but because they sinned and fell with Adam, being included in the covenant made with him.

It is here said, that those alone sinned in Adam, who descend from him by ordinary generation, to exclude the Lord Jesus Christ, who was descended from Adam, but not by ordinary generation.-Gen. iii. 15; Matt. i. And hence it is said, that he was "separated from sinners."-Heb. vii. 26. Jesus Christ could not be represented by Adam, because he himself was to be a representative.-1 Cor. xv.

Obs. 70. All mankind sinned in Adam, and fell with him, only in his first transgression.

The first transgression of Adam was the violation of the covenant that God made with him, by eating the forbidden fruit.

The sins which Adam committed after his first transgression, are not reckoned to his posterity; because, when the covenant was violated, he ceased to be a public person or representative. He could not continue in this capacity any longer, than either until the condition required was fulfilled, or until he had forfeited the promise made to him.

INFERENCES.

From this subject we learn,-1. What sin is, and what it has done; and that its nature must be exceeding sinful, seeing it hath extended over all. 2. That the fall of man is a lesson to all to beware of pride, and of thinking too highly of themselves. 3. The necessity of repairing to the second Adam, who alone can repair the shattered state of things as the first Adam left them. 4. That it is the duty of parents to their children, to consult their present and future welfare.

Consequences of the Fall.

The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.

ANALYSIS AND PROOFS.

We are here taught,

1. That the fall of Adam brought mankind into a state of sin. Rom. v. 19.-" By one man's disobedience many were made sinners."

2. That the fall of Adam brought mankind into a state of misery. Rom. v. 17.—“ By one man's offence death reigned by one.' See also Gal. iii. 10.

EXPLANATION.

Obs. 71.-Man's fallen state is a state of sin and misery.

1. It is a state of sin, because man is now under the guilt of sin, and sin hath dominion over him.-Rom. iii. 19, and vi. 14.

2. It is a state of misery, because, according to the penalty of the law, death and the curse involve him in all manner of misery.-Rom. v. 12.

Sin and misery are inseparably connected. If there were no sin, there could be no misery, for sin is the procuring cause of all misery.

Man's state of sin and misery is expressed in Scripture by a state of darkness,-Eph. v. 8; a state of distance,-Eph. ii. 13; a state of condemnation and wrath,-John iii. 18, 36; a state of bondage or captivity,-Isa. xlix. 24; and a state of death both legal and spiritual,—Eph. ii. 1.

Out of this state of sin and misery no man can deliver himself; Jesus Christ alone can do it; for he alone could satisfy the demands of that law which man has violated.

INFERENCES.

From this subject we learn,-1. That seeing the whole world is guilty before God, every mouth must have been for ever stopped, although he had left all mankind to perish eternally with the fallen angels.-Rom. iii. 19. 2. To admire the infinite love of God in sending his beloved Son to save us from sin, as the only way of being saved from misery.—Heb. ii. 14, 16.

Sinfulness of Man's State by the Fall.

The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, sonsists in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of the whole nature, which is commonly called original sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it.

ANALYSIS AND PROOFS.

We are here taught,-

1. That the sinfulness of man's fallen state consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin. Rom. v. 18.-"By the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation." See also verse 19.

2. That the sinfulness of man's fallen state consists in the want of original righteousness. Rom. iii. 10.-"There is none righteous, no, not one.'

3. That the sinfulness of man's fallen state consists in the corruption of our whole nature, or of original sin. Psal. li. 5.-" Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."

4. That all our actual transgressions, in which the sinfulness of our state also consists, proceed from original sin. Matt. xv. 19, 20.-" Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; these are the things which defile a man."

EXPLANATION.

Obs. 72.-There is such a thing as original sin.

Original sin is that sin which we have from our original and birth, and from which all actual transgressions proceed. That original sin exists, may be proved,

1. From various passages of Scripture,-Gen. v. 3, where it is said that Adam begat a son in his own likeness, after his own image. These words evidently imply, that the son that was born to him, came into the world with the same corrupt image that he himself bore after the fall. Gen. vi. 5,—from which it is evident, that there must be some corrupt fountain from which all wickedness proceeds; otherwise the very imaginations of the heart could not be only evil, and that continually. But this is more fully expressed in chap. viii. 21, "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth;" which points out the source of all to be original depravity. See also Job xiv. 4; James iii. 11; Job xv. 14; John iii. 6; Psal. li. 5.

2. From circumcision under the Old Testament, and baptism under the New; which may be considered not only as seals of the covenant, but also as designed to express the impurity and pollution of all when they come into the world, and the

necessity of being cleansed or regenerated, in order that they may be fitted, as the real children of God by covenant, for the enjoyment of him.

3. From the conduct of children; from the sickness, and pains, and death itself, to which they are subject when they come into the world; and from the diversity of their tempers and dispositions, before they can scarcely form an articulate sound, or communicate their wants and necessities.

4. From the exercises of the people of God, who view original sin as the source of all their troubles, and sorrows, and trials in this world.

5. From the consideration, that the wickedness of man cannot be accounted for, if we deny that it flows from this corrupted fountain.

Obs. 73.-Original sin consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of the whole

nature.

It consists,---

1. In the guilt of Adam's first sin. By this we are to understand, that we are all chargeable with Adam's first sin, which is made ours by imputation. As the righteousness of Christ is imputed to all his spiritual seed, so the sin of Adam is imputed to all his natural posterity.-Rom. v. 19.

2. In the want of original righteousness. By this we are to understand the want of that purity of nature, which Adam had when he was created, and which consisted in the full and perfect conformity of all the powers of his soul to the spotless nature of God, and to that holy law which was written on his heart.-Eccl. vii. 29.

3. In the corruption of the whole nature. By this we are to understand the universal corruption and depravation both of the body and of the soul; in the members of the one, and in the powers and faculties of the other.-Isa. i. 5, 6.

At the creation of the soul, God does not infuse sin into it. As a righteous judge and a God of justice, he only withholds that original righteousness which Adam possessed in the beginning, and we in him, and which he is under no obligation to bestow. Adam having cast it off at first, God now denies it, as a punishment of sin, and as an act of justice.

Obs. 74.—Original sin, as to its nature, is universal, discovers itself where least expected, is a great hindrance in the way of holiness, is the spring of all actual sins, and exposes to the wrath of God.

1. It is universal. Not only is every man depraved, but every part of every man,-all the members of the body, and all the powers and faculties of the soul, the understanding, the will, the affections, &c.-See Rom. iii. 10, 12, 23; Isa. i. 5, 6; Jer. iv. 22; 1 Cor. ii. 14; Rom. viii. 7; Hos. xi. 7; John v. 40; Tit. i. 15; Psal. cxvi. 13, 21.

2. It discovers itself where least expected. It not only breaks forth in the greatest sinners, but also in the most eminent saints, in a way altogether unexpected and sudden.-Jer. xvii. 9; Matt. xxvi. 69-75; 2 Sam. xi.; Jonah i.; Gen. ix. 21, &c.; 2 Kings viii. 12.

3. It is a great hindrance in the way of holiness. It prevents the soul from running in the way of God's commandments; it easily besets us; and it constitutes a remarkable hindrance in spiritual communion with God.-Rom. vii. 19, &c.

4. It is the spring or source of all actual transgressions. All the wickedness that is in the world proceeds from this fountain; for if there were no original sin, there would be no actual. See Matt. xv. 18, &c.

5. It exposes to the wrath of God. All are by nature the children of wrath.-Eph. ii. 3.

INFERENCES.

From this subject we learn,-1. The source and spring of all sin, and of every trouble to which we can be exposed, both in this world and in the world to come. 2. That parents and children are on the same footing with respect to original depravity. 3. The necessity of being taken out of a natural state, and of being ingrafted into Christ, the second Adam. 4. The absolute necessity of regeneration, and of the Spirit of Christ, who can make all things new.-John iii. 3, 5.

Misery of Man's State by the Fall.

All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever.

ANALYSIS AND PROOFS.

We are here taught,―

1. That all men have, by the fall, lost communion with God.

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