The Seed of the Woman,
and the Seed of the Serpent
by
George Whitefield
(1714-1770)
by
George Whitefield
(1714-1770)
Genesis 3:15 - "And I will put Enmity between thee and the
Woman, and between thy Seed and her Seed, it shall bruise thy Head, and thou
shalt bruise his Head."
On reading to you these
words, I may address you in the language of the holy angels to the shepherds,
that were watching their flocks by night: "Behold, I bring you glad
tidings of great joy." For this is the first promise that was made of a
Savior to the apostate race of Adam. We generally look for Christ only in the
New Testament; but Christianity, in one sense, is very near as old as the
creation. It is wonderful to observe how gradually God revealed his Son to
mankind. He began with the promise in the text, and this the elect lived upon,
till the time of Abraham. To him, God made further discoveries of his eternal
council concerning man's redemption. Afterwards, at sundry times, and in divers
manners, God spoke to the fathers by the prophets, till at length the Lord
Jesus himself was manifested in flesh, and came and tabernacled amongst us.
This first promise must
certainly be but dark to our first parents, in comparison of that great light
which we enjoy: And yet, dark as it was, we may assure ourselves they built
upon it their hopes of everlasting salvation, and by that faith were saved.
How they came to stand
in need of this promise, and what is the extent and meaning of it, I intend,
God willing, to make the subject-matter of your present meditation.
The fall of man is
written in too legible characters not to be understood: Those that deny it, by
their denying, prove it. The very heathens confessed, and bewailed it: They
could see the streams of corruption running through the whole race of mankind,
but could not trace them to the fountain-head. Before God gave a revelation of
his Son, man was a riddle to himself. And Moses unfolds more, in this one
chapter (out of which the text is taken) than all mankind could have been
capable of finding out of themselves, though they had studied to all eternity.
In the preceding chapter
he had given us a full account, how God spoke the world into being; and
especially how he formed man of the dust of the earth, and breathed into him
the breath of life, so that he became a living soul. A council of the Trinity
was called concerning the formation of this lovely creature. The result of that
council was, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him." Moses
remarkably repeats these words, that we might take particular notice of our
divine Original. Never was so much expressed in so few words: None but a man
inspired could have done so. But it is remarkable, that though Moses mentions
our being made in the image of God, yet he mentions it but twice, and that in a
transient manner; as though he would have said, "man was made in honor,
God make him upright, `in the image of God, male and female created he them.'
But man so soon fell, and became like the beasts that perish, nay, like the
devil himself, that it is scarce worth mentioning."
How soon man fell after
he was created, is not told us; and therefore, to fix any time, is to be wise
above what is written. And, I think, they who suppose that man fell the same
day in which he was made, have no sufficient ground for their opinion. The many
things which are crowded together in the former chapter, such as the formation
of Adam's wife, his giving names to the beasts, and his being put into the
garden which God had planted, I think require a longer space of time than a day
to be transacted in. However, all agree in this, "man stood not
long." How long, or how short a while, I will not take upon me to
determine. It more concerns us to inquire, how he came to fall from his
steadfastness, and what was the rise and progress of the temptation which
prevailed over him. The account given us in this chapter concerning it, is very
full; and it may do us much service, under God, to make some remarks upon it.
"Now the serpent
(says the sacred historian) was more subtle than any beast of the field which
the Lord God had made, and he said unto the woman, Yes, hath God said, ye shall
not eat of every tree of the garden?"
Though this was a real
serpent, yet he that spoke was no other than the devil; from hence, perhaps,
called the old serpent, because he took possession of the serpent when he came
to beguile our first parents. The devil envied the happiness of man, who was
made, as some think, to supply the place of the fallen angels. God made man
upright, and with full power to stand if he would: He was just, therefore, in
suffering him to be tempted. If he fell, he had no one to blame except himself.
But how must Satan effect his fall? He cannot do it by his power, he attempts
it therefore by policy: he takes possession of a serpent, which was more subtle
than all the beasts of the field, which the Lord God had made; so that men who
are full of subtlety, but have no piety, are only machines for the devil to
work upon, just as he pleases.
"And he said unto
the woman." Here is an instance of his subtlety. He says unto the woman,
the weaker vessel, and when she was alone from her husband, and therefore was
more liable to be overcome; "Yes, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every
tree of the garden?" These words are certainly spoken in answer to
something which the devil either saw or heard. In all probability, the woman
was now near the tree of knowledge of good and evil; (for we shall find her, by
and by, plucking an apple from it) perhaps she might be looking at, and
wondering what tree was in that tree more than the others, that she and her
husband should be forbidden to take of it. Satan seeing this, and coveting to
draw her into a parley with him, (for if the devil can persuade us not to
resist, but to commune with him, he hath gained a great point) he says,
"Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden?"
The first thing he does is to persuade he, if possible to entertain hard
thoughts of God; this is his general way of dealing with God's children:
"Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? What!
Hath God planted a garden, and placed you in the midst of it, only to tease and
perplex you? Hath he planted a garden, and yet forbid you making use of any of
the fruits of it at all?" It was impossible for him to ask a more ensnaring
question, in order to gain his end: For Eve was here seemingly obliged to
answer, and vindicate God's goodness. And therefore, — Verses 2 & 3. The
woman said unto the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the
garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God
hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye
die."
The former part of the
answer was good, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, God
has not forbid us eating of every tree of the garden. No; we may eat of the
fruit of the trees in the garden (and, it should seem, even of the tree of
life, which was as a sacrament to man in the state of innocence) there is only
one tree in the midst of the garden, of which God hath said, ye shall not eat
of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." Here she begins to warp,
and sin begins to conceive I her heart. Already she has contracted some of the
serpent's poison, by talking with him, which she ought not to have done at all.
For she might easily suppose, that it could be no good being that could put
such a question unto her, and insinuate such dishonorable thoughts of God. She
should therefore have fled from him, and not stood to have parleyed with him at
all. Immediately the ill effects of it appear, she begins to soften the divine
threatening. God had said, "the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely
die;" or, dying thou shalt die. But Eve says, "Ye shall not eat of
it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." We may be assured we are
fallen into, and begin to fall by temptations, when we begin to think God will
not be as good as his word, in respect to the execution of his threatenings
denounced against sin. Satan knew this, and therefore artfully "Said unto the
woman, (ver. 4) Ye shall not surely die," in an insinuating manner,
"Ye shall not surely die. Surely; God will not be so cruel as to damn you
only for eating an apple, it cannot be." Alas! How many does Satan lead
captive at his will, by flattering them, that they shall not surely die; that
hell torments will not be eternal; that God is all mercy; that he therefore
will not punish a few years sin with an eternity of misery? But Eve found God
as good as his word; and so will all they who go on in sin, under a false hope
that they shall not surely die.
We may also understand
the words spoken positively, and this is agreeable to what follows; You shall
not surely die; "It is all a delusion, a mere bugbear, to keep you in a
servile subjection." For (ver. 5) "God
doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then shall your eyes be opened, and
ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
What child of God can
expect to escape slander, when God himself was thus slandered even in paradise?
Surely the understanding of Eve must have been, in some measure, blinded, or
she would not have suffered the tempter to speak such perverse things. In what
odious colors is God here represented! "God doth know, that in the day ye
eat thereof, ye shall be as gods," (equal with God.) So that the grand
temptation was, that they should be hereafter under no control, equal, if not
superior, to God that made them, knowing good and evil. Eve could not tell what
Satan meant by this; but, to be sure, she understood it of some great privilege
which they were to enjoy. And thus Satan now points out a way which seems right
to sinners, but does not tell them the end of that way is death.
To give strength and
force to this temptation, in all probability, Satan, or the serpent, at this
time plucked an apple from the tree, and ate it before Eve; by which Eve might
be induced to think, that the sagacity and power of speech, which the serpent
had above the other beasts, must be owing, in a great measure, to his eating
that fruit; and, therefore, if he received so much improvement, she might also
expect a like benefit from it. All this, I think, is clear; for, otherwise, I
do not see with what propriety it could be said, "When the woman saw that
it was good for food." How could she know it was good for food, unless she
had seen the serpent feed upon it?
Satan now begins to get
ground space. Lust had conceived in Eve's heart; shortly it will bring forth
sin. Sin being conceived, brings forth death. Verse 6, "And when the woman
saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and
a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did
eat, and gave also unto her husband, and he did eat."
Our senses are the
landing ports of our spiritual enemies. How needful is that resolution of holy
Job, "I have made a covenant with mine eyes!" When Eve began to gaze
on the forbidden fruit with her eyes, she soon began to long after it with her
heart. When she saw that it was good for food, and pleasant to the eyes, (here
was the lust of the flesh, and lust of the eye) but, above all, a tree to be
desired to make one wise, wiser than God would have her be, nay, as wise as God
himself; she took of the fruit thereof, and gave also unto her husband with
her, and he did eat. As soon as ever she sinned herself, she turned tempter to
her husband. It is dreadful, when those, who should be help-meets for each
other in the great work of their salvation, are only promoters of each other's
damnation: but thus it is. If we ourselves are good, we shall excite others to
goodness; if we do evil, we shall entice others to do evil also. There is a
close connection between doing and teaching. How needful then is it for us all
to take heed that we do not sin any way ourselves, lest we should become
factors for the devil, and ensnare, perhaps, our nearest and dearest relatives?
"she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat."
Alas! What a
complication of crimes was there in this one single act of sin! Here is an
utter disbelief of God's threatening; the utmost ingratitude to their Maker,
who had so lately planted this garden, and placed them in it, with such a
glorious and comprehensive charter. And, the utmost neglect of their posterity,
who they knew were to stand or fall with them. Here was the utmost pride of heart:
they wanted to be equal with God. Here's the utmost contempt put upon his
threatening and his law: the devil is credited and obeyed before him, and all
this only to satisfy their sensual appetite. Never was a crime of such a
complicated nature committed by any here below: Nothing but the devil's
apostasy and rebellion could equal it.
And what are the
consequences of their disobedience? Are their eyes opened? Yes, their eyes are
opened; but, alas! It is only to see their own nakedness. For we are told (ver.
7) "That the eyes of them both were opened; and they knew that they were
naked." Naked of God, naked of every thing that was holy and good, and
destitute of the divine image, which they before enjoyed. They might rightly
now be termed Ichabod; for the glory of the Lord departed from them. O how low
did these sons of the morning then fall! Out of God, into themselves; from
being partakers of the divine nature, into the nature of the devil and the
beast. Well, therefore, might they know that they were naked, not only in body,
but in soul.
And how do they behave
now they are naked? Do they flee to God for pardon? Do they seek to God for a
robe to cove their nakedness? No, they were now dead to God, and became
earthly, sensual, devilish: therefore, instead of applying to God for mercy,
"they sewed or platted fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons,
"or things to gird about them. This is a lively representation of all
natural man: we see that we are naked: we, in some measure, confess it; but,
instead of looking up to God for succor, we patch up a righteousness of our own
(as our first parents platted fig-leaves together) hoping to cover our
nakedness by that. But our righteousness will not stand the severity of God's
judgment: it will do us no more service than the fig-leaves did Adam and Eve,
that is, none at all. For (ver. 8) "They
heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the trees of the garden, in the cool
of the day; and Adam and his wife (notwithstanding their fig-leaves) hid
themselves from the presence of the Lord God, among the trees of the
garden."
They heard the voice of
the Lord God, or the Word of the Lord God, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who is
"the word that was with God, and the word that was God." They heard
him walking in the trees of the garden, in the cool of the day. A season,
perhaps, when Adam and Eve used to go, in a n especial manner, and offer up an
evening sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. The cool of the day. Perhaps the
sin was committed early in the morning, or at noon; but God would not come upon
them immediately, he staid till the cool of the day. And if we would
effectually reprove others, we should not do it when they are warmed with
passion, but wait till the cool of the day.
But what an alteration
is here! Instead of rejoicing at the voice of their beloved, instead of meeting
him with open arms and enlarged hearts, as before, they now hide themselves in
the trees of the garden. Alas, what a foolish attempt was this? Surely they
must be naked, otherwise how could they think of hiding themselves from God?
Whither could they flee from his presence? But, by their fall, they had
contracted an enmity against God: they now hated, and were afraid to converse
with God their Maker. And is not this our case by nature? Assuredly it is. We
labor to cover our nakedness with the fig-leaves of our own righteousness: We
hide ourselves from God as long as we can, and will not come, and never should
come, did not the Father prevent, draw, and sweetly constrain us by his grace,
as he here prevented Adam.
Verse 9. "And the
Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Adam, where art thou?" "The Lord God
called unto Adam." (for otherwise Adam would never have called unto the
Lord God) and said, "Adam, where art thou? How is it that thou comest not
to pay thy devotions as usual?" Christians, remember the Lord keeps an
account when you fail coming to worship. Whenever therefore you are tempted to
withhold your attendance, let each of you fancy you heard the Lord calling unto
you, and saying, "O man, O woman, where art thou? It may be understood in
another and better sense; "Adam, where art thou?" What a condition is
thy poor soul in? This is the first thing the Lord asks and convinces a sinner
of; when he prevents and calls him effectually by his grace; he also calls him
by name; for unless God speaks to us in particular, and we know where we are,
how poor, how miserable, how blind, how naked, we shall never value the
redemption wrought out for us by the death and obedience of the dear Lord Jesus.
"Adam, where art thou?"
Verse 10. "And he
said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid." See what cowards
sin makes us. If we knew no sin, we should know no fear. "Because I was
naked, and I hid myself." Ver. 11, "And he said, who told thee that
thou was naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I (thy Maker and
Law-giver) commanded thee, that thou shouldest not eat?" God knew very well that
Adam was naked, and that he had eaten of the forbidden fruit, But God would
know it from Adam's own mouth. Thus God knows all our necessities before we
ask, but yet insists upon our asking for his grace, and confessing our sins.
For, by such acts, we acknowledge our dependence upon God, take shame to
ourselves, and thereby give glory to his great name.
Verse 12. "And the
man said, the woman which thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I did eat." Never was nature more
lively delineated. See what pride Adam contracted by the fall! How unwilling he
is to lay the blame upon, or take shame to himself. This answer is full of
insolence towards God, enmity against his wife, and disingenuity in respect to
himself. For herein he tacitly reflects upon God. "The woman that thou
gavest to be with me." As much as to say, if thou hadst not given me that
woman, I had not eaten the forbidden fruit. Thus, when men sin, they lay the
fault upon their passions; then blame and reflect upon God for giving them
those passions. Their language is, "the appetites that thou gavest us,
they deceived us; and therefore we sinned against thee." But, as God,
notwithstanding, punished Adam for hearkening to the voice of his wife, so he
will punish those who hearken to the dictates of their corrupt inclinations.
For God compels no man to sin. Adam might have withstood the solicitations of
his wife, if he would. And so, if we look up to God, we should find grace to
help in the time of need. The devil and our own hearts tempt, but they cannot
force us to consent, without the concurrence of our own wills. So that our
damnation is of ourselves, as it will evidently appear at the great day,
notwithstanding all men's present impudent replies against God. As Adam speaks
insolently in respect to God, so he speaks with enmity against his wife; the
woman, or this woman, she gave me. He lays all the fault upon her, and speaks
of her with much contempt. He does not say, my wife, my dear wife; but, THIS
WOMAN. Sin disunites the most united hearts: It is, the bane of holy
fellowship. Those who have been companions in sin here, if they die without
repentance, will both hate and condemn one another hereafter. All damned souls
are accusers of their brethren. Thus it is, in some degree, on this side of the
grave. "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I did eat." What a disingenuous [deceitful] speech was here! He makes
use of no less than fifteen words to excuse himself, and but one or two (in the
original) to confess his fault, if it may be called a confession at all.
"The woman which thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree;"
here are fifteen words; "and I did eat." With what reluctance do
these last words come out? How soon are they uttered are they uttered?
"And I did eat." But thus it is with an unhumbled, unregenerate heart;
It will be laying the fault upon the dearest friend in the world, nay, upon God
himself, rather than take shame to itself. This pride we are all subject to by
the fall; and, till our hearts are broken, and made contrite by the spirit of
our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be always charging God foolishly. "Against
thee, and thee only, have I sinned, that thou mightest be justified in thy
saying, and clear when thou art judged," is the language of none but
those, who, like David, are willing to confess their faults, and are truly
sorry for their sins. This was not the case of Adam; his heart was not broken;
and therefore he lays the fault of his disobedience upon his wife and God, and
not upon himself; "The woman which thou gavest to be with me, she gave me
of the tree, and I did eat."
Verse 13. "And the
Lord God said, What is this that thou hast done?" What a wonderful concern
does God express in this expostulation! "What a deluge of misery hast thou
brought upon thyself, thy husband, and thy posterity? What is this that thou
has done? Disobeyed thy God, obeyed the devil, and ruined thy husband, for whom
I made thee to be an help-meet! What is this that thou hast done?" God
would here awaken her to a sense of her crime and danger, and therefore, as it
were, thunders in her ears: for the law must be preached to self-righteous
sinners. We must take care of healing before we see sinners wounded, lest we
should say, Peace, peace, where there is no peace. Secure sinners must hear the
thunderings of mount Sinai, before we bring them to mount Zion. They who never
preach up the law, it is to be feared, are unskillful in delivering the glad
tidings of the gospel. Every minister should be a Boanerges, a son of thunder,
as well as a Barnabus, a son of consolation. There was an earthquake and a whirlwind,
before the small still voice came to Elijah: We must first show people they are
condemned, and then show them how they must be saved. But how and when to
preach the law, and when to apply the promises of the gospel, wisdom is
profitable to direct. "And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this
that thou has done?"
"And the woman
said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." She does not make use of so
many words to excuse herself, as her husband; but her heart is as unhumbled as
his. What is this, says God, that thou hast done? God here charges her with
doing it. She dares not deny the fact, or say, I have not done it; but she
takes all the blame off herself, and lays it upon the serpent; "The
serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." She does not say, "Lord, I was
to blame for talking with the serpent; Lord, I did wrong, in not hastening to
my husband, when he put the first question to me; Lord, I plead guilty, I only
am to blame, O let not my poor husband suffer for my wickedness!" This would
have been the language of her heart had she now been a true penitent. But both
were now alike proud; therefore neither will lay the blame upon themselves;
"The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. The woman which thou gavest to be
with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."
I have been the more
particular in remarking this part of their behavior, because it tends so much
to the magnifying of Free-grace, and plainly shows us, that salvation cometh
only from the Lord. Let us take a short view of the miserable circumstances our
first parents were now in: They were legally and spiritually dead, children of
wrath, and heirs of hell.
They had eaten the fruit, of which God had commanded
them, that they should not eat; and when arraigned before God, notwithstanding
their crime was so complicated, they could not be brought to confess it. What
reason can be given, why sentence of death should not be pronounced against the
prisoners at the bar? All must own they are worthy to die. Nay, how can God,
consistently with his justice, possibly forgive them? He had threatened, that
they day wherein they eat of the forbidden fruit, they should "surely
die;" and, if he did not execute this threatening, the devil might then
slander the Almighty indeed. And yet mercy cries, spare these sinners, spare
the work of thine own hands. Behold, then, wisdom contrives a scheme how God
may be just, and yet be merciful; be faithful to his threatening, punish the
offense, and at the same time spare the offender. An amazing scene of divine
love here opens to our view, which had been from all eternity hid in the heart
of God! Notwithstanding Adam and Eve were thus unhu7mbled, and did not so much
as put up on single petition for pardon, God immediately passes sentence upon
the serpent, and reveals to them a Savior.
Verse 14. "And the
Lord God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art accursed
above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou
go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life;" i.e. he should be
in subjection, and his power should always be limited and restrained. "His
enemies shall lick the very dust," says the Psalmist. (Verse 15.)
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed
and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
Before I proceed to the
explanation of this verse, I cannot but take notice of one great mistake which
the author of the WHOLE DUTY OF MAN is guilty of, in making this verse contain
a covenant between God and Adam, as though God now personally treated with
Adam, as before the fall. For, talking of the second covenant in his preface,
concerning caring for the soul, says he, "This second covenant was made
with Adam, and us in him, presently after the fall, and is briefly contained in
these words, Gen. 3:15 where God declares, `The seed of the woman shall break
the serpent's head; and this was made up, as the first was, of some mercies to
be afforded by God, and some duties to be performed by us." This is
exceeding false divinity: for those words are not spoken to Adam; they are
directed only to the serpent. Adam and Eve stood by as criminals, and God could
not treat with them, because they had broken his covenant. And it is so far
from being a covenant wherein "some mercies are to be afforded by God, and
some duties to be performed by us," that here is not a word looking that
way; it is only a declaration of a free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ
our Lord. God the Father and God the Son had entered into a covenant concerning
the salvation of the elect from all eternity, wherein God the Father promised,
That, if the Son would offer his soul a sacrifice for sin, he should see his
seed. Now this is an open revelation of this secret covenant, and therefore God
speaks in the most positive terms, "It shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heal." The first Adam, God had treated with before; he
proved false: God therefore, to secure the second covenant from being broken,
puts it into the hands of the second Adam, the Lord from heaven. Adam, after
the fall, stood no longer as our representative; he and Eve were only private
persons, as we are, and were only to lay hold on the declaration of mercy
contained in this promise by faith, (as they really did) and by that they were
saved. I do not say but we are to believe and obey, if we are everlastingly
saved. Faith and obedience are conditions, if we only mean that they in order
go before our salvation, but I deny that these are proposed by God to Adam, or
that God treats with him in this promise, as he did before the fall under the
covenant of works. For how could that be, when Adam and Eve were now prisoners
at the bar, without strength to perform any conditions at all? The truth is
this: God, as a reward of Christ's sufferings, promised to give the elect faith
and repentance, in order to bring them to eternal life; and both these, and
every thing else necessary for their everlasting happiness, and infallibly
secured to them in this promise; as Mr. Rastan, an excellent Scots divine,
clearly shows, in a book entitled, "A view of the covenant of grace."
This is by no means an
unnecessary distinction; it is a matter of great importance: for want of
knowing this, people have been so long misled, They have been taught that they must
do so and so, and though they were under a covenant of works, and then for
DOING this, they should be saved. Whereas, on the contrary, people should be
taught, That the Lord Jesus was the second Adam, with whom the Father entered
into covenant for fallen man; That they can now do nothing of or for
themselves, and should therefore come to God, beseeching him to give them
faith, by which they shall be enabled to lay hold on the righteousness of
Christ; and that faith they will then show forth by their works, out of love
and gratitude to the ever blessed Jesus, their most glorious Redeemer, for what
he has done for their souls. This is a consistent scriptural scheme; without
holding this, we must run into one of those two bad extremes; I mean
Antinomianism on the one hand, or Arminianism on the other: from both which may
the good Lord deliver us!
But to proceed: By the
seed of the woman, we are here to understand the Lord Jesus Christ, who, though
very God of very God, was, for us men and our salvation, to have a body
prepared for him by the Holy Ghost, and to be born of a woman who never knew
man, and by his obedience and death make an atonement for man's transgression,
and bring in an everlasting righteousness, work in them a new nature, and
thereby bruise the serpent's head, i.e. destroy his power and dominion over
them. By the serpent's
seed, we are to understand the devil and all his children, who are
permitted by God to tempt and sift his children. But, blessed be God, he can
reach no further than our heel.
It is to be doubted but
Adam and Eve understood this promise in this sense; for it is plain, in the
latter part of the chapter, sacrifices were instituted. From whence should
those skins come, but from beasts slain for sacrifice, of which God made them
coats? We find Abel, as well as Cain, offering sacrifice in the next chapter:
and the Apostle tells us, he did it by faith, no doubt in this promise. And
Eve, when Cain was born, said, "I have gotten a man from the Lord,"
or, (as Mr. Henry observes, it may be rendered) "I have gotten a man, —
the Lord, — the promised Messiah." Some further suppose, that Eve was the
first believer; and therefore they translate it thus, "The seed, (not of
the, but) of this woman:" which magnifies the grace of God so much the
more, that she, who was first in the transgression, should be the first
partaker of redemption. Adam believed also, and was saved: for unto Adam and
his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them: which was a
remarkable type of their being clothed with the righteousness of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
This promise was
literally fulfilled in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Satan bruised his
heel, when he tempted him for forty days together in the wilderness: he bruised
his heel, when he raised up strong persecution against him during the time of
his public ministry: he in an especial manner bruised his heel, when our Lord
complained, that his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, and he
sweat great drops of blood falling upon the ground, in the garden; He bruised
his heel, when he put it into the heart of Judas to betray him: ad he bruised
him yet most of all, when his emissaries nailed him to an accursed tree, and
our Lord cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Yet,
in all this, the blessed Jesus,
the seed of the woman, bruised Satan's accursed head; for, in that he
was tempted, he was able to succor those that are tempted. By his stripes we
are healed. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. By dying, he destroyed
him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. He thereby spoiled
principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them
upon the cross.
This promise has been fulfilled in the elect of God,
considered collectively, as well before, as since the coming of our Lord in the
flesh: for they may be called, the seed of the woman. Marvel not, that all who
will live godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer persecution. In this promise,
there is an eternal enmity put between the seed of the woman, and the seed of
the serpent; so that those that are born after the flesh, cannot but persecute
those that are born after the spirit. This enmity showed itself, soon after
this promise was revealed, in Cain's bruising the heel of Abel: it continued in
the church through all ages before Christ came in the flesh, as the history of
the Bible, and the 11th chapter of the Hebrews, plainly show. It raged
exceedingly after our Lord's ascension; witness the Acts of the Apostles, and
the History of the Primitive Christians. It now rages, and will continue to
rage and show itself, in a greater or less degree, to the end of time. But let
not this dismay us; for in all this, the seed of the woman is more than
conqueror, and bruises the serpent's head.
Thus the Israelites, the more they were oppressed, the more they
increased. Thus it was with the Apostles; thus it was with their immediate
followers. So that Tertullian compares the church in his time to a mowed field;
the more frequently it is cut, the more it grows. The blood of the martyrs was
always the seed of the church. And I have often sat down with wonder and
delight, and admired how God has made the very schemes which his enemies
contrived, in order to hinder, become the most effectual means to propagate his
gospel. The devil
has had so little success in persecution, that if I did not know that he and his children,
according to this verse, could not but persecute, I should think he would count
it his strength to sit still. What did he get by persecuting the martyrs in
Queen Mary's time? Was not the grace of God exceedingly glorified in their
support? What did he get by persecuting the good old Puritans? Did it not prove
the peopling of New-England? Or, to come nearer our own times, what has he got
by putting us out of the synagogues? Hath not the word of God, since that,
mightily prevailed? My dear hearers, you must excuse me for enlarging on this
head; God fills my soul generally, when I come to this topic. I can say with
Luther, "If it were not for persecution, I should not understand the
scripture." If Satan should be yet suffered to bruise my heel further, and
his servants should thrust me into prison, I doubt not, but even that would
only tend to the more effectual bruising of his head. I remember a saying the
then Lord Chancellor to the pious Bradford: "Thou hast done more hurt,
said he, by thy exhortations in private in prison, than thou didst in preaching
before thou was put in," or words to this effect. The promise of the text
is my daily support: "I will put enmity between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
Further: this promise is
also fulfilled, not only in the church in general, but in every individual
believer in particular. In
every believer there are two seeds, the seed of the woman, and the seed of the
serpent; the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the
flesh. It is with the believer, when quickened with grace in his heart, as it
was with Rebekah, when she had conceived Esau and Jacob in her womb; she felt a
struggling, and began to be uneasy; "If it be so says she, why am I
thus?" (Gen. 25:22) Thus grace and nature struggle (if I may so speak) in
the womb of a believers heart: but, as it was there said, "The elder shall
serve the younger;" so it is here, — grace in the end shall get the better
of nature; the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head. Many of you
that have believed in Christ, perhaps may find some particular corruption yet
strong, so strong, that you are sometimes ready to cry out with David, "I
shall fall one day by the hand of Saul." But, fear not, the promise in the
text insures the perseverance and victory of believers over sin, Satan, death,
and hell. What if indwelling corruption does yet remain, and the seed of the
serpent bruise your heel, in vexing and disturbing your righteous souls? Fear
not, though faint, yet pursue: you shall yet bruise the serpent's head. Christ
hath died for you, and yet a little while, and he will send death to destroy
the very being of sin in you. Which brings me to show the most extensive
manner in which the promise of the text shall be fulfilled, vis. at the final
judgment, when the Lord Jesus shall present the elect to his Father, without
spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, glorified both in body and soul.
Then shall the seed of
the woman give the last and fatal blow, in bruising the serpent's head. Satan, the accuser of the
brethren, and all his accursed seed, shall then be cast out, and never suffered
to disturb the seed of the woman any more. Then shall the righteous
shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, and sit with Christ on thrones
in majesty on high.
Let us, therefore, not
be weary of well-doing; for we shall reap an eternal harvest of comfort, if we
faint not. Dare, dare, my dear brethren in Christ, to follow the Captain of
your salvation, who was made perfect through sufferings. The seed of the woman
shall bruise the serpent's head. Fear not men. Be not too much cast down at the deceitfulness of your
hearts. Fear not devils; you shall get the victory even over them. The Lord
Jesus has engaged to make you more than conquerors over all. Plead with
you Savior, plead: plead the promise in the tent. Wrestle, wrestle with God in
prayer. If it has been given you to believe, fear not if it should also be
given you to suffer. Be not any wise terrified by your adversaries; the king of
the church has them all in a chain: be kind to them, pray for them; but fear
them not. The Lord will yet bring back his ark; though at present driven into
the wilderness; and Satan like lightening shall fall from heaven.
Are there any enemies of
God here? The promise of the text encourages me to bid you defiance: the seed
of the woman, the ever-blessed Jesus, shall bruise the serpent's head. What
signifies all your malice? You are only raging waves of the sea, foaming out
your own shame. For you, without repentance, is reserved the blackness of
darkness forever. The Lord Jesus sits in heaven, ruling over all, and causing
all things to work for his children's good: he laughs you to scorn: he hath you
in the utmost derision, and therefore so will I. Who are you that persecute the
children of the ever blessed God? Though a poor stripling, the Lord Jesus, the
seed of the woman, will enable me to bruise your heads.
My brethren in Christ, I
think I do not speak thus in my own strength, but in the strength of my
Redeemer. I know in whom I have believed; I am persuaded he will keep that
safe, which I have committed unto him. He is faithful who hath promised, that
the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head. May we all experience a
daily completion of this promise, both in the church and in our hearts, till we
come to the church of the first-born, the spirits of just men made perfect, in
the presence and actual fruition of the great God our heavenly Father!
To whom, with the Son,
and the Holy Ghost, be ascribed all honor, power, might, majesty, and dominion,
now and for evermore. Amen.
