against his brother: Of which, as the ancient Fathers have divided them, be four parts. First, by way of expoftulation, why art thou wrath? &c. Secondly, a point of doctrine and direction to the promife, If thou doe well? &c. And the third a point of correction, uttered by God by way of commination, If thou doe not well, fin lyeth at the dore. And thefe three we have already handled, now come wee to the laft, which is the manner how God will deal that he shall be inexcufable saying, erga te erit appetitus ejus, the meaning whereof it is good that wee know, for indeed the diverse taking of the word ejus, whereunto ejus should be referred, makes that the words are fo diverfly tranflated, yet are all true and of due and high regard, and have very fruitfull and godly meditations; for there bee that refer this word ejus to Abell, that is, thy brothers defire shall be to thee, which is not here meant. There are others that refer it thus because no mention is made here of Abell, but that finne is the last thing spoken of, therefore they refer it to finne thus, the defire of it fhall be to thee, which is the beft tranflation, and the most fit and congruent sense, agreeing with the words. So then to deal truly and uprightly, I have told you that the words may bear both fenses well and with good profit, therefore I will take them both first together, and then tell you which is beft: If then we underftand it to be Abel, which cannot be referred to any mans perlon fo well as to Abels, take it so, as if God fhould fay, indeed I refpe&t thy brother, and if thou rejoyceft that Abel is refpected, thou dost well, for fo thou shouldft doc; but thou art grieved thereat: Why then art thou fo lad? Here God expoftulates with him, & it is a condemning of his action, because it is a foolish thing to doe that which hath no good reason to be rendred, to warrant the doing of it, Therefore God divideth the sense into two parts; either the reason must be in God or in Abel, in God for favouring him, or in Abel, because favoured of God. Now God in the former part hath acquitted himself, saying, If thou doft well, shalt not thou be accepted? for behold I am juft, and will regard thy well doing, therefore thou haft no cause to be grieved for that: Or else thou shalt be rowarded according to justice, and that in bounty and liberality, which is by ancient Fathers grounded upon the words of God to Abraham Fear not, for I will be thine exceeding great reward, Genefis the fifteenth chapter and the first verfe, that is, If thou dost well, thou shalt be fure to be rewarded for it, but if thou dost not sell thou haft no cause to be grieved neither; for as I am juft and will talk with thee, & one day thou fhalt hear of it; so yet my justice is full of mercy, I intend not prefenly to take thee by the throat, but give thee space to repent, fin fhall but lye at thy dore; so that not only Gods juftice appeareth herein, but his mercy is exceeding great and mixed with juftice. If God took order, that after his finne committed, Cais should not by and by come to judgement, but should have time first to bethink himself of it, this is matter of comfort, that no man fhould defpair by and by when he hath finned, for that God is a mercifull God, and would would not the death of finner, and therefore giveth him time to repent: This fheweth that God gave him no caule of grief. There remains that the grief must be conceived against Abel, because God to much respected him, but fo the fenfe is, as if God fhould say, Cain art thou grieved for Abels good, and fearest he should grow infolent by the favour I have fhewed him, and fo he should defpise, and thou shouldst be vile in his eyes? It Abel have offended thee, why his defire shall be subj‹ & to thee,but that is no cause why thou shouldft be grieved; for he being the Child of grace,doth not affect any such manner of fuperiority as thou feareft, but is as modeft and as hum-ble as he was before, and fo thou hast no reason of impatiencie against him. And not only that first, but this second, that God fhewed plainly that it is his will that in and by the fin committed no man fhould lofe any priviledge which of right is due to him, and which before hee had; and every motion, in a Superior, to fiane doth not difcharge him of his authority. Which is contrary to that falfe opinion and cenfure of them which thinke that even Princes themselves, after finne committed, lofe all their prerogative and fupremacy of government which they had before, and that their Subjects are not bound to doe their fervice any longer to them, but that ever after their allegiance fhall ceafe, which is falfe and contrary to all reafon, and not Gods intent and will here. For as in the chapter before, after Adam had finned, yet Eve was ftill fubje&t to him; fo the fame God faith, and ratifieth here, that Cain though he had thus finned both against God and his brother, yet being the elder and first born, and fo before Abel, fo there should be a fuperiority and dominion that he should still retain by nature: And it is Gods affertion, that that fuperiority should be reteined ftill, and that Abel fhould not feek to be his Superior; neither did he. That was the prerogative which Cain had before Abel, as the elder. But to yeeld this obedience, hath been the continuall pra&ife of all the Saints and Children of God: King Saul was a wicked man, yet David rebelled not against him, because he knew him to be the Lords annointed; fo the Prophet Feremy faith of Nebuchadnezar a wicked King, that he will vifite the Nation and Kingdome that will not serve him, the twenty leventh chapter of Feremiah and the ninth verse, and for the new Teftament, both Paul and Peter confefs the fame, Paul in the fift to Timothy, the fecond chapter and the second verse, and Peter, in the first epiftle of Peter, the second chapter and the fourteenth verfe, doe will, that duty and allegiance be given to the higher powers, not only if they be good, but though they be Tyrants and wicked Princes that fear not God! And it is it that God faith by Fob, Fob the thirty fourth chapter and the thirtieth verfe, that by him the Hypocrite reigneth, that is, for their finnes God will fend wicked Princes, and Cain shall bear rule over Abel: God doth not only alledg, that thus it was, but thus he would have it. This Government thus by God established, in the beginning was by David, Fe remy remy, Paul, Peter, Job, and all the rest of the Patriarchs and Saints of God confeffed and allowed: So that if we regard Abɛl either in refpect of himfelt or his demeanour towards Cain, or we refpect Gods goodness herein, no juft caule can be of grief, neither was it Gods will that Abel should relift, nei her doth he any fuch things and fo indeed there was no juft caufe why Cain fh uld fear it or be grieved: And this may fuffice for the fift, which I will shut up with this Caveat of inftruction only; that for as much as the grief Our own finne of malice and envy cannot be fetched from God who is juft, nor (of malice and envy,) is cause from Abel who is mild and modeft, then it remains that it came from of our grief. Cain himself, whom God repeats four times together in the words of this Text (thou and thee) and so he muft return to his own heart, and remember how his own finne is cause of his grief, as God him. felf fpeaketh by Ifaiah the fourty fixth chapter and the eighth verfe, Remember this and be ashamed, bring it again to minde you tranfgreffors: And for the new Teftament, Luke the fifteenth chapter, the pro- Note. digall Sonne when he came to himself, confeffed his own unwor thiness, and faid, Father I have finned, which is another main point of Divinity established from the beginning, that as God faith, Hofes the fifteenth and the ninth perditio tua ex te Ifrael, falus autem ex me, fo our well doing or ill doing is caufe of our regarding or deftru&ion; lo faith Fames, no man is tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted of ill, neither doth he tempt any man, but every one is tempted of his ewn concupifcence, Fames the first chapter and the thirteenth verfe: So that from the first we have this Do&rine, that if God be judged he is innocent, and if Abel, there is no fault in him, and to come to Cain, he is in all the fault. But now if we come about and fay, it is not meant of the perfon, but of the things, that is fione; then we must proceed another way, yet true and very profitable; and fo say ad te appetitus ejus ; ejus faith Augustine, cujus ? numquid fratris abfit. Nay faith he, it is appetitus peccati; and Auguftine doth ground this upon Feremiah the fifteenth chapter and the ninteenth verfe, where it is said, If thou resurm; and in the fame verle ipfi convertantur ad te, non tu ad illos: and fo after Austin, St. Ferome faith excellently, ne peccatum illi, fed ille peccato dominaretur, not that finne might have dominion over him, but he over finne; and fo in a manner dealt all the ancient Divines. It is well known St. Ferome knew the tongues, and was well acquainted with the Scriptures, and fo the fenfe is more perfect and compleat this way than the other. This then is the point of inftruction, as before by way of praife and threat; fo here God deals by way of admonition, which is brought in by way of fuppofing an excufe, as if one should say, I would not grieve, but I cannot doe other wife, I have no power over my felf to rule my felf or refrain this grief; how then can I rule over it? that is, over finne. But against this fuppofition of Cain, Gods inftruction is thus, though fin be turned towards him, yet God faith he may be Mafter over it that he needs not yeeld to it; as if God fhould fay to Cain, I would have Ecc have thee dos that which my grace offereth unto thee, and not that which the concupifcence of fin leads thee to. Here are two things propounded: First, our own ftate in the fe words, but unto thee his defire shall be fubject: Secondly, our duty what to doe, thou shalt rule over him. For the first, I grant it, thou canft not live without it, for finne lyeth at the dore, knocking, and will run in and embrace thee if thou open the dore to it; it is not poffible, but ad te appetitus ejus, finne will be taking hold of thee, as it is exactly fet down, Hebrews the twelfth chapter; finne hangs on faft. This is your ftate faith God, and take notice of it, but then doe your duty; when finne knocks, look that you fhut the dore a gainft it; when finne runs to you, fee you turn your back on it, and when it defires, let it be in vain; and then faith St. Austen, & furgendo & proferendo fruftra defatigetur, ut tandem mihi proferat, & difcat amplius non furgere; and this it is that God would have us to remember, to repell finne by ftriving against it, and not become Slaves to it by ferving the lufts of it; For as many times as a man refuseth the converfion and turning of the oportunities of finne, it is the redoubling of fo many rewards and crowns in the Kingdome of heaven so that I tell you (as often I have) that it fignifies both comfort and exhortation, that that which exhorts should comfort, and that which comforts should exhort too. First for comfort; not that any man should think himself forfa ken and out of the compass of Gods favour, when finne runs to him; for therefore it is called converfion, it is the motion that water hath in hollow places, that howfoever on hills or fteep places it runs down, yet in hollow places it ftaieth,; fuch is the nature of finne : As if God fhould fay, fecing your nature is fuch, that it is naturally inclined to finne, by the teint and corruption of the poyson of that Serpent which firft beguiled your firft Parents, which every man in his own nature hath fenfe of, yet he feels no more than all the dear Saints of God have felt. Therefore that it should not seem ftrange to any man when he feeth finne run to him, and findes thofe temptations of fin and motions thereunto; for it is no other thing than what is incident to all, the first to the Corinthians, the tenth chapter and the thirteenth verfe, No temptation hath taken you, but fuch as is incident to man. Now that is our inclination naturall, which we cannot avoid here in this life, and that is comfort against the objects of finne, that our cafe is no worse than other mens. But withall to this comfort God joyns exhortation, that for as much as we shall be continually provoked and affaulted by sinne, and fin will run to us and ly at the dore, yet we are not to goe and meet it, and if not goe meet it, we must take heed we draw it not to us with cart-ropes, as if it came not faft enough, Ifaiah the fift chapter and the eighteenth verfe; and as Ezekiel speaks, we may not be as dragons fucking ftill. Ezekiel the fourth chapter and the fecond verse, nor put the ftumbling blocks of iniquity before our face, Ezekiel the fourth chapter; we may not plough for finne, Proverbs the twenty first chapter and without Cripplegate thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart to doe it. This word is the Eec 3 405 |