A brief instruction in the worship of God, and discipline of the churches of…

Nor was there any discovery of the wickedness of Cain, or approbation of the faith of Abel, until they came to be proved in their sacrifices, a new part of Gods instituted worship, the first in the state and condition of sin and the fall whereinto it was brought. Gen. 4.3, 4, 5. In process of time, it came to pass Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, an offering unto the Lord, and Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof; and the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering, but unto Cain, and his offering he had not respect. The ground whereof the Apostle declares, Heb. 11.4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. In the observation of that first institution given to the Church in the state of the fall, ⟨p. 70⟩did Abel receive a testimony of his being justified and accepted with God. Afterwards when Abraham was called, and peculiarly separated to bare forth the name of God in the world, and to become the spring of the Church for future ages, he had the institution of circumcision given him for the trial of his obedience; the Law and condition whereof was, that he who observed it not should be esteemed an alien from the covenant of God, and be cut off from his People. Gen. 17.9, 10, 11. God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keep my covenant, thou and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee, every man-child among you shall be circumcised, Verse the (14) and the uncircumcised man-child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people, he hath broken my covenant. And in like manner so soon as ever his posterity were to be collected into a new Church state and order, God gave them the Ordinance of the Passover, Exod. 12.24. Ye shall observe ⟨p. 71⟩this thing for an Ordinance to thee and to thy Sons for ever ▪ and that upon the same penalty with that of circumcision; to these he added many more on mount Sinai,