I. V. 16. _Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain
and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy
desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee._
This is the punishment which was inflicted on the woman; but a
punishment full indeed of joy and gladness, because it varied not in
the least from the sentence just before pronounced on Satan. For
seeing that the glorious promise still remained that the head of the
serpent should be crushed, there was a sure hope of a resurrection
from death. And whatever is imposed on man as the punishment of his
sin is possible to be borne, because this hope remains to him firm and
sure. And this is the reason the Holy Scriptures are so very careful
not to say anything in the punishment of the woman, which should be
contrary to or at all militate against the sentence just before
pronounced against the serpent. God did indeed impose a punishment on
the woman, but he still left her the hope of a resurrection and of a
life eternal. The death which she had deserved by her sin God
transferred on the other and less honorable part of man, namely, on
the flesh; that the spirit might live, because of righteousness
through faith as the apostle says, Rom. 8:10, "The body is dead
because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness."
The woman therefore is subject to death as to the flesh, but as to the
hope set before her she is free from death. For that divine word, by
which God threatens the devil with the "Bruising of his head," remains
ever sure to her. The animal life therefore hath, as here declared,
its cross and its death; as Paul also said, "The natural body dies,
but is raised a spiritual body," 1 Cor. 15:44. So also in this natural
or animal life there remains marriage, and the woman experiences those
punishments on account of her sin, which the Lord here inflicts upon
her; that from the time of her conception and at the time of giving
birth and rearing children, she endures various pains and perils all
that part of her life which she lives in a child-bearing state. All
these evils and sorrows however pertain to the animal life or to the
flesh itself only. But there remains to her all the while the hope
here given her of a spiritual and eternal life after this present
life.
This punishment of the woman therefore, if we truly and rightly
consider the whole matter, is in its holy reality a glad and joyful
punishment. For although the righteous burdens imposed are painful to
the flesh to bear, yet by means of these very burdens and punishment,
her hope of a better and eternal life is actually strengthened. For
Eve on the present critical occasion hears in the first place that she
was not cast off of God for her sin. And in the next place she is not
by her punishment deprived of that blessing of generation and
fruitfulness which was promised to her and freely given to her of God
before her sin. She sees that she still retains her sex; that she is
still a woman! She sees that she is not separated from her Adam, to
remain and live alone, separated from her husband. She sees that the
glory of maternity is still left her; she may still be a mother! And
all these blessings of this present natural life are left to her, in
addition to that promised hope of life eternal. This multitude of
mercies, which was still reserved for her, no doubt wonderfully
revived and gladdened the mind of Eve. Nay, a greater and more real
glory still awaited her; she not only retained the blessing of
fruitfulness and of continuing in marriage union with her husband, but
she possessed also the sure promise that from her should come that
Seed which should "bruise the head" of Satan.
Eve therefore, without doubt, in this her most sad experience, for sad
it must have appeared to her, had yet her bosom filled with joy. And
it is very likely that she consoled her Adam with words like these: "I
have sinned. But only see how merciful a God we have! What large
blessings, both temporal and spiritual, has he still left to us
sinners. Wherefore, we women will cheerfully bear this labor and this
sorrow of conceiving and bringing forth children, and of obeying you,
our husbands. This is indeed fatherly anger! for we have still
remaining also the promise that the 'head' of our enemy shall be
'crushed;' and promise that we shall be raised again unto another life
after the death of our flesh through our Redeemer. The greatness of
all these blessings and this infinite multitude of benefits far
surpass whatever of curse or punishment our Father has been pleased to
lay upon us." These and like conversations Adam and Eve, no doubt,
often held together to alleviate their temporal sorrows.
In this same manner also, ought we to contemplate the unspeakable
treasures we possess in our hope of the life to come and by such
meditations ought we to lessen the troubles of the flesh. This is what
we find the Apostle Paul doing, 2 Cor. 4:17, 18, "For our light
affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more
exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the
things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen
are eternal."
Now tell me if all the temporal afflictions which may be laid on them,
will not be borne resignedly and patiently by those persons who are
enabled to lay hold of the hope of future glory and to believe in God,
here promising the "crushing of the serpent's head," and who can
moreover look upon those temporal blessings which remain to us; that
our Lord hath given us this whole world to enjoy, and that he has
given us wives, homes and children, and has preserved all things to us
and increases them by his blessing? And will they not say, "That is
not the anger of a judge nor a tyrant, but of a father!" On the other
hand however, they will behold the anger of the judge falling upon the
serpent. In his case there is not only no deliverance promised, but a
certain "crushing of his head" foretold. And this anger of the judge
Satan felt at the time, and he feels it still. And it is on this very
account that he rages with such great and unceasing fury against the
Church and the Son of God, until the last day shall come.
The divine threatening therefore in this passage where the Lord
threatens Eve with the sure punishments of her sin, was indeed a heavy
threatening. But out of the midst of those very punishments there
beamed forth unspeakable mercy. And this mercy so revived and
strengthened Eve that she rejoiced with a heart full of gladness, even
in the midst of her sorrows. And as to ourselves we feel how necessary
these punishments are to crucify and keep under the flesh. For how
could we be humbled if our nature were not pressed down to the earth
with burdens like these? Eve therefore experienced and every woman of
her station and duty must experience these sure calamities. These
sorrows must be multiplied unto all women. They must both conceive in
sorrow and bring forth in sorrow.
It is moreover worthy of observation, that the Hebrew expression here
used is RAB, which signifies both a continuous and distinct quantity;
conveying to us the thought that these great and many and various
sorrows, thus righteously inflicted on Eve, were such as she would not
have had to endure, if she had not fallen by sin; and the expression
also implies the sorrows and punishments inflicted particularly on
conception and childbirth. This same expression signifies by its
implied meaning the whole of that time, "conception," during which the
child is borne in the womb, which time is afflicted with great and
various weaknesses, pains and diseases. The head, the stomach, the
general health and the appetites are variously and greatly affected.
And after the child is matured and the birth is at hand, the greatest
sorrow of all is endured; and the child is not born without great
peril even of life.
When the heathen and those who have no knowledge of God or of his
works see these things, they take such offence at them that they form
the conclusion that, on account of these various troubles, it is not
becoming a wise man to marry at all. And true it is that the female
sex is far more deeply humbled and afflicted, and bears a punishment
far more heavy and severe than men. For what sufferings of the body,
equal to those we just described, does man endure? But by marriage the
husband does take upon himself as it were a part of these punishments
of original sin; for the husband cannot see his wife endure all this
pain and sorrow without much distress in himself. So that many wicked
men prefer living a life of profligacy to a life of marriage.
Against such wicked sentiments as these the godly will arm and console
themselves; and by true wisdom will set against these evils the
certain and far greater blessings which attend the married life. Hence
the ancient heathen poet Pindar, in his Ode to Hiero, King of
Syracuse, condemns this perverseness in ignorant men. Though God, says
he, is ever wont so to dispense his benefits as to leave some evil
intermingled with them, yet none but the wise and good can carry
themselves aright under them. For they adorn their prosperity; and
under its bright colors they hide the adversity which they endure,
setting their prosperity ever foremost to be seen of men:
"To one good thing, two evil things,
The gods appoint. Fools
Know not how to adorn their ills.
But wise men do: making the
Worst, to wear the best appearance."
PIND. _Pyth. Ode_ iii. 145-150.
And this is what the godly ought ever to do in this their solemn case.
The punishments, to which women are subject on account of the sin of
the fall, are indeed great. But is there not in marriage a blessing
which infinitely surpasses all the punishments of original sin with
which it is afflicted? Have not those who are married in the midst of
their great troubles that sure hope of immortality and eternal life
which comes to them through the Seed of the woman!
Nay, the troubles and trials themselves of marriage are not without
their benefit. They all tend to break down and humble our nature,
which cannot be humbled without the cross.
And in the third place there is left to be enjoyed in these great
bodily afflictions the peculiar glory of motherhood: that high
blessing of the womb! This was a blessing which even the wise among
the heathen so greatly admired and so loudly lauded. And other good
gifts of marriage also remain to us and are enjoyed by us. We are
borne in the womb of our mothers, we suck their breasts, we are
nursed, we are nourished, and by the devoted attention and care of our
mothers we are preserved in infancy and childhood. To view the great
and solemn matter of marriage thus, is "to set our blessings in their
fairest light." This is not to look at our evils only, but to delight
ourselves in the benefits and the great blessing of God in his holy
ordinance of marriage; and under those benefits and that blessing, to
sink out of sight the various punishments, corruptions, pains and
afflictions by which it is compassed.
But the godly alone understand these things and do them. They alone
view marriage aright. They alone give honor unto women, as unto the
weaker vessel; because they see them to be their companions of
immortality as well as of mortality, and as being heirs together with
them of the inheritance in heaven. The godly moreover behold them
highly honored of the Lord by the blessing and the glory of
motherhood. By them we are conceived, from them we are born, by them
we are nursed in infancy.
And for myself I have often contemplated with wonder and delight the
peculiar adaptation of the female body for nursing infants. How aptly,
becomingly and gracefully, do even little girls carry infants in their
bosom? And with what appropriate gestures do mothers dandle their
infants, especially when the crying babe is to be pacified or quieted
so as to be laid in the cradle? Only tell a man to do these same
things and he will set about it as an elephant would attempt to dance;
so awkward are his motions, if he has only to touch a babe with his
finger, to say nothing about all those other offices and attentions
which a mother only can perform. Whoever therefore rightly views and
estimates the sacred matter of marriage will receive all these offices
and services of the woman as signs and proofs of the blessing of the
Lord, by which God testifies that the female sex, though thus severely
punished on account of their original sin, are very dear to him and
his peculiar care. Wherefore let these meditations suffice concerning
the first part of the divine curse on the original sin of Eve.
The other part of the curse lies in the particulars of the marriage
union. If Eve had not sinned, her childbirth would not only have been
without any pain, but even her union with her husband would have been
most pure and utterly free from all shame. There would have been no
more shame attached to those connubial circumstances than there is in
a man's taking his meal with his wife and conversing with her at the
dinner-table. The bringing up of children also would have been most
easy and full of pleasure. But all these blessings were lost by the
sin of the fall, and in their place are endured by the woman all those
too well-known evils of pain and labor in carrying the child, bringing
it forth and bringing it up. Wherefore just as a graceful maiden
weaves a beautiful chaplet from the flowers of the garden and bears it
on her head, not only without any molestation but with the greatest
pleasure and the greatest pride; so, if Eve had not sinned, she would
have borne her child in her womb not only free from distress or
inconvenience, but with the utmost pleasure and pride. Whereas now, in
addition to all those pains of bearing the child and giving it birth,
she has rendered herself subject to the power of her husband; while
before she was wholly free and in no sense inferior to the man, and
was an equal partaker of all the endowments bestowed by God on him.
This then is the punishment of the woman, which righteously fell upon
her as the consequence of original sin, which she bears quite as
unwillingly as she does those pains and troubles, righteously imposed
on her flesh in child-bearing. Wherefore the rule and government of
all things remain in the power of the husband whom the wife according
to the command of God is bound to obey. The husband rules the house,
governs the state politic, conducts wars, defends his own property,
cultivates the earth, builds, plants, etc. The woman on the other hand
as a nail driven into the wall sits at home. Hence it is that the
Apostle Paul calls women OIKOUROUS, "keepers at home," Titus 2:5. For
this same reason the ancients represented Venus sitting on a shell;
because as the shell-fish always carries its shell with it, so the
woman ought always to be constantly at home attending to her domestic
affairs; as one deprived of the right of governing outside of her
house and in public, and as one whose duty is never to go beyond her
own most private and domestic concerns in the matter of government.
Had Eve therefore stood in the truth she would not only have been free
from all subjection to the rule of the man, but she herself also would
have been an equal partaker of government, which now belongs to men
alone. Women however are generally impatient of this burden and by
nature aim at the assumption of that, which by their sin they have
lost; and when they can do nothing more they at least show their
unwillingness to bear the yoke by a murmur of discontent. Whereas they
are not competent to undertake the management of men's affairs, of
teaching, ruling, etc. Of bearing children, and of feeding, nursing
and bringing up their offspring they are capable. In this manner
therefore was Eve punished; and all womankind endure the same curse.
But, as I have before said, this very punishment is a joyful one, if
you look at the hope of eternal life which springs from her Seed, out
of the midst of her child-bearing pains; and if you consider also the
glory of maternity or motherhood left to her.
II. V. 17. _And unto Adam he said, "Because thou hast hearkened unto
the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I
commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground
for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy
life."_
The husband was last in the transgression, 1 Tim. 2:14, and therefore
the punishment is inflicted on him last. But the Lord threatens no
punishment to the man here in generation. God makes no mention of the
pains of generation in his case. Therefore the punishment of the
husband lies in the fury of lust, inflamed by the poison of Satan
throughout his whole body, but without the pains of the woman. His
duties as husband however are laden with punishment. For, as it
belongs to the man to feed, to rule, to guide and to educate his
family, those duties cannot be performed by him without great trouble
and distress nor without the hardest labors. The duty laid of God upon
the woman is to obey her husband; but with what difficulty is this
very performance of her duty obtained! I say nothing about the rule of
the man over others, who are not of his immediate family and
household.
Hence it was that the philosophers of old were led to wonder from what
cause in nature it could possibly arise that men could govern any wild
beast more easily than rule their fellowmen. This is the ground of
Xenophon's complaint, when he says, "It is easier to manage any other
animal than to rule man." The duties of a husband indeed are great and
noble, which are to cultivate the earth and to perform any other work
by which his wife and children may be supported to rule his house and
family; to govern states and kingdoms; and to teach and instruct those
of his own house and others also unto godliness and moral duties. All
these noble duties however are always attended with their punishment
of original sin. They cannot be performed without the greatest
distress, of which we have examples before our eyes daily.
First of all on account of the sin of Adam himself the earth is
cursed. For the expression the Latin translation renders "in thy
work," _in opere tuo_, is in the original Hebrew BAABURECHA, "for thy
sake," _propter te_. The Latin interpreter was deceived by the
similarity of the letters. He read the Hebrew as being BAABUDECHA. For
ABAD signifies "to cultivate the earth" or "to till the ground."
From this it appears how awful the calamity of sin is, seeing that
even the earth, which is innocent in itself and committed no sin, is
nevertheless compelled to bear sin's curse; and as the Apostle Paul
expresses it, Rom. 8:20, 21, is "made subject to vanity," from which
however it shall be delivered in the last day and for which also it
waits in earnest expectation, verse 19. For Pliny calls the earth "a
kind, gentle and indulgent mother and also a perpetual handmaid of
service to mankind." And yet as the Apostle Paul here shows, this kind
earth herself is compelled to bear her curse also. In the first place,
because she does not bear those good things for man and beast which
she would have borne had man not fallen; and in the next place,
because she does bear many hurtful things, which but for man's sin she
would not have borne, such as the destructive weeds, darnel, tares,
nettles, thorns, thistles, etc., to which may be added, poison,
noxious reptiles and other like hurtful things, brought into the
creation by sin.
For my own part I entertain no doubt that before the sin of the fall
the air was more pure and healthful, the water more wholesome and
fructifying, and the light of the sun more bright and beautiful. So
that the whole creation as it now is reminds us in every part of the
curse inflicted on it, on account of the sin of the fall. Yet some
remnants of the original blessing of God still rest upon it; in that
being compelled as it were to do so by the hard labor of man, it still
continues to produce things necessary for our use, although those very
things are impeded and deformed by briers and thorns; that is, by
useless and noxious trees, bushes and weeds, which the divine anger
ceases not to sow among them.
This original curse moreover was afterwards greatly increased by the
Deluge, when all the good trees were rooted up and destroyed, barren
sands accumulated and both noxious herbs and beasts multiplied. In
those very places where Adam before his sin used to walk among the
most fruitful trees, over most fertile meadows and in the midst of
roses and flowers of every kind, there nettles and briers, and other
annoying plants abound; and in such quantities that the good and
useful plants are well nigh choked by them. Only look at the field now
just prepared by the plow for receiving the seed; no sooner is that
seed sown than immediately there spring up the destructive darnel and
the tares, which grow even faster than the fruits which are for the
use and nourishment of life. And if the former were not plucked up by
the constant care and toil of the husbandman, they would daily grow to
such an extent that these very destructive weeds of the curse would
choke the good seed altogether. The earth herself indeed is innocent
and would of its own free nature bring forth all things which are the
best and most excellent. But she is prevented from doing so by the
curse inflicted on man for his sin.
As therefore woman endures the punishment of sin in her body, a
punishment she is mercifully enabled to bear, with which she is
afflicted in the bringing forth of children; so the husband has to
endure his punishment in the government of his household; while, with
all kinds of difficulty, labor and distress, he rules his house and
provides for his family. And justly so; for it was on his own account
that the field was cursed. Whereas before he sinned no part of the
earth was either barren or corrupt, but all places in it were
marvelously fertile and productive; but now, on the contrary, not only
is it in many parts entirely barren, but even those parts, which are
otherwise fruitful, are deformed and defiled with tares, weeds, briers
and thorns. And this calamity is indeed great, and might well drive
Adam himself and us all to choose strangling rather than life. But the
whole mighty evil is rendered endurable by the promise of the woman's
"Seed," by which the punishment of eternal death, which is infinitely
greater than all this punishment of life, is wholly taken out of the
way.
That which next follows, "In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days
of thy life," are words quite easy to understand. For who knows not
how laborious the life of an husbandman is. It is not enough that he
prepare the ground for receiving the seed, which is attended with
great and various labor; but even when the corn is yet in the blade,
each single day almost demands of him its necessary labor and toil;
not to mention those almost infinite hindrances of weather, noxious
vermin, etc., all which greatly augment his pain, labor and suffering.
Whereas before the sin of the fall, not only were there no such evils
and hindrances in existence, but the earth, had Adam not sinned, would
have brought forth all things quicker than the hope or expectation of
man, as it were, "unsown and unplowed."
Moreover this calamity, which sin brought into the creation, was in
many respects lighter and more tolerable in their state before the
Flood than in the condition of the world which followed. In the
antediluvian state of the curse no other mention is made than of
thorns, and thistles, and labor, and sweat; but now we experience
numberless other additional evils. How many diseases and pestilential
injuries are inflicted on the standing corn, on the plants of pulse,
on trees, and finally on all the productions of the earth? How many
evils are wrought by destructive birds and noxious caterpillars? Add
to these evils, extremes of cold and frost, thunderings, lightnings,
excessive wet, winds, rivers bursting their banks, fissures of the
earth, earthquakes, etc. Of none of these is any mention made in the
state of things under the curse before the Deluge. My firm belief is
therefore that as the sins of men increased the punishments of those
sins increased also; and that all such punishments and evils were
added to the original curse of the earth.
If however any one should think that Moses embraced all these latter
evils, in his expression of the divine curse, "Cursed is the ground
for thy sake," I certainly will not contend with him. But no one
surely can deny that all these evils and punishments increased as the
sins of men increased. In the same manner, as in the present day, we
experience more frequent calamities befalling the fruits of the earth
than in former times. For the world degenerates and grows worse and
worse every day. Most plainly therefore may we here trace the
evidences that all these increased calamities were inflicted on Adam
as an instruction to him in the first age of the world that an
increasedly severe discipline was necessary. But by degrees this
discipline, down to the times of Noah, gradually became loosened and
men began to live more dissolutely and wickedly, until at length the
earth was filled with violence, injustice and tyranny. And then it was
necessary that either heavier or more frequent punishments should be
inflicted; just as severer diseases require severer remedies.
When therefore in the time of Noah the whole earth had been deluged by
the Flood and every living creature except a few souls, had been
utterly destroyed, the age which immediately succeeded that of Noah
lived without doubt in the fear of God. But as years rolled on even
these men became depraved, being corrupted by Satan. So that an
example more terrible in its nature still was necessary to be made; as
is shown in the awful destruction of Sodom and its neighboring cities,
Gen. 19:24. Hence it is that the Scripture says that it was necessary
that the Amorites should "fill up the measure of their iniquities,"
Gen. 15:16.
So also the whole synagogue of the Jews, when it had fallen away into
heathenism and open ungodliness, was utterly destroyed. In like manner
also Rome herself, as long as her ancient discipline stood sound and
unrelaxed, mightily increased her power on every side; but when the
storms of vice pressed hard upon her it became necessary that her
punishments also should draw upon her more closely.
About the time when the Gospel began to be known among us in Germany
the age became somewhat moral and tolerable. But now, when the fear of
God can scarcely be found, and when vices of every description
increase daily, false prophets rising among us, what else can be
expected than that, when we have filled up the measure of our
iniquities, either the consummation of all things will overtake us or
that Germany will suffer the due punishment of her sins; so
universally true is it that when sins increase, the punishments of
them increase also.
According to that which I have said concerning the calamities which
rest upon all the productions of the earth; so my full belief also is
that even the bodies of men, in the primæval ages of the world, were
far more healthful than they are now. This is proved by that
longevity, so incredible to us, which was enjoyed by the men of the
primitive ages of the world before the Flood. Accordingly we do not
find the Lord pronounced in the present passage any threats on Adam
concerning apoplexy, or leprosy, or the scrofula, or any other of the
destructive diseases.
When I was a child the small-pox was unknown in Germany. It was first
known among us when I was about fifteen years of age. Now however even
infants in the cradle are attacked by it. When this disease first made
its appearance it filled every one with dread. But now there is so
little concern about it that friends often say to each other in a
pleasant joke, "The smallpox take you!" So also, even unto this
present age, the sweating disease has been a prevalent malady, or as
medical men term it, an epidemic. For it is universally seen that as
each country of the earth has its peculiar blessings, the countries
are visited and afflicted with sure and corresponding calamities. But
the disease to which I have referred made its first general appearance
in those midland parts of Germany, which were the farthest distant
from the sea. And what is abhorrent to relate, some persons have
serpent-like worms in their bowels, and worms even in their brain.
These last diseases were utterly unknown, I think, to the physicians
of old, who nevertheless enumerate nearly four hundred different kinds
of disease. Now if all these various diseases had existed in the first
age of the world, how could Adam and his descendants, down to the
times of Noah, have lived to such extremely old ages? Wherefore Moses,
as I have said, here makes mention only of the barrenness of the earth
and of the difficulty of man's procuring his bread.
Indeed if any one wishes to assume the orator and to display the
copiousness and eloquence of his language, let him in opening the
contents of the passages before us, enumerate all the diseases and
evils of the human race, which are the consequences of sin. Were he to
commence that task, he would find a sea of calamities of every kind so
boundless, that filled with awe and dread, he would be inclined to beg
of God this one thing, that he might not be permitted to live even one
hour in the midst of so many and mighty perils!
But why do we dwell so long on these diseases only? All the creatures
of God together as one mighty army are against us, and all but armed
for our destruction. How many are there, whom the fire and the water
destroy? How much peril threatens men from ferocious and venomous
beasts and other noxious creatures? Nor do they infest our bodies
only, but our food of every kind, intended for our nourishment. Not to
mention that we ourselves also rush upon each other in hostile
slaughter and murder. Just as if there were not pestilences and
destructions enough besides, which threatened us on every hand.
And if you look at the general pursuits and objects of men, what is
this life of ours but a daily scene of contention, deception, snare,
rapine and murder? And all this in addition to those evils and
calamities which hang over our heads from the external things we have
mentioned. My belief is that all these things did not exist before the
Deluge; or, if they did exist, were not so numerous or so heavy and
severe as they now are found to be. But as the sins of men increased,
so as we have said their punishments have increased also. The
calamities inflicted on Adam therefore were light in comparison to
those inflicted on us. For the nearer the world approaches its end,
with the heavier punishments and calamities is it visited. To all this
evil is added that greater evil still, that the more the world is
stricken, the more it hardens its forehead and becomes stupefied as it
were and insensible of its punishment altogether, as it is written in
the Proverbs, "They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not
hurt; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I
will seek it yet again," Prov. 23:35. This blindness and obduracy
exceed all the above calamities of the body.
Is not our state then, I ask, marvelous and miserable? The traces of
the wrath of God, which our sin has deserved, are first of all bound
up as it were in our bodies; and next the same wrath of God is beheld
resting on the earth and on all creatures, and yet all these awful
evils are disregarded by us, and our minds are filled with security
and indolent unconcern. For what are the thorns, what the thistles,
what the water, what the fire, what the caterpillars, what the flies,
what the fleas, what the bugs, what the lice; what, I say, are all
these together and separately, but so many messengers which
continually preach to us of sin and of the wrath of God on its
account? For before sin entered into the world those living evils had
no existence; or if they were in existence, they harmed not nor
annoyed.
Wherefore to our full knowledge and sight we are in, and live in, more
than Egyptian darkness. For though all things around us remind us of
the wrath of God continually, and are all but so many pricks in our
eyes of admonition, we not only do not regard that wrath, but embrace
this life and enjoy it as our only delight. In the same proportion
therefore as sins are multiplied, and self-security increases, and men
grow callous and insensible under their punishments, so those
punishments themselves are multiplied, not only in this life but in
that which is to come. I am here speaking of the wicked in this world.
For if it were possible that men, when in hell, could possibly endure
their punishments and torments in sensation only, without the
consciousness at the same time that the punishments which they endured
were just, such ignorance would render their torments more easy to be
endured. Just in the same way as we on earth will not acknowledge our
punishments, and thus we harden ourselves as it were against grief.
But in hell that insensibility which now prevents us from seeing our
real misery will be wholly taken away, and all the doors of our senses
will be unlocked, so that we shall not only feel the pains of our
punishment in our body, but our mind itself will be filled with a
sense of the wrath of God and with the confession that we have
deserved the whole of that wrath by our wickedness. These are the
feelings that will sharpen, and in an inconceivable degree augment the
future torments of the wicked.
V. 18a. _"Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee."_
Here we are again reminded that the earth of itself brought forth no
such thing; but only on account of the sin of Adam, as Moses had
before expressly said, "For thy sake." Wherefore as often as we see
thorns and thistles; as often as we behold tares and other noxious
weeds growing in our fields and in our garden, so often are we
reminded as by certain signs of sin and the wrath of God. Wherefore it
is not only in churches that we hear ourselves accused of sin; every
garden, every field and almost the whole creation is filled with such
preachers and such monitors of our sin and of the wrath of God, which
is brought down upon us on account of that sin.
Wherefore all prayer to the Lord is necessary that he would take away
from our eyes and from our hearts this marvelous insensibility; that
being thus perpetually reminded of our sin, we may at length put off
our self-security and walk in the fear of God. For by these various
evidences of the curse of God, we are continually met, cast down and
overwhelmed. This Moses will now still more extensively set before us.
He next says:
V. 18b. _And thou shalt eat the herb of the field._
This is a new calamity. For above God had given unto man the sweetest
and most delightful gifts; even that he should eat of all the trees of
paradise except two only. The Lord had also given him dominion over
all fishes and over all that the whole earth produced, whether of
fruits or of animals. But now all these blessings are taken from him,
on account of the eaten fruit and nothing is left him but the herb of
the field. And from this passage I believe it can be fully proved,
that Adam did not feed upon butter, or milk, or eggs, or cheese, or
flesh, or even on apples or pears, etc., but on pot herbs and the
seeds of certain herbs and plants only; such as peas, beans, millet,
rice, wheat, flour, etc. Where then were the splendor and luxury of
the banquet at which Adam feasted his friends, when he gave a daughter
in marriage, or when he himself was present at the marriage of any of
his sons; seeing that nothing was granted them of God, on which to
feed but "the herb of the field?"
Such then was the frugal fare of the primitive age of the world. It
consisted of the most common and simple food with water. Now however a
horrible luxury has overrun the whole present generation of men. They
are not satisfied with collecting together flesh of every kind for the
gratification of their appetites; but flesh of every kind is mixed
with fish of every kind; spices also of every kind are used in
addition. Nay, the dissatisfied perverseness of nature is indulged to
such an extent, that those things by nature sweet are rendered by
various condiments bitter; and those by nature bitter are by the same
means rendered sweet.
What varieties prevail in our drink also! Who would not consider
himself made a laughing-stock, if he should see his host set before
him water as his drink? Nor are we content with beer, which is brewed
at our own homes, nor with wines, made on our paternal estates. We
even fetch them from beyond the sea. If our first father Adam could
return on earth, think you not that he would laugh at, or rather
wonder at, this madness of appetite in his sons? Why, he would avoid
as poison those very things which we eat and drink with avidity and
delight; and he would prefer to all these our dainties even rapes or
turnips in their natural undressed state.
In this passage frugality of living is commended to us. For we are
here taught that our first parents, being thus righteously deprived of
all other kinds of food, had nothing left for food but the herb of the
field. These facts therefore ought to lead us not only to frugality,
but also to patience; whenever we see others abounding in delicacies
and dainties of every kind, while we ourselves have nothing but bread,
salt and water. For our thoughts ought to be these: this is the
punishment justly inflicted on Adam. When he might have enjoyed, by
the will, and command, and gift of God, the delicious fruits of every
kind which grew in paradise; he was compelled with all his posterity
to live on the common pot herbs, because of his disobedience.
V. 19a. _In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread._
With what variety of expression and repetition does Moses dwell on
this labor and trouble, when he is declaring the manner in which the
husband must labor and toil in feeding his family, defending his
property and governing his house! And all these toils and troubles are
far more difficult in our age on account of the perverseness of men,
than they were "in the beginning." For we universally witness, even
where the expectation of food is certain, with what difficulty a
family are kept to their duty. Nor was Adam himself without his
experience of this great evil. For even while he was ruling his family
with all possible holiness, he witnessed murder committed by his son
Cain. I say nothing now about all other sorrows which a long life
compels a man to see and bear in his posterity. This anxiety and toil
therefore await the husband. He must endure this labor, which is
neither pleasant nor successful. Nor ought any one to be found who
does not endure this sweat. Hence, much more perilous is the life of
the Papists; all of whom abuse their wealth, obtained by the labor of
others, to their own gratifications and indolence.
But here a question has been raised, whether all men ought not to be
husbandmen, or at least whether they ought not to devote themselves to
manual labor? Some did indeed thus foolishly contend at the beginning
of the Gospel among us. For they so abused this and other like
passages of Scripture, which command the labor of the hands, that the
youth throwing aside their literary studies gave themselves up to
manual employments; and Carlstadt, the leader of these misguided ones,
leaving his proper station in life, purchased a farm, and dug and
cultivated his own land. For myself indeed if I could with a good
conscience forsake my calling as a minister of the Word, it would be
far more easy and pleasant employment for me to be employed in
cultivating my garden, digging with my spade and breaking the clods
with my shovel, than to endure this hard labor, which I now undergo.
For the toil of country laborers bears no proportion whatever to this
our ministerial "sweat."
Wherefore their interpretation of this passage, who contend that
manual labor only is the sweat here spoken of, is to be altogether
rejected. The declaration of Christ is perfectly plain upon this point
who commands that those who teach in the Word should enjoy the labors
of others "And into whatsoever house ye shall enter, first say, Peace
be to this house. And in that same house remain, eating and drinking
such things as they give for the laborer is worthy of his hire," Luke
10:5, 7. Here the Lord takes bread from the table of those who hear
the Word of God, and gives it to the teachers of the Word. In the same
way also Paul speaks, when he says, "Even so hath the Lord ordained
that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel," 1 Cor.
9:14. And it is in confirmation of this same mind of God, that the
apostle cites that word of the law, "Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth
of the ox that treadeth out the corn," verse 9. And indeed why is the
commandment concerning the payment of tithes given to the husbandmen,
who labors and cultivates his farm, if the ministers of the Word are
to procure their food by the labor of their own hands?
These and like passages of Scripture show that the "sweat of the face"
is the common curse on all men. The first "sweat" is, that of
husbandmen and householders; the second, the "sweat" of magistrates;
the third, of teachers in the Church. Of all these orders of men the
condition of husbandmen is the happiest. This the poet of old affirms:
_Felices nimium sua si bona norint, Agricolae._
Happy their lot; did they but know their good,
Who cultivate the earth for all.--Virg. Georg. 2, 458.
For though they do "sweat" under great labor, yet that labor is
seasoned with a peculiar pleasure, while the new and marvelous faces
of all creatures directly meet their eyes daily. Whereas in the
political world and in the Church infinite troubles and molestations
present themselves, in addition to the daily perils which are
incurred, if a minister of Christ perform his duty faithfully. For we
speak not now concerning those indolent mortals, who know not nor
acknowledge these punishments of sin, but who are devoted only to the
consideration of the manner in which they can best satisfy their
lusts. Let such Epicureans be left to the indulgence of their own evil
appetites and inclinations. We are here speaking of those who do
perform seriously what they undertake to do, whether in the State or
in the Church. Such men labor and sweat more in one day than a
husbandman does in a whole month, if the magnitude and the various
perils of their works be considered. It is for this very reason also
that tributes and revenues, and other dues of the same description,
are paid unto kings and princes. And who does not see that this is but
a small return or reward after all to our rulers for the immense labor
they undergo, where they really do their duty faithfully. And even if
there be some who neglect their duty, this legitimate ordinance of God
is not on their account to be disregarded.
I have somewhere heard it said of the Roman Emperor, Maximilian
Augustus, that he was so overwhelmed with his public duties that he
never gave himself sufficient time for eating his meals. He was
therefore sometimes compelled to withdraw from his State labors, and
seclude himself in the woods to indulge in hunting. Sometimes also he
would change his raiment and mingle with private society so that he
might enjoy greater freedom in conversation. And though this
occupation of hunting was sometimes considered a vice in that Emperor,
yet those who really knew the extent of his labors and the reality of
his daily life considered that this amusement was adopted by him of
necessity and not for pleasure. What labors of the plow then, what
labors of the spade, what other toils of a rustic life, will you bring
into comparison with that "sweat" which the government of such a
mighty empire as that of Rome demanded? Wherefore the palaces of kings
and princes do indeed bear their names as such, while the kings and
princes themselves are the hardest worked of all servants. Hence monks
and the whole confederacy of the Pope are the only beings that really
live a royal life, because they leave all labors, all business affairs
and all the perils of them to others, while they themselves enjoy all
the comforts of life in perfect indolence.
These same observations apply equally to the pastoral charge in the
Church which charge is to be considered the heavier since the duties
are more important which a pastor has to perform. For are we to
suppose that Augustine lived at ease and gave himself up to his
pleasures only, surrounded as he was by so great a multitude of
adversaries, against whom he had daily to contend to prevent them from
wholly subverting as they would have done the doctrine of Christ? For
such were the Pelagians, the Donatists, the Manicheans and other like
disturbers of the churches. Likewise I in this day by the grace of God
so perform my duties as to leave no one, I believe, to envy such a
laborious life of ease as I daily pass. It is the height of folly that
fanatics urge on all persons the necessity of manual labors, which
nevertheless are useful for the health of the body. Whereas on the
contrary, those great labors of the State and Church, which we have
just described, wear out the body and exhaust as it were all the
moisture of the very bones and their inmost marrow.
Let us therefore duly and rightly distinguish this "sweat" as it ought
to be distinguished. The household "sweat" is great, the civil or
political "sweat" greater still, but the Church "sweat" is the
greatest of all. Only look at the Apostle Paul and you will at once
see the greatness of his sweat. For seeing that the Church is in all
ages infested with devils and harassed by heresies, scandals and great
sins, by the unrighteous violence of tyrants and by evils of every
description; will any man say that there are no labors and no sweats
in the Church? Will any one affirm that those who rule in the Church
are not well deserving the provision which they receive?
We may say this of the Pope and the Cardinals, and of all that
congregation of the wicked who do no work at all, consult only their
belly and their ease, spending the greatest wealth. These are they of
whom we may rightly say with Paul, "If any one will not work, neither
shall he eat," 2 Thess. 3:10. Now the work of the Church is to teach
the Word, to administer the Sacraments, to war with fanatics, to
remove scandals out of the way, to build up the godly in the faith,
etc. Of those who really do this Christ says, "The laborer is worthy
of his hire," Luke 10:7.
Now the condition of Adam, the first sinner, was if rightly considered
worse than ours. For while we all sweat separately, each one in his
own order and station, Adam was compelled to endure at one and the
same time the sweat of the household rule, the sweat of the political
rule and the sweat of the Church rule. He alone performed all these
duties to his family and posterity as long as he lived. He provided
for his family and ruled it. He trained them in piety and was at the
same time their father, their king and their priest. And how full of
pain and peril each one of these duties is, universal experience
teaches.
Wherefore we need great consolation to support us against all these
evils, and we should exercise our minds in much patience, seeing that
we find these calamities to be laid even on the elect also, who
possess the hope of a resurrection and of eternal life. As therefore
this hope is thus left to us afflicted men, it becomes us to be of a
courageous mind and to overcome our evils by means of this hope,
because we are not destined to live here forever. Just as men, who
when traveling happen to find a miserable lodging and a covetous host,
console themselves with the thought that though their food be bad and
their bed hard, their misery will last for one night only. Such ought
our thoughts to be in the midst of our calamities on account of the
sin of the fall. For what are our two or three years of life, almost
the half of which we pass in insensible sleep, when compared with
eternity!
Let afflictions and adversities come therefore as the Lord shall be
pleased to appoint them to each of us, whether they be the sweat of
the home rule, of the state rule, or of the Church rule; we will not
suffer ourselves to be moved by them to impatience. We will not cast
aside our home duty, or our state duty, or our Church duty. Such
woman-like weakness as this becometh not brave soldiers. It is
unworthy them to throw away their arms, and to flee at the first
onset. And what of pleasures and of ease? We are not appointed unto
them, but unto labor and active life. Hence the poet of old says:
_Tu ne cede malis; sed contra audentior ito._
Yield not to ills; but bolder grow, as these
Are seen t' increase.--Virg. Aen. 6, 96.
And this shall we be able to do, if we set against these temporal
afflictions the hope of a resurrection and of eternal life. As
therefore no one would willingly lose this hope, so let all men
consider that they are bound not to forsake that calling and station
of life where they have been placed by God. Let him who is called to
teach the churches, do it with a magnanimous spirit, moved neither by
his own perils nor by the lazy life of popes, who, when they ought to
be preaching the Gospel, ruling the churches, hearing sacred causes
and judging controversies concerning doctrine and helping the churches
that have need of help, cast off all these highest duties and leave
them to the useless monks, while they themselves are occupied in
accumulating monies and making provision for fulfiling their lusts,
Rom. 13:14. As these therefore escape the sweat, they shall not have
the cooling refreshment. As they will not suffer with Christ, they
shall not reign with him, Rom. 8:17.
On the other hand let all of us who endure this sweat, each one in his
station, always think that, although we may have a bitter burden to
bear, these afflictions will have their certain end. Hence Moses now
adds the following consolation under any affliction however hard:
V. 19b. _Till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou
taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return._
With respect to wicked men they endure an infinite number of
calamities with the hope of enjoying a little morsel of pleasure. What
perils by land and by sea does the merchant experience with the hope
of gain? For what a small hire does the soldier sell his life. The
harlot in the brothel is compelled to endure a thousand-fold greater
evils than any wife in the honest home. Hence the Germans call them by
a striking proverb, "the devil's martyrs;" because they of their own
accord cast themselves into the greatest calamities, which they might
never have experienced, if they had been willing to live a godly life.
And again, what a host of evils do men, given to wine and to gluttony,
bring upon themselves by their excesses, from all of which they might
have lived free had they eaten and drunk more moderately.
Wherefore, well may men be lost in considering what remedy can
possibly be found for the human race. Since they are so hardened by
Satan that they not only do not feel their evils, but studiously
follow after them and pursue them with all eagerness. For if they
really did feel the evils of their ways would they not forsake them?
But the fact is that such insensibility benumbs the minds of men, so
that you may see them glorying in their very evils themselves. As,
therefore, such wicked perverseness is found in the greatest part of
mankind, that for the sake of a light and foolish pleasure they will
involve themselves in sure calamities, it is wonderful that the godly
do not consider these things for their good, and say within
themselves, Although I must live in the midst of all these various
evils, yet they must all soon end and be recompensed by another and a
better life.
And this is the consolation which this sacred sentence is intended to
afford. For it gives a promise that all these calamities shall have an
end, and that, too, by the bruising and crushing of the "serpent's
head," _Till_, says Moses, _thou return unto the ground_, ELHAADAMA.
For this original word signifies the ground or earth in general. But
the Hebrew word APHAR signifies, properly, recently dug or ploughed
earth, or a lump of newly turned up earth. Our translation renders
this original word by "dust;" that it may signify loosened or crumbled
earth. For Adam was made a living man out of a clod or lump of the
earth. When therefore the bonds of this clod shall be loosened, it
shall return, the Lord says, to its former mould or dust.
And here again we are reminded of the manner in which, as the sins of
the world increased, their punishments increased also. The original
usage of committing the bodies of the dead to the earth to be
dissolved again to dust was certainly a milder and human-like custom;
but afterwards it became the practice of almost all nations to burn
the bodies of their dead. How often also does it happen that human
beings are devoured alive by wild beasts, and have the bellies of
those beasts for their tombs? Hence we find enumerated among the four
punishments declared by the prophet, "the teeth of wild beasts," Jer.
15:3, and also by Moses himself the poison of serpents and other
venomous animals, Deut. 32:24. For so it is ever that the more
insensible we are to the divine punishment of our sins, the heavier
the punishments God lays upon us, to break us down and to beat in
pieces our obduracy; as it is written in the Book of Leviticus, "And
if ye will not yet for these things hearken unto me, then I will
chastise you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the
pride of your power," Levit. 26:18, 19.
Thus the fall of Adam was a fall from life into death, and from
soundness of body into diseases of every kind. Still the age of Adam
was truly a golden age, if compared with ours. But all things
degenerated by degrees, and that the great image of Daniel also
plainly shows, Dan. 2:31, 35. For the nearer the world approaches its
end the worse men become, and this is the reason heavier punishments
are inflicted on us than on those who have lived before us. What a
pertinacious war against the truth is carried on at this day by the
Papists! What cruelty do they exercise against those who confess the
truth! I mention not now their well nigh Satanic covetousness, perfidy
and acts of violence without end. Can the punishments of such then be
very far off?
Thus far Moses has been recording the punishments inflicted on Adam
and his posterity on account of the sin of the fall. And though these
punishments are great, yet they were milder "in the beginning" than
they are now. Because those sins which were then of the positive, if I
may so speak, are now increased to the superlative degree.
But before we proceed with the remaining contents of this chapter, let
us pursue a little further our discussion of that passage, on which we
have briefly dwelt in its place before, where it is said to the woman,
"I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception or thy
impregnation," verse 16, above. For the original word there found is
HERONECHAD, which interpreters generally explain as descriptive of all
those troubles and straits of mind and body which women endure from
the time of conception to childbirth.
A question is here raised by some whether, as the wife is impregnated
and gives birth to a child only once in a year, that one impregnation
and parturition is itself a punishment? And it is also inquired, why
if such be a punishment God here says, "I will greatly multiply thy
sorrow and thy conception?" With respect to the latter, I believe the
original word to be rightly translated, "I will greatly multiply thy
conception," that is, thy pains and sorrows consequent upon that
conception. So that it is a punishment that a woman should conceive
only once in the year, and yet that one conception in the year should
be laden with such numberless pains and sorrows. For if man had
continued in his innocence, no doubt the fruitfulness of women would
have been altogether greater. We do now find certain instances where
often two, sometimes three, and occasionally four, children are
brought forth at a birth.
There are universal laws of this fecundity in the brute creation. The
fruitfulness of birds and of fishes is very great. Dogs, cats and sows
produce a great number at a parturition. The larger beasts however
produce their offspring only once in a year generally. My full belief
is however that women, had there been no sin, would have been
productive of a far more numerous offspring. Whereas now for the most
part the most fruitful of them give birth to no more than one child in
the year, to which diminished fruitfulness there is also added that
unclean lust of fallen nature. All these things alike impress our
minds with the magnitude of sin.
But here again we find brought forward the Jewish cavil concerning the
serpent. They say if by the seed of the woman is to be understood here
her natural seed, which is born from her womb, as we have interpreted
the important passage, it would seem to be a natural consequence that
the seed of the serpent mentioned in this same passage should also be
that seed which proceeds from the belly of the serpent. Otherwise,
they say that opposition which Moses sets forth cannot consist when he
says, "I will put enmity between thy seed and her seed," verse 15.
Out of this cavil many consequences will follow. In the first place it
will follow that God is here speaking with the natural serpent only
and determining his punishment; and in the next place it will
inevitably follow that Christ has nothing at all to do with this
passage, nor this passage with him; and it will equally follow that
this text furnishes no proof whatever concerning Christ! Wherefore
this cavilling objection of the Jews has the appearance of containing
something in it; but in fact it contains nothing at all.
First, then, my reply to this cavil is "He that is ignorant, let him
be ignorant still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still,"
Rev. 22:11. For he that will not believe the openly revealed and
manifest Gospel is worthy of being left in ignorance of these more
hidden passages of the Scripture and in disbelief of them altogether.
Neither is our present object to confirm or illustrate the Gospel by
the passage now in question, but to hold up the brighter light of the
Gospel before it in order to illuminate its obscurities. And if any
will not believe the shining light of the Gospel, what marvel is it if
they are left to disbelieve these more obscure words of the prophets
and to produce their new and absurd opinions in opposition to them?
The promise of the Gospel is revealed from heaven; and moreover it is
preserved in safety amidst the greatest tyrants and the most horrible
punishments of our sins from God. If the Jews pertinaciously fight
against this promise and will not believe it, they must be left alone.
We meanwhile will deal with those who believe, and who submit to the
Gospel.
Christ says, John 8:44, that Satan is the "father of lies, and a
murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth." This is that
light of the Gospel by which the dark places of the Old Testament are
illumined. Now if Satan was "a murderer from the beginning" tell me,
whom or what persons did he murder? Were they not Adam and Eve, whom
he murdered by sin? Where did he murder them? Was it not in paradise?
When did he murder them? Was it not when he made nothing of the
commandment of God and promised Adam and Eve that they would be like
gods if they would eat of the forbidden tree? Both propositions
therefore are true. The natural serpent was in paradise; and by the
natural serpent, the old serpent, the devil, deceived man and murdered
him.
The principal meaning of this passage therefore is to cause us to
understand that the devil was the author of all this calamity; just as
when any one commits murder, it may rightly be said of the sword of
the murdered, "This sword killed the man." Whereas in truth, it was
not the sword alone nor of itself that killed the man, but the
murderer who used the sword. Indeed it is quite a common use of the
figure synecdoche, the conveyance of two ideas by one expression, to
understand the author of the act under the mention of the instrument
made use of. Wherefore we explode this Jewish cavil utterly.
Secondly, it is also true that contraries are not necessarily
consistent contrarieties in every respect. For the form of
contrarieties is multiplex, as logicians teach. Some things are
opposed to others relatively, others privatively, and others by
contradiction. Thus the natural father by whom we are begotten and the
father of lies are opposed to each other. Although we should grant the
Jews their interpretation of this passage that Moses is here speaking
of the natural serpent, yet the text itself evidently contains a
synecdoche when we compare it with the words of Christ. The words of
Moses are, "And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast
done this, thou art cursed above all cattle." What then did the
serpent do? He deceived Eve and thus murdered her.
So the words of Moses therefore only hold up the light of the Gospel,
"The devil was a murderer from the beginning," John 8:44. Is it not by
this light at once manifest that God so speaks with the natural
serpent as recorded by Moses, that his words are intended to apply to
the devil, concealed under the form of the natural serpent, who having
assumed that form under it hurled man into sin and death, and laid him
under the wrath of God? Wherefore by the seed of the serpent in this
passage is not to be understood the natural seed of the natural
serpent, but the seed of the devil; as Christ also represents the same
in the Gospel, using the same appellation of "seed," where he says,
"An enemy came and sowed among the wheat evil seed," Math. 13:25. This
evil seed is contrary to the spiritual seed, even as flesh and spirit
are wholly contrary to each other.
But it is not necessary as we have said, that contraries should
contain that contrariety to each other throughout in all respects;
just in the same manner as similarities do not respond to each other
in every particular. Thus for instance, Adam is a figure of Christ;
which similarity consists in the great truth that as sin hath abounded
towards all men by Adam, so the righteousness of Christ also abounds
towards all those who believe in him. These particulars of Adam and of
Christ agree with each other. In all other respects Adam and Christ do
not agree. Wherefore let this their error be left to the Jews, to
content themselves with it. We believers in Christ know that the
serpent, to whom God speaks in this text, is the devil. And this we
know from the interpretation of Christ himself.