Part 2

Mr. _Allen_ observes, on the clause, _On thy belly shalt thou go_—that the Serpent, before it was concerned in seducing our first Parents, went erect, or upright; which shews they have still some of their original nature in them, for they will now erect themselves upon the hinder part of their bodies, and go a considerable way in that position. The truly-excellent Dr. _Gill’s_ remarks, I think, excel all I ever read.

_Yet now the Serpent was more subtil than any __beast of the field which the Lord God had made_.—Many instances are given of the subtilty of Serpents, in hiding their heads when struck at; rolling themselves up; stopping their ear at the voice of the charmer; putting off their skin; lying in sand of the same colour as themselves; biting the feet of horses; and many such things. But it does not appear now to be more subtil than many other creatures, whatever it might be when first created.—The words therefore may be rendered, _That Serpent_, _that particular Serpent_, was made more subtil than any beast of the field—not naturally, but through Satan being in it; for though a real Serpent, yet not that only, but as possessed and used by Satan, as an instrument of his, to accomplish his designs, as evident from its having the faculty of speech and the use of reason, employed in a very artful and sophistic manner. Nor is it rational to suppose that human nature, in the height of its glory and excellency, should be out-witted by a creature so inferior to it. The Scripture always alledges the fall of man to the seduction of the Devil, who, on that account, is called the Serpent, the old Serpent, the Devil and Satan. _He said unto the Woman_. She being alone, he took the advantage of it—not the Serpent, but Satan in it, just as the Angel spoke in _Balaam’s_ Ass.

It is very probable that good Angels appeared in Paradise to our first Parents, in one form or another, and conversed with them—it may be in human forms, and it may be in the form of a beautiful flying Serpent, which looked very bright and shining, and that sort called the Seraph. Hence angels bear the name of Seraphim, as some have thought; so that it might not be at all surprising to Eve to hear the Serpent speak, it being what she might have been used to hear, and might take it to be a good angel sent to her with a message from God.

Good Matthew Henry remarks upon the Passage, that the Devil chose to act his part in a Serpent, because it is a specious creature, has a spotted dappled skin, and then went erect. Perhaps it was a flying Serpent, which seemed to come as a messenger from the upper world—one of the Seraphim, for the fiery Serpents were flying—_Isaiah_ xv, 29. Many a gay temptation comes to us in fine colours, which are but skin deep, and appears to come from above, for Satan can seem an angel of light.

The learned Witsius remarks, He who seduced man to this apostasy was doubtless a wicked spirit, who, tormented with the horrors of a guilty conscience, envied man his happiness in God, and God the pleasure he had in man. Seeking wretched consolation in a partaker of his misery, he concealed himself, therefore, in the Serpent, which was at that time not less acceptable to man than any other creature. The great Du Moulin conjectures this Serpent was of a conspicuous form, with fiery eyes; decked with gold, and marked with shining spots, such as to draw the eyes of Eve after it; and that before this, he had, by his soothing sounds, insinuated himself into Eve’s favour—which is very probable.

The present learned Dr. Clarke conjectures this creature was an Ape instead of a Serpent; but the arguments he brings forward are by no means sufficient to support the fact. The form of the curse pronounced on Satan, in the Serpent, is, _Now thou art cursed above all cattle_, _and above every beast of the field_. This curse has not fallen upon that species of animals, called the Serpent, in general, though it might on that particular one which Satan made use of; for there are various kinds of Serpents, or creatures of the Serpent kind—the reeded Serpent, the fiery flying Serpent, the horned Serpent, the Basilisk, the Dragon, the Deaf Adder, the common Adder, the Viper, the Asp, the Water Snake, the Land Snake, the Rattle-Snake, the Conger Eel, the common Eel, and the Lamprey—these are of the Serpent kind. Now the Serpent the Devil abused was but one, but of what kind we know not, and the sentence of God is in the singular number—so Dr. Gill remarks, _that_ Serpent—on thy belly shalt _thou_ go, and dust shalt _thou_ eat all the days of thy life. So that as far as the curse went on the agent, when that one Serpent died the sentence was fully executed on that creature. But the curse, in all its dreadful weight, fell on the Devil, who is cursed above all sinners, who are called cattle, Beasts, and the unclean—as Lions, Dogs, Bears, Rams, Wolves, Leopards, Bulls, Heifers at grass, Foxes, and Goats. Many of these have been tamed, become useful and tractable, but Devils never were, nor never will; and Satan, the ring-leader, I apprehend is cursed above them all—_upon thy belly shalt thou go_. What the learned have said about the Serpent’s going erect is bare conjecture. But this curse is evidently upon the Devil: the word Belly in scripture, sometimes signifies the Conscience, and I believe it means this: Hence Job speaking of the seed of the Serpent, says, _they shall not feel quietness in the Belly_—it means depression and deep abasement, in awful affliction—our belly cleaveth to the ground, our soul is bowed down to the dust. This is what Satan feels, and will be cursed with for ever—no ease or rest, but hell in him wherever he goes—God’s curse and wrath upon him—the arrows of vindictive wrath sticking fast in him; nor can he feel any joy, only that kind of malicious infernal pleasure, suited to his nature, as he draws men to sin against God—especially believers.

The term Serpent not only applies to the Devil, but to his people—the non-elect, the reprobate; more particularly to those Pharisees, who make a fair shew in the flesh—a noise about holiness, and who are endeavoring to establish their reputation upon the ruin of others—who are searching for the sins of others, and they search for iniquity with a diligent search—who keep up the form of godliness, are found in every external, yet in heart hate the saints, condemn them, as enemies to good works—as Antinomians—enemies Moses—as a people not fit to live, of course not to come near them.—These characters are called Serpents, and a generation of Vipers; not only so themselves but their parents were so, and they are the offspring of such Vipers; and so we find it to this day—a deistical Preacher begets Deists, a Socinian begets such, an Arian begets an Arian, an Arminian begets an Arminian by his ministry, and an Antinomian, whose religion lays in his head, without the Work of the Spirit, such may beget an offspring like themselves, while every Pharisee in the Ministry may also beget the same; but the name John the Baptist gave them is a generation of Vipers, when he saw the Pharisees come to his Baptism. A Viper appears very beautiful outwardly, so do these persons to a blind, carnal world, who are making a stir about good works, and, like Alexander Pope, are exclaiming,

For Modes of Faith let zealous bigots fight, His can’t be wrong whose life is in the right.

But, I would ask, Can a man’s life be in the right when all his principles are bad? Vipers, inwardly full of malice, hatred, envy, bitterness, and evil speaking; it looks innocent, as if it could harm nobody, but, under the garb of religion, holiness, and morality, what will such characters not do? The Redeemer calls such by the same name John did, in Matt. xii, and then in Chap. xxiii, _Ye Serpents_, _ye generation of Vipers_, _how can ye escape the damnation of hell_? Fair in speech and shew, but cruel and dangerous; with many such as these we have had to combat, who are of their father the Devil, and the desires of their father they do.

But the decree runs, _And dust shall be the Serpent’s meat_. This is only renewing the curse upon Satan and his seed, which was first pronounced in the Garden of Eden. Good men have differed a little upon the food of the Serpent; some suppose that before the fall he lived upon the fruits of the Garden, but afterwards that he was only to eat dust. Perhaps this was the case with that one Serpent the Devil made use of, but it certainly is not true of Serpents in general. Others think it means, that in consequence of the curse, _upon thy belly thou shalt go_, that they should eat much dust with their food; this may be the case in part, but not universally. Many keep Serpents in the kingdom of Abyssinia for the purpose of divination, as Mr. Bruce tells us in his Travels, and they feed them with white bread and milk, which there are very fond of.

Mr. Toplady justly remarks on this passage, that what is said of the Serpent going on his belly and eating dust, are properties common to many kinds of vermin, such as worms, &c.—and why should that be esteemed a curse to the Serpent which is natural to many other animals beside. But is it so said because this creature is obnoxious to man? so are many others beside, and it is worthy observation, that there are some kind of Serpents which are remarkable for the affection they bear to man; and others are good for food, and have been served up as such, even at royal tables.

The words then must refer to something mystic and spiritual. The phrase, _Dust shalt thou eat_, implies a state of absolute subjection, for so it signifies in scripture—_his enemies shall lick the dust_; _they shall lick dust like a Serpent_—_they shall bow down to the earthy and lick up the dust of thy feet_. These enemies shall be totally vanquished and subdued, and lie at the feet of the conqueror.

By the dust that the Serpent is to eat is meant sinners against the most high, living and dying enemies to God, Father, Son, and Spirit—enemies to truth and the seed of God. This I think is clear from the declaration _I will put enmity between thy __seed and her seed_, the seed of the Serpent. This is the dust he is to eat; this is his curse. These persons are the Serpent’s prey, and the dust he shall devour. The phrase of Satan eating, denotes the hellish pleasure he takes in man’s ruin; for a person is supposed to eat nothing but what he loves; it is the Devil’s meat, his joy, his delight, to lead into sin, to get men to serve him, and to buffet, vex, and plague the saints.

The learned Fagius observes, Satan is a spirit, and must therefore require immaterial food; which can be nothing else but the sins of men, on which he feeds with pleasure.

St. Augustine says, By dust, Sinners are meant; so that sinners are given him for his prey. If then we would not be his food, we must not be earthly minded.

St. Ambrose says, that by dust we are to understand the flesh of men, on which God permits Satan to feed, that is, sometimes to torment and grieve the bodies of believers, for over their souls he has not the least command. The dust, therefore, Satan eats, is the seed spoken of as the seed of the Serpent; these are called the cattle, and the beasts of the field—these are Satan’s portion, bear his image, and will be found like him another day, even in the resurrection of the wicked—_When they __shall awake_, _O Lord_, _thou wilt despise their image_. All the sins, infirmities, temptations, and troubles, of God’s dear people—these are the dust he feeds on. And as it is with the father Serpent, it is with his seed; his offspring a generation of Vipers and Serpents, they have their portion of dust to eat, and they can feed on nothing else—and this every believer has seen to his grief. What in one scripture is called the seed of the Serpent, is in another called the children of the wicked one. First, Because as sinners, they are his offspring. Secondly, Because they are like him, and bear the same names, a liar, a Lion, a Serpent, a destroyer, and an enemy; and because they bear his image, do his works, and obey his commands; their food is alike—dust is their meat as well as his.

This is another point we shall discover—Man having lost the image of God, left the fountain of his bliss and satisfaction; his mind soon became vitiated—a vacancy being in it he seeks to fill the empty space with any thing, and every thing but God. This is the state of every man by nature; this the believer can remember with regret, and can now look back on his former folly in forsaking the fountain and cleaving to the stream of creature satisfaction. Changed by grace, he views his fellow immortals seeking for that which will never satisfy him. The Miser, a poor grovelling Serpent, feeding on white and yellow dust, “Throwing up his interest in both worlds—first starv’d in this, then damn’d in that to come.”—_Blair_. He heapeth up riches, and cannot tell who shall gather them.—_David_. He layeth up silver as the Dust—the pant after the dust of the earth.

Thus such Serpents eat the dust, while their covetous hearts are perpetually crying, “Give! Give!”—_Solomon_. “They grudge, and are not satisfied.”—_David_. All the vain pursuits, carnal gratifications, sensual delights, and that phantom, called Pleasure, which a worldling strives for, is but trying to fill the mind with dust. Hence the Prophet Isaiah represents them as a people dreaming—_They have been eating and drinking_, _and when they awake up_, _behold they are hungry_.—Isaiah xxix. Hence David prays, _And let me not eat of their dainties_. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life—these are not of the Father, but of the world—these are ashes; and the dust they feed on—1 John ii.

Men of a persecuting spirit, whose hearts rise against God, religion, and the dear Saviour, the Work of the Spirit, and all Saints—these are said to feed on the Saints; they are well pleased at every species of persecution; _they eat up my people as they eat bread_, _and call not upon God_. _When my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh_, _they __stumbled and fell_. Hence David prays, _Deliver me from the men who are thy sword_, _O Lord_, _whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasures_. Thus, like Satan, they wait to eat, to devour, to destroy the Lord’s people, who are called dust. “I that am but dust and ashes, have taken upon me to speak to the Lord.”—_Abraham_. “Who can number the dust of Jacob? Thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof.”

Erroneous characters, who have been in a profession of the truth, and who have left it and turned again like a washed swine to the mire; who have taken seven other spirits, far worse than before they heard the Gospel. These persons are industriously circulating errors; trying to make such kind of proselytes, who are two-fold more the children of hell than they were before. Such characters are Serpents and Vipers, make a fair shew, to deceive and to damn immortal souls: they talk about the universal goodness of God—too good to consign any man to perdition: they argue for an universal salvation; and that if any man should be lost, he will be restored again: they argue against the sovereignty of God, in the Doctrine of Election and divine Predestination—against one being taken and another left—against the Obedience of Christ, as our justifying righteousness—against the Divinity of the Son, or the Spirit: they level their artillery against the Trinity in Unity—against the high priviledges of God’s Elect—against the Fundamentals of the Gospel; and this to deceive the simple and unwary. Hence such are described as an whore, in the Book of the Proverbs: _She eateth_ (that is enjoyeth these deceptions and awful delusions) _and saith_, _I have done no wickedness_.—Proverbs xxxi. _Ephraim feedeth on ashes_; _a deceived heart hath turned him aside_; _he cannot deliver his soul_, _nor say is there not a lie in my right hand_. This is the Serpent’s meat, and if grace does not prevent it, they must have the Serpent’s portion—a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the _Adversaries_.

Pharisees.—These are of different kinds, and under various orders—some in a profession of gospel truth, sit under its sound, obey its external precepts as far as it relates to bodily exercise; others are inimical to the very sound of it altogether, yet pride themselves upon following the religion they were brought up in; that they are as good as they wish to be, and not half so bad as their neighbours. Thus in heart they are all alike; those in a profession and those out of it, are all upon a level. The Gospel Pharisees thank God they are not so bad as those vile Antinomians, who talk about free grace, and perform no works. Others thank God they are not quite so bad, nor indeed nothing like, other people; they have good hearts, they mean well and wish well to all. Hence our dear Lord spake a parable to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. The Pharisee stood, and prayed, _God I thank thee I am not as other men_—so they vainly think, and so they declare: their works are of themselves; they wear Spider’s webs, they make a covering, but not of God’s Spirit; they are stretching themselves upon a bed which is too short, and so all will find who reject the plan of salvation, by Jesus alone.—These make a noise about holiness, and good works—these sound a trumpet and proclaim their own goodness; and they have their reward—this is but sounding brass and the tinkling of a cymbal—it is feeding on wind; all the works they do, are to be seen of men: but the Saviour says to his disciples, _Be ye not like to them_. These will give nothing away, without their names are published, printed, or put up in the front of an alms house, or on the walls of a church or hospital—on these things they feed—a good name among men; a refutation in the world: this is the foundation of their hope, and this is said to be in dust—_His foundation is in the dust_; _but the hail will sweep away their refuge of lies_, _and the waters will overflow their hiding places_, what they build on, that they enjoy; and thus dust is their meat—and if they do not absolutely declare that all their hopes are laid on what they do, they conclude their good works will either help forward their salvation, or are grand essences of it—whereas nothing that the brightest saint can do, externally, is any evidence of his new birth, none at all; for any man, destitute of divine teaching can do the same. He may hear, read, commune, speak well, relieve the poor, and be found in every external ordinance; so says Isaiah xlviii, and Ezekiel xxiii. And should this little Pamphlet fall into the hands of any man or woman, who has been building on such evidences, I pray God that the scales may drop from their eyes, that they may see their danger, and be brought, as poor sinners, to the Lord Christ for all they want.

The performances of persons who are destitute of the grace of God, are called the Works of the Law; whereas it is not so properly, for they are ignorant of the Law, nor does the Law call for any such Works; therefore they are but the Works of the flesh, and those who feed on them are eating dust, whether they are in a profession or not. Hence God threaten his enemies that he will send them the _Poison of Serpents of the dust_. Deut xxxii. And when he takes a sinner in hand, he is said to _scrape her dust from her_.—Ezek. xxvi; then he kindly invites, _Come now_, _let us reason together_—and, graciously promises, _though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as wool_, _and though they be red like crimson they shall be whiter than snow_; _and I will surely purge away thy dross_, _and take away thy tin_. Isaiah i. This is the Work of God and this must be done if ever we see the face of God with joy; we must be stripped of all supposed goodness, and emptied of self before we can be filled with the Saviour.

When the excellent Toplady had finished his Sermon on Justification, pious Lady Huntingdon said to him, “Sir, I think you gave the Pharisees a good dressing to night.” “Oh, Madam,” said he, “I did not want to dress them, but I aimed to undress them:”—and sure I am that our filthy garments of self-righteousness must be taken away, before we can enjoy the change of raiment. _Zech._ iii. Till this is the case with us we may cry out, with the tongue (and if not, every Pharisee exclaims, practically) _Stand by thyself_. _I am holier than thou_! But, from all such blindness, hardness of heart, and contempt of God’s Word and Commandment, Good Lord deliver us.

The food of the hypocrite, which the Swine did eat, these are called husks. Hence our dear Lord, by a Parable, represented his own people in a backsliding state, trying to fill their souls with husks, a form of godliness without the power, the sound without the substance, the shell without the kernel. So it is written in Luke xv. _And there arose a mighty famine in the land_, _and he began to be in want_, _and he joined himself to a citizen of that country_, _and he sent him out to feed Swine_, _and he fain would have filled his belly with the husks that the Swine did eat_. Here is an awakened soul, with spiritual life, guilt, and shame in his conscience, flying to a false refuge to make up what had been amiss; and obeying the orders of a false teacher, without looking to Jesus as his only refuge.