But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Ver. 17. But of the tree, &c.] An exploratory prohibition. God knew well where we are weakest, and worst able to withstand; viz., about moderating the pleasures of our touch and taste, because these befall us not as men, but as living creatures. a Here, therefore, he lays a law upon Adam for the trial of his love, which, left to his own free will, he soon transgressed.
Thou shalt surely die.] Thou shalt surely and shortly, saith Zuinglius; or suddenly, die. Certissime citissimeque morieris And without doubt every man should die the same day he is born: the wages of death should be paid him presently. But Christ begs their lives for a season. For which cause he is said to be "the Saviour of all men," 1Ti 4:10 not of eternal preservation, but of temporal reservation. In which respect, also, God is said "so to have loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son," &c. Joh 3:16 It was a mercy to all mankind that the Messiah was promised and provided, "sealed and sent into the world," that some might be saved, and the rest sustained in life, for their sakes. Symmachus renders it, Thou shalt be mortal.
a Arist. Ethic ., l. i., c. 3.