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IV.

II. Place, to fhew the Certainty of Man's SER M. Recovery, founded upon the Prophefy in the Text.

III. I fhall fhew what we are to learn from these two Things.

First, then, I am to prove the Certainty, of the Fall of Man. We are told, in the first Chapter of Genefis, that God made Man in his own Image, after his own Likeness; and that he saw every thing that he had made, and Man among the reft, and behold it was very good. The next Thing we meet with is, that the Lord God planted a Garden Eastward in Eden, and there he put the Man whom he had form'd: In this Garden was every Tree that was pleasant to the Sight, and good for Food, which was allow'd to be made ufe of; but in the midft of it were two Trees, the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which laft was forbidden to be caten of, upon Pain of Death. Of every Tree of the Garden thou may'ft 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 eateft thereof thou shalt Surely

SERM Jurely die. But, notwithstanding this, we IV. find the Serpent feducing the Woman, and telling her, That if they did eat it they fhould not die, but be as Gods, knowing Good and Evil. So that when the Woman

faw that the Tree was good for Food, and that it was pleasant to the Eyes, and a Tree to be defired to make one wife, she took of the Fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her Husband with her, and he did eat; and, as a Confirmation of their Guilt, we find them, in the next Verfe, hiding themfelves from the Prefence of the Lord God amongst the Trees of the Garden.

This is the Scripture Account of it; and a very plain and clear one it is. If this be' disbeliev'd, it must be, either because it can be obviated by fome other Part of Scripture, or else that it implies fome Abfurdity or Contradiction, As to the firft, the Scripture is fo far from obviating this any where, that it abundantly confirms it. St Paul fays exprefly, that by one Man Sin enter'd into the World, and Death by Sin. And in an older Book than any befides in the Bible, I mean Job, Zophar traces Wickedness and Mifery up to the first Man. Then, as to the fecond, it is fo far from implying any Abfurdity or Contradiction, especially if we take along with us the Account of Man's Recovery,

Recovery, which is given us in the Text, SERM. that it is the beft, if not the only Informa- IV. tion we have of our true State and Condition. It accounts for the two contrary Prinsciples that are within us, and makes the whole Scheme of Religion one uniform con→ fiftent Thing; whereas, if we lay afide this, we have no other Account of these Things. Who can pretend to account for the Original of Evil without it? That God could make nothing evil is plain, because he is a Being of infinite Perfection ; every thing rhat he made then must be good, and accordingly we find it was fo; for he pronounc'd it to be fo, after he had made them. Well then, what Account do we give of Evil? How came That into the World? Since it could not come from God, from whence fhould it come, but from fome Deviation from his Laws?

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No doubt of it, when God made Man in his own Image, he gave him a better Body to dwell in than what we have at prefent; for tho' it is the Soul, by which we are faid to be made in his own Image, and after his own Likeness, yet 'tis very reafonable to suppose that such a Soul had a Partner more fuitable to it than what it has at prefent. Such a heaven-born Mind could

not

When

SERM. not be cloath'd with the tatter'd Garments IV. of Flesh and Blood in all its present. Infirmi ties, and the innumerable Variety of Dif orders which it is now fubject to. you fee an afflicted Mortal labouring under the Preffure of fome ftubborn and incurable Disease, longing to throw off his Houfe of Clay, and to get free from the loathfome Prifon of his Body; to whom Life is the greatest Torment, and whatever can put the speedieft End to it the greateft Happinefs and Comfort; can you think fuch a one came thus from the Hands of his Maker? View him again, and fee whether this be like the firft Man in his State of Innocence, in the Image and Likeness of God?

We find by Mofes's Account, at least we may very rationally infer fo much, that Man had not died, had he not tranfgrefs'd; and if fo, furely a Body not fubject to Death must be of a very different Make from what it is at prefent. Whence then fhould this Dropfy, that Fever, with a Multitude of other Disorders, that are perfect Health and Eafe, compar'd with the more intense Pains of fome acute Difeafes that exercife their Tyranny over this earthly Body, proceed? From natural Caufes, you'll fay. But how came Nature fo corrupted, fince it was at

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firft pronounced good? We know, nothing SERM. can come from God but what is good. Whence then comes Evil? This can never be accounted for from Reafon; and yet till it be accounted for, there can be no fuch Thing as true Religion; for till we know from what Caufe Evil fprings, 'tis impoffible to tell how to avoid or prevent it, or find a Remedy for it. What a difmal State then muft this be, to be furrounded with all forts of Evil, natural and moral, without knowing how we came by them, or how to get rid of them! But now if we take the Scripture Account of it, 'tis all eafy and natural: Man was made good and upright, but he tranfgrefs'd that Commandment, of which Death was threatened as a Penalty. Immediately the whole Frame of his Constitution was corrupted, and thus all natural and moral Evils were firft introduc'd into the World. But ftill not without a Remedy; for tho' the Evil spreads to a great Degree, yet the Good works on at the fame. Tine, and will at last prevail and get the better of it.

All People have been forced to allow, that there is a great deal of Evil in theWorld; but because they could not charge it upon God, nor tell how to account for it other

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