under the conduct of infinite wisdom, even under the conduct of Messiah the prince, stand forth in perfect order, and the most beautiful harmony; a bright and noble image of all the glorious perfections of the invisible God?

A theatre being erected, proper to raise, in intelligent creatures, sublime and exalted thoughts of God, in the next place MAN, a noble creature, an intelligent free agent, capable of moral action, and a proper subject of moral government, is formed by God, and placed upon the stage, as head of a numerous race, and made lord of this lower world. "God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he bim: male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the face of the earth." Gen. i. 27, 28.

And here it ought to be observed, and it ought never to be forgotten by us, that God, in the capacity of Creator, did well by his creature, man. He was made capable of knowing, loving, obeying, and enjoying God; as also of seeing the beauty and tasting the sweetness of the fruits of paradise; and he had a high relish for knowledge and happiness. Besides, he was formed for society, and had an agreeable companion, and the prospect of a happy posterity, who would grow up and honour and love him as their common father, through all generations. And he had open to his view all the glories of the visible creation, to inspire him with sublime and exalted thoughts of God, who had brought him into existence, and made him lord of all here below. Surely, God the Creator, dealt well by his creature, man, whom he thus made but a little lower than the angels, and crowned with glory and honour. "And God saw every thing that he made, and, behold, it was very good." Gen. i. 31.

And, therefore,

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3. Man was under the greatest obligations to love the infinitely glorious God, his Maker, with all his heart, and to be for everin subjection to his authority, and obedient to his will. And this was not only his duty, but such was his make, that it would

have afforded him the most refined pleasure and delight: therefore, let it be repeated again, that God, his Creator, had done well by his creature, man*. And if, after all this, he should fall from God, it must be his own fault; nor could he any longer deserve the favour of his Maker, but to sink under his everlasting displeasure. Therefore,

Of course his everlasting welfare must depend on his good behaviour; and had there been no covenant or constitution at all, only the mere law of nature; yet, according to that, it would have become the most High, as moral governor and judge of the world, in case of the rebellion of his creature, man, to have testified his high displeasure against his crime, in his everlasting destruction: for the wages of sin is death. The honour of the Deity would have called for such a punishment, as well as the good of the intelligent system, that all might hear and fear, and do no more so wickedly. Wherefore, God, as the holy and good governor of the world, expressly assures his creature, man, what he might depend upon in case of disobedience. "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Gen. ii. 17.

And thus also God did well by his creature, man, in the capacity of his moral governor. He let him know his great obligations to obedience : how much he insisted upon it: how highly he should resent his disobedience. That he would cast him not only out of his favour, and out of paradise, but out of this world; would even put him to death, and send his guilty soul, under the divine displeasure, naked, forlorn, undone, to everlasting despair and wo; no hope being given of any relief. THOU SHALT SURELY DIE. And what more could God have done, as his moral governor, to have prevented his apostacy and ruin? If, after all this, he would venture to disobey, must he not be for ever inexcusable?

Question. How was it possible for man, created in such holy and happy cir cumstances, ever to sin?

Answer. It is thought by some very difficult to answer this question. And had neither angels nor men ever sinned, perhaps it might have been thought an impossible thing, that they ever should have sinned. Which view of the case, I desire the reader to keep in mind, and meanwhile wait a little for a solution of the difficulty proposed.

4. God took it for granted that he had now done enough, and said enough; and might, becoming his character, as his Lord and King, not only demand, but reasonably expect, obedience, and justly suspend his everlasting welfare on that condition. Yea, he judged that, as governor of the world, it became him to do so, that he might secure his own rights, and maintain the honour of his authority. Nor did he look upon himself obliged to be his keeper, and become surety for him, and undertake to preserve him from'sin, by his constant interposition; but judged he might, having done enough, and said enough, now leave him to his own choice, as having all needful qualifications to render him a proper subject of moral government; having sufficient internal abilities and sufficient outward advantages to know and do his duty. And, accordingly, God did leave him to his choice. He was deceived by satan's lies; broke the divine law, and fell into ruin; as the event recorded in the 3d chapter of Genesis sufficiently proves. But God and his throne were guiltless.

5. Our first parents' design, in eating of the forbidden fruit, was to make a surprising advance in knowledge and happiness; not by such slow degress as they had before expected, but at once to become as Gods. Deceived by satan's lies; captivated by this temptation; the food also appearing pleasant to the eye, and good for food, they took and eat.

Satan's design was to bring dishonour upon God, ruin upon man, and then to lift up himself, exult, and triumph in his deed. Being an inveterate enemy to God, and to all good; and having a peculiar spite at man*, nothing could give him. greater joy, than to ruiu a new made world, which, as it ap

* The angels are appointed ministering spirits, to minister to those who are the heirs of salvation, (Heb. i. 14.) And, perhaps, as soon as man was created, it was revealed to all the hosts of heaven, that it should be their employment, to attend upon Adam and his numerous race. Perhaps satan might think this too degrading, for one so superior to man, as he perceived himself to be, to be thus employed. And so, pride, his first sin, might take occasion to rise in his heart. And to be revenged on God and man, both at once, he laid a scheme for man's seduction and ruin. And, from that day to this, hath never ceased to study our mischief. If this occasion of the fall of angels is a mere conjecture, yet it is the most probable I know of. And what makes it the more probable, it will account for satan's great zeal for the destruction of mankind.

peared to him, God had created for the honour of his great name, and as a place of happy abode for his creature, man ; to see God's creature give more credit to him than to his Maker; to see God's subject desert his rightful Sovereign and Lord, and join with him; to see God's authority disregarded, and himself obeyed: I say, to see God thus disobeyed, disappointed, dishonoured, man ruined; this lower creation spoiled, while he himself is believed, obeyed, honoured, would perfectly suit the devil's heart, so full of pride, of enmity against God, and ill-will to man.

God's design in permitting satan so far to succeed in this most hellish attempt, was, that he might take occasion to bring more honour to God, and to make the good part of the creation more humble, holy, and happy. And, finally, as effectually to disappoint satan in all his schemes, as was Pharaoh, when he and his army lay overwhelmed in the Red sea: which design, for the encouragement of our first parents, was hinted to them soon after the fall. "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." Gen. iii. 15.

When the great OMNISCIENT saw that rebellion would break out in heaven, and the infection reach down to this lower world, and spread all over the earth, he practically said, "After all I have done for them as their Creator, and said to them as their moral governor, I and my throne are guiltless; to themselves I leave them; and now will it be known what is in their hearts; and I also will take occasion to show what is in my heart; and they shall know that I am the LORD, and the whole intelligent system shall be filled with my glory." (Analagous to what (Analagous to what is written in 2 Chron. xxxii. 21. Deut. viii. 2. Exod. x. 2.)

1. God knew that it belonged to the nature of all finite beings to be mutable and peaceable; and that the best might degenerate so far as to become the worst: no being in the system being, by nature, immutable, but God alone. As it is written, "I am the LORD, I change not." Mal. iii.-6.

To be, by nature, immutable, is peculiar to the Deity, and cannot be communicated to a creature, because it implies infinity. God only is capable of such a complete view of all things, past, present, and to come, at once, as leaves no room

for any new views. And his views being for ever exactly the same, there is in his nature a fixed foundation for immuta bility in all his purposes and determinations. Whereas, the most exalted of all finite beings, being capable of only partial views of things, are constantly enlarging and varying their views and prospects, and are liable to have a set of thoughts wholly new, which may lead on to new determinations and purposes. And amidst an infinite variety of new views and new determinations, things may possibly so appear, as that the most exalted of mere creatures may make a wrong judgment, and take a wrong turn, and so fall into sin, and under the divine displeasure.

Wherefore, to God, who saw the finite capacities of finite intelligences, and their consequent liableness, as things might happen, to deception and apostacy, it plainly appeared, that he could not safely depend upon their stability. He knew himself to be the only immutable being in the system; the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; but " he put no trust in his servants, and his angels he charged with folly;" (Job iv. 18.) or, as it is elsewhere expressed, (Job xv. 15.) "He putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight."

And yet, for things to continue for ever in such an uncertain, unsettled state, must have been undesirable to the immutable Being who loves immutability in himself, and the image of it in his creatures; and loves to see his authority.established, and his kingdom settled in peace and everlasting order and harmony; and loves to see the eternal welfare of his creatures on a safe footing, and clear out of the reach of any possible danger.

But how much soever to the honour of God, and to the good of the system, and how desirable soever, in these two respects, it might appear in the sight of God, that the intelligent system should unanimously adhere and cleave for ever to the Lord, yet, in the nature of things, there could be no certain security for this, unless he himself, the only immutable Being, should undertake and become surety for all his creatures. There could be no certain dependence upon creatures, left to themselves, how great and excellent soever their