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an expoftulation with God, and partly an accufation against him
In both which he feemeth to fay this in favor of his fault, it did not
become me to fufpect her of any evil! whom thou gavest to bee a
meet help and good for me; I thought that whatsoever the did, or
fhould perfwade me to, would have become good and helpfull to
me, ergo I yeelded to it.

This we fee is a foul fault to quarrell with Gods goodneffe, and to
charge God with fin; whereas all iniquitis and fin God doth utterly
abhorre: There is no affinitie between God and evill, for no evill
commeth neer.his dwelling, eft me iniquitas apud deum? faith Saint
Paul, the fecond to the Corrinthians the fixth chapter and the four-
teenth verfe, to fuch which thus impudently realon against God:
What agreement hath righteousness with unrighteousnefs; why then O
man doft thou charge God with finns fo that he fetcheth the Pe
digree of his finne which he committed, and derived it thus even
from God himself. The finne which is, came by eating of the
apple, which was the gift of Eve, which was the gift of God. Thus
to make his fin inmeafurable finfull, he deriveth his finne from the
holiest of all, and wrappeth not only the woman his wife in the
tranfgreffion, but alfo fetcheth God in for company, as partner
with them in this their evill.

Tum dixit Febova Deus mulieri, Quid hoc eft quod fecifti? dixit em 3713; autem mulier, Serpens ifte feduxit me, & comedi.

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N the end of the last verse before, ended the tri- February, 13.7 all of Adams offence; foras you have feen from the feventh verfe, hath been the triall and examination of the crime committed: In the feventh verfe was the areft; in the eighth werfe was the fecond proceffe, which being ferved on him, was of force to fhut him close in prifon in the bushe's; in the ninth verse he is brought forth of his Goal and arraigned having his indictment and accufation laid againft him, and he is permitted to fpeak for himself, in the tenth verfe he pleadeth not guilty, alledging reafons why; in the eleventh verse, God iraverfeth the caufe by joyning iffue with him, and in the twelfth verse, we have feen his confeffion and his allegation, why sentence fhould not proceed against him.

Now in this the other party guilty, which was accused before, is brought ro her triall; in which for the Judicials and manner of proceeding, the generall intent of God is not only to convene be fore him a Malefactor, but not to give over untill he hath found

Q93

out

out the principall, that is, to finde who hath been chief in the trefpafs, and as tome fay, to make diligent fearch, whofe hand was deepest and most bufit in this offence. In Phyfick we are taught to fearch to the bottom and goe to the Core. In Logick we are taught to bring and reduce every thing that is faid or reafoned upon, unto the principall action or rule by which it is fcanned. In Divinitie, it is a point efpecially materiall, as our Saviour Chrift faith, to goe to the beginning and firft inftitution of things; to fee how it was then, And this is Gods courfe in judgment, to find out the principal and cheife cause of evill things which are committed.

The way and manner of finding this out, is by inquirie, and by way of interrogations, miniftring interrogations unto him for all crimes and finnes being works of darkness; and therefore as much as may be hid and concealed from apearing in the light and fight of men, therefore the praife and labor of a Judge is to finde and fearch it out, that being brought to light, ill works may be reproved, the third of Fohn and the twenty firft verfe: For this cause this duty is enjoyned by God to all Judges after two waies, the thirteenth of Deuteronomie and the fourteenth verfe, ut perfcrutarentur & interrogarent, that by fearch and diligent inquirie, the truth might be boulted out: It is the course to be taken in the case of murder, the twenty first of Deuteronomie and the fourth verfe: In the cafe of adultry, the fifth of Numbers and the fourteenth verfe In the matter of theft, the twenty fecond chapter of Exodus and the eighth verse: And it is the courfe which may be holden in any Crime or Cause 1 Reg. 8, 31, whatsoever, that upon good and fufficient prefumptions and deteЯions, they may proceed to inquire diligently, and the party called in queftion is bound to make anfwer, to purge and cleanse him felf, which is fufpected or accufed; for this is the ground and foundation on which God frameth his action against Eve. Adam faith that thou (his wife) diddeft intice & perfwade him to care thereof: The question therefore which I demande of thee is,' why haft thou done this: And this is that, to which she is bound to answer.

Now if we looke to her anfwer, which fhe maketh unto the interrogatorie propounded to her, we fhall fee it very frivolous; for God asketh quare, and the answereth to quis, Some think that it was for fear, or shame; or elfe, as others fay, for the defect of a right and a true caufe For well may one alledge the tempter and occafion which moved or follicited us to fin; but otherwife no right or proper caufe of fin can be affigned.But howfoever it is, we must take her anlwer as it is. First, we see that fhe is not mute or filent, but knoweth how to fhape an ill answer, and to make an excufe as well as her husband God faith, in the fiftieth Pfalme and the one and twentieth verfe, because I held my tongue, and envyed no more against mens fin; therefore the Devill bare Eve in hand that Adams excufe went forgood payment, and put God to filence, as if it had been fo full an answer to God, as that he could fay no more against him;

and

and therefore fecing that held fo well; he perfwadeth the woman to take the fame courfe; for we fhall perceive that both her and her anfwer are fo like, as it they had been framed in one forge; for the like pride we fee in both, which will not feem foill as they are, but doe lay the fault upon another to excufe themselves.

Secondly, the method and form of answering is alike, and even the fame in both their answers, but the fubftance and matter of the excuse is not one and the fame, for Adams excufe was his wife Eve, but her excufe is the Serpent; fo that if we compare Adams anfwer and Eves together, we fhall fee in what they agree, and wherein they differ; both of their confeffions are extort and indirect, both are maimed and unperfect, and neither of them can plainly say peccavi, &c.

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Out of which we learn, that both these came from one School- usw. mafter Sathan, the Author, Accufer, and Procter of all finne, and he doth mankind more hurt when he is an Advocate and Proctor, giving us counsel how to defend and excufe our finne, than when he is an accufer, accufing us of fin to God the Judge of all because when the Devill is only an accufer against us, Chrift will be our Advocate to plead our caufe for us, and an Interceffor and Mediator for us to his Father; and he being on our fide, we need not fear though the Devill be against us. But if we entertain the Devill for our Proctor, Chrift will be a fevere Judge against us to condemne us, and oppose himself to the Devill.

Therefore the Devill careth not what excufe we alledge, though they lay the blame of their finne upon him, he is content to beare it, rather than they should confeffe their fin plainly, and make Chrift their Advocate.

To cover and conceale finne is a double finne; and not to confeffe it plainly is partly pride, and prefumption, or else fervile fear and difpaire, fearing left they fhould confeffe all to God; as though he had not goodneffe or mercy enough to forgive them: or else they conceale it of pride, prefuming that God cannot fee and finde out that which they diffemble and hide from the eyes of men.

So we fee that it is a compound finne, though the woman be in impari fexu, yet fhe is pari fuperbia, as proud as he; and as farre dead in hiding and diffembling finne as he, and as well able to fay for herfelf as he; thus pride maketh men afhamed to confeffe, or elfe fo to confeffe, that one may fee a plain difference between the confeffion à difference of a proud, and a poor humble finner; between the confeffion of the of Confefling good and faith full, and the evill Infidells: Between Sauls confeffion & Davids; Sauls confeffion (melleth of pride, in the first booke of Samuell, fifteenth and the thirtieth verfe, Peccavi, faith he, (fed honorame:) That is, he would fo confeffe his fin, that he might keepe his credit, and have his reputation, and not to lose one jot of that.

But Davids confeffion is farre otherwife, for he not only confef feth plainly against himself, faying to Nathan, I have finned; but al

fo

finnes.

fo he maketh a Pfalm of it and fetteth this preface to it, or caused it to be set before it, A Pfalm of David to fhew his repentance, after the Prophet had rebuked him: As if he should not stick to fhame himself in this world, that he might be without blame in the world to come : And indeed it is a perfect figne of an humble and a good mind, when one can fay from his heart, let me bear the fhame and punishment of my finne, as a fatherly correction in this life; onely, O Lord, pardon and forgive me, that I may elcape thy wrath and Judgment in the life to come. He that can be content thus to doe, is one of a good humble and contrite heart: But Sauls fpirit of hypocrifie will not confeffe his fault, unleffe he may keepe his credit, and avoid the fhame and difcredit of evill in this world.

Thus we fee that as the fame humor and Teacher was to them both: So Eve shapeth her excufive answer by Adams patterne, which went before: For as Eve taught Adam to fin after the patern and example of her deed; fo, to quit it now, we fee here, that Adam taught Eve how to excufe and cloake her finne; according to the paterne which he had set, and shewed her before.

Here he endeth his Lectures in St. Pauls Church, and thoje which follow, he preached in the Parish Church of St. Giles without Cripplegate.

LECTURES

37

LECTURES

Preached in the Parish Church of St. GILES without Cripplegate, LONDON.

Quapropter dixit Fehova Deus Serpenti illi: Cùm feceris iftud, Gen. 3. 14. maledictus efto præ omni jumento, & præ omni beftia agri: fuper ventrem tuum ito, & pulverem comedito omnibus die

bus vitæ tuæ.

HE third Chapter of this first book of Mofes con taineth only matter of the Fall of Adam, the first man; and it may well be divided into two parts, First, his falling into finne; Secondly, his falling into misery, the fruit of finne. In the former are two things to be confidered, firft his temptation to finne, from the first verse to the fifth: Secondly, his committing of the act and finne it felf, verfe 6. And upon these two stand and depend his falling into finne. The other part which is his falling into mileric, beginneth at the leventh verle and continueth to the end of the Chapter, and is divided into his Judgement, and the execution of the Judgement. The Judgement of our first Parents beginneth at the 7. verfe, and continueth to the 22. the execution of it from the 22. verfe to the end of the chapter. In the Judgement are two parts, the Tryall and Sentence, the Tryall went before, from the feventh verfe to the thirteenth, the Sentence beginneth at this verse read unto you, and continueth to the 22. following.

The fentence is exceeding worthy the meditation of all men in refpect of the contents of it; for that as it fetteth down the mother or original curfe, from whence all other curfes proceed, as those Levit. 26. Deut. 28. which are nothing elfe but a laying out in fpecial and particular of that which is here, So likewife, as the Lord is faid in wrath to remember mercy, Hab. 3. 2. it contains alfo the bleffing, yea that great bleffing, in refpect whereof all other bleffings in the Scriptures are but glaffes to behold this bleffing, for you have in the fentence of this Curfe, as the bitterneffe of Gods wrath, fo the confideration of the goodneffe of Gods promife, which the Apoftle calls the most great and pretious promife, 2 Pet. 1.4. whereby

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June 18, 1598.

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