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Secondly, The parties tempting, the black inftruments of temptation.

every one of which he obferved to have been made covered, none of them naked, though not of an erect pofture as man was; and withal that they were left to range up and down in the field, at their pleafure. So Satan pitching upon the cafe of the wild beasts, as the great engine for the ruin of mankind, to be made effectual for that purpofe, by a comparifon inftituted, with hellifh fubtilty, between it and the cafe of our first parents, found in it a double topic, which he improved. to the actual ruining of them, and of all their pofterity in their loins. The first of thefe was the nakedness of our fir!! parents, while the wild beafts were all covered; and created fo. Their nakedness, he would perfuade them, was fhameful and indecent; and that the wild beafts were, in that refpect, in better case than they. This was the first temptation, as Mofes thews us in thefe words making up the first hemiftich of this verfe. And this is the plain literal fenfe of the words, as thus pointed. Compare Job xxxv. 11. Teaching xs, from beafts of earth and from flying thing of the heavens, &c.; with which compare chap. xii. 7. Come now a thou beafts, and it (i. c. every one of them) will teach thee and flying thing of the beavens; and it will tell to thee. Accordingly the context doth not obfcurely intimate, the nakednefs of our firit parents to have been the first topic, Satan made use of in his attack on them. God himfelf afks Adam, ver. 11. Who told him of his nakedness? which is no obfcure indi cation, that the devil told them of it. Mofes takes notice, ver. 7. that, after eating of the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked, really needing cloaths to hide their fhame, which Satan would have perfuaded them they were in need of before, and which they could not fee while they ftood in their inregrity, there being really no fuch thing as the tempter alleged. Thus the connection is natural: The two were naked - And the ferpent was fubiil from the wild beafts of the field, to improve their cafe againit the naked pair. This is confirmed from the words und by the infpired penman. He tells, chap. ii. ult. They two were Grarummim (naked), and here, The Serpent was Guarum (abtíl.) Thus allo, the laft claufe, which Jehovah God had made, affords a more efficacious fenfe, than otherwite; viz. being understood not of God's making them fimply, but of making them covered. And hereunto fitly agrees the Lord's clothing the fintul naked pair, with the fkins of beatts; which was a humbling memorial to them, of the spring of their ruin. Nabbafch, the ferpent. Whether it is from the verb Nahkafeh, or the verb is from it, is all a cafe in this point. But the verb does import, fubtil obfervation, learning by obfervat os, particularly 'tis ufed of obferving of omens, chap. xxx. 27. & xliv. 45. 2 Kings xxi. 6. And fince Nabbafch is not the only name of the ferpent in Hebrew, it would feem that primarily and originally it was the name of the devil the old ferpent, given him from this fatal event, and communicated to that animal, as having been the in

1. The grand tempter is the devil, Matth. iv. 3. He was an angel of light, but is now turned to a tempting devil. An

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ftrament of the devil in this mifchief. Gnarum, fubtil; word is indifferent, either to good, as Prov. xii. 16. 23. evil, as Job v. 12. Now 'tis true, the Hebrew forms its comparative phrafes, by the prepofition from, which in that cafe may be rendered above, as Judg. xi. 25. Good good, [art] thou; from (i. e. above) Balak. i. e. [Art] thou, better better; than Balak? So Prov. viii. 11. Hag. ii. 9. Eccl. iv. 9. & vii. 1. 2. 3. 5. 8. If. liv. 1. Plal, cxviii. 8. 9. Prov. xxv. 7. But the comparative fenfe cannot be admitted here. For, (1.) The reading offered is the primary and literal one, therefore not without neceffity to give place to another. (2.) The comparative phrafe is elliptical. And no ellipfis is to be admit ted without neceffity neither. (3.) The word from-all, doth nor immediately relate to the adjective fubril, but to the fubftantive verb was, as the principal word of the part referred to: fo the construction is not, The Serpent, was fabtil; [fubil] from, &c. but, The Serpent, swas fabril; [he was fo] from, &c. If the comparative phrafe had been defigned, I conceive the adjective would have been fet before the fubftantive verb; that fo it might have related immediately to the word from all, thus, The Serpent, fubtil was; from, c. i. e. fubtil from, that is, more fubtil than. And in all the above cited texts bearing the comparative phrafe, the adjective is fo pofted; being ei ther the only, or the first, word of the claufe or part of the claufe, in which it is found: by which fituation it plainly relates to the word that hath the prepofition.. • And be faid unto the woman then, bows bath God faid Ye fall not eat of all, tree of the garden? The phrafe not all is ufed for not any. Thus the woman underflood it, as appeirs from the following verfe. And fo Satan was a liar, in the tricte fenfe, from the beginning. Here is the fecond topic Satan made ufe of, viz. the refraint our firft parents were laid under in respect of their food, while the wild beats were at liberty in that point. In what words he propofed this fecond temptation, is here recorded; though his fpeech on the firit is not. But that he did fpeak on this mifchievous defign, and unto the woman too, before he uttered the words here recorded, the text itfelf doth plainly intimate, The words Then how, q. d. More than that, in the next place, fhew that there was a foregoing fpeech he had to her. Accordingly the text faith, He said, unto the woman', q. d. unto the woman unto the dusman; i. e. He faid unto the woman words agreeable to the narration foregoing, and he faid unto the woman the words following. Accordingly the word He-faid, is by the diftinctive fitted to be conAtructed after this manner. Comp. 2 Sam. xi. 8. And Jaid David, to Uriah; Go down to thy house. And 'tis generally owned, that ki, the first words of the devil which are here recorded, is never pat in the beginning of a fpeech; and that fome words of the tempter a d go before thefe. I conceive then, the holy text itself intimates to us, that the devil in the ferpent fpoke to the woman to this purpole.

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apoftate from God, for whom there is no hope; and being God's irreconcileable enemy, goes about withdrawing men

"What can be the defign of God in this! How is it, that, when "every wild beaft of the field hath a covering put upon it by his own hand, though they do withal look downward; yet ye are naked, and that in an erect pofture, in the which there is a fhameful indecency, that ye would manifeftly fee if your eyes were opened: Then, in the next place, How is it, that, whereas they are at full "liberty, in the open fields, ranging up and down at their pleasure, eating freely whatever is before them; ye are under a notable reftraint as to your food, that ye may not eat of any tree of the gar"den?" Thus food and raiment were early fnares to mankind.

Ver. 2. And the woman faid, unto the ferpent: Of the fruit of trees of the garden, we may eat. Thus the repels this temptation, directly contradicting what Satan advanced concerning the reftraint laid on them as to their food: and she also had repelled the other, continuing unashamed of her nakednefs..

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Ver. 3. But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden. This part of the woman's anfwer is elliptical: and the elTipfis is of that fort, which is caufed by horror arifing from the subject mentioned. q. d. But of the fruit of the tree, which [is] in midst of the garden! Supply, for the fenfe, we may not eat, of it 'tis faid left ye die. The lait member of this verfe, by the pointing refers to both the preceding; and that points us to the latter part of the words underfood, as the foregoing words, to the former part of them.-God kath Jaid, Ye shall not eat, of it; and shall not touch on it: namely, the fruit of the forbidden tree. They were forbidden not only to eat of it, but even to touch it at all, though never fo lightly. thefe words directed to a plurality of perions, it appears, that God repeated, in the hearing of Adam and Eve together, the law concerning the forbidden fruit, together with the grant of the fruit of the rest of the trees of the garden; and confequently, that Eve had the revelation of the divine will and pleasure, in this matter, from the mouth of God himself. And the repetition of this law and grant, which were firft given to Adam alone, chap. ii. 16. 17. feems to have been made at the folemnity of God's bringing in the woman unto the man; for it natively takes place, in connection with chap. i. 29.Left ye die. I hefe words import no doubting, being the Lord's own words repeated by Eve.

Ver. 4. And the Serpent faid, unto the woman: Ye shall not dying, die. 1. e. Ye shall not at all, dig. Satan flatly contradicts the divine' threatening, and that with an air of greatest confidence, for the flop between the two words is emphatic. That this is the fenfe of the

Phrafe, appears from Pfal. xlix. 4. He cannot redeeming redeem, i. e. He cannot at all, or by any means, redeem. The negative here doth primarily and directly affect but one of the verbs, as Exod. v. 23, & xxxiv. In the phrafe refpecting the certainty of the thing, it affects them both in conjunction equally, as Jer. xxxviii. 15. Wal

from their allegiance to their Sovereign Lord.

He is an expert tempter; and has now had the experience of fe

ye not, putting me to death put me to death, i. e. furely put me to death.

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Ver. 5. But God he knoweth, viz. very well. Comp. the last claufe of this verfe. Satan pretends to open up the mystery of the restraint put upon man, as to the fruit of the forbidden tree.- -That in the day of your eating of it; then they shall be opened, [namely] your eyes: q. d. Your eyes are now shut to the shameful indecency of your naked· nefs: but if once ye eat of that fruit, it will open your eyes, make you fo fharp fighted, that ye fhall clearly fee the truth of what I fay. And therefore it is, ye are forbidden to meddle with it; that ye may ftill be kept in a mift. Thus Satan chains together the two temptations, ver, 1. and fo makes an attack with both at once. And thus from the beginning, he fported himself with his deceivings, the cheats put upon man, by him.--And ye fall be, as God, as God himself, appears from ver. 21.; whereas now ye are in fome refpect worfe than the wild beafts-Knowing, of good and evil; fiagularly fkilful and expert in the matter. Thus the tempter promifeth, from the opening of their eyes by eating of the fruit, a vaft penetration as to good and ill. q. d. Not only thall ye know the particular, which I fee ye are now ignorant of, namely, the hameful indecency of your nakedness: but your knowledge will be univerfally improved, and that to a pitch.

Ver. 6. And the woman faw, that good was the tree for meat, and that lovely that [tree was] to the eyes: She faw it pleafant to the eyes, and her heart began to entertain a hankering after it. The demon. ftrative that is emphatic; and is here used to point out that fatal tree, to the minds of her pofterity. An effection it put for a thing very much to be affected, the abftract for the concrete. The manner of expreffion, the courfe of words being precipitated, reprefents lively the infernal fire now flaming in the woman's breaft.- And [that] the tree [was] defirable, for to afford wit; that is, to make them knowing of good and evil, ver. 5, fingularly fkilful and expert in thofe matters. Thus the tempter was believed, and his lies received for truth. And he took [fome] of its fruit, and ate [it]. Obferve here the degrees of the woman's yielding to the temptation. (1) Her mind and underftanding went off by unbelief: fhe faw and judged the tree to be good for meat, though it had no word of divine appointment for that end, but on the contrary was forbidden as deadly. (2.) Her affection towards it rifeth, and the hankers after it, (3.) She is inflamed with the defire of it. (4.) She pulls it with her hand, and eats it with her mouth. And he gave also to her husband, with her, and he ate. Not, fhe gave, to her husband with her, as if he had been prefent with her, in her encounter with the ferpent; no, Satan managed the matter more art. fully but, he gave to her husband, [to eat] with her, she pluck, ed of fo much of the fruit, as ferved her to eat, for the time

yeral thousand years in the hellish trade. He has his devices for entrapping of poor mortals, and knows how to fuit his temptations, as they may best take.

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while fhe was at the tree; and not only fo, but he came eating unto her husband, and gave him also of it, to eat with her and he ate with her accordingly. The word alfo is here emphatical; for in giving it to him, the deadly morfel was given to all mankind, the covenant being made with him, before the woman was in being, chap. ii. 16.

Ver. 7. Then were opened, the eyes of them both, viz. to see what they never faw, nor could have, feen, before, namely, the shamefulnefs of their nakedness: and fo were Satan's deceitful words, ver. 5. accomplished.--And they knew they knew; i, e. They knew, alas! they knew to fad experience. -That nakednefes (i. e. ftark naked), they [were]. The abstract for the concrete in the fuperlative degree. They faw their nakedness moft fhameful and indecent, and that they were greatly in need of a covering.

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Ver. 8. And they heard, even the voice of Jehovah God, walking in the garden; i e. the voice walking for fo the words are by the pointing conftructed. This voice which they heard walking, was the WORD, the eternal Son of God, now entering upon the execution of the mediatory office, and coming to discover the eternal counsel concerning the falvation of finners.- -At the wind of the day: i. e. in the cool of the day, when, the fun declining, there was a breeze of wind, which would quickly let the guilty couple fee the infuffici ency of their fig-leaf coverings, for hiding their nakedness. The Hebrew text mentions three parts of the artificial day, one of which is called the blowing of the day, Cant. ii. 17. another the warm of the day, Gen. xviii. 1. a third, here, the wind of the day. The firit is the morning, as appears from the text wherein 'tis mentioned: the fecond from morning to noon, and as long after it as before: the third from thence to the end of the day, otherwife called the fpace between the two evenings, Exod. xii, 6. i. e. between three and fix of the clock in the afternoon.- And the man hid himself, and his wife [hid herfelf], or fo the pointing fhews the words to be constructed. The guilty couple, at hearing the found of the VOICE walking in the garden, ran afunder, he one way, the another, and hid themfelves in different places, not together. From the face of Jehovah God: i. e. from the Schechinah, the visible fign of the divine prefence, the habitation of the divine Majefty, from whence they were to have folemn communion with him.--In midst of tree of the garden. In fome groves or other, fome places where the trees were thick about The divine prefence which before was the joy of their hearts, was now become a terror to them being guilty.

them.

[Extracts from the notes on ver. 9.-14. must be omitted for, want of room.]

Ver. 15. And I will fet enmity; between thee, and between this woman, viz. Eve, called the woman all along hitherto, and now VOL. II.

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