Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	rule_n	tradition_n	unwritten_a	2,845	5	12.5918	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92496	Natures dowrie: or The peoples native liberty asserted. By L.S.	L. S.	1652 (1652)	Wing S111; Thomason E668_19; ESTC R206988	50,283	65

shall his blood be shed was not then first given but only repeated and inforced by a vocall promulgation God permitted the Isralites to spoil the Aegyptians Exod. 11.2 And some of those of whom they borrowed jewels perhaps had no influence into their pressures If all Gods providential dispensations should have been written I suppose that even the World it self could not contain the Bookes that should be written I cannot conceive that it will seem strange to any who are not sworn to hold their conclusions that Saul should by some un-written dispensation be exempted from some penalties to which otherwise he should have been liable or that David by some countermand which was not committed to writing should be inhibited from killing Saul which otherwise he might have done in his own defence * Upon 1 Sam. 26. Abarbinel saith by way of conjecture that David received from Samuel at Naioth in Ramah what he saith to Abishai 1 Sam. 26.10 God had promised David the Kingdom and so virtually at least that he would deliver him out of the hands of Saul and that his information out of supposition that he sinned not in sparing Saul was ich'd out by some divine light not recorded in Scripture sith otherwise he might have conceived that God had decreed he should by his Sword hew out his way to the Kingdom that Gods promise was to be accomplished by his killing of Saul when he was delivered into his hands It is probable enough that God by some revelation not contained in the Scriptures now extant signified unto David that himself without his help would shorten Sauls dayes and admonished him expresly or by consequence not to lay violent hands upon his Master the Lords anointed I am confident that the Historie of some privileges which were granted to Saul and those who by Gods appointment succeeded him in the Kingdom perished with that book which Samuel wrote concerning the manner of the Kingdom and layed up before the Lord 1 Sam. 10.25 That Book was of divine authority but not joyned to the other Scriptures in that it would be of little use after the Kingdom expired and Gods Providence ordered that those divine Writings which should be transmitted to all posterity should be comprehended in such a volume as would be portable and might be easily purchased When I before spake of unwritten dispensations and precepts I meant such as were not inserted in the Scriptures which should be preserved as a perpetuall rule of our lives And perhaps there was never but for some short time any unwritten tradition but in this sense It is is probable enough that the Book of which Samuel maketh mention perished with the first Temple The sacred Writings as Elias Levita witnesseth were not gathered into one Volume till after the Babylonian captivity Seeing the Scripture now extant exempted not Saul from violent resistance which might endanger or take away his life when the life of any of his Subjects which he unjustly sought after could not be preserved upon other terms we must grant unless we resolve to be irrationall that David sinned in sparing Saul or else that his omissions were warranted by some divine precept or permission which is not now extant No divine command or permission from which there resulted any privilege to Saul alone or to him and those who succeeded him in the Kingdom * Deut. 30.11 12 13 14. could be longer in force then it was transmitted to Posterity by undoubted authority And indeed all of the Reformed Religion acknowledge the written word of God now extant to be a sufficient rule of our religious actions and omissions CHAP. 18. The remainder of the premises in that Syllogism which is built upon Davids carriage towards Saul by those who have endeavoured to support Tyranny is examined THe other proposition to be examined is That Saul was free from humane censures and violent resistance for so much is wont to be assumed as warranted by Davids carriage towards Saul But he must have better eyes then ever had Lyneeus who can see any thing in those Texts of Samuel which I produced in the 10th Chapter whence it may be concluded that Saul if he had committed such sins as according to Gods Law were to be punished with death might not by the great Sanhedrin or if there had been no such Court by divine institution by the major part of the people be deposed and put to death or punished with death without other deposition unless there be the like reason that any one should be exempted from humane censures and from resistance to be made by a private person whose life he invadeth which that I may not deny it to be true none that I have met with have urged I shall now examine whether we may infallibly conclude from Davids testimony that Sauls Subjects were bound by Gods Law rather to suffer themselves to be murthered by him then to slay him in their own defence David expresseth his own judgement touching Gods will which was contrary to the sense of his followers some of which undoubtedly were not strangers to the Spirit of God R. David Kimchi upon those words 1 Sam. 24.10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and bad me kill thee where our English translation supplyeth the sense by some and some of the Hebrew Doctors by every one of my men saith And our Rabbines of blessed memorie interpret it and say the Scripture saith when one cometh to murdor thee consent to kill him as for instance if a Theef be found in a Cave as if he David should have said I had liberty being also able to kill thee bad not my Soul spared thee The same Doctor a little after upon those words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. but mine eye spared thee according to our English translation and according to Jonathan Ben Vriel in some copies my Soul spared thee according to David Kimchi my soul or mine eye spared thee saith It was lawfull for me to kill thee because thou didst pursue me and the rule is consent thou to kill him that cometh to kill thee Those Hebrew Doctors which Kimchi mentioneth and which be doth not gainst-say though they mis-construe David yet certifie us that in their opinion the Scripture bad David kill Saul And indeed so much was injoyned in the 6th Commandement whether he was countermanded by God who without doubt can dispence with the Commandementts of the 2d Table according to the materialitie of them the two last being excepted I dispute not in this place Abarbinel though upon 1 Sam. 26 he conjectures that God by Samuel might have warned Davia to spare Saul and foretold that himself would shorten his dayes saw so little warrant from the Scripture for Davids clemencie towards Saul that he saith upon Chapter 24. of the same book without doubt David in his professions to his servants about the sparing of Saul and in slaying the Amalekite who feigned that he had killed Saul and in putting to death

time before the Flood passed a sentence of death upon any appertaining to his Family cannot be proved out of any monuments of antiquity now extant Neither doth it appear whether Iudah pronounced sentence of death upon Thamar by virtue of any authority which he had over her as belonging to his Family or by virtue of some Law consented to by his Fore-fathers or according to the Law and manner of the Countrey in which he lived or out of rashness Some of the Hebrew Doctors affirm that Iudah intended not that Thamar should be burned to death but only stigmatized in the forehead for an harlot What authority soever a Master of a Family may challenge by the Law of nature over his children and servants and those who by mariage are ingrafted into his Family whilst he is a sojourner among a Nation into which he is not incorporated clear it is that those who have their share in any Country and a setled abode among others have no title to such authority in that they are tempted to partiality and may expose their neighbors to divine justice by neglecting judgments or by giving unjust sentence of death and the same wayes weaken the Country in which they live and expose it to a common enemy Homer in the Iota of his Odyss maketh it a badge of rude and uncivill people to live together in the same Countrey and not to imbodie themselves into a Society nor have any publick jurisdiction saying of the Cyclopes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They give lawes every one of them to his Wives and children neither regard one another Most agreable it is to the light of Nature that those who inhabite the same Countrey and so nigh together that they are without inconveniencie capable of a common government so combine and associate the strengths of their minds and estates as that they may be * Herodotus saith of the Thracions who by some are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because every man w●● a Law to himself that if they had either been all of one mind or under one K. they had been invincible in a positure of defence against a common Enemy and home-bred disturbances which cannot be effected without common lawes and publick execution of justice * Plato de Legibus l. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Men must of necessity establish lawes and observe them or not at all differ from the most savage beasts CHAP. 7. Magistracy standeth by divine right IT remaineth doubtfull whether people who live together may lawfully retain an Isocracie among them having all of them suffrages of equall value in the censuring of Delinquents and the managing of such affairs as conduce to their publick safety or be bound by the law of Nature or any of Gods positive lawes to set Governors and Magistrates over them We inquire not now of Magistracy fettered in the circumstances of hic and nunc determined to time and place for there is no doubt but among the Israelites not only Magistracy but also certain forms of Magistracy were by divine right moreover that certain persons also bare rule among them by divine right and that without the mediation of any humane choice nor yet of Magistracy during the time for which it is established by men that is of Magistracy with a presupposition of humane consent by which in some form or other it was erected and is for some time to be continued seeing that Gods Law requireth that men stand to their agreements and the Scripture saith * Rom. 13.1 The powers that be are ordained of God and * 1 Pet. 2.13 Submit your selves to every ordinance of man for the Lords sake but whether God hath commanded all Nations at all times to have Magistrates Judges or State-Officers The question is that I may further explain the state of it whether Iso●rasie be lawfull or men be bound by the Law of God to set up a Magistracy to preferre some to bear rule over the rest The Scripture doth not extricate us in this controversie by any generall precept Nor yet if we search the History of the World before the Flood shall we find any foot-step of Magistracy or of humane censures We have much wickednesse mentioned in the gross Gen. 6.5 and some sins specified elsewhere but no intimation of any punishment inflicted by any humane judicature * The murdering of Abel Gen. 4.8 and according to some Interpreters murder committed by Lamech Gen. 4.23 and idolatry according to some of the Hebrew Doctors Gen. 4.26 I should otherwise interpret the two places last quoted but Lamech's rash speech deserved a censure We have Polygamie likewise mentioned v. 19. of the same chap. but which some deny to have been a sin in Lamech That of Cain It shall come to pass every one that findeth me shall slay me importeth not that he feared any judiciary sentence but only a rude and boystrous inflicting of punishment that it was permittted to every one to punish so hainous a delinquent and that he expected not any regular proceedings of justice against him But I take notice that in regard of the present he feared where no fear was departing from the presence of his Parents neither was likely to prophecie after what manner punishments should afterwards be dispenced I conceive he expressed a fear of men onely and not of beasts His speech was rash and inconsiderate having a tincture from his guilty conscience If we consult with the light of reason it will inform us that in large countryes Magistracie is necessary because in such the Inhabitants though all who are servile and indigent be excluded cannot convene so oft as virtue is to be rewarded and encouraged or as disorders are to be repressed and vice to be punished nor yet so oft as the preservation of their common safetie requireth It is clear also from the written word of God that all publick affairs ought to be managed in such a way as may conduce most to Gods glory and the publick good Moreover God appointed a few in his own peculiar people to govern the rest Such likewise at all times hath been the custom almost of all Nations CHAP. 8. The qualifications of those who ought to vote in the dispencing of Authority The major part of suffrages is equivalently the whole number Those who are uncapable of Voting are tied to subjection ARistotle well observeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Polic. 3. that all are not Citizens who inhabit the City seeing Strangers and Servants have their share in habitation He frequently excludeth those who are indigent from bearing sway in a Commonwealth Vnequall it is that Helots and those who have no estates should have equall authority with those who are wealthy in making Laws which concern mens estates in that by their private condition they are much tempted to favour theft and encroachment Seeing men are by an innate and hereditary distemper biased towards wicked practices indigent people who