xlix. 14, "Like sheep they are laid in the grave, death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning." Their charter for this new right to the creatures, is the covenant of grace, Rom. iv. 13, forceited. But they that are out of Christ, have no covenant-right to the creatures, but only a providential right: And that is such a right, as a condemned man hath to his food, until his execution. The management that men now have over the beasts, is far short of the original dominion over them: Gen. ii. 19," And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam, to see what he would call them and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." But such as it is, it is owing to a new grant made after the fall, for the necessities of human life; which new grant is found recorded, Gen. ix. 2, “ And the fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered." : QUEST. 11. What are God's works of providence? ANSW. God's works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions. EXPLICATION. There is a divine providence about the creatures. That appears from their entire dependence on God as their first cause, and from the exact accomplishment of Scripture prophecies: Acts xvii. 25, "God is not worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things." Ver. 28, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain, also, of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring." Isa. xlvi. 9, 10, "Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." The object which providence is employed about, is all the creatures, and all their actions, Psalm ciii. 19, "His kingdom ruleth over all." Even devils, and wicked men, are under the providence of God: Matth. viii. 31, "So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine." And evil actions, as well as good, are within the verge of it: Gen. xlv. 7, "And God sent me before you, to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance." Yea, there is not any thing whatsoever, be it ever so small or casual, that falls out without the providence of God: Matth. x. 29, 30, " Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." The works of providence about the creatures, are the preserving of them, and the governing of them and their actions. Providence preserves the creatures, sustaining them in being, and providing for their support: Heb. i. 3, " Upholding all things by the word of his power." Psalm cxlv. 15, 16, "The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing." No creature whatsoever could keep itself in being one moment; but upon God's withdrawing the upholding hand of his providence, it would immediately return to nothing: Heb. i. 3. Providence governs the creatures and their actions, disposing of them according to the divine purpose: Prov. xxi. 1, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water; he turneth it whithersoever he will." Eph. i. 11, "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." Providence governs sinful actions, permitting them, bounding them, and overruling them to good: Acts xiv. 16, "Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways." Psalm lxxvi. 10, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." Gen. 1. 20, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." The properties of the works of providence are these: They are most holy, wise, and powerful: Psal. cxlv. 17, "The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." Psal. civ. 24, "O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all." Dan. iv. 35, "He doth according to his own will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What dost thou ?" Wherefore, God is not the author of sin; no more than he who rides a crooked horse, is the cause of his halting: James i. 13, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." All dispensations of providence are wisely ordered: Deut. xxxii. 4, "He is the rock, his work is perfect for all his ways are judgment a God of truth, and without iniquity; just and right is he.” And providence cannot miss of its designs and ends: Is. xlvi. 10, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." The rule of the works of providence, is the decree of God; whereof they, and the works of creation, are an exact accomplishment, Eph. i. 11, "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." QUEST. 12. What special act of providence did God exercise towards man in the estate wherein he was created? ANSW. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death. EXPLICATION. The special act of providence towards man newly created, was, God's making a covenant of life and happiness with him. There are two covenants for life and happiness to man: and they are, the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace: Gal. iv. 24, "For these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar." The first covenant was the covenant of works. It was made in paradise, and before the fall. The parties contracting in it, were God and Adam: Gen. ii. 17, "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." But Adam represented all mankind, as the parties contracted for: Gen. ii. 17, forecited. Compared with Rom. v. 12, "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." There was no mediator of this covenant; for as yet there was no breach, by sin, betwixt God and man. The condition of the covenant of works, was perfect obedience : Gal. iii. 12, "And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doth them, shall live in them." And it was to be perfect, in respect of parts, degrees, and continuance: Gal. iii. 10, "For as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Matth. xxii. 37, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." So the least failing in any part or degree of obedience, or for never so small a time, would have broken this covenant. The law that was the rule of this obedience, was the law of the ten commands, and the law forbidding to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil: Gal. iii. 10, and Gen. ii. 17, forecited. That tree grew in paradise, Gen. ii. 9. There was no virtue in it to improve men in knowledge, as the devil falsely suggested, Gen. iii. 5, "For God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened: and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Compared with John viii. 44, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do: he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh "of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." But that name was put upon this tree, to intimate, that by eating of it, man would know to his sad experience, the vast difference between good and ill wherefore that tree with that name, was of use, to be a warning-piece to man to beware of evil. Now, Adam knew the law of the ten commands, as they were impressed on his heart in his creation: Rom. ii. 15, "Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing, or else excusing one another." He knew the law of the forbidden tree by revelation, Gen. ii. 17, forecited. And he had sufficient ability for the perfect obedience required, Eccl. vii. 29, "God made man upright." : The promise of the covenant of works, was a promise of life : Gen. ii. 17, forecited. The life promised was twofold; namely, one to be afforded him, during the course of his probationary obedience, another to be afforded him at the perfecting of it. The life to have been afforded to man during the course of his probationary obedience, was natural life continued in vigour and comfort, and spiritual life continued in favour and fellowship with God, Gen. ii. 17, forecited. This was the reward of obedience in hand. The life to have been afforded him at the perfecting of his course, was eternal life in consummate happiness: Matth. xix. 16, 17, "And behold, one came and said unto him, Good master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." And this was the reward of obedience in hope. Adam, if he had continued obedient, could have claimed that life upon his obedience; yet not in the way of proper merit; because his perfect obedience was no more than what was due from him by the law of his creation, before he entered into that covenant: Luke xvii. 9, 10, "Doth he thank that servant, VOL. VII. B because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when y shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." The only way he could have claimed it, was by compact, namely, in virtue of the covenant-promise made to this work. The penalty of the covenant of works was death, Gen. ii. 17, forecited. The death threatened was also twofold; namely, one accompanying sin at its first entrance, another following after as its full reward. The death accompanying sin at its first entrance, was temporal death, in the loss of the vigour and comfort of natural life; and spiritual death, in the loss of the image of God with his favour and fellowship. And Adam died this death, according to the threatening, that very day he sinned: Gen. iii. 7, 8, 9, 10, "And the eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God, amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." The death following after, as the full reward of sin, was the natural death of the body with the sting in it, and eternal death in the consummate misery of soul and body for ever: 1 Cor. xv. 55, “O death where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory ?" Matth. xxv. 41, "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." And this was comprehended in the express threatening of death to accompany sin; inasmuch as the one was a sure pledge of the other, natively issuing therein. QUEST. 13. Did our first parents continue in the state wherein they were created? ANSW. Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God. EXPLICATION. Our first parents were Adam and Eve. The state wherein they were created, was a holy and happy state: but they fell from it; and that by their sinning against God: Gen. iii. 6, 7, 8, 10, "And |