MAN'S SINFULNESS; OR, THE DISEASED FAMILY.
QUESTION XVIII. _Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate
whereinto man fell?_
ANSWER. 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.
——————
"I WISH father wouldn't bring me into the lesson," cried Walter, as he
was sitting in a large stuffed chair before the fire, waiting for his
parents and sisters to be through with their tea.
"I'll ask him not to," replied Helen, just then entering to room.
"Here, I've brought you a cup of milk and water, and mother says if you
relish it, you may eat this toasted cracker. I hope you'll like it,"
added the sympathizing child, "for I fixed it myself with nice cream
and salt."
"You're a dear little girl," replied Walter, "and I'll try to eat it
just because you have taken so much pains."
For several days the boy had been ill in his chamber, but at his
earnest request, his mother had allowed him to come down to the parlor,
where, wrapped in a loose dressing gown, he was awaiting the exercise.
"How do you find yourself to-night, my boy?" asked his father, placing
his fingers upon his son's pulse. "Helen says you don't wish to be
brought into the catechising. Do you mean that you feel too ill to
recite with the others?"
"O, no, sir!" responded the boy, a slight flush overspreading his pale
countenance. "I meant that I don't like to have you speak about my
temper and such things; I'd rather hear about that some other time."
Mr. Dermott smiled, and told Isabelle it was her turn to repeat the
answer, and then asked her, "What was Adam's first sin?"
"Eating the apple, papa."
"Do you remember what I told you about Edward?"
"O, yes, papa," cried Helen.
"I think perhaps you will understand this question better, if I
illustrate it by a continuation of the story of Edward. When we left
him, he had somewhat recovered from the occasioned by his wound, but
was still far from well. He gradually recovered, so as to be able to
attend school, and then went into his father's store as clerk. But the
wound in his side had caused a pulmonary complaint which often confined
him to the house for weeks together.
"At the age of twenty-four he was married, and resided with his wife in
his father's family. In a course of years, five children were born to
them, each of whom, after a few months, began to show certain signs of
the disease which they had inherited from their father. The symptoms of
these were indeed slight at first, but just sufficient to show that the
seeds of consumption were implanted, and would at some time cause their
death. They were, however, an interesting family; and Edward loved them
with all a father's fondness.
"On a certain occasion, he perceived in one of his boys some symptoms
of that unbounded curiosity which had caused him the loss of health and
of independence; and he determined to relate his own story as a warning
to his children. With a bleeding heart and tear-dimmed eyes, he did so.
"When, with a burst of grief, his oldest daughter cried out, 'O,
father! How sorry I am you touched the box. If you had not, you would
never have been sick; and mother would not have looked so pale and
frightened as she does now, when you raise blood from your lungs.'
"'No, and we should have been rich too,' added the youngest boy; 'and
now we are so poor, I hardly ever have any new clothes, and I can't
have a sled, like all the other little boys.'
"Edward sighed heavily, as the children openly expressed what had for
many years been the burden of his thoughts by day and of his dreams by
night. 'Yes,' he cried bitterly, as he rushed from the room to conceal
his emotion; 'but for that one act of disobedience, I should now have
been blessed with health and an independent fortune. O, why did I not
die of the dreadful wound, instead of living to convey the seeds of
death to those so dear to me! This is my bitterest thought, that they
must suffer in consequence of my sin; and if they should live to become
parents, they must transmit the infection to future generations.'
Overcome by these thoughts, he wept aloud.
"And when his daughter rushed into the room, she saw that the
handkerchief with which her father was wiping his mouth was saturated
with blood.
"'O father,' exclaimed Helen, 'I don't like Edward's uncle at all. He
might have given him some money, when he had so much.'
"Now," resumed the gentleman, "we will leave the story of Edward,
and go back to the lesson, which says 'the sinfulness of that estate
whereinto man fell consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin,' just
as the children of Edward, by his disobedience, forfeited the favor
of his uncle, lost all the healthfulness and the property which they
might have inherited, and were visited with poverty, disease, and
wretchedness.
"Adam, you know, was created holy, or righteous—a quality here called
'original righteousness.' When he fell, he lost all this; and all
those who descended from him lost it with him. Their natures, which
would have been holy, causing them to think holy thoughts, to speak
holy words, and to perform holy actions, became wholly corrupt. And
henceforth they went 'astray from the womb speaking lies;' 'they have
all gone out of the way;' 'they have altogether become sinful;' 'there
is none that doeth good, no, not one.' The chief prophet of Israel
gives this account of the human heart: 'The whole head is sick, and the
whole heart faint; from the sole of the foot even unto the head, there
is no soundness in it.'
"Can you tell me, Walter, what are actual transgressions?"
"I suppose they are such as are acted out, as when we steal, or lie, or
swear, we commit actual transgressions."
"Yes, and we also commit them when we indulge wicked or unkind
thoughts, which proceed from a corrupt heart. If we neglect the duty of
prayer, or of keeping holy the Sabbath, all these flow from a carnal
mind, and are actual transgressions of the law of God. David prays,—
"'Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be
acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer!'
"Last Sabbath there were three infants baptized," added Mrs. Dermott.
"Can you tell me, Walter, why water was used?"
"No, ma'am."
"Water is an element used for cleansing. Parents who carry their
children to this ordinance realize that they have inherited corruption,
and are unholy and unclean; therefore they desire them to be washed,
or purified. But I shall explain this more fully to you under another
question."