Wesley Corpus

The second scripture you cite is Gen. iii., from verse 7 to 24. (Pages 9, 10.) On this you observe: Here “we have some consequences of our first parents’ sin before God judged them; some appointed by his judicial sentence; and some which happened after that sentence was pronounced.” (Page 11.) “Immediately upon their transgression, they were seized with shame and fear. Guilt will always be attended with shame. And a state of guilt is often in Scripture expressed by being naked. Moses ‘saw that the people were naked; for Aaron had made them naked to their shame among their enemies.” (Exod. xxxii. 25.)” Certainly, naked does not mean guilty here; but either stripped of their ornaments, (xxxiii. 5, 6) or of their swords, or their upper garment. “Thy nakedness shall be uncovered; yea, thy shame shall be seen.” (Isaiah xlvii. 3.) (Page 12.) Here also nakedness does not mean guilt; but is to be taken literally, as mani festly appears from the words immediately preceding: “Make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.” (Verse 2.) And, “Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his gar ments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” (Rev. xvi. 15.) The plain meaning is, lest he lose the graces he has received, and so be ashamed before men and angels. “Their fear is described: “Adam and his wife hid them selves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Gen. iii. 8.) They had no such fear while they were innocent; but now they were afraid to stand before their Judge.” (Page 13.) This is all you can discern in the Mosaic account as the consequence of our first parents’ sin, before God judged them. Mr. Hervey discerns something more. I make no apology for transcribing some of his words: “Adam violated the precept, and, as the nervous original expresses it, “died the death.’ He before possessed a life incomparably more excellent than that which the beasts en joy. He possessed a divine life, consisting, according to the Apostle, “in knowledge, in righteousness, and true holi ness.’ This, which was the distinguishing glory of his na ture, in the day that he ate the forbidden fruit was extinct. “His understanding, originally enlightened with wisdom, was clouded with ignorance. His heart, once warmed with heavenly love, became alienated from God his Maker.