4. The writings of the New Teftament always refer the deception of mankind, to the malice and cunning of Satan; and that often, under the name of a ferpent, John viii. 44. 2 Cor. xi. 3. Rev. xii. 9.

5. Though these writings are of no account with Jews and Deifts, yet the fense of the former, refpecting what we have now under confideration, perfectly agrees with them; many of their chiefeftmasters acknowledge, that Satan accompanied the serpent, was in him, was the cause of the ruin and destruction of mankind, and was principally intended in the curse, which also appears from the names they give the ferpent, as NDD which fignifies the God that bath blinded, to which the apostle has fome regard, when he fays, 2 Cor. iv. 4. fpeaking of Satan, the God of this world bath blinded the minds of them that believe not alfo they call bim ♫ 8 the Angel of Death, because he was the cause of death to Adam, and all the world; to this the apostle refers, when he tells us, Heb. ii. 14. that Jefus came to deftroy him that had the power of death, that is the Devil. Moreover, nothing is more ufual with them than to call Satan why the old ferpent, which is the very name St John gives him, Rev. xii. 9. and xx. 2. and no doubt takes its rife from this history of the ferpent in Genefis. But,

Secondly, I fhall now confider the several parts of the curfe denounced against the ferpent, which are these, namely, to be the most accurfed of all creatures, to go upon its belly, to eat the duft of the earth, and live in a continual enmity with mankind, to which, though it would be hurtful, yet man fhould have the advantage over it; all which has been exactly fulfilled in it; for the ferpent is the moft hateful of all creatures, and, however erect its posture might be before the execution of this sentence, it is certain that now it is a reptile upon the earth; the duft of which is its food; and between which and man there is a real enmity; man abhors the fight of a serpent, and a serpent abhors the fight of man, and though it may fecretly, and at unawares, bite the heels of men, yet man has the advantage over it, so as he can easily bruise and crush its head, which, being moft in danger, it is most careful to guard *. Now, the infliction of this upon the ferpent is no ways unreasonable, since it was used by Satan as an inftrument to bring about his vile and wicked designs; befides, by this curfe, God fhewed the more his deteftation of the fin of Satan,

in

* R. Saadiah Gaon & R. Samuel ben Hophni in Aben Ezra in Gen. iii. 3. R. Bechai in ibid. R. Moses ben Maimon, in Mor. Nevoch. lib. 2. cap. 30. Targum Jon, in Gen. iii. 6. Zohar in Gen. fol. 127. 1. 3. Sepher Bahir & Imre Binah in ibid. Animal. Sacr. par. 4. c. 1. Topfell's Hiftory of Serpents. p. 604, 606:

* Franzii Hift.

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in ruining mankind, and how much it was difpleafing to him; feeing he would not suffer either principal or inftrument to escape; for it must not be fuppofed that this curfe only regarded this brute creature, but that it was chiefly defigned against Satan, the fole projector and conductor of the whole affair; for it would not be agreeable to the juftice of God, to inflict this on the inftrument and let the principal go free; nor would there be any proportion between the sentence against man and the ferpent, if this concerned the ferpent only, which will appear more manifeft, by confidering the feveral parts of the fentence, and how they have been executed upon Satan.

First, One part of the curfe is that he fhould go upon his belly, which is a periphrafis of creeping upon the earth, and is aptly expreffive of the great dragon, that old ferpent, called the Devil and Satan being caft out of heaven into the earth, and bis angels with him; where he now has his abode, and rules in the hearts of men, for which reafon he is called the God and prince of this world, being never able to rife higher, and regain his place, and first estate in the highest heavens, which is no fmall part of his punishment.

Secondly, Another part of the curfe denounced against him is, his eating the duft of the earth, which defigns the mean and abject condition in which Satan now is, who does not, as formerly, feed upon angels food, the joys of heaven, but entertains himself with base, mean and earthly lufts, in which that impure fpirit delights. Moreover, it may alfo intend the very great fubjection of Satan, not only to Chrift, the King of kings, who has led captivity captive, but even to the meanest of his people, under whofe feet the God of peace will shortly bruife him, which is no fmall mortification to that proud fpirit: Thus the phrafe of licking the dust of the earth is used in Pfal. Ixxii. 9. Mic, vii. 17.

1

Thirdly, As a further degree of punishment to him, it is threatened by God that he would put enmity between him and the woman, between his feed and ber feed; the meaning of which is, that the woman, into whofe affections he had infinuated himself and with whom he had had fo much familiar converfation, now seeing how much she had been imposed upon, and feduced by him, to the ruin of herself and pofterity, fhould be filled with an enmity to him, which should be placed in her, as a punishment of him, and which enmity should not center in her only, but be transmitted to her feed, by which must be meant more efpecially the Meffiah, who, by way of eminency, may be called the feed of the woman, who should oppose himself to Satan, and his feed, the evil angels, and the whole race of wicked and ungodly men, which would hate and perfecute both him and his people..

Fourthly, For the filling up the measure of his juft punishment. It is promifed that an entire victory over him should be gained by the woman's feed, it fhall bruife thy head, and thou shalt bruife his heel, for this word it, manifeftly refers to the woman's feed, by which is intended the Meffiah; nor can it be any just objection, to the application of it to him, that the word feed is a collective word, feeing it is often used to design a fingle person, as in Gen. iv. 25. chap. xv. 2. and chap xxi. 13. That this is to be understood of him, will appear more evident, if we confider the following things:

First, That the person spoken of, is called the feed of the woman, and not of the man, which can agree with no other than the Meffiah, who was to be born of a virgin, as was afterwards more clearly revealed by Isa. vii. 14. Bebold, a virgin fhall conceive, and bear a fon, and shall call his name Immanuel; which was fulfilled in Jefus, who was truly the feed of the woman, and of her only, being made of a woman, and not begotten by man, but was conceived in the womb of the virgin, by the power of the holy Ghost.

Secondly, The word

which is here rendered it, is one of the names of God, and is fo ufed in Pfal. cii. 27. but thou art the fame,

1

thou art HE. See alfo Ifa. xlviii. 12. and thus the Jews frequently ufe it, nay, in Zobar they apply it to the eternal and blessed God, bruifing the ferpent's head, as expreffed in this text, which well agrees with Jefus, who is the unchangeable, eternal, and omnipotent HE, the aule, who is the fame yesterday, to day, and for ever, the true alpha and omega, the first and the laft, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Thirdly, The work he was to do deferves confideration, and proves the perfon fpoken of, to be the Meffiah, which was to bruife the ferpent's head, that is to deftroy Satan and all his works, fet afide all his craft and cunning, crush all his machinations and defigns, and overturn his whole empire; now this is frequently spoke of in the Old Teftament, as the Meffiah's work; and, in fome places, a peculiar reference seems to be had to this original prophecy, ́as in Pfal. cx. 6. which pfalm folely belongs to the Meffiah, where it is thus prophefied of him, he shall wound the beads over many countries, 'WN YAD by which may be thus rendered, he shall wound the bead, that is, him that is the head, or ruler, over a large country", which is no other than Satan", the god and prince of this world, who was to be wounded, bruifed, 'and de

1

Seder Tephillot, fol. 2. 1. & 4. 1. Edit. Bafil.
m The Hebrew word

231, 465, 490, 507:

ftroyed,

1 Vid. Broughton's works, p. is frequently ufed to fignify a Chief,

a Captain, Ruler, or Governor, fee Numb. xiv. 4. Judg. xi. 8, 9, 11. 1 Sam. xv. 17. 1 Chron, xi. 11, 20. Neh. ix. 17. Hof. i, 11.

n Vid Gejerum in loc.

ftroyed, by the Meffiah. Again, in Hab. iii. 13. it is faid, Thou wenteft forth for the falvation of thy people, even for falvation with thine Anointed; thou woundedft the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selab. Which, agreeable to Kimchi's reading and comment, who expounds it of the Meffiah, may be thus paraphrased,

"As thou wenteft

forth for the falvation of thy people, when they entered into the land of Canaan; fo wilt thou go forth for the falvation of thy people by the hands of Meffiah, the fon of David, who' fhall wound Satan, who is the head, "the king and prince of the houfe of the wicked, and shall rafe up all his ftrength, power, policy, and dominion." Now all this well agrees with Jefus, who has deftroyed Satan, got an entire conqueft over him, has Spoiled principalities and powers, and fubverted his whole empire.

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Fourthly, The fofferings of the Meffiah, are very fitly expreffed by the ferpent's bruifing his beel: Some by his heel, understand his people, here on earth; and by bruising it, thofe perfecutions which Satan and his emiffaries are continually railing against, and afflicting them with; though it rather feems to intend his human nature, which, as the divine nature is the head and chief in Chrift, this is the heel, the inferior and loweft nature in him, which was frequently expofed to Satan's infults, temptations, and perfecutions, and what he particularly ftruck at, and at length fo far fucceeded as to bring him to a fhameful and ignominious death, the iniquity of his heels, the fins of his people, which he bore in his own body on the tree, then compassing him about.

Fifthly, Several Jewish writers have understood this clause of the Messiah, and particularly the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; the former of which in his paraphrafe of it, fays, there fhall be a healing for the heel, in the days of the king Meffiab; and much to the fame purpose fays the latter. The Targum of Onkelos, feems well to exprefs the fecret, fpiteful, malicious, and infidious manner, in which Satan attacked the Meffiah, in the end of the world; by paraphrafing the words thus, he shall remember thee what thou didst to him of old, and thou shalt obferve or watch him in the end. Though later Jews" oppose the application of it to the Meffiah, especially to Jefus, and two things are chiefly objected by them. First, that Jesus did not bruise or destroy Satan, but rather Satan was the procuring cause of the death of Jesus; to which I reply, that Satan fo far gained his point, as to bring about the death of Jefus, we Chriftians do not deny, but then we, affert, that Jefus, through death detroyed him. that had the power of death, that is the devil, by which we do not mean an an

nihilation

Jarchi, in Pfal. cx. 6. couples those two texts together, as agreeing in one and the fame sense.
PR. Ifaac. Chizuk, Emun. par. 1. c. 12.

nihilation of his being, but a difpoffeffing him of his power, a confounding of his schemes and projects, a deftruction of his works, and a fubjection of him to Chrift, the triumphant conqueror, who has afcended on high, and led captivity captive. Secondly, they object that Satan ftill retains a power over perfons; and that the apostle Paul himself acknowledges, that he hindered him and others from coming to the Theffalonians, 1 Theff. ii. 18. and that in Rom. xvi. 20. the fame apostle speaks of Satan, as to be bruised, under the feet, of the followers of Jefus, and not as already bruised; to which I answer, that Satan indeed has often a permiffion from Chrift, to do many things which tend to the difquietude and discomfort of his people; but yet he can go no further than he has leave, which shows that he is entirely conquered by Christ, and in fubjection to him; and though he is not fully, and compleatly bruised under the feet of faints, yet is he under the feet of Jefus, who has spoiled principalities and powers and made a fhew of them openly.

A late author objects, that though Jefus might bruife the devil's head, or triumph over him, yet Jefus was the only person, that ever was born, whofe beel the devil could not bruife, or over whom the devil could not triumph, by any attack whatsoever. But I have already shewn in what fenfe Christ's heel was bruised, by the devil, and how he, and his emiffaries triumphed over him, having nailed him to the cross, and afterwards laid and fecured him in the grave: But this triumph did not last long, for though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God; though his heel was bruised, his head could not be; for though he was dead, he is now alive, and will live for evermore.

In fine, from this firft prophecy, we learn, that the Meffiah was to be incarnate, born of a woman, and not begotten by man; that he was to fuffer and die; as also, that he was to destroy Satan and his works, which Jefus has done And it may be obferved, that falvation was proclaimed, as foon as fin was committed, and a prophecy of a Meffiah given forth, as soon as there was any need of one.

The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, p. 239.

CHAP.