of Pasturage and Agriculture to busie all sorts of ingenious Natures and Tempers without medling with any Controversie in Devotions or questioning of God's acceptation of what we or others do being done with outward Conformity of worship and inward clear intentions to please him For the business of Religion is a particular Imployment not pertaining to Pasturage or Agriculture which as I said contains all Temporal Imployments And when men did multiply God did think fit to set up Melchisedeck which was thought to be Seth because men for the future should not make their voluntary Oblations without directions from such a function as was properly ordained for it And after him the Levitical Order purposely to direct and instruct men in their duty of Devotion and Spirituals And as Cain and Abel were punish'd for intruding into their Function which may seem to be then dispensible in respect there were none ordained to it so it is as inconsistent and dangerous for that Order to meddle with the Functions of Cain and Abel unless it be by way of inspection or contemplation of God's Creatures but not of occupation or mixing of Functions for by one the State is destroyed by the other the Church And I further observe that the first Priest we read of was King of Salem to shew that the directions in that function did proceed from the King or Government which is best able to judge of its own Method in offering to God what is fit and consonant to its constitution and the Order of Priests are to give their sutable instructions so as these different Vocations may neither interfere nor incroach on each other as properly belonging to the supreme Magistrate to keep them in a true Balance Cap. 5. Verse 3. And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years and knew his wife again § 52. and begot a Son in his Likeness after his Image and called his name Seth. For she said God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel whom Cain slew I observe that these two exemplary Parents did not torment themselves with passion for the murther of their eldest and deprivement of their youngest son or that they as it were lost them in the prime of their youth when they had been instructed in civil and Religious duties and were Capable of such Imployments as may be collected by the Text or for the want of such associates and assistants to their injoyned Labours None of these I say did promote a passion in them or any reluctancy against their Creators disposure it seeming equal to have no Children or to have them with the care of Education and the anxieties in the loss of them or the discontents which may happen by their ill deportments but with patience and silence they undergo what God thought fit to permit and a blessing did follow it for he had another son in his Likeness after his Image which saith the Targum was like him in features and like Abel in goodness of disposition for as Abel was a keeper of Sheep and Cain a husbandman this son Seth as is conceived by some was that Melchisedeck as I said who was a Priest of the Living God And thus in some measure every mans Patience and submission begets some Reward which hath a similitude to his expectation Cap. 5. verse 4. And the dayes of Adam after he begat Seth were eight hundred years § 53. and he begat Sons and Daughters According to some Rabbins Adam had thirty sons and thirty daughters and though it be said here he begat sons and daughters yet it doth not exclude such danghters as were begotten before Seth which those Rabbins say were two Calmana and Deborah and that they were the Wives of Cain and Abel and if so then probably when Abel was slain Cain took them both to be his wives and then admit that they were all four born within four years of Adams Expulsion out of Paradice then within thirty years they might be all four capable of procreation and have Children so that the pre-Adamite needs not seek for the assistance of another Nation to People the Land of Nod or the City of Enoch since upon an easy multiplication in less then one hundred years they and their progeny might easily produce and carry thither above five thousand persons Cap. 5. verse 5. And all the days of Adam were nine hundred and thirty years § 54. Eternity is so Circular that a thousand years are but as a day and a day but as a thousand years our knowledge of it is in the Abstract and therefore there is framed to us some Epoches and progresses by which this Eternity moves in its Circle and to pass by Minutes Hours and those smaller gradations we come to days weeks and moneths and years and we make the Year to consist of Moneths the Moneths of Weeks and the Weeks of days Now those who are not guided by those proportions do make a diversion from these equal paths wherein Eternity would guide us and those who seem to be confounded in their various Commensurations for some accounted four weeks or eight and twenty days to be a year others seven moneths or eight and twenty weeks others accounted their years by Winters others by Summors some by Nights and Dayes artificial supposing I presume the Winter to be the dead time of the year and the Night no part of our life and therefore ought not to be Computed within the compass of the Living year But in later Ages the year was settled according to the Natural day consisting of four and twenty hours and the Sun and Moon dividing it into twelve Moneths or thirteen Moones or fifty two Weeks within the year contained three hundred sixty five dayes but there happening six hours over in the yeare to supply all defects by way of Intercalation they have added one day at the end of every fourth year which is called the Bisseztile or Leap year because in that year by that addition of one day there happens two days which must necessarily be called Sextilis Calend arum Martii by reason of the interposition of that day consisting of the forty six hours interposed so that all those lesser Computations of the year being reconciled to my hand I may go clearly upon the Literal sense as I have hitherto done in these discourses and affirm that Adam lived Nine handred and thirty years accounting the years either according to the Julian or Gregorean Settlements one being but 186. days more then the other in 930. years For were it moneths or quarters Mahalael and Enoch who begat children at sixty five years would not have been out of their Infancy when they are said to beget Children nor do I see any ground why we should doubt that they lived so many years accounting according to our Computations when as they were neerer to the original perfection wherein Adam was made and knew the sanative virtues of all things nor had they those temptations of
of the Sun upon their several Horizons The next Point is West Gen. 12.8 which is opposite to every East or Rising of the Sun to that Horizon where it appears And Verse the 9th the South is mention'd which is the middle Point when the Sun is at its heighth between its appearance or Ascension and disappearance or Descension upon any Horizon Then in the 13th Chapter verse 14. the North which is the opposite Point to the South is mentioned and placed before the other three as the most principal and certain Point viz. Northward Southward Eastward Westward that is toward the North South East West For I question whether Moses then knew the exact Points as now we do by the use of the Loadstone which now are also taught us from the natural inclination of all things to that North point by Plants other Stones Birds Fishes Waters c. though possibly they might know the Load Star or North Star yet I do not find that the Use of the Compass was known till about Christs Time as I collect from the 27th of the Acts verse 12. where the Southwest and Northwest are mentioned by which time they had got two Points more of the thirty two which Compass now is the Seamans Alphabet However we have sufficient hints from this Text to traverse the world for the better manifestation of our Creators glory by the insight and benefit of his various and wonderful Operations and Products in the Elements Cap. 2. Verse 15. And the Lord God took the man § 21. and put him into the garden to dress it and to keep it God knew that Idleness corrupts the best natures and therefore Man was imployed in that humble vocation Vt coleret legem observaret mandata ejus Targ. Hier. for though God did at first create the kinds of all Plants yet doubtless man had and yet hath an honest Allowance to procreate a Diversity of Species by Transplantations Ingrastings Inoculatings and other various Cultivations which were Incestuous in other Creatures but as I conceive allowed from the words here to dress and keep it Nature is of her self rude in Exuberancies so that if Art do not polite it even the Winds Frosts Birds and Beasts do supply their Prunings And 't is not onely thus in Plants but other Creatures the Eagle with her art breaks off her overgrown Beak and renews her age and Man himself would scarce be discerned from Beast if Art and Care did not preserve his Excrescencies from defacing him Nature is dull and idle Art is the Soul of Nature and Sedulity the Spirit or Mind that unites them It is Motion that keeps all things Celestial and Sublunary in order should that cease 't is thought the upper World would be in a flame and our lower World a rude Chaos That which we call Quiet is onely the result of a Lazy Mind true Quiet is onely our Contentment in all orderly and allowable motions to the improving and preserving Nature in her best form whither considered as to Individuals or Generals Cap. 2. Verse 16 17. And the Lord God commanded the man saying Of every tree c. thou mayest eat § 22. but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat Besides the Law of Nature whereby God had fixed to every Creature its order as the Sun to rule the Day and the Moon the Night and Man next under God to have the Dominion of all Terrestrial Creatures God did think fit to exhibit to Man a Law of Trial or rather a Command of Reason for what needed God to command whenas there was nothing could have power but from him to disobey yet that Man might not think all things so tied to the order of Nature without variation as that his Posterity which were not to have such immediate conversation with God might easily judge by the rule of Trial or Reason what was expedient for such a Creature to perform to a Creator And therefore did God command this Law of Trial or Reason for it was but reason that God should be obeyed even in seeming Trivials seeing Nature it self which he hath constituted invites us to the same 'T is true sin came not till the Law Now the Law is but the Memorials of Nature which are that every thing should be kept in order Servants obey Masters Wives Husbands Children Parents Subjects their Superior Magistrates accoeding to several orders and for want of which Rebellions in States Commotions in Families do arise God did know Man would disobey and God permitted him to disobey that by Adams example all his Posterity might see the effect of Disobedience to the Law of Reason for it was most rational and just that Man should obey whatever God imposed especially seeing God had given him such a latitude and so small a limitation And though we may think this Law of Reason too strictly imposed upon us yet upon due inquiry we had no other way left us in our Creation to express our gratitude but by this Law of Trial or Reason for though we know not exactly what God hath impowered us to do or not do what to act or what to forbear yet now by the rules of Reason we may judge what things are not fit to be done and as much as in us lieth retire our Wills Desires or Acts from them As for example Adam might thus have discoursed I may eat of all Fruits except one or two I have sufficient by this freedom to please my tast and sight why should I be so ambitious by eating of the Tree of Life to live another life whereas that wherein I live enjoys so many varieties Why should I be so curious to know more by eating of the Tree of Knowledge whenas already I know so much as God thinks fit to impart and I find that he is still instructing me And thus may every man judge by the Law of Reason whether he disobeys God or no. The first examination is from the rules of Nature in the point of Obedience and therefore 't is said that Obedieuce is better then sacrifice for those Rules which we have of Morality or Christianity are but the Product of the Rules of Nature formed into rational Doctrines I do not here include the Rules of Faith and yet these are Rules of Trial and Reason for what can be a safer Trial then to believe because he commands and then in reason how safe is it to believe that which may be hazardous to our Souls if we do not believe And even here do we follow the Dictates of Nature rather in obeying what is said to be his command then in disobeying in those things wherein we have not his command but especially in such things wherein both in Nature and Reason we find Natural Rational and Christian Injunctions So that Gods command how mean soever the command may seem was but to shew that besides the Law of Nature he did exhibit unto us a
is not mentioned and he had Liberty to eat of the tree of life but not of the tree of Knowledge So that the Serpent had sufficient Advantage by the Mistake of the command Whereupon Cap. 2. Verse 4. The Serpent said § 7. Ye shall not surely dye You shall not dye either for eating the Fruit which was not mentioned or for touching the tree which is not Commanded or for eating of the Tree in the midst of the garden which was the Tree of life and not forbidden And when the Serpent had thus possest her that she should not dye for eating or touching of that which was not forbidden he returns to the truth of punishment yet depending upon the former asseveration and saith ye shall not surely dye For the Serpent had got so much advantage by the discourse with Eve and understanding the Nature of her death not to be a seperation of the Soul and Body but a deprivatian of Gods Love did tell her to this effect so good a God would not inflict so rigorous a punishment upon her for she should not dye but Live and live now with farr more satisfaction For her eyes which were only as Senses shall then represent all thing in their perfect Knowledge of them For ye shall be like Gods knowing good and evil But in this discourse hitherto both the Devil and Eve left out one expression in that command namely In the day thou eatest they were both willing it seems to omit the point of time And well may Procrastination continue as a punishment upon our humane Nature she thought God would not be so punctual to a day or it may be she did not understand what a day was or it may be she had too various opinions of it and not Considered as intended in Puncto temporis either 12. or 24. hours or a year according to the Natural motion of the Sut But it may be she conceivd the day to be a Thousand years which are but as a day with God So that the day she should die should be a thousand years after the Eating or a time undeterminable Some of these Conceptions might make them omit the day for it is certain he neither sinned the last day of his life nor dyed the first day of his death So that we may understand it to be a death Contracted but not instantly inflicted and in stead of Morte Morieris we may read Mortalis eris Thou shalt dye the death that is thou shalt be Mortal or have a daily disposition in thee to death Cap. 3. Verse 5. For God doth know § 8. that in the day you eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and you shall be like God's knowing good and Evil. Now the Devil boldly mentions the day when by his subtile intangling discourses he had gotten the day of the Woman But poor soul it prov'd her night Their Eyes which till now were open to see all sorts of Felicity are now dimmed with the shades of ensuing Mortality so that though they have Eyes yet they can see nothing but the effects of their Ambition For that knowledge of goodness which they had in perfection by continuing in obedience to Gods Commands is now turned by their disobedience to an imperfect knowledge which is the greatest Evil attending human Nature For by this imperfection we scarce know what good is to be followed or what evil to be shunned Regions Climes Tempers Accidents and even Laws of Nations giving Latitudes or Circumscriptions enough to puzzle the devoutest souls and doubtless this is no similitude of a Divine knowledge or to know as God who I presume knows Evil no otherwise then by suffering our Knowledge to be puzzled in attaining the unspeakable Mystery of goodness And therefore the Targum of Jerusalem being tender I suppose in ascribing the knowledge of Evil to God instead of you shall be like Gods knowing Good and Evil say you shall be like the great Angels who are indued with Wisdome to determin good and evil And if the Planets and Spheres have their operations from the Angels then the astrologians have the advantage of knowing good and evil by Collection however it is an equal infelicity not to know the distinction of good evil as not to be able to improve the one or prevent the other And the Chaldee Paraphrase says Ye shall be like Princes as if Princes were to be the Judges of Good and Evil For good or bad things which some call indifferent are made good or bad according to the Nature and obligation of their Command Cap. 3. Ver. 6. And when the Woman saw that the Tree was good for food § 9. and that it was Pleasant to the Eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise Here we see the foundation of disobedience We first argue from necessity It is good for Food and without Food we cannot susteine Nature and who hath more reason to be Careful of that then our selves And why did God exhibit us the view of Food yea and good food if we may not be our own Carvers Then we argue from Pleasure does God say we Create in us organs of sight and those attended with such Agents that we are pleased and displeased according to our objects seeing content gives life to every fruition why should we not injoy what is most pleasurable and at once please our taste and sight And then steps in Ambition and says We shall not only please our senses but our Intellectuals We shall be wise as God Angels or Princes that is as any of our superiours And thus by these insinuations we give our selves Latitude to our own destructions and this is the ground of ruine to Families as well as to States The Servant would evade the Masters Commands the Wife the Husbands the Subject the Princes Judging the Commands to be of small consequence and so the breach easily forgiven or advantagious to our selves and therefore naturally dispensibe But doubtless the less the command be the more we are obliged to perform because the performance seems more in our Power and the more advantagious it is to our private Capacities the greater affront we give to the publick by our disobedience and ingrossing that which should be either common or restrained by so being perswaded and resolved to disobey She took of the Fruit thereof § 10. and did eat This Fruit which Eve did eat is commonly taken for an Apple but I cannot tell for what reason unless that Malum is Latine for an Apple as also for Evil. And then the next doubt is for none knew the original of Latine whether Eve did speak Latine in Paradise But the small reason that I have heard for the Apple is because if one Cut an Apple cross the Core that is beteen the stalk and the top the Beds of the Seeds are just ten in number representing the ten Commandments all which Eve did at once break by eating the Apple and