Gen. 7:1.

THOUGH men constantly trace their origin to their immediate parents, and frequently to their remoter ancestors, yet they rarely consider When, or How they first came into existence, or Whether any change has taken place in their nature since they came out of their Creator’s hands. That there was a period when no such creature as man existed, even reason itself would teach us; for every effect must proceed from some cause: and therefore the formation of man, however remotely we trace his origin, must, in the first instance, have been the product of some intelligent Being, who was eternally selfexistent. But we are not left to the uncertain deductions of reason: God has been pleased to reveal unto us (what could not otherwise have been known) the time and manner of our creation, together with the state in which we were created. And these are the subjects which we would now propose for your consideration:

I. The circumstances of our creation—

We may not unprofitably notice somewhat respecting the time—

[Five days had been occupied in reducing to order the confused chaos, and in furnishing the world with whatever could enrich or adorn it. On the sixth, God formed man, whom he reserved to the last, as being the most excellent of his works; and whose formation he delayed, till every thing in this habitable globe was fitted for his accommodation. It is not for us to inquire why God chose this space of time for the completion of his work, when he could as easily have formed it all in an instant: but one instructive lesson at least we may learn from the survey which he took of every day’s work; it teaches his creatures to review their works from day to day, in order that, if they find them to have been good, they may be excited to gratitude; or, if they perceive them to have been evil, they may be led to repentance. At the close of every day, God pronounced his work to be “good:” but when man was formed, and the harmony of all the parts, together with the conduciveness of each to its proper end, and the subserviency of every part to the good of the whole, were fully manifest, then he pronounced the whole to be “very good.” From this also we learn, that it is not one work or two, however good in themselves, that should fully satisfy our minds; but a comprehensive view of all our works, as harmonizing with each other, and corresponding with all the ends of our creation.]

In the manner of our creation there is something worthy of very peculiar attention—

[In the formation of all other things God merely exercised his own sovereign will, saying, “Let there be light,” “Let such and such things take place.” But in the creation of man we behold the language of consultation; “Let us make man.” There is not the least reason to suppose that this was a mere form of speech. like that which obtains among monarchs at this day; for this is quite a modern refinement: nor can it be an address to angels; for they had nothing to do in the formation of man: it is an address to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, both of whom co-operated in the formation of Him who was to be the master-piece of divine wisdom and power. This appears from a still more striking expression, which occurs afterwards; where God says, “Now man is become like one of us, to know good and evil.” And it is confirmed in a variety of other passages, where God, under the character of our “Creator,” or “Maker,” is spoken of in the plural number.

We must not however suppose that there are three Gods: there certainly is but One God; and His unity is as clear as his existence: and this is intentionally marked in the very verse following our text; where the expressions, “us” and “our” are turned into “he” and “his:”—“God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he him.”

Here, then, we may see an early intimation of the Trinity in Unity; a doctrine which pervades the whole Bible, and is the very corner-stone of our holy religion. And it is deserving of particular notice, that, in our dedication to our Creator at our baptism, we are expressly required to acknowledge this mysterious doctrine, being “baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”]

The text informs us further respecting,

II. The state in which we were created—

There was some “likeness” to God even in the nature of man. “God is a spirit,” who thinks, and wills, and acts. Man also has a spirit, distinct from his body, or from the mere animal life: he has a thinking, willing substance, which acts upon matter by the mere exercise of its own volitions, except when the material substance on which it operates is bereft of its proper faculties, or impeded in the use of them. But the image of God in which man was formed, is, properly, two-fold:

1. Intellectual—

[“God is a God of knowledge.” He has a perfect discernment of every thing in the whole creation. Such. too, was Adam in his first formation. Before he had had any opportunity to make observations on the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, he gave names to every one of them, suited to their several natures, and distinctive of their proper characters. But it was not merely in things natural that Adam was so well instructed: he doubtless had just views of God, his nature and perfections: he had also a thorough knowledge of himself, of his duties, his interests, his happiness. There was no one thing which could conduce either to his felicity or usefulness, which was not made known to him, as far as he needed to be instructed in it. As God is light without any mixture or shade of darkness, so was Adam, in reference to all those things at least which he was at all concerned to know.]

2. Moral—

[Holiness is no less characteristic of the Deity than wisdom. He loves every thing that is good, and infinitely abhors every thing that is evil. Every one of His perfections is holy. In this respect, also, did man bear a resemblance to his Maker. “God made him upright.” As he had a view of the commandment in all its breadth, so had he a conformity to it in all his dispositions and actions. He felt no reluctance in obeying it: his will was in perfect unison with the will of his Maker. All the inferior appetites were in habitual subjection to his reason, which also was in subjection to the commands of God. We are told respecting the Lord Jesus Christ, that he was “the image of God,” “the image of the invisible Godi,” “the express image of his person.” What the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, was upon earth, that was man in Paradise—“holy, harmless, undefiled.”

That man’s resemblance to his Maker did indeed consist in these two things, is manifest; because our renewal after the divine image is expressly said to be in knowledge, and in true holinessn. Well, therefore, does the Apostle say of man, that “he is the image and glory of God.”]

INFER

1. What an awful change has sin brought into the world!

[Survey the character before drawn: and compare it with men in the present state: “How is the gold become dim, and the fine gold changed!” Men are now enveloped in darkness, and immersed in sin. They “know nothing as they ought to know,” and do nothing as they ought to do it. No words can adequately express the blindness of their minds, or the depravity of their hearts.———Yet all this has resulted from that one sin which Adam committed in Paradise. He lost the divine image from his own soul; and “begat a son in his own fallen likeness:” and the streams that have been flowing for nearly six thousand years from that polluted fountain, are still as corrupt as ever. O that we habitually considered sin in this light, and regarded it as the one source of all our miseries!]

2. What a glorious change will the Holy Spirit effect in the hearts of all who seek Him!

[In numberless passages, as well as in those before cited, the Holy Spirit is spoken of, as “renewing” our souls, and making us “new creaturesq.” What Adam was in Paradise, that shall we be, “according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtletree.” He will “open the eyes of our understanding,” and cause us to “know all things” that are needful for our salvations: and at the same time that he “turns us from darkness unto light, he will turn us also from the power of Satan unto God:” “He will put his laws in our minds, and write them in our hearts.” Let not any imagine that their case is desperate; for He who created all things out of nothing, can easily create us anew in Christ Jesus: and he will do it, if we only direct our eyes to Christ: “We all beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”]

3. What obligations do we owe to the ever-blessed Trinity!

[If we looked no further than to our first creation, we are infinitely indebted to the sacred Three, for making us the subject of their consultation, and for co-operating to form us in the most perfect manner. But what shall we say to that other consultation, respecting the restoration of our souls? Hear, and be astonished at that gracious proposal, “Let us restore man to our image.” “I,” says the Father, “will pardon and accept them, if an adequate atonement can be found to satisfy the demands of justice.” “Then on me be. their guilt,” says his only dear Son: “I will offer myself a sacrifice for them, if any one can be found to apply the virtue of it effectually to their souls, and to secure to me the purchase of my blood.” “That shall be my charge,” says the blessed Spirit: “I gladly undertake the office of enlightening, renewing, sanctifying their souls; and I will “preserve every one of them blameless unto thy heavenly kingdom.” Thus, by their united efforts, is the work accomplished; and a way of access is opened for every one of us through Christ, by that one Spirit, unto the Father. O let every soul rejoice in this Tri-une God! and may the Father’s love, the grace of Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore! Amen.]

APPOINTMENT OF THE SABBATH

Gen. 2:2, 3.

On the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made: and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work, which God created and made.

THOUGH we know no reason on God’s part why he should proceed in the work of creation by slow and gradual advancement, instead of perfecting the whole at once; yet we may conceive a reason on the part of man, who is enabled thereby to take a more minute and deliberate survey of all its parts, and from every fresh discovery of the creation to derive fresh themes of praise to the Creator. This idea seems to be countenanced by the institution of á Sabbath immediately after the completion of the sixth day’s work. At all events, this is the improvement which it becomes us to make of the Sabbath: in speaking of which we shall shew,

I. The reason of its appointment—

God, after finishing his work, “rested, and was refreshed.” Whether this expression be merely a figure taken from what is experienced by us after any laborious and successful exertion, or whether it intimate the complacency which God felt, as it were, on a review of his works, we cannot absolutely determine. But his sanctifying of the seventh day in consequence of that rest, shews, that he consulted,

1. His own glory—

[As “God made all things for himself,” so he instituted the Sabbath in order that his rational creatures might have stated opportunities of paying him their tribute of prayer and praise. If no period had been fixed by him for the solemnities of public worship, it would have been impossible to bring mankind to an agreement respecting the time when they should render unto him their united homage. They would all acknowledge the propriety of serving him in concert; but each would be ready to consult his own convenience; a difference of sentiment also would obtain respecting the portion of time that should be allotted to his service: and thus there would never be one hour when all should join together in celebrating their Creator’s praise. But by an authoritative separation of the seventh day, God has secured, that the whole creation shall acknowledge him, and that His goodness shall be had in everlasting remembrance. In this view, God himself, speaking of the Sabbath which he had instituted at the creation, and the observance of which he was, with some additional reasons, enforcing on the Jews, calls it “a sign” between him and them, that they might know that he is the Lord.]

2. His people’s good—

[Though men might have worshipped God in secret, yet the appointment of a certain day to be entirely devoted to His service, had a tendency to spiritualize their minds, and to make every one in some respect useful in furthering the welfare of the whole community. Sympathy is a powerful principle in the human breast: and the sight of others devoutly occupied in holy exercises, is calculated to quicken the drowsy soul. The very circumstance of multitudes meeting together with raised expectations and heavenly affections, must operate like an assemblage of burning coals, all of which are instrumental to the kindling of others, while they receive in themselves fresh ardour from the contact.

A further benefit from the appointment of the Sabbath is, that the attention of all must necessarily be directed to the eternal Sabbath, which awaits them at the expiration of their appointed week of labour. Each revolving Sabbath, freed from the distractions of worldly care, and attended, not merely with bodily rest, but with a rest of the soul in God, must be to them an earnest and foretaste of heaven itself. Well therefore does Nehemiah number the Sabbath among the richest benefits which God had conferred upon his chosen people.]

But as some have thought the Sabbath to be a mere Jewish institution, which, like the rest of the ceremonial law, is abrogated and annulled, we shall proceed to shew,

II. The continuance of its obligation—

That there was something ceremonial in the Jewish Sabbath, we readily acknowledge: but there was something moral also; and therefore, as to the moral part of it, it must, of necessity, be of perpetual obligation. To remove all doubt on this important subject, consider,

1. The time of its institution—

[Some have thought that the mention which is made of the Sabbath in the words before us, was merely by anticipation; and that the appointment never took place till the days of Moses. But if this were the case, how came Moses to specify the circumstance of God’s resting on the seventh day as the reason of that appointment? It would have been a good reason for our first parents and their immediate descendants to hallow the seventh day; but it could be no reason at all to those who lived almost five-and-twenty hundred years after the event; more especially when so obvious and cogent a reason as their deliverance out of Egypt was assigned at the very same time. But if the command given to the Jews was a repetition of the injunction given to Adam, then there is an obvious propriety in assigning the reason that was obligatory upon all, as well as that which formed an additional obligation on the Jewish nation in particular.

Besides, there are traces of a Sabbath from the beginning of the world. For, if no Sabbath had ever been given, whence came the practice of measuring time by weeks? Yet that custom obtained both in the patriarchal and antediluvian agesg: and therefore, since it accords so exactly with what was afterwards instituted by divine authority, we may well infer its original appointment by God himself. And if its obligation existed so many ages before the ceremonial law was given, then must it continue to exist after that law is abolished.]

2. The manner of its re-establishment—

[Notwithstanding the long continuance of the Jews in Egypt, the remembrance of the Sabbath was not effaced: for Moses, before the giving of the law, speaks of the Sabbath as an institution known and received among them. And, without any express direction, they gathered on the sixth day a double portion of manna to serve them on the Sabbath; which they would not have done, if they had not thought the observance of the Sabbath to be of the first importance.

Nevertheless, for the more effectual maintenance of its authority, God judged it necessary to publish it to them again, both upon the original grounds, and on other special grounds peculiar to that people. And how did he publish it? Did he deliver it to Moses in the same manner as he did the ceremonial law? No: he wrote it with his own finger in tables of stone, and embodied it with the moral law. Surely this affords a very strong presumption that God himself considered its duties, not as ceremonial, limited, and transient, but as moral, universal, and permanent.]

3. The confirmation of it by the Prophets—

[That its obligations should be sanctioned by the prophets, we might well expect; because they lived under the authority of the Jewish law. The mere circumstance, therefore, of their insisting on the observation of the Sabbath would prove nothing. But their speaking of the Sabbath, as to be observed under the Christian dispensation, very strongly corroborates the perpetuity of its obligations. Now the prophet Isaiah does speak of the Sabbath in such a connexion, that we cannot doubt of its referring to the times of the Gospel: and he represents the “keeping of the Sabbath” as no less necessary to our happiness, than the laying hold of Christ’s righteousness and salvation. We can scarcely think that the prophet would have so strongly marked the continuance of the Sabbath, if its obligations were to cease with the ceremonial law.]

4. The observation of it by the Apostles—

[The precise day on which the Jews kept their Sabbath, was indeed changed; and the first day of the week was substituted for the seventh. This was done in order to commemorate the resurrection of our blessed Lord; an event, the most interesting that ever occurred from the foundation of the world; an event which proved, beyond all doubt, the Messiahship of Jesus, and has served from that time as the corner-stone of all our hopes. When Israel was brought out of Egypt, God, in order to commemorate that deliverance, changed the commencement of the year from the Autumn to the Spring: can we wonder then, that, in remembrance of an infinitely greater deliverance, he should alter the day on which the Sabbath had been observed? It was in the appropriation of a seventh part of our time to God, that the morality of the Sabbath consisted; and that is preserved under the Christian, as much as under the Jewish economy.

This change was sanctioned by our blessed Lord, who repeatedly selected that day for the more public exhibition of himself to his disciples; and on that day sent down the Holy Ghost upon themp; in order that the application, as well as the completion of his redemption, might give a further sanctity to the new-appointed day.

From that time the first day of the week was invariably observed for the public services of the church; and, to stamp peculiar honour upon it, it was distinguished by that endearing name, “The Lord’s dayr.”

Who that weighs all these arguments, can doubt the continued obligation of the Sabbath?]

For the regulation of our conduct on the Sabbath, we should inquire into,

III. The nature of its requirements—

The same kind of strictness is not required of us as was enjoined under the law—

[We have before said, that there was something of a ceremonial nature in the Jewish Sabbath. The Jews in the wilderness were not permitted to leave their habitations on the Sabbath-day, except to assemble for divine worship; and the portion of manna which they gathered on the preceding day for the consumption of that day, was, for the space of forty years, kept fit for their use upon the Sabbath by a constant miracle, on purpose that they might have no excuse for transgressing the divine command. They were forbidden even to kindle a fire on the Sabbath-dayu, or to do any species of servile work. But all this rigour is not necessary now: it was suited to the burthensome dispensation of the law; but not to the more liberal dispensation under which we live. Indeed, our blessed Lord has shewn us clearly that works of necessity, or of mercyy, may be performed on that as well as any other day. Being himself “the Lord of the Sabbathday,” he dispensed with those rites which were merely temporary, and requires of us such services only as a spiritual mind will most delight in.]

Our sanctification of the Sabbath should consist rather in mental than in bodily exercises—

[What are the proper employments for our minds, the prophet Isaiah has plainly told us: “We should account the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and should honour him, not doing our own ways, nor finding our own pleasure, nor speaking our own words.” We should endeavour to have our thoughts abstracted from the world, and to fix them with intenseness and delight on heavenly objects. On every day we should present to God our sacrifices of prayer and praise: but as, under the law, the accustomed sacrifices, both of the morning and evening, were doubled upon the Sabbath, so, under the Gospel, we should have our minds doubly occupied in the service of our God.]

The subject before us suggests ample matter,

1. For reproof—

[Many, very many there are who hate the duties of the Sabbath; and, breaking through all the restraints of conscience, follow without remorse their usual occupations. Others, complying with the established forms, cry, “What a weariness is it!” When shall the Sabbath be over, that I may prosecute more pleasing or more profitable employmentsc? When they come up to the house of God, they find no pleasure in his service, but are rather, like Doeg, “detained before the Lord.” Some, indeed, conceiving that they are doing somewhat meritorious, spend without reluctance the time allotted for public service; but, though they draw nigh to God with their lips, their hearts are far from hime. It is not such worshippers that God seeks or approves; nor is such the sanctification of the Sabbath that he requires. On the contrary, he is indignant against all such profaneness or hypocrisy; and declares that such persons “worship him in vain.” Whatever such persons may imagine, they indeed profane the Sabbath. And what the consequence will be, they may form some judgment, from the punishment inflicted on the man who gathered sticks upon the Sabbath-day. By God’s express command, he was stoned to death. If, then, so heavy a sentence was executed upon him by the direction of the Most High, can we suppose that God is more indifferent about the conduct of his creatures now? or that he has loaded them with mercies for no other end than to give them a greater license to sin? Let us well consider this: for “if they, who despised Moses’ law, died without mercy,” surely a far sorer punishment awaits us, if, with our additional obligations, we disregard the wonders of redeeming love.]

2. For encouragement—

[Not only personal, but even national judgments may be expected for the violation of the Sabbath. But, on the other hand, every blessing may be expected, both by individuals and the communityl, if the Sabbath be habitually and conscientiously improved. Indeed, it seems almost impossible that any one who sets himself in earnest to improve the Sabbath-day, should ever perish. God would bless to such an one the ordinances of his grace; and rather send him instruction in some extraordinary way, than suffer him to use the means in vain. We can appeal to all who have ever laboured to sanctify the Sabbath, whether they have not found their labour well repaid? Surely “God has never said to any, ‘Seek ye my face in vain’: “and the more diligently we keep his Sabbaths below, the more shall we be fitted for our eternal rest.]

III

COVENANT MADE WITH ADAM

Gen. 2:16, 17.

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

WHEN the creation was formed, it was proper that every part of it should shew forth the Creator’s glory, and, as far as its peculiar nature and capacity would admit of, fulfil his will. The sun and moon and stars being inanimate bodies, it was sufficient for them to move with regularity in their respective orbits. The creatures that were endued with life, were to follow their respective instincts, and, according to their abilities, to yield obedience to man, who was God’s vicegerent over them. To man more had been given: of him, therefore, was more required. He was endued with understanding and will: he was capable of knowing what he owed to his Maker, and of exercising discretion in performing it. To him therefore, in addition to the moral law which was written on his heart, and from which he could not deviate without opposing all his innate propensities, a positive precept was given: the will of his Creator was enacted into a law: and that which was indifferent in itself, was made a test of its obedience. All the trees in Paradise were given to him for the nourishment and support of his body. But that he might have an opportunity of acknowledging his dependence on God, and his ready submission to the divine will, one tree was excepted; and the use of it was prohibited under the severest penalties. This prohibition is to be the subject of our present consideration: and, in order that it may be understood in all its bearings and relations, we shall endeavour to explain,

I. Its import—

The name given to the forbidden tree strongly marked the importance of abstaining from it—

[Adam was created in the perfect image of his God. He knew every thing that was good, but nothing that was evil. This was his honour and his felicity. The knowledge of evil would have marred, rather than augmented, his happiness. Such knowledge, if speculative, would be only vain; if practical, be ruinous. We have no reason to think that the fruit of the tree was at all noxious in itself; but, as being forbidden, it could not be eaten without guilt: and therefore the designation given to the tree itself was a standing memorial to Adam on no account to touch it; since by eating of it he would attain the knowledge of evil, which. through the perfection of his nature, he was hitherto unacquainted with.]

The necessity of abstaining from it was yet more awfully inculcated in the penalty annexed to disobedience—

[The death which. in the event of his transgressing the command, was denounced against him, was three-fold; it was temporal, spiritual, eternal. His body, which had not in it naturally the seeds of dissolution, was to be given up a prey to various diseases, and at last to return to the dust from which it sprang. His soul was to lose both the image and enjoyment of God, and to be consigned over to the influence of every thing that was earthly, sensual, and devilish. And, after a certain period, both his body and soul were to be “cast into the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.”

That such was the penalty, appears from the event: for, upon transgressing the divine command, he became mortal: a change also instantly took placE in his intellectual and moral faculties; as he shewed, by attempting to hide himself from God, with whom he had hitherto maintained the most familiar converse. The eternal duration of his punishment may be inferred from the penalty annexed to sin at this time: for if the wages of sin be eternal death now, there can be no doubt but that it was so then.

There was, however, an implied promise, that, if he persevered in his obedience, he should live for ever. In the law which God has since published, and to which the same penalty is annexed for disobedience, we are assured, that whoso doeth the things which are commanded, shall live in them: from whence we may conclude, that there was a similar reward prepared for Adam, if he should continue to obey his God. It is true that the law can not give us life nowc; but that is not owing to any change in God’s regard for obedience, but to our incapacity to render that obedience which his law requires. If we could keep all the commandments, we should, by keeping them, enter into lifee. And it is manifest that the same reward would have been given to Adam; since we are told, that “the law was ordained to life.”]

The import of the prohibition being made clear, let us consider,

II. Its nature—

It could not be expected that in so brief a history as that before us, every minute particular should be explained: indeed, it was intended that the subsequent revelations of God’s will should clear up things which were left in a state of obscurity. Now from other parts of scripture we find, that this prohibition was, in reality, a covenant; in which. not Adam only, but all his posterity were interested. In this covenant, Adam was the head and representative of all his seed; and they, to the remotest generations, were to stand or fall in him. In proof of this we may observe that,

1. In this prohibition are contained all the constituent parts of a covenant—

[Here are the parties; God on the one side; and Adam, for himself and all his posterity, on the other. Here are the terms expressly declared: there was a condition prescribed, namely, that Adam should obey the divine mandate; on his performance of which condition, he had a promise of life; but on his neglecting to perform it, a threatening of death. Lastly, there was also a seal annexed to the covenant: as the rainbow was a seal of the covenant made with Noah; and circumcision and baptism were the seals of the Abrahamic and Christian covenants; so “the tree of life” was a seal of the covenant made with Adam; it was a pledge to Adam, that, on his fulfilling the conditions imposed upon him, he should participate the promised reward.]

2. The consequences flowing from the transgression of it, prove it to have been a covenant—

[Death and condemnation were the immediate consequences of Adam’s sin. Nor were these confined to the immediate transgressor; they were entailed on his remotest posterity: by that one act of his all his children are constituted sinners, and are consigned over to death and condemnation. Both scripture and experience attest this melancholy truth. Now how can we account for so many millions of persons being involved in his punishment, if they were not in some way or other involved also in his guilt? Surely “the Judge of all the earth will do right;” and therefore, when we behold punishment inflicted on so many beings, who were once formed after the divine image, we may be sure that in the sight of God they are considered as guilty; and, as infants cannot have contracted guilt in their own persons, they must have derived it from Adam, by whom they were represented, and in whom they died.]

3. It is represented as exactly corresponding with the covenant which God made with Christ on our behalf—

[Nothing can be more laboured than the parallel which St. Paul draws between Adam and Christ in the passage we have just referred to. Not content with tracing all evil to the offence of one, he declares that that one person, even Adam, was “a type or figure of Him who was to come;” and that as death and condemnation came by the offence of ONE, that is, Adam; so righteousness and life come by the obedience of ONE, even Christ. In another place he draws precisely the same parallel, representing Christ as “the second man,” “the last Adamk;” and affirming, that “as in Adam all died, so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

These things collectively, clearly prove, that the prohibition was not a mere personal concern with Adam, but that it was a covenant made with him on behalf of himself and all his posterity.

If it be thought strange that God should make other persons responsible for Adam’s conduct; we answer, that, amongst ourselves, the happiness of children is greatly involved in the conduct of their parents; and that God expressly avows, on another occasion, that he did make a covenant with some on behalf of others who were yet unborn: and if he did it on one occasion, he might with equal propriety do it on another.]

But lest there should lurk in the mind any dissatisfaction with this mysterious appointment, we proceed to shew,

III. Its reasonableness—

Consider its reasonableness,

1. As a prohibition—

[If the will of the Maker were to be enacted into a law, for the purpose of trying the obedience of man, we cannot conceive a more easy and simple method than the prohibiting the use of one single tree amidst the thousands which were laden with the choicest fruits. If God had prohibited all except one, it would have been highly reasonable that He should be obeyed, seeing that they were all the works of His hands, and He was at liberty to give or withhold, as it seemed to Him good. But when He gave the free enjoyment of all, and denied him only one, certainly nothing could be more reasonable than that His will should be honoured by a cheerful compliance.

Nor was it less reasonable that the prohibition should be enforced with so severe a penalty: for the object of the penalty was, to keep Adam from transgression, and to shut him up under a necessity of continuing holy and happy: and therefore the more awful the sanctions were, the more likely they were to answer the desired end; and the more gracious was God in annexing them to the prohibition.]

2. As a covenant—

[It is but a small thing to say concerning the covenant, that it was just: we go much further; and affirm, that it was in the highest degree favourable and advantageous to all who were interested in it. Consider the state in which Adam was, when subjected to the temptation; and compare with it the state in which we should meet temptation, supposing every one of us to be called forth to the trial as soon as ever we entered into the world: he was perfect; we are imperfect: he was in full possession of all his faculties; we should begin our conflict while all the powers of our souls were in a state of infantine weakness: he was exposed to only one temptation, and that apparently easy to be withstood, on account of his having no evil disposition to close with it; we should be assaulted with ten thousand temptations, with every one of which we have a proneness to comply: he conflicted with his enemy who was yet unskilled in the work of beguiling souls; we should engage him after his skill has been augmented by the experience of six thousand years: he was fortified by the consideration that not his own happiness only, but that also of all his posterity, depended on him; whereas we should have no other motive to steadfastness than a regard to our own personal welfare. Let any one compare these states, and then say, whether Adam or We were more likely to fall: and if it appear that his situation was far more conducive to stability than ours, then must it be considered as a great advantage to us to have had such a person for our covenant-head. If it be said, that eventually we are sufferers by it; we may well be satisfied with it; since if he, with all his advantages, was overcome, there is no hope at all that we, under all our disadvantages, should have maintained our integrity. Nor can we doubt, but that if all the human race had been summoned before God at once to hear the proposal of having Adam for their covenant-head, every one of them would have accepted it, as a signal token of the divine goodness.]

INFER,

1. What folly is it to seek for happiness in sin!

[Depraved as every thing is by means of sin, yet is there all that we can wish for in this transient state, together with a liberty “richly to enjoy it.” We have not a sense for which God has not provided a suitable and legitimate indulgence. Survey the number, brightness, magnitude, and order of the heavenly bodies; or the innumerable multitude of animate and inanimate beings, with all their variegated hues, the exquisite formation of their parts, their individual symmetry, their harmonious configuration, their wonderful adaptation to their respective ends. Can we conceive a richer feast for our eyes? Behold how the earth is strewed with flowers, that cast their perfumes to the wind, and regale us with their odours! Where, amongst all the contrivances of art, will any thing be found to equal the fruits of the earth, in the variety and richness of their flavour? or where will the sons of harmony produce such exquisite notes as the feathered tribes gratuitously afford to the meanest cottager? Take the feelings for which so many myriads of mankind sacrifice their eternal interests; and we will venture to affirm, that even those are called forth with keener sensibility and richer zest in the way of God’s appointment, than they ever can be in a way of licentious and prohibited indulgence. What need have we then of forbidden fruit? If nothing were left us in this world but the favour of God and the testimony of a good conscience, we should have a feast which nothing but heaven can excel: but when, together with these, we have all that can conduce to the comfort of the body; when we have “the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come,” is it not madness to seek for happiness in sin; to relinquish “the fountain of living waters, and to hue out to ourselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water?” Let us but learn to enjoy God in every thing, and every thing in God, and we shall find that this world, polluted as it is, is yet a Paradise: with God’s favour, pulse is better than royal delicacies, and the meanest dungeon is a palace.]

2. With what abhorrence should sin be viewed by us!

[Look through the creation which God pronounced to be very good, and see how all things are out of course: the earth that should nourish us, struck with barrenness; the elements that should administer to our comfort, armed against us for our destruction. See the smallest insects in the creation invading us with irresistible force, and by their united efforts desolating our fairest prospects. Look at man himself, once the image of his Maker; see with what malignant dispositions he is filled. See him passing his time here in labour and sorrow, and generation after generation swept away from the face of the earth. Follow him into the eternal world, and behold him banished from the presence of his God, and cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, there to endure the full penalty of all his crimes. Behold all this, I say, and consider that this is the work of sin. One sin introduced it all; and successive generations have lived only to complete what our first parents began. O that we could view sin in this light! O that we could bear in mind the judgment denounced against it, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die!” We have warnings sufficient to intimidate the stoutest heart: “The wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men:” “The soul that sinneth, it shall dieo:” “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Only let sin be stripped of its deceitful attire, and be viewed in all its naked deformity, and we shall shudder even at the thought of it, and flee from it as from the face of a serpent.]

3. How thankful should we be for the tree of life!

[Blessed be God, the tree of life yet grows in the midst of us. No cherubim with flaming swords obstruct our way to it; on the contrary, all the angels in heaven are ready to exert all their influence to conduct us to it; and God, even our Father, invites and intreats us to gather its life-giving fruits. This tree of life is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ: “it bears twelve manner of fruits,” suited to all our various necessities; and its very “leaves are for the healing of the nations.” Let us then flock around this tree: let us with humble boldness stretch forth our hands to gather its fruits. We may see around us many who have already experienced its efficacy to heal the sick, and to revive the dead. Let us view the Saviour as God’s instituted ordinance for this very end: and now that he is accessible unto us, let us approach him; lest haply the accepted time be terminated, and we eat for ever the bitter fruits of our transgression.]

THE SERPENT BEGUILING EVE

Gen. 3:4.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.

IN reference to the fact before us, St. Paul says, “The serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty.” And great is the subtilty which appears throughout the whole of his conduct on this occasion. He took an opportunity of addressing himself to Eve when she was alone, that so she might become an easier victim to his wiles. He insinuated his temptation first in a way of inquiry only; “Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden?” By this he intimated, that she had made some mistake respecting the supposed prohibition, since it was scarcely probable that her Maker, who had granted her every thing else in the garden, should impose such an unnecessary restriction upon her. When, in answer to this, Eve informed him, that not only was the restriction really given, but that it was enforced with the most tremendous sanction that could possibly be imagined, he again insinuated that she must be under a mistake, since it could not be that so good a God should inflict so heavy a judgment for so slight an offence: “Ye shall not surely die.”

Now this is the very temptation with which he has ever since, even to this present hour, assaulted unwary men, and by which he is yet daily ruining millions of the human race. We will therefore endeavour to put you on your guard against it, by shewing,

I. The falsehood of the suggestion—

Two things were here insinuated, namely, That the threatening was not of such a terrific import as she imagined; and that, whatever it might import, it should not be eventually executed. But in both these things “he lied unto her;” for,

1. God will fulfil his threatenings to whatsoever they may relate—

[See his threatenings to individuals—Ahab, in dependence on his false prophets, and on Satan who inspired them, thought to come off victorious: but, notwithstanding his device to escape the notice of the Syrians, he was slain, according to the prediction of the prophet Micaiah. Hiel the Bethelite would rebuild the city of Jericho: but did he escape the judgment denounced, many hundred years before, against any person who should presume to make the attempt? Did he not lay the foundation in the death of his first-born, and raise up the gates in the death of his youngest son? See his threatenings against the whole nation of Israel: Were they not carried captive to Babylon, according to His word? and is not the dispersion of the Jews at this day a proof, that no word of God shall ever fall to the ground? See his threatenings against the whole world—Did not the deluge come according to the prediction, and sweep away every living creature (those only excepted that were in the ark) from the face of the earth? Let us be sure that God is true: and that whatever He has spoken shall surely come to pass.]

2. He will fulfil them in the extent that is here declared—

[Death temporal, spiritual, and eternal were included in the sentence denounced against transgression: and on our first parents it came, the very day that they ate of the forbidden tree. They did not, it is true, cease on that day to live, because God had purposes to serve by their continuance in life: but the seeds of death were that day implanted in their constitution; and in due time they returned to their native dust. That they died at that very moment a spiritual death, is evident from their conduct: for they foolishly hoped to hide themselves among the trees of the garden from the eyes of the omniscient God; and offered vain excuses for their transgression, instead of humbling themselves for it before God. To eternal death also they were subjected; and to it they would have been consigned, had not God, of his infinite mercy, provided a way of deliverance from it, through that seed of the woman, who was in due time to bruise the serpent’s head. If it be doubted whether God will execute so heavy a judgment on the sinners of mankind, I hesitate not to declare, that he most assuredly will; since he has himself declared it in terms that admit of no reasonable doubt—and “he is not a man that he will lie, nor the son of man that he will repent.”]

But since so many are deceived by this suggestion, I will endeavour to shew, more distinctly,

II. The danger of listening to it—

The effect of this sad delusion is visible in all around us. It is entirely owing to this that Satan retains so many in bondage, and leads them captive at his will.

1. Hence it is that men make so light of sin—

[Whence is it, I would ask, that men are drawn aside by every temptation, and that for a momentary gratification they will offend their God? Is it not from a secret persuasion, that God will not fulfil his threatenings, and that they may sin against him with impunity? If men saw before their eyes the instruments of torture whereby the violators of a law were to be put to a lingering and cruel death, and knew at the same time that there was no possibility of escape to any one who should transgress the law, would they incur the penalty with the same indifference that they now transgress the laws of God? How much less then would they rush into wretchedness, if they saw hell open before them, and heard the groans of those who are now suffering under the wrath of God? No verily: they would not then “make a mock at sin, but would tremble at it, and flee from it as from the face of a serpent. If then you would be preserved from sin, listen not a moment to this accursed suggestion: and if the whole world should unite in saying, “Ye shall not surely die,” reply to them, “Get thee behind me, Satan,” for “thou art a liar from the beginning.”]

2. Hence it is also that men make so light of salvation—

[Salvation by Christ is offered to a ruined world. But who believes our report? Who receives it with that gratitude which it might well be expected that a perishing sinner should feel towards his reconciled God and Saviour? With the exception of a few, the whole world regard the Gospel as little better than a cunningly devised fable; so faint are the emotions it excites, and so transient the effects which it produces. And what is the reason of this? Is it not that men do not feel their need of such a Saviour, and that they do not believe that God’s threatenings will ever be executed upon them? Yes: to this source must it be traced: for if they verily believed, that the wrath of God, which is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, would fall upon them, and that all their hope of escaping it was by embracing the Gospel, they would flee to Christ with their whole hearts, and cleave unto him with their whole souls, and not rest a moment till they saw themselves within the gates of the city of refuge. Were they duly sensible of their danger, even a hope, a mere peradventure that God might have mercy upon them, would be sufficient to make them weep before him day and night. Not a word of mercy was mixed in Jonah’s message to Nineveh: yet the most distant hope of mercy was sufficient to encourage that whole city to repent in dust and ashes. What then would not all the promises of the Gospel effect, if men really felt the greatness of their guilt and danger?. It is evident, that all the indifference of men about the Gospel must be traced to this one source, their believing of Satan’s lie in preference to the truth of God: and, if ever the Gospel is to have a saving influence on our hearts, we must begin by rejecting this suggestion of the devil, and by believing that all the threatenings of God against sin and sinners shall assuredly be accomplished.]

OBSERVE then, on the whole,

1. What need there is of fidelity in ministers—

[Satan at this time, no less than formerly, suggests to men, “Ye shall not surely die:” and his emissaries all the world over are re-echoing the, delusive sound. Every friend we have, father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, the very instant we begin to dread the wrath of God, unite their endeavours to compose our minds, by saying, ‘There is no such penalty against sin as ye suppose, nor have you any reason to fear that it shall be inflicted on you.’ Our own wicked hearts also are but too ready to adopt a sentiment so gratifying to the mind, and to speak peace to us on insufficient grounds. And what would be the consequence if ministers also favoured such delusions, and, through fear of alarming you, neglected to warn you of your danger? Would not Satan triumph to a far greater extent than he already does? Would he not be secure of his prey? Is not this the very effect produced, wherever the Gospel, instead of being preached with apostolic fidelity, is kept upon the back ground, and modified to the taste of a deluded world? Be thankful then if you hear your guilt and danger faithfully set before you: be thankful, as you would be if a man, seeing your house on fire, roused you from your slumbers, and saved you from death. And, if God have vouchsafed to you this mercy, improve it with all diligence, by fleeing from the wrath to come, and laying hold on eternal life.]

2. What a mercy it is, that, notwithstanding the truth of God in his threatenings, there is a way o salvation opened for us in the Gospel—

[Yes; God can be true, and yet absolve the sinner from his guilt: for, in Christ Jesus, “Mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” The penalty of death has been inflicted upon the Lord Jesus Christ, as the surety and substitute of sinners: and, if we believe in him, all that he has done and suffered for us shall be so imputed to us as to be accepted of God in our behalf, so that God shall be “a just God, and yet a Saviour,” yea “just, and yet the justifier” of sinful man. O blessed tidings! amply sufficient to pacify the most afflicted mind, and to warrant in our hearts the most joyful hope! Brethren, only believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I will adopt with confidence the very words of Satan, and say, “Ye shall not surely die.” I will go further still, and from a doubtful suggestion turn them to a direct affirmation, and say, ‘Surely ye shall not die.’ So says our blessed Lord himself: “My sheep shall never perish:” St. Paul also says, “There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” On this, therefore, you may rely, with the fullest possible assurance: for, if the threatenings of God shall be fulfilled, so shall also His promises be: not one of them shall ever fail, as long as the world shall stand. Fear not then to see the worst of your state: fear not to acknowledge the extent of your guilt and danger, since the provision for you in Christ Jesus is fully commensurate with your necessities, and suited to your wants. Only believe in Him, and you shall not be ashamed or confounded world without end.]

THE FALL OF MAN

Gen. 3:6, 7.

And 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 unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened.

THE happiness of our first parents in Paradise must have far exceeded any thing which we can conceive. Formed in the image of God, they had not a desire or thought contrary to His holy will. There was no cloud upon their understanding; no undue bias on their will, nothing inordinate in their affections. With respect to outward comforts, they possessed all that they could wish. God himself had planted a garden for them, and given them the whole produce, except one tree, for their support. Above all, they enjoyed the freest intercourse with their Maker, and conversed with Him as a man converseth with his friend. But this happiness, alas! was of short continuance: for Satan, who had left his first estate, and, from being a bright angel before the throne of God, was become an apostate spirit and a wicked fiend, he, I say, envied their felicity, and sought to reduce them to the same misery with himself. An opportunity for making his attempt soon occurred. He saw the woman near the forbidden tree, and at a distance from her husband. So favourable an occasion was not to be lost. He instantly took possession of a serpent; which being confessedly the most subtle of all animals, was least likely to create suspicion in her mind, and fittest to be employed in so arduous a service. Through the instrumentality of this creature, Satan entered into conversation with her; and, as we learn from the history before us, succeeded in withdrawing both her and her husband from their allegiance to God. In the text we have a summary of the fatal tragedy: in it, as connected with the context, the whole plot is developed, and the awful catastrophe declared.

That we may have a just view of the conduct of our first parents, we shall consider,

I. Their temptation—

The scope of Satan’s conversation with Eve was to persuade her that she might partake of the forbidden tree,

1. With safety—

[With this view, his first attempt was to raise doubts in her mind respecting the prohibition. And here his subtilty is very conspicuous; he does not shock her feelings by any strong assertion; but asks, as it were for information, whether such a prohibition as he had heard of had been really given. Nevertheless, his mode of putting the question insinuates, that he could scarcely credit the report; because the imposing of such a restraint would be contrary to the generosity which God had shewn in other respects, and to the distinguished love which he had professed to bear towards them.

Now, though he did not so far prevail as to induce her to deny that God had withheld from her the fruit of that tree, yet he gained much even in this first address: for, he led her to maintain a conversation with him: he disposed her also to soften the terms in which the prohibition had been given: and though she might intend nothing more than to prevent his entertaining any hard thoughts of God, she hereby emboldened him to prosecute his purpose in a more direct and open manner.

Improving the advantage he had already gained, he proceeded to question in direct terms the grounds of her fears, in relation to the penalty: “Ye shall not surely die.” He here intimates, that she must be mistaken with respect both to the extent and certainty of the penalty. God could never threaten “death” for such an offence as that: he could threaten nothing worse even for the most heinous transgression that could be committed: how then could he annex that to so small a matter as the eating of a piece of fruit? At least, if he did put forth his threat, he certainly would never execute it; “Ye shall not surely die:” it could not be, that a just and good God should ever proceed to such rigorous measures on so slight an occasion. By this daring assertion, he quite disarmed her; and persuaded her, that she must have misunderstood the divine declaration, or, at least, that it never could be carried into effect.]

2. With advantage—

[Finding that Eve did not revolt at his impious assertions, he went on to direct and open blasphemy. He knew, that to an intelligent and holy being nothing was so desirable as knowledge: he therefore affirmed, that there was in the fruit of that tree a virtue capable of wonderfully enlarging her views, so that she and her husband should “become as gods,” and possess a self-sufficiency and independence suited to that high character. In confirmation of this, he appeals to God himself; and blasphemously insinuates, that God, in withholding the fruit from them, had been actuated by nothing but envy, and a jealousy, lest they should become as wise and happy as himself.

Such was the temptation with which that “old serpent” assaulted Eve; hoping that, if he could prevail with her, he might, through her influence, overcome her husband also.]

Happy would it have been, if we could have reported of them, as we can of the second Adam, that they repelled the Tempter. But, in following the course of their history, we are constrained to notice,

II. Their sin—

Eve, overpowered by the alluring aspect of the fruit, and the hope of attaining a knowledge as superior to what she already possessed, as this serpent’s was to that of all the rest of the creation, ate of the fruit, and prevailed upon her husband to partake with her.

Without inquiring how she prevailed with him, or what would have been the effect if she alone had fallen, let it suffice to know, that Adam transgressed in eating the forbidden fruit, and that this was the sin whereby he and all his posterity were ruined. That the offence may not be thought trivial, let us consider of what malignant qualities it was composed:

1. What pride!

[Our first parents were endowed with facilities unknown to any other creatures. While, in common, with all the rest, they possessed a beautifully constructed frame of body, they had a rational soul also, which assimilated them to God; so that they were a connecting link between God and the brute-creation, a kind of compound of both. Moreover, they were constituted lords of this lower world; and all other creatures were subjected to their dominion. None was above them but God himself. But they chose to have no superior: they affected to be as gods. What daring presumption! What criminal ambition! It was time indeed that “their loftiness should be bowed down, and their haughtiness be made low.”]

2. What unbelief!

[God had spoken with a perspicuity which could not admit of misconstruction, and an energy that precluded doubt. Yet they listen to the suggestions of a wicked fiend, and believe the lies of Satan in preference to Jehovah’s word. Can any thing be conceived more insulting to the Majesty of heaven than this? Can an offence be deemed light which offers such an indignity to the God of truth?]

3. What ingratitude!

[What could God have done more for them than he had done? What could they have, to augment their felicity? And, if any restraint at all was to be laid upon them for the purpose of trying their fidelity and obedience, what smaller restraint could be conceived than the prohibition of one single tree amidst ten thousand? Was one tree too much for Him to reserve, who had created all the rest for their use? Were they to think much of so small an act of self-denial, where so much was provided for their indulgence? Were they to be so unmindful of all which He had done for them, and of all the good things which He had in store for them, as to refuse Him so small a testimony of their regard? Amazing! Incredible! that such favours should be so requited!]

4. What rebellion!

[God had an undoubted right to command; and, whatever His injunctions were, they were bound to obey them. But how do they regard this single, this easy precept? They set it at nought: they transgress it: they violate it voluntarily, immediately, and without so much as a shadow of reason. They lose sight of all the considerations of duty, or interest: they are absorbed in the one thought of personal gratification; and upon that they rush, without one moment’s concern, how much they may displease their Friend and Benefactor, their Creator and Governor, their Lord and Judge. Shall not God visit for such rebellion as this?]

After their transgression, we are naturally led to inquire into,

III. Their recompence—

Satan had told them, that “their eyes should be opened:” but little did they think in what sense his words should be verified! “Their eyes were now opened;” but only like the eyes of the Syrian army when they saw themselves in the heart of an enemy’s country, or those of the rich man when he lifted them up in hell torments. They beheld now, what it was their happiness not to know, the consequences of sin. They beheld,

1. The guilt they had contracted—

[Sin, while yet they were only solicited to commit it, appeared of small malignity: its present pleasures seemed to overbalance its future pains. But when the bait was swallowed, how glad would they have been if they had never viewed it with desire, or ventured to trespass on what they knew to have been forbidden! Now all the aggravations of their sin would rush into their minds at once, and overwhelm them with shame. It is true, they could not yet view their conduct with penitence and contrition, because God had not yet vouchsafed to them the grace of repentance: they could at present feel little else than self-indignant rage, and self-tormenting despondency: but their anguish, though not participating the ingenuous feelings of self-lothing and self-abhorrence, must have been pungent beyond all expression: and they must have seemed to themselves to be monsters of iniquity.]

2. The misery they had incurred—

[Wherever they cast their eyes, they must now see how awfully they were despoiled. If they lifted them up to heaven, there they must behold the favour of their God for ever forfeited. If they cast them around, every thing must remind them of their base ingratitude; and they would envy the meanest of the brute creation. If they looked within, O what a sink of iniquity were they now become! The nakedness of their bodies, which in innocence administered no occasion for shame, now caused them to feel what need they had of covering, not for their bodies merely, but much more for their souls. If they thought of their progeny, what pangs must they feel on their account; to have innumerable generations rise in succession to inherit their depravity, and partake their doom! If they contemplated the hour of dissolution, how terrible must that appear! to be consigned, through diseases and death, to their native dust; and to protract a miserable existence in that world, whither the fallen angels were banished, and from whence there can be no return! Me-thinks, under the weight of all these considerations, they wept till they could weep no more; and till their exhausted nature sinking under the load, they fell asleep through excess of sorrowf.]

INFER,

1. How deplorable is the state of every unregenerate man!

[Any one who considers the state of our first parents after their fall, may easily conceive that it was most pitiable. But their case is a just representation of our own. We are despoiled of the divine image, and filled with all hateful and abominable dispositions: we are under the displeasure of the Almighty: we have nothing to which we can look forward in this world, but troubles, disorders, and death; and in the eternal world, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish for evermore. Why do we not endeavour to get our minds suitably affected with this our melancholy condition? Why do we not see ourselves, as in a glass; and apply to ourselves that commiseration which we are ready to bestow on our first parents? Alas! “the god of this world hath blinded our minds:” else we should smite upon our breasts with sorrow and anguish, and implore without delay the mercy which we so much need.]

2. How astonishing was the grace of God in providing a Saviour for us!

[It is needless to say that our first parents could do nothing to repair the evil which they had committed. And how far they were from attempting to make reparation for it, we see, when they fled from God, and cast the blame on others, yea even on God himself, rather than acknowledge their transgressions before him. But God, for His own great name sake, interposed, and promised them a Saviour, through whom they, and their believing posterity, should be restored to his favour. To this gracious promise we owe it, that we are not all involved in endless and irremediable misery. Let heaven and earth stand astonished at the goodness of our God! And let all the sinners of mankind testify their acceptance of his proffered mercy, by fleeing for refuge to the hope set before them.]

3. How vigilant should we all be against the devices of Satan!

[He who “beguiled Eve under the form of a serpent,” can assume any shape, for the purpose of deceiving us. He is sometimes “transformed into an angel of light,” so that we may be ready to follow his advice, as if he were a messenger from heaven. But we may easily distinguish his footsteps, if only we attend to the following inquiries:—Does he lessen in our eyes the sinfulness of sin? Does he weaken our apprehensions of its danger? Does he persuade us to that which is forbidden? Would he make us think lightly of that which is threatened? Does he stimulate our desires after evil by any considerations of the pleasure or the profit that shall attend it? Does he calumniate God to us, as though He were unfriendly, oppressive, or severe? If our temptations be accompanied with any of these things, we may know assuredly that “the enemy hath done this,” and that he is seeking our destruction. Let us then be on our guard against him. Let us watch and pray that we enter not into temptation. However remote we may imagine ourselves to be from the love of evil, let us not think ourselves secure: for if Satan vanquished our first parents under all the advantages they enjoyed, he will certainly overcome us, unless “we resist him,” “strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”]

EXCUSES MADE BY OUR FIRST PARENTS, AFTER THEIR FALL

Gen. 3:11–13.

Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

THE immediate effects of sin are not easily discovered by us at this time: for if we look for them in ourselves, our partiality and self-love conceal them from us; and if we look for them in others, the universal prevalence of those effects prevents us from ascribing them to their proper cause. To see them in their true colours, we should be able to contrast the habits of some person during a state of innocence with those which he manifests after the commission of sin. Doubtless there are glaring instances of iniquity, from the investigation of which we may gather instruction: but we shall make our observations to the greatest advantage, if we examine the records respecting the conduct of our first parents after their unhappy fall. The accounts given of them are not indeed very full and circumstantial; yet the narration, brief as it is, is sufficient to elucidate the immediate influence of sin upon the mind, as well as its remoter consequences in the destruction of the soul. There are two things in particular which we shall be led to notice from the words before us;

I. The way in which men betray their consciousness of guilt—

Mark the conduct of our first parents. While they were innocent, they were strangers either to shame or fear: but instantly after their transgression, they made coverings for themselves of fig-leaves, and fled from the presence of their God. Here we may behold ourselves as in a glass: they have set a pattern to us which all their posterity have followed: however men may affect to be innocent, they all be-tray their consciousness of guilt in these two things;

1. They conceal themselves from themselves, and from each other—

[Knowing that their hearts are depraved, and that, if narrowly inspected, they would exhibit a most disgusting appearance, men will not turn their eyes inwards. They will not examine the motives and principles of their actions: they cast a veil over the workings of pride and ambition, of envy and malice, of falsehood and covetousness, of carnality and selfishness: and then, because they see no evil in their actions, they hastily conclude there is none. And so successful are they in hiding from themselves their own deformity, that when all around them are even amazed at the impropriety of their conduct, they take credit to themselves for virtuous principles and laudable deportment.

If we should attempt to open their eyes, and to set before them their own picture, they would not even look at it, but would be offended with our fidelity, and condemn us as destitute of either charity or candour.

Now, would men act in this manner if they had not a secret consciousness that all was not right within? Would they not rather be glad of any assistance whereby they might discover any latent evil; or, at least, be glad to “come to the light, that their deeds might be made manifest that they were wrought in God?”

There is the still greater anxiety in men to hide their shame from each other. The whole intercourse of mankind with each other is one continued system of concealment. All endeavour to impose on others, by assuming the appearances of virtue; but no one will give credit to his neighbour for being as guiltless in his heart as he seems to be in his conduct. A thorough knowledge of a person whose principles have been tried, will indeed gain our confidence: but who has so good an opinion of human nature in general as to commit his wife or daughter to the hands of a perfect stranger; or to give him unlimited access to all his treasures; or even to take his word, where he can as easily obtain a legal security? But, if men were not conscious of depravity within themselves, why should they be so suspicious of others? The fact is, they know themselves to have many corrupt propensities; and justly concluding that human nature is the same in all, they feel the necessity of withholding confidence where they have not been warranted by experience to place it.]

2. They shun, rather than desire, the presence of their God—

[God comes to all of us in his word, and speaks to us in the language of love and mercy: He bids us to draw nigh to Him, and to enjoy “fellowship with him, and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” But are these employments suited to the taste of all? or do the habits of the generality evince any regard for these inestimable privileges? Nay, if we endeavour to set God before them, and to make known to them his will, do they consider us as their friends and benefactors? They may bear with us, indeed, in the exercise of our public ministry: but will they be pleased, if we come home to their houses, and labour to bring them, as it were, into the presence of their God? Will they not be ready to say to us, as the demoniac did to Christ, “Art thou come hither to torment us before the time;” or, like the Jews of old, “Prophesy unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits; make the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us?”

Now would this be the conduct of men, if they were not conscious of much guilt within? Would a man who had just received gold from the mint, be afraid of having it tried by a touchstone? or one who was perfectly innocent of a crime, be afraid of being interrogated in relation to it? Would not rather the knowledge of God be desirable to one who had no wish but to perform his will? Would he not account it his highest happiness to gain an increasing acquaintance with his Saviour, and a more entire conformity to his image?]

When the guilt of men can no longer be concealed, they have many refuges of lies to which they flee; to expose which, we shall shew,

II. The way in which they endeavour to palliate and excuse it—

Our first parents confessed indeed their transgression, but in a way which clearly shewed, that they were not humbled for it. Thus, when we cannot deny our guilt,

1. We cast it upon others—

[Doubtless we all are accessory to the production of much guilt in others: and it is well to take shame to ourselves in that view. But to take occasion from this to excuse our own wickedness, is only to add sin to sin. Yet who does not betake himself to this refuge? Mark persons in the early stage of life; they will deny their faults as long as there remains for them any hope of concealment; and, when they are clearly detected, they will do their utmost to shift the blame off from themselves: according to the nature of the crime alleged, they will impute it to accident, or inadvertence, or mistake, or, like our first parents, to the instigation and example of their accomplices. What is the disposition which shews itself in persons of riper years, when they are called to account for any evil that they have committed, or when their angry passions have involved them in dispute and quarrel: is it not the endeavour of each to criminate the other, in hopes thereby to exculpate himself? Or when no particular ill-will is exercised towards others, is not the same system prevalent; and do not men justify their own conduct from the habits and examples of those around them? But what folly is this! Did the Serpent compel Eve to eat the fruit? or was Adam necessitated to follow her example? They were free agents in what they did: and they should have rejected with abhorrence the first proposals of sin, however specious they might be, and by whomsoever they might be made. And in the same manner, it is no excuse to us that the ways of iniquity are crowded; for we are to withstand the solicitations that would allure us from God, and stem the torrent that would drive us from him.]

2. We cast it even upon God himself—

[There is peculiar force in those words of Adam, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat:” it is no less than a reflection upon God himself for giving him the woman; and a casting of the blame upon him as accessory at least to his fall, if not also as the original cause of it. It is thus also that we account for our transgressions from the peculiar circumstances in which we are placed, and thus ascribe them rather to the dispensations of Providence, than to our own willful depravity. One is poor, and therefore has not leisure to consult the welfare of his soul; or is under the authority of others, and cannot serve God without subjecting himself to their displeasure. Another is rich, and cannot deviate so far from the habits of the world, as to conform to the precise rules which God has prescribed. In this manner, persons endeavour to persuade themselves that a life of entire devotedness to God is incompatible with their worldly duties; and that their deviations or defects are rather their misfortune than their fault. Some indeed will be yet more bold in accusing God; and, when condemned for giving the rein to their appetites, will say, ‘Why did God give me these passions? I cannot act otherwise than I do.’

How far these excuses will avail in the day of judgment, it becomes every one to consider with fear and trembling. They may stifle the accusations of a guilty conscience now; but there is not a man in the universe so stupid as seriously to believe that his conscience will acquit him at the tribunal of his God.]

We shall conclude with an ADDRESS,

1. To those who are unhumbled for their sins—

[Some are so impious, that “they declare their sin as Sodom: the very shew of their countenance witnesses against them.” To such persons we say with the prophet, “Woe unto them!” Nor can we deliver any milder message to those who “cover their transgressions, as Adam, and hide their iniquity in their bosomb:” for God’s word to them is plain; “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” It is absolutely indispensable that we humble ourselves before God, and that we repent in dust and ashes. God has noted our transgressions, whether we have observed them or not: for “there is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.” God is extremely earnest in endeavouring to impress this thought upon our minds. It is equally certain that we cannot impose upon him by any vain excuses. The day is coming, when he will not only ask in general, “Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” but will interrogate us, as he did Eve, with holy indignation, saying, “What is this that thou hast done?” Art thou aware of its malignity? art thou prepared to meet the consequences? O let us, every one of us, humble ourselves before him, while yet the effects of his displeasure may be averted from us: but if yet we remain impenitent and stout-hearted, a sudden and irremediable destruction shall come upon us.]

2. To those whose hearts are beginning to relent—

[Do not think that a small and transient humiliation is sufficient. If you could weep “rivers of tears,” it would be no more than the occasion calls for. You may perhaps comfort yourselves with the thought of not having committed many or great offences: but consider what it was that brought guilt and ruin upon the whole race of mankind; it was not many offences, but one; nor was it what would appear to us a very heinous sin, but only the violation of a positive precept, the eating of a forbidden fruit: reflect on this, and you will derive little consolation from the thought that you are not so bad as others. But, whether your sins have been more or less heinous, there is one Refuge, and only one, to which you must flee for safety. The refuge provided for our first parents was, “The seed of the woman, who was in due time to bruise the serpent’s head.” The same is provided for you. Jesus was born into the world for this very end: He has made a full atonement for your sin: and if “only you acknowledge your transgressions,” and believe in him, they shall be “remembered against you no more for ever.”]

VII

THE SEED OF THE WOMAN

Gen. 3:15.

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.

THIS was the first promise that was ever given to fallen man. The occasion on which it was given was this: Satan had beguiled our mother Eve, and, through her, had prevailed on Adam to transgress: and he had thereby destroyed both them and all their posterity: for, since they were corrupt, nothing but what was corrupt could proceed from them. But God, in his abundant mercy, interposed for our fallen race, who must without such interposition have been involved in all the misery of the fallen angels. Against Satan he denounced a curse suited to his crime: and at the same time informed him, that, though for the present he had prevailed over the woman, a seed should spring from her who should execute on him the vengeance he deserved, and rescue mankind from the misery he had entailed upon them.

Now, as the oak with all its luxuriant branches is contained in the acorn, so was the whole of salvation, however copiously unfolded in subsequent revelations, comprehended in this one prophecy; which is, in fact, the sum and summary of the whole Bible. And on this promise all the Saints lived, during the space of 2000 years: yes, all from Adam to the time of Abraham were encouraged, comforted, and saved by this promise alone, illustrated as it was by sacrifices appointed by the Lord.

In explaining this prophecy, I shall call your attention to,

I. The person here predicted—

[It was the Lord Jesus Christ; who was in a peculiar way “the seed of the woman:” for he was formed in the womb simply by the agency of the Holy Ghost, and was born of a pure virgin altogether without the intervention of man. And this was necessary: for, had he been born like other men, he would have been in the loins of Adam, like other men; and therefore would, like them, have been partaker of his guilt and corruption. But, being the sole and immediate workmanship of God, he was absolutely perfect, and therefore capable of sustaining the office of a Saviour for fallen man: whereas, if he had been otherwise formed, he would have needed a Saviour for himself, and been incapable of effecting salvation for others. Thus you see, that when it was impossible for man to restore himself to God, God “laid help for him upon One that was Mighty;” on one who, being God and man in one person, was able to effect for men all that their necessities required. As man, he could atone for sin; and as God, he could render that atonement available for all who should trust in him.]

At the same time that this prophecy announced the Messiah’s advent, it declared,

II. The conflicts he should sustain—

[Between Satan and him, God put an irreconcilable enmity; which, without a moment’s intermission, has raged, from that very time even to the present hour. Satan, having, thus introduced sin into the world, instigated every child of Adam to the commission of it. And how far he prevailed, may be seen in this, that he induced the very first-born of man to murder his own righteous brother, for no other reason than because he was more righteous than himself. At times he had so entirely reduced the whole race of man to his dominion, that scarcely a righteous man existed upon earth. And, when God sent prophets to reclaim the world, Satan stirred up the people of every age and place to destroy them. At last, when the promised Seed himself came, Satan only exerted himself the more violently against him, if by any means he might prevail to destroy the Saviour himself. No sooner was Jesus born into the world, than Satan stimulated Herod to destroy all the males around Bethlehem from two years old and under, that so it might be impossible for Jesus to escape. And, when Jesus was entering upon his ministry, he urged him to cast himself down from a pinnacle of the temple, if peradventure he might thus induce him, under an idea of trusting in God, to destroy himself. Afterwards he stirred up Peter to dissuade him from executing the work he had undertaken; saying, “Master, spare thyself.” When he could not prevail in any of these ways, he put it into the heart of Judas to betray him, and stirred up all the Priests and Elders to put him to death. In like manner has this wicked adversary still prosecuted his malignant work even to the present hour, blinding the eyes of men, and hardening their hearts, and “leading them captive at his will:” and if any have dared to resist his will, he has stirred up all his own agents, to persecute them, and to put them to death.

On the other hand, Christ has also fought against him from the beginning, rescuing men from his dominion, and “turning millions from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God.” In the days of his flesh especially he shewed his superiority to Satan, by dismissing him from many whom he had possessed, and constraining him to relinquish the hold which he had gained, both of their bodies and their souls. And though he seemed himself to sink under Satan’s attacks, yet did he, in fact, defeat Satan by the very means which that adversary had used for his destruction: for by death he overcame death, and “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil:” yes, “on the very cross itself he spoiled all the principalities and powers of hell, triumphing over them openly in itb.” And in his ascension, “he led captivity itself captive;” and has bound all the hosts of hell, “reserving them in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” In his people, too, he gets the victory from day to day, enabling them to resist him manfully, and to trample both Satan and all his hosts under their feet.

This conflict is still passing from day to day. The God of this world, and the God of heaven, are contending for us, and in us: and as long as the world shall stand, will this contest continue.]

But in our text we are informed, that Jesus will prevail, and enjoy at last,

III. The victory assured to him—

[In the conflict, the Saviour’s “heel is bruised:” but “he bruises the head” of his great adversary, and breaks his power for evermore. Behold the Saviour on his throne of glory, far above all the principalities and powers, whether of heaven or hell! Behold the progress of his Gospel in every age! and see in heaven the multitudes which no man can number, continually increased by fresh accessions from every quarter of the globe, from the most blinded votaries of Satan amongst the Heathen, as well as from his more specious servants amongst ourselves! See the weakest of the children of men enabled to triumph over him, and, though persecuted like their divine Master, “made more than conquerors through him that loved them!” This is going forward amongst ourselves: so that you see the most devoted vassals of Satan casting off his yoke, and “brought into the liberty of the sons of God:” and soon shall you behold those whom once he held in the most miserable bondage, seated upon thrones of glory, and actually sitting in judgment upon the angels, as assessors with their divine Master. Yes: it is but a little time, and the seed of Christ, as well as Christ himself, will be seated upon thrones of glory; whilst Satan, and his seed, shall be cast into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Such is the prophecy before us: and in this way is it accomplishing yet daily; and shall be accomplished, till the final destinies of each shall terminate the contest for evermore.]

BEHOLD then, brethren,

1. How marvellous is the grace of God!

[Think under what circumstances he made this promise to man. He had placed our first parents in Paradise, where there was every thing that could conduce to their happiness; and he himself visited and communed with them, as a friend. Yet did they, on the very first temptation, violate his express command: and then, instead of humbling themselves before him, they fled from him; and, when summoned into his presence, excused themselves, and even cast the blame of their iniquity on him:—“The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat: The woman, whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” What might we expect now that he should do unto them? surely, that he should consign them over to the misery they deserved. But no: unsought and unsolicited, he promised them a Saviour, even his only dear Son, who should rescue both them and all their believing posterity out of the hands of their great adversary. Now then, I ask, If God, unsolicited, bestowed the Saviour himself on these impenitent offenders, will he refuse salvation to any penitent who calls upon him?— — —Let no sinner in the universe despond: but let every one see in this prophecy how abundant and inconceivable is the grace of God — — —]

2. How complete shall be the victory of all who believe in Christ!

[You appear to be in a hopeless condition, because your corruptions are so great and your enemies so mighty. Go, then, to the cross of Christ, and there see the Saviour himself hanging, an helpless and inanimate corpse! What hope has HE of victory? Wait a moment, and you will see. Behold him rising from the grave, ascending to heaven, sending down the Holy Spirit, establishing his kingdom upon earth, surrounded in heaven by myriads of his redeemed, and sealing up his great adversary, with his hosts, in the bottomless abyss of hell! See all this; and then know what shall be the issue of your conflicts. You are fighting with a vanquished enemy: and it is but a little time, and HE, your Almighty Saviour, “will bruise Satan under your feet,” and will elevate you to thrones of glory, like unto his own. Only follow him in his conflicts, and you shall be partakers with him in all his victories and triumphs for evermore.]

VIII

THE WAY OF SALVATION ILLUSTRATED TO OUR FIRST PARENTS

Gen. 3:21–24.

Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden, cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

THE works of God are extremely different from those which are carried on by man. Creatures of limited capacity are compelled to act as unforeseen occasions require; and hence their works are, for the most part, independent and detached, without being regulated by any fixed system: but the works of God are all united and harmonious, as parts of one grand whole. In the structure of the tabernacle and all its diversified rites, there was not any thing, however minute or obscure, which did not shadow forth some mystery. This appears from the strict injunction given to Moses to “make every thing according to the pattern shewn to him in the mount.” It is thus also with respect to all the most remarkable events recorded in the Bible, whether they relate to the Jewish, patriarchal, or antediluvian ages; they were all, in some respect, figurative and emblematical. Amongst these we must certainly number the fall of man, with all its attendant circumstances: the covenant made with him, the means by which he was induced to violate it, the way provided for his recovery, were all of lasting and universal importance. In like manner, the facts specified in our text must be regarded, not as mere uninteresting casualties, but as occurrences of most mysterious import. In God’s conduct towards our first parents, as it is here related, we may see,

I. The manner in which He illustrated to them his promised salvation—

Our first parents, feeling in themselves the sad effects of their fall, “sewed fig-leaves together and made themselves aprons,” or rather, twined together the tender branches of the fig-tree for girdles. But God was pleased to clothe them in another manner, even with the skins of beasts; and thus to direct their attention to,

1. The blood of atonement—

[We are not expressly told, that the animals which were slain on this occasion were offered in sacrifice; but if we duly weigh the reasons for believing that God ordered them to be slain for this purpose, we can scarcely entertain any doubt upon the subject.

In the first place, we may be sure that the offering of sacrifices was not an institution of man’s device; and that, if it were, it could not be pleasing and acceptable to God. How could it enter into the mind of man to imagine, that the blood of a beast could make any satisfaction to God for sin? What connexion is there between the blood of a beast and the sin of man? There was much more reason to think that God would be displeased with the unauthorized destruction of his creatures, than that he would be so pleased with it as to forgive the iniquities of mankind on account of it. Moreover, had not God himself enjoined this method of propitiating his anger, we cannot doubt but that he would have answered the presumptuous offerer, as he did the Jews, “Who hath required this at your hands?” But we know that when a bleeding sacrifice was offered to him by Abel, he testified his acceptance of it in a visible manner, probably by sending fire from heaven to consume it. We cannot doubt, therefore, but that the institution of sacrifices was of divine appointment.

In the next place, if sacrifices were not now instituted, we can scarcely account for the slaughtering of the animals, and much less for God’s direction respecting it. It is thought indeed by some, that the flesh was given to our first parents for food: but this seems very improbable, because God told Adam at this very time, that he should henceforth subsist, not upon the fruits of the garden as before, but on “the herb of the field,” which should be produced only by constant and laborious cultivation. Nor was it till after the flood that God gave to man the liberty of eating the flesh of animalsc. Hence, if the animals were not offered to God in sacrifice, they were killed merely for their skins, which seems to be by no means an adequate reason for God’s interposition. On the contrary, if they were by God’s commandment offered in sacrifice, we see, what we are in no other place informed of, the origin of the institution; and at the same time we behold abundant reason for God’s special interference. We see what instruction and consolation our first parents must derive from such an ordinance: for while they beheld their own desert in the agonies and death of an unoffending creature, they must be encouraged to look forward to that Seed of the Woman, who was in due time to offer himself a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

We cannot doubt therefore but that this was the time when sacrifices were instituted; and that, as they were appointed of God to prefigure the great sacrifice, they were enjoined at this time for the express purpose of directing the views of fallen man to that atonement which Christ should afterwards offer to God upon the cross. In this sense, as well as in the divine purpose, may Christ be called, “The Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world.”]

2. The righteousness of Him who made that atonement—

[When we are told that “the Lord God made them coats of skins, and clothed them,” can we suppose that nothing was intended by him but to provide more conveniently for their decency and comfort? Impossible! There was in this a deep stupendous mystery. Adam and Eve thought only of a covering for their bodies: God pointed out to them a covering for their souls. They were despoiled of their original righteousness; and they needed a robe to cover their naked souls, that they might again stand before God “without spot or blemish.” All means which they could devise for this purpose would be ineffectual. God therefore was pleased to shadow forth to them the righteousness of Christ; of Him who was “to be the propitiation for their sins,” and emphatically to be “called, The Lord our Righteousness.” How far they beheld the substance in the shadow, we cannot say: but there is abundant proof that the same means were used in subsequent ages to represent the Saviour to the world. All the vestments of the priests, sprinkled with the blood of sacrifices, clearly shewed in what manner all were to be clothed who would be “an holy priesthood to the Lord.” And the language of Prophets, and Apostles, and of Christ himself, has so strict an analogy with the event before us, that we cannot but discern their harmony and agreement. Isaiah speaks of being “clothed with the garments of salvation, and covered with a robe of righteousness:” St. Paul, enjoying the fuller light of the Gospel, says more plainly, “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christg:” And our blessed Lord more plainly still, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear.”

We need only further observe, that in this marvellous appointment God taught our fallen parents to look to Him through one Mediator, and to make that one object the only ground of all their hopes; or, in other words, to expect pardon only through His atoning blood, and acceptance only through His meritorious and perfect righteousness.]

Having seen how strongly God illustrated to them his promised salvation, let us notice,

II. The means he used to secure their acceptance of it—

He banished his guilty creatures from Paradise, and, by the ministration of angels, prohibited effectually their return to it. This he did,

1. Partly in judgment—

[The ironical and sarcastic expressions which purport to be the reason of this dispensation, are certainly strong indications of his heavy displeasure. The flattering hope of “becoming as Gods,” had led Adam and his wife to transgress the divine command. Now therefore God casts it, as it were, in their teeth, with holy indignation, in order that they might see what they had gained by their folly and presumption. And whereas they had hitherto enjoyed the liberty of eating all the fruits of Paradise, and especially that which was a pledge and earnest to them of God’s eternal favour, he drives them out from the garden, to live in a far different manner by the sweat of their brow, and to feel that they were cut off from that life, which, had they maintained their innocence, would have been consummated in glory.

Thus we behold them driven as outcasts from God and happiness, and doomed to a life of labour and sorrow which should issue in a painful death, and (if repentance intervened not) in everlasting misery.]

2. Partly in mercy—

[God’s judgments in this world have always been tempered with mercy; yea so tempered, as to be capable of being turned into the richest blessings. Thus it was in the case before us. Our first parents had been accustomed to consider the tree of life as a pledge of the divine favour; and would be likely to regard it in the same view after their fall, as they had done before. Under this delusion they would be ready to embrace these means of reconciliation with their offended God, and would be led thereby to neglect the means which God had prescribed. Persisting in this mistake, they would pacify their own consciences; and having lulled themselves asleep under the guilt of their transgressions, they would perish in the midst of all the mercy which God had offered them through the mediation of his Son. To prevent these fatal consequences, God cuts them off from all access to the tree of life, and thus necessitates them to seek for mercy in his appointed way. Precisely as, in destroying the Jewish nation and polity, God punished his people indeed, but at the same time consulted their truest interests, by rendering it impossible for them to fulfil the righteousness of the Mosaic law, and thereby “shutting them up unto the faith of Christ;” so did he expel our first parents from Paradise, that they might have nothing to divert their attention from that “Seed of the Woman who was in due time to bruise the Serpent’s head.”

Thus did God “in judgment remember mercy;” and, in the very hottest exercise of his anger, provide means for the richest display of his unmerited, unsought kindness.]

From this subject we may LEARN,

1. The antiquity of the Gospel—

[Whenever Salvation by the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus is insisted on, it is exclaimed against as a new doctrine: but it is none other than “the good old way,” which has been pointed out by our Reformers, by the Apostles, by the Prophets, and by God himself from the beginning of the world. God shewed it to our first parents immediately after their fall: he shewed it them not only by a prophetical declaration, but also by an emblematical exhibition. And our very clothing in which we are so apt to pride ourselves, would, if we considered the origin and occasion of it, lead us to that way, even to Jesus, in whom alone we can find righteousness and life. Let us then hold fast the Gospel, without regarding the senseless cavils of the world: and while “the proud make it only a stumbling-block, and the conceited reject it as foolishness,” let us receive and glory in it as “the power of God and the wisdom of God.”]

2. The necessity of embracing it—

[Like our first parents, we are ready to rest in the seals of the covenant (as baptism and the Lord’s supper), instead of fleeing to the Saviour himself. But whatever devices we use for the reconciling of ourselves to God, they will all prove vain and useless: we shall find them “a bed too short to stretch ourselves upon, and a covering too narrow to wrap ourselves in.” There was one way appointed from the beginning: that way has been progressively displayed, and illustrated in different ages; but it has never been altered, no not in the slightest degree. “There never has been any other name whereby we could be saved, but that of Jesus Christ;” and the only difference between us and the Jews, or us and Adam, is, that we behold in meridian splendour the truths, of which they saw only the early dawn. Let us be persuaded then that all access to life by the first covenant is stopped; and that all plans for covering our own shame will be in vain. We must all be accepted through one sacrifice, and all be clothed in one righteousness; and all comply with that direction of the prophet, “In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.”]

THE DEATH OF ABEL

Gen. 4:8–10.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And He said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

IT is scarcely to be conceived how much iniquity there is in the heart of fallen man. That we have passions which incline us occasionally to deviate from the path of duty, is nothing more than what all feel and confess: but that we are ready to perpetrate all manner of evil, not excepting even murder itself, few are sufficiently candid or intelligent to acknowledge. This seems an excess of wickedness, of which human nature, unless in very extraordinary circumstances, is not capable. To such a charge most men would be ready to reply, “Is thy servant a dog, that I should do this thing?” But we may behold in Cain a just picture of ourselves. What he was by nature, that are we also. The first-born of Adam, begotten after his own fallen image, shews what all are, till renewed by grace: “they live in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another:” and their contempt of God is equal to all the other odious qualities that defile their souls. We cannot but be struck with this in the history of Cain, who having murdered his brother Abel, presumed even to insult his God. His conduct will come properly under our review, if we consider,

I. The Murder—

In this awful transaction, there are two things to be inquired into:

1. The manner in which it was perpetrated—

[Satan, in his assaults on man, can exert himself only by wiles and stratagems, not being permitted to exercise his power against us in any other way. But when he employs human agents in his service, he stirs them up to combine in their attacks “deceit and violence.” Such were the weapons with which the blood-thirsty Cain sought the destruction of his brother Abel. “He talked with Abel his brother.” What the subject of the conversation was, it would be foolish to conjecture: but that it was of a friendly nature, there can be no doubt. It was evidently with a design to allure him into a place of solitude, where he might effect his murderous purpose without difficulty or detection. Had he disclosed the sentiments of his heart, he would have put his brother on his guard: whereas by feigning affection towards him, he would remove all fear or suspicion from his brother’s mind, and facilitate the accomplishment of the fatal deed. To similar means assassins have had recourse in all ages. It was thus that Joab slew both Abner and Amasa: “he sent messengers after Abner, and took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly:” “to Amasa he said, Art thou in health, my brother? and took him by the beard to kiss himc:” but his pretences to friendship were only to secure access to them, that he might strike with effect the dagger to their heart. It was thus that Absalom also contrived to murder his brother Amnon: he made a feast for all his family, and expressed particular solicitude to have the company of Amnon: but the whole was a cover, to effect the destruction of his brother in the midst of his convivial mirth.

The murder of a brother is such an atrocious act, that it scarcely admits of being aggravated by any circumstances: but if any thing can aggravate it, surely the treachery of Cain must awfully enhance its guilt. Had it been the effect of sudden wrath, it had even then been criminal beyond the power of language to express: but being the result of premeditation and contrivance, of deceit and treachery, its enormity is increased an hundred-fold.]

2. The motive to the commission of it—

[Gladly would we, if possible, find somewhat to extenuate the guilt of this transaction: but the more minutely we examine it, the more heinous it appears. The Scripture informs us, that Cain, in the commission of this act, was impelled only by envy and hatred. God had been pleased to testify his acceptance of Abel and of his sacrifice, while no such token of approbation was vouchsafed to Cain. The effect of this should have been, to lead Cain into a close examination of his spirit and conduct, and to make him earnest in prayer, that he might know wherefore this preference had been given to Abel, and how he also might obtain the favour of his God. But, alas! his heart was filled with envy and wrath, insomuch that his whole countenance was changed. In vain did God expostulate with him on the unreasonableness of his behaviour. “The spirit that dwelt in him lusted to envyf:” this malignant passion “was as rottenness in his bones,” so thoroughly had it corroded his very inmost soul. The excellence of Abel’s character served only to add fuel to the flame. His virtues were his faults; so “impossible is it to stand before envyh.” Cain hated in him the divine image, as much as he envied him the divine favour. The light of his brother’s example was offensive to his eyes; and on this account he sought to extinguish it. St. John, having told us that Cain slew his brother, asks, “And wherefore slew he him?” he then answers, “Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.”

Such were the motives by which Cain was instigated to this infernal deed. The murder was first committed in his heart; and then completed with his hand; according to that saying of the Apostle, “He that hateth his brother is a murderer.” Indeed there is such a connexion between “envy, debate, deceit, and murderl.” that wherever the first is harboured, the rest would follow of course, if God in his infinite mercy did not interpose to limit the operation of our sinful propensities.]

God, who “maketh inquisition for blood,” would not suffer the murder to be concealed: he therefore sought out the offender, and commenced,

II. The Inquest—

It is said, that “Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation:” and where that hatred has proceeded to murder, God in his providence has generally fulfilled this saying. On this occasion, the Governor of the Universe proceeded exactly as he had done upon the first transgression: He summoned the criminal, and made inquiry at his hands. In the trial we notice,

1. Cain’s denial of the fact—

[Being interrogated, “Where his brother Abel was,” he answered with consummate effrontery, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” Alas! how inseparable the connexion between guilt and falsehood! But what blindness had sin induced upon his mind, and what obduracy upon his heart! What could he imagine, when he thus flatly denied any knowledge of his brother? Did he suppose that he could deceive his God? Had he forgotten, that omniscience was an attribute essential to the Deity? Yes: such is the atheism which sin produces: he said in his heart, “Tush, God hath not seen: Can he see through the thick clouds?” Not contented with uttering this impious falsehood, he added an insult, which we should scarcely have thought he would have dared to offer to his earthly parent, much less to his Maker and his God. Behold this murderous wretch presuming to criminate his Judge, and to reprove him as unreasonable and unjust! “Am I my brother’s keeper?” that is, ‘What right hast thou to interrogate me respecting him?’ We stand amazed at this effort of impiety: but, in truth, it is no other than what is daily exemplified before our eyes. If we question men respecting the performance of any of their duties, they will not hesitate to condemn our expectations as unreasonable, and the laws on which they are founded, as absurd: and when the authority of God is urged in support of his law, they will not scruple to arraign the wisdom and equity of the Lawgiver himself. The very manner in which Cain attempted to conceal his crime was of itself a strong presumption against his innocence. What need had he to be offended with an inquiry after his brother, if he really knew not where he was? What occasion was there for all this petulance and profaneness? But it was in vain to deny a fact which the all-seeing God was ready to attest.]

2. His conviction before God—

[He had effectually silenced his brother’s voice; so that no testimony could be borne by him. But the blood which he had shed, had a voice, which cried aloud; a voice which reached the throne of Almighty God, and brought him down to plead the cause of injured innocence. Indeed, every sin has a voice, which speaks powerfully in the ears of God, and calls for vengeance on the head of him who has committed it. It was in vain to dispute the testimony of Jehovah. The criminal stands confounded, and waits the sentence awarded by his Judge. Surely now then at least we shall behold him softened: his obdurate heart must now relent; and he will accept with resignation the punishment of his iniquity. Not so indeed: he expresses no contrition: he asks not once for mercy: he complains indeed, but not of himself, not of the guilt he has contracted, not of the deed he has perpetrated, but of the punishment he has incurred; “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” But let not this be wondered at: It is the effect of sin to sear the conscience, and to harden the heart: and the more heinous our transgressions are, the more shall we be disposed to criminate the authority that calls us into judgment for them. Even in hell itself this disposition is exercised, yea, it rages with uncontrolled and incessant fury: the damned spirits “gnaw their tongues for pain, and blaspheme the God of heaven because of their pains, and repent not of their deeds.”]

Hence then we may OBSERVE,

1. How soon did “the enmity which God has put between the Serpent’s and the Woman’s seed begin to shew itself!

[It is an undeniable fact, that “all who live godly in Christ Jesus do suffer persecution:” and the world, yea sometimes Christians themselves also, are ready to think that the opposition made to them is discreditable to their cause. But our Lord and his Apostles taught us to expect precisely the same treatment which they themselves received. They inform us also how all the Prophets were used by those among whom they sojournedt: they declare that, in all ages, even from the beginning of the world, “they who have been born after the flesh have persecuted those who were born after the Spirit;” and that all “the blood shed from the time of righteous Abel” to the time that Christ himself was nailed upon the crossx, served to illustrate “the enmity of the carnal mind against God,” and the path in which all must walk who would finally attain to glory. Hence persecutors are emphatically said to “go in the way of Cain.” Let none then think it strange that they are called to endure a fiery trial, as though some strange thing happened unto them;” but “let them rejoice and glorify God on this behalfa;” knowing that myriads who are now in heaven “came thither out of great tribulation;” and that, “if they also suffer with Christ, they shall in due time be glorified together with him.”]

2. How vain is it to cultivate the friendship of the world!

[If, in any situation, fellowship could have been maintained between a carnal and a spiritual man, we may well suppose that it should subsist between the two first men who were born into the world, educated as they must have been with the strictest care, and necessitated as they were to cultivate a friendly intercourse on account of the contracted state of society in the world: yet not even these could enjoy spiritual communion with each other. It is true, that all natural men do not give themselves up, like Cain, to the dominion of their lusts: but it is equally true, that all men have in their hearts the same envious and malignant passions, and that, till they are renewed by divine grace, they are enemies to true religione. Hence we are told to come out from the world and be separate, because there can be no more true communion between believers and unbelievers, than between light and darkness, or Christ and Belial. And they who, in opposition to this direction, choose the unregenerate for their associates, or form still more intimate connexions with them, are sure to “suffer loss” in their souls; and, if saved at all, they are “saved only so as by fire.”]

3. How certainly “will sin find us out” at last!

[We may conceal our iniquities from man; but we can never hide them from God: “There is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.” God does not often interfere to make known our guilt, as in the case before us; (though the interpositions of His providence in the discovery of murder are sometimes extremely marked and visible;) but in the day of judgment “he will make manifest the very counsels of our hearts.” It will be in vain then to deny our guilt, or to raise those captious, not to say impious, objections, which now appear to us of so much weight: Every thing will be substantiated by the fullest evidence, and be recompensed according to its desert. O that “in that day we may be found without spot, and blameless!” This may be the state of all, not excepting even murderers themselves, provided they wash in the fountain of Christ’s blood, and be renewed by his Holy Spirit. Let us then seek his pardoning and renewing grace. Then shall we be enabled to “stand before our God with boldness,” and “give up our account to him with joy, and not with grief.”]

INSTITUTION OF PUBLIC WORSHIP

Gen. 4:26.

Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

OF the various institutions of religion, some were clearly founded on an express appointment from God himself; others appear to have arisen, in the first instance, from the suggestions of holy men, and to have been afterwards authorized and established by divine authority. It is manifest that baptism was practised by the Jews long before it was appointed by Christ as the rite whereby his followers were to be consecrated to his service: but when it was first introduced, or whether by any express command of God, we know not. The change of the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first was sanctioned by the practice of the Apostles: but whether they received any particular direction respecting it, we are not informed. The presumption indeed is, that all the observances which God has sanctioned, originated from him; and that men began to practise them in consequence of some intimations from him: but as this is not declared in Scripture, we must be contented to leave the matter undecided. We are not any where told that God commanded men to meet together for the purposes of public worship. If we take the text in the precise sense that it bears in our translation, it should seem that public assemblies of worship were rather the offspring of necessity; and that they arose out of an increase of population, and a growing neglect of personal and family religion.

The text indeed is, in the margin of our Bibles, rendered differently: “Then began men to call themselves by the name of the Lord:” Nor are commentators agreed to which of the versions we should give the preference. We shall therefore include both; and take occasion from the words to shew,

I. In what manner we should confess God—

The descendants of Cain, who had become “a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth,” soon cast off all regard for God, and addicted themselves to open and shameless impiety. Lamech broke through the restraints which the Creator had imposed in relation to marriage, and “took unto him two wives;” leaving thereby an example, which in process of time effaced the very remembrance of God’s original institution. From these and other abominations arose an imperious necessity for the godly to separate themselves from the ungodly, and to maintain by an open and more visible profession the honour of God in the world. This they did: and in so doing they have taught us,

1. To separate ourselves from the ungodly—

[There is a certain degree of intercourse which must subsist between us and the world. But it is by no means desirable to extend it beyond that which the duties of our calling absolutely require. Our Lord repeatedly declares that his faithful followers “are not of the world, even as He was not of the world:” The Apostles also with one voice guard us against cultivating the friendship of the world;b and teach us to come out from among them, and to live as a distinct “peculiar peopled,” “shining among them as lights in a dark place.” We should go to them, indeed, when duty calls, as the physician enters the infected chambers of the sick: but we should never forget, that “evil communications corrupt good mannersf;” and that an undue familiarity with them is far more likely to weaken the spirituality of our own minds, than to generate a holy disposition in theirs. In us should be verified the prophecy of Balaam, “Israel shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.”]

To make an open profession of our attachment to Christ—

[The godly, in the antediluvian world, called themselves Children of God, as distinct from those who were only children of men: and it was foretold that a similar distinction should obtain among the followers of Christ. If in one instance Peter failed in acknowledging his Lord, on other occasions he witnessed a good confession, and manfully withstood the threatenings of his enemiesi. It may be thought perhaps, that, because Christianity is the established religion of the land, there is no occasion for such boldness now: but the sons of Cain and of Ishmael are yet amongst us: there are in every place those who deride all vital godliness: and it requires almost as much fortitude to withstand their sneers and contempt, as it does to brave more cruel persecutions. There is the same necessity for us to “take up our cross and follow Christ,” as there was for the primitive Christians: and the command given to them to “be faithful unto death,” is equally to be regarded by us: for the same conduct will be observed by the Judge towards men of every age and nation; “he will confess those before his Father who have confessed him in the world,” and “deny before his Father those who have denied,” or been ashamed of him.]

But the text instructs us also,

II. In what manner we should worship him—

We cannot doubt but that Adam and his pious offspring maintained the worship of God both in their families and their closets: but till the human race were considerably multiplied, there was no occasion for what may be called public worship. But when the families became so numerous that they were obliged to separate, then it was necessary to call them together at stated times and seasons, that, by forming different congregations, they might all receive instruction at once, and keep up in their minds an habitual reverence for God.

The necessity for public ordinances is obvious; and the benefit arising from them is incalculable.

1. They preserve the knowledge of God in the world—

[There is reason to fear, that if there were no public ordinances of religion, the very name of God would be soon forgotten. Notwithstanding the establishment of such institutions, the generality are “perishing for lack of knowledge:” darkness has overspread the land, even a darkness that may be seen and felt. But there is some light shining in the world; and that is diffused almost exclusively by the public ministry of the word. Occasionally, God is pleased to instruct men by his word and Spirit, without the intervention of human agents: but, as he has set apart an order of men for the express purpose of propagating his truth, so he delights to honour them as his instruments to convey his blessings to the world. Doubtless he vouchsafes his blessing to those who read and pray in secret, provided they reverence, as far as their circumstances admit, his public institutions: but never did he, from the foundation of the world, impart his blessing to those who continued to live in an avowed contempt of his ordinances: No: “he loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.”]

2. They are the means of perfecting his work in his people’s hearts—

[God has told us that this was a very principal end for his ordaining men to preach the Gospel; but it is by means of the public ordinances chiefly that Ministers can address the people: and consequently the ordinances themselves are the means by which God accomplishes his end. We have said before, that God will also reveal himself to his people in secret: and it sometimes happens that their communion with him in private is more sweet and intimate than in the public assembly: but may we not ask, on the other hand, whether, when the heart has been cold and formal in the closet, it has not often been warmed and animated in the church? And is not much of the enjoyment experienced in secret, the result of instructions administered in the public ordinances? In the one they gather the food; in the other they ruminate and chew the cud: but the pleasure and nourishment derived to their souls must be acknowledged, in part at least, as originating in their public duties. To these has God promised his peculiar blessing; and therefore we should “reverence his sanctuary,” and join with one consent in a public surrender of ourselves to Godr.]

ADDRESS,

1. Those who have others under their control—

[Parents, and Masters, you are responsible to God for the exercise of your power and influence. Will you then, either by precept or example, encourage a conformity to the world, or a disregard of the worship of your God? O “destroy not their souls, for whom Christ died!” Employ your authority for God: and, whatever opposition you may meet with in the world, learn to say with Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”]

2. Those who are acting for themselves—

[If you have “chosen the good part,” be careful that it “be not taken away from you,” either through the love of this world, or through the fear of man. Be steadfast, and “endure unto the end, that you may be saved at last.” If you lose your life for Christ’s sake, you shall find it unto life eternal. But if you are “walking in the broad road,” think whither it leads: and begin to serve your God in this world, that you may be honoured by him in the world to come.]

ENOCH’S WALKING WITH GOD

Gen. 5:24.

And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

THE cares of a family are by no means incompatible with a life of devotedness to God. The man distinguished for his piety above all others in the antediluvian world, had a very numerous offspring, to whom doubtless he paid every attention in his power: yet he was not impeded in his spiritual course; but found time to serve his God, as much as if he had been free from all concern about this present world.

We shall consider,

I. His conduct—

We are told, he “walked with God.” Now “walking with God” implies,

1. Agreement—

[Enoch, as a fallen creature, was once alienated from God, like others, and, during his unconverted state, was full of enmity against him both in heart and lifec; “walking after the flesh,” according to the course of this world, and altogether contrary to God. But now he was reconciled to God through faith in Christe — — — And was brought by this means to an agreement with him both in mind and will. Thus must all of us obtain reconciliation with God through the blood of Christ, before we can resemble this eminent saint; for it is not possible for “two to walk together except they be agreed.”]

2. Familiarity—

[Friends who associate much together, contract a familiarity with each other: they open to each other their sorrows and their joys: they consult each other in their difficulties; and maintain with the greatest freedom a mutual intercourse. Thus did Enoch with his God. He considered God as his friend: he had familiar access to him at all times: he opened to him all his wants, all his fears, all his trials: he did nothing without first asking counsel of his friend, and engaging his assistance.

Nor was this an honour peculiar to him: it is the duty and the privilege of all the saints: we may go and knock at the door of our Friend, and he will always open unto us: we may have access to him with boldness and with confidence, even in his most private apartmentsh: we may ask what we will of him, and he will do it for us. He, on the other hand, will come and knock at our door; and will come in and sup with usk: he will communicate to us his secrets; and will in ten thousand ways manifest himself unto us as he does not unto the worldm.]

3. Affection—

[Affection is the very essence of friendship: mere agreement or familiarity are of little value without it: where this does not exist, the intercourse cannot be such as is implied in walking with God. Enoch loved his God, if I may so speak, with all his heart, and mind, and soul, and strength: God would never have given him a special testimony of his approbation, if his heart had been destitute of the sacred flame of love. He went forth to meet his God, as Adam was wont to do in his state of innocence: he looked forward with joy to the seasons when he should again renew his fellowship with him: he studied to avoid every thing that might in any respect grieve him; and made it the great object of his life to do what was pleasing in his sight.

It is in this way that we also are to walk with God: we Heb. 10:19. must commune with him not by constraint, but willingly and of a ready mind. We must delight ourselves in himo. His loving-kindness must be better to us than life itself: and it must be as marrow and fatness to us to serve and honour him.q]

How acceptable to God this conduct was, we may learn from,

II. The reward with which God honoured him—

The manifestations of God’s presence and favour which he continually enjoyed, were a rich recompence for any self-denial which he exercised, or any exertions which he used, to please his God. But, besides all these, God,

1. Exempted him from death, the common lot of all men—

[All, the righteous as well as the wicked, must pay the penalty of death, which has been entailed on them by the sin of Adam, and been richly merited by their own personal transgressions. But God has been pleased to exempt from it one in the old world, and one in the new. This testimony of his approbation God vouchsafed to Enoch. He was a bold and faithful witness for God, and doubtless incensed many against hims — — — And God took him from a persecuting and ungodly world, who probably enough were seeking to destroy him on account of his pungent admonitions. He took him in the prime of life, without any previous pain or sickness. To some indeed it might appear a calamity to be taken away, in the midst of his useful labours, and while his family were still looking up to him for instruction and support: but he thought it “far better to depart and to be with Christ,” than to prolong his days in the midst of a tempting and ungodly world: and God gave him the desire of his heart.

We, however diligent in walking with God, cannot hope to participate in such a reward as this. But death shall be disarmed of its sting, so that it shall be to us rather an object of desire, than of fear and terror: and while the most stout-hearted sinner in the universe trembles at its approach, we shall be enabled not only to meet it with serenity and composure, but to triumph over it as a vanquished enemy.]

2. Exalted him both in body and in soul to a more immediate enjoyment of his presence—

[While Enoch was in the body, he could not endure the full splendour of the divine glory: he could only behold his God through the dark medium of faithz, or, at most, be permitted to “see his back parts.” But God translated him, both in body and soul, to the highest heavens; making him thereby not only an eminent type of Christ’s ascension, but an earnest and pledge to us, that our bodies shall hereafter be raised to a participation of the happiness, which our glorified souls shall enjoy at the instant of their departure from the body. To what extent the blessedness of every individual will be advanced by the re-union of the soul and body, it is not possible to say: but it is reasonable to suppose, that that which consummates our reward, will greatly enhance our felicity. This, however, Enoch had not to wait for; he received his full reward at once; and was thereby distinguished from all those disembodied spirits, which, though perfected in glory, waited for their complete happiness till the day of judgment. The happiness of Enoch in communing with God on earth was doubtless exceeding great: but when he arrived at the full fruition of the divine glory, his blessedness as far exceeded all that he had before experienced, as the early dawn is surpassed by the meridian light.

It need not, however, be any matter of regret to us, that we are not to expect this reward; since, on our dismission from the body, we shall instantly be in Paradise; and at the day of resurrection, we shall have our bodies raised to a participation of our bliss.]

3. Made him a most distinguished monument to the whole world, of the love he bears to those who seek communion with him—

[We know but little of the state of those who are gone into the invisible world, though we believe, from the word of God, that they are completely happy. But here is an evidence to our very senses, that none shall be suffered to “seek God’s face in vain.” Who, after beholding such an interposition of the Deity, such an honour conferred on a “man of like passions with ourselves,” can doubt one moment of the acceptance which all shall find, who serve their God in sincerity and truth?

In this view then we may consider his reward as an earnest of ours. We shall not be left without many expressions of God’s love even in this world, if we endeavour to walk closely with him. But, whether our present state be more or less joyous, we are sure that in the eternal world we shall not lose our reward. We need only to consider the exalted condition of this distinguished saint and we may see in him the blessedness reserved for us.]

INFER,

1. What an honourable character is the Christian!

[We consider those as honourable who associate with great men on earth: but the Christian has higher company than earthly monarchs; he walks with God himself; and God is not ashamed to call him his friend. In some sense, the Christian is already translated into God’s kingdomd, and admitted into the heavenly Zion, and joined to the society of glorified saints and angels.

Let every one then walk worthy of this high calling; and, in a dignified contempt of all inferior objects, endeavour to attain this sublime privilege in its highest perfection.]

2. What a happy character is the Christian!

[His singularity may bring upon him much odium and persecution. But what need he to regard the frowns of men, who enjoys fellowship with God? One smile from his almighty Friend is sufficient to counterbalance all the indignities that can possibly be cast upon him. Yet, after all, his happiness in this world is but as the drop before the shower. When he has filled up the measure of his obedience, God takes him to himself; a band of angels are sent to bear his spirit to the regions of the blest. It must not be said of the Christian, “He dies;” but merely, that “God translates him” from a world of sin and misery, to a world of blessedness and glory. “Such honour have all his saints; “God grant it may be ours for ever and ever! Amen.]

XII

STRIVINGS OF THE SPIRIT

Gen. 6:3.

And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man.

MAN, at first, was created in the image of his God: but when he fell, he begat children in his own fallen image. His very first-born became a murderer. Some of his posterity, however, were pious: but they, not being careful to connect themselves with those who feared God, were drawn aside from religion by their ungodly wives, insomuch that, in eight or nine generations, “all flesh had corrupted their way,” and it repented “God that he had made man.” In consequence of this, God determined to destroy the whole earth. But yet, being full of mercy, he would not proceed to this extremity without giving to man space for repentance. Accordingly, he commanded Noah to preach to them; and to declare, that in the space of 120 years the threatened judgments should be inflicted, if the people did not avert those judgments by their penitence. During that period his Holy Spirit should continue to strive with them—but no longer: for “he should not always strive with man, who was now become altogether flesh,” and carnal; and who, if he did not repent in the time allotted him, should be left to reap the bitter fruit of his own ways.

That this warning may have a salutary effect on us, I will endeavour to shew,

I. That the Spirit of God, if long resisted, will cease to strive with us.

Certain it is, that the Spirit of God does strive with unregenerate men—

[He strove with the whole antediluvian world, by the ministry of Noah: for “by the Spirit did that holy man preach, during the whole period whilst the ark was preparing, even to the spirits which for their disobedience were condemned, and shut up in the prison” reserved for all impenitent transgressors. “To the whole nation of Israel, also, did the Holy Spirit for ages testify, in and by his Prophets, notwithstanding they dealt proudly, and withdrew their shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.” With us also does he strive, both by the ministry of his word, and by his own immediate agency on the hearts of men. For, what is conscience, but God’s vicegerent in the soul? By that, God speaks to us; warning, and inviting us from time to time, if by any means we may be induced to repent and turn unto him. Let any one only look back upon his past life; and he shall find that there have been some periods when he has felt a conviction upon his mind that it was his duty, and would be his happiness, to seek after God, and obtain, whilst yet he might, the remission of his sins.]

But we resist his sacred motions—

[To whom amongst us may not those words of Stephen be applied, (if not in reference to the present moment, yet certainly in reference to some period of our lives,) “Ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so also do ye.” We may not, indeed, have set ourselves in such hostility to the truth as they did; but have we been more practically obedient than they? Have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, calling us to repentance, and to a dedication of our whole selves to him? Alas! there has been the same stoutness of heart in us, as in persons of a more profane character; many of whom, perhaps, have “said, I will not, but afterwards have repented, and went” into their Lord’s vineyard; whilst we, perhaps, have said, “I go, Sir,” but have been as far from executing our acknowledged duty as ever.]

And will the Spirit always continue to strive with us?

[No: we are assured he will not. We know that his motions may be resisted, till they are altogether “quenche.” And in many instances has he been driven away by the obstinacy of those with whom he had striven. Of Saul we are told, that “the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul; and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.” And it was not without reason that David prayed, “Cast me not away from thy presence! and take not thy Holy Spirit from meh!” When God saw his ancient people incurably addicted to idolatry, He said, “Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.” And what else can we expect, if we continue obstinate in our sins? The doom of Israel must of necessity be ours. Of them it is said, “They rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit; therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and fought against them:” and we verily can expect no other, than that He, whose solicitations we refused to follow, as a Friend, shall send forth his vindictive judgments against us, as an Enemy.]

Let me then proceed to shew,

II. What is the state of a soul thus abandoned by the Lord.

Truly its condition is most pitiable. God has said, “Woe unto them, when I depart from them:” and verily it will be a woeful day for any one of us, if God should ever abandon us to ourselves! for the deserted soul is from that moment given up, yes, and given up for ever,

1. To delusion—

[It is surprising what delusions an abandoned sinner will harbour in his heart: “I shall have peace, though I walk in the imaginations of my heart to add drunkenness to thirst, and sin to sin.” Refuges of lies he shall have in plenty, to administer to his composure: ‘There is no future state: death is but an eternal sleep: or, at all events, God is too merciful to inflict punishment in a future state: or, at any rate, the punishment cannot be eternal. As for the Holy Scriptures, perhaps they are only the writings of fallible men, like ourselves: or, at best, they are so highly figurative, that you cannot depend upon them.’ Thus men take refuge in infidelity, that so they may rid themselves of records, which, if credited, would be subversive of their peace. And to these delusions God will give them up; as he has said: “They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations: I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them.” In the New Testament, this judgment is yet more emphatically denounced: “They (the Antichristian powers) received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” says St. Paul: “and for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Oh, terrible judgment!—and the more terrible, because they who are subjected to it have no conception that they are lying under it: but it will be the assured portion of all with whom the Spirit of God has ceased to strive.]

2. To bondage—

[To the power of their own lusts will they be given up, so that Satan shall lead them captive at his will. How awful is that declaration of Solomon, “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself; and he shall be holden with the cords of his own sins!” Yet this must be the fate of all who constrain the Holy Spirit to depart from them. If men “will despise and reject all the counsel of the Lord, they will assuredly be left to eat the fruit of their own ways, and be filled with their own devices.” It was so with the Heathen, “who liked not to retain God in their knowledge: he gave them over to a reprobate mind.” It was so, also, with the Israelites: “My people would not hearken to my voice, and Israel would none of me: so I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust; and they walked in their own counsels.” What more common than to see this very judgment inflicted before our eyes? The infidel, the drunkard, the whoremonger, the thief, the covetous man, the profane swearer, what slaves do they become to their respective habits! These shew us the very truth that I am insisting on; and declare, with one voice, that the Ethiopian may as well change his skin or the leopard his spots, as they renounce the habits to which they have been given over by their God.]

3. To obduracy—

[Pharaoh, for his obstinacy, was given up to a state of hardness that is scarcely to be credited. And how many, in every age, when forsaken by the Lord, have had “their consciences seared as with a hot iron,” and become altogether “past feeling!” Behold the scoffer, who pours contempt on all religion, and, with daring impiety, cries, “Where is the promise of God’s coming to judgment? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” If reproved for their impiety, they will in effect say, “Who is Lord over usu?” “We know not the Lord; neither will we obey his voice.” Even in death itself, they often evince the very same hardness, and shew how entirely they are given over by the Lord. Their friends around them are ready to say, “They died like lambs:”—and so indeed they did, even like brute beasts that have no understanding, having no conception of the state which awaits them at their departure hence. A terrible judgment this is! and a certain prelude,]

4. To ruin!—

[There is a time wherein God may be found, by every living man: but that season may be passed; and a time arrive, when he will no more be found, and when all God’s offered mercies shall be for ever withheld. Such a period had actually arrived to the Jewish nation, when they crucified the Lord of glory. Our blessed Saviour, previous to his death, took up this lamentation over them: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them who are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate!” “Oh that thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” Thus, it is to be feared, there may be, even amongst ourselves, some with whom God will strive no longer: they have so long trifled with the means of grace, and been unprofitable under all the culture that has been bestowed upon them, that they shall be henceforth left only to be gathered, in due season, as fuel for the fire. What an awful thought, To be left only to “fill up the measure of their iniquities,” and to ‘’treasure up wrath against the day of wrathc!” Better were it for a man that he had never been born, than that ever he should live for such an end as that! But such is the state of the deserted soul: and at the appointed hour, “wrath will come upon him to the uttermost.”]

ADDRESS,

1. Those who are yet withstanding the motions of the Holy Spirit—

[Little do you think how greatly you offend your God, or what misery you are entailing on your own souls. But let me ask, Is there one amongst you that does not look back upon his past rebellion with regret? Is there one who is not persuaded in his mind, that he would have been a far happier man, if he had obeyed the voice of the Lord, and followed, instead of resisting, the dictates of his conscience? How long, then, will ye continue this rebellious course? Shall not the declaration in my text affect you? Shall not even the possibility of your day of grace having come to an end, appal you? Do but think how much you have at stake — — — and how short is the time which you have to seek the things belonging to your peace. — — — I pray you, Arise, ere it be too late, and cry unto your God, “if God peradventure may give you repentance, and you may be recovered out of the snare of the devil, by whom you have been taken captive at his will!” “To-day, while it is called to-day, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, as in the day of temptation in the wilderness; lest you provoke God to swear, in his wrath, that you shall never enter into his reste.”]

2. Those who through grace have obeyed his blessed will—

[Truly this is of the Lord, who alone has “made you willing,” and has thus caused you to “differ from those around youg.”— — — Be thankful for this distinguishing grace; but remember that you still need his gracious influences as much as ever. There is not any part of the divine life that can be carried on within you but by the operation of the Holy Spirit. He must be within you “a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and of might, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and must make you of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord.” Seek him, then, for all these gracious ends: and be careful that you “do not grieve him,” by any sinful disposition, or any secret neglecti. It is by him that you are to be “sealed unto the day of redemption,” and by him that you are to be “rendered meet for your heavenly inheritance.” To him, therefore, “I commend you, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified.”]

XIII

EXTENT OF MAN’S WICKEDNESS

Gen. 6:5.

God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

THE extent of man’s wickedness is far greater than the generality of mankind have any conception of. Whilst a person’s words and actions are inoffensive before men, he is supposed to conduct himself acceptably to God. And even when his words and actions are blameworthy, he is judged as having nothing wrong in his intentions, and as possessing, on the whole, a good heart. But God looks chiefly at the heart, which is the fountain from whence every thing that is evil proceeds: and his testimony respecting it is, that “the heart,” not of this or that more egregious offender, but of every man by nature, “is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” In the passage before us, God assigns his reason for destroying the whole world by an universal deluge. And that we may be suitably affected by it, I shall set before you,

I. The testimony of God respecting man—

He speaks more immediately respecting the antediluvian world—

[In general, the wickedness of man was great in the earth. No doubt, every species of wickedness was committed, in the most shameless manner. But, more particularly, “the hearts” of men were evil; “the thoughts” of their hearts were evil; “the imaginations” of the thoughts were evil, and this too without exception, without mixture, without intermission; for every imagination was evil, and “only” evil, and that “continually” What an awful statement is here!

But how could this he ascertained? Who could he competent to judge of this? and on what authority is this declared? I answer, It is the declaration of God, who can discern all things; for “all things are naked and opened before him;” and he himself says, “I know the things that come into your mind, every one of themc.” And, as he knows every thing, so he is able to estimate the quality of every thing; for “he weigheth the spirits.” And this is his testimony, after a thorough inspection of every human being.]

But the same must be spoken of man at this day—

[God himself repeats the same testimony, in relation to those who survived the deluge, and of all their descendants. And it is as true of us, as it was of them. In proof of this, I will appeal to your own observation and experience. What, from observation, would you yourselves say was the state of the world around you? Do you not see that evil of every kind obtains to a vast extent; and that piety, except in some very narrow circles of persons whom the world, regards as weak enthusiasts, is altogether banished; insomuch that you may mix in society for months and years, and yet never once hear them speak with admiration and gratitude respecting all the wonders of Redeeming Love? Of what passes in the hearts of others you are not able to judge; and therefore, in relation to that, I appeal to every man’s own experience. What has been the state of your hearts? As to your words and actions, I will suppose them to have been correct: but your “hearts,” your “thoughts,” “the imaginations of your thoughts,” what report must you give of them? Have they been all correct? or, could you bear that man should see them as God has seen them? The proud, the envious, the uncharitable, the angry, the vindictive, the impure thoughts, say, (whether carried into effect or not) have they not sprung up within your hearts as their proper soil, and so occupied the ground, that no holy fruits would grow unto perfection? If occasionally a transient thought of good has arisen, how coldly has it been entertained, how feebly has it operated, how soon has it been lost! And, at all events, if compared with what the Law requires, and what God and his Christ deserve at your hands, tell me whether it do not fall so short of your duty, that you cannot venture to call it good, but only evil of a less malignant kind?

Know ye then, all of you, that this is your real state before God: and now learn,]

II. What effect it should produce upon you—

Certainly this view of our state, and especially as attested by the heart-searching God, should produce in us,

1. Humiliation—

[Even on a review of our words and actions, I am convinced there is not any one of us who has not reason to be ashamed, especially if those words and actions be tried by the standard of God’s holy Law. But who amongst us could bear to have all his thoughts inspected and disclosed? Who would not blush, and be confounded before God and man, if his heart were exposed to public view, so that every imagination of every thought of it should be disclosed? Yet God beholds it all; and has as perfect a recollection of all that has passed through our minds from our earliest infancy to this present moment, as if it had passed not an hour ago. What then becomes us, but the deepest humiliation? In truth, our religious thoughts, when compared with what they ought to have been in number and intensity, are no less a ground of humiliation, than those which have sprung from a more impure source; since they prove, indisputably, how defective are our conceptions of God’s excellency, and how faint our sense of the Redeemer’s love. I call on you then, every one of you, my brethren, to “lothe yourselves for your abominations,” and to “abhor yourselves,” as Isaiah did, and as holy Job did, “in dust and ashes.”]

2. Gratitude—

[We have often told you, that God has sent to us a Saviour, even his only dear Son; and that through Him all our iniquities, how great soever they may have been, shall be forgiven. But methinks, this is only “a cunningly-devised fable:” for, how can it be supposed, that God should ever have shewn such mercy, and manifested such love, towards such vile creatures as we? But, brethren, however incredible it may appear, it is true, even the very truth of God. Notwithstanding all you have done amiss, “God is not willing that any of you should perish, but that all should come to repentance and live.” Yes, brethren, he has laid all your iniquities on his only-begotten Son; who, agreeably to the Father’s will, has expiated them by his own blood, and will take them away from your souls for ever. Tell me, then, whether gratitude do not well become you? Tell me, whether there should be any bounds to your gratitude? What, think you, would the fallen angels feel, if such mercy were shewn to them? And what are millions of the redeemed now feeling before the throne? Oh, let your souls be penetrated with a measure of their love, and your songs of praise abound day and night, even as theirs.]

3. Fear—

[Though your hearts may have been renewed by divine grace, you are renewed, brethren, only in part: you have still the flesh within you, as well as the Spirit; and you carry about with you still “a body of sin and death,” from which, to your dying hour, you will need to be delivered. In fact, your whole life must be “a putting-off of the old man, and a putting-on of the new.” I need not tell you what precautions people take, when they carry a light in the midst of combustibles, which, if ignited, will spread destruction all around. Know, that ye carry such combustibles about you, wherever you go; and you know not how soon you may come in contact with somewhat that may cause a desperate explosion. You all know how David fell, in an unguarded moment; and what a dreadful tissue of evil was produced by one sinful imagination. Know ye, then, what corrupt creatures ye are: be sensible of your proneness to commit even the vilest abominations: and pray, day and night, to God, to “hold up your goings in his ways, that your footsteps slip not.” It was from sad experience that Peter spoke, when he said, “Be sober, be vigilant; for your adversary, the devil, goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in the faith.” He had indulged self-confidence, and had slept when he should have watched: and hence arose his fall, which speaks loudly to every one of us. “Be ye, then, not high-minded; but fear:” and “what I say unto one, I say unto all, Watch.”]

XIV

GOD’S DETERMINATION TO DESTROY MAN

Gen. 6:6, 7.

And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth.

THE evil of sin is visible wherever we turn our eyes. Not only has a manifest deterioration taken place in the intellectual and moral qualities of man, but the material world itself, together with all the brute creation, bears marks of God’s displeasure, and of the curse inflicted on account of sin. The spring with all its vivifying powers, or the autumn with all its profusion of matured fruits, does not more surpass the desolate appearances of winter, than the earth at its first formation did the state to which it is now reduced. It was the garden of the Lord, replete with beauty, and productive of nothing which did not minister to the comfort of its inhabitants: but it is become a waste howhng wilderness, infected with plagues, agitated with storms, and fruitful in occasions of sorrow. Whether any additional curse was inflicted on it at the time of the deluge, we cannot say: but the shortening of man’s life from eight or nine hundred years to less than one tenth of that period, seems to indicate, that both the frame of our bodies, and every thing that contributes to their support, have undergone a further change, and “become subject to vanity” in a yet greater degree, than they were before the deluge. However this may be, it is certain that, of all the judgments with which God has ever visited his rebellious creatures, the deluge was the most tremendous. All other expressions of God’s anger have been limited to a few individuals, or cities, or nations; but this extended over the face of the whole earth.

That we may view aright this awful dispensation, let us consider,

I. The state of the antediluvian world—

The degeneracy of mankind had been advancing with rapid strides from the time that Adam fell, to the time spoken of in our text. Their state was characterized by

1. General supineness—

[Our blessed Lord informs us, that “in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, till the day that Noah entered into the ark.” By this he did not mean to condemn the use of those means which God himself had appointed for the maintenance of life and the preservation of our species, but to inform us, that the people were altogether addicted to carnal and sensual indulgences, without paying any regard to their spiritual and eternal interests. The great ends of life were quite forgotten by them; and their only study was, how to dissipate care, and spend their time in pleasure.]

2. Awful depravity—

[The expressions used in the preceding and following context clearly shew, that wickedness of every kind was practised without restraint. The law of God being disregarded, and human laws not having been framed and executed as they are amongst us, the strong and violent oppressed the weak and peaceable; and whatsoever any man’s interest or inclination prompted him to do, that he did without shame or remorse. We may form some idea perhaps of the state which then existed, from what still exists among uncivilized nations, and amongst us also, when the restraints of human laws are withdrawn.]

3. Obstinate impenitence—

[For a hundred and twenty years did Noah continue to warn that wicked generation. By his practice also as well as by his preaching, did he condemn them. Before their eyes “he prepared (with vast expense and labour) an ark for the preservation of his household;” giving them thereby a certain pledge that the threatened judgments should be inflicted on the impenitent and unbelieving: but they, no doubt, ridiculed his precautions as absurd and visionary; and the longer the judgment was delayed, the more bold was their confidence, and the more bitter their derision. Amongst us, the Gospel, though generally, is not universally, despised: some are brought to listen to its benign overtures: but to such a degree did the contemporaries of Noah harden themselves against the gracious messages of Heaven, that in that whole space of time there was not (as far as we know) one single person awakened to a sense of his guilt and danger.]

Fearful indeed must have been their state, when we consider,

II. The regret which it excited in the bosom of Jehovah—

We must understand the language of the text, not in a literal, but figurative sense—

[We are not to suppose that God did not foresee what would happen; for prescience is an essential perfection of His nature: take away his foreknowledge, and you deny him to be God. Nor must we suppose that his happiness was really interrupted by what he saw in his creatures; for he is as immutable in his happiness, as in his nature. The language of the text is accommodated to our feeble apprehensions: it is taken from what passes among men, when they are disappointed in their expectations and endeavours. As a potter, finding that a vessel which he has formed with the utmost care does not answer the desired purpose, regrets his labour, and casts out of his sight the worthless object with indignation and grief; so God represents himself as “repenting that he had made man, and as grieved at his heart” that he had bestowed upon him so much labour in vain.]

Nevertheless the figure conveys to us much plain and solid instruction—

[The same figure occurs in various other parts of holy writ: sometimes it imports a change from anger to pity, and sometimes the reverseh. In the text, it is intended to intimate, that God is not an unconcerned spectator of human actions — — — that he expects men to answer the end of their creation, by seeking his glory and their own happiness— — — and that he will manifest against sin his heavy displeasure, making all who practise it the objects of his fiery indignation— — —]

The feelings of our Creator on account of man’s apostasy are more plainly shewn by,

III. The resolution he adopted in consequence of it—

To destroy all the human race was indeed a terrible resolve—

[We can form little conception of the distress occasioned through the habitable globe, when once the flood began to rise above its accustomed limits. Every contrivance would be resorted to, and every eminence be made a refuge, in hopes that the waters would subside, and that a premature death might be avoided. When one place was covered, happy would they feel themselves who could flee to some lofty mountain, and carry with them provision for their support. But they would soon find that they indulged a vain hope: a suspense, more painful than death itself, would soon occupy their minds; and the waves, fast approaching, would at last terminate their lives, which fear and terror had already half destroyed. It is probable that many would seek admittance into the ark, and cling to it, when every other refuge had failed. Many too would, doubtless, betake themselves to prayer in the midst of their distress: but the time of judgment was come; and mercy, whether exercised or not in the eternal world, could not be extended to them. Children in vain solicited their parents’ aid; in vain did the fond mother clasp them in her arms, or the affrighted husband strive to succour his beloved wife: all, in quick succession, were swept away; and neither man nor beast (those only in the ark excepted) were permitted to survive the wreck of nature.]

But, however terrible this judgment was, it was strictly just—

[The punishments inflicted by human governors, of necessity, involve the innocent with the guilty: the children suffer through the misconduct of their parents; yet no one on that account exclaims against the laws as unjust. Why then should that be deemed unjust in the government of God which is approved as just in the governments of men? But God, who is the giver of life, and by whom alone it is maintained, has a right to take it away at any time, and in any manner that he sees fit. Does any one arraign his providence, if numbers both of men and children are carried off by a pestilence, or overwhelmed in a storm? By what authority then do we prescribe limits to God, and say unto him, “Hitherto shalt thou go, and no further?” We might as well condemn the Governor of the Universe for inflicting disease and death upon one single infant, as arraign his justice for destroying many. The lives of all are forfeited: and whether he take them away after a longer or shorter period, or cut them off singly or at once, he is still the same; “a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” The Judge of all the earth will do right: and who are we that we should reply against him? “Whoso reproveth God, let him answer it.”]

INFER,

1. We are not at all the more safe for having many on our side—

[No doubt, the antediluvians fortified themselves against the warnings of Noah, by the consideration that they acted only like those around them. They probably replied, as many at this time do, ‘If I perish, what must become of all the world? And, Is God so unmerciful as to destroy the whole world?’ But the event shewed the folly of all such reasonings: and we should learn from it to expect safety in no other way than in turning from all iniquity, and seeking refuge in Christ Jesus.]

2. There will certainly be a day of future retribution—

[From the judgment executed at the deluge it is manifest, that God will punish sin: but from the indiscriminate manner in which that punishment was inflicted, we may be assured, that there shall be a day in which justice shall be more equitably dispensed, or, as it is called in Scripture, “a day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” Then shall every one receive according to his deeds, whether they be good or evil: “the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.” May God prepare us all for that great and solemn day!]

3. It becomes us all to grieve and mourn for our past sins—

[Have the sins of men caused God himself to “repent and be grieved at his heart” that ever he formed man; and should not our sins awaken sorrow and contrition in our hearts? O that we could but view them aright! O that we could mourn over them, as it becomes us, and weep in dust and ashes! Surely if we go on impenitent in our sins, the day will come, when we shall repent that ever we were created; we shall wish that we had died in our mother’s womb; we shall find that “it would have been better for us if we had never been born.”]

NOAH’S OBEDIENCE

Gen. 6:22.

Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

NEVER, from the foundation of the world to this hour, if we except the sacrifice which Christ made of himself upon the cross for the sins of men, was there such a demonstration of God’s hatred of sin, as that which was given at the universal deluge. All flesh having corrupted their way, God determined to execute vengeance upon all, and to destroy from the face of the earth every living thing. There was, however, one favoured servant, whom, together with his family, he was pleased to exempt from the general judgment. Noah was a righteous man, and obtained favour in his sight; and, by means prescribed to him by God himself, he was preserved. Let us consider,

I. The obedience rendered by him—

It is not easy to form a just estimate of this—

[Let us contemplate the circumstances in which he was placed. He was appointed “a preacher of righteousness,” unto all who came within the reach of his ministrations: and he was commanded to declare that God would overwhelm the whole world with a deluge. Of such a judgment there was no appearance whatever for the space of 120 years, during the whole of which period he proclaimed its approach. If at the beginning of his ministrations any were impressed with fear, they soon were led to deride the menace; and to conclude, from the delay, that the threatened calamity should never come upon them.

Let us next notice the means he was directed to use for the preservation of God’s chosen remnant. He was to build a vessel of stupendous magnitude, capable of holding two of every sort of animals that breathed, and of containing also provision for them. The expense and labour employed in constructing this ark must have been immense: and the ridicule which it must have excited, year after year, must have been almost beyond endurance.

Let us, lastly, observe his perseverance in the use of those means, till he had completed the work assigned him. Nothing could induce him to desist from his work, till it was perfected in every part. Then he, with his whole family, entered into the ark, having first assigned to every living creature its place: and then “God shut him in:” and on that very day the rain descended, and the flood commenced, which speedily reached above the highest mountains, and destroyed every living creature from the face of the earth.]

Verily this obedience was of a most exalted character—

[It shewed how firmly he believed the divine testimony, whilst yet there was not only no symptom of any such calamity, but no conceivable mode by which the threatened judgment could be inflicted. It shewed how much he stood in awe of God; and how determined he was, whilst yet the means of safety were within his reach, to avail himself of the opportunity that was afforded him, lest he also should be involved in the general ruin. It shewed, too, how boldly he faced reproach, when cast upon him for executing the divine commands. Had such a conduct been called for during the space of a few days only, we should have been the less astonished at it: but when it continued without intermission or abatement for the space of 120 years, we cannot but reckon it amongst the sublimest acts of obedience ever rendered unto God by fallen man.]

But in perfect accordance with this, is,

II. The obedience required of us—

1. The danger to which we are exposed is similar—

[God has declared that he will call the whole world into judgment; and that in that day “the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” We see not, indeed, any preparation for such a judgment; and are ready to think that it never can be executed. But God has denounced it against the whole world; and executed it shall be, whether men will believe it or not. Multitudes who assisted in building the ark, would not believe the declarations of God, till the threatened judgments were inflicted: and so it is with us. Multitudes laugh at the threatenings of God; and will continue to do so, till their day of grace shall have passed, and the wrath of God shall fall upon them to the uttermost.]

2. The means provided for our escape are similar—

[God has provided an ark for us—even his only dear Son; an ark, into which all who believe shall be admitted, but which will speedily be closed against the unbelieving world. Many think it altogether absurd to imagine that such an ark is provided for us: they would prefer one of their own constructing, and for which their own good works shall afford the materials. To enter into Christ by faith, and to look for salvation through faith in him, is in their eyes an unsuitable device: and it is derided accordingly, as an indication of weakness and folly. But this, after all, will be found “the wisdom of God,” yea, and “the power of God unto salvation” also to all them that embrace it]

3. The distinction that will be made between the believing and unbelieving world will also be similar—

[Of those who believed the testimony of Noah, not one perished: of those that disbelieved it, not one was saved. And so it will be at the last day. Those who are “found in Christ,” will be monuments of God’s sparing mercy; whilst those who have neglected and despised him, will be monuments of his righteous indignation for ever and ever.]

To dilate more, either on the original fact, or on its typical adaptation to our circumstances, will not be necessary: the whole taken together in one combined view will be found, I apprehend, more instructive.

LEARN then, from the whole,

1. The office of faith—

[It was to his faith that Noah’s conduct on this occasion must be ascribed. He did not reason on the subject that was revealed to him. He did not say, How can such a deluge be produced? or, How can it be supposed that a merciful God should exercise such severity? or, How can it be hoped, that, if all the rest of the world be destroyed, any vessel that I can build will preserve me? It is probable that others argued thus: but he believed, and acted upon, the divine testimony. Now it is precisely in that way that we must exercise faith in the divine records. We are not to argue, How can it be, that any should be punished with endless torments in hell? or, that so great a part of mankind should be doomed to that fate? or, that a simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ should be sufficient to deliver those, who without such faith must inevitably perish? We are to give credit to the divine testimony; and to assure ourselves, that whatever God has spoken shall surely come to pass;—that “he who believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; and that he who believeth not, shall be damned.”]

2. The necessity of fear—

[By this also was Noah actuated; and under the influence of it he prepared the ark. And if we believe God’s threatenings against sin and sinners, how can we but fear? The wrath of God is not to be disregarded, as a matter of no concern: no, in truth, it becomes us to tremble at it, and to flee from it with all imaginable earnestness. Well would it have been for them, if the people whom he warned had feared also: but, because they would not fear, they perished. So will it be with us also. It shall surely be found a truth at last, that “he who, being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without a remedye.”]

3. The benefit of obedience—

[Here you behold with your eyes what shall be again realized in the day of judgment. Behold Noah for 120 years an object of universal derision, but now, with his family, borne above the waves in perfect safety, whilst all the rest of the world, not excepting the very builders of the ark, are overwhelmed in one common destruction! Thus let the ungodly world laugh at piety now, if they will: but such will be the issue of their contemptuous proceedings, when those who were the objects of their scorn will be honoured by their God, and be saved with an everlasting salvation. “Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings: but woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him.”]

XVI

PRESERVATION OF NOAH

Gen. 7:1.

And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou, and all thy house, into the ark.

THE Church of God has frequently been at so low an ebb, that its existence cannot now be traced. There have been times, even since the promulgation of Christianity, when the righteous have been but few: they appear to us indeed much fewer than they really were: and, if we had authentic records respecting them, as we have concerning the Jews, it is probable that we should find several thousand worshippers of Jehovah for one whose name has been transmitted to us. But in the patriarchal ages we are certain that the knowledge of God was very limited: yea, so universal was the degeneracy of man before the flood, that piety was confined to one single family: nor were all of them truly religious, though for their parents’ sake they were all made partakers of the same deliverance. The history before us presents to our view a most distressing scene; a world of sinners doomed to destruction; and the only righteous family in the world selected out of them, to be monuments of God’s sparing mercy. The account given of Noah in the text will lead us to shew,

I. The provision made for his security—

Righteousness is universally an object of God’s regard: and though it is not meritorious in his sight so as to justify men before him, yet is it so pleasing and acceptable to him, that he will on account of it bestow many temporal blessings, and in the eternal world will confer a more exalted state of glory. On account of his eminent piety, God distinguished Noahc, and instructed him to make an ark for the saving of himself and his household.

This ark was typical of the Church of Christ. St. Peter compares it with baptism, by which we are initiated into the Church; and tells us, that as Noah was saved by his admission into the one, so are we by our introduction into the other.

To mark the resemblance between the type and antitype, we may observe that the ark was,

1. Divinely appointed—

[As the Tabernacle in the time of Moses, so the Ark in Noah’s times was made according to a pattern devised by God himself.

Noah never could have thought of constructing such a vessel himself: the suggestion originated with God: the model for it was given by God: nor was even the smallest part of it left to be formed after man’s device.

And who among the sons of men ever conceived the idea of saving man through the incarnation and death of God’s only-begotten Son? Who could ever have imagined that Jehovah’s Fellow should become a man; that He should submit to this degradation, yea, moreover should endure the accursed death of the cross, for the purpose of reconciling us to his offended Father, and of “gathering together into one body all things both in heaven and on earth?” Who, I ask, would have ever thought of forming a church in such a way, and of saving man by such means? The whole plan bears the stamp and character of a divine origin, according to what is said by the Apostle, “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”]

↑ Back to top