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and being thereby juftly expofed to eternal Ruin *. And it is thus by God's ordering and difpofing of Things. And God either thus deals with Mankind, because he looks upon them as one with their first Father, and so treats them as finful and guilty by his Apoftacy; or (which will not mend the Matter) He, without viewing them as at all concerned in that Affair, but as in every Refpect perfectly innocent, does nevertheless fubject them to this infinitely dreadful Calamity. Adam by his Sin was exposed to the Calamities and Sorrows of this Life, to temporal Death and eternal Ruin; as is confeffed. And it is alfo in Effect confeffed, that all his Pofterity come into the World in fuch a State, as that the certain Confequence is their being expofed, and justly fo, to the Sorrows of this Life, to temporal Death, and eternal Ruin, unless faved by Grace. So that we fee, God in Fact deals with them together, or as one. If God orders the Confequences of Adam's Sin, with regard to his Pofterity's Welfare, even in those Things which are most important, and which do in the higheft Degree concern their eternal Intereft, to be the fame with the Confequences to Adam himfelf, then he treats Adam and his Pofterity as One in that Affair. Hence, however the Matter be attended with Difficulty, Fatt obliges us to get over the Difficulty, either by finding out fome Solution, or by fhutting our Mouths, and acknowledging the Weaknefs and Scantinefs of our Understandings; as we muft in innumerable other Cafes, where apparent and undeniable Fat, in God's Works of Creation and Providence, is attended with Events and Circumstances, the Manner and Reafon of which are difficult to our Underftandings. But to proceed,

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*Part I. Chap. I. the three first Sections,

II. We

II. We will confider the Difficulties themselves, infifted on in the Objections of our Oppofers. They may be reduced to these two: First, That fuch a Conftitution is injurious to Adam's Pofterity. Secondly, That it is altogether improper, as it implies Falfhood, viewing and treating thofe as one, which indeed are not one, but entirely diftinct.

FIRST Difficulty, That the appointing Adam to ftand, in this great Affair, as the moral Head of his Pofterity, and fo treating them as one with him, as ftanding or falling with him is injurious to them, and tends to their Hurt. To which I anfwer, it is demonftrably otherwise; that fuch a Constitution was fo far from being injurious and hurtful to Adam's Pofterity, or tending to their Calamity, any more than if every one had been appointed to ftand for himself perfonally, that it was, in itself confidered, very much of a contrary Tendency, and was attended with a more eligible Probability of a happy Iffue than the latter would have been: And fo is a Conftitution truly expreffing the Goodness of its Author. For, here the following Things are to be confidered.

1. It is reasonable to suppose, that Adam was as likely, on Account of his Capacity and natural Talents, to perfevere in Obedience, as his Pofterity, (taking one with another) if they had all been put on the Trial fingly for themselves. And supposing that there was a conftituted Union or Oneness of him and his Pofterity, and that he stood as a publick Perfon, or common Head, all by this Conftitution would have been as fure to partake of the Benefit of his Obedience, as of the ill Confequence of his Difobedience, in Cafe of his Fall.

2. There

2. There was a greater Tendency to a happy Iffue, in fuch an Appointment, than if every one had been appointed to ftand for himfelf; especially on two Accounts. (1.) That Adam had stronger. Motives to Watchfulness than his Posterity would have had; in that not only his own eternal Welfare lay at Stake, but also that of all his Pofterity. (2.). Adam was in a State of complete Manhood, when his Trial began. It was a Conftitution very agreeable to the Goodness of God, confidering the State of Mankind, which was to be propagated in the Way of Generation, that their first Father fhould be appointed to ftand for all. For by Reafon of the Manner of their coming into Existence in a State of Infancy, and their coming fo gradually to mature State, and fo remaining for a great while in a State of Childhood and comparative Imperfection, after they were become moral Agents, they would be less fit to stand for themselves, than their firft Father to ftand for them.

If any Man, notwithstanding these Things, fhall fay, That for his own Part, if the Affair had been propofed to him, he should have chofen to have had his eternal Intereft trufted in his own Hands: It is fufficient to answer, that no Man's vain Opinion of himself, as more fit to be trufted than others, alters the true Nature and Tendency of Things, as they demonftrably are in themselves. Nor is it a juft Objection, That this Conftitution has in Event proved for the Hurt of Mankind. For it does not follow, that no Advantage was given for a happy Event, in fuch an Establishment, because it was not fuch as to make it utterly impoffible there fhould be any other Event,

3. The

3. The Goodness of God in fuch a Constitution with Adam appears in this: That if there had been no fovereign gracious Establishment at all, but God had proceeded only on the Foot of mere Justice, and had gone no further than this required, he might have demanded of Adam and all his Pofterity, that they should perform perfect perpetual Obedience, without ever failing in the least Instance, on Pain of eternal Death; and might have made this Demand without the Promife of any positive Reward for their Obedience. For perfect Obedience is a Debt, that every one owes to his Creator; and therefore is what his Creator was not obliged to pay him for. None is obliged to pay his Debtor, only for discharging his juft Debt.But fuch was evidently the Constitution with Adam, that an eternal happy Life was to be the Confequence of his perfevering Fidelity, to all fuch as were included within that Constitution (of which the Tree of Life was a Sign) as well as eternal Death to be the Confequence of his Disobedience, -I come now to confider the

SECOND Difficulty.-It being thus manifeft, that this Conftitution, by which Adam and his Pofterity are dealt with as One, is not unreasonable upon Account of its being injurious and hurtful to the Interest of Mankind, the only Thing remaining in the Objection against fuch a Constitution, is the Impropriety of it, as implying Falfhood, and Contradiction to the true Nature of Things; as hereby they are viewed and treated as one, who are not one, but wholly distinct; and no arbitrary Conftitution can ever make that to be true, which in itself confidered is not true.

This

This Objection, however fpecious, is really founded on a falfe Hypothefis, and wrong Notion of what we call Sameness or Oneness, among created Things; and the feeming Force of the Objection arifes from Ignorance or Inconfideration of the Degree, in which created Identity or Oneness with past Existence, in general, depends on the fovereign Constitution and Law of the fupreme Author and Difpofer of the Universe.

Some Things, being moft fimply confidered, are entirely diftinct, and very diverse; which yet are fo united by the established Law of the Creator, in fome Refpects and with Regard to fome Purposes and Effects, that by Virtue of that Establishment it is with them as if they were One. Thus a Tree, grown great, and an hundred Years old, is One Plant with the little Sprout, that first came out of the Ground, from whence it grew, and has been continued in conftant Succeffion; though it is now fo exceeding diverfe, many thoufand Times bigger, and of a very different Form, and perhaps not one Atom the very fame: Yet God, according to an eftablifhed Law of Nature, has in a conftant Succeffion communicated to it many of the fame Qualities, and most important Properties, as if it were One. It has been his Pleasure, to constitute an Union in these Respects, and for thefe Purposes, naturally leading us to look upon all as One.-So the Body of Man at forty Years of Age, is one with the Infant-Body which firft came into the World, from whence it grew; though now conftituted of different Substance, and the greater Part of the Subftance probably changed Scores (if not hundreds) of Times: And though it be now in fo many Refpects exceeding diverfe, yet God, according to the Courfe of Nature, which he has been pleafed

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