The Marrow of Sacred Divinity - William Ames (1642)

In the former dispute, we have treated of the first parc of the speciall government of Men, which consists in prescribing a Law: the other part followes, in ordering the Event.

1. IN ordering the Event, as to Man, there are two… things to be considered , and Mans fall, and his restoring. Rom. 5. 19. 1. Cor. 15. 21.

2. In the Angells there was preservation of some, and Apostacy of others, but no restoring of those that did Apostate. But in Man there could not be both preservation and apostasy, together: because all men were created in one Adam as in the beginning, roote, and head: but in one and the same Adam, some men could not be preserved from the Fall and others Fall.

3. In the Angells there was no or Restoring. First, Because they Fell from the highest top of excellency: Secondly, because in the Fall of Angells, all the Angelicall nature did not perish, but by the sin of the first Man all mankind did perish.

4. The Apostacy of Man is his Fall from obedience due to God, or transgression of the Law prescribed by God.

5. In this Fall two things are to be considered. 1. The committing of the transgression. 2. The propagation of it.

6. The committing of the transgression was accomplished in the eating of the forbidden Fruit, which was called the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evill: but the first motion or degree of this disobedience, did necessarily goe before that outward act of eating, so that it may be truly said that Man was a sinner, before he had finished that outward act of eating. Wence it is that the very desire which Eve was caried toward the forbidden Fruit, doth seeme to be noted, as some degree of her sin. Gen. 3. 6. When the Woman saw, that the Fruit of the Tree was good for Meate, and most delightfull to the Eyes, and the Fruit of the Tree to be desired to get knowledge, she tooke and eat.

7. Therefore the first degree and motion of this disobedience, was an inordinate desire of some excellency, by the lifting up of the mind: which that she might attaine, the forbidding of God being laid aside, through unbeliefe, she would make triall, whether the forbidden Fruit had some power to confer such an excellency.

8. Hence was the grievousnesse of this sin, which did not only containe pride, ingratitude, and unbeliefe: but also by violating of that most solemne Sacrament, did make shew of, as it were a generall profession of disobedience, and contempt of the whole covenant. All which also were so much the more foule by how much the condition of the sinner was more perfect.

9. In the committing of this transgression two things are to be considered, the causes; and consequents of it.

10. Causes were one principall. And others adjuvant.⁵¹

11. The principall cause was man himselfe, by the abuse of his free will. Eccles. 7. 29. For he had received that righteousnesse, and grace by which he might have persisted in obedience if he would. That righteousnesse and grace was not taken from him before he had sinned, although that strengthning and confirming grace by which the act of sinning should have been actually hindered, and the contrary act of obedience brought forth was not granted unto him, and that by the certaine, wise, and just counsell of God. God therefore was in no wise the cause of his Fall: neither did he lay upon man a necessity of falling, but man of his own accord, did freely Fall from God.

12. The adjuvant causes were the Devill, and the Woman.

13. The first sin of the Divell was pride: From pride did presently follow envy towards God, and Gods Image in Man; For because he had lost an orderly Excellency by affecting one out of order,⁵² therefore the Excellency of others grieved him, and he was maliciously bent to oppose it. But the Devill was not the compelling cause, neither the cause of sufficient direct necessary or certaine efficacy in procuring that sin: but only the counselling and perswading cause, by tempting, whence also it is that he hath the name of the tempter. Mat. 4. 3.

14. The tempting of the Divell is a fallacy, or sophisticall argumentation: whereby under a shew of that which is true, and good, he labours to seduce to that which is false: and induce to that which is evill.

15. In this tentation, the good which he propounded, and as it were promised, was shewed to be as it were the greatest: the way to be used to attaine that good, was propounded to be as it were easie, and light: that greatest evill which did hang over his head, was hidden from him.

16. The Devill is wont to goe the like way in all his tentations, which he doth insnare mankind with; yet in this tentation a certaine speciall cunning is to be observed which containes many crafts and those very subtile.

17. The first of them was in that he chose a Serpent for his instrument which had a certaine naturall aptnesse, which the Devill knew how to abuse.

18. The second slight was in that he dealt with the Woman 1. Tim. 1. 13. Whether in the presence, or absence of her husband the Scripture is silent.

19. The third slight was in that he determined nothing at the first speech: but only propounded a certaine question to the Woman, as if he were ignorant of those matters? Hath God indeed said?

20. The fourth was that his question had much ambiguity in it, for so might be understood that he should not aske of Gods command, but of the sence or meaning of that command, peradventure not sufficiently understood by man, If the question be understood of the command it selfe, then he might seem to have asked whether God had forbidden them, that they should not at all eat of the fruit of any Tree, or as the Woman her selfe answered whether he had forbidden them the use of that one Tree, and so had not simply given them leave for all.

21. The fift was that having first called the command of God into doubt by that question, he did so artifically extenuat the sanction of it, or communication adjoyned in the conceit⁵³ of the Woman now wavering, that she should deny either the truth, or at least the necessity of it.

22. The sixt was that after he had weakened the Commandement, and the sanction of it, it doth oppose a prediction quite contrary.

23. The seventh was that to confirme that prediction, he doth both abuse the Name of God, and the Name which God had imposed on the Tree. Gen. 3. 5. God knoweth that what day ye shall eat there of your Eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as Gods knowing Good and Evill.

24. Hence it is that the Divill is called a Serpent, a Lyer, a Seducer, a Man-slayer. Revelations 12. 9. John 8. 44. Rev. 20. 10.

25. With this tempting of the Devill there was joyned the tempting of God, whereby he did so order that businesse, that it might thence be manifest what was in Man. But this tempting of God was neither Evill, nor tending to Evill.

26. A third tempting did follow these: namely of Man towards God, wherein he did in a certaine manner make triall of the truth and Grace of God: namely making triall, whether God would preserve him, although he did not cleave to him, or whether he would certainly doe what he had threatned.

27. A fourth temptation of Eve did accompany that namely towards her selfe, whereby she received the tentation or suggestion of the Devill, into her selfe, and applied to her selfe to her own ruine.

28. From that arose a fifth, whereby the Woman serving the Divill, as his instrument did tempt Adam: and from that proceeded a sixth, whereby Adam tempted himselfe, whilst he consented with a certaine purpose to the Woman, and the Devill.

29. Either all or most of these tentations are found also in every Mans sins.

30. And so that sin was consummated, as touching the Fall of Man-kind in Adam, for Adam was properly the beginning of Man-kind, not Eve: Unlesse as she was made for him, and with him, did make one and the same beginning. Hence it is that we read in Scripture of a second Adam, but not of a second Eve.