That lvlan'r Nature, &c. State H. which he could not get denied; but not one wprd -he-,f-a.ys of his fin: here was the reafon of it, he would fain have hid it if he could. It is as natural for us to hide fin, as to co-m– mit it. Many fad in(hnces thereof we have in this wo~rld .; btu a far:clear~ri>roof of it we fhall get at the day of judg– ment, the da_y in which .God will judge the fecretJ o.f me-n, Rom. ii. 1 6. LVJany' -a foul mourh will-then be feen, 'Which is ; now wiped,_ ~nd faith,-- 1 h,ave -.done no wickednefs, Prov. xxx.- 20. - 'Laflly, ls4t not naturatf~r us to extenuate our fln, and transfer the guiit upon others ? {\nd when God examin-ed , our guilty fidLparents, did not Adam lay the blame,on ..the woman? .And did .not the woman lay th_e bl a~e on the fer- ' pent? .Gen. iii. I 2 >tl3 •' _Now Adam's children need .not be .taught this he-Uifh ppli_cy ;_for,_before.they can well fpeak . (if they cannot.get the fa& .deoie<d) tbey will cunningly lifp out fqmething to leifen their fault, and lay the blame upon another. Nay, fo natural is this to-men, tha,t in the greatw efl: of Gns they will lay the fault upon God 1Jimfelf ;- tbey will blafpheme his holy providence under the miHakenname of misfortune or ill luck, and thereby lay the blame of their fin. at heayen's door. And was not this one of Adam's tricks after hisJaH? "Gen. ii,i ..-12~ __ And the man faid, The wornan 11Wb~m thrm gav-e.fi ~o be with 'flie, fhe gave -me of the tree, . and 1 did eat~. Oblerve the order of_the fpeech ..- fie makes his apology.itlthe fidl: place, .and theocome$hisconfeffion: his apology is lQng .; . but his.confeffion .very lhort; it is all comprehende~i,n a word, and 1 did eat. H.ow pointed and di{tinCl: is_his apology~ ' as if he was afraid hi.s meaning fhould have been miftaken-? The woman, fays he, or that wo– man, as ifhe would have pointed the judge. to his own work, of which we read, (jen. it.. 2 2 ., r.There was h_ut one woman then-in the world; · fo. that one would think.he needed n~t have been ,fo nice and exatt in pointiQg.at her : yet fhe is ,as carefully mark~d -ou-t in his defence, as if. there had been ten thoufand, 'Th w~manwhom thou,gavcfi me: here _he " fpeaks, asif he had b(en.,ruined_with God's gifts. _And .to make tbe gift look the p!acker,- it is added to all this, thoz& gavefl io be with t1u, as a conftant companion, to ihnd ·by , ' >tne as a helper. This lQoks as ifAdamwould have fathered •ttJ jll defign upon the"Lord; in giving him his gift. And after
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