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	wife_n	2,548	5	8.1753	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30303	Expository notes with practical observations on the Four Holy Evangelists, viz., St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. John wherein the sacred text is at large recited ... and the instructive example of the holy Jesus to our imitation recommended ; designed for the instruction of private families ... / by William Burkitt.	Burkitt, William, 1650-1703.	1700 (1700)	Wing B5736; ESTC R29600	900,471	338

indispensibly necessary to Salvation 21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time Thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment 22 But I say unto you That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment and whosoever shall say unto his brother Racha shall be in danger of the council but whosoever shall say Thou fool shall be in danger of hell-fire Here our Blessed Saviour begins to Expound the Spiritual Sence and Meaning of the Law and to Vindicate it from the corrupt Glosses of the Pharisees Where Observe Christ doth not deliver a New Law but expounds the Old and doth not Injoin New Duties but Inforces the Old Ones The Law of God was always perfect requiring the Sons of Men to Love God with all their Hearts and their Neighbour as themselves In this Exposition of the Law Christ begins with the Sixth Commandment Thou shalt not Kill Where he shews That besides the actual taking away of Life a Person may violate that Command 1. By Rash Anger 2. By Disgraceful and Reviling Words Thence Learn That every Evil Motion of our Hearts against our Neighbour all unjust Anger towards him all Terms of Contempt put upon him are forbidden by the Law of God no less than the gross Act of Murther it self 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly whiles thou art in the way with him lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer and thou be cast into prison 26 Verily I say unto thee Thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing For preventing the Sin of rash Anger which in our Saviour's Account is a Degree of Murder he exhorts all his Disciples and Followers to Brotherly Agreement and to seek Mutual Reconciliation with each other Agree with thine Adversary That is thy offended or offending Brother Agree with him as becomes a Man Quickly as becomes a Christian Implying that it is a necessary Duty for every Christian to seek Reconciliation sincerely and speedily with such as have offended him or have been offended by him Obs 2. The Argument or Motive with which Christ enforces his Exhortation to Brotherly Reconciliation drawn from the Peril and Danger of the Neglect and this is Twofold The First respects our present Duties and Services when we wait upon God at his Altar and attend upon him in Holy Offices None of our Performances will find Acceptance with God if there be found Malice and Hatred Anger and Ill-will against our Brother Learn That no Sacrifice we can offer will be acceptable to God so long as we our selves are Implacable to Men. A Second Danger respects us when we appear before God in Judgment then God will be our Adversary Christ our Judge Satan our Accuser Hell our Tormentor If now from the Heart we do not every one of us forgive our Brother his Trespasses 27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time Thou shalt not commit adultery 28 But I say unto you That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart Our Saviour next proceeds to Explain the Seventh Commandment which forbids Adultery by which the Pharisees understood only the gross Act of Uncleanness and Carnal Lying with a Woman But says our Saviour Whoever secretly in his Heart desires such a thing and casts his Eye upon a Woman in order to such an Act entertaining only a Thought of it with Pleasure and Delight he is an Adulterer in God's Account Learn That such is the Purity and Spirituality of the Law of God that it condemns Speculative Wantonness no less than Practical Uncleanness and forbids not only the outward Action but the secret Purpose and Intention and first Out-goings of the Soul after unlawful Objects 29 And if thy right eye offend thee pluck it out and cast it from thee for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell 30 And if thy right hand offend thee cut it off and cast it from thee for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell Our Saviour had condemned Ocular Adultery in the foregoing Verse or the Adultery of the Eye He that looketh on a Woman to lust after her hath committed Adultery with her in his Heart Whence Note That the Eye is an Inlet to Sin especially the Sin of Uncleanness Lust enters the Heart at the Window of the Eye Now in these Verses Christ prescribes a Remedy for the Cure of this Eye-Malady If thine Eye offend thee pluck it out Which is not to be understood Literally as if Christ commanded any Man to maim his Bodily Members but Spiritually to Mortifie the Lusts of the Flesh and the Lusts of the Eye which otherwise will prove a dangerous Snare to the Soul Learn 1. That Sin may be avoided it is our Duty to avoid whatsoever leads to it or may be an Occasion of it if we find the View of an Insnaring Object will Inflame us we must tho' not put out our Eye yet make a Covenant with our Eye that we will not look upon it Note 2. That the best Course we can take to be kept from the Outward Acts of Sin is to Mortifie our Inward Affection and Love to Sin This is to Kill it in the Root and if once our Inward Affections be mortified our Bodily Members may be spared and preserved for they will no longer be Weapons of Sin but Instruments of Righteousness unto Holiness 31 It hath been said Whosoever shall put away his wife let him give her a writing of divorcement 32 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 Our Blessed Saviour still proceeds in Vindicating and Clearing the Seventh Commandment from the corrupt Glosses of the Pharisees Almighty God had tolerated the Jews in Case of Uncleanness to put away their Wives by a Bill of Divorce Deut. 24. v. 1. Hereupon the Pharisees maintained it Lawful to put away the Wife upon every slight Occasion This Abuse Christ corrects and shews That Divorce except in Case of Adultery is a certain Breach of the Seventh Commandment Learn 1. That so Indissoluble is the Marriage-Covenant betwixt Two Persons that nothing but Adultery which violates the Bands of Marriage can dissolve or disannul it 2. When Persons are justly put away it is unlawful for

and have peace one with another That is let all persons especially Ministers retain a seasoning Vertue in themselves that they may sweeten and season others even all that they converse with and as Salt has an uniting power and knits the parts of the body salted together So the upholding of Union and Peace one with another will declare that you have salt in your selves Learn hence That it is the Duty of all Christians but especially of the Ministers of the Gospel to maintain brotherly concord and agreement among themselves both as an Argument of their Sincerity and an Ornament to their profession CHAP. X. 1 AND he arose from thence and cometh into the coasts of Judea by the farther side of Jordan and the people resort unto him again and as he was wont he taught them again 2 And the Pharisees came to him and asked him Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife tempting him 3 And he answered and said unto them What did Moses command you 4 And they said Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement and to put her away 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept 6 But from the beginning of the Creation God made them male and female 7 For this cause shall a man leave his Father and Mother and cleave to his Wife 8 And they twain shall be one flesh so then they are no more twain but one flesh 9 What therefore God hath joyned together let no man put asunder 10 And in the house the Disciples asked him again of the same matter 11 And he said unto them Whosoever shall put away his Wife and marry another commiteth adultery against her 12 And if a Woman shall put away her husband and be married to another she committeth adultery The first Verse of this Chapter acquaints us with the great Labour and pains our Saviour took in the exercise of his ministry travelling from place to place in an hot Country and that on foot to preach the Gospel when he was here upon earth Teaching all persons but especially Ministers by his Example to be willing to undergo Pains and Labour even unto much weariness in the service of God and in the Duties of their calling For this is God's Ordinance that every one should feel the Burthen of his calling and the painfulness of it But Lord how nice and delicate are some labourers in thy Vineyard who are willing to do nothing but what they can do with ease that cannot endure to think of labouring unto weariness but are sparing of their pains for fear of shortning their days and hasting their end Whereas the Lamp of our Lives can never be better spent or burnt out then in lighting others to Heaven The following verses acquaint us with an ensnaring question which the Pharisees put to our Saviour concerning the matter of Divorce concluding that they should entrap him in his answer whatever it was if he denied the lawfulness of Divorce then they would charge him with Contradicting Moses who allowed it If he affirmed it then they would condemn him for contradicting his own Doctrine St. Mat. v. 32. for favouring mens lusts and complying with the wicked custom of the Jews who upon every slight and frivolous occasion put away their Wives from them But such was the Wisdom of our Saviour in all his answers to the ensnaring Pharisees that neither their wit nor malice could lay hold upon any thing to entangle him in his talk Obs Therefore the piety and prudence of our Saviour's answer to the Pharisees he refers them to the first institution of marriage When God made Husband and Wife one flesh to the intent that matrimonial Love might be both incommunicable and indissoluble and accordingly asks them what did Moses command you thereby teaching us that the best means for deciding all doubts and resolving all controversies about matters of Religion is to have Recourse unto the Scriptures or the written Word of God what did Moses command you Obs Farther How our Saviour to confute the Pharisees and convince them of the unlawfulness of Divorces used by the Jews lays down the first institution of Marriage and shews them first the Author next the time and then the end of the Institution the Author God What God has joyned together c. Marriage is an Ordinance of God's own Appointment as the Ground and Foundation of all sacred and civil society The time of the Institution was in the beginning Marriage is almost as old as the World as old as Nature it self there was no sooner one Person but God divided him into two and no sooner was there two but he united them into one And the end of the Instituti of Mariage Christ declares was this that there might be not only an intimacy and nearness but also an inseparable Union and Oneness by means of this endearing Relation the congugal knot is tied so close that the Bonds of matrimonial love are stronger then those of Nature Stricter is the Tye betwixt husband and wife then that betwixt parent and child according to God's own appointment For this cause shall a man leave Father and Mother and cleave to his Wife and they Twain shall be one flesh And whereas our Saviour adds what God hath joyned together let not man put asunder two things are hereby intimated to us 1. That God is the Author of the close and intimate Union which is betwixt Man and Wife in a married condition 2. That it is not in the power of man to untie or dissolve that Union which God has made betwixt Man and Wife in the married estate yea it is a great sin to advise unto or endeavour after the separation of them Obs Lastly Our Saviour's private conference with the Disciples after his publick disputation with the Pharisees about this matter of divorce He tells his Disciples and in them he tells all Christians to the end of the World that it is utterly unlawful for Man and Wife to be separated by Divorcement one from another for any cause whatsover except only for the sin of Adultery committed by either of them after the Marriage Learn hence that according to the Word and Will of God nothing can violate the bonds of marriage and justly a divorce betwixt Man and Wife save only the defiling of the marriage Bed by Adultery and uncleanness This is the only case in which Man and Wife may lawfully part and being for this cause parted whether they may afterwards marry again to other Persons has been much disputed but that the innocent and injured person whether Man or Woman for there is an equal Right on both sides may not marry again seems very unreasonable for why should one suffer for anothers fault 13 And they brought young children to him that he should touch them and his Disciples rebuked those that brought them 14 But when Jesus saw it he was much displeased and said unto

thee 34 And his lord was wroth and delivered him unto the tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses Our Blessed Saviour to enforce the foregoing Doctrine of mutual Forgiveness propounds a Parable the main Scope of which is to shew that unless we do actually forgive and pass by Injuries done to us we cut our selves off from all Interest in God's pardoning Mercy and must expect no Forgiveness at the Hands of God From the whole Note 1. That as we all stand in need of Forgiveness from God so likewise of Forgiveness from one another 2. That we all stand bound by the Laws of our Holy Religion to forbear and forgive one another 3. That Almighty God has made the forgiving one another the certain and necessary Condition of his forgiving us 4. That such as are inexorable towards their Brethren shall find Almighty God hard to be entreated towards themselves We may expect the same Rigour and Severity from God which we shew to Men. 5. That the Freeness of God's Love in forgiving us ought to be both an Argument to excite us to forgive one another and also a Rule to direct us in the manner of forgiving each other Doth God forgive us when he has Power in his Hand to punish us So must we when we have Ability and Opportunity for Revenge Doth God forgive universally all Persons So must we all Provocations Doth he forgive freely and willingly heartily and sincerely We must be as forward in forgiving as they in provoking CHAP. XIX 1 AND it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these sayings he departed from Galilee and came into the coasts of Judea beyond Jordan 2 And great multitudes followed him and he healed them there The Country of the Jews was divided into Three Provinces namely Galilee Samaria and Judea In Galilee were the Cities of Nazareth Corazin Bethsaida and Capernaum here Christ dwelt and spent a considerable part of his time preaching to them and working Miracles among them But now comes the Time in which our Holy Lord takes his Leave of this Province of Galilee and return'd no more to it Woe to that People whose Unthankfulness for Christ's Presence and Ministry amongst them causes him finally to forsake them Having left Galilee our Holy Lord passes through Samaria the Samaritans being prejudiced against him and refusing to receive him and comes into the Coasts of Judea where Multitudes of People flock'd after him But Observe the Quality of his Followers not the great Ones of the World not many Mighty not many Noble but the Poor and Despised Multitude the Sick and Weak the Deaf and Blind the Diseased and Distressed Thence Observe That none but such as find their Need of Christ will seek after him and come unto him None will apply to him for Help till they feel themselves helpless Great Multitudes of the Sick and Diseased came unto him and he healed them all 3 The Pharisees also that came unto him tempting him and saying unto him Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause Observe here 1. That wheresoever our blessed Saviour went the Pharisees followed him Not out of a sincere Intention but with Design to ensnare him and accordingly they propound a Question to him concerning Divorce whether a Man might put away his Wife upon any Occasion as the manner of the Jews was Concluding that they should entrap him in his Answer whatever it was If he denied the Lawfulness of Divorce then they would charge him with contradicting Moses who allowed it If he affirmed it then they would condemn him for contradicting his own Doctrine Chap. 5.32 for favouring Men's Lusts and for complying with the wicked Custom of the Jews who upon every slight and frivolous Occasions put away their Wives from them Learn hence 1. That wheresoever our Lord went as he had Disciples and Sincere Followers so the Devil stirr'd him up bitter and malicious Enemies who sought to render his Person unacceptable and his Doctrine unsuccessful 2. That of all Christ's Enemies none had such a bitter Hatred and Enmity against his Person Ministry and Miracles as the Pharisees Men of great Knowledge who rebelled against the Light of their own Consciences and the clear Convictions of their own Mind 3. That such wa● the Wisdom of our Saviour in all his Answers to his Enemies that neither their Wit nor Malice could lay hold upon any thing to ensnare him For observe the Piety and Prudence of his Answer to the Pharisees in the next Words 4 And he answered and said unto them Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female 5 And said for this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they twain shall be one flesh 6 Wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh What therefore God hath joyned together let not man put asunder Observe here Christ gives no direct Answer to the Pharisees ensnaring Question but referrs them to the first Institution of Marriage When God made them one to the Intent that Matrimonial Love might be both incommunicable and indissoluble Whence Learn 1. The Sacred Institution of Marriage It is an Ordinance of God's own Appointment as the Ground and Foundation of all Sacred and Civil Society What God has joyned together Learn 2. The Antiquity of this Institution it was from the Beginning He which made them at the Beginning made them Male and Female Marriage is almost as old as the World as old as Nature there was no sooner One Person but God divided him into Two and no sooner was there Two but he united them into One. Learn hence 3. The Intimacy and Nearness of this endeared and endearing Relation the Conjugal Knot is tied so close that the Bonds of Matrimonial Love are stronger than those of Nature Stricter is the Tye betwixt Husband and Wife than that betwixt Parent and Child according to God's own Institution For this Cause shall a Man leave Father and Mother and cleave to his Wife 7 They say unto him Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement and to put her away 8 He saith unto them Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives but from the beginning it was not so 9 And I say unto you Whosoever shall put away his wife except it be for fornication and shall marry another committeth adultery and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery Observe here the Pharisees Demand and our Saviour's Reply They demand Why Moses commanded to put away the Wife by a Bill of Divorce Where Note the wicked Abuse which the Pharisees put upon Moses as if he had commanded them whereas he only permitted to put them away Moses suffered it