NEAD'S THEOLOGICAL WORKS. PART I. CHAPTER I. THE FALL OF MAN. THAT Man is a fallen and depraved creature, cannot be disputed by any, who have a knowledge of his primeval and present state. Solomon, the wise man, declares that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." Eccl. vii. 29. This solemn truth is plainly delineated in the book of God. Moses, that divinely inspired man, gives us not only a history of man's creation but also of his fall. He tells us that "God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him, male and female created He them." Gen. i. 27. The image of God, understand, righteousness and true holiness: as St. Paul says, "And that ye put on the new man, which after God (or after the image of God,) is created in righteousness, and true holiness." Eph. iv. 24. And in the ii ch. 7 v., he rehearses the matter and informs us of what his body was created, and how he became a living soul. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." This is so plain, it needs no explanation. At this time, man was in a state of innocency, pure and harmless, resembling his Creator, and for the continuation of man in a state of purity, the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the n.an whom He had formed. It was a delightful garden, stored with every thing calculated to promote his eternal felicity. There stood the fair tree of life, a sacred pledge of immortality! Behold the happy pair! No angry passions disturb their peaceful minds; for their passions and appetites were subject to, and controled by that spirit, which they received in their creation. And being filled with love, and clothed with humility, they could see their Creator, and converse with Him, face to face. Oh! what a union of peace and pleasure existed between the creature and Creator; but lamentable to say-that union and communion only lasted for a short time, owing to the transgression of Adam. God, for wise purposes, put Adam under restrictions, and thereby gave him to know, that notwithstanding his noble extraction and extensive dominion, he was not as yet at the summit of happiness, but in a progressive state or condition, and that in order to his preservation and advancement in glory and happiness, obedience to his will would be indispensably necessary. The law given to Adam, was a fair trial of his love and obedience. It was said to Adam. "of every tree 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." Gen. ii. 16 17. The reasonableness of this law will appear quite obvious when we reflect that Adam was created a moral agent--endowed with understanding and will, and of course free and capable of obeying. Adam being the head and representative of his progeny, or human family, acted not only for himself, but also for his posterity, which according to the will of the Creator should be very numerous, consequently his conduct would determine the future condition of himself and descendants. Adam was but a short time in the garden, before his obedience was tested. Lucifer, or Satan, that great enemy of God, soon fell to work, and devised a plan to tempt and to overcome our first parents. I have no doubt that Satan is one of those fallen angels whom the apostle Jude makes mention of; "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." Jude, 6. Adam being in a state of purity, Satan could have no access unto him, until he united himself with the serpent. The serpent, therefore, became his instrument, and as the serpent was by nature subtle, or artful, he was the better qualified for this undertaking. Moses tells us that the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made: "And he said unto the woman, yea hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden. And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat." Gen. iii. 1-6. There is something remarkable in this narrative. How artful is that enemy with whom we have to contend! We perceive in his address to the woman, that he does not tempt her to disbelieve in God, but in his word. And this is generally the way the devil proceeds with the children of men, who have the word of God. It is a rare thing that he will tempt such to disbelieve in a Supreme Being, but he will tempt them to disbelieve or reject, if not the whole, a part of the word of God. But to return; he reasons the case with Eve, and intimates that she must be in error, as it respects the grant-" Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden." Is it true, that God would place you in a delightful garden, stored with all kinds of delightful fruit, and not allow you to eat of all the fruit which grows in the garden? You certainly must not understand the word of God. "The woman said unto the serpent. We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it lest ye die." It is plain that Eve had already received an injury, or was somewhat weakened by the serpent, or she would have quoted the word of the Lord correctly. This being perceived by the serpent, he took encouragement, and at once denied the word of God; "Ye shall not surely die," and then intimates that God had an ill design towards them, in that he debarred them from eating of that fruit, that he merely wished to keep them in ignorance; "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." This was very palatable to our mother Eve. This thing of being great and independent, or being on an equality with God, is the spirit of Lucifer, and was the cause of his expulsion from Heaven, [see Rev. xii;] and now he instills or implants this very spirit in our first parents. Eve beheld the fruit, and no doubt the longer she viewed it, the more agreeable it appeared in her eyes. She doubts the word of God, and then lusts after the fruit; and when unbelief had taken full possession of her heart, |