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03 - Commentary on The Book of Genesis · Philosophy and Faith

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Chapter two. This chapter is an appendix to the history of the Creation,
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more particularly explaining and enlarging upon that part of the history which relates immediately to
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man, the favorite of this lower world. We have in it. One
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the institution and sanctification of the Sabbath, which was made for man to further
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his holiness and comfort Verses one through three, number two. A more particular
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account of man's creation as the center and summary of the whole work Verses one
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through seven, number three. A description of the garden of Eden and the
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placing of man in it under the obligations of a law and covenant Verses eight
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through seventeen, and number four. The creation of the woman, her marriage
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to the man, and the institution of the ordinance of marriage Verses eighteen.
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And on the Creation b. C. Four thousand four, Verses one through
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three. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the hosts
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of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had
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made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he
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had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that
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in it he had rested from all his work. Which God created and made.
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We have here one the settlement of the kingdom of nature in God's resting
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from the work of creation Verses one and two. Here observe one the creatures
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made both in heaven and earth are the host or armies of them, which
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denotes them to be numerous, but martialed, disciplined, and under command.
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How great is the sum of them, and yet every one knows and keeps
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his place. God uses them as his host for the defense of his people
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and the destruction of his enemies, For He is the lord of hosts,
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of all the ae host Daniel four, verse thirty five, number two.
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The heavens and the earth are finished pieces, and so are all the creatures
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in them. So perfect is God's work that nothing can be added to it
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nor taken from it. Ecclesiastes three, verse fourteen. God that began to
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build showed himself well able to finish number three. After the end of the
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first six days, God ceased from all works of creation. He has so
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ended his work as that though in his providence he worketh hitherto John five,
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verse seventeen, preserving and governing all the creatures, and particularly forming the spirit
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of man. Within him, Yet he does not make any new species of
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creatures in miracles. He has controlled in overruled nature, but never changed its
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settled course, nor repealed nor added to any of its establishments. Number four,
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the eternal God, though infinitely happy in the enjoyment of himself, yet
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took a satisfaction in the work of his own hands. He did not rest
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as one weary, but as one will pleased with the instances of his own
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goodness and the manifestations of his own glory. Number two the commencement of the
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Kingdom of Grace in the sanctification of the Sabbath day verse three, he rested
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on that day and took a complacencying in his creatures, and then sanctified it,
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and appointed us on that day to rest and take a complacency in the
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Creator. And his rest is in the fourth commandment, made a reason for
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ours after six days labor observe one. The solemn observance of one day in
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seven as a day of holy rest and holy work to God's honor, is
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the indispensable duty of all those to whom God has revealed his holy Sabbath.
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Number two the way of Sabbath sanctification is the good old way Jeremiah six,
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verse sixteen. Sabbaths are as ancient as the world, and I see no
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reason doubt that the Sabbath, being now instituted in innocency, was religiously observed
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by the pupil of God throughout the patriarchal age. Number three. The Sabbath
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of the Lord is truly honorable, and we have reason to honor it,
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honored for the sake of its antiquity, its great author, the sanctification of
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the first Sabbath by the Holy God himself and by our first parents, an
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innocency in obedience to him. Number four. The Sabbath day is a blessed
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day, for God blessed it, and that which He blesses is blessed.
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Indeed, God has put an honor upon it, has appointed us on that
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day to bless him, and has promised on that day to meet us and
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bless us. Number The Sabbath day is a holy day, for God has
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sanctified it. He is separated and distinguished it from the rest of the days
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of the week, and He is consecrated and set apart to himself and his
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own service and honor. Though it is commonly taken for granted that the Christian
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Sabbath we observe reckoning from the Creation, is not the seventh but the first
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day of the week, yet being the seventh day, and we in it
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celebrating the rest of God, the Sun, and the finishing and the work
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of our redemption. We may and ought to act faith upon this original institution
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of the Sabbath day, and to commemorate the work of Creation, to the
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honor the Great Creator, who is therefore worthy to receive on that day blessing
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and honor and praise from all religious assemblies the Creation b. C. Four
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thousand four, verses four through seven. These are the generations of the heavens
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and of the earth, when they were created in the day that the Lord
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God made the earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before
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it was in the earth, and every earth of the field before it grew.
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For the Lord God had not caused it to reign upon the earth.
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And there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up
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a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. And
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the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into
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his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. In
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these verses one, here is a name given to the Creator which we have
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not yet met with, and that is Jehovah, the Lord in capital letters
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which are constantly used in our English translation to intimate that in the original it
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is Jehovah all long. In the first chapter he was Elohim, a god
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of power. But now Jehovah, Elohim, power and perfection of finishing God.
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As we find him known by his name Jehovah when he appeared to perform
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what he had promised Exodus six, verse three. So now we have him
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known by that name which he had perfected what he had begun. Jehovah is
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that great and incommunical name of God, which denotes his having, his being
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of himself, and his giving being to all things fitly. Therefore, as
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he called by that name, now that heaven and earth are finished. Number
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two. Further notice taken of the production of plants and herbs, because they
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were made and appointed to be food for man Verses five and six. Here
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observed one the earth did not bring forth its fruits of itself by any innate
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virtue of its own, but purely by the almighty power of God, which
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formed every plant and every herb before it grew in the earth. Thus grays
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in the soul. That plant of renown grows not of itself in nature soil,
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but is the work of God's own hand. Number two. Rain also
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is the gift of God. It came not till the Lord God calls it
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to rain. If rain be wanted, is God that withholds it. If
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rain come plentifully in its season, is God that sends it. If it
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comes in distinguishing way, it is God that causes it to reign upon one
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city and not upon another Aimos four, Verse seven. Number three. Though
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God ordinarily works by means, yet he is not tied to them. But
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when he pleases, he can do his own work without them. As the
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plants were produced before the sun was made, so they were before there is
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either rain to water the earth or man to till it. Therefore, though
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we must not tempt God the neglect of means, yet we must trust God
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in the want of means. Number four. Some way God will take care
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to water the plans there are of his own planting. Though as yet there
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was no rain, God made a mist equivalent to a shower, and with
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it watered the whole face of the ground. Thus he chose to fulfill his
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purpose by the weakest means, that the excellency of the power might be of
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God. Divine grace descends like a miss or silent do and waters the church
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without noise due to ro on Me thirty two, verse two, number three.
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A more particular account of the creation of man verse seven. Man is
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a little world consistent of heaven and earth, soul and body. Now Here
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we have an account of the origin of both and the putting of both together.
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Let us seriously consider it and say, to our creator's praise, we
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are fearfully and wonderfully made Psalms. One hundred and thirty nine, verse fourteen.
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Eli Hugh in the Patriarchal Age referred to this history when he says Job
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thirty three, verse six, I also am formed out of the clay,
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and verse seven, the breadth of the Almighty hath given me life. And
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Chapter thirty two, verse eight. There was a spirit in man, observed
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then number one the mean origin, and yet the curious structure of the body
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of man number one the matter was despicable. He was made of the dust
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of the ground, a very unlikely thing to make a man of. But
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the same infinite power that made the world of nothing made man its masterpiece of
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next to nothing. He was made of the dust, the small dust,
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such as is upon the surface of the earth, probably not dry dust,
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but dust moistened with the mists that went up verse six. He was not
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made of gold dust, powder of pearl, or diamond dust, but common
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dust, dust of the ground. Hence he is said to be of the
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earth Kokos dusty verse Corinthians fifteen, verse forty seven. And we also are
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of the Earth, for we are his offspring, and of the same mold.
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So near an affinity is there between the Earth and our earthly parents,
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that our mother's womb, out of which we were born is called the Earth
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Psalms. One hundred and thirty nine, verse fifteen. And the earth in
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which we must be buried is called our mother's womb Job one, verse twenty
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one. Our foundation is in the earth Job four, verse nineteen. Our
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fabric is earthly, and the fashion of it like that of an earth and
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vessel Job ten, verse nine. Our food is out of the earth Job
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twenty eight, verse five. Our familiarity is with the earth Job seventeen,
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verse fourteen. Our fathers are in the earth and our own. The final
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tendency is to it. And what have we then to be proud of?
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Number two. Yet the maker is great and the make fine. The Lord
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God, the great fountain of being and power, formed Man. Of the
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other creatures. It is said that they were created and made, but of
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Man that he was formed, which denotes a gradual process in the work,
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with great accuracy and exactness. To express the creation of this new thing,
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he takes a new word, a word something borrowed from the potters, forming
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his vessel upon the wheel. For we are the clay and God the potter
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Isaiah sixty four, verse eight. The body of man is curiously wrought Psalms
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one hundred and thirty nine, verse fifteen and sixteen. Materiam superbat opus.
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The workmanship exceeded the materials. Lets present our body to God as living sacrifices
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Romans twelve, verse one, as living temples one Corinthians six, verse nineteen.
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And then these vile bodies shall shortly be new form, like Christ's glorious
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body Philippians three, verse twenty one. Number two the high origin and the
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admirable serviceableness of the soul of man. Number one, It takes its rise
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from the breath of heaven, and is produced by it. It was not
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made of the heaven, as the body was. It is a pity,
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then, that it should cleave to the earth and mind earthly things. It
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came immediately from God. He gave it to be put into the body Ecclesiastes
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twelve, verse seven, as afterwards he gave the tables of stone of his
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own writing to be put into the ark, and the yurum of his zone
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framing to be put into the breastplate. Hence, God is not only the
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former, but the father of spirits. Let the soul which God has breathed
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to us, breathe after him, and let it be for him. Since
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it is from him into his hands, let us commit our spirits, for
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from his hands we have them. Number two. It takes its lodging in
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a house of claim, and is the life and support of it. It
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is by it that man is a living soul, that is a living man.
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For the soul is the man. The body would be a worthless,
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useless, lowsome carcass. If the soul did not animate it. To God
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that gave us these souls, we must shortly given account of them, how
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we have employed them, used them, proportioned them, and dispose of them.
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And if then it be found that we have lost them, though it
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were to gain the world, we shall be undone forever. Since the extraction
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of the soul is so noble, and its nature and faculties are so excellent,
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Lest not be of those fools that despise their own souls by preferring their
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bodies before them. Proverbs fifteen, verse thirty two. When our Lord Gius
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annoyed the blind man's eyes with clay, perhaps he intimated that it was he
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who at first formed man aw the clay. And when he breathed on his
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disciples, saying, receive you the Holy ghost, he intimated that it was
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he who at first breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life. He that
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made the soul is alone able to new make it. The garden of Eden
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b. C. Four thousand four, verses eight through fifteen. And the
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Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man
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whom he had formed. And now the ground made the Lord God to grow
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every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree
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of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge
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of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the
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garden, and from thence it was parted and became into four heads. The
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name of the first is Pison, that is it which compasses the whole land
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of Havilah, where there is gold, and the gold of that land is
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good. There is Bedellium and the Onyx stone. And the name of the
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second river is Gihan. The same it is that compasses the whole land of
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Bethiopia. And the name of the third is Sidical, that is it which
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goeth towards the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And
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the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to
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dress it and keep it. Man consists of body and soul, a soul
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made of the earth, and a rational immortal soul, the breath and of
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Heaven. We have in these verses the provision that was made for the happiness
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of both. He that made him took care to make him happy. If
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he could but have kept himself so and known when he was well off,
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that part of man by which he is allied to the world of sins was
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made happy, for he was put in the paradise of God. That part
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by which his ally to the world of spirits was well provided for, for
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he was taken into covenant with God. Lord. What is man that he
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should be thus dignified man that is a worm? Here we have number one
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a description of the garden of Eden, which was intended for the mansion and
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demeans of this great Lord, the palace of this Prince. The inspired pen
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Man in this history, writing for the Jews first, and calculating his narratives
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for the infinite state of the Church, describes things by their outward sensible appearances,
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and leaves us by further discoveries of the divine light to be led in
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the understanding of the mysteries couched under them, spiritual things or strong meat,
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which they could not yet bear. But he writes to them as unto carnal
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Onse Corinthians three, verse one. Therefore, he does not so much insist
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upon the happiness of Adams's mind as upon that of his outward state. The
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Mosaic history, as well as the mosaic law has rather the patterns of heavenly
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things than the heavenly things themselves. Hebrews nine, verse twenty three. Observe
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number one. The place appointed for Adam's residence was a garden, Non an
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ivory house, nor a palace overlaid with gold, but a garden furnished and
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adorned by nature, not by art. Will little reason have men to be
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proud of stately and magnificent buildings, when it was happiness of man in innocency
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that he needed none. As clothes came in with sin, so did houses.
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That heaven was the roof of Adam's house, and never was any roof
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se curiously sealed and painted. The earth was his floor, and never was
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any floor so richly inlaid. The shadow of the trees was his retirement.
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Under them were his dining rooms, his lodging rooms, And never were any
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room so finely hung as these. Solomon's, in all their glory, were
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not arrayed like them. The better we could accommodate ourselves to plain things,
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and the less we indulge ourselves with those artificial delights which have been inmitted to
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gratify men's pride and luxury. The nearer we approach to a state of innocency.
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Nature is contented with a little, and that which is most natural grace
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with lust, but lust with nothing. Number two. The contrivance and furniture
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of this garden were the immediate work of God's wisdom and power. The Lord
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God planted this garden that as he had planted it upon the third day,
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when the fruits of the earth were made, we may well suppose to have
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been the most accomplished place for pleasure and delight that ever the sun saw,
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when the all sufficient God himself designed it to be the present happiness of his
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beloved creature man in innocency, and a type and a figure of the happiness
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of the chosen remnant in glory. No delights can be agreeable nor satisfying to
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a soul, but those the God himself has provided and pointed for it.
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No true paradise but of God's planting. The light of our own fires and
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the sparks of our own kenneling will soon leave us in the dark. Isaiah
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one verse eleven. The whole earth was now paradise compared with what it is
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since the fall and sense of flood. The finest gardens in the world are
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a wilderness compared with what the whole face of the ground was before it was
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cursed for man's sake. Yet that was not enough. God planted a garden
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for Adam. God's chosen one shall have the distinguishing favors shown them. Number
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three. The situation in this garden was extremely sweet. It was an eden,
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which signifies delight and pleasure. The place is here particularly pointed out by
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such marks and bounds as were sufficient, I suppose when Moses rode to specify
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the place to those who knew that country. But now it seems that curious
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cannot satisfy themselves concerning it. Let it be our care to make sure a
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place in the heavenly paradise, and then we need not perplex ourselves with a
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search after the place of the earthly paradise. It is certain that wherever it
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was, it had all desirable conveniences, and which never any house nor garden
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on earth has without any inconveniences. Beautiful for situation, the joy in the
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glory of the whole earth was this garden. Doubtless it was Earth and its
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highest perfection. Number four. The trees with which this garden was planted.
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Number one, it had all the best and choicest trees in common with the
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rest of the ground. It was beautiful and adorned with every tree that,
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for its height or breath, its make, or color, its leaf or
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flower, was pleasant to the sight and charmed the eye. It was replenished
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and enrich with every tree that yielded fruit grateful to the taste, and useful
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to the body, and so good for food. God, as a tender
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father, consulted not only Adam's profit but its pleasure. For there is a
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pleasure consistent with innocency. Nay, there is a true and transcendent pleasure with
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innocency. God delights in the prosperity of his servants and would have them easy.
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It is owing to themselves if they be uneasy. When Providence puts us
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into an eden of plenty and pleasure, we ought to serve him with joyfulness
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and gladness of heart in the abundance of the good things he gives us.
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But number two it had two extraordinary trees, peculiar to itself on earth.
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They were not there like Number one. There was the tree of Life in
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the midst of the garden, which was not so much a memorandum to him
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of the fountain and author of his life, nor perhaps any natural means to
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preserve or prolonged life. But it was chiefly intended to be a sign and
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sealed to Adam, assuring him of the continuance of life and happiness, even
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to immortality and everlasting bliss through the grace and favor of his Maker, upon
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condition of his perseverance. In this state of innocency and obedience of this he
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might eat and live. Christ is now to us the Tree of Life Revelations
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two, verse seven and twenty two, verse two, and the Bread of
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Life, John six, verses fifty eight and fifty three, number two.
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There was the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, so called,
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not because it had any virtue in it to beget or increase useful knowledge.
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Surely then it would not have been forbidden, but first because there was an
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extens oxpressed positive revelation of the will of God concerned this tree, so that
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by it he might know moral good and evil. What is good? It
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is good not to eat of this tree? What is evil? It is
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evil to eat of this tree. The distinction between all other moral good and
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evil was written in the heart of man by nature. But this which resulted
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from positive law, was written upon this tree. Secondly, because in the
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event it proved to give Adam an experimental knowledge of good by the loss of
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it, and of evil by the sense of it. As the covenant of
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grace has in it not only believe and be saved, but also believe not
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and be damned, Mark sixteen, verse sixteen. So the covenant of innocency
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had in it not only do this and live, which was sealed and confirm
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in the Tree of Life, but fail and die, which Adam was assured
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by this other tree. Touch it at your peril, so that in these
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two trees God set before him good and evil, the blessing and the curse
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Deuronomy thirty, verse nineteen. These two trees were as two sacraments. Number
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five. The rivers with which this garden was watered Verses ten through fourteen.
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These four rivers or one river branched into four streams, contributed much both to
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the pleasantness and the fruitfulness of this garden. The land of Sodom is said
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to be well watered everywhere as a garden of the Lord. Chapter thirteen,
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verse ten. Observe that which God plants, he will take care to cupe
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water. The trees of righteousness are set by the rivers Psalms one, verse
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three. In the heavenly paradise. There is a river infinitely surpassing these,
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For it is a river of the water of life, not coming out of
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Eden, as they, but proceeding out of the throne of God and of
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the Lamb Revelations twenty two, verse one, a river that makes Glad the
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city of our God Psalms forty six, verse four. Hidekl and Euphrates are
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rivers of Babylon, which we read of elsewhere. By these the captive Jews
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sat down and wept when they remembered Syan Psalms. One hundred and thirty seven,
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verse one. But methinks they had much more reason to weep, and
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so have we at the remembrance of Eden. Adam's paradise was their prison.
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Such wretched work has Sin made of the land of Havila. It is said
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verse twelve. The gold of that land is good, and there is Bedellium
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and the onyx stone. Surely this is mentioned that the wealth of which the
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land of Havila boasted might be as foil to that which was the glory of
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the land of Eden. Havela had gold and spices and precious stones. But
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add that which was infinitely better, the tree of life and communion with God.
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So we may say of the Africans and Indians, they have the gold,
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but we have the gospel. The gold of their land is good,
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but the richest of ours are infinitely better. Number two, the place and
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of man in this paradise of delight verse fifteen, where observed Number one,
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how God put him in possession of it. The Lord God took the man
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and put him into the garden of Eden. So verse eight and fifteen.
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Note here that one man was made out of paradise, For after God had
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formed him, he put him into the garden. He was made of common
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clay, not of paradise dust. He lived out of Eden before he lived
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in it, that he might see that all the comforts of his paradise state
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were owning to God's free grace. He could not plead a tenant right to
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the garden, for he was not born upon the premises, nor had any
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thing, but what he received, all boasting was hereby forever excluded. Number
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two. The same God that was the author of his being was the author
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of his bliss. The same hand that made him a living soul planted the
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tree of life for him and settled him by it. He that made us
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is alone able to make us happy. He is the form of our bodies
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and the father of our spirits. He and none, but he can effectually
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provide for the felicity of both. Number three. It adds much to the
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comfort of any condition. If we have plainly seen God going before us and
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putting us into it. If we have not forced providence, but followed it
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and taken the hints of direction it has given us, we may hope to
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find a paradise where otherwise we could not have expected it. See Psalms forty
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seven, verse four. Number two. How God appointed him business and employment.
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He put him there, not like the Viathan into the waters, to
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play therein, but to dress the garden and to keep it. Paradise itself
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was not a place of exemption from work. Note here that one we were,
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none of us sent into the world to be idle. He that made
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us these souls and bodies has given us something to work with, And he
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that gave us this earth for our habitation, has made us something to work
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on. If a high extraction, or great estate, or large dominion,
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or perfect innocency, or a genius for pure contemplation, or a small family
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could have given a man a writ of ease, Adam would not have been
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set to work. But he that gave us being has given us business to
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serve Him in our generation and to work out our salvation. If we do
29:47
not mind our business, we are unworthy of our being and maintenance. Number
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two. Secular employments will very well consist with a state of innocency and a
29:56
life of commune with God. The son's heirs of Heaven, while they are
30:00
here in this world, has something to do about this earth, which must
30:04
have its share of their times and thoughts. And if they do it with
30:08
an eye to God, they are as truly serving Him in it as when
30:14
they are upon their knees. Number three. The husbandman's calling is an ancient
30:18
and honorable calling. It is needful even in paradise. The garden of Eden,
30:23
though it needed not to be weeded, for thorns and thistles were not
30:26
yet nuisance, yet must be dressed and kept. Nature, even in its
30:32
primitive state, left room for the improvements of art and industry. It was
30:37
a calling fit for a state of innocency, making provision for life, not
30:41
for lust, and giving man an opportunity of admiring the creator and acknowledging his
30:45
providence. While his hands were about his trees, his heart might be with
30:51
his God. Number four. There is a true pleasure in the business which
30:56
God calls us to and employs us in at UM's work was so far from
31:00
being an allay that it was in addition to the pleasures of paradise. He
31:06
could not have been happy if he had been idle. It is still a
31:08
law. He that will not work has no right to eat. Second to
31:12
the Salonians three, verse ten, Proverbs thirty seven, verse twenty three,
31:18
number three, the command which God gave to man in innocency, and the
31:22
covenant he then took him into. Hitherto we have seen God as man's powerful
31:27
creator and his bountiful benefactor. Now he appears as his ruler and lawgiver.
31:33
God put him into the garden of En, not to live there as he
31:37
might list, but to be under government. As we are not allowed to
31:41
be idle in this world and to do nothing, So we are now allowed
31:45
to be wilful and do what we please. When God had given man a
31:48
dominion over the creatures, he would let him know that still he himself was
31:52
under the government of his creator. The Tree of knowledge prohibited b. C.
31:57
Four thousand four, Verses sixteen and seventeen. And the Lord God commanded
32:04
the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,
32:07
But of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
32:10
not eat of it, For in the day that thou eatst thereof thou shalt
32:14
surely die. Observe here one God's authority over man as a creature that had
32:21
reason and freedom of will. The Lord God commanded the man, who stood
32:25
now as a public person, the father and representative of all mankind, to
32:30
receive flaw as he had lately received a nature for himself and all his God
32:36
commanded all the creatures according to their capacity the settled course of Nature's law Psalms.
32:43
One hundred forty eight, verse six and one hundred and four verse nine.
32:46
The brute creatures have their respective instincts, but man was made capable of
32:51
performing reasonable service, and therefore received not only the command of a creator,
32:57
but the command of a prince and master. Though Adam was a very great
33:00
man, a very good man, and a very happy man. Yet the
33:05
Lord God commanded him, and the command was no disparagement to his greatness,
33:09
no reproach to his goodness, nor any diminuation at all to his happiness.
33:15
Let us acknowledge God's right to rule us, and our own obligations to be
33:20
ruled by him, and never allow any will of our own in contradiction to
33:23
or competition with the holy will of God. Number two. The particular act
33:30
of this authority in prescribing to him what he should do and upon what terms
33:35
he should stand with his creator here is number one a confirmation of his present
33:40
happiness to him in that grant of every tree in the garden thou mayest freely
33:45
eat. This was not only an allowance of liberty to him in taking the
33:51
delicious fruits of paradise as a recompense for his care and pains in dressing and
33:54
keeping it verse Corinthians nine, verse seven ten. But it was withal an
34:00
assurance of life to him, immortal life upon his obedience, for the tree
34:06
of life being put in the midst of the garden verse nine, as a
34:09
heart and soul of it. Doubtless God had ey to that, especially in
34:14
this grant. And therefore, when upon his revolt, this grand is recalled,
34:19
no notice is taken of any tree of the garden as prohibited to him,
34:22
except the Tree of Life Chapter three, verse twenty two, of which
34:28
is there said that he might have eaten and lived forever that has never died
34:34
nor ever lost his happiness. Continue wholly as our art, in conformity to
34:38
thy creator's will, and thou shalt continue happy as our art, in the
34:42
enjoyment of thy Creator's favor, either in this paradise or in a better.
34:47
Thus, upon condition of perfect personal and perpetual obedience, Adam was sure of
34:52
paradise to himself and his errors forever. Number two a trial of his obedience
35:00
on pain of the forfeiture of all his happiness. But of the other tree,
35:04
which stood very near the Tree of life, for they are both said
35:07
to be in the midst of the garden, and which was called the tree
35:08
of knowledge. In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die, as
35:15
if he had said, know Adam, that thou art now upon thy good
35:19
behavior, thou art put into paradise upon trial be observant, be obedient,
35:24
and thou art made forever. Otherwise thou wilt be as miserable as now thou
35:30
art happy. Here Number one, Adam is threatened with death in case of
35:36
disobedience, dieing thou shalt die, denoting a sure and dreadful sentence. As
35:43
in the former part of this covenant, eating thou shalt eat denotes a free
35:46
and full grant observe Number one. Even Adam, in innocency, was awed
35:52
with threatening fear is won the handles of the soul by which it is taken
35:57
hold of and held in need of this hedge much more do we now?
36:02
Number two. The penalty threatened is death. Thou shalt die, that is,
36:07
thou shalt be debarred from the tree of life and all the good that
36:10
is signified by it, all the happiness thou hast, either in possession or
36:15
prospect, and thou shalt become liable to death and all the miseries that preface
36:20
it and attend it. Number three This was threatened as immediate consequence of sin,
36:27
and the day thou eatest, thou shalt die, that is, thou
36:30
shalt become mortal and capable of dying. The grant of immortality shall be canceled,
36:35
and that defend shall depart from thee. Thou shalt become obnoxious to death,
36:40
like a condemned malefactor, that is dead. In the law. Only
36:45
because Adam was to be the root of mankind, he was reprieved. Nay,
36:49
the hard beingers and forerunners of death, shall immediately seize thee and thy
36:53
life thenceforward shall be a dying life. And this surely it is a settled
36:58
rule. The soul that senate it shall die. Number two, Adam is
37:02
tried with the positive law not to eat of the fruit of the tree of
37:06
knowledge. Now it was very proper to make trial of his obedience by such
37:12
a command as this number one, because the reason of it fetched purely from
37:16
the will of the lawmaker. Adam had in his nature an aversion to that
37:22
which was evil in itself, and therefore he has tried in a thing which
37:24
was evil, only because it was forbidden, And being in a small thing,
37:30
it was the more fit to prove his obedience by number two, because
37:35
the restrain of it is laid upon the desires of the flesh and of the
37:37
mind, which in the corrupt nature of man are the two great fountains of
37:42
sin. This prohibition checked both his appetite towards sensitive delights and his ambitions of
37:49
curious knowledge that his body might be ruled by his soul and his soul by
37:52
his God. Thus easy, thus happy was man, in a state of
37:58
innocency, having all that heart could wish to make him. So How good
38:04
was God to him, How many favors did he elude him with, How
38:08
easy were the laws he gave him, How kind the covenant he made with
38:13
him. Yet man, being in honor, understood not his own interest,
38:17
but soon became as a beast that perished Adam's dominion b. C. Four
38:22
thousand four, Verses eighteen through twenty. And the Lord God said, it
38:30
is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him and
38:32
help me for him. And now the ground, the Lord God formed every
38:37
beast of the field and every foul the air, and brought them unto Adam
38:40
to see what he would call them. And whatsoever Adam called every living creature
38:45
that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and
38:50
to the foul of the air, and to every beast of the field.
38:52
But for Adam, there is not found and help meet for him. Here
38:57
we have number one, and an instance of the Greater's care of man and
39:01
his fatherly concern for his comfort verse eighteen. Though God had let him know
39:07
that he was a subject by giving him a command Verses sixteen seventeen. Yet
39:10
here he lets him know, also for his encouragement in his obedience, that
39:15
he was a friend and a favorite, and one whose satisfaction he was tender
39:20
of observe. Number one. How God graciously pitied his solitude. It is
39:27
not good that man, this man should be alone. Though there was an
39:30
upper world of angels and a lower world of brutes, and he between them.
39:35
Yet there being none of the same nature and rank of beings with himself,
39:38
none that he could converse familiarly with, he might be truly said to
39:44
be alone. Now he that made him knew both him and what was good
39:47
for him, better than he did himself. And he said, it is
39:52
not good that he should continue this alone. Number one. It is not
39:57
for his comfort, For man is a sociable creek. Is a pleasure to
40:01
him to exchange knowledge and affection with those of his kind, to inform and
40:06
to be informed, to love and be beloved. What God here says of
40:09
the first man, Solomon says of all men Ecclesiastes four, verses nine,
40:15
and continued that two are better than one, and woe to him that is
40:20
alone. If there were but one man in the world, what a melancholy
40:23
man must he needs be? Perfect solitude would turn a paradise into a desert,
40:30
and a palace into a dungeon. Those therefore are foolish, who are
40:34
selfish, and would be placed alone in the earth. Number two. It
40:38
is not for the increase and continuance of his kind. God could have made
40:44
a world of men at first, to replenish the earth as he replenish heaven,
40:46
and a world of angels. But the place would have been too straight
40:51
for the designed number of men to live together at once. Therefore God saw
40:54
fit to make up that number by a succession of generations, which, as
41:00
God afore man must be from two, and whose male and female one will
41:05
be ever one. Number two. How God graciously resolved to provide society for
41:10
him. The result of this reasoning concerning him was this kind resolution, I
41:16
will make a help meet for him, a help like him. So some
41:21
read it one of the same nature and the same rank of beings, a
41:25
help near him, so others one to go habit with him and be always
41:30
at hand, a help before him, so others one that he should look
41:35
upon with pleasure and delight. Note hence number one, in our best state
41:39
in this world, we have need of one another's help. For your members
41:44
one of another, and the eye cannot say to the hand, I have
41:46
no need of thee on Corinthians twelve, verse twenty one. We must therefore
41:52
be glad to receive help from others, and give help to others as there
41:54
is occasion. Number two. It is God only who perfectly knows are ones
42:00
and is perfectly able to supply them all. Philippians four, verse nineteen.
42:06
In Him alone our help is, and from him are all our helpers.
42:10
Number three. A suitable wife is a help meet and is from the Lord.
42:15
The relation is then likely to be comfortable when meetness directs and determines the
42:21
choice, and mutual helpfulness is a constant care and endeavor. First Corinthians seven,
42:28
Verses thirty three and thirty four. Number four. Family society, if
42:34
it is agreeable, is a redress sufficient for the grievance of solitude. He
42:38
that has a good God, a good heart, and a good wife to
42:42
converse with, and yet complains who wants conversation, would not have been easy
42:46
and content in paradise, for Adam himself had no more. Yet, even
42:52
before Eve was created, we do not find that he complained of being alone,
42:57
knowing that he was not alone, for the Father was with him.
43:00
Those that are most satisfied in God and his favor are in the best way
43:05
and in the best frame to receive the good things of this life, and
43:07
shall be sure of them, as far as infinite wisdom sees good. Number
43:13
two an instance of the creature's subjection to Man and his dominion over them Verses
43:17
nineteen twenty. Every beast of the field and every foul the air God wrought
43:23
to Adam, either by the ministry of angels or by a special instinct directing
43:29
them to come to Man as their master, teaching the ox betimes to know
43:32
his owner. Thus God gave Man livery and sizing of the fair estate he
43:37
had granted him, and put him possession of his dominion over the creatures.
43:44
God brought them to him that he might name them, and so might give
43:47
number one a proof of his knowledge as a creature endued with the faculties both
43:52
of reason and speech, and so taunt more than the beasts of the earth,
43:55
and made wiser than the fouls of heaven Joe thirty five, verse eleven
44:01
and two. A proof of his power is an act of authority to impose
44:06
names Daniel one, verse seven, and subjection to receive them. The inferior
44:10
creatures did, now, as it were, do homage to their prince at
44:15
his inauguration, and swear fealty and allegiance to him. If Adam had continued
44:21
faithful to his God, we may suppose the creatures themselves would so well have
44:24
known remember the names Adam now gave them, as to have come in his
44:29
call at any time and answer to their names. God gave names to the
44:34
day and night, to the firmament, to the earth, and to the
44:37
sea, and he called the stars by their names, to show that he
44:42
is the supreme lord of these. But he gave Adam leave to name the
44:45
beasts and fowls as their subordinate lord, for having made him in his own
44:51
image. He thus put some of his honor upon him. Number three.
44:55
An instance of the creature's insufficiency to be happiness for man. But among them
45:00
all for Adam there was not found to help meet for him. Some make
45:06
these to be the words of Adam himself, observing all the creatures come to
45:08
him by couples to be named. He thus intimates his desire to his maker,
45:14
Lord. These have all helps meet for them. But what shall I
45:17
do? Here is never a one for me. It is rather God's judgment
45:22
upon the review. He brought them all together to see if there were ever
45:27
a suitable match for Adam in any of the numerous families of the inferior creatures.
45:31
But there was none. Observe here Number one, the dignity and excellency
45:37
of the human nature on earth, There was not his like, nor it
45:42
appear to be found among all visible creatures. They were all looked over,
45:45
but it could not be matched among them all. Number two, the vandy
45:51
of this world and the things of it. Put them all together, and
45:53
they will not make a help meet for man. They will not suit the
45:57
nature of his soul, nor supply its needs, nor satisfy its just desires,
46:01
nor run parallel with its never failing duration. God creates a new thing
46:07
to be a help meet for man, not so much the woman as the
46:09
seed of the woman. The formation of Eve marriage instituted b see four thousand
46:15
four, verses twenty one through twenty five. And the Lord God caused a
46:22
deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one
46:25
of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib which
46:30
Lord God had taken from man made he a woman and brought her unto the
46:35
man. And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and
46:38
flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken
46:43
out of man. Therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother,
46:46
and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.
46:51
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not
46:54
ashamed. Here we have number one, the making of the woman to be
47:00
a help meet for Adam. This was done upon the sixth day, as
47:05
was also the place of Adam and Paradise, though it is here mentioned after
47:08
an account of the seven days rest. But what was said in general chapter
47:14
one, verse twenty seven, that God made man male and female is more
47:19
distinctly related. Here observe one that Adam was first formed than Eve one Timothy
47:25
two, verse thirteen. And she was made of the man and for the
47:30
man Firse Corinthians eleven, verses eight nine, all which are urged there as
47:36
reasons for the humility, modesty, silence, and submissiveness of that sex in
47:42
general, and particularly the subjection and reverence which wives owe to their own husbands.
47:47
Yet man, being made last of the creatures, as the best and
47:51
most excellent of all, Eve's being made after Adam and out of him,
47:55
puts an honor upon that sex as the glory of the man. First Corinthians
48:00
eleven, verse seven. If man is the head, she is the crown,
48:04
a crown to her husband, the crown of the visible creation. The
48:08
man was dust refined, but the woman was dust double refined, one removed
48:13
further from the earth. Number two, that Adam slept while his wife was
48:17
a making that no room might be left to imagine that he had therein directed
48:22
the spirit of the Lord, or been his counselor Isaiah forty, verse thirteen.
48:28
He had been made sensible of his want of a meet help. But
48:30
God, having undertaken brovide in one, he does not afflict himself with any
48:35
care about it, but lies down and sleeps sweetly as one that had cast
48:38
all his care on God, with the cheerful resignation of himself and all his
48:44
affairs to his maker's will and wisdom. Jehovah Jirah. Let the Lord provide
48:50
when and whom he pleases. If we graciously rest in God, God will
48:54
graciously work for us and work all for good. Number three. God caused
49:00
the sleep to fall on Adam and made it a deep sleep, that so
49:04
the opening of his side might be no grievance to him. While he knows
49:07
no sin, God will take care. He shall feel no pain. When
49:13
God, by his providence, does that to his people which is grievous to
49:15
flesh and blood, he not only consults their happiness in the issue, but
49:20
by his grace he can so quiet and compose their spirits as to make them
49:24
easy under the sharpest operations. Number four, that the woman was made of
49:30
a rib out of the side of Atom, not made out of his head
49:34
to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by
49:37
him, but out of his side, be equal with him, under his
49:40
arm, to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved. Adam
49:45
lost a rib and without any diminuation to his strength or comeliness. For doubtless
49:50
the flesh was closed without a scar. But in lou thereof he had a
49:53
help meet for him, which abundantly made up his loss. What God takes
49:59
away from his people he will one way or other restore with advantage. In
50:04
this, as in many other things, Adam was a figure of Him that
50:07
was to come for out the side of Christ the second atom his spouse.
50:12
The church was formed when he slept the sleep, the deep sleep of death,
50:16
upon the cross, in order to which his side was opened, and
50:20
there came out blood and water, blood to purchase his church, and water
50:23
purify it to himself. See Pesians five, Verses twenty five and twenty six,
50:30
number two. The marriage of the woman to Adam. Marriage is honorable.
50:34
But this surely was the most honorable marriage that ever was, in which
50:37
God himself had all long in immediate hand. Marriages they say are made in
50:43
heaven. We are sure this was for the man the woman. The match
50:47
were all God's own work. He by his power made them both, and
50:52
now by his ordinance, made them one. This was a marriage made in
50:57
perfect innocency, and so was never any marriage since number one, God,
51:01
as her father, brought the woman to the man as his second self and
51:06
a help meet for him. When he had made her, he did not
51:09
leave her to her own disposal. No, she was his child, and
51:14
she must not marry without his consent. Those are likely to sell to their
51:19
comfort who, by faith and prayer and a humble dependence upon providence, put
51:22
themselves under divine conduct. That wife, that is of God's making by special
51:28
grace, and of God's bringing by special providence, is likely to prove a
51:31
help meet for a man number two from God as his father, Adam received
51:37
her Verse twenty three. This is now bone of my bone. Now I
51:42
have what I wanted, and which all the creatures cannot furnish me with a
51:45
help meet for me. God's gifts to us are to be received with a
51:50
humble, thankful acknowledgment of His wisdom in suiting them to us, and his
51:53
favor in bestowing them on us. Probably it was revealed to Adam in a
51:59
vision when he was asleep, that this lovely creature now presented to him was
52:04
a peace of himself, and was to be his companion and the wife of
52:07
his covenant. Hence, some have fetched an argument to prove that glorified saints
52:12
in the heavenly paradise shall know one another. Further, in token of his
52:16
acceptance of her, he gave her a name not peculiar to her, but
52:22
common to her sex. She shall be called woman Issha, a she man
52:28
different from man, and sex only not in nature, made of man,
52:31
and joined two man. Number three. The institution of the Ordinance of marriage
52:37
and the settling of the law of it Verse twenty four. The Sabbath and
52:43
marriage were two ordinances instituted in innocency, the former for the preservation of the
52:49
church, the latter for the preservation of the world of mankind. It appears
52:53
by Matthew nineteen verses four and five, that it was God himself who said,
52:58
here a man must leave all his relations to cleave to his wife.
53:01
But whether he spoke it by Moses the penman, or by Adam, who
53:06
spoke verse twenty three is uncertain. It should seem they are the words of
53:10
Adam and God's name, laying down this law to all his posterity. Number
53:16
one. See here how great the virtue of divine ordinance is. The bonds
53:22
of it are stronger even than those of nature, to whom can we be
53:25
more firmly bound than the fathers have began us and the mothers that bore us.
53:30
Yet the son must quit them to be joined to his wife, and
53:32
the daughter forget them to cleave to her husband Psalm forty five, Verses ten
53:37
eleven. Number two, See how necessary it is that children should take their
53:43
parents consent along with them in their marriage, and how unjust those are to
53:47
their parents, as well as undutiful who marry without it, for they rob
53:52
them of their right to them and interest in them, and alienate it to
53:55
another fraudulently and unnaturally. Number three. See what need there is both of
54:01
prudence and prayer in the choice of this relation, which is so near and
54:06
so lasting, that had need be well done, which is to be done
54:09
for life. Number four. See how firm the bond of marriage is not
54:15
to be divided and weakened by having many wives Malachi two fifteen, nor to
54:21
be broken or cut off by divorce for any cause but fornication or voluntary desertion.
54:27
Number five. See how dear the affection ought to be between husband and
54:30
wife, such as there is to our own bodies Ephesians five, Verse twenty
54:35
eight. These two are one flesh. Let them then be one soul.
54:39
Number four, and the evidence of the purity and innocency of that state wherein
54:44
our first parents were created, Verse twenty five. They were both naked.
54:49
They needed no clothes for defense against coal nor heat, for neither could be
54:52
injurious to them. They needed none for ornament. Solomon, in all his
54:57
glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Nay, they needed none
55:00
for decency. They were naked and had no reason to be ashamed. They
55:05
knew not what shame was. So the Chaldee reads it, Blushing is now
55:09
the color of virtue, But it was not then the color of innocency.
55:14
Those that had no sin in their conscience might well have no shame in their
55:17
faces, though they had no clothes to their backs. End of Chapter two