so of London But with Grief and Sorrow I am afraid 't is not so 't is true but of very few To Lie is to tell for True that which one knows to be False or to affirm that to be False which he knows to be True Though a man may ignorantly tell a Lie yet not Lie for to Lie implies a design for to Deceive or to Hurt whereupon the difference is to be observed between telling a Lie and Lying or making a Lie for an honest and conscionable man may happen ignorantly and imprudently to tell a Lie upon a False Report as of such a man reported to be Dead when 't is not true but to Forge a Lie is with an evil Design and to Deceive the Intention and Contrivance is that which makes it Abominable and if it be so as 't is in ordinary Discourse and Conversation how much more upon the occasion of Oaths when God's most holy Name is made use of not in Private but in Publick and in Judgment whereby Truth which is part of Justice is perverted and Lie part of Injustice is set up There are Three sorts of Lies The Officious to do a Man some Service as to Lie to Save his Life Liberty c. The Merry or Pleasant to tell a Lie with an intent to Divert a Company And the Pernicious to Hurt one As to the Two First kinds I say that though Casuists differ about the Question whether or not they may be used which in my Opinion I think unlawful and look upon as Snares by degrees thorough Custom to be drawn from one kind to another yet all own the last called Pernicious to be most Wicked and by no means to be allowed [a] Psal. 5.6 Thou shalt destroy saith David them that Speak Leasing or Lies [b] Prov. 12.19 the Lip of Truth shall be established for ever but a Lyng tongue is but for a moment To Lie is to abuse God's Gifts who hath given us a Tongue truly to express our Mind and not to Deceive or otherwise Hurt our Neighbour 'T is for a good not for a Bad Use and we must not abuse the Gifts of God such are the Organs of Speech this also overthrows Human Society and breeds Jealousies Animosities and Causes Disorder and Confusion Certainly this kind of Lie is worst of all against God thorough the abuse of his Gift when others no greater Sinners are Dumb and God hath given thee the free Use of thy Tongue and also 't is against man with procuring his Harm The other Two sorts tho Evil yet in a less Degree then this and if according to the true Rule a Man though to save his own or Neighbour's Life ought not to tell a Lie much less to ruin his good Name Fortune or his Life God in his gracious Promise of the Restoration of Jerusalem after the Seventy Years Captivity gives them this Charge [c] Zach. 8.16 These are the things that ye shall do Speak every man the truth to his Neighbour execute the judgment of truth Which Precept the Apostle enlarges upon thus [d] Ephesians 4.25 Wherefore putting away Lying Speak every Man the truth with his Neighbour God having by Paul given a Character of the most wicked and worst of Men concludes it with this most abominable Brand [e] Rom. 1.25 26. they changed the truth of God into a Lie And see the judgment immediately at the tall of the sin the greatest on this side Hell that God inflicteth upon men For this cause God gave them up unto vile Affections and other terrible judgments expressed in that remaining part of the Chapter but God will in his just Judgment follow them further in the World to come for they who make Lies shall not only be excluded [f] Rev. 21 27.8 From entering into New Jerusalem but also lodg'd among every other wicked Man as Vnbelievers Abominable and Murtherers Wheremongers Sorcerers and Idolaters also Lyars shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone which is the Second Death The Devil is by our blessed Saviour Branded with Two Things for being a Murtherer and a Lyar he doth but name the first Crime but the last he doth exaggerate and insist upon as if it was the Greatest of the Two He contents himself with saying [g] John 8.44 the Devil was a Murtherer from the beginning Of the other he saith He abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him when he Speaks a Lie he Speaks it of his own for he is a Lyar and the Father of it And therefore the Everlasting Fire is prepared for the Devil and his Angels and for his Children too who with him are [h] Jude 6. Reserved in or to Everlasting Chains under Darkness Those Lyars are those wandring Stars to whom if not pardoned is reserved the blackness of Darkness for ever If such terrible judgments and pains be reserved for the common Lyars that are the Devil's Children how much greater Degrees of Pains shall be inflicted upon those who were not content to Lie in their ordinary Discourse but who have highly aggravated it with their Perjuries and bringing in the Name of God to Countenance their pernicious Lies who not only have [i] 2 Tim. 3.8 Resisted the truth as St. Paul speaks but are gone further and to speak in another Apostle's Words [k] James 3.14 have Lied against the truth Now to the Second Qualification as he that Sweareth must do 't in Truth so he ought to Swear in Judgment or Considerately and with Discretion for [l] Psal 11â— 5 A Good Man will Guide his Affairs with Discretion making Conscience of all his ways especially of an Oath well weighing and advisedly considering what it is that he is to Swear and who it is by whom he Sweareth so as neither to prophane his Name or make it common with using it upon unnecessary and light occasions as expressed Matth. 5.34 35 36 37. Nor make use of it [m] Jam. 5.12 unadvisedly but Religiously and Reverently and only in matters of weighty Concernment and not as [n] Mat. 14.7 Herod who Promised with an Oath to give Herodias's Daughter whatsoever she would ask As Rash a thing as Man can hear of for she might have asked any thing else as well as John Baptist's Head And if this Condition is to be Observed in any thing certainly it must be in matters of Judicature which are so publick and the Consequences so great hereby Man is required to Swear in knowledge and wisdom therefore Children Fools Mad-men Atheists notoriously Impious and People Drunken when in the Fit must not be admitted to take an Oath for he who Swears must before-hand be well Instructed in the Thing in Question that requires his Oath for he is called thereby to confirm it and then he must well understand the binding Nature of an Oath and the Consequences thereof for he which makes no Conscience of an Oath is
morum est Culpa non Criminum c. etiam post biennium ducturus Vxorem Which seems hard Let it be taken notice of how Adultery is a just Cause of Divorce in the Wife but not in the Husband In the same Code 't is said Quamvis Adulterij crimen inter publica referatur quorum delatio in communi omnibus sine aliqua Legis interpretatione conceditur Tom. 3. Lib. 9. T it 7. ad leg Juliam de Adulteris ad Evagrium fol. 57. c. This Crime of Adultery was so Odious that any one might be an Accuser but much more is the Husband concerned for in the said Law it is added Imprimis maritum genialis thori vindicem esse oportet cui quidem ex suspicione ream Conjugem facere nec intra certa tempora Inscriptionis vinculi contineri veteres retro Principes annuerunt Here by this Law a Husband must first Vindicate and Avenge the Honour of his Bed And former Princes allowed him to accuse his Wife upon Suspicion without Prescription of Time and tho she proved Innocent there was nothing of Punishment inflicted upon the Husband 't is wished here was in Case of Adultery no prescription of Time as there is for can any rational man say That a Woman upon Oath of two or three Evidences Convicted of Adultery to be less or no Adulteress because she is proved so a Year or two beyond the time of Prescription Is not a Murtherer a Murtherer indeed and as such to be Punished because he is Tryed and Convicted 10 or 20 Yeers after the Murther was Committed 'T is not a longer or a shorter time that can make that not to be a Crime which is a Crime indeed In my poor Judgment I must say any Human Law which presumes to Dispense with God's is very Unreasonable God hath said Thou shalt not commit Adultery absolutely without any Restriction so that to commit it is with every Person at all times and in all places without Distinction a Breach of the Law and a Sin and every Sin deserveth Punishment Again the Romans were so strict and severe or rather just that if a Woman had had her Servants Company she was put to Death and he Burned as â—t appears by the Law (h) Tit. 9. Si qua cum servo rem hahere detegitur capitali sententia subjugatur tradendo igâ—ibus verberone With them amongst several other Causes of Divorce were the following If the Husband can prove his Wife to be desirous of Feasting with Strangers he not knowing or not willing if The lays out one Night against his will or without just cause and if she doth frequent Plays or publick Shews the Husband forbidding it also for Adultery which none that hath any regard to God's Law can deny to be a just Cause of Divorce in which case Christian Emperours favoured much the Husband For if a man had wrongfully Divorced his Wife they â—aid no other Punishment upon him than that he should give back her Portion or that called Donatio propter Nuptias or Dowry or if there were none of these the Fourth part of his Goods Thus the Emperour M. Aurelius answered those who advised him to put away his Wife Faustina a very Debauched woman If I put her away then I must give back her Portion that is the Empire So he kept one for the sake of the other He tho otherwise a VVise man had not the Spirit of Julius Cesar who as I said before gave no other Reason for Divorcing his VVife than this My House must be as free from Suspicion as from Guilt Indeed the Honour and Prosperity of Families doth sometimes so much depend upon the Good Behaviour or Miscarriage of a Wife that no Husband may be Blamed for looking narrowly into it and upon this Consideration Antient Laws allowed Husband 's such a Latitude in those matters tho some were apt enough to abuse it wherefore Christian Laws have fixed narrower Bounds The Cause of Adultery Justinian in his (a) Lib. V. in Authent 22. ad con 117. Cod Lib. 5. tit 17. leg consensu fol. 162. Code from the beginning of his Fifth Book thorough Twenty-four Titles and in his Authentick 22. and some others in Constit but especially God 'T is thus Sicut enim sine justà causà dissolvi Matrimonium justo limite prohibemus ita adversà necessiâ—â—te pressum vel pressam quamvis infausto attamen necessario auxilio cupimus liberari For as we forbid to Dissolve Matrimony otherwise than upon just Causes so upon urging Necessity we desire to afford the wronged Party a necessary though unhappy Help and Relief and one of the Causes for the Man is always Adultery b Authent ut lic Mat. aviae causas Col. 8. Tit. ult nec ullo modo expellant nisi Adulteram Let him not turn her away except in the case of Adultery universally owned to be a Just Cause Elsewhere many other things to this purpose are to be seen All this we quote not that these Authorities be Laws for us but only to shew the Sense which former Ages had of these matters But though we have our Municipal Laws Statutes and Acts of Parliament yet the Authority of the Civil Law is not to be despised for it containeth much of Reason Justice and Equity and was compiled upon mature Deliberation and as I said before by the advice and help of wise and knowing men and here we are so far sensible of it as therein to yield much to our Civilians and Drs. Commons is a place well known for such matters Now to enforce this the more as we already observed by God's Law Adulterers and Adulteresses were put to Death whereby the Bond of Marriage was quite Dissolved and so at this time it should be here as in other places then there would be no occasion to Sue for a Divorce nor for leave to marry another Now an Adulteress ought at least morally to be Dead being covered with Extreme Infamy which is directly opposed to the Covenant of Marriage which is (c) Heb. 13.4 Honourable in All and the Bed Vndefiled Surely God would not have any one to live in VVedlock with those whom he would not have to live at all And indeed it is neither just fit nor expedient that an honest man should be coupled with an infamous woman The wise Roman Emperours had so great a Regard to the equal Honour of both married Farties that they lookt upon those Marriages to be of no force that were contracted between one of a good Name and another of Bad Reputation I shall not say how an Incurable Impotency of Body Madness and Leprosie are accounted just Causes of Divorce much more Adultery is so under both Old and and New Testaments and Christian Princes ought now to be as Careful as ever others were to preserve Honesty in Families which are to give a Seed unto the Church to the Glory of God hinder their being Tainted
with Ignominy and restrain Wickedness and Infamy No Wise and Good Man will deny it to be the Duty as it ought to be the necessary Care of Magistrates first with Severity to Punish Whoredom and Adultery as well as Theft and Robbery for to Rob me of my Honour and of my Wife is to Rob me of my own Goods Next they are to see that Marriages be Lawfully contracted then that they be faithfully kept And lastly That upon Just Cause they be Lawfully Dissolved and leave granted again to Marry at least to the Injured Party For God never intended in Marriage to give a man a perpetual Torment instead of a Meet Help neither doth God approve that to the Breach and Violation of this Holy Contract which happeneth when Love ceaseth Murther should be added which is when Hatred doth succeed Love for (c) 1 John 3.15 Whosoever Hateth his Brother is a murtherer I think it unnecessary for me to bring any more Evidences upon this matter out of the Civil Law â—or out of the Writings of our Protestant Divines They that have a mind to be more at large Informed concerning the Point of Divorce let them peâ—use what that Famous Divine Bucer hath Written â—n his Second Book of the Kingdom of Christ Dediâ—ated to Edward the 6th and therein they may find Cause of Satisfaction as ground of Information Good Counsel he gave that Young Prince so Zealâ—us for the Glory of God that well he might have â—een compared to good King Josiah if God had â—een pleased to continue him a longer Life And â—ere again I must say that which cannot too often â—e Inculcated how certainly 't is every Prince's Duty â—ithin all his Dominions to Discourage Discountetenance Restrain and Punish all Vices especially the Sins of Uncleanness in general and of Adultery in particular to prevent the sad Effects thereof which so much Dishonour God and cause Disorders and Confusions in Families On the contrary nothing maketh us so like unto God as Holiness wherein chiefly his Image in us doth consist which that filthy Sin is so contrary to Holiness saith David becomes thine House Psal 93.5 O Lord for ever To come nearer our Constitutions I shall add out of the Book of the Reformation of Ecclesiastical Laws first began by Order of Henry 8th and continued under Edward 6th In the Chapter of Adultery and Divorce we find these Words in the Original Turpitudo tam horribilis adulteriorum est uâ— aperte decalogi praecepto confossa sit c. Whereof the Sense in English is thus Cap. 1 fol. 47. The filthiness of Adulterie is so horrible as to be plainly condemned in one of the ten Commandments and according the Old Mosaical Lawsâ— the Guilty was Punished with being publickly Stoned 〈◊〉 Death by the People and also according to the Civil Law was put to death Wherefore our Ecclesiastical Judgeâ— ought most grievously and severely to Punish a thing sâ— odious unto God and on which our holy Ancestors inflicted special Pains and Punishments Hence it is plain how according unto the Laws of God given by the Ministery of Moses by the Practice of our forme good and just Kings even before the time of Reformation and since the Beginning of it in the day of Henry 8th and Edward 6th according to our Ecclesiastical Laws the abominable Sin of Adultery may not be spared which would prove an Encouragement to commit it but ought smartly and without mercy here among us to be Punished Now to go on we come to matters of Fact aâ— of Right before the Civil Power When Magstrates know the Transgression of Divine and Humaâ— Laws in relation to Adultery they are bound 〈◊〉 take notice of and use a course to prevent stoâ—â— and punish it Death was and still in some place is inflicted on the Adulteress but 't is a great miâ—igation to reduce it only to a Divorce By 〈◊〉 general Consent of all Nations which by the Law 〈◊〉 Nature might know how Sacred a thing Marriaâ—â— is not to be broken upon every slight Ground however in some certain Cases of which Adultery ever was one they all allowed of itâ— Romulus made a Law that it should never be Lawful for a Wife to leave her Husband but to him permitted to leave his Wife in some cases as of Adultery Witchcraft c. So that our Christian Magistrates if they will not make themselves worse than Heathens when a Husband is a Sufferer by the Injustice done him by his Wife and becomes a Plaintiff there ought to be a readiness in those concerned to hear his Cause to examine the Grounds and at last to do him Justice And this regardeth not only that sort of Magistrates that are intrusted only with the Executive part to see it done but also those in whom resides the Legislative Power to see that Laws be executed and also if Occasion and the Necessity of the Case requires it to make new ones Would to God Magistrates would take such effectual Care to Punish the Guilty in this kind according to Divine and Human Laws that no place might be left for Disputes and Questions The Adulteress is not worthy of Compassion only of Torments and Pains chiefly when she hath made unto her self an habit of that Sin and no man may have the Charity for the Guilty as to wish her not to be Accused for Adultery is a publick Crime which for it self and Terrour to others ought publickly to be Punished and Discountenanced And herein after private Admonitions proved useless to Dissemble is not praise worthy as some do fancy for this Vice introduceth Disorders into Families Scandals into the Church and Confusions into the State 'T is easy out of Antient and Modern History to Evidence how Fornication and Adultery have been the cause of the Overthrow of great Empires of Calamities to Potent Nations of the Ruin of great Persons and of very considerable Families Abimelech King of Gerar a Philistine who having nothing to do with the Covenant wanted the true fear of God yet how doâ—â— he reprove Isaac as if in this kind he had laid a Snare against him and his People for saying his Wife was his Sister (a) Gen. 26 9 10 11. What is this thou hast done unto us One of the People might lightly have lien with thy Wife and thou shouldest have brought Guiltiness upon us And Abimelech charged all his People saying he that toucheth this Man or his Wife shall surely be put to Death This was to secure both Isaac's Life and Rebeckah's Honour which last they would hardly have attempted upon but after the destruction of the first In Egypt Pharoah's words (b) Gen. 12. to Abram were to the same purpose upon the like Occasion So sensible they were how they ought not to meddle with another man's Wife as long as her Husband is alive and this was the Ground of Israel's fear for his Life thô thereby his Wife's Honour was the more
his Wife saving for the cause of Fornication caâ—seth her to commit Adultery Then followeth and Whosoever shall marry her that is Divorced Saving for the cause of Fornication for this is Necessarily to be understood committeth Adultery Good if she be put away upon a Trivial account and not for the Cause of Adultery and in that case 't is not to commit Adultery or else our Saviour had Contradicted Himself It were most Unjust to make the Innocent to suffer the Penalty due to the Guilty which will be if either he be forc'd to keep the Adulteress or to run the Danger of committing Fornication And as once a Woman is found Guilty so let her Suffer Divorce be granted and that which necessarily follows leave be given the Husband to marry another that being the Remedy provided against Incontinency for as long as the Disease reigneth the Remedy ought not to be taken away Thorough Adultery is broken not only the Use but also the Essential part of the Contract and the Tye of it The Innocent must not suffer for 't is not he but the Guilty that breaks the Bond of Marriage so that 't is clear the Tye is broken because the Fundamental part of that Contract is thus it ceaseth then our Saviour's words admit of no Distinction Restriction or Limitation they absolutely approve of Divorce in case of Adultery and not only in part from Board and Bed as said before And every where in Scripture the Word Divorce implyes not only a Separation between Husband and Wife but also a Liberty to marry another This Point is so generally allowed by Protestants that 't is become a Controversy between the Protestant Churches and the Romish for the Council of Trent Sess 14. Can. 7. and Bellarmin de Matrim l. 1. c. 16. say That by Adultery Marriage is not wholly dissolved but the contrary we proved and Pual (e) 1 Cor. 7.27 28. saith Art thou loosed from a Wife if thou marry thou hast not sinned Marriage is a Remedy against Incontinency for saith the Apostle To avoid Fornication let every man have his own wife v. 2. and every woman her own husband And when there happens either a Voluntary Parting or a Legal Divorce a Brother or a Sister are free Certainly when the Bond of Marriage is loosed as 't is by Adultery 't is no sin to marry as the Apostle said but just now he who marries another as long as the Bond remains undissolved commits Adultery but if it be dissolved 't is no Adultery The Argument is this If for Whoredom the Man may put away his Wife then the Bond is dissolved but for Whoredom as our Saviour saith the Man may put away his Wife therefore for Whoredom the Bond is dissolved and so he may marry another except for Fornication that is without the Cause of Fornication is an Exception which happening to be the Case he is allowed to put her away Now Christ's Exception except it be for Fornication is jointly to be extended to both points of putting away and marrying another so if he may put away he may afterwards marry another In all places of the Old Testament where the Question is about Divorce it appears to be the Will of God that upon some certain Grounds it should be lawful for Persons lawfully Married to make such a Divorce as the Parties might marry others and the Jews never knew of any other kind of Divorce but that and this we have Instances of here among us In the New-Testament our Lord and Saviour and his Apostles never gave other Definition of a True Divorce than this when it is lawfully made it is lawful for the Innocent to marry again in Matth. 19. he speaks but of Two kinds of Divorce one Unlawful contrary to the first Institution of Matrimony when upon any unjust Ground a Man divorceth his Wife the other Lawful which is upon a lawful Cause namely Adultery he declares against the first and concludeth for the last whereby the Marriage is so dissolved that 't is lawful to marry another Wife And if as it ought to be by the Laws of Men as 't is by God's the Adulteress was put to Death there would be no ground left for the Question Whether the Man may marry another Wife And I think it a sufficient mitigation of God's Law here to spare her Life when in many other Countries the Adulteress is justly put to Death Now the Two matters of Right are proved 1st In Case of Adultery one may Lawfully put away his Wife 2ly Having Lawfully put her away he may marry another To this agree our famous Protestant Divines and Casuists as Calvin Beza Martyr Bucer Piscator Perkins Paraeus Riveâ—us Busanus Polanus Amesius So doth also the Civil Law but Dr. John Reynolds hath upon the matter written an Excellent Treatise which was Printed in 1609. called A Defence of the Judgment of the Reformed Churches c. Wherein he proves the Lawfulness of a Marriage upon a Lawful Divorce What the Romish Church saith and doth to the contrary is to satify her Covetousness and get Money for granting Dispenses Thus the Court of Heaven and of Conscience having declared it concerns the Ecclesiastical and Civil Courts to follow When I speak of the Ecclesiastical Court I do not intend to make it a different one from that of Conscience for of all sorts of men Divines and Clergymen are tyed to the Rules of God's Word and in a special manner bound to promote his holy Will therein contained when occasion is offered They ought to have a watchful Eye over their respective Flocks when they hear of or observe any Scandalous Practice in this kind 't is their Duty first to Admonish and if this cannot prevail to Prosecute as far as their Station will allow If they were pleased to take notice of and endeavour to reform the Abuses that lead into this filthy Sin which now we Write against they with God's Blessing might sometimes happen to prevent abundance of Evil committed in this Kind with representing how marryed women ought to avoid not only the Act of Adultery but all Inticements to and Occasions of Uncleanness as are Evil Companies unlawful Sports Dangerous Recreations too Gaudy Cloathes for their Apparel ought to be Modest so to avoid Lascivious Gestures and Obscenous Words for as in the 7th Precept Chastity is commanded so whatsoever is contrary to 't is therein Forbidden as Lust in the Heart the Eyes or any part of the Body Filthiness in Discourse Gluttony Drunkenness or any thing else apt to inflame Lust And as Matrimony is of a mixed that is Divine and Human Right so the Clergy-men especially the Heads ought in this matter to act in both Capacities to Censure Reform Punish and appear to be Enemies to Abuses and Abusers in this kind But 't is a very sad case to hear any of that Character in a solemn Assembly impiously to say how some Expressions in Scripture relating to the
after the manner of Adulteresses How so I will bring up a Company upon them and will give them to be Removed and Spoiled and the Company shall Stone them with Stones and dispatch them with Swords they shall slay their Sons and their Daughters and burn up their Houses with Fire When that Sin is not Punished with private Judgment at last God doth it with publick The Concealers the Denyers of Justice become Accessory and this bringeth publick Judgments upon Cities and whole Kingdoms And Thus saith God will I cause Lewdness to cease out of the Land that all Women may be taught not to do after your Lewdness The Lord not only maketh Adulteresses Examples of his Judgments but also makes them Examples to others as a Buoy to take Warning by When God hath been as it seemed only looking upon for a while then he sitteth upon the Judgment-seat and judgeth (m) ch 16.38 I will judge thee as Women that break Wedlock As indeed Punishment is ty'd to the Tail of Sin when un-repented (n) Rev. 2 20 21 22. I gave her Jezabel space to repent of her Fornication and she repented not behold I will cast her into a Bed and them that commit Adultery with her into great Tribulation But to return close to our Point and which is our main Design to ground it upon the Truth of God's Word which we lay our chief stress upon Before I conclude I desire the Reader to remember what our blessed Saviour the great and supream Judge said upon the matter and to make him take the more notice of it in few words I shall make a kind of Recapitulation of the Substance of it out of which it doth clearly appear that in this point of Divorce Two things occur to be Discussed which our blessed Lord doth by his Authority decide in the two places of Matthew's Gospel already Quoted in the first Occasionally when he purges of and refutes several false Glosses which the Scribes and Pharisees had put upon the Law but in the last he speaks to 't as being the matter in hand and directly to answer the Question put to him Whether for every Cause a Man might lawfully Divorce his Wife Which he denyed and gave reason for it out of Gen. 1 27. and 2.24 But because as the Evangelist Observes they came unto him Tempting him and this design was if possible to make him Contradict Moses (o) John ◠as at another time they would have done in the Case of the Woman taken in Adultery that they might have something wherewith to Accuse him here to Intangle him they brought in Moses's Authority who had commanded to give a Writing of Divorcement but of it he gave a Reason namely their Hardness of Heart whereat they could not be pleased And in the following Verse he Magisterially and by his Legislative Authority thus Decided it But I say c. These Words to be compared with those of Chap 5. which are Parallel and about the same Subject as quoted before and both do plainly affirm the self same thing which hath two parts the first about Divorce the Second about Marrying again after it As to the First there are Two Things one Expressed the other Implyed and this last as well as the first coutained in the Text Our Saviour affirm that no man may Divorce his Wife for every Cause vain and trivial as the Jews used to do but at the same time he declares there is one Cause and only that which he names Fornication for which a Man may lawfully put away his Wife For when he denies that any man may Divorce his Wife except for the Cause of Fornication at the same time he implieth that Fornication is a lawful Cause to put her away and every Divorce Grounded upon that Cause and none else Is Lawful or else why should he make that Exception If his Intention had been to Teach that there is no just cause in the World for a Husband to Divorce his Wife he would absolutely have spoken it thus for no Cause whatsoever and not have assigned one with an Exception Saving for the Cause of Fornication he must be Blind who cannot or Obstinate that will not see this Truth out of both these places But they both do also afford another Truth as a just and right Consequence of the former if the Divorce be unlawful then a second Marriage is unlawful which by the Rules of Contraries implies that if the Divorce be Lawful then a Second Marriage is also lawful so any man who hath put away his Wife for the cause of Fornication may marry another for there is no middle either make the Divorce Unlawful and the second Marriage Unlawful or the Divorce Lawful and a second Marriage so These two things are so depending one upon another and so much the Consequence one of another that we see our Saviour doth injoyn them together that having spoken of the Divorce he presently and immediately mentions a Marriage of both Parties in the 5th chapt of the Woman and in the 19th of both Man and Woman 'T is said Whosoever shall put away his Wife saving for the Cause of Fornication causeth her to commit Adultery How doth he cause her to commit Adultery Because she Marrieth another if she would continue Single there would be no Adultery committed but she marrying another Husband and the Marriage with the first holding still and not being dissolved because Fornication which is the true Cause of Divorce did not intervene then such Marriages are meer Adulteries So then the Husband who hath unlawfully Divorced his Wife if he marrieth another committeth Adultery and the Wife that is thus unlawfully Divorced if she marrieth another Husband doth also commit Adultery but neither Husband nor Wife if lawfully Divorced though he marries another Wife and she another Husband do commit Adultery as observed before by the Rule of Contraries A second Marriage is an Effect of a Divorce so if the Cause be Good and Lawful or Unjust and Unlawful the Effect must be such It is well known how by the Jewish Law and Custom a Woman Divorced might and did marry another and our Saviour finds no Fault with this nor with marrying again but with their Divorce without just Ground and Cause for if they were lawfully Divorced they might Marry again For as observed before Marriage is the Remedy which God hath appointed against Incontinency so that those who are lawfully Divorced if they have not the Gift of Chastity as the Apostle saith to avoid Fornication must Marry 1 Cor. 7. What must a Man do after he hath put away his Wife and she after she hath been put away and they cannot Contain must he turn an Whore-monger and she an Harlot How can this be justified after a lawful Divorce With Paul I may say (p) Heb. 13.4 Marriage is Honourable with all but Whore-mongers and Adulterers God will Judge Heb. 13.4 In his due time thô often (q)
Prov 8.11 Because Sentence against an Evil Work is not executed speedily therefore the Heart of the Sons of Men is fully set in them to do Evil. But let such unto themselves apply what the Apostle saith (r) 2 Pet. 2.3 Their Judgment Lingereth not and their Damnation Slumbereth not Thus we proved the Point with clear Evidence out of Scripture Human Laws and strength of Reason which might be more Enlarged upon if Occasion required it This I must add That 't is a sad Case a loud and crying Sin that must need reach up to Heaven when Justice cannot be obtained against neither Adulteress nor Adulterer as if there was a Combination against it to provoke God and Men to the utmost till God's time be come to render it who being most just never fails to do 't when he thinks fit but sometimes when he doth men take no notice of it thô I think it to be one of the chief Causes of the heaviest and most frequent Judgments inflicted upon the Nation for as it is one of if not the most common National Sin and none in Scripture more often nor more strictly Forbidden as most of any contrary to God's holy and pure Nature So those who commit and continue in it must look for the most dreadful and terrible Judgments which God's Justice Anger and Vengeance for the Contempt of his Authority and Breach of his Laws can in this World and in that which is to come pour upon wretched and presumptuous Sinners Besides I would have all Offenders in this kind to know That there is not in the World a Meaner Wretch than the Lewd and Vicious Man who doth the Devil's Drudgery and being a meer Slave to his Passion is thereby put upon the most Indecent Basest Vilest Shameful and most Dangerous Shifts that can be is ever Restless being continually Spurred on by his Lust which first in this World will (s) Hos 4.11 Take away his Heart for Whoredom and Wine do so and except God shews Mercy for want of that Purity which in Relation to Women the Apostle so (t) 1 Tim. 5 ◠carefully Commends to his young Disciple shall in the next hurry and deliver him into everlasting Burnings For the Truth and justice of God require that the Fire of Lust wherein they Burned here should hereafter be punished with Eternal Flames For saith the Apostle Them that walk after the Flesh 2 Pet. 2.9.10 in the Lust of Vncleanness God reserveth unto the Day of judgment to be Punished with a Pain Adequate to their Sin FINIS A CHARGE TO Judges Juries Witnesses CONCERNING OATHS HAVING of late been Summoned to give in upon Oath my Evidence in a weighty Business I was at first Amazed and at a stand then moved with just Indignation to hear several Men with a Brazen-face to Swear for Truth that which in my Conscience I knew certainly to be False for I speak only of those Things and Circumstances which come within the Sphere of my certain Knowledge and upon serious Thoughts such prostitute Wretches tho they speak but to one part of a Cause yet they give Men reasonable Grounds of entertaining an Ill Opinion of the whole For no good Cause may be supported by evil and unlawful Means which at last will Discredit Blast and Ruin it In the mean while such Practices of Swearing falsely do bring Dishonour upon God Scandal upon our holy Religion and are a Shame to a Nation and if not as much as 't is possible Suppressed and Prevented God the Judge of the whole Earth will in his due time require it at the Hands of those in whose Power it lieth and whose Duty it is to do 't Wherefore upon so just and necessary an Account I look upon my self as bound to give in my Evidence and I Wish Judges Jury-men and specially Witnesses may so take notice of and mind what I shall say as every one to do their Duty in their respective Stations for herein I shall bear Witness for God as for men And my great Motive why I now commit to Paper these few Lines and Serious Thoughts of mine 't is only to bear Record unto the Truth For (a) 2 Cor. 13.8 I can do nothing against but for the Truth which I think I am called to thorough the Occasion which is the Ground of all this Which to Prosecute I shall make use of both Law and Gospel I Thank God when I appeared in this Business I never but once before had been Summoned to bear Witness upon Oath for I own it I fear an Oath the fewer the better and the least Account one is to give God about these matters for therein Men thô unwillingly and Ignorantly yet thorough want of Memory or some Mistakes are in danger of Failing Wherefore I shall ever avoid as much as I may being brought under an Oath without a just and necessary Cause rashly and hastily to venture upon 't is usually attended with bitter Effects and is the cause of much Evil of Sin as of Punishment from both God and men He that easily and hastily doth Swear will as easily and hastily Forswear for when he makes no Conscience to take an Oath he will make none to break it Neither would I multiply Oaths for many Oaths many Snares To go upon sure Grounds and Explain the matter we must first see upon what Occasion an Oath is taken and what it is because too often thorough the Unrighteousness Malice and Craftiness of False and Self-ended Men Truth is driven into Corners which yet God in his due time and sometimes in an Extraordinary manner will bring to light to the Confusion of the Wicked that would have suppressed it Therefore because one man will not Trust another and that men do suspect the Sincerity and are in the Dark about the Thoughts one of another upon such an account God who alone knows and is the Searcher of the Heart (b) Heb. 4.13 For all things are naked and opened unto the Eyes of him with whom we have to do is called upon to be a Witness of the Truth of that which is in Question and Sworn for (c) chap. 6.16 An Oath for Confirmation to men is saith the Apostle an end of all Strife Not to sow foment and promote it and shelter Villanies under God's most holy and sacred Name for this overthrows the good Ends for which an Oath was intended and perverts Justice and Equity over-turns the whole World and tends to Disorder Confusion and Ruin all Effects of Perjury Now an Oath is a calling of God to Witness for the Confirmation of what we Say or Promise 'T is a Religious and Necessary Confirmation of Things doubtful by calling on God to be a Witness of Truth and a Revenger of Falsehood which last part is much to be taken notice of though many who Swear mind it not and there is a great Reason why God should avenge the Abuse of his Name for if
Effects of Oppression for thereby man's right and just Cause are oppressed and we know what the wise King saith in the Case (o) Eccles 7.7 Surely Oppression makes a Wise Man Mad. He that loseth his own loseth his Wits with a surely therefore will he endeavour to see himself Righted and if Lawful ways because they be Corrupted and Abused do fail then God knows what the next Step will be Right oppressed is sometimes turned into Fury and this is the ready way to set Men together by the Ears and to make them to Cut one another's Throats the Mine and Thine is the ground of Discord in the World and therefore 't is but just that every one should enjoy his own whereupon God the Sovereign Judge saith (p) Ezekiel 21.27 I will overturn overturn overturn it and it shall be no more until he come whose Right it is and I will give it him Though Men will not I will Therefore when Perjury is found to be in a Cause which appears by Contradictory Depositions for 't is not possible for a Thing to be and not to be a man cannot at the same time be in Two several Places so in the same Circumstance of a Matter one to Swear for the other against is a palpable Contradiction for two contrary Oaths about the same thing cannot be True but if one be the other necessarily must be False as if one Swears that such a man at such a time was in the Countrey and I Swear that same Person at that same time was in the City because for several Days together I met with Saw Discoursed had Meetings Walk'd Managed Businesses with and visited him in his own House and I cannot believe that a Spirit had assumed that Man's Body to act all that part with me nor that I saw a Vision or was in a Dream all that while Hence it clearly appears that there is a Perjury in the Case for as some have Sworn the Truth so others have that which is False Wherefore the matter is very well worth strictly and narrowly Inquiring into to find out the Truth and see at whose Door the Perjury lyes there to Punish it that hereafter Men be not exposed to the Mercy of such Wretches and Villains And what I say is for one side as well as for the other for I am Partial for neither only for the Truth the justice of the Cause is what I stand for and am no ways Byassed by the Merits of Persons Upon such Accounts Men ought to Swear for no other End than to bear Record unto the Truth which I pray God to Discover as he is the most True and Faithful Witness and as he is the Great and Supream Judge to cause an Exemplary Punishment to be made of this loud and crying Wickedness as they that are concerned to do it shall answer to God at the last Day for Judges Juries Witnesses Parties and every Man shall some time before the Iudge of the whole Earth stand to be Tryed and Judged when there shall be no Dissembling nor Concealing of the Truth but all things shall then be manifest and be seen even just as they are In the mean time what Laws are in being against the Crime ought exactly to be put in Execution and wherein they are Defective and Wanting it may easily be Supplyed by the Legislative Power when those in whose Hands is the Executive part who have so many Occasions to observe where 't is Wanting and where not do according to their Duty represent it to them Thus all will unanimously concur to set up the Glory of God the Good and Welfare of the Nation and to the Immortal Praise of all those that will be Instrumental therein or to their Eternal Confusion if they neglect it (q) Psalm 94.2 Psalm 63.11 Then lift up thy self thou Judge of the Earth and the Mouth of them that speak Lies shall be stopped FINIS A DISCOURSE ABOUT INFANT BAPTISM THE Doctrine of the Sacraments is of so high a Concernment in the great Mystery of our Salvation that the Enemy thereof Satan hath raised many of his strongest Batteries against it They are the Seals of God's Pardon which he doth what he can to Tear or at least to Deface thereby to Deprive us of the Assurance of God's Love in Christ As to the First which is Baptism how many Disputes and Questions hath he started against it With Papists we have no less than Seven about it whereof the Two First relate also to the Lord's Supper As first to the number There are but Two Sacraments and they would have Seven 2ly The Vertue of the Sacrament doth not depend upon the Intention of him who administers it 3ly It is not lawful for Lay-men or Women to Baptise 4ly The Baptism of John had the same Vertue and was as Effectual as that afterwards Administred by the Apostles 5ly Baptism ought to be administred according to Christ's Institution without any Addition Diminution or Alteration whatsoever 6ly Every Child Baptised is not thereby Regenerated and every one that hath the Sign hath not the Thing Signified 7ly Baptism is not absolutely necessary to Salvation for some are Saved without it but it ought not to be neglected or delayed See how sometimes God suffereth men from one Error to fall into another and to maintain one they multiply others Thus Anabaptists to Assert that Infants ought not to be Baptised hold the Quintessence of the Damnable Pelagian Heresy 1st That they have no Sin 2ly That there is no Original Sin at all 3ly That no Sin comes by Nature but is Learned only by Example and Imitation of others 4ly That all that dye in Infancy shall certainly go to Heaven for none is Damned but for Actual Sins Against what Scripture saith First All Infants are Sinners (a) Psal 51.5 Behold I was shapen in Iniquity and in Sin did my Mother conceive me 'T is the case not only of David but of every one else (b) Isai 48.8 For we are called Transgressors from the Womb and (c) Ephess 2 3. by Nature we are children of Wrath even as others Then Secondly Many Infants have been made Vessels of Wrath and the Effects of God's Wrath for Sin are fallen upon them as in the Flood in the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah God's Order to Saul (d) 1 Sam. 15.3 was to Destroy utterly the Infants and Sucklings of the Amalekites And the Psalmist (e) Psalm 147.9 declareth him Happy that dasheth the little ones of the Babylonians against the Stones But Thirdly All Sin is not Learned by Example as we see in the Case Cain who had no Example of any Murther Committed before him Their Fourth Assertion is Rash and without Ground in Scripture But now to the Point The Word Baptism in Scripture hath several Significations It is first taken for the whole Holy Sacrament instituted by our Lord sometimes for the Sign (f) Matth. 3.11 Water and other times
we may easily believe any thing which we must not when our Eternal welfare lies at Stake Before I have done I hope by the Grace of God to prove this First That the Romish Church hath no Supremacy over other Churches and that her Bishop is no Universal Bishop nor Primate of the Christian Church Secondly I shall beat down the ground they go upon namely that Peter was the Prince of the Apostles from whom they pretend their Supremacy to be derived Thirdly I intend to shew how Popes are no Successors of Peter neither 1. of his Doctrine nor 2. of his Seat or else he had been a Non-Resident Bishop for he never was at Rome at least any long time and this being done I shall speak against the pertended Infallibility of that Church and of her Bishops having before Premised some things against Peter's Infalliblity I must not engage in the Common place about the Church which is of a large extent yet I ought to take notice how the Word is sometimes improperly taken for the Temple or Meeting place and properly for the Assembly or Congregation of those who make part of the Body of the Universal Church which being dispersed all the World over and consisting of all serts of Men and Women of every People Quality Age or Sex for which cause 't is denominated Catholick the true Members whereof are for certain visible only to Gods Eye this Universal Church doth Subsist in the National ones and these in the particular Churches The Word Church is from a Greek Word derived from another which signifies to call from one place to another here we must observe the unreasonableness of the Romish Society which would be called the Church exclusively to all that are not within her Pale when there hath always been the Greek Ethiopian and other Churches standing by themselves so now we have the Protestant and Reformed Churches from the Errors of the Romish which consist of several National ones and tho' in some of the forenamed National Churches there be Corruptions yet in none greater than in that of Rome which all Protestant ones do charge with Idolatry Besides that Church commits a great absurdity with calling her self Catholick when at the most she is but a part of it for 't is a contradiction to be Universal particular as the Roman Catholick Church doth import neither doth the name Roman make it to be that Church which was in Rome when St. Paul did write his Epistle no more than the Jewish Church is now what it once was Here if I would enlarge I might divide my Discourse into three Branches First What the Church is Secondly What are the Marks whereby to know her And Thirdly What is her Authority And therein according to the Etymology of the Greek word for Church shew there are two sorts or calling one outward only the other inward and joyned to the outward but properly speaking the name Church comprehends the Assembly only of Gods Elect for in the Church are two different kinds of Men some are Members of Christ and the true Church which are the House it self others are indeed in the House of God but are none of it like the Straw among the Wheat till they go out and are separated of this sort are all Christians National Visible Particular Churches wherein are the pure Preaching of the Word and the right Administration of the Sacraments according to the Institution which are the proper marks of Christ's Church but in that of Rome they are very much corrupt these I say and several other things to the purpose I might insist upon but for brevities sake I shall forbear to come to what I chiefly proposed to speak of And that 's First The Church of Rome which is but a Particular one hath no right of Superiority or Supremacy over any other Particular Churches she hath no Patent for it what Power she hath in that kind was gotten by Craft and Usurpation and was since maintained by force and violence Jesus Christ is the Head King and Master of his Church and they cannot out of his Word or Apostolical Practice shew that ever he gave the Romish Church any such Priviledge or Prerogative as I hope to shew 't somewhat lower 't is but a Human Invention Ecclesiastical Histories assure us that Patriarchs or Bishops of Antioch Alexandria c. were Independent from Rome nay some of them sharply censured the Bishop of Rome Indeed in the 4th Century some Jarrings began between him of Rome and that of Constantinople which being then the Seat of the Empire was become the new Rome But all was much according to the Temper of the Bishops then in being and for a proof that no such Prerogative belonged to Rome in the 6th Century we read how Gregory the great Bishop of the Place declared that whosoever called himself Universal Bishop or Bishop of Bishops was the fore-runner of Antichrist Tho' not long after his Death that Mystery of Iniquity began to be set up by a common Agreement between Phocas who having made away his Master the Emperor Mauricius during a violent Fit he had of the Gout promised Boniface then Pope of Rome that if he would procure him to be owned for Emperor he would own him for Universal Bishop this is the true ground of that Usurpation and not any falsely supposed Gift of Constantine the Great much less of Christ 'T is observable how about the same time that Mahomet began his Imposture the fore-named Bishop of Rome by Vertue of a Grant from Phocas took upon him the proud Title of Universal Bishop for the Grant was made in 606 which was the very year that Mahomet retired to his Cave to forge his Impostures which in 608 he began to propagate at Mecca and the Successors of both endeavoured by the same Methods that is Craftiness Lying Fire and Sword to Propagate it and these are now the two great Impostures in the World one in the East the other in the West And we know it to be the endeavours of all Usurpers to maintain themselves as much and as long as they can in their Usurpations so that Boniface's Successors being acted by the same Spirit of Ambition as he had been and having met with favourable conjunctures to settle and fix in that Usurpation they enlarged it as much as they could And because to engage the Consciences of men they would pretend to a Divine Right for this encroachment we must in the next place blow up and overthrow that imaginary Ground of theirs which they fancy and would perswade People to have been derived to them from St. Peter but we say nemo dat quod non habet No man can give what he hath not Peter never had any Primacy or Superiority over the other Apostles and herein we go upon sure grounds for all along we have Scripture for it Neither before our Blessed Saviours Death nor after his Resurrection was any such Title as Prince of
2. c. 15. and Index lib. prohibit Res 4. forbid people to read it tho' in several places of the Old and New Testaments there be an express command to read it which for brevity sake I shall not quote only in my way I shall take notice of an Interpretation of the words in Psalm 91.13 Thou shalt tread upon the Lyon and Adder the young Lyon and Dragon shalt thou trample under feet a Prophesy relating to our Lord and Saviour yet Pope Alexander the III. whilst he in the Porch of St. Marks Church in Verice was with his Foot treading upon the Neck of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa caused the words to be pronounced with a loud Voice to which the Emperor as bad an Interpreter as the proud Pope was of Scripture answered non tibi sed Petro this was not said to thee but to Peter whereunto the reply was Et mihi Petro to me and to Peter Before this Holy Word they prefer or at least make of an equal Authority their Traditions their own â—nventions and Forgeries For Madam give me eave to say That the Church of Rome is a great Impostor and hath been proved such by several Divines both Forreigners and our own yet Bellarmin in the same Book and Cardinal du Perron against Tilenus are for Traditions contrary to so many places of Scripture whereof some are quoted in the Margin (d) Deut. 12.32 Exod. 25.40 What things soever I command you observe to do it thou shalt not add thereto nor diminish from it and St. Paul saith (e) Gal. 1.8 9. If any man preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have precahed let him be accursed the word in the Original signifies besides what we have Preached there ought to be no dimunition addition or alteration But Madam to avoid prolixity which I see an enumeration of many of their Errors would unavoidably engage me in I shall in few words say their forbidding at certain times to eat some sorts of Meats when Gods Word in so many places speaks against it and that as well as the prohibition for Priests to Marry is called (f) 1 Tim. 4.1 2. Heb. 13.4 Doctrine of Devils when the Apostle calls Marriage Honourable and the Bed undefil'd How dare they to command that which God hath forbidden or to forbid that which God hath instituted approved and commanded Pope Pius the II. was so sensible of the unreasonableness of this as to say that if Priests for good cause had been forbidden to Marry for a better they should now Marry (g) Matt. 8.14 We Read in the Word how Peter whom they so much pretend to follow * Act. 21.8 9. and others among the Apostles and Evangelists were Married After this what shall we say of Campeggio †1 Cor. 9.5 one of the Pope's Legates at the Council of Trent who openly maintained there that 't is better for a Priest to keep a Whore than to Marry Their Mediators of Intercession are an Injury to the Lord Jesus The Error of Transubstantiation is contrary to Scripture Sense and Reason and attended with Idolatry And now Madam I shall be more plain than I was once meerly out of respect for you when as you may remember a Pragmatical Priest at Table vexed some Body whom you know and with a Brazen Face denied the Romanists to Worship Images and other Creatures for 't is known how all your Priests are downright Idolaters first they make their Wafer God for saith one of them (h) Gab. Biel. Can. Miss 4. He who Created me without me is now Created by me I say the Priest first makes his God then falls down and Worships it and at last Eats it up Is not this as great an Idolatry as can be to Worship a Creature of his own making The place where our Saviour speaks of false Christs is remarkable (g) Matt. 24.23 26. If any man shall say unto you lo here is Christ or there believe it not or behold he is in the secret chambers or little places which they have above their Altars where under Lock and Key they keep their Idol God believe it not What manner of God is the Wafer God of Papists of one or few minutes standing which by the pronouncing of five Latin Words tho' in the Text there be but four This is my Body is as it were by a Magical Vertue changed into the substance of Christ's Body and so with them becomes God and as such is by them adored What a poor Idol God is this which cannot preserve it self from being eaten up by Dogs Rats Mice Spiders and the like Vermin and if it doth but slip out of the Priests Hand when he holds it is like Dagon before the Ark broken in pieces And the Priest when such an accident happens as it doth sometimes in the Street with a Rope about his Neck to shew how for his Idolatry he deserves to be Hanged doth scrape up the Crumbs with the Dirt when it happens to fall into 't and lays it up Of this Wafer-God may well be said what Elijah in a mocking way said of Baal He is a God who is either talking or pursuing or he is in a journey or he sleepeth and must be awaked For let the Popish Priests as well as Baal's cry from Morning till Evening as loud as they can there shall be no Voice nor any to Answer because the Wafer-God is as much a Dumb Idol as Baal's Image was 1 King 18.26 27. Upon this matter of the Wafer-God I must not omit taking notice of a thing which gives their Transubstantiation and Corporal Eating of Christ's Body a deadly blow and that with a Weapon of their own for in a French Translation of the Bible Printed in Antwerp by Martin L'Empereur in 1534 with Charles V. his License Dated Brussels the 21st of November 1533 in the 6th Chap. of John's Gospel over against these words Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood ye have no life in you There is a Marginal Note in these words To eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood is to believe in him whereby their pretended Corporal Manducation is quite overthrown and it perfectly agrees with the Doctrine of all Reform'd Churches As to the taking away the Cup from the People in the Sacrament 't is positively contrary to what our Saviour said (k) Matt. 26.27 Drink ye all of it and one of the Evangelists observes how they all drank of it and the Canon of the Council of Constance against it doth them more harm than good for in the Preface they own thus Licet Christus instituerit c. that is (l) Mar. 14.23 Tho' Christ instituted and gave after Supper the Sacrament in both kinds to his Disciples and tho' in the Primitive Church it was Administred in the like manner yet the Council for certain reasons doth command that the Sacrament be otherwise Administred