The theologicall key of the three first covenants made by God with man, in the severall state of man, obliging man to his law, after a severall formall manner, from the beginning according to his sacred decree of predestination, fundamentally declared, according to his sacred word and truth / by David Dunbar, Esq.

CHAP XXVII.

The literall and mysticall sense of the censure of God, pronounced upon Adam, as he is the head of the woman, his body and wife by matrimoniall union.

THe last censure is pronounced by God, upon Adam (the last delinquent) as he is the head and husband of the woman, his body and wife by ma∣trimoniall union: For, in this sense only Adam is the redeemed head of all men naturally to descend of Adam. The censure is set down (by Moses) in these words, Gen. 3.17, 18, 19 Because thou hast harkened unto the voyce of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it. Cursed is the earth for thy sake: in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the dayes of thy life: Thornes also, and Thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat of the herb of the field: In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread; till thou return unto the earth: For out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. First, the cause of the censure is set down; and next the censure is pronounced. The sense and meaning of the cause of the censure, is this; because thou hast obeyed the voyce of thy wife, and hast most unthankfully preferred her love to thy love, to me thy gracious God and Creator, and hast contemned my command, (which is the command of

me, God of the Law of Righteousnesse) and hast eaten of the fruit whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat: Next the censure is pro∣nounced, which hath a literall and mysticall sense. The literall sense of the censure is set down from the eighteenth verse, to the end of the chapter, and hath four branches: The first is, cursed is the earth for thy sake: By the second branch of the censure, naturall death is inflicted upon Adam, as he is the head of the woman his body, and redeemed head of man. Thirdly, Adam is ex∣cluded Paradise, to till the ground: Fourthly, the Cherubims, and the fla∣ming sword, are placed at the East of the Garden of Eden, to keep man from entring to the tree of Life, growing in the earthly Paradise. First, therefore of this curse inflicted upon the earth.

This curse inflicted upon the earth, is no wayes to be taken for the curse of the Law: For, first the earth did no wayes come within the compasse of the transgression of the Law: Secondly, the curse of the Law (which is eter∣nall,) is cleerly taken away from man, and from the creatures created for man, by the promised cursed death of the blessed seed, except the only curse which was inflicted upon the sensitive Serpent. And therefore this curse of the earth is only a privation of the former fertilnes, and a positive barrennes, inflicted upon the earth, instead of that fertilnesse, that by that means of that positive barrennesse, the earth might bring forth Thistles & Thorns; for Adam was then (by the censure) to eat bread of the herbs of the field, that is, of the corn and grain which was to grow upon the barren earth; and therefore, Adam, (by his toil, labour, and pains) was to bring some fertilnesse upon the earth, or Adam must starve; by means of which toil, pains, and labour, Adam must eat his bread in sorrow and care, in the sweat of his face, by which forced sweat, surfets and colds must arise, weakning the sensitive spirits and powers of man, inducing temporall naturall death in the end. But though this barrennesse was inflicted upon the earth for man; yet in the great mercy of God by the power of the redeemed word in the heart of man: First, man is naturally enabled by his labour, pains and industry, to procure some fertil∣nesse upon the earth: And therefore it is said, 2 Thes. 3.10. that he that doth not work and labour, is not to eat: Secondly, by the power of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousnesse of faith written in the heart of man, man is morally enabled to pray for the blessing of God upon his la∣bour and pains, who hath promised to hear his prayers; by whose only bles∣sing, the curse of barrennesse is taken from the earth: Thirdly, for the de∣fending of man from the danger of his heats and colds, God in his mercy, did cloath our first parents with skins. By the second branch of the censure in∣flicted upon Adam (the redeemed head of man;) Adam, and all men re∣deemed

in Adam, shall return to dust, which is to be understood of temporall naturall death, by the dissolution of the intellectuall and sensitive nature of man: And therefore their sin is set down, Because thou wast taken out of the dust of the earth, to dust thou shalt return: But Adams humane spirit, with the word of the Law, and life of Righteousnesse, spiritually and indivi∣sibly written therein, was neither taken out of the dust of the earth, neither can it return to dust. For, first, humane spirit is necessarily coeviternall with the Word and Law of God: Secondly, humane spirit is of the same reall spe∣cificall sphere with the humane Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, as hath been formerly demonstrate, which was never taken from the earth, or can return to the dust of the earth. Temporall naturall death therefore, by this branch of the censure, is i••flicted upon Adam, as he is the head of his body, the wo∣man, who is flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone; and therefore naturall temporall death being inflicted upon the head, is necessarily likewise inflicted upon the body, the woman; and consequently and necessarily upon all men and women naturally to descend of both: For, in this sense only, Adam is the redeemed head of all redeemed men, naturally to descend of Adam. By the third branch of the censure, Adam, the redeemed head of man, (and conse∣quently the woman) are excluded out of the earthly Paradise; the reason is set down: Lest they should eat of the tree of Life, as they did formerly at their pleasure: For, there was a singular vertue in the tree of Life, to maintain the sensitive natu e of man eternally; by the eternall preservation whereof, the union of the intellectuall and sensitive nature of man was eternall; for by this eternall union, man was to have continued eternally upon earth, in the state and felicity wherein he was created.

It was therefore the infinite mercy of God to man, to cast man out of the earthly Paradise: For, if man had had that freedome to eat of the tree of Life, as he had formerly, man must have lived in sorrow and misery, subject to the continuall temptation and afflictions of Satan, and of his wicked seed eternally in this life; while as then by faith in the promised blessed seed, Adam, (the redeemed head of man) after this life, should live in the heaven∣ly Paradise eternally in all joy and happinesse.

For this cause (by the fourth branch of this censure) the Cherubims and the flaming sword, were placed at the East of the Garden, to keep the way of the tree of Life, that man should not come to the tree of Life, growing in the earthly Paradise, by the way which he run before. Next therefore of the mysticall sense of the censure. The main mysticall point of this censure inflicted upon Adam (as he is the head of the woman, and the redeemed head of man) is to let our first parents understand, that the word (the promised

blessed seed to be made flesh of the seed of the woman) is the second person of the blessed Trinity.

First, therefore by the curse inflicted upon the earth, the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam, to which Adam, and all men naturally to descend of Adam, the created head of man, were condemned, is mystically signified. To the end that all men might then, and now know, that all men were re∣deemed from that curse of eternall death and darknesse; and that all men are concluded in temporall spirituall darknesse, called unbelief, and originall sin; and that naturall death, by the censure of God, did follow that sin. And therefore it is said, Rom. 5.12.14. As by one man sin entred in the world, and death by sin, so death went overall men, from Adam to Moses.

Secondly, by the sorrow, labour and pains, and sweat of the face which ariseth to man, by reason of the curse of barrennesse inflicted upon the earth, whereby it doth produce Thistles and Thornes, which are to be weeded out by the care and labour of man, is mystically signified: the sor∣rows, labour, sweaty pains, and prickly thorny afflictions, which our Savi∣our, the promised blessed seed, was to sustain by the curse of the Law for man, to put man in continuall remembrance of the never to be forgotten love of God to man, in his Son Christ Jesus.

Thirdly, by the skins, wherewith the Lord clothed and covered our first parents nakednesse, the righteousnesse (which is the skin of the promised Lamb of God, to be sacrificed for the sins of man) was mystically signified, to the end that our first parents might understand, that it was by their only faith (in the merit of the righteousnesse of the blessed seed, the Word, to be made flesh of the seed of the woman;) that all their actuall sins and unrigh∣teousnesse was covered.

Fourthly, while as the Lord saith, Behold, man is become like one of us, to know good and evill, (whereby our first parents did see the state which their desire to know good and evill had brought to:) the Lord would have our first parents understand that the promised Redeemer of man (the blessed seed) was one of us, that is, one of the distinct persons of the glorious Trinity.

Fifthly, by the excluding of our first parents from the tree of Life growing in the earthly paradise, is mystically signified, that our first parents were ad∣mitted to the tree of Life, growing in the Paradise of God, which is the pro∣mised blessed seed.

Sixthly, by the Cherubims and flaming sword, the morall power and li∣terall light of the sword of the Word, is mystically signified, by which only light, ••ll redeemed men are morally enlightned, to enter the way of the tree of Life, planted in the heavenly Paradise which is the promised blessed seed.

By this flaming light of the sword of the Word: First, the flaming light of the redeemed Word of the Law of Righteousnesse of faith, written in the heart of man is signified, which is the flaming Light of conscience. Second∣ly, by this flaming Light of the sword, the flaming literall light of the Word of the seventh dayes rest, of the Law of righteousnesse of faith is signified, which is of one reall flaming light with the light of the word of the Law and life of Righteousnesse of faith, writtten in the heart of man; of the re∣all unity of which flaming light, morall faith doth arise; that by the morall hands of faith, the redeemed man may lay morall hold on the word of pro∣mise, shining with the same reall flaming light, which was then the tree of Life, growing in the Paradise of God, to wit, the promised blessed seed, who is now our tree of life, by his fulfilled promise. And though the Cherubims and the flaming sword were placed at the East of the Garden of Eden, poin∣ting, as it were, to the Land of Canaan, (for the promise of the blessed seed was to be made afterwards to Abraham, and to his seed, in a more particular manner then it was made to Adam; which promise was to be performed; before the promise first made to Adam could be fulfilled;) yet the flaming sword turned every way; that as by the power of the sword, all men were barred from entring to the tree of Life, growing in the earthly Paradise: So that by the flaming light of the sword of the Word, all redeemed men might be morally enlightned to enter the way to the tree of Life, which is planted in the Paradise of God, which is the promised blessed seed. Here (by the way) the question may be moved, whether this barrennesse, where∣by the earth was cursed for man, doth still remain.