28S Rt'I: AND RECOVERY, &C. , lose his Maker's image by indulging one sin ;, for his nature itself became vitiated by this one sinful action, which may be accounted for several ways : 1. By acting contrary to the principle or habit of holiness which was in his soul, he violated and weakened this habit or principle of holiness : It was abold venture for him to allow so pinch as a debate within himself, whether he should disobey his Maker or no : But by actually cheating or contradicting his cots- science, and -by sinning against the light of his innocent state, and his own mind, and reason, he broke the inward spring of conscience and virtue, if I may so express it, which gave him before a constant bent and propensity to holiness and obedience : As we find at this day, when persons of a religious education once violate the restraints of their own mind, and break the bars of conscience, they render its force much weaker for time to come, and go on to act contrary to it with still greater ease and freedom. 2. 'When man had once sinned against his Maker, his heart must necessarily misgive him, and his guilty fears continually arise : His reason and conscience must tell him, that he was an offender, a rebel-creature, and that his Maker had a right to resent his crime; and how terrible.that resentment might be, he knew not. 'Thenceforward lie looked upon Godwith an eye of fear and dreadrather than with an eye of love : He might pro- bably despair of mercy when he came soberly.to bethink himself, how great was his crime against a God of such majesty and such goodness, who was the spring of his being and comforts, as well as his righteous Governor and hisJudge : And then he could no longer love that God of whose mercy he despaired. And thus by losing the senseof the love of God to him, and by im- pairing or destroying the principle of love to God in his own soul, he lost, impaired or destroyed the truest and the best prin- ciples of all holiness and obedience. He could look upon God no longer as a friend whom he was wont to approachwith comfort and delight, but he rather avoided his company, and feared or hated all converse with him, as an almightyenemy ; and the fur- ther he departed fromGod, the more did the power ofsin increase is him, and the love of God died. are the representations of the bible concerning God's dealing with einfárr men as lying under the guilt of the broken law; Rom. iii. 19. Eph. ií, 5. And in this view even the elect themselves are called' Children of wrath by nature ear; as ethers; notwithstanding that God bad provided a covenant of grace, whereby multitudesof fallen mankind should be recovered and saved : And he manifested it to our first parents and their descendants in various degrees and on several occasions, even soon after the fall. All this provision therefore for the good of man in this lift,. or for the salvation ofhim hereafter, does not hinder the scrip- ture from representing men in their falles estate under the broken lawof works,, as miserable and destitute of God's favour, and without hope. 4
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=