Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 1 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III. Verſe 1. Now the Serpent was more ſubtil, &c.]
ANd ſo a more fit inſtrument of that old Serpent the Devil, foreign Theodotion. Cui Paulus … Cor. 11.3. foreign oppo…it, quam mundus vocat Sillmeſs, ſheepiſhneſs. Revel. 12.9. Authoramentu… majoris infidelitatis. Ter…ul. Iſai. 55.3. Plin. l. 8. c. 25.that deceiveth all the world. Good natural parts abuſed, prove rather as preſs-money to impiety (as he phraſeth it,) and their wiſdom Culpae ſuaſoria, as Ambroſe ſpeaketh. Wit unſanctified, is a fit tool for the devil to work withal: Neither is there a likelier Anvil in all the ſhop of Hell, whereon to forge miſchief, then one that is learned and leud, ingenioſê nequam, Wittily wicked. [And he ſaid,] That is, the Devil in the Serpent, as the Angel in Balaams Aſs. Satan iſtius primae fabulae Poetafuit, ſerpens hiſtrio. By the ear he brought death into the world: And God, to croſs him, brings life in by the ſame door: For it is, Hear and your ſouls ſhall live. The Dragon bites the Elephants ear, and thence ſucks his blood: Becauſe he knows that to be the onelyonly place, which he cannot reach with his trunk to defend. So here, that great red Dragon delt with miſerable mankinde, ſetting firſt upon the woman as the weaker veſſel (where the hedg is loweſt, there the beaſt leaps over) and ſo climbing by Adams rib to his heart, as by a ladder; as I ſaid before, out of Saint Gregory. [Yea, hath God ſaid,] In the Chaldee, Is it true that God hath ſaid? Vide ſimile Ruth 2.21. in Hebraeo, & 1 Sam. 14.30.A conciſe expreſſion, implying, That this was not the firſt of their diſcourſe: Something had been ſaid before. It is not ſafe parling with the Devil. Satan etſi ſemel videatur verax, millies eſt mendax, & ſemper fallax. Halter him up therefore, foreignand ſtop his mouth ſoon, as our Saviour did. Or do, as the French ſay in their Proverb, When the Spaniard comes to parley of peace, then double bolt the door. The Hollanders are ſaid to make no conditions with the Spaniard, but ſuch as are made at Sea, and ſealed with great Ordnance, Spec. bel. ſacr. Greenbam.&c. He ſhoots with Satan in his own bowe, that thinks by parling with him to put him off. [Hath God ſaid, Ye ſhall not eat.] Here, he began his aſſault upon our firſt-parents; here, upon Chriſt, Matth. 4.3. with 3.17. and here, he doth ſtill upon us: Endeavoring to elevate the truth and certainty of Gods Word, and to weaken our Faith in his precepts, promiſes, and menaces. And here, if he take us out of our trenches, if he can but wring this ſword of the Spirit out of our hands, he may do what he will with us. Get but the Heretickes (ſaid that ſubtil Sophi…ter) out of the paper-walls of the Scriptures, Briſtow his Motives.into the open field of Fathers and Councils, and ye ſhall ſoon do well enough with them.
Verſ. 3. Neither ſhall ye touch it] This is of the womans own addition, and of a good intention doubtleſſe. For afterwards, when ſhe had drunk in more of the Serpents deadly poyſon, Hauſis virus peritura, & peritur…s paritura. Bern.from gazing upon the fruit, ſhe fell to gaping after it, from touching to taſting. He that would not feed on ſins meat, muſt beware of the broth; keep thee far from an evill matter, ſaith Moſes, Exod. 23.7. A good man dare not come near the train, though he be far off the blow: He dare not venture on the occaſion, leſt his tinder ſhould take fire. Circa ſerpent is antrum po…itu… non eris di… illaſus. Iſidor.It is ill playing upon the hole of the Aſpe, or coming too near Hell-mouth: For by ſo doing, you may beſeem to drop in. Watch therefore, and pray too, that ye enter not into temptation, ſaith our bleſſed Saviour; and mark his reaſon, The ſpirit is willing, but the fleſh is weak. q. d. Though the Spirit purpoſe otherwiſe, the fleſh will faulter, and be foyled: Witneſs the woman here with her left ye die. She held the precept in the utmoſt extent of it: But that which ſhe failed in, was, That ſhe minced the matter, and oppoſed not the commination to the temptation; And ſee how the Devil works upon her weakneſs, as he watcheth for our haltings, and where to have us on the lip.
Verſ. 4. Ye ſhall not ſurely die,] He ſaith not, Dying ye ſhall not dye; or, Surely ye ſhall not die: This had been too plain a contradiction to that word of God, that had threatned aſſured death. But, Ye ſhall not die in dying; That is, It is not certain ye ſhall die. And this latter is more nice and ambiguous. She ſeems to doubt of the certainty of what God had ſaid. He plainly, and yet clearly impugnes it: Whereas had Gods Word abidden in her, ſhe had overcome that wicked one, 1 John 2.14. The word is compared to muſtard ſeed, which being mixt with vinegar, is (they ſay) a ſoveraign medicine againſt Serpents.
Verſ. 5. For God doth know, &c.] Picherellus in Coſmopaea.Id quod cuns Deum non lateat, ſibi cavet. It is remarkable, that the devil here chargeth God with envy, which is his own proper diſeaſe: For ever ſince, he himſelf fell from Heaven, he cannot abide that any ſhould come there; but of pure ſpight hindereth them, all that may be. Here he envyed that God ſhould be ſerved by man, and that man ſhould be gifted and graced by God. So that he paints out and points out himſelf, in ſaying, That God envyed man the gift of Wiſdom. There is nothing more uſual with the wicked, then to muſe as they uſe, and to ſuppoſe that evil to be in others, that they …inde to be in themſelves. Die in Calig. Act. & Mon. fol. 1441.Caligula (that impure beaſt) would not beleeve there was any chaſt perſon upon earth. And, I dare ſay (ſaid Bonner to Hawks the Martyr) that Cranmer would recant, if he might have his living. So judging others by himſelf: For Papiſts apply themſelves (ſaid our Protomartyr Mr. Rogers) to the preſent ſtate; yea, if the ſtate ſhould change ten times in the yeer, they would ever be ready at hand to change with it, and ſo follow the cry, and rather utterly forſake God, and be of no Religion, then that they would forgo luſt, or Living for God or Religion. [Then your eyes ſhall be opened.] There is an opening of the eyes of the minde to contemplation and joy: There is alſo an opening of the eyes of the body to confuſion and ſhame. foreign. 2 Cor. 1 King. 22.15. Cioeſus Halyn p…s ma… nam di…p…d…s …pum vim. Herod.He promiſeth them the former, but intends the latter, and ſo cheats them, as he doth thouſands now adays, by the cogging of a Dye, (as Saint Paul hath it) giving them an apple in exchange for paradiſe. Thus of old he couzened A…ab and Croeſus with promiſes of victory; which when it fell out otherwiſe, he had a hole to creep out, and ſave his credit by an equivocation. Thus of latter time be gulled Pope Silveſter the ſecond, aſſuring him that he ſhou…d never dye till he came to ſay Maſs in Jeruſalem; He, reſolving never to come there, made no reckonin… but to live a long time. But it f…ll out ſomewhat otherwiſe: For as he was ſaying Maſs in a certain Church in Rome called Jeruſalem, fearing nothing, …unc…ius in C…ronol Intelligit …e a diabolo, amphibol… vocis, circumventum, auimadvertit ſibi moriendum eſſe penſum que Sata…ae reddendum, &c.the Devill claymed his due, and had it. For he was there, and then taken with a ſtrong feaver, and lying on his death bed, he ſent for all his Cardinais, and declaring before them what a wretched bargain he had made with the devill (ſelling his ſoul for the Popedome, and deceived…by him with promiſe of long …lfe) he bitterly bewayled his own folly, and adviſed them to beware by his example. And was not Leoline the ſecond, Prince of North-Wales, as finely cheated? For conſulting with a Witch he was told, that it was his deſtiny to ride through London with a crown on his head. Hereupon he growing burdenſome to the Engliſh borders was in a battle overthrown. His head fixt upon a ſtake, and adorned with a paper-crown was by a horſeman triumphantly carried through London: Heylins Geog. p. 493.and ſo the propheſie was fulfilled, Anno Dom. 1282. [And ye ſhall be as Gods] The Serpents Grammar firſt taught (ſaith Damianus) Deum pluralitèr declinare, eritis ſicut Dii This the woman underſtood of the Trinity, as appears, verſ. 22. but the Devill might mean it of the Angels, (ſo our Chaldee Paraphraſt tranſlates it) which had ſinned, and now had wofull experience of the good which they had loſt, and the evill wherein they lay.
Verſe 6. And when the woman ſaw] At this Cinque-port the devill entred. How many thouſand ſouls have dyed of the wound of the eye, Ovid.and cryed out, as Eve might here, ut vidi, ut perii! If we do not let in ſin at the window of the eye, or the door of the ear, it cannot enter into our hearts. Vitiis nobis in animum per oculos eſt via, ſaith Quintilian. Wherefore if thine eye offend thee, pull it out. In Barbary, 'tis death for any man to ſee one of the Xoriffes concubines; and for them too, if when they ſee a man (though but through a caſement) they doe not ſuddenly ſcreek out. Quintil. declam.[She took of the fruit thereof] Whatever it were, whether an apple (as Bernard, Heyl. Geog. p. 196. P…rrexit Pomum & ſurripuit paradiſum. Bern.and others; gather out of Cant. 2.3.) or a fig, as Theodorot; or a pomegranate, as Mahomet in his Alchoran; or a peach) (malum perſicum) or Pomum Paradiſi, as the Syrians call a kinde of fruit common amongſt them: God created us of nothing, and we offended him for a matter of nothing. All the legions of the reprobate devills, ſaith one, entred into one beaſt, and, Yates his Medell.by the Pitho and Suada of that viperous tongue, crept into the boſome of …ve, as it were by all the Topick places in Logick, figures in Rhetorick, and other engines of guile and deceit, till they had brought her into a fools paradiſe, with the loſs of the earthly, and hazard of the heavenly. [And gave it alſo to her husband] It is probable (ſaith the ſame Author) that Adam ſtood by all the time of the diſputation, therefore his ſin was the greater, that he rebuked not the Serpent, &c. And again, I cannot believe, ſaith he, but that the devills in the Serpent did as well tempt Adam as Eve, though firſt they began with her, as a further means of enticing him. Others are of another minde, as that the tempter ſet upon the woman alone and apart from her husband, as ſhe was curiouſly prying into the pleaſures of the garden. Paraeus.That the Serpent crept into Paradiſe unſeen of Adam, who was to keep beaſts out of it; Cartw. Catach.that he remained there without being eſpied of him, and crept out again when he had done his feat: That when ſhe gave him the fruit, ſhe gave him alſo a relation of the Serpents promiſe, concerning the force of that fruit, that it would make them wiſe as God, knowing good and evill, &c. whence he is ſaid to have harkned to her voice, verſ. 17. And ſurely, every Adam hath ſtill his Eve, every David his Bathſheba, a tempter in his own boſome (his own fleſh) whereby he is eftſoons drawn away, and enticed as a fiſh by the bait, (beauty is a hook without a bait, foreign Jam. 1.14.15. foreign.as one ſaith) till when luſt hath conceived (as here it did in Eve) it bringeth forth ſin, and ſin, when it is finiſhed, bringeth forth death. Sathan hath onelyonly a perſwading ſleight, not an inforcing might. It is our own concupiſcence that carrieth the greateſt ſtroke.
Verſ. 7. They knew that they were naked] Bereft of Gods bleſſed Image; no more of it left, then, as of one of Jobs meſſengers, to bear witneſs of our great loſs. I call it ours, becauſe we were all in Adam, as Levi was in Abraham, or as the whole Country is in a Parliament man. He was our head; and if the head plot treaſon, Hoſ. 13.9.all the body is guilty. Hence the Prophet Hoſea; O Iſrael, One hath deſtroyed thee, but in me is thy help. So ſome read it. Had we been by when this wretched One deſtroyed us all: had we ſeen him ſtand ſtaggering betwixt Gods Commandment, and Eves allurement, not yet reſolved which way to incline, and could have foreſeen the danger hanging over him and our ſelves, we would ſurely have cryed out to him Cave miſer, Auguſtine.Take heed thou wretch. And why do we not the ſame to our ſelves, when ſollicited to ſin? Alterius perditio tua ſit cautio, ſaith Ifidore: and cavebis ſi pavebis, ſaith Another. There is a practical judgment ſtill practiſed in our hearts. On the one ſide, is propounded the commodity of ſin; on the other, the offence, whereby we provoke God. So that in the one end of the ballance, is laid God, in the other ſin, and man ſtands in the midſt, rejecting the command of God, and accepting the pleaſure of ſin. What is this, but to prefer Paris before Paradiſe with Cardinal Burbon, Barabbas, before Chriſt, a thing of nought before Heavens happineſs? Our firſt parents were born with the royal Robe of Righteouſneſs (as thoſe Porphyrog…niti in Conſtantinople,) Purchas Pilgrim.but the devil ſoon ſtripped them of it (the ſame day, as ſome think) and ſo they became fore aſhamed of their bodily nakedneſs, which therefore they fought to cover, by making themſelves Aprons, to cover their Privities.
But why did they (and do we ſtill) ſo ſtudiouſly hide thoſe parts, Queſt.rather then their eyes and ears, which they had abuſed to ſin with?
Becauſe ſin is become natural, Anſw. Pſal. 51.7. Gen. 5 3.and derived by generation. Therefore circumciſion was alſo on that part of mans body; to ſhew, That that which was begotten thereby, deſerved in like maner, as execrable and accurſed to be cut off, and thrown away by God. Here ſome ground their opinion, That it is a ſin againſt nature, to look on the nakedneſs of another. A foul ſhame it was for old Noah to lye ſo uncovered in the midſt of his Tent: but far fouler for thoſe worſhipers of Priapus, (which Jerome and Iſidore make to be that Baal-Peor, Num. 25.5.) that ſhamed not to ſay, Empedoclis vocab. apud Ariſt.Nos, puabre pulſo, ſtamus ſub Jove, coleis apertis, &c. But in mans ſoul is now a foreign the ſeed of all ſin, though never ſo hainous or hideous: Neither by nature is there ever a better of us; but as in Water face anſwereth to face, ſo doth the heart of a man to a man, Prov. 27.19. And as there were many Marii in one Caeſar, ſo are there many Cains and Caiaphaſſes in the beſt of us all. Totus homo eſt inverſus decalogus. The whole man is in evil, and whole evil is in man. As the Chaos had the ſeeds of all Creatures, and wanted onelyonly the Spirits motion to produce them: So our corrupt nature hath all ſins in it, and wants but the warmth of Satans temptation to bring them into act, if God reſtrain not. Sure it is, we can ſtay no more from ſinning, then the heart can from panting, and the pulſe from beating. The firſt man defiled the nature, and ever ſince the nature defiles the man. As poyſon put into a cup of wine diſperſeth it ſelf, and makes it deadly: ſo Original ſin polluteth and p…ſoneth our whole man. And as the whiteſt ivory turns with the fire, into the deep…ſt black, the ſweeteſt wine becomes the ſowreſt vineger: So here. The more unnatural any quality is, the more extream will it be, as a cold wind from the ſouth is intolerable, &c. So Adam, being in honor, was without underſtanding, Pſal. 49. ult.and is now in worſe caſe then the very beaſts that periſh: Pecoribus morticiuis, ſaith Tremel: The beaſts that die of the murrain, and ſo become carrion, and are good for nothing.
Verſ. 8. And they heard the voyce of the Lord.] Either ſpeaking ſomething by himſelf of that which Adam had done againſt his command; as who ſhould ſay, Hath he ſerved me ſo indeed? or elſe, calling to Adam in a mighty thunder, as to Pharaoh, Exod. 9.28. or in a terrible whirlwind, as to Job, Chap. 38.1. the better to humble him, and prepare him for a Sermon of mercy and forgiveneſs. God poureth not the oyl of his grace, ſave onelyonly into broken veſſels. Chriſt came to cure not the ſound, but the ſick with ſin: Iſai. 35.7. & 44.3.The Holy Ghoſt is poured out upon thirſty ſouls onelyonly, that are ſcorched and parched with the ſenſe of ſin, and fear of wrath. As the way to Sion was by Sinai, ſo, unleſs we deſire rather to be carnally ſecured, then ſoundly comforted, we muſt paſs by Baca to Berachah, by a ſight of our ſin and miſery, to a ſenſe of Gods grace and mercy. [Walking in the Garden in the cool of the day.] God did not meet the man angerly, Exod. 4.as he did Moſes in the Inn, when he had much ado to forbear killing him; nor as the Angel did Balaam, with a drawn ſword in his hand to deſtroy him: Neither did he ruſh upon him, as David ran upon Goliah, and cut off his head. But with a ſoft and ſlow pace, foreign Greſſu grallatorio. Iſai. 28.21. foreign. Ad veſperam dici.(as if he had no minde to it) he comes walking toward them, to do this his work, his ſtrange work, of ſentencing ſinners; and that in the cool of the day too, or towards the evening, as Saint Ambroſe hath it after the Septuagint. Whereas to ſhew mercy, behold, he comes leaping upon the Mountains, skipping upon the Hills. Lo, this is the voyce, and the pace of my beloved. Cant. 2.8.God was but ſix days in making the whole world, yet ſeven days in deſtroying one city Jericho, as Chryſoſtom long ſince obſerved. He ſcourgeth not his people, Iſai. 42.14.till there be no remedy, 2 Chron. 36.16. He forbears us, though he cry like a travelling woman, to be delivered of his judgments. [And Adam and his wife, hid themſelves.] Their covering of figleaves then, was too ſhort; for, here they run with their aprons, into the thicket, to hide from God. A poor ſhift, God wot, but ſuch as is ſtill too much in uſe. If I have covered my tranſgreſſions as Adam, Job 31.33.or after the maner of men, ſaith Job, then let this and this evil befal me. The bad heart runs from God, and would run from its own terrors, as the wounded Deer from the deadly Arrow that ſticks in his ſide; Facti ſunt à corde ſuo fugitivi. Tertul.but refuſing ordinary tryal, it is in danger to be preſt to death inevitably. We have no better refuge, then to run from God to God. Blood-letting is a cure of bleeding, a Burn of a burn: To cloſe and get in, avoyds the blow, &c.
Verſ. 9. Where art thou,] Not, as if God knew not; for he ſearcheth Jeruſalem with lights; Jam. 1.17.yea, himſelf is the father of lights, the great eye of the world, to whom the Sun it ſelf, is but a ſnuff. Zach. 3.9. 2 Chron. 16 9. Heb. 4.13. exp.He hath ſeven eyes upon one ſtone; yea, his eyes run to and fro through the earth, and all things are naked and open: Naked (for the outſide,) and open (for the inſide) before the eyes of him, with whom we have to deal. Simple men hide God from themſelves, and then think they have hid themſelves from God; like the Struthiocamelus they thruſt their heads into a hole, Plin.when hunted, and then think none ſeeth them. But he ſearcheth (ſo one may do, yet not finde) and knoweth, Pſal. 139.1. He ſeeth (ſo one may do, yet not obſerve) and pondereth, Prov. 5.21. Though men hide their ſins, as cloſe as Rachel did her idols, or Rahab the ſpyes: Though they dig deep to hide their counſels, God can and will detect them, Prov. 15.11.with a wo to boot, Iſai. 29.15. For hell and deſtruction are before him; how then can Saul think to be hid behinde the ſtuff, or Adam behinde the buſh? At the voyce of the Lord he muſt appear, will he nill he, to give account of his fear, of his flight. This he doth, (but untowardly) in the words following.
Verſ. 10. I heard thy voyce,] So he had done before his fall, and feared not. Are not my words good to the upright? Micah 2.7. Excellently Saint Auſtin, Adverſarius eſt nobis, quamdiú ſumus & ipſi nobis: Quamdiú tu tibi inimicus es, inimitum habebis Sermonem Dei. Yea, but I was naked, and therefore hid my ſelf. This alſo was non-cauſa pro cauſa. There was another pad in the ſtraw, which he ſtudiouſly conceals; viz. The conſcience of his ſin. Hic verò non factum ſuum, Excuſando ſeipſum accuſat. Gregor. Prov. 19.3.ſed Dei factum in ſemetipſo reprehendit, ſaith Rupertus. He blames not himſelf but God, for making him naked; and ſo verifies that of Solomon, The fooliſhneſs of man perverteth his way; and then (to mend the matter) his heart fretteth againſt the Lord. O ſilly ſimple!
Verſ. 11. Who told thee.] His own conſcience awakened and cited by Gods voyce, Joh. 4.told him (as the woman of Samaria ſaid of our Saviour) all that ever he did. Before and in the acting of ſin, we will hear nothing; but afterwards, Conſcience will ſend forth a ſhrill and ſharp voyce, that ſhall be heard all the ſoul over; ſuch as was that of Reuben to his brethren. Did not I warn you, ſaying, Sin not againſt the childe, &c. The Books of our Conſciences are now ſealed up, and the woful contents are not read by the Law: They remain as Letters written with the juyce of Oringes or Onions, which are onelyonly to be made legible by the fire of Gods wrath. Then ſhall the wicked run away (but all in vain) with thoſe words in their mouthes, Iſai. 33.14.Who amongſt us ſhall dwell with this devouring fire? Who ſhall abide by theſe everlaſting burnings? Then ſhall they tire the Mountains with their hideous out-cryes, Fall upon us, hide us, cruſh us in pieces, grinde us to powder. But how can that be, when the Mountains melt, and the Rocks rent aſunder at the preſence of the Lord, at the preſence of the God of Jacob?
Verſ. 12. The woman whom thou gaveſt.] Here he rejects the fault upon the woman, and thorow her, upon God, who gave her to be with him, or before him; or ſuch another as himſelf, (with reference to that Lenegdo, Chap. 2.20.) or a help meet for him. This ſhe might have been to him, had he been (that he ought to her) a manly guide in the way to Heaven. He ſhould have rebuked her, as Job did his wicked wife, for tranſgreſſing Gods Law, and tempting him to the like. Then had her ſin been perſonal, reſted upon her ſelf, and gone no further, had not he hearkned to her voyce. But he not onelyonly not did thus, but inſteed of agnizing his fault, ſeeks to transfer it upon God: That ſith he could not be like unto God in the divinity, which he aymed at, he might make God like unto himſelf in iniquity, which was to fill up the meaſure of his ſin, that wrath might have come upon him to the utmoſt; but that Gods mercy was then, and is ſtill over all his own good, and our bad works.
Verſ. 13. And the woman ſaid, The Serpent.] Thus the Fleſh never wants excuſes: Nature need not be taught to tell her own tale. Sin and ſhifting came into the world together; never yet any came to Hell, but had ſome pretence for coming thither. It is a very courſe Wool that will take no Dye: Sin and Satan are alike in this; they cannot abide to appear in their own colour. Men wrap themſelves in excuſes, as they do their hands, to defend them from pricks. This is ſtill the vile poyſon of our hearts; that they will needs be naught, and yet will not yield, but that there is reaſon to be mad, and great ſence in ſining.
Verſ. 14. And the Lord God ſaid to the Serpent.] The Serpent was not examined, becauſe God would ſhew no mercy to him: But preſently doemed, Heſtod.becauſe of meer malice, he had offended. The Heathens called certain Devils foreign quaſi foreign foreign. Evil befel him, that evil bethought him: As Balaam that adviſed evil againſt Iſrael, was ſlain by the ſword of Iſrael. The Serpent alſo hath his part in the puniſhment, becauſe inſtrumental to the Devil. Both Authors, Actors, and Abettors of evil, ſhall rue it together. The Serpent here, is, firſt cut ſhorter by the feet, and made to wriggle upon his belly; ſecondly, confined to the duſt for his dict; which is alſo, ſaith an Ancient foreign the Devils diet: For your Adverſary the Devil (that Ruler of the darkneſs of this world) as he dwells in dark hearts, Epheſ. 6.12.as ſo many holes and caverns. Job 40.10.So, Behemoth-like, he cats graſs as an Ox; yea, duſt as a Serpent, continually ſeeking whom he may devour, 1 Pat. 5.7. And is therefore curſed above all Creatures. He hath ſwallowed down ſouls, and he ſhall vomit them up again: God ſhall caſt them out of his belly, Job 20.15. He ſinneth every day the ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt, and ſhall lye loweſt in Hell. Every foul that he drew thither by his temptation, ſhall be as a milſtone hang'd about his neck, to hold him down in the bottomleſs lake.
Verſ. 15. And I will put enmity,] Inſtead of that amity and familiarity, thou haſt lately had with the woman. And here begins the Book of the Lords wars: His hand is here upon his Throne, he hath ſolemnly ſworn, That he will have war (not with Amalek onelyonly, Exod. 17.16.but) with the whole Serpentine ſeed, from generation to generation. There is alſo a capital antipathy (ſaith Bodinus) between the woman and the Serpent: Bodin. Theat. lib. 3.So that in a great multitude of men, if there be but one woman amongſt them, he makes at her, and ſtings her about the heel. Plin. lib. 2. cap. 63. & lib. 7. c. 2.Pliny alſo tells us, That the faſting-ſpittle of a man, is deadly to Serpents; and that if a Serpent wound a man, he is no more entertained by the earth, or admitted thereinto. Others tell us, Sphinx Philoſ.That a Snake fears and flies from a naked man, but purſues him when clothed or covered. Put on Chriſt, and thou art ſafe. His blood, as Polium, is a preſervative againſt Serpents, Revel. 12.9. Plin. lib. 2. c. 2….[It ſhall bruiſe thy head.] And ſo kill thee quite; as a Serpent is not killed dead, till knockt on the head; which he therefore carefully ſaves with the hazzard of his whole body. To elude, or elevate at leaſt, this ſweet promiſe (this grand Charter of our Salvation) the Devil, no doubt, deviſed, and by his Factors, the Poets divulged that frivolous fable of Hercules his clubbing down the Lernaan Serpent, and cutting off his many heads. But Chriſt alone is that ſtronger man, that, drawing the Dragon out of his Den, hath crackt his crown, deſtroyed his works, made him to fall as lightning from the heaven of mens hearts, and will tread him alſo under our feet ſhortly, as he hath already done under his own, when ſpoyling theſe principalities and powers, Rom. 16.he made a ſhew of them, openly triumphing over them on his croſs, Coloſ. 2.15. As in the mean while, till this be fully done, nibble he may at our heel, but cannot come at our head. Achilles is ſaid to have taken his death, by a wound in his heel. But he that is begotten of God keepeth himſelf, and that wicked one (the Devil) toucheth him not, 1 John 5.18. That is, Tactu qualitative, ſaith Cajeta…, with a deadly touch; he thruſteth not his ſting ſo far into him, as to do him to death. For Chriſt (who is our life, Coloſ. 3.4) can aſſoon die at the right hand of his heavenly Father, as in the heart of a faithful Chriſtian; fith our life is hid with Chriſt in God; his life is bound up in his Childes life. He ſhall make the broken horns of Satan to be the Trumpets of his glory, and the Cornets of our joy. [Thou ſhalt bruiſe his heel.] Not both his heels, but one onelyonly: So that he ſhall ſtand upon one, though hurt in the other; or if overthrown, yet he ſhall riſe again, and be more then a conqueror, foreign. Rom. 8.or over overcome him that overturned him. He is the Victor, that breaketh the head: When as he that bruiſeth the heel (though he be an enemy) yet he lyes along, and can do no great miſchief there. And hereto the Prophet ſeems to refer, when he ſaith, Why ſhould I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels (that is, when the puniſhment of mine iniquity that reacheth but to the heels) ſhall compaſs me about? God will redeem my ſoul from the hand of hell, Pſal. 49.6, 16. I conclude with that memorable ſaying of a holy Martyr: Bradford.If we had a lively feeling of the Serpents poyſon, we could not but rejoyce in our Captain, who hath bruiſed his head. What though the Serpent ſhoot his ſting into our heel, and make us halt, Heb. 12.2, 3.yet let us go on, though halting to Heaven; Yea, run with patience the race that is ſet before us; looking at Jeſus, the Author and finiſher of our Faith, &c.
Verſ. 16. I will greatly multiply thy ſorrow,] The greateſt of ſorrows this is, as we are given to underſtand, both out of divine, Decie… in bello mori mallem quam parere vel ſemel adhuc. Euripid.and humane Writings. I had rather dye in battle ten times over, then bring forth but once onelyonly, ſaid Medea in the Tragedy. But we have a better example in the Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtory, of a Roman Lady, called Sabina; Who being great with childe, was caſt in priſon for the Profeſſion of Chriſts Truth. Now when the time came, that ſhe ſhould be delivered, and ſhe cryed out for extremity of pain; the Keeper of the priſon asked her, Job. Manlii, loc. com p. 124.Why ſhe made ſuch a ſtir now? And how ſhe would, two or three days hence endure to dye at a ſtake, or by the ſword? She anſwered, Now I ſuffer as a woman, the puniſhment of my ſin; but then, I ſhall not ſuffer, but Chriſt ſhall ſuffer in me. In peace-offerings there might be oyl mixed, not ſo in ſin-offerings. In our ſufferings for Chriſt, there is joy, not ſo, when we ſuffer for our ſins. [In ſorrow thou ſhalt bring forth.] And in ſorrow ſhalt thou bring up, Liberi ſunt dulci… acerbitas, ſeu us Tertul. loquitur, amariſſ. voluptas.after the birth, as Gen. 50.23. Children are certain cares, but uncertain comforts. Eve had a great catch of it, when ſhe had got a manchilde of the Lord, ſhe called him Cain, a poſſeſſion, as David did Abſolom, his Fathers peace. But Fallitur augurio ſpes bona ſape ſuo. Excellently Saint Gregory, Ante partum liberi ſunt oneroſi, in partu doloroſi, foreignpoſt partum laborioſi. [And he ſhall rule over thee.] Yet not with rigor. She muſt (though to her grief and regret) be ſubject to all her husbands lawful, both commands and reſtraints. But he muſt carry himſelf as a man of knowledg towards her; and make her yoke as eaſie as may be. It is remarkable, Coloſ. 3.19.That when the Apoſtle had bid Wives ſubmit to your own husbands, &c. He doth not ſay, Husbands, rule over your wives, (for that they will do faſt enough without biding,) but husbands love your wives, and be not bitter unto them.
Verſ. 17. Becauſe thou haſt hearkned to the voyce of thy wife.] Our Engliſh Hiſtorian, relating the deadly difference that fell out betwixt thoſe two noble Seymours (the Lord Protector, Sir Johu Heywood in the life of K. Edw. 6. p. 84.and the Admiral his Brother, in Edward the ſixt time) thorough the inſtigation of their ambitious wives, paſſionately cryes out, O wives! The moſt ſweet poyſon, the moſt deſired evil in the world, &c. Woman was firſt given to man for a Comforter, ſaith he, not for a Counſellor, much leſs a controller and director. And therefore in the firſt ſentence againſt man, this cauſe is expreſſed, Becauſe thou haſt obeyed the voyce of thy wife, &c. [Curſed is the ground for thy ſake.] foreign & Arvuum ab Heb. foreignHence the Greeks and Latines borrow their words for ground of the Hebrew word that ſignifieth curſed. The curſe of emptineſs and unſatisfyingneſs lyes upon it, that no man hath enough, though never ſo much of it. The curſe alſo of barrenneſs, or unprofitable fruits, whoſe end is to be burned, Heb. 6.8. The whole earth and the works therein, 2 Pet. 3.10.ſhall be burnt up. It was never beautiful, nor chearful, ſince Adams fall. At this day it lyes bed-rid, waiting for the coming of the Son of God, that it may be delivered from the bondage of corruption, Rom. 8.20.
Verſ. 18. Thorns alſo and thiſties,] Ʋbi veritas dixit, quod terra homini ſpinas & tribulos germinaret ſubintelligendum fuit, ait Petrareha, & ruſticos tribulis omnibus asperiores. Petrarch. de remed ver. fort. Dial. 59. Judg. 8.7-16.The Clowns of Midian drove Jethroes daughters from the water they had drawn. Rudeneſs hath no reſpect, either to ſex or condition. Thoſe Churls of Succoth, were worthily threſhed with thorns of the Wilderneſs, and with bryars, and thereby taught better manners. [Thou ſhalt eat the herb of the field.] And no longer feed on theſe pleaſant fruits of Paradiſe, which by thy ſin thou haſt forfeited. Thus man is driven from his dainty and delicate dyet, to eat husks with hogs, as the Prodigal, or at leaſt, graſs with the Ox, as Nebuchadnezzar, and be glad of it too; as our Anceſtours, who though they fed not at firſt on acorns, as the Poets fable, Hi…c holus quiſi. foreign.yet if they could get a diſh of good green herbs, they held themſelves as well provided for, as if they had all.
Verſe 19. Picherellus in Coſm…p.In the ſweat of thy face] Or, of thy noſe, as One rendreth it, that ſweat that beginning in thy brow runs down by thy noſe, through thy hard labour. This is a law laid upon all ſorts to ſweat out a poor living, to humble themſelves by juſt labour, to ſweat either their brows or their brains (for this latter alſo is a ſore occupation, Eccleſ. 1.13. and the Miniſters toyl is compared to that of thoſe that cleave wood, or work hard in harveſt, 1 Theſſ. 3.5. Math. 10.1 … 1 Cor. 9.14. See my true …ealure. foreign&c.) [Shalt thou eat bread] Not herbs onelyonly as verſ. 18. And here take notice of an elegant gradation, together with a mercifull mitigation of mans miſery. Thou ſhalt▪ eat earth, ver. 17. herbs, verſ. 18. and now here, Thou ſhalt eat bread, that ſtay and ſtaffe of mans life under his hard labour. Panem dictum volunt à foreign Iſidor. 1.20.[Ʋntill thou returne unto the ground] O earth, earth, earth, bear… the word of the Lord, i.e. Earth by creation, Earth by corruption, Earth by reſolution. This is the end of all men, and the living ſhould lay it to heart. J…. 22.29.In this third of Geneſis we find Mans Exodus. This is the firſt text of mortality, and all comments, yea all dead corpſes concur to the expoſition of it. Etiam mut… cl… mant cadav…a. Baſil.[For duſt thou art] Think on this, and be proud, if thou canſt. We were created foreign, but now we live foreign ſaith Agapetus. Had we ſo ſweet a generation as that little creature Scaliger ſpeaks of, Exercit ad ad Cardan.that is bred in ſugar, we might have had ſome ground of boaſting; but now we may ſprinkle the duſt of humility on our heads, as the Ancients uſed to do, in token that they had deſerved to be as far under, as now they were above ground. [And to duſt thou ſhalt return] By this limitation God reſtrains mans death here threatned, to that earthy part of him, his body. The foreſt death is when a man dyes in his ſins, as thoſe Jewes did, Joh. 8.21. (better dye in a ditch a fair deal) when he is killed with death, as Jeſabels children, Rev. 2.23. this is the ſecond death. The condemned perſon comes out of a dark priſon, and goes to the place of execution; ſo do many from the womb to the tomb, nay to that tormenting Tophet, to the which death is but a trap-door, to give them entrance.
Verſe 20. And Adam ca…ed his wives name Eve] That is, Life, or Living. Not, per antiphraeſim, as ſome would have it, much leſs out of pride and ſtomack, in contempt of the divine ſentence denounced againſt them both, that they ſhould ſurely dye, as Rupertus would have it; but becauſe ſhe was to be mother of all living, whether a naturall or a ſpirituall life; and likewiſe for a teſtimony of his faith in, and thankfulneſs for that lively and lifegiving oracle, verſ. 15. foreign i. e. foreign[The mother of all living] Have we not all, as one father, Mal. 3.10. ſo, one mother? did we not all tumble in a belly? why, do we then deale treacherouſly every man againſt his brother? ib. This one conſideration ſhould charm down our riſing and boyling ſpirits one againſt another, as it did Abrahams, Gen. 13 8.
Verſe 21. Coats of skins and clothed them] God put them in leather, when yet there was better means of cloathing, to humble them doubtleſs, and draw them to repentance. Whether God created theſe skins anew, or took them off the backs of ſheep and goats killed for ſacrifice, to mind man of his mortality and mortification, it much matters not. Our firſt parents, who even after the fall were the goodlieſt creatures that ever lived, went no better cloathed: no more did thoſe Worthies of whom the world was not worthy, Heb. 11.37. And ſurely, The dogs that kept Vulcan… temple would tear thoſe that came in tattered clo…thes. Hoſpinian.howſoever our condition and calling afford us better array, and the vulgar like a Bohemian cur fawn upon every good ſuit. (purpuram magis quam Deum colunt,) yet we muſt take heed that pride creep not into our cloaths, thoſe enſignes of our ſin and ſhame, ſith our fineneſs is our filthineſs, our neatneſs our naſtineſs. It is a ſure ſign of a baſe minde, though in high place, to think he can make himſelf great with any thing that is leſſe then himſelf, and win more credit by his garments, then his graces. St. Peter teacheth women, (who many of them are too much addicted to over much fineneſs) to garniſh themſelves not with gay cloathes, but with a meek and quiet ſpirit as Sarah did, and not as thoſe mincing dames, 1Veſtium curioſitas, deformitatis mentium & morum indicium eſt. Bernard. Pet. 3.3, 4.whoſe pride the Prophet inveighs againſt, as punctually as if he had viewed the Ladies wardrobes in Jeruſalem. Eſa. 3.Rich apparell are but fine covers of the fouleſt ſhame. The worſt is Natures garment, the beſt but follies garniſh. How bleſſed a Nation were we, if every ſilken ſuit did cover a ſanctified ſoul: or if we would look upon out cloathes, as our firſt parents did, as love-tokens from God;
Nam, cum chariſſinia ſemper
Munera, ſunt Author quae pretioſa facit,
How could they but ſee it to be a ſingular favour that God with own hands ſhould cloath them, (though he had caſt them out of Paradiſe for their nurture) a viſible Sacrament of his inviſible love and grace concerning their ſoules, in covering their ſins, and ſo interreſting them into true bleſſedneſs, Pſal. 32 1, 2.
Verſe 22. The man is b…come as one of us] A holy irriſionof mans vain affectation of the Deity. Quod Deus loquitur cum riſu, tu l… gas cum fle…u. Aug. de Gen. ad …eram. 1.11. c. 3….Howbeit St. Aug. is of opinion that God ſpeaks thus, not by way of inſulting over Adam, but deterring others from ſuch proud attempts. Diſcite juſtitiam moniti, &c. [And take alſo of the tree of life] And ſo think to elude the ſentence of death pronounced upon him by God; which yet he could not have done, had he eaten up tree and all. He ſhould but have added to his ſin and judgement by abuſe of this Sacrament; which would have ſealed up life unto him, had he held his integrity. Multi etiam hodie propter arborem ſcientiae amittunt arborem vitae: Aug.In terris manducant quod apudinferos digerunt.
Verſe 23. Therefore the Lord God ſent him forth] He gently diſmiſſed him, as the word ſignifies, placed him over againſt Paradiſe in the ſight thereof (as Stella obſerveth out of the Septuagint) that, Stella in Luc. 7by often beholding, the ſorrow of his ſin might be increaſed, Iiſdem, quibu… videmus, …culis flemus. Lam. 3. 2 Cor. 2.7.11.that his eye might affect his heart. Yet leſt he ſhould be ſwallowed up of over much ſorrow, and ſo Satan get an advantage of him (for God is not ignorant of his devices) Chriſt the promiſed ſeed, was by his voluntary baniſhment, to bring back all beleevers to their heavenly home; to bear them by his Angels into Abrahams boſome, and to give them to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midſt of the Paradiſe of God, Rev. 2.7. Our whole life here is nothing elſe but a baniſhment. That we like it no worſe is, becauſe we never knew better. They that were born in hell, ſaith the Proverb, think there's no other heaven. The poor poſterity of a baniſhed Prince take their mean condition well-aworth; Moſes counts Egypt (where yet he was but a ſojourner) his home; and in reference to it calls his ſon, (born in Midian) Gerſhom, that is, a ſtranger there. Oh how ſhould we breath after our heavenly home, A… Paradiſi Geſner.groaning within our ſelves like thoſe birds of Paradiſe, Naturaliſts ſpeak of! ſtretching forth the neck, as the Apoſtles word importeth, waiting for the adoption, even the redemption of our bodies, foreign Rom. 8.Rom. 8.23. glorifying God. (mean-while) with our ſpirits and bodies, devouring all difficulties, donec à ſpe ad ſpeciem tranſeamus, till Chriſt, who is gone to prepare a place for us, returne and ſay, This day thou ſhalt be with me in Paradiſe.
Verſe 24. So he drove out the man] The Hebrews ſay, God led Adam gently by the hand, till he came to the porch of Paradiſe, and then thruſt him out violently, who hungback, and plaid loth to depart. That he went out unwillingly, as I wonder not, ſo that he ſhould ſtrive with God about his going out, I believe not. This garden planted meerly for his pleaſure, and all the benefits created for his uſe and ſervice in ſix dayes, he loſt in ſix houres ſay ſome; in nine, ſay others; the ſame day he was made, ſay All, almoſt: What cauſe then have all his ſinfull poſterity to diſtruſt themſelves? And how little cauſe had that blaſphemous Pope to ſet his mouth againſt heaven, Ju…ius 3.when being in a great rage at his Steward for a cold Peacock not brought to table according to his appointment; and deſired by one of his Cardinals, not to be ſo much moved at a matter of ſo ſmall moment, he anſwered: If God were ſo angry for an apple, that he caſt our firſt parents out of Paradiſe for the ſame; why may not I, being his Vicar, be angry then for a Peacock, ſith it is a greater matter then an apple? Act. & Mon. fol. 1417.Is not this that mouth of the Beaſt that ſpeaketh great things and blasphemies? Rev. 13.5.