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
a comparison and shews the difference between the true and the false Witness sometimes with joyning them together in the same verse as thus (a) Prov. 12.17 He that speaketh truth sheweth righteousness but a false wittness deceit One is a just man the other a deceiver Again (b) Chap. 14.5 A faithful wittness will not lie hut a false wittness will utter lies At other times he speaks of them disjointly and separatly that we may the better know whom to trust and value and whom not out of that contrariety opposition and antipathy which is between them (c) v. 25. thus A true wittness delivereth souls from Trouble Vexation and Oppression which the false one doth promote and encourage for the deceitful speaketh lies [d] Chap. 19.28 an ungodly wittness scorneth judgment both Justice and Punishment but a godly wittness makes Conscience of an Oath and of all his ways and saith with David [e] Psal 119.120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee and I am afraid of thy Judgments Because Men are apt enough to follow evil Examples and to do as they see others do to swim as we use to say with the stream as if for company sake to do as many others could justify at least excuse our faults God to prevent such an unsound notion and hinder that pernicious practise hath declared his mind thus (f) Exod. 23.2 Neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment this in the beginning of the same verse he forbiddeth and calls it to follow a multitude to do evil But to make an end of this part of my Discourse I can shew home the foulness and detestableness of this Sin no better then with adding what Solomon saith (g) Prov. 6.16 17 18 19. Among the six things which the Lord doth hate and the Seven that are an Abomination unto him they are almost if not all reduced to this wicked Sin for a lying Tongue is one of them a false witness that speaks Lies is another and I think that under them are also to be found hands that shed Innocent blood which a lying Tongue also doth an heart that deviseth wicked Imaginations feet that be swift in running to mischief and him that soweth discord among brethren Which all do arise out of the same Spring We have spoken of the Distemper now we must come to the Remedy As the corruption of human Nature is such that most Men will not out of a Principle of Love do Good nor forbear doing Evil therefore what Love cannot do Fear must Oderunt peccare boni Virtutis amore oderunt peccare mali formidine paenae Good men hate Sin because they love Virtue but bad men avoid it for fear of being punished wherefore a Law is necessary as a Curb for as the Sanctions thereof do promise Rewards to â—hose that keep it so they threaten with Punishment â—he breakers thereof and this is the way to restrain â—nd keep them in aw Law and Sin are relatives â—or if there was no Law there would be no Sin â—or (h) 1 John 3.4 Sin is the Transgression of the Law and (i) Rom. 3.20 By â—â—e Law is the knowledge of Sin and (k) Chap. 4.15 Where no â—aw is there is no Transgression on the other side 〈◊〉 there was no Sin there would be no need of Law (l) Gal. 3.19 for The Law was added because of Transgressions â—or saith the Apostle (m) 1 Tim. 1.9 The Law is not made for 〈◊〉 Righteous man but for the Lawless and disobedient Wherefore God to restrain this most wicked Sin of Perjury hath made Laws and appointed against it Temporal and Bodily as well as Spiritual and Eternal Punishments or else as Impunity is an encouragement â—o commit Crimes without these Temporal Punishments there would be no living in the world for the Wicked do little mind Eternal Pains 't is Fear of the Present that works upon them if any thing can for this reason there are in the Word of God heavy â—udgments threatned against the Wicked in this kind â—ot only in the Third Commandment as we already observed but in other places too (n) Prov 19 5. A False Witness shall not be Vnpunished and he that speaketh Lies shall not escape To tell Lies is very bad but to tell â—t in God's Name is worst of all For thus A Nomine Domini incipit omne Malum God threatned it with Sword and Famine and in his due time brought it to pass (o) Jerem. 5 12. They have belyed the Lord saith the Prophet and said it is not he neither shall Evil come upon us neither shall we see Sword nor Famine Thus flattering themselves in their vain and carnal Security but hear what is added (p) v. 15.16 17 Lo I will bring a Nation upon you from far O House of Israel saith the Lord it is a mighty Nation it is an antient Nation whose Language thou knowest not c. they shall eat up thine Harvest and thy Bread which thy Sons and thy Daughters should eat c. These were the Chaldeans who in time did the Work when they Besieged Took and Destroyed Jerusalem To this same Purpose but more generally speaks another Prophet and this judgment to be by Fire (q) Zech. 5.4 that shall consume Timber and Stones as it had befalleâ— the City which was Burnt and one of the Reasons oâ— this judgments was as there expressed for Swearing falsly by his name Upon the same Ground the Prophet quoted just before 2 Chron. 36.13 threatneth the Ruin of Jerusalem which happened in Zedekiah's days who had forsworn himself for 't is observed that when (r) Ezek. 17 13. Nebuchadanezar did set him upon the Throne he made hiâ— Swear by God which Oath he broke and Perjured himself which Perjury how odiously taken by God we may see it in the Prophet speaking of the K of Babylon hath made a Covenant with him v. 15 16. and hath taken an Oath of him but he despised the Oath and brake the Covenant But saith God Shall he escape that doth such things or Shall he break the Covenant and be delivered No saith the Lord seeing he despised the Oath by breaking the Covenant when he had given his hand and hath done all these things he shall not escape v. 18. As it was justly Avenged on him And this very Oath Sworn to an Infidel because in God's Name God calls it his Oath and with a strong Asseveration threatneth a Punishment for it Therefore thus saith the Lord God as I Live surely mine 〈◊〉 that he hath despised and my Covenant that he hath broken v. 18. even it will I recompence upon his own Head All was executed and he heavily Punished for it God to avenge the prophaning of his Holy Name doth punish not only private Persons and Families but also Kings and Kingdoms wherefore all are concerned in the Punishment thereof and
and Daughters of Whoredom and Adultery Therefore all imaginable Care must be had to put a Restraint upon such Evil Courses as lead into such Dangers Now as to Adultery if as we ought we have a regard to the Law of God the same Severity should be used to punish it as Treason and Murther for God who saith Thou shalt not Kill hath also said Thou shalt not commit Adultery Hence it is as I said before that by God's Law the Adulterer and Adulteress were put to death as well as the Murtherer A Thief for stealing from me the Value of Eighteen-pence shall be Hanged and he or she that Robbeth me of my Reputation and my own Blood of my Estate and Succession shall go free and be unpunished This indeed is very strange and un-equal As to the Laws of men I shall allow a Disproportion how with some Treason is a greater Crime than Adultery though with others both are Capital so let the Punishment be less not to reach to Life for Adultery as for Treason Murther and Theft However when we come to prove matter of Fact there is in some Cases for Adultery to fill up the Disproportion Shall not actual Attempts be Equivalent to prove a Fact as well as bare Words If Treasonable Words be proved against one he is thereby Convict of Treason and if a man be found alone in a suspected place with another man's Wife lockt up in a Room and upon Oath in such a dishonest and unbecoming Posture with such other Circumstances not fit here to be named which though they prove not rem in re yet are not only strong Presumptions but also clear Evidences of a Design and actual Attempt to commit Adultery much more when Fruits of such Meetings appear it may reasonably be concluded specially after a publick Noise in the World of such Intreagues that this is not the first meeting they had upon such an account When once Affections are Debauched and both Parties willing to meet they shall not want Occasion at one time or other though never so strictly observed to indulge their Lust much more if both Parties be free from any Watch set upon them After such Evidences doth not this cerrainly and justly deserve the Penalty of the Law namely a Divorce 'T is a sad and shameful thing that among such Christians as make a Profession of owning the Word or God's Laws especially those that are of a mixed Nature and regard in part Religion and in part Order and Preservation of Society should not as much as may be according to the Pattern of God's Law the Rule of all Equity but the Accident must be minded more than the Substance and the Shadow be preferred before the Body for want of one Circumstance And because such a Crime was committed within a Year or two before such a Time that is before the Offender was Prosecuted for it though proved Guilty yet must escape Is not an Adultery committed Seven Years ago an Adultery as well as that committed within these Four or Five Can that Circumstance alter the Nature of the Thing and make that not to be Adultery which is so indeed Shall we find Justice no where on the Right or Left-hand Above nor Below After this one may say 't is not to be found among us which way soever we turn ourselves to have it Then we must look up to God who in his due time will for certain render it and may be with a Witness against the Guilty and all that are Accessory to 't as are of all the Evil committed since those that spared and justified the Wicked The Law hath so well provided in Cases of another kind If a man hath spoken Threatning Words he is bound to his Good Behaviour An Attempt of Rape though not Executed deserveth Death though this may be as Unvoluntary as Adultery is Voluntary That party which giveth and exposeth that which is not her own ought to be Punished as well as he who taketh that which is not his own Now we know that (a) 1 Cor. 7.4 The Wife hath not Power of her own Body but the Husband Must the Husband be Betrayed and know that to be given to others which is his own and take great Care and Pains to get and preserve an Estate for a Stranger 's Blood and have his Bed daily Defiled without Help and Remedy 't is very sad indeed chiefly in a well governed State (b) Jerem. 2.24 A wild Ass used to the Wilderness that Snuffeth up the Wind at her Pleasure in her Occasion who can turn her away All they that seek her will not weary themselves in her Month they shall find her No wonder because she is Wild if during Rutting time and Madness none will take pains in vain to reclaim her yet there is a time when she comes to her self in her Month and shall there be no Time nor Way to Tame an Adulteress Must she run as far and as long as she pleaseth without Restraint in her Wickedness And must she be Indulged and Incouraged in her evil Courses Few such Examples can soon Infect a whole Countrey for Evil Ones are followed rather than Good If we have good Laws why are they not put in Execution If in this kind we want them or they be defective why should we not have them (c) Gal. 3â— 19. The Law must be added because of Transgressions When Transgressors are increased if Laws in being are not sufficient to Restrain them they must be Multiply'd if Old Ones be Dormant let them be Revived and put in Execution This doth depend upon the Prudence of Law-givers who from time to time as they see Cause for do Enact New ones yet this may be said none can be made more Necessary for the Glory of God and the Good of Civil Society than to prevent and punish Adulteries whereby Order Interest and Peace of Families are over turned Base and corrupt Blood being mixt with Noble it peopleth the Countrey with a Spurious Brood and makes the Nation to Degenerate from Vertue to Vice If this Evil ariseth out of Remissness in the Executive part there it ought to be Remedied and Punishment inflicted as well as upon Adulterers and Adulteresses who thorough Perjury and Breach of the Matrimonial Bond and by such abominable ways do what they can to Confound and Ruin Families which should deserve no less than Death so that Divorce is a great Mercy and thorough this gentle Punishment they have time allowed if God be pleased to give them Grace to Repent of their Lewdness But to some may be applyed what God saith (d) Jerem. 3.3 Thou hast a Whores Forehead thou refusest to be ashamed Here I suppose a Case A Husband upon Information given him and out of his own Observation findeth he hath Cause to Question his Wife's Honesty and that she is Unfaithful to him he knows the Person and is acquainted with several Circumstances of time and place and after
Tempter doth cause the Temptation which is the snare to and mother of Sin It is a thing worthy of David to say as of every honest and true Christian to imitate (d) Psal 101. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house be that telleth shall not tarry in my sight If every master of Family would observe this rule a great deal of mischief and the ruin of Souls might thorough God's blessing be prevented keep Children and Servants from telling Lies and they will not suffer themselves to be brought to swear Lies By these means may be prevented from coming upon us the sad times complained of by the Prophet (e) Isa 59.14 Judgment is turned away backward and Justice standeth afar off for Truth is fallen in the street and Equity cannot enter But wo be to the Nation which is in such a case for thus the door lays open for Judgment and 't is well worth our serious inquiry whether a due care hath been taken by those who are concern'd to prevent and punish this and other Epidemical Sins which wholly to Enumerate would prove a great work I see too much cause to conclude for the Negative and by what we feel we must Judge of what we must fear we have warning pieces enough so the Murthering ones cannot be far behind rather near at hand We had a War with a witness we are in a kind of Dearth for tho' Provisions be not scarce yet are unreasonably dear may God keep it from ending in a Famine or being turned into a Plague which the Lord in his just Judgment when he pleases can send upon us for when the Earth cannot bear the wickedness of her Inhabitants God thorough War Plague and Famine as thorough so many sluces doth ease it of that burthen and thereby hurries Man Woman and Child out of this World But let us come nearer home for 't is neither just nor fit we should entertain and cherish here that which abroad we declaim so much against with detestation I for my part am afraid and was ever since I attained to some years of ripe knowledge and discretion that Perjury and breach of solemn Oaths and Promises to God is one of the great National Sins for the Punishment whereof God who sometimes uses to punish one Sin with another hath permitted it to spread so much and become so Epidemical among us and I further look upon it as one of the causes of the Troubles and uneasy burthens which the Land labours and groans under and how many more may happen to be brought upon us God alone knows I am sure if we may by the prospect of present things judge of those that are to come we have much more reason to fear then to hope except thorough a speedy repentance we do prevent farther judgments for we must believe what the God of Truth hath declared that he will not hold him or them guiltless that do take his Name in vain for this Sin with Prophaneness Uncleanness Atheism Impiety Idolatry Blasphemy and so many more which like a dangerous Plague and deadly Gangrene daily gain upon us except they be stopped thorough the diligent care and good example of the Government Magistracy and Ministery for with the Law I must mix the Gospel will certainly bring Ruin and Destruction upon the Nation God hath already smitten us in several ways which any one not willingly blind may see and perceive and his hand is stretched out stil against us except thorough a speedy and sincere Reformation without which all our Fasting and Praying will be insignificant we prevail with him to cast the Rod into the fire That is in relation to God before whom we ought to Humble our selves and Repent As to Men Justice must be executed upon Offenders or else the evil shall not be removed nor the accursed thing put away whereby Men become accursed We read how careful God was before the taking of Jericho to forewarn his People not to have any thing to do with the accursed thing (f) Josh 6.18 And you in any wise keep your selves from the accursed thing lest ye make your selves accursed when ye take of the accursed thing and make the Camp of Israel a Curse and a Trouble for this brings Trouble upon any Nation in the World as it did upon Israel who Could not stand before their Enemies but turned their backs because they were accursed (g) Chap. 7.12 13. Neither said God will I be with you any more except ye destroy the accursed from amongst you and thou canst not stand before thine Enemies untill ye take away the accursed things from among you I know how every Sin is a Cursed thing but some are more then others and this in a special manner for (h) Deut. 27.19 Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the Stranger Fatherless and Widow Only these kinds are set down against the perverting of all manner of Judgment several of the species being put for the whole genus according to the way of God's Law wherein under one kind of Sin all of the same Nature are forbidden now the readiest way to pervert Judgment is by false swearing either in Judges and Juries who are sworn to Judge in Justice and Conscience according to Law or in Witnesses who by their Oath are bound to Swear the Truth so that an Oath which is appointed for a remedy becomes poison There are First an Inconsiderate false Swearing when thorough weakness a Man is enticed and drawn into 't Secondly An Ignorant Perjury when a Man being mistaken swears a thing to be true because he thinks it to be so though it be false And Thirdly A Wilfull Perjury when a Man Sweareth falsely either out of Malice against one or out of Covetousness or some such self end which all are bad but certainly this last is worst of all and unworthy of Mercy which argueth the corruptness of the Principle and demonstrateth the Heart whence it springs to be poisoned and towards preventing punishing and suppressing them that are infected therewith they that are concerned and whose Office it is ought to bend their intire strength make it their whole study and apply all their Wit Authority and Resolution O that the Vermine of Knights of the Post was wholly rooted out and the Nation purged of it at least never to appear at the springs of Justice and before the Courts of Judicature there to introduce Oppression and Confusion nor be suffered in any honest Company for they are the plague of human Society and ought to be lookt upon as Spyes who seek to find occasions and forge causes of doing mischief these are the firebrands of a Country to bring all therein into disorder and Ruin Perjury must be left for those who pretend there is a power on Earth that may dispense from Oaths and pardon the breach of them as 't is in the Kingdom of the Romish Anti-christ so must in the taking of them be
FOUR TRACTS I. A Short Discourse about Divorce and its Causes Fornication and Adultery II. A Charge to Judges Juries and Witnesses concerning Oaths III. About Infant Baptism IV. A Letter to a Lady who hath forsaken â—he Protestant Religion for the Romish By J. Gailhard Gent. Righteousness exalteth a Nation but sin is a reproach to any People Prov. 14.34 Let none of you imagine evil in your Hearts against his Neighbour and love no false Oath for all these are things that I hate saith the Lord Zechar. 8.17 Wherever I am and whatsoever I do it seems to me as if I heard the voice of the Archangel saying rise ye dead and come to Judgment Bernard Inest sua gratia parvis LONDON Printed for D. Brown at the Black Swan and Bible without Temple-Bar and R. Smith at the Angel and Bible near the May-Pole in the Strand 1699. THE PREFACE TO THE READER THE following Discourses having amidst my most serious Thoughts been Penned at several times and upon different occasions and in this present Conjuncture being like to be useful as 't is every one's duty in his Station to lend a helping hand to pull down that Babel of erroneous Doctrines and of sinful Practises which the Author of Confusion is Building very fast I think it not amiss now to Publish them The First and Second contain Matters of Fact the Third of Faith and the Fourth both of Faith and Fact and as the things therein spoken against do arise out of an evil Principle so they tend to a bad end therefore the more to he minded and opposed As Gods Word speaks of Doctrines so it doth of Works of Devils and thâ— all of them be bad enough and to be avoided yet therein are divers kinds and degrees of evil for tho' every sin be offensive to God yet 't is not equally destructive of Human Society Any one who in a sober Sense will mind it not simply as a Christian but also as a Man not only according to the Dictates of a good Conscience but also in Conformity to Reason Human Wisdom and Interest shall find the two former things I write against to have been and still to be as fatal and pernicious to Mankind as any other Transgression whatsoever of Divine and Human Laws nor ever have they been more Epidemical in the Nation than now they are Therefore never a greater need than now to punish and suppress them or else if not timely prevented we daily more and more shall feel the mischievous inconveniencies and dangerous Consequences thereof No true Servant of God but in seeing and hearing will vex his Soul from day to day with the unlawful deeds of Men of some for committing Sins of others for refusing to restrain and punish them they not only will do no good but also hinder others from it because they think it will reach them and their own corrupt inclinations hate to be crossed and curb'd Some who might do better in their Station instead of promoting Piety Virtue and Honour as 't is their duty do with all their craft and strength oppose it and thereby proclaim themselves to the World to be vicious and thorough-pac'd Debauchees would ridicule all Sobriety and Temperance and contrary even to worldly Wisdom which saith Si non castè tamen cautè do not so much as care to avoid the appearances or save their credit in the World but glory in their own shame In my opinion it is a stupendious hardness in their vicious courses for tho' sin would leave them yet they are unwilling to part with it the older they grow the worse they are their Natural strength fails them yet their Lust is not mortified and upon all occasions are Enemies to Virtue and by their Discourses and Example influence the younger sort in an Age that can produce but few Josephs if any at all The generality of Youth giddily and headlong running into sin and destruction of several kinds who are glad of any pretences to justify their Practices by and from those that have more age and experience tho' not more Grace than themselves But of two sorts of Sinners young and old I take the last to be the worse of the two 'T is no more strange than true that they are worse than the Prodigal Son who upon consideration at last and before it was too late came to himself for all the while before he had been out of his Wits as is every Sinner that continues in his evil way Nay they are worse than Creatures void of Reason then some Fowls of the Air (a) Jer. 8.7 for the Stork the Turtle the Crane and the Swallow observe the time of their coming but this People knoweth not the Judgement of the Lord. They are a shame to the Nation a Scandal to our Holy Religion and through their unchristian actings and vicious courses cause Gods Enemies to Blaspheme Because they hate to be Reformed themselves they do what they can to hinder others from being Reformed which makes me afraid we are here ripe for Judgment we had a War with a Witness yet after it are as bad as before and now tho' Provisions be not scarce yet we are in a kind of Dearth for they are unreasonably dear may God be pleased to keep it from ending into a Famine which frequent unseasonable Weather gives us just cause to fear or for the same cause from being turn'd into a Plague which God in his just Judgment may send upon us because thorough Repentance suppression of Vice and Immorality we will not return to him tho' he hath called us to 't for when a Land can bear no longer the wickedness of her Inhabitants the Lord thorough War Plague and Famine as thorough so many sluces doth ease it of that burthen and thereby hurries out of this World Man Woman and Child None so desperately wicked but with Balaam would dye well yet there is but one way to 't that is to live well do good within his Sphere to punish and restrain Evil and not countenance and support it as too many directly or indirectly do but what will be the end of this certainly such a bitter Root can produce no other than bitter Fruits but whilst those Men of the World will not obey God's Preceptive those who fear him must submit to his Providential Will. As at this time the Nation labours under the Guilt of Adultery and Perjury so it doth too much under that of Idolatry and Blasphemy Our Church together with all other Protestant ones hath sufficiently made good the charge of Idolatry upon the Romish which we find a sad and frequent Experience of in those Members of hers we have here among us as for Blasphemy it walks bare-fac'd and hath two sorts of Followers one of abominable Monsters lately broke loose against the Son of God whom they after the wicked in the 50th Psalm are not content to think but do say he is altogether such a one as themselves and
the sight of God whose Law makes no Distinction of Sexes the Sin be equally Damnable yet as to Penalties Laws are made to put a Difference a greater Curb ought to lye upon the Woman as the weakest Vessel and so sometimes more apt to miscarry in Matrimonial Duties but chiefly because that greater Inconveniences are brought into Families thorough Woman's Failing in this then of Man's As to Men there is a great Difference and this Sin is attended with more dangerous Consequences on the Wife 's than on the Husband's side if a man gets a Child by an Harlot that Child shall not succeed in the Estate but if the Wife hath a Child by a stranger then strange Blood is brought into the Family to Defraud and Rob the true Heirs of their Right This Corruption of Blood appears too much in some great Families when the Pure Blood is stained with Base and Vile Hence it may be that we see many who go for Sons of Great and Wise Men who want common Sense and Reason either out of some Natural Cause or of some Particular Judgment of God to Punish the Unfaithfulness of some Wives or Neglect and want of Care in Husbands to prevent their Wives miscarriages in that kind We see our Laws have in the Case of Life and Death made a Difference in the Punishment to be inflicted If the Husband kills his Wife he is to be Hanged when if the Wife killeth her Husband she is to be Burned the Husband is the Head and the Offence against the Head is more severely to be Punished and as 't is so in matter of Life so it ought to be in point of Honour And the common Opinion and Experience of the World teaches how let the Husband be as Naught Debauched and Profligate as can be if the Wife be but Honest and Vertuous her Husband's miscarriage will not Reflect upon her but the miscarriages of the Wife are imputed to the Husband because 't is his Duty and Interest and hath Right by all Lawful and Reasonable Courses to hinder it Now what this Lawful Course is here I say it After a Husband hath given his Wife gentle and repeated Warnings to mind her of her Duty as to avoid the Company of such Persons as he hath cause to suspect and which he doth not like and the Wife doth not mend but goes on in her way and contrary to that which every honest woman will do she holds Corespondence with such as her Husband dislikes she having so far forgotten her Honour and Duty he ought to mind his and Remedies to reclaim her proving useless he may Sue for a Divorce which was the Antient way yet not upon so slight Grounds as practised of Old but upon such as God's Word allows of namely the the case of Adultery Julius Caesar upon putting away his Wife would say Caesar's House must be free from Suspicion as from Guilt So a man ought to provide for both his Capacities the one according to the Rank and Station he is in which he is to keep up and not to neglect else he will make himself Contemptible and lay Stains upon his Family the other is as a Christian he ought to purge his House of Wickedness to remove Evil out of it the Head of a Family is in Honour and Conscience bound to restrain in 't all Evil Courses whether of Servants Children or Wife or else he Sinneth in suffering that Evil which he can and 't is his Duty to prevent and will pass for a Man void of all sense of Honour and who cares not a Straw for his Reputation Such a Man ought to be ashamed to live thô I am not for making good Solomon's Saying (h) Prov. 6.34 Jealousie is the Rage of a Man in the day of Vengeance he will not spare Yet I would have him to avoid the other Extreme Insensibleness when he is so nearly concerned and this agreeth with what saith the Wise Man (i) chap. 5.15 16 17 18. Drink Waters out of thine own Cistern and running Waters out of thine own Well c. Let them be only thine own and not the Stranger 's with thee And that this is spoken of Husband and Wife who without Roving abroad ought to be only one for another In the next Verse he addeth Let thy Fountain be Blessed and Rejoice with the Wife of thy Youth This matter is so Copious and out of Scripture and Reason so much can be said of it that 't is almost unexhaustible therefore I intend as much as I am able to restrain it within Bounds and in Order thereunto I say after a Husband hath try'd all Fair Means to no Purpose and he seeth the Disease is beyond Remedy and finds how nothing can Prevail then they who will not do Just Things out of Love to Virtue must feel Punishment inflicted upon them a Divorce Sued for and obtained Some Divines assign several just Causes as they think to break a Marriage and others do Differ from them about it but only Two I will bring which generally are agreed upon The First When Matrimony is Unlawfully Contracted that is within Degrees forbidden by the Law of God as may be between Brother and Sister or the like then indeed such a Marriage is ipso facto void and null But here I intend not to speak of such a kind of Marriage concerning which the Church of Rome hath often and doth commit gross and intolerable Abuses in a Dispensing way with that which God hath Forbidden but my Design is to speak of a Marriage Lawfully Contracted whether there be any just Grounds out of God's Word to break it off For Marriage hath a Relation to 't and to the Good of Conscience in as much as it is a Divine Institution from the Beginning of the World Also it hath a Prospect towards the Laws of the Land wherein the Parties do live as Members of the Politick Body and the warrant from the Word is what I intend chiefly if not only to insist upon for all Municipal Laws are good only as they agree with and are not contrary to that Infallible Rule of Justice and Equity which when they Deviate from are not to be Valued There is indeed upon some Accounts a great Difference as St. Paul expresses (k) 1 Cor. 11.7 8 9. it between the Man and the Woman whereof the Excellency is on Man's side however that Prerogative of the Husband over the Wife hath sometimes been abused as by the Jews so by other Nations who would not suffer their Wives to recede specially in publick from that Obedience they owed the Husband for fear the Husband's Prerogative should thereby be Wounded upon this Ground Queen Vashti (l) Esther 1. for refusing to come to King Ahasuerus when Commanded by reason of the ill Example given thereby to the Ladies of Persia and Media by the Counsel of Memucan was Divorced but this was done by a Reason of State and not according to any
Point in hand were Additions posterior to the Original without naming any Author for it An Adulteress doth quite destroy the End of Marriage for God said (a) Gen. 2.18 It is not Good for Man to be alone I will make him a Help-meet for him Thus a Wife is given a Man to be a Help unto him but an Adulteress is a Scourge and not a Help vers 23 And Adam said in the Spirit of God This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh The Husband cannot say of an Adulteress she is Bone of my Bones but she is Bone of another man's Bones and Flesh of other man's Flesh And what shall we say to what is contained in the latter end of the following Verse vers 24 They shall be One Flesh seeing she makes her self One Flesh with another or others than her Husband whereby we plainly see the Ends of the Institution of Matrimony are wholly destroyed And as Man is to leave Father and Mother so near Natural Relations and cleave unto his Wife and they Two to be One Flesh so is the Wife to leave Father and Mother and every other Relation whatsoever and cleave unto her Husband that she may become One Flesh with him as he with her otherwise the End of the Matrimonial Bond is not Answered but made Void In Scripture Four Things are required as necessary in Marriage of those who are under the Bond of it First That Husband and Wife should Love One another to the height of Dearness which is represented by the Love (b) Ephes 5.22.23 23.25 between Christ and his Church Secondly They ought to Live together unless the Calling of God requireth otherwise for a time Now a Wife that runneth after other Flesh c 1 Cor. 7 5. may not be said to Live with her Husband but rather to depart from him in which Case she is not Divorced but goes away her self and in some Cases happeneth sometime a Circumstance material to the Point of Divorce namely when the Unbelieving Wife doth depart from the Believing Husband and breaks thus the Matrimonial Bond in such cases saith St. Paul (d) v. 15. A Brother or Sister is not under bondage Thirdly They ought not to Defraud one another of Conjugal Benevolence for neither Husband or Wife have Power of their own Body but mutually each of other's as (e) v. 3 4 5. expressed in the same Chapter therefore they may not Dispose of their Body upon others Fourthly That the Husband doth behave him self as the Head and Preserver of the Body and the Wife must submit and be subject unto her own Husband as her Head as the Church is subject unto Christ as in the fore-quoted (f) Ephes 15. place These Duties married people must observe as being the revealed Will of God and when they are Broken the Conjugal Bond is thereby much shaken but wholly Dissolved only in the case of Adultery and the offended Party hath cause if he pleaseth to Sue for a Divorce which may not justly be deny'd at least a suitable Punishment which though the Party desired not yet I think the Laws should Condemn the Offender to Indeed 't is the Duty of the Supream Power and Magistrates under them to consider of how great Consequence this matter is for a well-regulated Government as 't is certainly the Ground of all Government For what is a Kingdom but a Collection of several Shires or Provinces and these Shires of Cities and Towns and these Towns consist of Houses inhabited by Families and these Families composed of Husbands and Wives of Parents and Children Masters and Servants whereof Husband and Wife are the Spring and Foundation So that whosoever will have a well-regulated Nation he must begin with Families whereof Husbands and Wives are the Heads which is to Build upon a sure and good Foundation or else 't is in vain to look for pure Streams when the Spring is corrupt Adulterers and Adulteresses will Propagate a Spurious Brood stained with Vices derived from the corrupt Blood of their Parents for too often on the Bad Side the Proverb proves true Like Father like Son Like Mother like Daughter in some Families we see such Stains as the Ill Names and Bad Courses of Parents do hinder and ruin the Fortune of Children 'T is then palpable how Superiour Powers are concerned to make good Laws and Rules and to see they are Observed whereby the Disorders which happen in Families to the Prejudice of Conjugal Duties be Restrained and Punished Such good Orders will bring out at least in some good measure Men and Women good in every Relation better Parents better Children better Husbands better Wives better Masters better Servants better Princes and better Subjects The Importance of this Truth hath been so well known by Popes that where Popery is Predominant they have Ingrossed unto themselves almost the whole Power relating to Matrimony with their Dispensing with Forbidden Degrees of Consanguinity and Affinity and with starting new ones of their own Invention still reserving for themselves a Dispensing Power for Money wherein Princes of their Perswasion suffered themselves to be Fooled by them having first by Fraudulent Suggestions gotten the Imperial Power into their own Hands and afterwards by Force drawn to themselves the whole Authority of Judging and Determining in Matrimonial Causes as in most other matters Somewhat before we said how the Civil Law is for us now we must briefly shew it Some of the first Christian Emperours as well as some Heathen before to Justinian and after being sensible of the Necessity of Preventing Abuses in this matter by the Advice of able and wise Judges made Laws to grant Divorces for certain Causes Such among others * Cod. Theod Tom. 1 â—it 16. De repudi fol. 310. were Theodosius and Valentinian Only Three Causes are given for which a Wife may Sue for a Divorce and are therein named If her Husband be a Murtherer a Poisoner or a Destroyer of Sepulchres but she might not Sue tho he were a Drunkard a Gamester or Adulterer but the Husband might if she were an Adulteress a Poysoner or a Baud Si maecham vel medicamentariam vel Conciliatricem Fol. 313. are the words Further Sané si Divorâ—ium prior maritus c. If the Husband first hath desired a Divorce and Accused the Wife of a great Crime as Adultery let him Prosecute her according to Law and obtain Vengeance that is Divorce and enjoy the Portion and Downy for so I take it to be the meaning of suam recipiat largitionem and preseÌ„ntly must be free to marry another He upon that account not only may Sue for a Divorce which ought to be Granted but also to retain the Portion and Dowry and so leave her to the wide World without Maintainance and also marry another Nay if 't was only upon the Account of Ill Nature and Manners and not for Crimes Two Years after he may marry another Si vero
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
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)
ought to have a care that that which is intended for his glory be not turned to his dishonour as 't is a most wicked impiety when Men swear falsely by God's Name so 't is a sinful compliance and unpardonable neglect for those whose duty 't is to punish such crimes not to do it for God is deprived of his Nature and of his Truth when he is made or suffered to be made an Wittnes to and approver of a lie whereby his glorious Name is most abominably prophaned Perjury and False Swearing which as it was the occasion so 't is the chief subject of the present discourse is of so high a concernment that of the Ten Commandements it takes up no less then two for as in the Third we are forbidden to take the Name of God in vain so in the Ninth we are prohibited to bear False Wittness against our Neighbour See how both these God's Honour and our Neighbour's Safety are twisted together for as thereby such men sin against God so they extreamly wrong their Neighbour which is contrary to that rule of Justice contained in our Saviours Sermon upon the Mount all (q) Mat. 7.12 things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you do ye even so to them for this is the Law and the Prophets Now certainly no Man would have another to Swear him falsely out of his good Name Liberty Fortune and Life therefore they should not do so to others But this People care neither for the Law nor the Prophets nor for Jesus Christ or God himself if False Swearing against and wronging our Neighbour in private be forbidden much more in publick in a Solemn way under notion of Justice and in Courts of Judicature whereby every thing a Man hath is laid at Stake Poor (r) 1 Kings 21.10 13. Naboth by two False Wittnesses who are well and properly called Sons of Belial was Sworn not only out of his Vineyard but also out of his Life for indeed one who is a False Wittness to Swear another out of his Estate will make no difficulty to Swear him out of his Life If there had been no False Wittness the High Priest Scribes and Pharisees had wanted a pretence to accuse our Blessed Saviour which to compass (Å¿) Mat. 26.59 they sought for false Wittnesses and therein found an occasion to put him to death according to the Prophecy long before [t] Psal 35.11 False Wittnesses did rise up they laid to my charge things that I knew not as David had also said before [u] Psal 27.12 False witnesses are risen up against me This generation of Men were of all Ages as old as the Devil their Father who from the beginning was a Liar and is the [w] Job 1.6 7. Rev. 12.10 slanderer and false accuser of God's People as we see it in the case of Job Certainly God will avenge himself and Men for that wherein they are so abominably wronged in every thing belonging to them even in the Mind and Judgment of some who thorough false swearing are imposed upon for the perjured Man doth cheat and deceive seduce and impose upon Reason it self both to the Ruin of private men and overthrowing of whole Nations for not only some privave men but also the publick doth suffer Some Jews do write how when upon Mount Sinai the Tables were given as soon as the Law against Perjury was pronounced the whole World was shaken as if this had been the most important of all If Men would but read and consult Scriptures thereby to be guided and make God's Word their rule there would not be so much cause in the World to complain as there is about this matter They might read how positive how clear and how full it is thereupon They might find therein grounds enough to be disswaded from it the hainousness of the Sin that ends in blasphemy its Character of those who commit it namely God's Enemies [x] Psal 139.20 Thine Enemies take thy Name in vain the Curse they undergo the punishment they must expect and so many more such Circumstances which attend that sin How many in the World that make no Conscience at all to swallow down an Oath who know not mind not and care not for the bitter Consequences thereof a hundred to one are such for there are more wicked then good and honest Men and this thing our Juries should seriously consider of and weigh more then number Evidences Though there be some in the World who like the unrighteous Judge fear neither God nor Man or if they do rather Man then God yet these few things I shall lay before those who happen to read these lines and may be concerned in what I say we have to do with a just and true God who seeth heareth and remembereth all and will call us all to an account for what we think speak and do for after Death follows Judgment we all must certainly die the time when we know not for we have no certain lease of our lives all our days are in God's hand So a Forsworn Man may happen to go out of this World with a False Oath in his mouth and thus appear before God to receive his private Judgment and then O fool though thorough Perjury thou shouldest gain the whole World what profit is it for thee if it be with the loss of thy Soul (y) Deut. 5.24 Chap. 9.3 Heb. 12.24 For the Lord our God is a consuming fire and a jealous God of his Name of his Honour and of his Truth naked such as it is without painting or disguising how beautiful is it in it self unstained 't is an Attribute so Essential and so acceptable to God as belongs to the Nature and to the Three Persons the God of Truth Christ the Truth the Spirit of Truth and that excellent Truth so much commended by St John in his 2d and 3d. Epistles The Law (z) Tim. 1.9 10. saith Scripture is made for liars for perjured persons and the worst sort of Men so according to this Law they shall be judged in the mean time God in his word doth not simply forbid the crimes of Lying and perjury but thunders Threatnings against those who commit them 't is said (a) Mat. 5.33 Exod 20.7 Levit. 19.12 Deut. 15.21 Thou shalt not forswear thy self and ye shall not swear by my Name falsely and among other grievous things for which God calls people in question this is one (b) Jer. 7.9 Will ye swear falsely and if to convince those that are such you want Evidences I will help you to some without exception for (c) Mal. 3.5 I will come near to you to Judgment and I will be a swift Wittness against false Swearers and he will himself Judge not only false Wittnesses but also corrupt Judges and Juries Take notice of a Temporal judgment upon this account (d) Zech. 5.3 4. I will bring forth saith the Lord of hosts a Curse into the