Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 1.djvu/75

Rh not declared desperate and helpless, until now that they had seduced man into the rebellion.

The sentence passed upon the tempter may be considered,

I. As lighting upon the serpent, the brute-creature which Satan made use of, which was, as the rest, made for the service of man, but was now abused to his hurt; therefore, to testify a displeasure against sin, and a jealousy for the injured honour of Adam and Eve, God fastens a curse and reproach upon the serpent, and makes it to groan, being burthened, 2 Cor. 5. 4. The Devil's instruments must share in the Devil's punishments; thus the bodies of the wicked, though only instruments of unrighteousness, shall partake of everlasting torments with the soul, the principal agent. Even the ox that killed a man, must be stoned, Exod. 21. 28, 29. See here, how God hates sin, and especially how much displeased he is with those that entice others into sin: it is a perpetual brand upon Jeroboam's name, that he made Israel to sin. Now,

1. The serpent is here laid under the curse of God; Thou art cursed above all cattle; even the creeping things, when God made them, were blessed of him, ch. 1. 22, but sin turned the blessing into a curse. The serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field, v. 1, and here, cursed above every beast in the field: unsanctified subtlety often proves a great curse to a man; and the more crafty men are to do evil, the more mischief they do, and, consequently, they shall receive the greater damnation. Subtle tempters are the most accursed creatures under the sun.

2. He is here laid under man's reproach and enmity. (1.) He is to be for ever looked upon as a vile and despicable creature, and a proper object of scorn and contempt; "Upon thy belly thou shall go, no longer upon feet, or half erect, but thou shalt crawl along, thy belly cleaving to the earth;" an expression of a very abject miserable condition, Ps. 44. 25; "and thou shalt not avoid eating dust with thy meat." His crime was, that he tempted Eve to eat that which she should not; his punishment was, that he was necessitated to eat that which he would not. Dust thou shalt eat; denoting not only a base and despicable condition, but a mean and pitiful spirit: it is said of those whose courage is departed from them, that they lick the dust like a serpent, Mic. 7. 17. How sad it is, that the serpent's curse should be the covetous worldling's choice, whose character it is, that they pant after the dust of the earth! Amos 2. 7. These choose their own delusions, and so shall their doom be. (2.) He is to be for ever looked upon as a venomous noxious creature, and a proper object of hatred and detestation: I will put enmity between thee and the woman. The inferior creatures being made for man, it was a curse upon any of them, to be turned against man, and man against them; and this is part of the serpent's curse. The serpent is hurtful to man, and often bruises his heel, because it can reach no higher; nay notice is taken of his biting the horses' heels, ch. 49. 17. But man is victorious over the serpent, and bruises his head, that is, gives him a mortal wound, aiming to destroy the whole generation of vipers. It is the effect of this curse upon the serpent, that though that creature is subtle and very dangerous, yet it prevails not, (as it would if God gave it commission,) to the destruction of mankind; but this fear of serpents is much reduced by that promise of God to his people, Ps. 91. 13, Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder, and that of Christ to his disciples, Mark 16. 18, They shall take up serpents; witness Paul, who was unhurt by the viper that fastened upon his hand. Observe here, that the serpent and the woman had just now been very familiar and friendly in discourse about the forbidden fruit, and a wonderful agreement there was between them; but here they are irreconcilably set at variance. Note, Sinful friendships justly end in mortal feuds: those that unite in wickedness, will not unite long.

II. This sentence may be considered as levelled at the Devil, who only made use of the serpent, as his vehicle in this appearance, but was himself the principal agent. He that spoke through the serpent's mouth, is here struck at through the serpent's side, and is principally intended in the sentence, which, like the pillar of cloud and fire, has a dark side toward the Devil, and a bright side toward our first parents and their seed. Great things are contained in these words.

1. A perpetual reproach is here fastened upon that great enemy both to God and man. Under the cover of the serpent, he is here sentenced to be, (1.) Degraded and accursed of God. It is supposed that pride was the sin that turned angels into devils, which is here justly punished by a great variety of mortifications couched under the mean circumstances of a serpent crawling on his belly, and licking the dust. How art thou fallen, O Lucifer! He that would be above God, and would head a rebellion against him, is justly exposed here to contempt, and lies to be trodden on; a man's pride will bring him low, and God will humble those that will not humble themselves. (2.) Detested and abhorred of all mankind; even those that are really seduced into his interest, yet profess a hatred and abhorrence of him; and all that are born of God, make it their constant care to keep themselves, that that wicked one touch them not, 1 John 5. 18. He is here condemned to a state of war and irreconcilable enmity. (3.) Destroyed and ruined, at last, by the great Redeemer, signified by the breaking of his head; his subtle politics shall be all baffled, his usurped power shall be entirely crushed, and he shall be for ever a captive to the injured honour of the divine sovereignty: by being told of this now, he was tormented before the time.

2. A perpetual quarrel is here commenced between the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of the Devil among men; war is proclaimed between the Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. That war in Heaven between Michael and the Dragon began now. Rev. 12. 7. It is the fruit of this enmity, (1.) That there is a continual conflict between grace and corruption in the hearts of God's people: Satan, by their corruptions, assaults them, buffets them, sifts them, and seeks to devour them; they, by the exercise of their graces, resist him, wrestle with him, quench his fiery darts, force him to flee from them. Heaven and hell can never be reconciled, nor light and darkness; no more can Satan and a sanctified soul, for these are contrary the one to the other. (2.) That there is likewise a continual struggle between the wicked and the godly in this world. They that love God, account those their enemies, that hate him, Ps. 139. 21, 22. And all the rage and malice of persecutors against the people of God, are the fruit of this enmity, which will continue while there is a godly man on this side heaven, and a wicked man on this side hell; Marvel not therefore, if the world hate you, 1 John 3. 13. 3. A gracious promise is here made of Christ, as the Deliverer of fallen man from the power of Satan; though it was expressed to the serpent, yet it was expressed in the hearing of our first parents, who, doubtless, took the hints of grace here given them, and saw a door of hope opened to them; else, the following sentence upon themselves would have overwhelmed them. Here was the dawning of the gospel-day: no sooner was the wound given, than the remedy was provided and revealed; here, in the head of the book, as the word is, (Heb. 10. 7.)