and then we must affirme corpore infici posse spiritum which is an absurdity for 1. Though the truth of this axiome be taken for granted that Corpus non potest agere in spiritum yet I conceive we may demurre to it For though it should be assented unto that this could not be done by the power of nature yet it may be done by the efficacy and power of divine ordination Especially if we consider what a strict union there is between the soul and the body and that according to the various disposition and affecton of the body the soul also is variously affected and disposed We finde by experience that children resemble their parents not onely in their countenance and the outward lineaments of their body but in their manners and inward habiliments of their mind We finde that the soul in a great measure followes the temper of the body and that the spirits humors organs of the body being vitiated and disordered there followes upon this frenzy Melancholy passion and the like The Learned say Potentia materiae est duplex 1. Naturalis quae educibilis est in actum vi alicujus agentis naturalis There is a naturall power in that which that materiall or corporeall which is educible into act by vertue of a naturall agent that is to say wood hath a naturall power to receive heat viz. vi naturalis agentis scilicet ignis 2. Obedientialis an obediential power which is educible into act by vertue of a superior agent this wood or stone hath an obediential power to be formed into astatue for this is not effected by a natural agent which doth necessariò agere but by vertue of an Artist such a power also hath the soul to receive spiritual gifts the supernatural gifts of the Spirit as faith hope c. We say the work of conversion is possibile naturae though impossibile naturâ possible to nature though impossible to be wrought by a natural power Obediential power of a subject to receive a new form puts not any causall power in the thing or matter to be changed all such power is without viz. in the efficient there is onely a power of reception in the thing or matter not a power of causality Now we may take into consideration whether vi superioris agentis corpus may not agere in spiritum To this I might adde the consideration of the fire of hell which for ought I can learne may be material and yet can tâ—rment spirits as calor naturalis hath two properties 1. Calefacere to make warme and this it acts of it selfe 2. Alimentum in debitas partes distribuere To convey nourishment into the severall parts of the body and this it acts as an instrument of the soule so Hel-fire may be considered in its selfe and so it burnes bodies or as an instrument of divine wrath and so it torments spirits 2. Be it granted that the soule is created pure by God and that it cannot be tainted by the body yet it may be polluted ratione suppositi by Gods ordination and appointment as it is the soul of a man son and heir of corrupt Adam If you aske me Supposing this be taken for granted that we are defiled upon the account of divine ordination as a punishment inflicted by God on man for his apostasie by what instrument or second cause this is effected or brought to passe I answer that as there is nothing more secret then the forming of the child in the wombe the union of the soul with the body and the manner how it is united thereunto so this also must needs be a secret by he mediation of what instrument or second cause man comes to be defiled There are also other Objections urged against the doctrine of the creation of the soul It seems not to suit with the justice and Obj. 2 goodnesse of God to shut up a pure and innocent soul into a stincking prison and to thrust it as it were into abridewell that it might be corrupted there The consequence is to be deny'd for he Resp 1 may be said to act unjustly that acts contrary to what he is bound to do according to principles of justice but God is not bound to infuse the soules of the sonnes of Adam who sinned in Adam and merited thereby eternall death into pure bodies But rather the contrary according to the curse In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt dye the death We say that God doth infuse a pure soul into an impure body as the phrase may vulgarly be taken for that would imply that our souls before they were united to our bodies were pure which suits not with our principles formerly mentioned Causa causae est etiam causa causatâ— Obj. 3 The cause of the cause is also the cause of that which is caused by that cause viz. if God be the cause of the union of the soul with the body therefore he is the cause of that sinne that is occasioned by that union This rule is to be understood de causis Resp perse not de causis per accidens viz. God is the cause of his divine Law the Law is the cause of sinne per accidens as the Apostle I was alive without the Law once but when the Commandment came sin revived and I Rom. 8.9 died Yet no man will from thence conclude that God was the cause of sin How can Originall sin be propagated Obj. 4 and not the soul Non potest accidens traduci sine subjecto Accidents do frequently transire à subjecto Resp 1 in subjectum non transeunte subjecto as for instance heresie is propaged in these dayes and derived from one to another but so is not the soul which is the subject of these errours The same numericall accident cannot transire à subjecto in subjectum but so may the same in kind as appeares in the former instance Quest 5. vers 4. According to what space of time the yeares of the Patriarchs were measured The great age of the Patriarchs hath Resp enclined some to believe that their yeares did not containe the same space of time with those after the flood and with ours to this day Indeed we read of two periods of time especially by the ancients called yeares 1. There was annus solaris or that which they called their solar yeare which was the same with ours and contained 12. moneths Now this yeare was called solaris because it was measured by the Suns passing through the Zodiack 2. There was annus lunaris or that which they call their lunar yeares the same with our moneth or thereabouts now this was called Lunaris because it is measured by the Moons passing through the Zodiack Some think that the yeares of the Patriarchs were Lunar yeares The dayes of Adam were eight hundred yeares that is say Gen. 5.4 they eight hundred moneths c. Now this cannot in any case be allowed for these reasons 1. Enoch begat children at 65. yeares
may be Object expounded thus God did actually purpose to sanctifie it after the giving of the Law If to sanctifie the seventh day be only Resp to purpose to sanctifie it then the Sabbath was no more sanctified since the creation then ab aeterno for then God purposed it should be sanctified c. For the further clearing of this truth I shall give you the Arguments of some learned persons why they conceive that the Sabbath was not instituted till the giving of the Law on mount Sinai Adam in innocency should not have Arg. 1 needed a Sabbath not his soul for every day was a Sabbath to that nor his body because his body was not then subject to wearinesse neither could it be appointed for the ease of servants because then no such thing as servitude in the world The Sabbath was instituted not for Resp 1 common rest or rest from natural wearinesse principally but for holy rest that the soul might have more immediate communion with God Returne to thy rest O my soule saith the Psalmist The rest of the soule is not a ceasing from all operation for that cannot stand with the nature of a spirit hence the soul is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an act because it is still in action a spirit cannot be and not act but when the soule centers on God then it is said to rest Bodies rest in their proper places and souls rest in the enjoying of their proper objects Now Adam in innocency thogh his body was not subject to wearinesse might stand in need of such a rest as this is Adam was to serve God in a particular calling God took the man put him into the garden of Eden that he might dresse it keep Gen. 2. 5. it now Luther professeth It followes from hence saith he that if Adam had stood in his innocency yet he should have kept the seventh day holy viz. on that day he should have taught his children what was the Word of God wherein his worship did consist and wholly have sequestred himself to his service on other days he should have dressed and kept the garden though every day was to be spent in holinesse mediately in seeing God in the creatures and meeting with God in his labour yet it was not unsuitable for that estate to have one day in the week for more immediate and special converse with God and though it was no paine to him to dresse the garden yet this must needs take up his thoughts while he was about it The Saints and Angels in Heaven have Object had no set Sabbath and why man in innocency The state of innocency on earth should Resp not have been in all things alike to the state of glory in heaven and particularly in this there should have been marriage dressing of the garden day and night in Paradise but no such thing in Heaven We do not read that there was any other Arg. 2 positive precept or law given to our first parents in the state of innocency but only this that they should not eat of the forbidden fruit Now the command of God for the observation of the Sabbath is a positive command and that appears because although the worship of God do belong to the Law natural viz. founded in the Law of nature yet the circumstance of time when God in an especial manner is to be worshipped that we should keep an holy rest unto the Lord every seventh day this is a positive precept and was never determined by the Law of nature That Adam had from the creation at Resp least that which amounted to a positive Law for the observance of the Sabbath is plaine It is said God sanctified the seventh day Now though this word is variously taken in the Scripture yet in this place the seventh day must be said to be sanctified one of these two wayes Either by infusion of holinesse or sanctification into it now the circumstance of a seventh day is not capable of sanctification in this sense only rational creatures Angels and men may be said thus to be sanctified By separation of it from common use and dedication of it to an holy use as the Temple and Tabernacle were which had no inherent holinesse in them Now if the Sabbath were thus sanctified it must either be for the use of God or man either God must impose upon himself the observation of every seventh day to keep it holy which is absurd or else it was dedicated and consecrated for mans sake and use and if so man had that which amounted to a positive Law for the observation of the Sabbath When Moses makes repetition of the Arg. 3 Law of God Deut. 5. 15. he laies downe this as a ground of the observation of the seventh day as a Sabbath the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt therefore the Sabbath was not instituted from the creation This that is urged is placed by God by Resp way of preface and motive as an argument for the observation of all the Commandments yet who will say that none of them were in force till the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt This was one reason why the Sabbath Resp 2 should be sanctified but not the only reason therefore Exod. 20. 6. the reason that is rendered there why the seventh day is the Sabbath is this for in six dayes the Lord made heaven and earth c. The Jewes were to observe the Sabbath not only upon the ground of its first institution but upon reasons proper and peculiar to that Nation It is likely their deliverance out of Egypt was on the Sabbath day and therefore urged by Moses as a ground of their observation of it We finde not any expresse mention Arg. 4 that the Patriarchs before Moses time did sanctifie a Sabbath We may as well argue it was not kept Resp all the time of the Judges and Samuel because no expresse mention made in those Books of any such thing No doubt but they observed it because Object it was published on mount Sinai The like may we say of the Patriarchs Resp 1 before the promulgation of the Law on mount Sinai because it was sanctified from the Creation Abraham is commended for keeping Gods Commandments and the Sabbath is one of Gen. 26.5 them We may as well argue that the Patriarchs for two thousand five hundred yeares together observed not any day at all for the worship and service of God for there is in Scripture as much mention of a Sabbath as any other day yea It is plaine in the Scripture that the Jewes did keep the Sabbath before the Law was given This is that which the Lord hath said To morrow is the rest of the holy Exo 16.23 Sabhath unto the Lord c. I might adde that it is not improbable but the sacrifices of Cain and Abel were upon the Sabbath-day the usual stated time for such services If a time had not beene set apart even in Adams
sonne in his own likenesse viz a sinfull man like himselfe Homo mortalis genuit mortalem corruptus corruptum A mortall man begat a mortall sonne a corrupt man begat a corrupt sonne God at first created man in his likenesse but afterwards man fallen begets a sonne in his own likeness a sinfull creature like himselfe But this might be said of Cain and Abel as well as Seth Object It was not said of Abel because he had no off-spring and corruption was to run in Resp a blood We are all by nature the children of wrath Nor of Cain that it might appear that the righteous seed are subject to originall depravation and defilement as well as others Holy persons do not beget children as Saints and therefore their Saintship is not derived to their posterity but their sin Quest 3. vers 3. Whether the soul of man be generated by the Parents or as the Learned phrase it An anima sit ex traduce vel per creationem This question being full of perplexities Resp I shall deliver my selfe in severall Propositions 1. Prop. There is no creature the cause of it selfe or the fountaine of its own being 2. Prop. That all effects with reference to their causes are not carried on after the same way or manner vâ—z Some effects are produced by the concourse of four causes the efficient materiall formal final and thus are all corporeall substances Some by the concourse of three causes viz. efficient material and final as for instance formae accidentales ut nigredo albedo black and white produced by three causes 1. The efficient who workes it 2. An end propounded in the working of it 3. Some subject matter on which it must be wrought And this we may observe that these accidents depend rather on the material cause then either efficient or finall they depend on the efficient and finall quoad fieri as to their being but on the material both as to their being and continuance in their being white and black may continue Efficiente finali causâ sublatis When the efficient and finall cause is removed but this cannot be said of the subject matter whereon it is wrought Another instance may be given in substantial formes they the soul of man being excepted are produced by three causes efficient materiall finall and this we may observe there is a great deale of difference between the soul of a man and the soul of a beast respectu materiae the soul of a brute can neither exist nor act viz sentire appetere sine materia sua the soul of man is capable of both Some effects againe are produced by two causes efficient and finall thus are Angels and rationall soules 3. Prop. That that phrase that the Learned make very much use of viz. Eductio formae è potentia materiae is applicable to the forme of a brute but not to the forme or soule of a man The forme of a brute could not have had its being but vi passiva materià but the forme or soul of a man licèt in materiam inducitur non tamen educitur è potentia materiae God might if he had pleased have created rationall soules and these might have lived and acted to his praise without the concurrence or assistance of any materiall substance whatsoever 4. Prop. That the Originall of formes is in profundo very latent and Mysterious This was the reason why the ancient Fathers differed so much in this point Origen was of opinion that all soules were at first created together with the Angels and afterwards put into bodies Tertullian will have the soul ex traduce Augustine leaveth this question undecided neither dares he determine any thing An eminently elegant and learned moderne Auther tells us that in this we may 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that a modest hesitancy may be very lawfull here 5. Prop. That most of our Divines with whom I humbly close are of opinion that the soul of man is by creation not by traduction or generation their reasons are both rationall and Scripturall Rationall grounds are these If the soul be by propagation it must Argu. 1 be one of these three wayes vel per multiplicationem vel per divisionem substantiae ipsius animae vel per generationem à semine aliquo either by multiplication of the soul or by division of the substance of the soul or prolificâ virtute seminis Not the first way for This action of multiplication it must either be a naturall or a voluntary action if it be a naturall action and not voluntary how can it be that a rationall soul endowed with understanding and will should multiply it selfe neither knowingly nor willingly If it be a voluntary action then the cause of barrennesse will be seated in the will because the soul will not multiply it selfe If this were a truth few rich men but would have more and few poore men that would have so many children Quomodo in Adulteris sequatur foetificatio cùm eam maximè nollent Not the second way by division of the substance of the soul for why should the rationall soul be rather divisible then an Angel when it is the common judgement of Philosophers That spirits are indivisible Omnis spiritus est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Not the third way Prolificâ virtute seminis si in cum semine gencretur anima semen dici poterit à nimatum si ità annon anima rationalis erit mortalis quia non sempere ffuso semine sequitur prolificatio Nulla virtus activa agit ultra suum genus Argu. 2 There is no agent can produce that which is of greater perfection and of a more eeminent nature and kinde then it selfe thus the soul exceeds the body therefore nothing materiall or corporeall can produce the soul If it be objected nothing materiall can produce such an effect by its own naturall power or by the helpe and assistance of common providence but by the speciall hand and power of God it will a mount to as much as this assertion anima fit per creationem As the dissolution or corruption of the Arg. 3 body dissolveth not the soul neither doth the constitution or generation of the body give being to the soul if the soul had its being from the body it must decay with the body As the soul cannot be destroyed by any Argu. 4 materiall or physicall power at least by the assistance of common providence so neither can it be produced thereby what is the reason why all the force on earth cannot reach the soul Because it is of a spirituall substance now it seemes to be as repugnant to right reason for a spirituall substance to be produced by any thing materiall as to be destroyed thereby Especially if you consider it is farre easier to destroy then it is to build up there is no such art required in demolishing as there is in erecting of an edifice those things which are long and difficulty composed and framed are
adulterinis conceptibus animas creat largitur quod videtur absurdum A learned Author answers a like case to Resp this elegantly God is not the author of sin and yet there is concurrence of divine providence about sinon there is a concurrence of God to a sinfull action yet not to the sinfulnes of an action to the action though not to the action as sinful To lift a hand up against a child of God for righteousnesse sake is a sinfull action yet a man could not do it without the common assistance of Gods providence for in him we live and move and have our being the strength of a wicked mans hand while he sins is from the Lord yet the Lord doth not strengthen his hand to sin The sinner hath naturall help from God but he hath not morall help from God suppose a Musician should touch or play upon a Lute that is out of tune his touching the Lute is an artificiall act but the sounding of it comes from the nature of the instrument the sound simply considered is from the hand of him that playes upon it but that it sounds untuneably is because it is out of tune The Lord by naturall assistance puts the hearts and hands of wicked men into motion but that they move irregularly that they make such harsh musick that there is such discord in their actions is from the disorder and untunablenesse of their own spirits To eat was a naturall act in our first parents this was from God but to eat against the command was a morall act and this was from man so in this case to beget children is a naturall act and this is from God but to act the adulterer or fornicatour in it is a sinful act and this is from man Quest. 4. vers 3. How it can be said that Adam begat a son in his likenesse anim a hominis est homo the soul of a man is the man and therefore if the soul be not generated how can the man be said to be generated To this question learned men answer severall Resp wayes 1. Some say one man may be said to beget another quia in generatione suppedit at materiam ex qua fit homo but this cannot consist with Principles of Reason For 1. Then it would follow that the body of man was onely generated and not the man 2. It is one thing to afford a Carver matter of which he may make a statue and another thing to frame it 3. To beget a man is tribuere 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 esse homini To give being to a man now a man doth not consist of soule alone or body alone but of body and soul united 2. Others say one man may be said to beget another because the vegetative and sensitive powers of the soule are from man though the intellectual be from God But this neither doth not savour like Resp truth because according to this opinion one man could not be said to beget another sed hoc vivens et hoc animal 3. Others more probably say that one man may be said to beget another though the soule be created by God quia ab homine generante sit ipsa actio quâ anima rationalis substantialiter corpori unitur Because in generation the rationall soule is substantially united to the body Quid enim est aliud producere hominem quà m efficere ut existat homo seu ens constans exanima et corpore Res est per formam Object Est per formam potiùs quà m per materiam Resp But if God create the soule and infuse it Object into the body the uniting of soule and body is rather to be attributed to God then to man When God infuses the soule into the Resp body the soule I meane so far as concerns that art is united to the body non substantialiter sed localiter It is not to be denied but in the same instant wherein the soule is locally present with the body it is substantially united to the body yet these two differ one from the other an Angell when it assumes a body is locally present with that body it assumes and yet is not substantially united to it ut forma materiae so as to be a part of the Angel as the soul is a part of man Quest 5. verse 3. Whether this Doctrine of the creation of the soul may consist with the doctrine of Originall sin Affirmatively we may answer as I suppose Resp safely though this was that which made Augustine to demurre about it He was very enclinable to the doctrine of the soules creation if it could consist with Original guilt The main Objection against the doctrine Obje 1 of the soules creation with reference to Original sin is this If the soul of man be by creation it is either created pure or impure Not impure for so God would be the author of sin Not pure for then it will follow that it either remaines pure after its union with the body which nullifies the doctrine of Originall sin or else that the soul may be infected by the body corpore infici posse spiritum which is equally absurd That consequence is to be denyed viz. Resp 1 if the soul of man be by creation it is created impure and it is like such a consequence as this If God creates the soul creat risibilem he creates it in a capacity to laugh Now a weak eye will see the absurdity of such a consequence because risibility is competible to the whole man consisting of body and soul in like manner Originall defilement is not competible to the soul any otherwise then as it is united to the body and is altera pars constituens composiâ—um So then though the soul be created by God and that it be tainted with sin immediately after its creation and infusion into the body yet it will not follow God created an impure soul for 1. The soul as created by God is free from sinfull defilement 2. The soul immediately upon its union with the body is corrupted and infected 3. That this corruption and defilement so farre as concernes the creation of the soul is per accidens though in regard of Gods ordination it admits of another consideration 4. That which is competible to the creature per accidens considered as a sin of Adam and not as a creature cannot be charged upon the Creator under that notion considered because this is a perplexed case I shall endeavour to illustrate it A Parent runs in debt he dies the debt by the Lawes and constitutions of this Nation is transmitted to the heire now though God may be said to be the Creator of the soul of the debtor yet not in the least the author of the debt because this man is indebted per accidens and by vertue of his parents not by vertue of Gods creation That consequence is to be taken into consideration if the soul be created by God then it is infected by the body
After the death of Christ their use was indifferent for a time this time was till the doctrine of Christian liberty might be fully made known to the world which could not be done on a sudden As Acts of Parliament have a day set downe when they shall be in force that so all the subjects of the Land may have time convenient to take knowledge of them so it is in this case 3. But now they are not necessary nor indifferent but absolutely forbidden After the passion of Christ Jewâ—sh Ceremonies were mortuae saith a learned man that is dead But after the divnlgation of the Gospel they becâ—me mortiferae that is deadly Saint Aâ—gustine elegantly expresseth this by a similitude A mans friend dyes he doeth not so soone as the breath is out of his body take him by the heeles and dragge him out of the doores and cast him upon the dunghill but he keeps him a certaine time wraps him in fair cloaths and so with honour accompanies him to the grave so these Ceremonies were alive till Christ and because they had been by divine Ordinance of great use in Gods worship they remained for a time indifferent that so they might be laid down in an honourable manner And here you may see the difference between Lawes Ceremoniall and Lawes morall the one were temporary the other are universall â—nd perpetuall the one were therefore good because they were commanded the other were commanded because they were good Morall Lawes â—ave an inward goodnesse in them which others have not When the Apostle would set forth the glory and excellency of the morall Law he gives these titles to it that it is holy and just and good which holinesse justice Rom. 7.12 and goodnesse he opposeth to his owne wickednesse I am carnall saith he but the Law is holy and just and good Now look as his carnality that was contrary to the Law was evill in it selfe so the Law which was contrary to that carnality was just holy and good in it selfe The Prophet Micah perceiving how forward many were in Ceremoniall duties and sacrifices in opposition hereunto he tells them He hath shewed Mic. 6.8 thee Oh man what is good speaking of morall duties as shewing mercy and walking humbly with God were not sacrifice and offerings good as well as mercy and walking humbly Yes but herein lyes the difference sacrifice and burnt-offerings were not in themselves good but onely as commanded by God but morall obedience as shewing mercy and walking humbly is good in it selfe and therefore said the Prophet He hath shewed thee Oh man what is good 10. Rule Comparisons in Scripture must not be wrested further then the scope of the comparison requires For instance Saint James â—aith As the body without the Jam. 2.26 spirit is dead so faith without workes is dead also The Papists gather from hence as the soul is the forme of the body and animates it so are workes the forme of faith which animate faith but the comparison is wrested for the scope of the Apostle is this as the body is known not to be dead by the operation and presence of the soul so faith is known not to be dead by workes So the Church is called the piller of truth The Papists make the comparison 1 Tim. 3. 15. here as the pillar upholds the house so the Church upholds truth But the comparison is wrested the Church is the pillar of truth viz. it holds out truth we use to hang out things upon pillars but it doth not hold it up 11. Rule When we read concerning Christ in the Scriptures we must consider what expressions referce to Christ as he was God what expressions referre to Christ as he was man and what referre to his person as he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God-man This Rule must heedfully be observed that we may neither confound the natures of Christ with Eutyches or cry up two persons in Christ with Nestorius As we may say concerning a man that some things are attributed to him which are proper onely to his soul as he is said to understand to grieve to rejoyce to fear to hope some things are attributed to him which are proper onely to his body as to eat and drinke and walk some things again are attributed unto him which are neither proper to the soul alone or the body alone but to the Quid compositum the person consisting of both for instance to laugh to write accurately to speake judiciously In like manner some things are spoken of Christ as he was God for instance he is called the Word the image of the invisible God the expresse image of his substance Some things are spoken of Christ as he was man as that he was acquainted with griefs that he was hungry thuirsty c. some things againe are spoken of Christ neither as he was God nor as he was man distinctly considered but as he was God-man for instance Had they known it they would not have crucified 1 Cor. 2.8 the Lord of glory So Take heed unto your selves and to all the floock c. to feed Act. 20. 28. the Church of God which he hath purchased with his owne blood 12. Rule There are severall promises in the Scriptures which although as to the rinde and outside of them they seem to relate onely to temporals yet if we look within we shall finde that they containe spiritualls Now this must carefully be observed that we may be established concerning the truth of divine promises Abraham was promised a sonne a blessing temporall but there was a spirituall blessing annexed even the greatest that ever the sonnes of men were made partakers of viz. the Lord Jesus Christ whom the Scripture calls the sonne of Abraham that seed in which all the nations of the earth should be blessed You have another instance also in Samuel where Nathan says to David When thy dayes be fulfilled and thou shalt 2 Sam. 7. 12 13 c. sleepe with thy fathers I will set up thy seed after thee which shall proceed out of thy bowels he shall build an house for my Name and I will establish the throne of his Kingdom for ever These words here are spoken of Solomon and yet something else is intended by the Spirit of God in this Scripture then can in propriety of speech be attributed unto Solomon For the power of Solomon was exceedingly weakned before his death and afterward his son even upon the point cast out of his Kingdom by the revolting of the ten tribes But that which is more then all this Solomons race we may see ended in Jeconiah Thus saith the Lord Write ye this man childlesse Jerem. 22. 30. a man that shall not prosper in his dayes for no man of his seed shall prosper sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Juda. Therefore this promise must be extended further then to Solomon and his seed to Christ even of whom
It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heele you know the Serpent being a creature going upon his belly is obnoxious to be tread upon and to have his head bruised but being not able to reach mans head it is said of the Serpent that it should bruife mans heels Some conceive that the curse was pronounced both upon the brute Serpent and the spirituall Serpent and this I hold to be the Truth the Devil when he beguiled man came not as a naked spirit but in the shape and figure of a Serpent and therefore that his punishment might be suitable and answerable to his offence he was to receive his doome likewise under the figure of a serpent Quest 28. verse 14. Whether Satan was not under the curse of God before this was pronounced Affir but Resp 1. After he had tempted man to sin his curse was augmented 2. In this verse God declares the curse pronounced upon the Serpent to be irrepealable Upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shalt thou eat all the dayes of thy life We may observe that there is a great difference between the sentence prenounced upon the man and woman and the sentence pronounced upon the Serpent 1. You have a curse pronounced upon the Serpent but none upon the person of man or woman 2. The punishment inflicted upon them is temporall but the punishment inflicted upon the Serpent is eternall which is noted unto us by that expression All the dayes of thy life viz. as long as Satan hath a being Quest 29. verse 14 How it could be just with God to punish the brute Serpent being an unreasonable creature knowing neither good nor evil and had no will to sin but spake meerly as it was acted and possessed by Satan Why should we question the justice of Resp 1 God here more then in Adams Censure vers 17. where the whole earth was cursed for Adams sake what had the earth done or how was it guilty of Adams transgression And afterwards we read And behold I even I do bring a flood of waters on the Earth to destroy all flesh Gen 6.17 How were the beasts the creeping things the fowles of the Aire partakers of mans wickednesse God cursed the Serpent as well as Satan because Satan made use of the Serpent as his instrument to tempt our first parents to sin against God God was so displeased with sinne that he would curse not only the principall cause of it but the instrumentall also so in other cases God doth not onely punish the offender but the instrument made use of in the committing of the offence As if a man defil'd himself with a beast if a man lye with a Lev. 20.15 beast he shall surely be put to death and ye shall slay the beast We may see this in a Case where there is no dispute when a man hath committed murder his body suffers now what is the body but an instrument the soule makes use of The hand cannot move otherwise then as it is acted by the soul yet this would not be a plea in humane Courts Oh see the vilenesse of our hearts we can reason against God when in the very same case we dare not reason against man Quest. 30. verse 14. Whether the Serpent went upon his belly before the curse Some conceive that it did but that Resp 1 this was made ignominious and cursed to him after the fal of man and they illustrate this two manner of wayes 1. Nakednesse was naturall to man at first and yet afterwards he was ashamed of it and it became his punishment 2. Briars and thornes were created before mans fall but afterwards became a curse But to both these instances we may give this answer 1. That nakednesse simply considered was not the cause of mans shame but nuditas turpis Adamus videns faedos et inordinatos membrorum motus pudefactus est 2. For briars and thornes consider them in puris naturalibus in their pure naturalls and so they did not become a curse but as after the fall they grew out of their proper places and were blended and mixed with the fruits of the earth for the punishment of man c. Therefore others conceive that the Serpent did not go on his breast till the curse but had a body erected as man hath and they render these reasons amongst others 1. We know the more excellent and sublime the nature of a creature is the more it raiseth it self upwards the more ignoble and base the more it falls down-ward this we see in the Elements the fire the most excellent operative of the four raiseth it self above the rest the earth the most unactive and basest of all the lowest 2. As there is this difference amongst elements so among living creatures the basest is the most creeping as wormes c. whilest the noble Lyon advanceth his head and breast so farre as the frame of his body is capable so man being of all creatures most excellent is therefore of all others most advanced in body Os homini sublime dedit coelúmque tueri Jussit The Serpent therefore being of a sublime nature insomuch that the Scripture sayes it was more subtile then any beast of the field the frame and shape of his body was suitable thereunto Quest 31. verse 14. In what sense we must understand this phrase Dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life when we find that Serpents feed upon herbes and devour other creatures also These two phrases Upon thy belly shalt Resp thou go and dust shalt thou eat ought to be joyned together in the opening of this Scripture the one ought to be considered as the cause and the other as the effect So that eating dust in this place is not so to be understood as if the Serpent should live and feed onely upon dust but that the Serpent going upon his belly should be forced to eat dust viz. take in dust into his mouth whether he will or not the Learned phrase it thus Haec verba non referuntur ad alimentum sed ad incommodum et velut coactam terrae in os receptionem Against this Exposition some object Object and say that we have a promise concerning the happy and peaceable condition of the Church in the latter dayes and amongst other things it is said The dust shall be the Serpents meat The Wolfe and Is 65.25 the Lambe shall feed together and the Lyon shall eat straw like the bullock and dust shall be the Serpents meat These words are not to be understood literally Resp but allegorically as the very expressions in the text clearly intimate and when it is said The dust shall be the Serpents meat the meaning is no more but this that in those dayes man shall not need to feare hurt from any creature the Serpent it selfe shall be confined to his dust and shall not be able to prejudice man in the least Quest 32. verse 14. Seeing this sentence was
pronounced both upon the brute Serpent and the spirituall Serpent the question may be how this phrase Upon thy belly shalt thou go dust shalt thou eat can be accommodated unto Satan Per analogiam in a spirituall sense we Resp shall finde that the Scripture makes use of such expressions as these are to note unto us the lowest and most ignominious debasement when God threatens heavy judgements against Jerusalem mark how he phrases it Thou shalt be brought down and shalt speak out of the ground thy Isa 24.4 speech shall be low out of the dust and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust The Spirit of God seemes to allude to the carriage of a poore captive taken in warre and lying prostrate at the feet of the Conquerour hardly daring so much as to whisper out of the dust You may finde also expressions something like to these Esay 49.23 Lam. 3.29 Mic. 7.17 So then these expressions signifie the debasement of Satan from his primitive excellency A wonderful stoop indeed this was when that which was advanced as high as heaven was made to fall down as low as hell It is the observation of a learned Author that as food is made use of for the repairing and preservation of nature so the goodnesse or badnesse thereof doth make the temper of the body better or worse hence according to the degrees of excellency in the creatures their food is finer or courser Plants suck moisture from the earth beasts live upon plants man of beasts fowle and fish so that this expression Dust shalt thou eat notes unto us the lownesse and basenesse of the Serpent Quest 33. Verse 15. What is meant by the woman in this verse It seemes to be that woman with whom Resp the Serpent had treated viz. Eve as if God had said Seeing thou hast by a treaty with the woman tempted her to sinne I will put enmity between thee and the woman Now the woman is mentioned and not the man not because God had not put enmity between the man and the Serpent as well as the woman and the Serpent but because Eve was immediately seduced by the Serpent the man by the perswasion of his wife Quest. 34. Verse 15. Whether we may not with the Church of Rome expound the woman of the Virgin Mary Neg. And amongst others this reason Resp may be rendred The enmity the Spirit of God speaks of in this verse was immediately to follow the curse now the Virgin Mary was not borne many hundreds of years afterward But God speaks in the future tence Object I will put enmity between thee and the woman c. God speaks in the future tence when Resp 1 he pronounces that other part of the curse upon the Serpent Vers 14. Upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shalt thou eat now this curse immediately followed upon the sentence and why not the other God speakes in the future tence to note the duration and continuance of this curse Quest 35. Verse 15. What is meant by the Serpents seed This cannot be expounded but in a Resp spiritual sense for daemones propriè semen non habent nec gignunt sibi similes therefore we are to understand by the Serpents seed the reprobate wicked world They which imitate God and obey him are called his seed or his children in the Scripture as Be ye followers of God as dear children so they that imitate the Eph. 5.1 devil and obey him are called his seed or his children as Ye are of your father Joh. 8. 44 the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do He that committeth sinne is of the devil 1 Joh 3. 8. Quest 36. Verse 15. What is meant by the seed of the woman First and principally Jesus Christ Resp 1 It implieth all the Elect viz. all Eves seed that should not become the seed of the Serpent By the seed of the woman can be Object meant onely Christ who was so the seed of the woman that he was not of the man 'T is true Christ was born of a Virgin Resp and was so the seed of the woman that he was not of the man but yet that by the seed of the woman Christ singularly and individually should be meant by the Spirit of God in this place is not sufficiently demonstrated by this phrase and the reason is this because such persons as have been conceived and born in an ordinary way have been called the seed of the woman or that which amounts thereunto so Adam knew his wife again Gen. 4.25 and she bare a sonne and called his name Seth for God faith she hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel whom Cain slew there you have Eve calling Seth her seed so the wicked Jews are Isa 57.3 called the sonnes of the forceresse Quest 37. Verse 15. How is this particle it to be expounded It shall bruise thy head Some and those very learned though Resp 1 they expound the seed of the woman collectively and take it for Christ and his Church this particle notwithstanding say they referres unto Christ singularly and individually considered Their reasons are three Say they the Septuagint renders it Arg. 1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and though the Greek word which is used for seed be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet the pronoune relative is of the masculine gender 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 now if it had been to be taken collectively as the seed of the woman before it would have been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But we must consider that both in Latine Resp and Greek Authours pronouns many times agree rather cum re then cum voce and so it is in this case by the seed of the woman though we do not say is meant Christ onely yet we say Christ principally and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 clearly relates to Christ now that in Latine and Greek Authors pronouns do not only convenire cum verbo but sometimes cum re appears Terence hath such a phrase as this Ubi est scelus qui me perdidit And as for the Greek frequent instances we may finde in the New Testament Mat. 28.19 as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Luk. 8. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And so in Luke where the noune 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is of the masculine gender and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the neuter It is opposed to one individual Serpent Arg. 2 it shall bruise thy head The seed of the Serpent is implied Resp 1 there though not expressed for as the Serpent not alone but with his seed shall bruise the heele of the seed of the woman so Christ the seed of the woman not individually considered but with his seed shall break the Serpents head For the further clearing of this the seed of the woman may be said to bruise the Serpents head two manner of wayes 1. As the Lord Jesus spoiled principalities and powers and blotted out the handwriting of