"And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect." (Gen. 4:4, 5.)

The reason of this difference is fraught with the deepest interest to us; for there are many in these latter days who, according to the prophecy of Jude, have gone "in the way of Cain." The theology of the first murderer is that of a large and increasing school of our times. He neither denied the existence of God, nor refused to worship Him, -nay, he recognized Him as the Giver of all good things, and brought an offering of the fruits of the ground as an acknowledgment of His bounty. But he went no further than this; and therefore, though he may have passed among his fellows as a good and religious man, he failed to satisfy God. For being yet in his sins, he presumed to approach the Holy One without the shedding of blood; he was willing to take the place of a dependent creature, but would not confess himself a sinner guilty of death, and only to be saved by the life of a substitute. He is a type of the many in these times who will descant upon the benevolence of the Creator, and are ever ready to laud Him for those attributes. and claim the benefit of them without any reference to their own unworthiness and sinful condition,-without a thought of that perfect holiness and justice which are as much elements of God's character as love itself. But the Most High did not accept the sacrifice of Cain; for none may approach to worship Him except through the shedding of blood, even the blood of the Lamb which He has provided.

The sin-offering must come first, then the thank-offering. We can enter into the Holy of Holies, and cast ourselves before the mercy-seat, only by passing through the rent vail of the flesh of Jesus Christ, God’s Son.