ESSAY Ill. 449 soul completely, there remains no more moral defilement, no sin- ful pollution, nothing more than can give us either fear or shame, whether we appear before God in the justice of his government, or in the holiness of his nature. This defilement therefore appears evidently to be nothing but a figure of speech bor- rowed from material things, whereby either the guilt, or the disorder of sin, the relative or real evil of it are represented. Now though this metaphor of the defilement of sin may sometimes signify the guilt, sometimes the disorderly nature of it, yet let it be noted, that the scripture, in its common forms of speech, does, I think, more frequently use or imply the me- taphor of filth or pollution* to signify the inherent disorder or real evil that is in sin, than the guilt or relativeevil of it ; and I believe we may so understand it in most places where suchkind of metaphors are used : and consequently when we use this me- taphorof defilement, pollution, &c. we should rather apply it to the pravity and disorder of sin than to the guilt of it. And particularly let it bë observed, that wheresoever the guilt of sin and the defilement of sin are mentioned together in the writings of our divines, and represented as distinct and different things, there the guilt evidently signifies that offence against the di- vine law which subjects us to punishment; and the defilement must mean only that evil quality in sin which is contrary to the divine nature or holiness, which makes us unlike to God, and unfit for his presence, service or enjoyment. If this explica- tion of the filth or defilement of sin be admitted, that it some- times may signify the relative evil, but more frequently and pro- perly the real evil of sin, it will be easy to answer those perplex- ing questions which some persons have raised about this sub- ject, viz. 1. Can the defilement of Adam's first sin be transferred to his offspring by imputation ? Answer. If we will speak of, the defilement of sin to express the guilt of it, or its relative evil, which exposes us to the just anger of God and to punish- ment, according to the threateningsof his law ; it is evident by the foregoing discourses in this book, that it may be imputed to us, for we suffer a thousand painful evils and death at the end of them for the sin of Adam. But if by the defilement of sin we mean as we rather ought to do in accurate speech the real evil of it, or its disorderly nature and contrariety to the image of God in the soul, and as spoiling the best powers of man, un- fittingus for converse with God, and naturally tending to our destruction and misery, this is not properly imputed to us from * Note, I think these express words or substantives, pollution, &e. are scarce ever used in scripture, or in human writings, to signify merely the guilt of sin, Or the obligation to punishment, without carrying in them the idea of the real evil or disorder, or culpable demerit of sin. VOL. 1v. rt
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