Wesley Corpus

Therefore, considering suffering and death as so threatened and executed, we cannot deny that they are punishments,--punishments not on Adam only, but on all that in fact do either die or suffer. To sum up this point: Although the wisdom and mercy of God do “bring good out of evil; ” although God designs to extract blessings from punishments, and does it in numberless instances; yet this does not alter the nature of things, but punishments are punishments still: Still this name properly belongs to all sufferings which are inflicted on account of sin; and, consequently, it is an evident truth, that the whole animate creation is punished for Adam’s sin. “THE subject of our present inquiry is threefold: 1. Whether mankind be under God’s displeasure, antecedently to their actual sins. 2. Whether our nature be corrupt from the beginning of life. And, 3. Whether these propositions can be proved from the calamities and sinfulness of mankind.” (Pages 30, 31.) Whether they can or no, they have been fully proved from Scripture. Let us now inquire if they may not be proved from the state of the world. But you think Dr. Watts “has here laid too great stress on supposition and imagination.” In proof of which you cite from him the following words: “Can we suppose that the blessed God would place his innocent creatures in such a dangerous habitation? Can we suppose, that, among the roots, and the herbs, and the trees, which are good for food, the great God would have suffered deadly poison to spring up here and there? Would there have been any such creatures in our world as bears and tigers? Can we ever imagine the great and good God would have appointed men to be propagated in such a way as would necessarily give such exquisite pain and anguish to the mothers that produce them, if they had been all accounted in his eyes a race of holy and sinless beings?” (Page 31.) I answer, It is not true, “that too great stress,” or any stress at all, is “here laid on mere supposition and imagina tion.” Your catching at those two words, suppose and imagine, will by no means prove it; for the meaning of them is plain.