"good and evil.

peculiarly worthy of attention, on this subject. "And the Lord God said, behold, "the man is become as one of us, to know and evil. And now, lest he put "forth his hand, and take also of the tree "of life, and eat and live for ever; there"fore the Lord God sent him forth from "the garden of Eden, to till the ground "from whence he was taken. So he drove "out the man, and he placed at the east "of the garden of Eden, cherubims and

a flaming sword which turned every way, "to keep the way of the tree of life."

From the entire of this account it seems clearly deducible, that man by his original constitution was destined for immortality. When God is said to have created man after his own image, surely it is no straining of this expression, to interpret it as denoting not only reason and freedom of will, moral rectitude, and the power of dominion over inferior animals, but also a nature capable of and designed for immortality; without which all the preceding endowments, however exalted and splendid, would have been so transient and ineffectual, so vainly and unwor

thily

thily bestowed. When of all animated beings, it is asserted of man alone, that GOD breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,* and

2

* I am aware that the words which are translated "living “soul,” ¡'m waɔ, are the same which are employed in Gen. i. 30. to denote all inferior animals in which “is life,” or as it is more accurately rendered in the margin of our bibles, "a living soul." But my argument is, that man alone being made after the image of God, man alone being described, as having received from God immediately the breath of life; and man alone being represented capable of living for ever, by partaking of the tree of life; the whole tenor of the history marks him out as in his original nature destined for immortality; and that the divine promise of a future deliverer, inspiring a strong assurance of mercy, must have produced an humble but confident hope, in every pious, reflecting and believing mind, of being ultimately restored to this privilege of immortality. This interpretation of the Sacred History is justified by the most respectable authorities antient and modern. The Targum of Onkelos, though it retains in Gen. i. 30. the original expression, common to men and inferior animals, of a living soul; yet, in Gen. ii. 7., substitutes the expression, of a spirit enjoying the capacity of speech, „bbon mis, and the "And Adam Arabic version renders the same verse,

was made a rational soul :" thus shewing how strongly these translators felt the reasonableness of distinguishing the principle of life in man and inferior animals. And in this distinction, the Targum of Jonathan B. Uziel concurs with the Targum of Onkelos, in adopting the same expression in Gen, ii. 7. Vide Biblia Polyglotta Waltoni.

It is not to be doubted," (says Perverius)" that from th se "few words, in which Moses has related the creation of a "rational spirit, it may be proved that the soul is immortal;

"which

and that man

became a living soul; we

cannot much

mentators,

dissent from those com

"which Moses has frequently intimated both in this and his other books ;" and Rivetus on this passage, disputes at large on the immortality of the soul. S. Method. Conviv. Virg. p. 75, asserts, " It is false doctrine, that the immortal substance "of the mind, which GOD himself breathed into us, was ge"nerated along with the mortal and frail substance of the "body." Cyrill Alex. de Adorat. Lib. x. Vol. I. p. 356, and Comment. in Joan, Lib. v. p. 471, resolves the immortality of the soul "into the virtue and support of the divine "breath breathed into man. Man," says Theodoret and several of the ancient fathers, must be certainly admitted to " a noble share of divine intelligence and ideas, since these were a privilege breathed into him by his Maker at his "creation, a dignity and eminence of nature superior to "that of all other animals."

The expression of the image of GOD also plainly, implies the idea of the soul's immortality, according to the best commentators. Abarbinel explains it to mean "an approach "to the divine likeness in understanding, freedom of choice, "spirituality and immortality," And Tertullian contra Marcion, cap. ix. "Habent illas ubique lineas DEI, qua im"mortalis anima, qua libera, et sui arbitrii, qua prescia ple"rumque, qua rationalis, capax intellectus et scientiæ." Vatablus and Paulus Fagius make this image to consist" in "immortality, innocency, holiness, and the other perfec"tions of the soul, as well as in man's dominion over inferior "animals." The learned and judicious Edwards, in his survey of the various Methods of Religion, Vol. I. p. 13 and 17, observes," Besides the dominion, over the creatures, and "something in the outward man, the image of God consists

"

chiefly in the soul: first, as this part of us is of an imma"terial and spiritual nature, and such is God, "he is a spirit," John, iv. 24. Again, the soul of man is immortal,

" and

mentators, who conceive the breath of life, thus immediately derived from God, partook of the immortality of its divine Author, and that the living soul which man thus acquired, deserved that title much more eminently than the animating principle of any of the brute creation, all of which are described as formed with such different views, and sharing so inferior a degree of their Creator's favour. And finally, to prove clearly that man was originally intended for immortality, we are told that the tree of life was placed in the midst of the garden; whose efficacy was such, that if man was permitted to take of it, he would live for ever. Can it be denied that these passages suggest some intelligible hint of immortal life, some idea at least of the capacity of

the

"and therein is God's image and representation. This in"deed follows upon the former quality; it being immaterial " and incorporeal, it must needs be in its own nature incor"ruptible; herein we signally resemble the Deity. And "therefore it is rightly asserted by St. Augustin, that be"cause of the immortality of the soul, though not only for

that, man is said to be made after God's image." Vide also Taylor's Scheme of Scripture Divinity, ch. y. the three last paragraphs, which express the same sentiments. Vide also Poli Synopsis, Patrick and Bibliotheca Biblica on Genes. i. 26, and ii. 7.

the human soul to enjoy an eternal exist

ence.

It will be said, all this relates to the state of man before his fall, but that by this fatal transgression, the hope of immortality was totally cut off, and eternal death the melancholy doom which every human being must look to as the close of his existence. Now to me the sacred narrative seems to imply the very contrary conclusion, and to hold out to penitent man the hope, that notwithstanding his privilege of enjoying eternal life in this present world; was withdrawn; he yet might hope for the continuance or the renewal of his existence in another state. It may be remarked, that the very words of the curse denounced against him by his offended God, in which, if any where, this awful doom would be declared, seems not at all to convey it. Man had been described originally consisting of two distinct parts; he was formed of the dust of the earth," and God breathed into his "nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." Now to the former part, and to the former part alone does

the