make our felves partakers of the divine nature, then the promise of fuch a life is to be defired; but if life be used as Cain (pent his, it is better to die without Cains mark, than to live with it.

Gex. 4.16. Egreffus itaque eft Kajin à facie Fehova confedit in terra Nodi, ad Orientem Hedenem verfus :

Septemb. 23: 1599.

E now come to the last part of the History of Cain, for in this verfe we have his departure from the prefence of God, and in the next his purpose, never to return again. The contents of this verse are his departure. Gods purpose as we have heard both in Cains punishment, as alfo by granting him so much as he required, in the last verse, was to give Cain fpace to repent; and yet notwithstanding we see plainly that is verified in Cain, which the Prophet affirmeth, faiah the twenty fixt chapter and the tenth verfe, Let mercy be fhewed to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness; For Cain inftead of ufing the goodness, and patience, and long suffering of God as a means to bring him to repentance, Hardned his heart, and heaped up wrath for himself. against the day of wrath, Romans the fecond chapter and the fift verfe.

This departing of Cain stands upon three parts: Firft, his removing; be went out Secondly, terminus a quo, that is, from the prefence of God: Thirdly, terminus ad quem, that is, the land of Nod,

Touching the first, there is a going out upon distrust, when a man hath no hope of favour; and another upon contempt, when a man thinks he shall have no benefit of tarrying. Of which the better is, that going out which is upon diftruft: but fo could not Cain goe out; for as well by Gods mercifull dealing towards Cain before the fentence was pronounced, as alfo by the gracious grant which God made him, he might gather that God was well affected towards him. For as the wife of Manoah laith, Fudges the thirteenth chapter and the twenty third verle, If the Lord would kill us, he would not receive a burnt offering at our hands; so God would not have heard Cain request, had he not wifhed him well. And therefore Austin upon the words of David, Pfalm the fixty fixt and twentieth verfe, faith, quamdiu dominus non amovet orationema fe, tamdiu non amovet mifericordiam a nobis, for that yeelding to Cains request touching his life, was an invitation to stir up Cain to defire more. Therefore Cain should not have gone out fo foon as his fuit was heard, but still have continued praying to God for more and better things, as Abraham, Genefis the eighteenth chapter, hearing that God at his request was contented to fpare Sodom for fifties fake, prayeth still in the behalf of the City, adding one petition after another:

r

Which courfe the Prophet keepeth in his prayer, Pfalm the fitty first, Caft me not from thy prefence, neither take thy holy spirit from me. Though he durft not pray himfelt, being a finner, yet by others, as Miriam by Mofes, Numbers the twelfth chapter, Pharaoh by Mofes and Aron, Exodus the ninth chapter and the twenty eighth verfe; fo fhould Cain have done, but in as much as he doth not, his cafe is like the cafe of Efau, Genefis the twenty fift chapter, he cared not for his Birth-right, no more did Cain take any care for the prefence of God, but thought it a matter not worthy to be reckoned of.

Secondly, We fee that Cain goeth not out against his will, nor tarries till God fend him out of his prefence, as he fent Adam and Eve out of Paradise, fetting a Cherubim to keep the way, Genesis the third chapter, there was no fuch execution or warrant from God for Cain, but he firft cafts out himself, whereby we fee it was an hypocriticall complaint that he made, that he was caft out from the prefence of God, verfe the fourteenth, in tha he goeth out of himself without any violence offered to him: A Child will not at the first bidding go out of his Fathers prefence, though in his anger he threaten him; no more should Cain, he should have been of Facobs minde, Genefis the thirty fecond chapter, I will not let thee goe till I have a bleßing: But we fee Cain doth of himself voluntarily leave Gods prefence, which fheweth plainly that the cause of Cains grief, was not Gods di pleasure, but his punishment laid by God upon him, and not the fpirituall part of his punifhent, but the earthly.

Thirdly, the cafting out of Gods prefence was threatned as a punishment, and therefore ought to be born patiently, but to make pœnam excommunicationis crimen apoftafia, is a great aggravation of his finne; that is to take occafion by the cenfure of the Church to bring in Schifme is a grievous aggravation of the offence. But as we have feen that Cain was the first Author of herefic; for that he thought any thing would ferve Gods turn, the vileft and meanest things were good enough to offer to him; whereas Abel offereth the beft he could finde; fo he is the firft that brings up Schifm and Apoftacy, for the Sentence is not executed upon him, but through an evil heart of unbelief, as the Apostle fpeaks, Hebrews the third chapter, He doth depart of himself from the living God.. Soe we have these three things in his departure. Firft, It is not upon any just cause. Secondly, It is voluntary. Thirdly, He departs fo as he makes the penalty of his finne the matter of a greater finne. Secondly, Touching his removing, to remove of it felt is not evill, but in regard of the place from whence, if with Abraham we depart from a country of Idolatry as from Ur; oras Lot from Sodom, a City full of all finne; or with the Hebrewes out of a place of vexation and cruelty; fuch a departure is good, but to depart from a good place, that makes the motion evill, but for Cain to depart out of the prefence. of God, is all one as if the fick perfon fhould leave the Phyfitian. St. Peter indeed in great astonishment faid to Chrift, exi a me, peccator enim fum, but after being better advised when Christ said, will Mmm

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ye alfo goe away? his answer is, Fohn the fixth chapter and the fixty sighth veric, Domine ad quem ibimus? tu habes verba aterna vita; whereupon Augustine faith, Lord if thou wilt have me depart from thee, fhew me fuch another as thou art, otherwise I will not leave thee till thou receive me into thy favour.

This prefence of God was fome certain place of Gods appearance, as the place whither he went, was a country by Paradife, called the Land of Nod. Therefore the place whither he went, bcing a locall motion; the place from which he departed, muft needs be likewife locall. From this place of Gods prefence Cain went out, to dwell in the land of Nod. The effect of which words, is after fet down in one word; for the place wherein God appeared to Facob when he slept, was called Bethel, Genefis the twenty eighth chapter; the fame place alfo is called Penuel, Genefis the thirty fccond chapter, and the thirtieth verfe: fo that the place of Gods appearance, was fome one piece of the earth, where the Altar was,upon which Cain and Abel offered their facrifices, where God did ufually appear, Even as we also have an Altar, Hebrews the thirteenth chapter, where we have Chrifts presence, as he affirmeth, that where two or three be gathered together in his name, he is present among them,Masthew the eighteenth chapter; like as they that come together to hear the word, are faid to be prefent before God, that is, in the prefence of God, Acts the tenth chapter.

The point that wee are to gather hence for our inftruction, is, That we concieve of the Church, and place of Gods prefence, as we doe of the place of the Princes presence; for we reverence fuch places though the Prince be abfent, fo ought we to reverence the places of Gods prefence, though we have no visible apparition of his prefence, for fuch places are his reft for ever, where he promiseth to dwell, Pfalme the one hundred thirty fecond; They are also his footstoole, and therefore are to be reverenced, As, Pfalm the ninty ninth, Fall down before his footstool, for he is holy: Therefore to depart from the Church is to depart from Gods presence, no leffe than Cain did: But Gods will is, we fhould not depart out of the place of his presence, no more than we would out of the presence of his favour: and we muft make a conscience, how we goc out of fuch places, because God is not mocked. When men have no religion, it is faid of them, Pfalws the fourteenth, They call not upon God; as for the preaching of the word, they count it onus Domini, Feremie the twenty third chapter; It is as tedious to them to hear fermons, as to carry burthens upon their backs: And for the fpirituall food offered in the Sacraments, it is to them as Manna was to the Ifraelites, A light meat, which their foul loatbeth,Numbers the eleventh chapter. And as for the Church and Congregation of the faithfull, the opinion that the world hath of them, is very mean, as the Prophet saith, in the thirtieth chapter of Feremiah, This is Ston, whom no man feeketh after. But they that are fo affected towards the fervice of God, and the places of his prefence, are animales spiritum non habentes, as Fude calleth them; they

have no favour in fuch things, and therefore they care not for them, but like Cain, doe goe out of them, and make no reckoning: Of whom the Apostle faith truly, in the first epistle of Fohn, the second chapter, and the ninteenth verle, They went out from us, yet non erant de nobis, that is, they were not the members of the Church, for then they should have felt them when they went. For those things that are not members of the body, may cafily be taken away, as the hairs of the head and the nayles; but take away any member of the boby, and it will be painfull: Therefore they that depart willingly from the Church, and place of Gods prefence, are not members but excrements of the myfticall body.

The place whither he departed was The land of Nod. As it is faid of Cain, that he went out, so so alfo of St. Peter, but for a diverse end; Peter went out and wept bitterly, Matthew the twenty fixt chapter, and the last verse, but Cain went not out to bewail his finne, as Peter did, but to fettle himself in fome other place. Cain's terminus ad quem, is the land of Nod, which is fituate towards the east fide of E

den.

Wherein two things: Fir, The place it felf. Secondly, The fi

tuation.

For the place it felf: There are of the Interpreters that take it to be no certain land, from the word Nod, which fignifieth to wander ; as if the meaning were, that Cain according to the fentence, that he hould be a runagate and exile, went out to wander from one place to another. But that cannot be, in as much as Nod is faid to be a land on the east fide of Paradise. It is further faid, that being there he built him a City, not that he stayed there, for he was alwayes removing and fleeting from one place to another. It was before the deluge, fo called of Cain, whole ftare of life was to wander up and down, but after was called Babel..

And it is faid to be casftward toward Eden: Wherefore by the framing of his journy to that place, which carrieth the name of pleafure, it appeares, that Cain did not fettle himself to repentance, for then be fhould have gone into the Valley of Achor, Hofea the fecond chapter; or into the valley of tears, Pfalme the eighty fourth; that is as far from Eden as he could, becaufe a place of pleasure is unfit to repent in : He that will repent,muft get him into the wilderneffe alone, and there bewail his fins. He could not goe to Eden, for there was an Angel fet with a fhaking word, to keep the way of the tree of life, Genefis the third chapter; but toward the caft fide of Eden: So we lee Cains purpose was not Gods purpose: The purpose of God in allowing unto Cain life was, that he might have time to repent: But Cains purpose is, that he may plant himself on earth, and enjoy pleasures. These are the wayes to the which there belongeth a woe, as the Apoftle fheweth, Fude the eleventh verfe; The finne of pleafure, which is Cains finne; The finne of gain, which was Babylon's finne; and the finne of ambition, which was the finne of Korah: These are the three wayes of the world, The luft of the flesh, the luft of the eyes Mmm 2 and

and pride of life, in the first of Saint John, the second chapter, which are not of the Father, but of the world. Where it is faid, he went to the fide of Paradife, the Holy Ghost giveth us to understand, that Cain may peradventure fet himfelt in fome kinde of earthly delight but not in Paradise it self,that is, in no true and found delight.

ever.

Again, Whereas Cain being now fallen from hope of eternall and fpirituall things, takes his journey to the caft, we see he is the firft of those that are content,even for to enjoy the warmneffe of the funne, to leave the prefence of God, and for to get a little pleasure for a time, will forgoe that which is incorruptible, and indures for Such men are like those whom the Prophet beheld, in the eighth chapter of Ezekiel, and the fixteenth verle, having their backs toward the temple, and their faces to the fun rifing, to worship the sunne : Even fo Cain by leaving Gods prefence, doth give over eternall things, and feeks for temporall. And fo we fee what is Cains error, both in departing from Gods prefence, and in removing to this place. Adam and Eve and Seth, which then represented the Church, were upon the weft fide of Eden; Cain and his crue keeps in the caft fide, that is, the wicked have the better part in the things of this life, for their portion is in this life, Pfalme the leventeenth; but the portion of the godly is not in the pleasure of this life, but in the land of the living, where they have laid up for them, things which eye hath not feen, the ear hath not heard, nor mans heart conceived, in the firft epiftle to the Corinthians, the fecond chapter: The wicked in their life time receive pleasure, but after indure everlasting pain; but the godly that fuffer affliction in this world, shall in the world to come be comforted, as it is in the fixteenth chapter of Luke.

From hence we learn, That we must not depart from Gods prefence, as Cain did, without just cause: If we doe, it must be to bewail our finnes with bitter tears, as St. Peter. If we goe from Gods prefence, we shall finde the land of Nod, that is, a place that shall afford us no contentation or reft: It fhall be with us, as it was with Agar, to whom the Angell faid, in the fixteenth chapter of Genefis, and the eighteenth verse, Whence comeft thou and whither goest thou? So we shall be in continuall motion, and never have rest.

First, Because we can never, in this wicked world, attain to any perfection of pleasure, our defires are never satisfied; for it is "rue of all men as one faith, quando habent quod voluerunt, non habentq.:od volunt.

Secondly, Because they are all their life in fear of death, Hebrews the fecond chapter. We fec our ftate reprefented in Fonah when he fled from the presence of the Lord; he thought he should have come to Tarshish, but he found himself in the land of Nod, that is of thraldome and mifery, being toffed on the Sea, Fonah the first chapter and the third verfe, for Gods prefence is Seth's land, that is, a land of foundation; it is the Country of Noah, for it giveth reft; it is the City of Salem, that is,of peace: But if we leave Gods presence, we hall not finde any land of foundation, reft or peace. If, as Feremy willeth,