tended on other days. God inflituted marriage, and confequently all the duties peculiar to fuch a relation ; and commanded man to multiply, and fill the earth, and fubdue and cultivate it. He gave him authority and dominion over all inferiour creatures; which is a com-' mand to exercise government and dominion over them, and ufe them for his convenience and profit: But it appears from another direction, that he was forbid to kill and eat them for sustenance; and probably was not al-' lowed to put an end to the life of any animal, on any occafion. The direction or command mentioned, is in the following words, "And God faid, behold, I have' given you every herb bearing feed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding feed: To you it fhall be for meat." Thus they were commanded to live on vegetables, and had no license to eat animal food; but a prohibition of this is implied. He was ordered into the garden of Eden, and commanded to dress, and to keep it. He was allowed to eat of every tree of the garden, except one; and he was commanded not to eat of that, upon the ferereft penalty. "And the Lord God commanded the man, faying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eateft thereof, thou fhalt furely die."

We cannot justly infer, from this prohibition or command only, being mentioned, that man was not prohibited the violation of the moral law, in every inftance, jupon the fame penalty; or that there were no other po-1 fitive commands given to him, guarded with an equally fevere threatning, in cafe of difobedience; or that this prohibition was the only teft of his obedience; or that if he had violated any other command, it would not have been attended with equally fatal confequences. The contrary has been proved above; by which it is very evident,

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evident, it is prefumed, to all who will properly confider the matter, that they who have fuppofed any of those things, have no reasonable foundation for what they have believed and afferted. This pofitive prohibition, with the threatened penalty, is thus particularly mentioned, for two very good reasons: First, because it was a pofitive prohibition or command, and therefore it could not have been known that man was forbidden to eat of that particular tree, unless it had been thus particularly narrated. Secondly, becaufe man actually fell from his innocence and happiness, and incurred the threatened penalty, by difregarding this prohibition, and eating of the fruit of this forbidden tree. Had he finned by trans greffing any other pofitive command, which we know nothing of now; that, in this cafe, would have been as particularly mentioned, with the fame penalty, as this now is, and we should have heard nothing of this, in a history so concife, as that which Mofes was inspired to give, in which not a word is mentioned, which was not neceffary, in order to understand the important story; leaving many things implied in the hiftory, to be inveftigated or inferred from what is written, or to be farther opened and explained in fome future revelation.

It has been a great queftion, What this threatning imports? What is meant by the DEATH here threatened to difobedience? Those who have attempted to answer it, have done it very differently. Some have been confident, that it intends only the death of the body, or the feparation of foul and body; to which all men are now condemned; to which Adam, and in him all his pofterity, was fentenced, after man had tranfgreffed, "Duft thou art, and unto duft fhalt thou return." Others fuppofe that a total annihilation of foul and body is intended; fo that if the threatning had been executed without any mitigation or remedy, Adam and Eve would have been annihilated, and none of their pol

terity

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terity would have had actual existence. Others have thought, that by dying is meant their becoming totally corrupt or finful," dead in trefpaffes and fins," which is denominated fpiritual death. The most general and common opinion has been, that it includes the death of the body, which is called temporal death, and fpiritual death, and alfo eternal death, or endless mifery; or as it is commonly expreffed, " Death, temporal, fpiritual, and

eternal."

Inftead of attempting directly to confute all or any of thefe diferent opinions, or to vindicate any one of them, it is thought the most likely and easy way to get fatisfactory evidence of the real and true meaning of this threatning, denounced against man, if he tranfgreffed the divine prohibition, is to endeavour to find fome clue which will lead us into it, fo as to give all desirable evidence and fatisfaction, that we have fixed on the truth. Perhaps fuch an one may be inveftigated. In this view, the following things must be observed, and carefully examined, and put together.

First, Every tranfgreffion of God's law or command, is a crime of fuch magnitude, that no punishment is adequate and answerable to it, fo as to express the turpitude and ill defert of the finner, but that which contains infinite evil. Or every violation of the law of God is infinitely criminal, is an infinite moral evil; and therefore deferves a punishment infinitely great and dreadful, and which contains infinite natural evil. This has been brought into view above, and the evidence of it exhibited, so that it is needless to say much upon it here. That all fin against God is infinitely criminal, every one muft grant, or be inconfiftent with himfelf, who will allow that it is a greater crime for a child to abuse his kind, excellent father, than to injure the meaneft fervant in the family; and that the former deferves a much great

er

er punishment than the latter. For by allowing this, he grants that the crime of abufing another, is greater or lefs, according to the degree of worth and excellency of him who is injured, and to the relation in which he stands to him. And this is granting that to injure and abuse a Being of infinite greatness, authority, dignity, worth and excellence, who, in the higheft fenfe, is our father, friend and benefactor, muft be infinitely criminal. But this is true of every fin against God. Therefore every finagainst God, which is an injury and abuse offered to him, is a crime of infinite magnitude; confequently the finner must be punished with infinite evil, if he has his defert.

Again, if it be evident and certain that every criminal deferves all that punishment or natural evil, which he effects by his fin; or which his criminal deed tends to produce, or would certainly follow, were it not prevented by fome other perfon or counteracting power; which, it is prefumed, all will allow; then every tranfgreffion of the divine law, deferves infinite evil. Upon this ground a number of the laws given by Mofes are founded, and cannot be proved to be juft, if this be not admitted as a truth. It was commanded that if a man injured his neighbour, and brought any evil upon him, by de priving him of his life, limbs or fenfes, he fhould be pun ifhed, by fuffering the fame, or as great evil. "Thine eye fhall have no pity; but life fhall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."* And it is to be observed, that not only he who actually did evi to another, and took away his life or any of his limbs, but he who attempted or aimed to do this, and did that which tended to effect it, though it did not actually take place, but was prevented, was himself to be punished with the evil, which he willed and defigned to bring on his neighbour. By the fame rule, if a man fhould murder a thousand men, or will and defign to do it, he

would

would deferve to die a thousand deaths, or lose a thoufand lives, and this punishment might juftly be inflicted, were he capable of suffering it, or had fo many lives to !lofe.

Now, according to this, as has just been afferted, every tranfgreffion of the divine law deferves infinite evil. For every inftance of oppofition to God, which every fin is, is an attempt to deftroy his being, or to take away his happiness, and make him infinitely miferable; to put an end to his government, and introduce universal confufion and mifery, through the whole creation; and the rebel would be glad to effect all this, and would do it, were it in his power. Therefore he deferves to fuffer infinite evil; even all the evil which he is capable of foffering.

If any propofition relating to things of a moral nature be capable of the cleareft demonftration, this is fuch an one. And this is a chief corner ftone in the fcience of theology. Whatever is properly built upon it must ftand, and every propofition naturally and neceffarily following from it, or that can evidently be deduced, must be a truth.

Secondly, It is effential to a perfect moral government, that there be a law pointing out, and requiring, what is right, and the duty of the fubject, and threatening all tranfgreffion of it with a punishment exactly anfwerable to the crime.

This has been confidered before, and, it is hoped, has been made fo evident and certain, that every one who examines it with care and impartiality, will be fatisfied, that it is an important truth. However, in addition to what has been faid in fupport of this propofition, the following things may have weight.

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1. If there could be a law, and any proper moral government, without a penalty, threatening punishment to

the