a moft ar- bitrary Interpretation, having nothing to warrant it in the whole Bible. The Word 0uou is no where ufed in this Senfe in the New-Teftament. * Another Thing which ourAuthor alledgesto evade the Force of this, is, that the -Word render'd Nature, fome- times fignifies Habit contracted by Cuftom, or an acquired Nature. But this is not the proper Meaning of the Word. And it is plain, the Word in its common Ufe, in the new Teftament, fignifies what we properly exprefs in Englifti by theStfor&Nature. There is but one Place where there can be the lead Pretext for fuppofmg it to be ufed other- wife ; and that is 1 Cor. xi. 14. Doth, not even Nature it felf teach you, that if a Man have long Hair, it is a Shame unto him ? And even here there is, I think, no Manner of Reafon for underftanding Nature ctherwife than in the proper Senfe. The Emphafis ufed, <*vm a <$vcr>, Nature IT SELF, (hews that the Apoftle don't mean Cuftom, but Nature in the proper Senfe. It is true, it was long Cuftom, that made having the Head covered a Token of Subjection, and a feminine Habit or Appear- ance ; As 'tis Cuftom that makes any outward Action or Word a Sign or Signification of any thing : But Nature it felf , Nature in its proper Senfe, teaches, that it is a Shame for a Man to appear with the eftabliflied Signs of the female Sex,and with Significations of Inferiority, &c. As Nature it felf ihews it to be a Shame for a Father to bow down or kneel to his own Child or Servant, or for Men * The following are all the Places where the Word is ufed. Rom. i. 26. and ii. 14. and veTiij. and xi. 21 andsw.24. twice in that Verfe. 1 Cor. xi. 14. Gal. ii. 15. and iv, S, Jam. iii. 7. twice in that Verfe. and 2 Pet. i. 4, '232 Proof from Eph.ii. 3, &c. Part II, Men to bow to an Idol, becaufe bowing down is by Cuftom an eftablifhed Token or Sign of Subje&ion & Submiflion : Such a Sight therefore would be unnatural, fhocking to a Man's very Nature. So Nature would teach, that 'tis a Shame for a Woman to ufe fuch and fiieh lafcivious Words or Geftures ; tho' it be Cuftom, that eftablifnes the unclean Signification of chafe Geftures and Sounds. 'Tis particularly unnatural and nnreafonable, to under- hand the Phrafe, r%wm ^wet, in this Place, any otherwife than in the proper Senfe, on the following Accounts. 1. It may be obferved, that both theWords, rsxiw & qveis, in their original Signification, have Reference to the Birth or Generation. So theWord, y ja but are as deftitute of it as a dead Corpfe is of Life : And that all Goodnefs, all good Works, and Faith the Principle of all, are perfectly the Gift of God's Grace, and the Work of his great, al- mighty and exceeding excellent Power. 1 think, there can be need of Nothing but reading the Chapter, and minding what is read, to convince all who have common Under- standing, of this ; whatever any of the moil fubtil Criticks have done, or even can do, to twift, rack, perplex & per- vert the Words and Phrafes here ufed. Dr. T. here again infills, that the Apoftle fpeaks only of the Gentiles in their heathen State, when he fpeaks of thofe that were dead in Sin, and by Nature Children cf Wrath ; and that tho' he feems to include himfelf among thefe, faying, WE were by Nature Children cf Wrath, WE were dead in Sins, yet he only puts himfelf among them becaufe he was the Apoftle of the Gentiles. The grofs Abfiirdity of which may appear from what was laid before. But befides the things which have been already obferved, there are fomc things which make it peculiarly tmrcafonable to underitand it fo here. ? Tis true, the grea- ter Part of the Church of Efhefus had been Heathens, and therefore the Apoftle often has Reference to their hea- then State, in this Epiftle. But the Words in this Chap, ii. p plainly fhew, that he means himfelf and other Jems^ in Diilinelion from the Gentiles. : for the Diftin&ion is fully exprefs'd. After he had told the Ephefians, who had been generally Heathen, that they had been dead in Sin, and had walk'd according to the Ccurfe of this World, &c. >\ I, and 2. he makes a *Diftthftion, and fays, Among "whom WE ALSO had our Converfation, &c. and were by Nature Children of Wrath EVEN AS OTHERS. Here frft he changes the Perfon ; whereas,before he had fpoken in the fecond Perfon, YE were dead, YE in time pa ft walked r ,&c. Now he charges Stile, and ufes the :-,.-• firft p -5* I All /* ^/r firftStateW\ckz&. 235 Sect. III. 3 J firft PeiTon, in a mod manifeft Diftinction, Among whom WE ALSO, that is, wifobedience, and Children of Wrath. And then befides, if the Apoftle chufes to put himfelf among the Gentiles, becaufe he was the Apoftle of the Gentiles, I would afk, why he don't do fo in the nth y. of the fame Chapter, where he fpeaks of their Gentile State exprefly ? Remember that TE being in time pajl Gentiles in the Flefb. — Why does he here make a Dis- tinction between the Gentiles and himfelf ? Why did he not fay, Let us remember, that we being in paftTimeGw* tiles f And why does the fame Apoftle, even univerfally, make the fame Diftinction, {peaking either in the fecond Y 2 or 236 Proof from Rom. vii. 5,14 Sfc.Part II. cr third Perfon, and never in the fit ft where he exprefly fpeaks-of the Gentilifm ofthofe that he wrote to; or fpeaks of 'em with Reference to their DiftincYion from the jews ? So every where in this fameEpiftle ; as, inChap.i. 1 2,1 3. where theDiftinction is made jufl in the fameManner as here, by the Change of the Perfon, and by the diftin- guifhing Particle, Alfo. < That WEJhouldbe to the Praife of his Glory who fir ft trufted in Chrift [the firft Be- lievers in Chrift being of the Jezvs^ before the Gentiles were called] In wham YE ALSO trufted, after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the- Go/pel of your Salvation. And in all the following Part of this fecond Chapter ; as f. 11, 1 j, 19. and 22. In which laft Verfe the fame diftinguifhing Particle again is ufed ; In whom YOU *ALSO are builded together for an Habitation of God thro 7 the Spirit. See alfo in the following Chapters ; Chap. iii. 6. and iv. 17. And not only in this Epiftle, but eonftantly in other Epiftles : as, Rom. i. 12, 13. Chap.xi. 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,28, 30,30,31. Chap. xv. 15, 16*. 1 Cor. xii. 2. Gal. iv. 8. Col. i. 27. Chap. ii. 13. 1 Theft i. 5, 6, 9. Chap. ii. 13, 14, 15, 16, Tho' I am far from thinking our Author's Expofinpn of the 7th, Chap, of Romans to be in any wife agreable to the true Senfe of the Apoftle, yet it is necdlefs herd! to ftand particularly to examine it ; becaufe the Docrnne of original Sin may be argued not the lefs ftrongly, tho' we fhould allow the Thing wherein he mainly differs frcm fuch as heoppofcsin his Interpretation, viz. That the A- poftle don't fpeak in his ownName, or to reprefenttheState of a true Chriftian, but as reprefenting the State of the "Jews under the Law. For even on this Supposition, the Drift of the Place will prove, that every one who is under the Lav/, and with equal Reafon 'every one of Mankind, is carnal, fold under Sin, in his flrft State, and till deliver'd by Chrift. For, us plain, that the Apoftle's Defign is to fliew the Infufficiency of the Law to give Life to any one whatfoever. This appears by what he fays when he comes to draw his Conclufion, in the Continuation of this Difcourfe; Chap.iii. ? All in their fir ft StateW \cked. 2'. 23. Which is the Thing that through this "Chapter he infifts on as the grand Hindrance and Reafon why the Law could not give Life, juft as he does in his Conclusion, Chap. viii. 3. Which in this laft Place, is given as a Reafon why theLaw can't give Life to any of Mankind. And it being the fame Reafon, of the fame Thing, fpoken of in the fame "Difcourfe, in the former Part of it ; as appears, becaufe this laft Place is the Conclufion, of which that former Part is the Premifes : And inafmuch as the Reafon there given is being in the Flefh, and a being carnal, fold under Sin. Therefore taking the whole of the Apoftle's Difcourfe, this is juftly underftood to be a Reafon why the Law can't give Life to any of Mankind ; and confequently, that all Mankind are in the Flefh, and are carnal, fold under Sin, and fo remain till deliver'd by Chrift : And confequently all Mankind in their firft or original State are very finfui j which was the Thing to be proved. Chap. * Dr. T. hirnfelf reckons this a Part of the fame Difcourfe or Paragraph, in the Divifion he makes of the Epiftle, in his Parapbraje and Notes upon it. f See Note on Rom. v. 2©. 238 Remarks on Dr. T—r$ Part II. Chap IV. Containing Ohfervations on Rom. v. 12,— to the End. Sect. I. Remarks on Dr. T — -r's Way of explaining this 'text. THE following Things are worthy to be taken Notice of, concerning our Author's Expofition of this re- markable PaiTage of the Apoftle Paul. I. He greatly infills that by Death in this Place no more is meant, than that Death which we all die, when this prefent Life is extinguifhed, and the Body returns to the Duff. ; that no more is meant in the 12,14, 15, and 17th Verfes. P. 27. he fpeaks of it as evidently, clearly and infallibly fo, becaufe the Apoftle is flill difcourfing on the fame Subject ; plainly implying,that it mull moft infallibly be fo, that the Apoftle means no more by Death, through- out this Paragraph on the Subject. But as infallible as this is, if we believe what Dr.T~. elfewhere f iys, it muft needs be otherwife. He, in P. 3 9 6, fpeaking of thofe Words in the laft Verfe of the next Chapter, The Waves of Sin is DEATH, but the Gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE, thro* Jefus Chrifl our Lord, fays, " Death in this Place " is widely different from the Death we now die ; as it " ftands there oppofed to eternal Life, which is the Gift " of God thro' Jefus Chrifl, it manifeftly llgnifies eternal " Death, the fecond Death, or that Death which they " fliall hereafter die, who live after the Flefli." But Death, in theConclufion of the Paragraph we are upon in the 5th Chapter,concerning the Death that comes by Adam, and the Life that comes by Chrifl:, in the laft f. of the Chapter, is oppofed to eternal Life, jufl: in the fame Man- ner Chap.iv. i Explanation of Rom. v. i 2,&e. 239 ner as it is in the laft f. of the next Chapter. That as Sin has reigned unto 'DEATH, even fo might Grace reign, thro" Righteoufnefs , unto ETERNAL LIFE, by JefmChrift oar Lord. So that by our Author's own Ar- gument, Death in this Place alfo is manifeflly widely differ- ent from the "Death we now die, as it flands here oppofed to eternal Life thro' Jefus Chrift ; and fignifies eternal Death, the fecond Death. And yet this is a Part of the fame Difcourfe or Paragraph with that begun in the 12th jr. as reckon'd by Dr. T. himfelf in his Divifion of Para- graphs, in his Paraphrafe and Notes on the Epiftle. So that if we will follow him, and admit his Reafonings in the various Parts of his Book, here is manifeft Proof, againft infallible Evidence ! So that 'tis true,the Apoftle through- out this whole Paflage on the fame Subject, by Death, evi- dently, clearly and infallibly ?neans no more, than that "Death we nozv die, when this Life is extinguifhed ; and yet by Death, in fome Part of this PafTage, is meant fome- thing widely different from the Death zve now die, and is MANIFESTLY intended eternal Death, the fe- cond Death. But had our Author been more confident with himfelf in his laying of it down as fo certain and infallible, that becaufe the Apoftle has a fpecial Refpect to temporal Death, in the 14th f. Death reigned from Adam to Mofes, therefore he means no more in the feveral conie- quent Parts of this Paflage, yet he is doubtlefs too confident and pofitive in this Matter. This is no more evident, clear and infallible, than that Chrift meant no more by perifhing, in Luke xiii. 5. when he fays, I tell you, Nay, but except ye repent, ye flmll all likezvife perifi, than fuch a tempo- ral Death, as came on thofe that died by the Fall of the Tower of Siloam, fpoken of in the preceeding Words of the fame Speech : and no more infallible, than that by Life, Chrift means no more than this temporal Life, in each Part of that one Sentence, Matt. x. 39. He that findeth his ~L\£e,fZ;all lofe it ; and he that lofeth his Life for my §z\&,fh all find it j becaufe in the firfl Part of 240 Remarks on Dr. T— r 5 s Part II. of each Claufe he has refpecl efpecially to temporal Life. * The Truth of the Cafe with refpecl: to what the Apo- flle intends by the Word "Death in this Place, is this, viz. That the fame Thing is meant, as is meant by Death in the foregoing and following Parts of this Epiftle, and other Writings of this .A pottle, where he fpeaks of Death as the Confequence of Sin, namely, the Whole of that Death, which He,and the Scripture every where, fpeaks of as the proper Wages and Punifliment of Sin, including Death temporal, fpiritual and eternal ; tho' in fome Parts of this Difcourfe he has a more fpecial refpecl to one Part of this Whole, in others to another, as his Argument leads him ; without any more Variation, than is common in the fame Difcourfe. That Life which the Scripture fpeaks cf as the Reward of Righteoufnefs, is a Whole containing feve- ral Parts, viz. The Life of the Body, Union of Soul and Body, and the moft perfect Senfibility, Activity & Felicity of both, which is the chief Thing, In like Manner the Death,which the Scripture fpeaks of as the Punifliment of Sin, is a Whole including the Death of the Body.and the Death* of the Soul, and the eternal, fenflble, perfecl De- flruclion * There are many Places parallel with thefe, as joh. xi. 25, 26. / am the Re/urreilion, and the Life : He that beiieveth in me, though he were dead, yet ft mil he live : and whofcever liveth, and beiieveth in me, JhaU never die. Here both the Words, Life zndDeatb, are ufed with this Variation ; / am the Refurredion^ and the Life, meaning fpiritual and eternal Lie : He that be- iieveth in me, though he were dead, having refpecl to temporal Death, yet JhaU he live, with refpecl to fpiritual Life, and the Reftcration of the Life of the Body. And whof sever liveth and beiieveth in me, JhaU never die, meaning a fpiritual and eternal Deach. So in Joh, vi. 49, 50. Your Fathers did eat Manna in the Wiidernefs, and are dead, having refpecl: chiefly to temporal Death. This is the Bread which comet h down from Heaven, that a Alan may cat thereof, and not die, i. e. by thfr Lofs of fpiritual Life, & by eternal Death. (See alfo ver.58.) And in the next ver. If any Man eat of this Bread, he JhaU live forever, have eternal Life. So ver. 54, See another like Inflance, Joh, v* 24,-29. Chap J v. ) Explanation ^Rom.v. 1 2,&c. 241 ftru&ion and Mifery of both. 'Tis this latter Whole, that the Apoftle 1 peaks of by the Name of Death in thisDif- courfe, in Rom. v. Tho' in fome Sentences he has a more fpecial Refpecl: to one Part, in others to another : And this without changing the Signification of the Word. For an having Refpe£l to feveral Things included in the extenfive Signification of the Word, is not the fame thing as nfmg the Word in feveral diftinct Significations. As for Inftance,fhe Appellative, Marc, or the proper Name of any particular Man, is the Name of a Whole, including the different Parts of Soul & Body. And if any one in fpeak- ing of yames or John, mould fay, he was a wife Man, and a beautiful Man ; in the former Part of the Sentence, Refpect would be had more efpecially to his Soul, in the latter to his Body, in the Word Man : But yet without any proper Change of the Signification of the Name, to diftincl: Senfes. In J oh. xxi. 7. it is faid, Peter zuas nakedjindm the following Part of the fame Story 'tis faid, Peter zuas grieved. In the former Proportion, Refpect is had efpecially to. his Body, irvahe latter to his Soul : But yet here is no proper Change'of the Meaning of the Name, Peter. And as to the Apoflle's Ufe of theWord "Death, in the Paflage now under Confederation, on the Suppofi'tion that he in the general means the whole of that Death which is the Wages of Sin there is nothing but what is perfectly natural in fuppofing, that he, in order to evince, that Death, the proper Punifhment of Sin, comes on all Mankind, in Confequence of Adarr?% Sin, fhould take Notice of that Part of this Punifhment,which is visi- ble in this World, and which every Body therefore fees, does in Fact come on all Mankind (as in >\ 14.) and from thence fliould infer, that all Mankind are expofed to the whole of that Death which is the proper Puniihment of Sin, whereof that temporal Death which is vitible, is a Part, and a vifible Image of the whole, and (unlefs changed by divine Grace) an Introduction to the principal, and infi- nitely the moft dreadful Part. Z II, Dr, 242 Remarks on Dr. T— r's Part II. II. Dr. T — r's Explanation of this PaiTage makes wholly infigniflcant thofe firfl Words, By one Man Sin entered into the World, and leaves this Propofition with- out any Senfe or Signification at all. The A poftle had been largely and elaborately reprefenting, how the whole World was full of Sin, in all Parts of it, both among Jews and Gentiles, and all expofed to Death & Condemnation. ? Tis plain, that in thefe Words he would tell us,how this came to pafs, namely, that this forrowful Event came by one Man, even the firfl: Man, That the World was full of Sin, and full of Death, were two great and notorious Facts, deeply affecting the Interefts of Mankind ; and they feemed very wonderful Facts, drawing the Attention of the more thinking Part of Mankind every where, who often alked this Queftion, Whence comes Evil, moral and natural Evil ? (The latter chiefly vifible in Death.) 'Tis manifeft, the A poftle here means 10 tell us,how thefe came into the World, and came to prevail in it as they do. But all that is meant, according to Dr. T — r's Interpretation, is, " He begun Tranfgrejfwn"* As if all that th*. A po- ftle meant, was, to tell us who happen'd to fin firft ; not how fuch a Malady came upon the World, or how any one in the World, befides Adam himfelf, came by fuch a Diflemper. The Words of the Apoflle, By one Man Sin entered INTO THE WORLD, and Death by Sin, fhew the Defign to be,to tell us how thefe Evils came, as affecting the State of the World ; and not only as reaching one Man in the World. If this were not plain enough in itfelf, the Words immediately following dernonftrate it ; Andfo Death paffed upon ALL MEN, for that all have finned. By SMs being in the World, the A poftle don't mean being in the World only in that one In/lance of Adam's firft Tranfgreflion,but being abroad in theWorld, among the Inhabitants of the Earth, in a wide Extent and continued Series of Wickednefs ; as is plain in the firfl: Words of the next Verfe, For until the Law, Sin %vas IN * P. 56. Chap.iv."> Explanation of 'Rom.v . 1 2,&c. 2 4.3 Sect. I. 3 r y ■ ** Z2V THE WORUD. And therefore when he gives us an Account how it came to be in the EWorld ', or which is the fame Thing, how it entered into the World, he don't mean only coming in in one Inftance. If the Cafe were as Dr. T. represents, that the Sin of Adam, either in its Pollution orPunifhment, reached none but himfelf, any more than the Sin of any other Man, it would be no more proper to fay, that by one Man Sin enter' d into the World, than if it mould be enquired, how Mankind came into America, and there had anciently been a Ship of the Phenicians wreck'd at Sea, and a fingle Man of the Crew was driven afhore on this Continent, and here died as foon as he reached the Shore, and it fhould be faid, By that one Man Mankind came into America. And befides,it is not true that by one Man ,or by Adam, Sin enter' d into World, in Dr. T — r's Senfe : For it was not he, but Eve, that begun Tranfrrejfion. By one Man Dr. T. underftands Adam, as the Figure of Chrift. And it is plain, chat it was for his TranfgreiTion, and not Eve's, that the Sentence of Death was pronounced on Mankind after the Fall, Gen. iii. 19. It appears unreafonable to fuppofe the Apofcle means co include Eve, when he fpeaks of Adam : for he lays great Strefs on it, that it was BT OJS' E,-" — repeating it no lefs than feven Times. III. In like Manner this Author brings to Nothing the Senfe of the caufal Particles, in flich Phrafes as thefe, fo often repeated, "Death BT Sin, f. ra. If THROUGH the Offence of one, many be dead, jr. 1 5, BT one that finned, — -Judgment was BT one to Condemnation, y. 1 6. BT one Man's Offence, "Death reigned BT one, j. 1 7. BT the Offence of one, Judgment came upon all, 8cc.j . 1 8. BT one Man's "Difobedience, f. 19. Thefe caufal Par- ticles, fo dwelt upon, and fo variously repeated, unieis we make meer Nohfenfe of the Difcourie, fignify fome Con- nection and Dependence, by fome Sort of Influence of that Sin of one Man, or fome Tendency to that Effect which is fo often faid to come BT ir. But according to Dr. T. there can be no real Dependence or Influence in the Cafe y Z 2 or 1144- Remarks on Dr. T— r 5 s Part IL of any Sort whatfoever. There is no Connexion by any natural Influence of that one Act to make all Mankind mortal. Our Author don't pretend to account for this Effect in any fuch Manner ; but in another molt diverfe, viz. A gracious Act of God,laying Mankind under Afflicti- on, Toil and Death, from fpecial Favour and Kindnefs. Nor can there be any Dependence of this Effect on that Tranfgreflion of Adam, by any moral Influence/ as de- ferving fuch a Confequence, or expofing to it on any mo- ral .Account i ' For. he fuppofes, that Mankind are not in this way expofed to the leaft Degree of Evil. Nor has this Effect any legal Dependence on that Sin, or any Con- nection by Virtue' of any antecedent Conftitution, which God had eftablifh'd with Adam : For he infifts, that in that Threatning, In the T>ay thou eat eft thou Jhalt die, there is not a Word faid of his Pofterity : And Death on Mankind, according to him, can't come by Virtue of that legal Conftitution with Adam ; becaufe the Sentence by which it came, was after the annulling and abolifhing that Conftitution. And 'tis manifeft,that thisConfequence can't be through any Kind of 'Tendency of that Sin to fuch an Effect ; becaufe the Effect comes only as a Benefit, and is the Fruit of meer Favour : But Sin has no Tendency, either natural or moral, to Benefits and' divine Favours. And that Sin of Adam could neither be the efficient Caufe P nor the procuring Caufe, neither the natural, moral nor legal Cn.ufe, nor an exciting and moving Caufe, any more than Adam's eating of any other Tree of the Garden. And the only real Relation that the Effect can have to that Sin, is a Relation as to T\me,viz. that 'tis after it. ' And when the Matter is clofely examined, the whole amounts to no more than this, That God is pleafed, of his meer good Will and Pleafurc, to beftow a greater Favour upon us, than he did upon Adam in Innocency, after that Sin of his eating the forbidden Fruit f which Sin we are no more concerned in, than in the Sin of the King of Pegu, or Em- peror of China, IV. 'Tie Chap. IV. i Explanation ifobedience ; one as the Fruit of God y s Favour, in Confequence of what was pleaftng and acceptable to him, but the other the Fruit of his^/)^/^^rf,inConfequence of whzt was d if pleaftng and hateful to him : the latter coming by Juftification, the former by the Condemnation of the Subject. But accord- ing to the Scheme of our Author, there can be no Oppo- fition in any of thefe Refpe&s : The Death here fpoken of, neither comes as an Evil, nor from an evil Caufe, either an evil efficient Caufe, or procuring Caufe ; nor at all as any Teftimony of God's T)ifpleafure to the Subjec"t,but as properly theEffe&of G 06? s Favour, no lefs than that which is fpoken of as coming by Chrift ; yea, and as much as that, appointed by an Aft of JUSTIFICATION of the Sub- jeft ; as he underftands and explains the Word, Juftificati- on : For both are by a Grant of Favour, and are Inftan- ces of Mercy and Goodnefs. And he does abundantly infift upon it, that « ANY Grant of Favour, ANY In- ■? (lance of Mercy and Goodnefs, whereby God delivers f* and exempts from any Kind of Danger, Suffering or " Calamity, or confers ANY Favour, Bleffing or Privi- " lege, is called Juftification, in the Scripture-Senfe and « Ufe of the Word." * And over and above all thefe Things, our Author makes void and deftroys the grand and fundamental Oppofition of all, to iliuftratc which is the chief Scope of this whole PaiTage, viz. That between the fir ft andfecond Adam, in the T>eath that comes by one, and the Life and Happinefs by the othet . For, according to his Doctrine, both come by * .^,§.342. where 'tis to beobferved, that he himfelf puts the Word ANY in Capital Letters. The fame Thing in Sub- ftance is often afierted elfewhere. And this indeed is his main Point in what he calls tU true Gofpel- Scheme. Chap.iv. ? Explanation 0/Rom.v. 1 2,80:. 247 by Chrift, thefecond Adam ; both by his Grace, Righte- oufnefs and Obedience : the Death, that God fentenced Mankind to in Gen. iii. 19. being a great deal more pro- perly and truly by Chrift, than by Adam. For, accord- ing to him, that Sentence was not pronounced on theFoot of the Covenant with Adam, becaufe that was abrogated, and entirely fet afide,as what was to have no more Effect, before it was pronounced ; as he largely infills for many Pages together, P. 389, 395. He fays, P. 389. " This " Covenant with Adam was difannul'd immediately after " Adam fin'd. Even before God pafs'd Sentence upon ct Adam, Grace was introduced." And in P. 395. He fays, "The Death that Mankind are the Subjects of now, " ftands under the Covenant of Grace." And in P. 396. €i In the Counfel and Appointment ©f God, it ftood 4C in this very Light, even before the Sentence of Death " was pronounced upon Adam ; and confequently 4C Death is no proper and legal Punifhment of Sin." And he often infifts,that it comes only as a Favour 8c Benefit : and ftanding, as he fays, under the Covenant of Grace, which is by Chrift, therefore is truly one of the Benefits of the new Covenant, which comes by Chrift, the fecond Adam. For he himfelf is full in it, to ufe his own Words,* " That all the Grace of the Gofpel is di (pen fed to us " IN, BY or THROUGH the Son of God." « No- " thing is clearer (fays he f) from the whole Current of eath reigned from Adam to Mofes, even over them that had not finned after the Similitude of Adam's Tfranfgreffion. What he fuppofes the Apottle would prove here, is, that Death or the Mortality of Mankind comes only by iAdam\ Sin, and not by Men's per final Sins ; and that it is here proved by this Argument, viz. Becaufe there was no Law, threatning Death to Adam\ Pottcrity for perfonal Sins, before the Law of Mofes ; but Death or Mortality of j£dam r $ Pofterity took Place many Ages before the Law was given ; therefore Death could not be by any Law threatning Death for per final Sins, and confequently could be by Nothing but Adam's Sin. * On this I would obferve, 1. That which he fuppofes the Apottle to take for a Truth in this Argument, viz. That there was no Lavj of God in Being, by which Men were expofed to Death for perfonal Sin, during the Time from Adam to Mofes, is neither true, nor agreable to this Apottle's own Doct- rine. Firft, 'f P. 40, 41, 42, 57, and often elfewhere. Chap.iv. ) Explanation o/Rom.v. 1 2 3 &c. 249 Firfl, It is not true. For the Law of Nature, writ- ten in Men's Hearts, was then in Being, and was a Law by which Men were expofed to Death for perfonal Sin. That there was a divine Eftablifhment, fixing the Death and DeftrucYion of the Sinner as the Confequence of perfonal Sin, which was well known before the giving of Mofes's Law, is plain by many PafTages in the Book of Job ; as fully and clearly implying a Connection be- tween fuch Sin and fuch a Punifhment, as any Paffage in the Law of Mofes : fuch as that in Job xxiv.i 9. ^Drought and Heat confume the Snow* Wat en; fo doth the Grave them that have finned, (compare ver. 20, & 24.) Alfo Chap, xxxvi. 6. He preferveth not the Life of the Wicked, Chap. xxi. 29, — 32. Have ye not ajhed them that go by the Way f and do ye not know their Tokens I That ths Wicked is referved to the Day of e Deftruclion ; They pall be brought forth to the T>ay of Wrath. — ver. 31. He [ball be brought to the Grave. * Secondly, To fuppofe that there is no Law in Being,by which Men are expofed to Death for perfonal Sins ,whcre or when the revealed Law of God in or after ildfo/w'sTime is not in Being, is contrary to this Apoftlez own 'Doclrine in this Epiftle. Rom. ii. 12,14,15-. For as many as have finned without Law (i. e. the reveaPd Law) fh all peri jh without Law. But how they can be expofed to die and. perifh, who have not the Law of Mofes , nor any reveaPd Laxv, the Apoftle fhews us in the 14th & 15th Verfes ; viz. In that they have the Law of Nature, by which they fall under Sentence to this Punifament. For when the Gentiles which have not the Lazu, do by Nature the Things contain d in the Law, thefe having not the Law, are a Lazu to thewf elves j which Jhew the Work of the A a Law * See alfo Job iv. 7, 3, 9. Chap. xv. 17, 35. Chap, xviii. 5, 21. and xix. 29. and xx. 4, 8. and ver. 23, 29. Chap. xxi. 16, 18, 20, 26. & xxii. 13, 20. xxvii. 11. to the End. xxxi. 2, 3, 23. xxxiii. 18, 22, 23, 24, 28, 30. xxxiv. ii 5 21,--— 26, xxxvii. 12, 18, 19, 20, &xxxviii. *h 14- 2 50 Remarks on Dr. T— r's Part IX, Law written in theirtlearts ; their Confcience alfo bear- ing Witnefs — Their Confcience not only bore Witnefs to the Duty prefcribed by this Law, but alio to the Puni fo- ment before fpoken of,as that which they who fin"d with- out Law, were liable to fufTer, viz. that they foould pe- rifo. In which the Apoftle is yet more exprefs Chap. i. 32. fpeaking more efpecially of the Heathen, JVho knowing the Judgment of God, that they which commit fuch 'Things ate worthy of Death. — Dr. T. often calls the Law the Rule of Right : and this Rule of Right fen- tenced thofe Sinners to Death, who were not under the Law of Mofes, according to thisAuthor's own Paraphrafe of this Verle, in thefe Words, " The Heathen were not u ignorant of the Rule of Right, which God hasimplant- *' ed in the human Nature ; and which foews that they u which commit fuch Things, are deferving of Death." And he himfelf fuppofes Abraham, who lived between •Adam and Mofes, to be under Law, by which he would have been exfofed to PunifJjment without Hope, were it not for the Promife of Grace, — in his Paraphrafe on Rom. iv. 15. So that in our Author's Way of explaining the Paflage before us.the grand Argument, which theApoftle infills upon here, to prove his main Point, viz. thatDeath don't come by Men's perfonal Sins, but by *Ada?n\ Sin,becaufe it came before the Law was given, that threaten'd Death for Per- fonal Sin ; I fay, this Argument which Dr. T. fuppofes fo clear and flrong, * is brought to Nothing more than a meer Shadow without Subftance ; the veryFoundation of the Argument having no Truth. To fay, there was no fuch Law aclually exprefs'd in any {landing Revelation, would be meer Trifling : For it no more appears, that God would not bring temporal Death for perfonal Sins, without a {landing revealed Law threatning it, than that he would not bring eternal Death before there was a re- vealed Law threatning that : which yet wicked Men that lived in A T oah's Time, were expofed to, as appears by I Pet. * P. 393. Chap.iv. -) Explanation o/Rom.v. 1 2,&c. 2 z i Sect. I? 3 1 jP#. iii. 19,20. and which Dr. T*. fuppofesall Mankind are expofed to by their perfonalSins ; and he himfelf fays,* Sin in it's own unalterable Nature leads to Death. — Yea, it might be argued with as much Strength of Reafon, that God could bring on Men no Puniihment at all for any Sin, that was committed from Adam to Mofes, becaufe there was no (landing revealed Law then extant, threatning any Puniihment. It may here be properly obferved, that our Author fuppofes, the fhortening of Man's Days, and haftening of Death, entered Into theWorld by the Sin of the Antediluvians, in the fame Senfe as Death and Mortality entered into the World by Adam\ Sin. f But where was there any {landing revealed Law for that, tho theEvent was fo univerfal ? If God might bring this on all Mankind, on Occafion of other Men's Sins, for which they deferved Nothing, without a revealed Law, what could there be to hinder God's bringing Death on Men for their perfonal Sins, for which their own Confciences tell 'em they do deferve Death, without a revealed Law ? 2. If it had been fo, that from Adam to Mofes there had been no Law in Being, of any Kind,revealed or nam* rah by which Men could be properly expofed to tempo- ral Death for perfonal Sin, yet the Mention of M'fes\ Law would have been wholly impertinent, and of no Sig- nification in the Argument, according to our Author's un- demanding of it. He fuppofes, what the Apoftle would prove, is, that temporal Death, or the Death we now die, comes by Adam ; and not by any Law threatening fuch a Puniihment for perfonal Sin ; becaufe this Death pre- vailed before the Law of Mofes was in Being, which is the onlyLaw threatning Death for perfonal Sin. And yet ha himfelf fuppofes, that the Lav/ of Mofes, when it was in Being, threatened no fuch 'Death for perfonal Sin. For he abundantly ailerts, that the Death which the Law of Mofes threatned for perfonal Sin, was eternal Death, as has been already noted : And he fays in exprefsTerms,that A a 2 eternal * P. 77, 78. t P. 68, 252 Remarks on Dr. T— r's Part II. eternal Death is of a Nature widely different from the 'Death we nozu die ; * as was alfo obferved before. How impertinently therefore does Dr. T. make an in- fpired Writer argue, when according to him the Apoftle would prove, that this Kind of Death did not come by any Law threatening this Kind of Death, becaufe it came before the Exigence of a Law threatningflH^for Kind of Death, of a Nature widely different ? How is it to the Apoftle's Purpofe, to fix on that Period, the Time of giving Mofes's Law, as if that had been the Period where- in Men began to be threaten'd with this Punifhment, for their perfonal Sins, when in Truth it was no fuch Thing ? And therefore it was no more to his Pur- pofe, to fix on that Period, from .Adam to Mofes, than from Adam to David, or any other Period whatfoever. Dr. T! holds, that even now, (nice the Law of Mofes has been given, the Mortality of Mankind, or the Death we now die, don't come by thatLaw; but that it always comes only by Adam, f And if it never comes by that Law, we may be fure it never was threatned in that Law. 3. If we iliould allow the Argument inDr. T'— r'sSenfe of it, to prove thatDeath don't come by perfonalSin, yet it will be wholly without Force to prove the main Point, even that it muff come by Adam's Sin. For it might come by God's fovereign and gracious Pleafure ; as innu- merable other divineBeneflts do. If it be ordered, agrea- ble to our Author's Supposition, not as a Punifhment, nor as a Calamity, but only a Favour, what NeceiTity of any fettled Conftitution, or revealed Sentence, in order to the bellowing fuch a Favour, more than other Favours ; and particularly more than that great Benefit, which he fays entred into the World by the Sin of the Antediluvians, the fliortening Men's Lives fo much after the Flood?— Thus theApoftle's arguing, byDr. jT — r's Explanation of it, is turned into meer Trifling, and a vain and imperti- nent Ufe of Words, without any real Force or Significance. VI. The * r\ 396. He fays to the like Furpofe in his Note on Rem. v.ij- t This is plain by what Jie fays, P. 58, 40, 53, 393. ^ect 7' } E x pl anat * on of Rom. v. i 2,&c. 253 VI. The Apoftle here fpeaks of that great Benefit, which we have by Chrift as the Antitype of Adam, under the Notion of a Fruit of GRACE. I don't mean only that Super-abounding of Grace, wherein the Benefit we have by Chrift: goes beyond the Damage fuftain'd by Adam ; but that Benefit, with Regard to which Adam was the Figure of him that ivas to come, and which is as it were the Counterpart of the Suffering by Adam, and which re- pairs theLofs we have by him. This is here fpoken of as the Fruit of the free Grace of God ; as appears by ^.iy, 16,17,18,20,21. This, according to our Author, is the Reftoring of Mankind to that Life which they loft in A- dam : and he himfelf fuppofes this Reftoration of Life by Chrift to be what Grace does for us, and calls it the Free Gift of God, and the Grace & Favour of the Law* giver. * And fpeaking of this Reft oration, he breaks out m Admiration of the unfpeakable Riches of this Grace.\\ But it follows from his Doftrine, that there is NO Grace at all in this Benefit, and it is no more than a meer Acl of Jufttce, being only a removing of what Mankind fuffer, being innocent. Death, as it commonly comes on Mankind, and even on Infants (as has been obferved) is an extreme pofltive Calamity ; to bring which on the perfect- ly innocent, unremedied, and without any thing to coun- tervail it, vye are fufficiently taught, is not confident with the Right eoufnefs of the Judge of all the Earth. What Grace therefore, worthy of being fo celebrated, would there be in affording Remedy and Relief, after there had been bronght on innocent Mankind that which is (as Dr. jT. himfelf reprefents*) the dreadful and univerfal De-r ftruclion of their Nature ; being a finking Demonftration how infinitely odious Sin is to God ! What Grace in de- livering, from fuch fhocking Ruin, them that did not de- ferve the leaft Calamity ! Our Author fays, ' We could i 4 not juftly lofe Communion with Godby Adam's Sin."-|- _If * P. 39, 40, 70, 148,303. See alfoContents of this Paragraph in Rem. v. in his Notes on the Epiftle, and his Note on vc;\ ' 15*16,17. || P. 395. * 69. f P. 148. 254 Remarks on Dr. T~r's Part II. If fo, then we could not juftly lofe our Lives, and be an- nihilated, after a Courfe of extreme Pains and Agonies of Body and Mind, without anyReftoration ; which would be an eternal Lofs of Communion with God, and all other Good, befides the pofitive Suffering. The Apoftle, thrc- out this PafTage, reprefents the Death, which is the Con- fequence of Adam's Tranfgreffion, as coming in a Way of Judgment and Condemnation for Sin : but Deliverance and Life through Chrift, as by Grace, and the free Gift of God. Whereas, on the contrary,byDr.T' — r'sScheme, theDeath that comes by Adam,comesby Grace, greatGracey it being a great Benefit, ordered in fatherly Love 8c Kind- Be fs, and on the foot of a Covenant of Grace ! But in the Deliverance & Reftoration by Chrift,there is no Grace at all. So things are turned toffy-turvy, the Apoftle's Scope and Scheme intirely inverted and confounded. VII. Dr. *T. explains the Words, Judgment, Condem- nation, J ujlifi cation, and Right eoufnefs, as ufed in this Place, in a very unreafonable Manner. I will firft confider the Senfe he puts upon the two for- mer, Judgment and Condemnation. He often calls this Condemnation a judicial A£l> and a Sentence of Condem- nation. But, according to his Scheme, 'tis a judicial Sen- tence of Condemnation pafs'd upon them that are perfectly innocent, and view'd by the Judge, even in his paffing the Sentence & condemning them, as having noGuilt of Sin, or Fault at all chargeable upon them ; and a judicial Pro- ceeding, faffing Sentence arbitrarily, without any Law or Rule of Right, before eftablifhed : For there was no pre- ceeding Law or Rule threatning Death, that he, or any one elfe, ever pretended to have been eft abliiQied,but only this, In the Day that thou eateft thereof, thou Jh alt fur e- fy die. And concerning this, he infifts, that there is not a Word faid in it of Adam's Pofterity. So that the Con- demnation fpoken of, is a Sentence of Condemnation to Death, for, or in Confequence of the Sin of Adam, with- out any Law, by which that Sin could be imputed, to bring any foch Confequence 5 contrary to the Apoftle's plain Scope: Chap.iv } Explanation of Rom. v. 1 2,&c. 255 Scope. And not only fo, but over and above all this, 'tis a judicial Sentence of Condemnation to that which is no Calamity, nor is confidered as fuch in the Sentence : but 'tis Condemnation to a great Favour ! The Apoftle ufes the Words, Judgment and Condem- nation, in other Places ; they are no ftrange and unufual Terms with him : But never are they ufed by him in this Senfe, or any like it ; Nor are they ever ufed thus any where elfe in the New-Teftament. This Apoftle else- where in this Epiftle to the Romans is often fpeaking of Condemnation ; ufing the fame or fimilarTerms & Phrafes, as here ; but never in the abovefaid Senfe. Chap.ii.1,2,3. Six Times in thefe Verfes ; alfo f, 12 & 27. and Chap. iii. 7. Chap. viii. 1 & 3. Chap. xiv. 3, 4. & f. 10. ^.13. f. 22, & 23. This will be plain to every one that cafts his Eye on thefe Places. And if we look into the former Part of this Chapter, the Apoftle's Difcourfe here makes it evident, that he is here fpeaking of a Condemnation,that is no Teilimony of Favour to the innocent ; but of God's Difpleafure, towards thofe that he is not reconciled to, but looks on as Offenders, Sinners, and Enemies, and holds as the Objects of his Wrath, which we are delivered from by Chrift ; as may be feen in Verfes 6,7,8,9,10 & 1 1. And viewing this Difcourfe it felf, in the veryParagraph we arc upon, if we may judge any thing by Language and manner of Speaking, there is every thing to lead us to fuppofe, that the Apoftle ufes thefe Words here,as he does elfewhere, properly, and as implying a Suppofition of Sin, chargeable on the Subject, and expofing to Puniihmenf* He fpeaks of Condemnation with reference to Sin, as what comes by Sin, and as a Condemnation to Death, which feems to be a mofl terrible Evil, and capital Punifli- ment, even in what is temporal and vifible ; and this in the Way of Judgment and Execution of Juftice, inOppo- fition to Grace or Favour, and Gift or a Benefit coming by Favour. And Sin and Offence, TranfgrefTion and Difbbedience are, over and over again, fpoken of as the Ground of the Condemnation and of the capital Suffering condemned %$6 Remarks on Dr. T--r's Part II. condemned to, — for tenVerfes fucceffively,that is,in every Verfe in the whole Paragraph, without miffing one. The Words, Juflification and Right eoufnefsl are ex- plained by Dr. c t. in a no lefs tinrcafonable Manner. He underftandsjuflification in <\i 8th, zndRighteoufnefs in tf. XQth, — in fuch a Senfe, as to fuppofe 'em to belong to all, and actually to be applied to all Mankind, good and bad,Believers ^Unbelievers ; to the worftEnemies of God, remaining fuch, as well as his peculiar Favourites, & many that never had any Sin imputed to 'em ; meaning thereby no more than what is fulfilled in an univerfal Re fur recti on from the Dead, at the laft Day.* Now this is a moil arbitrary, forced Senfe. Tho thefe Terms are ufed every where, all over the New Teftament, yet nothing like fuch an Ufe of 'em is to be found, in any one Inftance, thro' ail the Writings of the Apoftles & Evangelifts. The Words, Juflify, Juflification, and Right eoufnef s , as from God to Men, are never ufed but to fignify a Privilege belonging only to fo?ne, and that which is peculiar to dijiingutjhed Favourites. This Apoftle in particular, above all the other Writers of the new Teftament, abounds in the Ufe of thefe Terms ; fo that we have all imaginable Oppor- tunity to understand his Language, and know the Senfe in which he ufes thefe Words : But he never elfewhere ufes 'em in the Senfe fuppofed here, nor is there any Pretence that he does. Above all, does this Apoftle abound in the Ufe of thefe Terms in thisEpiftle. JUSTIFICATION is the Subject he had been upon through all the preced- ing Part of the Epiftle. It was the grand Subject of all the foregoing Chapters, and the preceeding Part of this Chapter ; where thefe Terms are continually repeated. And the Word, Juflification, is conftantly ufed to fignify fomething peculiar to Believers, who had been Sinners ; implying fome Reconciliation and Forgivenefs of Sin, and fpecial Privilege in Nearnefs to God, above the reft of -thfc World. Yea, the Word is conftantly ufed thus, according to * So P. 47. 49, 49, 60, 61, 62, and other Places. Sf AP ' I T V * } Explanation of Rom. v. 1 2 5 &c. 257 to Dr. T" — r's own Explanations, in his Paraphrafe and Notes on this Epiftle. And there is not the l'eaft Reaion to fdppofe but that he is (till fpeaking of the (kmejujfi- fi cation and Rigbteoufnefs, which he had dwelt upon from the Beginning, to this Place. He fpcaks of Juflification and Rigbteoufnefs here juft in the fame Manner, as he had done in the proceeding Part of the Epiftle. He had ali along fpoken of Juftihxation -as (landing in Relation to Sin, Difobedience to God, and Offence againft God, and fo he does here : He had before been fpeaking of Jufti- flcation thro' free Grace, and fo he does here : He before had been fpeaking of Juflificaticn through Rigbteoufnefs, as in Cbrift Jefus, and fo he does here. And if we look into the former Part of this veryChapter, there we (hall find Juflificaticn fpoken of juft in the fame Senfe as in the reft of the Epiftle ; which is alfo flippofcd by our Author in his Expofition : ? Tis ftill Juflification by Faith, Juflification of them that had been Sinners, Justification attended with Reconciliation, Juftiflcation peculiar to them that had the Love of Godfied abroad in their Hearts. The Apoftle's foregoing Difcourfe on Juftiflcation by Grace, through Faith, and what he had fo greatly iniifted on as the Evidence of the Truth of this Doctrine, even the umverfal Sinfulnefs of Mankind in their original State, is plainly what introduces this Dif- courfe in the latter Part of this 5th Chapter ; where he Chews how all Mankind came to be finful and miferable, and fo to need this Grace of God, and Rignteoufneft of Chrift. And therefore we can't without the moil abfurd Violence, iuppofe any other than that he is ftill fpeakin ; of the fame Juflijication. And as to the univerfal Expreffion tifed in the iSth f. By the Rigbteoufnefs of one, the free Gift came upon ALL MEN to Juflification of Life \ 'tis ncediefs here to go into the Controverfy between the Remonftrards and Ant i -r e mo rf ranis, concerning univerfal Redemption, and their different Interpretations of this Place. If we take the Words even as the Arminians do ; yet, in their Senfe B b of 258 Remarks on Dr. T— r's Part II. of them, the free Gift comes on all Men to Juitification only Conditionally, i. e. provided they believe, repent, &c. But in our Author's Senfe, it aclually comes on all, whe- ther they believe and repent, or not ; which certainly can't be infer'd from the univerfal Expreflion,as here 11 fed. Dr. jT. himfelf fuppofes, the main Defign of the Apoftle in this univerfal Phrafe, All Men, is to fignify,that the Be- nefits of Chrift fhall come on Gentiles, as well as Jews* And he A fuppofes,that the Many, and the All, hereiignify the fame : But 'tis quite certain, that all the Benefits here fpoken of, which the Apoftle fays are to the many, don't actually come upon all Mankind; as particularly the abounding of Grace, fpoken of/. 18th. "The Grace of God, and the Gift by Grace, hath abounded unto the many, & ms &oh.K*s, This abounding of Grace our Author explains thus ; " The rich Overplus of Grace, in ere&ing a new Difpen* fation, furnifhed with a glorious Fund of Light, Means and Motives." But will any pretend, that all Mankind have actually beenPartakers of this newFund of Light, &x ? How were the many Millions of Indians, on the Ameri- can Side of the Globe, Partakers of it, before the Euro- peans came hither ? Yea, Dr. T*. himfelf fuppofes, all that is meant, is, that it is free for all that are willing to accept of it. + The Agreement between Adam as the Type or Figure of him that was to come, and Chrift as the Antitype, appears as full and clcar,if we fuppofe, ALL which are IN CHRIST (to ufe the common Scripture- Phrafe) have the Benefit of his Obedience, as ALL that areIN ADAM have the forrowfulFruitof hisDifobedience. The Scripture fpeaks of Believers as the Seed orPofterity ofChrift.(GW.iii.2 c/.)They are inChrifl byGrace^%Adam\ Pofterity are in him by Nature : The one are in the fir ft Adam naturally, as the other are in the fecond Adam fpi- ritually : exactly agreable to the Reprefentation this A- poftle makes of the Matter, 1 Cor. xv.45, — 49- ^ e Q^ - ritual * P. 6c, bi. See aUb Contents ot this Paragraph, in his Notes on the Epiftle. f Hu Ibid. Chap.w* I Explanation ead, and is become the FIRST FRUITS of them that fie pt. He is the Forerunner and firft Fruits only with refpecl to them that are his ; who are to follow him, and partake with him in the Glory and Happinefs of 1 lis RefurrecYon : but He is not the firflFruits of them who jhallcome forth to the RefurrecYion of 'Damnation. It alfo appears by the Verfe immediately following. >\ 23. But every Man in his own Order ; Chrifl the firft Fruits, and afterwards, they that are CbrifFs, at his Coming. The fame is plain by what is (aid in /. 29, 30, 3 1, & 32 j and by all that is faid from the 35th /-. to the End of the Chapter, for twenty three Verfes together : It there ex- prefly appears, that the Apoftle is fpeaking only of a Riling to Glory, with a glorious Body, as the little Grain that is fown, being quickened, rifes a beautiful flour'fhing Plant. He there (peaks of the different Degrees of Glory among them that (h all rife, and compares it to the different Degrees of Glory among the celeftial Luminaries. The Refurrection which he treats of, isexprefly a being raifed in Incorruption, in Glory, in Power, with a. fpiritual Body, having ihelmage of the fe c nd 'Man, the fpiritual and heavenly Adam ; a Refill recYon,wherein this corruptible jhall put onIncorruption,& this Mortal put onlmmortality, and Death be j wallowed up inViclory ,and the Saints fhall plorioufly triumph over that laft Enemy. Dr. T. himfelf fays that which is in Effect owning, theRefurrcclion here fpo- ken of, is only of theRighteous : for 'tis exprefly a Relur- recYon < v xfayacix rnd aqSwpi* f. 53, and 42. But Dr.T. iays, Thefe are ncv-:r attributed to the IFicked.Jn Scrip- ture, ^ct'Y 1 E x pl anat i° n of Rom.v. 1 2,&c. 261 ture* So that when the A pod le fays here, As in Adam all die, fo in Chrift Jhall all be made alive \ 'tis as much as if he had faid, As in Adam, we all die, and our Bodies are fozvn in Corruption, in T)iJhonour, and in Weaknefs ; fo in Chrift zue all (we Chridians, whom I have been all along fpeaking of) Jhall be raifed in Pozver, Glory and Incorrupt ion, fpiritual and heavenly, conformed to the fecond Adam. For as we have born the Image of the earthy, we (hall alfo bear the Image of the heavenly, /-. 49. Which clearly explains and determines his Meaning in y. 21, 22. 2 . There is no Evidence, that the Benefit by the fecond Adam, fpoken of itiRom^th^s the very fame (containing neither more nor lefs) as the Refurre&ion fpoken of in 1 Cor. xv. It is no Evidence of it, that the Benefit is oppofed to the Death that comes by the firfl Adam, in like Manner in both Places. TheRefurre&ion to eternal Life, tho it be not the whole of that Salvation and Happi- nefs which comes by the fecond Adam, yet is it that wherein this Salvation is principally obtained. The Time of the Saints glorious Refurre&ion is often fpoken of as the proper Time of the Saints Sa\vat\on,TheT)ay of their Redemption, The Time of their Adopt ion, Glory and Re- compence. (As, in Eph. iv. 30. Rom. viii. 23. Luk. xiv. 14. & xxi. 28. 2 Tim. iv. 1, 9. Colof. iii. 4. 1 Theft], 7. Heb. ix. 23. 1 Pet. \. 13. & v. 4. 1 y^.iii. 2. and other Places.) Ail that Salvation and Happinefs which is given before, is only a Prelibation and Earned of their great Reward. Well therefore may that confummate Sal- vation bed owed on them, be fet in Oppofition to theDeath and Ruin which comes by the fird Adam, in like Manner as the whole of their Salvation is oppofed to the fame in Rom. v. — DrT*. himfelf obfervesf, That the Revival and Refurreclion of the Body, is frequently put for our Ad- vancement to eternal life. It being the highed Part, 'tis often put for the W'hole. This * Note on Rom, viii, 28, t Note on Rom., viii, n. 262 Remarks on Dr. T~r's Part II. This Notion, as if the Juftification, Righteoufnefs and Life fpoken of in Rom. 5th, imply'd the RefurrecYion to Damnation, is not only without Ground from Scripture, but contrary to Reafon. For thofeThings are there fpoken of as great Benefits, by the Grace and free Gift of God : but this is the contrary, in the higheft Degree poflible, be- ing the moll: con fummate and infinite Calamity. — To ob- viate this, our Author fuppofes the Refurre&ion of all to be a great Benefit in it f elf tho turned into a Calamity by the Sin and Folly of obftinate Sinners, who abufe God's Goodnefs. But the far- greater Part of Mankind fince *Adam have never had Opportunity to abufe this Good- nefs it having never been made known to them. Men can't abufe a Kindnefs, which they never had either in PoiTeflion, Promife, Offer, or fome Intimation : But a Re- furre&ion is made known only by divine Revelation ; which few comparatively have enjoyed. So that as to fuch wick- ed Men as die in Lands of Darknefs, if their Refurrc&ion comes at all by Chrift, it comes, from him and to them, only as a Curfe, and not as a Bleiling ; for it never comes to them at all by any Conveyance, Grant, Promife, ox Offer, or any thing by which they can claim it, or know any thing of it, till it comes as an infinite Calamity, pad all Remedy. VIII. In a peculiar Manner is there an unreafonable "Violence ufed in our Author's Explanation of the Words Sinners and finned \ in the Paragraph before us. He fays, " Thefe Words, My one Marts 'D if obedience, many were " made Sinners, mean neither more nor lefs, than that by '* one Man's Difobedience the Many were made fiibjecl: f* to Death, by the judicial Aft of God."* And he fays in the famePlace, "ByDeatb,moft certainly,is meant no other " than the Death & Mortality common to all Mankind." And thofe Words, f. 12. For that all have finned, he thus explains, " All Men became Siwiers, as all Mankind are " brought into a State of Suffering."! Here I obferve, i. The * P. 3°« t P» 54- and elfewhere. ^ect T \ Explanation of &om.v. 1 2,8cc. 263 1. The main Thing, by which he juftifies fuch Inter- pretations, is, that Sin, in various Inftances, is ufed for Suffering, in the old Teftament. To which I reply j Tho' it be true, that the Word Chattaah, fignifies both Sin, and a Sin-offering j and this, and fome other Hebrew Words, which fignify Sin, Iniquity, &Wickednefs,are fome- times put for theEfTect or Punifhment of Iniquity , by aMe- tonymy of the Caufe for the Effect ; yet it does not ap- pear, that thefe Words are ever ufed for enduring Suffer- ing, where the Suffering is not fpoken of under anyNotion of a Punifhment of Sin, or a Fruit of God's Anger for Sin, or of any Imputation of Guilt, or under any Notion of Sin's being at all laid to the Charge of the Sufferer, or the Suffering's being at all of the Nature of anyRecom- pence, Compenfation or Satisfaction for Sin. And there- fore none of the Inftances he mentions, come up to his Purpofe. When Lot is commanded to leave Sodom, that he might not be confumed in the Iniquity of the City, meaning, in that Fire, which is the Effect and Punifhment of the Iniquity of the City ; this is quite another Thing, than if that Fire came on the City in general as no Pu- nifhment at all, nor as any Fruit of a Charge of Iniquity on the City, or of God's Difpleafure for their Sin, but as a Token of God's Favour to the Inhabitants ; Which is what is fuppofed with refpect to the Death of Mankind ; it being introduced only as a Benefit, on the Foot of a Co- venant of Grace. And efpecially is this quite another Thing, than if, in the ExprefTion ufed, the Iniquity had been afcribed to Lot ; and God,inftead of faying,Left thou be confumed in the Iniquity of the City. .had faid,Leil thou be confumed in thine Iniquity, ox, Left thou Sin,ov be made a Sinner. Whereas,the Expreffion is fuch as does exprefly remove the Iniquity,fpoken of,from Lot,and fix it on ano- ther Subject, viz. the City. The Place cited by our Au- thor,in y^r.li. — is exactlyParallel. And as to what *Abi- meleck fays to Abraham, TVhat have I offended thee, that thou hajl brought on me, and on my Kingdom, a great Sin f 'Tis manifeft, Abimekck was afraid; that God was angry, for 264 Remarks on Dr. T— n Part II. for what he had done to Sarah or ; would have been angry with him, if he had done what he was about to do, as im- puting Sin to him for it : which is a quite diffcrentThing from calling fome Calamity, Sin, under no Notion of it's being any Punifhment of Sin, nor in the lead Degree from God's Difpleafure. And Co with regard to every Place our Author cites in the Margin, 'tis plain, that what is meant in each of them, is the Punt foment of Sin, and not fome Suffering which is no Punifhment at all. And as to the Inftances he mentions in his Supplement, P. 284. the Two that look mofl favourable to his Defign, are thofe in Gen. xxxi. 39. & 2 Kin. vii. 9. — With re f peel: to the for- mer, where Jacob fays, That which was torn of Beafts, Anochi achattenah — Which Dr. T. is pleafed to tranflate, I was the Sinner : but is properly render'd, / expiated it ; the Verb in Pihel properly flgnifying to expiate. And the plain Meaning is, i" bore the Blame of it, and was obliged to pay for it, as being fuppofed to be loft thro my Fault or Neglect. Which is a quite different Thing from Suffering without any Supposition of Fault. And as to the latter Place, where the Lepers fay, This T)ay is a T>ay of good Tidings, and we hold our Peace : If we tarry till Morning, fome Mifchiefzuill befal us. In the Hebrew, Umetzaanu gnaon ; -Iniquity will find us, that is, Some Punifhment of our Fault will come upon us. Elfcwhere fuch Fhrafes are ufed, as, Tour Iniquity %vill find you out, and the like. But certainly this is a different Thing from fuffering withoutFault,orSuppofition of Fault. And it does not appear, that theVerb in Wiphi\ 9 Hirfiiang, is ever put for condemn in any otherSenfe than condemning for Sin,orGuilt, or fuppofed Guilt, belonging to theSubjecl: condemned. This Word is ufed, in thePai ticiple of Hiphil, to fignify condemning^ Prov.xv'n. 1 5. He that juflifieth the fVicked, and he that condemneth the Jufl, even both are an .Abomination to the Lord. This Dr. T. obferves, as if it were to his Purpofe, when he is endeavouring to ilievv, that in th s Place in the 5th of Romans, the Apoftle fpe.iks of God Himfelf as condemning the jufl, or per- fectly Chap.iv. ? Explanation 0/Rom.v. 1 2,&c. 26 c Sect. 1. 3 x fectly innocent, in a Parallel-Signification of Terms. Nor is any Iniiance produced, wherein the Verb, Sin, which is 11 fed by the Apoftle when he-fays, All have finned, is any where ufed in our Author's Senfe, for being brought into a State of Suffering, and that not as a Punifh ment for Sin, or as any Thing arifing from God's Difpleafure ; much lefs for being the Subject of what comes only as the Fruit of divine Love, and as a Favour of the HIGHEST NA- TURE.* Nor can any thing like this Senfe of the Verb be found in the whole Bible. 2. If there had been any thing like fuch an Ufe of the Words, Sin and Sinner, as our Author fuppofes, in the old Teftament, 'tis evident that fuch an Ufe of them is quite aliene from the Language of the New 'Teftament. Where can an Inffance be produced, of any thing like it, in any one Place, befides what is pretended in this ? And particularly, Where elfe mail we find thefe Words &Phrafes ufed in fuch a Senfe, in any of ihisApofile's Writings ? We have enough of his Writings, by which to learn his Lan- guage and Way of fpeaking about Sin, Condemnation, P uniftj me nt, Death and Suffering, He wrote much more of the New Teftament, than any other Perfon. He very often has Occafion to fpeak of Condemnation ; but where does he exprefs it by being made Sinners ? Efpecially how far is he elfewhere from ufing fuch a Phrafe, to fignify a being condemned without Guilt, or any Imputation or Suppofition of Guilt, or Atonement for Guilt ? VaftJy more ftili is it remote from his Language, fo to ufe theVerb Sin, and to fay, Man Jinneth, or has finned, tho' hereby meaning Nothing more nor lefs, than that he, by a judicial Act, is condemned,on the Foot of a Difpenfation of Grace, to receive a great Favour ! He abundantly ufes the Words, Sin and Sinner ; his Writings are full of fuch Terms : but where elfe does he ufe them in fuch a Senfe ? He has much Occafion in his Epifllcs to fpeak of Death, temporal and eternal j He has much Occafion to fpeak of C c Suffering, , I,,,, ,.|, „„ m 1. in im 111 1 1 1 111 11 mm 1 — * P. 303- 266 Remarks on Dr. T— r's Part II. Suffering, of all Kinds, in this World, and the World to come : But where does he call thefe things Sin ? and de- nominate innocent Men Sinners P or fay, They have finned, meaning that they are brought into a State of Suffering ? If the ' poftle, becaufe he was a Jew, was fo addicted to the Hebrew Idiom, as thus in one Paragraph to repeat this particular Hebraifm, which, at mod:, is compa- ratively rare even in the old Teftament, 'tis ftrange that never any thing like it fhould appear any where elfe in his Writings; and efpecially that he fhould never fa.i into fuch a Way of fpeaking in his Epiftle to the Hebrezus , written to yews only, who were mod ufed to the Hebrew Idiom. And why does Chrifl never ufe fuch Language in any of his Speeches, tho' he was born and brought up amongft the jezi's, and delivered almoft all his Speeches only to yezvi ? — And why do none of the reft of the Writers of the New Teftament ever ufe it, who were all born and educated yews (at leaft all excepting Luke) and fome of them wrote efpecially for the Benefit of the Jews ? 'Tis worthy to be obferved, what Liberty is taken, a nc [ Boldnefs ufed with thisApoftle ; fuch Words as a^proX.©-, WfAXOrawoo k.iux, KaratkfifAa, Sik'MO®, 2'.x.'mco(jiS, and W ords Of the fame Root & Signification, are Words abundantly ufed by him elfewhere in this and other Epiftles, and alfo when fpeaking, as he is here, of Chrift's Redemption & Atone- ment, and of the general Sinfulnefs of Mankind, and of the Condemnation of Sinners, & of Juftification by Chrift, and of Death as the Confequence of Sin, and of Life and Reftoration to Life by Chrift, as here ; yet no where are any of thefe Words ufed, but in a Senfe very remote from what" is fuppofed here. However, in this Place thefe Terms mull have a diftinguijhed fingular Senfe found out for them, and annexed to 'era ! A new Language muft be coin'd for the Apoftle, which he is evidently quite unu fed to, and put into his Mouth on this Occafion, for the fake of evading this clear, precife and abundant Teftimony of his, to the Doitrine of original Sin. 3- The c ^ AP :\ v 'if Explanation of 'Rom. v. 12 5 &c 267 3. The putting fuch a Scnfe on the Word, Sin, in this Place, is not only to make the Apoftle greatly to di (agree with himfelf in theLanguage he ufes every where elfe,but alio to difagree with himfelf no lefs in the Language he ufes in this very Paflage, He often here ufes the Word Sin, and other Words plainly of the fame Defign and Im- port, fuch as TranfgreJJion, T) if obedience, Offence. No- thing can be more evident, than that thefe are here u fed as feveral Names of the fameThing ; for they are ufed inter- changeably, and put one for another ; as will be manifefl only on the Cafl of an Eye on the Place. And thefeWords are ufed no lefs than feventeen Times in this one Para- graph. Perhaps we mall find no Place in the whole Bible, in which the Word,S/«, and other Words Synonymous, are ufed fo often in fo little Compafs : and in all the Inftanccs, in the proper Senfe, as (ignifying moral Evil, and even fo understood by Dr. T". himfelf (as appears by his own Expofition) but only in thefe two Places ; where in the Midlt of all, to evade a clear Evidence of the Doctrine of Original Sin, another Meaning, mull be found out, and it mud be fnppofed that the Apoftle ufes the Word in a Senfe intirely different, Signifying fomething that neither implies nor juppofes any moral Evil at all in the Subject. Here 'tis very remarkable,the Gentleman who fogreatly infifted upon it, that the Word, "Death, muft needs be un- derstood urthefa/ne Senfe throughout this Paragraph ; yea, that it is evidently, clearly and infallibly fo, in as much as the Apoftle is ftill difcourfing on the fame Subject ; yet can, without the leaft Difficulty, fuppofethe Word, Sin, to be ufed fo differently in the very fame Paflage, wherein the Apoftle is difcourfing on the fame Thing. Let us take that one Inftance in f. 12. Wherefore as by one Man SIN entered into the World, and 'Death- by SIN, and fo Death pa/fed upon all Men, for that all have SIN- NED. Here, by Sin, implied in theWord, fnned,'m the End of the Sentence, our Author understands fomething perfectly and altogether diverfe from what is meant by the Word Sin, not only in fc the fame Difcourfe, on the fame C c 2 Subject, 268 Remarks on Dr. T~r's Part II. Subject, but twice in the former Part of the very fame Sen- tence, of which this latter Part is not only theConclufion, but the Explication : And alfo intirely different from the the Ufe of the Word twice in the next Sentence, wherein the Apodle is dill moil plainly difcourfingon the fame Sub- jects is not denied : And in the nextSentence to that(y.i4.) the Apodle ufes the very fame Verb, finned, and as figni- fying the committing of moral Evil, as our Author himfelf underftands it. Afterwards (jl. 19.) the Apodle ufes the Word, Sinners, which our Author fnppofes to be in fome- what of a different Senfe dill. So that here is theutmod Yiolence,of theKind, that can be conceived of, to make out a Scheme, againft the plained Evidence, in changing the Meaning of a Word, backward and forward, in one Para- graph, all about one Thing, and in different Parts of the fame Sentences,coming over and over in quick Repetitions, with a Variety of other fynonymous Words to fix it's Sig- nification ; Befides the continued Ufe of the Word in the former Part of this Chapter, and in all the preceeding Part of this Epidle, and the continued Ufe of it in the next Chapter, and in the next to that, and the 8th Chapter fol- lowing that, and to Scope , Part IL Epiftle : And indeed what is faid immediately before in the fame Chapter, leads directly to it. The Apoftle in the precceding Part of this Epiiile had largely treated of the Sinjuinefs and Mifery of all Mankind, Jeius, as well as Gentiles. He had particularly fpoken of the Depra- vity and Ruin of Mankind in their natural State, in the 'foregoing Part of this Chapter ; reprefenting them as be- ing Sinners, U?igodly, Enemies, expofed to divine If 'rath, and without Strength. — No Wonder now, this leads him to obferve, how this fo great & deplorable an Event came to pais ; hozv this univerlal Sin and Ruin came into the World. And with Regard to the Jews in particular,who, tli they might allow the Doctrine of original Sin in their own ProfelTion, yet were ftrongly prejudiced againft what was implied in it, or evidently following from it, with re- gard to themfelves ; in this refpect they were prejudiced againft the Doctrine of univerial Sinfulnefs, and Expofed- nefs to Wrath by Nature, looking on themfelves as by Nature holy and Favourites of God, becaufe they were the Children of Abraham ; and with them the Apollie had laboured mod: in the foregoing Part of the Epiftle, to convince them of their being by Nature as fmful, and as much the Children of Wrath, as the Gentiles : — I fay, with Regard to them, it was exceeding proper, and what the ApoRle'sDefign mod naturally led him to^ to take off their Eyes from their Father Abraham, who was their Father in Diiiinclion from other Nations and direct them to their Father Adam, who was the common Father of Mankind, and equally of .Jews and Gentiles. And when lie was cnter'd on this Doctrine of the Derivation of Sin and Ruin, or Death, to all Mankind from Adam, no Wonder if he thought it needful to be fornewhat particu- lar in it, feeing he wrote to Jews and Gentiles ; the for- mer of which had been brought up under the Prejudices cf a proud Opinion of themfelves, as a holy People by Nature, and the latter had been educated in total Igno- r .z.oi all Things of this Kind. Again, Sect ir4 and SenfeofSkom. v. 12, &c. 27^3 Again, the Apoflle had from the Beginning of the E- piflle been endeavouring to evince the abfolute Depen- dence of all Mankind on the free Grace of GOT) for Salvation, and the Greatnefs of this Grace ; and particu- larly in the former Part of this Chapter. The Greatnefs of this Grace he illews especially by twoThings. (1) The univerfal Corruption and Mifery of Mankind; as in all the foregoing Chapters, and in the 6,7,8,o,&io Yerfes of this Chapter. — (2.) The Greatnefs of the Benefits which Believers receive, and the Greatnefs of the Glory they have Hope of. So efpecially in ver. 1,2,3,4,5,8c 1 ith of this Chapter. And here, in this Place we are upon, from ver. 12, to the End, he is full on the fame Defign of mag- ( liifyjng the Grace of God, in the fame Thing, viz. the Fa- vour, Life and Happinefs which Believers in Chrift re- ceive ; fpeaking here of the Grace of God, the Gift by Grace, the Mounding of Grace, and the Reign of Grace. And he (till fets forth the Freedom and Riches of Grace by the fame two Arguments, viz. The univerfal Sinfulnefs andRuin of Mankind,all having finned, all naturally expofed to Death, Judgment .& Condemnation ; and the exceeding Greatnefs of the Benefit received, — being far greater than theMifery which comes by thefirft^/«7»,& aboi ] y be- yond it. And 'tis by no'Means copfiftent with theApoftle^s Scope, to fifppofe, that the Benefits which we have by Chrill as the Antitype of ^4dam, here mainly infifted on, is without any Grace at all, being only a Reiioration to Life, of fuch as never deferved Death. Another Thing obfervable in the Apoflle's Scope from the Beginning of the Epiftle, is, he endeavours to (h the Greatnefs and Abfolutenefs of the Dependence of Mankind on the Redemption & Right eoufnefs of Cn a 1 s t, for Juftification and Life, that he might magnify & exalt the Redeemer : which Design his whole Heart was (wal- lowed up in, and may be looked upon as tnt main Dedgn of the whole Epiftle. And this is what he had been upon in the preceeding Part of this Chapter ; inferring it from the fume Argument, the utter Sinfulnefs and Ruin of D d all 274 ¥% e true Conne&ion, Scope y Part IT. all Men. And be is evidently (till on the fame Thing in this Place, from the 1 2th jr. to the End ; fpeaking of die fame Juftification and Righteoufnefs, which he had dwelt on before j and not another totally diver fe. No Wonder, when the Apoftle is Creating fo fully and largely of our Reftoration, Righteoufnefs and Life by Chrilt, that he is led by it to confider our Fall, Sin, Death and Ruin by Adam ; and to obferve wherein thefe two oppofite Heads of Mankind agree, and wherein they differ, in the Manner of Conveyance of oppofite Influences andCommunications from Each. Thus, if this Place be underftood, as it ufcd to beun- dcrftood by orthodox Divines, the whole (lands in a natu- ral, eafy and clear Connection with the preceeding Part of the Chapter, and all the former Part of the Epiftle ; and in a plain Agreement with the exprefs Defign of all that the Apoftle had been faying ; andalfoin Connection with the -Words laft before fpoken, as introduced by the two immediately preceeding Yerfes, where he is fpeaking of ©u r Juftification, Reconciliation and Salvation by Chrift ; which leads the Apoflle directly to obferve, how, on the contrary, we have Sin and Death by Adam. Taking this Difcoiirfe of the Apoflle in it's true and plain Senfe, there is no Need of great Extent of Learning, or Depth of Criticifm, to find out the Connection : But if it be un- derftood in Dr. T'—r's Senfe, the plain Scope and Con- nection are wholly loft, and there was truly Need of a Skill in Criticifm, and Art of Difcerning, beyond, or at leaft different from that of former Divines, and a Faculty of feeing fomething afar of, which otherMen's Sight could not reach, in order to find out the Connection. What has been already obferved, may fuffice to fhew the Apoftle's general Scope in this Place. But yet there feem to be fome other Things, which he has his Eye to, in feveral Expreffions ; fome particular things in the then- prefent State, Temper and Notions of the JewsjwYnch he alfo had before fpoken of, or had Reference to, in certain Places of the foregoing Part of the Epiftle. As particu- larly, ^eci ;I ii'^ an( l Senfe 0/"Rom. v. 12, &c. 275 larly, the Jews bad a very fuperflitious and extravagant Notion of their Law, deliver'd by Mofes ; as if it wera the prime, grand, and indeed only Rule of God's Pro- ceeding with Mankind, as their Judge,both in Men's Jufti- fication & Condemnation, or from whence all, bothSin and Righteoufnefs, was imputed ; and had no Confideration of rheLaw of Nature,written in theHearts of theG entiles, and of all Mankind. Herein they afcribed infinitely too much to their particular Law, beyond the true Defign of it. They made their Boafl of the Law ; as if their being diftinguifhed from all other Nations by that great Privi- lege, the giving of the Law, fufficiently made 'em a holy People, and God's Children. This Notion of theirs the Apoftle evidently refers to, Chap. ii. 13, 17, — 19. and indeed thro' that whole Chapter. They looked on the Law of Mofes as intended to be the onlyRule & Meansof Juflification ; and as fuch, trufted in theWorks of theLaw, efpecially Circumcifion : which appears by the iiid Chap* ter. But as for the Gentiles, they look'd on them as by Nature Sinners, and Children of Wrath ; becaufe born of uncircumcifed Parents, and Aliens from their Law, and who themfelves did not know, profefs and fubmit to the Law of Mtfes, become Profelytes, and receive Circumci- fion. What they efteemed the Sum of their Wickednefs and Condemnation was, that they did not turn yews, and act as Jews. * This Notion of their's the Apoflle has a plain Refpect to, and endeavours to convince them of the Falfcnefs of, in Chap. ii. 12, — 16. And he has a manifeft Regard again to the fame Thing here, in the 12, 13, & 14th Verfes of Chap. \tb. Which may lead us the more clearly to fee the true Senfe of thofe Verfes ; about the Senfe of which is the main Controverfy, & the Mean- ing of which being determined, it wiii fettle the Meaning of every other controverted ExpreiTion through the whole Difcourfe. D d 2 Dr. * Here are worthy to be obierved the Things which Dr. T. himfelf fays to the fame Purpofe, Key §. 270, 271. & Pre- face to Par, on Eji/i. to P^om. §. 43. 270 The true ConneSlion^ Scope , Part II. Dr. T. mifreprefents the ApoRk's Argument in thefe Verfes. (Which, as has been dcm mft rated, is in hisSenfe al- together vain and impertinent.) He fuppofes, the Thing which the Apotlle mainly int< rids to prove, is, thatTJeatb or Mortality don't come on Mankind by perfonal Sin ; and that he would prove it by this Medium, that Death reigned when there was no Law in Being, which threatned perfonal Sin with Death. 'Tis acknowledged, that this is implied, even that Death came into theWorld by Adam's Sin : yet this is not the main thing the Apoftle defigns to prove. But his main Point evidently is, that Sin 8z Guilt and juji Expofednefs to 'Death and Ruin came into the World by .Adam's Sin ; as Righteoufnefs , Juftiji cation, and a Title to eternal Life come by Chrilt. Which Point he confirms by this Consideration, That from the very Time whetiAdam (in'd, thefe Things, namely, Sin, Guilt and Defert of Ruin, became universal in the World, long before the Law given by Mofes to the Jezvijb Nation had any Being. The Apoftle's Remark, that Sin entred into theWorld by one Alan, who was the Father of the whole human Race, was an Obfervation which afforded proper Inftrudti- on for the *Jews, who look'd on themfelves an holy Peo- ple, becaufe they had the Law of Mofes, and were the Children of Abraham, an holy Father ; while they look- ed on other Nations as by Nature unholy and Sinners,be- caufe they were not Abraham's Children. Lie leads 'em up to an higher Ancellor than this Patriarch, even to Adam, who being equally the Father of Yews and Gen* tiles, both alike come from a (Infill Father ; from whom Guilt and Pollution were derived alike to all Mankind. And this the Apoftle proves by an Argument, which of all that could poMibly be invented, tended the mod briefly and directly to convince the Jews : even by thisReflection, that Death had come equally on alhMankind from Adam's Time, and that the Pofterity of Abraham were equally fubject to it with the reft of the World. This was appa- rent in Fad ; a Thing ^hey all knew. And the Jews had always Chap. IV *> ^^ ^^/J of Rom. V. f 2 3 &C. 277, always been taught, that Death (which began in the De- finition of the Body, and of this prefent Life) was the proper Punifliment of Sin. This they were taught in Mofes\ Hiitory of Adam, and God's firit Threatning of Punifliment for Sin, and by the conflant Doctrine of the Law and the Prophets ; as has been already obferved. And the Apoftle's Obfervation, that Sin was in the World long before the Law was given, and was as uni- verfal in the World from the Times of Adam, as it had been among the Heathen fince the Law of Mofes, this fhew'd plainly, that the Jews were quite miflaken in their Notion of their particular Law ; and that the Law which is the original and univerfal Rule of Righteoufhefs and Judgment for all Mankind, was another Law, of far more antient Date, even the Law of Nature; which began as early as the human Nature began, and was eftabliflied with the firflFather of Mankind, and in him with the whole Race : the pofitive Precept of abftaining from the for- bidden Fruit, being given for the Trial of his Compliance with this Law of Nature ; of which the main Rule is fu- pream Regard to God and his Will. And the Apoflle proves that it muft be thus, becaufe, if the Law of Mofes had been the higher! Rule of Judgment, and if there had not been a fuperior, prior, divine Rule eftabliflied, Man- kind in general would not have been judged & condemned as Sinners, before that was given (for '•* Sin is not imputed, when there is no Law") as it is apparent in Fact they were, becaufe Death reigned before that Time, even from the Times of Adam. It may be obferved, the Apoflle in this EpiflJe, & that to the Ga/atiam, endeavours to convince the Jews of thefe two Things, in Opposition to the Notions and Pre- judices they had entertained concerning their Law. (1.) That it never was intended to be the Covenant, orMethod by which they fliould actually be jufiified. (2.) That it was not the higheft and univerfal Rule or Law, by which Mankind in general, and particularly the heathen World, were condemned. And he proves both by fimilar Argu- ments. — 278 The true ConneSlion^ Scope y Part II. ments. — He proves, that the Law of Mofes was not the Covenant, by which any of Mankind were to obtain Jufti- f cation, becaufe that Covenant was of older Date, being exprefly eftablilhed in the Time of .Abraham, and Abra- ham himfelf wzsjuflified by it. This Argument the A- pottlc particularly handles in the iiid Chap, of Galatians, efpecially in f. 17, 18, 19. And this Argument is alfo made Ufe of in the Apoftle'sReafonings in the ivth Chap, of this Epitlle to theRoma?is, efpecially f. 13, 14, 15. — He proves alfo, that the Law a? Mofes was not the prime Rule of Judgment, by which Mankind in general, & par- ticularly the heathen World, were condemned. And this he proves alfo the fame Way, viz. by fhewing this to be of older T>ate than that Law, and that it was eftablifhed with Adam. — Now, thefe things tended to lead the Jews to right Notions of their Law, not as the intended Method °f ' J unification, nor as the original and univerfal Rule of Condemnation, but fomething fuperadded to both : both being of olderDatc. Superadded to the latter, to illuftratc and confirm it, that the Offence might abound ; and fuper- added to the former, to be as a School-Majler, to prepare Men for the Benefits of it, and to magnify divine Grace in it, that this might much more abound. The chief Occafion of the Obfcurity and Difficulty, which feems to attend the Scope and Connexion of the various Claufes in the three firft Verfes of this Difcourfe, particularly the 13th & l/t-thVerfes, is, that there are tzu§ Things (altho Things clofely connected) which the Apo- {[ le has in his Eye at once, in which he aims to enlighten them he writes to ; which will not be thought at all ftrange, by them that have been converfant with, and have attended to this A pottle' s Writings. He would illuftrate the grand Point he had been upon from theBeginning, even J unification thro'' Chriff s Right eoufnefs alone, by fhew- ing how we are originally in a finful miferable State, and how we derive this Sin and Mifery from Adam, and how we arc delivered & juftified by Chrifl as a fecond Adam. — At the fame Time, he would confute thofe foolilh and corrupt •hap.iv.7 and Senfe of Rom. v. 12, Sec. 279 corrupt Notions of the Jews, r about their Nation and their Law, that were very inconfiflent with thefe Doctrines. — And he here endeavours to eflablifh, at once, thefe two Things in Oppofuion to thofe Jezviflj Notions : (1.) That 'tis our natural Relation to Adam, and not to Abraham, which determines our native moral State ; and that therefore the being naturalChildren of Abraham, will not make ns by Nature holy in the Sight of God, fince we are the natural Seed of fmful Adam : Nor does the Gentiles being not defcended from Abraham, deno- minate them Sinners, any more than the Jews, feeing both alike are defcended from Adam, (2.) That the Law of Mofes is not the prime and gene- ral Law and Rule of Judgment for Mankind, to condemn them, and denominate them Sinners ; but that the State they are in with regard to a higher, more antient and uni- verfal Law, determines Mankind in general to be Sinners in the Sight of God, and liable to be condemned as fuch. Which Obfervation is, in many Refpe61s, to the Apoftle's Purpofe ; particularly in this Refpect, that if the Jezvs were convinced, that the Law which was the prime Rule of ' Condemnation,™^ given to all, was common to all Man- kind, and that all fell Under Condemnation thro the Vio- lation of that Law by the common Father of all, both Jews & Gentiles,thcn they would be led moreeafily and naturally, to believe, that the Method of Juflification, which God had eftablifhed, alfo extended equally to all Mankind : And that the Meffiah, by whom we have this Juflification, is appointed, as Adam was, for a common Head to all, both Jews and Gentiles. The Apoflle's aiming to confute the Jewijh Notion, is the principal Occafion of thofe Words in the 13 th f. For until the Law, Sin was in the World j but Sin is not imputed, when there is no Law. As to the Import of that ExprefTion, Even over them that had not finned after theSimilitude of Adam'sTWj/?/^ greffon, not only is the Thing (ignified by it, in Dr.T — r\ Senfe of it, not true \ or if it had been true, would have been 280 The true Conne&ion, Scope , Part II. been impertinent, as has been fhcwn : But his Interpre- tation is, otherwife, very much ft rah? s d & unnatural. Ac- cording to him, by " finning after the Similitude oT Adattfs Tranfgreflion," is not meant any Similitude of the Act of finning, nor of the Command finned again!!, nor properly any Circumflance of the Sin j but only the Similitude of a Circumflance of the Command, viz. the Threatning it is attended with. A far-fetch'd Thing, to be called a Si- militude of finning ! Befides, this Expreliion, in fuch a Meaning, is only a needlefs, impertinent, and aukward Repeating over again the fameThing, which, it is fuppofed, theApoftle had obferved in the foregoing Verfe, even after he had left it, & had proceeded another Step in the Series of his Difcourfe, or Chain of Arguing. As thus, in the foregoing Yerfe, the Apoflle had plainly laid down his "Argument (as our Author underflands it) by which he would prove, t Death did not come by p erf onaISm, viz. that Death reigned before any Laze, threatning Death for per- fonal Sin, was in Being ; fo that the Sin then committed was againfl no Law, threatning Death for perfonal Sin. Having laid this down, the Apoflle leaves this Part of his Argument, & proceeds another Step, Neverthelefs T>eath reigned from Adam to Mofes : And then returns, in a ftrange, unnatural Manner, and repeats that Argument or A heition again, but only more obfeurely than before, in thefe Words, Even over them that had not finned after the Similitude of Adam's Tranfgreftion, i. e. over them that had not finned againfl a Law threatning Death for perfonal Sin. Which is jufl the fame Thing, as if the Apoflle had faid, " They that finM before the Law, did 41 not fin againfl a Law threatning Death for perfonal Sin ; " for there was no fuch Law, for any to fin againfl, at that " Time : Neverthelefs Death reigned at that Time, even " over fuch as did not fin againfl a Law threatning Death c; for perfonal Sin." — Which latter Claufe adds Nothing to the Premifes, and tends Nothing to illuflrate what was faid before, but rather to obfeure and darken it. The Particle (**() even, when prefix'd in this Manner, iifed to fignify ChapIV. 1 and Sen fe of Rom. V. 12, &c. 28 £ Sect. II. J y ' : . fignify fomcthing additional, fome Advance in the Senfe or Argument ; implying, that the Words following exprefs fomcthing more, or exprefs the fame thing more fully, plainly, or forcibly. But to unite two Claufes by fuch a Particle, in fuch a Manner, when there is Nothing befldes a flat Repetition, with no fuperadded Senfe or Force, but rather a greaterUncertainty andObfcurity, would be very 'mufual, and indeed very abfurd. I can fee no Reafon, why we iliould be diflatisfied with that Explanation of this Claufe, which has more commonly been given, vizi That by them who have not finned after t heSimilliudt > of Adam' ) s < TranfgreJfwn , are meant Infants ; who, tho' they have indeed finned in Ada?n, yet never finned as Adam did, by actually tranfgrefling in their own Perfons ; unlefs it be s that this Interpretation is too old; and too common, It was well known by thofe theApoflle wrote to, that vail: Numbers had died in Infancy, with- in that Period which the Apoftle fpeaks of, particularly in the Time of the Deluge : And it would be ftrange, the Apoflle Iliould not have the Cafe of fuch Infants in his Mind ; even fuppofing, his Scope were what our Author fuppofes, and he had only intended to prove that Death did not come on Mankind for their perfbnal Sin. How directly would it have ferved the Purpofe of proving this, to have mention'd £o great a Part of Mankind, that are fubjecl to Death, who, all know, never committed any Sin in their own Perfons f How much more plain and eafy the Proof of the Point by that, than to go round about, as Dr. T. fuppofes, and bring in a Thing fo dark and uncer- tain, as this, That God never would bring Death on Mankind for perfonal Sin (tho' they had perfonal Sin) without an exprefs revealed Conflitutlon ; and then to ob- ferve, that there w?sno revealed. Confiitution of this Na- ture from Adam to Mofes ; which alfo feems a Thing without any plain Evidence ; and then to infer, that it muft needs be fb, that it could come only on Occaflon of Adams Sin, though net for his Sin, or as anyPunifhment of it j which Inference aifo is very dark & unintelligible. E e . If 282 The true Connect l ion > Scope, Part II. If theApoftlc in thisPlace meant thofe who never finned by their perfonal Act, it is not ftrange that he ftiould ex- prefsthis by their not finning after theSiraiUiude ^Adam's Tranfgrefhn. We read of two Ways of Men's being like •Adam, or in which a Similitude to him is afcribed to Men : One is a being begotten or born in his Image or Likenefs, Gen. v. 3. Another is a tfranfgreillng God's Covenant or Law, like him, Hof. vi. 7. They, like Adam [fo, in the Jtieb. & Vulg. Lat.~] have tranfgrejfcd the Covenant. Infants have the former Similitude ; but not the latter. And it was very natural, when the Apoille would infer, that Infants become Sinners by that one Ael & Offence or •Adam, to obferve, that they had not renewed the Aft of Sin themfelves,by any fecond Inftance of a like Sort. And fitch might be the State of Language among Jews and Chriflians at that Day, that the Apoflk might have no Phrafe more aptly to exprefs this Meaning. The Manner in which the Epithets, Perfonal and Atlual, are ufed and applied, now in this Cafe, is probably of later Date and 3Tiore modern Ufc. And then this Supposition of the Apoftle's having the Cafe of Infants in View, in this Expreffion, makes it more to his Purpofe,to mention Death Reigning before the Law of Mofes was given. For the Jews iook'd on all Nati- ons,befides themfelves.as Sinners, by Virtue of 'their 'Lazu ; being made fo efpecially by the Lazu of Circumcifwn, given firfl loyJbroham, and compleated by Aftf/fo, making the Want of Circumcifion a legalP?//z^/£/2,utterly-difqua- lifying for the Privileges cf the Sanctuary. This Law, the Jews inppofed, made the very Infants of the Gentiles Sinners, polluted'and hateful to God ; they being uncir- cumcifed, and born of uncircumcifcd Parents. But the Apoftle proves, againft thefe Notions of the Jews, that the Nations of the World don't become Sinners by Na- ture, and Sinners from Infancy,- by Virtue of their Law, in this Manner, but by Adam's Sin : In-as-much as In- fants were treated as Sinners long before the Law of Cir* cumcif on was given,as well as before they had committed .-ctual Sin. . What Sct P, ji V ^ and Senfe of Kom. v. i2,&c. 283 What lias been faid, may, as I humbly conceive, lead us ro that which is the true Scope & Senfe of the Apoflle in thefe three Verfcs ; which I will endeavour more briefly to reprefent in the following Paraphrafe. "TheThings which I have largely 10 * JFherefore as infifieci on, viz. the Evil that is in the 7 -ha t*-' ,r r ,, , . tx -. , . n ~ -i by one IVLanhin en- World, the general UickcJncfs.Guik / r ediniotheTForld p and Ruin of Mankind and the oppo^ ^^^ j gA| fite Good, even Juftihcation & Life, and r Q , , , condemned tor bin toDeath, the pro- not finned after the t> -ru v c c- i x o- • / .,. . y ^ . per runnhment or 0111, we nave a similitude of A- r i • t> r • .-u ♦ • . • r? n j > cr- r /n plainrroor ; in that it appears mJbacr, dams Tranfgref,- ^ Mankind dufW that wholeTime which preceeded the Law of Mofes, were fubjected to that temporal Death, which is the vifible Intro- duction and Image of that utter De- ft ruction which Sin defer ves ; not ex- cepting even Infants, who could be Sinners no other Way than by virtue of Adam's Tranfgrefhon, having ne- ver in their own Perfons actually fin'd as Adam did ; nor could at tbatTime be made polluted by the Law of Mofes, as being uncircumcifed, or born of ur.ciixumcifed Parents.' 5 Now, by way of Reflection on the whole, I would ob- ferve, that though there are two or three ExprefTions in this Paragraph, Rom. v. 12, £cc, the Defign of which is attended with fome Difficulty and Obfcurity, as particularly in the 13th 8c 14th Verfes ; yet the Scope and Senfe of the Difcourfe in general is not obfeure, but on the contrary very clear and manifeft ; and fo is the parti- cular Doctrine mainly taught in it. TheApoftle fets hin> felf s" AP ' 3 iy''^ f rom ^ om * v. full and plain. 285 fclf with great Care and Pains to make it plain, and pre- cifely to fix and fettle the Point he is upon. And the Difcourfe is fo framed, that one Part of it does greatly clear and fix the Meaning of other Parts ; and the Whole is determined by the clear Connection it Hands in with other Parts of. the Epiille, and by the manifeft Drift of all the prcceeding Part of it. The Doctrine of original Sin is not only here taught, but mod plainly, explicitly and abundantly taught. This Doctrine is afTerted, exprefly or implicitly, in almoft every Vet ft ; and in fome of the Verfes feveral Times. 'Tis fully implied in that fi rft Exprcflion in the 12th y. By one Man Sin entred into thefForld. Which implies, that Sin became un'roerfal in the World ; as the Apoltle had before largely fhewn it was ; and not meerly (which would be a trifling infignificant Observation) that one Man, who was made firft, fin'd firft, before ocherMen fin'd ; or, that it did not fo happen that many Men began to fin jufi toge- ther at the fame Moment. — The latter Part of theVerfe, And 'Death by Sin, and fo 'Death faffed upon all Men, for that (or, if you will, unto which) all have finned, iliews, that in the Eye of the Judge of the World, in Ada?n\ firft Sin, all finned ; not only in fome Scrt, but all fin'd y} as to be expofed to that Death, and final De- duction, which is the proper IFages of Sin. — The fame Doctrine is taught again twice over in the 14th jj, It is there obferved, as a Proof of this Doctrine, that Death reigned over them which had not fnned after the Simili- tude of Adam's Tranfgrejjion, i. e. by their perfonal Act ; and therefore could be expofed to Death, only by deriv- ing Guilt and Pollution from Adam, in Confequence of his Sin. And 'tis taught again, in thofe Words, Who is the Figure of him that was U come. The Refcmblance lies very much in this Circumftance, viz. our deriving. Sin, Guilt and Punilhment by Adam's Sin, as we do Righteoufnefs, Juftification, and the Reward of Life by Chrift'sObedience : for fo theApcftle explains hirafeif. — ■ The fame Doctrine is exprefly taught; again^ f. 15th. Through 286 7%e Proof of Original Sin Part II. Through the Offence of one many be dead. And again, twice in the 1 6th /-. It -was by one that finned ',i.e. It was by Adam that Guilt and Punifhment (before fpoken of) came on Mankind : And in thefe Words, Judgment was by one to Condemnation. — It is again plainly and fully laid down in the 17th f. By one Man 9 s Offence, T)eath reign- ed by one. So again in the 1 8th f. By the Offence of one, Judgment came upon all Men to Condemnation. — - Again, very plainly in the 19th f. By one Mans T)if obedience, many were made Sinners. And here is every Thing to determine & fix dielWfcan? ing of all important Terms, that the Apoftle makes Ufe of : As, the abundant Ufe of 'em in all Parts of the New Teflament ; and efpecially in this Apoflle's Writings, which make up a very great Part of the New Teilament : and his repeated Ufe of 'em in this Epiille in particular, efpe- cially in the proceeding Part of the Epiille, which leads to and introduces this Difcourfe, and in the former Part of this very Chapter ; and alfo,the Light, that one Sentence in this Paragraph cads on another ; which fully fettles their Meaning : As, with refpecl: to the Words, Juftifxa- tion, Right eoufnefs, and Condemnation ; and above all, in regard of the Word, Sin, which is the moft important of all, with Relation to the Doctrine and Controversy we are upon. Befides the conftant Ufe of this Term every where die thro' the new Teilament, thro' the Epiflles of this Apoftle, this Epiille in particular, and even the former Part of this Chapter, 'tis often repeated in this very Para- graph, and evidently 11 fed in the very Senfe, that is denied to belong to it in the End of >\ 12th, and f. 19th, tho own'd every where elfe ; and its Meaning is fully deter- mined by the Apoflle's varying the Term; u (ing together with it, to flgnify the fame thing, fuch a Variety of other fynonymous Words, fuch as Offence, Tranfgreffion, T)if- obedience. And further, to put the Matter out of all Controverfy, 'tis particularly and exprefly, and repeatedly diftinguilhed from that which our Oppofers would explain V by, viz.Condemnatien^nd Death. And what is meant by Chap Sect ' l u' \ f rom R° m v - fatt an ^ plffln* 2 8 7 by 5/^V enter ing into the World, in f. 1 2 th, is determined by a like Phrafe of Sin's being in the World, in the next Ycrfe. — And that by the Offence of one, fo often fpoken of here, as bringing Death and Condemnation on all, the Apoflle means the Sin of one, derived in it's Guilt and Pollution to Mankind in general, is a Thing which (over and above all that has been already obferved) is fettled and determined by thofe Words in the Conclufion of this Dif. courfe. >\2o. Moreover ,ihe Law entred, that iheOffence might abound : But -where Sin abounded, Grace did " more abound. Thefe Words plainly ilievv, that the C FFENCE, fpoken of fo often, and evidently fpoken of flill in thefe Words, which was the Offence of one Man, became the Sin of all. For when he fays, 'The Law en- tred, that the Offence might abound, his Meaning can't be, that the Offence of Adam, meerly as his personally, fhould abound ; but, as it exifts in it's derived Guilt, cor- rupt Influence, and evil Fruits, in the Sin of Mankind in general, even as a Tree in it's Root and Branches.* 'Tis a Thing that confirms the Certainty of the Proof of the Doctrine of Original Sin, which this Place affords, that the utmoft Art cannot pervert it to another* Senfe. What a Variety of the moil: artful Methods have been ufed by the Enemies of this Doclrine, to zvrejl and darken this Paragraph of holy Writ,which (lands fo much in their Way, as it were to force the Bible to fpeak a Language that is* agreable to theirMind ! How haveExpreffions been ftraimd, Words The Offence, according to Dr. T—-rs Explanation, dent abound hy the Law at ail really and truly, in any Senfe ; nei- ther the &»,nor the Puni/hmenf. For he fays, ' 6 The Mean- " ing is not, that Men fhould be made more wicked ; but, " 'that Men mould be liable to Death for every Tranf- < 6 greffion."— But after all,they are liable to no moreDeaths, nor to any worfeDeaths,if they are not more finful : For they were to have Punifhment, according to their Deierts before. Such as died and went into another World before.the Law of Mcfes was given,were punifhed according to xhz'ix Defer is - ? and the Laiv> when it came, threatned no more. 288 Proof yrcmKrm.v .plain& *full. Part II, Yv r ords Sc Phrafes rack'd ! What ftrange Figures of Speech have been invented, and with violent Hands thruft into the Apoftle's Moufch ; and then with a bold Countenance and magifterialAirS obtruded on the World, as from him !— But, bletled be God, we have his Words as he delivered them, & the reft of the fameEpiftle fe his other Writings, 'to Compare with them ; by which his Meaning ftands in too ftrong and glaring a Light to be hid by any of the arti- ficial Mills, which they labour to throw upon it. 'Tis really no lefs than chufing the Scripture and ks Readers, to reprefent this Paragraph as the moft obfeure of all the Places of Scripture, that fpeak of the Confequen- ces of Adams Sin ; and to treat it as if there was Need firft to ccnfider other Places as more plain. Whereas, 'tis mod manifeftly a Place in which thefe things are declared, beyond all, the moft plainly, particularly, precifely and of fet Purpose, by that great Apoftle, who has moft fully ex- plain^ to u; tliofe Doclrincs, in general, which relate to the Redemption by Chrift, and the Sin and Mifery we are redeem' d from. — And it muft be now left to the Reader's Judgment, whether the Chriftian Church has not proceed- ed reafonabiy, in looking on this as a Place of Scripture moft clearly and fully treating of thefe things, & in nfing it's determinate Senfe as an Help to fettle the Meaning of many other Parages of facred Writ. £ s this Place in general is very plain and full, fo the Doctrine of the Corruption of Nature, as derived "from Adam, and alfo the Imputation of his firft Sin. are both clearly taught in it. The Imputation of Adams one Tranigreffion, is indeed moft directly & frequently adertcd. We are here allured, that by one Maris Si??, Heath faffed on all ; all being adjudged to this Punifhment, as having finned (fo it is implied) in that one Man's Sin. And 'tis repeated over and over, that all are condemned, many are dead, many made Sinners, &c. by one Maris Offence, by the Hi/obedience of one, and by one Offence. — And the Doclrine of original "Depravity is alfo. here taught, when th* Chap l f : \ P roo f from Redemption. 289 the Apoftle fays, By one Man Sin entered into the World j having a plain Refpecr. (as h3th been (hewn) to that univer- fal Corruption and WickednefV, as well as Guile, which he had before largely treated of. PART III. Obferving the Evidence given us^relative to the DoEtrine of Original Sin, in what the Scriptures reveal concerning /^Redemp- tion by Christ. Chap. I. The Evidence of Original Sin from the Nature of Redemption, in the Procurement of it. ACcording to Dr. T — r\ Scheme, a very great Part of Mankind are the Subjecte of Chrift's Redemption, who live and die perfectly innocent ; who never have had, and never will have any Sift charged to their Accou'nr/ahd never are either the Subjefts of, or expofed to any Punifb* mmt wbatfoever, viz. All that die in Infancy, They are the Subjects of Chriffs Redemption, as he redeems 'em from T>eath, or as they by his Righteoufnefs have Jufti- fcation, and by his Obedience ane made Righteous, in the Refurreclion of the Body, in the Senfe of Rom. v. i 8, i:o. And all Mankind are thus the Subjects of Chrift's Redemp- tion, while they are perfeclly guiltlefs, and expofed to no Punifhmenr,as byChrift they are intitled to a Refurreciion. Tho with refpecf to fuch Perfons as have finned, he allows it is in fome Sort by Chrift and his Death, that they are faved from Sin and the Pnniihment of it. Now let us fee whether flich a Scheme well connfls with the Scripture- Account of the Redemption by Jefus Chr F f J. The 290 Proof of Original Sin Part III. I. The Reprefentations of the Redemption by Chrift , every where in Scripture, lead us to fuppofe, that all whom he came to redeem, are Sinners ; that his Salvation, as to the Term from which (or the Evil to be redeemed from) in all is Sin, and the deferved Punifiment of Sin. 'Tis natural to fuppofe, that when he had his Name Jefus, or Saviour, given him by God's fpecial and immediate Ap- pointment, the Salvation meant by that Name mould be his Salvation in general ; and not only a Part o£ his Sal- vation, and with Regard only to fbme of them that he came to fave. But this Name was given him to fignify hhfav- ing his people from their Sins, Matth. i. 21. And the great Doctrine of Chrift's Salvation is, that he came into theWorld to fave Sinners, 1 Tim. i. 15. And that Chrift hath once fuffercd, the jufl for the unjuft, 1 Pet. iii. 18. In this was manifefled the Love of God towards us (to- wards fuch in general as have the Benefit of God's Love in giving'Chriit) that Godfent his only begotten Son into the World, that vje might live thro'' Him. Herein is Love that he feni his Son to be the Propitiation for cur Sins, 1 Joh. iv. 10. Many other Texts might be mention'd, which feem evidently to fuppofe, that all who are redeem'd by Chrift; are faved from Sin, We are led 1 by what Chrift himfelf faid, to fuppofe,that if any are not Sinners, they have no Need of him as a Redeemer, any more then a well Man of a Phyfician, Mark ii. 17. And that Men, in order to being the proper Suhjecls of the Mercy of God through Chrift, mtift firft be in a State of S n, is implied in Gal. iii. 22. But the Scripture hath concluded all under Sin, that the Promife by Faith of Jefus Chrifl plight be given to them thai believe. To the fame EfTecr. is Rom. xi. 32. Thefe Thirlgs are greatly confirmed by the Scripture- DocTrine of Sacrifices. 'Tis abundantly plain, by both old and new Teftament, that they were Types of Chrift's Death, and were for Sin, and fuppofed Sin in thofe for whom they were offered. The Apoftlc fuppofes, that in Order to any having the Benefit of the eternal Inheri- tance Chap. I. from Redemption by Chrijl. 29 1 iance by Chrift, there muft of NeceJJity be the "Death of the T eft at or ; and gives that Reafon for it, .that without fbedding of Blood there is no Remiftion. Heb. ix. 15, &c. And Chrift: Himfelf, in reprefenting the Benefit of his Blood, in the Inftitution of the Lord s Supper, under the Notion of the Blood of a T eft anient , calls it the Blood of the New Te (lament, fhed for the Re?niftl n of Sins, Matth. xxvi. 28. — But according to the Scheme of our Author, many have the eternal Inheritance by the Death of the Tefb.tor,who never had any Need of RemiiTion. II. The Scripture reprefents the Redemption by Chrift: as a Redemption from deferved DeftrucHon j and that,not meerly as it refpedh fome Particulars, but as the Fruit of God's Love to Mankind. Job. iii. 1 6. God fq loved the WORLD , that he gave his only begotten Sonjhat who- foever believeth in him MIGHT NOT PERISH, but might have everlafting Life. Implying, that otherwife they muft perifh, or be deftroyed. But what Neceflity of this, if they did not deferve to be deflroyed ? Now, that the DeftrucYion here fpoken of, is deferved Deft ruction, is manifeft, becaufe it is there compared to the perifliing of fuch of the Children of Ifrael as died by the Bite of the fiery Serpents, which God in his Wrath, for their Rebel- lion, fent amcngft them. And the fame Thing clearly appears by the laft Verfe of the fame Chapter, He that believeth on the Son, hath ever la fling Life ; and he thai believeth not the Son, ft? all not fee Life, bat the Wrath of God abideth on him, or, is left remaining on him: Implying, that all in general are found 'under the Wrath of God, and that they only of all Mankind, who are inte- refted in Chrift, have this Wrath removed, and eternal Life bellowed ; the reft are left, with the Wrath of God ft ill " remaining on them. The fame is clearly illuftrated and confirmed by J oh. v. 24. -He that believeth — hath everlafting Life, and ft? all not come into Condemnation, but is faffed from 'Death to Life. In being palled 'from Death to Life is implied, that before they were all in a State of Death ; and they are fpoken of as being fo by a J. I X, »«.■ ci i c w i >-- *> 29 2 Dr.T— is Scheme fuperfedes Part III. . Sentence of Condemnation ; and if it be a jufl Condem- nation, 'tis a deferred Condemnation. III. It will follow onDr. T— r's Scheme, that Chrift's Redemption, with regard to a gfcatPart of them who are the Subjects of it, is not only a Redemption from no Sin, but from no Calamity, and fo from no 'Evil of any Kind. For as to Death, which Infants are redeemed from, they never were fubjected to it as a Calamity, but purely as a Benefit, ■ ^ It came by no Threatning, or Curfe, denounced upon or through Adam ; the Covenant with him being utterly a- bolijbedy as to all it's Force & Power on Mankind (accord- ing to our Author) before the pronouncing the Sentence of "Mortality. Therefore Trouble and Death could be appointed to innocent Mankind, no other Way than on the Foot of another Covenant, the Covenant of Grace ; and in this Channel they come only as Favours, not as Evils. * Therefore they could need no Medicine or R.emedy; for they had no Difeafe. Even Death itfelf, which it is fup- pofed Chrift faves 'em from, is only a Medicine ; 'tis pre- venting Phyfick; and one of the greateft of Benefits. It's ridiculous, to talk of Pericns needing a Medicine, or a Phyfician.to fave 'em from an excellent Medicine ; or of a Remedy from a happy Remedy 1 If it be faid, tho s Death be a Benefit, yet 'tis fc» becaufe Chrift changes it, and turns it into a Benefit, by procuring a RefiarecJion : — I would here ail:, What can be meant by tunvnv or chanfinv \t into a Benefit, when it never was otherwife, nor could eierjuftfy be otherwife ? Infants could not at all be brought underDeath as a Calamity : for they never deferved it. And it would be only an Abufe (be it far from us, to afcribe fuch a Thing to God) in any Being, to make the Offer, to any poor SufFerers,of a Redeemer from fomeCa- . kmity; which he had brought upon them without the leaft •fert of it on their Part. » - it is plain, that Death or Mortality was not at rirfr. ^\ brought on Mankind as a BlefFing, on the Foot of the Co- venant of Cv^vc through Chrift : and that Chrift and ■ Grace don't frn;?* Mankind underDeath, but find 'em under I Chap. I. Redemption by Chrift. 2g3 under it. t Cor. v. 14. We thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead. Luk. x. 1 o. 'The Son of Man is come to fee k and to five that which teas loJK The Grace, which -appears in providing a Deliverer from any State,fuppofes die Subject to be in that State prior to that Grace and Deliverance ; and not that Rich a State is firft introduced by that Grace. In our Author's Scheme, there never could be any Sentence of Death, or Condem- nation, that requires a Saviour from it ; becaufe the very Sentence itfelf, according to the true Meaning of it, im- plies and makes fure all that Good, which is requidteto abolifh and make void the feeming Evil to the innocent Subject. So that the Sentence itfelf is in Effect the De- liverer ; and there is no Need of another Deliverer, to deliver from that Sentence. Dr. T. infills upon it, that " Nothing comes upon us in Confequence- of Adam's " Sin, in any SENSE, KIND, or DEGREE, inconfiftent " with the original Ble/Jincr pronounced on Adam, at his " Creation ; and Nothing but what is perfectly confident " with God's Blefling, Love, and Goodnefs, declared to " Adam,as foon as he came out of his Maker's Hands."* If the Cafe be fo, it is certain there is no Evil or Calamity at all, for Chriit to redeem us from ; unlefs T&'/w avre* able to the divine Goodnefs, Love & Bleffiw, are Things which we need Redemption from. IV. It will follow on our Author's Principles, not only with Refpect to Infants, but even adult Perfons, that Re- den prion is needlefs, and Chriil is dead in vain. Not only is there no Need of Chrift's Redemption in Order to De- liverance from anyConfequences of ' Adam'* $Sm, but alfo in Order to perfect Freedom from pergonal Sin, and all it's evil Confequences. For God has made other fufficient Provifion for that, viz. a fufficient Power and Ability, in all Mankind, to do all their 'Duty, and wholly to avoid Sin. Yea, this Author infills upon it, that " when Men c; have not fufficient Power to do their Duty, they, have < s r.o ! *'•*&* 3% 294 & r - T— r's Scheme fuperfedes Part III. tc no Duty to do.* We may fafely & affiuredly conclude Cl (fays be) that Mankind in all Parts of the World hove " SUFFICIENT Power to do the Duty, which God " requires of them ; and that he requires of 'em NO " MORE than they have SUFFICIENT Power to do.'' And in another Place,f " God has given Powers EQUAL «' to the Duty, which he expe&s." And he exprefTes a .x, without the Article, by Law, or the Rule of right Action, as our Author explains the Phrafe.J And accord- mo- to the Senfe in which he explains this very Place, " It " would * P. nr. 339, 340. t P. 343. II P- 344- t pref - to Par. on Ram. §. 3S. Chap, l Redemption by Chrijt. 295 tc would have fruftrated,or rendered ufelefs, the Grace of " God ; if Chrift died to accompiifh what was orMIGHT " have been effected by Law itfelf, without his Death."* So that it moil clearly follows from his own Doctrine, that Ghrifl is dead in vain, and the Grace of God is ufe- lefs. The fame Apoftle fays, If there had been a Law which COULT) have given Life, verily Righteoufnefs fbould have been by the Law, Gal. iii. 21. i. e. (ftill according to Dr. T — r's own Senfe) if there was a Law, that Man, in his prefent State, had fufficient Power per- fectly to fulfil. For Dr. 5T. fappofes the Reafon why the Law could not give Life, to be, " not becaufe it was weak 4t in itfelf, but thro' the Weaknefs of our Flefh, and the " Infirmity of the human Nature in the prefent State, "f But he fays, " Yv r e are under a mild Difpenfation of c * GRACE, making Allowance for our Infirmities.":!: By our Infirmities, we may upon good Grounds fuppofe, he means that Infirmity of human Nature, which he gives as the Reafon, why the Law can't give Life. But what Grace is there in making that Allowance for our Infirmi- ties, which Juftice itfelf (according to his Doctrine) mod abfolutely requires, as he fuppofes. divine Juftice exa&ly proportions our Duty to our Ability P Again, If it be faid, that akho' Chrift's Redemption was not neceflary to preferve Men from beginning to fin, and getting into a Courfe of Sin, becaufe they have fuffi- cient Power in themfelves to avoid it ; yet it may be ne~ ceiTary to deliverMen, after they have by their own Folly brought themfelves under the 'Dominion of evil Appetites and Paffions. f | I anfwer, if it be fo, that Men needDe- liverance from thofe Habits and PaiTions, which are be- come too ffrongfor them,yet that Deliverance,onour Au- thor's Principles, would be no Salvation from Sin. For,, the Exercife of Paffions which are too ilrong for us, and which * Note on Rom. v. 20. + Ibid. % P. 368. tl See P. 228. and alfo what he fays of the helplefs State of the Heathen, in Paraph, and Notts oxi.Rcm* vii, and Begin- ning of Chap. viii. 296 Dr. T '— r's Scheme fuperfedes PartUL which we can't overcome, is neccfjary : and he flrongly urges, that a neceflary Evil can be no moral Evil. It's true, 'tis the Effect of Evil as 'tis the Effecl of a bad Practice, while the Man remained at Liberty, and had Power to have avoided it. But then, according ro Dr. 7" — r, that evil Caufe alone is Sin ; and not fo, the neceiTary Efecl : For he fays expreily, " The Caufe of " every EfTecT:, alone, is chargeable with the Effect it pro- " duceth, or which proceedeth from it. * — And as to that Sin which was the Caufe, the Man needed no Saviour from that, having had fufficient Power in himfelf to have avoided it. So that it follows, by our Author's Scheme, that none of Mankind, neither Infants, nor adult Peffons, neither the more nor lefs vicious, neither Jews nor Gen- tiles, neither Heathens nor Chriflians, ever did, or ever could (land in any Need of a Saviour ; and that, with refpecr. to all, the Truth is, Chrifl is dead in vain. If any fhould fay, Although all Mankind in all Ages have fufficient Ability to do their whole Duty, and fo may by their own Power enjoy perfect Freedom from Sin, yet God forefa-w that they would fin, and that after they had fin'd they would need Chrjft's Death : — I anfvver, It's plain by what the Apoftle fiys,iri thofe Places which were iuft now mention'd,Cz^/.ii.2 i.& ii'1.2 1. thatGod would have efteemed it needlefs to give his Son to die for Men, unlefs there had been a prior Impoffibility of their having Righteoufnefs by Law ; and that if there had been-a Law which COUL'D have given Life, this other Way by the Death of Ch'rift would not have been provided. And this appears to be agreable to our Author's own Senfe of Things, by his Words which have been cited', wherein he fays, " It would have FRUSTRATED or rendred * USELESS the Grace of God, if Chrift died to accom- « plifh what was or MIGHT HAVE BEEN effected " by Law itfclf, without his Death." V. It ■* P. 128 Chap, i. Redemption by Chriji. 297 V. It will follow on Dr. T — r's Scheme, not only that Chrift/s Redemption is needlefs for the laving from Sin or it's Confequences, but alfo that it does no Good that Way, has no Tendency to any 'Diminution of Sin in the World. For as to any Infujton of Virtue or Holinefs into the Heart, by divine Power, through Chrift or his Re^ flcmption, it is altogether inconfiftent with this Author's Notions. With him, inwrought Virtue, if there were any fuch thing, would be no Virtue ; not being the EfFecT: of our own\Vill,Choice & Defign, but only of a fovereign Act of God's PoWer* And therefore, all that Chrift does to increafe Virtue, is only increafing our Talents, our Light, Advantages, Means and Motives ; as he often explains the Matter, f But Sin is not at all diminifhed. For he fays, Our "Duty muft be meafured by our 'Talents : as, a Child that has lefs Talents, has lefs Duty ; and therefore muft be no more expofed to commit Sin, than he that has greater Talents ; becaufe he that has greater Talents, has more Duty required, in exacl Proportion.il If fo, he that has but one Talent, has as much .Advantage to perform that one Degree of Duty which is required of him, as he that has^-ye-Talents, to perform his f.ve Degrees of Duty, and is no more expofed to fail of it, And that Man's Guilt, who. fins againft greater Advantages, Means and Motives, is greater in Proportion to his Talents.j And therefore it will follow, on Dr. T — r'sPrinciples, that Men fland no better Chance, have no more eligible or valuable Probability of Freedom from Sin & Punifhment, or of con- tracting but littleGuilt,or of performing required Duty, with thegreatAdvantages & Talents implied inChrift'sRedemp- tion, than without them ; when all things are computed, ind put into theBalances together,theNumbers,Degrees & Ag- gravations of Sin expofed to, Degrees of Duty required,&c. G g So * See P. 245, 250, 180. f In P. 44. P. 50. & innumer- able other Places. || See P. 55, 224, 234, 337, ^38, 342, 343, 344, 345. % See Paraph, on Rom, ii. 9. alfo on ver, 12, 298 Proof of Original Sin Part 11L So that Men have no Redemption from Sin, and no new Means of performingDuty, that are valuable or worth any thing at all. And thus the great Redemption by Chrift in every refpeft comes to Nothing, with regard both to In- fants and adult Perfons. Chap. II. Hhe Evidence of the DoBriue of Original Sin from ivhat the Scripture teaches of the Application of Redemption, THE Truth of the Doctrine of Original Sin is very clearly manifeft from what the Scripture fays of that Change of State, which it reprefents as necefiary to an actual Intcreft in the fpiritual and eternal Bleflings of the Redeemer's Kingdom. In order to this, it fpeaks of it as abfolutely necefiary for every one, that he be regenerated, or bom again. Joh. jii. 3. Verily, verily I fay unto thee, except a Man y$m$v owwfcv, be begotten again, or born again, he cannot fee the Kingdom of God. Dr. T'. tho' he will not allow, that this fignifies any Change from a State of 'natural Pro- penfity toSin, yet fuppofes, that the newBirth here fpoken of means a Man's being brought to a divine Life, in a right life and Application of the natural Powers in a Life of true Holinefs :* and that it is the Attainment of thofe Habits of Virtue and Religion, gives us the real Character of true Chriflians, and the Children of God\\ and that it is -putting on the new Nature of right Aclion. \l But in order to proceed in the moft fure & fafe Manner, in our underftanding what is meant in Scripture by being bom again, and Co in thelnferences we'draw from what is faid of the Neceflity of it, let us compare Scripture with Scripture, and confider what other Terms or Phrafes are tifed, in other Places, where Refpect is evidently had to the fame Change. And here I would obferve the follow- ing. Things. I. If * P. I44. f P' 246, 248. |j P. 25 f. Chap.ii. from Application of Redemption. 299 I. If we compare one Scripture with another, it will be diffidently manifeit, that by Regeneration, or being begotten or born again{ the lame Change in the State of the Mind is fignified, with that which the Scripture fpeaks of as effected in true REPENTANCE and CONVER- SION. I put Repentance and Converfion together, be- caufe the Scripture puts them together, Act. iii. 19. and becaufe they plainly fignify much the fame Thing. The Word, juftwoia (Repentance) fignifies a Change of the Mind ; as the Word, Converfion, means a Change or "Turning from Sin to God. And that this is the fame Change with that which is called Regeneration- (excepting that this latter Term efpecially fignifies the Change, as the Mind is pa/Jive in it) the following Things do fhew. In the Change which the Mind partes under in Repen- tance and Converfion, is attain'd that Character of true Chriftians, which is neceflary to the eternal Privileges of fuch. Act iii. 19. Repent ye therefore, an d be converted, that your Sins may be blotted out, when the Times of Refrejhing fhall come from the Prefence of the Lord Jefus. — And fo it is withRegeneration ; as is evident from what Chrift fays toNicodemus, and as is allowed by Dr. Tl The Change the Mind partes under in Repentance and Converfion, is that in which hvmgFaith is attained. Mark i. 1 5. The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand, repent ye and believe the Gofpel. — And fo it is with a being born again, or born of God ; as appears by Joh. i. 12, 13. But to as many as received him, to them gave he Power to become the Sons of God, even to them that BELIEVE on his Name, which were born, not of Blood, &c. but of God. Juft as Chrifl fays concerning Converfion, Matth. xviii, 3 . Verily, verily I fay unto you, Except ye be converted and become as little Children, ye fhall not enter into the Kingdom of God : So does he fay concerning being born again, in what he fpake to Nicodemus. By the Change Men pafs under in Converfion, they become as little Children ; which appears in the Place laft G g \ cited * 3G0 Proof of Original Sin Part III. cited : And fo they do by Regeneration, i Pet. j. at the End, and Chap. ii. at the Beginning. Being born again — ■ Wherefore — as new-born Babes, defire — &c. 'Tis no Objection, that the Difciples, whom Chrift" fpake to in Matth. xviii. 3. were converted already ; This makes it not lefs proper for Chrift to declare the Neceifity of Con- verfion to them, leaving it with them to try themfelves, and to make lure their Converfion : In like Manner aa he declared to ? em the NeceiTity of Repentance, in Xr.uk. xiil. 3, 5, Except ye repent,- ye /ball all Vikewlfe perifb. The Change that Men pafs under at their Repentance, is exprefled and exhibited by Baptifm. Hence it is called the Baptifm of Repentance, fromTime to Time. Matth, hi. 11. LuL iii. 3. Aft. xix. 4. and ii. 38. AndfoisRe- generation or being born again exprefs'd byBaptifm : as is evident by fuch Reprefentations of Regeneration as thofe, Job. iii. 5. Except a Man be born of JVater, and of the Spirit Tit. iii. 5. He faved us by the JFafhing of JRe generation. -Many other Things might be ohferved, to fliew, that the Change Men pafs under in their Repen- tance and Converfion, is the fame with that which they are the Subjects of in Regeneration. — But thefe Obferva- tions may be fufficient, II. The Change which a Man paiTes under when born again, and in his Repentance and Converfion, is the fame that theScripture calls the CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART. — This may eafily appear by confidering, That as Regeneration is that in which are attained the Habits of true Virtue and Holinefs, as has been fhewn, and as is confefied ; fo is Circumcifion of Heart. Deut. xxx. 6. And theLord thyGod zvill circumcife thineHeart, and the Heart of thy Seed, to love the Lord thy God, with all thine Heart, and with all thy Sou 1 . Regeneration is that whereby Men come to have the Character of true Chriftians ; as is evident, and as is con- feded ; and fo is Circumcifion of Heart : for by this Men become Jezvs inwardly, or Jews in the Spiritual and Chriflian Senfe (and that is the fame as being true Chrifti- • ans) Chap.ii. from /^Application of Redemp n - 301 cms) as of old Profelytes were made Jezvs by Circumcifion of the Flefli. Rom. ii. 28, 29. For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly ; neither is that Circumcifion, which is outward in the Flejh : But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly ; and Circumcifion is that of the Heart, in the Spirit and not in the Letter, whofe Praife is not of Men, but of God. That Circumcifion of the Heart is the fame with Con- verfion, or turning from Sin to God, is evident by Jer. iv. 1, 4. If thou wilt return, O Ifrael, return (or, con- vert) unto me. Circumcife yourfehes to the Lord, and put azvay the Forefkins of your Heart. And Deut. x. i-6\ Circumcife therefore the Forejkin of thine Heart, and be no more fliff-necked. Circumcifion of the Heart is the fame Change of the Heart, that Men pafs under in their Repentance ; as is evident by Levit. xxvi. 4. If t heir uncircumcifedHeart be humbled, and they accept the Punifhment of their Ini- quity The Change Men pafs under in Regeneration, Repen- tance and Converfion, is fignifled by Baptifm, as has been iliewn ; and fo is' Circumcifion of the Heart fignified by the fame Thing. None will deny, that it was this inter- na ICircumcifion, which of old was fignified by external Cir- cumcifion ; nor will any deny, now under the new Tefta- ment, that inward and fpiritual Baptifm, or the Cleanfing of the Heart, is fignify'd by external Warning, or Baptifm. But fpiritual Circumcifion and fpiritual Baptifm are the fame Thing ; both being the putting off the Body of the Sins of the Flejh : as is very plain by Colof ii. 11, 12, 13. In whom alfo ye are circumcifed, with the Circum-* ciiion made without Hands, in putting off the Body of the Sins of the Flefli, by the Circumcifion of Chrifl, buried with him in Baptifm ; wherein alfo ye are rifen with him, &c. - III. This inward Change, called Regeneration, and Circumcifion of theHeart, which is wrought in Repentance and Converfion, is the fame with that fpiritual RESUR- RECTION 3ead, is the fame Change which is meant when the Scripture fpeaks of making the HEART and SPIRIT NEW, or giving a new Heart and Spirit. 'Tis needlefs here to ftand to obferve, how evidently this is fpoken of as neceffary to Salvation, and as tha Change in which are attained the Habits of true Virtue and Holinefs, and the Character of a true Saint ; as has been obferved of Regeneration, Converfion, Sec. and how apparent it is from thence, that the Change is the fame. For it is as it were felf-evident : 'Tis apparent by the Phrafes themfelves, that they are different ExpreiTions of the fame Thing. Thus Repentance (/^raio^) or the Change of the Mind is the fame as being changed to a NEW 2,o± Proof from Applied of Red"- Part III, NEW Mind, or new Heart and Spirit. Converjion is the turning of the Heart ; which is the fame Thing aschang- ing i.t fo, that there mall be another Heart, or a new Heart, or a new Spirit. To be born again, is to be born ANEW ; " which implies a becoming NEW, and is reprefented as a becoming nezv-born Babes : But none fuppofes, it is the Body, that is immediately and properly new, but theMind, Heart, or Spirit. And Co a fpi ritual Refurrcclion is the RefurrecYion of the Spirit, or riling to begin a NEW Ex- iftence and Life, as to the Mind, Heart or Spirit. So that all thefe Phrafes imply an having a new Heart, and being renezued in the Spirit, according to their plain Sig- nification. When Nicodemus exprefTed his Wonder at Chrift's de- claring it neceiTary, that a Man fhould be born again in order. to fee the Kingdom of God, or enjoy the Privileges of the Kingdom of the Mefhah, Chrifl; iays to him, Art thou a Mafler of Ifrael, and knoivr.fl not thefe things f I. e. ' Art thou one who is (ct to teacli others, theThings written in the Law and the Prophets, and knoweft not a t)oc1:rine fo plainly taught in your Scriptures, that fuch a Change as I fpeak of, is neccfTary to a partaking of the Bleilings of the Kingdom of theMelhah' ? — But what can Chrifl; haveRefpeet to- in this,unlefs fuchProphecies as that in Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26, 27 ? Where God by the Prophet ipeaking of the Days of the Mefilah's Kingdom, fays, Then will I fpr inkle cleanJ^ater upon you, and ye ft all be clean. A NEJV HEART alfo will I give you, and A NEW SPIRIT will I put within you— and I will put my Spirit within you. Here God fpeaks of having a new Heart and Spirit, by being waflied with Water, and receiving the Spirit of God, as the Qualification of God's People, that fhall enjoy the Privileges of the Kingdom of the Mejfiah ? How much is this like the Doctrine of Chrifl to Nicodemus, of being born again of Water and of the Spirit ? We have another like Prophecy in Ezek. xl 1 p. Add Chap, il Of putting ojf the Old Man, &c. 305 Add to thefe Things, that Regeneration or a being born again, and the RENEWING (or making new) by the Holy Ghoft., are fpoken of as the fame Thing. Tit. iii. if. By the JVaflring of Regeneration and Renewing of the holy Ghoft. V. ? Tis abundantly manifeft, that being born again, a fpiritually rifing from the Dead, to Nezvnefs of Life, re- ceiving a newHeart, & being renewed in the Spirit of the Mind, thefe are the fame Thing with that which is called putting off the OLD MAN, and flitting on the NEW MAN. The Expreflions are equivalent ; and the Reprcfenta- tions are plainly of the fame Thing. When (Thrift fpeaks of being born again, two Births are fuppofed j a fir/} and wfecond ; an OLD Birth, and a NEW one : And the Thing born is called MAN. So, what is born in the firit Birth, is the old MAN : and what is brought forjih in the fecond Birth, is the new MAN. That which is born in the firft Birth (faysChrifl) is Flefh : it is the car- nal Man, wherein we have borne the Image of the earthly Adam, whom the Apoflle calls the FIRST MAN. That which is born in the new Birth, is Spirit, or the fpiritital and heavenly Man : wherein we proceed from Ghri'ft the SECOND MAN, the new Man, who is made a quicken- ing Spirit, and is the Lord from Heaven, and the H ad of the new Creation. — In the new Birth, Men are reprefented as becoming nezu-born Babes (as was obferved before) which is the fame thing as becoming New Men. And how apparently is what the Scripture fays of tfe fpiritual Refurreclion of the Chriftian Convert, equivalent and of the very fame Import with putting off the old Man, and putting on the new Man ? So in the vith of [Romans^ the Convert is fpoken of as dying and being buried with Chrifl : which is explained in the 6th f. by this, that tie OLD MAN is crucified, that the Body of Siy might be de/lroyed. And in the 14th y. Converts in this Change are fpoken of as rifing to NEWNESS of Lfe. Are not thefe Things plain enough ? The Apoftle does ° ' H h " F $t>6 0ft Old Man,&c.PartIIi '. I ' ' ual Death - - Thing as rid : the - H. II, 12. /« : i ' ■■■ - • . . CUMC PU1 TING OFF : ~ ■' 9 ftbe F. . C C ; • It/SUS namfeft I'Cira md , all fig- : E l] ■ Shvrft I . But : • : .; the :^:"e Thing, in Apoftle's L. ; as ap- ■ Rom ■ i :. C '."l: flfc 50-Z>}' OF SIN z-*ldMk i is the lame with p. 3ic 2 - further by iT v ::.-:• 2+ and 9, 10. - s Dr. "T. that a t is "that ereinareol ligion true Hc!;::e:s "; fohowevklei * thing Change, which is called putti ; vfftbt : . ::. -V . / '" J >h IV. ::, Tift, ---' — ' the Nen Mi .:, after God, is RIGHTEOUSNESS AN*D TRUE HOI INESS. 10ft plain, that this : :: ran, " " lame ig with king the Heart ' :n it felf : the Spirit is call- in the L ie of the Apoftle ; 'tis called . Man. (Re-, vn. 22. r. i". 16. 1 I .: 4 And therefc e pun ingoffthe • - Removal of the old H:- i. Dr. T~ r's Confirb&ion abfurd. 307 Heart, and the putting on the/aw /Mfo) is fl >f*w //. ir£ am/ tf ««y Spirit. Y; A/a is the lame T ing a »«P Spirit, or fc/j /. Eph. ; 23, 14. That ye put off in t t Spirit 9j Und, an Alan. From thefe Things k appe . unreaf aisd Dr. T*- • of explai \ Old Man, ft Man, * -7>- State, zridb CI VtarfDifpenji tfProfeffbrs sfCh I the Colour he 1 lie once :h a ww Mw, F very true, in the Scriptures, often, b .'• . Teib new, c Nations, Peo- pies, Ciries, are threly reprefent by ( cb of Chrift is reprefe Perfon, and : parricul or Believer ; and lb is called a C 7^4 Ex . -i. Gal. is*, i, 2. and a , x ]i # 8,9. & xliv.i. ThilJ xlv. 10,13, ij. . ■:. 7 — Neverthelefs.woa] i-afonabie, to argue from hence,tbat fuch Aj «w/ if/" God, a Child of God, fee, are ;; commonly to only the C\ eat collective Bodies ; and not to be : in a perfonal Senle J But yen at xil in Righteoufnefs and true Holinefs. — Thefe Things abfolutely fix the Meaning of that in 2 Cor. v. 17. If any Man be in Chrifi,he is a new Creature : OldThings are paffed azvay ; behold, all Things are become JS'ezv. On the whole, the following Reflections may be made : 1. That it is a Truth of the nt mod Certainty, with refpecl to every Man, born of the Race of Adam, by or- dinary Generation, that unlefs he be born again, he cannot fee the Kingdom of God. This is true, not only of the Heathen, but of them that are born of the profefling People of God, as Nicodemus, and the jfe ws, and every Man born of the Fleff. This is mod manifeft by Chrift's Difcourfe, in J oh. iii. 3, — — 1 1. So 'tis plain by 2 Cor. v. 17. That every Man who is in Chrift, is a new Creature. 2. It appears from this, together with what has been proved above, that it is moif certain with refpect to every one of the human Race, that he can never have any In- tereft in Chrifl, or fee the Kingdom of God, unlefs he be the Subject, of that Change in the Temper and Difpofiti- on of his Heart, which is made in Repentance, and Con* verfion, Circumcifwn of Heart, f pi ritual Baptifm, dying to Sin and rifing to a new and holy Life ; — and unlefs he has the old Heart taken away, and a nezv Heart and Spirit 3 i cOx\g-Sm argudfr.thePremifes. Parti II. Spirit given, and puts off the old Man, and puts on the new Man, and old Things are pajl away and all Things made new. 3. From what is plainly implied in thefe Things/ and from what the Scripture moil: clearly tenches of the Na- ture of 'em, 'tis certain, that every Man is born into the World in a State of moral Pollution. For SPIRITUAL BAPTISM is a Cleanfmg from moral Filthinefs. Ezek. xxxvi. 27. compared with .Acts ii. 16. and Job. in. 2 J. — So the Waffling of Regeneration or the NEW-BIRTH, is a Change from a State of Wickednefs. Tit. iii 3,4 5.— Men are fpoken of as purified in their Regeneration, iPf£. i. 22, 23. See alfo 1 Job. ii. 29. & iii. 1, 5. — And it ap« pears,that every Man in his firft or naturalState is a Sinner : for orherwife they would then need noREPENTANCE, no CONVERSION, no Turning from Sin, to God.— Audit appears, that every Man in his original State has a Heart of Stone ; for thus the Scripture calls that old Heart, which is taken away, when a NEW HEART and NEW SPIRIT is given. Ezek. xi. 19. & xxxvi. 26.— And it appears, that Man's Nature, as in his native State., is corrupt according to the deceitful Lufts, and of it's own Motion exerts it felf in Nothing but wicked Deeds. For thus the Scripture characlerifes the OLD MAN, which is put off, when Men are renewed in the Spirit of their Minds, and put on the NEW-MAN. .E/^.iv.22,23,24. Col. iii. 8, 9, 10. — In a Word, it appears, that Man's Na- ture, as in his native State, is a Body of Sin, which mnft be deftroyed, mud die, be buried, and never rife more. For thus the OLD MAN is reprefented, which is cru- cified, when Men are the Subjects of a fpiritual RESUR- RECTION. Rom. vi. 4, 5, 6.— Such a Nature, fuch a Body of Sin as this, is put off in the fpiritual RENOVA- TION, wherein we put on the NEW MAN, and are the Subjects of the fpiritual CIRCUMCISION. Eph. Iv. 21, 22, 23. It mnft now be left with the Reader to judge for him- felf, whether what the Scripture teaches of the APPLI- CATION CATION of Chrift's Redemption, and the Change of State and Nature necefTary to true and final Happinefs, don't afford clear and abundant Evidence to the Truth of the Doctrine of Original Sin. PART IV. Containing Anfwers to Objections. Chap. I. Concerning that Objection, That to fuppofe Mens being born in Sin, without their Choice, or any previous All of their own, is to fuppofe what is inconfiftent with the Nature of Sin, Sh 2 5 8 > 33i5 34-o> 437> snd other Places, 312 Being born in Sin, conjiftejit Part IV. to be a grand favorite Point with Pelagians, 8c Arminians, and all Divines of fuch Characters, in their Controverfies with the Orthodox. There is no one thing more funda- mental in their Schemes of Religion : On the Determina- tion of this one leading Point depends the Iihie of almoft all Controverfies we have with fuch Divines. Neverthe- lefs,it feemsa needlefs Talk for me particularly to confider thatMatter in thisPlace ; having already largely difcufs'd it, with all the mainGrounds of thisNotion, & theArguments ufed to defend it, in a late Book on this Subject, to which I afk Leave to refer the Reader. — 'Tis very neceflary, that the modern prevailing Doclrine concerning this Point, fliould be well underftood, and therefore thoroughly con- fideredand examined : For without it there is no Hope of putting an End to the Controverfy about original Sin, and innumerable other Controverfies that fubfift, about many of the main Points of Religion. 1 (land ready to confefs to the foremention'd modern Divines, if they can maintain their peculiar Notion of Freedom, conGfting in the felf~ determining Power cf the Will, as neceflary to moral ^Agency, & can thoroughly eftablifh it in OppoGtion to the Arguments lying againft: it,then they have an impregnable Ccftle, to which they may repair, and remain invincible, in all the Controverfies they have with the reformed Di- vines, concerning original Sin, the Sovereignty of Grace, Eleclion, Redemption, Converfion, the efficacious Opera- tion of the Holy Spirit, the Nature of faving Faith, Per- feverance of the Saints, and other Principles of the like Kind. — However,at the fameTimel think,this fameThing will be as ftrong a Fortrefs for the T>ei/ls, in common with them ; as the great Doc*fcrines,fubverted by their No- tion of Freedom,2,xt fo plainly & abundantly taught in the Scripture. But I am under no Apprehenfions of anyDan- c;er, the Caufe of Chriftianity or the Religion of the Re- formed is in, from any Poflibility of that Notion's being ever eftablifh ed, or of it's being ever evinced, that there h not pro per, perfect & mam? oldfDemon ft ration lying againft it. But as I faid, it would be needlefs for me to enter into Chap. !. with the Nature of Sin. 313 into a particular Difquifition of this Point here ; from which 1 fliali eafily be excufed by any Reader who is willing to give himfelf the Trouble of confulting what I have already written : and as to others, probably they will fcarce be at the Pains of reading the prefent Difcourfe ; or at lead: would not, if it fhould be enlarged by a full Confideration of that Controverfy. I ill all at this Time therefore only take Notice of fome grofs Tnconfiflencies, that Dr/Tl has been guilty of, in his handling this Objection againtl the Doctrine of original Sin. In Places which have been cited he fays, That Sin mit (I proceed from our own Choke : and that if it does not, it being necejfary to us, it cannot be Sin, it catft be oiir Fault, or zuhat we are to blame for : And therefore all our Sin muft be chargeable on our Choice, which is the Caufe of Sin : For he fays, The Caufe of every Effect is alone chargeable with the Effecl: it produceth, and which proceedethfrom it.* — Now here are implied feveral grofs Contradictions. He greatly infills, that Nothing carl be finful, or have the Nature of Sin, but what proceeds from our Choice. Neverthelefs, he fays, Not the Effecl, but the Caufe alone is chargeable with Blame. There- fore the Choice, which is the Caufe, this alone is blameable, or has the Nature of Sin ; and not the Effecl of that Choice. Thus Nothing can be finfill, but the Effect of Choice : and yet theEfFect of Choice never can be finful,but only theCtfz;/?, which alone is chargeable with all theBlame, Again, The Choice, which chufes and produces Sin, or from which Sin proceeds is itfelf i\nfi\\. Not only is this implied in his faying, " The Caufe alone is chargeable with ail iheBlame ; " but he exprefly fpeaks of the Choice as faulty ; f and calls that Choice wicked, from which Depravity and Corruption proceeds.* Now/if theChoice it felf be Sin, and there be no Sin but what proceeds from a finful Choice, then the finful Choice muft proceed from another antecedent Choice ; It muft be chofen by a fore- going Act of Will, determining it fdf to that finful I i Choice, * r. 125, f **» J 9°» ~TPi~2Q0« See" alio l", 210P 314 & r ' T~r's Arguings from Part IV. Choice, that fo it may have that which he fpcaks of as cbfolutely eftential to the Nature of Sin, namely, That it proceed from our Choice, and don't happen to ns ne- ceflarily. — But if the finful Choice it felf proceeds from a foregoing Choice, then alfo that foregoing Choice mud be finful ; it being the Caufe of Sin, and fo alone charge- able with the Blame, let if that foregoing Choice be finful, then, neither mud that happen to us neceflarily, but muft likewife proceed from Choice, another Act of Choice preceeding that : for we muft remember, that " Nothing is (Infill, but what proceeds from our Choice" And then, for the fame Reafon,even this prior Choice,laft mentioned, muft alfo be finful, being chargeable with all the Blame of that confequent evil Choice, which was it's Effect. And fo we muft go back till we come to the very frfl Volition, the prime or original A 61 of Choice, in the whole Chain. And this, to be Aire, muft be a finful Choice, becaufe this is the Origin or primitive Caufe of all the Train of Evils which follow ; and according to our Author, muft therefore be " alone chargeable with ail theBIame." And yet fo it is, according to him, this " can- not be finful," becaufe it don't " proceed from our own Choice," or any foregoing Act of our Will ; it being, by the Suppofkion, the very fir Jl Act of Will in the Cafe. And therefore it muft be. necejfary, as to us, having no Choice of ours to be the Caufe of it. In Page 232, he fays, " ^Adam's Sin was from his own " difobedient Will \ and fo muft every Man's Sin, and " all the Sin in the World, as well as his." — By this, it feems, he muft have a " difobedient Will" before he fins ; for the Caufe muft be before the Effect : and yet that dif- obedient "Will itfelf \% finful - f otherwife it could not be called difobedient. But the Queftion is, How do Men come by the difobedient Will, this Caufe of all the Sin in the World ? It muft not come necejfarily, without Men's Choice : for if fo, 'tis not Sin, nor is there any T>ifobedience in it. Therefore that difobedient Will mult alfo come from a difobedient Will j and fo on, in infinitum. Otherwife, Chap. I. the Nature of Sin, inconfiftent. 315 Otherwife, it mud be fuppofed, that there is fbme Sin in the World, which don't come from a difobedient Will \ contrary to our Authors dogmatical Aflertioris. In P. 442. He fays, u Adam could not fin without a finful Inclination?'— -Here he calls that Inclination it felf finful y which is the Principle from whence finful Acts pro- ceed ; as elfewhere he fpeaks of the difobedient Willy from whence all Sin comes : And he allows,* that " the *' Law reaches to all the latent Principles of Sin ;" mean- ing plainly, that it forbids, and threatens Punifbment for thofe latent Principles. Now thefe latent Principles of . Sin, thefe finful Inclinations, without which, according to our Author, there can be no finful Aft, can't all proceed from a finful Choice ; becaufe that would imply great Contradiction. For, by the Suppofition, they are the Principles from whence a finful Choice comes,and whence ail finful Acts of Will proceed ; and there can be no fin- ful Act without 'em. So that the firfl latent Principles, and Inclinations, from whence all finful Acts proceed, are fmful ; and yet they are not finful, becaufe they don't proceed from a wicked Choice, without which, according to him, " Nothing can be finful." Dr. T. fpeaking of that Proportion of the Ajfembly of Divines, wherein they afTert, that Man is by Nature ut- terly corrupt, &c. f thinks himfeif well warranted by the fuppofed great Evidence of thefe his contradictory Noti- ons, to fay, " Therefore Sin is not natural to us ; and " therefore I mail not fcruple to fay, this Proportion in " the Affembly of "Divines is FALSE."^-But it maybe worthy to be confidered. whether it would not have great, ly become him, before he had cloathed himfeif witb fo much Aflurartce and proceeded, on the Foundation ^of thefe his Notions, fomagifterially to charge the Ajfembly s Propofition with Falfliood, to have taken Care, that his own Proportions, which he has fet in Oppofition to them, fhould be a little more confiftent ; that he might not have I i 2 contradicted * Contents ofRom.Chap.vii.inNotes on theEpiltie. | i\ 12c. 3 1 6 Original Sin does not imply Part IV. contradicted him/elf, while contradicting them ; led: fome impartial Judges, obferving hislnconfiftence, mould think they had Warrant to declare with equal AfTurance, that iC They fhall not fcruple to fay, Dr. T— ;'s Doctrine is " FALSE." Chap. II, Concerning that Objetlicn againft the Doclrine of native Corruption, That to fuppofe Men re- ceive their fir fl Exiflcnce in Sin, is to make Him who is the Author of their Being, the Author of their Depravity. ONE Argument again!! Men's being fuppofed to be born with finful Depravity, which Dr. e T. greatly infills upon, is, " That this does in ErTecT: charge Hirri who is the .Author of our Nature, who formed us in the Womb, with being the Author of a finful Corruption of Nature ; and that it is highly injurious to the God of cur Nature, ivhofe Hands have for tried and fafhioned us, to believe our Nature to be originally corrupted, and thai in the word Senfe of Corruption"* With refpecr. to this, I would bbferve in the nr(l Place, that this Writer, in his handling this grand Objection, flip- pofes fomething to belong to the Doctrine objected againft, as maintained by the Divines whom he is opnofmg, which does not belong to it, nor decs follow from it : As parti- cularly, he fuppofes the Doclrine of original Sin to imply, that Nature mufl be corrupted by fome pofitive Influence ;' u fomething, by fome Means or other, infufed into the ** human Nature ; fome Qjtaiity or other, not from the * s Choice of our Minds, but like a "Taint, Tinclure, or " Infefiion, altering the naturalConftitutiomFacultics&Dif- * c pofitions of our Souls.f That Sin and evil Difpofitions are *' P. 137. 187, 188, 189, 256, 258, 260, 419, 424, and other Places. f P. 187. Chap. ii. God's being the Author of Sin. 3 1 7 " -are IMPLj4NTE*D in the Foetus in the Womb."*-** Whereas truly our Doflrine neither implies nor infers any. fuch Thing. In order to account for a finful Corruption of Nature, yea, a total native Depravity of the Heart of Man, there is not the lead Need of fuppoflng any evil Quality infufed, implanted, or wrought into theNature of !Man, by any pofitive Caufe, orlnfluence whatfoever, either from God, or the Creature ; or of fuppofing, that Man is conceived and born with a Fountain of Evil in his Heart, fuch as is any thing properly tofitive. I think, a little Attention to the Nature of Things will be fufficient to fatisfy any impartial confederate Inquirer, that the Abfence of pofitive good Principles, and fo the Withholding of a fpecial divine Influence to impart and maintain thofe good Principles, leaving the common natural Principles of Self- love, natural Appetite, &'c. (which were in Man in Inno- cence) leaving thefe, I fay, to themfelves, without the Government of fuperiour divine Principles, will certainly be followed with the Corruption, yea, the total Corrup- tion of the Heart, without Occafion for any pofitive In- fluence at all : And, that it was thus indeed that Corrup- tion of Nature came on \Adam, immediately on his Fall, and comes on ail his Pofterity, as finning in him and falling with him. The Cafe with Man was plainly this : When God made Man at firfr, he implanted in him two Kinds of Princi- ples. There was an inferioar Kind, which may be called NATURAL, being the Principles of meer human Nature ; fuch as Self-love, with thofe natural Appetites & PaflTons, which belong to the Nature of Man, in which his Love to his own Liberty, Honour and Pleafure, were exer- cifed : Thefe when alone, and left to themfelves, are what the Scriptures fometimes call FLESH. Betides thefe, there were fuperiour Principles, that were fpiritual, holy and divine fummarily comprehended in divine Love ; wherein confided the fpiritual mage of God, and Man's Righteonfncfs * l\ 146, 424, 425, and the like in many other Places. 3 1 8 Original Sin does not imply Part IV, Righteoufnefs and true Holinefs ; which are called in Scripture the 'Divine Nature. Thefe Principles may, in fome Senfe, be called SUPERNATURAL, * being (however concreated or connate, yet) fuch as are above thofe Principles that are efientially implied in, or necefla- rily reful ting from, and infeperably connected with, meer human Nature ; and being fuch as immediately depend on Man's Union and Communion with God, or Divine Com- munications and Influences of God's Spirit : Which tho withdrawn, and Man s Nature forfaken of thefe Principles, human Nature would be human Nature dill; Mans Na- ture, as fuch, being intire without thefe Divine Principles ; which the Scripture fometimes calls SPIRIT, in Contra- diflin&ion to Flefa. Thefe fuperiour Principles were gi- ven to pofFefs the Throne, and maintain an abfolute Do- minion in the Heart : the other, to be wholly fubordi- ^r>ate and fabfervient. And while Things continued thus, all Things were in excellent Order, Peace and beautiful Harmony, and in their proper and perfect State. Thefe divine Principles thus reigning, were the Dignity, Life, Happinefs, and Glory of Man'sNature. — WhenMan fin'd, and * To prevent all Cavils, the Reader is defired particularly to obferve, in what Senfe I here ufe the Words, Natural 'and Supernatural : Not as Epithets of Diftinction between that which is Concreated or Connate, and that which is extra- ordinarily introduced afterwards, befides the firft State of Thing?, or the Order eftabliihed originally, beginning when Man's Nature began ;— but as diftinguifhing between what belongs to, or flows from, that Nature whichMan has, meerly as Man, and thofe things which are above this, --by which one is denominated, not only a Man, but a truly virtuous^ holy, zndfpiriiual Man ; which, tho' they began, in Adam, as foon as Humanity began, and are neceffary to the Per- fection and Well-being of the human Nature, yet are not effential to the Conftitution of it, or neceffary to it's Being : inafmuch as one may have every Thing needful to his being Man, exclufively of them. If in thus ufing the Words, Natural and Supernatural, I ufe them in an uncommon Senfe, 'tis not from any AfFeaation of Singularity, but for Wartf of other Terms, more aptly to exprefs my Meaning, Chap. ii. God's being the Author of Sin. 3 1 9 and broke God's Covenant, and fell under his Curfe,thefe fuperiour Principles left his Heart : for indeed God then left him ; that Communion with God, on which thefe Principles depended, intirely ceafed ; the Holy Spirit,that divine Inhabitant, forfook the Houfe. Becaufe it would have been utterly improper in it felf, and inconfiff ent with theCovenant & Conftitution God had eilablifhed, thatGod fhould (till maintain Communion with Man, and continue, by his friendly, gracious vital Influences, to dwell with him and in him, after he was become a Rebel, and had incur'd God's Wrath and Curfe. Therefore immediately the fuperiour divine Principles wholly ceafed ; lb Light ceafes in a Room, when theCandle is withdrawn : and thus Man was left in a State of Darknefs, woful Corruption and Ruin ; Nothing but Flejh, without Spirit. The inferiour Principles of Self-love and natural Appetite, which were given only to ferve, being alone, & left to themfelves, of Courfe became reigning Principles ; having no fuperiour Principles to regulate or controul them, they became ab- folute Mailers of the Heart. The immediate Confe- quence of which v/as a fatal Catajlrophe, a turning of all Things upfide down, and the SuccefTion of a State of the moft odious & dreadful Confufion. Man did immedi- ately fet up bimfelf, and the Objects of his private Affecti- ons and Appetites, as fupream ; and fo they took the Place of GOD.— -Thefe inferiour Principles are like Fire in an Houfe ; which, we fay, is a good Servant, but a bad Mailer ; very ufeful while kept in it's Place, but if left to take PofTeiTion of the whole Houfe, foon brings all to DeflrucYion. Man's Love to his own Honour, feparate Interefl, and private Pleafure, which before was wholly fubordinate unto Love to God & Regard to his Authority and Glory, now difpofe and impel Man to purfue thofe Objects, without Regard to God's Honour, or Law ; be- caufe there is no true Regard to thefe divine Things left in him. In Confequence of which, he feeks thofe Objects as much when againft God's Honour and Law, as when agreable to 'em. And God flill continuing flriclly to require 1 3 20 Original Sin does not imply Part IV. require fupream Regard to himfelf, and forbidding all Gratifications of tbefe inferiour Paflions, but only in per- fectSubordination to theEnds, 8c Agrcablenefs to theRules and Limits, which his Holinefs, Honour & Law prefcribe* hence immediately arifes Enmity in the Heart, now wholly under the Power of Self love ; and Nothing but War x enfues, in a conftant Courfe, againfl God. As, when a Subject has once renounced his lawful Sovereign, and fet up a Pretender in his Stead, a State of Enmity and War againft his rightful King neceilarily enfues. — It were eafy to fliev/, how every Lull & depraved Difpofition of Man's Heart would naturally arife from this 'privative Original, if here were Room for it. Thus 'tis eafy to give an Ac- count, how total Corruption of Heart fhould follow on Man's eating the forbidden Fruit, tho that was but one Acl of Sin, without God's patting any Evil into his Heart, or implanting any bad Principle, or infufing any corrupt Taint, and i'o becoming the Author of Depravity. Only God's withdrawing, as it was highly proper and necedary that he fhould, from Rebel-Man, being as it were driven away by his abominable Wicked nefs, and Men's natural Principles being left to ihemfehes, this is fufficient to account for his becoming intirely corrupt, and bent on (inning againfl God. And zsAdam's Nature became corrupt, without God's implanting or infufing any evil Thing into his Nature; fo does the Nature of his Pofterity. God dealing with yddam as the Head of his Pofterity (as has been fhewn) and treating them as One, he deals with his Pofterity as having all finned in him. And therefore, as God with- drew fpiritual Communion and his vital gracious Influ- ence from the common Head, fo he withholds the fame from all theMembers, as they come into Exiftence ; where- by they come into the World meer Flefb, and entirely under theGovernment of natural and inferiour Principles j and fo become wholly corrupt, as Adam did. Now, for God fo far to have theDifpofal of this Affair, as to zi'iih-hold thofe Influences, without which Nature will Chap. II. God's being the Author of Sin. 321 will be corrupt, is not to be the Author of Sin. — But, con- cerning this, I muft refer the Reader to what I have faid of it in my Difcourfe on the Freedom of the Will* Tho, befides what I have there faid, I may here obferve ; That if for God fo far to order and difpofe the Being of Sin, as to permit it, by with- holding the gracious Influences necefTary to prevent it, is for him to be the Author of Sin, then fome Things which Dr. T. himfelf lays down, will equally be attended with this very Confequence. For, from Time to Time, he fpeaks of God's giving Men up to the vileft Lufts andAfFe&ions, by permitting, or leaving them, f Now, if the Continuance of Sin, and it's Increafe and Prevalence, may be in Confequence of God's Difpofal, by with-holding his Grace, that is needful, under fuchCir- cumftances, to prevent it, without God's being the Author of that Continuance & Prevalence of Sin ; then, by Parity of Reafon, may the Being of Sin, in the Race of Adam, be inConfequence of God's Difpofal, by with-holding his Grace, needful to prevent it, without his being the Author of that Being of Sin. If here it fhould be faid, that God is not theAuthor of Sin, in giving Men up to Sin, who have already made themfelves (Inful, becaufe when Men have once made themfelves finful, their continuing fo, and Sin's prevail- ing in them, and becoming more and more habitual, will follow in a Cowfe of Nature : — I anfwer, Let that be remember'd, which this Writer fo greatly urges, in Op- pofition to them that fuppofe original Corruption comes in a Courfe of Nature, viz. That the Cowfe of Na- ture is Nothing without God. He utterly rejects tha Notion of the "Courfe of Nature's being a proper AcYrve "■ Caufe, which will work, and go on by it felf, without « Godtf he lets or permits it." But affirms, " That the " Courfe of Nature, feparate from the Agency of God, K k "is * Part iv. Sea. 9. P. 25;, &c. t Ke\ §. 356. and Par, on Rom. i. 24, 26. || P. 410. See alio mtix wnai Ve- hemence this is urged in P, 413. 322 Original Sin does not imply Part IV, " is no Caufe, or Nothing ; and that the Courfe of Na° " ture fhould continue it felf, or go on to operate by it felf", *' any more than at firft produce it felf, is abfolutely im- " poJfible"\\ Thefe ftrong Expredions are his. There- fore, to explain the Continuance of the Habits of Sin in the fame Perfon, when once introduced,yea, to explain the very Being of any fuchHabits, in Confequence of repeat- ed Acts, our Author mud have Recourfe to thofe fame Principles, which he rejects as abfurd to the utmoflDegree, when alledged to explain the Corruption of Nature in the Poflerity of Adam. For, thatHabits, either good or bad, fhould continue after being once eftablifhed, or that Ha- bits fliould be fettled and have Exiftence, in Confequence of repeated Acts, can be owing only to a Courfe of Na- ture, and. ihokLaws of Nature which God has eftablifhed. That the Poflerity of Adam fliould be born without Holinefs, and fo with a depraved Nature, comes to pafs as much by the eftablifhed Courfe of Nature, as the Con- tinuance of a corrupt Difpofition in a particular Perfon, after he once has it ; or as much as A dam's continuing un- holy and corrupt, after he had once loft his Holinefs. For Adam's Poflerity are from Him, and as it were in him,and belonging to him, according to an eftablifhed Courfe of Na- ture, as much as the Branches of a Tree are, according to a Courfe of Nature, from theTree,in thcTree,& belonging to theTree ; or (to makeufe of the Comparifon whichDr.T^. himfelf chufes and makes ufe of from Time to Time, as proper to illuftrate theMatter *) juft as the Acorn is de- rived from tbeOak. And 1 think, the Acorn is as much derived from the Oak, according to the Courfe of Nature, as the Buds and Branches. 'Tis true, that God, by his own almighty Power, creates the Soul of the Infant ; and 'tis alfo true, as Dr. < T. often infifts, that God, by his im- mediate Power, forms and fufliions the Body of the Infant in the Womb ; yet he does both according to that Courfe of Nature, which he has been pleafed to eftabliih. The Courfe * P. 146, 187. Chap. II. God's being the Author of Sin. 323 Courfe of Nature is demonftrated, by late Improvements in Philofophy, to be indeed what our Author himfelf fays k is, viz. Nothing but the eilabliihed Order of the Agency and Operation of the Author of Nature. And tho there be the immediate Agency of God in bring- ing the Soul into Exigence in Generation, yet 'tis done sccording to the Method and Order eftablifhed by the Author of Nature, as much as his producing the Bud, or the Acorn of the Oak ; and as much as his continuing a particular Perfon in Being, after he once has Exiftence. God's immediate Agency in bringing the Soul of a Child into Being, is as much according to an eftabiiftjed Order, as his immediate Agency in any of the Works of Nature whatfoever. 'Tis agreable to the eftablifhed Order of Nature, that the good Qualities wanting in the T'ree, iliould alfo be wanting in the Branches and Fruit. 'Tis agreable to the Order of Nature, that when a particular Perfon is without good moral Qualities in his Heart, he fhould continue without 'em, till fome new Caufe or Efficiency produces them : And 'tis as much agreable to an eftablifhed Courfe and Order of Nature, that fince Adam, the Head of the Race of Mankind, the Root of that great Tree with many Branches fpringing from ir, was deprived of original Righteoufnefs, theBranches iliould come forth without it. Or, if any diflike the Word, Na- ture, as ufed in this lad Cafe, and in Stead of it chufe to call it a Conftitution^ or eftablifljed Order of fuccelTive Events, the Alteration of the Name won't in the leaft al- ter the State of the prefent Argument. Where the Name, Nature, is allowed withoutDifpute, no more is meant than an eftablifhed Method and Order of Events, fettled ancj, limited by divine Wifdom. If any iliould object, to this, That if the Want of ori- ginal Righteoufnefs be thus according to an eftabliihed Courfe of Nature, then why are not Principles of Holi- nefs, when reftored by divine Grace, alfo communicated vQ Pofterity ? I anfwer, The divine Laws and Eftablifii- K k 2 menq 324 Original Sin does not imply Part IV. ments of the Author of Nature are precifely fettled by him, as he pleafeth, and limited by his Wifdom. — Grace is introduced among the Race of Mankind by a new JLftabliJbment ; not on the Foot of the original Eftabliili- ment of God, as the Head of the natural Worlo*,and Au- thor of the firft Creation ; but by a Conftitution of a vaft- ly higher Kind ; wherein Chrift is made the Root of the Tree, whofe Branches are his fpiritual Seed, and He is the Head of the new Creation ; of which I need not ftand now to fpeak particularly. But here I deflre it may be noted, that I don't fuppofe, the natural Depravity of the Pofterity of Adam is owing to the Courfe of Nature only ; 'tis alfo owing to the juft Judgment of God. But yet I think, it is as truly, and in the fame Manner, owing to the Courfe of Nature, that •Adanfs Pofterity come into the World without original Righteoufnefs, as that Adam continued without it, after he had once loft it. — That Adam continued deftitute of Holinefs, when he had loft it, and would always have fo continued, had it not been reftored by a Redeemer, was not only a natural Confequemce, according to the Courfe of Things eftablifhed by God, as the Author of Nature ; but it was alfo a penal Confequence, or a Punifhment of his Sin. God, in xigjiMzowsJudgment , continued to abfent himfelf from Adam, after he became a Rebel ; and with- held from him now thofelnfluences of the holySpirit,which he before had. And juft thus, I ftippofe it to be with every natural Branch of Mankind : all are looked upon as fin- ning in and with their common Root ; and God righteouily with-holds fpecial Influences 8c fpiritual Communications from all, for this Sin. — But of the Manner and Order of thefe Things, more may be faid in the next Chapter. On the whole, this grand Objection againft theDocVine of Men's being born corrupt, That it makes Him who (rave us our Being, to be the Caufe of the Being of Cor- ruption, can have no more Force in it, than a like Argu- ment has to prove, that if Men by a Courfe of Nature continue Wicked, or remain without Goodnefs, after they have Chap. ii. God's being the Author of Sin. 325 have by vicious Acls contracted viciousHabits,and fo made themfelves wicked, it makes Him who is the Caufe of their Continuance in Being, and the Caufe of the Continuance of the Courfe of Nature, to be the Caufe of their conti- nued Wickednefs. Dr. T . fays, * "God would not make " any thing that is hateful to him ; becaufe, by the very " Terms, He would hate to make fuch a Thing." But if this be good arguing in the Cafe to which it is applied, may I not as well fay, God would not continue a Thing in Being that is hateful to him ; becaufe, by the very Terms, he would hate to continuey^/? a Thing in Being ? I think, the very Terms do as much (and no more) infer one of thefe Propofitions, as the other. — In like Manner, the reft that he fays on thatHead, may be fhewn to be un- reasonable, by only fubftituting the Word, continue, in the Place of, make and propagate. I may fairly imitate his way of Reafoning, thus : "To fay, God continues us " according to his own original Decree, or Law of Continu- " at/on, which obliges him to continue us in a Manner he " abhors, is really to make bad worfe : for it is fuppofing " him to be defective in Wifdom, or by his own Decree '* or Law to lay fuch a Conftraint upon his own A6U- " ons, that he cannot do what he would ; but is continu- u ally doing what he would not, what he hates to do, and u what he condemns in us ; viz. continuing us finful,when " he condemns us for continuing our felves finful." — If the Reafoning be weak in the one Cafe, it's no lefs fo in the other. If any fhall (till infift, That there is a Difference, be- tween God's fo difpofing Things as that Depravity of Heart fhall be continued, according to the fettled Courfe of Nature, in the fame Perfon, who has by his own Fault introduced it, — and his fo difpofing. as that Men, accord- ing to a Courfe of Nature, ihould be born with Depra- vity, inConfequence of ddanfs introducingSin, by hisA£r, which we had no Concern in, and cannot be juftly charged with : * P. 412. n 26 Imputation 0/" Adam's Sin, Part IV. with : On this I would obferve, that it is quite going off the Objection, which we have been upon, from God's Agency, and flying to another. Jt is then no longer in- filled on, that fimply for him, from whofe Agency the Courfe of Nature and our Exigence derive, fo to difpofe Things, as that we fhould haveExiftence in a corrupt State, is for him to be the Author of Sin : But the Plea now advanced is, That it is not proper and juft for fuch an Agent fo to difpofe in this Cafe, and only in Confequence of *Adam\ Sin ; it not beingjuft to charge Adanis Sin to his Pofterity. And this Matter mail be particularly con- sidered, in Anfvver to the next Objection ; to which I now proceed. Chap. III. That great Objection againjl the Imputation of Adam's Sin to his ^Poflerity, confidered. That fuch Imputation is unjufl and iinreafonable^ inai- nuich as Adam and 'his Pofterity are not one and t h e fame. Wt th a brief R eflefiion fit bjoitted, on what fome have fupppfed^ of God's imputing the Guilt of Adams Sin to his Pofterity, but in an infinitely lefs Degree, than to Adam himfelf. THat we may proceed with the greater Clearnefs is considering the main Objections againft fuppoflng the Guilt of j£dunC% Sin to be imputed to his Pofterity, I would premife fome Obfervations with a View to the right Stating of the Doctrine of the Imputation of Adam\ firft Sin ; and then fhew the Reafonablenefs of this Doct- rine, in Oppofition to the great Clamour raifed againft it on this Head. I think, it would go far towards directing us to the more clear and diftintl: conceiving and right ftating of this Affair, if wc fteadily bear this in Mind j That God, in each Step of Ghap.iil its true Notion Jlated. 327 of his Proceeding with Adam, in Relation to the Covenant or Conflitution eftablifhed with him, look'd on his Pofte- rity as being One with him. (ThePropriety of his looking upon them fo,I fhall fpeak to afterwards) Andtho' he dealt more immediately with Adam, yet it was as the Head of the whole Body, & iheRoot of the whole Tree ; and in his Proceedings with him, he dealt with all the Branches, as if they had been then exifting in their Root. From which it will follow, that both Guilt, or Expofed- nefs to Punifhment, and alfo Depravity of Heart, came upon Adam's Pofterity juft as they came upon him, as much as if he & they had all co-exifted, like a Tree with many Branches ; allowing only for the Difference necefta- rily refulting from the Place Adam flood in, as Head or Root of the whole, and being firft and mod immediately dealt with, & mod immediately acting & fuffering. Other- wife, it is as if, in every Step of Proceeding, every Alte- ration in the Root had been attended, at the fame Inftant, with the fame Steps and Alterations throughout the whole Tree, in each individual Branch. I think, this will natu- rally follow on the Suppofition of there being a conftituted Onenefi or Identity of Adam and his Pofterity in this Affair. Therefore I am humbly of Opinion, that if any have fuppofed the Children of Adam to come into the World with a double Guilt, one the Guilt of Adam's Sin, another the Guilt arifing from their having a corrupt Heart, they have not fo well conceived of the Matter. The Guilt a Man has upon his Soul at his firft Exiftence, is one and fimple ; viz. the Guilt of the original Apoftacy, the Guilt of the Sin by which the Species firft rebelled againft God. This, and the Guilt ariflng from the firft Corruption cr depraved Uifpofition of the Heart, are not to be look'd upon as two things, diftinftly imputed and charged upon Men in the Sight of God. Indeed the Guilt, that arifes from the Corruption of the Heart, as it remains a confirmed Principle, and appears in it's confequent Operations, is a dijlinft and additional Guile : but the Guilt arifing from the 328 Imputation of Adam's Sin Part IV. the firft exifting of a depraved Difpofition in Admits Pofte- rity, I apprehend, is not diftinct from theirGuilt of Adam's firft Sin. For fo it was not in Adam himfelf. The firft evil Difpofition or Inclination of the Heart of Adam to Sin, was not properly diftinct from his firft Act of Sin, but was included in it. The external Act he committed was no otherwife his, than as his Heart was in it, or as that Action proceeded from the wicked Inclination of his Heart. Nor was theGuilt he had, double, as for two diftinct Sins I One, the Wickednefs of his Heart and Will in that Affair ; another, the Wickednefs of the external Act, caufed by his Heart. His Guilt was all truly from the Act of his inward Man ; exclufive of which the Motions of his Body were no more than the Motions of any lifelefs Inltrument. His Sin confided in Wickednefs of Heart, fully fufficient for, and intirely amounting to, all that appeared in the Act he committed. The depraved Difpofition of Adam's Heart is to be con- fidered two Ways. (1.) As the firft riling of an evil Incli- nation in his Heart, exerted in his firft Act of Sin, and the Ground of the compleat TranfgreiTion. (2.) An evil Difp>o(ition of Heart continuing afterwards, as a confirmed Principle, that came by God's forfaking him ; which was a Pwnifhment of his firft Tranfgreflfion. This confirmed Corruption, by it's remaining and continued Operation, brought additional Guilt on his Soul. And in like Manner, Depravity of Heart is to be con- fidered two Ways in Adam's Pofterity. The firft Ex- ifting of a corrupt Difpofition in their Hearts is not to be look'd upon as Sin belonging to them, diftind from their Participation of Adam's firft Sin : it is as it were the ex- tended Pollution of that Sin, through the whole Tree, by Virtue of the conftituted Union of the Branches with the Root ; or the Inherence of the Sin of that Head of the Species in the Members, in the Confent and Concurrence of the Hearts of the Members- with the Head, in that firft Act. (Which may be, without God's being the Author of Sin : about which I have fpoken in the former Chapter.) But Chap.iil its true Notion Jl x at l ed. 329 But the Depravity of Nature, remaining an eflablijhed Principle in the Heart of a Child of Adam* and as ex- hibited in After-Operations, is ^Confequence and Punifb- merit of the fir ft Apoftacy thus participated, and brings new Guilt. — The firft Being of an evil Difpofition in the Heart of a Child of Adam, whereby he is difpofed to ap- prove of the Sin of his firft Father, as fully as he him- felf approved of it when he committed it, or fo far as to imply a full and perfect Confent of Heart to it, I think, is not to be look'd upon as a Confequence of the Impu- tation of that firft Sin, any more than the full Confent of Adam's own Heart in the Ac! of (inning ; which was not confequent on the Imputation of his Sin to himfelf,but ra- ther prior to it in the Order of Nature. Indeed the Deri- vation of the evil Difpofition to the Hearts of Adam's Pofterity,or rather the Co-exiflence of the evil Difpofition, implied 'in Ada??is firft Rebellion,in the Root ^Branches, is a Confequence of the Union, that the wife Author of the World has eftabli (lied between Adam & his Pofterity; but not properly a Confequence of the Imputation of his Sin; nay, rather antecedent to it, as it was inAdam him- felf. The firft Depravity of Heart, and the Imputation of that Sin, are both the Confequences of that eftablimed Union ; but yet in fuch Order, that the evil Difpofition is firft, and the Charge of Guilt confequent ; as it was in the G&fc of Adam Hmfelt* The aUHWUHLUI ..II III.. ma. ■ 11.111 ■ hi 1 'l ■■ l.l»..«L.iU.J-»l»IU.I I I ■! . * My Meaning, in the whole of what has been here laid, may be illuftrated thus : Let us fuppofe, that Adam and all his Pofterity had co-exifud, and that his Posterity had fc»een,thr£ a Law of Nature eftabliflied by the Creator, united to him, fomething as the Branches of a Tree are united to the Root, or the Members of the Body to the Head; fo as to conftitute as it were one complex Perfon, or one moral Whole : So that by the Law of Union there mould have been a Communion zndCo-exi/ence inAds & Affections ; all jointly participating, and all concurring, as one Whole, in the Difpofition & A#ion of the Head : as we fee in the Body natural, the whole Body is affected as the Head is affected ; and the whole Body con- curs when the Head acts. Now, in this Cafe, the Hearts L 1 of 330 Imputation 0/* Adam's Sin Part IV, The firft Exigence of an evil Difpofition of Heart, amounting to a full Confent to Aidants Sin no more in- fers God's being the Author of that evil Difpofition in the Child, than in the Father, The firft Arifing or Ex- iting of that evil Difpofition in the Heart of Adam, was h J of all the Branches of Mankind, by the Constitution of Na- ture and Law of Union, would have been affected juft as the Heart of Adam, their common R.oot, was affected. When the Heart of the Root, by a full Difpofition committed the firft Sin, the Hearts of ail the Branches would have con- curred ; and when the Root, in Confequence of this, be- came guilty, fo would all the Branches ; and when the Heart of theRoot,as a Punifhment of theSin committed, was forfaken of God, in like Manner would it have faired with all the Branches ; and when the Heart of the Root, in Con- fequence of this, was confirmed in permanent Depravity, the Cafe would have been the fame with all the Branches ; and as newGuilt on theSoul of Adam would have been con- fequent on this, fo alfo would it have been with his moral Branches. And thus all Things,with Relation to evil Dif- pofition, Guilt, Pollution and Depravity, would exift, in the fame Order and Dependence, in each Branch, as in the Root. Now, Difference of the Time of Exiftence don't at all hinder Things fucceeding in the fame Order, any more than Difference of Place in a Co-exiftence of Time. Here may be worthy to be obferved, as in feveral Refpects to the prefentPurpofe, fomeThings th?t are laid by Stop ferns, an eminent Divine of Zurich in Switzerland, in his Theologia Pokmica, pubiifhed about fourtee-nYears ago \-~-\nEngUJh as follows. " Seeing H\Ada?n y s Pofterity are derived from their * c firft Parent,' as their Root, the whole of the human Kind, cc with it's Root, may be confldered as constituting but one *« Whole, or one Mafs ; fo as net to be properly a Thing; * c diftincl from it's Root ; the Pofterity not differing from " it, any otherwife than the Branches from the Tree. From " which it eafily appears, how that when the Root fin'd, << all that which is derived from it, and with it conftitutes " but one Whole, may be looked upon as alfo finning ; " feeing it is not diftincl from the Root, but is' one with « it."-— Tm, I. Chap. III. §. 856, 57. " Tis Chap. III. iff true Notion JIated. 331 by ^od's Permijjion ; who could have prevented it, if he had pleafed, by giving fuch Influences of his Spirit, as would have been abfolutely effectual to hinder it : which, it is plain in Fact,he did with-hold : and whateverMy fiery may be fuppofcd in the Affair, yet no Chriflian will pre- fume to fay, it was not in perfect Confidence with God's Holinefs and Right eoufnefs, notwithuanding *ddam had L 1 2 been " 'Tis objected, againit the Imputation of Adam's Sin,that u we never committed the fame Sin with Adam, neither in " Number nor in Kind. I anfwer, we fhould diftinguifh " here between the Phyfical Aft it felf* which Adam commit- *' ted, and the Morality of -the Action, and Confent to it. If ct we have refpect only to the external Act, to be fure it " muft be confefs'd, that Adams Pofterity did not put forth " their Hands to the forbidden Fruit : In which Senfe, " that Act of Tranfgreffion, and that Fall of Adam cannot " be phyjkally one with the Sin of his Pofterity. But if we " confider the Morality of the Action, and what Confent there " is to it, it is altogether to be maintain'd, that his' Pofterity u committed {he fame Sin, both inNumber & in Kind, inaf- tc much as they are to be Jock'd upon as confenting to it. " For where there is Confent to a Sin, there the fame Sin " is committed. Seeing therefore that Adam with all his " Pofterity conftitute but one moral Pcrfm, and are united in " the fame Covenant, & are Tranfgreffors of the fame Law, *' they are alfo to be look'd upon as having,in a moral Efti- c; mation 5 committed the fameTranfg^effion of the Law,both " in Number and in Kind. Therefore this Reafoning avails " nothing againit the righteous Imputation of the Sin of A- " dam to all Mankind, or to the whole moral Perfon that is " confenting to it. And for the Reafon mention'd, we may rather argue thus ; The Sin of thePofterity,on Account of their Confent, and the moral View in which they are to be taken, is the fame with the Sin of Adam, not only in ,k Kind, but in Number ; therefore the Sin of Adam is right- " fuily imputed to his Pofterity. "---/d. Tom. iv. Cap. 16. "§.•60, 6 1. " The Imputation of Adam's firft Sin confifts in Nothing " t\[t than this, that his Pofterity areview'd as in the fame ** Place with their Father, and are like him. But feeing, ;' agreable to what we have already proved, God m.ghr, according cc 4. 332 The true Notion of Imputation. Part IV. been guilty of no Offence before. So Root and Branches being one, according to God's wife Conftitution, the Cafe 3n Fact is, that by virtue of this Onenefs anfwerable Changes or Effects through all the Branches co-exift with the Changes in the Root ' confequently an evil Difpofition exifts in the Hearts of Adam's Pofterity, equivalent to that which was exerted in his own Heart, when he eat the forbidden Fruit. Which God has no Hand in, any other- wife, than in not exerting fuch an Influence, as might be effectual to prevent it ; as appears by what was obferved in the former Chapter. But " according to Ins own righteous Judgment, which wa s " founded on his mod righteous Law, give Adam a Pofterity €C that were like h\mjelf\ and indeed it could not be otherwife, * c according to the very Laws of Nature; therefore he might 64 alfo in righteous Judgment impute Adam's Sin to them : ct inafrnuch as to give Adam a Pofterity like bimfeif^ and to " 1 whuff h i c K tm ipute his Sin to them, is one and the fameThing. And 64 therefore if the former be not contrary to the divine Per- " fections,fo neither is the latter.---- Our Adverfaries contend " with us chiefly on this Account, That according to our c: Doctrine of original Sin, fuch an Imputation of the firft Sin " is maintained, whereby God, without any Regard to uoi- " verfal native Corruption, efteems all Adam's Pofterity as " guilty y and holds them as liable to Condemnation, purely " on Account of that finful Act of their firft Parent ; (o €i that They, without any Refpect had to their own Sin, and " fo,as innocent in themlelves, are deftin'd to eternal Punim- !5h i^> 261, 384, 387. 334 Adam's being conjlituted Part IV. tion of one Individual among all the natural Dependents of Adam, as makes it apparent, that God actually deals with Adam and his Pofterity as One, in the Affair of his Apoftacy, and it's infinitely terrible Confequences. It has been demonftrated, and (hewn to be in Effect plainly acknowledged, that every Individual of Mankind comes into the World in fuch Circumftances, as that there is no Hope or Poffibility of any other than their violating God's holy Law (if they ever live to aft at all, as moral Agents) and being thereby juflly expofed to eternal Ruin.* And it is thus by God's ordering and difpofing of Things. And God either thus deals with Mankind, becaufe he looks upon them as one with their firft Father, and fo treats them as finful and guilty by his Apoftacy ; or (which won't mend the Matter) He, -without viewing them as at all concerned in that Affair, but as in every Refpeft per- fectly innocent, does neverthelefs fubjeft them to this in- finitely dreadmlCalamity. Adam by his Sin was expofed to theCalamites hSorrozvs of this Life, lot emporarD eat h, and eternal Ruin ; as is confefs'd. And 'tis alio in Effeft confefs'd, that all his Pofterity come into the World in fuch a State, as that the certain Confequence is their being expofed, and juflly fo, to the Sorrows of this Life, to temporal T>eath, and eternal Ruin, unlefs faved by Grace. So that we fee, God in Faft 'deals with them together, or as one. If God orders the Confequences of Adam's Sin, with regard to his Pofterity's Welfare, even in thofe things which are mod important, and which do in the higheff. Degree concern their eternal Interefr, to be the fame with the Confequences to Adam himfelf, then he treats Adam and his Pofterity as in that Affair one. Hence, however the Matter be attended with Difficulty, Facl obliges us to getover thcDifficulty, either by finding out fome Solution, or by fhutting our Mouths, and acknowledging the Weak- nefs and Scantinefs of our Underftandings ; as we mud in innumerable other Cafes, where apparent and undeniable Facl, 1 art I. Chap. I, the three fir ft Se&ions. Chap.iil our common Head y not injurious. 335 Faff, in God's Works of Creation and Providence, is at- tended with Events and Circumftances, the Manner and Reafon of which are difficult to our Underftandings. — But to proceed, II. We will confider the 'Difficulties themfelves, in- lifted on in the Objections of our Oppofers. They may be reduced to thefe two ; Firft, That fuch a Conftituti- on is injurious to Adam's Pofterity. Secondly, That it is altogether improper, as it implies Falfhood ; viewing and treating thofe as one, which indeed are not one, but intirely dijlina. FIRST "Difficulty, That the appointing Adam to ftand, in this great Affair, as the moral Head of his Pofte- rity, and fo treating them as one with him, as Handing or falling with him, is injurious to them, and tends to their Hurt. To which I anfwer, It is demonftrably other- wife ; that fuch a Conftitution was fo far from being in- jurious and hurtful to Adam's Pofterity, or tending to their Calamity, any more than if every one had been ap- pointed to ftand for himfelf perfonally, that it was, in it felf confidered, very much of a contrary Tendency, and. was attended with a more eligible Probability of an happy IfTiie, than the latter would have been : and fo is a Con- flitution truly exprefling the Goodnefs of it's Author. For, here the following Things are to be confidered. 1. 'Tis reafonable to fuppofe, that Adam was as likely, on Account of his Capacity and natural Talents, to perfe- vere in Obedience, as his Pofterity (taking one with ano- ther) if they had all been put on theTrial fingly for th< - felves. And fuppofing,that there was a conftituted Union or Oneneft of him and his Pofterity, and that he ftood as a publick Perfon, or common Head, all by this Conflitu- tion would have been as fure to partake of the Benefit of his Obedience, as of the ill Confequence of his Difobedi- ence, in Cafe of his Fall. 2. There was a greater Tendency to a happy IfTue, in fuch an Appointment, than if every one had been ap- pointed to ftand for himfelf : efpecially on two Accounts. (1.) That 336 This Con-flit ution not injurious. Part IV» *\ (r.) That Adam hzdftronger Motives to Watchfulnefs ; than his Pofterity would have had ; in that not only his own eternal Welfare lay at Stake, but alfo that of all his Pofterity. - (2.) Adam was in a State of complcat Man- hood, when his Trial began. It was a Conftitution very agreable to the Goodnefs of God, confidering the State of Mankind, which was to be propagated in the Way of Generation that theiryfr/? Father fhould be appointed to ftand for all. For by Reafon of the Manner of their coming into Exigence in a State of Infancy ^ and their coming fo gradually to mature State, and fb remaining for a great while in a State of Childhood and comparative Imperfection, after they were become moral Agents, they would be lefs fit to (land for themfelves, than their firft Father to Hand for them. If any Man, notwithstanding thefe Things, (It all fay, That for his own Part, if the Affair had been propofed to him, he fhould have chofen to have his eternal Intereft trufted in his own Hands s 'Tis fufficient to anfwer, that no Man's vain Opinion of himfelf,as more fit to be trufted than others, alters the true Nature and Tendency of Things, as they demonftrably are in themfelves. — Nor is it a juft Objection, That this Conftitutiori has in Event proved for the Hurt of Mankind. For it don't follow, that no Advantage was given for a happy Event, in fuch an Eftablifhment, becaufe it was not fuch as to make it utterly impoffible there fhould be any other Event. 3. The Goodnefs of God in fuch a Conftitution with Adam appears in this ; That if there had been no five- reign gracious Eftablifhment at all, but God had proceed- ed only on the Foot of meer Juftice, and had gone no further than this required, he might have demanded of Adam and all his Pofterity.. that they fhould perform perfect perpetual Obedience, without ever failing in the leaft Inftance, on Pain of eternal Death ; and might have made this Demand without the Promife of any pofitive Reward for their Obedience. For perfect Obedience is a Debt, that every one owes to his Creator - ? and there- fore Chap.iii. Nor implying Falfhood. 337 fore is what his Creator was not obliged to pay him for. None is obliged to pay his Debtor, only for difcharging his juft Debt. — But fuch was evidently the Conftitution with Adam, that an eternal happy Life was to be the Confequence of his perfevering Fidelity, to all fuch as were included within that Conftitution (of which the Tree of Life was a Sign) as well as eternal Death to be the Confequence of his Difobedience. — I come now to confl- der the SECOND 'Difficulty. —It being thus manifeft, that this Conftitution, by which Adam and his Pofterity are dealt with as One, is not unreafonable upon Account of it's be- ing injurious and hurtful to the Intereft of Mankind, the only thing remaining in the Objection againft fuch a Con- ftitution, is the Impropriety of it, as implying FalJJoood^ and Contradiction to the true Nature of Things ; as here- by they are view'd and treated as one, who are not one, but wholly diftinct ; and no arbitrary Conftitution can ever make that to be true, which in it felf confidered is not true. This Objection, however fpecious, is really founded on a falfe Hypothecs, and wrong Notion of what we call Samenefs ovOnenefs, among createdThings ; and the feem- ing Force of the Objection arifes from Ignorance or In- confideration of the Degree, in which created Identity or Onenefs with paft Exiftence, in general, depends on the fovereign Conftitution and Law of the fupreme Author and Difpofer of the Univerfe. SomeThings, being moft (imply confidered, are intirely diflincl, and very diverfe ; which yet are fo united by the eftablifhed Law of the Creator, in fome Refpefh and with Regard to fome Purpofes and Effects, that by Virtue of that Eftablifhment it is with them as if they were One* Thus a Tree, grown great, and an hundred Years old, is One Plant with the little Sprout, that firft came out of the Ground, from whence it grew, and has been continued in conftantSucceffion ; tho it's now fo exceeding dherfe,mmy Thoufand Times bigger, and of a very different Form, M m and 338 Adam and his Seed One, Part IV, and perhaps not one A torn the very fame : YetGod, accord- ing to an eftablifhedLaw of Nature, has in a conflant Sue- ceffion communicated to it many of the fame Qualities, and mod important Properties, as if it were One. It has " been hisPIeafure, to confiitute an Union in thefe Rcfpecls, and for thefe Purpofes, naturally leading us to look upon all as One. — So the Body of Man at forty Years of Age, is one with the Infant- Body which firft came into the World, from whence it grew ; tho' now confiitured of different Subftance, and the greater Part of the Subftance probably changed Scores (if not hundreds) of Times : and tho' it be now in fo many Refpe&s exceeding diverfe, yet God, according to the Courfe of Nature, which he has been pleafed to eftablifh,has caufed, that in a certainMethod it fhould communicate with that Infantile Body, in the fame Life, the fame Senfes, the fame Features, and many the fameQualities, and in Union with the fame Soul ; and fo, with regard to thefe Purpofes, 'tis dealt with by him as one Body. Again, the Body and Soul of a Man are one, in a very different Manner, & for different Purpofes. Confide red in themfelves, they are exceeding different Beings, of a Nature as diverfe as can be conceived ; and yet, by a very peculiar divine Conftitution or Law of Na- ture, which God has been pleafed to cflablifh, they are ftrongly united, and become One, in mod important Re- flects \ a wonderful mutual Communication is eftablifii- ed ; fo that both become different Parts of the fame Man. But theJIjnion and mutual Communication they have, has ice, and is intirely regulated and limited, according to jtfc fovereign Pleaflire of God, and the Conftitution he been pleafed to eftablifli. And if we come even to the ferfonal Identity of cre- ated intelligent Beings, tho this be not allowed to confift wholly in that which Mr. Locke places it in, i. e. Same Confctoufnefs : yet 1 think it can't be denied, that this is one thing effential to it. But 'tis evident, that the Com- munication or Continuance of the fame Confcioufnefs and Memory to any Subject, thro' iucceffive Parts of Duration, depends Chap •iii confiftent with /A?Truth ofThings.^^ depends wholly on a divine Eftablifhmcnt. There would be no Necefiity, that theRe membra nee and Idea's of what is pad fhould continue to exift, but by an arbitrary Con- ftitutien of the Creator. — If any iliould here infill, that there is no Need of having Recourfe to any fuch Confli- tution, in order to account for the Continuance oixSxtfame Confcioufnefs ; and iliould fay, that the very Nature of the Soul is fuch as will fufficiently account for it ; and that the Soul will retain the Idea's & Confcioufnefs it once had, according to the Courfe of Nature : — Then let it be remember'd, Who it is, gives the Soul this Nature ; and let that be remember'd, which Dr. T. fays of the Courfe of Nature, before obferved ; denying, that the Courfe of Nature is a proper active Caufe, which ivill work and go on by itfelf without God, if he lets and permits it ; faying, that the Courfe of Nature, feparate from the A~ gency of God, is no Caufe, or Nothing ; and affirming, that it's abfolutely impojftble, the Courfe of Nature fhoutd continue itfelf, or go on to operate by itfelf, any more than produce itfelf-* and, that God, the Original of all Being, is the ONLY CAUSE of all natural Efeffsj— Here is worthy alfoto be obferved, what Dv.T'umbull fays of the .Laws of Nature, in Words which he cites from Sir Ifaac Newton.'] " It is the Will of the Mind that is the st firftCaufe, that gives Subfiftence & Efficacy to all thofe " Lams, who is the efficient Caufe that produces the *'* Phenomena, which appear in Analogy, Harmony and " Agreement, according to thefe Laws' 9 And he fays, ," The fame Principles mufl take Place inThings pcrtain- " ing to moral, as well as natural Philofophy."+ From thefe Things it wiU cleanly follow, that Identity of Confcioufnefs depends wholly on a Law of Nature ; and (b, on the fovereign/^7// and Agency of GOT) ; and therefore, that Perform! Identity, and fo the Derivation of the Pollution and Guilt of pad Sins in the fame Perfon, depends on an arbitrary divine Confliiution : and this,evcn M m 2 tli ou grj * P. 410, t P. 416. (I Mor. Phil. P, 7. % Ibid P. 9, 340 All createdQncnzfe) dependent Part IV. though we fhould allow the fame Confcioufhefs not to be the only Thing which constitutes Onenefs of Perfon>but fhould, befides that, fuppofe Samenefs of Subftance requi- site. For, if fame Confcioufnefs be one Thing neceffary to Perfonal Identity, and this depends on God 5 s fovereign Conftkution, it will dill follow, that perfonal Identity depends on God's fovereign Conftitution, And with refpcct to the Identity of created Subftance it fclf, in the different Moments of its Duration, I think, we fhall greatly miftake, if we imagine it to be like that abfolute, independent Identity of the First Being, whereby He is the fame Yeflerday, to^Day, and for ever. Nay, on the contrary, it may be demonftrated, that even this Onenefs of created Subftance, exifting at different Times, is a meerly depe nd '^Identity ; dependent on the PIcafure and fovereign Conftitution of Him who zvorketh all in all. This will follow from what is generally al- lowed, and is certainly true, That God not only created all Things, and gave them Being at firft, but continually preferves them, and upholds them in Being. — This being a Matter of confiderable Importance, it may be worthy here to be confidered with a little Attention. — Let us in- quire therefore, in the firitPlace, Whether it ben't evident, that God does continually, by his immediate Power, up- hold every created Subftance in Being ; and then let us fee the Confequence. That God docs, by his immediate Power, uphold ev ery created Snbftanc - in Being, will be manifeft, if we confi- der, that their prefent Exiftence is a dependent Exiftence, and therefore is an Effect, and muft have fome Caufe : and the Caufe muft be one of thefe two; either the ante- cedent Exiftence of the fame Subftance,or elfe the Power of the Creator. But it can't be the antecedent Exiftence of the fame Subftance. For Inftance, the Exiftence of the Body of ihcJMoon at this prefentMoment, can't be the Effect of it's Exiftence at the laft foregoing Moment. For not only was what exifted the laft Moment mo aftiveCaufe, but wholly a paffive Thing j But this alfo is to be confi- dered; Chap.iii. onGOU s fov n - Conftitution. 341 dered, that no Caufe can produce Effects in a Time and Place in which it felf is ?iot. 'Tis plain, Nothing can exert itfelf, or operate, when and where it is not exiding. But the Moon's pad Exidence was neither where nor when its prefent Exigence is. — In point of Time, what is pafl, intit ely ceafes, when prefent Exidence begins ; other- wife it would not be pafl. The pad Moment is ceafed and gone, when the prefent Moment takes Place, ; and does no more co-exifl with it, than does any other Moment that had ceafed twenty Years ago. Nor could the pad Exigence of the Particles of this moving Body produce Effects in any other Place, than where it then was. But its Exiflence at the prefent Moment, in every Point of it, is in a different Place, from where its Exiftence was at the lad preceeding Moment. From thefe Things, I fuppofe, it will certainly follow, that the prefent Exidence, either of this, or any other created Subdance, cannot be an Effect of its pad Exidence. The Exidences (fo to fpeak) of an Effect, or Thing dependent, in different Parts of Space or Duration, tho ever fo near one to another, don't at all co-exifl one with the other ; and therefore are as truly different Effects, as if thofe Parts of Space and Duration were ever fo far afunder : And the prior Exidence can no more be the proper Caufe of the new Exidence, in the next Moment, or next Part of Space, than if it had been in an Age before, or at a Thoufand Miles Didance, without any Exidence to fill up the intermediate Time or Space. Therefore the Exidence of created Subdances, in each fucceffive Moment, mud be the Effect of the immediate Agency, Will, and Power of GOD. If any dial! fay,ThisReafoning is not good, & diall infill upon it, that there is no Need of any immediate divine Power, to produce the prefent Exidence of created Sub- dances, but that their prefent Exidence is the Effect or Confequence of pad Exidence, according to the Nature of Things ; that the edabliflied Courfe of Nature is fuffi- ent to continue Exidence, where Exidence is once given ; — I allow it : But then it fliould be remembered, what Na- ture -^^2 All cr eatedOntv\z{%)dependent Part IV. ture is, in created Things ; and what the eftablifhed Coarfe of Nature is ; That, as has been obferved already, it is Nothing, fe par ate from the .Agency of God; and thr-.t, as Dr. Tl fays, GOT), the Original of all Being, is the ONLTCaafe of all naturalEffecls. — A Father,according to the Courfe of Nature,begets a Child ; an Oak, accord- ing to theConrfe of Nature, produces an Acorn,or a Bud ; fo according to the Courfe of Nature, the former Exift- ence of the Trunk of the Tree is followed by it's new or prefent Exigence. In the one Cafe, and the other, the new Effecl: is confequent on the former,only by the eflab- lifhed Laws, and fettled Courfe of Nature ; which is al- lowed to be Nothing but the continued immediate Effici- ency of GOD, according to a Conftitution that he has been pleafed to eftablifh. Therefore, as our Author greatly urges, that the Child and the Acorn, which come into Exiftence according to the Courfe of Nature, in Con- fequence of the prior Exigence and State of the Parent and the Oak, are truly immediately created cr made by God ; fo muft the Exiflence of each created Perfon and Thing, at eachMoment of it, be from the immediate conti- nued Creation of God. It will-certainly follow from thefe Things, that God's preferring created Things in Being is perfectly equivalent to a continued Creation, or to his creating thofe Things out of Nothing at each Moment of their Exigence. If the continued Exiflence of created Things be wholly dependent on God's Prefervation, then thofe Things would drop into Nothing, upon the ceafing of the prefent Moment, without a new Exertion of the di- vine Power to caufe them to cxill in the following Mo- ment. If there be any who own, that God preferves Things in Being, and yet how that they would continue in Being without any further Help from him, after they once have Exiflence ; I think, it is hard to know what they mean. To what Purpofe can it be,to talk of God's preferring Things in Being, when there is no Need of his preferving them ? Or to talk of their being dependent on God for continued Exiflence^ when they would of themfelves Chap.iii. o?iGOD"sfov n ' Conftitation. 343 themfelves continue to exift, without hisHelp ; nay, though he fhould wholly withdraw his fultaining Power and In- fluence : It will follow from what has been obferved,that God's upholding created Subftance, or caufing it's Exigence in each fucceffive Moment, is altogether equivalent to an im- mediate Production out of Nothing, at eachMoment. Be- caufe it's Exigence at this Moment is not meerly in Part fromGW, but wholly from him ; and not in any Part, or Degree, from it's antecedent Exiftence. For the fuppo- fing, that it's antecedent Exigence concurs with God in Efficiency, to produce fome Part of the EfFe&,is attend- ed with all the very fame Abfurdities, which have been fliown to attend the Suppofition of it's producing it wholly. Therefore the antecedent Exigence is Nothing, as to any proper Influence or Aflifiance in the Affair : And confe- quently God produces the Effect as much from Nothing, as if there had been Nothing before. So that this Effect differs not at all from the firft Creation, but only Circum- ftantially^ • as in firft Creation there had been no fuch Aci and^ Effect of God's Power before : whereas, his giv- ing Exigence afterwards, follows preceeding Acts and EfFe&s of the fame Kind, in an eftablifhed Order. Now, in the next Place, let us fee how the Confequence of thefe Things is to my prefent Purpofe. If the Exig- ence of created Subftance, in each fucceffive Moment, be wholly theEffeft of God's immediate Power, in that Mo- ment, without any Dependence on prior Exigence, as much as the firft Creation out of Nothing, then what exifts at thisMoment, by this Power,, is a newEffiecl] and fimply & abfolutely confidered, not the fame with any paft Exiftence, tho' it be like it, and follows it according to a certain eftablifhed Method. * And there is no Identity or Cnenefs * Wnen I fuppofe,that anEffedt which is produced, every Mo- ment, by a newAdicn or Exertion of Power, mull be a new Effect in each Moment, and not abfolutely and numerically ihe fame with that which exifted in proceeding Moments, the 344 dll createdOtLznefeydependent Part IV. Onenefs in the Cafe, but what depends on the arbitrary Conftitution of the Creator ; who by his wife fovereign Eftablifhment fo unites thefe fucceflive new Effects, that he treats them as One, by communicating to them like Properties, Relations, & Circumftances ; and fo, leads us to regard and treat them as one. When I call this an ar- bitrary Conftitution, I mean, that it is a Conftitution which depends the Thing that I intend, may be illuftrated by this Example. The lucid Colour or Brightnefs of the Aloon, as we look ftedfaftly upon it, feems to be ^-permanent Thing, as though it were perfectly the fame Brightnefs continued. But in- deed it is an Effect produced everyMoment. It ceafes, and is renewed, in each fucceffive Point ef Time ; and fo be- comes altogether a new Effect at each fnfrant ; and no one Thing that belongs to it, is numerically the fame that exifted in the preccedingMoment. The Rays of the Sun, impreffed on thatBody, and reflected from it, which caufe the Effect, are none of them the fame : The Impreilion, made in each Moment on ourSenfory, is by the Stroke of newRzys : And the Senfation, excited by the Stroke, is a new Effect, an Effect of a newlmpunt. Therefore the Brightnefs or lucid Whitenefs of this Body is no more numerically the fame Thing; with that which exifted in the preceeding Moment, than the Sound of the Wind that blows now, is individually the fame with the Sound of the Wind that blew juft before > which, though it be like it, is not the fame, any more than the agitated Air, that makes the Sound, is the fame ; or than the Water, flowing in a River, that now paffes by, is indivi- dually the fame with that which pafs'd a little before. And if it be thus with the Brightnefs or Colour of the Moon, fo it muft be with it's Solidity, and every thing elfe belonging to it's Subftance, if all be, each Moment, as much the im- mediate Effect of a new Exertion or Application of Power. The Matter may perhaps be in fome Refpects ftill more clear- ly illuftrated by this.— The Images of Things in a Glafs, as we keep our Eye upon them, feem to remain precifely the fame, with a continuing perfect Identity. But it is known to be otherwife. Philofophers well know, that thefe Ima- ges are conftantly renewed, by the Impreffion and Reflexion of ntvo Rays of Light ; fo that the Image imprefs'd by the former Rays is conftantly vanifhing, and a new Image im- prefs'd Chap.iii. on GOD's fov. n Conftitution. 345 depends on Nothing but the divine JVM ; which divine Will depends on Nothing but the divine Wifdom. In this Senfe, the whole Gourfe of Nature, with all that be- longs to it ; all it's Laws and Methods, and Conftancy and Regularity, Continuance and Proceeding, is an arbitrary Conftitution. In this Senfe, the Continuance of the very- Being of the World and all it's Parts, as well as the Man- lier of continued Being, depends entirely on an arbitrary Conftitution : for it 'don't at all neceftarily follow, that becaufe there was Sound, or Light, or Colour, or Refift- ance, or Gravity, or Thought, or Confcioufnefs, or any other dependent Thing the lad Moment, that therefore there iliall be the like at the next. — All dependent Exiffence whatfoever is in a conftant Flux, ever pafling N ft and prds'd by new Rays every Moment, both on the triafs and on the Lye. The Image constantly renewed, by new fuc- ceftive Rays, is no more numerically the fame, than if it were by fome Artift put on a-new with a Pencil, and the Co- lours conftantly vanilhing as fail as put on. And the new Images being put on immediately or inftantly, don't make 'em the fame, any more than if it were done wall the IntercriUEL- o'n of an Hoar or a Day. The Image that exifcs this Mo- ment, is not at all derived from the Image which exifted the laft preceeding Moment : as may be ken, becaufe, if the SuGcefflon of new Rays be intercepted, by fomething inter- pofed between -the Object and the Glafr, the Image imme- diately ceafes ; the pajt Exigence ot the Image has no Influ- ence to uphold it, (o much as for one Moment. Which, fhews, that the linage is altogether new-made every Mo- ment j and ftrictly fpeak.in.g5is in no Part numerically the fame with that which exifted the Moment preceeding. And truly fo the Matter mud be with the Bodies themfelves, as well as their Images : They alfo cannot be the fame, with an abfoiute Identity, but muft be wholly renewed .every Moment, if theCafe be as has been proved, thai: :>nr. Exiftence is not, ftrictly freaking, at all the LiTecl of the.r part Exigence ; but is wholly, every Inftant, the ErTeff of a new Agency, or Exertion ot the rower,' of the Caufe of iheir Exiftence. If io, the Exiftence caufed is every Inftant a new Effect, whether the Caufe be Light, or "immediate c.7- vins Pewer, or whatever it be. 346 No folid Reafon againft Part IV, and returning ; renewed every Moment, as the Colours of Bodies are every Moment renewed by the Light that fliines upon them ; and all is conftantly proceeding from GOD, as Light from the Sun. In Him ivc live, and move, and have our Being. Thus it appears, if we confider Matters ftrictly, there is no fuch Thing as any Identity or Onenefs in created Objects, exifting at different Times, but what depends on GOT) 7 s fovereign Conftitution. And fo k appears, that the Objection, we are upon, made againft a fuppofed divine Conititution, whereby Adam and his Pofterity are view'd and treated as One, in the Manner and for the Pur- pofes fuppofed, as if it were not conftftent with Truth* becaufe no Conftitution can make thofe to be one, which are not one ; I fay, it appears that this Objection is built on a falfe Hypothefis : For it appears, that a divine Con- ftitution is the Thing which makes Truth, in Affairs of this Nature, The Objection fuppofes, there is a Onenefs in created Beings, whence Qualities and Relations are de- rived down from paft Exiftence, diftincl from, and prior to any Onenefs that can be fuppofed to be founded on- divine Conftitution. Which is demonstrably falfe ; and f ufficiently appears fo from things conceded by rhe Adver- saries themfelvcs : And therefore the Objection wholly fails to the Ground. There are various Kinds of Identity & Onenefs, found among created Things, by which they become one in different Manners, Refpecfs and Degrees, and to various Purpcfes ; feveral of which Differences have been obferv- ed ; and every Kind is ordered, regulated and limited, in everyRefpect, by divine Conftitution. SomeThings,exift>. ingr in different Times & Places, are treated by theirCreator as^One in one Refpecl, and others in another ; fome are' united for this Communication, and others for that ; but all according to ihe fovereign Pleafure of the Fountain of all Being and Operation. It appears, particularly, from what has been faid, that all Onenefs, by Virtue whereof Pollution and Guilt from paft Chap.iii. conft. d Unity of k&™&Mank d 34.7 paft Wickednefs are derived, depends intirely on a divine Eft ab lift merit. 'Tis this, and this only, that mud account for Guile and an evil Taint on any individual Sou!, in Confequence of a Crime committed twenty or forty Years ago, remaining ftilJ, and even to the End of the World and forever. 'Tis this, that mud account for the Conti~ nuance of any fuch Thing, any where, as Confcioufnefs of Acls that are paft ; and for theContinuance of all Habits, either good or bad : and on this depends every Thing that can belong to perfonal Identity. And all Communications, Derivations, or Continuation of Qualities, Properties, or Relations, natural or moral, from what is paft, as if the Subject were one, depends on no other Foundation. And I am perfuaded, no folid Reafon can be given, why God, who conftitutes all other created Union or Onenefs, according to his Pleafure, and for v/hat Purpofes, Com- munications, and EfFecls, he pleafes, may not eftablifh a Conftitution whereby the natural Pojlerity of 'Adam, pro- ceeding from him, much as the Buds and Branches from the Stock or Root of a Tree, mould be treated as One with him, for the Derivation, either of Righteoufnefs, and Communion in Rewards, or of the Lofs of Righteoufnefs, and confequent Corruption and Guilt.* N n 2 As I appeal to fuch as are not wont to content themfelves with judging by a fuperfieial Appearance and View of Things, but are habituated to examine things ftriclly and clofely, that they may judge righteous Judgment, Whether on Suppoiition that all. Mankind had co-cx:jled y in the Man- ner mention'd before, any good Reafon can be given, why their Creator might not, if he had pleafed, have cftabliflied fuch an Union between Adam and the reft of Mankind, as was in that Cafe fuopofed. Particularly, if it had been th-3 Cafe, that Adams Pofterity had actually, according to a Law of Nature, fome how grown out of himfa yet remain'd contiguous and literally united to hi?n^ as the Branches to a Tree, or the Members of the Body to the Head ; and had all, before the Fall, exifted together at the fame Time, thorn different Places^ as the Head and Members are in different Places : In this Cafe^ 348 7heW\foomofGod Part IV. As I faid before, AllOnenefs in createdThings, whence Qualities and Relations are derived, depends on a divine Conftitntion that is arbitrary, in every other Re fpec"t, ex- cepting that it is regulated by divine Wifdopi. The Wif- dorn, which is exercifed in thefe Conftitutions, appears in thefe two Things. Firjl, In a beautiful Analogy and Harmony with other Laws or Conftitutions, efpecially re- lating to the fame Subject : and Secondly, in the good Ends obtain'd, or ufeful Confequences of inch a Coniiitu- tion. If therefore there be any Objection full lying againft this Constitution with Adam and his Poiterity, it muft be, that it is not fufficiently wife in thefe Refpecls. But what extreme Arrogance would it be in us, to take upon us to act as Judges of the Beauty and Wifdom of the Laws and eftablilhed Conftitutions or the fupreme Lord and Creator of the Univerfe r — And not only fo, but if this Cohfti- tufon, Cafe, who can determine, that the Author of Nature might nor, if it had pleafed him* have eitabliihed fuch an Union between the Root and Branches of this complex Being, as that ail fhouht conftitute One moral Whole ; fo that by the Law of Union, there mould be a Communion in each moral ^Alteration, and that the Heart of every Branch mould at the fame Moment participate with the Heart of the Root, be con- formed to it and concurring with it in all its Affections and Acts, and fo jointly partaking in its State, as a Pari of t he fame Thing ? Why might not God, if he had pleafed, have fix'd fuch a Kind of Union as this, an Union of the various Parts or fuch a moral Wb h\ as well as many other Unions which he has actually fix'd, according to his fovereign Pica- lure ? And if he might, by his fovereign Constitution, have eftablilhed fuch an Union of the various Branches of Man- kind,when existing in differentP/^«,I don't fee why he might rot alfo do the fame, though they exift in different Times. I know not why Succefllon, or Divcriity of Tifne; i fhouid make any fuch conftituted Union more unreafonabJe, than Divcriity of Place. The only Reafon, why Diverfity of Time can feem to make it imreafonable, is, that Difference a Time ft)ews, there is no abfolute Identity of the Things exifting in thofe different rimes : But it (hews this, I think, pot at all more than the Difference of the Place of Exito Chap.ih. in this Conftitution. 349 union, in particular, be well confidered, it's JVifdom, in the two forementioned Refpecfh, may eafily be made evi- dent. There is an apparent manifold Analogy to other Conftitutions and Laws, eflablifhed and maintained through the whole Syflem oi' vital Nature in this lower World ; all Parts of which, in all SuccefTjons, are derived from the firft of the Kind, as from their R.oot, or Fountain ; each deriving from thence all Properties and Qualities, that are proper to the Nature &: Capacity of the Kind, or Species : NcrDerhative having any onePerfection (unlefs it be what is merely circumflantial) but what was in it's Primitive. And that ^J^z'sPofterity fliould be without that original Right eoufnefs, which *Adam had loll, is alfo analogous to other Laws and Eftablifhments, relating to the Nature of Mankind ; according to which, Adam\ Pofterity have no one Perfection of Nature, in any Kind, fuperiour to what wis in him, when the human Race began to be pro- pagated from him, And as fuch a Conftitution was ft and wife in other Refpecte, fo it was in this that follows. Seeing the divine Conftitution concerning the Manner of Mankind's coming into Exiftence in their Propagation, was fuch as did fo na- turally unite them, & made 'em in fo many Refpecls One, naturally leading them to a clofe Union in Society, and manifold Intercourse, and mutual Dependence, Things were wifely fo eftablilhed, that all fliould naturally be in one and the fame moral Slate ; and not in fuch exceed- ing different States, as that fome fhould be perfectly inno- cent and holy, but others corrupt and wicked ; fome need- ing a Saviour, but others needing none ; fome in a con- firmed State of perfect Happinefs, but others in a State of publick Condemnation to perfect and eternal Mifery; iome juftly expofed to great Calamities in this World, but others by their Innocence raifed above all Suffering. Such a vaft Diverfity of State would by no Means have agreed with the natural 8z neceflary Conftitution & unavoidable Situation and Circumftances of the World of Mankind ; all made of one Blood, to dwell on all the Face of the Earth, 3 5oGrief &&hamzforOrig l Sin,juft.¥. IV. Earth, to be united and blended in Society,and to partake together in the natural and common Goods and Evils of this lower World. Dr, 7~. urges, * that Sorrow and Shame are only fo? perfonal Sin : and it has often been urged, that Repentance can be for no other Sin. To which I would fay, that the Ufe of J^ords is very arbitrary : But that Men's Hearts fhould be deeply affected with Grief and Humiliation be- fore God, for the Pollution and Guilt which they bring into the World with them, I think, is not in the lead um- reafonable. Nor is it a Thing (1 range and unheard of, that Men fhould be ajhamed of Things done by others, whom they are nearly concerned in. I am fure, it is not unfcripf tural ; efpecially when they are juftly looked upon in the Sight of God, who fees the Difpofition of their Hearts, as fully confenting and concurring. From what has been obferved it may appear,there is no fure Ground to conclude, that it mud: be an abfurd and impoifible Thing, for the Rare of Mankind truly to par- take of the Sin of the firft Apoftacy, fo as that this, in Reality 8c Propriety, fhall become their Sin ; by Virtue of a real Union between the Root and Branches of the World of Mankind (truly and properly availing to fuch a Confe- quence) eftabliflied by the Author of the whole Syftem of the Univerfe; to whofe Eftablifhrnents is owing all Pro- priety and Reality of Union, in any Part of that Syftem ; and by Virtue of the full Confent of thellearts of Jidam\ Pofterity to that firft Apoftacy. And therefore the Sin of the Apoftacy is not their's, meerly becaufe God imputes it to them ; but it is truly and properly their's, and on that Ground, God imputes it to them. By Reafon of the eftablifhed Union between^dam and hisPofterity,theCafe is far otherwife between him 8c them, than it is between diftincl: Parts or Individuals of Adam\ Race; betwixt whom is no fuch conftitu ted Union-. As, between Children & otherAnceftors. Concerning whom is apparently '3- Chap.iii. Objnfr. Ezek. \ 8. r,~20. anfw d 351 apparently to be underftood that Place, J?2r^i.xviii.i, — 20* Where God reproves the Jetus for the Ufe they made of that Proverb, The Fathers have eaten Jowre Grapes, and the Children^ Teeth are fet on Edge / and tells them, that hereafter they mall no more have Oc caftan to ufe this Proverb ; and that if a Son fees the Wickednefs of his Father, and fincerely difapproves it and avoids it, and he hi mfeif is righteous, he fhall not die for the Iniquity of his Father ; that all Souls, both the Soul of the Father and the Son, are his ; and that therefore the Son fball not bear the Iniquity of his Father, nor the Father bear the Iniquity of the Son ; but the Soul that ftnneth, it Jhall die ; that the Right eoufnefs of the Righteous Jhall be upon him, and the Wickednefs of the Wicked Jhall be upon him. The Thing <^mV^,isCcmmunion in the Guile and Puniihment of the Sins of others, that are diftinft Parts of Adam's Race ; and exprefly, in that Cafe,where fhere is no Confent and Concurrence, but a flncere Difap- probation of theWickednefs of Anceftors. It is declared, that Children who are adult and come to act for them- felves, who are righteous^ and don't approve of, but fin- cerely condemn the Wickednefs of their Fathers, fhall not be punifhed for their difapproved and avoided Iniqui- ties. The Occafion of what is here faid, as well as the T>efign and plain Senfe, fhews, that Nothing is here in* tended in the lead Degree inconfiflent with what has been fuppofed concerning Adam 's Pofterity's finning and' fall- ing in his Apoftacy. — The Occafion is, the People's mur- muring at God's Methods under thtMofaic Difpenfation ; agreable to that in Levit.xxv'h2^. And they that are left of you, fhall pine away in their Iniquity in their Enemies Land, and alfo in the Iniquities of their Fathers Jhall they pine away with them. And ether parallel Places, refpe&ing external Judgments, which were the Puniili- ments moft plainly threatened, and chiefly infilled on, un- der -that Difpenfation (which was, as it were, an external and * Which Dr t T. allcdges P, 286, 287, 3 5^ God's] uftice,tt0/ to be difputed.V&rt XV . and carnal Covenant) and particularly the People's* fufTcr- ing fuch terrible Judgments at that Day, even in EzekiePs Time, for the Sins of Mdnaffeh ; according to what God fays by Jeremiah (Jer.xv.4.) and agreable to what is faid in that Confeffion, Lam. v. 9. Our Fathers have fin\i and are not, and we have borne their Iniquities, In what is faid here, there is a fpecial Rcfpecr. to the in- troducing the Gofpel-Difpenfation; as is greatly confirm- ed by comparing this Place with Jer. xkx'l 29, 30, 3 t, Under which Difpenfation, the Righteoufnefs of God's Dealings with Mankind would be more fully manifested, in the clear Revelation then to be made of the Method of the Judgment of God, by which the final State of wicked Men is determined ; which is not according to the Beha- viour of their particular Anceftors; but every one is dealt with according to the Sin of his own wicked Heart, or {in- fill Nature and Practice. The Affair of ''Derivation of the natural Corruption of Mankind in general, and of then Content to, and Participation of, the primitive and com* mori .-'■■ poitacy, is not in the lead intermeddled with, or touch'd, by any thing meant or aimed at in the true Scope and Defign of this Place in Ezekiel. On the Whole, if any don't like the Philofophy, or the Met aphv fecks (as feme perhaps may chufe to call it) made life of in the foregoing Reafonings ; yet 1 cannot doubt, but that a proper Confideration of what is apparent and undeniable in Fatl, with refpecl to the 'Dependence of the State and Courfe of Things in this Univerfe on the fovereign Conflitutions of the fuprcme Author and Lord of all, who gives none Account of any of his Matters, and zvhofe Ways are p aft finding out, will be fufficient, with Perfons of common Modeny 8c Sobriety,to flop their Mouths, from making peremptory Decifions againft the Jnftice of God, rcipecYing what is fo plainly and fully taught in his holy Word, concerning the Derivation of .a Depravity and Guilt from Adam to his Pofterity ; aThing fo abundantly confirm'd by what is found in the Ex peri' ence of all Mankind in all Ages, This chap.iii. O/'partial Imputation to Infants. 353 This is enough, one would think, forever to filence fuch bold Expreffions as thefe — " If this bejuft, — iftheScrip- " tures teach fuch Doflrine^r. then the Scriptures are of " nollfe — Underftanding is ^Underftanding, — z\-\&,Wbat *' a GOD muft he' be, that can thus curfe innocent Crea- " tures !— Is this thy GOT>, O Chriftian /— &c. &c. It may not be improper here to add fomething (by Way of Supplement to this Chapter, in which we have had Oc- cafion to fay fo much about the Imputation of Adam's Sin) concerning the Opinions of two "Divines, of no in- coniiderable Note among the 6 D\ '[([enters in England, re- la ting to a partial Imputation of Adam's firft Sin. One of them fuppofes, that this Sin, tho truly imputed to Infant s, io that thereby they are expofed to a proper Punifcment,ycc is not imputed to them in fuch ^Degree, as that upon this Account they fhould be liable to eternal PuniQiment, as Adam himfelf was, but only to temporal "Death, or Annihilation ; Adam himfelf, the immediate Actor, being made infinitely more guilty by it, than his Poftcrity. — On which I would obferve ; That to fup- pofe, God imputes not all the Guilt of Adam's Sin, but only fome little Part of it, this relieves Nothing but one's Imagination. To think of poor little Infants bearing fuch Torments for Adam's Sin, as they fometimes, do in this World, and thefe Torments ending in Death andAn* nihilation, may fit eafier on the Imagination, than to con- ceive of their fufFering eternal Mifery for it. But it does not at all relieve one's Reafon. There is no Rule of Reafon, that can be fuppofed to lie againft imputing a Sin in the Whole of it, which was committed by one, to ano- ther who did not perfonally commit it, but what will alfo lie againft its being fo imputed and pnniflied in Part. For all the Reafons (if there are any) lie againft the Imputa- tion ; not theQjia?itity ovDegree of what is imputed. If there be any Rule of Reafon, that is ilrong and good, lying againft a proper Derivation or Communication of Guilt, from one that a&ed, to another that did not aft ; then it lies againft all that is of this Nature, The Force of the O o Reafons 354 Of Infants future State Part IV, Reafons brought againft imputing Adam's Sin to his Pofte- rity (if there be any Force in them) lies in this, That •Adam and his Poflerity are not One. But this lies as pro- perly againft charging a Part of the Guilt, as the Whole. For Adam's Poflerity, by not being the fame with him, had no more Hand in a Little of what was done, than in the Whole. They were as abfolutely free fron* being con- cerned in that Acl partly, as they were wholly. And there is no Reafon can be brought, why one Man's Sin can't be juftly reckon'd to another's Account, who was not then in Being, in the Whole of it ; but what will as properly lie againft it's being reckon'd to him in any Part, fo as that he fnould be fubjecl to any Condemnation or Puniili- ment on that Account. — If thofe Reafons are good, all the 'Difference there can be, is this \ That to bring a great Puniihment on Infants for Adam\ Sin, is a great Acl: of In- juftice, and to bring a comparatively y9;^//Puniiliment, is a f mailer Acl: of Injuftice ; but not, that this is not as truly and demonflrably an Acl of Injuftice, as the other. To illuftrate this by an Inftance fomething parallel. J Tis ufed as an Argument why I may not exacl from one of my Neighbours, what was due to me from another, that he and my ^Debtor aj£ not the fame ; and that their Concerns, Interefts & Properties are intirely diftincl. Now if this Argument be good, it lies as truly againft my de- manding from him a Part of the Debt, as the Whole. Indeed it is a greater Acl of Injuftice, for me to take from him the Whole of it, than a Part ; but not more truly and certainly an Acl of Injuftice. The other Divine thinks, there is truly an Imputation of Sldamh Sin, fo that Infants can't be look'd upon as innocent Creatures,; yet feems to think it not agreable to the Perfecl/ons of God, to make the State of Infants in another World worfe than a State of Non~exiflence. But this to me appears plainly a giving up that grand Point of the Imputation of Ada?nh Sin, both in Whole and in Part. For it fuppofes it to be not right, for God to bring any Evil on a Child of Adam> which is innocent as Chap.iii. being worfe ^^Non-exiftencc.355 as to perfonal Sin, without paying for it, or balancing it with Good ; fo that (till the State of the Child fliall be as good,' as could be demanded in jfuflice, in Cafe of meer Innocence. Which plainly fuppofes, that the Child is not expofed to any proper Punifhment at all, or is not at all in 'Debt to divine Juilice, on the Account of Ada??? sSm. For if the Child were truly in 'Debt, then furely y lift ice might take fomething from him, without paying for it, or without giving that which makes it's State as good, as meer Innocence could injuftice require.* If he owes the naffer- ing of Comt P uni foment , then there is noNeed that yuftice fhould requite the Infant for furFering that Punifhment ; or make up for it, by conferring fome Good, that fliall coun- tervail it, and in Effect remove and difannul it ; fo that, on the Whole, Good and Evil fliall bo at an even Balance, yea, fo that the Scale of Good fliall preponderate. If it is unjuft in a Judge, to order any Quantity of Money to be taken from another, without paying him again, & fully making it up to him, kmuft be becaufe he had yiftly for- feited none at all. It feems to me pretty manifeft, that none can, in good Confidence with themfelves, own a real Imputation of the Guilt of Adams firft Sin to hi&^Pofteriry, without owning that they are juflly view'd and treated as Sinners, truly guilty, and Children of Wrath, on that Account ; nor unlets they allow a juft Imputation of 'the Whole of th« Evil of that Tranfgreffion ; at lead:, all that pertains to the Eflence of that Aft, as a full and compleat Violation of the Covenant, whichGod had eft abliflied ; even as much as if each one of Mankind had the like Covenant efta- bliflied with him fingly, and had by the like direct & full Aft of Rebellion, violated it for himfelf. O o 2 Chap, P. 359, &c 356 Bleflings on Noah & his Sons, Part IV. C 11 a p. IV. Wherein fever al other Objections are confidered. DR. T. obje&s againft Adams Pofterity's being fup* pofed to come into the World under a Forfeiture of God's Bleffing, and fubje& to his Curfe through his Sin,— -That at the Reiteration of the World after the Flood, God pronounced equivalent or greater Bleflings on Noah and his Sons, than he did on Adam at his Creation, when he faid, Be fruitful, and multiply, & repfenifh the Earth, & have Dominion over the Fijb of the Sea, &c* To this I anfvver, in the following Remarks. ' T. As it has been already fhewn, that in the Threat- ning, denounced tor Adam's Sin, there was Nothing which appears Inconfifient with the Continuance of this frcfent Life for a Seafon, or with the Propagating his Kind ; fb for the like Reafon, there appears Nothing in thatThreat- ning, upon the Suppofition that it reach'd Adams Voile- rity, inconfifient with their enjoying the temporal Blcjfngs of the pre fen t Life, as long as this is continued : even thofe temporal Bleflings which God pronounced on Ad-am tit his firft Creation. For it mult be obferved, that the Bleflings which God pronounced on Adam, when he frit Created him, and before the Trial of his Obedience ,were not the fame with the Bleflings which were fafpended on his Obedience. The Bleflings thus fufpended, were the Bleflings of eternal "Qfe ; which, if he had maintained his Integrity through his Trial, would have been pronounced upon him afterwards ; when God, as his Judge, fhould have given him his Reward. God might indeed, if he had pleas'd, immediately have deprived him of Life, and of ail temporal Blejjings, given him before. But thofeBIef- (ihgs pronounced on him before-hand, were not theThings, for the obtaining of which hisTr/a/was appointed. Thcfe were referved, till the Iffue of his Trial fhould be feen, and * PART II. Chap. 1. Sea. 3. Chap.iv, no ArgJ againji Original Sin. 357 and then to be pronounc'd, in the blefled Sentence, which would have been pafs'd upon him by his Judge, whenGod came to decree to him his Reward for his approved Fide- lity. The pronouncing thefe latter Bleifings on a degene- rate Race, that had fallen under the Threatning denoun- ced, would indeed (without a Redemption) have been in- confiitent with the Conftitution which had been eftablifhed. But the giving them the former Kind of BlefTsngs, which were not the Things fufpended on the Trial, or depen- dent on his Fidelity (and thefe to be continued for a Sea- fon) was not at all inconfiftent therewith. 2. 'Tis no more an Evidence* of Adams Pofterity's being not included in the Threatning, denounced for his eating the forbidden Fruit, That they flill have the tem- poral Bleifings of Fruitfulnefs and a Dominion over the Creatures continued to them, than it is an Evidence of Adam's being not included in that Threatning himfelf, That he had thefe Bleifings continued to Him, was fruit- ful, and had Dominion over the Creatures after his Fall, equally with his Posterity, 3. There is good Evidence, that there were Bleffmgs implied in the Benedictions God pronounced on Noah and his Pofterity, which were granted on a new Foundation : on the Foot of a Difpenfation diverfe from any Grant, Promife, or Revelation, which God gave to Adam, ante- cedently to his Fall ; even on the Foundation of theCVz'^- nant of Grace, eftablifncd in Chrift Jefus ; a Difpenfa- tion, the Dcfign of which is to deliver Men from the Curfe, that came upon them by Adams Sin, and to bring them to greater Bleifings than ever he had. Thefe Blef- fmgs were pronounced on Noah and his Seed, on the fame Foundation, whereon afterwards theBleiling was pronoun- ced on Abraham and his Seed, which included both fpi-a ritual and temporal Benefits. — Noah had his Name pro- phetically given him by his Father Lantech, becaufe by him and his Seed Deliverance fhould be obtained from the Curfe, which came by Adam's Fall. Gen. v. 2 9. And be called* his Name Noah (i. e. Rest,) faying, This fame 358 BleJJings 072 Noah &* his Scxs, Part IV. fame fh all comfort us concerning our Work, and 'Toil of cur "Hands, becaufe of the Ground which the Lord hath curfed. Purfuant to the Scope and Intent of this Pro- phecy (which indeed feems to refpecl the fameThing with the Prophecy in Gen. iii. 15.) are the BlefTlngs pronoun- ced on Noah after the Flood. There is this Evidence of thefc Bleffings being conveyed thro the Channel of the Covenant of Grace, and by the Redemption thro Jefus Chrift, That they were obtain'd by Sacrifice ; or were be- ftow'd as the Effect of God's Favour to Mankind, which was in Confequence of God's fuelling afweet Savour in the Sacrifice which Noah offered. And 'tis very evident by the Epiftle to the Hebrews, that the ancient Sacrifices never obtain'd the Favour of God, but only by Virtue of the Relation they had to the Sacrifice of Chrift. — That now Noah and his Family had been fo wonderfully faved from the Wrath of God, which had deftroyed the reft of the World, and that the World was as it were reftored from a ruin'd State, this was a proper Occafion to point to the great Salvation to come by Chrift : As it was a common Thing, for God, on Occafion of fome greatT'emporal Sal- vation of his People, or Reftoration from a low and mife- rable State, to renew the Intimations of the great fpiri? tual Reftoration of the World by Chri/J's Redemption* God deals with the Generality of Mankind, in their pre- fent State, far differently, on Occafion of the Redemption by Jefus Chrift, from what he otherwife would do : For, being capable Subjects of faving Mercy, they have a Day of Patience and Grace, & innumerable temporal Bleffings beftowed on them ; which, as theApoftle fignifies {Acl.xw. 17.) are Teftimonies of God's Reconcilablenefs to finful' Men, to put 'em \\^or\ feeking after God. But befide the Senfe in which the Pofterity of Noah in general partake of thcfe Bleflings of dominion over the Creatures * It may be noted that Dr. T. himfelf fignifies it as his Mind, that thcfe Bleffings onNoah were en the Foot of thzCovenani ef Grace. P. 360, 366, 367, 368. Chap.iv. no Arg! againjl Original Sin. 359 Creatures &c. Noah himfelf,and all fuch of his Poll erity as have obtained like precious Faith with that exercifed by him in offering his Sacrifice, which made it a fweet Sav ur, and by which it procured thefe BleiTings, have 'Dominion over the Creatures, thro Chrift, in a more ex- cellent Senfe than Adam in Innocency; as they are made Kings and Priejls unto God, and reign with Chrift^ and all "Things are theirs, by a Covenant of Grace. They partake with Chrift in that 'Doininion over the Beafts of the Earth, the Fozvls of the Air, and Fifbes of the Sea, fpoken of in the viiith Pfalm ; which is by the Apoftle interpreted of Chrift'' s Dominion over the World. (1 Cor. xv. 27.) & Heb. ii. 7.) And the Time is coming, when the greaterPart of thePofterity of Noah & each of hisSons, fhall partake of this more honourable and excellent Domi- nion over the Creatures, through Him in whom all the Families of the Earth fhall be blejfed. — Neither is there any Need of fuppofing, that thefeBleiTings muft have their moll compleat Accompliihment until many Ages after they were granted, any more than the Bleding on Japhet, exprefs'd in thofe Words, God fhall enlarge Japhet, and he fhall dwell in the Tents of Shem. But that Noah's Pofterity have fuch Blejjings given, them through the great Redeemer, who fufpends Be removes the Curfe which came thro Adams Sin, furely is no Argu- ment, that they originally, and as they be in their natu- ral State, arenoE under the Curfe. That Men have Blef- fings thro' Grace, is no Evidence of their being not juftly expofed to the Curfe by Nature ; but it rather argues the contrary : for if they did not deferve the Curfe, they would not depend on Grace and Redemption for the Re- moval of it, and for bringing them into a State of Favour with God. i Another Objeclion, which our Author ftrenuoufly ur- ges againft the Do&rine of original Sin, is, That it difpa- rages the divine Goodnefs in giving us our Being ; which we ought to receive with Thankfulnefs , as a great Gift of God's 360 Div. Goodnefs, not difparagd P. IV. God's Beneficence, and look upon as the firft, original and fundamental Fruit of the divine Liberality. * To this I anfwer, in the following ObferVations. 1. This Argument is built on the fuppofcd "Truth of a Thing in ID if put e ; and fo is a begging the Queftion. It is built on thisSuppofition, That we are not properly look'd upon as one with our firfl Father, in theState whereinGod at firft created him, and in hibFall from that State. If we are fo, it becomes the whole Race to acknowledge God's great Goodnefs to them, in the State wherein Mankind was made at firft ; in the happy State they were then in, and the fair Opportunity they then had of obtaining confirmed and eternal Happinefs ; and to acknowledge it as an Ag- gravation of their Apoftacy ; and to humble themfelves, that they were io ungrateful as to rebel againft their good Creator. — Certainly, we may all do this with as much (yea, much more) Reafon, as the People of Jfrael mT)a- niePs and j$ehetni&b\ Times, ■ did with Thankfulnefs acknowledge God s great Goodnefs to their -Father j-,many Ages before and in their Confeffions bewailed, and took Shame to themfelves for, the Sins committed by their Fathers, notwithflanding fuch great Goodnefs. . See the ixth C hapter of ^Daniel, and ixth of Nehe?niah. 2. If Dr. T. would imply in his Objection, that it don't confift with the Goodnefi of G, d, to give Mankind Being in a State of Mifcry . what ever was done before hy Adam, whether he finned, or did not fin : I reply, If it be juftly fo ordered, that there fhould be a Pofterity of JLdam, which muft be look'd upon as one wit fa him, then 'tis no more contrary to Gods Attribute of Goodnefs, to give Being to his Pofterity in a State of Punifhment, than to continue the Being of the fame wicked and guilty Perfon, who has made himfelf guilty, in a State of Punifhment, The giving Being, and the continuing Being are both alike the Work of God's Power and Will, and both are alike fundamental * P. 25b, 257, 2D0, 347, 350. Chap.iv. by our being born in Sin. 361 fundamental to all Bleflings of Man's prefent and future Exigence. — And if it be faid ,It cannot be juftly fo ordered, that there fhould be a Pofterity of Adam, which fhould be look'd upon one with hinyhis is begging the Queflion* 3. If our Author would have us fuppofe, that it is contrary to the Attribute of Goodnefs, for God, in any Cafe, by an immediate Aft of his Power, to caufe Exift- ence, and to caufe new Exigence, which fhall be an ex- ceeding miferable Exiftence, byReafon of Expofednefs to eternal Ruin ; then his own Scheme muft be fuppofed contrary to the Attribute of God's Goodnefs : for he fup- pofes, that God will raife Multitudes from the dead at the lad Day (which will be giving new Exigence to their Bodies, & to bodily Life and Senfe) in Order only to their fufFering eternal Deftruftion. 4. Notwithstanding we are fo finful and miferable, as we are by Nature, yet we may have great Reafon toblefs God, that 'he has given us our Being under fo glorious a Difpenfation of Grace thro Jefus Chriff. ; by which we have a happy Opportunity to be delivered from this Sin and Mifery,and to obtain unfpeakable etevmlHappinefs. — And becaufe, thro our own wicked Inclinations, we are difpofed fo to negleft & abufe this Mercy, as to fail of final Benefit by it,thisisnoReafon why we ought not tobethant* ful for it, even according to our Author's own Sentiments. " What (fays He *) if the whole World lies in Wicked- " nefs, and few therefore fhall be faved ? Have Men no t( Reafon to be thankful, becaufe they are wicked andun- *• grateful, and abufe their Being and God's Bounty ? — f " Suppofe, our own evil Inclinations do with- hold us" * [ viz from feeking after Happinefs, which under the Light of the Gofpel we are placed within the nearer and eafier Reach of] " fuppofe, the whole Chriftian World ft< fhould lie in Wickednefs, and but few Chriftians fhould 6c be faved ; is it therefore certainly true, that we cannot rt reafonably tban&God for theGofpel ?" Well, & tho the P p evil * P. 349- 362 Osgood, t ho were born in Sin. P. IV. evil Inclination, which hinder our feeking and obtaining Happinefs by fo glorious an Advantage, are what we are born with, yet if thofe Inclinations are our Fault or Sin, that alters not the Cafe : and to fay, they are not our Sin, is ftill begging the Queflion. Yea, it will follow from feveral Things aflerted by our Author, put together, that notwithftanding Men are born in fuch Circumilances, as that they are under a very great Improbability cf ever be- coming righteous, yet they may have Re of on to be thank- ful for their Being. Thus, particularly, thofe that were born and lived among the Heathen, before Chrift came. For Dr. 1 . afferts, that all Men have Reafon of Thank- fulnefs for their Being ; and yet he fuppofes, that the Heathen World, taken as a collective Body, were dead in Sin, and could not deliver or help themfelves, and therefore flood inNeceflity of the Chriftian Difpenfation. And not only fo, but he fuppofes, that the Chriftian World is now at length brought to the like deplorable and helplefs Circumflances, and needs a new Difpenfation for its Relief ; as I obferved before. According to thcfe Things, the World in general, not only formerly, but even at this Day, are dead in Sin, and helplefs as to their Sal- vation ; andt therefore the Generality of them that are born into it, are much more likely to peri ill, than other- wife, till the new Difpenfation comes : And yet he fup pofes, we all have Reafon to be thankful for our Being. — Yea, further ftill, I think, according to our Author's DucVine, Men may have great Reafon to be thankful to God for bringing them into a State, which yet, as theCafe is, is attended with Mifery^s it's ^rto^Confequence. As, with Refpeflt to God's raifing the Wicked to Life, at the laft Day ; which, he fuppofes, is in it felf a great Bene- ft, procured by Ckrijl, and the wonderful Grace of God through him : and if it be the Fruit of God's wonderful Grace, fiarely Men ought to be thankful for that Grace, and praife God for it. Our Dcclrine of original Sin, therefore, no more difparages God's Goodnefs in Man's Formation Chap.iv. Obj.fr. future Juclg.* refuted. 363 Formation in the Womb, than his Doctrine difparages God s Goodnefs in their Refurreclion from the Grave. Another Argument, which Dr. T. makes Ufe of, againft the Doctrine of original Sin, is what the Scripture reveals of the Procefs of the Day of Judgment ; which repre- fents the Judge as dealing with Men fingly andfeparately, rendring to every Man according to his Deeds, and accord- ing to the Improvement he has made of the particular Powers and Talents God has given him perfonally* But tlits Objection will vanifh, if we confider what is the End or 'Defgn of that publick Judgment. Now this will not be, that God may find out what Men are, or what X 3 anifhment or Reward is proper for them, or in Order to the pailing a right Judgment of thefe Things within him- felf, which is the End of human Trials ; but it is to ma- nifeft what Men are, to their ownConfciences, and to the Word. A s the Day of Judgment is called theDay of the REVELATION of the righteous Judgment of God \ in Order to this, God will make Ufe of Evidences, or Proofs. Bur the proper Evidences of the Wickednefs of Men's Hearts (the true Seat of all Wickednefs) both as to Cor- ruption of Nature, and additional Pollution and Guilt, are Men's Works. The fpecial End of God's publick Judgment will be, to make a proper, perfect, open T)[flinclion among Men, rightly to Hate and manifeil their 'Difference one from a- nother, in Order to that Separation and Difference in the eternal Retribution, that is to follow : and this Difference will be made to appear, by their perfonal Works. There are two Things, with Regard to which Men will be tried, and openly di ft i?rniijhed, by the perfecVjudgment of God at the laft Day ; according to the twofold real 'Diftinflion fubfifting among Mankind : viz. (1) The Difference of STATE ; that primary and grand Diflin- cYion, whereby all Mankind are divided into two Sorts, the Righteous and the Wicked. (2.) That fecondaryD tft in- P p i~ clion, * P. 341,-343' a" d &7* 364 Obj. from the Procefs Part IV. clion, whereby both Sorts differ from others in the fame general State, in ^DEGREES of additional Fruits of Rightcoufnefs and Wickednefs. Now the Judge, in Car- der to manifeft both thefe, will judge Men according to their per fom\ Works. But to inquire at theDay of Judg- ment, whether Adam fin'd or no, or whether Men are to be look'd upon as one with him, and fo Partakers in his Sin, is what in no Refpecr. tends to manifeft either of thefe Diftin&ions. 1. The fir ft Thing to be manifefted,will be the State, that each Man is in, withRefped: to the gra?jd Diftincl ion of the wholeWorld of Mankind mtoRighteous & Wicked', or, in metaphorical Language, Wheat & 'Tares ; or, the Children of the Kingdom, of (Thrift, and the Children of the Wicked One ; the latter, the Head of the Apoftacy; but the former, the Head of the Reftoration & Recovery. The Judge, in manifefting this, will prove Men's Hearts by thcirWorks,m fuch as have hadOpportunity to perform any Works in theBody. The evil Works of the Children of the wicked One will be the proper Manifeft at ion and Evidence orProof of whatever belongs to the general State of fuch ; and particularly they will prove, that they be- long to the Kingdom of the great Deceiver, and Head of the Apoftacy, as they will demonftrate the exceeding Cor- ruption of their Nature, and full Content of their Hearts to the common Apoftacy ; and alfo that their Hearts never relinquifhed the Apoftacy, by a cordial Adherence to Chrift, the great Reftorer. — The Judge will alfo make ufe of the good Works of the Righteous to fh.ew their In- tereft in the Redemption of Chrift ; as thereby will be manifefted the Sincerity of their Hearts in their Accep- tance of, and Adherence to the Redeemer and his Righte- oufnefs. And in thus proving the State of Men's Hearts by their Actions, the Cir cum fiances of thofe Actions muft neceftarily come into Conflderation, to manifeft the true Qjiality of their Actions; as, each one's Talents, Oppor- tunities, Advantages, Light, Motives, &c. 2. The Chav.iv. of the laft Judgment, anfwerd. 365 2. The other Thing to be manifeded, will be thaty£- sondary 'Di/linclion, wherein particularPerfons,both Righ- teous and Wicked, differ from one another, in the Degree of fecondary Good or Evil, that is fomething befide what is common to all in the fame general State : The Degree of evil Fruit, which is additional to the Guilt and Corrup- tion of the whole Body of Apodates and Enemies; And the Degree of perfonal Goodnefs and good Fruit, which is a fecondary Goodnefs, with Refpecl: to the Righteouf- nefs and Merits of (Thrift, which belong to all by that fincere Faith manifeded in all. Of this alfo each one's Works, with their Circumdances, Opportunities, Talents &c. will be the proper Evidence. As to the Nature and Aggravations of the general A- podacy by Adam\ Sin, and alfo the Nature and Suffici- ency of the Redemption by Jefus Chrift, the great Re- dorer, though both thefe will have vad Influence on the eternal State, which Men fhall be adjudged to, yet neither of them will properly belong to the Trial Men will be the Subje&s of at that Day, in Order to the Manifefta- tion of their State, wherein they zxediftinguifhed' one from another. They will belong to the Bufinefs of that Day no otherwife, than the Manifedation of the great Truths of Religion in general ; as the Nature and Perfections of God, theDependence of Mankind on God, as their Creator and Preferver, &c. Such Truths as thefe will alfo have great Influence on the eternal State, which Men will then be adjudged to,asthey aggravate the Guilt of Man'sWick- ednefs, and mud be. confidered in Order to a due Edimate of Chrid's Righteoufnefs, and Men's perfonal Virtue ; yet being of general and equal Concernment,will not proper- ly belong to the Trial of particular Perfons. Another Thing urged by our Author particularly a- gaind the Imputation of Adamh Sin, is this : " Though, " in Scripture, Action is frequently faid to be imputed, 44 reckoned, accounted to a Perfon, it is no other than his 11 own A& and Deed." * In the fame Place he cites a , Nu m be r * F. 279, &c. 381. 366 Obj.from the Scripture- life Part IV. Number of Places of Scripture, where thefe Words are ufed, which he (ays are all that he can find in the Bible. But we are no Way concerned with this Argument at prefent, any further than it relates to Imputation of Sin, or fin fid Aftion. Therefore all ihat is in the Argument, which relates to the prefent Purpofe, is this ; That the Word js fo often applied in Scripture to fignify God's im- puting perfonal Sin, but never once to his imputing A~ da?ns Sin. — So often ! — How often ? — But Twice. There are but two of all thofe Places which he reckons up, that fpeak of, or fo much as have any Reference to, God's imputing Sin to any Perfon, where there is any E- vidence that only perfonal Sin is meant ; and they are Levit. xvii. 3, 4. & 2 Tim. iv. 16. All therefore the Argument comes to, is this ; That the \\ r ovd,i?npute,\s. ap- plied inScripture, tesTimes,to thcCafe of God's imputing Sin, and neither of thofe Times to fignify the imputing of j4.damh Sin ; but both Times it has Reference to perfonal Sin; thereforev/^/a//zs Sin is not imputed to his Polterity. — And this is to be noted, that one of thefe two PIaces,even that in Levit. xvii. 3,4. don't fpeak of imputing the Acl committed, but another not committed. The Words are, What Man fo ever there be of the Houfe tf/Tfrae 1 , thai killeth an Ox or Lamb or Goat in the Camp, or thai killeth it out of the Camp, and bringeth it not unto the T)oor of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, to offer an Offering unto the Lord before the Tabernacle of the Lord, Blood fhall be imputed unto that Man \ he hath feed Blood j that Man fe all be cut off from among his People, i. e. plainly, Murder fliall be imputed to him : He fliall be put to Death for it, and therein punifhedwith the fame Severity as if he had /Iain a Man. 'Tis plain by Ifai. lxvi. 3. that in fome Cafes, a fhedding the Blood of Beafts, in an unlawful Manner, was imputed to them, as if they flew a Man. But whether it be fo ot not, although in both tbefePla- ees the Word, impute, be applied to perfonal Sin, and to the very Aft done by the Perfon fpoken of, and in ten more Chap.iv. of tket^ord,lmpute, anjwerc/. 367 more Places ; Or altho' this could be faid of all thePlaces, which our Author reckons up ; yet that theW ord, Impute % is never exprefly applied to Adam's Sin, does no more argue, that it is not imputed to his Poflerity,than it argues, that Pride, Unbelief, Lying, Theft, Opprefllon, Perfec- tion, Fornication, Adultery, Sodomy, Perjury, Idolatry, and innumerable other particular moral Evils, are never imputed to the Perfons that commit them, or in whom they are ; bccaufe the Word, impute tho' fo often u fed inScrip- ture, is never applied to any of thefeKinds of Wickednefs. I know not what can be faid here, except one of thefe two Things ; That tho thefe Sins are not expreily faid to be imputed, yet other Words are ufed that do as plain- ly and certainly imply that they are imputed, as if it were faid fo exprefly. Very well, and fo I fay with refpecl to the Imputation of Adam** Sin. The thing meant by the Word, impute, may be as plainly and certainly exprefTed by ufing other Words, zstfthat Word were exprefly ufed ; and more certainly, becaufe the Words ufed inftead of it, may amount to an Explariation of this Word. And this, I think, is the very Cafe here. Tho the Word, impute, is not ufed with refpeft to Adam's Sin, yet 'lis (aid, All have finned ; which, refpecling Infants, can be true Onlv of their finning by his Sin. And, 'tis laid, By his Ttifo- bedience many ivere made Sinners ; and, Judgment and Condemnation came upon all by that Sin ; and that by this Means "Death [the Wages of Sin] pa [fed on all Mm, &c. Which Phraies amount to full and precife Explana- tions of the Word, Impute ; and therefore do more ccr tainly determine the Point really infilled on. Qv, perhaps it will be faid, With refpecl to thofe perfo- nal Sins fore-mentioned, Pride, Unbelief, &c. it is no Argument, they are not imputed to thofe who are guilty of 'em, that the very Word, impute, is not applied to 'em"; for the TVord itfelf is rarely ufed ; not one Time in a hundred, and perhaps five hundred, of thofe wherein the Thing meant is plainly implied, or may be certainly in- fer'd.-— Well, and the fame alfo may be retried likewife. with Refpecl to Adam\ Sin. >Th 3680#/r.flChild'sHumility,^f.«^.lV. 5 Tis probable, Dr. T. intends an Argument againft ori- ginal Sin, by that which he fays in Opposition to what R. R. fuggefts of Children's difccroering the Principles of Ini- quity, and Seeds of Sin, before they are capable of moral *43ion, * viz. " That/;////? Children are made Patterns ef Humility, Meeknefs and Innocence, in Matth. xviii. g. I Cor. xiv. 20. and Pfal. cxxxi. 2. But when the utmoft is made of this, there can be no Shadow of Reafon, to understand more by thefe Texts, than that little Children are recommended as Patterns in regard of a negative Virtue, Innocence with refpect to the Exercifes and Fruits of Sin, Harmlefnefs as 10 the hurt- ful Effects of it, and that Image of Meeknefs and Humi- lity arifing from this, in Conjunction with a natural Ten- dernefs of Mind, Fear, Self-diffidence, Yieldablenefs, and Confidence in Parents and others older than themfeives. And fo, they are recommended as Patterns of Virtue no more thanT)oves } which are an harmlefs Sort of Creature, and have an Image of the Virtues of Meeknefs and Love. Even according to Dr. T — r's own Doctrine, no more can be made of it than this : For his Scheme v/ill not admit of any fuch thing as pofitiveN'nixxQ, or virtuous Difpofkion, in Infants ; he infilling (as was obferved before) that Vir- tue mult be the Fruit of Thought and Reflexion. But there can be noThought and Reflexion, that produces po- sitive Virtue, inChildren.not yet capable of 'moral Aclion ; and it is fuch Children he fpeaks of. And that little Chil- dren have a negative Virtue or Innocence, in relation to the pojitive Acts and hurtful Effects of Vice, is no Argu- ment that they have net corruptNature within them : for let their Nature be ever fo corrupt, yet furely 'tis no Wonder that they ben't guilty of pofitive wicked Action, before they are capable of any moral Action at all. — A young Viper has a malignant Nature, though incapable of doing a malignant Action, and at prefent appearing a harm- lefs Creature. Another I I 1 _. .1] .__! II ■ I ■ 111 II ~~ — — j< — * *- 253* 354- . h r.iv. Obj.fr. bad Tendency, anf d 369 Another Objection, which Dr. T. and fome others offer againft this DocVme, is, That it pours Contempt upon the human Nature * But their declaiming on this Topic is like adurefTing the AfFe&ions and Conceits of Children, rather than rational arguing w\t\\Men. It feems, thisDocVme is not complain fant enough. — I am fenfible, it is not fluted to the Tafle of fome, who are fo very delicate (to fay no worfe) that they can bear Nothing but Compliment and Flattery. — • Mo Contempt is by this DocVme caft upon the noble Fa- culties and Capacities of Man's Nature, or the exalted Bufmefs, and divine and immortal Happinefs he is made capJile of. And as to fpeaking ill of Man's prefent mo- ra!. State, I prefume, it will not be denied, that Shame belongs to them that are truly finful ; and to fuppofe.that this is not the native Character of Mankind, is dill but meanly begging the Queftion. If w , as we come into the World, are truly linful, and confequently miferable, he acls but a friendly Part to us, who endeavours fully to difcover and manifeft our Difeafe. Whereas, on the con- trary, he a£h an unfriendly Part, who to his utmofl hides it from us ; and fo, in Effect, does what in him lies to pre- vent our feeking a Remedy from That, which, if not reme- died in Time, muft bring us finally to Shame aid ever* lafring Contempt, and end in perfect and remedilcfs De- flrucfion hereafter. Another Objeahn, which fome have made againft this Doctrine, much like the former, is, That it tends to beget in us an ill Opinion of our Fellow-creatures, and fo to promote Ill-Nature and mutual Hatred. To which I would fay, If it be truly fo, that we all come finful into theWorld, then our heartily acknowledging it, tends to promote Humility 1 But our difouniing that Sin and Guilt, which truly belongs to us, 8c endeavouring to pe-rfuade ourfeives that we are taRly better than in Truth we are, tends to a foolifll Self-Exaltation & Pride, Q_q And * P. 350, 35*« 370 Ohj. from the bad Tendency Part IV C And 'tis manifeft, by Reafon, Experience, and the Word of God, that Pride is the chief Source of all the Conten- tion, mutual Hatred, and i//-/7'7//,which are fo prevalent in the World ; and that Nothing fo effectually promotes the contrary Tempers and Deportments, as Humility. This Doctrine teaches us to think no worfe of others,than of our (elves : It teaches us, that we are all, as we are by Nature, Companions in a miferable heiplefs Condition ; which, under a Revelation of the divine Mercy, tends to promote mutual Companion. i\nd Nothing has a greater Tendency to promote thofe amiable Difpofitions of Mercy, Forbearance, Long- differing, Gentlenefs and Forgivenefs, than a Senfe of our own extreme Unworthinefs&Mikry, and the infinite Need we have of the divine Pity, For- bearance and Forgivenefs, together with a Hope of obtain- ing Mercy. — If the Doctrine, which teaches that Man- kind are corrupt by Nature, tends to promote Ill-will, why ihould not Dr. T* — r's Doctrine tend to it as much ? For he teaches us, that the Generality of Mankind are very -wicked, having made t he mj elves Jl by their own free Choice, without any Necetfity : which is a Way of be- coming wicked, that renders Men truly wort by of Re- fentment ; but the other, not at all, even according to his own Doclrine. Another Exclamation againft this DocVine is, That it tends to hinder Comfort and Joy, and to promote Melan* choly and Gloominefs of Mind. * To which I ihall briefly fay, DoubtJefs, dippofing Men are really become finful, and fo expofed to the Dif- pleafure of God, by whatever Means, if they once come to have their Eyesopen'd, andiare not very ftupid, the Reflection on their Cafe will tell to make them forrow- ful ; and 'tis//, it fhould. M8n, with whom this is the Cafe, may well be fill'd with Sorrow, till they are fincere- ly willing to forfake their Sins, and turn to God. — But there is Nothing in this Doclrine, that in the lead (lands in P. 231, and ioine other Places. Chap.iv. of this DoElrine, anjwerd. 371 in the Way of Comfort and exceeding Joy, to fuch as find in their Hearts a fincere Willingnefs, wholly toforfake all Sin, and give their Hearts and whole Selves to Chriit, and comply with the Gofpel-Method of Salvation by him. Another Thing objected, is, That to make Men believe that Wicked nefs belongs to their very Nature, tends to encourage them in Sin 9 and plainly to lead them to all Manner of Iniquity ; becaufe they are taught, that Sin is natural, and therefore necejfary and unavoidable * But if this Doctrine, which teaches that Sin is natural to us, does alfo at the fame Time teach us, that it is never the better, or lefs to be condemned, for its being natural, then it don't at all encourage Sin, any more than Dr.T'—r's Doctrine encourages Wicked nefs that is become inveter rate ; who teaches, that fuch as by Cuftom have contract- ed ftrong Habits of Sin, are unable to help themfehes. \ — And is it reafonable, to re pre fen t it as encouraging a Man's boldly neglecting and wilfully continuing in his *Difeafe, without feeking a Cure, to tell him of his Difeafe, to fhew him that his Difeafe is real and very fatal, and what; he can never cure himfelf of ; yet withal directing him to a great Phyfician, who is fufficient for his Reftoration ? — • But for a more particular Anfwer to what is objected a- gainft the Doctrine of our natural Impotence and Inability , as being an Encouragement to go on in Sin, and a Difcou- ragement to the Ufe of all Means for our Help, I muff for Brevity refer the Reader to what has been largely written on this Head in my Difcourfe on the Freedom of the Will Our Author is pleafecj, to advance another Notion, among others, by Way oajubjeclion againft the Doctrine of original Sin ; That if mis Doctrine/ be true, it would be unlawful to beget Children. Hejfays, |j "If natural " Generation be the Means of unavoidably conveying all Q_q 2 . " Sin * P. 139, and 259. f See his £xpofition of Rom. vii P. 205, ---220. But efppcially in p,\s Paraphrafe and Notes on the Epiftle. || P. /145, 372 Qbj.fr. bad Tendency an/J Part IV, " Sin and Wickcdnefs into the World, it mull it felfbe a * l fijiful, and unlawful Thing." — Now, if there be any Force of Argument here, it lies in this Proportion, What- foever is a Means or Occafion of the certain infallible Exiflence of Sin and Wickedncfs, muft itfelf be finful, But I imagine Dr. IT. had not thoroughly weighed this Propofition, nor considered where it would carry him. For, God's continuing in Being the Devil, and others that are finally given up to Wickcdnefs, will be attended, mod certainly and infallibly, with an eternal Series of the moft hateful and horrid Wickcdnefs. But will any be guilty of Rich vile Blafphemy, as to fay, Therefore God's up- holding them in Being is it felfa finful Thing? — In the fame Place our Author {ays, " So far as we are generated in Sin, it is a Sin to be generated.-' - [Probably he in- tended the atl'roe Voice.~\ But there is no Appearance of •Evidence in tharPbfkion, any more than inThis ; " So far Nfrien what be. longs to us, is, to believi his Wor&& riceivl | the Doctrine which he teaches us ; afld not, hpicad^of ih\\, to prefcribe to him how often he fhlll fpeall of it, and to infift upon knowing what Reqfonstie hasyfor {peaking c|f it no oftner, before we will receive/lwhat /he teaches us/; or that he fhould give us an Acc/cjunt, /why he did ndt fpeak of it fo plainly as we thinkable oj/ght to have clone, fooner than he did. In this Way oFvroceediVig, if it be reafonable, the Sadducees of ojd/wio denied any jRefurrection or not to be w X niidjsed a Thing dence of its future State, might fnf& maintained their Caufe again ft Chrift, when he bl^rAcl 'em for not knowing the Scrip- tures, nor the Pother of God , and for not underftanding by the Scripture, /hat there would be a Refurrection to fpirkual Enjoyment, and not to animal Life, and fenfual • Gratifications ■ 374 Obj. fr.¥z\vx\zk& Obfcurity Part IV; Gratifications ; and they might have infilled, that thefe Doctrines, if true, were very important, and therefore ought to have been fpoken of in the Scriptures oftner and more explicitly, and not that the Church of God ihould be left, till that Time, with only a few obj "cure Intimations of that which fo infinitely concerned them. And they might with Difdain have rejected ChriiVs Argument, by Way of Inference, frcm God's calling himfelf, in the Books of Mofcs, the GOD of Abraham, Ifaac and Jacob. For Anfwer, they might have fuid, That Mofes was fent on Purpofe to teach the people the Mind and Will of God t and therefore, if thefe Doctrines were true, he ought in Reafon and in Truth to have taught them plainly and frequently, and not have left the People to lpell out i'o important a Doctrine, only from God's faying, that he was the God of Abraham, & mould be wicked and perverfe, like " Thorns and Thijllfs'; according to that Word of the Lord, " fpeaking to the. Prophet ; Thorns and hritaicrs are ivith u thee, and ihou divcllejl among Scorpions. And all this is from ec the Serpent, who Was the Devil, Sa?n-mael> who emitted a eath reigning over Infants, as well as others. If Infants were indeed perfectly inno- cent, was it not needful, that the T>efgn of that which was in fuch great Contempt and Enmity ; efpecially as it is a Doclrine (o peculiarly sgreable to the Chriftian Notion of the fpiriiuql Salvation of jefus, and fo contrary to their carnal Notions of the K^effah, and of his Salvation and Kingdom, and fo contrary to their Opinion of themfelves ; and a Doct- rine, which Men \n general are fo apt to be prejudiced a- gainft. And befidt^ thefe Rabbles do exprefly refer to the Opinion of their Forefathers ; as, R. Mer.afleh fays, " Accord- f* ing to the Opinion of the ANCIENTS, none are fubject *5 C > *5 r > *59> ibi, 183, 188, 353. certain Methods ufecl by Dr. T. &c. 383 Beth of which Things, it's not unlikely, may have a De- gree of Influence on fome of his Readers (However, that they may have only their juft Influence, thefe Things might properly he compared together, and fet in Contra]}, one with the other ) — I fay, not to dwell on thefeMatters, I would take fome Notice of another Thing, obfervable in the Writings of Dr. T, and many of the late Oppofers of the more peculiar Doctrines of Chriftianity, tending (cfpecially with juvenile and unwary Readers) not a-little to abate the Force, and prevent the due Effect, of the cleareftScripture-Evidences, in Favour of thofe important Doctrines ; and particularly to make void the Arguments taken from the Writings of the Apoftle Paul, in which thofe Doctrines are more plainly and fully revealed, than in any other Part of the Bible. What 1 mean, is this ; Thefe Gentlemen exprefs a high Opinihn of this Apoftle, and that very juft ly, for his eminent Genius, his admirable Sagacity, ftrong Powers of Reafoning, acquired 'Learn- ing, &c. They (peak of him as a Writer — of mafterly Addrefs, of exteniive Reach, and deep Defign, every where in his Epiftles, almoft in every Word he faysv This looks exceedingy/^r/Wj- : it carries a plaufible Ap- pearance of Ghrift'tan Zeal, and Attachment re the Scriptures, in fuch a Teftimony of high Veneration, for that great Apoftle, who was not only the principal Inftrit- ment of propagating Chriftianity, but with li^s own Hand wrote fo confiderable'a Part of the new Teftirhent. And I am far from determining, with refpccl: at Itaft to fome of thefe Writers, that they are not Sincere injtheir Decla- rations, or that all is rhecr Artifice, only tbf make Wry for the Reception of their ozvn peculiar Sentiments. How- ever, it tends greatly to fubferve fuch a PurpoVe ; as much as if it were deflgnedly contrived, with the utmoft Sub- tlety, for that End. Hereby their incautious Readers arg prepared the more eafily to be drawn into a Belief, that they, and others in their way of thinking, have not rightly underjlood many of thofe Things in this Apoftle's Wri- tings, which before feem'd yery plain to- them ; and they are 384 77>e Conclusion, remarking o?i are alfo prepar'd, by a PrepoflefTion in Favour of thcfe netu Tenters , to entertain a favourable Thought of the Interpretations put by them upon the Words andPhfafes of this Apoftle ; and to admit in many Paflages a Meaning which before lay intirely out of Sight; quite foreign to alt that in the View of a common Reader feems to be their obvious Senfe ; and mod: remote, from the Expofitions a- greed in by thofe which ufed to be efteemed the greateft Divines, and bed Commentators. For they muft know, that this Apoftle being a Man of no vulgar Under- ftanding, it's nothing fl range if his Meaning lies very deep ; and no Wonder then, if the fuperficial Difcerning and Obfervation of vulgar Chriltians, or indeed of the Herd of common Divines, iuch as the JVeftminfter- ^fembly &c. falls vaftly fhort of the Apoftie's Reach, and frequently don't enter, into the true Spirit and Defign ef PauVs Epiftles. They muft understand, that the///? Reformers, and Preachers and Expofitors in general, both before and fince the Reformation, for fifteen or fixteen Hundred Years paft, were too unlearned atidjfrort- fijghtedj to be capable of penetrating into the Senfe, or fit to un- dertake the making Comments on the Writings of fo great a Man as this Apoftle ; or elfe had dwelt in a Cave of Bigotry and Superflition, too gloomy to allow 'em to ufe their own Underftandings with Freedom, in reading the Scrip- ture. But at the fame Time, it muft be ynderftood, that there is rifen up, now at length in this happy Age of Light and Liberty, a Set of Men, of a more free and gene- rous Turn of Mind, a more inqiufitfve-Gjnius, and bet- ter Difcernment. By fachlnfinuations, tncy fedlAdvan- tsTgcto their Caufe ; and thus the nlfcft unreasonable and extravagant Interpretation? of Scripture are palliated and recommended : So that, if the fimple Reader is not very much on his Guard, if he don't clearly fee with his own Eyes, or has too much Indolence, or too littleLeifure, tho- roughly to examine for himfelf (as few, alas, are willing to be at the Pains of acquainting themfelves fo thoroughly with the Apoftle's Writings, and of comparing one Pait of certain Methods ufed by Dr. T. &*c. 385 11 of them with another, fo as to be fully able to judge of thefe Gentlemen's Gloffes & Pretences) in thisCafe,he is in Dinger of being impofed on with delufive Appearances; as he is prepared by this fair Pretext of exalting the Sa- gacity of the Apoftle, and by a Parade of Learning, Criti- eifm, exact Verfion Penetration into the true Scope, and Difcerning of wonderful Connections, together with the Airs thefe Writers afiume of dictatorial Peremptorinefs,and Contempt of old Opinions srnd old Expofitions ; I fay, fuch an one is by thefeThings prepared tdfvallow Orange Doctrine, as trailing to the fnperiour Abilities of thefe modern Interpreters. But I humbly conceive/tr^ir Jnter^retltions, particu- larly of the Apod le Paul's wrkjnga/thjpn; fome Things ingenious, yet in many Things cpn/ernj#g tfiefe great Ar- ticles of Religion, are extremelx/ab^rd, a/id demondra- bly difagreable, in the highefl Jjkd&e, to pis real Defign, to the Language he commonly/iirai, and/to the Doctrines currently taught in his EpidleX /Their CrU'tcifms , when examined, appear far ntoj&fifot\%th&n folid ; and it ferns as if Nothing can poffibly be drong enough Nothing perfpicuous enough, in arty Compofure whatever, to ftand before fuch Liberties as thefe Writers indulge : The plain- ed: and mod nervous Difcourfc is analyfed and cr ticized, till it diiTolves into Nothings or till it becomes a Thing of little Significance : The holy Scripture is fubtilifed into a meer Mid ; or made to evaporate into a thin Cloud, that eafiiy puts on any Shape, and is moved in any Direction, with a Puff of Wind, 'juft as the Manager pleafes. ? T-^ not in tlrgfftfatufPand Power of Language, to afford f . cient Defence again fWuch an Art, fo abu fed ; as, 1 ima. gine, a due confideration of fome Things 1 have hadt3c- caflon in the preceding Difcourfe to obferve, may abun- dantly convince us. But this, with the red of what I have offered on this Subject of original Sin, mud be left to every can- did Reader to judge of, for himfelf ; and the Succefs ©f the whole mull now be left with GOD, who knows S f what 386 The Conclusion. what is agreab'e to his own Mind and is able to make his own Truths prevail ; however myfterious they may feem to the poor, partial narrow and extremely imperfect Views of Mortals, while locking through a cloudy and delufory Medium ; and however difagreable they maybe to the innumerable Prejudices of Men's Hearts : — And who has promi fed, that the Gofpel of CHRIST, fuch as is really his, ihall finally be victorious ; and has allured us, that the Word which goeth out of his Mouth, Jball not return to him void, but /hall accomplifh that which he pleafeth, and Jh all prof be r in the thing whereto he fends it. — Let GOD arife, and plead his own Caufe, and glo- rify his own great Name. AMEN. r H E END. ^oxsd:;<)c•■ r. Abel Comftock, Kent, Connecticut. Mr. Richard Crouch, Student, Tale-College. *" Mr. David Curtis, Woodbury, Connecticut. D. DEacon Samuel Davis, Glocefter, Maffacbufetts. Rev. Mr. Jofeph Davis, Holden, Maffacbufetts. Mr. vlofes Dewey, Hampjhire County, Maffacbufetts. Mr. Martin Dewey, Ditto. 6 Books. Timothy Dwight, Efq; Northampton, MaJJ. 6 Books. E REv. Mr, Andrew Eliot, Bofton, Majfachufetts. Mr. Jehofapbat.Eldred, Kent, Connecticut. Rev. Mr. -Jofeph Emerfon, Maiden, Majfachufetts. Rev. Mr. Daniel Emerfon, mollis, Nezv- Hampjhire. Rev. Mr. Jofeph Emerfon, PepperrelL Majfachufetts. MR. Richard Falrman, Connecticut, 6 Books. Capi.VfilYiamF'itch, Canter bury, Con. Mr. John Finney, Jun. Kent, Connecticut, 6 Books. Jonathan Fitch, A. M. Connecticut. Rev. N/!r. Thomas Foxcroft, Bofton, Majfachufetts. Mr. Philip Freeman, Ditto. Rev. Mr. Eli Furbifh, Brookjield, Majf. 12 Books. Mr. Adiger Fuller, Kent, Connecticut. G Mr. Mofes Gill, Bofton, Maffacbufetts. ]\.Bofl