or make up for it, by conferring fome Good, that fhall countervail it, and in Effect remove and difannul it; fo that, on the Whole, Good and Evil fhall be at an even Balance, yea, fo that the Scale of Good fhall preponderate. If it is unjust in a Judge, to order any Quantity of Money to be taken from another, without paying him again, and fully making it up to him, it must be because he had justly forfeited none at all.

It seems to me pretty manifeft, that none can, in good Confiftence with themfelves, own a real Imputation of the Guilt of Adam's firft Sin to his Pofterity, without owning that they are justly viewed and treated as Sinners, truly guilty, and Children of Wrath, on that Account; nor unless they allow a juft Imputation of the Whole of the Evil of that Tranfgreffion; at least, all that pertains to the Effence of that Act, as a full and complete Violation of the Covenant, which God had eftablished, even as much as if each one of Mankind had the like Covenant established with him fingly, and had by the like direct and full Act of Rebellion, violated it for himself.

CHAP. IV.

Wherein several other Objections are confidered.

D1

R. T. objects against Adam's Pofterity's being fuppofed to come into the World under a Forfeiture of God's Bleffing, and fubject to his Curfe through his Sin,-That at the Restoration of the World after the Flood, God pronounced equivalent or greater Bleffings on Noah and his Sons, than he

did

did on Adam at his Creation, when he faid, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth, and have Dominion over the Fifh of the Sea, &c. *

To this I answer, in the following Remarks.

1. As it has been already fhewn, that in the Threatening, denounced for Adam's Sin, there was Nothing which appears inconfiftent with the Continuance of this prefent Life for a Season, or with the Propagating his Kind; fo for the like Reafon, there appears Nothing in that Threatening, upon the Suppofition that it reached Adam's Pofterity, inconfiftent with their enjoying the temporal Bleffings of the prefent Life, as long as this is continued; even those temporal Bleffings which God pronounced on Adam at his firft Creation. For it must be obferved, that the Bleffings which God pronounced on Adam, when he firft created him, and before the Trial of his Obedience, were not the fame with the Bleffings which were fufpended on his Obedience. The Bleffings thus fufpended, were the Bleffings of eternal Life; which, if he had maintained his Integrity through his Trial, would have been pronounced upon him afterwards; when God, as his Judge, fhould have given him his Reward. God might indeed, if he had pleafed, immediately have deprived him of Life, and of all temporal Bleffings, given him before. But those Bleffings pronounced on him before-hand, were not the Things, for the obtaining of which his Trial was appointed. These were referved, till the Ijue of his Trial fhould be feen, and then to be pronounced in the bleffed Sentence, which would have been paffed upon him by his Judge, when Ff2

* See p. 82. &c. S

God

God came to decree to him his Reward for his approved Fidelity. The pronouncing these latter Bleffings on a degenerate Race, that had fallen under the Threatening denounced, would indeed (without a Redemption) have been inconfiftent with the Conftitution which had been established. But the giving them the former Kind of Bleffings, which were not the Things fufpended on the Trial, or dependent on his Fidelity (and thefe to be continued for a Seafon) was not at all inconfiftent therewith.

2. It is no more an Evidence of Adam's Pofterity's being not included in the Threatening, denounced for his eating the forbidden Fruit, That they ftill have the temporal Bleffings of Fruitfulness and a Dominion over the Creatures continued to them, than it is an Evidence of Adam's being not included in that Threatening himself, That he had thefe Bleffings continued to him, was fruitful, and had Dominion over the Creatures after his Fall, equally with his Pofterity.

3. There is good Evidence, that there were Bleffings implied in the Benedictions God pronounced on Noah and his Posterity, which were granted on a new Foundation: on the Foot of a Difpenfation diverse from any Grant, Promife, or Revelation, which God gave to Adam, antecedently. to his Fall; even on the Foundation of the Covenant of Grace, established in Christ Jesus; a Difpenfation, the Defign of which is to deliver Men from the Curfe that came upon them by Adam's Sin, and to bring them to greater Bleffings than ever he had. Thefe Bleffings were pronounced on Noah and his Seed, on the fame Foundation, whereon afterwards the Bleffing was pronounced on

Abraham

Abraham and his Seed, which included both fpiritual and temporal Benefits.-Noah had his Name prophetically given him by his Father Lamech, because by him and his Seed, Deliverance should be obtained from the Curfe, which came by Adam's Fall. Gen. v. 29. And be called his Name Noah (i. e. REST) faying, This fame fhall comfort us concerning our Work, and Toil of our Hands, because of the Ground which the Lord hath curfed. Purfuant to the Scope and Intent of this Prophecy (which indeed feems to refpect the fame Thing with the Prophecy in Gen. iii. 15.) are the Bleffings pronounced on Noah after the Flood. There is this Evidence of thefe Bleffings being conveyed through the Channel of the Covenant of Grace, and by the Redemption through Jesus Christ, that they were obtained by Sacrifice; or were beftowed as the Effect of God's Favour to Mankind, which was in Confequence of God's Smelling a fweet Savour in the Sacrifice which Noah offered. And it is very evident by the Epiftle to the Hebrews, that the ancient Sacrifices never obtained the Favour of God, but only by Virtue of the Relation they had to the Sacrifice of Christ.-Now that Noah and his. Family had been fo wonderfully faved from the Wrath of God, which had destroyed the rest of the World, and the World was as it were restored from a ruined State, there was a proper Occafion to point to the great Salvation to come by Chrift: As it was a common Thing, for God, on Occafion of fome great Temporal Salvation of his People, or Reftoration from a low and miferable State, to renew the Intimations of the great spiritual Reftoration of the World by Chrift's Redemption

Ff3

God

It may be noted, that Dr. T. himfelf fignifies it as his Mind, that thefe Bleffings on Noah were on the Foot of the Covenant of Grace, p. 84, 90, 91, 92. S.

God deals with the Generality of Mankind, in their prefent State, far differently, on Occafion of the Redemption by Jefus Chrift, from what he otherwife would do: For, being capable Subjects of faving Mercy, they have a Day of Patience and Grace, and innumerable temporal Bleffings beftowed on them; which, as the Apoftle fignifies (A&t. xiv. 17.) are Teftimonies of God's Reconcileablenefs to finful Men, to put them upon feeking after God.

But befide the Senfe in which the Pofterity of Noah in general partake of thefe Bleffings of Dominion over the Creatures, &c. Noah himfelf, and all fuch of his Pofterity as have obtained like precious Faith with that exercifed by him in offering his Sacrifice, which made it a sweet Savour, and by which it procured thefe Bleffings, have Dominion over the Creatures, through Chrift, in a more excellent Senfe than Adam in Innocency; as they are made Kings and Priests unto God, and reign with Chrift, and all Things are theirs, by a Covenant of Grace. They partake with Chrift in that Dominion over the Beasts of the Earth, the Fowls of the Air, and Fishes of the Sea, fpoken of in the 8th Pfalm; which is by the Apoftle interpreted of Christ's Dominion over the World. 1 Cor. xv. 27. and Heb. i. 7. And the Time is coming, when the greater Part of the Pofterity of Noah and each of his Sons, fhall partake of this more honourable and excellent Dominion over the Creatures, through Him in whom all the Families of the Earth fhall be bleffed. Neither is there any Need of fuppofing, that thefe Bleffings have their most complete Accomplishment, till many Ages after they were granted, any more than the Bleffing on Japhet, expreffed