SERMON XXVI.

PROVIDENCE.

THE PROBATION OF MAN.

GENESIS ii. 15-17.

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.

In several preceding sermons, I have considered the work of Creation; including the heavens and the earth, their inhabitants and their furniture. The next subject in a theological system, is the Work of Providence.

From the text, which is an account of the first act of Providence towards mankind, we learn the following things.

I. That the Providence of God towards man began immediately after he was created.

In the great and wonderful work of Creation, provision was effectually made for the production, subsistence, and comfort, of such beings, as were afterwards to exist in this world. By this observation, I do not intend absolutely, that no being has been, in the strict sense, created since the conclusion of the period, in which the Scriptures exhibit this work as having been accomplished. Whether this has, or has not, in the strict sense, been

Providence.

the fact, is not material to the present design. I intend, in the Scriptural language, that the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. The beings, which, during succeeding Vages, were to exist in this world, whether in the rational, animal, or vegetable, kingdoms, were all, together with the changes in the mineral or inanimate kingdom, to be produced by the instru mentality of secondary causes. As man was the last creature, which was made; when he was formed, the work of Creation was finished. From this time, that superintending and controlling agency of God, commonly called Providence commenced; and has ever since been unceasingly extended over all the works of his hands.

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The Providence of God is two-fold; ordinary and miraculous. Miraculous Providence, is an immediate agency of God in the production of events, adopted, at times, to accomplish certain ends, which would be less advantageously accomplished in any other manThe ordinary Providence of God is an agency, directing the several creatures, which he has made, to the several purposes, for which they were made; and conducted according to certain rules, which he has been pleased to establish, and which are commonly, although improperly enough, called Laws of nature. In the Scriptures, with much more propriety as well as beauty, they are termed Ordinances of Heaven. In the succession of things, according to these ordinances, the power, wisdom, and goodness of God, are gloriously manifested in a series of events, beautiful and harmonious, wonderful and sublime, beyond any limit, assignable by the thoughts of man.

Before the Apostasy, these laws, and their effects, were, beyond a doubt, exceedingly different from those, which prevail at the present time. Man was then immortal, holy, and happy; and was destined to breathe in air, to feed on fruits, and to pursue employments, suited to the perpetuation of this delightful state. The world was beautiful and pleasant. All things were peaceful, friendly, and means of unceasing and undisturbed enjoyment. The sources of pain, hunger, and thirst, of disquiet, disease, and death, were unopened, and unknown. To a single end, was directed the whole energy of nature; and that end was the immediate good of man.

After the apostasy, a state of things began, which was in many respects new; a state suited to fallen beings, who were to live under many manifestations of the divine wrath against sin; and who in the end were to die, and thus cease from all future connection with the place of their former residence.

After the Deluge, the state of the world appears to have been still further changed. More, and more painful proofs of the anger of God against Sin, were introduced into the system. Life, within a little time, was shortened from one thousand years to seventy. Labour, sorrow, and disease, were greatly enhanced. The bloom of immortality, already deeply faded, now withered away. Food, together with the whole train of necessaries, lost its power of prolonging life; sickliness overspread the vegetable kingdom; storms convulsed the air and the ocean; earthquakes and volcanoes shook the land; and decay and disorder impaired the whole face of the system.

II. We learn also, that man, immediately after his creation, was placed in a state of active employment.

The text declares, that the Lord God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it, and to keep it. Activity of body. and of mind, is the sole means of doing good, and of glorifying God; and is, therefore, indispensable to the end, for which Intelligent beings were created. Hence man, like the Angels, was destined to be active; and was directed to, industrious business, immediately after he was brought into the world.

III. That he was, at the same time, placed in a state of Trial. By this I intend, that he was put into such a condition, as to show whether he would obey, or disobey, his Maker. The rectitude and reasonableness of this dispensation are easily evinced.

Man, as I flatter myself has been heretofore proved, was created a moral Agent, possessed of understanding and will, and therefore free, and capable of obeying. Of course, inability to obey could not be pleaded by him, as a reason why he should be exempted from obedience.

At the same time, his Creator had an entire and indisputable right to his services. No property is so high, or so perfect, as that which the Creator has in the thing created; and no right so complete, as that which arises out of this property. God, there:

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fore, having created man, had the most perfect property in him and the most perfect right to dispose of him according to his own righteous pleasure.

God, also, being possessed of infinite greatness and excellence, is infinitely deserving of the supreme love, reverence, and obedience of man.

To serve, love, and honour God, is the most rational, and desirable employment, which is possible. It was, therefore, man's highest interest, as well as indispensable duty, to obey. In no other manner, could he be either virtuous or happy. Of course, it may with the utmost reverence and propriety be concluded, that God would not have acted in a manner, conformable to perfect rectitude, if he had not required obedience from all his rational creatures: since they could neither do, nor enjoy, the good, of which they were made capable, in any other manner.

IV. That the situation, in which man was placed, furnished him with eminent Inducements, and Advantages, to obey.

The truth of this proposition will, I think, appear evident from the following particulars.

1st. Man was created holy, without any mixture of sinful affec4tions.

This needs no proof, because it will be generally acknowledged, and because it has already been sufficiently proved in a former discourse. His understanding admitted truth without prejudice, and without any necessary error, except such as proceeded from mere ignorance. He did not know all things; but those, which he knew, he knew truly, or as they really existed. His will also was perfectly conformed to the dictates of his understanding.

2dly He was placed in a situation, in which external things were most favourable to his obedience.

His habitation was delightful, and only delightful. Plenty, ease, and peace, fragrance, beauty, and joy, sprang up spontaneously around him; and accompanied him whithersoever he went. He was the lord and proprietor of a world; and that world was an Eden; a paradise of improvement and pleasure. His employments were all innocent, virtuous, and delightful. In the happy and unlaborious agriculture, to which he was sum

moned, he found business congenial to his nature, powers, and wishes. Every thing flourished under his hand; and furnished him the peculiar pleasure of seeing his efforts contribute to his own enjoyment, and to the beauty and perfection of the objects, by which he was surrounded. He felt, that he was useful; that he was employed in a manner chosen by his Maker; and that he therefore pleased, and obeyed Him; while he also daily contributed to the advancement of his own happiness. This consciousness, united with an employment of the same general nature, is probably necessary to all extensive and permanent good. All things, also, daily manifested to him the presence of God; and exhibited this glorious Being only as great, wise, and good; reminding him unceasingly of the Benefactor, to whom alone he was indebted, and of the immense extent of the obligations, under which he was laid by the overflowing kindness of this benefactor. Thus every thing with a continual voice called on him to persist in his obedience, and in this manner to preserve the happiness, which it insured.

3dly. God immediately revealed himself to man in several ways; which are recorded, and in many more, which are necessarily implied.

God taught man to dress the garden of Eden; or, in other words, communicated to him the knowledge of an agriculture, suited to the nature and circumstances of the spot, in which he was placed. It was necessary for man to be employed. Idleness, even in Paradise, would, not improbably, have proved fatal to his innocence and peace. Equally necessary was it, that the nature of his employment should be revealed to him; the manner, in which it might be pursued with ease to himself; and the means, by which it might be rendered most effectual to every desirable purpose. Without such a revelation, ages must in all probability have passed away, before he would have discovered how to employ himself with either convenience or profit.

At the same time, God revealed himself to him immediately; and conversed with him freely, often, and familiarly; directing him by an audible voice, and in a manner wholly intelligible, to whatever his duty required. To enable him to derive the whole benefit, flowing from such communications, God endowed him im.