SECOND QUESTION.

What is the cause of the resurrection of the dead?

Let it be remarked, that the resurrection of the dead is assumed by me as a fact which cannot be controverted by those who give credit to the testimony of scripture. If any person chooses to call it in question, of course he has no more ado with my arguments than he has with the inspired writings themselves.

It is proper also to remark, that, throughout the present enquiry, I do not forget, that the grand originating cause of the resurrection of the dead, as well as of every other phenomenon natural and spiritual, is the will of the Supreme Being. The matter now to be investigated, however, is, what is the proximate or instrumental cause of this resurrection? or, in perhaps plainer language, what is the medium or channel through which God accomplishes His purpose, that the dead shall rise again? True it is, God raises the dead: but how?

This enquiry resolves itself into two parts. First. Do the dead rise again in virtue of a connection with Adam or with the Lord Jesus? Secondly. If in virtue of a connection with the latter, in what particular way is this glorious consummation accomplished?

First. In answer to the former of these questions, I deny, in the most marked and positive terms, that the resurrection of the dead is the result of, or in any respect whatever to be ascribed to, the connection subsisting between mankind and the first Adam. This denial it is not difficult to substantiate by a great variety of arguments. Let the following suffice.

1. Adam, both in the Old and New Testaments, is uniformly represented and spoken of as the author and source of death. This is the leading feature or circumstance by which he is distinguished from the Lord Jesus, and one which the inspired writers, in a variety of ways, insist upon and illustrate. On the other hand, there is not a single sentence or passage in the sacred records in which the resurrection of the dead, either in one point of view or another, is directly or indirectly ascribed to Adam. Indeed, what ground would there have been for instituting a comparison between Adam and Jesus, as is done by the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, and his first Epistle to the Corinthians, if the former, by being the author of the resurrection, had been the author of life, as well as of death? This whole matter is so obvious, that I should consider myself guilty, not only of abusing the time and patience of my readers, but of insulting their understandings, were I to insist upon it farther. Those who are desirous to see the argument exhibited in its full force, should consult Rom: v. 12, to the end; and 1 Corinth: xv. throughout.

2. As it is to eternal life or immortality that, by the

admission of all, the dead are raised, if eternal life or immortality be the divine nature, it will obviously follow, that Adam cannot be the source, origin, or author of the resurrection of the dead, without being also the source, origin, or author of the divine nature. That eternal life is the life of God, or the divine nature, will only be disputed by him who has never reflected on the meaning of the terms; or who is capable of comprehending a distinction between eternal existence, and eternal life, which I confess I am not. That immortality is the life of God, or the divine nature, and, consequently, of synonymous import with eternal life, is equally obvious; besides being the express declaration of scripture, 1 Timothy vi. 16: where, speaking of God, the inspired writer lays it down as an incontrovertible position, that He only hath immortality. To possess eternal life or immortality is, then, to possess the divine nature; and when God bestows eternal life or immortality upon any creature, it is clear that He bestows that creature His own existence, or makes it one with Himself. If Adam, then, by being the author of the resurrection, transmits to his posterity eternal life or immortality, as he thus transmits to them the divine nature, the following consequences ensue: 1st. He thus appears in a totally different character from that in which scripture exhibits him, namely, as the source or author of human nature only. 2ly. The whole mediatorial undertaking of the Lord Jesus is superseded and rendered nugatory, and he is represented as having come into the world on a bootless errand: for, if Adam

upon

bestow divine as well as human nature, what is left for the Lord Jesus to bestow? 3ly. As Adam was but a creature, and as eternal life is the life of the Creator, if Adam be the source of eternal life or immortality, we have a creature transmitting to his posterity what is uncreated and divine!-But enough. Such monstrous consequences cannot be admitted; and Adam, therefore, cannot be the author or source of the resurrection.

3. If the resurrection of the dead take place in virtue of any connection subsisting between mankind and Adam, the declarations of the Lord Jesus concerning himself are expressly contradicted. This is so clear and obvious, that my only difficulty, amidst the rich abundance of proofs and illustrations which present themselves to my notice, is to make a selection of a few. Jesus declares himself to be the author and source of eternal life in these memorable words: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life. John x. 27, 28. Also, in his intercessory prayer: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. John xvii. 2. See also the following passages: John iii. 15; iv. 14; v. 26, 39; vi. throughout; particularly verses, 27, 35, 40, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53-58, 68; x. 10; xiv. 19.Jesus declares himself to be the author of the resurrection likewise, in language which cannot be misinterpreted or misunderstood. I am the resurrection and the life. John xi. 25, 26. See also John v. 25-29;