Excerpt from The Presbyterian and Reformed Review: October, 1892 Certainly death as we now behold it, with all the elements and concomitants that make it so solemn and so dreadful an event, has been utilized by God as the sign and emblem of His feelings towards sin, and of His purpose to punish the sinner. As such it has come upon the entire race, and remains as an inexorable decree through all the generations. Even infants and imbecile persons who have never sinned personally are represented as amenable to this dread law, passing under the universal condemnation in consequence of their sharing in the Adamic taint, and therefore (chap. X. 3) capable of being saved through Christ only, and by the gracious ministra tions of the Holy Spirit alone. Though the symbols say but little about the heathen world, yet their clear implication is that the heathen, old and young, die because they also. Are sinful in the sight of God, and are included by Him in His comprehensive judgment upon the race. So far as His solemn mandate as to death is con cerned, no distinction is found to exist between Jew and gentile, between the Christian and the pagan. God does not save even the saint from the action of this universal law, or even from as severe and dreadful pangs in death as befall the greatest unbeliever. But we are taught that He does so far change the nature of death in the case of the righteous, that they are (l. C., 85) delivered from the sting and curse of it, and that, though they must die as men, the event has its source and explanation, not in the wrath of God, but in His love, to free them perfectly and forever from sin and misery, and to make them capable of further and better communion with Christ in glory. To the saint, therefore, the event becomes not a curse, but rather a precious, crowning benediction -- a divine decree, having in it the twofold object just stated, and being therefore a final seal of the blessed covenant into which he has, through Christ, been permitted to enter with God. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.