offended, rather than his friend difpleased.

"

Now by the 22. verfe you may see the ambitious defire of Adam, to become as God himself to know good and evill therefore it is by the Fathers prefumed, That by Eves information he prefumed to be lo: He was now wearie of credere and obedire, to beleeve and obey God and his word: He defired now to command and controll; to be non fub Deo, fed ficut Deus, to be no longer under God, but as God : his faith and obedience became a burthen he was not content with his knowledge of good alone, but he would needs by eating attain the knowledge both of good and evill; he began frige fieri in affectu, to waxe cold in his affection toward God; and lastly, he made full account that he should be preferreds he should not be punished & none fhould be fo excellent; he should be equall with God. But if that God were angrie with him, yet Adam had his excufe, that he for the love. and entire affection to her which was taken out of himself, for a good minde which he had to her, gave her his confent to eat ofthe forbidden fruit, which they gather out of the twelfth verfe of this chapter, where Adam faith, The woman which shou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did cat: He did behold what Eve did fee, and thought that thereby he fhould attain knowledge. But here the Holy Ghoft, to avoid tedioufneffe, bric fly without any farther repetition, faith, And he did eat. Adams understanding it was corrupted, his will it was infected, he was perfwaded that he should be as a God, and chat there was great vir.ue in the tree, whereupon he tranfgreffed, that is, he went beyond the Commandement, God faid he should not eat, but be did eat. Whereas Paul saith, 1 Tim. 2. 14. Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and was in the transgreßion. The Serpent deceived Eve and Eve was Sathans inftrument to deceive Adam.Upon which place the Fathers doe make inquirie of Adams finne, saying, That Adam yeilded to Eve, though he were not properly deceived by her, this his finne, fay they, is the finne of neceffity, not of his will. Salomon,for the love he did bear to his wives, was tempted to Idolatry; Ahab, for fear, committed murther: It was neither love nor fear of God could keep man in Gods commandement, and yet they impute malice to God, and they are even set on mischief, Exod 32 22. Adams finne came out of himself, out of Eve which was his rib. Wickedness firft came from the Devill himself, and his Cockatrice egge that hatcheth iniquitie is malice; he that imagineth to doe evill, men call the aw. thor of wickedneffe, Prov. 14 8. According to the old and ancient pro. verb in 1 Sam. 24. 14. wickednesse proceedeth from the wicked. Sathans wickedneffe is of malice, Eves wickedneffe is of error, Adams is of infirmitie; then cometh noxia verecundia,a guilty fhame fac'dness. Adam he fell of infirmitie, in that he loved his wife more than he loved God.

I'

The ancient Divines, confidering Adam's fin, doe confider the fame 1. The perfon. by the circumstances, which are feven. The first circumftance is of the perfon. Adam he was Gods vassal, from whom he received infinite benefits, whom he made governour of Paradife, as if a Countie Palatine, to whom he gave a fhort Law, and an eafineffe not to finnes to whom he gave ftrength to withstand all violence; to whom he per

2. The Object

to and from

mitted all the trees in the Garden, referving but one to himfelt; for whom also, being alone, he made woman to be to him a meet help: The bond of love unto God was before ever there was any Eve: It was love that linked Adam unto Eve, it was fear & love that linked Adam unto God; he therfore should have regarded more the word of God,than of woman. The fecond Circumstance is in refpe&t of the object, against whom he offended; he finned against God that created him,that gave unto him the government of Paradise,as a Father faith well, Quem nunc defpicitis te fecit, he whom now you defpife is your maker: Befides it was he that made her to be an help, but now the fetteth her felfaga nft God: He gave to Adam a commandement, brevißimum & levissimum, that was most short to be remembred,and most easie to be observed feeing that he will offend him that is fo gracious,feeing he will break that Law which fo cafily may be kept, this circumftance maketh the fin of Adam to be the greater. Thirdly,They doe confider the motive to fin,and the retentive from fin: 3 The motive What was it that moved Adam to finne, and to lofe Gods favour? It was and retentive but an Apple,a fmall fruit that feemed pleafant to the eyes, wherein there finnc. was but a short and tranfitorie pleasure, while the fruit was a eating and in the mouth. But the retentive was in the highest degree, mortem morieris, thon fhait dye the death, thou shalt dye eternally; the fear was farre greater than the pleasure. Paul, Philip 2. 8. faith of Chrift, That he humbled him bled himself, and became obedient unto the death, even the death of the croffe. But here on the contrarie part, Adam exalted himself, he became even difobedient unto the death, the everlasting death of body and foul could not withhold him. The motive to finne was fmall and tranfitorie: the reten ive was great and terrible. The fourth circumftance is the manner 4 The manner. of finne, It was citò factum, loon committed. Peters denyall was ad vocem ancillula, at the voyce of a fillie made. Adams tranfgreifion was without delay at the voice of his wife. The fitch circumftance is of the place, It s. The Place. was in Paradife that he was polluted: But though Lucifer were the most glorious in the Heavens, yet for his pride God fent him headlong from the Heavens. Man was Monarch of the earth, all in Paradife were at his command, yet for his disobedience God fent him out of Paradife. The fixt circumftance is of the time, He was fervent in obedience in the be- 6. The Time. ginning, but he continued not therein many dayes; time as a file filed away his righteoufneffe; he fell in the beginning. The feventh circumstance. The Puis of fome notable hurt, aliquod damnum, that should come to man by his nifhment. difobedience, whereby both God and man are damnified: It before, while he was righteous, he were in the image of God, for in the likeneffe of God was Adam made, chap. 5. 1: then furely, by mans difobedience, Gods Image in man was defaced: Adam, who was now unrighteous, was no more like God, who was only righteous and all of Wisdome, but Adam, as David fpeaks Pfal.73.22. was foolish and ignorant, he was even as abeast before God: and his finne was not only his own confufion, but the ruine of us all, of all mankinde: It is Chrift Jefus that will make our finnes and iniquities to be no more remembred, Heb. 10. 17. It was the tranfgreffion of Adam that brought grave jugum fuper omnes, a grievous burthen to all the world: from this finne came all finnes ; hence came the heap of all evill. The Fathers lay that Omnia mala funt appendices hujus, all mischief doth depend upon this disobedience of Adam; and they fay that because

this

The Remedy.

this is the greatest linne, it deferveth the greatest punishment.

The ancient Divines confider a difference in Eves finne and in Adams finne. Eve the finned in three refpects; Firit, In hearing Gods name reproachfully blafphened: Secondly, In that he heard this blafphemie, not from the mouth of an Angell of light, but from a paultry and abje& Worm: And lastly, In that he became fcandalum, a means to flander God and feduce Man.

Adams finne is feen in three other refpe&ts; First, The man was stron` ger and yet he was feduced by the weaker Secondly, Min was made as the womans head; and therefore when h: heard her fay she had eaten, when he did fee her offer him of the forbidden fruit, t was his part to have reproved her: Thirdly, the root of narure was in him, not in her; yet the Corruption of all came by Eve unto adim,and from both to us all, which hearing the words of the Serpent a d the Woman, which feeing the pleafant fruit, which eating of the forbidden tree, did bring the punishment and death of body and foul to all men living.

But the remedy for this fo vile and prefump uous a fine, and the redreffe of this punishment, is by the promifed feed,our Saviour Christ, bers of a Woman. It was our Saviour thar, for the flattering fpecc es of Adam, heard all reproaches: Adam beheld the fruit, which was pleasant in his eyes; Chrifth was buffetted about the eyes Adam took the tree in his hand; Chrift was faftned to the tree: for the ftretching out of Adams hands to take of the fait, his hands were ftretel ed cur and nailed upon the crosse: Adams earing of this pleafant fruit, was redreffed by his eating of bitter gall and fharp Vinegar, according to that Pfal. 69.21. They gave him gall in his meat, and in his thirst they gave him vinegar to drink: Man had his fid pearced; but Chrift had his heart openec. All these things did God doe to deliver us out of that milerie whereinto, by Adams finne, Mankinde had fallen : who shall deliver me from the body of this death, but God through Jefus Chrift. In Ezechiel 3. 3. they that shall eat the roll that God fhall give them, it shall be in the mouth as bonie: In beleeving Chrifts name we shall have life, John 20. 31. It then we eat of the forbidden tree, & eat not of the promise which we have in Chrift, we shall dye the death, both body and foul fhall be tormented: We must not say Quid mihi tecum Chrifte: Chrift,what have I to doe with thee? but we must receive him that is our Redeemer: In the Sacra nens, we must therein eat of the bread, which is his body, Mat. 26.26, who brake the bread in his Supper, and offred his body on the Cross Chrift,through suffering death taffed death for all men, that through affliction the Prince of our falvation, might be confecrated, Heb. 2.10. And by our faith in him death fhill be to us but as the cafting of the poyfon,wch death fhall not fwallow up our foul;though our body dycour foul fhal live for ever. But the finners that eat of the tree,that commit wic kedness,if they repent not,shal be caft into endless afflictions. As by Adam we all eat of the forbidden tree in the mic'it of the Garden, in the begin ning of the bible; fo by Christ the blessed shall eat of the tree of life in the mi'dft of the heavenly Paradife, wherein there are twelve manner of fruits, and the leavs thereof doe ferve to heal all the Nations of the Earth Rev 22.2. The leaves of this tree in the end of the Bible, will ferve for medicine here in this life;but after this life cnded, this tree of life fhall fill us all with im mortality, joy, and glorie everlafting. Which God of his infinite mercy grant, &c. Amen.

Tunc

Tunc aperuerunt fefe oculi amborum, noveruntque fe nudos effe: & Gen 3.7. confutis foliis ficulneis fecerunt fibi fubligacula.

HE opening the eys of our firft Parents,by which January 25. they faw that they were made naked, which 1591. was the former part, was fent from God; that they feeing that fin (which was against God) was a loffe of their glory, which is called bonum utile; and that inftead thereof brought unto them nakedneffe, fhame and confufion, which was against bonum honeftum, and also that it did caft them into that diftreffe and anguish of minde, that they could not tell what to doc or finde to cover their fhame but figg leaves, which was against bonum jucundum; which opening of the eyes, comming from God was to this end, that, by seeing this, they might return to their own hearts. Efay 46. 8. and enquire, as Efay willeth them 5. 19. wherefore they had done this, and tranfgressed Gods holy Laws; that feeing their finne against God, they might confeffe it, & fo have pardon and forgiveness. For it is not in Gods Court, as it is in the Courts of men, where the way to confefs the fault and fact, is the way to be condemned, but with God the only way to be abfolved and acquitted from fin is truly and unfainedly to confels our fins unto him; & this is the end,why God in mercy doth fend to them the opening of their eyes,that they might fee their fin, & it began to prevail that we may fee the effect it had of them; for though as yet the nobleness of their nature was such, that they feared not (for there was yet no fear to them) yet we fee they were afhamed, & by it were driven to seek a covering to hide that shame with all; but that effect of their seeing and shame was not good; for whereas it should have made them return penitently to God from fin, which was fo fhamefull, they instead of turning to their own hearts, and to God, doe run to the figge tree leaves to make them coverings withall; and fo this Counsell of God in fending their figne was difanulled and perverted from turning to God to ftepping to the figge tree. And fo whereas God appointed and fent the opening of their eyes for their good and converfion, the Devill doth cause it by this means to turn to their greater destruction.

By which we fee how the Devill and fin doth infatuate men, and make them foolish and ignorant how to doe that which should be for their good and falvation, but as the Prophet faith, Fer. 4.az. The Devill and fin whetteth their wits making them very sharpe & wife to doe evill, to hinder their falvation, and to make them coverings and excufes to conceale, cloak, and colour their fin withall: at this weare very good, and have a prefent invention to coyne lyes and excufes, but we are dull and blockish to prevent the danger which fin doth bring. This practife of the Serpent we fee in this, in that Adam

Adam goeth not to a tree of fmall or narrow leaves which were not fit for his purpose, but to the figge tree, which in that country, as Pliny reporteth have leaves inftar pelta Amazonum, as broad as a Target, and therefore moft meete to make a covering withall: Then befides their prefent sharpness in choosing the fittest matter to make this covering: we fee in the next place their ingenious art and invention, in that on fuch a fuddain without ftudy they are able to fowe and peice them together, fo that they did ferve infteed of breeches to hide that nakedneffe withall, this we are able to doe of our own natural inclination, fine Magiftro: which difpofition of our corrupt nature we fee by experience in all men even untill this day; for doe we not fee wicked men given over to all evill, which in any good matters are very dull & blockish,and in Religion very fenfeleffe and rude, yet in this to be very ingenious and witty, to invent divers excufes to hide and colour their finnes withall; herein their wit and art never faileth them, but ever ferveth them well, wherefore of us may the Prophet alfo fay Fer. 4.22. they are wife to doe evill, but to doe well they have no understanding.

The fecond default that Adam and Eve made in this was, that the devill taketh up the whole roome of their hearts, with the care and confideration of their bodily defe&s, not regarding the fpiritual nakedness and fhame of their faults.

The third is, in that they feeing their nakednefs, doe not feeke to take away the caule of the fhame of their finne, but the effect, which is their nakedneffe and fhame, which is as if a man, feeing and knowing himselfe to be fick, fhould not feeke to remove the cause of his disease, but the Symptomata and outward accidents thereof, as if a man should only be carefull to take away the pimples of his face, which are but outward accidents of his disease, and never regard to remove the heat of the Liver, which is the inward cause thereof, and this is the third offence quia dolebat, & curabat dedecus peccati, non peccatum, his care was only to be rid and acquitted of the shame of finne, and not of finne it felf.

Fourthly, if this nakedneffe which they fee be fo evill and fo odious, then this alfo is another fault of theirs, quia nolunt tollere fed tegunt eam, for indeed their defire fhould not be fo much to cover as to care it; but their care, è contra is, non curare, fed velare, and this is the nature of men now a daies in their diftreffes to fecke involucra, non remedia, that is, maskes to cover and hide, not meanes to care and remedy their foul offences.

The laft and fift, is that vanity of this covering of the fig tree leaf; for as Saint Ambrofe faith, Wilt thou needes have a covering of thine owne fecking and making to hide thy finfull nakednesse, then thou art foolish and mad to goe to the fig-tree for leaves, thou shouldest rather have gone to the Rocks and Mountains, and cryed to them Cover us, ofe 10.8. for they are thicker and more able to cover, or if thou wilt needes have it of leaves, why wentst thou not to the Tree of Life, whose leaves are said Revel. 22. 2. to ferve

for