creation: I fay, it cannot be imagin'd, but that he must have taken these things into confideration, and have been convinc'd of the truth of them, by the light of reason.

The truth of a relation confifting in its conformity, with the matter related, it appears clearly, that Adam could certainly know the truth of what God had declared to him, by examining the things themselves.

We may diftinguish several propofitions in the revelation God made to him concerning the manner of his creation.

The first was, That his body was taken from the earth.

The next, That his foul was not framed before his body.

The third, That his foul had been joyned to his body to conftitute one individual perfon.

The fourth, That he was created in a full and perfect age.

The fifth, That his wife was formed of a rib, taken out of his fide, during the time that he was caft into a deep fleep.

These are the truths I propofe as inftances, the rather because there is not one of them of which Adam himself could be a witness.

And yet I affirm, there is none of thefe which he could not be affured of by the light of reafon, being convinc'd of them by the fame means which affured him of the existence of his foul and body. The confideration therefore of these two matters, was of good ufe to confirm the revelation which God had vouchfafed him concerning his creation, of which he could not be a witness himself.

That his body was taken from the earth, Adam might eafily infer from the food that maintain'd it; for what is the matter of man's nourishment, but a digested, and disguised earth? And finding himself, at first, in a perfect estate, it was natural for him to judge that his body had been thus at once framed of the earth, without paffing those several degrees of growth, whereby children arrive to their juft ftature.

And he might as eafily be affured, that his foul was not formed before his body. The foul is a being, confcious of his own operations and thoughts, wherefore he needed only make this reflexion: My foul has had neither knowledge nor thoughts before it was united to my body; therefore my foul did not exist before it. No great ftudy was required to make fo natural a conclufion as this is. Again, how could he be ignorant of the union of his foul with the body? Was it not obvious for him to be affur'd hereof, by the ready obedience which he faw his body yield unto his foul? He had the idea of a tree, as well as the idea of his foot or arm, whence it was easie for him to reflect thus: How comes it to pass, that I command my feet and my arms, and that I cannot do the fame to a stone or tree, tho' I have the idea of the one, as well as of the other? Muft not this proceed from a nearer union it hath with the one, than with the other? He knew that this union continued during his fleep, and was independent of his will. In a word, he had the fame proofs of this union, which we have of it at prefent, only they were in him much more lively, because our infancy makes us in fome fort ignorant of the nature of our fouls, our fouls accuftoming themselves by little and little, to depend upon the fenfes, so

as

f

as not to be able to raise themselves, without fome trouble, above their operations.

Neither was it lefs evident to Adam, that he was produced at a perfect age: He faw that his food maintain'd life, and he knew affuredly, that he had not taken any but very lately: How then could he attain to that ftature without that help? Or how was it that he found himself now ready to faint, if he deferr'd to take it, which formerly he had not felt the want of? These reflexions made it unquestionable to him that he was formed in a perfect age.

And laftly, it was yet more eafie for him to be perfwaded of the truth of God's revelation concerning the forming of Eve, he needed but to count his own ribs, and those of his wife, for he could not find one lefs in himself than in his wife, without being fully fatisfied in that

matter.

Thefe propofitions, with many others of like nature, being fuch as Adam could be affur'd of the truth of, by making reflexion either on himself, or on plants, or living creatures, greatly confirming his belief in the Divine teftimony, concerning his creation, we may eafily infer, that Adam could not deceive himself about that matter.

CHA P. IX.

That ADAM was confirmed by his own Experience, in the Perfwafion he had entertain'd concerning his Creation.

HEN I take for granted, that Adam could fatisfie himself conW cerning the truth of God's revelation, by fome natural and easie Xx reflexions, I don't find how any can think strange of this hypothefis, except fome, perchance, might think that I make Adam too contemplative.

But if any will be pleas'd to make these following obfervations, they will justifie me, that I have attributed nothing to him, but what agrees exactly with his character.

The firft is, That Adam finding himself immediately upon his creation, at his full and perfect age, he was void of those prejudices, which the ignorance and weakness of his infancy are the cause of; his mind was not tainted with popular errors, which oft are fo great a hindrance to the knowledge of truth: He had not yet received any ill impreffion; and when afterwards he was fo credulous as to give way to a temptation, his experience prov'd a moft powerful means to inform his reafon, and withdraw him from his error.

Befides, we fuppofe here, that the Divine teftimonie, which acquainted him with the particular circumftances of his creation, was precedent to the reflexions Adam made, and indeed, was the cause of them. If we fuppose fome countrey-man, not capable of difcovering of himself, all on a

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fuddain,

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CH. IX. fuddain, the manner how fuch a thing came to pass, yet this is certain, that his reafon alone will be able to fatisfie him, whether the thing happened in that manner which the relation of it imports, he needs but confult the rules of probability to be determin'd in this matter.

Adam had not only the advantage of being formed at a perfect age, of being acquainted by the mouth of God himself, about the creation of the world, &c. and of living fo many ages, which gave him leisure enough to confider the probability of what God had revealed to him, to examine the grounds and certainty of it, and in a word, to judge whether the faid reflexions were to be rejected as fabulous, or to be relyed on as of most certain and evident truth: But over and above all this, Adam could rationally affure himself of the manner how the things (which he had not feen) were done by the experience he had of other matters, which were comprehended in the Divine revelation.

The manner how his body had been formed of the earth, was, I confefs, a thing difficult to be conceiv'd, but the production of an infant like to himself, by the way of generation, which he afterwards was affured of by experience, was fufficient to confirm his mind in the belief of the Divine revelation: the way of generation, being at least as much, if not more difficult to comprehend, as the manner of his cre

ation.

We have great reason to suppose, that as it was Adam's duty, that so he did really make thofe reflexions, I have attributed to him, if we confider, that God gave him a law proportion'd to the state in which he was created: for this law fuppofes that Adam own'd himself God's subject; that he confider'd God as his great benefactor, that he hop'd for rewards from him, and fear'd to be punifh'd by him.

And lastly, If I fhould grant that these reflexions did not at first make fo deep an impreffion in his heart, yet at least, it cannot be deny'd, but that after his fall, he was in a manner neceffitated to meditate on these truths God appeared to him in a visible manner, God paffed fentence upon him, his wife, and the ferpent; God condemn'd the ferpent, and afforded his grace to man; God made him a promife proportion'd to the evil into which he was fallen. The woman had deceiv'd her husband, which did naturally tend to difunite them, but God uniting himself again with Adam, made the effect of his promife to depend upon Adam's reunion with his wife, having affured him, that the offspring of his wife fhould be his Redeemer: God threatned the woman with extream pains in child-bearing, he drave them out of the garden of Eden, and placed a flame of fire to guard the entrance there.

All this without doubt, would never fuffer Adam flightly to pafs over matters of fo great importance as his creation, and the manner of his being formed out of the carth. Things being thus ftated, it is eafie to judge whether we have fuppofed Adam too fubtil and contemplative by attributing the aforefaid reflexions to him.

СНАР. Х.

That the CHILDREN of ADAM had Reafon to be convinc'd of the Creation.

XT is apparent, that as foon as the children of Adam were arrived to years of understanding, they were in a condition to make reflexions on the manner of their production, according to the information receiv'd of their parents. They were able to compare the twofold original of man; the one, in which the body was immediately taken from the earth; the other, in which it was produc'd by generation, and were able to judge if either of them were improbable; and in particular, whether the formation of their parents, with other matters confequent, and depending on it, could be fufficiently proved and confirm'd.

For it was eafie for them to judge, that their parents, of whose tenderness and care they had fo great experience, could not have had the least design to deceive them in what they had deliver'd to them concerning the creation. They had alfo leifure enough during the long lives they enjoy'd, to examine the folidity of those reasons which perswaded their parents of the truth of their creation.

For inftance, they could eafily inform themselves whether there were any more men and women than their father and mother, that had been before them, whether they were produced from the earth, or by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, whether there were any other language befides that which they spake? Whether there were any ruins of buildings, or other remains which fignified that arts had been formerly cultivated? And in a word, whether there were any reafon to perfwade them, that the world had not its beginning at the time which their parents affigned for it?

Neither were they only in a condition to judge of the truth of these things, but their fenfes were able to convince them of it: as for inftance, by feeing the firft trees, the production of others from them, and the different degrees of their growth.

But befides all this, they could experience most of these things in their own perfons, they could know whether God had affigned to man the fruit of trees, and grain for their food, as Mofes has recorded, only by examining their own mouths, which were formed to chew fruits, and not to tear the raw flesh of animals, which requires fharper and stronger fets of teeth, than those they found themfelves provided with, the eating of flesh not being introduced till after the deluge.

Thus after the act of generation, they faw their children born, as it was reprefented to them, that they themfelves had been formed.

They had also before their eyes fenfible figns of the truth of the matters related to them: as for inftance, the continual miracle of a flame of fire, which kept them from entring into Paradife, was a certain argument of the first fin, of which they had not been eye-witnesses.

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The pains of a woman in child-bearing, did the more confirm the truth of the Divine fentence, because it was not obvious for them to apprehend fuch confequences from an act which was pleafing to their fenfual appetites.

And lastly, Forafmuch as they kept a folemn day to celebrate the memory of the world's nativity, on which feventh day, their parents repeated to them no lefs than two and fifty times a year, the fame thing, informing them of the manner of their formation; 'tis impoffible to fuppofe, that they should let these things pass without making any reflexion on the truth of them, and the rather becaufe we cannot rationally conceive, that they should have been serious in any duties of religion, without having first examin'd the truth of the creation, and of the promife of a Redeemer, which are the true grounds of all religious acts whatfoever.

CHA P. XI.

That the CHILDREN of ADAM were actually convinced of the Truth of the Creation, and the Promife of the MESSIAH.

** SUPPOSE it is fufficiently evident, that the immediate pofterity of Adam could easily be affured of the manner how their parents had been produc'd, from whom they deriv'd their beings. They could likewife be fully fatisfied about the truth of their fin, and the promise God had made them, That one of their pofterity fhould de ftroy the enemy of mankind.

My bufinefs therefore next, is to fhew that they were actually affured of the truth of these matters: this will appear if we confider two things.

The firft is, that as these matters were the chief objects of their meditation, because of their extraordinary importance, fo it is evident that they acted as perfons fully fatisfied of the truth of them.

The other is, That as they had been inftructed in these truths by their parents, fo they deliver'd the fame to their pofterity, to whom they tranfmitted the belief of these matters, as of things altogether unqueftionable.

I fay then, that they acted as those who were fully affured of the truth of these matters, which appears throughout the whole courfe of their lives, not only when they did that which was good, but when they were overtaken with fin: and this alone, methinks, is fufficient to evidence the deep impreffion, the belief of the creation, and the promise of the Meffiah, had made on their hearts.

Sacrifices are acts of religious worship; and this cuftom therefore of facrificing, which we find amongst the Children of Adam, was an evident mark of their piety; and this their religious inclination was, without

doubt,