in the sight of God, and submitting to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and returning to God through him.

Here, then, is exhibited an ample ground for faith in the Son of God-a sufficient warrant for any and every one, to whom the gospel is published, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is presented to view as having made a complete atonement for sin and wrought a perfect righteousness; so that God can be just and justify all who believe in him; and of which he hath given the most unexceptionable evidence by raising him from the dead. He, therefore, now commandeth all men every where to repent-to believe on his Son Jesus Christ--to be reconciled to him. And the faith required essentially consists in believing this fact, that God hath raised Christ from the dead, with a hearty concurrence in its plain and obvious import, according to the scripture account of it.

Father and by himself, and designed to make an atonement for the sins of men; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have cternal life. Of course, believing, in the scriptural sense of the terms, that God hath raised the Lord Jesus from the dead, implies a firm belief of the principal things imported or signified, declared and proved, by his resurrection; particularly, that God owned and approved him in the character in which he professed to act-that as he professed to be, so he in fact is the Christ, the Son of the living God that whatever he said, is divinely true-that he hath answered the end, for which he obeyed and suffered that he hath wrought a complete rightcousness for the justification of all who believe, and made a full atonement for all their sins, to the acceptance and entire satisfaction of God the Father that he is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth--that God is ready and wil- Where, or on what account, ling, for his sake, to pardon and then, is there any difficulty in save all who come unto him by the way of any one's believing to Jesus Christ. And believing the saving of his soul? Certainthese truths with the heart im-ly, there is none, on account of plies believing them with a heart any deficiency in the revealed corresponding, consenting and object of faith; nor on account agreeing to them. Hence, be- of any defect in the ground or lieving with the heart the resur-warrant for such faith; but simrection of Christ, implies, or is ply, in the blindness and perinseparably connected with, be- verseness of the sinner's heart. lieving the great truths import- Christ spake of himself as the ed in his resurrection, with pen- antitype of the serpent which itent acknowledgment of sin- Moses lifted up. What if God, with cordial approbation of God's when he ordered Moses to make character and law-renouncing and place on a pole the brazen all dependence on any thing dis-serpent, and declared that every tinct from the righteousness of bitten Israelite, when he looked Christ for acceptance with God, on it, should live, had perfectly and trusting only in the virtue of known, that they would hold the that divine righteousness, as am-idea of obtaining a cure in that ply sufficient for our justification way, in such scorn and con

tempt, that no one would, of his own accord, or unless secretly influenced by his Spirit, ever cast his eyes upon the serpent of brass? Would that have made any alteration as to the ground and warrant, which there really was, for any and every one of them to look upon it in expectation of receiving a cure? None at all.

Perhaps it will be said, The record which we are required to believe is this, viz. “That God hath given to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son." Very true. Therefore the apostle immediately adds, "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." So it might be said, The record which God gave the Israelites was, that he had pro

Therefore, he that beheld the serpent of brass lived; but if any beheld it not they died. God's providing them a remedy in the brazen serpent did not make them personally partakers of a cure, unless they beheld it. And his giving us eternal life in his Son don't make us personal

REFLECTIONS.

What if, in that case, God had determined effectually to in-vided them a remedy for the bite cline a number of them to be- of the fiery serpents; and this hold the serpent and live, and to remedy was in the serpent of leave the rest to take their own brass. way, and abide the consequences? Would that have made any alteration as to the reality of a sufficient warrant for every one to behold and live? None at all. Further: what if God had plainly revealed his determination effectually to dispose some to look and live, and told them explicitly partakers of eternal life, unly that a number of them would less we believe on his Son, or derive no benefit from the bra- receive him by faith. zen serpent, but would die of their wounds by the fiery serpents, through their own folly and perverseness? Would that have altered the case, as to the ground and warrant for every one to look on the serpent of brass in full confidence of a cure? Evidently, not at all. So in the case before us. Neither the indisposition of sinful men to believe on the Son of God, to look unto him and be saved; nor God's purpose to remove the indisposition of some, and to incline their hearts to believe, and to leave others to their own cho-mortal poison would soon prosen way; nor the revelation of this his purpose ;-neither of these makes any alteration, as to the reality of sufficient ground and good warrant for every one to whom the gospel is revealed, te believe and be saved.

1. What an infinite mercy is it, that Christ has been lifted up on the cross, and is now exalted in heaven, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life?

Was it not a great mercy to the bitten Israelites, that such a remedy was provided for them, as the brazen serpent proved? May we not well presume that they esteemed it so? And had every Israelite been stung by the fiery serpents, and seen no way to avoid that death which the

duce, unless some powerful remedy, of which they were ignorant, was speedily applied, how great and general may we presume the joy would have been, upon the erection of the serpent of brass, at the sight of which

they were informed by God, that I ness and salvation proposed to they should live? them. Wherefore, let all take warning, and flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us. PAREPIDEMOS.

But we are all infected with the more dreadful poison of sin. This would have inevitably issued in our death, our eternal misery, if Christ had not been lifted ⚫ up. But now, whosoever believ

eth in him will not perish, but shall have eternal life. The connection between seeing the serpent of brass and living, was not more certain than is the connection between believing on Christ and enjoying eternal life. How great then, how infinite, is the mercy displayed towards us! How great the cause for joy and praise to God!

Thoughts on Genesis iii. 24.

"So he drove out the man and he placed, at the east of the garden of Eden, Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."

2. What folly and madness, THE direct, literal meaning

and aggravated wickedness is it, to make light of Christ-to slight and neglect him-to refuse to come unto him for life! How foolish and wicked would it have been for the bitten Israelites, to have slighted the remedy provided for them, and to have refused or neglected to look on the brazen serpent? Thus, and more so, is it for us, to slight and neglect the crucified Saviour, or to expect salvation by him without believing on him. For we have no more reason to expect salvation by Christ without believing on him, than the bitten Israelites had, to expect a cure by the brazen serpent without looking upon it.

of the words is, That God drove Adam with his wife out of the garden of Eden, in which he had placed them before their fall, and set at the east of the garden a guard of angels with a flaming sword which turned every way, to render it impossible for them to return into the garden, and obtain access to the tree of life.

This transaction of the Deity was very significant and expressive, and doubtless recorded for our instruction. And to contribute a little towards explaining its import, it may be observed,

1. God's transactions, with Adam, when he put him in the garden, contained, at least, an implicit promise of life upon condition of perfect obedience. Gen. ii. 16, 17. "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

3. If sinners perish from under the light of the gospel, how evident will it be, that their perdition will be owing to their own voluntary neglect or contempt of the sovereign remedy which God hath provided and revealed? That they will perish through their own fault, committed after they were in a state of condem- By these words death was prenation and had a way of forgive-sented to Adam's view, as the

penalty of his disobedience, in | he put forth his hand, and take

also of the tree of life, and eat and live for ever," appear in their connection, to suggest at least so much as this, viz. that, from what had been said respect

case he should transgress the divine command by eating of the forbidden fruit. And from this, if nothing more was or had been said, he might justly infer, that in case he did not eat of the for-ing that tree, Adam would probbidden tree, but was perfectly ably think he could lay claim to obedient, he should not die, but eternal life; provided he took should surely live. For if he and eat of its fruit. Again, In was liable to die in case he did Rev. ii. 7. Christ says, "To him not transgress, he was liable to that overcometh will I give to the same evil in case he was obe-eat of the tree of life, which is dient, as he would be in case he proved disobedient. And upon this supposition, there was no penalty annexed to disobedience

in the midst of the paradise of God." These words are indisputably a promise to those who are faithful unto death, and prove victorious in the Christian course and warfare, of the confirmed, everlasting enjoyment of the life, glory and happiness of the hea

no evil threatened to which he was not liable, though he should prove perfectly obedient. It is clear, then, that a sure promise of life if he should not trans-venly state. The paradise of gress, was implied in the express threatening of death as the penalty of disobedience.

God is the place where the redeemed church will dwell and reign with Christ in happiness and glory for ever. This glori

allusion to the earthly paradise, the garden of delight, which God formed for the place of man's abode in his original state of innocence and rectitude. In the

2. There were two trees in the garden particularly distin-ous place is called paradise, in guished from the rest, viz. The tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Gen.ii. 9. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil might perhaps be so called, because it was design-heavenly paradise Christ answers ed to be the medium of trial and proof, whereby it would appear whether man was good or evil, obedient or disobedient. And the tree of life, on the other hand, was probably so called, because it was to man the appointed pledge or token of life so long as he should have access to it and cat of its fruit, or rather, of confirmation in endless life and happiness, upon his eat-tians, in consequence of overing of its fruit when he should have finished his probationary course of obedience. This appears probable from several passages of scripture. God's words in Gen. iii. 22. And now, lest

to the tree of life in the earthly. He is the life of Christians-the author, purchaser and giver of it. From him their life is derived, and in union with him only do they possess and enjoy it, with a sure and irreversible confirmation. To eat of the tree of life is to eat of the fruit which that tree produces. Hence the promise, that professing Chris

coming, shall eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God, is a promise that they, in consequence of finishing successfully their Christian course and warfare, shall in

that he had no ground of hope, but of mere free grace, through the mediation of a substitute, of which God had just before giv. en some intimations, by including in the sentence which he pronounced upon the serpent, a declaration that the Seed of the woman should bruise his head; and also, by making to Adam and his wife coats of skins and clothing them-of skins, most probably, taken from animals then offered in sacrifice to prefigure the atonement, through which the promised Seed would in due time furnish a covering to their spiritual nakedness. If another way of life, than that proposed to Adam when first placed in the garden, had not been thus provided and in some measure revealed to him, it appears as though, when driven

heaven partake of and enjoy all the benefits of Christ's redemption, the eternal life with all the honors, joys and delights which he hath obtained for them, and of which, as their forerunner and head, he hath taken possession, with an irreversible confirmation in the enjoyment thereof forever. Now it does not appear, that there would be any propriety in expressing this confirmation in the endless life and happiness of heaven, by the figurative or metaphorical language of eating of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God, if the tree of life, in the midst of the garden of Eden, had not been the appointed token and sacramental pledge of confirmation in endless holiness and happiness to Adam, upon his admission to eat of it in consequence of finishing success-out of the garden and totally fully his probationary course of obedience.

barred from access to the tree of life, he would have had no ground to expect any thing short of suffering, in its full extent, the death intended in the original threatening.

The same idea of the tree of life in the earthly paradise, as being the appointed symbol or sacramental pledge of confirmation in endless life and happiness, 4. As Adam was driven out in consequence of finished obe- of the garden by God, and bardience, is again suggested in red from all access to the tree Rev. xxii. 14. "Blessed are they of life, whilst his posterity were that do his commandments, that included in him as the head or they may have right to the tree root of the whole species, his of life, and may enter in through expulsion, &c. showed, that the the gates into the city." Hence, way of life revealed in the first 3. Adam's expulsion from the covenant, was as effectually bargarden, and the guard set to ren-red to all his posterity, as to himder it utterly impracticable for self. Nevertheless,

him to take and eat of the tree 5. As before his expulsion, of life, showed, in a very strik-another way of life, by free ing and forcible manner, that it had become utterly impossible for him to obtain a confirmed title to life by the first covenant, or according to its tenor in the way pointed out in it, viz. by hisistence, under a possibility of own obedience; and therefore eternal life in the same way, in

grace, through a Mediator and atonement, had been, though obscurely, intimated to him, he might consistently view his posterity as coming into actual ex