appear for the three first days of creation, until the fun, the inftrumental exciter, was produced.

Further, we muft remark, that although God is here faid to create. the world, yet it may be true, that he employed a fubordinate agent in the formation of it; namely, the Son of God, who afterwards came into the world for the redemption of mankind, See John i. 2, 3. Col. i. 15, 16, 17. 1 Cor, viii. 5, 6. But though he was the inftrumental cause, yet it is true, that God made all things, because our Lord acted by a power derived from him. He that hath built all things is God. Heb. iii. 4. So much for critical remarks. The fubject naturally leads to the following reflections.

"Thefe are thy glorious Works, Parent of Good!

Almighty, thine this univerfal Frame,

"Thus wonderous fair; thyself how wonderous then!

How wonderous, how immenfe is the power, goodness, and wifdom, which gave exiftence to the ftupendous fabric and furniture of the universe!

I. POWER. How vaft and mighty is the arm which stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth! which fuftains numberless worlds, of amazing bulk, fufpended in the unmeasurable and unconceivably distant regions of empty space; and steadily directs their various rapid and regular motions! Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created all these things. He bringeth out all their hofts by number, he calleth them all by names, by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in Power, not one of them faileth. Ifai. xl. 26. How powerful was the command, Let there be light, and there was light-Let there be a firmament, &c. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hoft of them by the breath of his mouth. For he fpake, and it was done; he com

manded

confequently fill eight cubick leagues of fpace with fresh light: then "how many times eight cubick leagues of luminous matter, will all the fucceffive inftants of illumination produce in one night's time! Sure nothing was ever more inconceivable.

46

"

"On the contrary, how fimple and natural is it to fuppofe, that as the air "exifted before the bell that put it in motion, and caufed it to vibrate into "found, fo, in like manner, the light exifted round the fire of Messina, before "the lantern was illuminated, and only waited to be put in motion by the fire, in order to make an impreffion on the eyes of the mariners. The fun "and ftars do, by the fame means, make themselves visible, without fuffering any diminution of their fubftance, by continual emanations of luminous "matter into thofe vaft regions of space through which we behold them; "God having placed between thofe luminous globes and us, the body of "that light which we fee, and which is impreffed on the organs of vifion, "by their action and influence; but does not proceed from them, nor owes "its existence to them.The account of Mofes therefore, as to this par "ticular, is agreeable to truth, as well as an useful leffon of caution, when he informs us, that God, and not the fun, was the author and parent of light, and that it was created by his almighty fiat before there was a fun to dart it on one part of the earth, and a moon to reflect it on the other."

manded, and it flood fast. Pfal. xxxiii. 6, 9. Thus the Scriptures fublimely exprefs the exertion of the divine Power in Creation; as if it were done inftantaneously, and with as little difficulty as fpeaking a

word.

II. And as for GOODNESS, what an infinite fulness of life and being, what an immenfe, inexhauftible treafury of all Good, must that be, from whence all this life and being was derived! How infinitely rich is the glorious and eternal God! Out of his own fulness he hath brought worlds and worlds, replenished with myriads and myriads of creatures, furnished with various powers and organs, capacities and inftincts; and out of his own fulnefs continually and plentifully fupplieth them with all the neceffaries of existence. And ftill his fulness remaineth the fame, unemptied, unimpaired; and he can yet bring out of his fulness worlds and worlds without end. How immenfely full of all life and being is the glorious and eternal God! Thus he is good in himself. And he doth good. He is kind and beneficent, willing to communicate being and good. How profufe is his bounty! He might have kept, as I may fay, the whole of existence to himself; but he has liberally fhared it out among his creatures; and of all his creatures in this world, the moft liberally to us men. Survey the whole of what may be feen in and about this globe, and fay, if our Maker hath a fparing and niggardly hand; fay, if we have a churlish and unkind father. Certainly it is his pleasure to form creatures, and furnish them with enjoyment; and therefore his tender mercies must be over all his works.

III. His WISDOM appears illuftrious in the variety, beauty, exactnefs, order, and harmony, in which God hath formed and fixed the univerfe; in the feveral capacities and degrees of excellence he has conferred upon his creatures; the proper ftations he hath affigned to them; the fubordination and fubferviency of one to another, which he hath established, for the regularity and well-being of the whole. They are all, as they come out of his hands, juft what they fhould be, adjufted in the exactest proportions to their feveral ends and connexions; all in every part and refpect fhewing the workmanship of the profoundest skill, and moft curious art. The utmost stretch of human understanding can reach but a fmall part of God's works; but they who study the wifdom of Creation, cannot but admire, and use the words of the facred penman, Pfal. civ. 24. (where he is furveying the feveral parts of our globe) O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In Wisdom haft thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches!

These reflections will (1) infpire the most elevated fentiments of the most high and mighty Creator, who is exalted infinitely above the heavens, his glory is above all the earth, Pfal. cviii. 5. The Lord our God is very great, he is clothed with honour and majefty; and we fhould ftudy to magnify him in our hearts by the most raifed conceptions of his tranfcending greatnefs. (2.) This fhould alfo fill our minds with joy, and our mouths with his high praifes. This God is our God, our maker, and therefore our father. The first and most proper notion we ought to entertain of the great God is, that of a Father; our Father, and the Father of the whole univerfe. And greatly fhould we be delighted with the difplays of our Father's infinite power, wifdom, and goodnefs. Tranf

B 4

ported

ported with joy, by an elegant profopopcia, the Pfalmift, in the 148th Pfalm, calls upon all creatures to praise God; wifhing, in effect, that they had all of them understandings and tongues to declare how much kill and kindness he has fhewn in their formation and establishment, Joy and praife are the Creator's due, and fhould be our conftant temper and practice. (3) He who is the maker, is alfo the abfolute proprietor, Lord, and Sovereign of all things; and therefore hath the first and higheft right to our reverence, fubmiffion, and obedience; in which he is infinitely able to fupport us in oppofition to all human power and authority. For all Power, not only his own inherent power, but alfo the Power of all created beings, belongs to God. From him it is originally derived, and the exercife of it depends entirely upon his will and pleasure; nor, in any inftance, can it poffibly act beyond the limits which he prefcribcs. Therefore, in the way of duty, relying upon his all-fufficiency, we need not fear what man can do unto us. (4) In our prefent fituation we are liable to many difficulties and diftrefies, from which we are not able to guard or extricate ourselves; but the almighty Creator is infinitely able to deliver his fervants from any danger, and can clear a paffage through all embarraffments. He can make a way even in the fea, and a path in the mighty waters. (5.) He who from his own inexhaustible fulness hath brought forth all worlds and creatures, is our fhepherd; he careth for us, and can fully fupply all our wants. (6.) He can fully accomplish all the great and glorious things revealed in the Gofpel. He can raife us from the dead, change our vile bodies, and clothe us with immortal honour and glory, This fhould not feem to us incredible, because he hath already performed things as incredible, and we have conftantly expofed to our view effects of his Power no lefs wonderful.

CHA P. V.

Of the CREATION of MAN.

Gen. i, 26, to the End.

OW we are come to the formation of Man. Here, obferve, the language of the Creator is altered. Inftead of, Let there be Men, God faid, (Ver. 26.) Let us make Man, or, we will make Man, in our image, after our likeness. Q. d. "Now we have formed and furnished

the earth, let us make Man, the nobleft of our works, to inhabit, "cultivate, and enjoy it." The fuperior excellency of the human nature is fignified by the diftinguifhed manner in which God is reprefented as addreffing himfelf to the formation of Man.

The plural number is ufed [And God faid, let us make Man]; but acording to the genius of the Hebrew language, this is only a magnificent way of expreffing the majefty of God; and amounts to no more than this, And God jaid, I will make Man. So Gen. xi. 7. Go to, let us go down, i. e.

1

I will go down, Thus God is called our Makers, Job xxxv. 10. Pfal. cxlix. 2. Thy Creators, Eccl. xii. 1. Thy makers is thy husbands, Ifai. liv. 5. which are all to be understood, and are rendered in the fingular number. "Nouns appellative denoting dominion, according to the He" brew idiom, are put in the plural inftead of the fingular." Should it be fuppofed, that the great God here fpeaks to fome other being or beings befides himself, it must be to fome fubordinate beings; for neither this, nor any other paffage of scripture, can justly be explained incon→ fiftently with the unity, fimplicity, or fingleness of the divine nature.

Ver. 26. Let us make Man in our own Image, [Heb. in the sketch or fhadow of us after, or like, our Likeness. Thefe words, with refpe& to God, are diminutive, and denote that the moft perfect endowments of the human nature are but a fketch, a fhadow, or fomething refembling the Likenèfs of God. And yet, with respect to other creatures on earth, it speaks high diftinction, and fuperiority. For this sketch of the Image of God in Man muft include, 1. The noble faculties of his mind; understanding and will, or freedom of choice, for the government of all his actions and paffions, and his continual improvement in wifdom, purity, and happiness. 2. His dominion over the inferior creatures, exprefsly mentioned, ver. 26, 28. By which he is God's Reprefentative, or Viceroy upon earth.

But divines have understood this Image of God, as confifting in righteousness and true holiness; which they affirm, were created with Adam. Meaning, not that Adam was created with fuch powers as rendered him capable of acquiring righteoufnefs and holiness, but that he was made in this Image of God; it was concreated with him, or wrought into his nature, at the fame time that it was created; and fo belonged to it as a natural faculty or inftinct. This they call original righteoufnefs, which they ground principally upon the two following paffages. Col. iii. 9, 10. Lye not one to another, feeing that you have [by your Chriftian profeffion] put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the Image of him that created him. Ephef. iv. 22, 23, 24. That ye put off, concerning the former converfation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lufts: and be renewed in the fpirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. All this is fuppofed to relate to Adam's being originally created in the Image of God.

The old man, fay they, is a corrupt nature derived from Adam; and the new man, is fallen man restored to the primitive temper, or to that righteousness and holiness in which they fuppofe Adam was created. But this is wide of the Apoftle's fenfe. It is not uncommon with him to compare the Chriftian church to a man, or the human body, of which Christ is the head, and we are all of us members in particular. The new man was created, when God erected the Gofpel Difpenfation, and broke down the middle Wall of Partition between us Jews and Gentiles, (Ephef. ii. 13, 14, 15, 16.) for to make to himself, in the Gospel, of twain, or of the two parties, believing Jews and Gentiles, one new man, or the new conftitution and community, under the Gospel. To this new man, the old man is directly oppofed; and therefore muft fignify the Gentile ftate or community, headed by Satan, to which, before their converfion,

ye

verfion, they were joined. This is confirmed by the Apoftle, Ephef. ii. 11. Wherefore remember, that ye being in time paffed GENTILES in the flesh, &c. And chap. iv. 17, &c. This I fay that walk not as other GENTILES walk, &c. They formerly belonged to the old man, the body of impure, idolatrous heathen; but now they had, by their Chriftian profeffion, put off this old man, together with all his wicked deeds, Col. iii. 9, 10, and had put on the new man, or were joined to the Chriftian church, or community. And therefore, they were obliged to be renewed in the Spirit of their minds, and to live in knowledge [true wisdom], or in righteufness and true holiness. For God created the new man, or conftituted the Chriftian church, in wifdom and righteoufnefs and holinefs, after his own Image, or the rectitude of his nature, with this defign, to promote the fame rectitude among men. For (Ephef. ii. 10.) we, the new Man, or the whole body of Chriftians, are God's workmanship, created in Chrift Jefus unto good works, which God ordained, when he formed the Gofpel Scheme, that we should walk in them.

But what hath this to do with Adam's being created in righteoufness and true holiness? Which, in the nature of things, could not be created, or wrought into his nature at the fame time he was made; because fuch a righteoufnefs would have been produced in him without his knowJedge and confent; and fo would have been no righteoufnefs at all. For whatever is wrought in my nature without my knowledge and choice, cannot poffibly be either fin or virtue in me, because it is no act of mine; but must be a mere natural inftinct, like the industry of the bee, or the fierceness of the lion. Righteoufnefs is right action, directed by knowledge and judgment; but Adam could neither act, nor know, nor judge, before he and all his intellectual powers were created; and therefore he must exift and ufe his intellectual powers, before he could be righteous and holy.

We may further obferve-That God made the first pair male and female, that they might multiply and inhabit the whole earth, and fupply a perpetual fucceffion of men and women, pronouncing a bleffing upon the regular propagation of the human fpecies, ver. 28. And God blessed them, &c. But this bleffing, divines have fuppofed, was turned into a curie, by Adam's tranfgreffion; which fo corrupted the human nature, that thereby and thenceforth we all come into the world under the wrath and curfe of God. But that this alfo is a mistake, is most evident from Gen. ix. 1. where God repeats, and pronounces the very fame original bleffing upon the increafe or birth of mankind 1600 years, and upwards, after Adam's tranfgreffion, when the world was to be restored, and replenished from Noah and his fons. This proves, that mankind, in all fucceffive generations, have come, and will come into the world, under the very fame bleffing and favour of God, which was declared at the first creation of Man. It is of great importance to obferve these remarks, not to produce any difguft or animofity towards thofe that efpoufe the contrary opinion, who ought to be treated with candour and forbearance, but to fettle our own judgments upon right principles.

Once more; the original grant of fuftenance to Man was confined to herbs, and the fruits of plants and trees, ver. 29, 30. which afterwards was enlarged, and included animal food, Gen. ix. 3.

Now