water, nor by heauen, nor by Angels, but by himselfe, giuing him a reasonable soule, not sensual only as to beasts, & the same not produced of anie creature, but created immediately of nothing. 4. placed in Paradise.Fourthly, God gaue man Paradise, a most pleasant place, to dwel in. 5. Lord of al earthlie creatures.Fiftly, God gaue man dominion & imperial authoritie ouer al liuing creatures vnder heauen. 6. innocencie.Sixtly, man was created in that innocencie of life, and integritie of al vertues, that his mind was wholy subiect to God, his sense to reason, his bodie to his spirit, & al other liuing creatures obedient to him: euen the terrible Lions, the cruel Tygres, the huge Elephants, and the wildest birds. 7. excellent knowledge.Seauenthly, God brought them al to man, as to do him homage, and to take their names of him. Which by his excellent knowledge he gaue them conformable to their natures. 8. power to liue euerEightly, God gaue man in some sorte an immortal bodie, that if he had kept Gods commandement, he had liued long and pleasantly in this world, & so should haue bene translated to eternal life without dying. 9. guift of prophecie.Ninthly, God did not only adorne man with al natural knowledge and supernatural vertues, but also with the guift of prophecie. Wherby he knew that Eue was a bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh, though being asleep he knew not when she was made. 10. God conuersed familiarly with man.Tenthly (which was the chiefe benefite of al) God conuersed familiarly with man, and that in shape of man, which was a token of his meruelous great loue to man, and a singular incitement of him to loue God. Read more, if you please, of the dignitie of man, and the benefits of God towards him in his creation, in S. Bernard vpon the 99. Psalme, and vpon the 61. chapter of Esaie.
Gods blessing alwayes effectual.28. Increase and multiplie.) Whether this be a commandement or no, at least it is a blessing, for so the words before conuince, God blessed them and said: Increase and multiplie. He said the same also to brute creatures, which are not capable of a precept, but by this were made fertile. Especially in the holy Eucharist.Wherby we see that Gods blessing alwayes worketh some real effect: as of fertilitie in this and other places, of multiplication of the loaues & fishes, Ioan 6. And some real effect Christs blessing must needes worke also in the Blessed Sacrament Mat. 26. Which can be no other but changing bread and wine into his bodie & bloud, seeing himselfe expresly sayth: This is my bodie this is my bloud.
And though Gods blessing in this place, be also a precept, yet it is not to al men for euer, but for the propagation of mankind, which being long since abundantly propagated, Not al men & women commanded to marie.the obligation of the precept ceaseth the cause ceasing. So S. Cyprian, S. Hierome, S. Augustin, and other Fathers expound this place. And confirme the same by the text, for immediately God signifying to what end he spoke, saith: and replenish the earth. Which being replenished, Gods wil is therin fulfilled.
CHAP. II.
The work of six dayes being finished, God rested the seuenth day & blessed it. 8. Then placing man in paradise (planted with beautiful & sweet trees, & watered with foure riuers) 16. comandeth him not to eate of the tree of knowledge of good & euil. 18. And formed a woman of a ribbe of Adam.
THE heauens therfore & the earth were fully finished, and al the furniture of them. Exod. 20, 11. Deut. 5,14. Heb. 4, 42And the seuenth day God ended his worke which he had made; & ∷∷God createth not new kindes of creatures, yet stil worketh. Io. 5, 17. conseruing & gouerning al things, and created soules, grace, & glorie of the same kind S. Aug. l. 4. de Gen.ad lit. c. 12. rested ″ the seuenth day, from al worke that he had done. 3And he blessed the seuenth day & sanctified it: because in it he had ceased from al his worke which God created to make.
