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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	good_a	let_v	lord_n	3,558	5	3.9045	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12809	A sermon preached at Hartford assises, March 14. 1616 by John Squire ...	Squire, John, ca. 1588-1653.	1618 (1618)	STC 23116; ESTC S1729	11,190	42

one neighbour then to picke a quarrell with another lest vse instruct the former to be as cunning as himselfe Such a politician is many a Plaintife who doth force his quiet neighbour into a forced vnquietnesse by turnes to arme himselfe for the wicked warre of continuall contention In this cause my prayer in generall is that the Magistrates might be like the Aramites 1 Reg. 22. 34. that they would bend the whole force of iustice against this Ahab this man who troubleth all Israell And in particular my vnfeigned prayer is that heauen would inable my vnworthy selfe to be that Archer 1 Reg. 22. 34. that ignorantly I might smite some such quarrelling wretch though hee haue his harnesse on and commeth with a seared conscience to this congregation These haue two maine assistants the Supporters and the Reporters of their cause Councellours who speake to them in priuate and Aduocates who plead for them in publike I honour the Law and will instruct them concerning their soules as from my soule I desire they should instruct mee concerning my estate where I suspect an ill case I will tell it plainely Let that imputation laid vpon the Romish Lawyers bee as farre from ours as Rome is from England Thus wrote Hildebert Bishop of Mentz of the Romane court imploy them in your causes and they delay them imploy them not and they hinder them If you solicite them they scorne you if you enrich them they forget you Neuer may this language of Canaan be vnderstood in our land of Israell Rather what Possidonius reporteth of Augustine let that be reported of all good Lawyers hee would rather loose his friend and in the name of God let these rather loose their fee than conceale the truth And let euery conscionable Lawyer know that if he aduise in a bad cause at Gods barre that same Client shall appeach him to be Eue that he gaue the apple that his councel opened the way to the forbidden fruit and as a praeamble to Gods hate hee shall first incurre mans hate he that saith to the wicked thou art righteous him shall that people curse Prou. 24. 24. Wherefore let me once councell the Councellor of all other Doe not thou beare false witnesse against thy neighbour Neyther can the conscience of the Aduocate plead for himselfe that he is good if his tongue doth plead for a cause which his conscience knoweth to bee bad If 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were not impossibilities Oh that the noble soule of Papinianus liued in the bosome of our English Aduocates When Antoninus had made away his brother Geta after the first yeare of their ioynt Empire he intreated Papinianus a famous Lawyer to plead his excuse Whose answer was like himselfe Noble It is easier said he parricidium facere quam excusare to doe wickedly then to excuse the wickednes Thou mayest said hee command my necke to the Blocke but not my tongue to the Barre I prize not my life to the pleading of an ill cause Behold a Pagan man but a patterne to Christians and christianity will compell worthy Aduocates to imitation for hee that iustifieth the wicked and he that condemneth the iust are both an abhomination to the Lord Prou. 17. 15. Therefore as the boy euery day cried vnto King Philip of Macedonia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Remember that thou art a man So is it my hearty wish that whensoeuer the Aduocate is beginning to plead that then the spirit of God would whisper vnto his soule the words of my Text. Take heed now Doe not thou beare false witnesse against thy neighbour Other accessaries vnto false witnesse may be Bailiffes and vnder-Sheriffs Some haue beene suspected I would it were a suspition onely that Writs being sent into the country haue beene entertained by these officers as the Ephramites were by the Gileadites Iudg. 12. 6. If they cannot pronounce Shibboleth but Sibboleth if there be but a syllable wanting in the word but a quadrine in the gratification they cannot passe they dye for it they must goe no further Now these men doe hinder true witnesse and thereby come within the compasse of false witnesse And indeed such as do hinder the Law from execution happy were it if the Law would put them to execution To euery one of them therefore let me cry againe and againe as loud as thunder for they dwell neere Catadupa these men are very deafe of that eare let me I say cry againe and againe to euery one of them as loud as thunder Doe not thou beare false witnesse against thy neighbour The Iurie also may be the instruments of false witnesse The Iurie should be like the Disciples Luk. 10. 5. wheresoeuer they come they should say peace be to this house but sometimes they are like the Apostles Ioh. 6. 70. they are twelue in number but one of them is often too often a Diuell a diuellish Iudas who will betray the cause betray the country and betray the company for filthy lucre Would you know him by his badge hee vsually beareth the bagge and Bribery is his master I heard of a wretch who sued that authority might flicke him on a Iurie that so hee might sticke to his friend if the Magistrate would sticke such a Pagan as Ehud did sticke Eglon Iudg 3. 21. he had a right recompence of reward To preuent this vnchristian insolency iniury periury to each of the Iurie I must propound a new Text the third Commandement Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vaine for the Lord will not hold him guiltlesse that taketh his name in vaine Let the Iurie note onely that one phrase if they sweare and forsweare God will not hold them guiltlesse Let the punishment of the third precept be their admonishment for the ninth precept You are to sweare by God and before God therefore as you tender an oath and tremble at Gods wrath I charge you vpon the perill of your soules let you Verdit shun this rocke Doe not beare false witnesse against thy Neighbour Hitherto haue I muster'd out an army of rebels against this precept yet remaineth the King behinde hee is like Saul 1 Sam. 10. 22. hee will hide himselfe as ashamed of his dignity Notwithstanding plucke him out and you shall finde him indeed like Saul higher than all the premised offendors by the shoulders vpward This vassall of sinne and vessell of Sathan is named in the expresse phrase of my Text A false-witnesse is this man this monster of men a Knight of the Post who doth post to perdition a mischieuous miscreant execrable to all men and narions A false witnesse is dragged to damnation by a threefold gable of wickednesse he is guilty of breach of Iustice of iustifying a Lye and of the sinne of sinnes Periury saith Aquinas and therefore most worthily execrated The Israelites punished such by a Tali● limme for limme and life for life what he intended to offer by his falsehood the same was hee iudged

is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Killel of Kalel perforare to stabbe or smite through answerable to the phrase of the psalmist who stileth words swords implying that Railers stab at the very life of our credit Happy were we had we an Abishai a Magistrate who would and could take away the heads of these dead dogges that Railers might no more barke against the honest name of their honest neighbours 3 Tale-bearing is the next Tale-bearers tell though the truth yet vntruly or vntimely and therefore are in truth false-witnesses Leuit. 19. 16. Thou shalt not walke about with tales amongst my people This was a Law in Israell would God it were so in England also S. Paul doth point at these men 2 Tim. 5. 33. they are saith hee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neuer busie at home euer busie ouer-busie abroad Such are like Sampsons Foxes they carry fire with their tailes to set the whole world in a combustion Oh that wee English could deale with these Foxes as the Welsh men did with their Wolues that wee could plucke off their skinnes till they were extinct and not one left in a whole nation 4 Flattery is the fourth Slanderers Railers and Tale-bearers Beare false-witnesse to thee against others Flatterers beare false-witnesse to thee against thy selfe Therefore doe thou as God doth hate them Psal 12. 3. God threateneth to cut off flattering lippes These are mercenary wretches Flatterers prostrate themselues thereby to sucke out priuate aduantage As Iehonadab 2 Sam. 13. did prostitute his seruice to be the shamelesse instrument of Ammons shamefull lust that so hee might insinuate himselfe into the fauour of the yong Prince These are like false Looking-glasses they make men to appeare to themselues to be younger fairer and comelier then indeed they are and they haue one true property of false Looking-glasses Flatterers hurt our Eyes that wee cannot see our selues If my sentence might stand I would censure such vnto the doome of Adonibezecke Iudges 1. 7. Their toes should bee cut off that they might goe to none their hands should be cut off that they might lay hould of none and they should gather their crummes vnder mens tables they fawne like dogges let them feede like dogges Flattery is a worke meriting such a wages 5 Lying is the last limme of the Diuell This diuellish vice hath beene abhorred by all good men at all times Cyprian in his Treatise against Gamesters doth build his inuection against Dicers vpon De Aleatoribus pag. 532. this ground because gaming did occasion mandram medaciorum a world of lyes Lactantius pronounceth Epit. c. 6. all lyes impious because saith hee euery lye aut nocet aut fallit doth eyther hurt vs or deceiue vs. Augustine doth retract euen Ironies Retract l. 1. 6. 1. Rhetoricall figures onely because they had the appearance of lying it repented him of the petty Confes l. 1. c. 19. excuses which hee made to his Parents being a childe and to his Schoole master being a boy and in his Epistle to Vincentius hee calleth Truth Epis 48. Vincen. the Character of a Christian and saith that a holy man dare not tell a lye And doubtlesse all these holy men cursed this sinne out of the mouth of the holy one of Israell lying lips are an abomination to the Lord saith Salomon Prou. 12. 22. And most iustlie for this is the Ieroboam that made Israell to sinne all priuate and publicke breaches of this precept issue from this fountaine Lying Wherefore blessed were that Common-wealth which would make this common vice like Ahab leauing not one lyer to pisse against the wall and his yoke-fellow Aequiuocation like Iezabell breaking the necke of that sinne though the face thereof be painted and an impious vice cloaked with many godly pretences These are Priuate false witnesses but the Publicke is the principall offendour against this precept Of him more fully in the end of this exercise Heere onely take notice that the false-witnesse will not goe to hell alone but hath manie attendants There are sixe accessories ●nto this Principall three before the act and after the act there are three guiltie of Bearing false witnesse Before false witnesse is giuen men may be accessaries thereunto praecipiendo persuadendo consulendo that is by commanding perswading and by councelling any to beare false witnesse First by commanding eyther directly as 2 Sam. 12. 9. Nathan told Dauid that he had killed Vriah when as hee onely commanded Ioab to kill him otherwise indirectly when the superiour doth authorize inferiours who are corrupt Prou 26. 8. As a man that putteth a stone in a sling so is hee that giueth authority to a foole If I put a stone into the sling of one intending to braine his neighbour I am guilty of that murder so the Magistrate authorizing a corrupt man hee is author of that corruption Next to perswade any vnto false-hood is a communicating of that crime especially by that reall perswasion Bribery so Mat. 28. 12. did the Iewes giue large Money to the souldiers to testifie falsely against the resurrection of our Sauiour And by Councelling men contract the same guilt as did the same Iewes in the same place Mat. 28. 15. who taught the souldiers how to answere the Magistrates interrogatories Thus by commanding directly or indirectly by perswading or by councelling many men be accessary vnto false-witnesse before the testimony may be tendred Afterwards they may be accessary as many waies Conniuendo consentiendo defendendo that is by Conniuence or winking at it by consenting approuing it by defending and excusing it Those that winke at faults are faultie themselues This was Elies case in another cause 1 Sam. 3. 13. because his sons ran into a slander and hee staid them not therefore the hand of the Lord was heauy vpon him So the Magistrate who doth but suspect false-witnesse or any false-hood let him looke forward to preuent it otherwise conniuence may make him fall backward Eli is a dreadfull example Consent also contracteth the guilt be it either expressed by plaine partaking with impietie as Psalm 50. 18. or be it suppressed as Prouerb 24. 11. 12. Deliuer them that are drawne to death if thou sayest wee know not of it shall not hee that pondereth the heart vnderstand it Not onely tendring but also not hindring of false-witnesse is a breach of this commandement Finally excuse the act and thou thy selfe doest act the sinne which thou excusest for woe be vnto them which speake good of euill and euill of good Isay 5. 20. Conclude we then that Conniuence consent or defence make men accessary to false-witnes though performed By this I haue opened many maladies one word containeth one medicine for al of them that one word in the Ephes 4. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To speake and doe the truth This word is like the word made flesh Mat. 4. 23. it healeth euery sicknesse and euery disease among the people To Plaintise and