Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	law_n	nature_n	precept_n	1,292	5	9.1116	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62865	Christs commination against scandalizers, or, A treatise wherein the necessitie, nature, sorts, and evils of scandalizing are clearly and fully handled with resolution of many questions, especially touching the abuse of Christian liberty, shewing that vengeance is awarded against such as use it to the grievance of their weake brethren / by Iohn Tombes ...	Tombes, John, 1603?-1676.	1641 (1641)	Wing T1802; ESTC R1928	96,775	467

of preaching and many other duties that they are to bee done though scandall follow so we are to say of obedience to the Magistrate in that wherein God hath made us subject to him wee are to obey him though scandall follow If it bee said that preaching is a duty immediately enjoyned by God the doing of that which the Magistrate commands only mediately I answer Though it bee true that for this reason the thing which the Magistrate commands is not so strictly our duty as that which God commands the Magistrates commands belonging only to his owne subjects Gods commands to all the Magistrates constitutions binding us only in reference to a superiour authority and a superiour end the publique good and therefore when they are contrary to the law of God or nature when there is some pressing necessity that cannot bee avoyded by reason of which wee cannot doe the thing commanded if the necessity bee true and not fained and the not-doing of the Magistrates command be without contempt of authority or ill example to others or if the thing commanded should be in truth plainely contrary to the publique good as it may happen sometimes some commands may if strictly urged 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the letter But Gods commands binde absolutely without limitation I say though for these reasons the thing which the Magistrate commands be not our duty so strictly as that which God immediately commands yet when it is a duty as it is when it opposeth not Gods law the law of nature or the publique safety there is a necessity of obeying the command of the Magistrate as of obeying Gods immediate precepts nor may the one bee omitted to avoyde scandall any more then the other As for that which is said that the Magistrate cannot restraine our charity 'T is true for charity is an inward affection of the soule which none but God can command as none but hee can search and punish yet the Magistrate may restraine the shewing of our charity somewayes as in forbidding to relieve malefactors rebels vagrants c. so that hee should sin that should preferre such a worke of charity before a worke of obedience to the governour which is a worke of piety to a publique person and the Father of the countrey whereas the other is to a private person of common respect But the Magistrate cannot command our consciences Answ. That the commands of men doe in no sort bind the conscience cannot bee said without contradicting of S. Paul Rom. 13. 5. Ye must needes bee subject not onely for wrath but also for conscience sake They that say least for governours say they may by their lawes binde the conscience mediately and by vertue of Gods precept although not immediately and of themselves Now this is enough to prove that it is the duty of Christians to doe the lawful commands of the Magistrate As for that which is said that the danger of scandall is before the disobedience to the commands of men I suppose not for the evill by disobeying of the Magistrate is as certaine if not more certaine then the evill of scandall the evill of scandall more remediable then the evill that followes on the disobeying the Magistrates command for the one is likely onely some transeunt harme in the mind or conscience of the scandalized person the other a constant permanent harme in the common wealth such as many times overthrowes government and in fine dissolveth a commonwealth the one usually extends to few the other to the whole community And it is taken for a plain truth Praestat ut pereat unus quam unitas Or as Caiaphas once said It is expedient that one should dye for the people and that the whole nation perish not 10. 11. 52. Adde hereto that there is a scandalizing of the publique Magistrate and others by disobedience as § 17. was determined which is as regardable as well as the scandalizing of private persons unlesse too much partiall respect sway men that they will not judge righteous judgement 2. I argue thus If it be not determined that the obeying of the Magistrates command were to bee preferred before the declining of scandall that may happen by such obedience then it will follow that both the Magistrate is bound to revoke or suspend his lawes when there is likely-hood of scandall to follow For he is not to urge men to doe that which is evill Now this would make all governours that make conscience of their commands almost perpetually uncertaine whether they may command any thing or no or make their constitutions invalid sith they can seldome make any orders but that scandals will arise as experience in all ages hath proved And subjects also shall have power to neglect such constitutions and so to make them as no lawes in the same case The consequent of which being granted I suppose can bee no lesse then Anarchy and confusion The mischiefe of which is greater then I can expresse and such as the avoyding of scandalizing of some soules cannot countervaile wherefore as it is said in the case of exacting an oath of a persō that it's likely will forsweare himselfe Fiat justitia ruat coelum Let justice proceed though the heaven fall so say I let goverment stand though subjects bee scandalized 3. Lastly If a man in doing any lawfull thing make it knowne that hee must doe it by reason of the command of authority or it bee otherwise manifest that that is indeed the reason of his doing surely he that is offended is rather unrighteous and evill minded then weake that will think that lawes must bee broken to please him and therefore the scandalizing of such not regardable A twelfth question may be If it fall out that in the doing or omitting of a thing indifferent some will bee scandalized if it be done others if omitted some offended if it be done this way some offēded if not done this way so that there is apparent danger of scandall either way what is to be done in such a case Ans. D. Ames l. 5. de conscientia c. 11. § 18. denies the case and sayes nulla datur talis perplexitas ut necessarium sit pio homini sive hoc vel illud faciat sive non faciat scandalum alicui dare There can bee no such perplexity that it should bee necessary for a godly man whether he doe this or that or not doe it to scandalize some one Which assertion of his is both against experience and reason Against experience For the contrary fell out in S. Peters case Gal. 2. 12. in which it is plaine in the carriage of that matter that if he did eat with the Gentiles he was in danger of scandalizing the Iewes if hee did not eate with them to scandalize the Gentiles And it falls out too frequently in our own dayes that in the use of some rites in themselves indifferent some are offended with the use of them as Popish some with the

time it lasteth nor that which is extrinsecally evill as being contrary to the governours commandement or to the restrained parties vow or the verdict of his owne conscience or being scandalous and hurtfull to his neighbour is extrinsecally evill to all but only those who are under that government that vow that opinion to whom it happens that their use of their liberty may become the harme of their neighbour That which is evil for a subject of the King of England to doe may not bee evill to the subject of the King of Spaine who hath made no such law as the King of England And that vow that binds him that made it bindes not another which hath made no such vow and that opinion which one man hath and that harme of our brother which restraines one man from the use of his liberty restraines not another whose action would cause no such harme in whose mind is no such opinion Having premised these things I am next to enquire into the Apostles resolutions delivered Rom. 14. 1. Cor. 8. 9. 10. chapters concerning the forbearing of the use of our liberty in case of scandall which was then in agitation and determined by the Apostle in those chapters Which that wee may the better understand we are to take notice that as appeares by S. Lukes history of the Acts of the Apostles and likewise by other histories of Iosephus Suetonius Tacitus and others the nation of the Iewes was in those dayes wherein S. Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans dispersed over many countries of the world in Asia AEgypt Greece Italy and particularly that many of that nation dwelt in Rome In which citty at that time the great city which had dominion over a great part of the earth the Iewes retained the religion and rites of their nation prescribed by Moses and were for their Sabbaths Circumcision abstaining from swines flesh and such like rites derided by the Satyrists of those times famous at Rome Horace Iuvenall Persius and the rest Now of these Iewes at Rome it pleased God to convert some to the Christian faith as well as some of the Gentiles Wee are likewise to remember that while the Ceremoniall law of Moses was in force the Iewes conceived themselves as strictly bounde to the observances of meates and dayes and other ordinances of Moses as of the decalogue unlesse in such cases as wherein the observing of them was against a morall duty For then that of the Prophet took place I will have mercy and not sacrifice as our Saviour determines Mat. 12. 7. Whereupon the godly Iewes made conscience of obedience to the ceremoniall lawes as to other morall precepts When in a vision all manner of foure footed beasts of the earth wild beasts and creeping things and foules of the aire were presented to Peter to kill and eate he replyed not so Lord for I have never eatē any thing that is common or unclean Acts. 10. 14. Hence they thought thēselves bound rather to suffer any torment than to eat so much as a bit of swines flesh as appears in the example of Eleazar and the mother and her seaven sons in the historie of the Maccabees 2. Maccab. ch 6. 7. wherefore when the Gospell began to bee preached and the ceremonies of Moses his law to bee disclaimed and neglected much contention arose betweene the Christians that were of the Circumcision and those of the Gentiles concerning the necessity of observing Moses law in so much that it was thought necessary to call a counsell of the Apostles and Elders at Hierusalem to decide this difference Acts. 15. So that although by Christs death the necessity of observing them was taken away and the Gospell being promulgated their observation became dangerous as we read Gal. 5. yet such esteem had the ceremonies of the law gotten partly by their originall institution and partly tractu temporis by a long tract of time in which they had stood in force that many Christians not sufficiently instructed in their liberty feared to neglect or break them after their initiation into Christianity as on the other side those that were well instructed in their liberty did neglect them securely they made no scruple of eating meates of neglecting new moones and the like Festivalls And thus was it among the Romans when S. Paul wrot this Epistle to them There were some that would not eat meats prohibited by Moses law but rather eat hearbes nor would they omit the observation of dayes as not knowing their liberty therein so that if it happened they did eat such meats or neglect such dayes it was with doubting and regrete of conscience These the Apostle calleth weake brethren weake in the faith Others there were among the Romans who made no question of eating any sort of meats nor regarded dayes as knowing they had lawfull liberty therein And these are called strong in the faith by the Apostle Now if this diversity had been onely in practise or opinion it had been somewhat tollerable But the difference in opinion and deformity in practise bred among them as usually it doth discord and division For whereas Christian charity and holy wisdome should have prevented all quarrell between them all harming each other contrariwise it so fell out that the strong despised the weak as more scrupulous then needed and the weak with an aggrieved mind judged the strong as licentious and unholy and whereas sometimes the weake by the example of the strong might bee induced to doe that W ch though lawfull they doubted whether it were so or not their consciences were thereby wounded To ease the Christians of this grievance the Apostle as an equall arbitrator thus decides the controversy In this case the strong should take to them the weake in faith shewing kindnesse love to them but not imprudently intangle them with disputes which bred more doubts in them while they sought to cure their errour about meats and dayes that they should not despise or sleight them for their weaknesse but shew them all respect as believers that they should enjoy their knowledge to themselves but not use their liberty to the grievance of their brethrē that they should not so looke to their own much content in the use of their priviledge as to damnifie their brethren and to wound their conscience On the other side the Apostle admonisheth the weake that they neither censure nor judge their brethren in the use of their liberty nor yet venture upon the use of their lawfull liberty with doubting consciences but bee sure that they bee well resoved in their judgements afore they enter on the practise Concerning the other Scripture in which the Apostle sets downe his resolutions in point of scandals the case was thus Corinth was an eminent beautifull citty called by Tully lumen Graeciae the eye of Greece but a Pagan citty In which the people were wont to worship Idols of Iupiter Mars Minerva c. to these they built Temples

the incestuous person our Saviours indignation at the hardnesse of the Pharisees hearts such was the griefe or vexation of righteous Lot in hearing and seeing the ungodly deeds of the Sodomites Davids griefe because men kept not Gods Law And this griefe is a necessary duty in them that mourne but a sinne and scandall in them that cause it A ruine therefore it cannot be said to be in the primary sense as ruine imports falling into sin but ruine it may be said to be in a secondary sense as ruine imports any affliction of the soule and with this explication the terme ruine may fitly enough expresse the effect of this scandall Sometimes the sorrow displicencie and anger that ariseth in the person offended from the sayings and deeds of another are unjust both in him that is offended and in him that offends this is when a man is grieved at the use of another mās lawfull liberty in things indifferent by reason of his owne weaknesse of faith thinking that to be unlawfull which is not as those that were offended at their brethrens neglect of daies and difference of meats Rom. 14 which thing is unjust in him that is thus offended and it is also unjust in him that offends when without Charity to his brother he heeds not as he ought the avoiding of grieving his brother contrary minded And this griefe may be called ruine of the person offended not only in the secondary sense but also in the primary sense occasioning not only griefe but also uncharitable judging dis-union or diminution of affections sometimes further sins Sometimes the griefe is unjust in the person offended but not in the person offending As many were offended at our Saviours and the Apostles preaching which yet were their necessary duties such persons were not only angred but sometimes forsook them and their fellowship by reason of such preaching and so the preaching was a scandall to them and a ruine both in the primary and secondary sense but through their own default and therefore unjustly on their part With this explication I conceive the definition given to be sufficient and right enough 5. That sinnes of thought are not scandalls unlesse they break out into acts whether of wordes or deeds If smothered or stayed within they are sinnes but not scandals 6 That then an offence is said to come by a man either when his intention is to harme his brother by his fact as Balaam did Revel 2. 14. or the nature and quality of the fact is apt to harme others as in S. Peters advice Math. 16. 23. In either of these two Cases it is scandalum datum or active scandall and the man that is the agent in such facts or words is one by whom the offence cōmeth But if a man doe his duty and men are scandalized if the offence were neither intended by the agent of the fact nor come from the nature of the action but from the ill disposition of him that is offended it is to be conceived to be only ex accidente accidentally to him whose action did offend and therefore it is in relation to him only scandalum passivum a passive scandall non datum sed acceptum not given by him but taken by the offended party who is thereby the scandalizer of himselfe or he by whom the offence cometh Our Saviours discourse concerning the eating of his flesh offended the Capernaites Iohn 6. 60. 61. But this was not by reason of Christs sermon which was of a necessary truth but from their own perverse ignorance In like manner the Pharisees were offended at Christs doctrine concerning the cause of defilement Math. 15. 12. but of this scandall not our Saviours doctrine but their owne malice was the proper cause The fact of the Reubenites offended the other tribes Iosh. 22. 10. 11. 12. but this was through their own mistake Now the woe here denounced belongs not to those through whose actions scandall comes by accident but those that give or cause scandall either in their intention or according to the nature quality or manner of their action So that that to which this woe belongs is not an object but an agent not only as scandalizing himselfe but another not by an action of the imagination but of word or deed bringing ruine to another either in a primary or secondary sense not by accident but eyther by direct intention or by reason of the nature quality or manner of the action In answer to the second quaere The particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or woe is used in our Saviours sayings to signifie some grievous judgement or calamity both temporall as Mat. 23. 29. the woe denounced to the Pharisees is expressed v. 33. to bee the damnation of hell And that this woe is here denounced to scandalizers appeares by the aggravation in the 2. verse where to have a milstone hanged about his necke and to be cast into the sea is made lesse than the woe here denounced to the scandalizer and Mat. 18. 7. when our Saviour had said Woe ' to the man by whom the offēce commeth he addes immediatly v. 8. that the hand offending should be cut off that the scandalizer by retaining his two hands be not cast into hell fire Hell fire or the damnation of hell is the chiefe and greatest woe due to the scandalizer But besides it there 's a woe also of temporall death awarded sometimes to scandalizers For this reason was Balaam the sonne of Peor slaine with the sword Num. 31. 8. that God might be avenged of him for his practise in teaching Balaak to lay a stumbling block before the children of Israel Elies sons sinned greatly in their scandalous facts for men abhorred the offering of the Lord 1. Sam. 2. 17. The issue was they were both slaine by the Philistins in one day Likewise other temporall woes on their soules bodies names estates posterity c. are inflicted by God on scandalizers Thus was David filled with trouble of soule for his sin in the matter of Vriah by which he caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheame so that hee was faine to beg hard for restitution of joy comfort Psal. 51. 8. 12. And the incestuous Corinthian was so plunged over head and eares in sorrow that hee was almost drown'd with it 2. Cor. 2. 7. hee was cast out of the Church delivered over to Satan David for the fore-named sin was haunted with griefes in his children almost to his dying day and it stil lies as a blot upon his name The Priests that make others stumble at the Law and threatned with contemptiblenesse Malac. 2. 8. 9. No active scandall scapes scot-free there 's none veniall every one hath it's measure of woe yet not all alike For some of these scandalls are more heinous then others and therefore incurre a greater woe As for instance some scandalls consist in facts in their kind evill and these are worse than other scandalls which arise onely from the abuse of

may be whether there may be scandall by omission of the use of our liberty in a thing indifferent Ans. Omission I oppose here to positive action As for instance eating meats allowed by God is a positive action and the use of our liberty not eating that which we might is a privation and omission of the use of our liberty Now that a man may be guilty of sinfull scandall by the omission of a duty I determined before c. 3. § 3. To which I adde that sith the lawfull Magistrate hath power about indifferent things to restraine or require our use of our liberty for the publique good and we are bound to make conscience of obeying such cōmands not for the things sake so commanded for that is in it selfe indifferent but by reason of the authority to which God hath made us subject and the end for which such orders are established which all members of a common-wealth ought to seeke therefore the omission of doing such things commanded is an omission of a duty rebus sic positis and the scandall consequent upon it a scandall of the first sort to wit of sinfull example Moreover for a punctuall answer to the present question I conceive that there may be scandall by the forbearing the use of our liberty when that forbearing though otherwise lawfull occasions men to conceive some alienation of affection some evill intentions some superstition or the like evill in them who doe forbeare it our Saviour Math. 17. 27. would have tribute mony paid for himselfe Peter though he were free and that because the not-paying would offend them S. Peters not-eating with the Gentiles was a scandall to Barnabas Gal. 2. 13. Frequent experience confirmes it that the forbearing of some actions which are in their kind indifferent at some times doth grieve weak brethren and offend others when they are apt to conceive such forbearance to arise out of a malevolent minde superstitious opinion humour of singularity contempt of others or the like cause A tenth question may be whether a community a nation the publique Magistrate may be scandalized Ans. The use of excommunicatiō presupposeth that scandall may be of the whole Church by sinfull actions of one member Yea further it is determined art 34. of the Church of England Whosoever through his private judgement willingly and purposely doth openly breake the traditions and ceremonies of the Church which bee not repugnant to the word of God and be approved and ordained by common authority ought to be rebuked openly that other may feare to doe the like as he that offendeth against the common order of the Church and woundeth the conscienees of the weak brethren Moreover experience shewes that whole nations or societies are sometimes offended with those who observe not their customes or orders which are in their use indifferent and not confirmed by any publique ordinance but by use only received and that such varying from them occasions anger enmity and such like evills An eleventh question may be Whether sith the Magistrates authority is one way of restraining or requiring the use of our liberty and the danger of scandall another upon supposition that the lawfull Magistrate cōmands the doing or omitting of that which is indifferent on the other side there is danger of scandalizing the question is which of these respects I am to be ruled by Ans. There is no doubt but that a good and wise Magistrate will remit in many cases the rigour of discipline to avoide scandall as I said before § 4. As the love-feasts kisse of peace vigils at the tombes of Martyrs and other orders of the Church were in processe of time evacuated when they occasioned scandall But if the Magistrate doe not suspend his cōmands then it is a hard case For either on the one side there is danger of nullifying the power of the Magistrate or on the other side of wounding or destroying our brother Possibly it may so fall out that a mans cōscience may without much difficulty winde it selfe out of this streight by finding some circumstances prepōderating either one way or other As for ininstance if the Magistrats command bee about a matter of great consequence for the safety of the Common-wealth to avoid a present evill or if it be in a smaller matter if urged peremptorily vehemently on the other side the effect of the scandall be not likely to bee plain Apostacy or the like great sinne but some grievance of mind or discontent of the party scandalized it is without doubt that then the Magistrates command is to be performed On the contrary if the Magistrates command be in a smaller matter not bringing any great evil nor likely to infringe the power of authority though the command be not followed if it be not peremptorily and strictly but remissely urged on the other side the effect of scandall of the greatest sort of evills very probable and in a manner present giving no time to finde a way to redresse it then in this case the danger of scandall may prevaile for that time But if we make the scales even and propound the case thns what if the danger of scandall be great and manifest on the one side and the Magistrate peremptory in his command and the thing commanded of great moment on the other side the doubt is whether of these two is to bee regarded I determine that the Magistrates command should in this case sway our consciences and that for these reasons following 1. Because by the Magistrates command the thing required is made a necessary duty though in it selfe indifferent For the command that ties every soule to be subject to the higher powers Rom. 13. 1. requires obedience to them which is the chiefest part of subjection And this obligation of obedience is antecedent to the consideration of the scandall For the sanction of the law precedes the accident of scandall Now in things that are our duties wee must not omit them or neglect them for feare of scandals Therefore the Magistrates command in the case propounded is not to be neglected for feare of scandall Against this argument D r Ames lib. 5. de consci c. 11. § 16. seems to except in these words Nulla authorit as humana c. No authority of man can either take away the nature of scandall from that which otherwise should bee scandall or the nature of sinne from scandall given For no man can command our charity and consciences Vel periculum scandali dati praestare which I render thus or counter vaile or be preferred before the danger of scandall given Whereto I reply that it is not true that the lawfull authority of the Magistrate may not in things indifferēt make the doing of that action not to bee a scandall given which otherwise might bee For if it may make the thing commanded a duty by vertue of the command the scandall consequent will bee passive or taken not active or given As we determine