ever hopes of this kind fhe had encouraged in herself at this time, it appeared plainly afterwards that he was of the feed of the ferpent, a child of the devil. Nor by the feed of the woman are we to understand the whole world, though, it is true, that Eve is the mother of all living; upon which account Adam gave her the name of Eve; yet many of her natural feed and offspring are children of difobedience, who are taken and led captive by the devil at his will, and in whose minds he works effectually; whatever averfion they may have to him, as he is reprefented as a frightful and horrible fpirit, yet they have none to him, as an impure and wicked one; they love his works, and fhew themselves to be his children, and will be curfed companions with him in everlasting flames. Nor can I fee any reason why the elect of God fhould be here called the feed of the woman; it is true, believers are called the feed of Abraham, in a spiritual fenfe, inafmuch as they are partakers of the fame faith, and tread in the fame steps of obedience: They are alfo called the feed of the church frequently; and Jerufalem, which is above, is faid to be the mother of them all, because they are born in her, and nurfed up at her fide; but they are never called the feed of Eve, in any particular and diftinct fenfe from the rest of the world; the grace by which they are regenerated, not defcending to them from her by natural generation. I conclude then, that by the feed of the woman, is meant the Meffiah: I have given my reasons already; it is the fame feed whom God afterwards promifed to Abraham, more clearly and distinctly, faying, In thy feed fhall all the nations of the earth be bleffed; which the apostle Paul directly applies to Chrift. It will not now be improper to confider in what fenfe Chrift is called the feed of the woman. Some think, he is fo called because of his birth of a virgin, fince he is faid to be the feed of the woman, and not of the man; which agrees with what is faid of Jefus, that he was made of a woman: But the phrase does not seem to design the miraculous conception and birth of the Meffiah; at least, it was not fo understood by Eve, if it can be thought, as fome learned men are of opinion, as has been before obferved, that the had entertained fome hopes and faith too, that she had got the Meffiah; which fhe could not, had fhe known that he was to be born of a virgin; nor does it appear that there were any intimations of this kind, at leaft, any clear ones, until the times of Ifaiah, who prophefied thus, Behold, a virgin fhall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel'. It may be, this phrafe, the feed of the woman, is only defigned to express the truth of Chrift's incarnation, the reality of his human nature, that he fhould partake of the fame flesh and blood with us; and, perhaps, the peculiarity of the expreffion may intend his affumption of a nature, and not a perfon; for Chrift affumed not an human perfon, but an human nature, which 3c2 • Ifai. xliii. 5. and xliv. 3. and lix. 21, &c. P Gen. xxii. 16. is is called that holy Thing born of the virgin, the feed of Abraham; and as here the feed of the woman. If Chrift had taken to himself an human perfon, there must be two perfons in him, which was the monstrous and abfurd error of Neftorius, bishop of Conftantinople, who lived in the fifth century, and was condemned by feveral councils. The human nature of Chrift never fubfifted of itself, which is proper to perfonality; it always was in union with the fecond perfon, fubfifted in him, and was never feparate from him fince it had an existence. Besides, if Chrift, as man, is a feparate and diftinct person, his actions and obedience, as fuch, would be of fervice to none but that fingle perfon; whereas, through. Chrift's affumption of an human nature in perfonality with himself, as the Soa of God, all his actions, obedience, and sufferings as man, have a.divine virtue and efficacy put into them, which renders the benefit of them communicable to as many as he pleafes.. But to proceed: This phrafe,, the feed of the woman, feems to be used on purpose to comfort Eve, under her prefent forrowful circumftances; that though she had beguiled her husband, through the feduction of the ferpent, and was the cause of his, her own, and their pofterity's ruin; yet one defcending from her, of her feed and offspring, fhould avenge this wrong done her, by bruifing the ferpent's head, and thereby deliver her from his power, and fave her with an everlasting falvation. The apoftle refers to this, when he fays, And Adam was not deceived; but the woman being deceived, was in the tranfgreffion, notwithStanding fhe fhall be faved in child-bearing; which laft part of the text I would chufe to render thus, Notwithstanding she shall be faved, or there shall be falvation for her, dia rus Tenyorías, by the birth of a Son'; that is, by the promised feed, the feed of the woman, the Lord Jesus Christ. Take the words in the other reading, and they furnish out no good fenfe at all, neither with refpect to temporal or eternal falvation: If they are to be understood of temporal falvation in childbearing, this is not true; fince many good women, as Rachel, and others, have died in child-bed; nor can they be understood in any found fenfe of eternal falvation, feeing bearing of children can never be thought to be either the caufe or condition, or means of that, and which, as is by a learned man rightly obferved, would be fmall comfort to those who bear none; but read the words, as I have obferved they may be read, there is a glare of gofpel light in them, and give us reafon to conclude, that Eve, who was first in the tranfgreffion, was nevertheless faved, through the Meffiah, and that all other women, who believe in the fame glorious perfon, fhall be faved also. What a mortification must this be to the devil, to hear, that though he had drawn the woman into the tranfgreffion, yet fhe fhould be faved from it; that though, through his temptations, • 1. Tim. ii. 13, 14. ↑ See Kidder's Demonftration of the Meffiah, Part I. p. 24 25 and the notes of his learned editor, Mr Bedford. temptations, she had been the caufe of man's ruin, yet there fhould be one who would fpring from her, that would be the author of falvation; and that the feed of that woman, whom he had deceived, fhould be the ruin of him. Now between Satan and his feed, evil angels and wicked men, on the one fide, and Chrift the feed of the woman, and the Head of the elect, on the other, there is a rooted enmity. The ferpent and his feed hate Chrift; those proud fpirits could not bear that the human nature should be advanced to union with the Son of God, and be exalted above that of theirs; this is thought, by fome, to be that which occafioned their apoftafy from God. As foon as they had an intimation of this, they broke away from him in rage and wrath, and with a difdainful pride, left their first habitations of blifs and glory, and fell into mutiny and rebellion against their Maker, and into plots and confpiracies to hinder the falvation of man by the incarnate God; though all in vain, and to no purpose. As foon as the man Chrift Jefus was born, Satan. ftirred up Herod to seek the young child's life to deftroy it; and when he was grown up to the eftate of man, he had the front to folicit him to deftroy himself; he put the Jews more than once upon ftoning of him, and, at laft, put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray him; by which means he attained his end, fo as to bring him to death, though it issued in the deftruction. of himself. The fame hatred and malice are to be obferved in all his feed.. On the other hand, Chrift, the feed of the woman, who loves righteoufnefs,. and hates iniquity, cannot but hate all the workers of it; whofe trade and bufinefs it is to commit fin: He hates Satan and all his followers, maintains a war against them, in which he is the mighty conqueror; all his enemies will fall into his hands, to whom he will fay, Go, ye curfed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. This leads me to confider the iffue and event of this mutual enmity, difcord. and war; the Meffiah, the feed of the woman, shall bruise the serpent's head; and the ferpent, the devil, fall bruife the Meffiab's beel; a vaft difparity this; great are the advantages of the one over the other. I proceed to inquire, What may be meant by bruising the ferpent's head. Perhaps, what the author of the epiftle to the Hebrews fays, will give us fome light into it, when he ob ferves, that forafmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewife took part of the fame, that through death he might deftroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil". What is expreffed in metaphorical terms in my text, is, in this fcripture, fignified without a figure; the bruifing of the ferpent's head, is the deftruction of the devil himself; by which must be understood, not an annihilation of his being; for though that is in the power of the woman's feed, yet he will preferve him as a monument of his wrath and ven "Heb. ii. 14. geance,, geance, to be a tormentor of others, and to be punished himself; therefore not an annihilation of him, but a deftruction of his power, authority, dominion, and works, is intended. It may be, a paffage of the apostle John's may instruct us in this matter yet more clearly, when he says, For this purpose the Son of God was manifefted, that he might destroy the works of the devil". The works of the devil are finful works, which he, in all ages, has been plotting and contriving, foliciting men unto, and engaging them in. Chrift was manifested in human nature to destroy thefe works; that is, to put away the fins of his people, make reconciliation for them, finish them, and make an end of them by the facrifice of himself, and thereby fave them from them, and from the wrath of God, which they deferve; in doing which, he has bruifed the ferpent's head, and confounded a defign of his, which was to involve them in all the miseries of an eternal death, from which Chrift has fecured them; for he has abolished death, another of the devil's works, and brought life and immortality to light by the gospel. There is a threefold death, which fin is the cause of, and has introduced into the world, and which are the juft wages of it, a corporal, fpiritual or moral, and an eternal one; all which are, in fome fenfe, abolished by Chrift. Though his people, whilst in a state of nature, are dead in trefpaffes and in fins, yet he having procured fpiritual life for them, puts it into them, preferves and fecures it, fo as they fhall never die more, in that fenfe. They die, indeed, a corporal death; they are not exempted from the general decree of heaven, and lot of all men; they are brought to death, to the house appointed for all living. Daily inftances confirm this, Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live for ever? But then the fting of death is taken away, the curfe is removed; death is not inflicted on them as a penal evil, or by way of punishment for fin, that being fully fatisfied for by Chrift. Death is one of the believer's privileges; it frees them from the troubles of this world, and lets them into the glories of another; wherefore, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord; they rest from their labours, and their works follow them. Nor fhall they always abide under the power of death; their bodies fhall be raised immortal, incorruptible, and glorious; when, being re-united to their fouls, they fhall be received into the everlasting kingdom and glory of Chrift, and spend an endless eternity with him. in joy and praife; where they fhall be for ever fecured from the second death, which is the eternal death; Bleffed and holy is he that hath part in the first refurrection; on fuch the second death bath no power. This is all owing to Christ, the refurrection and the life; who fays, He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet fhall be live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, fhall never die. This is comfortable to a believer, living and dying. Moreover, Moreover, by the head of the ferpent, we are not to understand the devil fingly and alone; but the whole poffe of devils with him, even all the powers of darkness, all the fiends of the infernal lake, who came out in a body, and attacked the Lord of life and glory, the feed of the woman, the true Meffiah, when he hung on the crofs; at which time, he spoiled principalities and powers, απεκδύσαμεν θε "unclothed them," ftripped them of their armour, and left them naked and defencelefs, and made a fhew of them openly, triumphing over them in it; which, when he had done, he afcended on high; and led captivity captive. с Again, The head being the feat of power, which commands the body and the members of it, may here intend the power, authority, and dominion, which the devil, as the god of this world, has ufurped over mankind; and has endeavoured to establish among them, and in which he arrived to a very great pitch in the Gentile world; as is very evident from that univerfal idolatry which he fpread over it, and which continued there for many hundreds of years. There was scarce any fort of creature in the world, but he prevailed upon the heathens to worship, even fome the most mean and contemptible; for they not only worshipped the heavens, and the hoft of them, the fun, moon, planets, and fixed ftars, and the four elements, fire, earth, air, and water, but even fishes of the fea, fowls of the air, fourfooted beafts, and creeping things; nay, even vegetables, trees, plants, and roots, and fuch as leeks and onions; which made the poet deride them for their garden gods. Nay, the devil fo far prevailed, as to obtain worship and adoration for himfelf, and that fometimes under the Colofs ii. 15. • Vid. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dierum, 1. 3. c. 12. & l. 6. c. 26. Quis nefcit Volufi Bythinice qualia demens Juvenal. Satyr. 15. name • Παρα φοινικων δε και Φερεκύδης λαβών τας αφορμας, εθεολόγησε ότι τα παρ' αυτω λεγόμενο 100IWVING DE8, xj Two 'Opiridur. Eufeb. Prepar. Evangel. 1. 1. c. 10. p. 41. Ed. Paris. L. Vives in Aug. de Civ. Dei, l. 14. c. 11. reports from the fame Pherecydes, of whom Eufebius fpeaks, that this god Ophioneus, or Serpentinus, was the prince of the demons, or devils, whom Jupiter caft down from heaven. |