Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	adultery_n	commit_v	fornication_n	1,452	5	12.1572	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A46823	A help for the understanding of the Holy Scripture intended chiefly for the assistance and information of those that use constantly every day to reade some part of the Bible, and would gladly alwayes understand what they read if they had some man to help them : the first part : containing certain short notes of exposition upon the five books of Moses, to wit Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomie : wherein all such passages in the text are explained as were thought likely to be questioned by any reader of ordinary capacity ... / by Arthur Jackson ...	Jackson, Arthur, 1593?-1666.	1643 (1643)	Wing J67; ESTC R35433	692,552	595

let him give her a writing of divorcement But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife saving for the cause of fornication causeth her to commit adultery and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery Vers 4. Her former husband which sent her away may not take her again to b● his wife after that she is defiled To wit by marrying and lying with a second husband her first husband being still living It seems that after a man had given his wife a bill of divorce and sent her away if he repented of what he had done and was reconciled to his wife thus unjustly divorced before she had taken another husband he might with her consent cancell the bill of divorce and receive her again as his wife but after she had once marryed another husband he might not take her again no not after her second husband was dead and that because she was defiled But why is the wife here said to be defiled with lying with her second husband since by the law of God she might lawfully marry him I answer the most of Expositours say that it is because this her second marriage her first husband being yet living was against the first institution of marriage and so sinfull and onely tolerated for a time amongst the Jews because of the hardnesse of their hearts Matth. 5. 31 32. but yet because it is hard to say how it could be sin●e in her who was as it were perforce put away by her first husband especially since the Apostle hath determined in a like case to wit in the case of a wilfull separation that the innocent party may marry again 1. Cor. 7. 15. therefore others think that by being defiled here is meant onely her lying with her second husband which in a naturall way is accounted a pollution without any intimation of the sinfulnesse thereof or else her being defiled in regard of him that is one whom he might no more touch nor meddle with it being as it follows in the next words an abomination before the Lord that a man should deliver up his wife as it were to another mans bed and then take her when he pleased himself again Thou shalt not eause the land to sinne c. That is thou shalt not cause the land to be defiled with sinne and so to be liable to punishment or make others to sinne by thine example Vers 5. When a man hath taken a new wife he shall not go out to warre c. This law was for the exemption of those that had taken a new wife that is those that had newly marryed a wife from being sent forth to warre or from being charged with any businesse to wit any publick imployment that would necessarily cause him to be absent from his wife and the ground of this law was not so much the unfitnesse of such men for publick imployments in regard their minds would still be so much upon their wives as the providing for the settling of their love one to another as is manifest by the following words he shall be free at home one year and shall chear up his wife which he hath taken When a woman is newly marryed and so taken from her fathers house and family and transplanted into a new stock she is subject to grieve much and hath the more need to be tendered and cherished by her husband and besides if the first year by living lovingly together their hearts be once throughly settled one to the other there would be the more hope of wellknit affections for ever after and to give a priviledge to the new-marryed man in this respect was this law given the Israelites Vers 6. No man shall take the nether or the upper milstone to pledge c. For one of the milstones being gone the other is unusefull and by consequence the taking of any thing as a pledge that is of the like necessary use for the exercise of a mans calling or for the sustenance of his life is here forbidden See Exod. 22. 26. Vers 7. If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel c. See the note upon Exod. 21. 16. Vers 9. Remember what the Lord thy God did unto Miriam c. This example is added to render them the more carefull of what he had enjoyned in the foregoing verse to wit that in the plague of leprosie they should observe diligently and do according to all that the priests the Levites should teach them Remember saith Moses what the Lord thy God did unto Miriam that is remember how for her sinne and contempt of Moses the Lord struck her with leprosy and thereby be warned to take heed of sinning against God by slighting the directions of the Levites whom God hath set over you to teach you in all things what ye should do lest otherwise ye provoke God to punish you and to strike you with leprosy as he did her or rather Rem●mber what the Lord thy God did unto Miriam that is remember how she was by Gods speciall command shut out of the camp seven dayes untill she had been purified according to the law If she might not be exempted who then shall plead exemption See that therefore ye carefully observe those laws given concerning the shutting up of the lepers and the cleansing of them when they are healed and whatever else from the law of God the Levites shall direct you to do Vers 10. When thou dost lend thy brother any thing thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge c. Some conceive that the end of this law enjoyning the pledge still to be brought to the doore was to make men carefull so to order their expenses that they might not be put in the sight of their neighbours to pawn their cloaths and to curb the creditour that he might not be too harsh and g●eedy in exacting a pledge But farre more probable that is which is held by most of Expositours namely that God did he●ein provide for the poore man both that the creditour might not pick and chuse his pledge where he pleased though it was that which he was very unwilling to part with but should be content wi●h that which should be brought out to him as likewise bec●●se poore men are usually ashamed that strangers should come in and in every corner behold their penury and want Vers 13. In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sunne goeth down that he may sleep in his own raiment and blesse thee Concerning this law see the No●e upon Exod. 22. 26. As there the Lord presseth this work of mercie upon his people by threatning that if by keeping away such a necessary pledge the poore man were provoked to crie unto him he would heare his cries and be avenged on such a hard-hearted creditour so here also by promising that in case they did herein shew mercie to the poore the poore should blesse them

were in subjection and so made great havock amongst that people and afterwards they could not but suffer much when the Seleucidae did continually waste and oppresse them in the troublesome dayes of Antigonus and Antiochus And if we understand by Chittim Italy even by the Romans out of Italy were the Assyrians afflicted when they began to ruine the Grecian Empire to whom that people were then subject and Dio that writes the Romane history reports that Trajan the Emperour did in his time subdue Assyria and make it a Province As for the second branch of this prophecy that ●he ships which should come from the coast of Chittim should afflict Eber that is the Hebrews or Jews this also was partly fulfilled by the Greeks if you understand them to be the people of Chittim for they could not but suffer much when the Grecians came to get the dominion over them and the story of the Maccabees shews how cruelly Antiochus dealt with them but especially by the Romanes if we understand them to be the people of Chittim for by the Romanes they were often sorely distressed and at length Titus and Vespasian did utterly ruine them As for the third branch of the prophecy that he also that is the people of Chittim should perish for ever this hath been already in part fulfilled both in the utter overthrow of the Grecian Empire and in the low estate whereto the Romane Empire is fallen but shall be more fully accomplished when Rome and her now head that man of sinne shall be utterly destroyed as God hath threatned that he will consume him with the breath of his mouth destroy him with the brig●tnesse of his coming 2. Thess 2. 8. Vers 25. And Balaam rose up and went and returned to his place c. That is he went away homeward though it seems he was afterward stayed amongst the Midianites for among them he was slain chap. 31. 8. They slew the kings of Midian Balaam also the sonne of Beor they slew with the sword With what shame and confusion of face they now parted asunder we may easily conceive being both wholly disappointed of their aims the false prophet going away without those wages of unrighteousnesse which he had gaped after and for which he had taken all this pains and the king having procured nothing by all that he had done but that the ●eople was blessed whom he desired his prophet to curse which how great a mercie it was to the Israelites we may see by the Lords putting them so often in mind of it as Deut. 23. 4 5. They hired against thee Balaam the sonne of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia to curse thee Neverthelesse the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee because the Lord thy God loved thee and again Mich. 6. 5. O my ●●ople remember now what Balak King of Moab consulted and what Balaam the sonne of Beor answered him But though they could not obtain to have Israel cursed yet before Balaam parted now with Balak he gave him that pestilent counsel to wit to invite the Israelites to their feasts and so to insnare them and draw them both to whoredome and idolatry that so the favour of their God being turned away from them they might then be exposed to any mischief from their enemies which how they attempted to put in practise we reade in the following chapter CHAP. XXV Vers 1. ANd Israel abode in Shittim This was a place in the plains of Moab called also Abel-shittim chap. 3● 49. where they continued till after Moses death for from this Shittim they removed when they went to passe over Jordan into the land of Canaan and it is the rather noted here as an aggravation of their sinne which in this place they fell into with the daughters of Moab that when God had now brought them to the very borders of the promised land they should there so shamefully sinne against him And the people began to commit wheredome with the daughters of Moab This is meant both of bodily and spirituall whoredome and besides we must note first that though it be said generally that the people began to commit whoredome yet the meaning is onely that some or a great number of the people did so for all that were guilty of this wickednesse were taken away and onely those remained alive that did constantly cleave unto the Lord Deut. 4. 3 4. All the men that followed Baal Peor the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day and secondly that though the daughters of Moab be onely here mentioned yet under these the daughters of Midian are also comprehended for it is evident that the Israelites did commit whoredome with the daughters of Midian as we may see ver 6. where it is said that it was a Midianitish woman with whom Zimri committed filthinesse and ver 16 17. Vex the Mid●anites saith the Lord to Moses and smite them for they vex you with their wiles wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor c. Vers 2. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods c. This is added as the effect of their whoredome with the daughters of Moab whereof he had spoken in the former verse to wit that they were then invited by these daughters of Moab to their idolatrous feasts and so at length were drawn to open idolatry Some indeed conceive that in these words Moses sheweth how they were drawn to commit whoredome with these daughters of Moab to wit that first under a shew of friendship they were invited by the Moabites to their idolatrous feasts and then being there allured by the wanton provocations of their young damsels they committed filthinesse with them and so were insnared and drawn further afterwards to fall down and worship their gods But the order of the words is rather this that first they committed bodily whoredome with the daughters of Moab for that is principally intended vers 1. and therefore S. Paul speaks of this as that which was the first originall cause of all the evil that now befell them 1. Cor. 10. 8. Neither let us commit fornication as some of them committed and fell in one day three and twenty thousand and then afterwards they were drawn by d●grees to the idolatry here mentioned It seems therefore that the Moabites under a pretence of peace and amity got some opportunity to have their fair damsels allure some of the Israelites to uncleannesse and then having intangled them in this sinne they called them unto the sacrifices of their gods that is to the feasts they made with their sacrifices and so they went and did eat with them which was of it self idolatry they that eat of the sacrifices being partakers of the altar 1. Cor. 10. 8. and a sinne which God had expressely given them warning