CHAP, from the commission of that which brought such venge'ance along with it."

Lov. xx.

95.

Prov. xxi. 4.

Mat. V. 45 vii. 23.

55. "In the Levitical law, we find, that if a man com'mitted any abomination with a beast, the beast was to 'be slain, as well as the man, and by parity of reason 'the serpent is here punished-at least to remind the 'delinquents themselves of the foulness of their crime."

56. The order which God gave to man, as well as to the animal or brutal creation, when he blessed them, and said unto them, "Be fruitful and multiply," was, at the beginning, good in its place, and calculated to subserve the purpose of God, as hath been observed.

57. So that before man hearkened to a brute, and fell below him in the order of nature, there could be no unclean, lascivious, or inordinate desire of the flesh, to rule his animal faculties; nothing but motives perfectly consistent with the dictates of a rational mind.

58. Hence the simple duty of planting seed and raising a crop, is entirely distinct and different from the curious researches of the naturalist, who searcheth out all the properties and qualities of the ground in which the seed is planted. An honest farmer may perfectly discharge his duty, without any of the curious knowledge, or experiments of the philosopher.

59. But Adam knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain. The sacred text doth not say, he begat Cain, or that he knew her for the purpose of begetting;-that was not his motive, and Cain was of that wicked one: But he knew his wife and she conceived: and what was the fruit of that conception? A murderer!

60. "The plowing of the wicked is sin.-God causeth his sun to rise upon the evil, and sendeth rain upon the unjust. Yet saith unto such, I never knew you.'

61. It belonged to God to appoint the times, seasons and purposes of procreation, without Adam's intruding into that beastly and forbidden knowledge, which destroyed his dignity, and degraded him below the order of the beasts of the field.

62. But when lust had conceived it brought forth sin. "Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And he knew his wife and she conceived." And then, and not till then he could Rom. vii. say, "I see another law.”

23.

63. Then the pure order of nature, and the law of God given to regulate it, were exchanged for this other

V.

law, A LAW W OF SIN! A MAN OF SIN! A STRONG MAN ARM- CHAP. ED! A law of sin warring against the law of his mind, and bringing into captivity his noblest affections, his reason, his judgment, and every sensation and faculty of his mind and body to the law of sin in his members. 64. Then did the MAN OF SIN set himself in the temple of God, ordering the faculties, and claiming the highest affections of man, to "that which is highly es- Luke xvi. teemed among men," which is "The lust of the flesh," the root of all evil, "an abomination in the sight of God."

65. And thus did the MAN OF SIN, that corrupt law of the serpent, set himself in the place of the pure law of God; and under a sacred cloak of pretended love and obedience to the only true God, concealed the fountain of INIQUITY in a MYSTERY, showing himself that he is God, by alluring through the lusts of the flesh, and pretending that God ought to be so worshipped.

66. Therefore, we say, if there be a man and woman now existing on the earth, honestly united in a covenant of promise to each other, who have so much of the fear of God, as neither to touch, taste, nor handle the unclean thing, to gratify the desires of the flesh or mind in any manner whatever; but come together, barely, and conscientiously to propagate their species: and that with the sole motive to obey the will of God, they are verily an honour to the original order of nature, a blessing to themselves and posterity, and an example to the human race.

15.

67. And therefore, even with regard to the law of Moses, which is inferior to the law of Christ, such, and none but such, under any pretext however sacred, need ever expect to answer a clear conscience, before that just and perfect law-giver, who will "render his anger Isai. lxvi. with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire."

68. But we say moreover, that none under the covenant of the flesh since the fall of man, ever did before God, keep that order; nay, even those who profess to be under a covenant of grace, and make the most sanctified outward appearance before men, do more or less violate the perfect order of nature, and by a contrary. nature of evil concupiscence, do that which their light and conviction forbid. For the truth of this we appeal to the consciences of all men.

69. Here we shall make one remark, which is wor

15.

V.

CHAP. thy the observation of all good men, or such as desire to be so: and that is, that, "God is light, and in him is no 1 Joh.1.5. darkness at all." And were it pointedly declared by an angel commissioned from heaven, that every secret action which is now performed under the cloak of an ordinance of God, should be openly and publicly performed, it would be detested by the wickedest men on earth. *

70. Then from what hath been said, let not any of the sons and daughters of fallen Adam, think to escape the severity of God's righteous law, by imputing the blame of their own sins to the original transgression of their father, while they themselves are guilty of the same sin, Rom. xi. and violate the same law: for as is the root, so are the branches.

16.

71. Neither let any be guilty of such horrid impiety, as to imagine that a just and righteous God will impute Adam's original sin to his posterity, unless they violate the same law, and commit the same sin by actual transgression. "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. As I live saith the Lord God—the soul that sin neth it shall die."

72. It therefore remaineth, with all those who make a sacred profession of God's law, and do not live up to it, either to remove the fig-leaf, the vail of their sin, and the cloak of a sacred profession, and candidly acknowledge their loss from God, and ignorance of his law: or otherwise, perfectly to keep that law in every jot and tittle. Honesty is the best policy, in the sight of God, angels, and just men.

73. For certain it is, that God will require his own with usury, and not with abuse, and that according to Isa xxv. 7 his unchangeable purpose, "He will destroy in this mountain the face-covering cast over all people, and the rail that is spread over all nations."

74. For although man hath become a captive to that LAW OF SIN, and fallen entirely under its dominion; and

* Lost as mankind are in the lust of the flesh, yet even their little remaining sense of purity must teach them, that a God who is worshipped by such acts as cannot endure the light of the sun, nor the sight of inen, must be a god of darkness, and not of light. By this let every candid person discriminate between those acts which are acceptable to that God who is Light and in whom is no darkness, and those which are congenial to darkness itself; and by this criterion, let all men judge what kind of a God they worship.

VI.

notwithstanding it worketh in him all manner of concu- CHAP. piscence, and contrary to the light of reason, leadeth him into the most secret and abominable actions; which cannot even bear the presence of an innocent child, or a fellow creature, and much less the inflexible light and purity of a just and holy God:

75. Yet this very law of sin hath the effrontery to call itself, The original and pure law of nature, and to vindicate its existence and lawless actions, by specious reasonings from a claim to the original blessing of God, Be fruitful. The deepest deception! A very мYSTERY!

76. "But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant into thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.

77. "These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

Psalm L.

16, 17, 18, 21, 22.

78. "I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed; how then art thou turned into the degenerate Jer. ii. 21, plant of a strange vine unto me? For though thou wash 22. thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God."

79. Thus far concerning that MYSTERY, which as a vail hath covered the INIQUITY of all nations.

CHAPTER VI.

The Principal Seat of Human Depravity.

T is granted that sin is the first cause of shame; for

IF

when Adam and Eve stood in a state of innocence, they were both naked, and were not ashamed. Put no sooner had they transgressed, than they felt shame, and made themselves aprons of fig-leaves, to cover and hide something from each other.

2. And as they begat children in their own likeness;

VI.

CHAP. from thence it is evidently decided by the practice of all nations, what part that was which they covered,and of course, where the seat of sin is.

Gen. iii. 10.

Gen. iii.16

for lust. See Eph. ii. 3. Also

3. But what was the matter with that part? Why did the shame occasioned by sin, fall particularly there? If their transgression is to be considered in a literal sense, and not as represented in a figure, why did not the shame fall upon the hand that took the fruit, and the -mouth that ate it?

4. But it doth not appear that God took any notice of the hand, or the mouth, in pronouncing the curse which they had merited; but laid it on the same part which they covered, and of which they were ashamed.

5. And God said unto the woman, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thy conception;* in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire† shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."

6. Why multiply her sorrow and her conception? Cruden, Why not punish her some other way? God distributeth punishments according to the nature of the crime.

Article

Desire.

7. The Israelites lusted after flesh, and their punishNum. xi. ment was to have their fill of it, till it turned into a 33, 34. great plague, and they died with it between their teeth. As it is written, "he gave them their own desire; they were not estranged from their lust."

Psalm. [xxviii. 29, 30.

Gen. iii. 14, 15

8. Hence, from the very nature of the curse, denounced upon the woman, it is easy to see wherein the offence lay: a curse of which her child-bearing daughters have had more or less sorrowful experience even to this day,

9. "And unto the serpent, the Lord God said, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattleAnd I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

10. Now if this serpent is understood literally, to havę been a natural serpent or snake, and the seed of the woman is Jesus the Christ; when, or how, was ever the thing literally fulfilled? Where did ever Jesus bruise the head of a rattle-snake, or adder, or any thing of the kind, more than any other man?

11. The truth is, the words of God to the serpent, are

He also made Eve subject to the inconveniency of breeding, and the sharp pains of bringing forth children, and this, because she persuaded Adam with the same arguments wherewith the serpent had persuaded her." Josephus. Antiq. B. I Ch. I