evils, brought on moral beings, they are expressions of divine displeasure. Of course, they belong to the penalty of the law.

Respecting the moral law, or covenant of works, it may be added, that the condition of eternal life was a perfect, sinless obedience. For one single transgression, the favour of God was forfeited for ever, and man fell under the curse; "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." And the law, both in its precepts and penalties, can never be relinquished, nor abated. Obey and live, disobey and die; is the language of the law. "The law of the Lord is perfect;" and not one jot or tittle shall pass from it, till all be fulfilled. The penalty is as indispensable as the precept; and both are absolutely indispensable. The law knows no mercy nor forgiveness. Only the man that doth the things required by the law, shall live by them. "The soul that sinneth it shall die." This is the condition of the covenant of works.

In a review of what has been said on the moral law of God, or what is called the covenant of works, we learn how vain it is for fallen men, who are dead in trespasses and sins, and who are under an inevitable curse, to hope for salvation by their good works. We realize from the subject, if we seriously attend to it, what is said by the Apostle Paul, “As many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse." As many as trust to their own righteousness, are under the curse. But the general character of mankind, since the fall is, that they are selfrighteous, and seek salvation, if they seek it at all, by their good works. Paul was alive without the law once. Once he expected salvation by his works. "But when the commandment came, sin revived and he died." All, by nature, are under sin, and under the curse of God's law. How great must be the delusion of those, who rely on their works for salvation! To them the commandment has never come, sin has never revived in their consciences, and they have never died. They are alive without the law, alive to sin, alive to self-righteousness; but without a well-grounded hope; and without God in the world. They are in the most delusive road to eternal death.....Amen.

ESSAY XI.

The Temptation and Fall of Man.

99

FROM a view of the moral law, or covenant of works, under which man was placed, by his all-wise Creator; we proceed to a consideration of his temptation and apostasy. This, of all events which have come to the knowledge of mankind, is the most mysterious and the most gloomy. In itself considered, the heart sickens at the view of it. Could we not in some measure, trace the footsteps of infinite wisdom and grace, whereby this sad event is made subservient to the glory of God, and to the best interests of the moral system; we might well despair of gaining relief in our minds, on the subject of man's apostasy. The mystery is, that man, so highly favoured of God, and made lord of this lower world, should be so easily induced to apostatize. He was created, as we have found, in a state “God made man upright." of perfect holiness. He enjoyed also, the highest degree of felicity, of which he was capable, in the present state. And beyond a doubt, he anticipated an eternal state, inconceivably more glorious. As a test of his fidelity to his God, as a probation for a state of confirmed holiness and happiness, both for himself and all his posterity, he was required to suffer but one small restriction of his natural desires. For a short time, perhaps forty days, which was the time of Christ's temptation in the wilderness; he was required to refrain from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This requirement was pronounced very solemnly and emphatically: "In the day thou eatest thereof, Dying thou shalt die." The condition of avoiding this death, and consequently, of inheriting eternal life, was most easy and practicable; and the motives to fidelity were inconceivably powerful. But, unaccountable as it may seem, the sad event took place. Our first parents partook of the forbidden fruit. 66 They fell from the state, in which they were created, by eating the forbidden fruit." Seemingly with their eyes open, they yielded to the call of appetite, or curiosity; and renouncing their confidence in God, their Creator, they presumed to take and eat. They fell under the curse of a broken law; and involved the world

in ruins. How was this thing possible? And why was not the greatest of all evils, in this lower world, prevented, by a kind interposition of divine providence ?.

Hoping to gain some light on the great and mysterious subject of man's apostasy, and of the introduction of sin and misery into this world; it is proposed to take a particular view of the historical account in the scriptures; and then to attempt a solution of seeming difficulties.

The historical account is as follows: "Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field, which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" By the serpent here, is to be understood, not merely the beast so named; but the old serpent, which is called the Devil and Satan; the enemy of God and man; and he that was a liar from the beginning, and abode not in the truth; the arch deceiver, and the subtile adversary of souls. This was the being who, in the most crafty and delusive manner, assaulted the weaker vessel, who was the mother of us all. He craftily proposed his temptations, through the medium of the common serpent; which, in his original state, before he became the organ of Satan was, probably, the most lovely and beautiful of all the brute creation. It is supposed, that like man, he walked erect, with great vivacity; and lived on the most delicious fruits of the earth. All this indeed, appears evident, from his being doomed, after the fall of man, to go upon his belly; and, for his food, to lick the dust of the earth. Furnished with speech, and rational faculties, in the view of the woman, which to her appeared miraculous, it is natural to suppose, that she began to listen to the wiles of this tempter. He commenced his temptation, as we have found, by insinuating, that it was not God himself, but some other being, very envious, and unfriendly to their happiness, who had undertaken to per sonate their heavenly Father. "Is it your kind and benevolent Creator, or some cruel impostor, who hath said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" your God, surely; but an enemy has laid upon you this unnecessary, and cruel restriction. God, certainly, had no hand in this matter."

Not

Eve replied, however, as if well satisfied with her God. "The woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the

fruit of the trees of the garden." We have fruit in rich abundance, in great variety, and of the most excellent kinds. We stand in need of nothing more than is freely permitted. "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."

Satan found he had an arduous task before him. Still he pressed his temptation; and declared positively, "Ye shall not surely die." And he appeared to Eve, to be able to prove his declaration. For it is natural to suppose, that he set her an example of eating the forbidden fruit, and gave her to understand, that this precious fruit had the wonderful effect, to elevate him from brutality, to the rank of rational beings. "And God doth know," said the deceiver, "that in the day ye eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Now therefore, let who will endeavour to restrain you, in the laudable pursuit of knowledge; regard him not. He is envious, and hostile to your best interests. He defrauds you of your dearest rights. Will you tamely submit to remain in darkness and ignorance, while an inexhaustible fund of knowledge is attainable? and attainable only by tasting of the most delicious fruit? Away with all your groundless scruples! Will you, indeed, neglect the knowledge of good and evil? How then will you be able to choose the good, and to refuse the evil? Only taste of this most precious fruit, this tree of knowledge of good and evil, and you will find yourself in a new world; you will be full of light and joy, happy beyond expression!

Thus the arch deceiver, the father of lies, beguiled the mother of us all. "And the woman, being deceived, was in the transgression." Eve, as well as others, even in her innocency, had a natural desire of knowledge; a desire, worthy to be cultivated and improved; but not by forbidden means. She had also, in her innocency, a natural curiosity, which strongly impelled her to make the experiment of the forbidden fruit. These passions of the mind were also capable of being greatly excited. Satan was aware of this, and laid his plan accordingly. Eve was a stranger to falsehood and deception; and was too unsuspicious of an evil design in the tempter. The adversary, of course, had greatly the advantage of her; which

advantage he improved in the most crafty manner: and his temptation was, alas! fatally successful! For it is added, that "When the woman saw, that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and gave also to her husband with her, and he did eat."

This is the scriptural account of the temptation and fall of Eve; and we easily perceive, by the view which we have taken of the subject, why she partook of the forbidden fruit. She became an unbeliever in her Creator, and a believer in the serpent. "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat," said the woman. This was the best reason which she could offer. She conceived, that the serpent was possessed of miraculous power, which gave him a claim to divine authority. She imagined, that there was demonstration in all the suggestions of the tempter; and that there must have been a mistake, respecting the prohibition of the tree of knowledge. For, of all the trees in the garden, or even in the world, this appeared to be the most important.

Thus having cast off that implicit confidence in God, which reason and prudence would dictate, she presumed to claim a natural right to avail herself of the virtues and benefits of that wonderful tree. Her natural desires were inflamed, and she became impatient of divine restraint. Lust had now conceived in her heart; and, in heart, prior to the external act, she revolted from God, her Creator and Preserver. She hesitated no longer; but made the dreadful experiment. She ate, and her sin was finished. It brought forth death. Satan had persuaded her to quit the ground of implicit faith and confidence in God, and to rely on human reason, and follow the dictates of a carnal heart. Now she renounced the divine command, and ventured herself on new ground, the ground of infidelity. Thus the woman apostatized from God.

Lest any should think to excuse the weak and unexperienced woman, under so strong temptations, let it be considered, that the Lord, whom she had, from the first day of her existence, known to be the true God, had most solemnly warned and admonished her, respecting the fruit of that tree. He had given her to understand clearly, that the interdiction of this single tree, was to be the