Lord," Pf. lxxx. 17. and "the man his fellow," Zech. xiii. 7. She alfo makes profeffion of the divinity of the Meffiah, when the calls him JEHOVAH; and fignifies, that both natures should be united in one person, by joining these two, Paul calls him, " God manifeft in the flesh," 1 Tim. iii. 16.

XXXIV. To this explication three things are principally objected. Ift, If Eve intended this, the would have faid doubling the sign of the accusative cafe: as in the following verse, τον άδελφον αυτό τον Αἴβελ. 2dly, ארת often fignifies the fame as עם, with ;את יהוה therefore signifies with Jehovah, as σὺν Θεῷ with God. In this sense, Jonathan is faid to have wrought עם אלהים with God, I Sam. xiv. 45. that is, under the conduct and direction, or by the affiftance and help, of God. 3dly, Filial respect prompts us to entertain right fentiments concerning the faith of our mother Eve; namely, that she knew and believed, the Meffiah was not only to be God-man, but also the feed of the woman, that is, the fon of a virgin; for, without this her faith had been a mistaken; not a true faith, nor yielded her any comfort. She could not therefore think, she got in Cain the Meffiah; as she was perfectly well assured, that Cain was not the fon of a virgin.

XXXV. We answer, to the first that the repetition of that particle, is indeed frequent, but yet not universal: for we have instances of the contrary, I Kingsxi. 23. If. viii. 2. Ezek.iv. 1.1 Sam. xv. 4. Where the fign of the accusative case is placed between two nouns, without a repetition. To the fecond: we deny not, that את is often equivalent to עם but there is no instance to prove, that what the Greeks say, σύν Θεῶ, the Hebrews express in their language by את יהוה or אל הים : as it is well known, they usually express it by ביתזה or כאלהים What is adduced from I Sam. xiv. 45. is not to the purpose. For, there we have עם but not את For, tho' these particles, are sometimes equivalent, yet they ought not to be confounded. And then, with God, does not so much fignify with God's assistance as God disapproving. Compare, Ifa. xxxvi. 10. With greater shew of reason might be urged Mic. iii. 8. I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, that is by the help of that fpirit; and Hab. iii. 13. Thou wenteft forth for the falvation of thy people, even for falvation with thy Messiah, that is, falvation to be procured by his means. But the former passage is very properly rendered, I am full of power with the spirit of Jehovah; full of power no lefs than full of the spirit. And the latter should feem to be thus pointed, that God may be faid to go forth with Chrift for falvation. To the third it might be answered, that there would be no absurdity to suppose, that Eye was not fo well acquainted with every thing, regarding the condition of the Meffiah. Who Who can affert, she knew, the Meffiah was to be born of a virgin, when the blessed virgin herself did not know it, when she heard it from the mouth of an angel, as appears from her words; "how shall this be, seeing I know not a man," Luke i. 34. We deny not, that the Messiah is eminently called the feed of the woman, because he was to be born of a virgin: which the the Holy Ghost afterwards more clearly foretold. But it is no crime to doubt, whether our mother Eve could have gathered this from those words; fince, in the facred language, even they are faid to be born of a woman, who are conceived in matrimony, - as we shewed section XVII. One may affert this, and not tranfgrefs against that respect due to our common mother; as it is certain, God gradually brought his people to the knowldge of the Meffiah: nor does it overturn the faith of Eve, which might have been genuine and saving, though it was under this imperfection, ignorance and mistake; as Peter had a true faith concerning Christ, that is a faving, and not a hypocritical, though he imagined through mistake, that Chrift could be the Saviour of his people, without fufferings, Mat. xvi. 22. But we are under no necessity to be obliged to say any of these things, for we do not affert, our mother Eve received Cain, for the very Meffiah: but only we are of opinion, that, in the birth of Cain, the observed a fign or token of God's performing the promise, and something to fupport her faith, which she was willing to declare and preserve the memory of, by giving him that name: and consequently that argument does not affect us.

XXXVI. And we are not to pass over in filence, that when the afterwards brought forth another son, she called his name " Seth, שת because God )שות( hath appointed me another feed instead of Abel, whom Cain flew," Gen. iv. 25. A fentence full of spiritual affsurance and of prophecy. She calls him feed, having a view to the promise, and foretelling, that he would not only carry on the enmity with the ferpent, but also that from him, that eminent feed would come forth, by whose power the ferpent's head was to be bruised. The feed the proclaimed was given by God; as a fon not of nature only, but alfo of grace and promife, and accounted by God himself for a feed: nor only given, but also appointed of God, that is, established and fecured by the council of God that he should not be flain, but be the foundation of the future church, to be propagated in an uninterrupted succession in his pofterity, and preferved down to Christ. For the word to appoint, dehotes a determination and steadiness, as John xv. 16. "I have chofen

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chosen you, and ordained (appointed) you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit. She therefore acknowledges Seth for the chofen feed, and the parent of him, in whom all the elect are chosen.

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XXXVII. This doctrine of salvation flourished both in the mouths and in the hearts of blievers, who began לקראכשסיחוה that is, as Aquila translates it, Καλῖςςθαι ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίς to be called by the name of the Lord, Gen. iv. 26. and they were called the fons of God, as diftinguished from the fons of man. Above all, the prophecy of Enoch is very remarkable, which the apostle Jude relates in his epistle, not from any apocryphal book, nor from the mere authority of any unwritten tradition, nor by a fagacious conjecture from the history of Mofes, but by the inspiration of that fame Spirt, who prompted Enoch to prophesy, v. 14. 15. in these words: "and Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophefied of these, saying, behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his faints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them," &ca That Lord, of whom Enoch speaks, is the Messiah, in unity of effence the fame Jehovah with the Father and the Holy Spirit; to whom also all power is given in heaven and in earth, and whose peculiar property the elect are on special account. He foretels his coming by a verb of the preterperfect tense, to express the undoubted certainty of the thing, and the full afsurance of his own faith, he prophefies, that the Meffiah; at that coming, will be attended with myriads of angels. Which happened, when he came down upon mount Sinai to give the law, Deut. xxxiii. 2. and when he came in the flesh, to visit his people: for, then a multitude of the heavenly host, de claring his nativity, was seen and heard in the country of Bethlehem, Luke iii. 13. but this will be the cafe in a most illustrious manner when "he shall come in the clouds of heaven, and all the holy angels with him," Mat. xxv. 31. The end of this coming will be " to execute judgment upon all: for, the Father hath committed all judgment to the Son,” John v. 22. and to convince all that are ungodly, by inflicting the punishments due to their impiety. These things Enoch preached to the people in his days, who, giving a loose to their lufts, impioufly denied the future coming of the Lord. And feeing that prophecy contains an universal truth, it is applicable to all, who walk according to their lufts. And these are the things, which the scripture testifies, were delivered concerning the doctrine of falvation, in the first age of the world.

CHAP

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CHAP. II.

Of the Doctrine of Grace under Noah.

S Noah was the patriarch of the new world, we are now to explain, what was handed down to us in his time, concerning the doctrine of falvation; as foon as he was born, his father Lamech called him Noach, faying, " this fame shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground, which the Lord hath curfed," Gen.

ν. 29.

II. And here, in the first place, we are to take notice of the name given to the child, both with respect to its etymology, and the reason affigned by the pious parent for that name. The name is Noah, which if we follow the rules of grammar, is derived from the root to reft or be quiet; to which word, both as to letters and fignification, he comforted, is near of kin, which Lamech used in afsigning the reason of the etymology. They who keep close to grammatical niceties, endeavour to correct the words of the text, and, instead of ינחמנו would have us read יניחו as the Septuagint, in order to come nearer to the etymology of the word, and to the name have also rendered it, 8τος αναπασει ημας this fame shall refresh us. But feeing the Hebrew copies, the Chaldee paraphraft, Jerome, &c. conftantly read it otherwise we dare not rely only on our own judgment, or be willing to have any thing altered. In proper names, derived from a verb, commonly fome letter or other is either added, taken away, or transposed, and the accuracy of grammatical etymology not constantly observed: which th which the celebrated Buxtorf has shewn, by several examples, in his Vindiciis veritatis Hebraica, p. 267. Whence the Hebrew doctors generally incline to derive, from by cutting away the last letter. But Mercer's opinion appears more probable, who affirms, here only is a resemblance of words, but not a reason taken from etymology; because the verb both in found and fignification, comes near to the noun, which signifies reft and comfort: And as Aben Ezra learnedly fays, "comfort alfo is rest from grief of heart." And then the Hebrews usually have a greater regard to the sense than to the founds of words. As therefore the reason of the name is thus expreffed, he shall comfort us, it is altogether the fame as if he had faid, he sball make us to reft; because to the fame purpose, whoever comforts, causes rest from trouble. But these are VOL. II. rather

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rather niceties, tho' not to be overlooked, in order to preserve the integrity of the Hebrew copies inviolable. This one thing is evident, that Lamech, in the name of his son, intended a standing monument of his own wishes and hopes.

III. Let us therefore fee, what he intended by this name. " This fame," says he, " shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed." Three things are contained in this fentence: 1st, The evil, under which, with other pious people, he groaned. 2dly, The good opposed to that evil, which he had the hopeful profpect of. 3dly, The author of that good.

IV. He makes the evil, he complains of, to consist in our work, in the toil of our hands, and in the ground which God hatb cursed. The carnal Jews generally restrict this to that fatigue of body, which men are forced to bear, in the culture of the earth, occafioned by the curse of God, and that these words only contain a prophecy concerning an easier method of agriculture, which Noah would discover. But his pious parents were not so delicate, and so much taken up with the conveniencies of this life, as to place the greatest part of their mifery in those fatigues of the body. These things have a higher view. By מעשנו our work, are principally to be understood those evil works, which bring grief and forrow to the foul. For, these are our works, opposed to the work of God in us. These produce an unspeakable trouble and fatigue to the godly, " as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for them," Pf. xxxviii. 4. These were at that time vifible every where, men being arrived at the utmost pitch of wickedness. Whence Peter, 2 Pet. ii. 5. calls the men of that generation, the world of the ungodly. But to those evil works was added the toil of their hands. To this I refer all the labour, misery and calamity of this life, which were to be undergone in the sweat of our brow. This is accompained with dwelling on the earth which is cursed; so that while man lives there, he cannot possibly enjoy a full state of holiness and tranquillity of foul, and see the light of God's face in glory. For, "whilst we are at home in the body, we are abfent from the Lord," 2 Cor. v. 6.

V. The good opposed to this evil, which he defired, and was in expectation of, he calls confolation or comfort. This confifts in the applying fome effectual remedy against, and in the very removal of those evils. The comfort against our vicious works confiits in the expiation and remission of them, in the intimation of that gracious sentence, by which they are pardoned on the account of the Meffiah; and finally, in the purging them away by the Spirit of fanctification. Comfort from the miferies

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