THE SEED OF THE WOMAN
"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between
your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His
heel." Genesis 3:15
These are the first words of grace to a lost world.
When were they spoken? By whom? To whom?
When were these words spoken? Just after sin
had come in, and innocence was gone, and man had become a guilty creature
before God. One command had been given, for the purpose of seeing whether he
would love, and fear, and serve his Maker. That one command had just been
trodden under foot. Pause here for one moment and think. Some people dream
of earning eternal life by doing God's will. This way has been tried. It
failed. The end of it was ruin. Our first parents were innocent, and
had no inward tendency towards evil, but they rushed into it. But we are
born with corrupt hearts, and fully bent on sin, and can we keep
ourselves holy and spotless? It is a vain thought. Let us cast it away. We
cannot continue blameless. Our wicked nature is always drawing us out of the
straight path of godliness. We have not stood blameless during one hour of
one day of our lives. The charge is true, and every honest conscience will
confess it.
By whom were these words spoken? We read, "The
Lord God said." What proof is here, that our God is merciful and
gracious! Think how He had been offended! Think, with what base
ingratitude—with what contempt He had been treated! Satan's lie had
been trusted rather than His truth. His easy yoke had been broken, as
if it had been some hard restraint. The language of the proud heart had
been—We will not have God to reign over us!
God, even He, descends. No thunder-bolt is in His hands.
No avenging angels follow to sweep the rebels into perdition. The voice
which speaks is the voice of mercy. The tidings which are brought, are the
tidings of deliverance. O my soul, can you consider the Speaker, and not
exclaim—Truly, God is good—He wills not the death of a sinner! Reason as the
wife of Manoah did, "If the Lord were pleased to kill us, He would not, as
at this time, have told us such things as these."
To whom were these words spoken? Three only
were present. First the guilty pair. Mark their state, and learn from it
that the first step in the way of salvation is taken by God. We have
sure evidence before us. He wills to save, when man wills to die. He moves
to save, when man moves to perish. Our first parents are before Him, a
picture of all fallen sinners who would be born of them. As they were, so
are we by nature. They were sinners, blind and hardened. So are we.
Blind, I say; for their eyes were not opened to the dreadful condition
into which they had passed, or the dreadful misery, which was now
their lot. Hardened, I say—for they did not confess their sin, or humble
themselves, or weep tears of sorrow, or utter prayers for mercy. Just such
is man's natural blindness and hardness from that day to this. And still to
such God comes in love—to such God speaks of recovery to His favor and His
kingdom.
Reader! calmly meditate on this. You will see, that when
man is all careless, God is all care; when man can do nothing, God does all;
when man deserves nothing, God gives all. Salvation is from first to last
of grace! Man rushes to hell. Grace calls to heaven.
Next, another being was present. But there was no hope
for him. He was only told that destruction was his doom. We have here a
proof that God makes a difference between offenders. Let us not
vainly ask, why mercy yearns over man, and turns from the angels
which fell? There can be but one reply, "Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in Your sight." And can we so reply, and not sing praise, that we, who
have so sinned, should be so pitied, and have such rich
provision of pardon? O my soul, think on these things.
But what is this rich provision? We read the
answer in the word, "her seed." Here is a promise, that a deliverer
would come into this world, who would be born of a woman. If the question be
put, "Who is this seed of the woman?" We readily reply—The Lord Jesus
Christ. The blessed Savior. The only Redeemer. The only begotten Son of God
Most High. True, the voice of God here promises that Jesus, appointed to
save—should be made man—should be one of our family by birth—should be bone
of our bones, flesh of our flesh. The fact is easily stated. But, Reader! is
it your habit to ponder over the great and precious truths belonging to it?
Mark! The mighty God, without ceasing to be God, becomes man to redeem
us! Wonder of wonders! The like to this never has been—never
could be.
Let the greatest king become the lowest beggar—let
the richest prince leave his palace for the vilest cell of a
loathsome prison—it is as nothing compared to the act of Jesus, when He
left heaven to put on the rags of our mortality! The Creator of all
things appears a creature! The Almighty is a weak babe!—The Eternal is a
child of time!—The Infinite is contracted into the limits of this poor
flesh! Is not this the wonder of wonders? Is not this grace which has no
bounds?
Reader! do you seriously believe that Jesus thus humbled
Himself even for you? If you do, you cannot but feel that no debt can be
like your debt; and that, as heaven is high above the earth, so great is
what you owe, beyond what you can ever pay. In the poor matters of this
earth, a prince's or a noble's birth awakens signs of far-extending joy. The
banners wave. The steeples sound. The festive table is spread.
Shall we then call upon the realm of nature to
celebrate with worthy praise this praise-surpassing fact? What if the sun
could hang forth millions of lamps, each brighter in brilliance than itself;
what if each drop of ocean's water could raise a chorus of ecstatic
hallelujahs; what if each leaf of every forest could cast back the
pealing shout; it would be shame to offer a tribute so unfit! But
there is a testimony of delight which Jesus seeks. He is repaid, when
grateful hearts throw wide their portals to receive Him, and when welcoming
praise extols His saving name. O my soul, will you not then bid all that is
within you, to clasp the hands of loving worship around the manger at
Bethlehem?
When Abraham saw the day of Christ afar off, he
rejoiced and was glad. The unborn Baptist could not restrain emotion,
when the unborn Jesus was brought near. The beacon-star filled the
journeying sages with exceeding great joy. The multitude of the
heavenly host, who shared not in redemption's mercies, made heaven's
vault to echo with their praises. O my soul, can you be silent? Hear
you not the angel's cry? "I bring you good tidings of great joy." Will you
not with great joy drink in these tidings? "Unto you is born a Savior, which
is Christ the Lord." Will you not, in aged Simeon's spirit, clasp Him
to the heart of faith, and lift up the hymn of praise?
Next, have you, too, seriously pondered, for what
exact purpose did Jesus become the Woman's Seed?—Our peace and happiness
depend on the right knowledge of this. It was just for this purpose, that He
might be qualified to stand in the poor sinner's stead; and might be in a
condition to represent him. You know that the Word of God has spoken, and
cannot be called back, "The soul that sins, it shall die." You know, too,
that to die, in this sentence, means to suffer forever the torments of
the lost. Under this condemnation you and I are brought by sin. You and
I, then, must thus endure, unless God be pleased to take the death of a
sinless one in the place of our death. Jesus is willing to bear all for us;
how could He do so, without being man? He could not. Therefore, He is made
man. So when God's Truth and Justice say—I must have that man's life; Jesus
is ready to reply—I am of his nature, here is my life for his. Mark, then,
He is the Woman's Seed, that He may have a life to lay down, and have blood
to shed, for the ransom of such as we are. See clearly, that Jesus
takes man's flesh, that He may redeem from death all of man's family who
trust in Him.
Thus, also, in man's nature, He obeys all the
commandments of God. But the righteousness thus worked out is not for
Himself. It is wrought, that He may impute it to all who come to Him. This
He never fails to do. So when the poorest believer presents himself for
admission into heaven, he can show, for his passport, a perfect
righteousness placed over him by Jesus. It is so all-sufficient, that, when
weighed in the balances of God, it lacks nothing. I repeat these truths,
because they are the groundwork of true faith. Jesus was the Woman's Seed,
that, being exactly as we are, yet without sin, His death might be a
substitute for our death—His righteousness might be a substitute for
our righteousness.
Reader! are you a poor sinner, feeling your misery and
dreading eternal wrath? Flee to the Woman's Seed! There is pardon in Him to
wash away all iniquities. The faithful of the old world knew Him by no other
name, but they believed God, that, in due time, He would come, and thus
satisfy God's justice for them. They looked to Him who would be born. They
looked, and none can look in vain. Do you seek after a righteousness to make
you fit to appear in heaven? It is all ready in the Woman's Seed. Stretch
out the hand of faith, take it, and it is yours forever. Whatever you need
dwells richly in Jesus, the Woman's Seed. Cast on Him your vileness, and
take His purity; cast on Him your poverty, and take His riches; cast on Him
your nothingness, and take His fullness; cast on Him your curse, and receive
His blessing.
Do you hesitate—do you stagger—fearful to approach one so
excellent in holiness? Well might you tremble, if bade to draw near to God
in His glory. But He who calls you, is your Kinsman—the Woman's Seed. You
may fly up to Him on the wings of faith, and embrace Him with the arms of
faith, and cling to Him with the hands of faith, and lay your weary head
upon His breast, and tell Him all your sorrows; and you will find that His
heart is a brother's heart, as tender to sympathize, as His power is
all-sufficient to save.
Do you still stand doubting? What, when Jesus has come so
far for you, will you not stir one step towards Him? When He has stooped so
low, will you not ascend to Him? When He brings Himself, in man's form, to
your very door, will you not open and welcome Him? Surely there is enough in
the Woman's Seed to slay all unbelief; enough to win and conquer every
heart.
Here we see heaven coming down to earth, that earth may
be raised to heaven. Here we see the Son of God becoming man, that men may
become the children of God. Will not this satisfy—persuade—allure? Surely
God could do no more! Man, then, can say no more.
I close with this earnest entreaty; read these few words
again and again, until you find the flame of faith and love kindling in your
soul; and then, on the bended knees of gratitude, exclaim—I bless You,
Heavenly Father, for the promise in Eden of the Woman's Seed. I bless
You, for sending, in the fullness of time, the Woman's Seed. I bless You, O
Lord Jesus Christ, for coming to save me, as the Woman's Seed. I
bless You, Holy Spirit, for revealing to my soul the Woman's Seed.