not destroy Adam for his sinne and deserued death now doth God pardone and pittie him how can this stand in the course of Gods iustice when as at the deliuerie of his Commandement he threatned death vnto Adam saying In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death To aunswere this Obiection The aunswere to the obiection The Iustice of God is perfectly satisfied according to his word for as Man sinned so Man for his sinne had the sentence and iudgement of death but the execution of death for sinne was spared in Adam and layde vpon Christ Esa 53.10 Ephe. 5.2 who was made an Offering for sinne and appoynted by God him selfe before the foundation of the world euen for all thē that put their trust in him so that the iustice of God taketh effect in man but Chrst perfect God perfect man hath ouercome death although his humanity for a time was seased vpon and kept in the graue by death to satisfie the sentence of his Fathers iustice pronounced against Adam yet by his Deitie he raised vp his Humanity from death 1. Cor. 15.20 Joh. 17.4.5 and glorified it with Immortalitie in heauen and he wil also glorifie all the faythfull that trust in him Rom. 6.5 Gal. 4.6 being ingrafted into his body Sanctified by his spirit whereby they cry Abba Father Gods prouident care ouer Adam euen in this world And notwithstanding that Adam was cast out of Paradise wherby he had a dayly continual feeling of his miserie purchased by his sinne yet God left him not forlorne but by his gracious prouidence louing eye which he had ouer him he kept him safe not onely from the rage and furie of cruell beastes which became rebellious vnto Adam but also from the crueltie of that roaring Lion Satan 1. Pet. 5.8 which gaped and euer looked for the eternall fall and destruction of Adam And God also blessed his labour that the Earth thereby should bring foorth fruite meate vnto him for the preseruation of this life and likewise he continued the loue betweene Adam and his wife that neither of thē should take exception one against the other for their eiection and casting out of Paradise but rather make much of and comfort one another in the time of their pilgrimage and miserie of this world The mutuall loue which should he betweene man and wife Which teacheth vs that man and wife should neuer fall out or be offended with each other for the losses of the riches and possessions of this world when as our Parentes twitted not each other in the teeth whē they lost the possession of that ioyfull Paradise O happie man The happy translation of man to a heauenly paradise who hath so mercifull a God that sinning yet thou art pardoned being lost art found reiected yet receiued dead yet lyueth and liuing shalt be glorified with him not in the earthly but in the heauenly Paradise for euermore The glory of heauen The glory whereof is infinite for the riches therein are without measure there is plentie without want comfort without griefe light without darkenesse life without death The ioy of Gods presence with his saincte Gods presence is as a bright shining Temple in the middest thereof before whose throne doe stand the holy Angels and Sainctes whose eyes are neuer satisfied with beholding him their eares neuer glutted with hearing him their tongues neuer silent from praysing him their handes neuer wearie with lifting vp vnto him their hearts neuer filled with the sweetnes of his loue and their feete neuer tyred with walking in his wayes Reu. 22.1.2 There is the Water of Life euer running the Tree of life euer growing and the fruite of Loue and peace neuer fading To which place and Paradise God of his infinite mercy bring vs for Christ Iesus sake our onely Lord and Sauiour Amen FINIS
inclose them and euerlasting Condemnation to retaine them in that Lake which burneth with fire brimstone for euer more Reul 20.10 And therfore Satan in tempting our parents by attempting soueraignetie with God denied him to be the Lord although they confessed him to be God To confesse God wholly not in part Whereby we are to learne to beware that we doe not confesse God in part and denie him in part which the Diuel did but to hold fast the analogie of our Fayth and euer with a pure heart to confesse GOD to be the Lord and the Lord God Adam Eues arraignement And concerning the order and equitie of God in the Arraignement Gen. 2.8 vnto vers 19. he proceedeth first against Adam because he was created before Eue and to him was giuen the possession of the Garden and the precept commandement touching the fruite before Eue was formed made Then next he calleth Eue beeing bone of Adams bone and flesh of his flesh inferiour vnto him in order of nature though first before him in degree of sinne and yet the order of the arraignement is iust though Adam sinned after Eue Gen. 4.9 for although Cain was not his Brothers keeper yet the Husband is the Wiues head Ephes 5.23 and ought to be her Instructor in all the commaundementes of God The Husbands care which he ought to haue ouer his wife that she might liue in his feare be obedient vnto him For as no reasonable man will hurt his owne flesh so no godly man ought through his negligence to suffer his owne flesh to sinne but still to haue an eye and care for her preseruation as much as in him lyeth And lastly God speaketh vnto the Serpent as being the Diuels instrument vnto sinne and maketh no further expostulation with him because the Diuel The Diuel was a conuict and reprobate before Adams fall who was in the Serpent was a conuict and condemned creature before attainted before Gods iudgement seate in heauen and cast downe from thence with the rest of the disobedient Angels and therefore he commeth to no new arraignement The Serpent being the instrument of sinne is punished but the person of the creature being an instrument which the Diuel vsed to draw our Parents vnto sinne is accursed which sheweth vnto vs that not onely the perswaders and consenters vnto sinne but the dumme creatures also which are meanes and instrumentes made by the wicked for the inticement vnto sinne are accursed before the sight of God so holy so iust and righteous is the Lord Deut. 28.17.18 and therfore the Earth creatures thereof are accursed for Mans sake when as by the instigation of Satan Man is allured by the pleasures thereof to loue imbrace the world more then God And so in the iustice of God the glorious Houses and stately dwellinges of the mighty vpon the earth are accursed and made desolate Mich. 7.13 for the sinnes of the owners and buylders thereof who haue raysed vp the Walles by Oppression tempered the Morter with Blood adorned them with Vanitie possessed them with Pride Psal 49.11 and called them and their lands by their owne names that they might be as Gods to liue for euer But behold as Adam was cast out of Paradise so are they out of their dwellinges verse 14. They lie like Sheepe in Graue and Death deuoureth them and their name is perished from of the earth SECT 10. AS touching their answers Adams Indictment consisting of Two partes the Offence committed and the Flying vpon the offence Adams pleading to the indictment Hee confesseth it and would auoyde it by way of extenuatiō in alleadging the principall cause to be the Woman And as touching his Flight he doth also extenuat it by the presence of God in following him for he sayth he was afrayd and that in two respectes the one because he heard Gods fearefull voyce the other because he Saw himselfe to be naked whereas vpon the committing of the sinne he feared neither the presence of God nor his owne miserie to come for he thought to haue been equall with God Satans subtiltie to couer sinne It is the subtiltie of Satan in drawing men forward to sinne to hide the hooke of Miserie vnder the bayte of flattering felicitie their eyes being blinded not to see the one and their handes and feete too swift and forwarde to runne and reach vnto the other Gehazi got Money and Apparrell of Naaman 2. king 5.21.22 but it infected him with Leprosie Adam eate the Apple but it poysoned him euen vnto death had not Iesus Christ his and our heauenly Phisition purged him from his sinne which is the venome and mother and sting of death 1. Cor. 15.5.6 Eues her pleading And Eue in her answere followeth her husbands president pleading as he did confessing and auoyding the offence alleadged in her indictment affirming the Serpent to be the cause of her offence Such is the course and practise of Satan in his malice towardes man that when man hath offended he hardneth and shutteth vp his heart from repentance Offenders will excuse but not confesse their fault making him bold and impudent to excuse his fault eyther by posting it ouer vnto some other or dawbing and couering it with vntempered morter falshood vntrueth thinking thereby to blinde the eyes of God their Iudge But they are deceiued for nothing is hidde from his sight Psal 7.9 he Searcheth the heartes and the reynes and the night is as cleare as the day before him and psa 139.1 vnto 18. He knoweth mans going foorth and his comming in their wordes and their workes are registred before him yea he is in the closets and priuie chambers of men to heare their counsels and to see their wayes So that when they shall come vnto iudgement before him the Booke of their offences shall be opened and read vnto them their Consciences shall tremble their Heartes shall melt they shall not be able to answere one sinne of a thousand In temptations to thinke vpon God is the preuenting of sinne Therefore in the committing of sinne if men would but remember who seeth them it would be a curbe and bridle to bring them backe or if after the sinne committed they would remember who shall iudge them it would be a meanes to make them humble them selues before the throne of God to confesse their sinnes and craue pardone for the same through the merites of Iesus Christ who is a Sauiour vnto all them that put their trust in him Equiuocate lying shifting is most abhominable before God For all coulorable shiftes and lyes and subtile equiuocation highly offendeth God and maketh the sinne double and more haynous in his sight It had been better for our Parents Adam and Eue plainely to haue confessed and acknowledged their disobedience then to haue posted it and shouelled it from
touching the answere of Eue vnto the Serpent two things therein are to be considered The Simplicitie of Eue and her Sinceritie Her Simplicitie because she did not discerne not suspect the Serpents subtiltie For in the 1. vers of the 3. of Genesis you may read that the Serpent the Diuell did not openly shew his purpose vnto Eue by perswading her in plaine tearmes You may eate of the Fruite but made as it were a carelesse question vnto her saying Yea Gen. 3.1 hath God indeed sayd Yee shall not eate of euerie Tree of the Garden Wherein we may still see the subtiltie of Satan how he compasseth and ouercommeth those that are simple and thinke no ill For first he insinuateth and draweth Eue to make a confession of God and of his Commaundement and afterwarde perswadeth her to breake the Commaundement and to disobey God to th' end her punishment and condempnation might be the greater For by how much the more it is for Gods glory and mans consolation steadfastly in his hart to beleeue in God Rom. 10.9 and boldly with his mouth to confesse him vnto saluation neuer to deny him By so much the more it is to Mans shame and condempnation when hee hath once beleeued God Heb. 6.4 5 6. and confessed him then after to denie him and forsake him And therefore wee must be wise aswell as simple and innocent and pray for Grace Iohn 4.1 that we may be able to iudge betweene the spirits and try whether they be of God or not that so wee might not yeeld vnto the least temptation but shut our heartes and stop our eares thereat for the Diuels motions neuer tende vnto the good of Man vnles through true obedience fayth in God we ioyfully and constantly resist and ouercome them Jam. 4.7 and so shall God haue the glory and wee the victorie For as the Thistle or Thorne in the filde will not sting or pricke vs vnlesse we wrappe or close them in our handes no more can the questions or temptations of Satan hurt our soules vnlesse wee are willing to harken therevnto and imbrace it in our hearts And therefore wee must follow the example of Ioseph Gen. 39.10 to flie from temptations and worldly lustes which fight against the soule for they are but as a Harlot to entice vs and as a Snake to stinge vs vnto death And as touching the Sinceritie of Eue it plainely appeareth in her true answere vnto the Serpent for shee neither concealed her owne action which in obedience shee did performe towards God in eating onely but of the permitted Fruite neither did shee keepe secret Gods especiall Commaundement which was his prohibition that they should not eate of the tree in the middest of the Garden Gen. 2.17.9 Wherby we may note that we must not conceale the trueth but confesse it euen to the most wicked beeing asked thereof when as by our answere God is magnified by confessing of him and declaring his commandement which he hath willed deliuered vnto vs. And in this Eue was to be commended in which all other the children of God ought to follow her example But notwithstanding in the end shee was more blameable because after she had confessed God and his commandement yet shee disobeyed God in breaking of his Commandement Mat. 16.16 It was Peters case he made a good confession there was his sinceritie but after he made a wicked deniall Mat. 26.7 there was his apostacie It is therfore better to be constant end well then in the beginning to confesse well and ende ill for wee must not begin in the spirit Gal. 3.3 and end in the flesh It is better to be a Conuert with Paul Act. 9.6 so to continue then to be an Apostle with Iudas Mat. 26.48 and after to fall away for euer But Eue Peter as they fell away by weaknesse and disobedience so vpon their true repentance and fayth in God they were restored by the obedience of Christ Rom. 3.22 which was imputed vnto them and also vnto vs in the loue of GOD the Father through him Ephes 1.4 from before the foundation of the world SECT 3. AS touching the Serpentes Replication vnto Eue two thinges therein are to be considered The direct opposition of Satan against Gods word in saying Yee shall not die at all And his colourable argument to approoue his opposition in these wordes But God doth know that you shall be as Gods In the Opposition is also to be considered two thinges the Impudencie of Satan and his Malice His Impudencie that hee dares oppose against Gods word His Malice that he seeketh in as much as in him lieth to dishonour God by falsefying of his trueth In the colourable argument is also to be considered two thinges Satans fiction or feigning of a feare in God in these wordes But God doth know c. And his fiction of mans high felicitie aboue their created estate in these wordes Yee shall bee as Gods knowing good and euill As touching the Opposition Satan dealeth against God as a fugitiue Traytor doth against his Prince who when he seeth that he can not hurt or annoy his Prince by open force then he worketh by malice in secret places to defame the Prince discredite his lawes and draw away his Subiectes from their obedience So Mat. 8.29 the Diuell being not able to withstand the Lord nor daring to appeare in his sight yet secretly dishonoureth God scandalizeth or slaundereth his word and seeketh to intice and draw away man from his obedience vnto God impudently sending foorth blasphemies against God and Heauen and deceiuing deluding men with lyes bewitching them with sorceries blinding them with vanities that they might fall with him into the pitte of euerlasting destruction And whom soeuer the vice of Impudencie doth possesse let them tremble and feare least it make them like vnto Satan disobedient vnto God and outragious vnto men For in the Impudent mans heart Malice lurketh secretly Blasphemie is in his mouth Pride appeareth in his eyes Vnrighteousnesse preuayleth in his handes and he walketh and vaunteth himselfe in euery wicked and vngodly way as did Lamech Gen. 4.23 who would slay a man in his wound and a young man in his hurt And as concerning Satans Malice it hath a respect eye Satans malice against God and man to two seuerall persons God and Man To God against his dignitie To Man against his felicitie Hee euer enuied the one and continually maligned the other because his pride before his fall could brooke no superiour his miserie since his fall maketh him repine at the prosperitie of an other But the fruite and end of his Malice was vtter destruction to him selfe for euer Psal 7.16 And so shall it befall vnto all them that eyther feeke of selfe-will and purpose to dishonour God or to hurt and ouertrow their breathren And touching the colourable