2. But this plain, simple account of the origin of evil, whether natural or moral, all the wisdom of man could not discover, till it pleased God to reveal it to the world. Till then, man was a mere enigma to himself, a riddle which none but God could solve. And in how full and satisfactory a manner, has he solved it in this chapter. In such a manner, as does not indeed, serve to gratify vain curiosity, but as is abundantly sufficient to answer a nobler end; to

"Justify the ways of God with man."

To this great end, I would, First, briefly consider the preceding part of this chapter: and then, Secondly, more particularly weigh the solemn words, which have been already recited.

I. 1. In the first place, let us briefly consider the preceding part of this chapter. "Now the serpent was more subtle," or intelligent, " than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made," ver. 1. Endued with more understanding than any other animal in the brute creation. Indeed there is no improbability in the conjecture of an ingenious man,* That the serpent was endued with reason, which is now the property of man. And this accounts for a circumstance, which, on any other supposition, would be utterly unintelligible. How comes Eve not to be surprised, yea startled and affrighted, at hearing the serpent speak and reason? Unless she knew that reason, and speech in consequence of it, were the original properties of the serpent. Hence, without shewing any surprise, she immediately enters into conversation with him. "And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" See how he who was a liar from the beginning mixes truth and falsehood together! Perhaps on purpose, that she might be the more inclined to speak, in order to clear God of the unjust charge. Accordingly, the woman said unto the serpent, ver. 2, "We

*The late Dr. Nicholas Robinson.

may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the tree in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it; neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." Thus far she appears to have been clear of blame. But how long did she continue so? "And the serpent said unto the woman, Surely ye shall not die. For God doth know, in the day ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil," ver. 4, 5. Here sin began, namely, unbelief. "The woman was deceived," says the Apostle. She believed a lie: she gave more credit to the word of the devil, than to the word of God. And unbelief brought forth actual sin. "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and pleasant to the eyes, and to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit and did eat," and so completed her sin. But the man, as the Apostle observes, was not deceived. How then came he to join in the transgression?" She gave unto her husband, and he did eat." He sinned with his eyes open. He rebelled against his Creator, as is highly probable,

"Not by stronger reason mov'd,

But fondly overcome with female charms."

And if this was the case, there is no absurdity in the assertion of a great man," That Adam sinned in his heart, before he sinned outwardly, before he ate of the forbidden fruit," namely, by inward idolatry, by loving the creature more than the Creator,

2. Immediately pain followed sin. When he lost his innocence, he lost his happiness. He painfully feared that God, in the love of whom his supreme happiness before consisted. "He said," ver. 10, "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid." He fled from him, who was, till then, his desire, and glory, and joy. He "hid himself from the presence of the Lord God, among the trees of the garden!" Hid himself! What, from the All-seeing Eye? The Eye which, with one glance, pervades heaven and earth? See how his understanding likewise was impaired! VOL. IX.

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What amazing folly was this! Such as one would imagine very few even of his posterity could have fallen into. So dreadfully was his foolish heart darkened by sin, and guilt, and sorrow, and fear! His innocence was lost; and at the same time, his happiness and his wisdom! Here is the clear, intelligible answer to that question, How came evil into the world?

3. One cannot but observe, throughout this whole narration, the inexpressible tenderness, and lenity of the Almighty Creator, from whom they had revolted; the sovereign against whom they had rebelled. "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" Thus graciously calling him to return, who would otherwise have eternally fled from God. "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked." Still here is no acknowledgment of his fault, no humiliation for it. But with what astonishing tenderness does God lead him to make that acknowledgment? “And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked?” How camest thou to make this discovery? "Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?" "And the man said," (still unhumbled, yea, indirectly throwing the blame upon God himself,) "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat." "And the Lord God," (still in order to bring them to repentance,)" said unto the What is this that thou hast done?" ver. 13. "And woman, the woman said," (nakedly declaring the thing as it was,) "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” "And the Lord God said unto the serpent, (to testify his utter abhorrence of sin, by a lasting monument of his displeasure, in punishing the creature that had been barely the instrument of it,) "Thou art cursed above the cattle, and above every beast of the field. And 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." Thus, in the midst of judgment, hath God remembered mercy, from the beginning of the world! Connecting the grand pro

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mise of salvation, with the very sentence of condemnation. 4. "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and (or, in) thy conception; in sorrow, (or pain,) thou shalt bring forth children," yea, above any other creature under heaven: which original curse, we see, is entailed on her latest posterity. "And thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." It seems, the latter part of this sentence, is explanatory of the former. Was there, till now, any other inferiority of the woman to the man, than that which we may conceive of one angel to another? "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake.Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee;" useless, yea, and hurtful productions: whereas nothing calculated to hurt or give pain, had, at first, any place in the creation. "And thou shalt eat of the herb of the field." (coarse and vile, compared to the delicious fruits of Paradise.) "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it thou wast taken. For dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return."

11. 1. Let us now, in the Second place, weigh these solemn words, in a more particular manner. "Dust thou art." But how fearfully and wonderfully wrought, into innumerable fibres, nerves, membranes, muscles, arteries, veins, vessels of various kinds! And how amazingly is this dust connected with water, with inclosed, circulating fluids, diversified a thousand ways, by a thousand tubes and strainers! Yea, and how wonderfully is air impacted into every part, solid, or fluid, of the animal machine! Air not elastic, which would tear the machine in pieces, but as fixed as water under the Pole! But all this would not avail, were not etherial fire intimately mixed both with this earth, air, and water. And all these elements are mingled together in the most exact proportion: so that while the body is in health, no one of them predominates, in the least degree, over the others.

2. Such was man, with regard to his corporeal part, as he came out of the hands of his Maker. But since he sin

ned, he is, not only dust, but mortal, corruptible dust. And, by sad experience, we find, that this corruptible body, presses down the soul. It very frequently hinders the soul in its operations, and, at best, serves it very imperfectly. Yet the soul cannot dispense with its service, imperfect as it is. For an imbodied spirit cannot form one thought, but by the mediation of its bodily organs. For thinking, is not, as many suppose, the act of a pure spirit: but the act of a spirit connected with a body, and playing upon a set of material keys. It cannot possibly, therefore, make any better music, than the nature and state of its instruments allow it. Hence every disorder of the body, especially of the parts more immediately subservient to thinking, lay an almost insuperable bar in the way of its thinking justly. Hence the maxim received in all ages, Humanum est errare et nescire. Not ignorance alone, (that belongs, more or less, to every creature in heaven and earth seeing none is omniscient, none knoweth all things, save the Creator,) but error is entailed on every child of man. Mistake as well as ignorance, is, in our present state, inseparable from humanity. Every child of man is in a thousand mistakes, and is liable to fresh mistakes every moment. And a mistake in judgment may occasion a mistake in practice, yea, naturally leads thereto. I mistake, and possibly cannot avoid mistaking, the character of this or that man. I suppose him to be what he is not; to be better or worse than he really is. Upon this wrong supposition I behave wrong to him, that is, more or less affectionately than he deserves. And by the mistake which is occasioned by the defect of my bodily organs, I am naturally led so to do. Such is the present condition of human nature: of a mind dependent on a mortal body. Such is the state entailed on all human spirits, while connected with flesh and blood!

3. "And unto dust thou shalt return." How admirably well has the wise Creator secured the execution of this sentence on all the offspring of Adam! It is true, He was