The Institution of Christian Religion

Those other testimonies beside these, that they scrape together here §16& there, shall not much trouble even mean whits that have well conceived only the solutions above said. They allege that saying out of Genesis,¹ Thine appetite shall be under thee, and thou shalt bear rule over it. Which they expound of sin, as if the Lord did promise to Cain, that the force of sin should not get the upper hand in his mind, if he would labour in subduing of it. But we say that it better agreeth with the order of the text, that this be taken to be spoken of Abel. For there Gods purpose was to reprove the wickedness of the envy that Cain had conceived against his brother. And that he doth two ways. One, that in vain he imagined mischief to excel his brother in Gods sight, before whom no honour is given but unto righteousness: the other, that he was to much unthankful for the ⟨image 114⟩benefit of God which he had already received, which could not abide his brother, although he had him subject under his authority. But lest we should seem therefore to embrace this exposition, because the other is against us:let us admit that God spake of sin. If it be so, then God either promiseth or commandeth that which he there declareth. If he commandeth, then have we already showed that thereby followeth no proof of the power of man. If he promiseth, where is the fulfilling of the promise? for Cain became subject to sin, over which he should have had dominion. They will say, that in the promise was included a secrete condition, as if it had ben said, that he should have the victory if he would strive for it. But who will receive these crooked compasses? For if this dominion be meant of sin, then no man can doubt that it is spoken by way of commandment, wherein is not determined what we are able to do, but what we ought to do, yea though it be above our power. Albeit both the matter it self and the order of Grammar do require, that there be a comparison made of Cain and Abel, because the elder brother should not have ben set behind the younger, unless he had become worse by his own wicked doing.

Those other testimonies biside these, that they scrape togither here §16& there, shal not much trouble euen meane whittes that haue wel conceiued only the solutions aboue sayd. They allege that sayeng out of Genesis,