take alfo of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23. Therefore the LORD God fent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence he was taken.

24. So he drove out the man: and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden, cherubims, and a flaming fword, which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

In this Paragraph we have fome Confequences of our first Parents Sin before God judged them; fome appointed by his judicial Act and Sentence; and fome which happened after that Sentence was pronounced.

I. IMMEDIATELY upon their Tranfgreffion they were feized with Shame and Fear, the common Effects of Guilt.

THEIR Shame is described, ver. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked: and they fewed fig-leaves together and made themfelves aprons. In the laft Verfe of the foregoing Chapter it is faid, and they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed. But now, after they had finned, they were ashamed of their Nakedness, and contrived Coverings for it. But the Reafon why they were thus afhamed is not given. Only, as they were naked when they were not afhamed, as well

as

as when they were ashamed, the Reason of their being afhamed, muft not, I think, be taken from any Alteration in their Bodies *, but from the Opinion they had of themselves. The eyes of them both were opened; they thought differently of themselves from what they had done before: But for what Reason, or from what Caufe, befides a Senfe of Guilt, no Man can determine. Guilt will always be attended with Shame; and a State of Guilt is often in Scripture expreffed by being naked. Exod. xxxii. 25. And when Mofes faw that the people were naked, for Aaron had made them naked unto their fhame amongst their enemies. Ifa. xlvii. 3. Thy nakedness fhall be uncovered, yea thy fhame fhall be feen: I will take vengeance. Rev. xvi. 15. Blessed is be that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, i. e. the Habits of his Mind, left be walk naked, and they fee bis fhame.

THEIR Fear is defcribed, ver. 8. And they beard the voice of the LORD God walking.

Some learned Men think they were originally clothed with a luminous and glorious Covering, which adhered to their whole Body; and that after they had finned, they were, by the immediate Act of God, ftript of this Badge of his Favour and their Innocency. But this Opinion doth not affect the Point under Confideration : Since, if their Bodies were thus difgraced, it relateth only to their outward Form, and Appearance, and infers no Change or Diminution of the Powers of their Minds.

And

And Adam and his Wife hid themselves from the prefence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the Garden. Here we learn, that whereas the LORD God had appeared unto them, and converfed with them, and they had no difquieting Fear of him, while they were innocent; now they had finned, they were afraid to stand before their God and Judge, whofe Law they had tranfgreffed.

REFLECTIONS.

"HERE obferve, that for any thing that appears in the Text, their Sin, the evil "Action they committed, was perfonal. Set

ting afide the Tempter, no body com"mitted that finful Act of Difobedience but

they themselves; firft, Eve, and then "Adam, in their own perfons; for there "was not a Man or Woman in the World "befides themfelves. This is manifeft. And "as the evil Action they committed was per

་

fonal, done only by them; fo alfo muit "the real Guilt be perfonal, and belong only "to themselves: that is, no other could, in "the Eye of Juftice and Equity, be blame"able and punishable for that Tranfgreffion, "which was their own Act and Deed, and "not the Act and Deed of any other Man "or Woman in the World. This alfo muft "be true, or we cannot understand how

"any

any thing can be true, or juft, or equi"table.

"AGAIN, the Senfe of Guilt, the Shame "and Fear, with which their Confciences were touched, must also be perfonal; muft

belong to them only, and could not, in the "Nature of Things, belong to any other Per"fons whatever. Because as no other but

they two only were guilty of the firft Sin, "fo no other but they two could have a "Confcioufnefs of it as their Sin; no other "could be forry, or afhamed, or dread the "Wrath of God for a Crime as chargeable

upon themfelves, in which they had no "Hand, which was done before they had a Being, and which therefore they could no

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way poffibly help. This alfo must be true, "otherwise one Man's Consciousness, and "Confcience of Guilt, must be transferred to " another Man, and be made his Consciouf"nefs and Guilt: That is to fay, one Man "must be fuppofed to think and believe him"felf to be another Man. Which, if ever it "be done, must be the Act and Deed of God, changing his Mind, and making him con"ceit, that he is not himself, but another Per"fon. But to charge fuch Illufion and Deceit

upon God is highly prophane and impious; "and fuppofes that he torments his Crea-tures with Guilt, Shame and Fear, which

" do

"do not in Juftice belong to them, but are purely imaginary."

THE Guilt Adam contracted was attended with Shame and Fear. Thefe were the Confequences of his Tranfgreffion antecedent to God's judging him.

II. THE Confequences judicially appointed by the Sentence of God are to be found either in the Sentence pronounced upon pronounced upon the Serpent, or the Woman, or the Man.

I. THE SERPENT, is curfed, ver. 14, 15. Which fo far as it relateth to the Serpent, (whether the natural Serpent, or the Devil, the wicked Spirit, which ufed the Serpent as his Inftrument in tempting our firft Parents) hath nothing to do with the Point we are now upon.

BUT whereas it is faid, ver. 5. I will put enmity between thee, [O Serpent,] and the woman, and between thy feed and her feed; it fball bruife thy head, and thou shalt bruife bis beel; this evidently relateth to the Woman's Pofterity: And I incline to think, the Meffiab, the most eminent Seed of the Woman, is pointed at. But how muft we understand this of the Meffiah? According to the Text, God faith he would put Enmity between the Devil and him, and that he fhould bruise the

Devil's