ble to the degrees of revelation wherein God was manifested. He saw the admirable beauty of the Creator through the transparent veil of the creatures. And from hence there arose in the soul a pleasure pure, solid, and satisfying, a pleasure divine; for God takes infinite contentment in the contemplation of himself.

Now as Adam had a perfect knowledge of God, so the height of his love was answerable to his knowledge, and the completeness of his enjoyment was according to his love. All the divine excellences were amiable to him. The majesty, purity, justice, and power of God, which are the terror of guilty creatures, secured his happiness whilst he continued in his obedience. His conscience was clear and calm, no unquiet fears discomposed its tranquillity, it was the seat of innocence and peace.

THE FALL OF MAN.

Man was created perfectly holy, but in a natural, therefore mutable state. He was invested with power to prevent his falling; yet under a possibility of it. He was complete in his own order, but receptive of sinful impressions. An invincible perseverance in holiness belongs to a supernatural state; it is the privilege of grace, and exceeds the design of the first creation.

The moral harmony of the world consists in the just subordination of the several ranks of beings to one another, and of all to God. When man, who was placed next to God, broke the union, his fall brought a desperate disorder into God's government.

And though the matter of the offence seems small, yet the disobedience was infinitely great; it being the transgression of that command, which was given

to be the instance and real proof of man's subjection to God.

From the deception of the mind proceeded the depravation of the will, the intemperance of the appetite, and the defection of the whole man. Thus as the natural, so the spiritual death made its first entrance by the eye. And this infidelity is extremely aggravated, as it implies an accusation of God both of envy and falshood.

Of envy as if he had denied them the perfections becoming the human nature; and they might ascend to a higher orb than that wherein they were placed, by eating the forbidden fruit. And what greater disparagement could there be of the divine goodness, than to suspect the Deity of such a low and base passion, which is the special character of the angels of darkness.

It was equally injurious to the honour of God's truth. For it is not easy to conceive that Adam who was so lately the effect of God's omnipotence should presently distrust it as unable to inflict the punishment threatened, but his assent was weakened as to the truth of the threatening: he did not believe the danger to be so great or certain upon his disobedience. And he that believes not God, makes him a liar. An impiety not to be thought on without horror. And that which heightens the affront, is, that when he distrusted the Fountain of truth, he gave credit to the father of lies, as appears by his compliance the real evidence of his faith. Now what viler contumely could be offered to the Creator?

He was scarce out of the state of nothing, no sooner created, but he aspired to be as God. Not content with his image, he affected an equality, to be like him in his inimitable attributes. He would rob God of his eternity to live without end; of his sovereignty, to command without dependence; of his wisdom, to know all things without reserve. Infinite

insolence! and worthy of the most fiery indignation! That man, the son of the earth, forgetful of his original, should usurp the prerogatives which are essential to the Deity, and set up himself a real idol, was a strain of that arrogancy which corrupted the angels.

The use of all the garden was allowed to him, only a tree excepted. Now, in the midst of such variety and plenty, to be inflamed with the intemperate appetite of the forbidden fruit, and to break a command so equal and easy, what was it but a despising the rich goodness of his great Benefactor? Besides, man was endued with a diviner spirit than the inferior order of creatures: reason and liberty were the special privileges of his nature, and to abuse them to rebellion renders him as more unreasonable, so more disingenuous than the creatures below him, who inflexibly obey the will of God.

The prohibition was so express and terrible, that till he had cast off all respects to the Lawgiver, it was not possible he should venture to disobey him. The sin of Adam is therefore called by the apostle disobedience, as eminently such; it being the first and highest instance of it, and virtually a breach of all the laws at once in that contempt of the Lawgiver. It was the profanation of Paradise itself, the place of God's special presence. There he fell, and trampled on God's command before his face. What just cause of astonishment is it, that a reasonable creature should bid open defiance to the Author of its life! That a little breathing dust should contemn its Creator! That man should prefer servile compliance to the will of the tempter, before free subjection to his Father and Sovereign! To depose God and place the devil in his throne, was double treason, and provoked his infinite jealousy.

That the pleasures of taste and curiosity should outvie the favour of God, which is better than life;

that the most pernicious evil, gilded with the thin appearance of good, should be preferred before the substantial and supreme Good, is the reproach of his reason, and makes the choice so criminal. And what less than voluntary madness could incline him to desire that, which he ought infinitely to have feared, that is, the knowledge of evil? for nothing could destroy his happiness but the experience of evil. What but a wilful distraction could induce him to believe, that by defacing God's image he should become more like him?

When God had made him a depository in a matter of infinite moment, that is, of his own happiness, and all mankind's, this should have been a powerful motive to have kept him vigilant. But giving a ready ear to the tempter, he betrayed his trust, and at once breaks both the tables of the law, and becomes guilty of the highest impiety and cruelty. He was a murderer before a parent, he disinherited all his children before they were born, and made them slaves before they knew the price of liberty,

Now that man, so richly furnished with all the perfections of the mind, and the excellent virtues of which original righteousness was composed; that endued with knowledge to foresee the incomparable evil that would redound to himself, and the universal to his posterity by his disobedience; that being so well tempered in his constitution that all his appetites were subject to reason; that notwithstanding these preservatives, he should be deceived by the false persuasion of an erring mind, and overcome by carnal concupiscence, as the evil effects of it will not cease to the end of the world, so neither the just wonder how it was possible to happen. These are the circumstances which derive a crimson guilt to his rebellious sin, and render it above measure sinful.

His soul degenerated from its purity; the faculties

remained, but the moral perfections were lost wherein the brightness of God's image was most conspicuous. The holy wisdom of his mind, the divine love that sancified his will, the spiritual power to obey God were totally quenched.

He was deprived of his dominion and liberty. The understanding was so wounded by the violence of the fall, that not only its light is much impaired, but its power is so weakened as to the lower faculties, that those which according to the order of nature should obey, have cast off its just authority and usurp the government. The will hath lost its true freedom, whereby it was enlarged to the extent and amplitude of the divine will, in loving whatsoever was pleasing to God, and is contracted to mean and base objects. What a furious disorder is in the affections. The restraint of reason to check their violent course provokes them to swell higher, and to be more impetuous, and the more they are gratified, the more insolent and outrageous they grow.

The senses, whose office is to be the intelligencers of the soul, to make discovery, and to give a naked report without disturbing the higher faculties, sometimes mistake disguised enemies for friends; and sometimes by a false alarm move the lower appetites, and fill the soul with disorder and confusion, that the voice of reason cannot be heard. By the irritation of grief, the insinuation of pleasure, or some other perturbation, the soul is captivated and wounded through the senses. In short, when man turned rebel to God, he became a slave to all the creatures.

Adam, whilst obedient, enjoyed peace with God, a sweet serenity of mind, a divine calm in the conscience, and full satisfaction in himself. But after his sin, he trembled at God's voice, and was tormented at his presence. I heard thy voice, and was afraid, saith guilty Adam. He looked on God as