Ojllf-an's Original Happiiieji. I ~ ~or nothing, whence almighty power had drawn him out. And what wrong_could there have been in this ~ while God -lhould have taken back what he freely gave? BtH now·the covenao-t being made, God become~ debtor to his owtt . , faithfulne(s: if rn~n' \vill work, he may crave the reward on the ground of -the covenant. · Well might the angels -then, upon his being raifed to this dignity, have giv~a him that falutation, Hail thou that art highly favoured;, Jhe Lord i.r with thet. . . Thirdly, God made h_im lord of the world, 'Prince:ofthe inferior creatures, univerfallord and emperor of the :whole .earth. His creator gave him dominion ove_r the fifh of the fea, and over the fowl of the air, over ali the earth, y~a, - -and every Ii ving thing that moveth o~ the earth: 'heput all thing'S under his feet, Pfal. viii. 6. 7. &L He gave him ei power foberly to ·ufe and difpofe of the creatures in the earth; {ea a-nd air. Thus man was God'·s..depute-governor in the lower word; and this his dominion was an image ofGQd's • f-overeignty. This -w'as common to"' the man and the wo- ·rnan ; but the ma~ had one thing peculiar to him, to wit, that he had dominion over the woman alfo, I Cor. xi. 7~ Behold hew1the creatur·es 'came to him, to own their fub· - · j ecUon; and to. do him homage as their lord; and quietly flood before him, till he put ,names on them as his own; ... -Gen . ii. 10. Man's ' face firuck an awe upon them; the fiouteft creatures flood al1onifhe9, ta_tpely and quietly ador– i-ng him as their lord and 'ruler. Thus was man cro'lvned '"u'ith glory and honour, Pfal. viii, 5, · The I_,.ord dealt moft: liberally and bountifully with him, put all'thingJ under hiS' 'ftet: only he-kept one thing, one tree in the garden·out ·of his ·hands, even the tree of knowledge of good. an~ evil •. But you may fay, And aid hegr-udge him this? I anfwer, nay; btn 'Yhen he had made him tlrus ha!y and happy, he ~racioufly -gave him this tefhi.ction, wh-ich was, in,its own. nature, a prop and fiay to keep him from falling .- And this·I fay, upop thefe three grounds. (I.) As it was moft pr.oper : for t~e honour -of God,who had --made rpan lord of the lower w~rld, to atfert his fovereign dominion over all .by fome par• ricular vifible fign; fo jt was rnofi proper for man's fafety: Mm being fet ·down in a ·beautiflll paradife, it was an aB: -of iruinit:e' wjfdom~ and of grac,e too, to keep from him one · ·B tin.gle_
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=