15 17 18. But the Sin here aimed at lies in the secret Wishes Will Purposes Lust and Desires after Adultery Fornication Uncleanness and forbidden Mixtures And therefore if the Observation of the Jews be true that Ahab and Zedekiah mentioned Jer. xxix 21. were the Persons who attempted the Chastity of Susanna are charged with downright Adultery because they intended it though they could not compass it as we see Jer. xxix 23 And he that purposes to sollicit a Woman to that which God counts Abomination or wishes to enjoy the dangerous Love of the Person which hath no Matrimonial Relation to him or whose Desires Languish because he cannot gratifie his base Lust which his wicked Mind desires or who feeds himself with impure Imaginations with obscene Pictures and Images of the Person upon whom his Heart is set all these are secret Adulterers and Fornicators and must expect the Wrath of God the Anger the Indignation the Fire the Brimstone and the Portion of Misery designed for Adulterers and Fornicators who are outwardly so 3. That this is a very just Sentence and that he is justly charged with the guilt of Adultery and Fornication and Lewdness who Wills or Wishes or Desires it whatever Notion they are represented under is evident from hence because the Will is the principal Agent in the Action so that if the Will consents the Man consents and it is as much as if he had done the unlawful Act which is only impeded or hindred from being executed by certain Circumstances which fall out cross I very much question whether the outward Acts of Fornication and Adultery would be Sins at all if it were not for the Will It 's this gives the Act the tincture of Hell Before the outward Act the Malice and the Turpitude of the Sin is already compleated though the Act be hindred by accidental Causes from being consummated And this is no new Doctrine the very Heathens saw the reasonableness of it and to this purpose several excellent Sayings might be alledged here out of Aristophanes Seneca Juvenal Ovid and others were it necessary and though humane Laws lay no Penalty upon the Will because they are no competent Judges of it nothing falling under the Cognisance of the publick Magistrate but Overt Actions yet with respect to God who sees the Heart the Sin is the same and he that would or hath a mind to commit Adultery Fornication Lewdness whatever Names he may give his Desires and Lusts is the Person who hath committed all these because all that was in his power to do toward it he hath done i. e. his Will Consent and Desire do concur to the Sin though an Opportunity of finishing the Sin outwardly be wanting And God counts such a Person an Adulterer and Fornicator and lewd Man though his Neighbours at the same time who know nothing of his secret Sins may count him Honest and Sober and Innocent The Romans punish'd a Vestal Virgin who had vow'd perpetual Chastity with Death because she did once merrily in Company say that it was a pretty thing to Marry because by saying so she discover'd her Desire and Will to break her Vow I do not justify that piece of Rigor but only mention it to prove that the very Light of Nature discovered to Heathens and Pagans that the Desire and Will to commit a Sin was a complete Sin so far as the inward Man could make it and consequently deserv'd the same Punishment This leads me to discourse of the III d. Particular viz. Whether notwithstanding all this there be not a very great difference betwixt the internal Consent and the outward Act as to the heinousness of the Sin To this the Answer is that Sins as to the Substance may be the same yet Circumstances may make the Sin more heinous than it would have been without those Circumstances He that hates his Brother is a Murtherer saith St. John 1 John iii. 15 Yet there is no doubt be that besides that Hatred doth actually deprive him of Life is a greater Sinner and the Sin becomes more black and dreadful So it is in Adultery and Fornication and Incest and Carnal self-pollutions and other Lewdnesses He that wishes or wills it or purposes it or feeds himself with filthy Images of any of these Sins commits a Sin of the same Nature and Complexion that he doth who to the inward Formation of it adds the outward Act but still the outward Act aggravates it and gives it a deeper Dye because of the Scandal it gives and the greater hurt it doth in that another Person is made a Partner of the Folly and dragg'd with him into Hell and the Sinner goes as far in it as he can So that though as to the degrees of the Heinousness of the Sin there is a difference betwixt the internal Consent and the outward Act yet the Sin is the same in Substance and therefore must be supposed to participate of the same Punishment which is threatned to Adulterers Fornicators c. though according to the degrees of the blackness of the Crime the Punishments in the other World will be proportionable INFERENCES 1. Here we see how necessary Solomon's Rule is Prov. iv 23 Keep thy Heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of Life The Heart being guarded the whole Man is safe If that be left Defenceless the whole Man lies open to the Devils Power In the Heart or Mind Sin first takes Root and then if not checkt it presently spreads and diffuses it self into the outward Man and brings forth fruit unto Death Keep Sin out of the Heart and you keep it out of the Body for from within from the Heart proceed evil Thoughts Murders Adulteries Covetousness c. saith our Saviour Marc. vii 21 When Sin first offers it self to the Mind and is rejected as soon as it doth make its first Appearance the purity of the Soul is preserv'd We cannot hinder the Motions and Suggestions of the Devil from approaching or assaulting our Minds and an impure Thought may jog the Mind but if the Mind do immediately oppose the Enemy as soon as it comes before the Gate of the House its Forces are broke and disordered and they can never make head or insinuate into the Affections our Saviour therefore charges us to cleanse the inside of the Dish and Platter that the out-side may be clean also And indeed a Man or Woman cannot be truly said to stand in awe of God that do not watch over their Hearts and resist the first Assaults of Sin and though I will not deny that restraining the outward Act upon the account of it's Odiousness and Danger may be called part of the fear of God yet it is but a very imperfect Fear till the Heart comes to detest the first Suggestions In the Sin of unlawful Lust this is particularly to be observed and he that means to get the Mastery of a lascivious Temptation must be concerned and tremble upon
not in the usual Style it is written but with this Circumscription ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time i. e. Your Ancestors who lived when Religion was low and Corruptions and Abuses crept into their Worship and Devotion have taught you that the outward Act of Adultery is the great thing you are to dread and to be afraid of and with this partial Sense they have handed down to you this Command of God Thou shalt not commit Adultery But I say unto you that whosoever looks on a Woman to Lust after her hath already committed Adultery with her in his Heart For the understanding of which words I shall enquire I. In what sense Christ speaks here of Adultery II. I shall consider the Justice of this Verdict or the reasonableness of this Censure That whosoever looketh on a Woman hath already committed with her Adultery in his Heart III. Whether notwithstanding all this there is not some difference betwixt Adultery in the Heart and the outward Act as to the heinousness of it 1. In what sense Christ doth speak here of Adultery Adultery properly is a violation of the Marriage Bed when either one or both of the married Parties commit Folly in Israel either with a Person married to another or with one that is not married But as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Hebrew and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Greek which we render Adultery is of a larger Extent and Signification and imports not only Adultery in the strictest sense but Fornication too which is either a single Persons being joined to a common Harlot or violating the Chastity of a Person of civil Education and indeed any Carnal Conjunction or mixture to fulfil the Lusts of the Flesh out of the compass and Bond of Matrimony So in all probability Christ aims farther and means more by this word than a bare Violation of the Marriage Bed not only because he intends in this Sermon to give us a perfect Rule to walk by but because the Jews in that Age restrain'd not only the Law against Adultery but even that against Fornication and other Mixtures and Carnal Conjunctions not Matrimonial whether Incestuous or otherwise to the outward Act only as if in matters of Uncleanness that only was chiefly forbid and deserved God's Anger and Indignation and the consequent of it Damnation And therefore the reason why Christ makes mention of Adultery only is not because the Jews in those times look'd upon single Fornication as a trifling Sin or Peccadillo No! The Pharisees though bad enough yet were not so bad as to allow of or connive at Fornication for the Law of Moses had made express Proviso's against it There shall not be a Whore of the Daughters of the Children of Israel saith God Deut. xxiii 17 Thou shalt not prostitute thy Daughter to cause her to be a Whore Levit. xix 20 And when particularly the Daughter of a Priest had committed Whoredom she was to be burnt with Fire Levit. xxi 9 Moreover whoever had defloured a Virgin no Slave no Foreigner but one of the Stock of Abraham whether Servant or other he was obliged to marry her Exod. xxii 16 a Law so reasonable that even the Heathens the Athenians transcribed it into their Pandects or Statute Book And when the Father of the Maiden thus vitiated would not consent to her being married to the Person who had abused her the Person who had humbled her was to give the Maiden whom he had defloured a Dowry as if he had been actually married to her And when in one day three and twenty thousand fell i. e. were slain by an Angel the Apostle saith it was for Fornication 1 Cor. x. 8 Nay if a Virgin had suffered her self to be defloured before Marriage and the Crime was found out after she was Married she was to be stoned to Death Deut. xxii 21 So that I say the reason why Christ doth make mention only of Adultery in the Text is not because the Jews then look'd upon Fornication as a trivial and inconsiderable Fault but he finds fault with their sinister Interpretation of the Law of God even because they confined the Prohibition of Adultery Fornication Incest and other practical Lewdness and carnal Pollutions to the outward Act only and look'd upon adulterous and lewd Desires Lusts Passions Affections c. as things of no Moment and which might easily be expiated by Sacrifices and other cheap Devotions such as Lustrations Purifications c. And here comes in Christ's Censure that the very Desires in the Heart after this forbidden Fruit were as bad as the outward Act it self The II d. Part I am to speak to Whosoever looketh on a Woman to lust after her hath already committed Adultery with her in his Heart To understand the reasonableness of this Censure we are to note 1. That the bare looking on a Woman is not sinful for as Tertullian observes a Christian may look safely on a Woman whose Heart is blinded or hardened against Lasciviousness The bare Looks cannot well be avoided it 's one end for which our Sight was given that we might look one upon another But it 's the abuse of the Eyes and Looks that is forbid It 's true through the Eyes the Poison is conveyed to the Heart according to the old saying Oculi sunt in amore Duces the Eyes are the Guides in Love but still this depends upon a Mans choice whether he will make his Eyes Windows to let in wholsom or infectious Air. St. Peter speaks of Eyes full of Adultery 2 Pet. ii 14 but it 's meant of Eyes that are first corrupted by the Will Where a Christian doth Oculum metu temperare temper and moderate and curb and restrain his Eye with a holy Fear and Watchfulness he may look upon the greatest Beauty without danger saith Tertul. And therefore 2. It is added Whosoever looketh after a Woman to lust after her c. So that if the Looks cause secret lewd Purposes Desires and Lusts and Affections in the Mind and Will the Adultery or Fornication is actually committed in the Heart though the outward Act is and may be impeded or hindred by Circumstances and occasional Causes which fall out cross I need not tell you that what is said here of looking on a Woman to lust after her is not to be understood of the chast Desires of Persons lawfully married one after another for Marriage is Honourable and the Bed undefiled but Whoremongers and Adulterers God will Judge Heb. xiii 4 And to avoid Fornication let every Man have his own Wife and every Woman her own Husband saith St. Paul 1 Cor. vii 2 And drink Water out of thine own Cistern and running Waters out of thine own Well Let thy Fountain be always blessed and rejoice with the Wife of thy Youth and let her be unto thee as the loving Hind and as the pleasant Roe and be thou always ravished with her Love Prov. v.
Sin black and to be abhorr'd by all that have any sense of another Life For an Oath relates to God whatever the thing be that 's named in it The change of the Name doth not alter the Nature of it and if it be unlawful to Swear so much as by the Hairs of our Heads how can it be lawful to Swear by something of greater worth than these Excrements As it is in common Swearing so it is with other Sins Because such a Man doth not invent downright lies concerning his Neighbour and so spreads them abroad it doth not follow that he doth not hate him The change of the outward Act doth not make a change in the nature of the Sin and therefore if with delight you speak evil of your Brethren though it be no more than what you have heard and designedly report it to render them Ridiculous or Contemptible or do them no good when their necessities require it or it lies in the power of your hand to do it it is Hatred and Malice and Baseness and Unkindness still whatever alteration there may be in the manner of venting it So you may be guilty of Intemperance by eating and drinking more than Nature requires or becomes a modest Person though you are not Drunk and be notoriously guilty of Luxury by a constant indulging your Fancy Appetite and Love to the World to the tickling and satisfaction of the Flesh though with Dives you are not every day cloath'd in Purple and fare Deliciously every day and guilty of Revenge by Word and Thought though you do not break down your Neighbours Hedge nor Assault him when you meet him with a Sword and guilty of unworthy receiving of the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist by continuance in known Sins though with some of the Corinthians you do not come disguised and disordered to this Feast and guilty of Covetousness by being greedy and anxious after the Riches of this World though you are not quite so sordid as some old Usurers and of Fornication by your Lustful Desires and Concupiscences though you do not commit the outward Act where a Sin hath several Branches shooting out of it's Trunk there a Man repents not till all those dangerous Boughs be lopt of nay the Axe be laid to the very Root of the evil Tree and to the sinful inclination II. We see here how want of Consideration is the cause that Men see not or are not sensible of the heinousness of their Sins It was want of thinking that made the Men against whom my Text is level'd fansie there was no harm in their Swearing by Heaven and Earth or by Jerusalem c. whereas a little serious pondering of the thing would have made them know that all the while they Swore by and consequently abused that God in their common Discourses to whom Heaven and Earth had peculiar Relation There are abundance of Sins swallow'd without chewing which were they laid open in their Native Colours would appear big enough to choak the Conscience and be found Morsels which have Death and Eternal Misery in them more dangerous than the wild Herbs in the Pot in the time of Elisha Going to Stage-plays as they are ordered and managed in this corrupt Age seems to be a harmless Recreation at the worst but a tolerable Infirmity but if it be considered that it is making our selves partakers of other Mens Sins that by our presence we encourage an unlawful calling that by going we expose our selves to very dangerous Temptations which in stead of running into we should flee and shun and are apt to laugh at that Profaneness which should make us weep that hereby we harden others in their Impiety and give scandal to weaker Christians that these Theatrical shews are inconsistent with the very design of Christianity which commands us not to conform to the World and requires that filthiness and foolish talking and jesting should not be so much as named among us Eph. v. 3 4. and bids us to be grave and modest and serious and shun the very appearances of Evil that they are contrary to our Vow in Baptism and the Doctrine of the Cross which enjoyns us to mortifie lightness of Behaviour and to abstain from frothy and unsavoury Discourses and allows no delight in sinful sights c. If this were seriously considered in stead of alluring these plays would fright instead of enticing they would discourage us from ever beholding such shews where God is so often affronted and Religion derided and Vertue Ridiculed and Gravity laught at and modesty look'd upon to be a beggarly qualification and Vice represented in amiable colours Neglect of daily Self-examination in the Eye of the World is an inconsiderable fault but if it were considered that by this Neglect our Sins and Defects remain unknown to us our Vertues thrive not our Graces grow not and Blindness seizes upon our Understandings and the greater and weightier matters of the Law are omitted and the Soul sinks into a form of Godliness and contents her self with Shews and Shadows of Devotion I say if this were considered the neglect would appear more heinous I Instance only in these particulars but I would advise you to carry on the Notion to other particular Sins and Neglects you find your selves prone to and in doing so you 'll see an absolute necessity of shuning many things which now you pass by without taking notice of and of restraining your selves in that in which now you allow your selves very great Liberty In a Word most Sins appear little till they come to be examined and viewed by the Word of God and by the concomitant and consequent dangers which attend them not that I would have any one think himself into despair or make every Molehill a Mountain but I would intreat you so to consider your suspicious Words and Actions and Desires that you may get just Apprehensions of your Faults and become more conformable to the Canons of Repentance and the Rule of Righteousness III. We see here since Heaven is said to be the Throne of God with what Reverence we ought to look up to Heaven where God is seated as it were in his Chair of State The Phrase Christ makes use of is borrow'd from Es. lxvi 1 Thus saith the Lord Heaven is my Throne the Earth is my Footstool which imports no confinement of God to a certain place but is only a Metaphorical Expression taken from great and mighty Princes and Potentates who appear in Majesty when sitting on their Thrones with a Footstool under them So that all these Sayings express only God's infinite Greatness and Excellency above all his Creatures In Heaven God gives the most visible and most conspicuous Signs and Marks of his glorious Presence and Love and therefore it is call'd his Throne and because there is a lesser manifestation of his Glory here on Earth it is call'd his Footstool because there is less Art bestow'd on that than on the Throne With what
God hath appointed in the Gospel How can you profess sorrow for this Sin when you fall wilfully into the same Sin again Do you call a Mock-Repentance godly Sorrow Or do you take that to be Repentance which is separated from actual Reformation Ecclesiastical History tells us of two Bishops that fell out and proceeded even to reviling Language and so parted toward night one of them sent the other word Brother the Sun is going down with that the angry Man remembred St. Pauls saying Let not the Sun go down upon your Wrath and made haste and found out his offended Brother and fell on his Neck and kissed him The Pythagoreans though Heathens did the like for if they had quarrell'd one with another in the day time they would not go angry to Bed but shak'd Hands before Sun-set Did Heathens do so and shall Christians be strangers to this Practice Flatter not your selves with this that you kill no body in your Anger so did the Pharisees but must ye therefore act against the Law of Reason and Religion because you do not run stark Mad Do you own your selves Disciples of the Lord Jesus and will not you believe what he saith in the Text Hath he peremptorily forbid you all Bitterness and Wrath and speaking evil one of another and will not you obey him Doth he assure you that it renders you obnoxious to Hell-fire and do not you think what if I should fall into that Fire in my Anger Are you sure you shall not Hath God told you that he will not strike you dead in a Fit Do not you express all that 's terrible by Hell-fire And is not the possibility of falling into it a sufficient Defence against this inordinate Passion Do you hope for Christ's Rewards and will you deprive your selves of them by your wilful Disobedience Did you go about mortifying that bitterness of Spirit like Men in good earnest how could ye fail of Success Did ye pray fervently against it watch against it chide your selves frequently for it shun the occasions of it check it when ye find it rising set before you the Danger and believe it Call to mind the meekness of your great Master and the wonderful Patience of the Holy Apostles in their private Injuries how could your undertakings miscarry Doth Anger according to Solomon's Verdict rest in the bosom of Fools and do you take your selves to be wise Men for it O be better advised and if the Mercy the Patience the Clemency the Compassion of God toward you cannot melt down your angry your wrathful Constitution stand in awe however of your Ruin of your everlasting Ruin and remember who it is that said and protested and will Act according to his Protestation Whosoever shall be angry with his Brother without a Cause c. SERMON XXIII St. Matt. Ch. v. Ver. 23 24. Therefore if thou bring thy Gift to the Altar and there remembrest that thy Brother hath ought against thee Leave there thy Gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy Brother and then come and offer thy Gift THE Religion of the Pharisees did not expire with that Sect though the World a great part of it is Christian yet abundance of us not only Papists but Protestants too are meer Pharisees still I mean with respect to this piece of Religion viz. Bribing God as it were with Devotion or some external Service in hopes he will give us leave to enjoy those Lusts and sinful desires we are loath to quit and part with This is pure Pharisaism to think or to hope that a Sacrifice will atone for the Pride we cherish that a Fast will expiate the ill Nature we indulge that giving Alms will satisfie for the Malice we harbour that such a number of Prayers will cover the secret Grudges we entertain or that such a piece of Self-denial and Mortification will oblige God to connive at our Unwillingness to pardon Injuries This is to make our Duties a shelter for our Sins and to look upon God as some soft and easy Deity who so he be Honour'd in one thing is contented to be Dishonour'd in another and so he hath but a Pepper-corn or some small rent of Respect paid him gives Men leave to prosecute their evil Inclinations as they please This vulgar Errour Christ confutes in the Text and whereas the Pharisees thought that Sins for which the Law of Moses inflicted no external Punishment by the Hand of the Magistrate particularly Rancour Hatred Malice and Unwillingness to forgive or to be Reconciled might be expiated by Gifts and Sacrifices and Oblations and consequently required no Reformation since God would pass them by if a Gift though never so small were brought and by the Priest in the Name of the Offerer laid upon the Altar Christ to shew the Vanity and Folly of that Conceit assures them and us that God is pleased more with Mercy than with Sacrifice with pardoning Injuries more than with Gifts and with real Charity more than with the costliest Oblations Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the Altar and there remembrest that thy Brother hath ought against thee leave there thy gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled unto thy Brother and then come and offer thy gift The Sense of which Words will appear in this following Proposition If we have given just occasion of Offence to our fellow Christians we must not think that God will accept of our Devotion though never so Costly whether Publick or Private till we are reconciled or have reconciled our selves to our offended Neighbour I say if we have given just occasion of Offence for that is the meaning of our great Master here when he saith if thy Brother hath ought against thee which is not to be understood of other Mens picking Quarrels with us or bearing a Spleen or Hatred to us without a just Cause for so Christ and his Apostles and the best Men have been used in all Ages but if our Brother or fellow Christian have ought against us that he can justly charge us with as an Offence given to him in that Case if we should not think of it till we come to the very Altar of Gods House our Devotion if we mean to have it accepted must be forborn or it is offered in vain till a Reconciliation be sought or made I apply what is said here of bringing our Gift to the Altar to any Devotion whether it be Prayer or receiving the Sacrament of the Eucharist or Consecrating part of our Estate and Goods to God's Service c. For though Christ in saying so alludes to the Practice and Custom of the Jews offering their Gifts their Sheep their Turtles their Pigeons c. upon the Altar the holiest place in the Tabernacle or Temple of Jerusalem yet since by bringing a thing or coming to the Altar of God is some times meant Divine Worship in general as Malach. ii 13 Psal. xxvi 6 the
suppose go into another Country and take no farther care of her but leave her to shift for her self in that case saith St. Paul a Brother or a Sister is not under Bondage i. e. as very many Interpreters explain it she is not under an Obligation to continue unmarried or she may Marry again Upon this saying of St. Paul it was that the Helvetian Divines grounded their Verdict in the case of the Marquis Galeacie Caraccioli whom they advised to Marry again when his Wife had deserted him or which is all one would not return to him after frequent Intreaties to that purpose And its possible this Conclusion of the Apostle might give occasion to Constantine to enact a Law That if a Woman after her Husband was gone from her did not hear of him in four years she might Marry again To which purpose we have a Law of our own 1 Jac. I. That if a Man or Woman being gone beyond the Seas and one do not hear from the other in seven Years it shall be lawful for the Party that hears nothing of the other to proceed to another Marriage The Reason why I urge this Case of Desertion is this If it be lawful for a Woman deserted by her Husband or for a Man deserted by his Wife upon the account of Religion though there be no Adultery in the Case to Marry again much more must it be lawful for Persons who part upon the account of Adultery and are lawfully divorced at least for the innocent Party to Marry again because Desertion is a less Crime than Adultery Though Hermes an antient Writer saith that Desertion is equal to Adultery yet whatever likeness there may be there appears greater guilt in Adultery than in the other the rather because the Bond of Matrimony is more directly broke in this than in the other It 's true the Constitution of our Church is that if Persons be divorced after Adultery the respective Parties are obliged to enter into Bond before they are actually divorced that neither of them shall Marry again while the other lives but the reason of that is because our Church fears the dangerous Consequences of such Divorces in respect of the Collusion that may be betwixt the two Parties who may be alike weary one of the other and so a Gap might be open'd to great Licentiousness So that I suppose our Church would not be against the innocent Party's Marrying again if such Evils might be easily prevented 3. The greatest difficulty is about the Party guilty of Adultery and who gives occasion to the Divorce whether they may Marry again And here if the same Law were in use among us which Moses gave the Jews that the Adulterer or the Adulteress should be put to Death or stoned And were that Law duely executed by the Magistrates there would be no occasion for such Questions as these However the Bond of Marriage be dissolved by the Adultery as we proved before we cannot say that it is absolutely unlawful even for the guilty after a lawful Divorce to Marry again the Notion of Divorce among the Jews which we do not find our Saviour Reverse importing so much There may be some Reasons which may make it lawful But then 1 st As the Divorce is not to be made without the Knowledge or Approbation or Consent of our Superiors and Governors whether Spiritual or Temporal so if a Divorce be obtained and made the guilty ought not to marry again till he shews sufficient Reasons to the same Governors which may make it necessary for Men are apt to be very partial in their own Cause 2 ly Before Leave or Permission be given him he ought to be exhorted and admonished by those to whom that part belongs to a deep Humiliation for his scandalous Sin and that Humiliation and change of Life and Exemplary Conversation ought first to appear and by long Practice become habitual before Permission be given that the Church of God which hath been scandalized may receive some Satisfaction 3 ly The guilty Party if he will act Conscientiously before he ever thinks of Marrying again ought 1. Earnestly to endeavour to prevent a Divorce by reconciling himself to the Innocent by asking Pardon of the Party wrong'd and by sincere and unfeigned Promises of a future steddy and invincible Chastity 2. If the Innocent Party for weighty Reasons sues out a Divorce and obtains it the guilty ought by Mortification and Prayer and an humble penitent Life labour after the Gift of Continence and spare no Cost no Hardship to attain to it and thus punish himself for his great and crying Sins that he may be deliver'd from the Wrath to come But 3. If after all convenient Ways and Methods and Tryals used he cannot arrive to it this seems to be the only Case that may make his Marrying again lawful according to the general Rule of the Apostle It 's better to Marry than to burn 1 Cor. vii 9 VII How he that puts away his Wife causes her to commit Adultery 1. We must note that Christ here speaks of a Man's putting away his Wife though she hath not been guilty of Adultery for slight and frivolous Causes as the Jews used to do In this Case if the Woman thus put away should be prevailed with to Marry another Man the Husband that put her away without sufficient Cause unjustly is the Cause of her committing Adultery for as she could not by right and ought not to have been put away for such Causes so these Causes for which she is put away do not dissolve the Contract or Bond of Matrimony and consequently by right she is still the Mans Wife who put her away and therefore if through strong and surprizing Temptations she should consent to Marry another Man he that dismissed her is in a great Measure the Cause of that Evil. 2. If a Person thus unjustly put away should not Marry afterward but be tempted to prostitute her self all the Evil she doth and the Adultery she upon this Dismission proves guilty of will a great part of it be charged upon the head of the Person that in a humor put her away it being here as with a Person who should set or place another upon the Brow of a Hill in a dark Night though he do not push or thrust him down yet if he tumbles and breaks his Neck the Party that placed him there may justly be said to be the cause of his Fall and Ruin because he exposed him to apparent Danger as much as David was guilty of murthering Vriah by ordering the General of his Army to set him in the Front of the Battle where without a Miracle he could not escape being killed Even so here the Command being given to Christ's Followers or to Christians if a Christian puts away his Wife for a meaner and lower Cause than Adultery he exposes her to great Temptations and if through the Devils Temptation she falls into Fornication and Adultery himself
we see hath prevailed with them to break all those Engagements Besides in these unequal Yoakings there cannot be that sweet that mutual Encouragement to Prayer and Praises and other Acts of Devotion and Piety which ought to be betwixt such Relations and though I doubt not but it 's possible to Admonish one another to serve God faithfully in their own Way without Passion or passing Censures one upon another yet the Thoughts that one of them worships God in a forbidden Way will still be an Impediment to this faithful and Conscientious Exhorting one another duly And therefore though I cannot say it 's absolutely unlawful to marry a Person of a different Persuasion in Matters of Religion yet the Inconveniences are so great that he who duly Weighs and Ponders them before he enters upon that State will think himself obliged to arm himself against all such dangerous Mixtures and Conjunctions III. There is nothing causes these Desires of Divorcements more than unhappy and unfortunate Matches And as such Matches are too often the Effects either of Rashness and Precipitation or want of enquiring into the Temper and Disposition of the Persons that are to make this near Relation or of Covetousness and Greediness after Fortune and Riches and Mony or of nelecting the advice of Parents and faithful Friends or of a preceding vain and vitious Life which is punish'd very often with such uncomfortable Conjunctions so where the married State is embitter'd with many sad Ingredients to prevent all such Wishes and Desires of Divorcement these following Considerations and Remedies may be very useful 1. Let it be considered that though your Married State be full of grievous Troubles yet it doth not it need not hinder you from attaining Everlasting Salvation It 's true People may make any State and Condition an Impediment to Eternal Life but there is no Necessity for it Nay in the Case before us the Troubles in a Married State naturally direct you to seek a better Country and if you are in a Capacity of enjoying God for ever notwithstanding the Evils which befall you you have Reason still to Praise and Adore the Divine Goodness and since your Married State affords so little Comfort To labour hard to be made Partakers of Everlasting Consolations 2. Let another Consideration be added to this that as miserable as your Married Condition is this happens not comes not to pass without a very special Providence God either orders it or wisely permits it corrects you for great Purposes and chastises you to let you see your Affections have been misplaced and must be set upon Objects and Beings more Sublime more Adequate more Commensurate to your Immortal Souls God and Heaven and the Things unseen 3. Under such a Providence the Soul must learn to be humble to look upon her Sins as Meritorious and the Cause of this uncomfortable State and accuse her Carnal Worldly and Sensual Desires and Designs as the Procurers of this Misery and improve the Dispensation into Repentance and Self-Examination and Submission to the Will of God and the Practices of Spiritual Devotions and Aspirations and Breathings after Enjoyments of a nobler Nature 4. In this Case the Divine Power and Goodness must be adored to supply you with Grace and Assistance suitable that you may chearfully bear the Injuries Indignities and Crosses that befall you in that State and do not doubt but your Prayer if strong and importunate will draw Honey from the Rock and Oyl from the Flint and Blessings of great Value from him who hath declared himself a God that heareth Prayer 5. Another Consideration will be very profitable that God by such Crosses in a Married State teaches you Patience at home that you may be the better able to practise it abroad Thus the Philosopher said of his Angry and Unquiet Yoak-fellow That he found his Silence under the Effects of her Rage and unquiet Spirit when he was at home proved very salutary and beneficial to him when he was in Company abroad for by that means he was the better able to bridle his Passions when he was provoked or affronted in Publick And St. Chrysostome hath this Observation upon it It grieves me that Heathens are wiser than we who are to imitate Angels nay God himself in Meekness and Patience Indeed we cannot imitate a more Excellent Pattern He that is best able to Revenge himself upon the Insolent Wretches that affront him suffers most Be patient therefore unto the coming of the Lord Behold the Husbandman waits for the pretious Fruit of the Earth and hath long Patience for it until he receive the early and latter Rain Be ye also Patient Stablish your Hearts for the Coming of the Lord draws nigh Jam. v. 7 8. SERMON XXVIII St. Matth. Ch. V. Ver. 33. Again ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time Thou shalt not forswear thy self but shalt perform unto the Lord thine Oaths THE sence of these words we have Levit. xix 12 but the Words themselves seem to be a Paraphrase of the ancient Expositions of the Law among the Jews upon that Law in Leviticus where it is Ye shall not swear by my Name falsely neither shalt thou profane the Name of thy God which Words those ancient Interpreters expressed it's like as it is in the Text Thou shalt not forswear thy self but shalt perform unto the Lord thine Oaths And that 's the thing aimed at in these words Again ye have heard That it hath been said by them of old time And most certainly he that forswears himself swears falsly by the Name of God and he that doth not perform unto the Lord his Oaths or performs not what he hath Sworn and Promised to God and Man profanes his Name with a witness Or possibly all that is said in the Old Testament against Swearing was contracted by the Learned Men of old Time into this Axiom or Sentence Thou shalt not forswear thy self but c. Or These words are a Comment made by the Ancestors of the Jews upon the Third Commandment Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain Or They relate to Numb xxx 2 However it be or whoever were the Authors of this Saying it must be confess'd that they spake conformably to the Will of God and therefore these words are in effect a Divine Precept and Obligatory for ever as much as a Command in the Decalogue and though it was said so by them of old Time yet it is no more than what the ancient of Days hath said over and over by Moses and the Prophets And to discourse of this Subject profitably I shall enquire I. What an Oath or taking an Oath or what Swearing is II. Whether an Oath or Swearing even in a modest serious judicial way be lawful III. Why Forswearing our selves or Perjury or not performing unto the Lord our Oaths is forbid and wherein the virulency or heinousness of the Sin consists IV. What the Ceremonies
Except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it Ps. cxxvii 1 2. How much more must this hold in Spiritual And therefore Christian since the Eyes of all do wait upon that God that gives them their Meat in due Season behold the Rock from which thy Water of Life must flow Thy Faith is weak go to him and he will make it mount up with Wings as Eagles Thy hope is faint run to him and he will give it Life and Spirit Thy Love wants Fire address thy self to him and he will enflame it Thy Charity languishes apply thy self to him and he will breathe Vigour and Activity into it Thy resistance of Temptations is feeble follow him with fervent Tears and Prayers and he will make thee bold as a Lyon Happy that Soul that is truly sensible of her weakness this sense will make her breathe and pant after the Living God When I am weak then am I strong saith St. Paul 2 Cor. xii 10 i. e. when I am most sensible of my weakness God follows and blesses me with greater Strength God loves to manifest his Power in our Weakness and the weaker we are I mean so as to be sensible of it and make it a motive to earnest Prayer the fitter we are for God's fortifying Grace For you see your calling Brethren God hath chosen the foolish things of the World to confound the wise and God hath chosen the weak things of the World to confound the things which are mighty c. 1 Cor. i. 26 27 28. Hence arises the Glory of God's Grace and that joyful acknowledgment of St. Paul and all good Men By the Grace of God I am what I am Every true Believer finds this by Experience and joyfully sings with the Royal Prophet as it is Psal. lxxxiv 11 12. The Lord God is a Sun and a Shield the Lord will give Grace and Glory and no good thing will be withhold from those that walk uprightly Blessed be God who is both ready and willing and hath promised over and over to give his enlightning strengthning sanctifying comforting and assisting Grace to the hungry and thirsty Soul that calls upon him in Truth For this Cause as the Apostle did for the Colossians Col. i. 9 10 11. We will not cease to pray for you all and to desire that you may be filled with the Knowledge of his Will in all Wisdom and spiritual Understanding that you may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and encreasing in the knowledge of God strengthen'd with all Might according to his glorious Power unto all long-suffering and patience with joyfulness SERMON XXX St. Matth. Ch. V. Ver. 37. But let your Communication be yea yea and nay nay for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil CHRIST having in the foregoing Verses declar'd all Swearing except it be in Cases of very great Necessity and Weight and Moment altogether unlawful and utterly condemn'd not only Swearing by the supream Being in common Discourses but particularly Swearing by the Creatures as a thing horrid and dreadful and not to be suffered among his Disciples he proceeds and lets us see what decency modesty sincerity and simplicity is to be observed in our Communications and Speeches such especially as relate to Promises and Bargains and the ordinary Affairs of the World And whereas Men might object that they had used themselves to Swearing in their Discourses and therefore could not leave it he passes by that Objection as frivolous and childish and silly and not worth taking notice of supposing that he who hath learned an evil Custom if he will use the proper Means may unlearn it again and to be sure will most heartily abandon it if he be a true Disciple of the Gospel and seriously touch'd with a sense of another Life and the weight and importance of Christ's Doctrine Taking no notice I say of this common Objection he peremptorily declares what he expects of his Followers with respect to their Discourses Speeches Answers and Communications and Colloquies with their fellow Christians But let your Communication be yea yea and nay nay for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil Where we have First A Precept Secondly The Reason of it The Precept But let your Communication be yea yea The Reason For whatsoever is more than these comes of evil We begin with the Precept and that imports three Duties With respect to our Speeches and Discourses Constancy Veracity and Plainness 1. Constancy as it is opposed to Saying and Unsaying in which sense we find the Expression used by St. Paul 2 Cor. i. 17 When I therefore was thus minded did I use lightness or the things that I purpose do I purpose according to the Flesh that with me there should be yea yea and nay nay i. e. yea and nay lightness fickleness inconstancy and unsteddiness in Promises saying one thing this Hour and another the next 2. Veracity as it is opposed to Falshood and Lying and in this place also we find the Apostle uses this Phrase 2 Cor. i. 20 For all the Promises of God are yea and in him Amen unto the Glory of God by us i. e. They are firm immovable not so much as a shadow of Falshood mingles with them and Heaven and Earth shall sooner sink and be dissolv'd than these Promises shall fail 3. Plainness as it is opposed to Oaths and strong Asseverations which is the thing directly aimed at by our Saviour here and hath respect chiefly to our Promises to Men and imports that we are to content our selves with bare Negatives and Affirmatives and such Affirmations and Negations that People may depend upon them as much as if we had confirmed them with an Oath Not but that if the thing be Weighty and of great Moment some Asseveration may be added such as Verily Amen of a Truth I say unto you as we see Christ himself doth in the Gospel where the Souls and the Salvation of Men are concern'd but in ordinary Affairs or things relating to our Business Calling and Employment Bargains and Negotiations in all Discourses and Speeches and Promises of this Nature not only great Veracity but bare Affirmations and Negations are the Things which become us as we are Christians and profess our selves Followers of the best of Masters So that when it is said here Let your Communication be yea yea and nay nay the meaning is not that in our Answers and Discourses we must use no Words whatsoever but only yea and nay according as the Question is which is ask'd us That 's contrary to Christ's Practice and the Apostles Example which are the best Comment on the Text. No doubt we may Discourse with our Neighbours as long as we think fit and say as much as is needful to the purpose But 1. The general intent is to teach us that to avoid greater Sins we are to shun the lesser To avoid Swearing in Discourse we must