Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	according_a	justice_n	law_n	1,616	5	4.3920	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33212	Eleven sermons preached upon several occasions and a paraphrase and notes upon the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth chapters of St. John : with a discourse of church-unity ... / by William Clagett.	Clagett, William, 1646-1688.	1699 (1699)	Wing C4386; ESTC R24832	142,011	306

art very well able to bear And if another man be in possession of something that is thine detaining thy right from thee and the matter be not considerable then if thou hast no other way to relieve thy self but by Law thou shalt not in such cases as these run presently to Counsel and commence a Suit but bear such lesser Injuries with silence and patience So that a Christian ought not to go to Law for small matters not only when his Right is uncertain but when 't is clear not only where there is no danger of inviting such another Injury as he bears at present but where there is And the words of our Saviour are as plain to that purpose as any thing can be and nothing less can be understood by them The third instance is this And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile go with him twain And under this Instance are contained all little infringments of our Privileges and Immunities which some men are exceedingly tender of and are ever ready to make a great Combustion rather than suffer them to be invaded in the least degree The meaning is That if the Officer that is to press men for publick Carriages should compel thee to go a mile unjustly that is one fourth part above the ordinary Stage that the Law appoints which is but a small matter thou shalt not make a quarrel about it tho thy patience may prove an occasion of his compelling thee the next time to go two miles more than there is reason for So likewise in all matters of this nature If our Freedoms and Immunities are lightly invaded if too much service be required if an Office be put upon a man which is some breach upon his Privilege though he may sustain it without great inconveniencie in these and the like Cases it is the plain Command of our Saviour That we should make no publick Complaint nor prosecute the Person at Law for the maintaining of our Privilege This I take to be a plain and true Account of the meaning of the Instances The manner of our Saviour's Expressions was suitable to the Customs of the Place where he was and to the way of discourse in that time but the Doctrine he delivers is a Rule for all times and places and obliges every one of his Disciples i. e. altogether to remit tolerable and small Injuries whether against Body or Reputation as in the first instance or Estate and Possession as in the second or Freedoms and Privileges as in the third And now I proceed to shew That the limitation of the Rules belongs to the general Prohibition Resist not evil And that 1. Because if our Saviour had meant that no kind of Injuries were to be resisted there had been no need of adding any particular instances of evil that were not to be resisted 2. If the greatest as well as the least Injuries were not to be redrest by course of Law then seeing our Saviour was pleased to tell us under what Injuries in particular he would have us to sit down quietly we cannot imagine but he would have instanced in the greatest for all men are certainly more unwilling to bear a greater than a less wrong If therefore no kind of evil were to be resisted if this had been his meaning he would have said If thine Enemy seek to take away thy Life or to ruin thy Estate or to deprive thee of thy Liberty thou shalt not guard thy self against him by the Laws of thy Countrey and then these instances had certainly shewn that the general Prohibition was to be understood without any limitation at all For this is a true Conclusion I must bear the greatest Injuries without complaint therefore I must bear the less but it cannot be concluded I must bear the less therefore I must submit to the greater Wherefore I say since it had been our Saviour's Intention that we were not to right our selves against any Injury by course of Law the Instances mentioned do not come home to the purpose it is therefore plain that was not his meaning From what hath been said it will now be very easy to represent from our Saviour's Rule what a Christian may and what he ought to do when he is provoked by the rudeness or injured by the malice or any way usurped upon by the Power and Policy of his Neighbour And First of all It is very plain that all private Revenge whether of greater or lesser Wrongs is utterly unlawful And the truth is for men to go about to right themselves any other way after an Injury received than by course of Law that needed not to have been forbidden by our Saviour for it was unlawful before and 't is unjust in every man tho much more unbecoming a Christian than any one else since he is obliged to set an Example of that forgiveness and meekness of spirit as for some Injuries to seek no redress at all no not by Legal Proceedings How strange a thing is it then that the way of personal Revenge should grow into fashion and credit amongst Christians a way of revenge so directly contrary not only to the Law of our Saviour's Religion but to right Reason and the common Principles of Justice For let but this Principle be once admitted let it be published in the World That every man may right himself his own way when he is injured by another and what horrible consequences must it needs produce For when one man has wrong'd and abused another to allow the injured Party to right himself in the way of personal revenge is to provoke the wrong-doer to a new attempt against him and by consequence to prolong and continue the quarrel till it be ended in the destruction either of the one of the other What a woful thing is it that if once an Injury be done and contention be begun between two men to conclude that they must never be reconciled but proceed to mischief each other till one of them be utterly destroyed and yet that is the natural consequence of private Revenge which therefore no man should give the least countenance to that pretends to Reason and Humanity Besides it is in it self an unjust thing to do evil to another because I have received injury from him for a man cannot justly be both a Judge and a party in his own Cause as every man is who presumes to vindicate his own Wrongs he that complains is not to give Sentence and then to execute it but to refer the matter to indifferent Persons or to Common Justice that the Redress may be according to Reason and Law But if he takes Revenge for himself as he is not fit to be a Judge in his own Cause so neither has he any power to be so Whatever evil he determines to inflict upon his Enemy he is unjustly resolved upon and if he succeeds 't is unjustly done for it belonged not to him to punish his Adversary Vengeance is God's only and

of disobedience 1. The perfection of the Rule which requires a more exceeding Righteousness than either the Law of Moses or the Law of Nature And this is one reason why the Christian Baptism is the Sacrament of Regeneration whether to Jews or Gentiles Because they must become new men and as it were born again by living up to those Divine Principles and holy Rules which are peculiar to the Christian Doctrine by practising that piety and purity and charity in all their conversation which seems to be more than enough for the happiness of single persons or of Societies in this World but which is necessary for an everlasting happiness in the life to come And here are these causes of complaint 1. That there is a severe restraint laid upon our Natural Appetites and Inclinations which often carry us as violently to those Satisfactions which the Law of Christ forbids as to those which it allows There is in every man by nature the love either of pleasure or greatness or revenge c. and this Inclination for the most part stifned by custom so that he cannot be a Christian without self-denial and putting himself to pain And the duty of this kind may be so grievous that as Jesus himself hath described it it may be like cutting off a right hand and pulling out a right eye 2. His Law hath made no allowance for the prevailing Opinions and Customs of the World In common account to forgive one injury is to be exposed to another to refuse a Challenge is to be mark'd for a Coward to use plain dealing is the way to die a Beggar and to neglect several opportunities of gain or pleasure though for Conscience sake is to go for a Fool. But though it is a grievous thing to lie under contempt yet the Doctrine of Christ without consideration of this hard case has tied us up to contrary Rules and expresly required us not to be conformed to this world 3. We must guard our selves against innumerable temptations to the sins of Lust Covetousness Envy Ambition and the like inordinate Affections to which a Christian must by no means consent The very opportunities of doing ill are in some cases hard to be refused and moreover every sin hath its proper incentives which beset us in all places And these are so busy and importunate that some think it impossible to be religious without retiring from the conversation of the World But what rest can there be in perpetual circumspection and standing upon our guard And yet Jesus himself thought this necessary for us Watch and pray saith he that ye enter not into temptation 4. The Law of Christ prescribes to the Thoughts and Affections as well as to the overt Action He that does not defile his Neighbour's Bed may be an adulterer in his heart And he that hates his brother is a murtherer If it be hard to forbear the action what pains must be taken to conquer the Desire to make it an obedient Slave and not suffer it so much as to dispute And yet this is the case neither body nor mind neither deed nor thought is exempted from the obligation of this terrible Law but we must cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit 5. It is not easy to suffer yet if need were we must take up the Cross and be always in mind prepared to endure reproach the loss of Goods yea and of life it self for righteousness sake And the Scripture speaking of this does acknowledge that no chastisement for the present is joyous but grievous So that in giving up our names to Christ we seem to commit our selves to a Sea of troubles instead of making to a Haven of rest He that will be my disciple saith Jesus let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me This is enough to shew the strictness of the Rule and the perfection of Virtue and Piety which the Gospel requires but that which makes all more grievous is the second cause of Complaint 2. The penalty of Disobedience For this is no less than exclusion from the Kingdom of Heaven and a more intolerable Sentence at the day of Judgment than those shall receive that never heard the Doctrine of Christ And the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation And our Saviour hath plainly told us by what Rule the Good and the Evil shall be judged The words that I have spoken the same shall judge you at the last day And now that we have heard these things we may be exceedingly amazed as our Lord's first Disciples were when they heard the like and say Who then can be saved or at least where is the truth of his Promise For the condition of his Promise is so hard and the consequence so terrible if we fail of the condition that the extream danger and the great uncertainty seems to create a new trouble not well consistent with the promised rest He is indeed true and faithful that hath promised But whilst my Soul is troubled how can I believe that 't is at rest How therefore shall we bring these things together The truth is nothing has more exercised the wits of men than to find out expedients for this purpose And for my own part I have that experience of Human Frailty on the one side and that desire to be saved on the other that I never lend my ear more willingly than to him that shews me an easy way to Salvation And I am sure he attaques my Affections to so much advantage that I can have no prejudice against his way and nothing but evident want of truth could make me afraid to trust it Some have said That Christ himself hath fulfilled all righteousness in our stead and that upon our faith his righteousness is imputed to us for justification This I confess would cut the knot which we would fain unty for if this be true the Gospel does not only release me from punishment but from duty too But where has our Lord or his Apostles said any thing to this purpose Indeed he has promised to save me from God's angry Justice and that because he was a Sacrifice for Sin offered in my stead But I find that he has imposed upon me the keeping of his Commandments as a condition of that Salvation and therefore I conclude that he did not perform them in my stead too Nor can I conceive how the holiness of Christ should be made an argument in the Scripture to follow his Example if it may be improved into a good reason why we need not follow it So that the Merit of Christ will not save me the labour of becoming a new man and if that will not I am sure no other Merit can And these men not willing to trust their own Invention

hath commanded us And yet I do not think it difficult to give such an account of the goodness and reasonableness of this Law of our Saviour that when we have considered it we shall find that we have far more reason to thank him than be offended with him for it To which purpose I shall first endeavour more particularly to explain what duty that is which is required of us in these Precepts 1. And in the first place Let us consider what Light is offered to them from that Law of the Jews It hath been said An eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth from whence our Saviour takes occasion to introduce his own Precept But I say unto you Resist not evil From which we shall learn what we are to understand by not resisting The Passage to which our Saviour refers we find in Exod. 21.24 There was a Law That if a Woman with child was hurt by men striving together the Judge should return according to this Rule That life should go for life eye for eye tooth for tooth hand for hand foot for foot Which Law of Retaliation was also to take place against the false Witness that he should suffer the same punishment which his Neighbour was in danger of by reason of his Testimony Deut. 19.21 Thine eye shall not pity but life shall go for life eye for eye c. But in Levit. 24.20 The Rule is general If a man cause a blemish in his neighbour as he hath done so shall it be done unto him breach for breach eye for eye tooth for tooth So that this was the Law by which their Courts of Judicature were to proceed in redress of Injuries That he who had injur'd another should suffer as much injury as he had done himself Wherefore when our Saviour does from hence take occasion to say Resist not evil his design was to abridge his Disciples of some liberty that was allowed to the Jews in the matter of impleading their Adversaries in Courts of Judicature For if by these words Resist not evil he had meant only that no private person should upon an injury received proceed immediately to ease himself and redress the wrong by doing the like to the injurious man but stay till the Cause was heard and the Law had decided the Matter he had then forbidden no more than what the Jews knew was unlawful already wherefore it is plain that something is here prohibited which was formerly allowed For says our Saviour But I say unto you Resist not evil But this is not to be understood as if he had prescribed to places of Civil Judicature how to proceed against Offenders that were brought into them but he has still left them to proceed according to their several Laws and Customs For his Kingdom was not of this World he came not to reverse or alter the Forms and Methods of Government but left them upon the same foundation standing as they did before So that although here is an abridgment of some liberty that the private Jew had before yet if after this Prohibition of our Saviour had any of his Disciples demanded Justice according to the Law of Retaliation against an Offender in some case where he ought not to have done it according to his Master's Doctrine yet it had not been only lawful but requisite for the Magistrate to have given Sentence according to Law and the same holds true in all Christian Kingdoms and Commonwealths Thus much concerning the sense of not resisting evil 2. But in the second place Although the Precept seems to be general yet I shall make it plain That 't is not all sorts of Injuries that we are required not to complain of but to sit down tamely and silently under them And that 1. By shewing the nature of those Injuries that are particularly instanced in And 2. By proving from thence that they are only Injuries of that nature which we are not so much as to resist by course of Law 1. Let us consider the nature of those Injuries which are the instances of that evil we are not to resist And 1. It is plain that they are only private Wrongs not direct Offences against the publick good and safety not Contempts of Authority nor the violation of Laws made purposely for the security of Government 2. And these private Wrongs are supposed also to be of a light and supportable nature such as may very well be born by a Wise man without suffering any considerable prejudice while he neglects to prosecute the Offender at Law And that you will see by the following Instances which I come now to explain The first is That of smiting on the cheek Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek c. To smite upon the cheek signifies proverbially that smiting which was intended for a disgrace or a mere affront and this usually was by striking with the Palm of the hand which because it was mostly used by the Greeks towards their Slaves it came to be a Proverbial Expression of using a man scornfully and imperiously and to include any kind of smiting which according to the common interpretation of the word redounded only to the disgrace of him that suffered it not endangering the Life or hurting the Limbs So that the Injuries which our Saviour notes in the first place are those which go no further than the exposing of a man to the laughter of the People who take it for a mean and dishonourable part to put up a meer Affront to bear the lightest Indignity or to be content under any contumelious Words or Actions And his Rule in this case is That we should rather venture the suffering such another Injury than make it a matter of publick Complaint The second instance is this If any man shall sue thee at the law and take away thy coat let him have thy cloak also The Injuries that are intended under this instance are against a man's Estate and Possessions as the former were against his Body and Reputation And here likewise it is plain That the damage sustained by this Injury or the like is very supportable and such as can hardly be felt by a man that enjoys a competent Estate as he is here supposed to do who is not to revenge such a loss For the inner and upper Garment which were tokens of men that were well to pass in the World shews that he would be much to blame to trouble himself or any body else about a loss so inconsiderable to him And our Saviour's meaning in this Instance is That if a Controversy arise between thee and thy Neighbour about some little matter of property where thou art sure the right is on thy side and the Money Goods or Land in dispute is as much thine as the Cloaths on thy back and if by a Suit at Law he orders the matter so as to rob thee of thy right Thou shalt trouble thy self no further but sit down quietly by the loss which thou