rupt themselves, as he did? Who then corrupts the newborn infant? Or, if he is not corrupt, why is he not in paradise? Nay, why is he subject to sickness and death? If the scriptural history of our first parents is true, there is no answering these questions, founded on that history, and on facts universally notorious, but by admitting, that Adam not only covenanted and forfeited for all mankind, but likewise entailed on all men the sinful dispositions of his own corrupted nature. And what is there absurd in the supposition of his having so covenanted and forfeited? Why might not God have granted a tenure of paradise to him, and his heirs, on the same terms as absolute princes frequently do the property of their own lands? Such a prince, out of his singular favour, conveys an estate by patent to a particular subject, and his heirs for ever, on condition that he and they shall always render him such and such services. If that subject fails to render him those services, it is but reasonable and just that the grant should become void, as well in respect to his descendants, as himself. But, in case the grantee shall take up arms against his prince, and lead his children into rebellion; or, together with them, shall otherwise violate the laws of that prince; hath he not a right to put the severity of those laws in force against such subjects? Now it was on a like tenure that God granted paradise and immortality to the first man, and his heirs; and it was by a like failure, and rebellion, that this tenure was lost.

Dr. Sherlock, in his most excellent treatise on Death, hath so well applied the reasonings of St. Paul to the support of this doctrine, that I must beg leave to give you an extract of those reasonings, as exhibited by that truly pious and judicious divine:

"The sentence of death and mortality," saith he, "which was pronounced on Adam, fell on all his posterity. St. Paul tells us, 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22, That by man came death; and in Adam all die;' which he does not only assert, but prove, Rom. v. 12-14: Wherefore by man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all; for that all have sinned; for, until the law, sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed where there is no law; nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression.'

The design of all which is to prove, that men die, or are mortal, not for their own sins, but for the sins of Adam; which the Apostle proves by this argument; because, though all men, as well as Adam, have sinned, yet, till the giving the law of Moses, there was no law which threatened death against sin, but only that law given to Adam in paradise, which no man else ever did, or ever could transgress, but he. Now sin is not imputed where there is no law; that is, is not imputed to any man to death, before there is any law which threatens death against it.-Upon what account, then, says the Apostle, could these men die, who lived between Adam and Moses, before the law was given which threatens death? And yet die they did; even those who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression. This could have been for no sin but Adam's, who sinned, and brought death into the world, and so death passed upon all men.' To hinder this from seeming hard, he shews, that all men are, through their bodies, naturally mortal; that they held immortality only on such terms as God was pleased to bestow it; that they forfeited that tenure by the transgression of their common parent and representative; and that as Adam, now corrupt, could beget none but corrupt children, immortality became here unreasonable and impossible, through the universal prevalence of sin."

Thus, I apprehend, are we said to sin and die in Adam. So much for the introduction and imputation of sin.

It is now time to turn our eyes on the introduction and imputation of righteousness by Christ Jesus. When Christ came into the world, he was so far from departing from this method of dealing with us by covenant, that all he did terminated in the re-establishment and completion of the covenant between God and us, which had been prophetically and typically introduced after the fall, and in different periods of the world, from that time to his incarnation, occasionally diversified as to its outward form; but, at every change, still rendered more plain and intelligible by the new promises or institutions wherewith it was accompanied. What Solomon said concerning the way of the just man, may be very properly applied to the gospel; namely, that, like the shining light, it hath shined more and more unto the perfect day. St. Paul, who speaking of it as literally and fully

preached by Christ, calls it, with Jeremiah, a new covenant,' in contradistinction to that of the law, gives it nevertheless a much higher date, as revealed to Abraham, nay, and even as believed in by Noah and Abel.

Of this covenant Christ, by his mission, became the Messenger, and, by his death, the Mediator. In pursuance of his mission, he preached the kingdom of heaven, or the new and holy community of believers. By his death he purchased this kingdom, community, or church; and therein acquired a right to mediate a peace between his offended Father and mankind, who had been enemies and aliens by wicked works. This peace he settled by the covenant founded in his blood, which was the grand sacrifice or atonement made to divine justice for the transgression of the first covenant, whereby Adam had rendered all his posterity both imputative and actual sinners. In this covenant, heaven, or eternal life, is promised on God's part; while repentance, faith, and peace with him and one another, are promised on ours. In order to bring the parties to this blessed agreement, Christ pleaded with his Father the merits of that sacrifice or price he had paid for us; and he pleaded with men the infinite benefits arising from the covenant, if embraced and kept. Having by these means gathered together a church, he became, of course, the guarantee and sponsor to us of his Father's promises; and to his Father, for our faith and obedience.

As Adam, immediately on the establishment of the first covenant, became thereto a debtor; and, by his transgression thereof, rendered himself, and all his unhappily corrupted descendants, insolvent debtors; so Christ, the head, the father, the representative, and sponsor, of the church, having paid this debt both of entailed and actual sin, hath, according to the promise of Isaiah, 'proclaimed liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.' He hath, by an infinitely gracious exchange, imparted his merits to us, and taken our demerits to himself; for his Father hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him;' 2 Cor. v. 21. His being made sin for us, or, as our sponsor, taking our sins on himself, is farther explained and proved, Isa. liii, where, concerning him and us, it is said, 'All we, like sheep, have gone astray: we have turned every one to

his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He hath poured out his soul unto death: he was numbered with the transgressors; he bare the sin of many; and made intercession for the transgressors.' In the Epistle to the Galatians, iii. 13, St. Paul strongly enforces the same doctrine Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.' St. Peter, speaking of Christ, says, 'He, his own self, bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead unto sin, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed;' 1 Pet. ii. 24. That we are made the righteousness of God in Christ, appears from other places besides this alleged. We are told, Rom. v. 18, 19, that, by the righteousness of one,' namely, Christ, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life;' and that, by the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous.'

It is a gross absurdity to suppose we can rightly conceive of the Christian religion without a right idea of our redemption; for that religion, and that redemption, are but one and the same thing. It is equally absurd to talk of redemption, without acknowledging two things; first, that Christ, in order to reclaim us, gave us his word, his ordinances, and his Spirit; and, secondly, that he suffered death, to save us from that death which is the wages or punishment of sin. For, having done these two things, he is called Jesus, or our Saviour. Now the atonement made by his death is nonsense, without the supposition of a double imputation; first, of sin in Adam; and, secondly, of righteousness in Jesus Christ. Our adversaries will gain nothing by denying the first, because they cannot but own, that we are by nature corrupt and sinful; that God did not make us so; and that this natural corruption, which is worse than the entail of Adam's sin, was brought upon us by one man, namely, by Adam. It is in vain to say every man corrupts himself; for, if all men had not a natural and previous disposition to corruption, some men might happen not to corrupt themselves; neither would children shew a tendency to vice, as they all do, from the time they are able to speak and act; much less would they be subject to pain, sickness, and death, were they entirely free from sin, it being impossible the innocent should suffer. Who dares deny,' saith

St. Augustine, 'that Christ is the Saviour of infants? But how is he said to save them, if there is in them no distemperature of original sin? How does he redeem them, if they are not, by their original, sold under the sin of the first man?' But here it is worth observing, that though children, dying unbaptized, die formal heirs to Adam, having no other covenant but his, under which they can derive; yet, as they have neither transgressed that covenant by actual sin, nor rejected the new one, we may presume they are actual objects, at least, of God's uncovenanted mercy; or I should rather say, as Adam's transgression was imputed to them without a voluntary act of their own, so Christ's merit is imputed to them, without the requisition of any such act; because it is to be laid down for a maxim, that, in respect to souls, circumstanced as theirs are, Christ came to undo whatsoever Adam did. Nay, he came to do more; for, as it is not in the power of man to do so much evil as God is both able and willing to do good, so our blessed Saviour came to bestow heaven on those whom Adam had deprived of paradise only.

Since, then, the sin and corruption of our first parents are entailed on us; and experience tells us, we can neither retrieve ourselves from sin, nor save our souls from the punishment of sin; we stand in need of a Redeemer who is able to do both; who can cure the disorders of our minds by divine wisdom, and clear the debt that is against us by an equivalent price. This Christ alone was able to do, both because he was the wisdom of God,' 1 Cor. i. 24, and, through the sinless purity of his nature, and the infinite dignity of his person, could lay down a sufficient ransom for us. Such a High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as the high-priests of the law did, to offer up sacrifice first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself;' Heb. vii. 26, 27. But farther; as it is not enough barely to be forgiven, in order to our exaltation to a state of glory, to which no merit of our own can ever entitle us; we must borrow the merit necessary to that purpose from our representative, and found our title to so great a reward on the covenant he hath procured for us.