that required fo painful a regimen in their cure! If one offence introduced fuch a world of woes, what shall we fay to the innumerable offences of mankind collectively confidered?

Didas. What fhall we fay? Let us hear what the Apoftle fays-THE FREE GIFT IS OF MANY OFFENCES UNTO JUSTIFICATION. For the free gift, is a gift of forgiveness, for the many offences of mankind. Hence nothing but final unbelief, and rejecting Chrift and his falvation, can poffibly prevent universal falvation to all mankind.

For the many offences, oppofed to the One offence, muft of neceffity include all that the one offence affected; and the free gift extends to the juftification of All thofe who have been guilty of thofe many offences; for unto all fach, the grace of God, and the gift by grace, abound.

for

Phil. From the above account, it feems fairly to follow, ift. That not one will be finally condemned for Adam's fin only. 2nd. Nor yet their own many offences against the Law.grd, That unbelief is the only fin that binds all other fins upon the confcience, as being the great damning fin of the Gofpel; and that unbelief, the effect of wilful obftinacy, against fufficient evidence for conviction; as it rejects the only means of falvation by Jefus Chrift.

Didas. True, This will be more plain hereafter, by what follows.

Ver. 17. For if by ONE man's offence, Death reigned by ONE. If fuch was the good pleasure of God, that for one offence of one man, death fhould obtain an univerfal Dominion--if, to evidence His hot displeasure against fin, and to deter finners from committing it, He permitted fuch an afflicting Tyrant to dethrone the monarch and level him with the beggar-in a moment to ravish

the

the infant from the weeping mother's breaft-and the wife and hufband from each others arms-to drown one world of people, and burn another, &c. &c.

Much more they which Receive Abundance of Grace, and of the Gift of Righteoufnefs. Perfonally receive grace out of the fulness of Chrift to fanctify them, and by holiness qualify them for heaven; and of the gift of righteoufnefs freely imputed unto them, for their juftification and title to future blifs: Without doubt, all fuch!

Shall reign in life (eternal) by ONE, Jefus Chrift. This is the proper end of Man's existence. An inferior life by Adam was forfeited; by One, Jefus Chrift, an infinitely fuperior life fhall be Reftored! This life begins in grace, and will be confummated in glory. We may very naturally fuppofe, That as far as Emmanuel exceeded the earthly Adam in perfonal glory, fo far the restored will exceed the forfeited life in glory alfo.

In the three laft verfes the Apostle fhewed the difference, in the two next he fhews the exact agreement between the type and antitype, refpecting the offence of the one, and the obedience of the other; and their different effects upon all mankind. Let us parallel this beautiful antithefis, ver. 18.

Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation;

Even fo by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto juftification of life.

1. The offence is oppofed to righteoufnefs, as

one is to one.

2. Judgment is oppofed to the free gift, as all

men are to all men.

3. Condemnation is oppofed to justification of life. You may pleafe to obferve farther, that condemnation

demnation here means that fentence past upon Adam, in which his pofterity were included, "Unto duft thou shalt return." as appears by juftification of life being oppofed unto it. The righteoufnels of One, must mean our Saviour being obedient unto death; without which, there could have been no refurrection.

Millions of infants die, but not for fins committed by themselves, no; but in virtue of this Judgment to condemnation. Now as dying infants are, too plain to be denied, included in the judgment upon all men; by a parity of reafon, they are included in the free gift, or in the juftification of life, and confequently will rife again. Imputed guilt condemns them-Imputed righteoufnefs will juftify them. Imputed guilt doomed the whole world to death-Imputed righteousness will raise the whole world to life again, both Infants and others.

Phil. And feeing that this is fo undeniably the truth, upon what bafis does this aftonishing building land?

Didas. Upon the important antithefis in the next, verfe. Let us again parallel them, ver. 19.

For as by one man's difobedience many were made finners;

1.

So by the obedience of one fhall many be made righteous.

that one man's difobedi

You may here fee, ence is contrafted with the obedience of one, juft as

one is to one.

2.

To be made finners is oppofed to be made righteous.

3. That many is oppofed to many; and muft, in every refpect, mean the fame perfons, and the

fame number.

I

Please farther to obferve, that to be made or conftituted finners, is to have fin imputed to them.

This was done by the wife counfel of God, in order justly to treat them as fuch. For it is no injuftice to condemn the guilty to fuffer the penalty annexed to the law he has broken; the fuffering being proportioned to the offence. The many, here you fee, were all constituted finners, or guilty, and the many must mean all mankind, because all mankind die. Again, to keep the oppofition confiftent, to be made or conftituted righteous, is to have righteoufnefs imputed unto them, in order to treat them as fuch. Now nothing can poffibly make a perfon righteous, but an acceptable obedience to the law. Therefore the obedience of the One, must be imputed to the many, in order to make them righteous by imputation, which certainly is the cafe before

us.

Phil. If I rightly apprehend you, in the very fense in which the Many were constituted, and fo Reputed finners by the difobedience of Adam, in the very felf-fame fenfe the Many are constituted and fo Reputed righteous, by the obedience of Chrift; that is, both by imputation. Thus Adam and Chrift were type and antitype exactly. And that in both verses, viz. 18th. and 19th. both our perfonal Sins and Obedience are quite out of the question, i. e. both perfonal merit and demerit.

Didas. That is my meaning to a tittle, and I hope St. Paul's alfo. This two-fold imputation holds good univerfally with refpect to a state of mortality, and a refurrection. But prefent perfonal holiness, and future happiness, are no more included here, than our own merit or demerit are. The former is the entire effect of the Adamic œconomy; the latter as entirely belongs to the gospel Difpenfation. The Apoftle adds,

Moreover, the Law entered, both into the world, and into the grand Plan of our Redemption. "It was added to the firft Law of Adam) because of Tranfgreffion;"

N

Tranfgreffion;" for from Adam to Mofes, Sin was in the world; but by the law only is the knowledge of fin; for when it is brought home to the confcience, fin will appear in its own proper colours, which are "exceeding finful." God, therefore, in His wifdom, added the ten commandments by Mofes on Mount Sinai, to the one commandment delivered in Paradife, That the OFFENCE might ABOUND. That is, that the first offence com'mitted by Adam, might, as in a glass, be feen to abound in his finful pofterity, as branches from one root, or as ftreams from a fountain. For the offence here is taken collectively for the many offences, (ver. 16.) as the word Sin is below, This collective fenfe of the words offence and Sin, in this place, is very natural and proper. For in the 18th. and 19th. verfes, and elsewhere in this paffage, the Apostle had confidered all mankind as one grand aggregate in no lefs than four different points of light, as is very eafy to be observed. It is true, the law neither multiplied offenders nor offences, but it difcovered and detected both. It fhews the malignancy of Sin, and the danger of the Sinner; and therefore is an excellent School. mafter to document us, and bring us to Chrift, where we may find all the treafures of divine wif dom and faving knowledge depofited: And among others, one of the greateft, and moft glorious of all Revealed truths, viz.

WHERE SIN ABOUNDED, GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND, Both over the One Offence of Adam, and the Many Offences of his pofterity: But my dear Phil. muft here very carefully Obferve, that the One Offence is li mitted to Adam's tranfgreffing his One command-That the Many Offences are limitted to his pofterity tranfgreffing the Law that entered that the Offence might Abound; that is, the ten commandments of Mofes.