As Father of his family he clad Their nakedness with skins of beasts." Therefore the Lord God sent them forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from which they were taken, having only enjoyed their happy state of holiness, innocence, and virtue, for the short space of a few months; for by their disobedience they forfeited their joy and happiness, and "Brought death into the world, and all our woe With loss of Eden." 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 life.* Gen. iii. 24. CHAPTER V. "But well thou know'st Our God hath mingled, in his awful curse, Mercies, with threatenings In these mystic words Mary Ann Cursham. Adam and Eve were now expelled from their lovely and delightful situation,--the beautiful garden of Eden,-into an uncultivated and dreary world; and to prevent their return into the garden of Eden, the Lord God placed at the entrance cherubims and a flaming sword. They were, therefore, now in a wilderness of thorns and briers, thistles and weeds; infested with wild birds and beasts of prey, devouring each other, and growling revenge upon each other. Birds and beasts, which before the disobedience of man, were tame and lovely to each other, but which, through his fall, were rendered wild, fierce, and savage. In this dreary wilderness, were our first parents placed after their transgression to erect themselves an habitation, and to till the hard and crusty ground, for to grow corn and herbs for their food and sustenance. But blessed be Almighty God he left them not in this dreary and waste wilderness (although they had so abused his kindness and goodness) without an encouraging glance and ray of hope. For although the ground was cursed for their sakes, yet the time was to come, when instead of the thorn, shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off,* and through * Isai. lv. 13. their fall, the beasts of the field were rendered wild, savage, and enemies to each other. Yet the time was to come when The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea * Thus was the seed of the woman to bruise the serpent's head. But four thousand years was to roll along and pass away before the glorious and auspicious event was accomplished, and patriarchs, prophets, and priests were *Isa.xi. 6-8. to prophecy and foretell of the coming of him who was to bruise the serpent's head; and typical designs and shadows of the law, were to pourtray the glory and excellency of him who was to come and offer himself as the One great sacrifice for the redemption of fallen man, and who was to be the true Light which was to lighten every one that cometh into the world.* And in due time this glorious light was made manifest to take away the sins of the world, heraldded in by his messenger John the Baptist, who was sent to prepare the way of the Lord; and which is described by the prophets Isaiah and Malachi so accurately as if they had been upon the earth when the herald of the Highest proclaimed to the world that the King of kings, and Lord of lords was a sojourner upon this lower earth. In these words, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.t So now the book of prophecy is sealed. + St. John i. 29. *St. John ii. 9. |