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And it is in this manner that the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews looks at this text with clear and pure eyes, when he says, "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and by it, he being dead, yet speaketh," Heb. 11:4. Cain also offered, and also before Abel brought his offering; but the former offered, inflated with the glory of his birth, expecting that his gift would please God, because it was offered by the first-born. Cain therefore comes to offer without faith, without the confession of sin, without imploring the grace of God, without trust in the mercy of God, and without prayer for the remission of sins, having no other ground for his hope that he shall please God, than because he was the first-born; and this is what all self-justifiers do at this day. They look intently on their works alone and hope that they shall please God on account of their works. They trust not in the mercy of God only, nor hope in God that he will pardon their sins for Christ's sake. And such was Cain. But it would have been impossible for him to have displeased God, if he had possessed faith.

Abel, on the contrary, acknowledged himself to be an unworthy and miserable sinner; and therefore he fled unto the mercy of God and believed that God was favorable unto him, and that he was willing to have mercy upon him. God therefore who looks into the heart judged between the two brothers, who alike brought their offering. He condemned Cain, not on account of the offerings themselves, as if they were less good than those of Abel, for if he had offered even a nutshell in faith, it would have been accepted of God, but because his person was evil, without faith and filled with pride and arrogance. While, on the contrary, God had respect unto the offering of Abel, because his person pleased him. Hence it is that the text so clearly and particularly expresses it, that the Lord had respect first to Abel, and afterwards to his offering. For, when the person first pleases you, then also the things which that person does please you. But, on the contrary, all things are unpleasing to you, which that person does whom you hate.

The passage before us therefore is remarkable and important; for it is thereby clearly proved that God regards neither the magnitude, nor the multitude, nor even the price of the works done; but simply and only the faith of the person who does them. And that God despises neither the fewness, nor the meanness, nor the worthlessness of the works done, but the absence of faith only, in the person who does them.

Of what avail is it therefore that the Jews glory and exclaim, "The Temple of the Lord! The Temple of the Lord!" Jer. 7:4. What avails it that the Papists boast of their masses, their sackcloth, their horse-hair blankets, their hard labors, their sweats, and the magnitude, the multitude and even the price of their works? For God regardeth not works, not even those commanded by himself, when they are not done as the passage of Jeremiah just mentioned shows. Much less does God regard those works which are invented of men without his Word. He regards faith alone; that is, a trust in his mercy through Christ. It is by this faith and this trust that the persons begin to please God; then after this their works also please him. Hence it was that the offering of Cain did not please God, because Cain having no faith did not please him. On the contrary, the offering of Abel did please God and that because of his faith; because he trusted neither in his dignity, nor in his sacrifices themselves, nor in the work which he performed; but trusted alone in the promise given of God concerning the Seed of the woman.

The text before us therefore exactly applies to our doctrine concerning justification, that a man must be righteous before all works and be accepted of God without any works, through that grace alone which his faith believes and apprehends. Nor does even faith justify, as a work, but because it apprehends the mercy shown forth in Christ. It is in this trust in the mercy of God that the true Church walks, with a humble confession of her sins and unworthiness, while she believes that God will pardon her through Christ.

And now the works which follow upon this trust in God's mercy are as it were evidences and testimonies of the man's faith; and they please God, not on account of themselves, but on account of the faith of the person who offers them; or because he believes in the mercy of God toward him. This faith the other church, the Cainite church, not only has not, but ever persecutes it where she finds it. For she on the contrary, like Cain, sets it down for a certainty that she shall please God on account of her works. But God hates this pride; for he can not endure such contempt of his grace and mercy, etc. This passage of Scripture therefore is worthy our most careful consideration.

PART III. CAIN'S CONDUCT UPON THE REJECTION OF HIS OFFERING AND HIS PUNISHMENT

I. V. 5b. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

This and the few following clauses will give us a little grammatical trouble. But I hope we shall make our way out of the difficulty successfully. We have heard that Cain was disappointed in his hope. He had despised his brother in comparison with himself, and had judged that on account of the right of his primogeniture he should hold the first place with God as he had done with his parents. The judgment of God however was quite different from that of men. He showed that he approved Abel, but rejected Cain.

The result was therefore that Cain was violently enraged against his brother. For he could not endure with any patience that he should be thus rejected and excommunicated, and deprived also at the same time of his rule and priesthood. Just in the same manner also we see kings and princes to be utterly impatient of the judgment of the Church. For they are not satisfied with being kings and princes, they want to be accounted also righteous and saints before God; and they will take to themselves the name of "the Church." Exactly like these, Cain was filled with indignation when he saw that the honor of righteousness and grace before God was taken from him. For what else was this than being cast out of the Church and excommunicated? And his indignation at this dishonor was the greater in proportion to the measure in which he judged himself degraded beneath his brother. For his thoughts were these: "My brother will assuredly aspire to the headship and rule, since he sees me thus despised and disregarded of God." And hence it is that Moses uses the adverb "very wroth," by which form of expression he would signify that Cain was vehemently offended because he was thus ignominiously confounded in public before his whole family; whereas he had always wished to appear the first among them.

This Cain-like wrath is just that rage which we see also in the Cain-like Church of the pope. For what is there which gives the pope, the cardinals, the kings and the princes greater offense than that I, a poor beggar, set the authority of God above the authority of them all, and that I condemn in the name of the Lord all those things which are worthy such condemnation. They themselves also acknowledge that there are many things which need rigid reformation. But that I, a poor, obscure person, coming into public out of some obscure corner, should presume to do this, is a thing which they consider to be beyond all endurance. And therefore they put forth all their authority against me and by the weight of that authority they attempt to crush us.

And most certainly there is not in the whole world a wrath more cruel than that of this Church of hypocrisy and blood. For in all political or civil rage there is some degree of humanity still left. No assassin is led to execution, however savage his nature may be, with pity for whom men are not in some measure touched. But when that false and blood-thirsting Church falls upon a poor son of the true Church, she is not satisfied with shedding his blood; she loads him also with her curses and execrations, and devotes him to every ignominy and insult, and even vents her rage upon his miserable, breathless corpse. Just like the Jews, who were not content with having nailed Christ to the cross, with the full purpose of not taking him down till he was dead, but even while he was breathing out the last breath of his soul they gave him in his thirst vinegar to drink mingled with gall. Such fury as this is never found in political wrath!

The wrath therefore and the pharasaic fury of the false Church is a fury in its very nature diabolical. This wrath began in Cain, and it continues in all Cainites to this very day. And we can most truly glory that we also have to endure with godly Abel, just such wrath as this in our day. For who entertains a doubt, that if our bishops and certain furious princes could do it, they would slaughter us all in one moment? Who doubts that, if according to the prayers of the notorious Roman emperor, we all together had but one neck, they would with the greatest delight rush upon us sword in hand and cut off our head? Only look at the councils of these later years and their designs, and you will say that my testimony is true.

That which Moses adds, "And his countenance (vultus) 'appearances,' 'looks,' 'whole aspect,' fell," is a Hebrew expression; an expression which not only represents the deed done, or the fact, but also implies that the mind also was in such a state of commotion that it could not rest; and that although Cain could do no further harm, yet his wrathful will to do so was manifested by his countenance. He did not lift up his fallen brow nor speak in a friendly voice to his parents as before. And every answer he made them was rather a sullen murmur than a natural utterance. He was struck pale at the first sight of his brother after his offering, which God had accepted. And he showed by the threatening looks of his eyes that his mind was burning with the desire of revenge.

Moses expresses all this, when he says, "And his countenance fell;" for he does not mean his countenance or visage only, nor merely one part of his countenance; but he intends all his appearances, his whole appearance; his every look, gesture and motion; in the same manner as the apostle uses a Hebrew expression, when he says concerning charity that it "doth not behave itself unseemly;" that is, doth not carry an unseemly countenance, doth not contract its brow, doth not look with anger or disdain, doth not wear a threatening aspect; but is of a free and open visage, expressing with its eyes kindness and affection. For the latter are becoming, but the former are unbecoming and indicative of vice within. This clause therefore, "And his countenance fell," contains a particular description of the anger and hypocrisy of Cain. He could neither look at his brother Abel, nor hear his voice, nor speak to him, nor eat nor drink with him in rest or quietude of mind.

If any one desires to witness an example of this Cain-like wrath, let him put himself in the presence of some Papist, who is seeking distinguished praise for doctrine or piety in his day and generation; and he will find that such an one is the subject of a rage against the truth, perfectly diabolical; to which fury, if you compare the anger of a judge, the latter will appear in comparison to be the greatest kindness, mercy and open candor. For in the judge anger is merely a duty; he is not angry with the person of the prisoner, but with his crime. But the Cainite wrath fires and distorts the eyes, scowls the brow, swells the cheeks with rage, and arms the hands. In a word, it is evident in every part of the body and in its every gesture, and that unceasingly. For it does not die away by time, as political or domestic wrath does.

Next follows the fatherly and most grave admonition of Adam, who would willingly have healed and saved his son if he could have done so. But this wrath knows no medicine or cure. Neither Cain nor any Cainite will hear either father or mother, or God Himself!

V. 6. And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth, and why is thy countenance fallen?

All these circumstances plainly prove that the present was not the first time that Cain had been confounded in this offering of his sacrifice; but that from the hour of this sacrifice he had gone in perturbation of mind, filled with sadness and gnashing his teeth; and looking neither upon his father nor upon his mother without an evil eye; affected just as we have already said that pharasaic rage affects the whole man, and changes the whole visage and gesture. For Cain considered it to be a great indignity that at a public sacrifice, and in the midst of divine worship, and before the eyes of his father and his mother, Abel whom he had always despised and whom even his parents themselves had accounted a child of naught, should be preferred of God to himself; and thus pronounced of God worthy the glory of the kingship and the priesthood.

II. As soon therefore as he had fully shown that he was of a hostile mind towards his brother, he receives from his father Adam the admonition in our text. For my belief is, that these words are spoken by Adam himself, and that Moses says they were spoken "by the Lord," because Adam had now been justified and had been gifted with the Holy Spirit; and therefore those things which he now spoke by the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God are rightly said by Moses to have been spoken by God himself. Just as at the present day those who preach the Gospel are not in reality themselves the preachers and teachers, but Christ, who speaks and teaches in them and by them. And most certainly these words are spoken by Adam with peculiar gravity and intent; for he saw that his son could not patiently endure the indignity put upon him; he saw him grieve over his lost superiority; and he felt what havoc the Tempter might make in the corrupt nature of his son, who had done such evil to himself and Eve, when in a state of innocency and perfection. Adam therefore was filled with deep anxiety and addressed his son with that solemn gravity of language, which Moses records in the text. And although no one of the fathers has explained that speech of Adam to his son Cain in a manner worthy its gravity and importance; because perhaps none of them had sufficient leisure from their ecclesiastical engagements; yet I will attempt to move this stone of difficulty out of the way; and, as I hope and think, not without some advantage to the truth.

V. 7a. If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up, (shall there not be a remission,) and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth (lieth) at the door.

I cannot sufficiently wonder how Moses was able to condense so mighty a subject in so few words. Our translation does not properly express the sense. And although Augustine was not altogether unacquainted with the Hebrew language, yet his knowledge of it was not thorough; for he renders this important text thus, "If thou offerest aright, and yet dost not rightly divide the offering, thou hast sinned. Rest, and be quiet." What such sins are those well acquainted with the Hebrew know. Though the doctrine which Augustine deduces from his rendering of the passage is theologically correct and good, the Septuagint translators of the Hebrew seem also not to have been duly qualified for the magnitude of the work they undertook. Wherefore, leaving for the present both the translations and the opinions of all other commentators, we will now strictly follow the proper sense of the Hebrew in the text before us. That sense is the following, "If thou doest well, there shall be remission, or alleviation; if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door," etc.

Moreover it is ordained by nature, as even the philosopher testifies, that words should be made to serve things, and not things made subservient to words. The sentiment of Hilary is well known, which a certain master of sound opinions also thus cites: "Words ought ever to be understood according to the matter contained in them, and intended to be expressed by them." In every exposition or explanation of the Scriptures therefore the subject-matter is first to be considered; that is, we are first clearly to see the thing spoken of in each case. When this is strictly done, then the words are to be brought to a due application to the thing, if the grammatical laws of the language will permit; but the things are never to be made to bend to the words. And it is because the Rabbins and those who follow them do not this, for they have lost the things, and so cleave hard to the words only, that they often fall into the most absurd sentiments and opinions. For, as they possess not thoughts worthy of those spiritual things, of which the sacred Scriptures speak, they err from the subject-matter treated in each case by the Word and draw the words after them into vain and carnal cogitations.

But it is certain that the Jews have lost Christ; how then can they possibly understand aright either the things of the Gospel or the things of the Law? They know not what sin is, nor what grace is, nor what righteousness is. How then should they be able to explain successfully such passages of the Scriptures? Just so the Jews are in general the "wise" or sophists of our day. For what sound knowledge have they of such divine and mighty things as these! Being ignorant therefore of the thing itself, how is it possible that they should rightly understand the words of the Scriptures in which it is expressed? And although a knowledge of the words is prior in order; yet the knowledge of the things is better and more important. For if you alter the things, the words also will be changed into another sense to correspond with the altered things, and a new grammatical construction altogether is the sure result.

Thus the great grammarian of Gerunda possesses an excellent knowledge of the words, and indeed there are many in our day who far surpass me in a critical knowledge of the Hebrew language, but because he understands not the divine theme, he miserably corrupts this passage; for he explains it thus: "If thou doest well thy offering shall be more acceptable than that of thy brother, because thou art the first-born." You here see that Gerundensis understands what the names of the things are, but not the things themselves; what the term is, but not what the matter is. For the very design of God in this text is to show that he will have no regard to first birthship at all. How then could the offering of Cain ever have been more acceptable to God than that of Abel on account of his primogeniture? The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews knew what the thing was, and therefore he gives a very different statement of the sacred matter, namely, that it was "by faith that Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." The rendering of Jerome is much better than that of Gerundensis. The version of the former is, "If thou doest well, thou shalt receive; if thou doest ill, sin (he adds the pronoun 'thine own sin') will lie at the door." Yet, even thus Jerome does not reach the true sense. For when he explains the verb SEETH as meaning "to receive," which really signifies "to relieve," or "to alleviate," no one I think will approve his rendering. But all this Jerome has from the Jews, who have always been of the opinion that God would have rewarded Cain if he had offered liberally. Now therefore I will simply state what my view of this important passage is.

First of all then it is necessary, as I have said, that we hold fast the divine matter in question. The divine matter then involved is that which cannot deceive, as being the foundation of the whole divine cause, that nothing pleases God unless it be done in faith, according to that universally applicable and well known sentence of the Apostle Paul, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin," Rom. 14:23. And Solomon also says, "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord," Prov. 15:8. The other great foundation of the cause of God is, that sin is so mighty that it can be put away by no sacrifices, nor by any works whatever, but by the mercy of God alone, which mercy must be apprehended and received by faith. And all this is manifested and shown to have been the good pleasure of God by the first promise concerning the Seed of the woman, without which Seed there is no redemption. Now these foundations the Rabbins possess not, for this knowledge comes by the Spirit of Christ alone, who like the mid-sun illumines all the darkness of nature and sin. Whatsoever therefore militates against, or is contrary to, these foundations, we at once reject as false and impious.

And although for myself I have no objection whether you understand "sin" here as referring to the past sin, or to the future sin of Cain, yet it seems to me better to understand it as referring to sin in general. The force of the whole passage therefore lies in the Hebrew verb SEETH from NASA, "be alleviated," or "lifted up," or "relieved." And in this very case we have a remarkable example of the difference between the name or term of the thing and the thing itself. For if you apply the term to "lift up," or to "lift off," to a corporeal or solid substance, it signifies "to elevate" or "to lift up on high;" as in Isaiah, "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up," Is. 6:1. But this is a very different signification of the Hebrew verb from that which it expresses in the Psalm, "Blessed is the man whose sins are 'lifted up' or 'lifted out,'" Ps. 32:1, and yet the Hebrew verb is the same in each instance. Now, a common grammarian of the Hebrew language understands the former meaning of the original verb, but he is ignorant of its latter signification. For, "to lift up a throne on high," is quite another thing from lifting up or lifting off, sin from the conscience; that is, remitting or taking away sin.

Wherefore, the meaning is, "If thou hadst done well or if thou hadst been good; that is, if thou hadst believed, thou wouldst have had God favorable and merciful toward thee, and there would have been a true alleviation to thee; that is, a remission of sin. But since I see that God had not respect unto thee, it evidently follows that thou wert not good in his sight; and that therefore thou wast not relieved from thy sin; wherefore, thy sin remaineth."

However it is a most beautiful and striking similitude to make use of the verb "to lift up" or "to lift off" in order to compare sin to a heavy burden, under which Cain was so oppressed and prostrated, so that unless it were taken off he could not draw his breath. And the epistle to the Hebrews shows the manner in which we are released from this burden, when it says, "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain," Heb. 11:4.

By this mode of interpreting this important passage the words or the grammatical construction perfectly agree with the matter contained in them, which is, that God has respect unto faith only, and judges those alone to be good who believe. And these words of Adam contain also a most severe rebuke. Their meaning is, as if Adam had said to Cain, "Thy pride has destroyed thee. Thou camest before God inflated with the glory of thy primogeniture, and thoughtest that God would accept thee on that account. But I clearly perceive by this judgment and reprobation of God that thou art destitute of faith, for God rejects none but the unbelieving."

Not one of the Rabbins explains the passage before us in this manner. For they see not that Adam is here inculcating in his son, after the manner of the Apostle Paul, that word of Christ in the Gospel, "He that believeth shall be saved," Mark 16:16; and also that word of the apostle himself, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law," Rom. 3:28. For what else does Adam here say to Cain, than that God is merciful to those who believe in the blessed Seed, and who cast away all trust in their own works, and all ideas of their own merit? For his meaning is, "If thou shalt do this, thy sin shall not lie thus as a heavy burden upon thee. Thou shalt be relieved of that load, nor shalt thou thus roar with rage; for God has promised that he will not impute sin to any one that believeth."

If therefore you refer these words to the past sin of Cain, they contain also a most grave fatherly admonition. Their import is, as if Adam had said, "Hitherto thou hast not believed and therefore thou art thus rejected; and if thou shalt still go on thus, thou wilt be cast off utterly. But if thou shalt do well or become good, that is, if thou shalt believe in the promised Seed, I take upon myself to assure thee that the result will be that thou shalt be relieved of thy burden of sin;" that is, as the Psalm interprets this expression of Adam, "sin shall not be imputed unto thee," Ps. 32:2.

The clause which follows, thy "sin lieth at the door," is a figurative description of sin, which for my part I should prefer understanding as being used as a proverb. For this figure exactly describes the real nature of sin, showing that, while in the act, it lies like a beast dead asleep; it does not bite, nor terrify, nor torment, but rather fawns and pleases. Thus when Eve first and afterwards Adam ate the forbidden apple in paradise they did not think that God had seen it, much less did they think that both should be so bitterly punished for what they had done. So also ferocious beasts, when they are just satisfied with food, are more tractable and more inclined to sleep than to harm. In the same manner also sin, while it is in the act, is delightful, nor is its poison or pain felt; it rather lies down and goes to sleep. For whoever saw a miser to be racked with pain while an opportunity of great gain stood before him? Whoever knew an adulterer to grieve at the opportunity given him of gratifying his wishes? If thou hadst at that moment torn his skin with a scourge, or beaten his head with a mallet, the temptation would have vanished. But while sin is asleep and its punishment unfelt and unseen, it is the height of pleasure to the miser to rush upon his gain, and to the adulterer to possess the object of his sinful desires; nor does there seem to be, nor does he wish for, any end or any bound to his pleasure.

Adam is speaking therefore in this passage not only of the sin of Cain, but of sin in general; showing what the real nature of sin is. For that which was the state of Cain is the state of all men. Before he offered his sacrifice Cain proudly boasted of the privileges of his primogeniture; he despised his brother and assumed to himself the first place in all things. Sin was then lying still and asleep; but it was "lying at the door;" that is, in a place or state in which it was likely to be disturbed. For it is by "the door" that we go in and out, and therefore a place by no means adapted for a long sleep. And this is also the very nature of sin. Although it does lie asleep, yet it lies in a place where it is not likely to sleep long, for Christ says, "There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed," Math. 10:26. The wicked man thinks indeed that his sin is asleep and hidden; but it lieth asleep at "the door," and at length it is awakened by conviction, brought to light, and made known: for "at the door," and rest and sleep are things directly opposed to each other. For as darkness is opposite to light, so is sleep to an unquiet place; they are things contradictory to each other in their very nature. In this manner therefore may the present passage be interpreted in its reference to Cain's past sin.

And if you explain these same words in their reference to the future sin of Cain, their meaning is this, "If thou shalt harm thy brother, and indulge the wrath conceived in thy mind, I tell thee that thy sin will indeed lie asleep; but it will lie asleep at the door; that is, in a place where it will surely be disturbed; and therefore, it is impossible but that it must be awoke and roused up, when as a furious beast it will lay hold upon thee." And so the event proved. For after Cain had committed the murder, while he was burying his brother alone, his sin was asleep. But how long? No longer than until the sound of that voice of God reached his ears, "Where is Abel, thy brother?" The present words of Adam therefore are a true description of all sin. It always "lieth at the door." For such is the nature of the minds of men, that as long as they escape the eyes of men, they think their sin will lie hidden and unknown. But unless they do well; that is, unless they believe that God will pardon their sin through Christ, it will surely be awakened and revealed to their torment and destruction.

The figurative proverb therefore which lies in these words of Adam contains the most solemn truth, that nothing remains hidden, but that all things are revealed and made known, as the Apostle Paul also says, "Some men's sins are evident, going before unto judgment," 1 Tim. 5:24. Hence we see the judgment of God in an especial manner in the cases of criminals. How many persons are murdered in secret and yet the authors of those unnatural and horrible crimes are brought to light by means the most wonderful. The grave admonition therefore of Adam to his son Cain is that he would guard against indulging in sin, resting fully assured that it would not remain hidden, but that God would certainly bring it to light and punish it. The poets of old did not wander far from this great truth when they represented Cupid, the god of lustful desire, naked but blind also. For as our sin seems to us to be hidden, we think that it is hidden from all others also. But God at length brings to light and reveals things the most deeply concealed.

I believe therefore the meaning of these words of Adam, which I have thus given, is their true and simple sense. By them the father is admonishing the son to believe in God and in the promised Seed; assuring him that if he does so, God will show himself merciful unto him. But, says the father, if thou follow the lusts of thy heart, thy sin will indeed lie at rest in thy soul; that is, it will appear to thee to be concealed and hidden, but it will be lying all the time "at the door;" that is, in a place where it cannot lie long asleep or out of sight. For that which "lieth at the door" is beheld by all who enter in and by all who go out.