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Post by Admin on Jun 8, 2024 11:49:34 GMT -5
Of the Covenant Bonds of Religious Connection Between God and Men...from monergism .com
CHAPTER 1
On the Covenant of Works, Its Formation, Breakage, and Disastrous Outcomes.
In order to make men happier and their obedience more joyful, God
has always exercised his providence towards them in the form of a
covenant-connection. The Hebrew word for covenant, Berith,
denotes an establishment in general, and is used to refer to God's
covenant with day and night in Jer 33:25. The Greek word diatheke
also means an establishment, particularly one made by agreement or
testament in Heb 7:22 and Heb 9:15. A real covenant, in general, is
an agreement made between different parties on certain terms, with
necessary requisites including parties, a condition, a promise, and a
penalty if any of the parties fail. There are two covenants that God
has contracted for promoting the eternal happiness of mankind: the
covenant of works and the covenant of grace, which are discussed in
Gal 4:24, Rom 3:27, Gal 2:21, Gal 5:4, Rom 6:14, Rom 8:2, and Phil 3:19.
No party with whom God enters into a covenant can refuse His terms
or propose terms to Him, unlike in covenants between equals of
mankind. No terms proposed by God, who is infinitely wise, holy,
kind, and sovereign, can be refused without impurity of nature. Jesus
Christ could not have refused any terms proposed to Him as the Son
of God, as His will was the same as His Father's, and as Mediator,
without disobedience to Jehovah's infinite authority. Refusal of the
terms would also have been sinful for His manhood, which was
united with His divine person. To claim that there could be no
covenant with Adam as he could not refuse the terms is to deny
God's ability to enter into any covenant, even with Christ. A father
who has a natural claim to his son's obedience can require him to
perform a particular service to obtain a reward and provide him with
everything necessary for the work. He cannot lawfully refuse the
terms, and when the service is fulfilled, he has a right to claim the
reward by his father's promise. Hence, there is a real covenant
between them. The application to the present point is clear.
It is clear that God made a covenant with Adam in his innocent state.
1, all the necessary elements of a covenant are present in God's
transaction with Adam; appropriate parties, terms, a condition,
a promise, and a penalty in the case of a breach on Adam's part,
as well as proper seals (which will be explained later), as seen in
Gen 2:17 and Gen 3:22.
2. this transaction is referred to as a covenant in Gal 4:24. There
are two covenants described, one leading to bondage (the
broken covenant of works), and the other leading to spiritual
and everlasting freedom and liberty (the covenant of grace), as
referenced in 1 Cor 15:56, Gal 3:10,13, Rom 8:2, Rom 6:14, and
John 8:32,36. Additionally, the covenant of grace, which was
remedial, was published immediately following Adam's fall and
thus implies the breach of a previous covenant of works (Gen
3:15,22 and Rom 5:12-2l). Finally, the covenant with Adam is
mentioned in Hos 6:7, where "keadam" is translated as "men"
and only appears in two other passages of Scripture. In Job
31:34, the phrase "like Adam" is translated in a similar way, and
in Ps 82:7, the phrase "Ye shall die like Adam" would have a
more significant impact if translated similarly. In Hosea, the
translation of the charge appears flat, but it becomes powerful
when translated as "They, like Adam, have transgressed the
covenant," indicating rebellion against the highest authority and
breaking solemn engagements, warnings, and motivations,
leading to the ruin of themselves and their descendants.
3. God's infinite goodness leads Him to prescribe a positive
command to Adam, with the most severe death penalty for
disobedience, and naturally infers that He would also attach a
reward to obedience, thus manifesting the reality of a covenant
agreement (Gen 2:17).
4. God has typically appended a visible sign to establish or seal His
covenants with humans, such as the rainbow with Noah's safety
covenant, circumcision with Abraham's promise of Canaan, the
Passover and sacrifices with the Israelites' adoption covenant,
and baptism and the Lord's Supper with the gospel period's new
covenant dispensation. Therefore, it is natural to consider the
trees of knowledge and life as signs attached to a covenant
transaction with Adam, with the former representing him on
trial for eternal happiness and the latter suggesting that he
would receive even more perfect life and happiness upon
fulfilling the required obedience.
5. The law imposed on Adam during his creation state was often
published as a covenant, and is viewed as a law that permits
boasting if perfect obedience is fulfilled, but is contrary to the
law of faith or covenant of grace proclaimed in the gospel, which
is only a covenant form (Lev 18:5; Deut 27:26; Matt 19:17; Gal
3:12; Rom 10:5; Rom 3:27).
6. The imputation of Adam's original sin to his natural
descendants, like Christ's Surety-righteousness is imputed to
His spiritual seed, is the most effective proof that God made a
real covenant with Adam (Rom 5:12-21; 1 Cor 15:22). This
imputation cannot be based on Adam's natural fatherhood or
root since it would imply that all his sins, including those before
he begot Seth, our forefather, must be imputed to us. Instead, all
humans became sinners through one offence, and died in Adam,
which disproves the idea that parental relation implies the
imputation of conduct to children, including all the sins and
good deeds of our ancestors (Rom 5:18, 19; 1 Cor 15:21-22).
The parties that entered into this covenant were: I. God the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, considered as the Creator, Sovereign,
Proprietor, and Governor of mankind. In proposing the covenant, He
appeared as: 1. A God of supreme, unbounded authority, making His
will into a law that must be obeyed under the highest penalty, and
offering eternal life on His own terms. 2. A God of infinite goodness,
establishing with Adam, whom He had created perfectly holy and
happy, a most proper method of making him and all his descendants
eternally happier, on easy terms. 3. A God of infinite condescension,
entering into a covenant with His creatures and requiring obedience
by agreement, which He could have commanded by mere authority.
II. Adam, considered:
1. As a man perfectly holy and righteous -
perfectly inclined and capable of fulfilling whatever obedience God
required. Ecclesiastes 7:29; Genesis 1:27; Genesis 5:1; Colossians
3:10; Ephesians 4:24. In fact, a kind and righteous God would not
have required any obedience from Adam that he was not capable of
performing, Matthew 25:24; Psalm 119:68; Psalm 86:5, 15;
Deuteronomy 32:4.
2. As the common public head of all his natural
descendants. His being their common parent made him fit to be their
moral head or representative in this covenant. Therefore, all who
descended from him by ordinary generation, [WCF 6.3] and perhaps
Eve as well, were represented by him in it. Although Eve fell by her
own personal transgression, any of the representees could have done
so before the condition was fulfilled, the covenant confirmed, and the
state of trial in it finished. Christ, being the Son of God, being from
all eternity constituted the representative of His own elect seed in the
remedial covenant of grace, having never been any human person,
and being descended from Adam not by natural or ordinary
generation, but by the supernatural influence of the Holy Ghost, in
virtue of a promise posterior to his fall, John 1:14; Psalm 89:3-4, 19-
20; Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:35; Genesis 3:15, could not be represented by
him in it.
It is evident that God made a real covenant with Adam in his
innocent state. Firstly, in his transaction with Adam, we have all the
requisites of a covenant, proper parties, terms, conditions, promises,
penalties, and proper seals. This will be more fully manifested in
Genesis 2:17 and Genesis 3:22. Secondly, this transaction between
God and Adam is expressly called a covenant in Galatians 4:24.
There are two covenants, one that leads to bondage, the broken
covenant of works in a fearful manner, as indicated in 1 Corinthians
15:56 and Galatians 3:10,13. The other must necessarily lead to
spiritual and everlasting freedom and liberty, as the covenant of
grace does remarkably in Romans 8:2, Romans 6:14 and John
8:32,36. In addition, the covenant of grace, being a remedial one,
was published immediately after Adam's fall, which necessarily
supposes the breach of an antecedent covenant of works in Genesis
3:15,22 and Romans 5:12-2l. Also, Hosea 6:7 mentions this covenant
with Adam. The word "keadam" here is translated as "men" and is
only found in two other texts of scripture. In Job 31:34, our
translation renders it as "like Adam." In Psalm 82:7, a similar
translation would make the passage appear much more emphatic.
"Ye shall die like Adam, whose honours were once so great, but
quickly ruined." Our translation of Hosea renders the charge
remarkably flat. But if it is rendered as "They, like Adam, have
transgressed the covenant," i.e., have rebelled against the highest
authority manifested in the most solemn and engaging manner,
against the strongest motives, in violation of the most solemn
engagements, against the most express warnings, and upon the
slightest temptations, and to the ruin of themselves and their
posterity, it would be more nervous and striking.
God's prescription of a positive command to Adam, and annexing the
most dreadful death to the breach of it, naturally infers his annexing
of a reward to his obedience. In this way, the reality of a covenant
agreement is plainly manifested in Genesis 2:17. When we observe
that God has ordinarily appended some visible token for establishing
or sealing his covenants with men, such as the seal of the rainbow to
the covenant of safety made with Noah, the seal of circumcision to
the covenant of peculiar friendship and promise of Canaan with
Abraham, the seals of the passover and sacrifices to the covenant of
peculiar adoption with the Israelites, and the seals of baptism and
the Lord's supper to the new covenant dispensation of the gospel
period, we are naturally led to look on the trees of knowledge and of
life as seals annexed to a covenant transaction with Adam. The
former represents him as on trial for everlasting happiness, and the
latter suggests that upon his fulfilment of the obedience required, he
would obtain a more perfect life and happiness than what he already had.
The law imposed on Adam in his creation state has been frequently
published in the form of a covenant, such as Leviticus 18:5,
Deuteronomy 27:26, Matthew 19:17, Galatians 3:12, and Romans
10:5. It is represented as a law that admits of boasting if perfect
obedience is fulfilled and as contrary to the law of faith or the
covenant of grace manifested in the gospel, which is only in its
covenant form in Romans 3:27.
It is evident that Adam represented and was bound for all his natural
posterity in this covenant. Firstly, in all the occasional typical
covenants which God made with men, the parent in some sense
represented their posterity, such as with Noah (Genesis 9:9),
Abraham (Genesis 17:7-8), David (2 Samuel 7:16), Phinehas
(Numbers 25:10-13), and the Israelites (Isaiah 59:21). Secondly,
Adam is represented as being similar to Christ (1 Corinthians 15:21-
22, 45-49; Romans 5:12-21). Just as Christ and his spiritual seed are
called by the names Jacob, Israel, and Christ, Adam's posterity are
called by his name about four hundred and thirty times in the
Hebrew original. Thirdly, Adam's breach of this covenant is imputed
or reckoned in law to the account of all his natural posterity, even if
they never imitate him in actual sin (Romans 5:12-19). This can only
happen if they are represented in him by the covenant. Fourthly, all
his natural posterity are considered sinners and ruined in law by his
first sin (Romans 5:17-18).
God entering into a covenant with all of mankind in Adam was both
reasonable and kind. Firstly, it was the shortest route to everlasting
happiness. In this method, one man's perfect obedience to God's law
for a short period of time would have secured this happiness for all of
mankind, whereas if each man stood bound for himself, it would
have remained uncertain for many people for an unknown amount of
time. Secondly, it was the safest method. Adam was formed in an
adult state, perfectly holy, fully able and inclined to fulfil the whole
law of God. He lived at a time when Satan was less crafty and there
were fewer occasions of temptation. Having the strongest motives -
regard to his own and all mankind's happiness - he was more likely
to retain his perfection and persevere in his obedience than any of
his descendants. Adam was the most suitable person to be the
covenant-head and representative of all mankind. As their common
parent, he was most equally related to them all. He had stronger
motives and better opportunities to persevere in perfect obedience
than any other person could have had. In conclusion, God, who is
infinitely wise, holy, just, and good, having chosen Adam as their
Head and included this representation of them in his proposal of his
covenant-favours, none of his posterity, if they had all been alive at
the time, could have refused to give their consent without sinning
against God and acting with self-injuring folly (Psalm 119:68;
Genesis 18:25; Deuteronomy 32:4; Ecclesiastes 3:14; Ecclesiastes 7:13).
Although this covenant was proposed by God, the great lawgiver, to
his newly-created subjects and, on that account, is frequently
referred to as the Law or Law of Works (Romans 7:4; Romans 6:14;
Romans 3:27, etc.), Adam could not have refused to consent to its terms.
1. As God's rational creature and subject to His sovereign dominion,
Adam was obligated to accept whatever terms God proposed and to
receive His blessings in whatever method He chose to bestow them.
To reject the promise would have shown contempt for God's
goodness and generosity. To not readily accept the precept would
have shown hatred for His holiness and rebellion against His
authority. To not submit to the penalty would have denied His justice
and authority. Even the slightest degree of any of these would not
have been consistent with perfect innocence.
2. The natural love that
uncorrupted man had for himself naturally led him to God, his chief
good, and therefore to the only way of enjoying Him as such.
3.Adam's pure conscience could not help but see and attest that the
entire tenor of this covenant was very acceptable and gracious. This
included holding God as his chief good and seeking happiness in
Him above all else, cheerfully accepting the everlasting enjoyment of
Him as an infinite good offered on easy terms, receiving the law as
the will of his Creator and a reflection of His moral perfections as the
rule of his dispositions and actions, and submitting his guilty head to
God's just vengeance if he rejected God's gracious promise and
violated His holy law. The making of this covenant consisted of God
proposing the terms to Adam, Adam accepting them, and thus each
reciprocally engaging themselves to the other. Adam's consent to the
terms actually instated him in this covenant, just as our belief in the
terms of the covenant of grace actually and personally instates us in
it.
The covenant of works consisted of three parts: the condition,
promise, and penalty. The condition was what God required of Adam
to fulfil in order to obtain the promised reward for himself and his
posterity. The promise was God's engagement to bestow eternal life
on Adam and his natural descendants as a reward for fulfilling the
condition. The penalty was the punishment that God threatened to
inflict on Adam and his offspring if he failed to perfectly fulfil the
condition.
Obedience to God was and must be the condition of the covenant of
works. The rule, matter, and manner of this obedience require our
consideration. Concerning the rule of this obedience, or the law of
the covenant, it can be observed that: Firstly, the natural relationship
between God as the Creator, Preserver, and Governor, and man as a
rational creature, necessarily required that God should prescribe a
law to regulate not only his actions but also the moral qualities of his
nature. The leading commandments of the law should be based on
the unchangeable nature of God so that all men, at all times, might
have their dispositions and behaviour adjusted by the same
standard. Secondly, this law must be made known to man so that it
might be obeyed without mistake. It was manifested to Adam before
the covenant form of it was proposed to him, being written in his
heart and inlaid in the image of God that was concreated with and in
his nature (Genesis 1:26-27). It summarily required him, as he had
the opportunity, to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and
strength, and to love his neighbour as himself (Matthew 22:37-40;
Mark 12:29-33).
The end of this covenant is to make men happier than when they
were newly created, so it is appropriate to add some positive precept
to the law of nature written on man's heart at his creation, especially
one that could promote the exact fulfillment of the whole condition.
God prescribed that Adam should never eat the fruit of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil, which grew in the midst of the garden of
Eden where he lived. This command was notably intended to:
1. Manifest God's high sovereignty over man as one who could
enact His mere will into a law, and try man's obedience in a
point that his enlightened conscience did not dictate, but which
demonstrated his total subjection to the mere will of God.
2. Make Adam's obedience or disobedience more visible, so that
God might appear most just in giving him the reward or
inflicting punishment on him and his offspring.
3. Emphasize that Adam held everything he enjoyed from God, as
his great superior, proprietor, and landlord. Therefore, even in
paradise, he could not meddle with an apple without God's
permission and should consult Him in everything he did.
4. Remind Adam perpetually that he was fallible and had to take
heed to his ways, to watch against his spiritual enemies, and that
he had not reached his complete happiness and rest. Even in
paradise, there was something lacking, the fruit of a tree, which
was most delightful, and he had to remember that his ultimate
happiness lay only in God Himself. Therefore, nothing was to be
desired but submission to His will, and for His sake.
5. Summarize the law of nature imprinted on his heart. Adam
could honor God and demonstrate a proper love for himself and
his posterity by obeying it, by loving God with all his heart, soul,
mind, and strength, and by showing love to his neighbor as himself.
In this covenant, Adam was required to obey the entire law of God,
whether natural or positive, by acting according to it from a
recognition of its divine authority. This encompassed, firstly, the
maintenance of his nature in its original purity, as without this, none
of his thoughts, words or deeds could have been truly, perfectly, or
acceptably performed (Ecclesiastes 7:29, 1 Timothy 1:5); and
secondly, the exertion of all the powers of his holy nature in
accordance with the covenant's law, in thoughts, words, or deeds
(Leviticus 27:26, Galatians 3:10,12).
Regarding the manner of obedience, Adam's compliance had to be,
first and foremost, perfect in its principle and motive, being in
precise accordance with every precept of the entire law and
corresponding with every part and power of his being, including his
soul, body, understanding, conscience, will, affections, and memory.
This pertained to the action itself, as well as its matter, means, and
end; and in degree, it had to be with all his heart, soul, mind, and
strength (Matthew 22:37,39, Mark 12:29-33). Secondly, it had to be
perpetual until God would release him from the covenant law
(Galatians 3:10, Ezekiel 18:24). Only after finishing his obedience did
Adam have any legal claim to the promised reward, and until then,
he was merely in a state of trial, suitable for acquiring it (Galatians 3:12).
The state of obedience required from Adam in this covenant was
temporary, not eternal, as that would have precluded any reward at
the end of his service. We do not know when God would have
terminated this state and placed Adam and his posterity under his
law as a rule of life, similar to the state of believers who are dead to
the law by the body of Christ. It may have been when the fruit had
entirely disappeared from the forbidden tree or when he had
fathered his first child or when his eldest children were each capable
of acting for themselves, etc.
The obedience required from Adam was personal, performed by man
himself, and not by a surety. It was to be begun and finished by the
same person. Even though death was entailed upon Adam's natural
posterity by his disobedience before any of them had sinned, eternal
life would have been conferred upon them on account of his
obedience to the law as a covenant, and their own obedience would
have been their happy privilege and holy gratitude to God under his
law as a rule of life
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Post by Admin on Jun 8, 2024 11:56:21 GMT -5
Adam's obedience was to be performed in a covenant-form, not only
because of God's infinite authority but also because he took it upon
himself by his own engagement and fulfilled it in hope of God's
graciously bestowing the promised reward. If he had not regarded
the covenant in which he stood in all his obedience, he would have
poured contempt on that graciously formed ordinance of God in all
its concerns.
A reward of life by the promise of God was attached to Adam's
fulfillment of this obedience. The threat of death in case of
disobedience, especially as attached to the violation of a positive
precept, implied that Adam had no reason to fear the loss of his life
or happiness while he continued in his obedience. It also suggested
that if he persevered in it, he could expect some great reward,
sufficient to balance that death which had been attached to the
positive precept in a matter that was entirely indifferent in itself.
God's declaration to Cain concerning acceptance and condemnation
as suspended on his good or ill behaviour, and every republication of
the covenant of works to men, plainly hinted that it contained a
promise of reward for finished obedience (Gen 4:7; Lev 18:5; Neh
9:29; Ezek 20:11; Matt 19:17; Rom 10:5; Rom 2:7,10; Gal 3:12).
Furthermore, God's attaching a gracious reward to imperfect
obedience to his law as a rule of life (Ps 19:11; 1 Cor 15:58; Heb
11:6,26) confirms it. It is also noteworthy that all nations have
believed in God's readiness to accept and reward good works. The life
with which God promised to reward Adam's fulfillment of the
condition of this covenant included
1. The reward for fulfilling the obedience required in this covenant
was the continuation and perfection of life. This includes:
1. The continuation of natural life, with the body being free from any
principle of death and with no decay or suffering, and with pure
comfort in all aspects of life, such as labor, food, and rest.
2. The continuation of spiritual life, with God's image remaining in his
soul and with his favor, kindness, and intimacy in all ordinances
without any hiding or disapproval, and with a good conscience
reflecting on his progress toward eternal reward.
2. The reward also includes the enjoyment of a more perfect life
after completing servile obedience.
This includes:
1. The sealing and protection of their bodies against death and any form of it.
2. The infallible confirmation of their souls in perfect conformity to God.
3. Their fixed position as honorary subjects to God's law as a rule.
4. The translation of both body and soul to heaven,
with the full and immediate enjoyment of the triune God.
Their eternal life in heaven would have been the same in substance
as that which believers enjoy there, through Christ.
Firstly, reason itself suggests that God would promise to Adam and his seed
something better than the happiness which he enjoyed.
Secondly, after his state of service, there would probably happen one of reward,
and as the garden of Eden was chiefly calculated to promote the
temporal felicity of his body, there would be a future state of
happiness, mainly correspondent with the noble nature of his soul.
Thirdly, the everlasting execution of the penalty of death in hell,
especially as it was initially annexed to the breach of a merely
positive command, strongly infers that the promise of reward
included eternal life in heaven, as shown in Matt 25:46 and Rom6:23.
Fourthly, our Saviour plainly represents the eternal life of the
heavenly state as annexed to the perfect keeping of God's
commandments in Matt 19:17.
Fifthly, the eternal life connected by
the law with the perfect fulfilment of all its demands is represented
as the same in substance with that which is enjoyed by faith, as
indicated in Rom 10:5, Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, and Gal 3:11-12. Sixthly,
Christ purchased that very life for men, which the law, on account of
their sinfulness, could not confer on them, Rom 8:3-4, Gal 3:21, and
Gal 2:21. Now, the law was originally ordained to be the instrument
of conferring eternal life in heaven, as well as temporal and spiritual
life on earth, as stated in Rom 7:10 and Matt 19:17.
Lastly, the appending of the tree of life as a seal of this covenant obscurely
pointed out that a more perfect life was implied in the promised reward.
However, that eternal life suspended on Adam's fulfilling the
condition of this covenant of works would have been inferior to that
enjoyed through Christ in several very delightful adjuncts.
Firstly, it would not have been sweetened by means of any preceding
experience of sin, sorrow, fear, or trouble.
Secondly, there would have been no God in our nature in the midst of the throne, through
whom, as slain and alive forevermore, we might behold God as our
All-in-All.
Thirdly, our title to happiness would not have been confirmed in the person and death of the Son of God,
nor would our charter have been a New Testament in his blood.
Fourthly, we would have had none of the delightful manifestations of God's perfections
peculiar to the work of redemption.
Finally, though we would havelived and reigned with God as his created servants, friends, and
children, we would not have been his redeemed travail of his soul,
sisters, brethren, and bride.
With respect to the connection of this reward of life with Adam's
obedience, it is clear that, being God's creature preserved by Him,
Adam owed his whole obedience to God independent of any rewards.
Besides, there was an infinite disproportion between the temporary
obedience of a finite creature and the everlasting enjoyment of an
infinite God for himself and all his posterity. The entire connection of
such a reward with his obedience must therefore depend on the mere
grace and bounty of God. God had become a debtor, not properly to
Adam, but to His own sovereign kindness, and His faithfulness was
pledged in His promise. However, such is my weakness that I cannot
determine whether the bestowal of this reward would have
proceeded from His natural goodness or merely from His sovereign will.
On the one hand, it is clear that God could have done no injury to
man, even if He had reduced him to nothing the moment he had
finished any prescribed course of obedience. The reward necessarily
attending a course of perfect holiness would have perfectly
demonstrated His goodness and bounty, Ps 19:11; 2 Cor 1:12. On the
other hand, it is certain that man was created with an eager desire for
the enjoyment of God as his chief good, and annihilation would have
been more distressing in proportion to his holiness or desire for God.
Now, I cannot conceive of God forming a desire for Himself, never to
be fully satisfied unless where sin interposes, nor of Him
annihilating a soul in the very moment of its ardent desire for and
delight in Him. God cannot but love a holy creature. But I cannot
conceive how His infinite love could deny this holy and beloved
creature its desired enjoyment of Himself, or how it could admit of
His annihilating such a creature in its very act of love for Him and
eager pursuit of the highest degrees of holiness and love.
Death was the penalty threatened in the covenant of works (Genesis
2:17). If death was attached to the slightest breach of the positive
precept, it could not be but attached to the violation of the natural
law written on man's heart (Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 2:8-
9; Isaiah 3:11; 1 John 3:4). The emphatic form of the threat, "dying,
thou shalt die", conveyed the infallible certainty, unspeakable extent,
and dreadful nature of that death (Genesis 2:17). It was, in general,
1.Legal death, which consists in the curse or condemning sentence of
the broken law immediately fixing upon the transgressor, like a cloud
hovering over his head, pregnant with God's vengeance, and as cords
of death girding him so fast that God alone can release him
(Galatians 3:10; John 3:18,36).
2. Real death, which consists in theactual execution of that condemning sentence on him from the first
moment of his sinning. This may be distinguished into:
1. Spiritual death occurs when sin and the curse resulting from it
separate man from the favour and fellowship of God, who is the
source of life. This causes him to become dead in trespasses and
sins, Eph 2:1; Isa 59:2. In the first act of sin by Adam, it
included,
1. The loss of God's image on the soul and the
succession of all manner of sinful corruption in its place. This
includes ignorance, pride, vanity, proneness to falsehood and
deceit in the understanding, blindness, stupidity, partiality, and
disorder in the conscience, weakness with respect to good,
proneness to evil, perverse wilfulness, and enmity against God
in his existence, perfections, discoveries of himself, word,
ordinances, people, and every other thing bearing his image in
the will, earthliness, disorder, respecting objects and degrees, in
the affections, treacherous readiness to forget every good thing
and tenacious retention of that which is trifling and sinful in the
memory, Gen 1:26-27; Rom 1:28-31; Rom 3:10-18; Rom 8:7-8;
Rom 7:8,24; Jer 17:9; Matt 15:19; Mark 7:21-23; Titus 3:3; Gen 6:5; Gen 8:21.
2. The complete breach of all friendship and
fellowship with God and the succession of stated indignation,
wrath, abhorrence, hidings, and frowns instead of it, Eph 2:3,
12; Ps 5:4-6. As spiritual death progresses, it includes,
1. The growing strength of sinful lusts and the increasing number and
heinousness of dead works, 2 Tim 3:13.
2. The infliction of God'sjust vengeance on the soul, in many fearful and ruinous strokes,
some of which are felt, such as sorrows, crosses, anxieties,
vexations, terrors, and despair; others of them unfelt, such as
judicial blindness of mind, hardness of heart, searedness of
conscience, strong delusions, a reprobate sense, vile affections,
slavery of Satan, etc. Matt 27:3-4; Gen 4:14; Deut 28:65-67; Jer
20:4; Luke 21:26; Isa 33:14; Prov 18:14; Heb 10:26-31; 2 Cor
7:10. Eph 4:18; 2 Cor 4:3-4; 2 Cor 3:14; Isa 63:17; Isa 42:25; 1
Tim 4:2; Rom 11:8; Isa 66:4; 2 Thess 2:9-12; Ps 81:12; Rom
1:26-31; Titus 1:15-16; 2 Tim 3:8; Ps 109:6.
2. Natural or temporal death is two-fold:
1. Inward in a sinner's own body. In his first act of sinning,
man became mortal in his constitution, a slave to death,
and had the seeds of it implanted in him. Terror and anxiety
of mind produced a deathful motion in his blood and
animal spirits (Genesis 2:17, 3:16, 3:19). This death marks
its progress in manifold diseases (Ecclesiastes 3:20, Genesis
3:19, Deuteronomy 28:22, 28-29, Matthew 4:24), and it is
completed in the separation of the soul from the body under
the curse (Genesis 3:19, Jeremiah 34:18).
2. Outward and relative, affecting those creatures upon which
the natural life or health of men's body depends (Hosea
2:21-22). This began in the irrational part of the lower
creation falling under the bondage of corruption for the sin
of man, its immediate proprietor (Romans 8:22). Hence
animals are armed against one another, especially against
man; fields are turned into barrenness; the air is poisoned
with pestilential vapours; the sea rages in tempests; the
winds are bleak, cold, and stormy, all being fitly framed
together for promoting man's death. It increases in their
becoming worse and worse. The earth was rendered much
more unhealthful by the flood; the air was more thoroughly
poisoned; and a shortening of man's life ensued. Still, things
grew worse and worse; fertile fields are turned to
barrenness, sunk by earthquakes, marred by volcanoes, etc.
Hence human life is but about a fourteenth part of what it
once was (Psalm 107:33-35, Psalm 90:7-10, Psalm 102:26).
It will be completed when the present frame of this lower
world shall be dissolved, the elements melt with fervent
heat, and the earth and the works in it be burnt up (Psalm
102:26, 2 Peter 3:10).
3. Eternal death, which combines natural and spiritual death and
takes the penalty to its highest extent, is called the second death
(Rev 20:6, 14). Since this death comes from the penal sanction
of the covenant of works, it includes the complete loss of
everything good or desirable, earthly, heavenly, or divine (Luke
12:20; Rev 21:8; Rev 22:15; Matt 25:41), and enduring the most
tremendous torments in soul and body until infinite satisfaction
is made for sin (Matt 25:41; Mark 9:49; Rev 14:10-11; Ps 90:11;
Luke 12:58-59). As it falls on a finite and sinful creature, it
involves the irrecoverability of God's image and favour (Hos
9:12; Ps 77:7-9; Heb 10:26-27), a constant and agonizing despair
of relief (Mark 9:44-45, 48-49), a constant subjection to the full
power and violence of indwelling lusts, pride, envy, malice, etc.
(Rev 16:10-11, 21) and all in eternal duration (2 Thess 1:7-9; Rev
14:9-11; Matt 25:41,46; Isa 33:14).
The penalty of the broken covenant of works flows from the natural
perfections of God, not from any mere act of His will, such as making
the covenant. First, the majesty of God, the covenanter, is infinite.
Every act of disobedience to the law of the covenant is high treason
against infinite dignity and goodness, a contempt and rebellion
against infinite authority, and an attempt against the infinitely
precious life of God. Therefore, it deserves nothing less than infinite
punishment. Since the guilt is objectively infinite and nothing less
than the blood of God is capable of balancing it or purging it from its
pollution, it must continue forever. Hence, the punishment of a finite
person for it must extend throughout all eternity. God, who is El
Kane, a jealous God, must avenge Himself of such a criminal. He
cannot conceal His majesty when sinful worms attempt to rob Him
of it, trample it underfoot, and enthrone themselves in opposition to
Him. The whole earth ought to be filled with the glory of the Lord
(Exodus 20:5; Isaiah 51:4; Isaiah 5:16; Numbers 14:21).
Second, the holiness of God's nature requires such a penalty annexed
to sin. Being infinitely holy, He cannot admit men, defiled and
enslaved by sin, to fellowship with Him. Nor, in consistency with His
own curse lying on them, can He grant them a sanctified nature to
qualify them for it. He cannot, with pleasure, behold that which is an
abomination to His soul. He cannot but hate those in whom this
abomination is loved and reigns (Psalm 5:4-5; Psalm 11:6-7;
Habakkuk 1:12-13; Jeremiah 44:4; Proverbs 16:5; Proverbs 6:16;
Zechariah 11:8). If holiness is His very image, He cannot, without
appearing as sinful, forbear to show His detestation of sin (Psalm
50:21). Therefore, He is represented as sanctified in the punishment
of it (Leviticus 10:3; Ezekiel 38:16; Isaiah 5:16; Joshua 24:19).
Third, it has already been proved that the justice of God necessarily
requires His punishment of sin. He cannot be just without giving
everyone his due, either in himself or in his representative and surety
(Romans 1:32; Romans 2:2; Jeremiah 5:5,7,9; Genesis 18:25; Psalm
11:6-7). God's judgments are not called His strange act or work
because they are disagreeable to His good and merciful nature but
because they are much less common on earth than His merciful
providences (Isaiah 28:21). He has no pleasure in the death or
misery of His creatures in itself (Ezekiel 33:11; Ezekiel 18:32;
Lamentations 3:33; Hosea 11:8). However, He relishes it as a
vindication of His own perfections (Deuteronomy 32:35-36,41-43;
Isaiah 1:24; Hosea 10:10) and refreshes Himself with it (Amos 5:9).
The seals of this covenant, by which the promise and the threat
within it were confirmed, were:
1. The tree of knowledge of good and
evil, so named because God used it to test man's obedience or
disobedience; and by eating its fruit, man experientially knew the
good which he had lost and the evil which he had incurred. Like the
seal of the rainbow in Noah's covenant, this could only be looked at,
and it sealed eternal happiness to men upon the condition of
fulfilling the law of the covenant, and infinite misery if it was broken
(Gen 2:17).
2. The tree of life, the fruit of which perhaps invigorated
the human body, but certainly was a pledge of eternal life as a result
of fulfilling the condition of the covenant (Gen 3:22; Gen 2:9). And
hence, Christ as enjoyed in heaven, is called by its name (Rev 2:7; Rev 22:2).
Nothing but sin against God, in want of conformity of heart or life, or
in transgression of his law, which prescribed the condition of the
covenant, could break it (1 John 3:4; Rom 4:15; Rom 5:13). But that
it has been broken is evident.
1. Sin, in innumerable forms, rages or reigns everywhere in the world (Gen 6:5; Gen 8:21;
Gen 13:13; 2 Kings 17:7-23; Ps 14:1-4; Ps 53:1-4; Isa 59:1-15; Isa 5:5-23; Mic 7:1-5;
Matt 15:19; Mark 7:21-23; Rom 1:28-32; Rom 3:10-18; 1 Cor 6:9-10;
Gal 5:19-21; Eph 2:1-3,12; Eph 4:17-19; Eph 5:5-6; Phil 3:18-19; Titus
3:3; 2 Pet 2; Rev 17).
2. All men are by nature imprisoned for their
debts and crimes (Isa 42:6-7; Isa 61:1-2; Zech 9:11-12).
3. All men have contracted a habit of covenant-breaking (Rom 1:31; Ps
78:10,37,57; Isa 48:8).
4. This world is marked everywhere with the
wrath of God (Rom 1:18; Gen 7; Gen 19; Exod 7-14; Josh 6-12; Isa 1;
Isa 24; Isa 34; Jer 1-52; Luke 19; Luke 21; Matt 24; Rev 6-20).
5. A new covenant of redemption is revealed by God (Isa 42:6-7; Isa 49:1-
12; Isa 53:10-12; Jer 31:33-34; Heb 8:10-12; Ps 40:6-8; Ps 89:3-4;
Gen 3:15; Gen 17:7).
This covenant of works was broken by Adam's eating the forbidden
fruit. In doing so, he:
1. Doubted the severity and truthfulness of the
warning and the perfections of God associated with it.
2. His understanding was darkened, and his emotions and will were
captivated by the fruit, believing that eating it would make him wise
and happy like God.
3. He completed his wrongdoing by actually taking and eating the fruit,
as recorded in Genesis 3:3-6. This first sin included:
1. Unbelief, to the extent that Satan, in the form of a
serpent, was believed over God (1 John 5:10; Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:4-6).
2. Pride, ambition, bold and presumptuous curiosity (Genesis
3:5; Isaiah 14:13-14). Our first parents were in paradise, and were
lords of this world below, but they were not content and wanted to be
like God. They knew and enjoyed much, but they desired knowledge
and enjoyment of everything.
3. Shocking ingratitude and discontentment. They had everything that was useful or delightful.
They were the envy of devils, the companions of angels, and lords of
animals and everything on earth except for one tree. However, they
begrudged their maker and benefactor that small reserve for his own
exclusive property (Genesis 2:7-25; Genesis 3:5,8).
4. Contemptuous apostasy and open rebellion against God. They rejected his covenant
of friendship and threw off all subjection to him, or professed
dependence on him (Psalms 2:3; Genesis 2:16-17; Genesis 3:3-6).
5. This one act broke the entire law of God. The foundation of the law,
the authority of God, was trampled upon; the love that is the
fulfillment of it was ignored and enmity was allowed to take its place.
The positive precept that was a summary of and fence to the moral
laws was disregarded and explicitly violated. In this sin, every
specific command of the moral law was broken in several different ways.
Adam's first sin, by which he broke this covenant, was exceedingly aggravated.
1. It was committed by one who had just been created in
the image of God, perfectly holy and righteous, and able to continue
in such a state, Gen 1:26-27; Gen 5:1; Eccles 7:29.
2. It was occasioned by fruit of little importance, of which Adam had no need
at all, 2 Sam 12:1-14.
3. As it concerned what had been set apart by God for his own service,
it amounted to a sacrilegious robbing of him, Mal 3:9.
4. It was committed in paradise, where man had every delightful and engaging thing to obey
- where God dwelt as in his temple, and everything proclaimed his infinite kindness to mankind, Deut 32:15; Hos 13:6.
5. It was committed on the very day on which he was created or shortly thereafter, Ps 49:12.
6. It was committed on a single and slight temptation, Gen 3:3-6.
7. It was committed against God's express command and the most explicit warning of the danger, Gen 2:17.
8. It was committed almost immediately after God had entered into a covenant with them.
In this first sin of Adam,
I. God left him to the freedom of his own will. This freedom of will did not consist in any unchangeable,
voluntary attachment to good, like that of God, holy angels, or glorified saints; nor did it consist in having one inward principle
inclined to good and another to evil, as in the case of believers on
earth; nor in a fixed, voluntary inclination to evil, as devils and
wicked people have; nor even in an equal inclination to good and
evil, for man was created upright and in the image of God, Eccles
7:29; Gen 1:26-27; Gen 5:
1. Rather, it consisted in his susceptibility
to be tempted to evil, though he was only inclined to do good. God
created him perfectly holy and capable of keeping his entire law,
whether natural or positive, and of resisting every temptation. He
gave him a heart that was wholly and only inclined to good, but
subject to change, and that only by his own choice and action. Since
natural immutability in goodness and holiness is a unique attribute
of godhead, it could not be bestowed upon Adam, Mal 3:6; Ps
102:26-27; James 1:17. God could not have made him unchangeable
in holiness by an act of grace, as He did with the established angels
and glorified saints, because it would have confused his state of
service with that of his honorary reward, and would have been
inconsistent with the terms of the covenant He made with him.
Therefore, as Adam was actually capable of change, God did not
force, tempt, or incline him towards any change, but rather left him
to himself, so that he alone could alter the inclination and choice of
his own will from good to evil. II. Satan very cunningly tempted him
to do evil.
1. He chose a cunning and clever serpent, or perhaps one very
beautiful, which might be mistaken for an angel, to be his instrument
in the temptation; and to mark his victorious triumph over mankind
by it, he has caused multitudes of them, to this day, to worship him in serpents.
2. In the absence of her husband, he tempted Eve, who
perhaps had only heard the terms of the covenant from Adam.
3. He raised a doubt about the prohibition of the fruit of the tree of
knowledge, in such ambiguous terms, that it was difficult to know
whether he meant to ask, whether God had really forbidden them to
eat of that fruit; or if he meant to insinuate that the one who forbade
that excellent fruit could not be the true God, who had so recently
created them to enjoy his favors; - or that God, who had forbidden
such a thing, was a harsh master.
4. Finding that Eve adhered to God's commandment, he labored to make the truth of the
threatening appear doubtful, if not improbable or impossible.
5. He pretended an earnest desire to promote their knowledge and
happiness; and used the name and sight of the tree to further his temptation.
6. Perhaps he claimed that he had acquired his own
superiority in knowledge above other animals by eating that fruit.
But he certainly introduced his plain contradiction of God's
threatening by a solemn appeal to him about the usefulness of the fruit.
7. Having convinced Eve, he tempted Adam through her, who
was no doubt more easily deceived as he saw that she did not
immediately die by eating the fruit.
III. Being left by God to the freedom of his will, Adam misused it and gave in to Satan's
temptations. This compliance was entirely his own doing. Although
God did not give him such measures of grace as to actually make him
overcome the temptation, he gave him enough to enable him to resist
it, had he made good use of it. An infinitely holy, righteous, and good
God could neither force, incline, nor tempt him to sin. And as he was
fully in control of his own will, neither Satan nor Eve could force him to do it.
By Adam's one offence, the covenant of works was broken in several ways.
I. The law of the covenant was violated in all its parts and fully
violated, in the sinfulness of man's nature and act, Gen 2:17; Gen
3:11; 1 John 3:4; Matt 19:17. Since Adam sinned as our covenant head,
his sin in its fault and guilt, or changeableness by law in order
to punishment, is ours and legally imputed to and charged upon us
by a holy and righteous God.
1. Scripture represents this sin as
imputed to all his natural descendants, Rom 5:12-19.
2. All people are represented as under a sentence of condemnation due to Adam's
first sin, from which they can be saved only through Christ, 1 Cor
15:22; Rom 5:15-19; Eph 2:3; Rom 8:1-4,33-34; Gal 3:13.
3. All people are naturally under the power of spiritual death in all its
aspects, Gen 6:5; Gen 8:21; Ps 14:2-3; Ps 53:2-3; Ps 51:5; Ps 58:3;
Job 14:4; Job 15:14-15; Jer 17:9; John 3:6; Matt 15:19; Mark 7:21-23;
Rom 5:12; Rom 8:7-8; Rom 3:9-23; 1 Cor 2:14; Eph 2:1-3; Titus 3:3.
4. Experience attests the universal corruption of humankind. Except
for Christ, all people in every age and place have engaged in moral
evil as soon and as far as their abilities and opportunities allowed,
and they have proceeded from one evil to another even worse. Their
inclination to evil is early and universal, and they have spoken and
done evil things as much as possible, despite the strictest laws of God
and humanity, contrary to the dissuasions and determents of
providence, contrary to their most solemn vows, promises, and
oaths, contrary to their most sincere resolutions, and even the largest
measures of grace bestowed on earth, marking their mind,
conscience, will, affections, and memory as dreadfully infected with
all the above-mentioned plagues, and their bodily members as ready
instruments of unrighteousness. There are significantly more
degrees, measures, and multitudes of sins in this world than of
holiness and virtue. Despite all the means used by God and people to
prevent or purge wickedness and promote virtue, most people in all
ages and places have been manifestly and often outrageously wicked,
and even the best are exceedingly deficient. Men have universally
imitated Adam's first sin in their sinful curiosity, their tendency to
rush upon that which is forbidden, their readiness to hearken to
seduction, their physical senses blinding their minds, their
prioritization of the body over the soul, their discontentment with
their present state, their greater susceptibility to evil counsel than
good, their pitiful attempts to cover their shame, their efforts to flee
and hide from God, their reluctance to be affected by or confess their
sins, and their inclination to excuse and downplay their sins, even
blaming God himself. Without supposing that men are guilty of sin
from their very conception and that their soul is formed under a
charge of guilt and a condemning sentence from God, it is impossible
to conceive how an infinitely righteous, holy, and good God could
create humans destitute of original righteousness and allow them to
become corrupted with sin from birth. If humans are not formed
under guilt and the curse, then why is sinful corruption not
prevented and holiness implanted? The misery and death that occur
to infants in every age, particularly during events such as the flood
and the destruction of Sodom and other cities, and the destruction of
nations, suggest that they are guilty of some grievous transgression
before God. Otherwise, an infinitely merciful God would not so early
and wrathfully destroy his most excellent creation. The parallel
between Adam and Christ plainly demonstrates that just as in Christ,
elect men fulfill the law and live, so in Adam, all humans are made
lawbreakers and face death. (Romans 8:4, Galatians 2:20, 1
Corinthians 15:21-22,45-49, Romans 5:14-19, Romans 7:4.)
II. When Adam broke the law of the covenant, he not only lost his
own encouragement to obedience, but also that of all his
descendants. The promise of eternal life, which was the foundation
of this encouragement, was destroyed by his sin. As a result, all hope
of obtaining the reward promised in the covenant and any possibility
of earning it through obedience to the covenant were forever lost.
III. The blessings of the covenant were lost, and God's favour was
forfeited, making eternal life through obedience to the law
impossible. The curse of the covenant fell upon the transgressors,
condemning them to death. This curse affected Adam and Eve
immediately upon their sinning, and it was poised to afflict their
descendants upon their birth, rendering them in a wretched state. IV.
The representation of mankind in the covenant was dissolved, and
every individual became bound for their own transgressions. Adam,
being dead in law and under the influence of spiritual death, was no
longer fit to continue as the head and representative of others in the
covenant that was originally established for life. Furthermore,
Adam's displacement as covenant head was necessary for the
immediate administration of the covenant of grace and for Adam,
Eve, and their descendants to have unimpeded access to it.
Nevertheless, the covenant of works was not entirely abolished. The
law of it, with respect to everything moral in itself, still remained
unaltered. And the demand of infinite satisfaction for sin, answerable
to the threatened penalty, was superadded to the original one of
perfect obedience, as the absolutely necessary condition of eternal
life. The natural law of the covenant, being founded on that relation
which subsists between God and men as his rational creatures, it
behoved to continue while that relation continued. The penalty,
flowing from the very nature of God, and corresponding with his
relation to men as his subjects, must be as unalterable as the law
itself.
1. Man's sin could not deprive God of his rightful sovereign dominion
over him, or free him from his obligation to due obedience (Psalm
83:18, Daniel 4:35, Job 35:6,8).
2. The Scriptures never hint that this law, in its federal form, was utterly abolished, but represent it as
unalterable (Matthew 5:17-18, Matthew 19:17, Romans 10:5, Romans
3:31, Romans 8:3-4, Galatians 3:10,12-13).
3. They represent ourinability to fulfill the law, not any detachment of the promise of life
to the fulfiller, from it, as the reason that we cannot be justified by it
(Romans 3:10-20, Romans 8:3-4, Galatians 3:10,12,21).
4.Believers' entrance into a state of life or of deliverance from this law is founded
upon their complete fulfillment of all its demands in Christ their
surety (Romans 8:3-4, Romans 7:4, Romans 10:4, Romans 3:31,
Philippians 3:9, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
In vain it is objected that man is not now in a friendly covenant with
God, that God cannot demand from men what they are unable to
perform, that it would be unbecoming a sinful and accursed creature
to trust in and love God as his own God. For, though man has
forfeited all friendly connection with God, he is still his rational
creature. Man's disqualifying himself for obedience cannot deprive
God of his right to demand it. Ought God to be punished with the
loss of his authority if men rebel against it? Cannot God require
obedience of his morally incapable subjects, for wise ends, such as to
convince them of their sinfulness and to make their conscience
approve their punishment? If God is presented to men as a suitable
Saviour, why may they not trust in and love him? If anything in God
is terrible to them, they have themselves to blame for it. From the
beginning, it was not so. Nay, are not the damned in hell forever
bound to love God on account of those very excellencies which he
manifests in their destruction?
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Post by Admin on Jun 8, 2024 12:22:20 GMT -5
All people are naturally under the covenant of works, both in terms
of its content and form.
Firstly, the Scriptures clearly represent
humans as being under it, as seen in Galatians 3:10, 12, Matthew
19:17, Romans 3:19, and Romans 7:8-9.
Secondly, only Christ's small
flock is portrayed as having been freed from and died to the law or
covenant of works, and that only after they have been united with
Christ through their effective calling, as seen in John 3:18, Romans
8:1-2, 4, Romans 7:4, Romans 6:14, Galatians 2:19-20, Galatians
3:13, Galatians 4:4-5, and Colossians 3:3.
It has been argued that if unconverted gospel-hearers are under the
authority of the covenant of works, they must be compelled by it to
seek justification through their own deeds, while at the same time
the gospel requires them to obtain it through the righteousness of
Christ. However:
Firstly, Adam was not required to seek justification
through his perfect obedience, but to perform it, with the hope of
God graciously accepting and rewarding him.
Secondly, even if the covenant of works had demanded that Adam seek justification
through his own perfect obedience, it cannot therefore compel
people to pursue or expect justification through works, given that
even the best of these are an abomination to the Lord, as shown in
Isaiah 64:6, Proverbs 15:8, Proverbs 21:24, 27, and Proverbs 28:9.
Thirdly, the covenant of works cannot now bind people to seek
justification through their works, since even infinitely valuable
obedience cannot meet its requirements without full satisfaction for
past offences, as seen in Hebrews 9:22, Romans 3:24-26, Romans
5:6, 8, 10, and 1 John 4:9-10. Finally, since the law of the covenant of
works demands that people believe everything that God reveals and
receive whatever he offers, it must necessarily require every preacher
of the gospel, who is entirely incapable of fulfilling it themselves, to
believe the gospel record and accept the law-magnifying
righteousness of Jesus Christ that is offered in it, and that under the
threat of increased guilt and punishment, as demonstrated in John
3:18, 38, 1 John 3:23, 1 John 5:10, 12, and Hebrews 10:29.
All people, whether believers or not, desire to be under the covenant
of works and to obtain happiness through their own righteousness or
its condition.
1. This desire is natural to humans, and people from all
backgrounds and walks of life share it (Romans 9:31-32;
Romans 10:3; Jonah 1:16; Matthew 19:16; John 6:28; Acts 2:37;
Luke 15:19).
2. The idea of earning happiness from God through our own
actions or suffering is appealing to our prideful nature and
makes us view God as indebted to us (Romans 10:3; Romans
7:9,13; John 5:45; Isaiah 58:3). Letting go of the law feels like a
painful death (Romans 7:4,9; Galatians 2:19).
3. Ignorance of the extent and high demands of the broken law, or
intentionally downplaying those demands while overestimating
our own abilities, fuels our desire to be under it (Romans 7:9-13;
Romans 10:3; Galatians 4:21).
4. People naturally have enmity towards God and his gracious
redemption, and against Jesus Christ and his mediation,
particularly his work of sacrifice. This leads them to oppose the
honor of it by clinging to legal methods of obtaining happiness
(Romans 8:7; John 15:24; Romans 9:32; Romans 5:21;
Galatians 2:21, 5.2,4.).
Not only does the Spirit of God make use of the broken law in
awakening, convicting, and illuminating sinners' consciences, but the
law itself has a manifold power over them.
Firstly, it still retains its federal commanding power over them, binding them to fulfil the
most perfect obedience, under the punishment of infinite
punishment for the smallest offense. Even while the curse of it allows
them no spiritual strength, but subjects them to the dominion of
indwelling sin (Luke 10:27-28; Gal 3:10).
Secondly, it has an excluding power, by which it shuts out men from all happiness or
solid hopes of it, unless its impossible condition of perfect obedience
and infinite satisfaction for sin be completely fulfilled. (Matt 19:17;
Gal 3:10,12,21; Gal 4:24; Rom 10:5; Mic 6:7-8). It refused to justify
Christ upon any lower terms (Matt 3:15; Luke 24:26; Heb 5:8; Heb
2:10). The convincing and distressful influence of the law upon men's
consciences arises from this commanding and excluding power of it.
Thirdly, it has an irritating power by which its commands and
threatenings, fixing on men's consciences, occasion their becoming
more and more wicked. Even as the stirring of wasps' nests makes
them rage and sting the more, the warming of serpents renders them
more mischievous, or the shining of the sun upon dunghills makes
them the more noisome (Rom 7:5,7-13; Acts 7:54; Matt 7:6; Hos
11:2). In this irritating power, the following things are observable:
1. The commands and threatenings of the law, when closely
applied to sinners' consciences, lay them under fearful
restraints, acting as an austere master who issues forth his
commands with the lash in his hand (Gal 3:10; Isa 3:11; Ezek
18:4; Rom 2:8-9).
2. The law does not remove their enmity against God or their
inability to obey its commands, but by its curse, it fixes men
under the dominion of indwelling sin (Gal 3:22; 1 Cor 15:56;
Rom 6:14; Rom 7:4; Rom 8:2; John 1:17).
3. Every felt restraint of their inward lusts awakens their rage
against the law and God the lawgiver, due to the strictness of its
precepts and the dreadful nature of its penalty (Rom 4:15; Rom
7:5,7-13). Men continuing under the curse have their inward
lusts gather strength from the opposition made to them, even as
furious horses become worse when they are checked or wild
bulls more outrageous when they feel the net upon them (Rom
7:5; Hos 4:16,18; Ps 81:11-12).
4. By viewing the hard and extensive commands and the dreadful
penalty of the law, their corrupt heart, foregoing all its hopes,
hardens itself in secret despair, like an overridden horse that
will not answer the spur, but turns and bites his rider (Jer 2:25;
Ezek 37:11).
5. Hence follows an inward rage against the holiness of God and
his law, frequent abandoning of themselves to wickedness, and
improving the most alarming afflictions to render themselves
worse and worse (Prov 29:1; Prov 1:29; Rom 1:26-32; 2 Chron
28:22; Isa 1:5; Jer 5:3; Isa 42:25).
6. The broken law has a retaining power. Its curse and irritating
influence concur in holding men under its dominion and
influence. Men desire to remain under it, notwithstanding its
piercing them through with many sorrows since its connecting
eternal happiness with personal righteousness, as apprehended
by them, suits their proud inclinations. Nor do even its most
dreadful demands weaken this desire, though they make men
wish for mitigations of them (Gal 4:21; Rom 9:31-32; Rom 10:3;
Matt 19:16-17; Mic 6:6-7; Hos 5:6).
7. The commanding power of the law being trampled on, it has a
cursing or condemning power over the transgressor (Gal
3:10,13; Prov 3:33; Isa 34:5; Deut 27:15-26; John 3:18,36). To be
under this curse includes:
8. Being under the just avenging wrath of God, the great Sovereign,
Lawgiver, and Judge of the world (John 3:36; Ps 7:11; Eph 2:3;
Matt 25:41; Deut 29:20).
9. Being consigned by an offended and angry God into the hands of
his avenging justice to be dreadfully punished without
intermission until full satisfaction for sin is made (Heb 10:31; 2
Thess 1:7-9; Luke 12:58-59; Matt 5:25-26).
10. Being separated to evil, having all happiness destroyed, and
being established a mark or butt of all the arrows and plagues of
infinite wrath, Ps 7:12-13; Ps 37:20,22; Ps 94:23.
All individuals who have not believed in Christ are under the curse or
condemning sentence of the broken covenant of works.
1. Sin, which
is contrary to the law of God and his revealed perfections, richly
deserves it. Ps 119:128; Titus 2:12; Gen 18:25; 2 Thess 1:6; Ps
119:142; Ps 11:5-7; Rom 6:23; Rom 2:2,8-9; Rom 1:32; Isa 3:11.
2. A sentence of condemnation is annexed to the breach of this covenant,
and the faithfulness of God must ensure its full execution. Gen 2:17.
3. If Adam had fulfilled the condition of this covenant, he and all his
descendants would have been justified and adjudged to eternal life.
Lev 18:5; Rom 10:5; Gal 3:12; Matt 19:17. Therefore, a divine
sentence of condemnation must necessarily follow upon his non fulfilment of it.
Gen 2:17; John 3:18,36; Mark 16:16; Gen 3:7.
4. Even the Son of God, when placed under this covenant as the surety for
sinful people, was made a curse, meaning that he was laid under all
the curses due to all their sins and had them fully executed upon
him. Only through their union with him as their curse-bearing and
law-fulfilling Head are they freed from the curse. Gal 3:13; Gal 4:4-6;
2 Cor 5:21; Rom 10:4; Rom 8:1,3-4,33-34; 1 Cor 1:30; Isa 45:24-25;
Isa 45:17.
The condition of those who are under the curse is indescribably
dreadful, as it infallibly engages the infinite holiness, justice,
faithfulness, and power of God.
1. God is obliged to withhold all true
goodness from them. Isa 59:2; Jer 2:17,19,25.
2. He is required tobring all true evil upon them in the most effective way possible to
manifest the glory of his avenging wrath. Ezek 18:4; Isa 1:20,24; Isa
3:11; Rom 2:8-9; 2 Thess 1:7-9; Rev 14:9-11; Rev 21:8; Rev 22:15.
3. All things, no matter how good in themselves, are made to work
together to promote their misery. Deut 28:15-18; Eccles 1:18; Isa 6:9-
10; Rom 11:32-33; Rom 11:8; 1 Pet 2:8. The nature of sin lies in its
disconformity to the commands of God's law, and the nature of
punishment lies in its proceeding from the curse of it lying on the
sufferer.
4. God is obligated to take advantage of all opportunities, in
time and eternity, to execute wrath upon them in their soul, body, or
relatives. Ps 37:22; 2 Pet 2:3. The administration of the broken
covenant of works mainly consists in the execution of this curse.
I. In this life, the curse of the broken law affects men and makes their
state dreadfully sinful and miserable. Even before their birth, the
curse guarantees their future existence in a natural union with their
accursed progenitor, Adam, Rom 5:12. No death of ancestors in wars,
diseases, or dangers can prevent their existence, and their piety
cannot prevent the curse from attending them, Gen 4:11,14,17-24;
Gen 6:3,4-5; Ps 51:5. In virtue of the curse, God's providence is
always making preparations to fix it on each of Adam's destined and
represented posterity. Hence, the most atrocious sinners are often
spared and made fruitful, Ps 17:14; Job 21:11; Job 27:14. When their
formation in the womb is fixed, the curse ushers them into being,
loaded with its dreadful weight and infected with its baleful
influence, Eph 2:3; Deut 28:18. Consequently, it always operates on
their soul, body, person, and relative concerns.
1. It operates on their soul. Firstly, it separates the soul from all
gracious and happy intercourse with God, in whose favour is life,
(Psalm 30:5; Deuteronomy 29:21; Isaiah 59:2; Psalm 5:4-6;
Amos 3:3). If God forms them under this curse, it prevents His
communication of any holy endowments to their soul. Hence,
being formed under sin imputed and the curse due to it, infants
are destitute of original righteousness (John 3:6; Job 14:4;
Psalm 51:5; Ephesians 2:1-3). I do not know how sinful
corruption could enter into our nature at our very formation or
how it could so quickly overspread Adam's whole nature in a
moment, but by the influence of an incumbent curse,
withholding all sanctifying communications from God and
subjecting them to an evil conscience and the dominion of sin,
as the punishment of his commenced rebellion against God.
Although in their adult age, men under the curse read or hear
Christ's word, they hear not His voice (John 5:37); though they
pray to God, He heareth not sinners (John 9:31); and though
they wait at the posts of wisdom's doors in the ordinances of His
worship, they are far from God Himself (Ephesians 2:13).
2. The soul, being thus separated from God, spiritual death preys
on it and deprives it of all that comeliness it had, and prevents
what otherwise it would have had. No spiritual knowledge,
holiness, or righteousness can enter into or continue in the
accursed soul. Hence how quickly the glory of our first parents,
like that of the accursed fig-tree, withered away! (Genesis 3:7-8).
All the powers of the accursed soul are dead while it liveth. The
eyes of the understanding are shut, and, as it were, glazed in a
ghastly manner; the speech of cordial prayer and praise is laid;
the right pulse of affections towards God is stopped; every
spiritual sense is locked up, and all within cold and stiff as a
stone (Romans 1:21-32; Ephesians 4:17-18; Ezekiel 11:19; Ezekiel
36:26).
3. In consequence of this death, all the powers of the accursed soul
become fearfully infected in the most loathsome manner.
No instruction, however important, can thrive on it (the accursed
soul), Matt 12:19-22; Isa 6:9-10; 2 Cor 3:14-15; 2 Cor 4:3-4. It is only
by removing this curse that God can effectively instruct men, Isa
48:17; Gal 1:16; Gal 3:13; Gal 2:16-30. The conscience, that deputy of
God which watches over the soul, becomes stupid, dumb, and
erroneous. It calls good evil and evil good, and is partial, easily
bribed, in favour of self or in pure prejudice against others, Judg
21:25; John 16:2; Isa 5:20-22; Matt 11:18-19. Alternatively, the
conscience becomes furious, rigid, and desperate, Heb 10:26-27; Isa
33:14-15; Matt 27:4; Jer 2:25. The will, the governing power of the
soul, becomes weak and incapable with respect to everything good,
Rom 5:6; John 15:5. It is utterly averse to it, Ps 81:11; John 5:40; Hos
11:2,7; Jer 5:3. It is filled with irreconcilable enmity against God in
His being, His perfections, His spirit, His word, His ordinances, and
providences. What is most shocking is that it is filled with peculiar
enmity against Christ as a saviour and against every gracious
purpose or dispensation of God for our salvation. The more His
redeeming grace appears in anything, such as in the priesthood of
Christ or the doctrine of free justification and happiness through His
imputed righteousness, and the free grant of it to sinners in the
gospel, the stronger is our enmity against it, Rom 8:7; Rom 1:30;
Rom 10:3; Rom 9:32; John 15:18,24. Moreover, it is perverse with
respect to our chief end, fixing on the most trifling and detestable
things rather than on God Himself, Hos 10:1; Zech 7:5; Phil 3:19; 2
Tim 3:4; Ps 4:6; Rom 8:5. It is obstinate, and until the curse is
removed, not all the terrors or pains of damnation or joys of heaven
can bow or melt it, Hos 11:2,7; Zech 7:11-12; Isa 48:4; Isa 1:5; Jer 5:3;
Ezek 11:19; Ezek 36:26; Acts 7:51.
The affections - those feet and arms of the soul - how slow they are
towards and averse from God! How shut they are against receiving
Him or His unspeakable gift, and against every spiritual object! But
how alert and ready they are to fly like hungry ravens or eagles
towards things carnal and sinful, and to grasp them fast as if they are
our all in all! (Psalm 4:6, Ezekiel 33:31, Proverbs 23:5, Philippians
3:19, Romans 8:5)
The memory - that magazine and register of the soul - is so strong in
retaining trivial or sinful things which tend to corrupt, and how
treacherous and incapable it is in retaining anything truly good and
important! (Jeremiah 2:32, Deuteronomy 32:18, Hosea 13:6)
In these three respects, Adam's nature in the first moment of his
sinning was, and infants' souls in the very moment of their formation
are, corrupted.
The soul, being reduced to this loathsome and dreadful condition,
the curse shuts it up from all inclination, care, or ability to attempt
anything proper for recovering itself, or receiving redemption from
another. It shuts up men in unbelief as in a prison or grave.
(Galatians 3:22-23, Romans 11:32, Isaiah 61:1, Isaiah 42:6-7, Ezekiel
37:12-13, Zechariah 9:11-12) Being buried in sinful corruption, God
Himself seals them up and secures their continuance in it. (Psalm
81:11-12, Isaiah 66:4, 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)
No door of hope remains, except in the way of His removing the
curse. (Ezekiel 18:4, Galatians 3:10,13, Romans 2:8-9, Isaiah 3:11)
Nay, every attempt to escape in any other way does nothing but fix
them more and more in their dreadful state.
If they hear the gospel, it is like a stench of death leading to death,
blinding and hardening their hearts. (2 Corinthians 2:16, Hosea 6:5,
Isaiah 6:9-10, Isaiah 13:19-20,25, Romans 11:7-9) If they pray, it is
an abomination to the Lord and draws down His wrath. If they offer
the most costly sacrifices to Him, He abhors them. (Proverbs 28:9,
Proverbs 15:8, Proverbs 21:27, Isaiah 1:11-15, Isaiah 65:13, Hosea
5:6, Micah 6:6-7)
The cursed soul, being dead and buried in sin, sees its corruption
increase more and more. (2 Timothy 3:13, 2 Timothy 2:16, Matthew
12:45, 2 Peter 2:20) That sinfulness of nature that dwells, reigns, and
works in them is formed into a multitude of particular lusts of the
flesh and of the spirit, which correspond with their bodily
constitution as vitiated by their own or parents' drunkenness,
lasciviousness, outrageous passion, etc., or correspond with their
particular circumstances, opportunities, temptations, etc. (2
Corinthians 7:1, Romans 6:12, 1 Peter 2:11, 1 Peter 4:3, 2 Peter 2:18,
Ephesians 2, Galatians 5:19-21,24, Romans 8:13, Romans 13:14)
These lusts are the members of the old man or body of sin,
(Colossians 3:5, Romans 1:29-30) inward tinder, responding to
Satan's temptations, (John 14:30, Proverbs 28:26) filthy matter
gathering into a shameful bile of wickedness, (James 1:14, Matthew
15:19, Mark 7:21-23, Jeremiah 4:14, Jeremiah 6:7) and constant
opposers of anything good entering or leaving, (Galatians 5:17,
Romans 7:23-24) represented as diverse due to their various forms.
They are ungodly, detested by God, contrary to His nature and law,
and to the love and fear of Him, (Jude 18, 1 John 2:16) devilish,
introduced and supported by Satan, and his very image on the soul,
(John 8:44) warring against the providence, Spirit, and grace of God,
and against men's souls, and even among themselves, (James 4:1,
Galatians 5:17, Romans 7:23, 1 Peter 2:11) worldly, reigning in the
hearts of worldly men, and leading them towards the world as their
portion and pattern, (Titus 2:12) insatiable, (Isaiah 57:10,
Ecclesiastes 1:8) deceitful, (Ephesians 4:22) hurtful, piercing men
with many sorrows, (1 Timothy 1:9-10) burning them up, (Romans
1:27) and drowning them in perdition, (1 Timothy 6:9) receiving
their dominion from the curse of the law on one hand and from the
choice of the sinner on the other. They constantly reign, work, and
manifest themselves as they have the opportunity, like an
uncultivated garden that produces briars, thorns, nettles, and other
noxious weeds, (Matthew 15:19, Mark 7:21-23, Romans 1:21-32,
Romans 3:10-18, Galatians 5:19-21, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Ephesians
2:1-3,12, Ephesians 4:17-19, Proverbs 24:30-31) becoming more and
more powerful until they are completely uncontrollable. (Titus 3:3, 2
Peter 2:13-14,22) The particular lust that most easily besets and most
powerfully influences their behaviour is called their predominant
lust. (Hebrews 12:1, Psalm 18:23)
For the just punishment of man's progress in wickedness, God, in the
execution of His curse, inflicts additional plagues on them. Some of
these plagues are not felt but loved and delighted in, though they are
dreadful in nature and correspond to former wickedness. (Isaiah 6:9-
10, Psalm 81:11-12, Isaiah 1:5, Jeremiah 5:3) To punish man's
rebellion against the light of His word or their own conscience, God
gives them up to judicial blindness of mind. (John 3:18, Job 21:14,
Ephesians 4:18, 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 Isaiah
6:9-10; Isaiah 42:19-20,25; Matthew 13:11; Acts 28:27; John 12:40;
Romans 11:7-10.—To punish those who do not receive the love of the
truth but hold it in unrighteousness, God gives them up to strong
delusions and vile practices, 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12; Isaiah 66:4;
Psalm 81:11-12; Hosea 4:17; Romans 1:18-32.—To punish those who
harden themselves in sin, God gives them up to judicial hardness of
heart, so that neither his word nor his providence affects them,
Romans 9:18; Isaiah 63:17; withholding his grace from them,
Deuteronomy 29:4; blasting to them his ordinances, these means of
softening hearts, Hosea 4:17; Romans 11:8-9; Isaiah 6:9-10; exposing
them to temptations, Deuteronomy 2:30; Psalm 109:6; Revelation
20:7-8; and allowing them to prosper in their wickedness, Psalm
73:2-12; Job 21:7-15; Deuteronomy 32:15-18; Jeremiah 12:1;
Jeremiah 44:17; Malachi 3:15; Psalm 37:35.—To punish their
contempt of and rebellion against the checks, alarms, and rebukes of
their conscience, God gives them up to a spirit of slumber and a
conscience seared as with a hot iron, which neither feels nor reproves
them for their commission of the most horrid crimes, Romans 11:8; 1
Timothy 4:2; Genesis 6:3;—To punish their indulgence of vileness in
their affections, even contrary to the strivings of their conscience,
God gives them up to vile affections, disposing them to the most
shocking lewdness, or the like, Numbers 1:26-27; Ephesians 4:19;
Ephesians 5:12; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:19; 1 Peter 4:3; 2 Peter
2:14; Jude 7.—To punish their sinning against common sense and
rational conviction, God gives them up to a reprobate mind or sense,
Romans 1:27; 2 Timothy 3:8; Titus 1:16.—To punish their ready
compliance with Satan's temptations, God gives him power to stand
at their right hand and reduce them to his peculiar slavery, Psalm
109:6; 2 Timothy 2:26.—Other spiritual plagues that God inflicts on
them are of the tormenting kind, such as discontentment, which the
peace of God not ruling their heart draws harrows of iron over their
soul, making it impatient, fretful, and prone to murmur at every
trifle, Jude 16; Psalm 37:1-7; Esther 3:5; Esther 5:13; Esther 6:12;
Colossians 3:15; Philippians 4:17.
From this inward gnawing hunger and painful thirst for happiness,
while the curse debars them from it, proceed inward wrath and rage,
which pierce them to the heart like a sword or arrow, and are as fire
in their bosom (Job 5:2; Isa 48:21). Anxiety of mind racks their soul,
stretching it, as it were, on tenterhooks, as men are torn asunder by
the contention of inward lusts (Esther 5:13; Luke 8:14; Ps 7:14), and
by their apprehensions of their spiritual or eternal state (Acts 2:37;
Acts 16:30; Heb 10:27-28; Isa 33:14). Sorrow of the world is
occasioned by temporal losses, disappointments, and troubles (2 Cor
7:10), or by envy at the prosperity of others (Job 5:2; Col 3:5), or
legal sorrow, arising from slavish fears of death and hell (Matt 27:3-
4; Isa 33:14). Terror of heart arises under apprehensions of
approaching misery (Gen 4:14; Deut 28:65-67; Jer 17:17; Jer 20:4;
Luke 21:26; Heb 10:26-27,31; Isa 33:14). Horror of conscience arises
from awful convictions of guilt, felt impressions of God's inflicted
wrath, or views of its certain and speedy approach (Isa 33:14; Isa
38:14; Prov 18:14; Heb 10:26-27), which can either be more
confused, as in Herod (Matt 14:1-2), transient, as in Felix (Acts
24:25), or abiding and violent, as in Judas (Matt 27:3-4). Finally,
there is despair (Isa 17:11; Heb 10:26-31; Isa 33:14; Ezek 37:11; Jer
2:25; 2 Kings 6:34).
2. Man's body, which was once a glorious habitation of his soul,
became cursed and swallowed death after partaking of the
forbidden fruit (Deut 28:16, 18-19). As a result,
1. There are
often deformities and variations from its original constitution,
such as deafness, blindness, or lameness. It is only by the
sovereign mercy of God that not all of our bodies are affected by
these (1 Cor 4:7; John 9:3).
2. The animal constitution of the
body changes to correspond with the sinful lusts of the soul,
which it is united with, and hence, it is called a vile body and
sinful flesh (Phil 3:21; Rom 8:3). Being corrupted by the soul, it
causes countless filthy lusts, such as drunkenness, gluttony, and
unchastity, which depress the rational powers of the soul into a
corrupted flesh and blood (Rom 7:14, 23-24).
3. As a result of
being changed by the curse, man's body becomes a vessel of
dishonour. The drunkard turns it into a sewer or a sink, the
glutton makes it a filthy bathroom, the covetous turn it into a
drudged and weary beast, the passionate turn it into a burning
slime pit, a lake of fire and brimstone, and the unchaste turn it
into a furious stallion, a lecherous dog, or an abominable swine.
The brawler turns it into an accursed serpent that hisses out
revenge (Rom 3:9-18; Rom 1:26-28; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21;
Titus 3:3; 1 Pet 4:3; Jer 5:7-8; Deut 23:18; 2 Pet 2:2, 22). Thus, it
is the slave of many cruel and oppressive lusts, even though it
appears to command the soul, contrary to nature (2 Pet 2:19).
4. The curse from every direction, whether from air, earth, sea,
beasts, men, or angels, good or bad, inflicts harm upon men's
bodies in the form of famine, war, pestilence, disease,
desolation, captivity, imprisonment, danger, wounds, bruises,
pain, etc. (Deut 28:15-68; Lev 26:14-39; 2 Kings 1:2; 2 Kings
7:29; 2 Chron 21:19; Acts 12:23).
5. Meanwhile, the accursed body itself is a seed-plot of misery, and its inward corruption,
especially when it meets with corresponding outward
circumstances, leads to countless diseases, making our world a
kind of hospital (Deut 28:22; Lev 21:18-20; Matt 4:24).
6. Man's body, being infected in this way, becomes a significant
hindrance to his soul in all its attempts toward spiritual
exercises or happiness. Its weakness or weariness causes
slumber, sleeping, or uneasiness during the worship of God.
Cares for its welfare or honour prevent serious care or
thoughtfulness about things spiritual or eternal. Its health and
sickness, in different forms, hinder concern for true and
everlasting happiness (Mal 1:13; Matt 26:40, 43; Matt 6:26-34;
Luke 10:40-41; Luke 12:16-20)
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Post by Admin on Jun 8, 2024 12:33:52 GMT -5
3. Men's persons and all their relative concerns are affected by this curse.
Firstly, they themselves, soul and body, are thereby and
from their own choice, the subjects and slaves of Satan - his
lawful and sure captives, plagued with his delusions,
harassments, and drudgery, 2 Tim 2:26; Isa 49:24; Isa 61:1; who
cannot be delivered from his additional chains and burdens, but
by the infinite merits, the almighty power and grace of Christ,
Zech 9:11; Isa 49:24-26; Matt 12:29.
Secondly, everything connected with their accursed person is accursed to them for
their sake. Their character is cursed with shame and dishonour,
and the higher they rise in the world, this the more remarkably
appears, Ps 57:4; Job 5:2; Deut 28:27; Ps 22:6; Ps 69:19-20. The
employment of their mind or hand, as cursed, results in vanity
or mischief, Deut 28:17; Hag 1:6-7; Eccles 1:13. Their substance,
being cursed, groans to escape out of their hands, is consumed
by a secret fire of God's wrath, or flies towards heaven to bear
witness against the abusers of it, Rom 8:21; Job 10:26; Prov
23:5; Hos 2:9. Their outward lot, whether prosperous or
afflicted, as cursed, decoys or drives their soul from God, Job
21:8-15; Deut 32:15-18; Hos 13:6; Luke 12:16-20; Prov 1:32; 2
Chron 28:22; 2 Kings 6:33; Job 35:10; Isa 1:5; Jer 5:3; Jer 43-
44. The word and ordinances of God, these means of grace and
salvation, and all the opportunities of attending them, are
cursed to them, and tend to their hurt, 2 Cor 2:16; Rom 11:9; Ps
69:22-23; Isa 6:9-10; 2 Thess 2:11-12; 2 Pet 2:20-22; John
15:22,24; Matt 11:21-23; 2 Cor 4:3-4. Their relations being
cursed to them, increase their misery in different forms.
Magistrates are oppressors, entanglers of conscience, a praise to
evil doers, and a terror to them that do well. Ministers are
unfaithful, unwatchful, unactive, unsuccessful, or deceiving.
Neighbours are unjust, selfish, and mischievous. Being
unequally yoked, husbands are such sons of Belial that one
cannot speak to them; and wives such brawlers, continual
dropping and rottenness, that one cannot live with them.
Children are a reproach and grief to parents, arrows to pierce
their hearts, and robbers to waste their substance. Daughters,
like carved palaces in comeliness, and cornerstones in
connecting families, fall on parents' heads and crush them with
expenses and grief, 1 Sam 8:11-17; Prov 29:2-16; Ezek 13-14; Isa
9:15-16; Jer 6:13-14; Mic 2:11; Mic 3:11; 2 Cor 2:14; 1 Sam 25:17;
Mal 2:11-16; Prov 19:13; Prov 27:15; Prov 21:19; Prov 25:24; Prov
12:4; Prov 10:1,5; Prov 15:20; Prov 17:2,25; Prov 13:1; Prov
19:26; Prov 28:7,24; Hos 4:13-14; Mic 7:5; Gen 34; Gen 37-38; 2
Sam 13; 2 Sam 15; 2 Sam 16:21-22. 3. They are in perpetual
danger of still greater misery than that which they are under,—
being waited for by the sword, the vengeance of God; and having
snares every where laid for them, Rev 3:17; John 3:18,36; Jer
20:3-4; Ps 7:11-14; Job 18; Job 20. 4. Being in prison and
without strength, they cannot escape, but must slide in due time,
be suddenly hurried out of their place, driven away in their
wickedness, and swept into hell by the storm and flood of God's
wrath, Deut 32:35; Prov 1:26; Prov 14:32.
II. After this life, the curse operates on men in an even more dreadful manner.
1. As a result of soul and body rebelling against God, the curse in
death causes an unhappy separation between them. It is:
2. A most ruinous stroke from the hand of an angry God. Men,
having trusted their life to the broken covenant of works, are
tumbled headlong into the hands of His wrath, and its curse, Job
18:18; Heb 10:31.
3. A final breaking up of all treaty between God and them, relative
to their eternal salvation. In death, the curse fixes an impassable
gulf between Him and them, sets His seal to the proclamation of
an eternal war with them, and indissolubly girds itself about
them as a dreadful serpent to crush them forever, Luke 16:26.
4. A conclusion of all their comfort, which draws an immovable bar
between them and it, quenches their coal, and puts out all their
light so that darkness may forever dwell in their tabernacle,
Luke 16:25; Job 18:17-18.
5. The king of terrors, armed with all the strength that he can
derive from sin and from the holy and just law of God. When
men die under the guilt of sin, God's justice and power must
chase them into everlasting fire. When they die under the
dominion and pollution of their lusts, these, as tormentors, must
attend them to the lowest hell, Job 18:14; Prov 14:32.
6. A fearful passage into everlasting misery. By death, the curse
opens a trapdoor under sinners, causing them to fall into the
bottomless pit and be swallowed up in unfathomable depths of
misery, Luke 16:22-23.
7. Immediately after death, man's soul is hauled to the judgment
seat of God by the power of the curse, to receive its particular
sentence of eternal damnation, Heb 9:27; Eccles 12:7; Matt
25:41. In this:
8. All their sins are brought forth, as out of a sealed bag in which
they had been carefully preserved, Hos 13:12; Amos 8:7; Job 14:16-17.
9. Every sin appears to draw a curse after it. What unnumbered
cords of damnation! Gal 3:10; Rom 6:23.
10. There being no more a throne of grace, or advocate with the
Father for them, they, having sinned by the law, must perish by
the law, and be appointed to enter into eternal fire as workers of
iniquity, Luke 13:25-28; Ps 11:5; Matt 7:23; Prov 14:32; Isa 33:14.
The condemned soul is lodged in hell by the power of the curse,
which is now irrevocably confirmed by God (Luke 16:23).
1. The soulis imprisoned in hell, securing it for the final judgment (1 Pet 3:19).
2. The curse wrings out all the dregs of God's wrath and pours it into
the soul (Ps 75:8).
3. The soul is fixed among other damned spirits,
devoted to eternal ruin by a similar curse (Matt 25:41).
4. The happiness it has irrecoverably lost, even for a trifle, now appears in
its full value, which aggravates its torment (Luke 16:23,25-26).
5. Conscience, fully awakened and unable to sleep, fastens upon the
damned soul the most terrible convictions of its former sinfulness
and apprehensions of God's wrath (Mark 9:44,46,48).
6. All the powers of the soul lie under the unrestrained influence of its sinful
lusts and the tormenting passions of pride, grief, envy, rage, anguish,
and despair that attend them (Prov 14:32; Matt 22:13; Matt 8:12; Rev
16:10,21; Isa 8:21).
7. While the souls of the wicked are tormented in
hell, their sins, in the practice of every person who has been directly
or indirectly drawn into sin by their means, shall continue increasing
on earth until the final judgment (Mic 6:16; 2 Kings 10:29,31).
Meanwhile, the body, being buried under the curse,
1. The grave is not a resting place or hiding place like it is for the bodies of saints
(Isa 57:2; Rev 14:13). Instead, it is shut up like a malefactor in a
prison until the final judgment (Ps 49:14).
2. Sin and guilt continue to afflict the body without any possibility of removal (Job 20:11; Ezek32:27).
3. The curse corrupts the body in the grave (Job 24:19).
No part of their debt to the broken covenant of works, whether the
precept or the penalty, is paid. Therefore, the bodies of the wicked
shall be raised again to life under this curse on the last day.
1. By virtue of this condemning sentence, they shall be produced and
brought forth as malefactors to everlasting punishment (John 5:29;
Rev 20:13; Dan 12:2).
2. Having been instruments of unrighteousness in their former life, they shall now be marked with
sin as unclean vessels, perhaps each with its predominant lust (Isa 66:24).
3. The union between soul and body shall be renewed with
inexpressible anguish for both. 4. Who knows what terrible
appearances the anguish of their souls and the immediate
impressions of God's wrath may give to these bodies? (Rev 6:16-17;
Isa 33:14; Isa 13:8; Isa 8:21-22).
In the last judgment, sinners shall appear under the power of the
curse, as damned malefactors, before the tribunal of Christ.
1. Their position on his left hand shall mark them as accursed with shame
and disgrace, Dan 12:2; Matt 25:33.
2. The curse, interposing between him and them, shall make his appearance most terrible, like
a devouring lion, a consuming fire, and the more curses that
interpose, the more terrible his appearance will be, Rev 1:7; Rev 6:16- 17; Ps 50:22.
3. To show the infinite equity of the curse in its public
proclamation and eternal execution, all the sinful qualities, thoughts,
words, and actions of the wicked, directly or indirectly encouraged or
approved in others, shall be plainly stated to their account, Eccles
12:14; Rom 14:12; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 20:12.
4. Consequently, the curse shall be solemnly proclaimed by Christ and immediately fully
executed, Matt 25:41-46; Rev 20:12-13.
By virtue of the condemnatory sentence, now ripe for full execution,
the holy angels shall drive and the devils shall drag the sinners from
the judgment-seat of Christ, Matt 13:41-42; Matt 22:13. The curse
that had infected this lower world shall kindle it into a universal
flame to give the transgressors their last, terrible adieu. By this
means, the earth, sea, and air shall get rid of the curse, and all the
vanity and corruption that had long infected them shall be returned,
in inexpressible vengeance, on the wicked who had caused it, and all
sin and misery shall henceforth be confined in hell, 2 Pet 3:10,13; 2
Thess 1:8-9; Ps 50:3; Rom 8:21-23; Rev 20:14-15.
In hell, the curse of this broken covenant of works shall forever prey
upon the united soul and body of the wicked in its full strength, Ps
75:8; Rev 14:10-11.
1. The infernal pit, having received them, shall
close its mouth upon them and enclose them in a fiery oven, Num
16:32; Matt 13:30; Ps 21:9.
2. As a dreadful partition, it shall forever
exclude all exercise of God's mercy and patience from among them,
Matt 25:41; Hos 9:12.
3. Hence, all sanctifying and sin-restraining
influences shall be forever stopped from them, and God shall
abandon them to the full fury of their lusts, while they shall have
nothing to satisfy them, Matt 22:13; Rev 16:21.
4. The breath of the Lord shall forever blow up the fire of his indignation on them and fix
the envenomed arrows of his wrath in them, Isa 30:33; Rev 14:11.
5. The curse shall prolong their misery into eternal duration and
dreadfully uphold them in bearing it and perhaps perpetually make it
more and more tormenting, Rev 14:11; Luke 12:59; Matt 5:26; Matt
25:41-46; 2 Thess 1:9; Mark 9:44,46,48; Isa 33:14.
Though the state of the saints and the wicked in death, and what
comes before it, may seem similar, everything that the saints
encounter and how God manages it comes from His love and
justifying sentence. Sinful afflictions are the preference and joy of the
wicked, but they are a heavy burden for believers, as seen in Romans
7:14-24, Psalm 38:4, and Psalm 40:12.
Reflection: Having traversed the paths of condemnation and come this far up the fiery mountain,
have you believed and trembled, my soul? Do you know these terrors of the Lord, so that you can
persuade others? Am I still under this broken covenant and its terrible curse, or have I been delivered from it?
Do I know when and how Jesus Christ removed it, and all its terrifying effects, from my heart?
Have I experienced the curse's transfer from me to my
Saviour, and through Him to my sins for their destruction? It's a
heart-melting thought that Jesus, that Jehovah, was made a curse for
me. Stop, my soul, and dedicate yourself to Him in the most solemn
manner possible. Witness me, you listening angels and Omniscient
Three, that I agree to be His alone, completely and forever His, as
God made Him wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and
redemption for me. If I do not love this Lord Jesus, let me be
Anathema Maranatha. Do not dare, my soul, to begin the sacred
work without having tasted the wormwood and the gall: without
having tasted redemption through His blood, forgiveness of my sins,
according to the riches, the exceeding riches of His grace. How
serious the responsibility of dealing between God and men, men who
are under His terrible curse! What great compassion! What prayers
and supplications, with strong cries and tears to Him who is able to
save them from death! What earnest and unrelenting labour! What
simplicity of the gospel! What travail until Christ is formed in their
souls is necessary here!
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[1] This text perhaps immediately pertains to the two dispensations
of the covenant of grace, although not without some reference to the
two covenants themselves. On the one hand, Hagar, a bondmaid,
who was first pregnant in and later cast out with her son from
Abraham's family, denotes the legal dispensation as a state of
ceremonial bondage and a strong inclination towards the works of
the law. This dispensation brings forth professed children to God,
but they are eventually expelled from the church of God and the
hearts of his people. Sinai, a barren mountain covered with thorns,
once terrible with thunders and lightnings, and far distant from
Canaan, the promised land, represents the covenant of works and
legal dispensation as pricking men's consciences with charges of guilt
and terrifying them with proclaimed commands and curses.
However, it is altogether unfit to bring them into the evangelical and
heavenly rest. Ishmael is an emblem of the Jews and other legalists
as early children of God in their open profession, but they continue
under spiritual bondage and persecute his Christian people.
Therefore, they are at last expelled from his church. Sarah, a free
woman, late and supernatural in her conception and childbirth but
remaining in Abraham's family until she died, prefigured the
Christian dispensation and covenant of grace as free, late, but
supernaturally productive of children to God, and remaining in his
church until the end of time. Mount Zion, pleasant and comely, the
residence of God in his temple and near the middle of Canaan,
represented that covenant and dispensation as singularly pleasant
and beautiful, blessed with God's peculiar presence, and bringing
men to heaven. Isaac figured out Christian and other believers, last
in order, born of the Spirit, made free by Christ, persecuted by Jews
and other legalists, but fixed and everlasting members of God's
family and heirs of himself
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