OF SERPENTS. 171 



Tree that had the Marks of Death upon it, would do them no 

 harm, but by doing their own Will, or the Will of any other in 

 ■oppofition to his fovereign Will who had faid. Eat not. 



They were created pure, and capable of Perfeverance ; and 

 when they fell, God did not withdraw any Gift he had conferred 

 upon them : He did all that was neceffary on his Part for their Pre- 

 fervation, and they had remained fafe, if their Liberty had but 

 conduced itfelf aright : Their Liberty was not tied to any parti- 

 cular Objedl, as their Faculties were, but refped;ed every thing 

 that could be done, or left undone, and it might have imploy'd 

 them after another manner. 



It's faid, Out of the Ground made the Lord God to grow every 

 Tree that is pleafant to the Sight, and good for Food; and the Tree 

 of Knowledge of Good and Evil, of which thou JJjalt not eat. Gen. 

 ii. 9, 17. Now, where lay the Difficulty of not eating, when 

 they were in no want of Food ? And if in want, were not all 

 the Fruits of Paradife prepared for them ? Why would none ferve 

 but what was prohibited ? And nothing prohibited but what was 

 deadly Poifon, and what y^dam knew to be fo, by immediate 

 Revelation from Heaven. 



Thus furnifli'd with divine Armour, and all the agreeable En- 

 tertainments of Life, 'tis moll: furprizing how they fhould indulge 

 an irregular Turn in the animal Paffions, and give way to fuch 

 Inadvertency. One thing that might lead them to this Overfight, 

 probably was, that they knew of fio Enemy, therefore dreaded no 

 Danger. But this Plea is of no force ; for their Bufinefs was 

 ftri(ftly to. regard the Voice of their Creator (who faid. Eat ?20t) 

 and not to give heed to any contrary Inlinuations, tho' propofed 

 by a known Friend, much lefs by a Stranger, one of another 

 Kingdom, and of another Species, without fafficient Atteftation. 



Here Lucifer play'd the Orator : He gave his Argument all 

 the Rhetorick it would bear, by removing their y^^r of Death, 

 and gratifying inthem a certain Hope of being Gods. .The Wo- 

 man had the Threatning of Death in her Thoughts, and there- 

 fore durft not eat till ihe was made to believe, fe fijould not die ; 

 (by which it appears, ilie had dreadful Ideas of dying.) And 

 thus file was tempted to Unbelief. Then Satan propofes the glo- 

 rious Advantages oi Eating, viz. Tt' foall be as Gods .... be inde- 

 pendent Beings, not fubjeil; to t!ie Controul of a fuperior Power; 



Z 2 and 



