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and was the only one that could be made confiftently with the holy and benevolent purpose of redemption. Cain, however, could not accept it, for he was a natural man, and loved the world as it then was; and he did not receive the humbling truth of a regeneration, and was unreconciled to the whole fyftem of grace.

But, though Abel knew what was purpos ed against him, and that it was war, yet he did not arm, but prepared only his mind for the approaching event.-On the one hand, the operation of the war was projected by the force of carnal weapons, weapons to fhed blood; but on the other, the defence was contemplated, merely, by the virtue of the blood fhed. And thus, Abel fell a martyr.

And the Lord faid unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he faid, I know not: not the keeper of my brother am I.-Here Cain is feen attempting to ftand his ground, and boldly. challenging the Lord himself, that as he had set up Abel upon another foundation, and he was not under his government, he was no longer under his care and protection; and where he was now, concerned him not, fo that he was out of his way. And the Lord faid unto Cain, What haft thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou curfed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou tilleft the ground, it shall not enceforth yield to thee ber ftrength: groaning and trembling fhalt thou be upon the earth.

The blood of Abel being fhed upon the elect principle, and fo revealing, in a ftriking figure, the truth of Chrift's righteoufnels, brought into effect by means of his death, it greatly ftrengthened the elect establishment; and going down into the fprings of nature with this diffolving virtue, it greatly weakened those powers; and, therefore, for time to come, the ground would fail of yielding unto Cain her full ftrength.

Surprised, defeated, covered with confufion, and filled with wrathful defpair! Cain faid unto the Lord God, Greater than my defert! where can I fuftain myself? Behold, thou haft driven me out this day from the face of the earth, and from thy face fhall I be hid, and groaning and trembling I fhall be upon the earth: and it fhall come to pass that every one finding me fhall kill me. But the Lord had faid, Cain thall be upon the earth; he and his feed muft yet, for a long time, be continued in the world; for the work of redemption must still be carried on, and at length be perfected by means of the fhedding of blood, and inftruments to effect this must be at hand.

Therefore, the Lord answered Cain-Not fo. Whofoever flayeth Cain, vengeance fhall be taken on him fevenfold. And the Lord fet a mark upon Cain, left any finding him should kill him.

Hence is the origin of the civil inftitution and authority; the end and defign of which, and the fanction it has received from God, is to restrain perfonal retaliation and individ

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ual vengeance; and to regulate and control a private intereft by a public good.

The civil laws of communities, at firft, were given in a very fimple form; they were first enrolled by fome very fimple and plain marks or characters. What was the particular kind of character, by which this firft civil law was engraved and registered, is useless to enquire; but, it is evident, that this mark, with the high fanction annexed to it, was of the nature of a civil written law. The plain fubject of it forms the great mark or character of civil fo ciety; and to this mark or character, which, under the hand and heavy fanction of the Judge of all the earth, was fet to Cain, is to be traced the civil inftitution.

The notion, that fomething befides the ci vil inftitution has ever been given to men, to protect any individual or fociety, is an idle fancy; and, without regard to the civil inftitution, the enquiry, what was the mark fet to Cain? can never be answered; for there is not the least evidence that any other thing of this nature ever exifted.

Cain now went off in form from the divine establishment, and, under the inftitution of police and civil government, builded a city. And hence, the fathers of the civilized arts, the Jabals, Jubals, and the Tubals, fprang from Cain. And, to this high fource, also, may be traced a nobility, and the conferring upon men titles of honor, and calling their lands and cities after their own names.-Cain called the name of his city after the name of his fon, Enoch; and Tubal, by way of di

stinction and eminence, no doubt, and to bear up the honors of his ancestors, was called Tubal-Cain.

But the civil institution, though it can restrain and control the individuals, and alfo protect the particular members, and the whole body, in civil fociety, yet it could not, in the least, restrain or control the war between Cain and his feed, and the elect feed; they were in nature, and had now in form become two. distinct nations, and this was a proclaimed, and, as we fay, an authorized war, between nation and nation.

Though wars between different states and nations, in the view of the divine law, on one fide or both, are murders; and will be fo adjudged at the last day; yet, as to the civil institution, they are deemed legal, and by it thefe murderers are protected-Such war, therefore, can be terminated only by the decifion of the field.

Lamech, a defcendant of Cain, carried on the war with spirit; he flew two Abels, a man and a youth; but, like Cain before, he had to confefs with anguilh of mind, that the war had turned against him; and he found that his conquefts had been to his wounding and to his hurt; yet he confoled himself, and calmed the fears of his wives, that, guilty as they were, they were still under civil protection; and that, if Cain fhould be avenged fe venfold, wonderful as it might feem, furely Lamech fhould be avenged Seventy and feven fold! Where seven, at first, were united in the civil compact, doubtless there were now

seventy and seven ; and the government, by fo much, was the more strengthened and confirmed.

How fuperficial and vain is the reasoning and glorying of natural men!-So far was it from being a mercy either for Cain, or for Lamech; and fo far is it ever from being, properly confidered, a mercy for a murderer to be protected, or in any way whatever, to escape from the avenger of blood; that it is his privilege to pay the forfeit with his own blood, For, otherwife, his cafe is hopeless; as by the divine law, which will determine the future flate of all men, in this cafe, fuch fatisfaction is an indispensably requifite for pardon and grace,

Section 5. Men calling upon God.

The great tribulations arifing neceffarily from the nature of the elect eftablishment, are ever the causes of effectual fervent prayer; it is only when the elect people, in fome degree, find themselves delivered unto death, as Jefus Christ was the night before he suffered on the cross, that they agonize and pray, as he then prayed.

The first prayer recorded in the fcriptures, where moft faithfully is recorded the work of God's holy fpirit, is the crying of the blood of Abel; by which we may understand the prayer he made to God, while bleeding to death under his brother's hand. And, doubt

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