any example recorded in the volume of inspiration. But if it is divided among the millions of the human family, then each one has so little it is not worth contending about; the little that falls to my share is not very important, one way or the other.

And, moreover, if Adam's sin, or the guilt of his sin is imputed, why may not the sins of his posterity in succession be imputed? and then we can sing with the poet,

1

"In Adam's fall we sinned all;"

"In Cain's murder, we sinned farther;
And so went on, in deeds done;

Till Noah's flood washed out the blood;
And after that, as soon as we were able,
We all set too, and built the tower of Bable:"
The scattered tribes from Babel's plains,
Quite soon forgot their sorrow;
And then we revelled in the sin
Of Sodom and Gomorrah.

And nothing daunted by the fact,
Of Sodom's sad disaster;
We joined with Judas to betray,
Our blessed Lord and Master.

Such is the nature of our case,
(And no injustice done us,)
That all the sins of Adam's race,
Are justly charged upon us.

And thus, wherever guilt is found,
To us it is imputed;

For which we're justly doomed to hell,

Must never be disputed.

And, moreover, some men, and even some women, too, are so fond of the doctrine of imputation, that they are not satisfied with imputing their sins to one another, but even go so far as to impute their sins to the devil; thus endeavouring to make him guilty of sins he never committed.

This doctrine of imputation is of very ancient date, it is among the first recorded in the Bible. Adam imputed his sin to Eve, and Eve imputed her sin to the serpent; and, therefore, this doctrine is that which may properly be denominated "Old School."

Again, it is argued from the fact, that all mankind are subject to trials, pains, suffering and death, therefore, they are de

praved, guilty creatures; for how, say they, can man suffer all these ills of life and then die? if it is not on account of sin. I answer, that the trials and sufferings we endure in this life do not flow from sin, as effects flow from causes, or as penalties from the infraction of law; these trials, troubles, afflictions and death, come upon all mankind by God's appointment, upon the good, and on the bad, equally alike; not as a penalty for sin, but to try, prove, and prepare man for a better world.

19:

That these things were appointed, see Genesis iii. 17, 18, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18. "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Here I would remark, that this providential allotment does not appear to be the penalty of his eating the forbidden fruit; that penalty was death, and was to be inflicted on the same day that he should eat thereof.

But in this allotment, Adam is suffered to live and continue his days on the earth; to obtain his bread by the sweat of his face, by labour and trial, through cares, troubles, afflictions, and disappointments; and the body to be subject to a great variety of diseases, to sickness, pains, and eventually, death. This is the common lot of all men, the good and the bad, since the first appointment to Adam, not as a judicial sentence for sin, but it arises from the constitution of things, under which the whole family of man are subjected as a state of trial or probation, adopted by the all wise and benevolent Creator, for his own glory, and the good of his creatures.

In proof of this appointment we quote the following texts of Scripture:

Job v. 6, 7. "Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; yet man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward."

Job xxx. 23. "For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house APPOINTED for all living."

Hebrews ix. 27. "And as it is APPOINTED unto man once to die, but after this the judgment."

Romans viii. 20. "For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope."

In these passages of scripture, it is plainly stated that afflictions, trouble, death, and the grave, are an appointment, and not a judicial sentence.

But the objector may ask, if, when men suffer afflictions and death under the providential dealings of God, why are not these sufferings an indication of guilt?

This question was conclusively settled; in the case of Job, nearly three thousand four hundred years ago.

Job was a righteous man, one that feared God, and avoided iniquity; satan, the accuser of the faithful, accuses Job as acting from a mercenary selfish spirit; that he was a servant of God, only because God rewarded him for it, but if God would only withdraw his rewards, and touch his person and property,

Job would curse him to the face.

It became necessary to settle the point, whether there was any such thing as disinterested religion; or in other words, whether man should serve God for the sake of the loaves and fishes, for the benefits he receives, or expects to receive; or that he should serve his Maker because it is right, proper, and good in itself, to serve such a good, just and holy being.

Accordingly, Job, and all he possessed, were placed in the power of satan; his life only excepted.

The sufferings of Job were immense, his friends came to him, and sat down with him in silence, and were astonished at his afflictions seven days; afterwards they charged him with being secretly a profane man, a despicable hypocrite; for they contended that his extreme sufferings were an evidence of great guilt; they argued that God would not inflict such severe chastisements on an innocent person; for, said Eliphaz, "Remember, I pray thee, whoever perished being innocent? and where were the righteous cut off?"

Job uniformly maintained his integrity. When he was in

formed that his children were dead, he exclaimed, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." At another time he said, "Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil?" That is, shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, when we do not deserve it? and shall we not receive evil on the same principle? And again Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him but I will maintain mine own ways before him, he is my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him."

And the conclusion of the trial clearly shows that Job was right, and his friends were wrong.

God sends afflictions upon his people for their good, to cause them to trust in him; and often removes them by death, from the evil to come.

Therefore, when we see our fellow-creatures suffer and die, we are not to judge them as guilty incorrigible sinners, for these sufferings, trials and death, are not the wages of sin.

Again, if suffering is an indication of guilt, then for whose sin do animals suffer?

Is Adam's sin imputed to them, or set over to their account? or are they guilty of actual transgression? Animals undergo an immense amount of suffering, and doubtless the conduct of man towards them, in all ages of the world, has been the occasion of an incalculable amount of suffering; yet we are loth to attribute their sufferings as the penalty for sin, or as a judicial sentence inflicted upon them for their own sin, or the sin of any one else imputed to them.

No! the simple reason for their suffering is, that God appointed it to be so for wise and glorious purposes; the why and the wherefore he has not seen fit to reveal.

Then, if animals may suffer without being guilty, why may not man and infants suffer on the same principle?

Again, there is no doubt that satan is depraved. Then a threefold question arises for consideration; did God make him originally a depraved being? was some other one's sin imputed to him making him depraved? or did he become depraved voluntarily? "Voluntarily, no doubt."

The same may be said of Adam and Eve, and the same questions may be asked in regard to the whole race of man, and the same answer given,-" voluntarily, no doubt."

If there is any thing in my nature that moves me to violate the laws of God, which is not voluntary, where is the justice in holding me guilty for such violation?

If my depravity consists in a corrupt nature, and that nature derived from Adam, and brought upon me without my knowledge or consent before I was capable of choosing or refusing, how then can I be to blame for my depravity? And if my actual sins flow from, and are the result of this corrupt nature, how can I be to blame? I have only acted out my nature; it is not materially different whether God created me directly with a corrupt nature, or whether he created me with a corrupt nature through the instrumentality of second causes, by ordinary generation. I could have had no agency in producing my depravity; my character, and my obligation to my Maker would be the same either way; how then can I be to blame for a depravity with which I was created?

Adam's posterity have the same powers and faculties to love, hate, choose, refuse, judge, decide, will, &c., that Adam had before he fell; for it requires all these to constitute a free moral agent; and now, under the present constitution of things, where each of the five senses, and the appetites of the body, with the inclinations, propensities, and desires of the mind require to be gratified, and where each object has a tendency to try, tempt, or allure; there is as much certainty that all Adam's posterity will commence their lives in sin, as there was of Adam's fall in a state of primitive purity.

Again, if our depravity consists in the guilt of Adam's sin imputed to us, then it cannot be increased; the infant is as much depraved as the old man of seventy.

But we are well assured that no one commences a notoriously immoral life all at once; the habit of sinning is acquired by degrees; at first, many difficulties arise, conscience reproves, parental authority forbids, the fear of punishment holds him back, and the influences around him hinders his progress in ini