the human nature, as his lord and king. This immediately funk him down from his high ftation; and by his example and influence, myriads of angels went off, and joined with him in rebellion. Thus they by fin left their firft ftation, and were banished from heaven; and by the arm of the Almighty were caft down to hell. This, perhaps, will in the moft natural way account for the head of thefe fallen angels, immediately entering upon a plan to feduce and ruin man, by tempting him to fin, as he had done; fuppofing that he fhould hereby effectually defeat God's revealed him, againft which he had rebelled. defigns, refpecting fo in the best manner account for his his cunning and might, and by all his fervants and an gels, the redemption and falvation of men; and his hating and oppofing the Redeemer, and attempting to de feat him in his defigns, in every poffible way, and to de ftroy every one of the human race; being a peculia enemy to the church, and all the friends of Chrift To all this he is naturally led by his firft fin, and is only perfevering in oppofing that, against which he rofe, is : his firft rebellion. This apoftaly, whatever was the occafion of it, was very important event indeed, the confequences of whic will continue to eternity. It, with many of its confe quences, are, in themfelves confidered, infinitely dread ful. But the defigns of the Moft High, are not in th leaft fruftrated by all this; but his counsel and plan are hereby established; and this was neceffary to brin to effect, and complete his infinitely wife purposes. It has been obferved, that there is evidence from fcripture, that the angels who have not finned ar now, and have been, long fince, in a confirmed ftate: And from what has been now fuppofed, concerning the fpe cial trial of their obedience, it has been thought that that they continued in a ftate of trial, until the. afcenfion of our Lord Jefus Chrift; and that they. were then confirmed in holinefs, and his favour. They were obedient to the divine orders, and all attention to man, particularly to the church and people of God, willingly miniftring to them, and ferving them, and their Lord, from the fall of man to the incarnation of the Son. of God. But their greateft trial did not take place, until he who was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, took upon him the form of a fervant, and was made in the likeness of men, being born of a poor virgin, and laid an infant in a manger; when he appeared as an outcast in the wilderness, affaulted and tempted by the devil; when he lived a poor defpifed man; and was finally apprehended, being betrayed by one of his difciples into the hands of men, and condemned as a malafactor, and crucified and buried in a tomb. In this time, while the Son of God was in this fate of humiliation, the angels continued to own him as their Lord, they attended upon him conftantly, and were his willing, faithful fervants. They attended him when in a manger, and with pleasure carried the joyful news of his birth to the fhepherds, and the whole multitude of them fang praifes on the occafion. They were with him when in the wilderness; affaulted by fatan, and miniftred to him. They affifted and ftrengthened himwhen he was in an agony in the garden. And when on the trofs, and in the grave, they were his conftant attendants; and proclaimed his refurrection from the dead, to his difciples. And when he afcended from earth to heaven, and fat down on the throne of the univerfe, all these mighty angels came down and attended upon him, and afcended with him with joy, and added to the triumph and fplendor of that event: And when they faw him feated in glory, all heaven was filled with a joy which never was known there before; and all these angels renewedly R 2 newedly devoted themselves to the fervice of Chrift and his chuch; and were made voluntarily fubje&t unto him. Then, it is fuppofed probable, Chrift their Lord said unto them, "Well done, good and faithful fervants, you have been faithful to me through the time of my, and your greatest trial, and have persevered in the moft willing and cheerful obedience; I therefore now put an end to your state of trial, and publicly confirm you in holiness and happiness, and confer on you the reward of eternal life." And as their election of God to eternal life was now made known, they are after this, but not before, called "elect angels." SECTION II. Concerning the Providence of God, as it refpects Man in a State of Innocency. MAN being made upright, or perfectly holy, this neceffarily fuppofes a rule of right, or that there was a right and wrong in moral character and conduct: and that God did, and could not but require or command that which is morally right, and forbid the contrary; or, in other words, that man was under moral government, which supposes a law requiring perfect obedience of him, or his whole duty, and forbidding all difobedience, on pain of fuffering the juft defert of it. What has been. obferved in the foregoing fection of angels, refpecting the nature of the moral government, and the law under which they were ;* is equally applicable to man; and proves that he was certainly and neceffarily under fuch a law, which required him to love God with all his heart, and his neighbour as himself, and to exprefs this in all proper ways; and to obey every precept which God fhould • Page 250, 251, 252. every fhould give him; with a penalty annexed, threatening inftance of difobedience with a punishment exactly answerable to the crime, which must be endless suffering. So much is certainly effential to moral government, and neceffary, in order to man's being treated as a moral agent, by his Creator. : We have indeed no particular account of this law, or hiftory of man's being put under this moral government, in the inspired narrative which Mofes has given of the primitive ftate of innocency. And there is this very good reafon to be given for it, viz. becaufe it was intirely needlefs. The most exprefs narrative of this matter would not have made it more plain and certain, than it now is There is now as great and as clear evidence of it, as there is, that man was created with a capacity for moral agency, and is a proper subject of moral government, as has been proved. But if this were not fo evident from the nature of the cafe, it might be demonftrated from what has been fince revealed. St. Paul, fpeaking of the law under which all mankind are, afferts the tenor of it in thefe words, "Curfed is every one that continueth not in all the things which are written in the book of the law, to do them."* This law muft have exifted before man finned, and while he had opportunity, and was in a capacity to continue to do every thing required by it; for if man, when in these circumftances, was not under this law, with this fanction, and bound by it, there could be no reafon or propriety in making this requirement on fuch a penalty, when man had already violated it, and rendered it impoffible to come up to, or do what is required. Which the Apoftie fays is the case with all mankind, fince the original apoftafy; for they are all under the curfe of this law. It neceffarily follows, therefore, that man was originally made under this law, when in a flate of innocency, which denounced a curse upon him, if he failed of perfect obedience. This R 3 * Gal. iii. 10. curfe curse implies in it all the evil that man is capable of fuffering, even endless deftruction; and will take place in its fulness, and without any abatement on those to whom Chrift, at the day of judgment, will fay, "Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlasting fire." We muft look forward to this time, to fee it completely executed. This then, we may be fure, is the penalty of the law, under which man was placed, when he became a fubject o moral government; which is also true of angels, as ha been proved in the preceding fection. So far there fore, we go on fure ground: No particular express reve lation could make it more evident and certain: There fore we may fee good reafon why we have no fuch reve lation. It has been observed, that the fum of duty require in the moral law, is LOVE. To love God with all th heart, and our neighbour as ourselves. This we are fu of from the exprefs declaration of Chrift.* He has redu ed the whole moral law to this, and faid that, "On the two commandments, hang all the law and the prophets. This includes and enjoins obedience to all fpecial pofitive directions and commands, which God may pleafed to give, at any time; for love to God impli obedience to all his particular commands, as difregard any of his injunctions, is contrary to love to him. He many, and what particular and positive commands G gave to man, when he was at firft created, and in a fla of innocency, we are not told: But fome of them a expreffed, or may be collected from what is related. Sabbath was inflituted, God bleffed and fanctified tl feventh day from the beginning of the creation, whic Chrift fays, "was made for man ;" and therefore I must have been commanded to keep it holy, or dedica it to facred ufes, in the worship of God, &c. layin afide the bufinefs and employment which might be at tended Matth. xxii. 37. 40. |