LECTURE XVIII.

INTO WHAT ESTATE DID THE FALL BRING MANKIND?

WHEREIN CONSISTS THE SINFULNESS OF THAT ESTATE WHEREINTO MAN FELL?

WHAT IS THE MISERY OF THAT ESTATE WHERE INTO MAN FELL?

THE answer of our Catechism next in order is the following-"The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery."

The chief design of this answer is to make the distribution of a subject, afterwards to be discussed. To say much upon it would only be to anticipate what is contained in the two subsequent answers. I shall therefore merely request you to observe the nature and manner of the statement made in this answer, which are that the sin and misery brought upon mankind by the fall, are called an estate; that is, a permanent and invariable condition of existence, in which both sin and misery must be found by all the human race; and that sin is placed before misery, intimating that sin is the cause of misery, and misery the never failing consequence of sin.

These general truths are developed and illustrated in the two following answers, the first of which is thus expressed: "The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin, together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it."

Original sin has been usually distinguished, or divided, by divines, into original sin imputed, and original sin inherent. Original sin imputed, is the guilt of Adam's first sin, considered as belonging to each individual of his posterity, and subjecting such indi

vidual to punishment or suffering, on that account. This point, with the objections to it, was treated at some length in the last lecture; and it is not my purpose to resume the subject at present.

Original sin inherent, is what is called in the answer before us, "the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of our whole nature." "The want of original righteousness," says Fisher, "is the want of that rectitude and purity of nature which Adam had in his first creation; consisting in a perfect conformity of all the powers and faculties of his soul to the holy nature of God, and to the law that was written on his heart. And that all mankind are destitute of this original righteousness, appears from the express testimony of God, that among all Adam's race 'there is none righteous, no not one;' and that 'by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight.' It follows, upon this want of original righteousness, that all mankind are, as it were, naked before God; and that their fig-leaf coverings will stand them in no stead, before his omniscient eye, nor answer the demands of his holy law."

But original sin consists not in mere privation, or in a want of original righteousness. It consists also in "the corruption of our whole nature;" in the universal depravation both of soul and body-in all the faculties of the one, and in all the members of the other. Let us trace for a moment the current of this corruption, through the faculties of the soul; not entering into much reasoning on the subject, but confirming what shall be said by plain declarations from the word of God.

Observe then, that the understanding of man, in his natural depraved state, is darkened and blinded; so that while this moral obscurity continues, he cannot know and receive the things of the Spirit of God. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.—Having the understanding darkened,

being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart."

The will of the natural man is depraved by sin. It is averse to the chief good; it is biassed toward evil; it acts with hostility and rebellion against God. "Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life," said our Saviour. "The carnal mind," says St. Paul, "is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God."

The affections of man, in his natural state, are disordered, perverted and misplaced. They are set on trifling vanities and sinful pleasures; they attach themselves to ten thousand improper and forbidden objects; while they utterly refuse to be placed on God, as the supreme good. Their language constantly is, "Who shall show us any good?" that is, any earthly good. And they constantly lead every unsanctified child of Adam to "worship and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is God over all, blessed for ever."

The memory of man partakes of the effects of his depravity. It is prone to retain what is vain and unprofitable, and to drop its hold on what is spiritual and truly advantageous. Hence the complaint of Moses; "Of the Rock that begat thee, thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee." This indeed was the frequent charge brought against the Israelites, notwithstanding the series of miracles that they almost constantly witnessed. "They forgot the God of their salvation." But the charge is not confined to them. We find it mentioned as a general characteristic of the wicked, that they "forget God;" that "God is not in all their thoughts;" and experience abundantly confirms this truth.

The conscience of man is affected by his depravity. Sometimes it is violated till it becomes seared "as with a hot iron." But when this is not the case, it too often performs its office imperfectly; not reproving and condemning when it ought, especially for secret

sins. Sometimes it is so perverted that, in the language of Scripture, it "calls evil good, and good evil; puts light for darkness, and darkness for light."

In regard to the body, it was, you may remember, shown in the last lecture, that it is the body which is the instrument of corrupting the soul; that in Scripture "the flesh" is represented as the seat and source of sin. It is in consequence of sin, that our bodies have become mortal, they are polluted and defiled in all their members. Hence the apostolic caution, "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin."

Thus you perceive that the corruption of our whole nature is most apparent; that it is impotent, and even hostile to whatever is holy or spiritually good, and strongly inclined or biassed to what is evil. Of unrenewed man, it has been as true in every age of the world as it was before the flood, "that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually." But in opposition to the statement you have now heard-to the doctrine of our Catechism, and to what I think has been clearly shown to be the doctrine of Scripture-there are those who contend that the tendency of our nature is to good, rather than to evil. In a conversation I once had with an individual of some shrewdness, who cherished this sentiment-the sentiment that children, from the first, incline to good rather than to evil-I requested him to state on what ground he supposed that he could support his opinion. He affirmed that this opinion was, with him, the result of personal observation on his own children; who he did not suppose had a better nature than others. He said, that by instructing them carefully in their duty, by warning them constantly of the dangers to which they were exposed, and by admonishing them faithfully and tenderly, as soon as he perceived them going wrong, and by restraining them, while they were unable to judge for themselves; he had not failed to render them all, examples of correct behaviour and amiable deportment. He said nothing about genuine piety in his

children; and I fear knew nothing about it in his own experience. I replied to him thus: By your own showing, it required your vigorous and uninterrupted efforts to preserve, or to recall your children from wrong courses; but on the supposition that the tendencies of their nature were to virtue, rather than to vice, they should have gone right without any of these efforts; nay, they should have gone right, or of themselves speedily returned to what was right, even in opposition to endeavours to mislead them. The man concerned, professed to be convinced of his error at once; and said he would not argue in opposition to the convictions of his own mind.

But alas! how often is it seen, that all the good instructions, all the seasonable advice and admonition, and all the influence of the best example, are wholly ineffectual, to form children even to an external regard to the laws of virtue, order and sobriety? In opposition to all, how frequently do they become examples of flagitious vice? And even in those instances in which, by the Divine blessing on a good education and example, operating on a happy natural temperament, the young are formed to a fair and amiable exterior-how often is it evident, that they have still no inward relish for, but an utter distaste and dislike of, all serious piety, all holy exercises? It is then as evident from experience and observation as it is from Scripture, that the tendencies of our nature are not to good, but uniformly and prevalently to evil. Indeed I am of the opinion, that in this, as in almost every other instance, an accurate observation on the state of the world, will be found one of the best commentaries on the word of God.

Whence, but from the natural and invariable corruption of the human mind, has proceeded that awful preponderance of moral evil, with which the world has at all times been filled? The tendencies of nature, however obstructed by incidental causes, will at last prevail. If these tendencies in the human mind had been naturally and preponderantly in favour of virtue, there would have been, at least some