Genesis 3:17 And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying… I. THE CURSE, AS WELL AS THE BLESSING UPON ALL CREATURES, PROCEEDS FROM THE WILL AND DECREE OF GOD ALONE. 1. It can be no otherwise, seeing in Him all things consist (Colossians 1:17), and have their being (Acts 17:28). 2. And it is fit it should be so, that all men might fear before Him (Jeremiah 5:24), depend on Him (Jeremiah 14:22), and praise Him alone (Psalm 107:32-34). 3. And it is every way best for us, who know that God judgeth righteously (Psalm 67:4), and that those that fear Him shall want no good thing (Psalm 84:1). II. IT IS OUR OWN SIN THAT BRINGS THE CURSE OF GOD UPON ALL THAT WE ENJOY. 1. God's mercies are over all His works (Psalm 145:9), and His hand in itself is not shortened (Isaiah 59:1), neither is there anything that He hates but sin, or for sin (Psalm 5:4, 5). 2. And it is fit that God should so show His detestation of sin, by manifesting His wrath every way against such as provoke Him thereby, as He did in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and upon His own land (Deuteronomy 29:23, 25). III. THE GREATEST OF ALL CREATURES ARE UNDER GOD'S COMMAND 1. They are all creatures (Jeremiah 14:22), even the work of His hand (Job 34:19). 2. He could not otherwise be an absolute Lord over all (Psalm 103:19) if any creature were out of His command. IV. THE CURSE OF GOD UPON THE CREATURES IS A PART OF MAN'S PUNISHMENT. 1. We have interest in them, so that their destruction is our loss. 2. Our subsistence is by them, so that to lose them, is to lose the means by which our lives should be supported. V. MAN'S LIFE IN THIS WORLD IS A LIFE OF PAIN AND SORROW. 1. To make us the more sensible of sin, by our daily tasting the bitter fruits of it. 2. To move to a holy delight, and earnest seeking after things that are spiritual, the ways whereof are pleasant and the paths peace (Proverbs 3:17; Psalm 119:165). VI. THE SHORT PLEASURE OF SIN DRAWS AFTER IT A LONG AND LASTING PUNISHMENT. VII. MAN'S FOOD IS OUT OF THE EARTH. (J. White, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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; |
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