Page images
PDF
EPUB

tendeth to bring a plain and flat contradiction of it, denying, yea, oppofing his falfe word to the truth thereof; for from dixitne, we shall fee him come to non dixit deus: Thus we fee what he laboreth to wring out of the heart of Eve by little and little, the love and delight she had in the word of God. To which end he craftily maketh his firft Dixit, to be a speech of question or interrogation, asking whe ther God indeed and in good carnest ever said so, and from thence he proceedeth unto nequaquam moriemini, which is a pofitive speech of prefumption; that though they break that Law, yet they should not die. In the first he is the interogative Devill, but laft he is the negative Devill, not only doubting, but denying fitly the truth thereof. A Serpent hath a double tongue, under one is the gall of bitternefs, which is doubtfullness, under the other is the poylon of Alpes, which is open unbeliefe.

The firft fpeech dixitne is called fibilus Serpentis, but his last fpeech in the 5. verse is ragitus Leonis, in which he bewraeth himfelfat the full, of which two, the firft is but introduction to the other mischief infuing.

For this is not the leaft policy of the Devill, not to fet upon her bluntly, But like a Serpent flily and flowly to creep in her by little and little, untill he hath efpied fome vantage: Therefore his order is, to bring her from queftioning in talk, to a doubt in opinion, and from that, to an error in judgement, and fo at laft, to a corrupt action in practife; and to corrupt her minde within, firft he uleth this order, to tickle her cares with curiofity, and by that, to cause her to have a giddynefs and fwimming in the brain, by fantafticall imaginations and furmizes, and then to make her fecure and careless of the truth, and foat laft maketh her somewhat inclineable to error and falfehood.

Now let us come to the particular word of God, which the Devill in his dialogifme doth mean to intreat of, which we fee is that which is fet down Gen. 2. 16. 17. In propounding of which, we may confider how craftily and corruptly he dealeth with the facred word of God, to make it the better ferve his turn in the temptation, for he pareth off all that might make against him, and instead of that, putteth in by addition more than ever God fpake, that fo it may be the fitter for his purpose; he leaveth out first both all that went before and that which is after the Commandement, that is, he keepeth from her the confideration of Gods love and liberality, which is in the 16. verfe, which was fet to urge and induce them to willing obedience, and also he cutteth off the confideration of Gods fevere judgements, which was fet after to keep them by fear from difobedience

If we shall compare this alfo with that originall in the 16. and 17. verfes before, we fhall fee how he depraveth and corrupteth the text; for whereas it is faid precipit Jehova: the Devill doth extenuate it, and faith, dixit Deus. q. d. If he did fay it, he did but fpeak it by way oftalk as if he would not urge it for any matter of weight and importance. Thus we fee the Devills fubtilty and fophiftric in dif

puting,

puting, and the Devills Rhetorick in propounding this question; the end of all which, is either to make them doubt, or at least to fet light by the commandement of God.

Though he femeth to give her good counfell and to advise her as a friend, to confider of this thing more ferioufly, for the bettering her cftate, yet his intent is at least to leave a fcruple in her minde.

The chiefeft poifon that is hid in this dialogifme, is in the interro gation cur, or quare, or as fome will have it, ne, by which he de mandeth whether it be fo indeed, faid fo: It is fcarce credible that God, which maketh fhew of favouring you, fhould fo hardly deal with you, as to impofe fo hard a Law as this is: and withall, this his fpeech is fo cunningly devifed, that it enforceth by way of infinuation a doubt and diffidence unto her thus, q. d. Surely I for my part can hardly be induced to beleeve, that God would enjoyn you fuch a Law; I fee no reason why it should be fo : By all which we fee how he teacheth and bringeth her on to doubt and waver.

Laft of all it is a flattering and cogging kinde of fpeech q. d. Though I may erre and be deceived, being your pooreft and fimpleft Servant, yet you my Ruler whom God hath made wife as an Angell to judge uprightly of all things, may happily conceive more of this matter than I can.

And withall it is a kinde of cunning, to curry and keep in favour with her whatsoever effe&t the temptation fhould take; for if the fhould have mifliked of his fpeech, he could have excused himself thus; alas I made but a bare motion, I neither affirmed it, nor durft deny it, but according to my fimplicity asked the queftion, and therefore I truft you will have me excufed.

Tum dixit mulier Serpenti illi, &c.

E have feen before what the Devils Rhetorick and Novemb. 18 Sophiftry is in his deceivable Dialogues, both to 1991, bring a wavering doubt into her minde, and at last to bring Gods holy word in difcredit and contempt; all which vile and blafphemous things, if the Devill had faid to Adam, no doubt, he would have dealt wifely as a Serpent with this wyly and wicked Serpent; for he would have either ftopped his eares, and ab horred to hear the deceitfull words of this inchanting charm, or else he would have shaked him off with apage as Chrift did, Matth. 4. 16. and faid avant Satan get thee hence, &c.

And fo it may be thought to have been the greatest wisedome either to give him no care or no answer, or else a fharp check or reproof for thefe wicked tempting words. This we may conjecture that the Man would or might have done : but let Kk

[ocr errors]

1

us fee what the Woman anfwered unto him in this verfe.

In which we have two things to confider before we come to the effect of her anfwer; Firft we gather that in this eftate of Innocency, the Woman was not afraid of the Serpent, but without fear durft fee a Serpent approach to her, and fpeak unto him; for as all things were fubject to mankind as their Lord and Sovereign, fo Adam, as we have heard, Genefis 2. 23. made Eve Miftrifs and Lady to rule with him; and therefore all Creatures, as yet, stood in a reverend awe of them,and they were without any fear of them at all; for fear came into our nature with firne, but as yer, there was no finne, and therefore no fear: Again, as yet there was no war proclaimed between the feed of the woman and the Serpent, and therefore no cause why they fhould fear one another. The other thing is, that as fhe was not moved at the fight of the Serpent, fo no more was fhe aftonished to hear the Serpent fpeak; the knew no doubt that it was not naturall to Serpents fo to fpeak, but she knew not, or at least confidered not well, who it was that fpoke in him; What then, was there ignorance in Eve in the ftate of Innocency? Ianswer, that no doubt there was both in Adam and Eve the ignorance which is called Nefcientia, but not that which is properly termed Ignorantia, The difference for this is the difference between these two: Ignorantia is a not knowbetween Igno- ing of fuch things which we are bound and ought neceffarily to know, and this kinde we fay was not in them, for it is an evill imperfection in whomsoever it is, because as Salomon faith in 19. Prov. 2. without this knowledge which is abfolutely neceffary, the foule of man is not good; therefore we hold that they had given them a full and perfect measure of knowledg of Gods will, fo farre forth as it neceffarily pertained unto them, but as for the other kinde which deferveth not the name of Ignorance, but Nefcience, it is a not knowing of things needleffe and impertinent to our duty, that is, of fuperfluous and curious points which belong not to us; and this is that holy and godly Ignorance which is faid to bee even in the Angels of heaven, and in the Son of God (as he is man) 24. Matt. 36. and of fuch things Chrift faith to his disciples, veftrum non eft hæc fcire, 1. Acts. 7. Therefore this is no finne or defect in them, though we grant it to be in them; yea it rather well agreeth with the holy eftate of innocency not to know needleffe points of curious knowledg. But now to the answer, In which wee may obfervé divers fteppes and degrees by which shee defcended to him untill at laft fhee came even to him in opinion and confented to

rance and
Nefcience.

him.

And the first defcent is because thee, being a woman and therefore the weaker, would notwithstanding (without the helpe and counsell of her husband) take upon her to dispute and reafon with the devill, which is moft deceitfull, for if he had given no answere, the devill fhould have had no advantage, but by her anfwer to this queftion, she gave him fom holdfaft by which his tempration might fom.. what faften on her; It had beene her wifeft courfe to have stopped her cares, and not to have vouchsafed him the hearing, but if thee would

needs

needs hear the Serpents talk, yet he might have fet a watch before the deor of her lips, Pfal. 141. 3. and fo condemned his fpeech as not worthy the answering. Si enim aut non audiveràt aut nil dixerat (faitli one) bene effet, but feeing.fhe muft needs fit him an anfwer, the should have done well to fetch an anfwer from her Husband, and to lay I will goe to him which heard God fpeak that thing which you doubt of, he can better answer and refolve you in this point than I can; for if Paul would not permit a Woman to fpeak in the Church, but to be filent, then much lefs would he fuffer Women to difpute and keep Probleme with the Devill; for their duty is to learn of their Husband anhome, if they doubt; but the (according to the nature of Women) w not answer per aliam: they think themselves able to answer alone, and therefore let us fee the tenor and contents of her answer, which we see is a rehearsall and repetition of Gods Commandement, Genefis 2. 16. 17. but yet fo faintly and coldly fet down, that the Devill might eafily perceive that his temptation had begun to corrupt her minde; for, firft in that she is able to fay Gods Commandement without book: the Devill took this hold against her, that she did not finne upon ignorance but wilfully against her knowledge, which proveth that he did it prefumptuofly which augmenteth her finne, that fo he may well fay to her, ex ore tuo te judicabo. If we look into the particulars of her anfwer, we shall fee it ftand upon two points; the firft is Gods graunt, the 2. verfe; the other is Gods restraint, the 3. verfe; by both which we may fee that Eve fimply and plainly inftruEteth the Serpent as her friend in all the whole will and counfell of God first the fetteth down Gods goodness and liberality, and in expreffing it, she doth extenuate and leffen the greatness thereof; but when the cometh to the restraint, fhe doth fo amplifie and enlarge that, that the Devill might eafily perceive the received the one not thankfully as she should, nor yet was well pleased, but murmured as much mifliking the other, whereas the fhould have faid God is not bound tous, either by duty or defert to give us any thing, yet of his gracious goodness he hath freely permitted us the ufe of the trees of the Garden, which are many in number, and in variety divers and choife, therefor he is not durus & avarus pater, as thou wouldst have us to think, but he is bonus & benignus, and therefore we will thankfully keep this cafie Commandement. Thus the confideration of his bounty and free goodness fhould have been a prick to stirr her up to thankfull obedience, but her unthankfull minde which regar deth not his goodness, was a preparation to disobedience. Thus we fee what her anfwer fhould have been to have ftopped the Devills mouth, but she did not fo; therefore we are now to confider what he did fay, and what anfwer fhe gave unto him.

[blocks in formation]

Gen. 3.2.3.

Novemb. 18. 1591

De fructu quidem arborum hujus horti comedemus: At de fructu arboris iftius que eft in horto hoc; dixit Deus, Ne comedatis ex ifto, neque attingatis eum ne moriamini.

E have considered the temptation both on the Ser pents part, and alfo on the Womans behalf, and we have feen what occafions the offered unto him before he could doe her any hurt.

Touching which it is our part to learn, to beware by her hurt and evill, quia (as one faith) Ruina præcedentium, funt cautiones fequentium. Therefore God hath fet down the manner of the fall of our firft Parents, ut illorum pathemata nobis effent mathemata, for all is written for our inftruction, I Cor. 10.11. Now for the better obfervation of her antwer, we fhall fee, it doth confiit of two parts, the firft is Gods permiffion in the 2. verfe, the other is Gods prohibition in the 3. verfe: for the first we have seen that the Woman had just occasion to amplifie Gods loving and most liberall dealing with them, but fhe clean contrary, being tickled by the Serpents fpeech, doth extenuate it, as if it had been a matter of very small regard, and therefore in a word lightly paffeth it over, making a very fleight and flender confeffion of Gods goodness, in fo much as we may well fay, that it is oratio magis querela quam gratia, rather complaining at Gods hardness, then giving thanks for his goodnefs.

Now for the prohibition in the 3. verfe, because fhe doth enlarge it, we muft ftand longer upon it; It confifteth therefore partly on the restraint of the Commandement, and partly on the penalty thereof, which we will handle feverally where good will and willingnels is, there every duty commanded will feem very eafie, and then we are ready to doe it; but è contra, when any doe injoyn us any duty whom we fancy not, nor efteem as a friend, by and by want of good will maketh us cavell with the difficulty and hardnefs. thereof: Therefore this making to much adoe, and so many circumftances of the restraint, as if it were a heavy burden & an uneafie yoke, doth plainly bewray an ill willing minde, and murmuring against God the Commander.

To this end as being malecontent, the nameth not the tree as God did, but defcribeth it by the place where it ftandeth, quafi pigeret nominare, quia non liceret eam gustare; therefore it feemeth that it went even against hér ftomack so much as to name it; befides this, The alfo cleggeth the Commandement making it heavier than indeed it is,amplifying the feverity thereof, making it as heynous and odious as may be, faying we are forbidden not only to eat of it, but also we are reftrained fo much as once to touch it, which we fee is not once mentioned in Gods precept, for it was not a restraint of the fingers,

as

« PreviousContinue »