6o Book Ill. Chap 1 .Secr,'l~ i\<,.. "· 9· Devil, ttnt2 Satan, which deceived the who!n•·orld. Od1ers fJy, it was botl1 Satan Jnd rh~ Serpent; as men aref11d to .be polf<f(cd of Satan, fo was the Serpent polfelfed of the Devil. Satan could not provoke our. firil: p1rems to fin byany inward temprarion as now be doth by rbe help of0ur corruption: nor could beemer into rheir bodies or mi~d .becaufe of the holinefs and glory thlt was in them; and therefore he prefumed to 11~~ a beail: ofthe earrh,and by drfpolmg of hrs Tonguehe f,>eaks within him. But what? mull the Serpent have punrfhment,that was only Satans rnflrument tn the tempration .e yes: _Such was Gods love to man, that he cqndemns both the Aurhor aod rnll:rument ofrhat evrl : as one that tn anger breaks the {word wherewith Ius fon, or his friend was wounded; fo God breaks Satans fword: rbe Ser, enr is puniOred according ro the lert<r of the text, and Satan is ~uniOred in the fpirirual meaning ofrbe Lord. Who is the woman .' Some are all for Allegories, 1nd they will tell you, that the Ser. ~:enr and the Woman are the fuperiour and inferiour faculties of rhe Soul; aod that evrr fmce the Fall there bath been a comrnual War betwrxt thefe: burI lookat this Commen. tary as vain and trifling, though it b~ fo,bered on fome of the Antiems, and of no fnuU note >others fay, this Womon is the Blelfed Virgin, inrebtion to which, they read the !all words tlrus, p" Jl!a/1 bruife thy h,ad; this reaJing is not on! y allowed, bur confirmed br the Councel of Trent; and in fomeof their Prayer-books they call her The Mothtr of the Lord, the Tree of Life, th' bre. .lw of the SC>·pcnts head, and the Uate of Htavm. Antipb>na de B~u I look on thi~ Commentary as ignorant and ldobtrous, and wholly derogatory to the domi"" no;1ra Krngdom of Chnll. Others are not fo eafily mrflead, and therefore fay, that the wo. ftc•'d~m u[•m man wherefoever menrionrd in thi> Text, is Eve, and none bur Eve ; Jl.e ir was whom ~cclc]Htlden the tempter had feduced, and in jufl.J udgmenr for her familiarity with the tempter, God tem. meets with her, I will put enmity (faith Uod) between thee and the Woman. 3. What is the Seed of the Serpent? in Snipture phrafc Seed is fometimes taken coRe. ctively, for many at once; as when the Lord faid to .Abraham, !will be thy God, andthe God of thy Seed: and to thee and thy Seed will Igi·ve this Lar~d: and ! will n-:ukiplytby Gen.'7·'7• 18 · Seed as the fand of the Sea : and fometimes it is taken lingularly for one only perfon; thus Eve called her SonSeth , for God, [aid jlJe, hath appoimed me amth<r Seed infleadof Gen. q. '5· .Abet: and fo it is faid of Chriil:,in thy Serd Jha/1 all th: Nations of the Earth bebltfftd. Gm. , ., 8 • Now in this place the Seedof the Serpent is taken collectively, for all the fantilie; of LJe. viis, for the Dcvtl and hu .At~gt!s (as Chrifl: calls them) and for all the Sons of the Devil(i.)for all reprobate men,whofe Father and Prinee is the-Devil,as Chrifl told the Yervs,;·e Mar. ' '· 4· areofyour Father the Devil,andthe !uft.i ofpur Father)" :vi// do : and as John tells us,hethilt John s. 44• committeth fin u of the Devil -in rbisthe ch:idrenof God are manifeft, ana the chi!drm ofthe Devil: and thus both Devils and reprobates are reckoned as the feed of tire Ser- ' John 3,8,ro. pent. 4. Wl1at is the Seed of the Woman?- The Seed of rhe Woman is thar po!lerit-y: of the Woman which do not degenerate into the Seed of the Serpent : that is the meanmg of the firll fenrence, !will putmmity ;--and then it follows, buvmnthy Seedand htr Swi: and for this fenfe we have thefe arguments. 1, The oppolition of the Se.ds ; for as the Seed of the Serpent is taken collectively, fo the Seed of the Woman mufl be ta_ken collectively,that the oppofirion may be fit. 2, The enmities fore-fpoken do llrongly ev1nce it : now the enmiries pertain both to Eve and to all her po!lerity(ifgodly)to theend ofthe World; hen~eall that will live godly in Chrift Jefi"Jha/1 ufferperfrclltion,faith the Apoftle; , rim. 3 t>. .And I will put enmity (faithGod) bmrem thee and the woman; tsthat all? no, but alfobe· twccn thy Seed andher Seed: and who can deny but tbefe enmities have been ever fince betwixt Satambrood and the Saints ? 1rearr a'f n.,-eftlers ~tgain.fl· Principallities and Potr<Ti, Ephef 6 "· a>1d Rulm ofthe darf,{l<{s of this World, and againft fpiritu,tl wic'<£d~ffis in high placn. 5. What is that Hu] in our.Bible uanllaied, it?] it jha/lbmifc thy head? SQmeo/J.. ferve this Hu, it] is of the mafculine gender; and Ztra, ~eed, ts of the mafcuhne gender; and Jtfaphera. jhall bruife, 1s of the mafculme gender; wluch confutes the Tranllatron? tltat renders it rhus, jhejiJall bmife thy head: and wlueh confirms our Tronflat1on whrchts thus,he, or it, or that fame Seed, (i.) one fingular perfon of rl;ar fameSeed,Jhallbruife thy head. Well then, who is this he? or what one is he.'] tven Jrjiesthr Son of thel:vmg God. Here is the firll hint of !e[Hs that ever was read, or. heard of in this World. Th•s wa~ the Proto-evangel, or firll Gofpel that ever was pubh01ed after theCreanon.ll ~ blelfed news, fit for Gods mollth rofpeak, and to break firll to the World now fa end 0 dear parenrs ! how would you have defpaired, if before fenterJece you t.ad not lrea\ this b!elfed tydings! 0 our firll Parents upon EHth! where h;~d you and we be<" 1•. 1 . r~s
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