Death temp'ral is no judgment,
Nor does it guilt imply;
It was by God appointed,
The good and bad must die.

These penalties when suffered,
However large the amount,
There's nothing left to pardon,
Or place to our account.

Then what can be computed,

From these two deaths, forsooth? There's nought can be imputed, For Adam suffered both.

If so, what then was threatened,
If Adam disobeyed;
Which seemed to be so urgent,
It could not be delayed?

The death of soul and body,
In darkness doomed to dwell;
A spiritual death eternal,
Denominated, Hell.

An everlasting torment,
Where mercy is denied ;
But this he never suffered,
This death he never died.

For lo! the gracious promise, That Christ the woman's seed; In-time and way appointed,

Should bruise the serpent's head.

This grace was most surprising,
It pierced his very soul;
And. bowed his will submissive,
To its divine control.

He then with godly sorrow,
Repented and believed;
And through the great atonement,
Was from this death reprieved.

A sacrifice was offered,

And Adam clothed with skins; To show that God in justice, Could pardon all his sins.

This offering represented,

The Lamb for sinners slain; Whose blood alone has virtue, To cleanse from every stain.

Upon this sure foundation,
Of Christ's atoning blood;
His sins were all forgiven,
And he made just with God.

And from this last position,
We think the reasoning clear;
That Adam was forgiven,
Before he had an heir.

If spirit begets spirit,

As mortals are begot;

And character inherit,

The foll'wing none can doubt.

As like begets its likeness,
Is true, and no mistake;
Then of this renewed nature,
His offspring must partake.

These facts find no agreement
In any other way;

For this is truth most certain,
He did not die that day.

How then came man a sinner,
If not for Adam's sin;
Implanted in his nature?

How could it first begin?

The Bible on this question,
In texts as plain as day,
Has oft, and oft repeated,

That all have gone astray.

If all have wicked natures,
And born out of the way;
They were astray already,
They did not go astray.

Th' Apostle tells us plainly,
And oft repeats afresh,
That man becomes a sinner,
By minding of the flesh.

With appetites and passions,
Our trial here begins;
And all become corrupted,
By voluntary sins.

These appetites and passions,

And feelings of the mind;

These senses and affections,
Of whatsoever kind,

Are neither good nor evil,
May fairly be premised;
And must remain as neutral,
Until they're exercised.

When placed on proper objects,
As mortals ever should;
Or used in moderation,

They're then considered good.

And who would be without them;
As all in truth must own,
That each is so important,

They would not give up one.

But placed on things forbidden,
Or carried to excess;
They then become corrupted,
Or turned to selfishness.

Moreover when they're cherished,

As Paul t' the Romans saith,
To be thus carnal minded,
“Is spir-it-u-al death.”

To love these carnal objects,
And cherish them as good,
The Scriptures tell us plainly,
Is enmity to God.

The soul that's carnal minded
To fleshly lusts enslaved;
We deem it just and proper,
To call corrupt-depraved.

All this from revelation,
Made fully to appear;
Then how can imputation,
Be predicated here?

"The Scriptures can't be broken,”
"Jehovah will not lie;"

God has truly spoken,

"The soul that sins shall die."

We shall now inquire, how our first parents came to be de praved? we have no account of the devil's sin, or the sin of any one else, having been imputed to them; and they were not created sinful beings; what was it then that moved them to commit sin? I answer, that they were actuated by the same motives that have operated on any of their posterity to induce them to commit sin.

3

Let us see what is said in the Bible on this subject: Genesis iii. 6. "And when the woman saw [or perceived] that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and 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."

Here we find the reasons that actuated them in voluntarily transgressing the commandment of God, which were these: to gratify the appetite, or sense of taste; to gratify the sight, or sense of seeing; to gratify the appetite, or desire for food; to gratify pride, or the desire of the mind, in aspiring to be as God, to know good and evil, and to gratify a spirit of curiosity. Now let us take a view of the process by which we become sinners; or by which we commence our depravity.

A fond mother has an infant son, whom she nurses with maternal tenderness; and when he arrives at a proper age to be allowed to gratify, in a reasonable degree, the sense of tasting, she indulges him by giving cakes, sweet-meats, &c. This mother is invited to spend a social evening and take supper at a neighbour's; she takes her infant son along with her; shortly the neighbour spreads her table, and among other things cakes are placed in view; the child seeing these, says, " Ma, I want a cake." "No, the mother replies, these cakes are not mine, they belong to this lady, you must wait." The child says, "I do want a cake, I love cake;" and watching an opportunity, goes to the table and takes a cake.

Here the child not only steals, but disobeys his parent; and why? because it has Adam's sin imputed, or set over to his account? No! this is not the reason; but simply to gratify the appetite, the sense of tasting.

And here I would boldly state, that no man, woman, or child ever did, or ever will, commit a sin, but in order to gratify to excess some sensual appetite of the body, or some desire or inclination of the mind, or the affections; these are the things that induce us to sin, and not the sin of Adam imputed to us, or any inherent corruption of our nature derived from Adam; all sin must of necessity be voluntary.

Each of the five senses, and the appetites of the body, with the inclinations, propensities, and desires of the mind, are like "the daughters of the horse-leech, crying, give! give! give!"

Yet these senses, appetites, inclinations, propensities, and desires, are all important and necessary in regard to our well being in this world; and when regulated by the laws of God, they produce right motives and correspondent actions.

Who ought not to be grateful for a good appetite, or relish for his food?

Who would be willing to be destitute of either of the five senses?

And who would be willing to be destitute of love and hatred, of joy and sorrow, of hope, desire, fear, &c. And yet these very things, when indulged to excess, constitute the depravity of our race.

Our text is a confirmation of this position.

"And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins:

"Wherein in times past, ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

"Among whom also, we all had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."

Here we are informed that man is depraved, by fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind, by the course of na ture, the constitution of things under which we live in this world; which is diametrically opposed to that system, which accounts for our depravity by imputation.

Ephesians iv. 22. "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts."

Here we perceive that the old man, which is our state before conversion, became corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and not according to imputation.

2 Peter i. 4. "Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."