Men Systems of Hiftory and Chrono- SERM. logy, but juft fo much, as may help XI. to promote and recommend a good Life: Not ufeful, because it would have fwoln the Sacred Volume to too great a Bulk for the Generality of Mankind to receive much Benefit from; efpecially, fince for fome of whom, it is to be fear'd, it would be ftill too large, were it less than it is.

Hence appears the Folly of those, who require a particular Account of every minute Circumftance of things in Scripture; as where Cain could take a Wife, when as yet the Scripture had made Mention of no other Woman in the World but Eve: Since an Account of these things is neither neceffary nor ufeful, especially, if we confider, that a little common Senfe will naturally lead a Man to fill up the Charm; for as to this particular Cafe, the World being, according to Chronologers, a hundred and twenty eight, or a hundred and thirty Years Old, when Cain flew Abel, it must be fuppos'd, that there were People enough in it by that Time for fuch a Purpose. The Truth of it is, fuch Questions as thefe are as uieless as they are foolish and infignificant, and argue a little Mind, and a trifling Understanding.

Hh

But

SERM.

XI.

But this only by the Way. Now as to the Perfons here concern'd in the Text, all that we need know is, that one was a Keeper of Sheep, and the other a Tiller of the Ground; and that, they offer'd each an Offering to the Lord; Abel of the Firstlings of his Flock, and Cain of the Fruit of the Ground; but we find both were not equally accepted, for the Lord had Refpect unto Abel, and his Offering; but unto Cain and his Offering, for want of a right Qualification, he had not Refpect; upon which Account Cain was very wrath, and his Countenance fell, i.e. he did not only look dejected, and full of Sorrow, but full of Revenge too; though there was no manner of Reafon or Ground for this Wrath or Sullennefs; for it was not his God, nor his Brother, that was the Cause of his Offering's not being accepted, but himself; For, fays the Lord to him, if thou doft well, halt thou not be accepted? And if thou dost not well, Sin lieth at the Door. And this is the Way of moft wicked Men, who, like Cain, when they feel a neceffary Remorfe attending their evil Actions, difcharge their Wrath upon any one rather than themselves, who are the Delinquents, and the Perfons to whom the Wrath belongs;

belongs; and not only but have Affu- SERM. rance enough to expect, notwithstand- XI. ing their wicked Lives and Actions, which cut off all Ground of Expectation of any thing that is good, the fame Favour of God, as those who are never fo righteous. Thus Balaam, who had liv'd the Life of the Wicked, had Confidence enough, notwithstanding that, to say, Let me die the Death of the Righteous, and let my last End be like bis. However, Cain was fo incenfed at this, that his Offering was not accepted as well as his Brother's, that he took an Opportunity to flay him, thinking perhaps to ease his troubled Mind, by venting his Wrath upon a Perfon, whom his Envy had mark'd out, as a proper Object of it: But, alas! the dreadful the dreadful Experiment would by no means anfwer the End propos'd It was fo far from removing one Evil, that it created a thoufand more, which now began to sprout from it, and fpread abroad thier fatal Influences. The Blood which he thought was fpilt upon the Ground, and which the Earth had opened her Mouth to receive, and would foon disappear for ever, now began to live, and call to Heaven for Vengeance. And he faid, What haft thou done? Hh 2 The

not

SERM. The Voice of thy Brother's Blood crieth XI. unto me from the Ground. Here we are to obferve, that God does afk this Question with an Expectation of being inform'd, as if he was ignorant of what Cain had done, but only to make him fenfible of the Heineoufness of his Guilt. In difcourfing upon the Words of the Text I will fhew,

First, That all Sin, efpecially Sins of a heinous Nature, fuch as Murder, calls to Heaven for Vengeance.

Secondly, I fhall make fome proper Obfervations upon it.

First then, I am to fhew, that all Sin, efpecially Sins of a heinous Nature, fuch as Murder, calls to Heaven for Vengeance. As God is the great Governor of the World, and a Being infinitely juft, wife, and good, it is neceffary to fuppofe, that he intends the Welfare and 'Happiness of the whole Creation; and that he will put a fufficient Check upon whatever would deftroy it. Accordingly he has imprefs'd upon all Beings in the Universe certain Propofitions of Action, as they ftand to each other; and whatever Being acts out of this Proportion feels of Courfe an Inconvenience attending it; which Inconvenience is likewife im

prefs'd

and

and

prefs'd upon all Nature, and a Senfe of it SERM. upon every Being in exact Proportion, XI. as it ftands in the Univerfe. For without this it were impoffible the World to fubfift: Evil, as it is in its own Nature oppofite to Good, would, if it were not controul'd, certainly deftroy it; God has therefore fufficiently controul'd it. In Beings that act neceffarily, it is controul'd by certain neceffary Laws, by which they are directed and govern'd for the Good of the whole. Thus the Sea ebbs and flows, the Ground fends forth Herbs Trees for the Delight and Use of Man; and all this according to certain Rules imprefs'd upon Nature: The heavenly Bodies too move on in their appointed Course, whereas were thefe fubject to no Laws, the Disorder, i. e. the Evil that would enfue, would foon would foon fpread its deftructive Influences over the Face of all Nature; but God has fixed the Bounds of all Things, and therefore they, as the Pfalmift fays, fulfil his Word. To the Sea he has faid, Hitherto halt thou go, and no further; and here fhall thy proud Waves be stayed; and to all things elfe he has fix'd their Bounds, which they cannot pass.

In Moral Agents it is controul'd by the Vengeance that is due to it, and

that