by the great and only proprietor, to be taken away at his pleasure. Had our first parents persevered in innocency during the proposed time of their trial, they would have had, by covenant, a perpetual right to the world, and to the full and free use of it on those terms, on which it was offered them. But this right has been forfeited, and never will be restored. Since the fall of our first parents, man has no right whatever to the world, or to any of its good things, but what comes by Christ, and is derived from him. To godliness, He has annexed the gracious promise, of this life, and of that which is to come.

But

in what latitude this promise is to be taken, we learn from what Christ says to Peter, Mark, x, 29, 30. "Ve"rily, I say unto you, there is no man hath left house, "or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, ❝or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, "But he shall receive an hundred fold now in this time, "houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the "world to come, eternal life."

Ir men felt, in any measure as they ought, their accountableness to God for the use they make of every worldly enjoyment they have-If they felt that, on their peril, and an awful one too, they must use the world, all that they have of it, and every thing they have in it, just as God directs in his holy word, without the least murmuring or complaint-to feed the hungry-to clothe the naked-to relieve the distressed; in short, to serve Christ, promote his glorious cause, the comfort of his people, and the good of souls.-If they considered that they were forbidden to love the world, and the things of it, or to use one of its good things to feed their lusts; but, required that, whether they eat, or drink, or whateyer they do, to do all to the glory of God; remembering continually the solemn account, they are liable, eve ry moment, to be called to give unto the Great God, for every article they have ever had-If men felt all this now, which in fact, they are under all possible obligation to feel, would it not exceedingly check their ardor in the pursuit of the world and its pleasures? If we reflected, that, such has been our abuse of the world and the things of it, that, without an interest in Christ, by faith.

without being, by him, crucified to the world, and the world, to us, we infallibly fall under the just and awful displeasure of God; would not our minds greatly sicken to the things of time and sense? Is it not very manifest, from the feelings, which men, by nature, universally have toward the world, and the things of it, that the same old serpent, the devil, who tempted our first parents, and gained possession of their hearts, is now in men, deluding them, and leading them off from God? Let all know and realize it, that, unless they have been raised from spiritual death, to spiritual life, by the power of sovereign grace, they are as much under the power of satan, as our first parents were, when they took and ate the forbidden fruit: And, they are continually committing and practising the very crime, for which man was originally driven from the ancient paradise; and persisting in it, too, against all the remonstrances of the word of God. With little reason-with little face indeed, can we excuse ourselves by laying it to our first parents, that we are subjected to evils and sufferings here; and, exposed to far greater and more awful ones hereafter. Let us look at home, and then our mouths must be shut against any complaints of them. But,

4. WE may notice another respect, wherein the original temptation, Ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil, has its influence at the present day, and operates, on the minds of men, in the same manner and to the same degree, that it did, on those, who were originally seduced by it.

We have, before, observed, that the purport of the great deceiver's insinuation was, that, instead of any ill consequence resulting from their eating of the forbidden fruit, their eyes should at once be opened to see, that they possessed powers of their own quite suffiicent to guide and direct-to point out their duty and their interest-to discern between right and wrong, and decide, for themselves, what was fit and becoming, in their place and station, and what was not. As the great book of nature was open before their eyes, the noble powers of their minds were such, that they needed no other means of instruction-They had reason and understand

ing, and stood in need of no other guide Follow reason, and attend carefully to its dictates, and they could not mistake the path of, either duty, or interest. This seemed to be the flattering bait laid before our first parents. And how many of their descendants have, ever since, been taken with it; and, are so, even at the present day! Is it not obvious, that, such like considerations are, very frequently, urged, at the present day, to excite and persuade men to place such implicit confidence in their reason, as to render any other guide unnecessary? How much is said of the sufficiency of reason, and how highly do many extol it! What boasts are made of the noble powers of the human mind! And all with a view to bring men to feel themselves above the need of any special instructions from on high! To tie them down to the belief of every thing contained in the book, which claims to be a revelation from heaven, and, in matters of religion, to confine them to this, they represent as tending only to fetter the mind, and cramp free inquiry. Was not this the very spirit and essence of satan's temptation? And, when we see the effect, which such insinuations have on men, the descendants of those, who were first seduced and betrayed by them, can there be any reason to doubt their coming from that same old serpent, who, the Scriptures teach us, is the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience? There are many, also, among us, at the present day, who, though they do not openly reject divine revelation, but profess to be advocates for it, yet bring every doctrine of it to the test of their own depraved reason-who admit nothing as coming from God, but what their own wisdom approves but what they judge to be wise and bestworthy of God, and fit to be received and relied on by men. However plainly any doctrine or sentiment may be contained and expressed, in the holy Scriptures, if it be above the comprehension of their own reason, or not correspondent with its dictates, they, either openly reject, or, in effect, explain all away. Accordingly, though they admit some things, contained in the holy Scriptures, to be true, they reject others :-And really, as far as they profess any religion, profess one of their own devising; not one, which ever came from God, or will

E

lead back to him-A religion better suited to their own taste, than that contained in the oracles of God.

BUT would we be humble, and feel, as the Great Teacher, who came from God represents to be the truth, that we are poor and wretched, miserable and blind and naked; many doctrines of divine revelation, which are spurned by the proud reason of men, would evidently appear to wear a divine impression-be seen to be worthy of God, and suited to our necessities and condition: And we should feel our obligations thankfully to receive them, and cordially to bow to their authority.

5. How manifestly does it become us to take warning from the fate and folly of our first parents, and be perpetually on our guard against such like reasonings and temptations as those, by which they were seduced and betrayed. They, when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden, were afraid. They trembled, and attempted to hide themselves; but, all in vain. GOD, their maker, their sovereign and their judge, came to call them to an account for what they had done. How poor and miserable were their excuses! How little reliance had they, themselves, then upon them! So far was the holy God from paying any regard to their excuses, that he immediately proceeded, though not to pass their final sentence; yet such an one as deeply affected them, and reached to all their posterity as men, in every age, and at the present day, are taught by sad experience. Ought we not, all, to be taught, by this experience, the folly and danger of listening to temptations, which have subjected us to so many evils? These evils afford a striking admonition to us to beware of the snare, in which our progenitors were caught: And, yet, how many, and how often are men taken in it! We, too, must soon be called to account, by the holy and sovereign Judge of all :-An account, too, far more solemn and awful than that, to which our first parents were called, in the garden. How will such as have followed no guide but their own reason-who have none of that wisdom, which is from above-who are strangers to the consolations of faith in the doc

trines of the glorious gospel-How will they then fear and tremble, and attempt to hide themselves! When they hear the voice of God in the approach of deathwhen they see they must meet that king of terrors; unless awfully stupified, how will their courage fail, and their vain hopes vanish! Will they then think of measuring their reason with that of the eternal God. Instead of this, they will attempt, but all in vain, to hide themselves from his awful presence: For, appear before him they must. Then, if not before, they will immediately see, how unspeakably far their own proud reason has been from being a safe and sufficient guide. Then, however they may consider the gospel as foolishness, they will be convinced, that the foolishness of God is wiser than men. Let us, all, remember how exceedingly sweet and supporting will be the balm of the Christian hope, at the trying and solemn hour of which we are speaking. Without this hope, what horror will seize on us and overwhelm us! How bitterly shall we lament, that we have placed such confidence in the strength and powers of our own minds! When God stains the pride of all human glory, how will proud boasters find, that their own strength was but weakness, and their wisdom, folly. How will they curse the great deceiver, and themselves, for being deceived and deluded by him!

6. WE may learn, from what has been said on the subject, what the temper and feelings are, toward the world and the things of it, to which true and real religion will form and bring men back. One tree in the garden was forbidden, to remind man of his constant dependance on God, and that the world was not his-That God the Creator was the sole lord and proprietor of it, and of whatever was in it, or belonged to it-That, man held his right to the world wholly under God, and on the terms, which God prescribed-And that, on pain of forfeiting all, and the favor of God with it, he must make that use of it, which God directed, and no other. Of all this, the forbidden tree was to be a monitor. It is of mere grace that we fallen creatures are suffered to enjoy the world, or any of the good things of it. All kind of right we have to it, or to any of its comforts and enjoy.