their fall; while often the sincere and humble soul, that fears its weakness, and laments its propensity to evil, is preserved by the power of its God, because it fights honestly against sin. In fine, there is another falsification of the command of God, in the manner in which the woman repeats it. According to her, the sanction of the command would be, Lest ye die; while, in reality, that sanction was, "Thou shalt surely die." Who does not here see a soul wavering between simple faith and doubt, between filial, prompt, entire obedience, and the allurement of temptation? Who does not see here the effect of the insidious question of the enemy? When sin is in question, he who doubts the certain consequences which it brings along with it, is already vanquished. We have already established this truth, we shall not dwell upon it any longer. O may the Word of our God, as He has given it to us, be received with the full assurance of faith, without reserve, purely and simply! May that word be our armour, our buckler, our defence!

If in our conflicts we neglect this powerful means of victory, a certain fall will be the first chastisement of our neglect, for then we ex

pose, unprotected, to the enemy, the most vulnerable point of our being. See how Satan avails himself of the fatal disposition which he remarks in the woman. He throws away the mask of his perfidious subtlety; he blasphemously gives the lie to the Word of God, upon which he had hitherto done no more than throw a slight doubt: "Ye shall not surely die!" Behold, my brethren, the first lie that polluted the earth which we inhabit! Behold, how he, whom Jesus Christ designates with so much reason 66 a liar, and the father of lies,"* betrays himself! Behold, how, after having introduced doubt and disquiet into her mind, by the insidious question, "Hath God said?" he endeavours to lead the woman to trample under foot the solemn command of God, by this impious lie, "Ye shall not surely die!" Such is the progress of evil, such the march of temptation!

And think you, my brethren, that this work of darkness and seduction, which began in Eden, ended with the fall of our first parents? No, no; it is followed up continually by all the means which the father of lies can make

* John viii. 44.

use of, to turn away men from the faith, and to make them doubt the eternal justice of God, to which he owes it, to punish sin. Hence, while the divine word, and the faithful ministers of that word, proclaim to every unconverted sinner this sanction of the eternal law, Thou shalt surely die, a thousand voices are raised in the world, in its societies, in its books, and, perhaps, (awful to relate,) even in the sanctuary of divine truth, to repeat after the father of lies, Ye shall not surely die! In vain does the Word of the Lord tell the sinner, unreconciled to God, by the blood of the Saviour, in vain do the servants of Christ repeat after it, that "the wages of sin is death," that the "broad road leadeth unto destruction," that "the soul that sinneth shall die;" the lie of Eden is sounded in his ears, Ye shall not surely die! In vain the Saviour of the world Himself tells every one, that hath ears to hear, "Unless ye be converted, ye shall all likewise perish," except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," they nevertheless repeat, Ye shall not surely die! In vain does Truth say, "If ye walk after the flesh ye shall die," "to be carnally minded is death," "without holiness

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no man shall see the Lord," the lie repeats, "Ye shall not surely die!" And what is most melancholy in this contrast, in this conflict between truth and falsehood, is, that the latter almost always finds an echo in our hearts, while the voice of truth is stifled. Yes, our sinful heart leagues itself with error against truth, and against our salvation. And from that moment, how can the lying words of the tempter but be received with avidity? "Your eyes shall be opened," he continues, calling upon the name of God, and thus sanctioning with blasphemy his seducing promise, "God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, (or as God,) knowing good and evil."

We shall see, in a subsequent meditation, what is the meaning of the first part of this promise, and how it was accomplished. Let it suffice us to say, that the words, ye shall be as gods, or as God, offered to the pride to which they were about to give birth, a prey which it has not ceased from that time to seize with eagerness. It is not the allurement of a carnal temptation that is offered to beings still free from the bondage of the senses, but

a temptation spiritual like their nature. And still is the enemy of souls skilful in laying for men, according to their nature, their position, and their inclinations, snares into which they will rush with all the ardour of beings that expect to find their happiness therein. One of those snares, which, like an immense net, incloses all the children of Adam who have not seen, deplored, and abjured this guilty folly, is the proud ambition of wishing to be as gods, of wishing to shake off the yoke of the Omnipotent, to deny their dependence and responsibility, and be a law unto themselves. This is "the mystery of iniquity;" it is sin in its essence. They have said, the men in the parable, "We will not have this man to reign over us," and they too faithfully keep their rash word. To look at the mass of society as it is, one would suppose that there was no God that reigned in heaven. Are not our public men and our men of society ashamed to confess the name of God, and to give Him glory? Do they not deny His right of domination over their hearts, their affections, their thoughts, and their whole life? Is there not in our hearts, even where we are desirous to base our wisdom on the fear of

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