a filly worm, a fubtle Serpent, which is pejor omnibus viventibus, worfe than any living Creature, even blafpheming God. And from félf-love are derived two other finnes, for from thence commeth pride, and from pride commeth ambition: pride and ambition are not one finne but feveral fiones, for ambition is the lifting up of that which pride hath conceived: So that pride and ambition are the two Daughters of felf-love. 2. Pride: 3. Ambition, mentall. ptuous reach The last is the inftrumentall finne: The first whereof is that of Fe- Three Inftru roboam, who fretched out his hard to take the Prophet of God, and his hand withered, 1 Kings 13.4. The fecond is that of Lots wife, who would look back to Sodom, yet was forbidden, to see the vain pleasures wherefore the became a piller of falt. The third is Efau ing. eating of his pottage, for which he lost his birth-right. Eves eye law 3. A greedie the fruit, her arme reached to take the fame, her mouth did eat the fame. The first is, a licentious beholding; the fecond is, a presumptuous taking the last is, a greedie eating and devouring of the forbidden fruit. cating. Etiamque dedit comedendum viro fuo fecum, qui comedit. Vase 6: T Hefe words I have now read unto you, I to'd you contained Novemb. 27. Alams fin: which words, if you mark them,doe contain Adams 1591, firit finne and Eves fecond finne; for after fhe had eaten of the fruit her felf, fhe gave of the fruit to him, there is her fecond finne ; and he dideate, there is his first fine. The Wifeman in 42.17.of his book faith very well God hath appointed that his faints should declare all his wondrous works,which he hath stablished by bis Majesty. But behold, Eve, who was a Saint, when she became a finner,published not Gods commandement, but the Serpents words, and the commendations of the forbidden fruit: this is the woman that re that prefenteth iniquitie, Zach. 5. 7. She is as the woman in Rev. 17.13. gave her power and authority to the Serpent. Not only to eat her felf, but to give alfo to Adam the forbidden fruit, is, as a Father faith well, propinare Adamo, to drink to him in the golden cup of fin, in giving him the fair and pleafant fruit of iniquitie, that they both may care. The Serpent in his first question fpeaketh of him, and here, Dixitne Deus ut non comederitis? hath God (aid ye shall not eate? as fpeaking of both And again, in his fecond dixit he faith, They fball not dye the death; and their eyes fhall be opened, and they should be as Gods: By his faying they & their, he mea eth not Eve alone,but Adam alfo: This plural dialect of the Serpent, argueth that he tempeth both Eve & Adam. At what time the Serpent beginneth his temptation, he beginneth with one, not with both; with the woman, not with the man; with the weaker, with her that was but a rib of mans ftrength, with one that is more credulous of his word than man, to whom the comman dement is delivered; in a word he maketh her to fall, who is leffe able to ftand: So that there were then but two finners in the world, the Serpent and the Woman; Adam was ftill upright: But here when Adam eateth of the forbidden fruit, he maketh up the third fioner. So that Sathan, Eve, and Adam are all finners. Sathan, in the Serpent,inticed the woman by his curious queftion in all fubtil y to cominic fir, and indeed prophane and vain bablings, they doe increase to more ungodline fe,2 Tim.2.16. The Serpent when he hath plaid his part and made her ear, he is gone: But as the Sepent was the Devils inftrument to tempt the woman; fo here the Devil,instead of the Serpent, will work the deftruction of the Man by the. Woman, caufing her to give the forbidden fruit unto him. Sachan by the Serpent, which was the most craftie and the moft fabtle, made his firft affault: And here he made his fecond affault upon Man per charißimam, by her that was most dear unto him: for in that he faith of her in ahap. 2. 23. She is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man; that fheweth his affe&tion of his carneft love to her: He ufeth fubtilißimum and charißimum,that which is most craftie,and that which is moft deare, as his two inft u nents; Hetempteth the weaker and fimpler by fubtiltie, the wifer by affection. As I told you before, he faulteth the weaker, Woman, that was but a ribbe, having the command ment but by tradition from her husband, who had ic from God himself; and fo here in his temptation of man, he affaulteth the affection, which is the weaker part of mans foul; For S. Gregorie, faith very well, Quod eft vir & uxor in vinculo nuptiali, idem eft ratio &affectio in vinculo naturali, that which the man and his wife is in the bond of Marriage, that is the reafon and the affe&tion in the bond of Nature: reafon is the ftronger, as the husband; affection the weaker, as the wife. Sathan he knew well, that fuch was the affection of Man to his wife, that he repofeth such truft in her, that he will not examine what he demandeth, nor refufe what the offereth; for the heart of her husband trufteth in her, Prov 31.11. he kn weth femitam animæ fue, the way of his foul,and that way will he affault Adam. In 2 King.3.14. Elifba the Prophet, not becaufe of Jehoram King of Ifrael, who was wicked;but only that he regarded Jehofaphat King of ja lah, he would not have looked toward Jehoram, nor feen him: So the Serpent doth here deal with Adam; Adam he would not have looked toward the Serpent, nor toward the tree,had it not been that he regarded the prefence of Eve. This is his means, by the perfwafion of the Woman, to get his affection, and that fo Sathan may feize upon it: But this is the counfell of Nabam, chap. 7.5. Truft not in a friend nor ina Counsellor, keep the door of thy mouth from her that lyeth in thy bofom: There is nei ther truft in friend nor wife: this is the mithridate for this poyfon: we are to beware of Domesticall fervants and profeffed friends, which do draw men to mischief more than tworn enemies; wherefore follow the advise of our Saviour, Matt.18.8,9. If thy foot or thy hand cause thee to offend, cut them off; if thine eye caufe thee to offend pull it out better is it, to goe into life halt and blinde, than to goe with a found body to Hell fire: Catt from thee whatsoever is neer and deer unto thee, even the wife of thy bofome, rather than to be tormented in the everlasting Ames of Hell fire. The Devils refolution here is by the woman, whom Gods Councel Sathan had enforced to affault man: So he fhall be fure first to pervert and purpose, the councell of God; Secondly, the woman fhall enter deeper into Perverting Gone trafce to finns. finne, by making man to finne; Thirdly, that Sathan might be Master thereby of them both. The difordering of Gods purpose is în this ; he hath made her for an help, but Sathan maketh her an hindrance to obedience, The wife fhould be beautifull as the Vine upon the fides of thy house, Pfal.128. but the is become as the Ivie, to destroy the tree whereby itgroweth; the giveth the fruit to Adam to choak him he giveth her to Adam is Saul gave his daughter Michal to David, that he might be afnare unto him, 1 Sam. 18. 21. He made her to him as Jezabell was to her husband Ahab, who, by her counfel, fold himself to work wickedneffe; by her counfel he gave himself wholly to lerve finne, 1 Kings 21.25. But woe be to the man by whom offences comes Matth. 18.7. It was 1. The woman's one thing peccare, to finne and peccare facere, to cause another to of deeper entend: In that he took of the fruit and did eat her felf, fhe did finnes fle gave to Adam, the Caufed him to finne, and this is an aggravation of fin to make her finne the more. Laftly, is the Devil's gain by the loffe of Adams foul, which ftandeth upon two parts, the one is on Eves part, and the other on Adams pari;Eve gave to her husband, and Adam did'eat. For the former, Eve, after he had eat of the fruit, the wiped her mouth, and gave of the fruit to Adam; like the adulterous woman in Prov. 30. 20. that eateth and wipesh her mouth, and faith I have not committed iniquity; after the hath fatisfied her own defire, she maketh as though he had not offended: When he had fucked the gall of Afpes, and when the Vipers tongue had flain her, Job 20.16. fhe then wipes her mouth, as though there were nor death nor danger in the fame; and having eaten her felf, fhe giveth to her Husband to eat alfo: Evil did Sathan doe, and knew it to be fo; Eve fhe had after the fall flattering inticements in her mouth, her words were as oyle, but the end of her spee ches was bitter as wormwood; her feet goe down to death, and her feps goe down to Hell, Prov. 5.4.5. But yet Eve here thought he had done well. The Devils gain, and, Adams long You fhall fee the nature of finne, that finne bringeth finne, unleffe it Sinnes brinbeextinguished by repentance; for Auftis faith well of finne, Quod get forth fia, wifi deleatur, duplicater, which,unleffe it be extinguished, it is doubled. In Efay 14. 29. the Prophet faith, That out of the Serpents root shall come a Cockatrice, and from the Cockatrice egge fhall come a firie flying Serpent, and here from the Serpents malice came Eves finne, and from Eves finne came Mans fall, the Serpents temptation brought forth Eves disobedience, and that Cockatrice egge hatched Adams downfall, and fo they were both robbed of their righteoufneffe: This is their difcending from Jerufalem to Jericho, Luke 16.30. Againe, after the wo- Rebellion wick man hath eaten, this her giving of the fruit to her husband to cate, is a further circumstance in the nature of finne, to add rebellion unto finne; for the devill will not only feduce the woman, but (by her) will feduce man; for he draweth also the mighty by his power, Job 24.22. The Serpent will deftroy both the weak and the ftrong, the foolish finns. and the wife. Thirdly, Sinne will be affociat; for the finner will The faciabletry the righteous if he will offend, that even here Adam may be as nee of finnes. deep a finner as her felf, for indeed good fellowship is not fo apparently fees among finners for they joyn hand in hand, manam in ma nu, faith Salomon, Prov. 16. 5. They doe confult in heart, and make a Na 2 league ous. ་ league against the Lord, Pfal. 83.5.6. The Ishmaelites, and Moabites, &c. Sinners are as thornes folded one in the other, Nahum 1.10. This is Sin: infe&i- the fociableneffe of finne. Fourthly, it is hence obferved that finne is infectious. The Serpent he infected Eve with his breath of craft and malicioufneffe ; made her beleeve him and eat of the fruit; and the being infected her felf, infected him; This is called Pollution He that toucheth pitch is defiled. She went not only out of the way her felf, but the caufed many to fall from the Law, Malach. 2.9. her word did fret as a canker,as Paul (peaketh 2 Tim.2.17. for finne is contagious, itpoyfoned Eve and Adam alfo. See 1 Tim. 1. E. The Serpent Auftin upon this faith well, That if God ftrook blind the foul Rave, and Eve of Eve, he could not fee her ownmilerie from her originall righteouf Bet beneffe: The Serpent gave to Eve,and Eve gave to Adam the fame material fruit, but not with like affection. She in giving to Adam of the fruit, thinks he doth him an especial favour, and that whereofhe needs not fear; for though by the giving him the fame, he take away from him original righteoufneffe, the favour and fear of God; yet the accounteth that he makes him a great reward But this her reward may well be compared to the prefent of Ebud, Judges, 3. 16, who prefeated Eglon the King of Moab with a curious made dagger, wherewith after he killed him: The Apple wherewith Eve prefented Adam was his destruction; but yet (as I faid) the did it not with the minde of the Serpent, for he cauled her to eat ofa malicious minde, knowing it would be her bare: Yet Eve he gave it to Adam of a good affection, not of any malicious intent. 2. Means that men. Now the means wherewith the induceth man, to bring him to cate, women feduce are of two forts, which are the two means that women ufe to feduce men withall; both are by the voice, as you may fee in 17. verfe fol lowing; Adam obeyed the voyce of his wife, fo that it fhould feem that The used fome oration to perfwade him, & blanditiarum verba, and 1. Flatrerie, flatterring words, 1 King. 11. 4. The idolatrous wives of Salomon turned his heart to Idolatrie, blanditiis, by their flatterie: And here Eve faith to Adam as it were thus, You may fee that I have eaten and find the fruit to be pleasant; I have caten, and yet I am living and thus with a proteftation of love, she wifheth Adam that he would cate. Adam, in the mean while, as a Father faith well, ftood in doubt either to cat or not to eat,inter preces uxoris,& cominationes Greatoris, between the prayer of his wife and the threats of his Creator; God had faid, in the day they did eat thereof they should die, he faw he had eaten and yet was li ving. Salomons wives, blanditiis, by flatterie overcame Salomon. The other thing wherewith women overcome men,is Importunitys It was this that Delilah used to overthrow Sampson, he was importunate with him continually, and therefore he told her all his heart, Jud.16.16. So that the fe are the two means wherewith woman overcommeth man namely blanditiis & importunitatibus, by flatterie and importunitie. Now it followeth to fpeak of Adams fine, and he did eat. In the 17: verfe of this chapter, God curfeth man because he had obeyed the voice of his wife, and for that he had eaten of the tree, whereof God had commanded him that he should not eat ; whereby you fee, that not on ly r ly the giver of the forbidden fruit, but the taker thereof alfo ; both the perfwader and the confenter to finne deferve death. The manner how he confented is in this (with her:) Adam he came to her not the to him, fay the Fathers: For although God had created Manin up rightheffe, though he were placed by God in Paradife, and though Gods love to man were fhewed in making Eve to be his help yet he gave no eare to the fpeeches of Gods love, nor to his threats, but rather hearkned unto Eve and her allurements: The woman hereby is convicted of carelefneffe, and the man of negligence, in that he permitteth her to wander from him where the pleateth: but the woman must not depart, no not a little, left the fall. A third thing is Eve and Adams curiofitie of this tree, they would eat it to try what virtue was in it, they would try a conclufion, if they fhould eat thereof whether they fhould dye, as God had faid, or be as Gods, knowing good or evill. Mofes commanded That there should be no manna referved till the morning; yet Exodus 16. 20. fome there were that would try conclu fions, that obeyed not Mofes, but referved it till the morning, and it was full of worms, and it ftank. Again, as it appeareth in that chapter, to try conclufions fome there were, contrarie to Mofes words, that upon the Sabbath day went forth to gather Manna. Paul 2 Cor. 11.3. faith, I fear left as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his fubtilly, so your mindes fhould be corrupt from the fimplicitie that is in Chrift. In Adam his body from his foul, his fenfe from his reason should not have fwerved. Evebeleeved not God, but the Serpent; Adam beleeved not God but Eve. Paul, Coloff. 27 would have us rooted and builded in Chrift, and ftablished in the faith But the root of all bitterneffe is infidelity for Adam feeing Eves cafe, that though the had eaten of that pleasant and forbidden tree, yet fhe was living, and that there was as yet no apparent figne of any ill, thought the rather furely God fpake not this in earneft, neither for the eating of afmall apple fhall man dye. But should have accounted Gods word to be infallible, and that mor↓ tem moriêris was a sentence of condemnation': Faith (hould be rooted in Gods word; but from incredulitie, which is the root of bitternelle, it commeth that he believeth Eve, by an inordinate love, not of luft, but of neceffitic to his wife; which we call a bashfulnefle; and the Fathers call it noxia verecundia. In 1 Kings 2.4. So long as Davids fonnes fhall walk in the way of truth with all their hearts and all their fouls, their pofteritie fhall inherit the Kingdome. Adam, by eating this fruit thew ed a defire in him to grant her request; he loved her entirely, for that fhe was taken out of him, and given unto him by God, and then there were no more women in the world: He did eat that he might be accounted indulgens maritus, a most loving husband: that as Auftin faith, In unitate peccati etiam focius fit, that even in the unitie of iniquitie he might be her companion. The Heathen call neceffarium malum mulierem, a woman to be a neceffarie evill: So intire is his love to his wife, that as S. Gregorie faith well, Plus credit uxori quàm conditori,he belee veth more his wife, who is his helper, than God who is his maker. St. Ambrofe faith, Man will be content to hear blafphemous and obfcene fpeeches, ut offendatur Deus, ne offendatur amicus, that God may be Nn 3 offend |