SERMON XLIX. 93 raised it to man, at least by way of emblem and sacrament, in givinghim the tree of life, and perhaps also by'a more express promise of life, which through the designedbrevity of the history,. Moses'might notmention.. II. " By a wilful and presumptuous transgression of the law, man violated his 'allegiance to God his Maker, and forfeited all good things that his Creator had given him, and the hope of all that he had promised. Every sin incurs a forfeiture of life itself, and all the present and future comforts of it, according to the express words of the threatening ; Gen. ii. 17. In the day that thou eatest of the forbidden fruit thou shalt surely die, that is, thou shalt become mortal and liable to death*. And the apostle tells us ; Rom. vi. 23. The wages of siu isdeath. 'Nor is such a forfeiture of life and theblessings of it by sin, utterly unknown to the heathen world., as St. Paul. declares; Roni. i. 32. Who knowing the judgment of God, that they who commit such things are worthy of death: And I think the very light of nature might findout this; for it would be strange indeed if God the Creator should be bound to continue life or any blessing to a crea- ture which had broken his allegiance to his Maker, and by a wilful and presumptuous offence, had as it were renounced the very end and design for Which .he was made. III. " Tisis forfeiture of lifeand the blessings of it by sin, is an everlasting forfeiture." Every sin is usually and justly supposed to increase its demerit-or desert of punishment, accord- ing to the dignity of the personwhose law is broken. Sin against a father or a prince carries greater guilt in it, than that which is committed against a neighbour or a servant : And in this way of argument, sin against God appears to have a sort of infinite evil in it, because it is committed against the infinite Majesty of hea- ven : And on this account every sin deserves a sort of infinite or everlasting punishment, that is, an everlasting loss of life and all the blessings of it, which are eternally forfeited thereby. And perhaps this is the lowest punishment that ever is inflicted s: Death in its original, and most proper and natural sense, signifies the loss of life, and together with itthe loss of all its blessings and comforts. This is the common if not the universal sense of the word in the writings of Moses : And in the sanction of a law it is reasonable to suppose the word is used in its most natural and proper sense. Death in scripture is used sometimes for the loss of privileges, blessings and comforts, even where life remains: In this sense it signifies the soul's loss of the image of God, of holinessand peace: This is called spiritual death. Thus the Ephesians are said tobe dead in trespas- ses and sins; Eph. ii. 1. Sometimes death signifies the loss of blessings in the world tocome, together with positive sorrows and sufferings both in soul and body for. ever. So in Rom. viii. 13. If ye live after the flesh ye shall die; And John vi. 50. This is the bread which came down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. In Rev. xxi. 8. this is called the second death. Now death in all these senses is either the natural consequent of sin, or it is the legal punishment of it, according to its several aggravations, an will appear afterwards.
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