JLooking unto jjcfu.s. Book Ill. ;s promifed , and becaufe the promife receives diflincti.on o{ degree.s acc~rding to t~e feveral breakings out of u to the dark world, we wtll confider tt as It ~as rnam: fe!kd I. From .Adam till..Abraharn. 2 • From .Abraham rill Mofes. 3. From A1ofts till Dm;id. ' 4 . FromDavid till the Babylonifh Captivity, or the,eabout. 5· Fr~litthe Cap-tivity, orthereabout,till Chnfl:. In every of thefa periods will appear forne further and .further difcoveries of Gods n{ercy in Chrilt, of the Covenant Qt grace,ofour {efm carrymg on the great work ofmans Eternal falvation in rhatdark tirue. · You heard befvre of the Covenant betwixt God and Chrifi concerning our falvation. but that was not the Covenant of grace which God immediately made with man a~ fallen ; but a pmicular Covenant with Chrift to. be the Mediator. Or fo far as it was a Co 1 ·enant ofgrace, it was then made betwixt God and Chrifl:, and after to be made betwixt God and us: for a time we were hid in the womb of Gods Election, and nor being rhen capable to enter into Covelllnt with God , Chrifl: undenook:for us, but yet fo that when we come to be regenerate, we are then to flrike Covenant our felves. And hence we read expreffdy of Gods Covenanting with fundry particular perfons , as with ..Adam, and .Abrah.1•?J, and Mofcs, and David, &c. Of which in the next Sections. S E C T. II. Of theCovenant ofprorni(e as manifefted to Adam. 59 THe Covenant of grace inthisfenfe is nothing elfe but a Compact made betwil(l: God ,and man, touching reconciliation, and life Eternal by Chrifl. Now the firfl brea– king forth of this graciou> Covenant was to Adam and Eve, immediately after the fall, expreffed in thefe words , I will pur enmity btTWeen thee and the woman • and between thy Gen. 3• 1 f" Jced,ar.dher {::ed; it j);aUbmife thy head, .and thou j!Jalr bmife his hee[, This promife as it is the firil; fo the hardefl to be underflood: it containes in it good' newes ofthe overthrow of •atans Kingdome,and ofmans freedome by the death ofChri!l:. B-ut the obfcurity i, fuch, rhat Lmher exceedingly complains, the Text which of all >mn Te:»tus gui om– jiJot~!d rightly be lcyown, i; of no man· that I lcyow (faith he) efpecially and accurrare!y unfol• ;"' d'Jjhar dfd: .amongft the Anrients there u not one that bath e.~plicared rhu Text according to the: :e;~~e~~.:;:• dJgwry ofU·. . . egof'iam,dili~ The occafwn w1s tills. The Lord looking down from heaven, and feemg how Satan had genrer & r.c• prevailed againfl: man , and in forne fort undone the wholefabrick of the creation, he re· curmee:plita· folvts upon Satans ruine, and mans prefervation; . And th: Lord Godfaid unto the Ser- :h~r~'· Lu. pent,b<wtji: thotth.lft done thiS thou art cwfed. Thts literally ts underA:ood of the Serpent, but fpiritually of the Devil; bothwere as means to draw man unto lin, and therefore they Gen·3"~· a:e jo'yned as one in the puniDtmem ; The Lordcur offthe feet ofthe Serpent (fay the Rab- El. E./" btes) Mdwrfedhim; and he ~.1ft Samael (the De'!if) and his company_ 0 ut of heaven, a~ c ;+•wr. ctsr(ed them. Indeed man bemg m th€ tranfgre{jwn mull alfo have lm pumfhment, as tt followesverf.r 7,18,19 and yet thatGod might rnanifefl the riches of his grace, he includes mthe Serpents maledtctton tlus everlaflmg Gofpel I will pur enmity between thfe and the woman,&c,. For the ffnfe of the wo.rds we !hall open thefe termes , as, r. Who is the Serpent? 2. Who •s the woman? J. What is the feed of the Serpent? 4· Vvhat"is the feed ofthe woman? 5· What is thatHtt [in our Bible tranfilted it?] 6 , What i> the Serpents head, and tlle brmfing of1t? 7. \Vhat is the heel of the feed ofrhe woman, and the brui– t:ng cf lt? 8.. Amongrr whom was the enmity , or rather enmities? for in the text we tmd many arm~es, I Wtli pt<1 cnx,ity between thee and the woman, and between thy feed and hcrfttd, &c. · . r ·' Who is the Serpent? I,find diverlity of opinions among Interpret~rs: Some fay, tt was onely the Serpent, and that which belongs unto Satan is bur myllically under• flood: otlwrs fay, 1t w"' onely Sathan under the notion of a Serpent, asfometimes he is called the great Dragon, A·idtheg>'<ttt Dragon was caft 6JJt , that old Serpent calledtho I 2 Dt'!lil; ' .
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