209. We will reply in accordance with what is written. The

illustrations from the New Testament above mentioned, Paul, the

apostles, Christ, and the prophets, assuredly belong to quite a

different category. When Adam here says to Cain, "A fugitive and a

wanderer shalt thou be in the earth," he speaks these words to him to

send him away, without further precept. He does not say to him, "Go to

the east;" he does not say, "Go to the south;" he does not mention any

place to which he should go. He gives him no command what to do; but

simply casts him out. Whither he goes and what he does, is no concern

of his. He adds no promise of protection, he does not say: God shall

take care of thee; God shall protect thee. On the contrary; as the

whole sky is free to the bird, which is at liberty to fly whither it

pleases, but is without a place where it may be secure from the

attacks of other birds, so Adam turns Cain away. The latter feels

this. Hence his rejoinder: "It shall come to pass that every one that

findeth me, shall slay me."

210. The condition of Adam was different and better. Adam had sinned,

and by his sin he had sunk into death. But when he was driven out of

paradise, God assigned him a particular task--that he should till the

earth in a particular place. God also clothed him with a covering of

skins. This, as we said, was a sign that God would take care of him

and protect him. And, last but not least, a glorious promise was made

to the woman concerning the seed which should bruise the serpent's

head. Nothing like this was left to Cain. He was sent away absolutely

without assignment of any particular place or task. No command was

given him nor was any promise made him. He was like a bird aimlessly

roving beneath the wide heavens. This is what it means to be a

vagabond and wanderer.

211. Unsettled and aimless, likewise, are all who lack God's Word and

command, wherein person and place receive adequate direction. Such

were we under the papacy. Worship, works, exercises--all these were

present; but all these existed and found acceptance without a divine

command. A trying condition was that and Cainlike--to be deprived of

the Word; not to know what to believe, what to hope, what to suffer,

but to undertake and to perform everything at haphazard. What monk is

there who could affirm that he did anything right? Everything was

man's tradition and man's teaching, without the Word. Amid these we

wandered, being driven to and fro, and like Cain, uncertain what

verdict God would pass, whether we should merit love or hate. Such

was, in those days, our instruction.

Unsettled and aimless like this was Cain's whole posterity. They had

neither promise nor command from God, and lacked all definite guidance

for life and for death. Hence, if any of them came to the knowledge of

Christ, and allied themselves with the true Church, it was not by

reason of a promise but through sheer compassion.

212. Seth, however, who was born subsequently, had, together with his

posterity, a definite promise, a definite abode and a definite mode of

worship; on the other hand, Cain was aimless. He founded a city, it is

true, but he did not know how long he should dwell in it, not having a

divine promise. Whatever we possess without a promise is of uncertain

duration; at any amount Satan may disturb it or take it. However, when

we go into the fray equipped with God's command and promise, the devil

fights in vain; God's command insures strength and safety. Therefore,

although Cain was lord of the whole world and possessed all the

treasures of the world, still, lacking the promise of God's help and

the protection of his angels, and having nothing to lean upon but

man's counsels, he was in every respect aimless and unsettled. This he

himself admits when he further says:

V. 14b. _And it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me

shall slay me._

213. This result was quite to be expected. Having neither God nor his

father to look to for succor, having forfeited his rights both as

priest and as ruler, he saw the possibility before him that any one

found him, might slay him, for he was outlawed, body and soul.

Notwithstanding, God conferred upon the nefarious murderer a twofold

blessing. He had forfeited Church and dominion, but life and progeny

were left. God promised him to protect his existence, and also gave

him a wife. Two blessings these by no means to be despised; and when

he heard the first part of his sentence pronounced by his father, they

were more than he had a right even to hope for. They were valuable for

the additional reason that opportunity and time for repentance were

granted, though, in the absence of a clear promise, there was neither

covenant nor commission. In the same manner, we found our way under

the papacy to uncovenanted mercy (_fortuita gratia_), if I may use

this expression, for no promise was previously given that the truth

was to be revealed in our lifetime, and the Antichrist to become

manifest. The reason to which these blessings are attributable, is

consideration for the elect. It is quite credible that many of Cain's

offspring were saved, namely, those who joined the true Church.

Likewise, at a later day, provision was made among the Jews for

proselytes and Gentiles.

214. While a stern law existed according to which the Moabites and

Ammonites were not admitted to the religious services, Ammonites and

Moabites were saved, such as came to the kings of Judah to serve under

them. Also Ruth, the mother and ancestress of our Saviour, was a

Moabite. This is what I call uncovenanted mercy, no previous promise

having rendered it certain.

215. Also Naaman, and the king of Nineveh, and Nebuchadnezzar, and

Evilmerodach, and others from among the Gentiles, were saved by such

uncovenanted mercy; for, unlike the Jews, they had no promise of

Christ. In the same way, bodily safety is vouchsafed to Cain, and a

wife with offspring, for the sake of the elect to be saved by

uncovenanted mercy. For, although what we said of the Moabites is true

of all his posterity, that it was to live under a curse, it is true,

notwithstanding, that some of the patriarchs took their wives from the

same.

V. 15a. _And Jehovah said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain,

vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold._

216. Jerome, in his Epistle to Damascus, contends that Cain had begged

of the Lord that he might be slain, an opinion into which he rushes

full sail, as it were, entertaining no doubt whatever concerning its

truth. Lyra follows Jerome, and resolutely affirms that the context

requires this interpretation. But this error of theirs should be laid

at the door of the rabbins from whom they received it. The true sense

of the passage is rather that everyone was prohibited from killing

Cain. Judgment is pronounced here by God, and when he spares Cain's

life and in addition permits him afterward to marry, it is done to

stay its execution.

217. Moreover, how is it likely that an ungodly person asks death at

the very time when God exercises judgment? Death is the very

punishment of sin; therefore he flees and dreads death as the greatest

part of his penalty. Away, therefore, with such vagaries of the

rabbins! With these also Lyra's suggestion may safely be classed that

the text ought to be divided and made to mean, Whoever shall kill

Cain, shall surely meet with severe punishment. And when it is further

stated, He shall be punished sevenfold, they would explain it as

meaning that in the seventh degree--in the seventh generation--the

punishment is to be inflicted.

218. Such vagaries are worthy of the rabbins after having cast away

the light of the New Testament. However, they impose a double labor

upon us, inasmuch as we are compelled to defend the text and to clear

it of such corruptions, and to correct their absurd comments. If I

quote them occasionally, it is to avoid the suspicion of proudly

despising them, or of failing to read, and to give sufficient

consideration to, their writings. While we read them intelligently, we

do so with critical discrimination, and we do not permit them to

obscure Christ, and to corrupt the Word of God.

219. The Lord, accordingly, does not in this passage at all alter the

sentence upon Cain whereby he had been doomed to a curse on earth, but

merely vouchsafes to him this uncovenanted mercy for the sake of the

elect that are to be saved from that curse as from a mass of dregs.

That is the reason he said Cain should not be killed, as he feared.

There is, then, no necessity for doing violence to this text as Rabbi

Solomon does, who, after the words "whosoever slayeth Cain," puts a

stop; making it to be a hiatus or (ellipsis), as we find in that noted

line in Virgil (Aeneas, 135)--

_Quos ego--sed motos praestat componere fluctus._

Whom I--but now, be calm, ye boist'rous waves.

And then the expression, "shall be punished sevenfold," the rabbi

refers to Cain himself, who was punished in his seventh generation.

For Cain begat Enoch, and Enoch begat Irad, and Irad begat Mehujael,

and Mehujael begat Methusael, and Methusael begat Lamech.

220. And the Jews' absurd comment upon that passage (verse 23, below),

is that Lamech, when he was old, and his eyes dim, was taken by his

son Tubal-Cain into a wood to hunt wild beasts, and that, when there

shooting at a wild beast, Lamech accidently shot Cain, who in his

wanderings had concealed himself in the wood. Such interpretations are

only fables, unworthy a place or notice in our schools. Moreover, they

militate against the very truth of the text. For if Cain was really

designed of God to be killed in the seventh generation, and if that

time was thus fixed for his death, he was not "a fugitive and a

vagabond upon earth."

221. We condemn, therefore, this interpretation of Rabbi Solomon, on

the ground of critical discrimination, because it militates directly

against that sentence which God had before pronounced; and God is not

man, that he should change his mind, 1 Kings 15, 29-30. This rule

should be strictly observed in all interpretation of the Holy

Scripture, that the rendering of one passage must not subsequently

conflict with that of another. And when the rabbins, moreover, say

that the deluge was the particular punishment of Lamech's sin in thus

killing Cain, Lyra refutes them. He very truly affirms that the deluge

was the common punishment of the whole world of wicked men. We leave,

therefore, all these Jewish absurdities and hold fast the true meaning

of the text before us, that, when Cain feared lest he should be slain

by any one who should find him, the Lord prevented him from being thus

slain, and denounced on such murderer a punishment sevenfold greater

than that of Cain.

222. And, though Lyra argues and inquires how it could be that he who

should slay Cain could deserve a sevenfold greater vengeance than Cain

deserved, who slew his own brother, of what profit is it to us to

inquire into the counsel of God in such matters as these, especially

when it is certain that God permitted his mercy to stray to Cain in

the form of promises and blessings under the Law, if I may so express

myself, thus securing his safety.

223. There are two kinds of promises, or a twofold promise, as we have

often explained. There are the legal promises, if I may so call them,

which depend, as it were, upon our own works, such as the following:

"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land," Is

1, 19. Again, I am God, showing mercy unto thousands of them that love

me and keep my commandments, Ex 20, 6. And also above, in this case of

Cain, "If thou doest well, shall not thy countenance be lifted up?"

Gen 4, 7. And these legal promises have for the most part their

corresponding threats attached to them.

But the other kind of promises are promises of grace, and with them no

threats are joined. Such are the following: "Jehovah thy God will

raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren,

like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken," Deut 18, 15. Again, "I will

put my law in their inward parts, in their heart will I write it; and

I will be their God, and they shall be my people," Jer 31, 33. And

again, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman," Gen 3, 15. Now,

these promises depend not in any way upon our works, but absolutely

and only upon the goodness and grace of God, because he was pleased to

make those promises and to do what he thus promised. Just in the same

way we have the promise of Baptism, of the Lord's Supper, and of the

Keys, etc., in which God sets before us his good will and his mercy

and his works.

224. Now, God gave no promise of the latter kind to Cain. He only said

to him, Whosoever shall slay thee shall be punished sevenfold. But

Adam had such a promise of grace made to him. And Cain, because he was

the first-born, ought to have received that promise as an inheritance

from his parents. That promise was the large and blessed promise of

eternal glory, because by it the seed was promised which should bruise

the serpent's head, and this without any work or merit of man. For

that promise had no condition attached to it, such as, If thou shalt

offer thy sacrifices, if thou shalt do good, etc.

225. If, therefore, you compare this promise of grace with the words

God spake to Cain, the latter are as a mere crust held out to a

beggar. For even Cain's life is not promised him absolutely. Nothing

more is said than a threat pronounced against those who should slay

him. God does not say positively, No man shall slay thee. He does not

say, I will so overrule all others that no one shall slay thee. Had

the words been thus spoken, Cain might have returned into the presence

of God and of his parents. But a command only is given to men that

they slay not Cain. If, therefore, the words spoken to Cain be at all

considered as a promise, it is that kind of promise which, as we have

before said, depends on the works and will of man. And yet, even such

promise is by no means to be despised, for these legal promises often

embrace most important things.

226. Thus, Augustine observes that God gave to the Romans their empire

on account of their noble virtues. And in the same manner we find,

even to this day, that the blessings of those nations which keep from

murder, adultery, theft, etc., are greater than those of other nations

in which these evils prevail. And yet, even governments which, as far

as mere reason can succeed, are especially well established, possess

nothing beyond these temporal promises.

227. The Church, however, possesses the promises of grace, even the

eternal promises. And although Cain was left utterly destitute of

these promises, yet it was a great favor that the temporal mercies

were left him: that he was not immediately killed, that a wife was

given him, that children were born unto him, that he built a city,

that he cultivated the earth, that he fed his cattle and had

possessions, and that he was not utterly ejected from the society and

fellowship of men. For God could not only have deprived Cain of all

these blessings, but he could have added pestilence, epilepsy,

apoplexy, the stone, the gout, and any other disease. And yet there

are men disposed curiously to argue in what manner God could possibly

have multiplied the curse of Cain sevenfold on himself or on any

other.

As God above deprives Cain of all the divine blessings, both

spiritual--or those pertaining to the Church--and civil, so here he

mitigates that sentence by commanding that no one shall slay Cain. But

God does not promise at the same time that all men shall surely obey

his command. Therefore Cain, even possessing this promise in reference

to his body, is still a fugitive and a wanderer. And it might be that

if he continued in his wickedness, he was liable to be slain at any

moment; whereas, if he did well, he might live a long time. But

nothing is promised him with certainty, for although these corporal or

legal promises are great and important, yet they are positively

uncertain and uncovenanted.

228. Whether, therefore, Cain was killed or not, I cannot with any

certainty say, for the Scriptures afford no plain information upon

that point. This one thing, however, evidently can be proved from the

present text, that Cain had no certain promise of the preservation of

his life; but God left him to a life of uncertainty, doubt and

restless wandering, and did no more than protect the life of Cain by a

command and a threat which might restrain the wicked from killing him,

on account of the certain awful punishment which would follow such

destruction of the murderer. But a promise that he should not be

murdered was withheld. We know, moreover, what is the nature of the

law, or a legal command, and that there are always very few who obey

it. Therefore, although it is not recorded at what time, in what

place, or by whom, Cain was slain, yet it is most probable that he was

killed. The Scriptures however make no mention of it, even as they are

quite silent also concerning the number of the years of Cain, and say

nothing about the day of his birth or the day of his death. He

perished, together with his whole generation; to use a popular

proverb, "without cross, candle, or God." A few only of his generation

are excepted, who were saved by the uncovenanted mercy of God.

229. The question is here usually asked, To what persons could the

words of Cain possibly apply, when he says, "Everyone that findeth me

shall slay me," when it is evident that besides Adam and Eve and their

few daughters, no human beings were in existence. I would at once

reply that they bear witness to the fact that we see the wicked "flee

when no man pursueth," as the Scriptures say; for they imagine to

themselves various perils where none really exist. Just so we see it

to be the case with murderers at the present day, who are filled with

fears where all is safe, who can remain quiet nowhere, and who imagine

death to be present everywhere.

230. However, when it follows in the command of God, "Yea, verily,

whosoever slayeth Cain shall be punished sevenfold," these words

cannot be referred exclusively to the fears of Cain, for Cain had

sisters, and perhaps he greatly dreaded that sister whom he had

married, lest she should take vengeance on him for the murder of her

brother. Moreover, Cain had perhaps a vague apprehension of a long

life, and he saw that many more sons might be born of Adam. He feared,

therefore, the whole posterity to Adam. And it greatly increased these

fears that God had left him nothing more than his stray mercy. I do

not think that Cain feared the beasts at all, or dreaded being slain

by them; for what had the sevenfold vengeance threatened upon

murderers to do with beasts?

V. 15b. _And Jehovah appointed a sign for (set a mark upon) Cain, lest

any finding him should smite him (slay him)._

231. What this mark was is not to be found in the Holy Scriptures.

Therefore commentators have entertained various opinions. Nearly all,

however, have come to this one conclusion--they have inferred that

there was apparent in Cain a great tremor of his head and of all his

limbs. They suppose that, as a physical cause of his trembling, God

had changed, or disarranged, or mutilated some particular organ in his

body, but left the body whole as it was first created, merely adding a

visible outward mark, such as the trembling. This conjecture of the

fathers contains much probability, but it cannot be proved by any

testimony of the Scriptures. The mark might have been of another kind.

For instance, we observe in nearly all murderers an immediate change

in the eyes. The eyes wear an appearance of sullen ferocity, and lose

that softness and innocence peculiar to them by nature.

232. But whatever this mark was, it was certainly a most horrible

punishment; for Cain was compelled to bear it during his whole life as

God's penalty for the awful murder which he had committed. Rendered

conspicuous by this degrading mark, hateful and abominable in the eyes

of all, Cain was sent away--banished from his home by his parents. And

although the life he asked of God was granted him, yet it was a life

of ignominy, branded with an infamous mark of homicide; not only that

he himself might be perpetually reminded of the sin he had committed,

to his own confusion, but also that others might be deterred from the

crime of committing murder. Nor could this mark be effaced by

repentance. Cain was compelled to bear about this sign of the wrath of

God upon him as a punishment in addition to his banishment, the curse,

and all the other penalties.

233. It is worthy of observation that the original verb used above is

_harag_, which signifies "to kill." But the verb here found is

_nakah_, which means "to strike." God, therefore, here gives to Cain

security, not only from death, but also from the danger of death. This

security, however, as we have observed, is a legal security only; for

it merely commands that no one shall slay Cain, threatening a

sevenfold punishment upon the person who should do so. But God does

not promise that all men will obey his command. It was far better for

Cain, however, to have this legal promise made him, than to be without

any promise at all.

V. 16. _And Cain went out from the presence of Jehovah, and dwelt in

the land of Nod, on the east of Eden._

234. This also is a very remarkable text, and it is a wonder that the

fancy of the rabbins did not run riot here as usual. Moses leaves it

to the thoughtful reader to reflect how miserable and how full of

tears this departure of Cain from his father's house must have been.

His godly parents had already lost their son Abel; and now, at the

command of God, the other son departs from them into banishment,

loaded with the divine curses, on account of his sin--the very son

whom his parents had hoped to be the only heir of the promise, and

whom they therefore had devotedly loved from his cradle. Adam and Eve,

nevertheless, obey the command of God, and in conformity therewith

they cast out their son.

235. Accordingly, this passage rightly praises obedience to God, or

the fear of God. Adam and Eve had, indeed, learned by their own

experience in paradise that it was no light sin to depart from the

command of God; therefore they thought: Behold, our sin in paradise

has been punished with death, and with an infinite number of other

calamities into which we have been thrown since we were driven out of

paradise. And now that our son has committed so atrocious a sin, it

behooves us not to resist the will of God and his righteous judgment,

however bitter we feel them to be.

236. The story of the woman of Tekoah is well known, whom Joab

instructed to intercede for the banished Absalom. She pleads as an

argument before the king, that as she had lost one son, it would be

wicked in the extreme to deprive her of the other also. Also Rebecca

said to Jacob, her younger son, after she had perceived the wrath of

Esau against his brother: "Why should I be bereaved of you both in one

day?" Gen 27, 45. Adam and Eve overcame this same pain in their

bosoms, and thus mortified their paternal and maternal affections. For

not only did they feel it to be their duty to obey the will of God,

but they had also learned wisdom from former obedience. They had been

driven out of paradise for their sin of disobedience. They feared,

therefore, that if they now retained their son with them, contrary to

the will of God, they should be cast out of the earth altogether.

237. This part of the history of Adam and Eve, therefore, is a

beautiful lesson in obedience to God, and a striking exhortation to

fear God. This is also Paul's principal object in his first Epistle to

the Corinthians, nearly all of which is written against the

self-confidence of the human heart. For, although God is merciful, yet

men are not therefore to sin; he is merciful to those only who fear

and obey him.

238. As it was bitter in the extreme for the parents to lose their

son, this departure from his home was, I have no doubt, most bitter

also to Cain himself. For he was compelled to leave, not only the

common home, his dear parents and their protection, but his hereditary

right of primogeniture, the prerogative of the kingdom and of the

priesthood, and the communion of the Church.

Hence it is that we have the expression in the text, that Cain "went

out from the presence of Jehovah." We have above shown what the

Scriptures term "the face of Jehovah," namely, all those things and

means by which Jehovah makes himself known to us. Thus the face of

Jehovah, under the Old Testament, was the pillar of fire, the cloud,

the mercy-seat, etc. Under the New Testament, the face of Jehovah is

baptism, the Lord's Supper, the ministry of the Word, etc. For by

these things, as by visible signs, the Lord makes himself known to us,

and shows that he is with us, that he cares for us and favors us.

239. It was from this place, therefore, in which God declared that he

was always present, and in which Adam resided as high priest, and as

lord of the earth, that Cain "went out;" and he came into another

place, where there was no "face of God," where there was no visible

sign of his presence by which he could derive the consolation that God

was present with his favor. He had no sign whatever, save those signs

which are common to all creatures, even to the beasts, namely, the

uses of sun and moon, of day and night, of water, air, etc. But these

are not signs of that immutable grace of God contained in the promise

of the blessed seed. They are only the signs of God's temporal

blessings and of his good will to all his creatures.

240. Miserable, therefore, was that going out of Cain indeed. It was a

departure full of tears. He was compelled to leave forever his home

and his parents, who now gave to him, a solitary man and a "vagabond,"

their daughter as his wife, to live with him as his companion; but

they knew not what would become either of their son or of their

daughter. In consequence of losing three children at one time their

grief is so much greater. No other explanation suggests itself for the

subsequent statement "Cain knew his wife."

241. Where, then, did Cain live with his wife? Moses answers, "in the

land of Nod," a name derived from its vagabond and unsettled

inhabitant. And where was this land situated? Beyond paradise, toward

the east, a place indeed most remarkable. Cain came into a certain

place toward the east, but when he came there, he was insecure and

unprotected, for it was the land of Nod, where he could not set foot

with certainty, because "the face of God" was not there. For this

"face" he had left with his parents, who lived where they had paradise

on their side, or toward the west. When Cain fled from his home he

went toward the east. So the posterity of Cain was separated from the

posterity of Adam, having paradise as a place of division between

them. The passage, moreover, proves that paradise remained undestroyed

after Adam was driven out of it. In all probability it was finally

destroyed by the deluge.

242. This text greatly favors the opinion of those who believe that

Adam was created in the region of Damascus, and that, after he was

driven out of paradise for his sin, he lived in Palestine; and hence

it was in the midst of the original paradise that Jerusalem, Bethlehem

and Jericho stood, in which places Jesus Christ and his servant John

chiefly dwelt. Although the present aspect of those places does not

altogether bear out that conclusion, the devastations of the mighty

deluge were such as to change fountains, rivers and mountains; and it

is quite possible that on the site which was afterward Calvary, the

place of Christ's sacrifice for the world's sin, there stood the tree

of the knowledge of good and evil, the same spot being marked by the

death and ruin wrought by Satan and by the life and salvation wrought

by Christ.

243. It is not without a particular purpose, therefore, that Daniel

uses the striking expression: "The end thereof (of the sanctuary, the

sacrifice and the oblation) shall be with a flood," Dan 9, 26. As if

he had said, The first paradise was laid waste and utterly destroyed

by the mighty deluge, and the other, future paradise, in which

redemption is to be wrought, shall be destroyed by the Romanists as by

a flood.

244. We may carry the analogy further by stating that as Babel was the

cause of the destruction of the Jewish people, so this disaster had

its beginning with Cain and his offspring, who settled in that part of

the earth where, at a later day, Babylon was founded. These are my

thoughts and views, derived partly from the fathers. Though they may

not be true, they are yet probable, and have nothing ungodly in them.

And there can be no doubt that Noah, after the flood, saw the face of

the whole earth altogether changed from what it was before that awful

visitation of the wrath of God. Mountains were torn asunder, fountains

were made to break forth and the courses of the rivers themselves were

wholly altered and diverted into other channels, by the mighty force

of the overwhelming waters.

VII. GENERATIONS OF CAIN AND OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

A. IN GENERAL.

1. Why Cain's generations were described before those of the

righteous 245.

2. How the Holy Spirit is interested more in the generations of

the righteous than in those of Cain 246-247.

3. Why the Holy Spirit gives this description of both 248.

4. The relation of the two to each other 248.

5. How the generations of the righteous are attacked and

conquered by those of the godless 249.

* Of Cain's marriage.

a. Who was his wife, and the question of his being married

before he committed the murder 250-251.

* How to read the writings of the Jews 251.

b. The question of his being married after the murder

252-254.

* That some of his posterity were saved 254.

VII. THE GENERATIONS OF CAIN AND THE GENERATIONS OF THE GODLY.

A. The Posterity of Cain in General.

V. 17. _And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and

he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of

his son, Enoch._

245. It is worthy of admiration that Moses describes the generation of

the sons of Cain before the generation of the sons of God. But all

this is done according to the fixed counsel of God. For the children

of this world have in this life and in this their generation the

advantage of the children of God (Lk 16, 8) with reference to the

first promise. The spiritual seed of the woman indeed possess the

spiritual blessing, but the seed of the serpent arrogate to themselves

the corporal, or temporal, blessing, and they bruise the heel of the

blessed seed. In this respect the temporal has precedence over the

spiritual.

246. But a great difference comes to the surface at a later day.

Although Moses records the history of the posterity of Cain before the

posterity of the righteous, yet we afterwards see that the latter are

more especially the care of the Holy Spirit. He does not confine

himself to a bare registration of their names, but he carefully

numbers their years, makes mention of their death, and not only

chronicles their own doings, as he chronicles in this passage those of

the sons of Cain, but also the transactions and the conversations

which Jehovah had with them, the promises he made, the help rendered

in danger, and the blessings vouchsafed.

247. None of these things are recorded of the wicked posterity of

Cain. When Moses has said that Cain begat a son named Enoch, and that

he built a city to which he gave the name of his son, calling it

Enoch, the sacred historian immediately cuts off the memory of Cain

altogether and, as it were, buries him forever with these few short

words of record. He seems to entertain no further care or concern for

either his life or his death. He merely records temporal

blessings--that he begat a son and that he built a city. For as the

gift of reproduction was not taken away from the murderer Cain,

neither was the gift of dominion taken from him. But he lost all the

rich blessings of the earth because it had drunk the blood of his

brother, as we have shown above.

248. The Holy Spirit records these things in order that we may see

that there was, from the very beginning, two churches: one the church

of the sons of Satan and of the flesh, which often makes sudden and

great increase; and the other the church of the sons of God, which is

usually weak and makes slow progress. Although the Scriptures do not

relate how these two churches lived together in the beginning, yet, as

it was declared by God to Satan, "I will put enmity between thy seed

and her seed," it is certain that the church of Cain was ever hostile

to the Church of Adam. And the present text fully shows that the sons

of men so increased and prevailed that they almost completely

perverted and destroyed the Church of the sons of God. For in the

great flood, only eight souls of them were saved; all the rest of the

human race perished in the waters on account of their sin.

249. And this is a calamity of the true Church, common to all ages: as

soon as she begins to increase, she is compelled to oppose with all

her might Satan and the ungodly. She is at length tired out by the

wickedness of her enemy, and is then either obliged to yield to her

enraged foe, overcome by the cross and its afflictions, or she sinks

under the seductions of pleasures and riches. So it was with the

posterity of Adam. Broken down, at length, under so long a war with

the sons of men, they yielded, being reduced at last to eight souls

only, who were saved. Ungodliness having so far prevailed, and the

godly losing ground, the Lord at length interposes and saves the few

righteous remaining; but all the rest, both the seduced and the

seducers, he punishes, including them in the same judgment. And we

hope and believe the Lord will do the same in the judgment at the last

day.

250. Many questions arise here. Some inquire respecting the

circumstances connected with the wife of Cain: at what time the murder

was committed; whether Cain murdered his brother before he was a

husband, or after he was married. And the Jews, moreover, say that Eve

brought forth twins at every birth, a male and a female; and they

assert that Cain married his sister Calmana, and Abel his sister

Debora. Whether these things be true or not I cannot affirm. I know

not. But they are not vital to the interests of the Church, and there

is nothing certain known concerning them. This one thing is certain,

that Cain had a sister for his wife. But whether or no he had her as

his wife when he committed the murder, cannot with certainty be

proven. However, the text before us greatly tends to the conclusion

that Cain was married when he committed the murder of his brother; for

it intimates that the inheritance was divided between the two brothers

when it affirms that the care of the cattle was committed by the

father to Abel and the tilling of the ground to Cain. I, therefore, am

inclined to believe that both of the brothers were married.

251. This conclusion is favored also by the statement made above, that

Cain and Abel "in the process of time" brought their offerings. This

has been explained in the following manner: At the end of the year,

the two newly married husbands brought as offerings the new fruits

which God had given them in this first year of their marriage; Cain

brought the first fruits of the earth, and Abel the first fruits of

his flock. And the time was probably the autumn of the year, the time

when the fruits of the earth are gathered, the same season in which

the Jews afterwards held the feast of expiation. Moses, in his

Levitical law, seems carefully to have noted and collected the

ancestral patterns, and to have reduced them to a code. When,

therefore, the new husbands came to render their thanks to God for his

blessings and to offer their gifts, and Abel's offering was accepted

of God and not the offering of Cain, Cain's heart was immediately

filled by Satan with hatred of his brother; and upon this hatred

afterwards followed the horrible murder. This is the opinion of the

Jews, which I thus relate because it does not appear to be at all far

from the truth. But, as I have often said, the interpretations of the

Jews are to be read with critical discrimination, so that in their

teachings, we may retain the things consistent with the truth, but

condemn and refute all fictions of their own making.

252. If Cain was not married when he slew his brother, it is still

more wonderful that after such a wicked deed he obtained a wife at

all; and certainly that damsel was worthy the highest praise who

married such a man. For how could the maiden rejoice in a marriage

with her brother who was a murderer, accursed and excommunicated? She,

on her part, no doubt supplicated her father, and expostulated with

him and asked how he could give her, an innocent one, in marriage to a

man thus accursed, and force her into banishment with him. Nay, the

very example of her brother's murder must have naturally filled her

with terror, lest the crime which her husband committed on his brother

he might also dare to commit on her, his sister and his wife.

253. In bringing about this marriage, Adam obviously had to exercise

marvelous eloquence. It was for him to convince his daughter that the

father's command was not to be disobeyed, and that while Cain,

curse-ridden, would have to bear the penalty of his sin, God would

still preserve and bless her, the innocent one.

Nor do I entertain the least doubt that God conferred many personal

blessings upon Cain, down the whole line of his posterity, for the

sake of his wife, who, from motives of faith toward God and of

obedience toward her parents, had married her murderous brother.

As Christ was the minister of the circumcision for the truth of God,

to establish the certainty of the promise made unto the Jewish

fathers; and as, in the absence of a promise, he was the minister of

the Gentiles, because of the mercy of God, (Rom 15, 8-9), so the like

uncovenanted mercy was shown also to the posterity of Cain. These two

opinions have been expressed concerning the marriage of Cain, but

which is the truth I know not. If Cain was married after he committed

the murder, his wife is most certainly worthy of all praise and of all

fame, who could thus yield to the authority of her parents, and suffer

herself to be joined in marriage with an accursed murderer.

254. To myself, the first opinion appears to be much nearer the truth,

that he murdered his brother after his marriage with his sister;

because we have so clear a testimony in the text concerning the

division of the inheritance. And in that case, the necessity lay on

the wife to follow her husband. As wife and husband are one body and

one flesh, Adam had no desire to separate them; moreover, the wife is

bound to bear her part of the calamities of her husband. Just in the

same manner as the posterity of Cain enjoyed a part of those blessings

which were bestowed of God upon the innocent wife, Pharaoh, king of

Egypt, was saved in the time of Joseph, and the King of Nineveh was

saved in the time of his calamity, although neither of them belonged

to the people of God. And so I also believe that some were saved out

of the posterity of Cain, although Cain himself had utterly lost the

promise concerning the blessed seed.

B. THE POSTERITY OF CAIN IN DETAIL; THE GENERATIONS OF CAIN.

* The names were given to the descendants of Cain, not by accident,

but by special thought and with a definite meaning 255.

1. Of Enoch.

a. The meaning of his name 255-256.

b. Is the first in Cain's posterity and the beginning of the

temporal blessing 256.

* Why Cain built a city 257-258.

2. Irad and the meaning of his name. It was not given without a

purpose 259.

3. Mehujael and the meaning of his name 260.

* The means the false church uses to suppress the true Church 260.

4. Methushael and the meaning of his name 261.

5. Lamech.

a. What his name signifies 262.

* Cain's descendants persecute the true Church. Yet some of

Cain's posterity were saved 263.

b. The reason he took two wives 264.

c. Who were his wives 265.

d. His sons, Jabal, Jubal, Tubal-cain, and his daughter Naamah

266-268.

* Why Moses mentions the various arts of Cain's descendants

269.

* Whether poverty drove Cain's descendants to the arts 269-270.

* As the false church was before the flood so is she still, and

will remain so to the end of the world 271.

* How the Cainites increased and oppressed the true Church 272.

* Why the Scriptures do not mention that some of the Cainites

were saved 272.

e. Of his haughty speech, "I have slain a man etc."

(1) This is difficult to understand, and has been poorly

treated by interpreters 273.

(2) The fable explanation of these words by the Jews refuted

274-275.

(3) How others explained them 275.

(4) Luther's understanding of them 276-277.

f. Whether Lamech slew Cain, and thereby made himself famous

278.

g. How he attempted to be ruler upon Adam's death 279.

* How the Church is oppressed from both sides 279.

* Why Moses mentions the blood descendants of Cain with such

care 280.

h. Cain is not sorry for his deed, but even boasts of it 281.

* The nature of the Cain church 281.

i. How he seeks to avoid being slain by others 282.

* The pope has the conscience of Cain and Lamech 282.

j. He is a type of all the children of this world 283.

* How the devil drives the Cainites to rage against the Church

under the guise of being holy 284.

* The true Church from the very beginning had to shed her blood

285.

* The tyranny of Popes Julius II and Clement VII 285.

* God at all times severely punished the persecutors of his

Church 286.

k. How Lamech still wished to defend his deed 287.

l. He had no Word of God, but was filled with pride 288.

B. THE POSTERITY OF CAIN IN DETAIL.

255. As regards the names of Cain's offspring, I believe that, in

common with those of the holy patriarchs, they indicate not an absence

of purpose or a random selection, but a definite purpose and a

prophecy. Thus "Adam" signifies a man of, or taken out of, the red

earth. "Eve" signifies the mother of life, or of the living. "Cain"

signifies possession. "Abel" signifies vanity. And we find that also

among the Gentiles many names have such a significance; not seldom

names are found which are truly prophetic. "Enoch" is a prophetic

name, expressive of hope in the future as a relief to Cain's mind, or

rather to his wife's, for it was the latter who called the son she

bore Enoch, from the Hebrew _Hanach_, which signifies, "she

dedicated," or "she devoted."

256. This is a word frequently used by Moses. As when he says, "What

man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it?

let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and

another man dedicate it," Deut 20, 5. The verb in this passage, which

signifies originally to dedicate, here signifies to possess, or to

enjoy; and when this possession or enjoyment begins, it is attended

with happy signs and auspicious invocations. So when the wife of Cain

brought forth her first son, she said to her husband, Enoch; that is,

"Dedicate him, devote him:" for the verb is in the imperative mood. As

if Cain had said himself, May this our beginning be happy and

prosperous. My father Adam cursed me on account of my sin. I am cast

out of his sight. I live alone in the world. The earth does not yield

me her strength; she would be more fruitful to me, had I not thus

sinned. And yet God now shows me uncovenanted mercy in giving me this

son. It is a good and happy beginning.

As in the generation of Cain the corporal blessings begin with Enoch,

so it is another Enoch in the generation of the righteous under whom

religion and spiritual blessings begin to flourish.

257. That which is added by Moses concerning the city Cain thus built

belongs to history. But I have before observed that Cain, when

separated from the true church and driven into banishment, hated the

true church. When, therefore, Cain thus first built a city, that very

act tended to show that he not only disregarded and hated the true

Church, but wished also to oppose and oppress it. For he reflects

thus: Behold I am cast out by my father and I am cursed by him, but my

marriage is not a barren one; therefore I have in this the hope of a

great posterity. What, therefore, is it to me that I am driven by my

father from beneath his roof? I will build a city, in which I will

gather a church for myself. Farewell, therefore, to my father and his

church. I regard them not.

258. Accordingly, it is not through fear, or for defense, that Cain

"built a city," but from the sure hope of prosperity and success, and

from pride and the lust of dominion. For he had no need whatever to

fear his father and mother, who at the divine command had thrust him

out to go into some foreign land. Nor had he any more ground of fear

from their children than from themselves. But Cain was inflated with

pride through this uncovenanted mercy of God, as I have termed it;

and, as the world ever does, he sought by means of his "city" an

opportunity of emerging from his present state into future greatness.

The sons of God, on the contrary, are only anxious about another city,

"which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God," as we have

it described in the Epistles to the Hebrews 11, 10.

V. 18a. _And unto Enoch was born Irad._

259. What opinion to form concerning this name, I really know not, for

its origin is very obscure; and yet I believe the name is not

accidental but prophetic. In the book of Joshua we have a city called

Ai; and this same term is used elsewhere as an appellative. Now, the

proper name Ai signifies, "a heap," as a heap of fallen buildings. And

if with this name you compound the verb _Irad_, the word thus

compounded will signify increase. Although the posterity of Cain, on

account of their excommunication, were at that time like a great heap

of ruins, it was his prayer that they might not altogether perish, but

be preserved and greatly increased by means of this son Irad. If

anyone can offer a better interpretation, I will by no means despise

it; for on obscure points like the present, conjecture is quite

allowable.

V. 18b. _And Irad begat Mehujael._

260. This name is formed from the verb _mahah_, which signifies "to

destroy," and from _jaal_, "he began," or "he attempted or dared."

Accordingly this name signifies that the posterity of Cain should now

enter upon so mighty an increase as to dare to set itself in array

against the true Church and to despise it and persecute it; so

mightily should it prevail by its wealth, wisdom, glory and numbers.

These, indeed, are for the most part the influences through which the

true Church is always overcome by the world and the false church.

V. 18c. _And Mehujael begat Methushael._

261. _Meth_ signifies "death," and _schaal_ means "to ask," or "to

demand." Hence we have the name Saul; that is, demanded. This name

indicates a spirit haughtier than any of the others. I understand it

to signify that Methushael threatens that he will avenge his parents,

who are dead, whom the other church--that is the true Church--has

punished with excommunication and exile.

V. 18d. _And Methushael begat Lamech._

262. Hitherto the Cainites seem to have insulted the true Church with

impunity and to have triumphed over them. But the name "Lamech"

signifies that God, at the time in which Lamech was born, inflicted on

the posterity of Cain their due punishment. The name Lamech is derived

from the verb _makak_, which signifies to humble, to diminish, to

suppress. Or, it may be understood actively, to mean that in the time

of Lamech the posterity of Cain so greatly increased that the true

Church was quite overwhelmed by them.

263. Such was the posterity of Cain; men, no doubt, renowned for their

wisdom and greatness. And I also believe that some of them were saved

by the uncovenanted mercy of God, as I have above explained. But far

the greater part of them most bitterly hated and persecuted the true

Church. They could not brook inferiority to the sons of Adam, the true

Church; therefore they set up their own forms of worship, and

introduced many other new things for the sake of suppressing the

church of Adam. And because the false church was thus kept separate

from the true Church, I believe that Cain married to each other his

sons and daughters. Accordingly, about the time of Lamech, Cain's

posterity began to multiply exceedingly. And it is for this reason, I

believe, that Moses here terminates the list.

V. 19. _And Lamech took unto him two wives; the name of the one was

Adah, and the name of the other Zillah._

264. Here again a twofold question arises. In the first place divines

dispute whether Lamech married these two wives on account of lustful

passion or for some other cause. My belief is that polygamy was not

entered into for the sake of lust, but with the object of increasing

his family, and from the lust of dominion, and especially so if, as

his name imports, the Lord at that time had been punishing the

Cainites, or the posterity of Cain, by pestilence, or by some other

calamity. In this case, Lamech probably thought by such expedient to

retrieve his greatness. Thus barbarous nations retain polygamy to

strengthen and establish both home and State.

265. As regards the names of these two wives, the name of one is Adah;

that is, adorned, or, having chains on the neck. _Adi_ signifies a

neat, or elegant woman, and _adah_, the verb, signifies to adorn, or,

to put on. And perhaps this name was given to her, not only because

she was the mistress of the house, elegantly adorned or clothed, but

because she was also beautiful. The name of the other wife, Zillah,

signifies, his shade.

V. 20. _And Adah bare Jabal; he was the father of such as dwell in

tents and have cattle._

266. The name Jabal is derived from the verb _jabal_, which signifies

to bring forward, or to produce.

V. 21. _And his brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all

such as handle the harp and pipe._

267. And the name Jubal has the same origin and signification; for it

means produced, or introduced. Both these names, therefore, contain a

wish or prayer of Lamech concerning the increase of his family. The

posterity of Cain always entertained the object and expectation of

surpassing in numbers. And, no doubt, the Cainites held up this

temporal blessing in the face of the true Church as an evident proof

that they were not cast off by God, but were the very people of God.

V. 22. _And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, the forger of every

cutting instrument of (an artificer in every workmanship of) brass and

iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah._

268. Tubal-cain signifies, produce property. So the Romans gave such

names as "Valerius" (from valeo), and "Augustus" (from augeo). And

Naamah received her name from her sweetness, or beauty. This posterity

of Cain increased infinitely; hence Moses breaks off at this point.

269. Now, when he not only chronicles names but makes mention also of

the deeds and labors of each one, the Jewish explanation is to be

rejected that the offspring of Cain was compelled to follow other

occupations because the earth was cursed, and hence gained their

livelihood, one as a shepherd, another as a worker in brass, and

another as a musician, obtaining grain and the other fruits of the

earth from the offspring of Adam. But if the Cainites had been so

severely pressed by hunger, they would have forgotten the harp, organ

and other instruments of music in their extremity; for the enjoyment

of music is not characteristic of the hungry and thirsty.

270. Their invention of music and their efforts in the discovery of

other arts is proof that they had the necessaries of life in

abundance. The reason, therefore, that the descendants of Cain turned

to these pursuits and were not contented with the simple food the

earth produced, like the descendants of Adam, was that they wished to

rule, and aimed at the high praise and glory of being men of talent. I

believe, however, that some of them passed over to the true Church and

followed the religion of Adam.

271. And such as Moses here describes the generation of the wicked, or

the false church, to be, from the beginning down to the mighty flood

of waters, so we find it ever, and such it will remain until the final

flood of fire. "The sons of this world are for their own generation

wiser than the sons of the light," Lk 16, 8. Therefore it is that they

ever advance and increase, and commend themselves and their own, and

thus acquire riches, dignities and power; while the true Church, on

the other hand, always lies prostrate, despised, oppressed,

excommunicated.

Vs. 23-24. _And Lamech said unto his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my

voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a

man for wounding me, and a young man for bruising me. If Cain shall be

avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold._

272. Thus far Moses has given us a history of the generation of the

children of this world, and having brought down the list to the time

of Lamech and his wives and children, he buries them, as it were,

altogether in silence, leaving them without any promise, either of the

life which is to come or of the life that now is. For except that

uncovenanted blessing of offspring and of food, the Cainites possessed

nothing whatever. Yet they so increased in power and in multitude that

they filled the whole world, and at length overturned and ravaged to

such an extent the righteous nation of the children of God which

possessed the promise of the future and eternal life, and sunk them

into so deep a hell of wickedness, that eight men only remained to be

saved when the flood came upon the whole world of the ungodly. And

though there is no doubt that some of the generation of Cain were

saved both before the flood and in the flood, yet the Scriptures do

not mention them, to the end that we might the more fear God and walk

according to his Word. But hard as the diamond are those human hearts

which fail to be moved by such an example as the flood, than which

nothing more dreadful is to be found in the whole chain of time.

273. Moses, therefore, having buried in silence the entire generation

of Cain, records only one unimportant fact respecting Lamech, but what

the real import of that fact is, Moses does not explain. I know not

that any other passage in the Holy Scriptures has been so diversely

interpreted, and so rent and wrested, as this text. For ignorance at

least, if eloquence is not, is fruitful of surmises, errors and

fables. I will mention some of the vulgar views upon the passage now

before us.

274. The Jews compose the fable that Lamech, when he had grown old and

was blind, was led by a youth into the woods to hunt wild beasts, not

for the sake of their flesh but for their skins; circumstances which

are altogether absurd, and at once prove the whole fable to be a lie.

And they hold that Cain was there, concealed among the bushes, and in

that solitude he not only exercised repentance but sought security for

his life. The young man who directed the spear for Lamech, thinking he

saw a wild beast in a certain thicket, told Lamech to hurl his spear,

and Lamech hurled his spear and, contrary to all thought, pierced

Cain. And they add that after Lamech had been made conscious of the

murder he had committed, he immediately speared the youth himself, who

also died under the wound he received. It was thus, say the Jews, that

the "man" and the "young man" were slain by Lamech. But such

absurdities as these are utterly unworthy of refutation. Indeed, Moses

himself completely refutes them; he records the fact that Cain, far

from fleeing into solitude and concealment, "built a city," which

implies that he governed a State and thereby established for himself a

kind of kingdom. Moreover, the ages of Cain and Lamech would not

accord with this explanation, for it is not at all probable Cain lived

to the time Lamech became old and blind.

275. There is still another Jewish invention. After Lamech had killed

Cain, his wives would no longer live with him, through fear of the

punishment they foreboded would come upon him, and therefore Lamech,

to comfort himself and to induce his wives to live with him,

prophesied that whosoever should kill him would assuredly be punished

"seventy and sevenfold." The Jews invent like absurdities also

concerning the sons of Lamech, whom they say he taught to fabricate

arms for the destruction of men. Other commentators, again, will have

it that the sense of this text is to be taken negatively, thus: If I

had killed a man, as Cain killed his brother, I should have been

worthy of your reprobation.

276. My interpretation, accordingly, is that the words, "If Cain shall

be avenged sevenfold," etc., are not to be taken for the Word of God.

For that generation did not have the Word; how, then, could Lamech be

believed to have been a prophet? Thus, even such a man as Jerome

produces the vagary that, inasmuch as, according to Luke,

seventy-seven generations can be counted between Adam and Christ, it

was after this space of time that Lamech's sin was taken away by

Christ. If such vaporings are legitimate, anything can be proved from

the Scriptures. Jerome even forgets that Lamech represented the

seventh generation from Adam! The word under consideration then, is

not to be placed upon the same level with the former, spoken to Cain;

for that was the Word of God. It is, on the contrary, the word of a

wicked murderer; not true, but an audacious fiction, based upon that

spoken by Adam to Cain. But why does he deliver his discourse not

before his church but at home, and only before his wives?

277. It is probable that the good and pious women were greatly alarmed

on account of the murder committed by their husband. The wicked

murderer, therefore, to appear equally safe with Cain, endeavored in

this way to reassure his wives concerning his safety from death. This

is what the wicked church is accustomed to do; it prophesies out of

its own head. But all such prophecies are vain. This one thing,

however, we can gather from the present text, that Lamech did not

utter the contents of his prophecy from the Word of God, but out of

his own brain.

278. In respect to Cain, I do not think that he was killed by Lamech,

but that he died long before the time of Lamech. And as there were

continual animosities between the Cainite church and the Church of

Adam--for the Cainites could not brook their being treated as outside

of the true communion--my opinion is, that Lamech killed some eminent

man and some distinguished youth of the generation of the righteous,

just as Cain, his father, had killed Abel. And I believe that, having

committed such murders, he wished to protect himself from being killed

by uttering the words of the text, after the manner of the protection

vouchsafed by God to his father Cain. For Lamech was no doubt a man of

very great abilities and the chief man in his day and State. He had

also strengthened his cause by a novel venture, for he was the first

man who married two wives. And he harassed the Church of the godly in

various ways, as men are wont to do who combine talent with malice.

Therefore he furnished his men with arms, riches, and pleasures, that

he might overcome the true Church on every side, which alone held the

holy faith, the pure Word, and the pure worship of God. To all else he

paid little attention.

279. It is very probable that the patriarch Adam died about this time,

this being the first patriarchal death; and there is no doubt that

Lamech seized this opportunity of transferring the whole government of

the world at that time to himself, that he might have all things under

his own rule. This is the manner in which the world acts to this day.

The Church of God, therefore, placed as it were in the midst, is

oppressed on either side; by tyrants and blood-thirsty men on the one

hand, and by those who are devoted to the concerns and pleasures of

this world on the other. As tyrants use violence and the sword to

destroy the Church, so the latter entice her by their allurements.

280. Hence it is that Moses makes a special point of recording that

the blood-thirsty seed of the Cainites gave themselves up to pleasures

and to other worldly pursuits. And hence it is, also, that Christ

expressly shows that much blood was shed even before the flood, by

testifying "that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the

earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of

Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the

altar," Mt 23, 35. Moses testifies subsequently (Gen 6, 1-13), that

the earth before the flood was filled with iniquities; and he is not

speaking of the iniquities and violent deeds of thieves and

adulterers, but describes particularly the tyranny of the Cainite

church, which pursued with all the violence of the sword the holy

posterity of Adam. And it is for this same reason that the sacred

historian describes the descendants of Cain by the name "giants."

These are the reasons which lead me to conclude that Lamech followed

in the footsteps of his father Cain and slew some distinguished man of

the holy patriarchs and his son.

281. It was certainly an evidence of the greatest tyranny in Lamech,

that, when he had been discovered by his wives, he did not grieve for

what he had done, but held in contempt the punishment which he had

just cause to dread. As if he had said: I have killed a man 'tis true,

but what is that to you? The wound of that belongs to me; I shall be

wounded for it, not you. I have indeed killed a young man, but it is

to my own hurt. I shall be punished for it, not you. What utterances

could evince more contempt than these in the face of open sins?

These are my thoughts on the passage now before us. The text shows

that the Cainites were tyrannical men, proud of their success, and

given to pleasure; and the very words of Lamech prove him to be a

proud man, not grieving at all for the murder he had committed, but

glorying in it as in a righteous cause. The Cainite church always

excuses that tyranny which it exercises over the godly, as Christ

says: "Whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto

God," Jn 16, 2. This is expressed in the additional words of Lamech:

V. 24. _If Cain shall he avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and

sevenfold._

282. Here Lamech sets himself above his father Cain, making it appear

that he had a more righteous cause for the murder he had committed,

and fortifying himself against those inclined to avenge the murders

perpetrated by him. For the words of the text are not the words of the

Lord, as we have said, but the words of Lamech himself. Just so the

pope fortifies himself by violence, tyranny, threats and anathemas, to

make himself secure against avengers, for he has the conscience of a

Cain and a Lamech. Let him, says the pope, who shall do anything

contrary to these my decrees know that he shall incur the indignation

of St. Peter and St. Paul.

283. Lamech, therefore, is an example of this world, and Moses points

to him to show what kind of a heart, will and wisdom the world has.

Just as if he had said in reference to Lamech: Such are the actions of

the seed of the serpent and such are the children of this world. They

gather riches, follow their pleasures, increase their power, and then

abuse all these things by their tyranny, making use of them against

the true Church, the members of which they persecute and slay. And yet

in the midst of all these mighty sins, they fear not, but are proud

and secure, boasting and saying, "What can the righteous do?" (Ps 11,

3): "Our lips are our own: who is lord over us?" (Ps 12, 4): "He (the

wicked) saith in his heart: God hath forgotten, he hideth his face, he

will never see it," (Ps 10, 11): and other like sentiments.

284. That such is the meaning of the passage in question the facts

recorded prove, though the words of the text do not so clearly express

that meaning. The true Church has ever Satan as its great enemy, and

he drives the Cainites into fury, disguised as devotion, against their

brethren, the Abels; as Christ also says, affirming that the devil was

a murderer from the beginning, Jn 8, 44. It is declared throughout the

Scriptures concerning the true Church, that the wicked are ever

shedding its blood. The various passages in the Psalms speak the same

things, "Precious shall their blood be in his sight," Ps 72, 14.

Again, "Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his saints"

Ps 116, 15. And again, "For thy sake are we killed all the day long"

Ps 44, 22.

285. As, therefore, the Church of God has at all times, and in all

ages, given her blood to be shed by the wicked and by false brethren,

so also, in that first age of the world she had to suffer from her

enemies, whom the Scriptures call "giants," and affirm that those

"giants" filled the earth with "violence." Among these giants was also

this Lamech now before us, who was one perhaps like Pope Julius II or

Clement VII who although they exercised cruelty in the highest degree,

yet wished to be called and appear as most holy saints. Just so Lamech

here wishes to make it appear that he had a most righteous cause for

the murder he had committed, and therefore he threatened greater

vengeance on the man who should kill him than God himself had

threatened on the person who should slay his father, the murderer

Cain.

286. In this manner, the Church was vexed with the cross and with

persecutions from the very beginning of the world until God, compelled

by the wickedness of man, destroyed the whole world by the flood. Just

so, also, when the measure of Pharaoh's malice was full he was drowned

with all his host in the Red Sea. Just so, again, when the measure of

the malice of the Gentile nations was full they were all uprooted and

destroyed by Moses and Joshua. In the same manner afterwards when the

Jews raged against the Gospel they were so utterly destroyed that not

one stone was left upon another in Jerusalem. Other instances are the

Babylonians, the Medes, the Persians, the Grecians, and the Romans.

287. The Scriptures therefore do not record whom Lamech killed. They

only record that two murders were committed by him, and that Lamech,

in his impenitence, wished to protect himself in the same manner as

his father Cain had been divinely protected, by issuing his

proclamation, thereby making it appear that he had righteous cause for

the murder he committed. And if this interpretation be not the true

one, it is at least certain that the generation of the Cainites was a

blood-thirsty generation, and hated and persecuted the true Church.

288. And it is, moreover, true that Lamech had not the Word, and that,

accordingly, his utterance is not to be considered in the same light

as that word which was spoken to his father Cain; for the latter was

the voice of truth, but the word of Lamech was the voice of his own

pride, expressive of the rule of Satan and of a church of hypocrites,

which sins securely and yet glories in its sins as if they were deeds

of righteousness.

C. THE POSTERITY OF THE RIGHTEOUS IN DETAIL; THE GENERATIONS OF THE

RIGHTEOUS.

1. Of Seth.

a. Why Seth is described in detail 289.

b. Why Eve at Seth's birth recalled Cain's murder 290.

* How and why the first parents after Abel's death refrained

from bearing children 291.

c. Seth's birth was announced before in a special way by God

291-292.

* The uncovenanted grace of the Cainites. Also, why God did not

mention that some of them would be saved 293.

d. How Eve manifested special faith and obedience in Seth's

birth 294-295.

* Why the Romish church never canonized Eve 296.

* The idle fables of the Jews about Lamech and his wives, and

about Adam's abstinence and Cain's increase, are to be

rejected 297.

e. A new generation springs from Seth, in which the promise

shall be fulfilled 298.

2. Of Enoch.

a. What his name means, and why it was given to him 299.

* The names of the holy patriarchs originated not by chance

299.

b. How true worship began under Enoch 300-302.

* Of true worship.

(1) In what it consists 301.

(2) Why it was not in use before 302.

* The meaning of "the name of Jehovah" or the proclaiming

of the name of Jehovah 303.

(3) The right course to take in the doctrine concerning

divine worship 304.

* God always ministered comfort to his Church under the

cross 305.

(4) What is the true worship according to the first table of

the law 306-307.

(5) How true worship according to the second table follows

from the first 308.

(6) People are to be instructed first and chiefly in the

worship of the first table 309.

(7) Whether visible signs were present in these days in their

worship, and to what end they were necessary 310-311.

(8) The worship of which Moses speaks is to be understood not

of the Cainites but of Seth's posterity 312.

* A summary review of the contents of the fourth chapter of Genesis

313.

* Why the fifth chapter was written 314.

* Why the Jews cannot see the unity in the first five chapters of the

Bible 315.

C. THE POSTERITY OF THE RIGHTEOUS IN DETAIL.

V. 25. _And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called

his name Seth: For, said she, God hath appointed me another seed

instead of Abel; for Cain slew him._

289. Hitherto Moses has spoken of the generation of the wicked only,

the whole of which he buries as it were with the above brief catalog.

The historian now turns to the description of the godly and of the

true Church. And first of all, we are to observe the manner of

expression Moses uses in reference to the name given by Eve to her

son: "And she called his name Seth." Moses does not speak thus

concerning Cain when he was born, nor concerning righteous Abel, nor

with reference to Enoch, nor with reference to any of the others. By

this particular expression regarding Seth and his name Moses would

signify that this was the first son in whom flowed the stream of the

promise which had been made to the parents in paradise. So Eve is to

be understood when she assigns the reason for giving her son this

name. Eve manifests her surpassing godliness and faith in giving her

son such a name.

290. The fact that Eve recalls the murder by wicked Cain of his

brother Abel proves that there had existed a fierce enmity between

these two churches, and that she had witnessed and suffered many evils

and indignities from the Cainites. Because of this she now called to

mind the awful murder which had been committed, whereby Cain wished to

destroy the righteous seed that he might reign alone. But thanks be to

God, says she, who hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel.

291. Moses here, as is his usual manner, embraces in the fewest

possible words the mightiest things, that he may incite the reader to

the most diligent consideration of the works of God. Of the pain and

righteous grief of the parents at the murder of Abel by his brother we

have spoken before. I see no reason why we should not believe that

after the perpetration of that horrible murder no son was born to Adam

until the birth of Seth; for it is most probable that the awful peril

of a recurrence of a calamity like that which they had just

experienced, induced the godly parents to abstain from connubial

intercourse. I believe, therefore, that by a particular promise made

to them by an angel, their minds were again comforted and confirmed,

and that they were influenced to believe that a son of the description

of Seth would now be born unto them, who should hold fast the promise;

and that, although the generation of Cain should utterly perish by

their sin, the generation of him about to be born should be preserved

until the promised blessed seed should come into the world.

292. It is a proof of some like particular promise having been

revealed to the parents by an angel that Eve adds to the name she gave

to her son a kind of short sermon, and that Moses when recording this

circumstance makes use of an expression not otherwise adopted by him

in connection with the names Adam or Eve gave to their children: "And

she called his name Seth." Seth is derived from the Hebrew verb

_sath_, which signifies he placed, or he established, and was intended

to show that this son would be, as it were, the foundation on which

the promise concerning Christ would rest, even though many other sons

should be born unto the parents. Eve does not give him an exalted

name, such as "Cain," yet she gives him a name signifying that the

posterity of Seth should never be suppressed or destroyed.

293. The Cainites, cast out from the sight of their parents, are left

under a curse, without any promise whatever, and have only so much

mercy as they receive from the generation of the righteous as beggars,

not as heirs. This is the mercy we above called uncovenanted mercy.

But who, of the posterity of the Cainites, obtained that mercy, Moses

does not mention, and his design in this omission is to keep separate

the two churches: the one the Church of the righteous, which had the

promise of a life to come, but in this life was poor and afflicted;

the other the church of the wicked, which in this life is rich and

flourishing.

294. Eve, the mother of us all, is highly to be praised, as a most

holy woman, full of faith and charity, because in the person of her

son Seth she so nobly lauds the true Church, paying no regard whatever

to the generation of the Cainites. For she does not say, I have gotten

another son in the place of Cain. She prefers the slain Abel to Cain,

though Cain was the first-born. Herein praise is due, not only to her

faith but to her eminent obedience; for she is not only not offended

at the judgment of God concerning righteous Abel, but she also changes

her own judgment concerning God. When Abel was born she despised him,

and magnified Cain as the first-born, and as the possessor, as she

thought, of the promise. But now she acts in all things quite the

contrary. As if she had said: After God's acceptance of him and of his

offering, I had placed all my hopes on my son Abel, because he was

righteous; but his wicked brother slew him. But now God hath appointed

me another seed instead of Abel.

295. She does not indulge her maternal affection for Cain. She does

not excuse or lessen the sin of her son. But she herself

excommunicates him, already excommunicated of God; and she banishes

him, together with all his posterity, among the polluted mass of the

Gentiles who live without any sure mercy of God, laying hold only as

they can of that uncovenanted mercy which, as we have said, they

receive as beggars, not as heirs.

296. It is a great marvel, surely, that the church of the pope, having

made up so great a list of saints, has not yet inserted in that

catalog Saint Eve, a woman full of faith and love, and with an

infinite number of crosses! But perhaps we are to gather from this

omission that it would rather follow the church of the Cainites than

the holy Church.

297. I am inclined to say nothing here about that absurd and idle

fable of the Jews, that Lamech brought his disobedient wives to Adam

as judge, and that when Adam commanded them to render to their husband

due benevolence the wives in reply asked Adam why he did not do the

same to Eve. These fablers say that Adam, who had refrained from the

bed of his wife from the murder of Abel to that time, again lived with

her as man and wife, in order that he might not by his example induce

others to maintain perpetual continence, and thus prevent mankind from

being multiplied. All these fables show how impure the thoughts of the

Jews were. Of the same description is the like argument of these Jews,

who hold that when Seth was born, which was within a hundred years

after the death of Abel, the children of Cain had increased unto the

seventh generation. Such absurdities do wicked men invent to bring

reproach upon the Holy Scriptures. And of precisely the same

description is the opinion that Cain was born in paradise, while, as

yet, the original righteousness of his parents remained. What is the

object of this lying invention but to cause us to do away with Christ

altogether? For take away original sin, and what need is there of

Christ at all? These things are indeed, as we have intimated, unworthy

of being mentioned here. But they are worthy the enemies of Christ and

the enemies of grace.

298. In Seth, therefore, we have a new generation, which arises from

and comes to pass in accordance with the great original promise, that

the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. Appropriately

the name Seth is bestowed, so that Eve may felicitate herself upon the

fact that this seed is established, safe from overthrow. David uses

the same verb: "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the

righteous do?" Ps 11, 3. And the Hebrew word forms a perfect rhyme

with its German equivalent: "Seth--steht."

V. 26a. _And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called

his name Enosh._

299. The verb _yikra_, he called, is in the masculine gender, by which

you are to understand that it was the father who gave this name to his

son. In the former case the verb was feminine, because Eve gave to her

son Seth his name. The expression in each case is different, which

difference of gender in a verb the Latin language does not indicate.

Enosh signifies a man afflicted or full of calamity. "What is man that

thou art mindful of him," Ps 8, 4. Seth, accordingly, intimates that

at that time there was some persecution or affliction of the Church.

That "old serpent," who had cast man out of paradise and had killed

Abel, the man beloved of God, was neither asleep nor idle. Therefore,

upon the consolation enjoyed in the birth of Seth there soon follows

another trial or tribulation, which the godly parents Adam and Eve

signalize by giving the name Enosh to their son. The names thus given

are by no means to be considered accidental. They were either

prophetical or commemorative of some particular event.

V. 26b. _Then began men to call upon the name of Jehovah._

300. The rabbins understand this as having reference to idolatry. They

think that about this time the name of Jehovah began to be given to

creatures: to the sun, the moon, etc. But Moses is not here speaking

of what the generation of Cainites did, but what the godly generation

of Adam did. The sacred historian is testifying that after the birth

of Enosh there began the true worship of God, the calling upon the

name of Jehovah.

301. Here Moses most beautifully defines what it is to worship God, to

call upon the name of Jehovah; which is, as it were, the work of the

first table and concerns the true worship of God. Now, calling upon

the name of Jehovah embraces the preaching of the Word, faith, or

confidence in God, confession, etc. Paul beautifully joins these

things together in the fourteenth verse of the tenth chapter of his

Epistle to the Romans. True, the works of the second table also belong

to the worship of God, but these works do not refer directly and only

to God as do the works of the first table.

302. After the confusion made in the house of Adam by Cain, the

generation of the godly began to multiply by degrees and a little

Church was formed, in which Adam as the high priest governed all

things by the Word and by sound doctrine. Moses here affirms that this

took place about the time of the birth of Enosh. Although this name

implies that the Church had been overwhelmed by some terrible

disaster, yet God raised her up again by his grace and mercy, and

added the great spiritual blessing of godly assemblage in a particular

place, with preaching, prayer and the offering of sacrifices,

blessings which had hitherto perhaps been either hindered or forbidden

by the Cainites. We have here, then, another evidence of the promised

seed warring with the serpent and bruising its head.

303. Furthermore, as Moses does not say: Jehovah began to be called

upon, but the name of Jehovah, the reference to Christ recommends

itself to our approval, since also in other passages the Schem Jehovah

(the name of Jehovah) is so to be understood. This expression, "then

men began to call upon the name of Jehovah," contains a meaning most

important. It signifies that Adam, Seth, and Enosh taught and exhorted

their posterity to expect redemption and to believe the promise

concerning the seed of the woman, and to overcome by that hope the

snares, the crosses, the persecutions, the hatred and the violence of

the Cainites, and not to despair of salvation, but rather to give

thanks unto God, assured that he would at some time deliver them by

the seed of the woman.

304. What could Adam and Seth teach greater or better than that the

great deliverer, Christ, was promised to their posterity? And this is

quite in keeping with the proper principle to be observed in religious

instruction. The first care should ever be directed to the first

table. When this table is well understood, the right understanding of

the second table will soon follow; yea, it is then easy to fulfil the

latter. For how is it possible that, where pure doctrine is taught,

where men rightly believe, rightly call upon the name of Jehovah, and

rightly give thanks unto God, the second and inferior fruits can be

wanting?

305. In this manner did it please God at that time to comfort the

afflicted church of the godly and to prevent their despair concerning

the future. We see throughout the pages of sacred history a perpetual

succession and change of consolations and afflictions. Joseph in Egypt

keeps alive his parents and his brethren when divinely visited by

famine. After this, when these people were oppressed by wicked kings,

they were again delivered from their cruel bondage. And Cyrus delivers

them when captives in Babylon. When God permits his own people to be

oppressed by the violence and guile of the devil and the world, he

always lifts them up again and gives them prophets and godly teachers

to restore his sinking church, and to break for a while the fury of

Satan.

306. Furthermore, it is the intention to lay down a logical definition

when it is claimed that the worship of God does not consist in

ceremonies devised and transmitted by men, in the erection of statues,

or the performance of other sport suggested by reason, but in calling

upon the name of Jehovah. Worship in its truest meaning, well-pleasing

to God, and subsequently made mandatory in the first commandment,

embraces the fear of God, trust in God, confession, prayer and

preaching.

307. The first commandment of the Law demands faith, that we believe

God is the only helper in time of need, Ps 9, 9. The second

commandment demands confession and prayer, that we call upon the name

of Jehovah in times of peril and give thanks unto God. The third

commandment requires that we teach the truth, and that we guard and

defend sound doctrine.

These are the true and appropriate acts of the worship of God, and

they are those which God requires. He requires not sacrifices nor

money nor anything of the kind. As regards the first table, he

requires that we hear, consider and teach the Word; that we pray to

God and fear him.

308. Where these things exist, the observances and works required by

the second table follow, as it were, of their own accord. It is

impossible that he who does the works and performs the worship of the

first table should not do and perform those of the second table also.

David saith: "His delight is in the law of Jehovah; and on his law

doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by

the stream of water; that bringeth forth its fruit in its season,

whose leaf also doth not wither." Ps 1, 2-3. These things are evident

consequences of the right worship of God, according to the

commandments of the first table. He who believes God, who fears God,

who calls upon God in tribulation, who praises God and gives thanks

unto him for his mercies, who gladly hears the Word of God, who

continually contemplates the works of God, and who teaches others to

do the same things--do you think that such a one will harm his

neighbor, or disobey his parents, or kill, or commit adultery?

309. The first table, therefore, is to be set forth first of all, and

instruction as regards the true worship is to receive precedence to

all else. This means, first to make the tree good on which good fruit

is to grow. Now, our adversaries take the diametrically opposite

course; they want to have the good fruit before they have even the

tree.

310. Moreover, I believe that about this time there was added some

visible ceremony of divine worship, for God is ever wont thus to do.

He always joins with the Word some visible sign. When Abel and Cain

presented their offerings God showed by a visible sign from heaven

that he had respect unto Abel and his offering, but not unto Cain and

his offering. And so, in all probability, it was in this case and at

this time. When the Church began to flourish and the Word of God was

publicly taught with considerable success, God added also some visible

sign, that the Church might assuredly know that she pleased God.

311. But whatever that sign was, whether fire from heaven or something

else, God withheld it until the third generation, that men might learn

to be content with the Word alone. Afterwards, when men had comforted

themselves by the Word alone against the Cainites, in all

tribulations, God of his great mercy added to the Word some visible

sign. He established a place and appointed persons and ceremonies to

which the Church might gather for the exercise of faith, for preaching

and prayer. By means of these things, the Word or the first table and

then a visible sign ordained of God, a Church is constituted, in which

men undergo discipline through teaching, hearing, and the partaking of

the sacraments. Then upon these things will assuredly follow the works

of the second table, which are acceptable, and acts of worship, only

on the part of those who possess and practice the first table.

312. This gift of God, Moses sets forth in the few short words of the

text before us, when he says, "Then began men to call upon the name of

Jehovah." For this beginning to call upon the name of Jehovah was not

on the part of the Cainites, as the Jews explained the passage, but on

the part of the godly posterity of Adam, which alone was then the true

Church. If any of the posterity of Cain were saved, it must of

necessity have been by joining this Church.

313. The sum of the first four chapters of Genesis is that we are to

believe in a resurrection of the dead after this life, and a life

eternal through the Seed of the woman. This is the blessed portion of

the godly, of them that believe, who in this life are filled with

afflictions and subject to injuries at the hands of all men. To the

wicked, on the contrary, are given, as their portion, the riches and

power of this world, which they use against the true Church of God.

In the first chapter it is shown that man was created unto

immortality, because he was created "in the image of God."

The teaching also of the second chapter sets forth the same thing, "In

the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." It follows

that the first created man and woman could not have died if they had

not eaten of that fruit. By their sin of eating they fell from

immortality to mortality, and they begat an offspring like unto

themselves.

In the third chapter immortality is set forth anew, as restored by the

promise of the Seed of the woman.

In the fourth chapter we have an especial example of immortality set

before us in Abel, who, after he had been slain by his brother, was

received into the bosom of God, who testified that the voice of the

blood of Abel cried unto him from the ground.

314. And the fifth chapter, which now follows, is expressly written to

set forth the immortality of Enoch, who was taken up into heaven by

the Lord. Although the following chapter is necessary as a chronicle

of the number of the years of the generation of the righteous, yet its

most remarkable feature is its record that Enoch did not die like

Adam, nor was slain like Abel, nor carried away, nor torn to pieces by

lions and bears, but was taken up into heaven and translated into

immortality by the Lord himself; all which was written that we might

believe in the Seed of the woman, Christ our Redeemer and Satan's

conqueror, and that through him we also might expect a life immortal

after this mortal and afflicted life.

315. This harmony of these five chapters the Jews see not, for they

are destitute of that sun which sheds light upon these things and

makes them manifest; which sun is Christ, by whom we have the

remission of sins and life immortal.