The covenant of nature made with Adam described and cleared from sundry great mistakes. And thereby proving, I. That the kind of death that was threatned in that covenant, in Gen. 2.17. ought not to be understood of any other kind of death but of a double spiritual death, 1. By depriving Adam of Gods concreated image: and 2. By corruption of nature that followed thereupon. II. Proving that the said covenant was totally extinguished and made utterly null, as soon as Adam had but tasted of the forbidden fruit, and received the said threatned punishment. III. Expounding Gal. 3.10. and proving that the curse therein threatned must not be understood of the curse of the said covenant of nature, but of that curse that is threatned in the covenant of grace to the fallen posterity of Adam, for their not doing of Moses law by faith in Christ, which was given to them for the covenant of grace and reconciliation only. ... VIII. Expounding Rom. 8.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8. in ch. 25. By William Pynchon.

SECT. 9.

I Will now speak very briefly of Verse 7. 8. which runs thus: Because the Wisdom of the flesh, or the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subjest to the law of God, neither indeed can be: so then they that are in the fl••sh cannot please God.

Dr. Barnes speaks against mans free-Will to good since the Fall, doth thus interpret these Verses, in pag. 296.

1. He calls the Carnal mind, the wisdom of the flesh, and so doth the Geneva: and he doth thus paraphrase the words: The Wisdom of the flesh is enmity to God, it is not subject to the Law of God, nor can be, For they that serve the flesh cannot please God: From hence saith he it is plain, That Mans Will, Reason, Wisdom, Heart, or whatsoever thing is in man without the Spirit of God, is but flesh, and cannot be obedient, he saith not, he will not, But, he cannot, he hath no might, he hath no power, let him intend his best, and do all that lyeth in him with all his might, and with all his power, yet he cannot please God, for it is but flesh, (and yet such outward Worshippers are puffed up with their fleshly mind, Col. 2. 18.)

2. Luther, in Gal. 2. 16. faith, in Fol. 69. That by flesh, is sign fied the whole Nature of Man, with his Reason, and all other powers whatsoever that do be∣long to man: And this flesh (saith he) is not justified by works, no, not of the Law: Flesh therefore (saith he) according to Paul, signifies all the Righ∣teousnesse, Wisdom, Devotion, Religion, Understanding and Will, that is pos∣sible to be in a Natural Man: So that, if a man be never so righteous, accord∣ing to Reason and the Law of God: yet with all this Righteousnesse, Works,

Merits, Devotion and Religion, he is not justified; Flesh therefore (saith he in Chap. 3. 3.) is taken here for the very Righteousnesse and Wisdom of the flesh, and for the judgement of Reason, which seeketh to be justified by the Law; Whatsoever then is most excellent in man, the same doth Paul here call flesh: as the Wisdom of Reason, and the Righteousnesse of the Law it self.

3. Dr. Willet, saith on this 7th. Verse; The Apostle doth here give a Reason of the former Verse: why the wisdom of the flesh is death; It is (saith he) be∣cause it is at enmity with God, from whom cometh Life: But, saith he, The Wisdom of the Spirit is not so the cause of Life and Peace with God, as the Wisdom of the flesh is the cause of Death; For, saith he, This last is the me∣ritorious Cause; But so is not the Wisdom of the Spirit of the other.

[Reply. 4] By the Wisdom of the Spirit, Dr. Willet means the holy Spirit of Regene∣ration: But I take the word Spirit here, to be the Spirit of the Law, which is Christ, as I have expounded it, in Verse 2. And from thence it follows, That seeing Christ is called the true Spirit of the law of Moses, he is in that Respect the true meritorious cause of Life: as the Wisdom of the flesh is the demerito∣rious cause of Death.

Conclusion:

It can be no lesse then a Foundation Errour in Mr. Norton,

1. To build (as he hath done) the great Point of Christs satisfaction, upon his suffering of the threatned punishment of the Covenant of Nature that was made at first with innocent Adam, in Gen. 2. 17.

And 2. To build the great Point of a Sinners justification upon Christs Ful∣filling of that Transient, and now Nullified Covenant of Nature.

3. These two great Points cannot Relate to any other Covenant, then the supernatural Law and Covenant of Gods Grace and Reconciliation that was made only with Adam, in Gen. 3. 15. The promise of which Covenant is, That whosoever believeth in the seed of the Woman for the breaking of the Devils Head-plot for mans Redemption, shall be saved: And the Threatning is, that whosoever dyeth in the unbelief thereof, shall be judged to Eternal Torments with the Devil and his Angels.

Notes

• Verse 7. 8.