This living together of male and female, as man and wife, in the state of matrimony, their keeping house together, their being blessed together with offspring, their bringing up their children, is a faint picture and remnant of that blessed original married life, on account of the nature of which, Moses here terms the woman a "building." The posterity of Adam, had he continued in his innocency, would have taken to themselves wives, would have parted from Adam their father, and would have chosen for themselves certain little garden spots of their own, and would have there dwelt with their wives, tilled the ground, and brought up their children. There would have been no need of splendid mansions built of hewn stone, nor of rich kitchens, nor cellars of wine, which now make up the luxuries of life. But as birds in their little nests, the married pairs would have dwelt together here and there, diligently laboring and calling upon God. And the women would have been the principal cause of their husbands living in certain dwelling places in paradise. Whereas now, under our present fallen and calamitous state by sin, we absolutely need houses of wood and stone, to defend us from the injuries of the weather. And though we cannot form even a conception, as we have said, of the original felicity of man and woman in their marriage happiness, yet even these miserable remnants, we repeat, are excellent gifts of God; to live in the possession of which, without continual thanks, is wickedness in the extreme. With reference to the "dominion" which man received from the hand of God, we feel how much of that dominion is lost since our fall and defilement by sin. Yet, what an infinite mercy still remains to us, that this "dominion" was given to man and not to the devil! For how should we possibly have been able to stand in this matter, against such an invisible enemy, especially if power to harm had been possessed by him equal to his will? We might all have been in danger of annihilation in an hour, yea, in a moment, if Satan had determined to infuriate the wild beasts against us. Although well nigh all the original "dominion" is lost, it is an infinite blessing that our present remnants of it are not possessed by the devil!