iv. 18, 19. 2 Pet. i. 8. Heb. vi. 8.

event); sent to sojourn for a time in the wilderness of this world, which is replete with those "thorns and thistles" which mar his labours, and render his best services barren and unfruitful; made to derive, from his See Mark toil on earth, nurture from that earth to support the existence, the burdensome existence, of that earthy frame in which he groans, and which is the source of his unrighteousness; ever labouring, and harassed with restless care and anxiety, until he gives back to the ground the body which it had lent to him. What does this denunciation of the Deity declare, more than was purposed, according to His eternal purpose, when He planned the incarnation of man, and the incarnation of Christ?

"Unto Adam also and to his wife did Jehovah Aleim make coats of skins and clothed them." w

w Gen. iii. 21.

xvi. 8.

Thus, did God Himself cover the nakedness of man. X The nakedness, which had been See Ezek. revealed to Adam and Eve, was spiritual nakedness. They had tried to cover themselves, so that the shame of their nakedness might not appear; for, in the figurative language which is sustained throughout the narrative, we read, that " they sewed fig-leaves

y Rev. xiii.

8.

together, and made themselves girdles (or aprons); but they were not able, of themselves, to cover their nakedness; they continued naked until GOD "clothed them;" He made them "coats of skin and clothed them." This act of the Deity appears to have represented His covering the spiritual nakedness of man. And as that nakedness is covered by virtue of the sacrifice of Christ, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world;"' we may, perhaps, fairly infer, that the "skins" made use of to clothe our first parents were those of animals slain as a sacrifice, in token of the sacrifice of "the Lamb of God" that taketh away the sin of the world. They were not the "skins" of animals slain for food, since permission to eat any "moving thing that liveth" was not given until after the deluge.

66

And Jehovah Aleim said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: therefore, Jehovah Aleim sent * Gen. iii. him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.""

22, 23.

The tempter had said, “your eyes shall be opened," and his prediction was verified; he

said, also, “and ye shall be as GOD, knowing good and evil," and this part of his prediction was also verified. Man had been made acquainted with the law of righteousness; that law had revealed to him his spiritual nakedness; GOD had intimated to him that the seed of the woman should crush the serpent's head; GOD had covered his nakedness; and "the tree of life," the symbol of Christ's covenant, stood before him. Thus were the means, which had, from eternity, been provided for man's entire justification, intimated to man, and typically applied to him. But, although Christ was, already, the appointed sacrifice, by, and through, which man was to be justified, and made righteous; yet, was it God's purpose, that man should exist on earth, as a creature of earth, clothed in the σωμα ψυχικον, before he should be invested with the σωμα πνευματικον and be admitted into the courts of heaven; therefore, as "the garden of Eden" was a typical representation of heaven, GOD "sent forth" man from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he had been taken."

"So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned

every way, to keep the way of the tree of Gen. iii. life."

24.

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We may remark, that, although GOD is represented as taking means, after man had obtained "the knowledge of good and evil," to prevent his taking, "also, of the tree of life;" no mention is made of God's having, previously, enjoined him not to take of that tree," which stood, also, "in the midst of the garden; for, He had said, "of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it." It appears, then, that man might have taken of the tree of life and have eaten, and, so, might have obtained eternal life. That is, it appears from the words of the narration that man might have so done. But, as nothing could occur which was not consistent with God's eternal purpose; we must infer, that no power or opportunity was afforded to man of interfering with that purpose. The whole narration, indeed, is conveyed in language so figurative, that, until we have examined it by the comparison of the application of similar terms in other parts of the Scriptures, we cannot, rightly comprehend it. We find Adam cautioned, not to acquire "the knowledge of

good and evil ; for that, in the day that he should acquire it, he would, assuredly, die; and he, having, notwithstanding this injunction and this prediction, gained this "knowledge," we find the Deity represented as saying, "behold the man is become as one of us to know good and evil, and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take, also, of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore Jehovah Aleim sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he had been taken;" as though, the Deity so expelled him, partly, in consequence of his having become "as GOD" with regard to the possession of "the knowledge of good and evil;" and, partly, from an apprehension, that, if suffered to remain in "the garden of Eden," he might, also, put himself in possession of eternal life. We must recollect, however, that the narrative, which we have been examining, relates to spiritual things, to things, of which, in our present state, we cannot form any clear conception; and, to express which, no terms of language can be adequate ; so that it is, necessarily, couched in figurative language. So, throughout the Scriptures, we find, that figurative language is, universally, employed; that

G