Wesley Corpus

The words added, ‘In the day thou eatest thereofthou shalt surely die, or literally, “In dying thou shalt die, mean, not only, ‘Thou shalt certainly die, but, ‘Thou shalt suffer every kind of death:” Thy soul as well as thy body shall die. And, indeed, if God made manupright or holy; if man at first enjoyed the life of God, including holiness joined with blessedness; and if the miserable state of the soul (as well as the dissolution of the body) is in the Scripture termed ‘death;’ it plainly follows, that the original threatening includes nothing less than a loss of man’s original uprightness, of his title to God’s favour, and happy life of communion with God.” (Pages 26, 27.) “The words mean, farther, “Thou shalt instantly die;’ as soon as ever thou eatest. And so he did. For in that instant his original righteousness, title to God’s favour, and communion with God being lost, he was spiritually dead, ‘dead in sin; his soul was dead to God, and his body liable to death, temporal and eternal.” (Pages 28, 29.) “And as there is a threatening of death expressed in these words, so a promise of life is implied. The threatening death only in case of disobedience, implied, that otherwise he should not die. And even since the fall, the law of God promises life to obedience, as well as threatens death to disobedience; since the tenor of it is, “Do this and live: If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.’” (Page 30.) “Now, a law given by God with a promise of life and a threatening of death, consented to by man, is evidently a cove nant. For what is a covenant, but a mutual agreement of two or more parties on certain terms? Now, in this sense God covenanted with man, and man covenanted with God. God gave a law, promising life in case of obedience, threat ening death in case of disobedience. And man accepted of the terms. Here, therefore, was a real covenant.” (Page 31.) “But, to guard this against objections, I add:-- “1. We do not affirm, that God visibly appeared, and form ally treated with Adam, as one man with another. Without so formal a procedure, God could, and doubtless did, signify to him, on what terms he was to expect life or death.” (Page 32.) “2.