60. O world, how foolish are thou ! that you elevatest yourself in a blind life, and still cleavest to the husk, and seest not what you art, and understand not the divine simplicity. And then, how will thou apprehend the divine depth? O leave off your wit, and cleave to simplicity, that you mayest yet obtain a child's understanding, and be not accounted in the sight of God more unwise than the beasts, which remain in their clothing and condition as God has created them. O you world! why sleepest you in the devil's arms, who suckles and dandles you in himself and brings you to his will and life by his might? O do but see it!
61. This potent figure in these twins, one of which put forth the hand, which the midwife bound a red thread about, and thought it would be the first, but it drew the hand back again, and his brother came forth, prefigures this to us: How Christ in this line of the Covenant assumed the human nature, and so the human nature according to Adam's right and self will, in this world, first puts forth and manifests itself about which Adamical nature in the humanity of Christ must this red thread, with the shedding of his blood, be bound.
62. When this is done, then must the human nature with its right draw back again; that is, Adam's will that was gone forth must again return into the mother's womb, viz. be turned into the Word; and then comes the inward new Adam forth, after which follows the Adamical nature with the red thread. Then says the mother to the new Adam in Christ, why have you for your will made this breach? For your will, says the mother, not for your will's sake, but for the sake of that which drives your will forth; and Adam's will goes back. Thus has the will in the Covenant of grace powerfully broken through the strong bar and enclosure of the first Principle, viz. of the kingdom of God's anger; for the good will in Adam was shut up in death and in hell, and in Christ he rent that powerful rent, and brake through death and hell back again into the kingdom of the eternal nature, and turned itself forth again into the natural life, so that the kingdom of God was again manifested in the human life.
63. This the spirit represents by Tamar in the line of the Covenant, and models Christ's breach through death and hell, how that should be; and by this premodelling was the whorish will of Tamar and Judah healed, and their children of whoredom in the line of Christ were espoused into the Covenant of grace.
64. In Esau and Jacob stood the figure, how according to nature Adam had the right of the kingdom, and how he squandered it, and is therefore in his natural will thrust out from the kingdom of God, and how Christ came to help him. Here now stands the figure, showing how Christ has gotten the kingdom, and turned Adam back again, and in Adam turned himself forth, so that now Adam is called Christ, and presents himself very excellently in the figure of Joseph: and this stands fitly and rightly between, in the interval of Joseph's history.
65. For Joseph is the figure of a Christian; and this of Judah and Tamar is a figure showing how a Christian springs out of Adam's nature, and how Adam's nature is turned in again, and Christ turned forth; and how this image of a Christian man in this world is covered outwardly with the earthly Adam, so that men cannot know it; also how thus Christ in Adam took his guilt upon him, and how Adam must be marked with this red thread, which mark is rightly the pledge that Judah gave to Tamar. And I would have the Reader of this admonished in love, not to reject our exposition of this text, but to consider it and look narrowly and perspicuously into it: and then he will well perceive who was the Expositor, if he be worthy of it.
The Sixty-Sixth Chapter
The Most Excellent History of Joseph: How he was sold to Potiphar, what befell Joseph;
and of Joseph's Chastity, and fear of God [Gen. xxxix]
60. O world, how foolish are you ! that you elevatest yourself in a blind life, and still cleavest to the husk, and seest not what you art, and understand not the divine simplicity. And then, how will you apprehend the divine depth? O leave off your wit, and cleave to simplicity, that you may yet obtain a child's understanding, and be not accounted in the sight of God more unwise than the beasts, which remain in their clothing and condition as God has created them. O you world! why sleepest you in the devil's arms, who suckles and dandles you in himself and brings you to his will and life by his might? O do but see it!
61. This potent figure in these twins, one of which put forth the hand, which the midwife bound a red thread about, and thought it would be the first, but it drew the hand back again, and his brother came forth, prefigures this to us: How Christ in this line of the Covenant assumed the human nature, and so the human nature according to Adam's right and self will, in this world, first puts forth and manifests itself about which Adamical nature in the humanity of Christ must this red thread, with the shedding of his blood, be bound.
62. When this is done, then must the human nature with its right draw back again; that is, Adam's will that was gone forth must again return into the mother's womb, viz. be turned into the Word; and then comes the inward new Adam forth, after which follows the Adamical nature with the red thread. Then says the mother to the new Adam in Christ, why have you for your will made this breach? For your will, says the mother, not for your will's sake, but for the sake of that which drives your will forth; and Adam's will goes back. Thus has the will in the Covenant of grace powerfully broken through the strong bar and enclosure of the first Principle, viz. of the kingdom of God's anger; for the good will in Adam was shut up in death and in hell, and in Christ he rent that powerful rent, and brake through death and hell back again into the kingdom of the eternal nature, and turned itself forth again into the natural life, so that the kingdom of God was again manifested in the human life.
63. This the spirit represents by Tamar in the line of the Covenant, and models Christ's breach through death and hell, how that should be; and by this premodelling was the whorish will of Tamar and Judah healed, and their children of whoredom in the line of Christ were espoused into the Covenant of grace.
64. In Esau and Jacob stood the figure, how according to nature Adam had the right of the kingdom, and how he squandered it, and is therefore in his natural will thrust out from the kingdom of God, and how Christ came to help him. Here now stands the figure, showing how Christ has gotten the kingdom, and turned Adam back again, and in Adam turned himself forth, so that now Adam is called Christ, and presents himself very excellently in the figure of Joseph: and this stands fitly and rightly between, in the interval of Joseph's history.
65. For Joseph is the figure of a Christian; and this of Judah and Tamar is a figure showing how a Christian springs out of Adam's nature, and how Adam's nature is turned in again, and Christ turned forth; and how this image of a Christian man in this world is covered outwardly with the earthly Adam, so that men cannot know it; also how thus Christ in Adam took his guilt upon him, and how Adam must be marked with this red thread, which mark is rightly the pledge that Judah gave to Tamar. And I would have the Reader of this admonished in love, not to reject our exposition of this text, but to consider it and look narrowly and perspicuously into it: and then he will well perceive who was the Expositor, if he be worthy of it.
The Sixty-Sixth Chapter
The Most Excellent History of Joseph: How he was sold to Potiphar, what befell Joseph;
and of Joseph's Chastity, and fear of God [Gen. xxxix]
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