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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A94192 Two cases of conscience: resolved by the Right Reverend Father in God Robert Sanderson Late Lord Bishop of Lincoln. Sanderson, Robert, 1587-1663. 1668 (1668) Wing S643A; ESTC R201215 19,017 99

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reasonable men The same Apostle having amongst other sins of the Gentiles mentioned disobedience to Parents in one verse in the very next verse mentioneth also want of natural affection in Parents And the disobedience in the Childe can no more discharge the Parent from the obligation of that duty he oweth to the Childe of affection and maintenance then the unnaturalness of the Parent can the Childe from the duty he oweth to the Parent of Honour and Obedience For the several duties that by Gods ordinance are to be performed by persons that stand in mutual relation either to other are not pactional and conditional as are the Leagues and Agreements made between Princes where the breach in one part dissolveth the obligation on the other but are absolute and independent wherein each person is to look to himself and the performance of the duty that lyeth upon him though the other party should fail in the performance of his 10. Something I foresee may be objected in this point concerning the lawfulness of the Parents withdrawing maintenance from the Childe either in whole or at least in part in the case of disobedience Which how far forth it may or may not be done as it would be too long to examine so it would be of little avail to the present business For it is one thing to with-hold maintenance from a disobedient Childe for the present and to resolve so to continue till he shall see cause to the contrary And another thing to binde himself by Vow or Oath never to allow him any for the future whatsoever should happen Let be granted whatsoever can be supposed pleadable on the Fathers behalf in the present case yet there will still remain two particulars in this Vow not easily to be cleared from being unjust First let the Daughters disobedience deserve all this uttermost of punishment from the offended Father yet how can it be just that for the Mothers fault the poor innocent perhaps yet unborn Children should be utterly and irrecoverably excluded from all possibility of relief from their Grand-Father Secondly It is if not unjust yet what differeth very little there-from the extremity of rigid Justice that any offender much less a Son or Daughter should for any offence not deserving death be by a kinde of fatal peremptory decree put into an incapacity of receiving relief from such persons as otherwise ought to have relieved the said offender without any reservation either of the case of extreme necessity or of the case of serious repentance 11. However it be for the point of Justice yet so apparent is the repugnancy of the matter of this Vow with the precepts of Christian Charity and Mercy that if all I have hitherto said were of no force this repugnancy alone were enough without other evidence to prove the unlawfulness and consequently the invalidity or inobligability thereof It is not an Evangelical Counsel but the express peremptory precept of Christ that we should be merciful even as our heavenly Father is merciful And inasmuch as not in that passage only but for the most part wheresoever else the duty of mercy is pressed upon us in the Gospel from the example of God God is represented to us by the name and under the notion of a Father although I may not lay much weight upon it as a demonstrative proof yet I conceive I may commend it as rational Topick for all that are Fathers to consider of whether it do not import that mercy is to be expected from a Father as much as if not rather much more then from any other man and that the want of mercy in a Father is more unkindy more unseemly more unnatural then in another man But this by the way From that precept of Christ we learn that as there is in God a two-fold mercy a giving mercy in doing us good though we deserve it not and a forgiving mercy in pardoning us when we have done amiss so there ought to be in every good Christian man a readiness after the example of God to shew forth the fruits of mercy to others in both kindes upon all proper and meet occasions So that if any person of what quality or condition soever shall upon any provocation whatsoever vow that he will never do any thing for such or such a man or that he will never forgive such or such a man every such Vow being contra bonos more 's and contra officium hominis Christiani is unlawful and bindeth not 12. The offices of mercy in the former of those two branches viz. of doing good and affording relief to those that are in necessity are themselves of so great necessity as the case may be that common humanity would exact the performance of them from the hand not of a stranger only but even of an enemy If a stranger or an enemies Beast lie weltering in a Ditch a helping hand must be lent to draw it out The Samaritans compassion to the wounded Traveller in the Parable Luke 10. There being a feud and that grounded upon Religion which commonly of all others is the most deadly feud between the two Nations is commended to our example to the great reproach of the Priest and Levite for their want of Bowels to their poor Brother of the same Nation and Religion with themselves For the nearer the Relation is between the Parties the stronger is the obligation of shewing mercy either to other And there is scarce any relation nearer and more obliging then that of Parents and Children Our Saviour who in Matth. 15. sharply reproved such vows though made with an intention to advance the Service of God by inriching his treasury as hindred Children from relieving their Parents will not certainly approve of such vows made without anyother intention then to gratifie rage and impatience as hinder Parents from relieving their Children 13. If to avoid the force of this argument it shall be alledged that the Daughters disobedience in a business of so high concernment might justly deserve to be thus severely punished and that it were but equal that she who had so little regard to her Father when the time was should be as little regarded by him afterwards All this granted cometh not yet up to the point of shewing Mercy according to the example of God No Childes disobedience can be so great to an earthly Parent as ours is to our heavenly Father Yet doth he notwithstanding all our ill deservings continually do us good communicating to our necessities and causing his Sun to shine and his Rain to fall and infinite benefits in all kinds to descend upon mankinde not excluding the most thankless and disobedient and rebellious from having a share therein 14. And as for that other branch of Mercy in pardoning offences God giveth a rich example to all men of their duty in that kinde and to Fathers particularly by his great readiness to pardon the greatest offenders if they sincerely seek to him for it If the Father
in the Parable Luke 15. had proceeded with such severity against his riotous Son as to have vowed never to have received him again he had been a very improper exemplar whereby to shadow out the mercy of God to repentant sinners Concerning the great importance of this duty which is so frequently inculcated by Christ and his Apostles and so peremptorily enjoyned as not any other duty more See Mat. 6. 4 15. Mat. 18. 21. 35. Eph 4. 32. Col. 3. 13. James 2. 13. See also Sirac 28. 1 c. I shall not need to say much only as to the present Case it would be considered how perverse a course it is and contradictory to it self for a man to think himself obliged by one inconsiderate act never to forgive his Daughter when as yet he cannot beg pardon of his own sins at the hands of God as he ought in his daily prayer to do without an express condition of forgiving every body and an implicit imprecation upon himself if he do not 15. But shall the Daughter that hath thus grieved the spirit of her Father thus escape unpunished and be in as good a condition as if she had never offended And will not others be incouraged by her impunity to despise their Parents after her example There is much reason in this objection and therefore what I have hitherto written ought not to be understood as if thereby were intended such a plenary indulgence for the Daughter as should restore her in integrum but only that she should be made capable of receiving such relief from her Father from time to time as in relation to her necessities and after carriage from time to time should seem reasonable and that his Vow ought not to hinder him from affording her such relief But by what degrees and in what proportion the Father should thus receive his Daughter into his fatherly affection and relieve her must be left to discretion and the exigence of circumstances Onlyl should advise in order to the objection viz. for examples sake and that the Daughter might be made even to her dying day and kept sensible of her great and sinful disobedience to her Father that the Father should cut off from his Daughter and her Posterity some meet portion of his Estate as perhaps a fifth part at the least or if a fourth or a whole third part I should like it the better and by a solemn deliberate vow dedicate the same to be yearly imployed in some pious and charitable uses These times will afford him choice of objects if God shall move his heart so to do and by so doing he may First in some sort redeem and make a kinde of satisfaction for his former Rashness not Popishly understood and in regard of the Justice of God but in a moral sense and in regard of the world and his own Conscience Secondly it may be a good means to keep the Daughter in a continual fresh remembrance of her fault that she may not after a short and slight repentance as in such cases too often it happeneth forget the same whereof she ought to have some remorse all the dayes of her life Thirdly he shall thereby after a sort perform his first vow I mean according to the general intention thereof and the rational part which was to make his Daughter repent her folly and to smart for it the over-plus more then this being but the fruit of rancor and perturbation Lastly he shall in so doing doubly imitate God our heavenly Father First when a rash or sinful act is made an occasion of a pious or charitable work it beareth some resemblance of or rather is indeed it self a gracious effect of that goodness and wisdom in God whereby he bringeth light out of darkness and good out of evil Secondly God himself when he graciously pardoneth a high presumptuous sin as he did Davids great sin in the matter of Uriah commonly layeth some lasting affliction upon the offender as he did upon David who after the sealing his pardon for that sin by Nathan scarce ever had a quiet day all his life long The reason whereof seemeth to be double partly for admonition to others that none presume to provoke God in like manner lest they smart for it also in like manner and partly for the good of the offender that he may by the smart be brought to the deeper sense of his error and be eft-soons reminded of it lest he should too soon forget it Thus have I with very much ado in that weak condition I have been in ever since the question came to my hands and wherein I yet continue declared my opinion fully concerning the whole business as far as I understand it More largely I confess then I intended or perhaps was needful and with greater severity then it may be the parties will well like of But truly I desired to do the part of a faithful Confessor and the sores on both parts seemed to be such as were not to be touched with too gentle a hand In the Daughter an act of high disobedience transported by the passion of inordinate love and in the Father an act of great Rashness transported by the passion of inordinate anger both beyond the bounds of right Reason and Religion and both to be deeply repented of Howsoever I cannot be suspected to have written any thing either out of favour for or prejudice against either party not having the least conjecture who the persons are that are concerned in the business nor so much as in what part of the Nation they live I shall pray that God would direct them both to do that which may best serve to his glory and bring the soundest comfort to their own souls Amen FINIS Senec. 1. De. Clem. 24.