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triftitia: And as the worm cats out the timber wherein it was bred; fo iadneffe, being bred of finne, is the bane of finne; for there are two forrows, in the fecond epiftle to the Corinthians and the fecond chapter, Triftitia fecundum Deum, & triftitia fecundum feculum: The Godly forrow is commendable, for it brings forth repentance ; but the worldly forrow caufcib nothing but death and eternall deftru&ion. If Cain was forry because he offered not his facrifice in faith,as Abel did,he is not to be blamed;but his forrow was a worldly, forrow and therefore to be condemned. As the King faid to Nehemiah, Why is thy countenance fad, seeing thou art not fick? this is nothing but forrow of heart, Nehemiah the iecond chapter and the second verie: So where we see Cain heavy and his countenance caft down, we may gather that he is difquieted and forrowfull for fomthing; and charity, whofe property is to think the beft, the firft epiftle to the Corinthians the thirteenth chapter, would that we thould attribute it to forrow for fin, that it was because his facrifice pleased not God; but it is not that godly forrow, but the worldly forrow that bringeth deftruction of body and foul. The carefulaeffe of Cains forrow must be considered by the cause and effect of it; If God be the cause of his forrow, it is not to be commended; for although the sense of evill be the natural obje& of forrow, yet God may be Senfe of evill, the matter of forrow: As if fome good befall our enemie, then we the object of have just cause of forrow; but if good befall our brother, the law of Nature and Gods law will not suffer us to be sorry for that. But to be lorry for the good of our brother, that commeth without detriment or hurt to us that is intollerable, and can be no just cause any of forrow; and therefore Cain in that he conceiveth forrow, for the good that came to his Brother, without his hurt,is guilty of a worldly forrow, that is to be condemned.

The effect of his forrow may be of two forts.

forrow.

First, If he were fory to the end he might punish and be revenged of himself for his carelefnets in Gods fervice, then it was a Godly forrow. godly forrow, and worthy commendation; but if infteed of working revenge upon himfelt for doing ill, it makes him perfecute his brother for doing good, then it is no good forrow.

Secondly, Ifit were fuch a forrow as did provoke him to cmulation, as Gods purpose in receiving the Gentils that beleeved, was to provoke the jewes to follow their faith, the eleventh chapter of the Romans and the eleventh verfe, then it was a godly forrow; but if it be fuch a forrow as makes him worse, then it is no good for

row.

If we examine Cains forrow, we fhall finde firft it was caufleis, and therefore evill; for if God know not the cause, as appeares in that he asks why art thou forry? then no doubt he had no cause to be forry. If we come to the fuppofed caufe of his forrow, it was not any evill that happened on his part, for then he would have fought to remove it, but the cause of his forrow was good, not the good of an enemie, for then it were tollerable, but bonum fratris, &bonum

Ccc 3

& bonum innoxium, fuch as was not hurtfull to him, therefore it was an unjust forrow: For theeffect of Cains forrow, godly forrow doth vindicare malum in fe,the fecond to the Corinthians, the feventh chapter verfe the elevench,it hath two effeas, αγανάκτησης & εκδίκησης: it is no only a grief of heart for finne committed,but a taking of revenge for the fame ; & as it makes a man forry for the fin past, so it makes him carefull and zealous of himself for the time to come, and this makes the forrow of repentance acceptable to God;but the forrow of envy Sorrow of envy is no fuch forrow. Cain was not grieved for that he had not served God as he ought, neither took he envy of himself, but he doth the more hurt, for through envy he flew his brother, the first epiftle of Fohn and the first chapter, fo farre was he from being provoked by his example to good. Secondly, where the effect of godly forrow is to doe leffe evill and more grod, he did not chaften his body and bring it under, the first to the Corinthians and the ninth chapter, but he proceeded de malo in pejus, the first to Timothy and the third chapter. The goodnffe of Abels facrifice did not provoke him to doe good but to doe hurt: Why faies he his brother? because his brothers works were good and his own evill, the first of Fohn the third chapter and the twelfth verfe. The Wife man faith, anger is cruel, and wrath is raging; but who can stand before envy, the twenty seventh of the Proverbs and the fourth verte, where anger and envy take place, there is nothing but murther, therefore they are joyned together, the first of the Romans and the twenty ninth verfe, the fifth of the Galatians and the twenty firft verfe, and this is plain in Efau, who, so soon as he maligned Facob for the birthright and bleffing, vowed to kill him, Genefis the twenty feventh: This was the effect of the envy of the Sonnes of Facob against their brother Foseph, Genefis the thirty seventh; so because David was respected of the people more than Saul, of whom they fang David hath flain his ten thouJand, and Saul but a thousand; Saul was moved to envy and fought to make him away, the first of Samuel the eighteenth chapter and the seventh and eighth verses. And the cause why the Jewes put Chrift to death, was propter invidiam, the twenty fixth of Matthew & the eighteenth verle Envy ftayeth not it felt till it bringeth forth murther, and therefore is to be condemned and avoided.

Envy and an gar is joyned with murther,

Examples,

Envy the daughter of

Pride and feltlove.

Touching the originall of envy, which as we fee is accompanied with fuch effects, it is the daughter of pride and felf-love, a drop of that poyson wherewith the Serpent at the first infected Eve, and which Adam received from her, and was derived from them both to their posterity, by means whereof there are,as the Apostle faith, certain blinde and abfurd men, the second to the Theffalonians and the third chapter, indeed beasts in shape of men, so blinded with the love of themselves, that they think no man fhould be refpected more tham they, they think themselves the only men in the world, the twenty first of Fob and the first, and take to themselves that which God only challengefh to himself, Ifaiah the fourty ninth, ego fum & non eft præter me.

The

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The abfurdity of Cain thorough envy and felf-love, was so much that he perfwaded himself, God ought to refpe& him tough he did never fo ill, and that he ought no to refpe&t Abel how well foever he did; he thought Abel ought not to be better, nor offer to God a better facrifice than he But if any man may lawfully strive to please God, he is not rightly offended with Abel, because he laboured to doc God the beft fervice he could. Cains displeasure againft Abel was in relped of his good service, wherein we fee that verified which the Wilc-man faith, that there are fome which frei against the Lord, the ninteenth of the Proverbs and the third verle; as fonas to whom the Lord said, doest thou well to be angry, the fourth of Fonas and the fourth verle; but the abfurdity of this paffion against God is more abfurd, for as the Rebells fpake of Mofes in the fixt chapter of Numbers, will he put out this peoples eyes; lo he leeks to take away Gods justice, in that he thinks much that God doth regard the good fervice of Abel. We cannot take away his juftice no more than his providence, for as he feeth the facrifice of both, fo in justice he respects the good and rejects the evill, Cain faid as the wicked doe in their heart God doth not regard, Pfalm the tenth's but if Cain defires that God should not regard Abel nor his good fervice, he defires a thing unpoffible, for God is not unjust, to forget the labour of our love, Hebrews the fixt and the tenth verie, Shall I juftifie the wicked ballance and the bag of deceitfull weights, the fixt chapter of Micha and the eleventh verse; therefore whether we respect God or Abel,this caufe of Cains forrow is unjuft, and his envy is notonly Tovmpic, but also novic: And therefore whereas other finnes are punished only in the world to come, and have pleasure in this life, as if that future punishment were not fufficient for envy: God takes order that it shall have punishment in this life, for the envious man is a The envious torment to himself, as the Wife man faith, the fourteenth of the Pro- man is a torverbs and the thirtieth, invidia eft putredo oßium.

The degrees of Cains heaviness were, that he was iratus valdè : It was not one of the first degrees of anger which the Philofophers call: There are paffions which are no finne at all, as in the fourth chapter of the Ephefians, irafcimini & nolite peccare, and the Lord faith dost thou well to be angrie, Fonas the third chapter, meaning there is fome anger that is good, fo there is an anger that is no fin, for the first motions of anger are not fo hainous; for the nature of men cannot keep away these paffions, no more than birds may be kept from lighting upon trees. The Preacher faith, Ecclefiaftes the feventh chapter and the eleventh verse, ira nidificat in finu ftulti ; whereupon one faith, that although anger will light upon our nature whether we will or no, yet we may keep it from making a neft in our hearts, and so long it is, no finne; therefore Cains fin is great in respect it was not only without a juft caufe, but for that he fuffered anger to reft in his heart.

9

ment to himfelt,

Note.

The falling down of his countenance is a fruit of the abundance The congue the of his heart, as our Saviour Chrift faith, Matthew the twelfth chap- trumpet of the

ter

of our affe&i

ons.

Examples.

Speak peaceable,

Pride of heart

appeares by proud looks.

ter and the thirty fourth verfe, ex abundantia cordis os loquitur, the The counte- tongue is the trumpet of the minde,and the countenance is the glass nance the glafs wherein we may behold the affections of the heart, as the Preacher faith, heaviness will appear in the countenance, so it did in Labans countenance, Genefis the thirty first chapter; no leffe than it doth here in Cain, fo in the Bretheren of Fofeph,Genefis the thirty feventh chapHatred cannot ter, in fo much as they could not fpeak peaceably to him; so Saul ever after looked afquint on David after he conceived difpleasure at him, the firft of Samuel and the eighteenth chapter; fo the Scripture fheweth that the pride of the heart appeares in the countenance, by the proud look, the one hundred and firft Pfalm, and the high looks, Proverbs the fixth chapter, the adulterous minde is fhewed by eyes full of adul tery, the fecond of Peter and the second chapter: when the minde imagineth evill, then the light of the countenance is turned into darkness, and the countenance which should be upright is changed Countenance in ruinam vultus, with cafting down of the countenance, because it is both an effect and figa of ill; and the Apostle willeth that we abftain from any appearance of ill, the firft to the Theffalonians and the fifth chapter, therefore we are to avoid it, triftitia vultus eft hoftilis tellara, the outward badge and token of fome inward evill conceived in the heart, & abfcedendum eft non folum a malo, fed ab omni (pecie mali. For the conclufion, as we have already once feen the way what it is, that we might not follow it, Fude the eleventh verse, so here again we are to confider his way, which is of three forts.

caft down, a fign of ill

Note.

Be content when God chastiseth, and contrary.

First, not to rest and be content with that which God will have come to pafs; he was difpleafed because God refpected Abeland not him, whereas he should have faid with Eli, the first of Samuel and the third chapter, Dens eft, faciet quod bonum videtur in occulis eju, and with David, the one hundred and ninteenth Pfalm and the feventy fifth verfe, I know Lord thy judgments are right, and that of very faithfulness thou haft afflicted me, but to ftomack God for any of his doings, is a thing that every one muft avoid that will not walk in Gains way. Fret not thy felf because of the ungodly, faith the Prophet, Pfalm the thirty feventh and the firft, we may not think much that God doth refpe& the wicked and bleffe them with temporall bleffings, much leffe are we to repine at the good of the godly. The Fret not at the Prophet affirmeth that he was offended at the profperity of the profperity of wicked, in fo much as he said, I have cleanfed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency, Pfalm the thirty feventh, he could not tell what to think of it till he went to the Sanctuary, and there he learned, that albeit they flourish in the world, yet he fets them in flippery places, that they may fall down to their diftruction; therefore we may not fret our felves, confidering that those things prove to Gods providence. This was Davids meditation on the Sabbath, Pfalm the ninty fecond and the fixt and seventh verfes, That albeis the unwife know it not, and fools doe not understand so much, yet he was affured, that when the wicked did grow as the grasse, and all the Workers of wickedness did flourish, then they should perish, so that we have no just

the wicked.

caufe

caufe to be difpleafed with God, if he refpect the wicked feeing it is for his hurt, but if he refpe&t Abel and his good frvice we are to beglad: When righteous men are in authority, then the people rejoyce, Proverbs the twentieth chapter and the fecond verte; to it is he joy of the world, that the godly are refpected of God, and enjoy his favourable countenance; and he that will not follow Cains way, must confidere virtuti fua, & aliena non invidere; when men coe not Some rife not labour to exalt themselves by their own virtue, but rife up by the by others fall, fall of others, that is Cains way, which we must carefully avoid, as we will alcape the wrath of God.

Thirdly, the example of Abels good service, and the favour which God vouchsafeth to him for the fame, fhould have provoked Cain to a godly emulation, debuit fratrem mutatus imitari non amulari, I have oblerved that nothing is done but upon emulation, faith the Preacher, Ecclefiaftes the fourth chapter: If that be taken away all defire of virtue will die. That which we are to apply from hence to our use is, that If Gods doings, which are juft, be fubject to the unjust conftruction of men, as it falls out in Cain: We ought not to marvel if our doing be hardly cenfured which many times are wrong, notwithstanding howfoever we may rightly be reproved oftentimes for our doing, yet God is alwayes to be acknowledged righteous when he is judged, Pfalm the filth, for he is righteous in all his wayes, Pfalm the one hundred and fourty fitch, and no iniquity in him, Pfalm the ninty fecond.

by virtue, but

Tum dixit Fehova Kajino, Quare accenfa est ira tua; & quare Gen. 4 6 7. cecidit vultus tuus? Nonne fi benè egeris, remißio? fi verò non benè egeris, pra foribus eft peccatum excubans?

HICH words of God do let us fee, that the for- June 1o. 1599
10w of Cain was not the forrow of repentance,

but of malice and envy, and therefore he findeth cain's forrow
fault with it faying, Why art thou wrath? and why is of malice and
thy countenance cast down? God knew no juft caufe envy.
of his forrow, and therefore it was not a good
and godiy forrow, but malicious and full of en-

vy. These words contain a fermon of God, and the first that was Gods first fer-
preached after man was fent out of Paradife; and it is the feed-plot mon the
of all other fermons, that is in the Prophets and Apoftles.

ground of all others.

In which generally, we are taught as much as the Prophet after To bring affirmeth of Gods goodness, That he delighteth not in the death of fin- finners to reners, Ezekiel the thirty eighth chapter; That he will not have any to pe- pentance. rish, but come to repentance, in the fecond of Peter, the third chapter, and the ninth verfe. And hereof we have a plain example in Cain,

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who

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