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death by sin," that is, death which, at first, was the condition of nature, became a punishment upon that account; just as it was to the serpent to creep upon his belly, and to the woman to be subject to her husband: these things were so before, and would have been so; for the Apostle pressing the duty of subjection, gives two reasons why the woman was to obey. One of them only was derived from this sin, the other was the prerogative of creation; for " Adam was first formed, then Eve;" so that before her fall, she was to have been subject to her husband, because she was later in being; she was a minor, and therefore under subjection; she was also the weaker vessel. But it had not been a curse; and if any of them had been hindered by grace and favour, by God's anger they were now left to fall back to the condition of their nature.

8. "Death passed upon all men ;" that is, upon all the old world, who were drowned in the flood of the divine vengeance; and who did sin after the similitude of Adam. And therefore St. Paul adds that for the reason: "Inasmuch as all men have sinned." If all men.. have sinned upon their own account (as it is certain they have), then these words can very well mean, that Adam first sinned, and all his sons and daughters sinned after him, and so died in their own sin, by a death which, at first and in the whole constitution of affairs, is natural,-and a death which their own sins deserved, but yet, which was hastened or ascertained upon them the rather for the sin of their progenitor. Sin propagated upon that root and vicious example; or rather from that beginning, not from that cause, but "dum ita peccant, et similiter moriuntur," "if they sin so, then so shall they die:" so St. Jerome.

9. But this is not thought sufficient; and men do usually affirm that we are formally and properly made sinners by Adam, and in him we all by interpretation sinned, and therefore think these words ' Távτes nμaρrov, “forasmuch as all men have sinned," ought to be expounded thus, Death passed upon all men, in whom all men have sinned;' meaning, that in Adam we really sinned, and God does truly and justly impute his sin to us, to make us as guilty as he that

q 1 Tim. ii. 13.

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did it, and as much punished, and liable to eternal damnation. And all the great force of this fancy relies upon this exposition of p', to signify " in him."

10. Concerning which there will be the less need of a laborious inquiry; if it be observed, that the words being read, "forasmuch as all men have sinned," bear a fair and clear discourse, and very intelligible; if it be rendered “in him," it is violent and hard, a distinct period by itself, without dependance or proper purpose, against the faith of all copies, who do not make this a distinct period, and against the usual manner of speaking. 2. This phrase of ¿q' & is used in 2 Cor. v. 4. 'Ep' & où déλoμev ikdúσαoda, "Not for that we would be unclothed ;" and so it is used in Polybius, Suidas, and Varinus. Ep', that is, "eâ conditione," for that cause or condition; and p' w napɛĩ, “ad quid ades,” are the words of the Gospel, as Suidas quotes them. 3. Although ip may signify the same with iv, in whom,' or

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in him,' yet it is so very seldom or infrequent, that it were intolerable to do violence to this place to force it to an unnatural signification. 4. If it did always signify the same with iv, or in him,' which it does not; yet we might very well follow the same reading we now do, and which the Apostle's discourse does infer; for even v does divers times signify, 'forasmuch,' or 'for that,' as is to be seen in Rom. viii, 3. and Heb. ii. 18. But, 5. supposing all that can be, and that it did signify "in whom," yet the sense were fair enough, as to the whole article; for by him,' or 'in him, we are made sinners,' that is, brought to an evil state of things usually consequent to sinners: we are used like sinners 'by him,' or in him 'just as when a sinner is justified, he is treated like a righteous person, as if he had never sinned, though he really did sin oftentimes; and this for his sake who is made righteousness to us: so "in Adam we are made sinners," that is, treated ill and afflicted, though ourselves be innocent of that sin, which was the occasion of our being used so severely for other sins, of which we were not innocent. But how this came to pass, is told in the following words.

11. For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not

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sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come"." By which discourse it appears, that St. Paul does not speak of all mankind, as if the evil occasioned by Adam's sin did descend for ever upon that account; but it had a limited effect, and reached only to those who were in the interval between Adam and Moses. . This death was brought upon them by Adam; that is, death, which was threatened to Adam only, went forth upon them also who indeed were sinners, but not after the similitude of Adam's transgression; that is, who sinned not so capitally as he did, For to sin like Adam, is used as a tragical and a high expression. So it is in the Prophet; they like men have transgressed";' so we read it; but in the Hebrew it is, 'they like Adam have transgressed,' and yet death passed upon them that did not sin after the similitude of Adam; for Abel, and Seth, and Abraham, and all the patriarchs, died, Enoch only excepted; and therefore it was no wonder, that, upon the sin of Adam, death entered upon the world, who generally sinned like Adam, since it passed on and reigned upon less sinners. It reigned upon them, whose sins therefore would not be so imputed as Adam's was; because there was no law with an express threatening given to them as was to Adam; but although it was not wholly imputed upon their own account, yet it was imputed upon theirs and Adam's. For God was so exasperated with mankind, that being angry he would still continue that punishment even to the lesser sins and sinners, which he only had first threatened to Adam: and so Adam brought it upon them. They indeed, in rigour, did themselves deserve it; but if it had not been for that provocation by Adam, they who sinned not so bad, and had not been so severely and expressly threatened, had not suffered so severely. The case is this. Jonathan and Michal were Saul's children; it came to pass that seven of Saul's issue were to to be hanged, all equally innocent, equally culpable. David took the five sons of Michal, for she had left him unhandsomely. Jonathan was his friend, and therefore he spared his son Mephibosheth. Here it was indifferent as to the guilt of the persons, whether David should take the sons of Michal, or of Jonathan; but it is likely that as, upon the kindness which David had to Jonathan, he spared his son,

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so, upon the just provocation of Michal, he made that evil to fall upon them, of which they were otherwise capable; which, it may be, they should not have suffered, if their mother had been kind. Adam was to God, as Michal to David.

12. But there was in it a further design: for by this dispensation of death, Adam was made a figure of Christ so the Apostle expressly affirms; "who is the figure of him that was to come;" that as death passed upon the posterity of Adam, though they sinned less than Adam; so life should be given to the followers of Christ, though they were imperfectly righteous, that is, not after the similitude of Christ's perfection.

13. But for the further clearing the article depending upon the right understanding of these words, these two things are observable. I. That the evil of death descending upon Adam's posterity, for his sake went no further than till Moses. For after the giving of Moses's law, death passed no further upon the account of Adam's transgression; but by the sanc tion of Moses's law, where death was anew, distinctly, and expressly threatened as it was to Adam, and so went forward upon a new score, but introduced first by Adam; that is, he was the cause at first,-and till Moses also, he was in some sense the author, and for ever after, the precedent; and therefore the Apostle said well," In Adam we all die" his sin brought in the sentence, in him it began, and from him it passed upon all the world, though by several dispensations. 2. In the discourse of the Apostle, those that were named, were not considered simply as born from Adam, and therefore it did not come upon the account of natural or original corruption, but they were considered as sinners; just as they who have life by Christ, are not considered as merely chil+ dren by title, or spiritual birth, and adoption, but as just and faithful. But then this is the proportion and purpose of the Apostle; as God gives to these life by Christ, which is a greater thing than their imperfect righteousness without Christ could have expected so here also; this part of Adam's posterity was punished with death for their own sin: but this death was brought upon them by Adam; that is, the rather for his provocation of God by his great transgression.

14. There is now remaining no difficulty but in the words

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of the nineteenth verse; "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners." Concerning which I need not make use of the word woλλoì, or many;' whom sometimes St. Paul calls Távτaç, sometimes woλlove,all,' and many, that is, all from Adam to Moses; but they are but many,' and not' all' in respect of mankind; exactly answering to the all' that have life by Christ, which are only the πολλοί, or the πιστεύ Ovres, those many that believe,' and are adopted into the covenant of believers: by this indeed it is perceivable, that this was not a natural title or derivation of an inherent corruption from Adam, for that must have included all,' absolutely and universally. But that which I here dwell and rely upon, is this:

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15. Sin is often in Scripture used for the punishment of sin; and they that suffer, are called sinners, though they be innocent. So it is in this case. 66 By Adam's disobedience many were made sinners;" that is, the sin of Adam passed upon them, and sat upon their heads with evil effect, like that of Bathsheba; "I and my son shall be accounted sinners;" that is, evil will befal us, we shall be used like sinners, like traitors, and usurpers. So, "This shall be the sin of Egypt," said the Prophet": this shall be the punishment so we read it. And Cain, complaining of the greatness of his punishment, said, "Mine iniquity is greater than I can bear." And to put it past all doubt, not only punishment is called sin in Scripture, but even he that bears it." Him that knew no sin, God hath made sin, that we might be the righteousness of God in him *:" and the prophet Isaiah, speaking of Christ, saith, "Posuit peccatum animam suam ;"" He hath made his soul a sin," that is, obnoxious to the punishment of sin. Thus it is said, that " Christ shall appear the second time without sin," that is, without the punishment of sin," unto salvation:" for of sin formally or materially, he was at first as innocent as at the second time; that is, pure in both. And if Christ who bare our burden, became sin for us in the midst of his purest innocence, that we also are by Adam made sinners, that is, suffer evil by occasion of his demerit, infers not that we have any formal guilt, or enmity against God upon that account. Facti peccatores' in St.

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u Zech. xiv. 19.

1 Kings, i. 21.

y Isa. liii. 10.

x 2 Cor. v. 21.

z Heb. ix. 28.

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