very instant when God was pronouncing judgements upon the several delinquents in the fall; nay, before judgement was pronounced on the persons tempted, a Jesus is hinted, the covenant of grace is proclaimed. O the infinite riches of the mercy of God in Christ!

But you will say, how comes Jesus in? how carried he on the great work of our salvation in this dark time?

I answer, 1. By assuming and taking upon him the form and shape of a man, and so discharging some special offices in that respect: we read often of Christ's apparitions, before his incarnation, and then especially when he had to do with this great negotiation of man's eternal happiness. Some think it not improbable that Christ assumed the form of man when he first created man, and so he made man, not only in his own image which he had as God, in holiness and true righteousness, but in respect of that form which he had assumed. However, this we find, that after man had sinned, Christ then appeared, first to Adam, then to Abraham, then to Isaac, then to Jacob, then to Moses, &c.-First, he appeared to Adam in the garden, " And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden, in the cool of the day," Gen. 3:8. God, as he is God, hath neither voice to speak, nor feet to walk, but assuming the form and shape of a man, he exercised both: and so he was the first that published that first promise to the world, "It shall bruise thy head." 2. He appeared to Abraham "in the plain of Mamre," where "the Lord talked with Abraham," and Abraham calls him" the judge of the earth," which can be ascribed to none but Christ "the judge of quick and dead," Gen. 18:1.3.25. Some from that saying of Christ, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad," John 8:56, do gather that Abraham saw Christ, not only with the eyes of faith, (as all the rest of the patriarchs and prophets did,) but also in a visible shape which he assumed, like unto that whereunto he was afterwards to be united; and so it was Christ that renewed the covenant with Abraham, saying, "I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee," Gen. 17:3-7. He appeared to Isaac, Gen. 26:2, and to Jacob, Gen. 32:24.30. And to Moses, Ex. 3:1,2,3, and to many others, of which I shall comment in order. And these apparitions of Christ were as præludiums of his incarnation. But this is not the way I

shall insist upon.

2. Christ carried on the great work of our salvation in that dark time, not by himself exhibited (as when he was incarnate) but only promised. The great King would first have his harbingers to lead the way, before he himself wouldcome in person. As the Lord had observed this method in creating the world, that first he would have darkness, and then light; and as still he observes this method in upholding the world, that first he will have dawning, and then clear day; so in the framing and upholding of his church, he will first have Christ held forth in ceremonies, rites, figures, types, promises, covenants, and then like a glorious sun, or like "the day spring from on high, he would visit the world, to give light to them that sit in darkness," Luke 1:78. To this purpose we read, that as Christ, so the covenant of grace, (which applies Christ to us,) was first promised and then promulgated, the covenant of promise was that covenant, which God made with Adam, and Abraham, and Moses, and David, and all Israel in Jesus Christ; to be incarnate, crucified, and raised from the dead; the covenant promulgated, or new covenant, (as the scripture calls it by way of excellency,) is that covenant which God makes with all believers since

the coming of Christ, believing in him that is incarnate, crucified, and risen from the dead: and it was meet that the promise should go before the gospel, and be fulfilled in the gospel, that so great a good might earnestly be desired before it was bestowed. In a time of darkness men desire light; as the morning-watch watcheth and longeth for the morning, so the obscure revelation of Christ in a promise, raised the hearts of the patriarchs to an earnest desire of Christ's coming in the flesh. But in this obscurity we may observe some degrees: before the law given by Moses, the promise was more obscure; the law being given even to the time of the prophets, the promise was a little more clear; in the time of the prophets even to John the Baptist, it was clearer yet, as the coming of the Messias did approach nearer and nearer, so was the promise clearer and clearer still: just as the approach of the sun is near or further off, so is the light that goes before it greater or lesser; in like manner was the revelation that went before Christ more dim or clear as the rising of the Sun of righteousness was more remote, or nigh at hand. It was the good pleasure of God to manifest the riches of his grace by degrees, and not all at once; we see to this very day, that God in his several approaches of mercy and goodness draws nearer and nearer to his church; even now in this marvellous light of the gospel we have our divine ceremonies and sacraments, we see him afar off, we know him but in part; but time shall come (even before his second coming) that we or our children shall see him more clearly, perfectly, immediately. My present business is to hold forth Jesus in the covenant of grace as promised, and because the promise receives distinction of degrees according to the several breakings out of it to the dark world, we will consider it as it was manifested, 1. From Adam till Abraham.

2. From Abraham till Moses.

3. From Moses till David.

4. From David till the Babylonish captivity, or thereabout.

5. From the captivity, or thereabout till Christ.

In every of these periods will appear some further and further discoveries of God's mercy in Christ, of the covenant of grace, of our Jesus carrying on the great work of man's eternal salvation in that dark time.

You heard before of the covenant betwixt God and Christ concerning our salvation: but that was not the covenant of grace, which God immediately made with man as fallen; but a particular covenant with Christ to be the Mediator: or so far as it was a covenant of grace, it was then made be twixt God and Christ, and after to be made betwixt God and us: for a time we were hid in the womb of God's election, and not being then ca. pable to enter into covenant with God, Christ undertook for us; but yet so that when we come to be regenerate, we are then to strike covenant ourselves. And hence we read expressly of God's covenanting with sundry particular persons, as with Adam, and Abraham, and Moses, and David, &c. Of which in the next sections.

SECT. II. Of the Covenant of Promise, as manifested to Adam. THE Covenant of grace in this sense is nothing else but a compact made betwixt God and man, touching reconciliation, and life eternally by Christ. Now, the first breaking forth of this gracious covenant was to Adam and Eve, immediately after the fall, expressed in these words, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel," Gen.

3:15.

This promise, as it is the first, so the hardest to be understood: it contains in it good news of the overthrow of Satan's kingdom, and of man's freedom by the death of Christ. But the obscurity is such, that Luther exceedingly complains. The text which of all men should rightly be known, is of no man, that I know (saith he) especially and accurately unfolded: amongst the ancients there is not one that hath explicated this text according to the dignity of it.

The occasion was this: the Lord looking down from heaven, and seeing how Satan had prevailed against man, and in some sort undone the whole fabric of the creation, he resolves upon Satan's ruin, and man's preservation:" And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed," Gen. 3:14. This literally is understood of the serpent, but spiritually of the devil; both were as means to draw man unto sin, and therefore they are joined as one in the punishment: "The Lord cut off the feet of the serpent (say the Rabbi's) and cursed him, and he cast Sammael (the devil) and his company out of heaven, and cursed them." R. Eliezer, C. 14. Indeed man being in the transgression, must also have his punishment, as it follows, verses 17, 18, 19. And yet that God might manifest the riches of his grace, he includes in the serpent's malediction the everlasting gospel, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman," &c.

For the sense of the words, we shall open these terms, as, 1. Who is the serpent? 2. Who is the woman? 3. What is the seed of the serpent? 4. What is the seed of the woman? 5. What is that HU in our Bible translated IT? 6. What is the serpent's head, and the bruising of it? 7. What is the heel of the seed of the woman, and the bruising of it? 8. Among whom was the enmity, or rather enmities? for in the text we find many armies, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her sced," &c.

1. Who is the serpent? I find diversity of opinions among interpreters: some say, it was only the serpent, and that which belongs unto Satan is but mystically understood: others say, it was only Satan under the notion of a serpent, as sometimes he is called the great dragon, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceived the whole world," Rev. 12: 9. Others say, it was both Satan and the serpent; as men are said to be possessed of Satan, so is the serpent possessed of the devil. Satan could not provoke our first parents to sin by any inward temptation, as now he doth by the help of our corruption. Nor could he enter into their bodies, or minds, because of the holiness and glory that was in them: and therefore he presumed to take a beast of the earth, and by disposing of his tongue he speaks within him. But what, must the serpent have punishment, that was only Satan's instrument in the temptation? Yes:

Such was God's love to man, that he condemns both the author and ins strument of that evil: as one that in anger breaks the sword wherewith his son, or his friend was wounded; so God breaks Satan's sword: the serpent is punished according to the letter of the text, and Satan is punished in the spiritual meaning of the word.

2. Who is the woman? Some are all for allegories, and they will tell you, that the serpent and the woman are the superior and inferior faculties of the soul, and that ever since the fall there hath been a continual war betwixt these: but I look on this commentary as vain and trifling, though it be fathered on some of the ancients, and of no small note; others say this woman is the blessed virgin, in relation to which they read the

.

last words thus, " she shall bruise thy head:" this reading is not only allowed, but confirmed by the council of Trent; and in some of their prayer books, they call her the mother of the Lord, the tree of life, the breaker of the serpent's head, and the gate of heaven. Antiphona de Domina nostra secundum usum Eccles. Hildensheim. But I look on this commentary as ignorant and idolatrous, and wholly derogatory to the kingdom of Christ. Others are not so easily misled, and therefore say, that the woman wheresoever mentioned in this text, is Eve, and none but Eve; she it was whom the tempter had seduced, and in just judgement for her familiarity with the tempter, God meets with her, "I will put enmity (saith God) betwixt thee and the woman."

3. What is the seed of the serpent? In scripture phrase, seed is sometimes taken collectively, for many at once; as when God said to Abraham, "I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed: and to thee and to thy seed will I give this land; and I will multiply thy seed as the sand of the sea," Gen. 17:17,18. And sometimes it is taken singularly for one only person, thus Eve called her son Seth, "For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel," Gen. 4:28. And so it is said of Christ, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed," Gen. 22:18. Now, in this place the seed of the serpent is taken collectively, for all the families of devils, for the devil and his angels, (as Christ calls them) and for all the sons of the devil, i. e. for all the reprobate men, whose father and prince is the devil, as Christ told the Jews, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do," John 8:44. And as John tells us, "he that committeth sin is of the devil. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil," 1 John 3:8.10. And thus both devils and reprobates are reckoned as the seed of the serpent.

4. What is the seed of the woman? The seed of the woman is that posterity of the woman which do not degenerate into the seed of the serpent: This is the meaning of the first sentence. "I will put enmity:" and then it follows, " between thy seed and her seed:" and for this sense we have these arguments. 1. The opposition of the seeds; for as the seed of the serpent is taken collectively, so the seed of the woman must be taken collectively, that the opposition may be fit. 2. The enmities forespoken do strongly evince it; now the enmities pertain both to Eve and to all her posterity, if godly, to the end of the world: hence "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," saith the apostle, 2 Tim. 3:12. "And I will put enmity (saith God) between thee and the woman." Is that all? No, but also "between thy seed and her seed:" and who can deny but these enmities have been ever since betwixt Satan's brood and the saints? "We are all wrestlers against principalities, and powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickednesses in high places," Eph. 6:12.

5. What is that HU in our Bibles translated IT, "It shall bruise thy head." Some observe this hu, it, is of the masculine gender, and zera, seed, is of the masculine gender; and jesaphera, shall bruise, is of the masculine gender: which confutes the translation that renders it thus, "She shall bruise thy head," and which confirms our translation which is thus, he, or it, or that same seed, i. e. one singular person of that same seed, "shall bruise thy head." Well then, who is this he? or what one is he? even Jesus the Son of the living God. Here is the first hint of Jesus that ever was read or heard of in the world. This was the proto-evangel, or first gospel that ever was published after the creation. O blessed

news! fit for God's mouth to speak, and to break first to the world now fallen. O dear parents! how would you have despaired, if before sentence you had not heard these blessed tidings! O our first parents upon earth, where had you and we been, if this blessed text had not been! come, set a star upon it, write it in letters of gold, or rather write it on the very tables of our hearts: here is the blessedest news that ever was, or ever shall be: but for this we had all been firebrands of hell; yea, but for this Adam and Eve, and all their sons and daughters that are now gone out of this world, had been smoking and frying in hell-fire. Away with all gross mistakes, erroneous conceits, and as you love your souls, yield to this blessed sense! this it, or he, is one of that same seed, and this one of the same seed is Jesus, and only Jesus, and none but Jesus: and for this sense we have these arguments:

1. Some observe that this sentence is separated from the former with a period, or great stop; however, God goes on to speak of the seed of the woman, yet he says not, "and that seed shall bruise thy head:" for 30 we might have thought he had spoken of that seed collectively as he did before: but stopping there, and not repeating that same word again, he gives it thus, "It, or he shall bruise thy head," i. e. some individual person of that same seed, some singular one of that same common seed of the woman "shall bruise thy head," as David alone of all the host of Israel goes forth to fight with Goliath, and overcomes him: so Christ alone of all the seed of the woman was so to fight with the serpent by his own power as to overcome him, and to bruise his head.

2. The Seventy in their translations of this place (with which agrees the Chaldee paraphrast) render it (autos) he, which must needs denote some singular person, or son of the woman, and the rather because the seed spoken of before is rendered (to sperma,) to which if the relative had rightly agreed, it should have been (auto) or (tauto) and not (autos). Hereto we may add, that to this it, or he, the seed of the serpent, is not opposed as it was in the former sentence: but the serpent itself; one singular antagonist: here is (singularis monomachia) a duel, or a combat of two, hand to hand: only Christ and the serpent: "he shall bruise thy head, and thou. shalt bruise his heel."

3. The bruising of the head doth plainly discover this it, or he, is Jesus Christ: for none can bruise the serpent's head but only God: "The God of peace (saith the apostle) shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly," Rom. 16:20. Now there was none of the seed of the woman, that was ever God but only Christ, God-man, Man-God, blessed for ever: and therefore it must needs be Christ, and only Christ that can bruise this serpent's head. O there is a divine power, a power and virtue of God in it, to bruise the serpent's head. Observe but the manner of this duel, Christ treads on the serpent; and by this means he comes to have a bruise in the heel, whilst with his heel he bruised the serpent's head. A wonderful thing that Christ should lay at the serpent's head with no other weapon, but only with his heel; it were much for any man to strike at any common serpent with a bare and naked foot; rather would he take a dart, or club, or any other weapon; but with a foot to bruise Satan's head, (that great and fierce, and monstrous serpent) this exceeds any man's power, or any man's daring to attempt: hence it is that some one person of more than human strength must do this deed, and who is that of the seed of the woman, but only Jesus Christ.

4. God himself in other places of scripture, doth expressly declare, that this seed here promised is Christ, and only Christ. Mark but where this