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ledge of good and evil; saying, ' In the day that ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die.'

Now the devil, the serpent, that abode not in the truth, who was an enemy to man's prosperity and happiness, that tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God Almighty had forbidden man and woman to eat of, and told them 'In the day that they did eat thereof, they should die,' that did the serpent make his text of to beguile and deceive man and woman with, which God had forbidden man and woman to eat of. And he being more subtile than any beast of the field, he said unto the woman, by way of question, 'Yea,' said he, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?' so the subtile serpent comes to tempt afar off, at the first speaking in general, as to other trees as well as this tree of knowledge: But the woman answered him wisely at first; if she had kept so, she had kept her simplicity; We may eat (said she) of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'

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And then the serpent said unto the woman, 'Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know (said the serpent) in the day that you eat thereof your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.'

Now here as Christ said, 'He was a liar and a murderer from the beginning, who abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him; and when he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.' So he was the father of this lie, which Eve and Adam believed, and so came under the curse and condemnation, and lost their blessed state; who instead of having their eyes opened, by disobeying God, the god of truth, the world's god out of truth blinded them.

'And when the woman saw it was good for food, and 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 to her husband, and he did eat thereof.'

And so the eyes of them both were opened to what was forbidden, but came to be blind to the inward; and then they knew they were outwardly naked; and they sowed fig-leaves together, and made them

aprons.

Now their eyes were downward, through their disobedience to the voice and command of God; for their eyes were far above transgression, whilst they kept in obedience to God's command; they saw then no nakedness, neither were they terrified or troubled at God's appearance, nor had they any shame: But after they had broken the command of God, they heard the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves

from the presence of the Lord God, amongst the trees of the garden; which hiding and fear was the fruits of their disobedience to their Maker.

And when the Lord God called unto Adam, and asked him, 'Where he was?' he said, 'I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.'

And the Lord said unto Adam, Who told thee, thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree which I commanded thee, that thou shouldst not eat of?' And Adam said, 'The woman which thou gavest to be with me, she gave me, and I did eat.'

And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done?' And the woman said, 'The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.'

So here came the first finding fault, the woman found fault with the serpent, and the man with the woman after transgression. But whilst they kept in obedience to the voice and command of the Lord, there was no such finding fault.

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And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field, and upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.'

And then the Lord said, 'I will put enmity betwixt thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.'

And unto the woman the Lord said, 'I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thy conception: In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children: and thy desire shall be unto thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.'

So, here began the sorrow and anguish; and here came the man to have the rule over the woman, (after transgression;) for they were meet-helps before transgression, and in the image of God.

And unto Adam the Lord said, 'Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and eaten of the tree which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake; and in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.'

Here the serpent tempted the woman to eat, and the woman gave unto the man, and he hearkened unto her voice.

So they both forsook God's voice and commandment; and then that brought them into sorrow, by hearkening to the serpent, who was out of truth, and disobeying the voice and command of the God of truth.

So this brought the curse upon the ground for man's disobedience; and so, in sorrow he was to eat of that which the curse had come upon, by their transgression, all the days of his life, and thorns and thistles the ground shall bring forth to Adam and Eve in the transgression. So instead of the garden and paradise, they had that ground which was

cursed, for their sakes, and thorns and thistles it was to bring forth to them; so that they had thorns and thistles, and the cursed ground instead of paradise, for their disobedience: A sad change! And the Lord said further unto Adam, In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat thy bread, until thou return unto the ground out of which thou wast taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return again.'

This man and woman brought upon themselves, by hearkening to the serpent's voice, and disobeying the command and voice of the Lord. Therefore the apostle exhorts the Corinthians, that they should not be beguiled of their simplicity, as Eve was.

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And also saith, That the devil like a roaring lion goeth up and down, seeking whom he may devour, whom resist, steadfast in the faith.'

For how should Adam and Eve be otherwise, when they had fallen from the image and likeness of God, the righteousness and holiness, and the power which God Almighty gave them dominion in, over all that he had made?

So by man and woman's transgression, came the ground to be cursed for their sakes, and to bring forth thorns and thistles, and disobeying God's voice and command, fell from his image, into the earth and dusty part; so in that earthly part, he was with the sweat of his brows to get his bread, till he returned to dust again.

And to Adam, and to his wife, the Lord made coats of skins, and clothed them. So this was the Lord's clothing of Adam and Eve, after the transgression of his command; and their own clothing, that they clothed themselves with, after they had disobeyed the Lord, and transgressed his command, were fig-leaves, which they had stitched together. And are not all the professors, and all people in the world, in the transgression, sewing and stitching together something to cover their nakedness with, like their father Adam and mother Eve, who are not covered with the spirit of God? So all their stitched garments will not keep them from the wo and judgments of God.

And are not all mankind by transgression, come under the covering of beast's skins, and covering themselves with fig-leaves, in their shame, which they had none before transgression? So after they had transgressed, they put fig-leaves upon them, which the natural sun will scorch and dry; and therefore the Lord covered man and woman with beast's skins.

And since man and woman in transgressions are grown so far in the Just of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life, that they cannot tell what to invent to put on, since they lost that covering which God Almighty, who made them, covered them withal.

So the Lord drove Adam and Eve out of the garden, and sent them forth to till the ground, from whence they were taken; so that there

was no place for them that had disobeyed the voice and transgressed the command of God, to remain in the garden and paradise of God.

And God placed cherubims and a flaming sword, which turns every way, at the east end of the garden, to keep the way of the tree of life; so that man and woman cannot come in again to the garden of God and tree of life, but by those cherubims and through this flaming sword.

And now, here all mankind may see what brought the curse, and the misery, and the sorrows upon them, and what made the ground. to bring forth the thorns and the thistles, and what was the cause of Adam's misery and toiling, that man is to eat his bread in. All this came through their disobedience to the God of truth's voice and command, their maker and creator; and by hearkening to the subtile serpent, and obeying his voice, who was out of truth, in whom is no truth, who is the destroyer and common enemy of man's happiness.

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So the subtile serpent came, saying 'Yea,' said he, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden?'

So he doth not down-right fall upon the tree which God had forbidden, but queries in the general.

And when the woman told him they might eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but they were not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, in the midst of the garden, nor touch it, lest they died. For God said unto them, In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.'

This was God's command and testimony to them, 'In the day that thou dost eat, thou shalt surely die;' and therefore he said, 'Thou shalt not eat thereof:' And this was God Almighty's teaching, who taught man the way, how he might live in the paradise of God, and not die.

And the serpent's false doctrine and teaching was, Ye shall not surely die if ye eat thereof, but your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods,' &c.

So here was the first false doctrine taught by the world's god, who is out of truth, who was a liar from the beginning, and a murderer, who taught that doctrine contrary to the Lord God, which by feeding on it, and obeying his voice, brought man and woman into the death and fall, from the image of God, and to himself, who abode not in the truth.

And Eve saw that the tree was good for food; so her eye went out. Now, can that be good for food, which by eating of it, brought death, as God had forewarned them? But the serpent said, 'Ye shall not surely die, but be as gods.

And the woman saw the fruit was pleasant to the eyes, and to be desired, and would make one wise. So here her ear went out to hearken to that lying doctrine. But how could that be pleasant to the eye, or

be desirable, or make wise, when by eating of it they should surely die? So thinking to be made wise, they became fools, which brought the rod upon the back of them, which also comes upon all their posterity in the fall.

But here you may see, the ear went from the Lord's voice and command, after the serpent's doctrine; and the eye went out from the Lord, and after that the mouth went also; and then death surely followed, and the wo, misery and curse upon the ground, and the thorns and thistles sprung up. And so, out of the garden and paradise of God, man and woman was turned and driven: And this they got by disobeying the command of the God of truth, and hearkening unto, and obeying the voice of, the serpent, in whom is no truth.

And so, after disobedience and transgression of the command and voice of God, then came nakedness to be seen, when they were fallen from holiness and righteousness, and the image and likeness of God, which God had made them in, and clothed them withal; and then came guilt and shame, and a hiding themselves among the trees, and cover themselves with fig leaves, from the presence of the Lord; but he who is present always and everywhere, who sees man and woman's going out into the transgression, and convicts them of their disobedience to his command and word, and of their transgression in eating of that which he forbade them; and then he passed sentence on the woman and the man, and turned them out of the garden and paradise, into the earth, as was said before; and passed sentence upon the serpent, and cursed him above all cattle, and all the beasts of the field, and said, 'Upon his belly he should go, and dust should be his meat all the days of his life.'

So, here is no promise made unto the serpent, all the days of his life, who taught the false doctrine and was the first false teacher, liar and murderer; but dust should be his meat, and upon his belly should he go;' and was cursed above all cattle, and every beast of the field.

But the promise of God was to mankind, That the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head.'

So here was the first promise of Christ, which all the faithful hoped for, and believed in, for their resurrection out of that fallen

estate.

Now, whilst Adam and Eve were in the paradise of God, and kept God's commandment, and obeyed his voice, they were help-mates in the image of God, both male and female; and God gave them dominion over all that he had made, and blessed them, and said, 'Be ye fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth;' VOL. VI.

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