Man was happy in his original state; he not only was free from pain and misery, but enjoyed delight. His pleasure was of a pure nature, not only such as God approved, but derived from a Divine source. If his mind had not been possessed of correct knowledge, his will disposed to obedience, his affections regular and holy, and his appetites and senses subject to a rational control, what pleasure could he have taken in the contemplation of infinite perfections, and in a compliance to the requisitions of the moral law? Happiness necessarily supposes delight, and delight as necessarily supposes a concordance between the disposition of the soul, and the objects from which its pleasure springs. Man was happy while innocent; he therefore enjoyed pleasure, which was pure, arising from positive holiness, and the presence and blessing of God. Surely it is reasonable to conclude, that Adam performed devotional acts with holy reverence and supreme delight. He could not but give the tribute of praise to his beneficent Creator, for his superabundant goodness toward him; being favored with every thing, not only necessary to his sustenance, in the excellent circumstances in which he was placed, but with whatever he could desire for the entertainment and delight of his innocent and heavenly mind. Above all, his grateful soul most certainly adored his Creator, for the glorious and beneficial displays of his wisdom, power, and goodness, and rejoiced in the interest he had in his approbation, protection, and kindness. While he retained his integrity, and enjoyed free access to his Maker, intimate communion with him, and was free from his displeasure, what serenity, satisfaction, and pleasure must fill his soul! He possessed that first and greatest of blessings, mentioned by Horace, mens sana in corpore sano, a sound mind in a healthy body.
Notwithstanding the excellent state in which Adam was created, and advantageous circumstances in which he was placed, yet he was liable to fall. By reason of the spiritual and intelligent principle in him, he became a moral agent, and a subject of moral government. He knew his duty, and had the power of determining his own choice and actions. He could choose good, and refuse evil, and be influenced by the hope of reward and the fear of punishment. He had no disposition to sin in his nature: for God could not create him in a sinful state, since that would render him the author of sin. He had full power to stand: but God could not interfere with the freedom of his will; and herein he acted toward him in a way agreeable to his condition of probation. The mutability of his will was essential to him as a rational creature, placed in a state of responsibility for his actions to the great Governor of the world. Dr. Paley says, “Free agency in its very essence contains liability to abuse. Yet, if you deprive man of his free agency, you subvert his nature.” God answers for himself in Milton:——
——“Man had of me
All he could have: I made him just and right,
Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall.”
The sentiments of Faber are very appropriate. “When the Almighty ceased from the work of creation, he pronounced all that he had made to be very good. The new world was as yet free from the inroads of sin, and from the curse of sterility.
——‘Nature then
Wanton’d as in her prime, and play’d at will
Her virgin fancies.’
“The whole creation smiled upon man, and the golden age of the poets was realized. Blessed with perfect health, both mental and corporeal, our heaven-born progenitor was equally unconscious of the stings of guilt and the pangs of disease. His understanding was unclouded with the mists of vice, ignorance, and error; his will, though absolutely free, was yet entirely devoted to the service of God; and his affections warm, vigorous, and undivided, were ardently bent upon the great Fountain of existence. Though vested in an earthly body, his soul was as the soul of an angel, pure, just, and upright. He was uncontaminated with the smallest sin, and free from even the slightest taint of pollution. His passions perfectly under the guidance of his reason, yielded a ready and cheerful obedience to the dictates of his conscience; an obedience, not constrained and irksome, but full, unreserved, and attended with sensations of unmixed delight. Such was man when he came forth from the hand of his Creator, the image of God stamped upon his soul and influencing all his actions.”[203]