priety and fitness in such a constitution, if we confider the nature and tendency of fin, and the inclination, wish and attempt of the finner who rebels against God. Adam's firft rebellion contained in it a defire and wish that all his pofterity might fin as he did. This became agreeable to his heart as foon as fin entered into it; and fo far as he had power and influence, it would certainly take place. To fuppofe the contrary, is inconfiftent and abfurd. The corruption and rebellion of all Adam's children therefore must be the confequence of his finning, unless his inclination, defire and attempt were croffed and counteracted. And his fin had a mighty and almost irrefiftible tendency to lead all his pofterity into the fame rebellion; and who can fay this would not be the confequence, without one exception, had things taken their natural courfe, without being oppofed and prevented by divine interpofition? Adam's fin had a natural tendency to corrupt the world of mankind, and according to the natural courfe of things would spread to every individual of his pofterity. And this was agreeable to the inclination and choice of the father of mankind. The language of his tranfgreffion was, "Let all my pofterity fin as I do, and be as I am; let them rife into existence in my own image and likeness: So far as I have power to beget and produce them, they fhall be rebels like myself."-Therefore, according to the na tural course of things, and the nature and tendency of fin, and agreeable to the inclination and choice of Adam, the first act of fin by the common father and head of mankind, contained in it the infection and fin of all the human race; and muft corrupt the whole, and iffue in the rebellion and ruin of every one, unless counteracted and prevented by divine interpofition. Hence it appears that the divine conftitution connecting the fin and ruin of all mankind with the first fin of their common father, is fo far from being arbitrary and unnatural, that

it

it is an establishment, agreeable to the natural course, tendency and connection of things, and perfectly confonant to the nature of fin, and ferves to make a display of this. And that a contrary conftitution, which fhould prevent the spreading of the fin of Adam to his pofterity, or corrupting any one of them, would be unnatural and improper, as it would counteract and prevent the natural tendency, and the nature, courfe and connection of things; and therefore would not have been wife and good: While the conftitution which has taken place is agreeaable to the nature of things, and both wife and good. It appears most wife and best that if any of mankind finned, all fhould be finners, and conftituted fo by the first fin, as this has laid a proper and ample foundation for the glorious work of redemption, for the character and works of the Redeemer, of whom Adam in this way was made a type, the Redeemer and his works, and the confequent glory, being the grand defign and end of all. But this will rife more clearly into view as we proceed. It must be farther obferved, that there is no reasonable objection to this conftitution, in that it not only eftablishes a connection between the fin of Adam, and the inning of his pofterity; but that the latter fhould be horn in fin, fo as to begin to fin, as foon as they begin to act as moral agents. For if a moral agent may begin to fin at any time, he may begin to fin as foon as he begins to exift with a capacity of finning. And if God is not obliged to prevent his finning at any time of his exift

nce, he is under no obligation to prevent it the first moment of his exiftence. Therefore he had a right to letermine the finfulness of all Adam's pofterity as foon is they fhould exift, as a certain confequence of his difobedience: And there is no more ground of objection to this, than there is to Adam's pofterity finning at any time of their exiftence, in consequence of his finning.

If a perfon can have no reason to complain of any one but himself, if he be inclined to fin, and actually difobeys the divine command, at any time, at whatever diftance from his beginning to exift, he will be equally without reafon to complain that he is injured by any one but by himself, if he be inclined to fin as foon as he be gins to exift, and though he never were otherwife in clined. If any one fhould fay, If he had not finned early, even from his beginning to act, he fhould no have finned now; or if he had not been always inclined to fin from his firft existence, he should not have been in. clined to fin fince, with a view to exculpate himself, would this be any excufe? Was not his firft inclination to fin, hi own inclination, and as really blameable as if it had no been the firft, or fo foon? And becaufe he began to fin f foon, does this excufe his finning afterwards, and con tinuing to fin?————

It feems proper, if not neceffary, that if moral cor ruption be derived from Adam to his children, by fixed law or conftitution, it fhould take place from th beginning of their exiftence. If by their being his chi dren, they become corrupt, they muft of confequence b corrupt as foon as they exift, or become his children. I it were not fo, it would not appear from fact, that the became finful by being the pofterity of Adam, or thi their moral corruption was, by divine conftitution, con nected with his fin, by their being his children.

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Agreeable to this, the fcripture reprefents all mankin as finful from the beginning of their exiflence. "TH imagin. tion of man's heart is evil from his youth." That is, his infancy, from the beginning of his exiftence "David f. ys of himself, Behold, I was fhapen in in quity; and in fin did my mother conceive me. This must be as true of all mankind, as of David. "TH wicked are eftranged from the womb, they go aftray foon as they be born, fpeaking lies."

Here it is a ferted,

Gen. viii. 21.

+ Pfalm, li, 5.

Pfalm, lviii. 3.

ferted, at least, that as foon as they begin to act, they fin. And though it cannot be precifely determined how foon this is; yet it hence appears that they are by nature corrupt, and they begin to exift with that moral corruption,which is the fame thing that appears as foon as there is opportunity, in visible action, in opposition to the rule of truth and duty, the divine law. The words immediately following these are "Their poifon is like the poifon of a ferpent." The ferpent is generated a poisonous creature. Poifon is in his nature from the beginning of his exiftence, and when he begins to bite, that is acted out, with which he was born. There appears to be evident reference to this, in these words. The wicked are faid to be eftranged from the womb; to go aftray, speaking lies, as foon as they be born: And, in this refpe&t, their poison, their wickednefs, is like the poifon of a ferpent. Solomon fays, "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child." By folly and foolishness in his writings, he generally means fin, or moral corruption: And certainly this is meant here, because he fays, "The rod of correction will drive it far from him." The rod of correction can drive no other foolifhnefs away, but that which is of a moral kind. The expreffion is very ftrong and emphatical, and afferts that fin has gotten faft hold, and is firmly fixed in the heart of a young child, and that this is true of every child which is born. How could the early, native corruption of children, be more fully expreffed ?—The fame is affcrted by Chrift, when he fays to Nicodemus, " That which is born of the flesh, is flesh."* It is abundantly evident from the whole paffage in which these words are found, that by flesh here is meant moral corruption, or fin, in which fenfe this word is frequently ufed in the fcriptures, efpecially in the writings of St. Paul. According to this, man is born in a ftate of moral corruption.

* John, iii, 6.

PART I. A child, an infant, as foon as he exifts, may have moral corruption or fin. As foon as he has any mental motion, which is of the nature of inclination, this motion, difpofition or inclination, may be wrong, and have in it the foundation and feeds of every fin, being of the fame nature with the finful motions and inclinations of the hearts of adult perfons. These motions, though invisible and unperceived by us, do really, and in the fight of the Omniscient Being, fix the actual moral character of the child, which difcovers itself to men, as it has opportunity, and there is capacity to exprefs it in ac tions and words. This is confirmed by obfervation and experience. Children commonly, before they can fpeak, difcover that felfishness, that wilfulness and obflinacy, which is the root and fource of all the fin which takes place among mankind. This, therefore, is of the fame nature with moral evil in general, and was in the heart or mind when it firft exifted; and has grown up to a greater degree of ftrength, as the mind has been enlarged, and appears and is acted out, as the capacity increafes, and opportunity and occafion are offered.

This fin, which takes place in the posterity of Adam, is not properly diftinguifhed into original and actual fin, because it is all really actual, and there is, ftri&ly speaking, no other fin but a&ual fin.* As foon! as fin exifts in a child of Adam, though an infant, it confifts in motion, or inclination, of the fame nature and kind with fin in adult perfons; all the difference is, the former

• What has been meant by this diftinction may be agreeable to the truth, if by actual fin be meant the expreffion and acting out of the depravity of finful difpofition of the heart, in diftinction from the fin of the heart, while not thus expreffed. But the latter is as really actual fin, as the former. Therefore there is no ground for calling one actual fin, and the other not. Original fin is that total moral depravity, which takes place in the hearts of all the children of Adam, in confequence of his apoftacy, which confis in exercise or act, as really as any fin can do, and therefore cannot be dif tinguished from actual fin.