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Genesis 2:15-17 15 And the LORD God took the man,
and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man,
saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou
shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Man was made out of paradise;
for, after God had formed him, he put him into the garden: he was made of common clay, not of paradise-dust. He lived out
of Eden before he lived in it, that he might see that all the comforts of his paradise-state were owing to God's free grace.
He could not plead a tenant-right to the garden, for he was not born upon the premises, nor had any thing but what he received;
all boasting was hereby for ever excluded. confirmation of his present happiness to him, in that grant, Of every
tree in the garden thou mayest freely eat. This was not only an allowance of liberty to him, in taking the delicious fruits
of paradise, as a recompence for his care and pains in dressing and keeping it, but it was, withal, an assurance of life to
him, immortal life, upon his obedience. For the tree of life being put in the midst of the garden, as the heart and
soul of it, doubtless God had an eye to that especially in this grant; and therefore when, upon his revolt, this grant is
recalled, no notice is taken of any tree of the garden as prohibited to him, except the tree of life, of which it is there
said he might have eaten and lived for ever, that is, never died, nor ever lost his happiness. "Continue holy as thou
art, in conformity to thy Creator's will, and thou shalt continue happy as thou art in the enjoyment of thy Creator's favour,
either in this paradise or in a better." Thus, upon condition of perfect personal and perpetual obedience, Adam was sure of
paradise to himself and his heirs for ever. A trial of his obedience, upon pain of the forfeiture of all his happiness:
"But of the other tree which stood very near the tree of life (for they are both said to be in the midst of the
garden), and which was called the tree of knowledge, in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die;" as
if he had said, "Know, Adam, that thou art now upon thy good behaviour, thou art put into paradise upon trial; be observant,
be obedient, and thou art made for ever; otherwise thou wilt be as miserable as now thou art happy." Here, This was threatened
as the immediate consequence of sin: In the day thou eatest, thou shalt die, that is, "Thou shalt become mortal and
capable of dying; the grant of immortality shall be recalled, and that defence shall depart from thee. Thou shalt become obnoxious
to death, like a condemned malefactor that is dead in the law" (only, because Adam was to be the root of mankind, he was reprieved);
"nay, the harbingers and forerunners of death shall immediately seize thee, and thy life, thenceforward, shall be a dying
life: and this, surely; it is a settled rule, the soul that sinneth, it shall die."
The covenant in Eden is the first of the
general or universal covenants in it, Adam is charged to: (a) populate and subdue the earth and exercise dominion over
the animal creation. (Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth. That God gave to man, when he had made him, a dominion over the inferior creatures,
over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air. Though man provides for neither, he has power over both, much
more over every living thing that moveth upon the earth, which are more under his care and within his reach. God
designed hereby to put an honour upon man, that he might find himself the more strongly obliged to bring honour to his Maker.
This dominion is very much diminished and lost by the fall; yet God's providence continues so much of it to the children of
men as is necessary to the safety and support of their lives, and God's grace has given to the saints a new and better title
to the creature than that which was forfeited by sin; for all is ours if we are Christ's.); (b) care for the Garden of Eden
and enjoy its fruit. (Genesis 1:29; 2:15 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is
upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for
meat. Food provided for man. Herbs and fruits must be his meat, including corn and all the products of the earth;
these were allowed him, but (it should seem) not flesh, till after the flood. And before the earth was deluged, much more
before it was cursed for man's sake, its fruits, no doubt, were more pleasing to the taste and more strengthening and nourishing
to the body than marrow and fatness, and all the portion of the king's meat, are now. 2:15 And the LORD God
took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
We were none of us sent into the world to be idle. He that made us these
souls and bodies has given us something to work with; and he that gave us this earth for our habitation has made us something
to work on. If a high extraction, or a great estate, or a large dominion, or perfect innocency, or a genius for pure contemplation,
or a small family, could have given a man a writ of ease, Adam would not have been set to work; but he that gave us being has given us business, to serve him and our generation, and to work
out our salvation: if we do not mind our business, we are unworthy of our being and maintenance.); and (c) refrain from eating
the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, under penalty of death (Genesis 2:16,17 16 And
the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Observe here, God's authority over man, as a creature that had reason and freedom of will. The Lord God commanded the man,
who stood now as a public person, the father and representative of all mankind, to receive law, as he had lately received
a nature, for himself and all his. God commanded all the creatures, according to their capacity; the settled course of nature
is a law. The brute-creatures have their respective instincts; but man was made capable of performing reasonable service,
and therefore received, not only the command of a Creator, but the command of a Prince and Master. Though Adam was a very
great man, a very good man, and a very happy man, yet the Lord God commanded him; and the command was no disparagement to
his greatness, no reproach to his goodness, nor any diminution at all to his happiness. Let us acknowledge God's right to
rule us, and our own obligations to be ruled by him; and never allow any will of our own in contradiction to, or competition
with, the holy will of God. The Edenic Covenant was terminated by m an's disobedience, when Adam and Eve ate of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, resulting in their spiritual and physical deaths. This failure necessitated the establishment
of the covenant with Adam.
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