ponent parts were derived from earth, were earthy, and, consequently, in their very nature mutable and dissoluble.)—That, man, so compounded of opposite and antagonist parts (of an immortal spirit and a corruptible body), was made to exist according to the mode of animal existence common to all the other living creatures over whom he was appointed to bear rule. That, man, thus formed, (thus utterly unable to obey the law of righteousness) was introduced into a place prefiguring to him those celestial mansions for which he was created and destined.-That, there were exhibited to him, in that place, the symbol of God's perfect law of holiness, and the symbol of justification through Christ the ransomer. That, he was told, that the law of holiness would prove destructive to his eternal life if he voluntarily had recourse to it as the means of advancing his condition; that, in itself, and of itself, it would be fatal to his salvation. That, the tempter asserted, that its effects would not be fatal to him, but that the acquisition of it would open the eyes of his spiritual vision, so as to make him wise as GOD, and possessed of knowledge whereby he might secure his own advancement in the scale of being. That, the arguments of the

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tempter, thus blending truth and falsehood together, induced man to seek, and to acquire, that knowledge, which did, indeed, open his spiritual eyes, but did so, only, to reveal to him his spiritual nakedness.-That, on discerning his spiritual nakedness, man endeavoured to cover it by his own devices, but that he failed to do so, the "leaves" from which he sought concealment not being taken from that "tree of life" whose "leaves" are" for the healing of the nations."-That, Rev. xxii. GOD instantly pronounced the sentence of humiliation and degradation upon the tempter, and announced that the seed of the woman (of woman whom he had beguiled) should crush and destroy him.-That, man was sentenced to toilsome, painful, and burdensome existence as a temporary inhabitant of earth. -That, the pain, and the sorrow, and the toil, incident to human existence were declared to be the consequences of man's acquaintance. with the moral law. That, GOD Himself covered the nakedness (the spiritual nakedness) of man by a typical act while yet he remained in the garden of Eden."-That, man, having thus seen a prefiguration of that felicity which finally awaited him; having seen the symbol of Christ's covenant of sal

vation, having acquired the knowledge of the law of righteousness, and having been convinced of his own inability to obey that law so as to effect his own justification, had heard the sentence of degradation, and ultimate destruction, pronounced against the spiritual enemy of man; had heard, that the seed of the woman should crush the serpent's head; and had been clothed by the Deity in garments typical of that salvation which Christ was to obtain for man.-That, man, having seen, and been made acquainted with, all these things, was sent forth" from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he had been taken." There is not any mention made of the length of time during which Adam remained in the garden of Eden;" but, we read, that, after he came forth thence, he had, born unto him Cain, then Abel; that he, then, having lived an hundred and thirty years, begat Seth; and that, "all the days of Adam, after he had begotten Seth, were • Gen. v. 4. eight hundred years; so that he lived above eight hundred years after he came forth from the garden of Eden;" above eight hundred years after he had acquired “ the knowledge of good and evil;" which fact is, in itself, a sufficient proof, that the words

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ascribed to the Deity " In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," had a figurative import, and referred to the inability on the part of man, to attain to eternal life by his fulfilment of the law of righteousness.

Thus, does this figurative narrative exhibit to us, in the form, as it were, of a dramatic scene, a view of God's eternal scheme of the justification of man through Christ. It represents the law of righteousness, as rendering man, unable, by his own efforts, to attain unto eternal life in heaven; it represents “the knowledge of good and evil” as inconsistent with self-justification on the part of man. This is the true way of stating what it represents as regards man. For, if we say that it represents "the knowledge of good and evil" as depriving man of the power to attain unto salvation, we might appear to assert that man had been deprived of some power which he possessed before he acquired that "knowledge." Whereas, in stating that it represents "the knowledge of good and evil," or an acquaintance with the law of righteousness, as inconsistent with selfjustification on the part of man ; we merely view man, as, in his very nature, defective in the ability to act up to the law of righteous

ness; as, in his very nature, lacking the power; and we see how this very inability and deficiency on his part rendered the sacrifice of Christ an essential and indispensable part of God's eternal scheme. The law of righteousness is a perfect, and holy, and eternal,, and immutable law, based on the attributes of GOD, and embodying His holiness as well as His will. It was not introduced at the creation of man; it was not a new law, enacted to try man's obedience; but it was a law eternal as the Deity. It was not a law whose high standard could be lowered, to meet the powers of the newlycreated being; it was a law fixed and unalterable as God's own eternal purpose. Therefore, as it pleased GOD to place the spirit of man in a vessel of earth, by which union it was rendered incapable of acting up to, and fulfilling the requirements of that law; and as disobedience to that law, or the non-fulfilment of all its requirements, on the part of a being destined to receive the gift of eternal life in heaven, would be inconsistent with the eternal righteousness which the Deity had established in His courts; so inconsistent, that His intended benevolence would be a violation of His own holiness; so did He,