“And
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
(Genesis 3:15)
This
is the first gospel sermon that was ever delivered upon the surface of this
earth. It was a memorable discourse indeed, with Jehovah Himself for the
preacher, and the whole human race and the prince of darkness for the
audience. It is worthy of our heartiest attention.
Is
it not remarkable that this great gospel promise should have been delivered
so soon after the transgression? As yet no sentence had been pronounced upon
the offenders. Truly “mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” Let us rejoice,
then, in the swift mercy of God, which in the early watches of the night of
sin came with comfortable words unto us.
These
words were not directly spoken to Adam and Eve, but they were directed
distinctly to the serpent himself, by way of punishment to him for what he
had done. It was a day of cruel triumph to him. But now God comes in, takes
up the quarrel personally, and causes him to be disgraced on the very
battle-field upon which he had gained a temporary success. He tells the
dragon that He will undertake to deal with him; this quarrel shall not
between the serpent and man, but between God and the serpent. Perhaps,
however, by thus obliquely giving the promise, the Lord meant to say, “Not
for your sakes do I this, O fallen man and woman; but for My own name and
honour’s sake.” All this would be very humbling but yet consolatory to
our parents if they thought of it, seeing that mercy given for God’s sake
is always to our troubled apprehension more sure than any favour which could
be promised to us for our own sake.
Now
we must note concerning this first gospel sermon that on it the earliest
believers stayed themselves. [It] lit up the world to all believers until
the Lord was pleased to give more light, and to renew and enlarge the
revelation of His covenant. The conflict and the conquest are both in the
compass of these few fruitful words. They may not have been fully understood
by those who first heard them, but to us they are now full of light. The
text at first looks like a flint, hard and cold; but sparks fly from it
plentifully, for hidden fires of infinite love and grace lie concealed
within.
There
was enmity between Christ and Satan, for He came to destroy the works of the
devil and to deliver those who are under bondage to him. [In Gethsemane
] our Champion began the last fight of all and won
it to the bruising of the serpent’s head. Nor did He end till He had
spoiled principalities and powers and made a show of them openly. The
conflict our glorious Lord continues in his seed. We preach Christ
crucified, and every sermon shakes the gates of hell. We bring sinners to
Jesus by the Spirit’s power, and every convert is a stone torn down from
the wall of Satan’s mighty castle.
The
serpent’s head is broken in us. The chosen seed consent with their heart
to the law of God that it is good, and they sigh and cry that they may be
helped to obey it, for they are no longer under the slavery of sin; the
serpent’s reigning power and dominion is broken in them.
It
is broken next in this way, that the guilt of sin is gone. The great power
of the serpent lies in unpardoned sin. We are delivered from the curse and
are now blessed, for it is written, “Blessed is the man whose
transgression is forgiven, and whose sin is covered.”
Oftentimes
the Lord also grants us to know what it is to overcome temptation, and so to
break the head of the fiend. Job conquered when he cried, “Though He slay
me yet will I trust in Him.” A feeble man had vanquished a devil who could
raise the wind and blow down an house, and destroy the family who were
feasting in it.
Moreover,
dear brethren, we have this hope that the very being of sin in us will be
destroyed. The day will come when we shall stand before the throne of God,
having suffered no injury whatever from the fall and from all the
machinations of Satan, for “they are without fault before the throne of
God.”
Every
time any one of us is made useful in saving souls we do as it were repeat
the bruising of the serpent’s head. Whenever in any way you are blessed to
the aiding of truth and righteousness in the world, you, too, who were once
beneath his power, and even now have sometimes to suffer from his nibbling
at your heel, you tread upon his head.
Exercise
faith in the promise and be comforted. The text evidently encouraged Adam
very much. Adam acted in faith upon what God said, for we read, “And Adam
called his wife’s name Eve (or Life); because she was the mother of all
living.” As the life was to come through her by virtue of the promised
seed, Adam marks his full conviction of the truth of the promise though at
the time the woman had borne no children. Exercise like faith, my brother,
on the far wider revelation which God has given to you, and always extract
the utmost comfort from it. Make a point, whenever you receive a promise
from God, to get all you can out of it: if you carry out that rule, it is
wonderful what comfort you will gain. God’s word is to be understood at
the maximum, for He will do exceeding abundantly above what you ask or even
think.
Let
us resist the devil always with this belief, that he has received a broken
head. Let us do this bravely, and tell him to his teeth that we are not
afraid of him. Tell him to recollect his bruised head, which he tries to
cover with a crown of pride. We know him, and see the deadly wound he bears.
His power is gone; he is fighting a lost battle; he is contending against
omnipotence. Therefore, brethren, be ye steadfast in resisting the evil one,
being strong in faith, giving glory to God.
