turn to be made for the fame, provided that he himself should not fuffer any harm, lofs, or want thereby; as the Almighty moft undoubtedly can never in bestowing Benefits, poffibly do; who when he has given all that he can, will have nothing lefs himself, than if he had not given any thing at all.

SECT. V

Man is fallen from the State wherein he was created.The manner of the Fall explicated.The eating of the Tree of the Knowledg of Good and Evil was forbidden, because of the Evil which God certainly knew would enfue from the very eating thereof.

I.

F

Orafmuch as the full Fruition of the Beatific Object is Man's Chief Good, and the End for which he was created (fect. 4. par. 13.) 'tis confequent thereunto, that it alone is to be defired and fought after for its own Caufe, and other things fo far forth only as they are inftrumental and ferviceable in fome refpect or other for the Conftitution of it, if fo be thé primitive course of Nature inftituted by God (fect. 4. par.5,6.)

be

be pursued and kept to. Wherefore, fince it is found by daily Experience, that Man is fo far from loving God alone for his own fake, and other things in order only to the enjoyment of him, that he loves the things of this World more than he loves God, and prefers the poffeffion of them before the fruition of his Maker, 'tis evident, that Man has deferted the primitive Institution of Nature, and is manifeftly fallen from the State and Condition wherein he was created.

2. But becaufe Contraries are made more plainly to be feen by their Oppofites, 'twill be conducible to the better understanding of the ftate whereinto Man fell, to fhew more fully than has yet been done, in what his ftate of integrity principally confifted, which was this; First, That the Intellect was indued with the true Knowledg of God, fo that Man by Creation understood his Maker to be the Author and End of all things, and the fole fovereign Good of the Soul, and withal fufficiently knew what Duties he was to perform in order to the obtaining of the fame. Secondly, That the Will was aright inclined to both, I mean Man's Sovereign Good, and the Duties conducible to the acquiring of it, and put him

upon

upon the due exercife likewife of the fame. Thirdly, That the fenfitive Appetite was not immoderately bent upon any thing, but was totally fubject to the pleasure of the Will. And, Fourthly, That the Animal Spirits with the whole frame and compofure of the Body, were of fo equal and regular a Temper, that no disturbance or unruly Motion proceeded from them to excite the fen fitive Faculty to any inordinate Defire. The mentioned Rectitude of the Rational Powers we find within our felves to be dif folved, and the Difpofition of the whole man to be changed and altered, whilst by the Senfes the animal Spirits are vehemently often excited, and the fenfitive Appetite from thence inflamed to feveral Lufts, by which the Will is moved to fundry inordinate Defires, and the Intellect through them is either darkened that it cannot clearly fee Truth, or elfe is diverted and turned away from the due Confideration of it. Whence it is abundantly manifeft, that Man has loft the Integrity which his Maker at firft conferred on him.

3. Now forafmuch as the irregular Diftemper which Man has contracted, is nor only known to be at prefent Epidemical; but that the Writings of old affure us, by the Difputes had about the Origin of Evil,

and

and otherways, that it has univerfally infected Mankind for a long time, yea and that we have moreover ancient Records of Divine Authority conveyed to us by unquestionable Tradition, which affure us that it was derived to us from our first Progenitors, it will import much towards the carrying on of my Difcourfe, to understand how this Diftemper befel them, and by what means it becomes tranfmitted to their whole Pofterity. The former of which because the Divine Oracles themselves clearly fhew, we may by confulting them, be certainly acquainted therewith.. And thefe tell us, that God having given in the ftate of Innocency this Command to Man being placed in Paradice; Of every Tree of the Garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the Tree of the Knowledg of Good and Evil thou fhalt not cat of it; for in the day thou eatest thereof hou shalt furely die, Gen. 2. 16, 17. Our firft Parents wilfully brake it by eating of the forbidden Fruit, Gen. 3. 6. Where we read, And when the Woman Saw that the Tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a Tree to be defired to make one wife, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave alfo unto her Husband with her and be did eat.

4. From

4. From this Text 'tis obvious to gather that the Tempters Words to Eve were but one Motive of three which prevailed with her to eat of the forbidden Fruit; the whole Progrefs of the Temptation feeming plainly to have been this. The Words fpo-ken by the Tempter to Eve, viz. God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your Eyes fball be opened, and ye shall be as Gods, knowing Good and Evil. Gen. 3.5. railing fome wavering thoughts in her, whether the fhould eat of the Fruit or not, induced her to fix her Eyes more earnestly on it then he had formerly done; whence be ing more taken with its Beauty than before fhe had been, (for the Text by faying, when she saw it was pleasant to the Eyes, gives us to understand, that fhe had not been fo much delighted with the fight of it at other times, as fhe was at that) the phanfied Sweetness of the Taft, and delicious Nutriment which it would afford, (meant by these words, When she faw 'twas good for Food) and the expected benefit and pleafure of being made wife in a moment, wrought all of them together fo ftrongly on her Phantafie, that the Animal Spirits were drawn thereby from their native equal diftribution in the Body, to flock in E

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