God should be offered as a Sacrifice tor finne; of which all the facrifices that went before were types.

Concerning Cain and Abell we are to obferve two points; First, what they had in common. Secondly, what feverally.

offer.

For the firft, As we learn that all muft offer, both in the Law, in All, both poot the thirtieth chapter of Exodus,tor God will have his offering,be we and rich muft rich, or poor; and in the Gofpell, where Chrift alloweth and commendeth the poor widows oblation, Luke the twenty firft: So both Cain and Abel bring their offerings to God. The things hey had in common are Three: First, Offerings. Secondly, To offer to God. Thirdly, They offer of their own,and that which they had gotten by their honeft vocations.

1

God with

First, In that they both offer something, it is plain, we may not worship with empty hands, Exodus the twenty iccond, and give him that We may which coft us nothing, in the fecond of Samuell and the twenty fourth not worship chapter: Our service must be as Paul speaketh, in the first to the empty hands, Corinthians, the ninth chapter, and the eighteenth verie, démavov d'afé or give that fuch are worse than Cain, for he brought fomthing, and there- thing. fore fhall condemn those that content themselves with the facrifice of the lips. The oblation is originally Mincah,that is, a thing brought, not fetched from them; they must proceede of a willing affection and therefore alfo are called in Greeke etop, as the Pfalmift faith, in the twenty ninth Pfalm, afferte Deo: They thought it not a weariness to ferve God as the people did, Matthew the third: They confidered he was a God of infinite Majeftie and power, in comparison of whom, all the Kings of the earth are but crickets and grafhoppers, falah the fourtieth, and the twenty third verfe.

to Idols.

Secondly, They both offered to God, not to Idols, Hofea the fecond, not to the creatures, as the Sun, and Moon, and stars, (of Both offered to whom they fay, Fer. the fourty fourth and the feventeenth verfe, God, and not Let us offer up Cakes to the Queene of heaven :) Much leffe doe they offer to Devills, in the firft to the Corinthians the tenth chapter, and the twenty fixth verfe: nor to their own bellies and backs, making their bellies their God, and facrificing to their backs, on which they think they never beftow coft enough.

that which they
had lawfully
gotten.

Thirdly, they both offered of that which they had gotten by their 3. own labour and induftrie: It was not the fruit of finne; for God Roth offered faith, I will not have the price of a whore, in the twenty third of Deuteronomie, and the eighteenth verfe: no facrifice, be it never fo beautifull, fhall come into Gods houfe if it be unlawfully gotten: But we must offer to God that which we have gotten, by following fome honeft calling.

Three feverall

differences in

the facrifice.
I.

The things which they had in severall, are three. The first is the time when they offered, which circumftance, and the reft fheweth, that there is a great difference between their facrifice, for the Holy Ghoft is more diligent to fet down Abell's facrifice The time when than Cain's. Of Cain it is faid, he offered in fine dierum, that is, it they offered. was long before he could finde in his heart to give fomthing to Gods

Bbb 2

but

T

Cain ferved

himfelt first,

and God after,

contrat y.

but Abell gave primitias, the first thing that ever he had. Cain ferved himself first and God laft; but Abell was carefull of Gods fervice But Abell dia in the first place, and after provided for himself. And this is a materiallpoint diligently to be confidered. There are none fo hard hearted all their life long,but if they draw near their end, & that sickness come, then they will offer, in fine dierum, and in novißimo die, Fer. the fift: Thole are times that will compell men to be inindfull of God: But if we will have our offerings pleafing to God they must be pri

2.

Difference in

the things

which they of

fered.

mitia.

Secondly, that which they had in feverall, was the thing it felf which they offered, which was diverfe and different. God doth not fin de fault with Cains offering, but maketh choyce of Abel's ;fer Cain offered to God that which came first to hand; any thing, as he thought, was good enough; but Abell made choyce of the fattest of his sheep. As God is the first and best thing; so he offered to God the firft of his sheep, and the fatteft among them: But Cain conAbel's was the founded this order: Of the difference of whofe minds in offering, these verses are witneffes: Abel, when he would offer, faith,

Cain's was that which

came next to hand,

first and fatteft of his sheep.

3.

the perfons

that offered

Sacrum pingue dabo, nec macrum facrificabo :

Cain laith, Sacrificabo macrum, nec dabo pingue facrum.

Cain was of the fame minde,that the Pricfts were, that would be ferved before God had his part, in the first of Samuel, the fecond chapter, and fixteenth verle: So Cain will have enough for himself, before he will once offer any thing to God.

Secondly, when he doth offer he maketh no choyce of his oblation, but thinketh any thing good enough, but the Prophet faith, Curfed be he that offereth a lame offering to God, and Jacrificeth a corrupt thing; for I am a great King, Mal. the firft chapter, and the fourteenth verfe: Offer fuch to thy Prince, would he be content to accept fuch offerings but we will offer the best things to earthly Princes; how much more to the great King of Heaven, and therefore the Wiseman faith, Honour God with thy fubftance, and that with the firft fruits of thine increase, Proverbs the third and the ninth verfe.

The third thing obferved by the Apoftle,is the perfon of the parDifference in ty that offereth: Abel was a faithfull man, & that made his facrifice the better accepted, Heb. the eleventh and the fourth verfe, By faith Abell offered a better facrifice than Cain: the faith of Abel was his affurance, that God was a great God, and would not accept of lame offerings; and therfore is carefull to beftow the beft and first thing he had : For knowing that facrifices are teftimonies of the thankfulness of the heart, Abel, to teftific his faith in the blood of Christ, and to exin Chrift, and preffe his thankfulness for the fame, doth choose our of his flocks, to expreffe his the fatteft of his sheep: Faith maketh men offer often, and better things, but they that are without faith, care not how few times they offer, nor how fmall their oblations be.

Abel's was to teftific his faith

thankfulness.

Faith maketh

men offer of

ten, and of the best things.

We are to know therefore, that these two may not be fevered, neither fides from obtulit, ner obtulit from fides, where there is faith, there will be offerings; for, fo faith the Apoftle, that from the in

crease

crease of faith,there was an increase of offerings in the Church: But when there is little faith or none at all, as in Cain there are offerings feldome made, and when they offer, it is the fmalleft and meanest things they have, the second to the Corinthians the eighth chapter and the feventh veric, As ye abound in faith, and word, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us; fo fee that ye abound in these graces alfo.

Refpexitque Fehova ad Hebelum & ad munus ejus. Ad Kaji Gen 404.5° num verò ad munus ejus non refpexit :

Hich words contein the acceptation of the service April 29. of Cain and Abel with God, which is the matter of 1599. greatest moment, and which putteth the greatest difference between them and all the world, and is a pattern of the diftinction which is between the godly and the wicked, begun in this life, and pertected in the great day of the Lord, when he fhall fèt Abell and his true Worshippers on his right hand, and Cain and his falfe Worfhippers on the left. In the denomination of the name which Eve gave her firft Son, I told you what is the worlds cenfure, vix that Cain is a name of great price in the judgment of the world, but as for Abell, that is a name of great contempt, and fuch as Abell was, are perfons of no account, but here we fee Gods cenfure upon them both is otherwife; for as the Apoftle faith, He that praiseth himself is not allowed, but he which God praiseth, the fecond to the Corinthians the tenth and the eighteenth verfe; fo Cain that was fo precious in the eyes of the world, is of no account with God, but Abel which was of no reckoning with men, but defpifed as a thing of nought, he is highly accounted with God, for he hath respect to his oblaion, but as for Cain and his oblation, he refpected them not: So we ice that as on the one fide, God makes the ftone that was refused, to be the bead ftone of the corner, Pfalm the one hundred and eighteenth and the twenty fecond verfe, fo on the other fide we fee it true in Cain and Abel, which Chrift affirmeth in the fixteenth of Luke and the fifteenth verse, that which is high in the account of man is abominable with God. The words contain two points; first Gods regard to Abel and his offering; fecondly, his want of re. gard towards Cain and his oblation; first that we may understand what is meant by regarding; refpicere is not only afpicere, for God beheld Cain and his offering no less than Abel; God feeth all things be they never fo private, he feeth Sarah when she laugheth behinde the Tent door, Genefis the eighteenth and the twelfth verse, whether we fite up to heaven or lie down in hell, he is present with us, we cannot goe from his fpirit, nor flye from his prefence, Pfalm the one hundred and thirty ninth and the feventeenth and eighteenth verfes, but refpicere

Bbb 3

is

he loves, he

God feeth al! is when one likes a thing to well, that he looks on it again, as we things, and all behold those things that we love, for ubi amor ibi oculus; so God prefent; when beheld Abel and his offering with an amiable look, as not contenbeholds with ting himself to look once upon it, which gracious refpe&t of God is let out by a loving regard that a Nurie hath to the Child when the beareth it on her lap, Isaiah the fixty fixt and the twelfth verse.

an amiable look.

The example of a Nurfc. Isaiab 66.83.

Teftiffed by

Of the next oblation, offer this which Noah offered to God: it is faid that the Lord (melled a favor of rest, the eighth chapter of Genefis and the one and twentieth verfe; by which smelling, and by this fecing and beholding with the eye is meant, nothing else, but that God received them in good part, and therefore the Paraphrast expoundeth these words fufcepit Dominus, which expofition is grounded upon the words of the Prophet, Malachy the first chapter and the eighth verfe, the offering is no more regarded nor received acceptably in his bands. On the other fide the Lord beheld Cain and his offering, but he fuffered not his eye to stay upon it, for hee did not allow of it; this acceptation the Fathers fay was teftified by a visible figne, vifible figns, and they ground this opinion upon the word, for the Apoftle faith, the eleventh chapter to the Hebrewes and the fourth verle, God bears Abel witneffe that bee was juft, for it was ufuall with God to teftific his liking of the fervice of his fervants, by outward and visible testimonics, Leviticus the ninth chapter and the twenty fourth verse, there came fire from the Lord and wasted Aarons burnt offering, to fhew that hee allowed it; fo hee approved Gedeons Sacrifice, Fudges the fixth chapter and the one and twentieth verse, when the Angell touching the flesh with the end of his ftaffe, caused fire to come forth and confume the flesh, whereby hee knew that his offering pleased God; So, when Salomon had ended his Player, fire came downe from heaven and confumed his Sacrifice and oblation, the second of the Chronicles the seventh chapter and the firft verfe, but it is plain in the firft of the Kings the eighteenth chapter and the twenty fourth verse. The God that answereth by fire let him bee God, faith Elias, to fhew that the true God doth by outward tokens teftific who bec his true worshippers.

By fire.

The perfon must first be pleafing to

God before his

gift be accep

But to come in particular to Abels Oblation, Gods liking is upon two things upon the Perfon, and then upon the Gift, for non ex feipfis placent munera, fed ex offerentibus, and St. Augustine, non ex muneribus Abel, fed ex Abel munera placuerunt, And St. Ambrofe,priùs is qui dabat, quam ea que dabat placuerunt, fo the perfon hath the first place;but he refpected not the perfon only,nam ne vana putentur oblationes, it is not faid he had refpect to Abel and not to his offering, but refpexit ad Abelem & munera, that is not to Abel alone, but to him and his gift; the perfon must first please before the gift can be accepted, but as he refpects the perfon, fo will he have the gift withall, and therefore God that faid, I will have no Bullock out of thy bouse, nor Goats out of thy folds, faith gather my Saints together that make a Covenant with me with Sacrifice, the fiftieth Pfalm and the fifth verse,

and

without Cripplegate.

383

and where he faith thou defireft no facrifice, he means, God chiefly refpects the perfons of men that they be fuch as may please him, otherwife all their oblations are to no purpose, but when they are lo qualified that they can offer to him a contrite and a broken heart, then God will accept of their Sacrifices which they offer upon his Altar, the fifty firft Pfalm, and the ninteenth verse, non eft detrahen, dum oblationis, fed adjiciendum fidei; as Abel offered by faith, the eleventh to the Hebrews and the fourth verfe, fo we may not take away obtulit, but joyn fides with it; fo fhall our oblations pleale when our perfons are by faith in Chrift reconciled to him: the person of the Offerer hath a great priviledge, for be the work never fo excellent, if it come not from a perfon qualified in fuch fort as God may take liking, it is to no purpose. The fame words,I have finned, uled by David in the second of Samuel and the twelfth chapter, pleased God, but in Fudas were not reípected, Matthew the twenty leven h chapter; fo for prayer, both the Tharifees and Publicans went to one place, for one purpose, but the one departed justified rather than the other, Luke the eighteenth, for the Sacra ments; Simon magus was baptized and never the better, but Saul and the Jailor were baptized and obtained remiffion of finnes, the eighth of the Acts and the fixteenth verfe; fo Fudas was partaker of the Supper with the other Apoftles, but he only was an unworthy partaker. The reafon is, If the fruit be good, we must make the tree good also, Matthew the twelfth It cannot be good fruit that commeth of an evill tree: The fame work of mercy done by an Heretick and prophane perfon, is not refpe&ted, but in a Chriitian is highly accounted with God; not that God refpe&s perfons, God is do refor he looks not as man looks, but he looks on the heart, the firft of Samuel Specter of perthe fixteenth chapter and the seventh verse, and regards no mans per-upon the heart, fon, Matthew the twenty fecond chapter; for if he fhould refpec one more than another, then he fhould regard Cain rather, being the first born. But yet there is fomthing in the person of Abel, which made him more refpe&ed than Cain, and that is that which God refpects in mens perfons, Feremiah the fifth and the third verfe, occuli tui refpiciunt fidem; and the Apoftle faith that it was by faith, that Abels offering had the preheminence, the cleventh to the Hebrews and the tourth verfe; which faith because it had relation to And respects the word of God, was accepted of God; for Abel beleeved the faith that hatk word of God, uttered Genefis the third and the fifteenth, touching Gods promife the blessed feed, that should break the Serpents head, and give an entrance into Paradise, which was kept with a fhaking fword. This word of God is a great and pretious promife, the fecond to Peter and the firft chapter, which Abel refpected more than all things befides in the earth; as David faith of Gods word, that it was the joy of his heart, Pfalm the hundred and ninteenth and the one hundred and cleventh,so because Abel so much refpected the word and promise of . God, that it was the only joy of his heart, therefore God had a fpeciall refpe&t to him more than to Cain:as his name did figħifie vanity,

fo

fons, but looks

relation to