better the Mind, and improve the Understanding; so do weak and
superstitious Principles corrupt the intellectual Faculty, and
render the Soul more blind and inhuman, than it is in its natural
State, unassisted and unimproved by Divine Grace. I have the rather
made choice of this Argument, not only because I have never seen it
urged before, but because I think it more nearly affects Men of this
Faith, than any I have hitherto met with. I may be mistaken; but
while it has such weight with me, I cannot but earnestly recommend
it to the serious and impartial Consideration of all who profess
this Faith, more especially those who preach it publickly to the
World; whose Acknowledgment of what I take to be Truth, or friendly
Animadversions thereon, will be Matter of no small Satisfaction to
me: But I must here enjoin one Caution, _viz_. that it will be a
absolutely in vain to produce Texts of Scripture, till this Point is
better settled between us. In the Art of evading Scripture Proofs, I
allow these Gentlemen to be very skilful and expert; nor can I help
believing, that a small Part of the Penetration and Dexterity,
usually exercised on these Occasions, would, in Men of contrary
Principles, or even in themselves, could they be persuaded to think
differently, be abundantly sufficient to overthrow even the
Doctrines themselves: They have a peculiar Talent, at misunderstanding;
and perverting the plainest Text, and rendering those which are
difficult and obscure in their literal Sense, with much Boldness, and
without Hesitation; they stumble in a plain Path at Noon-Day, and walk
carelessly at Midnight amongst Rock, and upon the most dangerous
Precipices. And here I might safely rest the Argument, and make a final
End of it. _Sovereignty_, such an one as they contend for, once proved,
any thing whatever may be allowed to follow, and all Disputations will
be utterly in vain. Allow but the _Roman Church_ its _Infallibility_,
and the Truth of other Doctrines will unavoidably follow. Till these
Gentlemen, I say, set my main Principles aside, all the Scripture in the
World will be nothing to their Purpose. Not but in the main the _Bible_
is against them; for the Scriptures _reveal_ God's Being and Attributes
_more clearly_ than they do most Points of Doctrine: the Reason is,
because the Doctrines commonly embraced, are in themselves _not so
plain_ to Reason, as the Being and Attributes of God; the latter being
generally acknowledged in all Christian Churches, tho' at the same
Time they widely differ about particular Doctrines, some of which
have no doubt been greatly corrupted in passing through _various
Hands_ and Translations: and I have been informed, by much better
Judges than I pretend to be, that the _New Testament_, even in these
very Doctrines I have been contending against, has, by _some
Partiality_ or _Neglect_, been made to speak more roundly in their
Favour, than the original _Greek_, or best Copies, will support; and
that, in some Places, the Meaning of the Original is inverted in the
Translation. The Scripture not only revealing to us the _Being_ and
_Attributes_ of God, _more clearly_ than it does many Doctrines, and
that Fundamental of all true Religion being also in itself perfectly
agreeable to the Light of Nature; 'tis evident, we are bound to
reject the most positive Text of Scripture militating against this
everlasting and fundamental Truth: and rather than part with this,
we had much better suppose the Writer, as to disputable Points, to
have been mistaken at the first, or the true Meaning corrupted by
others. The Translators are allowed to have been fallible Men, and
'tis very probable some Errors might creep in at that Door: But it
will not so easily be granted, that the _inspired Writers_ could
mistake, nor would I suppose it, unless in _very extraordinary
Cases_, where either _that_ or something _worse_ must be supposed;
and such a Supposition will, I am sure; much better become us, than
to imagine it possible for God to make a Revelation of his Will to
Man, which shall upon Examination be found _contrary_ to his Being
and Goodness, as well as expressly contrary to other _plain Parts_
of this Revelation, Tho' the Argument, I say, might be safely rested
here, yet as there are some well meaning Persons, who believe that
_Adam_ was made upright, and furnished with a Stock of Strength and
Understanding, sufficient to _preserve_ his Innocence; that God made
a Covenant with him, as our _Federal_ or _Representative Head_,
wherein it was stipulated, that if he continued upright, during the
Time of Probation allotted, _all_ his Posterity should be _for ever_
happy; but that if he fell, _all_ should be _subject_ to everlasting
Misery, as the counter Part of the Covenant; and he falling, the
Restoration of his fallen Race should be intirely owing to the good
Pleasure of God, who might _redeem all_ or only _a Part_, and leave
the rest to perish in the State wherein he found them, and in which
_Adam_ had involved them by his Transgression: This they call
_Preterition_, or a _Passing by_, which sounds a little better than
that harsh Word _Reprobation_, tho' in reality no better at all: And
on this first Transgression _some_ found the Doctrine of _Election_,
and others that of _Infant-Baptism_, as an Expedient to wash away
this original Guilt; and it must be owned, the Virtue of the Remedy
is admirably well suited to the Malignity of the Disease. I shall,
for their sakes, inspect a little farther into the Affair; to me it
appears unreasonable, and therefore improbable, that God should make
with _Adam_ any such Covenant or Agreement, or suffer the eternal
State of all Mankind to hang upon the single Thread of _one Man's_
Behaviour, and who too (it seems) God knew would swerve from his
Obedience: besides, in all equitable Covenants, _every Party_
concerned has a Right to be consulted, nor can they be justly
included to their own Detriment, without Consent first obtained,
(especially if the Thing covenanted for, has an immediate, or may
have a very fatal, tho' very remote, Tendency, to make _wretched_
and _unhappy_) which, in this Case, with regard to the Unborn, could
not possibly be had. I am sensible the Gentlemen against whom I am
arguing (especially Mr. _Gill_) have many pretty Inventions, to
justify such a Conduct in the Divine Being, such as producing
parallel Instances, drawn from the allowed Practice of Men, and Usage
of the State; in particular, the Law relating to _High-Treason_,
whereby a _Rebel's_ immediate Descendants are _deprived_ of
inheriting their Father's Estate, with others of a like Kind; to
all which, what I am about to offer may, I hope, be a sufficient
Answer: The two Cases differ so widely, that it will be no easy
Undertaking to make any Thing of this Instance in their Favour; and
'tis very surprising, to find Men of the brightest Intellects, so
weak as to argue and infer, from the Laws of _Fallible Men_, to the
Laws of an _Infallible_ and _Holy Being:_ The Inference ought rather
to be just the Reverse; for such Institutions as Men, in this weak
and imperfect State, may think convenient for their own Sakes, and
the Good of Society, to establish and ordain, can be _no Rule_ to
him, whose Infinite Wisdom and Almighty Power set him _far above_
all such Necessity. Nor, again, does this Case come up to the Matter
in Dispute: It is true, that the Heir of a convict Rebel _cannot_,
according to our Laws, inherit his Father's Estate; but what then,
does it deprive him of any thing that was his own before? No; the
Law convicts the Rebel, while _in Possession_ of his Estate, which
it considers as his _own Property_, and which therefore it justly
takes away for his _own Offence_. Perhaps, in Cases of Hereditary
Possessions, it may seem a little hard, because it prevents the
_next_ Heir from inheriting; but if there be any Evil or
Imperfection in this, we must excuse it, for the Sake of the Intent,
which might be for the general Good, the more effectually to deter
Men from _treasonable Conspiracies_ against their Prince, whereby
the Happiness of Society hath been often greatly disturbed, and
whole Kingdoms and Countries depopulated: but in this Case, it is
not strictly the Heir's, till he comes into Possession; for the Law,
by which he may possess hereafter, may be considered as having in it
this _particular_ Exception, as to the Crime of _High-Treason_,
which, whenever it _occurs_ as to the _Parent_, renders the Son
incapable, &_c_. With regard to our Laws, we may, in some Sense, be
said to make them ourselves, by our Representatives, whom we
constitute for that End: and 'tis besides very probable, that some
great Men, who formerly possessed Estates, and settled them on the
Male Heirs in their Families, from one Generation to another, might
help to make this very Law itself concerning Treason, and
consequently they could not but acquiesce with this _very Exception_
to the Right of Inheritance in their Posterity. But if it be still
said to be unjust, though necessary, 'tis no Argument; for it
_cannot_ be unjust and necessary too: the Law, in this Case, ought
rather (with Submission) so far as it unjustly affects a Man's
Children, to be alter'd; and if it robs us of the Security, which
arises from deterring the Parent, on Account of the Evils which
shall afterwards befall his Child, 'tis easy to remedy this, by
laying an _additional Punishment_ on the Traitor himself; which, as
_Self_ is much nearest to us all, might better prevent the Sin of
Rebellion, If the present Law be just in itself, there can be no
Objection to it; if it be unjust, _no Argument_ of any Weight can be
drawn from it, in regard to the _Divine Being;_ who is holy, wise,
and true, and so are all his Appointments concerning the Children of
Men.
To bring this kind of Reasoning of theirs up to the Point, they
should have produced a Law, which subjected the Son (for the
Father's Offence) to the _same corporal_ Punishment with the Father,
and then also they must have proved such a Law to be just and good.
But, as these Gentlemen are so fond of bringing Instances from the
_Practice of Men_ in this frail State, in Justification of their own
Doctrine, I shall present them with one or two of my own. _Murder_
has sometimes been committed under such Circumstances, that though
the Murderer has been arraigned, there hath been no room to condemn
him, all Circumstances having concurred, in the Eye of the Law, to
acquit him; _will the Almighty therefore acquit him?_ Again, on the
other hand, in the Case of Murder, things have so fallen out, as to
make an innocent Person look like the Murderer, in the Eye of the
Law or Court, which has therefore sometimes proceeded to Death
itself; _is this Man therefore guilty before God?_ I have put these
two Cases, purely to shew the Absurdity of such kind of Arguments:
and I hope they will consider better of it, and advance them no
farther.
If there was such a Covenant between God and Adam, 'tis strange _no
Notice_ should be taken of it in the Law given to _Adam_, as laid
down in the _Bible_, and where, of all Places, we have most Reason
to expect it--this must surely have been the fittest Place for its
Insertion--Nor is it only absent here, for there is no positive
Account of any such Covenant in all the _Old Testament_. Besides,
when the Law was given, and threatening (in Case of Disobedience)
pronounced on _Adam_, 'twas _merely personal_--_In the Day_ thou
_eatest thereof_, thou _shalt surely die_. And when _Adam_ and _Eve_
had broke the Command, and God descended to judge them for it, their
Sentences were _personal_ and _particular_, and no reproaching
_Adam_ on the Account of Evils to be thence brought on his
Posterity, and _much less_ of eternal Damnation. The _Jews_ indeed,
many of whom were weak enough to embrace any Absurdity at all, had
by some Means contracted a Notion, not altogether unlike this of
_original Sin_, probably from a Misunderstanding of the second
Commandment, which speaks of "visiting the Iniquity of the Father
upon the Children, &_c_." But 'tis highly worthy of our Notice, that
God himself was _greatly displeased_ with their having imbibed this
Notion, and commanded the Prophet _Ezekiel_ to refute it at large;
the Substance of which I cannot avoid setting down, it being so full
to my Purpose. The Prophet introduces it thus, _Ezek_, xviii. 2.
_What mean ye, that use this Proverb in Israel, The Fathers have
eaten sour Grapes, and the Children Teeth are set on edge?_ Ver. 4.
_Behold all Souls are mine, as the Soul of the Father, so also the
Soul of the Son is mine: the Soul that sinneth, it shall die_. The
Prophet then, from _ver_. 5. to 19. puts the _two Cases_ of a
_righteous Man's_ having a _wicked Son_, and a _wicked Man's_ having
a _righteous Son_, in order to shew, that neither is the one
_better_ for his Father's Uprightness, nor the other at all _worse_
for his Father's Wickedness; but that all is, as it should be,
placed to the Account of their own _Merits_ or _Demerits_. Ver. 20.
_The Soul that sinneth, it shall die: the Son shall not bear the
Iniquity of the Father, neither shall the Father bear the Iniquity
of the Son; the Righteousness of the Righteous shall be upon him,
and the Wickedness of the Wicked shall be upon him_. Ver. 23. _Have
I any Pleasure at all that the Wicked should die? saith the Lord
God: and not that he should return from his Ways and live?_ Ver. 25.
_Yet ye say, the Way of the Lord is unequal. Hear now, O House of
Israel, Is not my Way equal? are not your Ways unequal?_ Ver. 32.
_For I have no Pleasure in the Death of him that dieth, saith the
Lord God: wherefore turn your selves and live ye_.
Words more positive against this Doctrine cannot be laid together.
_Justice_ and _Equity_ are here, by the Almighty himself, consider'd
as the _very same_, both in God and Man; and the same Justice and
Equity, which _He commands_ us to make the Rule of _our Actions_,
'tis evident _He here_ makes the Rule of his _own_. He blames them
for their false Principles, their Ignorance and Bigotry, and is not
a little offended, because they thought him capable of acing in so
evil and unrighteous a Manner, as that would be, of _punishing the
Child for the Parent's Offence;_ and strongly and solemnly assures
them, he will do no such Thing. And as Justice and Equity would not
bear it then, it is plain that, God could never take any such cruel
and disreputable Measures, either in the Beginning, or at any time
afterwards; because, to act thus at the Creation of Man, and disdain
the Imputation with Indignation afterwards, argues a strange
Inconsistency in the Conduct of God towards Men; but the Truth is,
the same Reasons which made him abhor the Imputation afterwards,
could not but infallibly prevent his making any such unrighteous
Covenant in the Beginning. What would you think of a Man, who is a
Villain to-day, and boasts much of his great Honesty tomorrow? The
_Appearance_ of _Christ_ in the Flesh was, we are told by these
Gentlemen, on Account of _Adam's_ Transgression, without which it
would have been, they say, wholly superfluous. But the Expediency or
End of _Christ's_ coming, may be resolved into the _Love of_ God, on
the _one hand;_ pitying the Ignorance and Folly of Mankind, on the
_other:_ and whether this State was the Effect of _Adam's_ Sin, or
of their _own_ personal Demerits, it makes _no Difference_ in this
Case. Whoever looks carefully into the Evangelists, will find
abundant Reason to disapprove and condemn this Doctrine of _Original
Sin_, and of _Christ's_ coming into the World on _that Account
only_. Our Saviour, had this been the Case, would either have
plainly express'd, or have given some strong Intimations concerning
it: Yet no such thing appears; but the contrary, to a _Demonstration_,
from no less than two Passages of Scripture, recorded by St. _Mark_,
(ix. 36.) When the Disciples had been privately contending for
Preheminence above each other, our Saviour, to rebuke this aspiring
Spirit, sets before them, as a Pattern of Simplicity and Innocence, a
little Child; which must have been very absurd, according to the Notion
of _Original Sin:_ The second is _Mark_ x. _ver_. 13. 14. 15. 16.
where _Christ_ assures his Disciples, that, in order to enter into the
Kingdom of Heaven, they _must become as little Children_. And in St.
_Matthew_ (xviii. _ver_. 3.) this very thing is, if possible, more
_Strongly_ and _Emphatically_ express'd. Which Declarations, had there
been such a Thing as the Guilt of Original Sin, _subjecting Children
to_ God's _Wrath and Displeasure_, would have been ungrounded, and
erroneous in a high Degree; for if they were to become like such a little
Child, as a necessary and fit Condition for Heaven, the Condition of
Infants _must also_ be suitable to that Blessed Place--_Suffer
little Children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is
the Kingdom of Heaven_. The Word Such, is a general Term, equally
applicable to all Infants whatever: it shews their Innocence, and
how acceptable they are to the Almighty; and, consequently,
demonstrates the Doctrine of _Original Sin_ to be Spurious and
Erroneous: as is also the Practice of _Infant Baptism_, in Support
of which, this very Text is wisely alledged; whereas the Text itself
assures us, that Children are _already_, by Nature, in that _same
State_ of Innocence, which _Baptism_ is design'd to procure them:
and how vain the Ceremony, under such a Circumstance, must be, is
_too evident_ to need Explaining.
But suppose there was such a Covenant, our Condition, in point of
Innocence, is just the same as it would be without it; we could have
no manner of Concern with _Adam's_ Transgression: and our Innocence
in either Case being _exactly_ the same, God cannot but look upon us
(in our natural State, before we commit Sin) as Creatures that never
did any thing to offend him, and consequently be gracious and kind
to us; for to leave us in this State, to suffer everlasting Torment,
is worse than a Breach of Promise made to the Elect; and if we are
as innocent, as tho' no such Covenant had ever been made, God cannot
but regard us accordingly: and this proves that such a Covenant
could never be made, because to no good or valuable End.
I am fearful of swelling this Pamphlet, beyond its intended Bounds;
yet so fast do my Thoughts, on this Subject, multiply and enlarge
themselves, that I must beg Leave to Say a small Matter, concerning
that _Propensity to Evil_, which we are told is derived from _Adam_,
as a Fruit and Proof of his first and original Offence. If _Adam_'s
Sin had this Influence on his Posterity; as the Act, which produced
it, was _one_ and the _same;_ and all his Posterity standing in the
same Relation to him, as their Federal Head; 'tis evident, in this
View of the Matter, that _this_ Bias to Evil, must in _all_ be
_uniform_ and _alike:_ but the contrary seems demonstrable, from
undoubted and incontestable Experience; some Children having _much
stronger Propensities to Evil_, than others: And if Part of this can
be resolved into something besides the _Influence_ of _Adam's first
Transgression_, and _subsequent_ to the _Fall;_ it lies (I think) on
our Adversaries to shew clearly, why every Propensity to Sin, may
not likewise be resolved into something besides, and _subsequent_
to, this _original Transgression_. But allowing we are born into the
World, with this _Propensity to Evil_, and that we derive it from
_Adam's_ Sin; yet if God be _merciful_, he could never leave us in
this deplorable Condition; nor would his _Impartiality_ admit of
_redeeming_ the one Part of Mankind in a mere arbitrary Manner, and
_leaving_ the other _to perish_. Nor can much Righteousness be
expected from the _Justice_ of that Being, whose Mercy can be an
idle and unconcerned Spectator, in so very moving, piteous, and
Miserable a Circumstance. As to _Adam's_ Posterity, where is the
Difference to them, whether their present weak and despoiled
Condition (as these Men deem it) be the immediate Work of _Creation_
itself, or the _Effect_ of _Adam's Sin_, and Abuse of his
intellectual Powers. We are what we are by _Necessity_, strict
_Necessity:_ and though it may be called _moral Necessity_, in order
to palliate and distinguish it from that which is natural; it
operates on us, to all Intents and Purposes, equally the same; and
the giving it a milder Name, looks like a sophistical Artifice. If
Man's Nature be impaired by the Act of another, God, as a _just_ and
_good_ Being, will either abate of the Rigour of his original Law,
or replenish and restore our decayed Powers.
The _same Goodness_ (if these Gentlemen will allow it was
_Goodness_) which prompted the Almighty to make Man such an
excellent and blessed Creature in the Beginning, must also prevail
with him, to look even on _Adam_ himself with an Eye of Pity and
Compassion, after he had sinned; and much more must he be inclined
to provide for the _Restoration_ of his Off-spring, who themselves
had not _actually_ sinned, but yet had their Natures impaired by the
_Fall_. Besides, if Man was first enslaved by the Devil, not of
_Force_, but by _Fraud_ and _Temptation;_ and Jesus Christ be a kind
of _Chieftain_, set up against Antichrist; his Method of _Recovery_
must be as extensive as the _Fall_--Why does he save some? but as
they are Objects of Mercy, and to recover, with a just Indignation,
Souls, originally God's own, out of the Hand of an Usurper, Tyrant,
and Destroyer. How can these Reasons operate as to a Part, and have
no Influence as to the Remainder? The more I reflect upon the
Doctrine, and view it in every light, the more terrifying and
deformed it appears: and there is no Argument, short of God's
_Sovereignty_, that will relieve the Difficulty; which admitted,
will bring on and multiply ten thousand greater Evils.
It may here be proper to take notice of a new Argument, urged in its
full Strength, and with all the Advantage of Rhetorick and
Eloquence, by the most ingenious Dr. _I--c W--s_, in a Book
intituled, _The Ruin and Recovery of Mankind;_ &_c_. We are there
told, that this _covenant_ seems to have been, evidently, calculated
for the best; because _Adam_, in that State of Understanding and
Innocence, was more likely to stand, and maintain his Innocence,
than any of his Posterity, especially when he consider'd himself as
acting for _all_ his Posterity; with which the Doctor supposes him
to have been fully and strongly apprised; as indeed he ought, had
the Case been as the Doctor believes. This Argument I take him to
have mistaken both ways, _viz_. by extolling _Adam's_ Condition, on
the one hand, beyond what in reality it ever was, and setting that
of his Posterity much lower than it really is: and these Errors are
productive of many others. _Adam_ is supposed to have been without
any Pain, or Uneasiness, and that he would so have remained, during
his Innocence: But after Christ has removed the Curse, and taken
away the Sin of his own _Chosen_ Children, bodily Pains and outward
Afflictions are sometimes their Lot, why might not Man, in his
original State of Innocence, be subject, in some Degree, to Pain and
Disease? if _Creation_ were inconsistent with such a mixt
Dispensation of Good and Evil, why not _Redemption?_ If God, for the
Exercise of Man's Fidelity, placed him where he was exposed to the
Evil and Danger of Temptation; why not suffer his Patience to be
exercised, at some Seasons, by Pain and Inquietude? To return to
this _Covenant_, could it be proved to have been as the Doctor
imagines, I see not what could be gained by it: because it would be
trifling to a considerable Degree. And all the Arguments, used by
_Milton_, in his third Book of _Paradise Lost_, to shew the
Absurdity of that Doctrine, which considers _Adam_ as _acting_, or
rather as _being acted, by Necessity_, in that Situation of
Paradise, would be equally applicable to all the Elect, under the
absolute Slavery of the _Fall_.
Where is the Use of _Reason_, or _Moral Agency_, in Man, if another
be substituted to act in his Stead, and not he himself? Man, being
made a _free_ and _moral_ Agent, has Power to act for himself, and
can be accountable for no body's Crimes but his own. The
_Consciousness_ of being a Sinner, belongs only to him, that
_actually_ sinneth, or omitteth his Duty. Enthusiasm indeed, which,
in its highest Stages, is a kind of spiritual Madness, may have on
some Minds a quite different Effect; and the Poor Soul, that is
subject to this gloomy and tyrannical Principle, may conceit strange
things; it may at one Time imagine itself under the Guilt of
_Adam's_ Sin, which it never committed; and fancy itself a Saint in
Jesus Christ (and what not) at another: it is a mad Principle,
fruitful of false Doctrines, Chimeras, and Monsters. It matters not
whether (as in the Case of _Natural Madness_) the Reason be lost, or
whether (as in that of _Enthusiasm_) it be over-power'd, and brought
into subjection to False Principles. The Effect is the same; and
between Powers that are suffered to lie dormant, and no Powers at
all, there is here no material Distinction to be made. Again, this
Notion of _Adam's_ being more likely to stand than his Posterity, is
a mere Fallacy: it supposes a Difference of State, and Rectitude of
Mind, between him and us; which, if true, will likewise suppose,
that our State being more weak and defenceless than his, the Task or
Duty, assigned us, must be proportionate to our different and
inferior Abilities. If _Adam_ was put into this State, as _The Ruin
and Recovery_ seems to suppose, from a Motive of Love in God, to his
Creatures, in order to prevent the Misery of the Human Race; the
same Love cannot fail to commiserate the Case, and to provide an
effectual Remedy for all such as are included in the Covenant.
_Adam's_ Motive to Obedience must (we are told) have been greatly
strengthened by this Consideration, That on _Him_ depended the
Happiness, not of _himself_ only, but of _all his Posterity_. But, I
believe, Experience will tell us, that if the Consideration of a
Man's own Future State, placed in the strongest Light (as this Book
supposes before _Adam_) be not sufficient to move to Obedience, a
Regard to others will seldom have any considerable Influence: Such a
Covenant enter'd into, or rather arbitrarily imposed on _Adam_ by
his Maker, could not fail to awaken, in so holy and knowing a
Creature, some very uneasy and disquieting Suspicions. This
Covenant, and _Partial Election_ thence following after the _Fall_,
will, if rightly considered, appear very iniquitous and oppressive:
because it makes no proper Difference between the _Righteous_ and
the _Wicked_. If _Adam_ had been considered as a private Person
only; and _all his Posterity_ left to stand or fall, by their own
Merits or Demerits; some of those, whom this Doctrine adjudges to
everlasting Condemnation, would doubtless have been so _wise_ and
_happy_, as to have pleased God in their Generation; while others,
on the contrary, would have sinned, and transgressed his Laws. The
State of the latter is, you see, the same as it would have been,
upon the vulgar Notion of _Adam's Sin;_ or rather the Guilt of it
being, in virtue of this Covenant, imputed to them: The other and
better Part, in virtue of this Doctrine, are miserable, and must
therefore have abundant and bitter Cause of Complaint against the
Doctrine itself. I therefore think it was impossible, such a
Covenant should ever be proposed to _Adam;_ a Covenant which, if
ratified, tended only to make those wretched and miserable, who
without it, had they been left to shift for themselves, would have
used their Liberty and Rational Powers aright, and have pleased and
obtained God's Favour thereby. To talk of its being of general
Service, can never be of sufficient Authority to silence this
Argument. No _private Injuries_ can be excused to _innocent
Sufferers_ (and much less that of _eternal Torment_) on the Score of
general Good; what is it to them, whether _they only_, or _all
Mankind_ suffer. If _Adam_ had stood, these very Men, (who would,
had they been left to their Liberty, have proved obedient) would
have been in no wise bettered; as he failed, Misery came on those,
who would otherwise have been happy. As to those who would, in the
Course of their Liberty, have sinned; this Covenant, had _Adam_
stood, would ('tis true) have saved them from the Sentence of
_Condemnation_. Take it again the other way: _Adam's Fall_ could
make no Alteration in the State of those who, without it, would have
been Sinners; such as would have proved virtuous and happy, are
hereby made miserable. These are, or must have been the Consequences
of such a Covenant strictly observed; and the Wisdom and Equity of
all Covenants must be judged of, by comparing the good and evil
Consequences, necessarily resulting from them. All the Good such a
Covenant could possibly pretend to, had it been kept, was, the
saving from Wrath such as, without it, would, as free Beings, have
sinned; and if, for their Sakes, and to prevent the Evil that might
otherwise befall them, such a Covenant was worthy of God to make
with Man, a Day of Grace and Salvation, extended for their Recovery,
after they might have transgressed, would have been equally worthy
of God; and we need not recur to such Fictions and Chimeras. One
would think it incumbent on all Legislators, to consider well the
Consequences of every Law they enact; for the preferring a Law,
whose Consequences can at best be of no Service, and will probably
in the main Event of Things be more evil and pernicious than
otherwise, would be preferring Evil to Good; in as great Proportion
as the Evil might exceed the Good: and how such a Constitution could
be better for Mankind, I do not understand. I am sorry any body,
especially the Author of _The Ruin and Recovery_, should imbibe and
defend such erroneous Opinions, and this too, in Opposition to other
and nobler Sentiments of his own, elsewhere delivered.
But, thus it is to be enslaved to the mere Letter of the _Bible_,
under a Notion of doing it _just Honour_, when, on the contrary,
'tis the ready way to _dishonour_ and _lessen_ its Authority.