CHAP.

III.

1 Cor. xi.

22. But, to the perpetual torment and condemnation of men, and a heavy woe to women, they delight to chuse the knowledge of the evil! Therefore the tree was called, The tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

23. Thus it was an undue, unseasonable, and inordinate desire of the knowledge of that nature, the subtilty of the serpent, by which the woman was allured and led away out of her proper order, instead of being led by the righteous law of God, vested in the man, who was her proper head.

24. But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. This was that line of order, which the God of all wisdom and goodness placed in the most noble part of the creation,

25. And therefore the woman's obedience to the serpent, was not only contrary to the dictates of her reason, and inconsistent in the nature of things, but directly contrary to the true order of God. And having now eaten of the forbidden fruit, that is, having received the nature of the serpent to rule in her, she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.

26. Thus the foul and deceitful nature of the ser pent set up its growing influence in the first part of man through the second; and by obedience to the serpent, their nature became corrupted at the root, figuratively compared to an evil tree, all the fruit of which must consequently forever after be corrupt, until that evil influence should be broken by obedience to Christ the seed of promise.

27. And thus the devil placed his seat of influence and dominion in the very instinct or seed of nature, Jer. ü. 21. and the nature of man, like a noble vine, wholly a right seed, became corrupted, and turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine, nourished according to the corrupt and deceitful law of the serpent, bringing forth fruit unto death.

Rom.vib. 22, 23. & vi. 16.

28. And as the soul was united to a natural body, man must either groan under the oppression of his wicked master to whom he yielded obedience, until his redemption should appear, or resign up the body,

and every inferior part of the creation to the sole do- CHAP. minion of evil.

29. But the law of God was in itself eternal, and his purpose in the creation of man unchangeable, and therefore the devil could not annihilate the law of God, nor destroy the creation. Nevertheless the whole creation became corrupted, and its beautiful order and harmony lost in sin and confusion.

30. No sacred laws of influence, nor ruling power had any longer a free course through the governing parts of the united creation, to govern from the superior to the inferior; but an unclean, deceitful, and rer bellious law, seated in the nature of man, was now the principal motive and leading object of his obedience!

31. The soul was no longer led and governed by the pure and original law of God, but by the now corrupted and growing passions of an inferior earthly nature-The male no longer led by the law of God, but by the law of the devil through the female-The female no longer led by the law of God through the male, but by the law of the devil through the serpent.

32. Thus rebellion and confusion spread its baneful influence through the universe, and man could rise up against man, who was made in the image and after the likeness of God, and shed each others blood.

33. The beasts of the field, and the reptiles of the ground, over which man in his state of innocence had the dominion, could now rise up against the most noble part of the creation, while man against man, and beast against beast, are dreading and devouring

one another.

34. Thus man by his disobedience, was wholly excluded and shut out from the way of the tree of life, and ingrafted into an evil tree; and all the fruit it could produce must be like itself, the fruits of a flesh

ly, earthly, sensual, cruel and corrupt nature; adul- Gal.v.19, tery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, 20, 21. witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.

35. Instead of purity and holiness, he brings forth sin and uncleanness-instead of pure and heavenly af

CHAP. fection, lust and wantonness-instead of condescension and obedience, pride and self-will-instead of tenderness and mercy, oppression and cruelty-instead of justice and equity, partiality and fraud-instead of peace and harmony, wars and tumults, seditions and bloodshed, and all manner of sin and confusion.

36. Such are the dire consequences of man's fall. And as man was tempted and overcome by the serpent, who was below him in the order of the creation, he of course fell below the order of the brutes, Rom. vi. being servant to that to which he yielded himself servant to obey.

Matt.

37. And hence it is, that the human species are become devilish, beastly and unclean, in their nature and disposition. And therefore it is said of them, Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers! And again, 33. What they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

Jude 10.

38. Unto whatever this subversion of the true order of God may be likened, whether to a beautiful garden that is laid waste and grown over with thorns, or to a tree that becomes degenerate and corrupt, by being neglected, or transplanted into a bad soil, it is certain that the knowledge of good and evil does exist in the mind of man.

39. For the creation remaining united in that which is corrupt, the soul of man, though a lost captive, cannot but know the difference between the good, which the dignity of his order requires him to do, and the evil to which he is enslaved by the low and beastly appetites of an inferior nature.

40. That which cannot bear the light of men, how shall it bear the light of a perfectly pure and holy God? The soul of every rational creature must therefore ascribe to the agency and influence of the devil, every act that will not bear the inspection of a fellowcreature, as well as the nature of that insatiable propensity to such an act.

41. The soul cannot but know that a just, righteous and holy God, never was the original cause of that law or instinct which would destroy the dignity and superiority of man, and lead him to corrupt him

self, or to corrupt others, below the order of the bru- CHAP. tal creation.

42. And therefore the creation greaneth in pain, under all these things that are unclean and abominable in the sight of the Creator. The works of men have become the unfruitful works of darkness: So that, as it is written, It is a shame to speak of those Eph.v.12 things which are done of them in secret. How then will every secret action appear openly in judgment?

43. It was Lust, even the LUST OF THE FLESH, that was imbibed by obedience to the serpent, which corrupted the nature and disposition, and degraded the dignity of man. Here was the fountain head, from which all manner of sin and iniquity, like a mighty torrent, came rolling along down through the fallen race, corrupting the earth, and teeming with ten thousand evils.

44. From hence proceeded the greatest of all evils, as well as the least and what still remains as the most striking evidence of man's fall and depravity, is the shedding of each other's blood. As it is written, From whence come wars and fightings among you? James iv. come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in 1. your.members ?

45. All fleshly, sensual, carnal and wanton thoughts and desires, which captivate the mind, and place it upon any other object but the perfect will of God, proceeded, through the serpent, from the source of all evil, are the effects of the fall, destructive to the soul, and a fatal bar to man's eternal peace and happiness.

46. All selfish and fleshly gratifications, and works of uncleanness, and all actions, of whatever shape or kind, that require to be performed secretly and in the dark, to prevent them from being seen and judged by the eye of God or man, originated with the prince of darkness, are influenced by a base and foul spirit, are the effects of guilt, entered by the fall, and degrade the dignity of man below the order of the brutes of the field.

47. And that all the hidden works of darkness are of such a base nature, would immediately appear, were all the secret actions of the human species to be

III.

CHAP. performed openly and in the sight of all men. Surely then, the sins of the present generation would be found to exceed those of Sodom, and their cry immediately ascend up to heaven!

1 John i.

33, 34.

48. And as God is a God of perfect light and purity, and in him is no sin or darkness at all, therefore, every work or action that requires to be performed secretly and in the dark, as well as every sin that men commit, whether secretly or openly, are all directly contrary to his purity and holiness, are condemned by the light of his presence as evil, and exposed to his righteous indignation.

49. All tyranny and oppression, of whatever name or kind under heaven; all wars and fightings; all slavery and involuntary servitude, of whatever sex, grade or colour, barbarous or civilized, proceeded from the devil, that old enemy to the peace and happiness of mankind, and entered by the fall, and is a present and direct violation of the just and righteous laws of heaven.

50. And also all treachery, or breach of faith in point of office or trust, relating to the benefit of society; all negligence of moral duty in parents to children, and of disobedience in children to parents; all unjust and unfair dealing with friend or foe; all civil fraud, and sacred hypocrisy; all indolence and sloth, deceit and lying.

51. All these, and every other evil are the effects of the fall, through the violation of the righteous laws of God, are degrading to the dignity of man, and are the fruits of an evil and corrupt tree, implanted by the serpent in man's very heart and disposition. As it is written.

52. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; Matt. xi. or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt : for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers! how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

21, 22, 23.

53. For from within, out of the heart of men, proMark vi ceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these come from within, and defile the man.