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SERMON XXVII.

PROVIDENCE. THE TEMPTATION AND FALL.

GENESIS iii. 1—6-Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field, which the Lord had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eal of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw, that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

IN the last discourse, I considered the situation of our first parents in the state of trial, in which God was pleased to place them: and the conditions of the law, or covenant, under which they were placed. These, I endeavoured to show, were just and reasonable; and such, as clearly spoke the benevolence of God.

In the text, we are informed of the result of this trial; viz. that they transgressed the law, fell from their original purity, forfeited the favour and blessing of God, and were condemned to suffer the penalty of the law.

In this remarkable passage of Scripture, four things especially claim our serious attention:

I. The Character of the Tempter:

II. The Manner of the Temptation:

III. The Character, and Circumstances, of the Persons Tempted: and,

IV. The Consequences of the Temptation.

1. The Character of the Tempter demands our attention.

The Tempter is exhibited to us, here, by the Name of the Serpent: or, as in the Hebrew, that Serpent. This phraseology naturally leads us to imagine, that a part of this discourse, as originally written, has been lost; altered, perhaps, by Moses, according to the commands of God; or, afterwards, by some prophet, according to the same command; because the passage had answered the end intended by it, and was not henceforth a necessary part of the canon of Scripture. Or, perhaps, it was originally differently written; and the present language is owing to some mistake of a transcriber. Of this Serpent, St. John declares, that he was Satan; the head, or leader, of those angels who kept not their first estate, but revolted from God, and threw off their subjection to his go

vernment.

This exalted being, unsatisfied with his dignity and glory in heaven, appears to have aspired to a station still higher, and to have chosen to hazard the loss of all which he possessed, rather than to continue in that, in which he was placed; a station, not improbably, the first in the created Universe. In thus aspiring, he fell from this height to the lowest depth of degradation, guilt, and misery; and completely verified the declaration of Christ, that such as have been first will, in various instances, be last in the great kingdom of God.

After his fall, the evil passions, which began to influence him in heaven, appear to have gained an entire ascendency. All his purposes have, since that event, been evil, mischievous, and abominable; and the means, by which he has laboured to accomplish them, have been base, grovelling, and suited to the nature of the purposes.

That, upon which he now entered, was probably as base, as hateful, as unjust, and as cruel, as was ever formed; and will, perhaps, be more remembered with horror, hereafter, than any other; unless we are to except the Rebellion, to which he successfully solicited his companions in heaven, and the Crucifixion of the Redeemer.

The motives, by which he was influenced to this work of death and destruction, were probably such as these.

His Envy was naturally and highly provoked at the sight of so humble a race of beings, as Men, possessing a character, and lot, plainly superior to his own; because they were immortal and holy, and consequently happy also; because they stood higher in the approbation of God, and the estimation of Angels; and because they were, in prospect, the heirs of immortal life and endless enjoyment.

His Resentment against God, which fired his rebellious spirit at all times, now saw, and seized, what he thought an advantageous opportunity, to disappoint his great ENEMY of his favourite design; to overcast the face, and glory, of his new creation; to dishonour his name; to disturb again the peace of his kingdom; and to frustrate purposes, which seemed to be near, if not nearest, to his heart.

His Pride, also, was, doubtless, greatly gratified with the prospect of being able to disappoint his Maker; to counteract his designs; and to prove, that his wisdom was not so great, as to secure him from being thwarted, and vanquished, by this sagacity of his

enemy.

Nor was his Malevolence probably less concerned in this enterprise. He had now become the professed, habitual, and eternal enemy of God, and of his creation. Good he regarded, wherever he saw it, with an evil and malignant eye, and an aching heart. That others were happy, was, to his debased feelings, a certain source of misery. The only emotions, which resembled happiness, in his mind, were now those, which, in the true fiend-like manner,

exulted in overcoming others, in destroying or lessening their enjoyments, and in reducing them to the same level of deformity and wretchedness with himself. These emotions could not but be strongly excited by the prospect of ruining a world of happy beings; such as were, and were to be, our first parents and their offspring.

For the gratification of these abandoned dispositions, he was prepared to employ any means. Accordingly, he chose rather to inhabit, and animate, a serpent, and ally himself to the brutes, than to fail of his design. In the body of this serpent he approached, and accosted, Eve; doubtless expecting, what actually took place, that both himself and his purposes would, in this way, be effectually concealed.

II. The manner of the Temptation was remarkably distinguished by art and subtlety.

He accosted the general Mother of Mankind, when she was alone, and of course most unguarded. Had Adam been present, it seems unquestionable, that both would have assisted each other; and that their mutual strength might have resisted, with success, the insidiousness, which was sufficient to prevail over one.

He began his address to her, with a question, which involved in it, apparently, not impiety, but surprise; and which was calculated, in the highest degree, to excite her attention and curiosity, without raising in her mind any alarm, or even suspicion. Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? “Can this be possible? What end can it answer? For what purpose were these fruits created, but to be eaten, and eaten by you? Whence then the prohibition? Or is it possible, that such a prohibition should exist?"

Had he directly opposed God, it is probable, that the honest mind of Eve would have revolted at the conduct; and fled from the temptation, with horror. But now, he said just enough to awaken her curiosity, and no more. Hence she was prepared to listen to him, to go on with him in his sentiments; and, in the end, to imbibe them all. The Question, in a manner not naturally seen, nor suspected, by her, awakened a train of thoughts, in themselves dangerous, and leading easily to a fatal issue.

Eve, in the native simplicity and integrity of her heart, replied, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, nor shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

This answer brought the subject immediately to the point, which the tempter wished; and gave him a fair opportunity, without directly denying the divine prohibition, to seduce the heart of his He replied accordingly, Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know, that, in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.

victim.

Nothing could, in such circumstances, be more artfully conduct

Their

ed. It was not a difficult thing, in itself, to persuade Eve, that she should not die. Death was an evil, whose nature she could but very imperfectly comprehend, and of which she had known no example. But of the pleasantness of the fruit, its fragrance, and beauty, she had a distinct comprehension. She also, in all probability, knew, in some degree, the character of those gods; Elohim, that is, Angels; to whose nature, knowledge, and dignity, she was to rise by eating the prohibited fruit. At the same time, he applied directly to the only object which was likely to be to her an object of desire. She and her husband were surrounded with good; and had nothing to regret, and nothing to fear. only danger seems to have been on the side of coveting more, because they already had so much; and of wishing, because they were now so wise and happy, to become wiser and happier. The Tempter, by his own experience, perfectly understood the power of this mode of attack, and the proper avenue, through which to introduce the temptation. Eve knew, that Angels were superior to her, as she was superior to the brutes; and probably knew not, but that this was the way in which they became Angels. These views would naturally make her consider the tree, as wholly to be desired to make one wise; and lead her to forget the danger of disobedience.

At the same time, the boldness and impudence of the Tempter's assertions, probably astonished and confounded her. There is something in the confidence, with which, at times, assertions are made, which has always more or less commanded belief in the ignorant and inexperienced; such as she was at this time. To her he appeared to understand the subject in a manner, of which she had never before formed a conception; and the boldness and peremptoriness of his declarations gave them such an air of truth and wisdom, as she was unprepared to resist. Nor did he fail to avail himself of the influence of that passion, which is so universal, so easily kindled, and so powerfully operative, in the minds of all her descendants; viz. Jealousy. God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as Gods. In this speech, he artfully, but evidently, insinuated, that the true reason, why the tree was forbidden, was, that God knew this to be its nature and efficacy; that the prohibition was, therefore, insincerely and unkindly made; and that the whole proceeding, on the part of God, was sinister, selfish, and oppressive.

This procedure gave an entirely new aspect to the character and conduct of God; and to a mind, beginning to be tinctured with jealousy, rendered that character unamiable, and that conduct suspected and unworthy.

When this was accomplished, and Eve had let go her hold on her glorious benefactor, till then absolutely loved, venerated, and trusted; she was prepared for every thing, which could follow. A little contemplation of the fruit itself, after she had begun the

course of infidelity in her heart, led her, as temptations have always led the heart of unbelief, to direct transgression and open rebellion. To eat it, she now perceived, would at once gratify her taste, and raise her to the envied distinction, which was promised. Such is the summary account, which God has thought proper to give us in his word, of one of the two most important transactions, which this world has ever seen. A part only, and not improbably a small one, of the events, which actually took place, is recorded. That various other things passed on this occasion, cannot be doubted. Beside the abruptness of the introduction, the first question appears to be asked in consequence of something, which had preceded. These outlines the great English Poet has filled with several natural and interesting circumstances, which, or something like which, may not improbably have happened. It is not difficult to believe, that the serpent may have alleged, that he himself had eaten of the fruit, and had not died; but, on the contrary, had gained, from its mysterious and happy influence, the powers of understanding and speech, with which he appeared to be elevated above his kindred brutes.

Be this as it may; it seems evident, that the story, as here told, is either the close, or the epitome, or both, of a full account of the transaction. Yet, as it is, it is a specimen of consummate art, insidiousness, and fraud. The manner of address, on the part of the serpent, is calculated insensibly to insinuate, and inspire, jealousy and irreverence towards God; uneasy and repining thoughts of the condition, in which man was placed by him; ardent ambition to be like Angels in knowledge, happiness, and glory; and longing desires to eat the forbidden fruit for this end; together with strong hopes, that no evil consequences would follow the transgression.

III. The character of the persons tempted, was probably singular. They were newly created; were innocent; were holy; and, considering the short period of their being, were undoubtedly possessed of no small discernment in divine things. They loved truth; were free from all biasses and prejudices; possessed a vigorous understanding; and thus were prepared for a ready reception of every truth, and for a rapid progress in useful knowledge. The progress, which they actually made, must have been great, under such advantages, compared with what, at first thought, may seem probable.

Still they were imperfect beings; without experience; and destitute of knowledge in many particulars, which would naturally be wished in a case, where art and falsehood were employed against them; and, although furnished with a clear comprehension of their own duty, were totally ignorant of the character, and unable readily to conjecture the designs, of their Adversary. The first deceit, which they ever knew, was now practised on themselves; and the first falsehood, of which they ever heard, was now directed to their own destruction. Of the rebellion of the Angels, they probably

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