Chapter VII.
By indicating the double defect of Cain’s sacrifice, he shows that three vices can creep into our offerings; he also brings forward divine testimonies by which the same vices are forbidden.
25. And it came to pass, after some time, that Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruits of the earth (Gen. IV, 3). There are two faults: one is that he brought it after some time, and the other is that he brought it from the fruits, not from the first fruits. However, sacrifice is commendable both for its promptness and for its grace. Hence it is commanded: If you make a vow, do not delay in fulfilling it. For it is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it (Eccle. V, 3, 4). For when you delay, you do not fulfill it. A wish is a request for blessings from God with a promise to fulfill a duty. And so, when you obtain what you have asked for, it is ungrateful to delay the promise. However, sometimes forgetfulness creeps in among those who are negligent or proud. It is the mark of a dull heart to claim credit for achievements and the good that one does or that one receives from God, instead of attributing it to their own virtues, and not to the grace of the Creator, but to consider oneself the author of their own blessings. The third kind is a sin of lesser importance, but of supreme arrogance, namely those who do not deny God as the giver of good things, but attribute to themselves through their own prudence and the merits of their virtues whatever happens. Therefore, they consider themselves worthy of divine favor, because they do not appear in any way unworthy of receiving such divine benefits.
26. So that nothing of this kind happens to you, where your desire becomes a sin for you, the law informs and instructs you, with the Lord who gave the law saying: Be careful not to forget the benefits of the Lord your God, and do not keep His commandments and judgments, and His righteousness which I command you today; when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and begun to live in them, and your sheep and cattle have multiplied, and you have become wealthy with silver, gold, and all your possessions, and your storehouses are full, do not become proud and forget the Lord your God (Deut. VIII, 11 et seq.). So if you forget the Lord, when you have forgotten yourself. But if you realize that you are weak, you will recognize that God is above all, and you will not be able to forget, so that you may pay him the reverence that is due.
27. Now learn how each person is admonished not to attribute the source of his goods to himself. Do not say, it says, in your heart: My power and might have produced for me this great virtue, but in your mind you will have the Lord your God; for He gives strength to perform virtuous acts (Ibid. 17 and 18). Hence, the Apostle well, as the interpreter of the law, did not boast in his own strength, but called himself the least of the Apostles, and whatever he was, he attributed it to the grace of God, not to his own merit, and acknowledged that we possess nothing that we have not received. For what do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (I Cor. IV, 7) Therefore, you have learned to follow humility rather than arrogance; to strive for diligence rather than power. You have received helpful teachings, do not neglect the useful tools of medicine, by which every deadly wound is excised.
28. He also who justifies himself, let him not be inflated with the swelling of his heart; and he received a salutary command, resulting from this oracle: Do not say in your heart, when the Lord your God begins to consume those nations from before you, saying: It is on account of my justice that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land: but it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord will destroy them from before your face (Deut. 9:4-5). It is not because of your justice, nor because of your goodness, nor because of the fairness of your heart that you enter to possess this land, but because of the wickedness of the nations the Lord will destroy them before your eyes, and he will fulfill the covenant he swore to your ancestors. The covenant is a perfect gift of God's grace; for God does not give anything imperfect: but perfect virtue is, and the works of virtue. However, the covenant is called the inheritance of goods that is transferred. It is called Testament both in a human and divine sense, as the things that are truly good are confirmed by the testimony of heavenly mandates. And it is called Testament because it is dedicated with blood: the old in type, the new in reality. In this Testament we hold the pledge of divine grace; for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for all of us. Therefore, the Apostle, proclaiming the perfection of grace, says: How will he not also give us all things with him (Rom. VIII, 32)?