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<DATE>2014-03-12</DATE>
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<NAME>Brian Matzge</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE UNLAWFULNESSE OF <HI>Mixt-Marriages,</HI> OR, An An&s;wer to a Book Entituled Mixt-Marri|ages Vindicated in a Dialogue between <HI>A</HI> and <HI>B</HI></P>
<P>Written by <HI>Stephen Tory.</HI></P>
<P>In a Friendly Di&s;cour&s;e between <HI>E</HI> and <HI>F.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Shewing that for Per&s;ons to be joyned together in Marriage, who differ about In&s;titutions in matters of Re|ligion, is contrary to the Law of God, and therefore &s;inful.</P>
<P>Secondly, That &s;uch Marriages being the breach of a Law, that there is a Rule left to the Church to Excommunicate Per&s;ons for &s;o Marrying.</P>
<P>TOGETHER With a Word to tho&s;e Congregations in general, who allow of Mixt Marriages; and another to Mr. <HI>Tory</HI> in particular.</P>
<P>By <HI>John Griffith.</HI></P>
<Q>Ne impari jugo copulamini cum Infidelibus, <BIBL><HI>2 Cor. 6.14.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>It is a &s;ecret poy&s;on that destroyeth virtue more &s;peedily then any thing. <BIBL><HI>Doct. Babbington.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>Who&s;o cau&s;eth the Righteous to go astray in an evil way, he &s;hall fall him&s;elf into his own Pit, but the upright &s;hall have good things in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, <BIBL><HI>Prov. 28.10.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for the Authour, and are to be &s;old by him, and by <HI>Enoch Pro&s;&s;er,</HI> at the &s;ign of the <HI>Ro&s;e</HI> and <HI>Crown</HI> in <HI>Sweethings-Atly,</HI> at the Ea&s;t End of the Royal <HI>Exchange,</HI> 1681.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>The Epi&s;tle to the Reader.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Chri&s;tian Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THou ha&s;t before thee a controver&s;ie, that doth not often ap|pear in Print, it therefore may &s;eem &s;trange to &s;ome, e&s;pe|cially in this day, wherein there &s;hould be a healing of Breaches, and a uniting, rather then open, and publick differences heightned and encrea&s;ed, which is mo&s;t certainly true yet it hath plea&s;ed <HI>Mr. T.</HI> not to con&s;ider the times, but ra&s;hly (I may &s;ay) to publi&s;h his uncouth notions, and prepo&s;terous opinions, to the view of the world, on whom the fault mu&s;t lye, and not on them who an&s;wer him, yet I hope Almighty God who brought light out of darkne&s;s, will bring forth good out of this contention (which he hath rai&s;ed) to his People, and may be a means to purge &s;ome from their defilements, and be a warning to, and prevent others from falling into that evil &s;ome have done, who headily have tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed again&s;t God, <HI>in taking them wives of all that they liked,</HI> Mr. T's book no doubt is as an <HI>Oracle</HI> to &s;ome, by which they are confirmed and &s;etled upon their lees, and others imboldned to run ha&s;tily into the &s;ame &s;in: when a Door is opened to let &s;in into the Church, and ano|ther Door fa&s;t lock'd to keep that &s;in, and &s;inner in the Church, all means being taken away of purging, and reforming, (all which <HI>Mr. T.</HI> hath done his be&s;t endeavour to do) it's then high time, when &s;uch things are attempted to contend again&s;t &s;uch enormity, which is the thing that moved me to an&s;wer him in this publick way; not that I am ambitious at this time, e&s;pecially to make my name more publick, and popular then it is already, though I am not a&s;hamed of any thing I hold, and am per&s;waded is a truth, but am willing and de&s;irous if <HI>Mr. T.</HI> be not convinced (by what I have writ) of his errors, that he will (&s;eeing he hath begun it,) in the &s;ame publick manner; (or any man for him) di&s;prove me if he can, and I &s;hall either yield or reply, if the Lord will &s;pare and permit me, I de&s;ire to make (as I ever did) the Holy Scriptures my Rule; <HI>believing all that is written in them,</HI> and that <HI>they were written for my learn|ing,</HI> and dare not imbrace any thing but what there is Scripture warranty for, nor dare I receive any <HI>Doctrine,</HI> though never &s;o plau|&s;ible and elegantly delivered or penn'd, and though under never &s;o many fair and &s;pecious pretences, if it come not with this authority <HI>thus &s;aith the Lord;</HI> therefore if I have written any thing that is not con&s;onant with the holy Scripture, I heartily de&s;ire <HI>Mr. T.</HI> or any other, by the word of God to detect it, and I &s;hall be bound to be
<PB REF="3">thankfull for the &s;ame; but if I have the truth, and the mind of Chri&s;t according to the Scripture, (giving me tho&s;e grains of allow|ance that all men &s;hort of perfection and infallability mu&s;t have) then I hope <HI>Mr.</HI> T. and all now of his mind and judgment, (upon a diligent impartial and unprejudiced &s;earch,) will find what I have writ to be true, which I hope they nor he, will not then in&s;i&s;t any longer upon the ju&s;tification of his mi&s;take, but will be ready to ac|knowledge his reflections, and labour a reformation, which will be to the Glory of God, the peace and purity of the Church, and the honour of <HI>Mr. T.</HI></P>
<P>Reader, I de&s;ire thy carefull and diligent reading this an&s;wer to <HI>Mr. T.,</HI> and that thou diligently &s;earch the Scriptures, to &s;ee <HI>whether what I &s;ay be &s;o or no,</HI> if thou art a Believer one regene|rated, a Child of God by Faith in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, it highly concerns thee, that thou keep thy body which is the Temple of the Holy Gho&s;t undefiled, if &V;nmarried, to Marry only in the Lord, and not to yoke thy &s;elf with an unbeliever, for the Temple of God can have no Communion nor agreement with Idols nor Idolaters, if thou art an &V;nbeliever, ungodly, and in the wofull &s;tate of nature, thou maye&s;t &s;ee that God looks upon thee as he did upon tho&s;e nations <HI>Moab</HI> and <HI>Ammon</HI> &amp;c. Whom God would not &s;uffer the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to Marry with, becau&s;e they were polluted, and unclean, being un|godly Idolaters, even &s;o he forbids his Children now. Marrying with thee, becau&s;e, being unregenerated thou art not wa&s;hed, <HI>nor &s;ancti|fied, nor ju&s;tified in the name of our Lord Je&s;us, and by the Spirit of our God, 1</HI> Cor. <HI>6.11.</HI> By this then thou wilt perceive if thou read and &s;earch diligently, that thou art <HI>by nature a Child of wrath, Eph. 2.3.</HI> And that <HI>the wrath of God abideth upon thee;</HI> John <HI>3.36.</HI> And therefore God will not have his Children that are <HI>according to his mercy, &s;aved by the wa&s;hing of Rege|neration and renewing of the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI> Tit. <HI>3.5.</HI> To be yoked together in Marriage with thee, let this open thine eyes, and cau&s;e thee to look into the &s;ad condition of thy Soul, that thou maye&s;t fly to Chri&s;t for Mercy, who will receive and imbrace thee in his arms, and wa&s;h thee clean in his blood, by which thou wilt <HI>receive the for|givene&s;s of thy &s;ins, and inheritance among them that are &s;anctifi|ed, by faith that is in him; Act. 26.18.</HI> Which I pray God my labours may be ble&s;t as a means of good both to the Souls of Saints and Sinners, and then I have my whole de&s;ign and end, Who am,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>The Servant of all men for the &s;ake of Chri&s;t. <HI>John Griffith.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="dialogue">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<HEAD>THE UNLAWFULNESS OF MIXT MARRIAGES, &amp;c.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>BRother, how do you do, how is it with you, is your Soul in Health.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>I thank ye, I am indifferent well both in Bo|dy and Soul, I thank Almighty God, but not wholy free from &s;ome doubts and &s;cruples, and am therefore very glad I have met with you, that I might impart &s;omething of my mind to you.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>I &s;hall be very ready, and willing, as the Lord &s;hall be plea&s;ed to a&s;&s;i&s;t me to be helpful to you in any thing I can, but pray what is your trouble.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>Have you not &s;een a Book Entitled <HI>Mixt-Marriages</HI> Vin|dicated a Dialogue between <HI>A.</HI> and <HI>B.</HI> the Author <HI>Stephen Tory.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yea, I have &s;een it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>That Book hath been &s;ome trouble to me, nor am I yet &s;o well &s;atisfied, as I would I were.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>There is an An&s;wer to it, in a Conference between <HI>C.</HI> and <HI>D.</HI> written by <HI>I. D.</HI> have you not &s;een that.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yea I have, and read it al&s;o.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Doth not that give you &s;atisfaction.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>I confe&s;s I am better &s;atisfied then I was before I read Mr. <HI>D.</HI> but not &s;o fully as I de&s;ire to be, I would therefore de&s;ire you to &s;pend a little time to &s;atisfie me further, and to weigh both Mr. <HI>S. T</HI>'s Book, and Mr. <HI>I. D</HI>'s an&s;wer to it, that if it
<PB N="2" REF="4">be the Will of God I may receive further light.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>That will I gladly do, I will al&s;o give my Opinion.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>Pray then what do you &s;ay to Mr. <HI>Torys</HI> Book.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Truly in my Judgment it is again&s;t the Truth, and that as much as in him lies, he hath opened a Door of Liberty, giving incouragement to Church Members to break Gods holy Law.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fol.</HI> 2.</NOTE> For in the fir&s;t place he makes &s;o light of <HI>B</HI>'s trouble about Mixt-Marriages, that he &s;aith, <HI>I am &s;orry for your weakne&s;s, I think it is more cau&s;e of joy than &s;orrow, that we who but a few years &s;ince, were not accounted fit to live, &s;hould be &s;o much in the favour of tho&s;e Per&s;ons, as to make Marriages with us, and more e&s;pecially we &s;hould take it well from them, who have the Government in their hands, and we ought to be thankful to God for &s;uch a mercy.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, in the&s;e words of Encouragement, he gives Members (to commit &s;in) he &s;ets a &s;harp edge upon the fle&s;hly Mind and de&s;ire of Men and Women in Church-fellow&s;hip to Marry with tho&s;e out of the Church or of the World, becau&s;e it is weakne&s;s in any to be troubled at it.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>It's</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>more cau&s;e of joy than of &s;orrow, we &s;hould be &s;o much in their favour, as to make Marriages with us:</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>We ought to be thankful to God for &s;uch a Mercy:</HI> What a Door is here &s;et open to them that are carnally minded. I will Marry may any one &s;ay where I plea&s;e, and with whom I fancy in the World, where there is more varieties of Beauties, and greater Fortunes than is in the Churches, and thereby I may much advance my &s;elf, and better my E&s;tate in the World, and it is my weakne&s;s if I do not. My Brother <HI>Tory</HI> &s;aith as much in ef|fect; for &s;aith he, it is a weakne&s;s in my Brother to be troub|led at it, or offended with me for &s;o Marrying: Nay, he &s;aith my Brother hath more cau&s;e of joy than &s;orrow, and ought to be thankful to God for &s;uch a Mercy, if &s;o, then is it my weakne&s;s if I have opportunities to better and plea&s;e my &s;elf, if I do not Marry in the World, the&s;e are great Encouragements.</P>
<P>Secondly, There is be&s;ides, another great Inconvenience and Evil which tends to bring Mixt-Marriages into nece&s;&s;ity, for this Liberty and Encouragement will promp and cau&s;e Members not to look among them&s;elves for Wives, except there be &s;ome Beautiful and Rich, but altogether their Eyes will be gazing up|on the Widows and Maids abroad that are fair and wealthy, and them they will Marry. The Members tho' never &s;o vir|tuous
<PB N="3" REF="4">and Holy may be without Husbands and Wives long enough, (to wit) tho&s;e that dare not offend God in this matter, except they do make a virtue of Nece&s;&s;ity (as the Proverb is,) or rather through the &s;trength of Temptation do Marry &s;infully, which in time they may be compelled to do, or el&s;e they may go to their Graves &s;ingle, or unmarried.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Tho&s;e words of his is a &s;ign that he hath received the Spirit of the World, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.12. and is not guided in this mat|ter by the Spirit of God, for the Spirit commands (and they that have received it will walk after it) that we &s;hould not love the World, neither the things that are in the World, <HI>If any man love the World, the love of the Father is not in him, for all that is in the world, the lu&s;t of the Fle&s;h, the lust of the Eye, and the pride of Life, is not of the Father, but is of the World.</HI> 1 <HI>John</HI> 2.15.16. Now I pray, what is it, but the lu&s;t of the Fle&s;h, and the lu&s;t of the Eye, &amp;c. that mu&s;t encline a Member of Chri&s;t to make his choice in the World, what can it be but to &s;atisfie his Lu&s;t, and to make his aim and ends not the Glory of God, and the comforts that he may enjoy with one, that is not only one Fle&s;h, but one in Spirit al&s;o with him, which comfort he cannot expect to have with one of the World, but as his de&s;ign is to ac|compli&s;h his own carnal and worldly ends, he can onely expect the fruits thereof. And for Mr. <HI>T.</HI> to encourage at this rate as he doth, Members to mix them&s;elves in Marriage with the VVorld is to endeavour to per&s;wade them to love the World, and the things that are in the VVorld, which who&s;oever doth, the love of the Father is not in him.</P>
<P N="4">4. The Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> doth tell us that the Friend&s;hip of the VVorld is Enmity with God, <HI>who&s;oever therefore</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>will be a friend of the world, is an enemy to God. James</HI> 4.4. Pray what greater Friend&s;hip can there be than to Marry with them, for one that is cho&s;en out of the world, <HI>John</HI> 15.19. and as our Saviour &s;aith one that is not of the VVorld, <HI>John</HI> 17.16. to make one of the VVorld Fle&s;h of his Fle&s;h, and Bone of his Bone, which is to have the greate&s;t and neare&s;t Friend&s;hip with the VVorld as can be, which is Enmity with God.</P>
<P>Fifthly, VVat a &s;ad thing it is, and much to be lamented, that ever a man &s;hould &s;ay, that we have more cau&s;e of joy then of &s;orrow, that they who accounted us not fit to live, &s;hould
<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><HI>A &s;ign of a mean ba&s;e Spi|rit, be|low that Princely honour Chri&s;t hath die|nifi'd his with.</HI> Rev. 1.6.</NOTE> have &s;uch a favour for us, as to Marry with us; Surely the
<PB N="4" REF="5">Nations that God drove out of their Land before the Children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> did not think <HI>I&s;rael</HI> fit to live, as we may perceive by <HI>Balak</HI> King of the <HI>Moabites, Numbers</HI> 22.23, 24, Chapters, and yet their Daughters married with them, and was this cau&s;e of joy to <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> that they which a little before did account them not fit to live (and u&s;ed all the means they could to de&s;troy them) &s;hould be &s;o much in their favour as to give their Daughters in Marriage to them, <HI>Numb.</HI> 25. No certainly for the favour of the <HI>Moabites</HI> kindled the anger of the Lord again&s;t <HI>I&s;rael, ver.</HI> 3. and tho&s;e that died of the Plague were 24000, <HI>ver.</HI> 9. I think there was no cau&s;e of joy in that favour but &s;orrow, which al&s;o will be the end of that liberty if taken Mr. <HI>T.</HI> gives.</P>
<P>Sixthly, I would know of Mr. <HI>Tory</HI> whether the hone&s;t &s;ober per&s;ons he &s;peaks of, <HI>viz.</HI> &s;ome <HI>Presbyterians,</HI> &s;ome <HI>Independants,</HI> and tho&s;e &s;ome of the Church of <HI>England,</HI> were ever &s;uch Ene|mies as not to Account us fit to live.</P>
<P>That he accounts it the weakne&s;s of any to be troubled or of|fended, if tho&s;e of his per&s;wa&s;ion do Marry with them, and that it is more cau&s;e of joy than &s;orrow that we &s;hould be &s;o much in their favour as to make Marriages with us, &s;urely if they were hone&s;t and &s;ober per&s;ons they would not account any though dif|ferent in per&s;wation, from them, not fit to live, nor do I think Mr. <HI>T.</HI> hath &s;uch an ill opinion of them.</P>
<P>The liberty then that he would give us indeed is to marry any body though a Mortal Enemy, and count it cau&s;e of joy too, that &s;uch will &s;o far change their minds, as to &s;hew us the favor to make marriages with us.</P>
<P>Seventhly, I would know of Mr. <HI>T.</HI> whether it is not a Pro|phaning the holy Name of God, rather then any other thing, for him to &s;ay we ought to be thankful to God for &s;uch a Mercy, (to wit,)</P>
<P>That we &s;hould be &s;o much in their favour as to make mar|riages with us, when &s;uch Marriages is the breach of Gods Law, and therefore &s;inful, for ought he hath &s;aid to the contrary.</P>
<P>This were to rejoyce in Iniquity or to do in &s;ome mea&s;ure like them in <HI>Jeremiah, Chap.</HI> 7. from the fir&s;t ver&s;e to the 11, <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 5.20.21.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>Truly I did not think there had been &s;o much evil in tho&s;e words of his, as I now &s;ee there is, he makes but an ill beginning, I am glad I have met with you, I pray what &s;ay you to his An&s;wer to <HI>Gen.</HI> 2.18, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
</SP>
<PB N="5" REF="5">
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>What Mr. <HI>Denn</HI> hath &s;aid to that might &s;uffice, but I &s;hall do my part, and do &s;ay that it is an amazing thing to me,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol. 3.</NOTE> that a man in his right mind &s;hould affirm as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> doth, that it was not the de&s;ign of Almighty God in Creating the woman to make her a meet help in the be&s;t things, and his rea&s;on is as trifling, <HI>for</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>if it had, you &s;ee how contrary the fir&s;t woman proved,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t I would know of Mr. <HI>T.</HI> whether God in Creating <HI>Adam</HI> de&s;igned that <HI>Adam</HI> &s;hould &s;in, be drove out of <HI>Eden,</HI> and turned to Du&s;t again, for &s;o it proved, or whether God did de|&s;ign when he created <HI>Adam</HI> that he &s;hould love the Lord with all his &s;oul, and keep his holy Precepts, live and enjoy the ble&s;&s;ings and Priviledges given him; &s;ure no rational man will &s;ay other|wi&s;e, nor Mr. <HI>T.</HI> neither, yet you &s;ee how contrary it proved.</P>
<P>Secondly, Did God de&s;ign in the Creating many thou&s;ands, that they &s;hould Steal, Murder, commit Adultery, with many other inormities, and be hanged for them; Mr. <HI>T.</HI> will not &s;ay that this was the de&s;ign of God, but yet we &s;ee it prov'd &s;o by many almo&s;t daily experiences.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Did God de&s;ign in his Creating of Millions, that they &s;hould reject Chri&s;t offered in the Go&s;pel, to &s;ave them, and de&s;ign their final unbelief, for which they &s;hall mo&s;t ju&s;tly be damned and eternally Peri&s;h, Mr. <HI>T.</HI> will not &s;ay this was Gods de&s;ign, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> but yet we know by the Scripture that it proves, &s;o <HI>Mark</HI> 16.16. then it will not follow, that tho' <HI>Eve</HI> proved a temptation to <HI>Adam,</HI> that God de&s;igned her to be no meet help to <HI>Adam</HI> in the be&s;t things.</P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>Eve</HI> when &s;he tempted her husband to &s;in was not in, but much out of her place and duty, and therein thwarted the de&s;ign of God, for &s;he was given to <HI>Adam</HI> for a meet help, but it proves otherwi&s;e, for &s;he was a hinderance with a witne&s;s, both in the be&s;t and wor&s;er things, for &s;he cau&s;eth poor <HI>Adam</HI> to &s;in, and thereby to forfeit many of his be&s;t and mo&s;t &s;weet priviledges.</P>
<P>Thus you &s;ee the weakne&s;s of Mr. <HI>T.</HI> Arguing.</P>
<P>Fiftly, God de&s;igned his own glory, and honour, as Mr. <HI>D.</HI> notes, and I will add the good Temporal, and Eternal both of Male and Female when he Created them, he de&s;igned the latter good chiefly, and doth in all his gracious Acts &s;uited to the Eter|nal happine&s;s of Mankind.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="6">
<P>Now if the good of man in the be&s;t things be chiefly de&s;ign'd of God, then that was, and &s;till is Gods de&s;ign that the Woman &s;hould be a meet help to her Husband in the be&s;t things, which an unbelieving Woman can never be to a believing Man, but a let and hinderance as many by woful experience hath found.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>Very well this you &s;ay gives me good &s;atisfaction thus far. I now &s;ee much weakne&s;s in Mr. <HI>T.</HI> arguing, but pray &s;ay &s;ome|thing to his &s;econd affirmation.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Truly that is not worth the taking notice of, yet for your content, I &s;hall. He &s;aith, that the de&s;ign of God in the making of a woman was Propagation.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, here indeed he fights with his own &s;haddow, for who ever denyed that one end was Prapagation, who doth he rea&s;on again&s;t here? none as I know. But</P>
<P>Secondly, though that be granted God de&s;ign'd Propagation in his making the woman, will it therefore follow that he de&s;igned no other thing, may he not al&s;o de&s;ign her to be a meet help in other things, yea in the be&s;t things as well Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith in|deed you &s;ee it was for Propagation, and not for Devotion, as his Brother doth imagine, for &s;o &s;aith the Text, &s;aith he, <HI>Gen.</HI> 2.20. but they mu&s;t have better eyes then I have to &s;ee, and more skill to read, that can make, <HI>Gen.</HI> 2.20. or any Text in all the Holy Scripture to &s;ay that God de&s;igned Propagation and not Devoti|on, this is an imagination indeed, but one of his own Brain, and a manife&s;t addding to the word of God, and I am per&s;waded he is &s;ingular in this thing, as if God did not de&s;ign, that the woman &s;hould be devote, keep his Laws, and obey his Voice, but be as Bruits under no Law of her Creator.</P>
<P>Thirdly, I have indeed heard &s;ome Rude, Vain, and ungodly Men &s;ay, that Women have no &s;ouls, and except Mr. <HI>T.</HI> thinks &s;o too, I cannot devi&s;e how &s;uch an uncouth notion &s;hould get in|to his head, but I cannot tell, he may be &s;u&s;pected to be of that opinion, for he &s;aith <HI>Adam</HI> &s;aid (of the Woman) <HI>this is now bone of my bone, and fle&s;h of my fle&s;h,</HI> mind, &s;aith he, <HI>Fle&s;h of my Fle&s;h, and not Spirit of my Spirit, and Soul of my Soul.</HI></P>
<P>As if God either gave the woman no &s;pirit, nor no &s;oul, or if he did, it was another not the &s;ame the Man had, but differing in in&s;titutions about the wor&s;hip of God from him, they being uni|ted onely in Fle&s;h, not in Spirit, nor in &s;oul, and then I &s;uppo&s;e all &s;ober men will think that their onene&s;s in the Fle&s;h will turn but
<PB N="7" REF="6">to a very poor and mean account, when a Man and his Wife &s;hall but be one fle&s;h, but two, and not one in &s;pirit and &s;oul, but di|vided. There will be little Love, much &s;trife, no meet help, but unmeet hinderances both in Temporal and Spiritual things, as experience proves plentifully.</P>
<P>Fourthly, And whereas Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith, that where the Scrip|ture &s;peaks of this Relation, it's under the Notion of a Fle&s;hly Relation, &s;hewing that this Relation may be where they differ in the Spirit. Which words of his are true, only in this ca&s;e, (to wit) that when a Man and a Woman &s;hall Marry both of them, being in the State of Nature at that time, and one of them &s;hall afterwards be Converted, then notwith&s;tanding the Relation ought to be continued, but not begun as he in&s;inuates it may, ex|cept both be in the Faith, therefore in other Ca&s;es Mr. <HI>T.</HI> begs the Que&s;tion, and quotes for proof, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5.19. <HI>Mark.</HI> 10.8. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.14. but how tho&s;e places proves what he affirms, he mu&s;t be wi&s;er then I that can tell.</P>
<P>Fifthly, There is good rea&s;on why the Scripture doth menti|on, (and no more) a Man and his Wife to be one Fle&s;h, be|cau&s;e there's no Relation makes one of twain, but this of Mar|riage; all other Relations may be one in Spirit, and Soul, as Father and Child, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Yea, all the Saints ought to be of one Mind, and one Spirit, and are, when the unity of the Spirit is kept in the bond of Peace; but they, tho' of one Spirit, are not one Fle&s;h: its Matrimony only that makes of twain one Fle&s;h, onene&s;s in Spirit and Soul ought to be fir&s;t in them that Marry and become one Fle&s;h: So it was with our fir&s;t Parents. God that gave Man a VVoman to be a Meet-help, did not give her a Spirit, nor Soul differing from him in in&s;titutions, and to be no help to him in the be&s;t things; to &s;ay &s;o, is little le&s;s then to charge Almighty God with de&s;igning <HI>Adams</HI> hurt, yea, his fall, in giving him a VVife of a different Spirit from his; Cro&s;s and perver&s;e, as if &s;he were to be even de&s;ignedly a Thorne in his &s;ide, and a &s;nare to cau&s;e him to fall.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>I am thus far very well &s;atisfied that Mr. <HI>T.</HI> mi&s;takes are great, and his a&s;&s;ertions fal&s;e, and that I may be yet more &s;atis|fied, pray go to the next.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>His next is from <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.26. and then he makes a &s;tir, and &s;aith Expo&s;itors are not agreed about the Interpretation, <HI>and therefore to conclude from that place, tho&s;e were the Church of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol. 5.</NOTE>
<PB N="8" REF="7"><HI>the Sons of God, in oppo&s;ition to carnal and Worldly men, is altoge|ther un&s;afe,</HI> but then again he &s;aith, it's uncertain to determine who tho&s;e Sons of God were, <HI>Gen.</HI> 6.2. for he &s;aith <HI>the Scrip|ture doth not explain what, nor who they were, nor from whence: and the Learned are not agreed about it.</HI> But then after he hath rai&s;ed the Mud, (by &s;aying the Learned are not agreed) that we &s;hould not &s;ee to the bottom, he brings forth another opinion as &s;trange as untrue,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol. 6.</NOTE> that the Sons of God mentioned, <HI>Gen.</HI> 6. were a generation of Men, begot by <HI>Adam</HI> before his fall; all this <HI>Mr. D.</HI> hath an&s;wered, and I think &s;ufficiently; yet for your content, I &s;hall add a little.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, It would be a hard thing I &s;uppo&s;e for <HI>Mr. T.</HI> to prove that <HI>Adam</HI> did know his VVife, or beget a Child before his fall, he &s;hould fir&s;t a proved, that before he had offered &s;o ma|ny Impertinencies and Contradictions about it; be&s;ides what <HI>Mr. Denn</HI> hath &s;aid to refute him. Methinks <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.1. &s;eems not only to import that <HI>Cain</HI> was their fir&s;t Son, <HI>I have gotten a Man from the Lord,</HI> but that <HI>Adam</HI> knew not his VVife before, <HI>and Adam knew Eve his Wife, and &s;he conceived and bare Cain:</HI> now this was after the fall, they had &s;inne, God had told them what their puni&s;hment &s;hould be, and they were driven out of the Garden of <HI>Eden</HI> before this, <HI>Gen.</HI> 3. therefore no Generation begotten by <HI>Adam</HI> could Inhabit the Garden of <HI>Eden,</HI> all his &s;eed was drove out with him, being yet in his Loines.</P>
<P>Secondly, The Sons of God <HI>Gen.</HI> 6. then undoubtedly mu&s;t be under&s;tood to be the then Church of God, the godly who feared, and &s;erved the Lord, and were &s;eperated from the wick|ed, and ungodly, tho&s;e &s;ons of God <HI>&s;aw that the Danghters of men were fair, and they took them wives of all which they cho&s;e, Gen.</HI> 6.2. See the <HI>Dutch</HI> Annotations for this upon, <HI>Gen.</HI> 6.2. they &s;ay thus, <HI>Gods Sons looked on the Daughters of men, by the&s;e Sons of God</HI> (&s;ay they) <HI>are under&s;tood the po&s;terity of the faithful Fore-fathers</HI> (note this) <HI>making profe&s;&s;ion of the true Religion, and being with their Families (which con&s;tituted the Church of God) &s;eperated from the unbelieving, and Carnal generation of</HI> Cain, (mark this al&s;o) <HI>as on the contrary by Daughters of men are prin|cipally under&s;tood tho&s;e of</HI> Cains <HI>Po&s;terity practi&s;ing Idolatry, and living after the fle&s;h: They were fair</HI> [<HI>Heb.</HI> Good] <HI>i.e. fair, and they took them Wives out of all they had cho&s;en</HI> (note this) <HI>Regarding onely the outward Beauty, and Worldly plea&s;ure, not the true Reli|gion,
<PB N="9" REF="7">and fear of the Lord, nor their hone&s;t Parents con&s;ent.</HI> See Gen. 26.34, 35.</P>
<P>Doctor Babington al&s;o &s;aith, <HI>touching the fir&s;t,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See Dr. Babing|ton Bi&s;hop of Wor|ce&s;ter his notes on the</HI> 6th. <HI>Chap. of Gen.</HI></NOTE> <HI>it teacheth us as I &s;aid the great and grievous Corruptions of Man, who the more bound he is for Mercy to &s;erve God truly, the more apt and prone he is to offend him highly.</HI></P>
<P><HI>The Lord had now increa&s;ed Mankind. and made them many to their great Comforts, if they could have v&s;ed it, and now with|out all regard and thankfullne&s;s for &s;uch his goodne&s;s, headily, and ha&s;tily, wickedly and ungodly, they provoked him to anger and great di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t them, by fle&s;hly following their own wills, and every Man Marrying as he be&s;t liked for outward Beauty, without regard of Gods likeing, and inward Virtue, the Sons of God, that is the Children of the Godly, &s;aw the Daughters of men, that is of wicked parents de&s;cended, &s;uch as</HI> Cain <HI>was, that they were fair, and they took them Wives of all that they liked.</HI></P>
<P>Here you &s;ee that the&s;e learned Authors are not of Mr. <HI>Torys</HI> mind nor tho&s;e Fathers (as he calls them) named by him.</P>
<P>This Fable of his (for &s;o de&s;ervedly it may be called) rather becomes tho&s;e &s;ort of men that &s;eek to make Religion odious, and the Scripture rediculous than any &s;ober man to publi&s;h.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> But one would wonder, if there were &s;uch men in <HI>Eden</HI> as he dreams of, what &s;hould come in their minds that they being in &s;o goodly a place as <HI>Eden</HI> was, &s;hould go out of it, knowing too, that their Father <HI>Adam,</HI> and there Mother <HI>Eve</HI> was drove out in Ju&s;t Judgment for their Sin, could they ima|gin that they were drove out of Goodly <HI>Eden</HI> for their Sin, into a better place for their Puni&s;hment, for out of <HI>Eden</HI> they mu&s;t come to &s;ee the Beauty of the Daughters of men, they could not go into <HI>Eden</HI> to &s;hew them how fair they were, God &s;et a Guard to wit Cherubims and a Flaming Sword which turned every way to keep the Tree of Life, and I am apt to believe that if their were any innocent Generation of <HI>Adam</HI> left in <HI>Eden</HI> as there was not, they could no more come out of it, then his nocent Generation could get into it, therefore this opinion he labours &s;o much to prove true, doth prove both fal&s;e and re|diculous.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>You do Brother give me content indeed, I &s;ee more and more that there is no weight in what Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith; but now he further &s;aith &s;uppo&s;e this be a Dream, nay allowing that the&s;e
<PB N="10" REF="8">men were the &s;ons of <HI>Seth,</HI> and the Women were the Daughters of <HI>Cain</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Yet this would not prove tho&s;e Marriages &s;infull,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol. 8.</NOTE> or that the World was drowned, becau&s;e of tho&s;e Marriages, Pray give me &s;ome light in that.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>I &s;hall do my Endeavour &s;o to do.</P>
<P>His rea&s;on is if tho&s;e Marriages were &s;infull then they were the breach of &s;ome Law, which he de&s;ires may be &s;hown in An&s;wer to &s;even queries which are the&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. What Law they broke?</P>
<P N="2">2. When that Law was given?</P>
<P N="3">3. By whom it was given?</P>
<P N="4">4. To whom it was given?</P>
<P N="5">5. Where it was given?</P>
<P N="6">6. The penalty for breaking it?</P>
<P N="7">7. The reward promi&s;ed to tho&s;e that kept it?</P>
<P>A parcell of unlearned que&s;tions fitter to &s;tumble the weak then to edifie them, and truly I find men void of truth, to dote much about que&s;tions, but yet for their &s;akes who are weak I will an&s;wer them.</P>
<P>His fir&s;t Querie is <HI>what Law they broke.</HI></P>
<P>I an&s;wer they broke the Law of God, he is the Law Maker yea the Maker of all Laws to his People, it was the Law of God, that the Sons of God broke in Marrying with the Daughters of men, a Law made by the Lord that none of the Godly &s;hould marry with the ungodly and &s;uper&s;titious, as is manife&s;t the Lord was grieved at it, <HI>he repents that he had made Man.</HI> What &s;hould cau&s;e the Lord to repent that he had made man? but Sin, which is the breach of a law, and what &s;hould grieve him at his Heart, but the rebellion and wickedne&s;s of man? Was it not the Rebellion (which is as the Sin of Witch-craft) of Gods People that vexed his Holy Spirit? <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 63.10. Yea and what &s;hould kindle the wrath and anger of God again&s;t man &s;o much, as to take away his Pitty and Compa&s;&s;ion from him, that man and all other Creatures mu&s;t be de&s;troyed from off the Earth, could any thing thus provoke the Lord but Sin? yea and mu&s;t it not be a grievous hatefull &s;in too, that &s;hall thus move that God that is &s;low to anger to &s;uch an unalterable re&s;o|lution to de&s;troy man without pity, the Sin of the Godly in mar|rying with the ungodly is that Capital Sin that did all this,
<PB N="11" REF="8">more e&s;pecially than any other; that fills up their mea&s;ure, makes them ripe for this wofull de&s;truction; as al&s;o &s;aith Dr <HI>Babington</HI> upon the &s;ame place.</P>
<P><HI>We &s;ee</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>how grievous a thing unequall Marriages be when the Godly with the &V;ngodly, the believing with the infidel, the Religious with the &s;uper&s;titious, are unequally Yoked: &s;urely even &s;o grievous to God, that for this cau&s;e e&s;pecially, the whole world was di&s;troyed by the Floud; the Lord doth not change, he di&s;liketh it &s;till, it is a &s;ecret Poy&s;on that de&s;troyed Virtue more &s;peedily than any thing.</HI> Our Saviour him&s;elf &s;ums up the &s;in of tho&s;e times under two general Heads as the principal procuring cau&s;e of their de&s;truction; <HI>Luke</HI> 17.26.27. <HI>And as it was in the Days of</HI> Noe, <HI>&s;o &s;hall it be al&s;o in the Day of the Son of Man. They did Eat, they Drank, they Married Wives, they were given in Marriage, untill the Day that</HI> Noe <HI>Entred into the Ark: and the Floud came and de&s;troyed them all.</HI> See Mat. 24.37.38. Eating and Drinking in it &s;elf was, nor is no &s;in, but exce&s;&s;ive, gluttonous, voluptuous cating and drinking is &s;infull and very di&s;plea&s;ing to the Lord. Even &s;o Marrying wives, and giving in marriages was nor is in it &s;elf no &s;in, but to marry contrary to the mind, and Law of God, was then and is now &s;infull, it was again&s;t the mind and law of God when the Godly with the ungodly, the Believing with the Infidel, the Religious with the &s;uper&s;titious &s;hall marry together, this was the Sin of the old world, <HI>the Sons of God &s;aw that the Daughters of men were fair, and they took them Wives of all they cho&s;e.</HI> Gen. 6.2. This grieved the Lord at his Heart, this brought the Flood upon them.</P>
<P N="2">2. Querie is <HI>when that Law was given?</HI></P>
<P>I an&s;wer, it was given after the fall when there was a Church con&s;tituted, before the Sons of God took the Daughters of men and made them their wives, the Law preceded the Fact, the Ju&s;t God did not make a Law after the deed done to make it &s;in, but he had made it before, and given it before they lu&s;ted after the Beauty of the Daughters of men, and had taken them wives of all that they cho&s;e. Which Law they broke in &s;o do|ing.</P>
<P N="3">3. Querie <HI>by whom it was given.</HI></P>
<P>An&s;wer. By the Lord, 'twas his law, he gave it. See my an&s;wer to the fir&s;t Querie.</P>
<PB N="12" REF="9">
<P N="4">4. Querie. <HI>To whom it was given.</HI></P>
<P>An&s;wer. To the Sons of God, the Church, who were the true wor&s;hippers of God, this Law was given to them, that they mu&s;t not marry the Daughters of men, <HI>viz.</HI> the Idolatrous and &s;uper&s;titious.</P>
<P N="5">5. Querie. <HI>Where it was given.</HI></P>
<P>An&s;wer. Out of <HI>Eden</HI> in <HI>A&s;ia</HI> (mo&s;t likely where the Church was gathered and then or at that time was.</P>
<P N="6">6. Querie. <HI>The Penalty for breaking it.</HI></P>
<P>An&s;wer. The Penalty was Death, they peri&s;hed all of them by the Flood, &s;aving Eight Souls, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.20. The&s;e Died not by the Sword of a Magi&s;trate, but by the immediate hand of a grieved God who &s;hut up all Bowels of Compa&s;&s;ion, their &s;in was &s;o great and highly provoking, that he de&s;troyed them, even for this &s;in of marrying contrary to his Law, and will, among the re&s;t of their &s;ins and wickedne&s;s.</P>
<P N="7">7. Querie. <HI>The Reward promi&s;ed to tho&s;e that kept it.</HI></P>
<P>An&s;wer. Peace here, and Eternal Life hereafter through Chri&s;t. He was promi&s;ed <HI>Gen.</HI> 3.15. And in him (no doubt) the promi&s;e of Life to them that kept the Law of God.</P>
<P>Thus have I briefly an&s;wered his unlearned and impertinent queries.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>I now &s;ee there is nothing in his Queries, to what I, and &s;ome others thought, and that they tend rather to vain jang|ling than Godly Edifing. I pray you Brother proceed.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>In the next place, he would have us con&s;ider, that the Act of marriage might be lawfull, and yet the accident that might follow unlawfull. This may be true, but what is this to the purpo&s;e, &s;uch a thing as this may be, a man that is a mem|ber of a Church, believed, and looked upon by all his Brethren to be a faithfull Godly per&s;on, and he may marry lawfully a Si&s;ter that is of the &s;ame Faith Pious and Virtuous, and yet it may &s;o happen that he may turn with the Dog to his vomit, and with the Sow, that is wa&s;hed to the wallowing in the mire. 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.22. And grow &s;o wicked as to beat her brains out, or cut her Throat, and this accident (if you will call it &s;o) is al|together unlawful, and &s;infull, and yet notwith&s;tanding it thus prov'd their act in marrying was lawfull. But if a Believer &s;hould marry with a woman that is an Unbeliever, that very act in it &s;elf is unlawful and is mo&s;t commonly attended with
<PB N="13" REF="9">evil, (I will not call them Accidents) as the only wi&s;e God fore|&s;ay; <HI>for they will</HI> (&s;aith the Lord) <HI>turn away thy Son from fol|lowing of me</HI> &amp;c. See Deut. 7.3.4. And more the Lord &s;aith, <HI>they &s;hall be Snares, and Traps unto you, and Scourges in your Sides, and Thorns in your Eyes,</HI> &amp;c. Jo&s;h. 23.13. The truth of which hath in our days been plainly made manife&s;t, both by practice and experience to the ruine of &s;ome Souls, and the wo|full condition others have been brought into by their &s;o marry|ing, as their is many Examples of in our Days, but what then do his four In&s;tances &s;ignifie, to what do they tend, but only to puzzle the minds and heads of the ignorant and weak, un|lawfull things may follow a lawfull Act; But that lawfull thing is no cau&s;e of the unlawfull Act. Such a thing is po&s;&s;ible as is &s;hewed above, what then may men do unlawfull acts, becau&s;e &s;ometimes unlawful things follow lawfull acts; no &s;ure no wi&s;e man will &s;ay &s;o.</P>
<P>But farther Mr. <HI>T.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol. 9.</NOTE> Saith its hard to conceive that the&s;e mar|riages were &s;infull, if we con&s;ider that God ble&s;&s;ed them, with a great Ble&s;&s;ing in giving them an honourable Off-&s;pring, <HI>Gen.</HI> 6.4.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Mr. <HI>T.</HI> I perceive forgot here what he wrote before <HI>Pag.</HI> 7 where he calls them Prodigious Births, that here in the 9 <HI>Pag.</HI> He &s;aith was an honourable Off-&s;pring, thinking there|by to ju&s;tifie the lawfulne&s;s of the Sons of God, their taking them wives of the Daughters of Men.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> wherein were they honourable, <HI>Gen.</HI> 6.4. Saith <HI>there were Gyants in the Earth in tho&s;e Days, and al&s;o after that when the Sons of God came in unto the Daughters of Men, and they bare Children to them, the &s;ame became mighty men, which were of old men of renown.</HI> Becau&s;e the Text &s;aith they were men of Renown, therefore I conceive Mr. <HI>T.</HI> Thinks they were an honourable Off-&s;pring, in which he will &s;ee him&s;elf mi&s;|taken, if he co&s;ult the Dutch Annotations upon that very ver&s;e of the 6. of <HI>Gen.</HI> 4. There words are the&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>In tho&s;e days there were Giants upon the Earth,</HI> [i.e. <HI>Men of taller stature and more &s;trength then others.</HI> Num. 13.33. <HI>The Hebrew word &s;ignifiing Giants is deduced from falling, in regard that they being fallen off from God, fell upon Men with all manner of Violence and Tyranny, fearing neither God nor man, whereby every one that &s;aw them grew dejected, his heart and courage fail|ing
<PB N="14" REF="10">and falling to the ground, as it were before them. This mat|ter is likewi&s;e brought in here, as a particular cau&s;e, and provoca|tion of Gods Wrath,] and thereafter al&s;o when Gods Sons were gone into the Daughters of men, [or come, whereby is Mode&s;tly and &s;o|berly implyed the Cohabitation of Man and Wife,] and had gotten to them&s;elves (Children) [or then they tho&s;e women namely did bear (children to their Hu&s;bands:] the&s;e are the mighty (or powerfull) ones, that have been of old, Men of name</HI> [i.e. <HI>Famous and Re|nowned Men, who according to the Worlds Account and Judgment had atchieved great things.</HI> By which Mr. <HI>T.</HI> may perceive that tho&s;e men or Giants he &s;aith was an honourable Off-&s;pring, were rather an Abominable Off-&s;pring in the &s;ight of God, for their wickedne&s;s, tyranny and violence, they filled the Earth with Violence, <HI>Gen.</HI> 6.11. And were only famous and re|nowned men, in the then worlds account and judgment.</P>
<P>But farther &s;aith Mr. <HI>T.</HI> if the&s;e marriages were &s;infull, yet not the &s;in for which God had de&s;troyed the old world.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> if Mr. <HI>T.</HI> meaning is that God did not de&s;troy the old world for that only Sin. I know no man doth affirm he did, but mixt marriages was one &s;in among the many, (and that not one of the lea&s;t) for which God did de&s;troy the world as I have &s;hewed above.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> And to prove his a&s;&s;ertion he brings forth two rea|&s;ons without any force in them, <HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> &s;aith he <HI>the&s;e marriages if unlawfull, yet could they not be univer&s;al, and God doth not puni&s;h &s;everely and univer&s;ally for the &s;in of a few as is plain in the ca&s;e of</HI> Sodom. Gen. 18.3.</P>
<P>If ever there was a man that did affirm that God de&s;troyed the old world only for the &s;in of mixt marriages, and that God de&s;troyed the world for the &s;in of his Children in it only, Mr. <HI>T.</HI> hath almo&s;t by his rea&s;on confuted him, but there is, nor never was as I know, any man that ever did &s;o affirm, there|fore his rea&s;on is in&s;ignificant and not at all to his purpo&s;e. But his &s;econd rea&s;on is, the &s;in for which the world was drowned, was not only great but univer&s;al, Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith true in this, it was &s;o, but withall Mr. <HI>T.</HI> mu&s;t know that though they had &s;inned univer&s;ally, that Gods Children had &s;inned particularly, and that grieved the Lord at his Heart, and al&s;o that they &s;in|ned in that particular thing too, in taking wives of the Daugh|ters of men, then God repents he had made man, when his &s;ons
<PB N="15" REF="10">&s;inned, and re&s;olves unalterably to de&s;troy man and bea&s;t, the &s;in of his own went near his Heart, the Lord doth not find Ten Righteous in the world, none but <HI>Noe</HI> and his Family, Eight Souls &s;aved by water, the &s;in of mixt marriages then you &s;ee was a particular and &s;peciall cau&s;e of Gods wrath</P>
<P>And then la&s;tly Mr. <HI>T.</HI> makes a flouri&s;h, though all we &s;ay be true &s;aith he, <HI>yet there is no Rule to excommunicate members for it, God is Judge and Executioner, and you must have a Precept, and Precept you have none.</HI></P>
<P>To which I &s;ay that there was none to execute judgment ex|cept they &s;hould one wicked man puni&s;h another. For there was not a Righteous man left but <HI>Noah,</HI> they were all corrupted. Therefore God mu&s;t puni&s;h them him&s;elf, <HI>Noah</HI> was not able. But whether we have a Precept or no to excommunicate &s;uch as &s;in in marrying, we &s;hall &s;peak to in its place and notwith&s;tanding his Confidence, prove there is precept for the &s;ame.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>You have well &s;atisfied me in this thing about the Sons of God, in, who they were, that their &s;in was great in marrying the Daughters of men, that it was a cau&s;e of the drowning of the world, &amp;c. Now I pray, let me hear your judgment in the re&s;t, and I hope I &s;hall receive full &s;atisfaction thereby.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yea I &s;hall examine Mr <HI>Tories</HI> Book farther.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol. 10.</NOTE> And I find that Mr. <HI>T.</HI> having &s;tated a que&s;tion after his own mind, ex|plains his meaning, &s;aying by In&s;titutions he means under the law, Circumci&s;ion, and the Pa&s;&s;over, &amp;c.</P>
<P>And under the Go&s;pel he means Bapti&s;m, breaking of Bread, and laying on of hands, but as Mr. <HI>D.</HI> &s;aith, why not Repen|tance and Faith, doth he not hold them to be in&s;titutions, God po&s;itively commands all men every where to repent, <HI>Acts</HI> 17.30. VVell but take him as he hath writ, &s;ee what it will amount to, per&s;ons differing about Bapti&s;m may marry, he holds, <HI>viz.</HI> They that were &s;prinkled being Babes, which is no Bapti&s;m, and the per&s;ons &s;o &s;prinkled who are for all that, &s;till unbapti&s;ed per&s;ons, yet is it lawfull for tho&s;e that are bapti&s;ed according to the will of Chri&s;t and the truth of the Go&s;pel, to marry with them that never were baptized as he holds.</P>
<P>So touching the Lords Supper, tho&s;e that differ about that In|&s;titution he will &s;ay, may lawfully marry; the Papi&s;ts, they hold the bread is tran&s;ub&s;tantiated, being Con&s;ecrated by the Prie&s;t, and is the very reall Body or Fle&s;h of Chri&s;t, therefore
<PB N="16" REF="11">is the bread by the Papi&s;ts believed to be a God, or the &s;econd Per&s;on in the <HI>Trinity,</HI> and they own it to be their God and Savi|our, and accordingly they reverence and wor&s;hip the Ho&s;t, what is this but Idolatry, and yet Mr. <HI>T.</HI> holds, that a true Chri&s;tian that holds and practi&s;eth that &s;acred In&s;titution of the Lords Supper in the purity of it may marry with a papi&s;t, (or el&s;e he &s;aith no|thing) that is an Idolater, and then if &s;o pray why not with one that makes him a God of VVood, Stone, Gold or Silver, or that wor&s;hipeth the Hoa&s;t of Heaven, even a Pagan, an Infidel or any. &s;o that in very deed it will amount to what Mr. <HI>Denn</HI> &s;aith in the que&s;tion &s;tated by him in the 15 <HI>Page</HI> of his Book. <HI>(viz)</HI> Whe|ther a contract of marriage, made between two per&s;ons of diffe|rent per&s;wa&s;ions in all matters of Religion, be lawfull or unlawful.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>T.</HI> mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity take the affirmative of this as well as his own, which tho more darkly laid down, yet have I given you the truth of his Judgment. VVhich he mu&s;t be forced to own, or el&s;e give a more plain and candid explanation of his own mind.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>You have well opened his que&s;tion, I &s;ee he hath a large latitude the truth is, I &s;ee more and more of his &s;ubtilty, but pray go on.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>I do not &s;ee but that Mr. <HI>Denn</HI> hath an&s;wered Mr. <HI>T.</HI> fully enough, about his an&s;wering the care, the virtuous had to avoid the marrying of their Children to the People of the Land, what Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith in that, is not worth the taking notice of more than Mr. <HI>D.</HI> hath already done, indeed that which is mo&s;t worthy the noting and an&s;wering is his bold and po&s;itive affirm|ing that, what they did to wit, <HI>Abraham</HI> for his Son <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> and <HI>I&s;aac</HI> for his Son <HI>Jacob.</HI> In their care to provide wives for them was not upon a Religious Account, <HI>but &s;ure I am</HI> &s;aith <HI>Mr.</HI> T.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol. 10.</NOTE> <HI>not upon the account of Religion, and</HI> although Mr. <HI>D.</HI> hath taken the pains to an&s;wer him more at large, yet in few words let me tell you it is plain, and undeniable, that their care to marry their Chiidren was upon a religious account, by the words of <HI>Rebecca</HI> to <HI>J&s;aac, I am</HI> (&s;aith &s;he) <HI>weary of my Life, becau&s;e of the Daughters of</HI> Heth, <HI>if</HI> Jacob <HI>take a wife of the Daughters of</HI> Heth, <HI>&s;uch as the&s;e which are of the Daughters of the Land, what good &s;hall my Life do me.</HI> Gen. 27.46. VVas not this a Religious Care in <HI>Rebecca,</HI> upon what account &s;hould &s;he thus &s;peak but on a religious one, it is more then probable
<PB N="17" REF="11">that <HI>Jacob</HI> might find among the daughters of <HI>Heth</HI> as beautiful, as wealthy, yea in all worldly re&s;pects as good accommodations among the daughters of <HI>Heth</HI> as in the Family of <HI>Laban,</HI> being wealthy people, having po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, able to give to <HI>Abraham</HI> a bu|rying place for his dead, nor were they &s;uch Enemies to <HI>Abraham</HI> that they did not think him fit to live, for they were ready and willing to give him freely a burying place for his dead, a great kindne&s;s, in which much love they &s;hewed to <HI>Abraham</HI> a &s;tranger among&s;t them, though <HI>Abraham</HI> would and did purcha&s;e it with his Mony, this was in <HI>Hebron</HI> in the Land of <HI>Canaan Gen.</HI> 23. Read the whole Chapter. They were <HI>Canaanites,</HI> irreligious or idola|ters, and that is the cau&s;e of <HI>Rebecca's</HI> care le&s;t her Son &s;hould join in affinity with Idolaters, yea farther, <HI>E&s;au</HI> though he had &s;old his Birth-right, and had lo&s;t his Fathers ble&s;&s;ing, yet his marrying of <HI>Judith</HI> the Daughter of <HI>Beezi</HI> the Hittite, and <HI>Ba&s;hemath</HI> the Daughter of <HI>Elon</HI> the Hittite <HI>was a grief of mind unto</HI> I&s;aac <HI>and</HI> Rebecca, Gen. 26.34, 25.</P>
<P>Any wordly di&s;advantage that <HI>E&s;au</HI> had in his taking the&s;e women to wife, could not be the cau&s;e of <HI>I&s;aac's</HI> and <HI>Rebecca's</HI> grief, for he waxed Rich upon it, as appears <HI>Gen.</HI> 33.9. God|ly Parents may grieve for the Poverty of their Children, for their ill fortunes in the world, but <HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Rebecca</HI> had no cau&s;e to grieve for <HI>E&s;au</HI> in that re&s;pect, that which is the greate&s;t cau&s;e of grief to Godly Parents, is to &s;ee their children &s;tuborn|ly rebel again&s;t God and them, then will they grieve for their Souls, when they mi&s;carry in the be&s;t things, when they &s;in again&s;t God, and ca&s;t off True Religion, this is cau&s;e of grief, when they have no regard to Gods Law, this cau&s;ed <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> and <HI>Rebecca</HI> to grieve for <HI>E&s;au,</HI> he married &s;infully and irreligioufly.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>The thing is plain enough, that upon the account of Rely. ligion the <HI>Patriarchs</HI> care was to choo&s;e wifes for their Sons, I &s;ee it is not good to be &s;o confident as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> is in this matter. But pray &s;peak to the &s;econd, to wit the command of God.</P>
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<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>I &s;hall, but it would make one almo&s;t blu&s;h to think what a &s;hame it is to Religion for a man to &s;ay that cautions are no commands at all in a proper &s;ence, but that they relate to pru|dent, and Politick Government. VVhere he puts no difference between one caution and another: but generally hints, that cau|&s;ions are no commands at all; &amp;c. I have indeed heard &s;ome &s;ay (and have heard of more) Athei&s;ts, and Ranters that have
<PB N="18" REF="12">&s;aid the Scripture was politickly writ by crafty men, (who would make them&s;elves great) to keep the people in &s;ubjection to them, but for a man profe&s;&s;ing Religion, to &s;ay that which is &s;o like to tho&s;e wicked men, may cau&s;e &s;hame and &s;orrow of heart.</P>
<P>But <HI>Secondly,</HI> are not cautions commands, though they do &s;ound in words &s;omething different from &s;uch Phra&s;es as the&s;e, thou &s;halt do no Murder, and negatively thus, Thou &s;halt not &s;teal. <HI>&amp;c.</HI> VVhat &s;hall we make of that in <HI>Jo&s;h.</HI> 23.11. <HI>Take good heed therefore unto your &s;elves that you love the Lord your God.</HI> doth this caution relate only to prudent and politick government, or is it not as truly, and in its proper &s;ence a command, as what Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>thou &s;halt love the Lord thy God, with all thy Heart, this is the fir&s;t and great Commandment.</HI> Mat. 22.37, 38. Sure|ly to love the Lord is our great duty, and the duty enforced as powerfully in cautional termes, when &s;o given, <HI>take heed that you love,</HI> &amp;c. As when in po&s;itive expre&s;&s;ions, <HI>thou &s;halt love,</HI> &amp;c. And the caution equivalent with the po&s;itive command, the Lord had before time po&s;itively commanded <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to love him, then can <HI>Jo&s;huahs</HI> caution [take heed] be (though not anew) yet the &s;ame command brought afre&s;h to their minds, what God before had po&s;itively commanded, <HI>neither &s;halt thou make marriages with them: thy Daughters thou &s;halt not give unto his Son, nor his Daughters &s;halt thou take unto thy Son,</HI> Deut. 7.3. Here the Lord is po&s;itive, <HI>neither &s;halt thou make marriages with them;</HI> &amp;c. Again are not cautions commands, what &s;hall we make of this then, <HI>take heed Brethren le&s;t there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the Living God.</HI> Heb. 3.12. See Mat. 24.4. VVas this caution given by the Spirit of God, and doth it relate only to prudent and politick govern|ment, and is it no evil in it &s;elf, nor no breach of a po&s;itive com|mand for Believers to be heedle&s;s, and negligent in their chri&s;ti|an duties, and &s;o &s;uffer an evil heart of unbelief to be in them, and thereby to depart from the living God, is unbelief no &s;in, and to depart from the living God no &s;in, no breach of Gods Law? <HI>Be a&s;toni&s;hed Q ye Heavens at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very de&s;olate &s;aith the Lord, for my People have committed two evils, they have for&s;aken me the Fountain of living waters, and hewed them out Cisterns, broken Ci&s;terns that will hold no water.</HI> Jer. 2.12, 13. To depart from God is an a&s;toni&s;hing &s;in, the
<PB N="19" REF="12">&s;in of &s;ins, the mo&s;t grievous God provoking Soul damning &s;in, and yet prohibited, or forbid no otherwi&s;e then with a <HI>take heed Brethren,</HI> &amp;c. in Heb. 3.12.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> You &s;ee that the Lord is po&s;itive, <HI>thou &s;halt not make marriages with them, thy Daughter &s;halt (note) thou not give unto his Son, nor take his Daughter unto thy &s;on.</HI> Deut. 7.3. As po|&s;itive in this, as in <HI>Exod.</HI> 20. <HI>ver.</HI> 7. <HI>Thou &s;halt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.</HI> ver&s;e 13.14. <HI>Thou &s;halt not kill, thou &s;halt not commit Adultery.</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Therefore that which you ought to take notice of is, that though cautional prohibitions, &s;eem not to carry the &s;ame Au|thority with them, in phra&s;e, or manner of &s;peaking, as that which is given in po&s;itive terms doth, yet they have the &s;ame au|thority and enforce the Duty equally with po&s;itives, becau&s;e they are grounded upon po&s;itive laws, as for Example, <HI>take good heed therefore unto your &s;elves that you love the Lord your God,</HI> Jo&s;. 23.11. This caution is grounded upon a Commandment, or po&s;itive law; <HI>Thou &s;halt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Mind, this is the Fir&s;t and great Commandment</HI> &s;aith our Saviour. Mat. 22.37, 38.</P>
<P>Than no man that is in his right mind, and of a willing heart to obey the Lord, will thus &s;huffle and &s;ay, that cautions are no commands at all, and to in&s;inuate they do not relate to piety and devotion, doth it not relate to piety and devotion, that we &s;hould love the Lord our God, and that we &s;hould take heed le&s;t their be an evil heart of unbelief in us, in departing from the living God, &s;ure it doth in the highe&s;t degree, even &s;o are cautions of like authority in this thing now under debate; as that in <HI>Jo&s;h. take good heed unto your &s;elves, that you love the Lord your God, el&s;e if you in any wi&s;e go back, and cleave to the Remnant of the&s;e Nations, even the&s;e that remain among you, and &s;hall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: Know for a certainty, that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of the&s;e Nations from before you; but they &s;hall be Snares and Traps unto you, and &s;courges in your &s;ides, and Thorns in your Eyes, un|til you peri&s;h from off this good Land, which the Lord your God hath given you.</HI> Jo&s;h. 23.11, 12, 13. This is only a caution, will Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;ay, and <HI>cautions if rightly con&s;idered, are no com|mands at all in a proper &s;ence,</HI> but con&s;idering that <HI>Jo&s;huahs</HI> cau|tion is grounded upon a po&s;itive law or command of God, <HI>thou</HI>
<PB N="16" REF="13">
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<PB N="20" REF="15"><HI>&s;halt not make marriages with them, thy Daughter thou &s;halt not give to his Son, nor his Daughter &s;halt thou take to thy Son,</HI> Deut. 7.3. It hath the like preceptive authority, as where mixt marri|ages is in po&s;itive terms forbidden or prohibited.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> But Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith they relate only to prudent and politick Government, as may appear from the &s;ence of the words, which advi&s;eth (&s;aith he) to forbear the&s;e marriages not as God enjoyns other things, becau&s;e they were Abominations, Le|vit. 18.22. <HI>ver.</HI> 21. <HI>Chap.</HI> 20.1.2, 3, 4, 5.6. Well what have we here, becau&s;e they were abominations, implying that mixt marriages is no Abomination.</P>
<P>Suppo&s;e mixt marriages be no where &s;aid to be an abominati|on, doth it follow therefore that it is no &s;in, or that cautions pro|hibiting &s;uch marriages, do relate to no more than prudent and politick Government.</P>
<P>Pray where is Theft or Stealing &s;aid to be an abomination, yet I hope Mr. <HI>T.</HI> will not &s;ay that &s;tealing was forbid only, re|lating to prudent and politick government, and that it is no breach of Gods law, and con&s;equently no &s;in to &s;teal, I am &s;ure Mr. <HI>T.</HI> will not &s;ay &s;o; though I will not &s;ay but all Gods laws are prudential. God in his infinite wi&s;dom made this Law, (as al&s;o all other) that his people &s;hould not joyn in affinity with the Nations.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>T.</HI> further adds, <HI>neither as God forbids killing and &s;tealing, thou &s;halt not kill, thou &s;halt not &s;teal,</HI> I have &s;hewed above that God hath forbid mixt marriages as he forbids killing, and &s;teal|ing, <HI>Thou &s;halt not make marriages with them, thy Daughter &s;halt thou not give unto his Son, nor take his Daughter unto thy Son.</HI> Thus you &s;ee God forbids the one, as he &s;orbids the other: But Mr. <HI>T.</HI> forms you a rea&s;on for it, wherein he roundly begs the que&s;tion, becau&s;e <HI>killing and &s;tealing are evil in their own na|ture, but God</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>forbids the&s;e marriages as a thing that was not in it &s;elf evil, but might tend to evil, or open a door to evil.</HI></P>
<P>I again affirm that God doth po&s;itively forbid mixt marriages, <HI>thou &s;halt not make marriages with them;</HI> and to be di&s;obedient to &s;uch a law &s;o po&s;itive is in it &s;elf evil, and it is true it doth al|&s;o tend, and open a Door to more evil, as going a whoring af|ter other Gods, &s;o doth &s;tealing tend to, and openeth a door to more evil, as lying, the thief will lie and &s;aith he hath it not, yea and to murder as oft experience proves, and then we may
<PB N="21" REF="15">&s;ay, if what Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith be true, that &s;tealing in it &s;elf is no evil, a man that robs his neighbour doth no evil, commits no &s;in, provided he do confe&s;s, and do not lye, in denying he &s;tole, and provided when he breaks into his neighbours hou&s;e, or robs on the High-way, he doth not kill them, nor any of them he robs, this is as concluding as what Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith in his rea&s;on, and then farther if we rea&s;on this as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> doth the other, how will it look in the &s;ight of all &s;ober moral men,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fol.</HI> 14.</NOTE> neither &s;halt thou &s;teal, and why, not becau&s;e it is a &s;in and an abomination, but becau&s;e it may draw away thy Heart to commit murder, and to lye, it may be a Temptation to thee to lye and kill, yea and many more evils be&s;ides, know for a certain it will be a Snare to thee not a &s;in, not an immorality in thee, but a Snare to thee, thy heart may be drawn away by it, to murder or commit &s;ome other abominable &s;in, which &s;tealing tends, and opens a door to. Therefore it is good thou &s;houlde&s;t not &s;teal, though no &s;in in it &s;elf, but may tend to evil, or to the opening a Door to Evil. Such Rea&s;oning as this is void of Rea&s;on, if not &s;inful arguing, and yet thus doth Mr. <HI>T.</HI> argue in the ca&s;e of Mixt-Marria|ges.</P>
<P>We have a &s;aying one evil &s;eldom goes alone, it hath more attending it, as Drunkenne&s;s, what varieties of evils doth that tend and open a Door to? as Lying, Swearing, Cur&s;ing, Dam|ning, Bla&s;pheming, Adultery, Murder, abu&s;e of Wife, and Children, neglect of providing for them, nay impoveri&s;hing of them, which is to deny the Faith, and to be wor&s;e then an Infi|del. Shall we &s;ay then, that Drunkenne&s;s is no Evil in it &s;elf, if the Drunkard keep his heart with God, (as &s;ome Drunkards will &s;ay they do) and commit none of the&s;e above mentioned &s;ins, God forbid, Drunkenne&s;s is in it &s;elf although no other &s;in &s;hould attend it, a very great &s;in, one of the &s;ins of the old world. <HI>Luke</HI> 17.27. As was Mixt Marriages, as I have above pro|ved.</P>
<P>But Mr. <HI>T.</HI> Again &s;aith,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fol.</HI> 14.</NOTE> <HI>that the matter contained in the&s;e Texts (prohibiting Mixt-Marriages) is no other but a part of the Politick Law, given to I&s;rael, which altered and became &s;tronger or weaker by Occa&s;ion, and Circum&s;tance, of which kind of Laws</HI> I&s;rael <HI>had many.</HI></P>
<P><HI>I &s;hall only instance in two,</HI> &s;aith Mr. <HI>T.</HI> The fir&s;t is Deut: 20.19. <HI>When thou &s;halt be&s;iege a City a long time, in making war
<PB N="22" REF="16">again&s;t it to take it, thou &s;halt not destroy the Trees thereof by for|cing an Ax again&s;t it.</HI></P>
<P><HI>And why</HI> (&s;aith Mr. <HI>T.) not becau&s;e the thing was &s;infull, but becau&s;e thou maye&s;t eat of them.</HI></P>
<P>Doth he not worthyly conclude for negatively, not becau&s;e it is &s;infull, but Affirmatively, becau&s;e thou maye&s;t eat of them, then it &s;eems if Mr. <HI>Tory</HI> be right, God may command and <HI>I&s;|rael</HI> not obey, and it will be no &s;in: if Mr. <HI>T.</HI> had lived at that time, he would have taught Di&s;obedience enough to <HI>I&s;rael:</HI> was <HI>Sauls</HI> &s;paring the be&s;t of the Sheep, when God comman|ded him to &s;lay them, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 15.9. Such a &s;in, heightened to &s;uch a degree of greatne&s;s, and abomination, that God rejected him from being King over <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> (Notwith&s;tanding <HI>Sauls</HI> ex|cu&s;e) by <HI>Samuel</HI> as you may &s;ee, <HI>ver.</HI> 22.23. <HI>Behold</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Sa|muel) to obey is better then Sacrifice, and to hearken then the Fat of Rams, for Rebellion</HI> (&s;aith he <HI>is as the Sin of Witch-Craft, and Stubornne&s;s is as Iniquity, and Idolatry, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t rejected the word of the Lord, he hath al&s;o rejected thee from being King.</HI> And is it no &s;in to cut down tho&s;e Trees, when God had com|manded them not to cut them down, &s;ee I pray you how the Lord doubles this command; <HI>And thou &s;halt not cut them down, for the Tree of the Field is mans Life,</HI> who &s;eeth not that hath any &s;ight, that to di&s;obey God in cutting down the&s;e Trees is immoral, and a breach of that Law, that &s;aith thou &s;halt not Kill, for if he that lu&s;teth after a Woman <HI>doth commit Adultery with her in his Heart,</HI> then for a Man to concieve evil, and to have a malicious intent to take away the Life of his Neighbour, or Brother, is &s;in, and the Breach of a Moral Law, although he never actually &s;lay him, much more then would it tend to Murder, and be a Breach of that Law which &s;aith thou &s;halt not Kill, for the <HI>I&s;rae|liter</HI> to cut down the Trees of the Field under that Circum&s;tance, namely when they had Be&s;ieged a City; becau&s;e the Trees of the Field is mans life, to cut them down then in a &s;iege, were to take away and de&s;troy that which was to &s;upport mans life: but &s;aith Mr. <HI>T. not that it was &s;infull to cut them down,</HI> pray is it not equally a &s;in to de&s;troy that which God commands to be &s;pared, as it is to &s;pare that which God commanded &s;hould be de&s;troyed, as <HI>Saul</HI> did to his Ruine. But I would know of Mr. <HI>T.</HI> when, and where God told him that Mixt-Marriages in it &s;elf is not &s;infull, and when he told him that to cut the Trees that
<PB N="23" REF="16">God commanded <HI>I&s;rael</HI> they &s;hould not cut down, was not &s;in|full. Sure Mr. <HI>T.</HI> is become &s;trangly pre&s;umptious, this is al|mo&s;t to become a Competitor with God, if not to controul, and contradict him. This may &s;uffice for the other Text, <HI>Deut.</HI> 22.8. What I have already &s;aid may well &s;erve the ratio|nal, for an an&s;wer to both.</P>
<P>But Mr. <HI>T.</HI> will &s;econd it with this con&s;ideration, <HI>they were as well cautioned from making any other Covenant with them,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fol.</HI> 15.</NOTE> <HI>as the Covenant of Marriage,</HI> it is granted, but what of that, doth it prove that tho&s;e Laws were only politick, and the breach of tho&s;e laws not &s;infull, would it not have been a &s;in, if <HI>I&s;rael</HI> had made any Covenant with them, or had &s;pared any alive, that God commanded them to de&s;troy, as <HI>Saul</HI> did the Sheep, and <HI>Agag.</HI> What is this to the purpo&s;e? Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;hould prove that the Law again&s;t Mixt-Marriages is only politick, and that it is no &s;in to break them, for that is his work here, and nothing el&s;e in this place.</P>
<P>But Thirdly, (he &s;aith) <HI>the People are mi&s;taken,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fol.</HI> 15.</NOTE> as well as the thing, in concluding, that <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was forbid to Marry with all Nations in the World; the mi&s;take it &s;eems is, that God did only forbid Marriages with the Seven Nations, and not with all the Nations of the World. <HI>Deut.</HI> 7.1.2, 3. And the Seven Nations are, <HI>the Hittites, and the Girga&s;hites, and the Ammo|rites, and the Cannanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebu&s;ites, Seven Nations greater, and mightier then thou</HI></P>
<P>That the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were forbidden to marry with the&s;e Seven Nations is true, but that they were not forbidden to Marry with other Nations is al&s;o untrue; for we find <HI>Ezra</HI> 9.1. That the People &s;inned in making Marriages, with the <HI>Ammonites,</HI> the <HI>Moabites,</HI> and the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> which three Na|tions were not of the Seven, and the&s;e Three God did not command <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to de&s;troy, as he did the Seven, for as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> Confe&s;&s;eth an <HI>Ammonite</HI> and <HI>Moabite</HI> &s;hall, or may enter into the Hou&s;e of the Lord in the Tenth Generation, <HI>Deut.</HI> 23.3. And there was &s;ome rea&s;on for it, becau&s;e <HI>Ammon</HI> and <HI>Moab</HI> were the Sons of <HI>Lot,</HI> ince&s;tiou&s;ly begotten by <HI>Lot,</HI> upon his own Daughters; <HI>Gen.</HI> 19.36, 37, 38. They were &s;omewhat related to <HI>I&s;rael</HI> for <HI>Lot</HI> was <HI>Harams</HI> Son, who was the Brother of <HI>Abraham, Gen.</HI> 11.27. Yet for all that <HI>I&s;rael</HI> mu&s;t not join
<PB N="24" REF="17">a&s;&s;inity with <HI>Ammon</HI> nor <HI>Moab,</HI> as you &s;ee <HI>Ezra</HI> 9.1. So <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was commanded not to abhor an <HI>Edomite,</HI> the Rea&s;on is, <HI>for he is thy Brother,</HI> nor an Egyptian, <HI>becau&s;e thou wa&s;t a &s;tranger in his Land;</HI> Deut. 23.7. Yet <HI>I&s;rael</HI> mu&s;t not make Marriages with them as appears, not only from what is &s;aid in <HI>Ezra,</HI> but al&s;o in 1 <HI>King.</HI> 11.12 But King <HI>Solomon</HI> loved many &s;trange wo|men, together with the Daughters of <HI>Pharoah,</HI> Women of the <HI>Moabites, Ammenites,</HI> (which two la&s;t came of <HI>Lots</HI> &s;ons) <HI>Edo|mites,</HI> (which came of <HI>E&s;au, Jacobs</HI> Brother) <HI>Zidonians</HI> and <HI>Egyptians,</HI> note here is expre&s;&s;ed Five Nations more then the Se|ven before mentioned, and therefore I think the mi&s;take is in Mr. <HI>T.;</HI> for none of the&s;e Five Nations the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were allowed to marry with, no more than the &s;even they were commanded to de&s;troy, for &s;aith the Text <HI>of the&s;e Nations, con|cerning which the Lord &s;aid unto the Children of</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>ye &s;hall not go in unto them, neither &s;hall they come in unto you, for &s;urely they will turn away your hearts after their Gods.</HI> Solomon <HI>clave to tho&s;e in Love,</HI> the taking of the&s;e to wife was a Tre&s;pa&s;s, &s;ee <HI>Ezra.</HI> 9.4. A for&s;aking Gods Commandments, <HI>ver.</HI> 10.11, 12.14. See <HI>Neh.</HI> 13.23.24, 25.26, 27. <HI>ver&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>Pray hear what Mr. <HI>An&s;worth</HI> &s;aith <HI>of making Marriages, or joining in affinity, by way of Marriage, this concerned not the Seven Nations only, but all the Heathens;</HI> Ezra 9.1, 2. <HI>The</HI> Hebrews <HI>&s;ay an</HI> I&s;raelite <HI>that lieth with an Heathen Woman of any other Na|tion, by way of Marriages, or an</HI> I&s;raelite <HI>that &s;o lieth with an Heathen Man, they are to be beaten by the Law; whether it be of the Seven Nations, or any other People, it is within this prohibition, and &s;o it is expounded by</HI> Ezra. Mr. <HI>An&s;worth</HI> in the&s;e words agrees you &s;ee with us, &s;aying al&s;o they that &s;inned in taking &s;trange Wives were to be beaten by the Law, and it is probable that it was &s;o among the <HI>Jews,</HI> for it is &s;aid that <HI>Nehemiah</HI> &s;mote &s;ome of them, it comes in thus, <HI>in tho&s;e days al&s;o &s;aw I</HI> Jews <HI>that had Married Wives of</HI> A&s;hdod, <HI>of</HI> Ammon, <HI>and of</HI> Moab, pray note by the way that <HI>A&s;hdod</HI> was a City, and Province of the <HI>Phi|li&s;tins, and when the</HI> Phili&s;tins <HI>took the ark of God, and brought it from</HI> Eben-Ezer <HI>unto</HI> A&s;hdod, i.e. <HI>the City,</HI> 1 Sam. 5.1. <HI>then the</HI> Phili&s;tians <HI>brought the ark of God into the Hou&s;e of</HI> Dagon, <HI>but</HI> Dagon <HI>fell before the ark, therefore neither the Prie&s;ts of</HI> Dagon, <HI>nor any that came into</HI> Dagons <HI>Hou&s;e tread on the Thre&s;hold of</HI> Dagon <HI>in</HI> A&s;hdod <HI>to this day:</HI> ver&s;e 2.3, 4, 5. Now you are to
<PB N="25" REF="17">note that the <HI>Phili&s;tians</HI> were not of the Seven Nations that God commanded the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> to de&s;troy, yet to marry Wives of <HI>A&s;hdod</HI> who were <HI>Philistians</HI> was a &s;in, as farther appears from the words of <HI>Nehemiah,</HI> and therefore I proceed; <HI>and their Children &s;pake half in the Speech of</HI> A&s;hdod, <HI>and could not &s;peak in the</HI> Jews <HI>Language, but according to the Language of each peo|ple. And I</HI> (&s;aith Nehemiah) <HI>contended with them, and cur&s;ed them, and &s;mote certain of them.</HI> (Note that) <HI>and pluckt of their Hair, and made them &s;wear by God, &s;aying ye &s;hall not give your Daughters unto their Sons, nor take their Daughters unto your Sons, or for your &s;elves.</HI> Nehem. 13.23, 24, 25. By all which it uncontroulably appears, that the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> were not to make Marriages with the Seven Nations only, but were forbid the &s;ame with all other Nations be&s;ides; although <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was com|manded not to abhor &s;ome other Nations, nor to de&s;troy them for the rea&s;ons the Lord him&s;elf gives, yet it is plain and unde|niable that it was their &s;in to make Marriages with them, which &s;hews it to be upon a Religious Account they were forbidden the &s;ame.</P>
<P>But yet Mr. <HI>T.</HI> hath a Fourth, wherein he &s;aith, there was great Rea&s;on why the <HI>Jews</HI> &s;hould make no Covenant with tho&s;e people of the Seven Nations,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>F.</HI> 16.</NOTE> and that out of &s;tate policy as well as Religion, and gives you four of them, but to what purpo&s;e, he blots paper, and troubleth his Reader with them, I do not under&s;tand, for who doth he think, will affirm that the only Wi&s;e God commanded any thing of his People, but there was great Rea&s;on for his &s;o commanding them, but I cannot pa&s;s it by, but mu&s;t take notice that Mr. <HI>T.</HI> is con&s;trained here to con|fe&s;s, that tho&s;e great rea&s;ons he mentions taketh not only &s;tate policy in, but Religion al&s;o, and &s;o he likewi&s;e concludes his Fourth Rea&s;on, but what if one &s;hould grant for arguments &s;ake that there was State Policy in the Ca&s;e; and his rea&s;on good and authentick he gives for it, may not an ill minded man, &s;uch as the Ranters, that hold nothing in it &s;elf is &s;infull, &s;ay the &s;ame, and give you rea&s;ons for it, of all Moral Precepts, not to enlarge, Let me give you among many one in&s;tance; the Law &s;aith thou &s;halt not kill, (nor) thou &s;halt not &s;teal, the&s;e commands may one &s;ay were made by <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> out of &s;tate policy for this rea&s;on, men would have &s;lain one another, had they not been re&s;trained by a Law, and &s;o there might a been a depopulating, as fa&s;t as
<PB N="26" REF="18">their was a multiplying or increa&s;ing, and &s;o the de&s;ign of God fru&s;trated, which was to make of <HI>Abraham</HI> a great Nation, for number as the Sand of the Sea which could not be numbred, and by that means they would be di&s;abled, and made uncapa|ble to overcome, and &s;ubdue their Enemies; and &s;o the pro|mi&s;e made of no effect, which the Lord made to <HI>Abraham;</HI> Gen. 17.8. <HI>And I will give unto thee, and thy Seed after thee, the Land wherein thou art a Stranger, all the Land of</HI> Canaan <HI>for an Everla&s;ting Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion; and I will be their God,</HI> Then may it as fairly be concluded, that moral Laws were but given out of &s;tate Policy, and that it is not in it &s;elf &s;infull to Kill, nor to &s;teal, as the Ranters will &s;ay; though Mr. <HI>T.</HI> will not &s;o &s;ay in this ca&s;e of Killing and Stealing, yet he doth &s;o &s;ay in the ca&s;e of Marriage. Therefore by this is &s;hewn the weakne&s;s and im|pertinency of Mr. <HI>Ts.</HI> rea&s;oning, being nothing to the thing in hand.</P>
<P>But yet I mu&s;t take &s;ome notice of his fifth Rea&s;on, wherein he &s;aith we are <HI>mi&s;taken in the extent of the Word; for I will prove</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>that the</HI> Jews <HI>might marry with &s;uch people of other Na|tions, as were uncircumci&s;ed,</HI> his Rea&s;on is <HI>the words of the prohi|bition (or caution) expre&s;&s;ing no other people then the Seven Nations, and they are expre&s;ly named, as have been &s;hewed already.</HI> Deut. 7.1.2.3. And I have &s;hewed above, that though no more be expre&s;&s;ed by name, <HI>Deut.</HI> 7.1.2, 3. Yet more are expre&s;&s;ed by name in <HI>Ezra</HI> 9.1. and <HI>Neh.</HI> 13.23. 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 11.1. And the&s;e Nations al&s;o <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;inned in making Marriages with, as all tho&s;e places &s;hew, and the&s;e Nations by name were the <HI>Moa|bites,</HI> and <HI>Ammonites,</HI> the <HI>Edomites</HI> and <HI>Zidonians,</HI> 1 <HI>King.</HI> 11.1. and the <HI>Egyptians</HI> Ezra 9.1. and the <HI>Phili&s;tians, Neho.</HI> 13.23. Nations in number &s;ix, be&s;ides the Seven Nations <HI>I&s;ra|el</HI> was commanded to de&s;troy, that <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was not to joyn in affi|nity with.</P>
<P>And he &s;aith it appears <HI>from the different re&s;pect they were to bear to the&s;e People, the</HI> Ammonites, <HI>the</HI> Moabites, <HI>the</HI> Edomite, <HI>and</HI> Egyptian.</P>
<P>I have &s;hewed without all peradventure, that the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were not to Marry with the&s;e Nations, but were, it's true, not to de&s;troy them but to give them re&s;pect for the Rea&s;on that God gives <HI>I&s;rael, thou &s;halt not abhor an</HI> Edomite <HI>becau&s;e he is thy Brother, thou &s;halt not ahhor an</HI> Egyptian, <HI>becau&s;e thou wa&s;t a
<PB N="27" REF="18">Stranger in his Land.</HI> Deut. 23.7. But by this it doth not ap|pear that the <HI>Jews</HI> might make Marriages with the&s;e Nations, but the contrary doth plainly, that they might not Marry with them, as hath been &s;hewed, but this doth plainly appear from the re&s;pect that God commands <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to bear them, that they were chiefly (if not only) commanded not to make Marriages with them, upon a religious account, becau&s;e they were Idola|ters, and uncircumci&s;ed.</P>
<P>Again he &s;aith it appears from the many Marriages that were made with the uncircumci&s;ed, and &s;ome of them by men mo&s;t eminent in the Church of the <HI>Jews;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fol.</HI> 18.</NOTE> and he begins fir&s;t with <HI>She&s;|han, now</HI> She&s;han <HI>had no Sons, but Daughters; and</HI> She&s;han <HI>had a Servant an</HI> Egyptian <HI>who&s;e name was</HI> Jarha, <HI>and</HI> She&s;han <HI>gave his Daughter to</HI> Jarha <HI>his Servant to Wife, and &s;he bare him</HI> Attai. 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 2.34, 36. Mr. <HI>T.</HI> would make this place if he could to prove that <HI>I&s;rael</HI> made Marriages with the uncircumci&s;ed, fir&s;t <HI>Jarha</HI> though an <HI>Egyptian,</HI> was <HI>She&s;hans</HI> Servant, and the Servants of the <HI>Jews</HI> were circumci&s;ed, for &s;o God commanded <HI>Abraham, Gen.</HI> 17.12, 13. See <HI>Exod.</HI> 12, 44. And therefore <HI>She&s;han</HI> might lawfully marry his Daughter to <HI>Jarha.</HI> Secondly, <HI>Jarha</HI>'s Seed is reckoned among the re&s;t in Genalogie, which would not have been, had not <HI>Jarha</HI> been pro&s;elited to the <HI>Jews</HI> Religion.</P>
<P>His Second in&s;tance is <HI>Solomons</HI> taking to Wife <HI>Pharaohs</HI> Daughter, doth this prove or di&s;prove what he &s;aith, &s;ure I am <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;inned in his taking her to VVife, <HI>did not</HI> Solomon <HI>King of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>&s;in by the&s;e things,</HI> Neh. 13.26. <HI>But King</HI> Solomon <HI>lov|ed &s;trange Women, together with the Daughters of</HI> Pharoah, &amp;c. <HI>Of the&s;e Nations concerning which, the Lord &s;aid unto the Children of</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>ye &s;hall not go into them, neither &s;hall they come in unto you, for &s;urely they will turn away your Heart after their Gods:</HI> Solomon <HI>clave unto the&s;e in Love.</HI> 1 Kings 11.12. This you &s;ee then is far from proving what Mr. <HI>T.</HI> would have it, and what he brings it for, notwith&s;tanding his Flouri&s;hing Paraphra&s;e, his third example is <HI>David</HI> and <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as to <HI>David</HI> his VVife, <HI>Maacah</HI> Daughter to <HI>Talmai</HI> King of <HI>Ge&s;hur.</HI> 2 Sam. 3.3. She might be a &s;tranger pro&s;elite, and &s;o <HI>David</HI> might lawfully Marry her, though the Scripture be &s;ilent in it, for there was one law for <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and the &s;tranger that was pro&s;elited, <HI>Exod.</HI> 12.48.49. Otherwi&s;e <HI>David</HI> did Evil, though the Scripture
<PB N="28" REF="19">pa&s;&s;eth it by in &s;ilence, and as for <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his Two VVives they might al&s;o be pro&s;elited according to the Law, el&s;e it were &s;trange that a Lawgiver &s;hould in his own per&s;on be the &s;ame Law breaker, and con&s;ider too how much he reproved it in others, <HI>Numb.</HI> 25. And though God doth ju&s;tifie <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> again&s;t <HI>Aaron,</HI> and <HI>Miriam,</HI> yet it doth not appear that he ju&s;tifies in him, his Marrying with the <HI>Ethiopian</HI> VVoman for the Lord &s;pake not a word of that, as Mr. <HI>Denn</HI> hath &s;aid, and as I further &s;ay God reproves <HI>Aaron,</HI> and <HI>Miriam</HI> for villifyng and &s;peaking irre|vently to <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as he was the Mini&s;ter of God, and in &s;uch an Honorable Office as to be the Mouth of God, to all the Lords People, and to receive Laws from the Mouth of God, and de|liver them to <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> This &s;omewhat reflected upon the Lord him&s;elf, and therefore his Anger was kindled again&s;t them, <HI>Numb.</HI> 12.9. And in this the Lord iu&s;tifies <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> &s;aying my &s;ervant <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> is not &s;o, who is faithfull in all mine Hou&s;e. <HI>ver.</HI> 7. and if &s;o <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did not Marry an <HI>Ethyopian</HI> VVoman, that was no pro&s;elite, for that had been unfaithfulne&s;s in the Hou&s;e of God, and of an evill example to <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>I&s;rael</HI> had re|ceived from the Mouth of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> this Law; <HI>Thou &s;halt not make Marriages with them:</HI> And whereas Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith that <HI>Zippo|rah</HI> the Daughter of <HI>Revel</HI> the Prie&s;t of <HI>Midian;</HI> Exod. 2.19. to the 23. VVas far from a pro&s;elite, when &s;he violently oppo|&s;ed the circumci&s;ing of her Son, <HI>Exod.</HI> 4.25, 26. He may for all that be mi&s;taken, a good Chri&s;tian VVoman might (being a tender Mother) be troubled and break out into pa&s;&s;ionate expre&s;&s;ions, unbecoming her, to &s;ee her Child bleed, and &s;mart, e&s;pecially circumci&s;ion being but a new thing to her, yet &s;he &s;o far obeyed <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> as to circumci&s;e her Son, with her own hands, as you may &s;ee <HI>Exod.</HI> 4.25. VVhich was a &s;ign &s;he was a Pro&s;ylite, and a woman that feared the God of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> an Ido|latrous woman would never a done &s;o, nor would <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> a &s;uffer|ed her to have circumci&s;ed his Son, if &s;he had been an Idolater and no pro&s;ylite.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>T.</HI> hath a fourth Rea&s;on to prove, that the <HI>Jews</HI> might Marry with other People (be&s;ides the Seven Nations) that are uncircumci&s;ed, <HI>the Jews</HI> &s;aith he <HI>were allowed to Marry with the</HI> Edomites <HI>and</HI> Egyptians, for Proof he brings Deut. 23.7, 8. <HI>Thou &s;halt not abhor an</HI> Edomite, <HI>becau&s;e he is thy Brother, thou &s;halt not abhor an</HI> Egyptian, <HI>becau&s;e thou wast a Stranger in his
<PB N="29" REF="19">Land: the Children begotten of them, &s;hall enter into the Congrega|tion in their Third Generation.</HI></P>
<P>A notable proof, becau&s;e they mu&s;t not abhor them, there|fore they may marry with them. I have &s;hewed above that it was &s;infull for the <HI>Jews</HI> to Marry with <HI>Edomites</HI> and <HI>Egypti|ans,</HI> See <HI>Ezra</HI> 9.1. 1 <HI>King.</HI> 11.1. And what need I &s;ay it over again, and for their Children entring into the Congrega|tion in their third Generation, is too light to prove mixt-marri|ages lawfull; for Ba&s;tards may come into the Congregation in their Tenth Generation, <HI>Deut.</HI> 23.2. No &s;ober man will &s;ay it is therefore lawfull to have Children of Fornication; which if Mr. <HI>T.</HI> Rea&s;ons right we may. But his fift and la&s;t rea&s;on he thinks will hit the Nail on the Head, which is <HI>they might marry with all &s;uch as they had conquered,</HI> (not with any of the Seven Nations, I hope) <HI>and if &s;o</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>then no doubt with all &s;uch they were at Peace with, that they might Marry with the Captives; &s;ee the expre&s;s word.</HI> Deut. 21.10.11.12.13.</P>
<P>But is Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;ure they mu&s;t not be pro&s;elited fir&s;t, for that is the Que&s;tion, el&s;e they have here a liberty given to violate Gods Law; but I pray what do the&s;e ceremonies u&s;ed &s;ignifie, what are they for, but to pro&s;ylite her, to wit the Captive maid, and cau&s;e her to for&s;ake her Idolatry, and to imbrace the fear and true &s;ervice of God, before he may take her to his wife, this was the end of her &s;having her Head, her pairing her Nails, her ca&s;ting away her Heatheni&s;h Garments, and the like. <HI>Deut.</HI> 21.12, 13. See the <HI>Dutch</HI> Annotations on this place. <HI>Thou &s;halt bring her into thine Hou&s;e,</HI> [Heb. <HI>into the mid&s;t of thine hou&s;e,] and &s;he &s;hall &s;have her Head, and pair her Nails,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See the</HI> Dutch <HI>Annotati|ons on</HI> Deut. 21. <HI>ver.</HI> 12.</NOTE> <HI>make her Nails, that's fit, fa&s;hion, prepare them, all the&s;e cerimonies mentioned in this and the following ver&s;e, as &s;having the Head, paring or clean&s;ing the Nails, putting off her former Heatheni&s;h Garments, bewailing her Parents</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Were a Token of puting off and for&s;aking the former Heatheni&s;h Idolatrous being, and of imbra|cing the True Religion, and of being incorporated, or imbodied in|to the People of God.</HI> Compare <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 45.11. This you &s;ee then it is not my opinion alone, but of a whole <HI>Synod</HI> of learned men, both in <HI>Holland,</HI> and many of the mo&s;t and be&s;t approved Orthodox Men (at that time) in <HI>England,</HI> then may Mr. <HI>T.</HI> be, nay no doubt is under a mi&s;take in his rea&s;oning, whereby he &s;o confidently thinks to prove, nay confidently &s;aith, <HI>I will prove
<PB N="30" REF="20">that the</HI> Jews <HI>might marry with &s;uch People of other Nations as are uncircumci&s;ed,</HI> are all of them invalid, and of no Force, but rather fal&s;ly &s;ugge&s;ted in his own mind without any &s;criptural warranty.</P>
<P><HI>F.</HI> You have as to Mr. <HI>T</HI>'s Old Te&s;tament proofs, well &s;a|tisfied me, now Brother I pray proceed to his New Te&s;tament Proofs.</P>
<P><HI>E.</HI> I &s;hall in the fear of God, as he &s;hall inable me, an&s;wer him therein al&s;o, and I pray God it may be to your &s;atisfaction and all others, and I &s;hall take them in order as they are laid down by him.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, then Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith to that, 1 Cor. 6.18. <HI>it's to be ob|&s;erved that the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks not one Word of Marriages.</HI> And I rather &s;ay (in that place) he &s;peaks of nothing el&s;e but Marriages, what means this word el&s;e, <HI>for two</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>&s;hall be one Fle&s;h,</HI> 1 Cor. 6.16. VVho doth the&s;e words refer to <HI>(&s;aith he)</HI> but to the Lord, <HI>Gen.</HI> 2.24. And they &s;hall be one Fle&s;h, <HI>i.e.</HI> a man and his wife &s;hall be one Fle&s;h.</P>
<P>Secondly, where doth (he) namely the Lord, and Lawgiver, &s;ay by &s;uch as commit common Fornication, or uncleanne&s;s, <HI>(viz.)</HI> when a man &s;hall lie with a woman or a maid that is not his VVife; <HI>For this cau&s;e &s;hall a man leave father and mother, and &s;hall cleave unto his Wife, and they twain &s;hall be one Fle&s;h, wherefore they are no more twain, but one Fle&s;h,</HI> Mat. 19.56. See <HI>Mark</HI> 10.7.8. the Lord no where ever &s;aid, that &s;uch &s;hall be one Fle&s;h, that commit &s;uch uncleanne&s;s, the committing of un|cleanne&s;s doth not make any two one Fle&s;h, it's only &s;aid of tho&s;e who are man and wife, therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of marri|age in this place, it being the &s;cope of the Apo&s;tle. Let Mr. <HI>T.</HI> take his ob&s;ervation again, and he will find, and &s;ee, it is no other thing, a man cannot be one Body with a Harlot, when he commits Folly and Uncleanne&s;s with her, there is no &s;infull act will make them twain one Fle&s;h, it's Matrimony only that makes them one Body, and &s;o if a man Marry a Harlot he then indeed becomes one Body with her, and not el&s;e.</P>
<P>Thirdly, this premi&s;ed, &s;ee the Text, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.15. <HI>Know ye not that your Bodies are the Members of Chri&s;t, &s;hall I then take the Members of Chri&s;t, and make them the members of an Harlot, God forbid.</HI> The Members of Chri&s;t who are they; tho&s;e that
<PB N="31" REF="20">are in Chri&s;t by Faith, regenerated, born again, they are <HI>Mem|bers of his Body, of his Fle&s;h, and of his Bone.</HI> Eph. 5.30. And who in a Scriptural Sence, are Harlots, not only &s;uch as pro|&s;trate their Bodies to men, but &s;uch (and they the Apo&s;tle means in this place) as are Idolaters, &s;uper&s;titious, &s;uch as wor&s;hip the true God, in a fal&s;e manner, in this &s;ence is my&s;tery <HI>Babylon,</HI> &s;aid to be the Mother of Harlots, <HI>Revel.</HI> 17.5. <HI>My&s;tery</HI> Babilon <HI>the great, the mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.</HI> They are her Children, being my&s;tery <HI>Babilons</HI> Members, and tho&s;e Harlots are &s;aid to be Fornicators, <HI>Revel.</HI> 18.3. And in that &s;ence Harlots, as in the other &s;ence the Faithfull are &s;aid to be Fle&s;h of Chri&s;ts Fle&s;h, and Bone of his Bone, being of that one body, of which Chri&s;t is the Head, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.15.16 <HI>Col.</HI> 1.24. Then &s;aith the Holy Apo&s;tle, what know ye not that he (i.e. he that is a Member of Chri&s;t which is joined to a Harlot, (that is a Daughter of the Great VVhore, <HI>Revel.</HI> 17.1.) So the wicked are &s;aid to be <HI>Sons of the Sorcere&s;s, the Seed of the Adul|terer, and the Whore,</HI> I&s;a. 57.3.) is one Body, for two &s;aith he &s;hall be one Fle&s;h, <HI>i.e.</HI> man and wife, which God forbid, that any member of Chri&s;t &s;hould make one Fle&s;h with an Idolater; what marry with a Harlot, one of the Daughters of the great VVhore, this were &s;infull, contrary to Gods Mind and Law, contrary to Holyne&s;s, and would defile that member of Chri&s;t, that &s;hould &s;o do, (and therefore God forbid) which is the Tem|ple of God, for then him &s;hall God de&s;troy: for the Temple of God is Holy, which Temple ye are, 1 <HI>Cor</HI> 6.19. therefore &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>flee Fornication, every &s;in that a man doth, is without the body; but he that committeth Fornication &s;inneth again&s;t his own Body,</HI> for a Member of Chri&s;t then, to marry a Harlot, in the &s;ence above is to commit Fornication, which the Apo&s;tle commands them to flee, <HI>ver.</HI> 18. For this &s;in is not with, out the body, it reacheth within, where the Holy Gho&s;t dwel|leth, and is a &s;in again&s;t, and which defileth, the Body, which is <HI>the Temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own,</HI> ver. 19. The rea&s;on is, <HI>for you are bought with a Price, therefore Glorifie God in your Body, and in your Spirit,</HI> which are Gods, <HI>ver.</HI> 20. Our Bodies mu&s;t be offered to God, <HI>Holy and acceptable which is our Rea&s;onable &s;er|vice,</HI> Rom. 12.1. Our bodies are <HI>the Lords,</HI> and with them we mu&s;t <HI>glorifie him,</HI> they are his Temple, and mu&s;t not be defiled
<PB N="32" REF="21">upon pain of De&s;truction, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.17. VVhich marrying with a Harlot, that is the Seed of the Great VVhore doth, which were &s;o to marry, Fornication and defiling, and therefore flee Fornication &s;aith the Apo&s;tle.</P>
<P>Fourthly, what Mr. <HI>Tory</HI> &s;aith farther is but frivelous, as for him to &s;ay, we know that the fal&s;e Church is &s;ometimes called an Harlot, that may be true, yea and the members of the fal&s;e Church are called Harlots al&s;o; for &s;he is the Mother of Harlots, <HI>Revel.</HI> 17.5. they <HI>i.e.</HI> her Children &s;he brings forth are Harlots, the Seed of the VVhore. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 57.3. and (&s;aith he) Idolatry is called Fornication, it's true, yea and &s;o are they that are Idola|ters called Fornicators, <HI>Revel.</HI> 18.3. <HI>but this</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>is no way applied to &s;ingle per&s;ons, for they are no Harlots</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>as they are &s;ingle Per&s;ons,</HI> Mr. <HI>T.</HI> may with as good rea&s;on &s;ay, that they are no Idolaters, as they are &s;ingle per&s;ons, and if he do not &s;ay that, and prove it al&s;o he &s;aith (in this) nothing to the purpo&s;e, and his wife may be an hone&s;t woman and not accu&s;ed with incontinency, and yet if &s;he be of the Seed of the mother of Harlots, that is a member of the fal&s;e Church, &s;he then in the &s;ence of the Apo&s;tle 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.15. is an Harlot, and he in marrying her and living with her as her Husband, is a Fornica|tor, (in the &s;ence of the Apo&s;tle in the &s;ame place, flee Fornica|tion) as will be farther &s;hewn hereafter; and as little to the pur|po&s;e is it for him to &s;ay, nor are &s;he and I made one Spirit by the act of Marriage. No &s;o I think, if it were &s;o the &s;ore would be healed, the want of that onene&s;s in the Spirit is the evil, the diffe|rence in wor&s;hip, and in&s;titutions about it makes it &s;infull mar|riage. And as to what he la&s;tly &s;aith, I &s;ay that this Text is not to be under&s;tood in a common &s;ence, but in the &s;ence I have above &s;hewed it is to be under&s;tood.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>This Text 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6. you have given me &s;atisfaction about, pray go on to <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.14.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Rev. 2.14. Is thus. <HI>But I have a few things again&s;t thee, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t them there that hold the Doctrine of</HI> Balaam, <HI>who taught</HI> Balac <HI>to ca&s;t a &s;tumbling block before the Children of</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>to eat things Sacrificed to Idols, and to commit Fornication.</HI> Now <HI>Mr.</HI> T. &s;aith <HI>that there was &s;ome in the Church of</HI> Pergamos, <HI>who held the Doctrine of</HI> Balaam <HI>is true, but that</HI> &s;aith he <HI>Marriages with per&s;ons differing in Religion, was that Doctrine or Fornication, is yet to prove,</HI> and he &s;uppo&s;ing that the holy Scripture no where
<PB N="33" REF="21">doth decide the controver&s;ie, and that he might di&s;courage any Antagoni&s;t from &s;earching it out, he &s;aith, <HI>what&s;oever</HI> Jo&s;ephus <HI>&s;aith that</HI> I&s;rael <HI>marryed the</HI> Moabiti&s;h <HI>women is little to the pur|po&s;e,</HI> if it be to the purpo&s;e at all, though but little it is well, a little is better than nothing, little I am &s;ure it is to his purpo&s;e, and &s;o is what he &s;aith Mr. <HI>Phillips</HI> &s;aith <HI>that Whoredome men|tioned in the</HI> 25. <HI>of</HI> Numbers, <HI>and that in the</HI> Rev. 2.14. <HI>Called Fornication is all one.</HI> But for their &s;akes that have not <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> to read, and the truth &s;ake I &s;hall in&s;ert here, what <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> &s;aith upon <HI>Num.</HI> 25. only by the way, I note that Mr. <HI>T.</HI> is &s;o mode&s;t as not to &s;ay any thing to the di&s;repute of <HI>Jo&s;ephus,</HI> then may <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> be for ought I believe, Mr. <HI>T.</HI> can &s;ay to the con|trary as credible an Author as he, or any man for him will find, to di&s;prove that little he &s;aith, and therefore take <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> as fol|loweth.
<Q><HI>Balaam</HI> &s;pake thus to <HI>Balac,</HI> &s;ince it is your de&s;ire O King, and you Princes of <HI>Midian,</HI> that I gratifie you, although it be again&s;t the will of God, you &s;hall hear all that I can &s;ay. Hope not that any thing can extingui&s;h the race of the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> either by War, or Pe&s;tilence, or Famine, or any other chance; for God hath care to pre&s;erve that Nation from all evil, &s;o that no mi&s;chief can befall them, whereby the whole multitude can be extingui&s;hed, though they may come into &s;ome Affliction for a time,</Q> <HI>yet they will afterwards flouri&s;h more then they did before; being by &s;uch Cha&s;ti&s;ment rendered more wi&s;e, but if you de&s;ire to obtain &s;ome &s;ort of victory over them by this my</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Balaams <HI>advice to</HI> Balaac <HI>called</HI> Rev. 2.14. Balaams <HI>Doctrine.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Councel you &s;hall bring your wi&s;hes to effect, &s;end to their Camp the faire&s;t of your Daughters, as trimly decked and beautified as is po&s;&s;ible, who by their Beauty may conquer, and by their Love al|lure their Hearts, let the&s;e wander about and offer them&s;elves to the conver&s;ation of the younge&s;t and brave&s;t among&s;t them: and as &s;oon as they &s;ee them Enamoured, let them pretend to go away, and being de&s;ired to stay, let them not yield, except they will be per|&s;waded to for&s;ake their Country Laws, and the &s;ervice of God from whom they received them, and to adore the Gods of the</HI> Midiannites <HI>and</HI> Moabites, <HI>for by this means they &s;hall incen&s;e Gods wrath again&s;t them&s;elves,</HI> Balaam <HI>having given this advice he depart|ed.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Now when the</HI> Midiannites <HI>(according as they were coun&s;elled) &s;ent out their Daughters, the younger &s;ort of the</HI> Hebrews <HI>became intangled with their Beauty, and conver&s;ing with them, de&s;ired
<PB N="34" REF="22">them not to deny them the plea&s;ure and enjoyment of their Beauty, the young women &s;eeing them enamour'd made &s;emblance of a de&s;ire to leave them, and depart. Whereupon the young men earnestly in|treated them to tarry,</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">The He|brews pro|mi&s;e to mary them and &s;wear they would love them as their wives.</NOTE> <HI>and promi&s;ed to marry them, &s;wearing they would not only love them as their Wives, but render them ab&s;olute Mi&s;tre&s;&s;es of them&s;elves and all their Goods, the&s;e Promi&s;es they &s;eal'd with Tears, and all the Women an&s;wer'd after this manner, valiant young men, we want not at home either Riches, or the Af|fections of our Parents and Friends, neither come we hither to you for want of the&s;e things, or to make &s;ale of our Beauties: but con&s;i|dering you as &s;trangers, for whom we have a great e&s;teem, we have not di&s;dained to &s;hew you this Civillity, now therefore becau&s;e you &s;ay you love us and are &s;o troubled at this our departure, we thought good not to gain&s;ay your intreaties, if therefore you will plight your Faith and promi&s;e us Marriage, (which is the only condition that can de|tain us) we will live with you as your Lawful VVives, but we fear le&s;t when your Lu&s;ts are &s;atisfied, you will with Shame and contumely &s;end us back again to our Parents, which &s;o rea&s;onable apprehen&s;ions of ours you ought to pardon.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e pa&s;&s;ionate Lovers promi&s;ed to give their Faith in what manner &s;o ever, and refu&s;e no condition, &s;o extream was their Love.</P>
<P>Here note by the way that the <HI>Hebrew</HI> Young Men promi&s;ed the <HI>Midianiti&s;h</HI> Young Women Marriage, and &s;ware to love them as their wives.</P>
<P>Secondly, that the Maidens enjoyn the young men to promi&s;e them Marriage, and plight their Faith, which mu&s;t be the only Condition which would detain them, and then they would wil|lingly live with them as their VVives.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>Truly this is more than a little to the purpo&s;e indeed it &s;eems the <HI>Hebrews</HI> promi&s;ed to Marry them.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yea and did marry them as you &s;hall &s;ee hereafter, but this was not all. VVell then (&s;aid the Virgins) <HI>&s;ince you are &s;o plea&s;ed, and that you have cu&s;toms &s;o different from other Nations, that you u&s;e only certain Meats and Drinks, it is nece&s;&s;ary if you will Marry us, to Adore our Gods, for by no other Argument can you per&s;wade us, that you Love us unfeignedly, except you Honour as we do, the &s;ame Gods; neither &s;hall you be blamed, if you honour the Gods of that Country into which you are come, con&s;idering that our Gods are common to all Nations, whereas your God is adored by none
<PB N="27" REF="22">but your &s;elves, choo&s;e therefore (&s;aid they) either to conform your &s;elves in opinion with other men, or &s;eek out another VVorld, where|in you may live according to your particular ways and Cu&s;toms. The</HI> Hebrews <HI>blinded with the Love which they bare to the Virgins, liked well their words, and con&s;ented to that which they &s;aid, &s;uf|fering them&s;elves to be &s;educed, according as they were invited,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Hereby you may &s;ee that as the <HI>Hebrew</HI> young men had pro|mi&s;ed (as above) Marriage to tho&s;e <HI>Midianiti&s;h</HI> Virgins &s;o they con&s;ented to that which they &s;aid, and &s;uffered them&s;elves to be &s;educed, according as they were invited, <HI>i.e.</HI> To take them to wife, and to Adore their Gods,
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>called Zimri,</HI> Numb. 25 14.</NOTE> <HI>Zambrias</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI>) <HI>of the Tribe of</HI> Simeon, <HI>Married</HI> Cosby <HI>the</HI> Midianite <HI>Daughter of</HI> Zur, <HI>a Prince of the Country, and to plea&s;e her, &s;acrificed after the manner of the Country, contrary to the Law of God.</HI> So that you &s;ee that &s;oon after he had committed Fornication, in Marrying <HI>Cosby,</HI> he to plea&s;e her &s;acrificeth to their Gods, that was the effect of his Marriage contrary to Gods Law: but to go on, <HI>during this &s;tate of affairs,</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>being afraid le&s;t &s;ome more grie|vious mi&s;chief &s;hould &s;ucceed, called the People together, and accu|&s;ing no man in particular (for that he was unwilling to ca&s;t tho&s;e in|to de&s;peration, who whil&s;t they thought their Fault lay hidden, might be reduced to a better Mind) he told them that it was a thing unworthy their Vertue, and that of their Ance&s;tors, to prefer their Plea&s;ure before their Religion, that it behoved them whil&s;t they had time, to repent, and to &s;hew them&s;elves to be valiant men, not by contemning all Holy and Divine Laws, but by repre&s;&s;ing their di&s;|ordinate Pa&s;&s;ions, that it was a &s;trange thing that having lived in the de&s;art mode&s;tly, they &s;hould now in a plentifull Country grow &s;o di&s;&s;olute and di&s;ordinate, as to loo&s;e that merit in influence, which they had acquired in Nece&s;&s;ity.</HI> By &s;uch like Speeches, he en|deavoured to reclaim the Youth, and to reduce them to a better mind: whereupon <HI>Zambrias</HI> ri&s;ing up, &s;pake after this man|ner.</P>
<P>Mo&s;es <HI>(&s;aith he) u&s;e thou, if thou plea&s;e&s;t, thine own Laws, whereunto by long u&s;e thou ha&s;t added Authority, without which thou had&s;t long ago &s;uffered Puni&s;hment for them, and learnt at thine own cost, that the</HI> Hebrews <HI>ought not to be deluded by thee, for my &s;elf thou &s;halt never tie me to thy Tyrannical Decrees, for hither|to ha&s;t thou endeavoured nothing el&s;e, but under pretext of Law
<PB N="36" REF="23">and Religion to bring us into Servitude and &s;ubjection, and thy &s;elf to Power, and Soveraignty, by forbidding us the plea&s;ure, and liber|ties which all men that are free ought to enjoy, was there any wor&s;e in our</HI> Egyptian <HI>thraldome than the power thou a&s;&s;ume&s;t to puni&s;h every man, by the Laws of thy own making, whereas thou thy &s;elf art more worthy to be puni&s;hed in that thou de&s;pi&s;e&s;t tho&s;e of all other Nations, and wilt have none but thine ob&s;erved, and &s;o preferrest thiy particular Judgment before that of all other men what&s;oever, but I as touching that which I have done, in that I &s;uppo&s;e it be well done, am not afraid to confe&s;s in this A&s;&s;embly, that I have taken</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Zimri <HI>confe&s;&s;eth he had married</HI> Cosby, <HI>he had taken her to Wife.</HI></NOTE> <HI>a &s;tranger to Wife</HI> (note that well) <HI>thou hearest mine Actions from my own Mouth as from a true and re&s;olute man, neither do I de&s;ire that they &s;hould be hidden, 'tis true al&s;o, that I &s;acrifice to the Gods to whom thou forbidde&s;t to &s;acrifice, becau&s;e I think my &s;e f bound not to &s;ubmit to thy Tyranny, of Learning nothing that pertains to Reli|gion but from thee alone; and I take it as no Obligation to me, for any man to a&s;&s;ume as thou doe&s;t more Authority over me, then I have my &s;elf.</HI> Thus <HI>Jo&s;ephus.</HI> Why may we not credite <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> as much or more than any other Author, in this matter, where is there any one that goes about to di&s;prove him, and if there be let Mr. <HI>T.</HI> produce him, or any one for him that may be better credited then <HI>Jo&s;ephus,</HI> and we will con&s;ider it, but if not let Mr. <HI>T.</HI> be hereafter &s;ilent, unle&s;s he &s;peak to recant, and ac|knowledge his error.</P>
<P>But let us note farther &s;ome particular things, from what <HI>Jo|&s;ephus</HI> hath &s;aid, fir&s;t that the <HI>Hebrew Young Men</HI> being enamou|red with the Beauty, and Worldly Glory of the <HI>Midianiti&s;h Virgins,</HI> they promi&s;ed them <HI>Marriage.</HI> Secondly, that when the <HI>Midianiti&s;h Virgins</HI> perceived that the <HI>Hebrew young men</HI> were intangled with their Beauty, they drew back, and made as if they would depart, and by no means will be prevailed with, to comply with the de&s;ire of the <HI>Hebrews</HI> except they will promi&s;e to make them their wives.</P>
<P>Thirdly, that the <HI>Hebrews</HI> do promi&s;e to Marry them, and make them Mi&s;tre&s;&s;es of them&s;elves, and all their goods, &s;o blind is Carnal Love, and inordinate Affection.</P>
<P>Fourthly, that when the <HI>Midianiti&s;h Virgins</HI> &s;aw that they had thus far gotten the <HI>Victory,</HI> they refu&s;e yet to yield to the de&s;ire of the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> except they will for&s;ake their own Laws, and the wor&s;hip of their God, and eat Meats which they were
<PB N="37" REF="23">forbidden to do, and Sacrifice to the Gods of the <HI>Moabites,</HI> and the <HI>Midianites,</HI> which rather then they will loo&s;e the enjoyment of their Love, and the Plea&s;ure they lu&s;ted after, they con&s;ent to do, this evil being the product of their &s;inful Marriage.</P>
<P>Fiftly, that <HI>Zimri</HI> the Son of <HI>Salu</HI> a Prince of a chief hou&s;e among the <HI>Simeonites, Num.</HI> 25.14. Took to wife <HI>Cozbi</HI> the Daughter of <HI>Zur,</HI> he was head over a People, and of a chief hou&s;e in <HI>Midian, ver.</HI> 15. which he to plea&s;e her Sacrificed to their Gods.</P>
<P>Sixtly, That by all this it doth appear, that the &s;in of the <HI>He|brews</HI> was not Common <HI>Fornication,</HI> i.e. For a man to lie with a Virgin, before or without <HI>Matrimonial</HI> Contract, but their &s;in was in Marrying tho&s;e women they were forbidden by the Law of God to make Marriages with (to wit) the <HI>Moabiti&s;h</HI> and <HI>Mi|dianiti&s;h</HI> VVomen, and this is that which the Spirit of God calls Fornication, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.14. <HI>To eat things Sacrificed to Idols, and to commit Fornication.</HI></P>
<P>Nor is what <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> &s;aith without Rea&s;on from the Scripture, for it is &s;carcely to be thought that <HI>Zimri,</HI> a Prince of a Chief Hou&s;e, in his Tribe &s;hould ca&s;t of all Morality at once, and commit uncleanne&s;s in the Face of the Sun. That is to lie with a woman that was not his wife, But in plain and common &s;ence his whore. <HI>Num.</HI> 25.8.</P>
<P>Secondly, He mu&s;t not only put from him, and ca&s;t away the very Law of Nature, which is written in the Hearts of the Hea|then them&s;elves, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.14.15. But in contempt of God, and <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his Superior, yea and the Congregation (at &s;uch a time when the Congregation was weeping before the Door of the <HI>Ta|bernacle</HI>) glory in his uncleanne&s;s, <HI>i.e.</HI> his lying with a woman that was not his wife, in his bringing her to his Brethren in the &s;ight of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and in the &s;ight of all the Congregation of the Children of <HI>I&s;rael, Num.</HI> 25.6. And in &s;o in&s;olent a manner (as <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> &s;aith) ju&s;tifie him&s;elf, which Fornication of his, had it been that which is common,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fol.</HI> 22.</NOTE> he would not &s;o boldly and openly have &s;hewed her to <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> nor could he ju&s;tifie, no not by the Law of tho&s;e Heathen he had joyned affinity with, for Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith the defiling of <HI>Virgins,</HI> goes hard with the wor&s;t of men and is abhorred by the Heathen. Thus you may &s;ee that it is not &s;o hard to know (as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> in&s;inuates,) what the Doctrine of <HI>Ba|laam</HI> was, nor what the &s;in of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was, but that it may be in|&s;pected
<PB N="38" REF="24">found out and detected, notwith&s;tanding he &s;aith it cannot be known by any thing in <HI>Num.</HI> 25. nor <HI>Rev</HI> 2.14. Yet you &s;ee we have &s;o much as the Rational may &s;afely conclude that <HI>I&s;|raels</HI> &s;in <HI>Num.</HI> 25. was <HI>Mixt-Marriages,</HI> and that the Spirit of God calleth it in <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.14. <HI>Fornication,</HI> as was above &s;hewed, it is in the &s;ence of the Spirit, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.15.16.17.18. which I pre&s;ume Mr. <HI>T.</HI> will never di&s;prove from the word of God. And then we have another Text, which fully prove that Mixt-Marriages is Fornication, in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.8. which &s;hews that it is called Fornication &s;till for us, under the Go&s;pel, to make Mar|riages with the Seed of the Mother of <HI>Harlots,</HI> i.e. with the members of Fal&s;e Churches, who differ from the members of the true Church in In&s;titutions, the words are the&s;e, <HI>neither let us commit Fornication, as &s;ome of them committed: and fell in one Day</HI> 23000, <HI>[as they committed]</HI> Namely Fornication, which was in that, the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> made Marriages with Idolatrous <HI>Moa|bites,</HI> and <HI>Midianites,</HI> and not committing Fornication with them as their whores, as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;uppo&s;eth, <HI>Num.</HI> 25. And for this the Church in <HI>Pergamos</HI> was reproved by the Spirit of God, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.14. <HI>i.e.</HI> For having them among them that held the Doctrine of <HI>Balaam,</HI> who taught <HI>Balac</HI> (not <HI>I&s;rael</HI> as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> ob&s;ervs,) to ca&s;t a &s;tumbling Block before the Children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> to eat things offered to <HI>Idols,</HI> and to commit <HI>Fornication</HI> i.e. to marry with members of Fal&s;e Churches, the Seed of the great whore, under this Reproof are the Churches in this day as <HI>Per|gamos</HI> was then, they have &s;ome of them, tho&s;e that hold this Doctrine, as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> for one, who is <HI>Balaams</HI> &s;econd in this evil work, who hath not as <HI>Balaam</HI> did, taught <HI>Balac</HI> to lay a &s;tum|bling Block before <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> but he hath taught the People of God to comply with what <HI>Balaam</HI> taught <HI>Balac,</HI> and to con&s;ent to make marriages with the Super&s;titious world, &s;aying to them, <HI>it's weakne&s;s to be offended with them,</HI> that do marry &s;uch, <HI>and that there is more cau&s;e of joy than Sorrow, that they who &s;ome few years &s;ince thought you not fit to live, you &s;hould be &s;o much in the fa|vour of tho&s;e Per&s;ons, as to make marriages with you, and e&s;pecial|ly we &s;hould take it well from them who have the Government in their hands, and we ought to be thankfull to God for &s;uch a mercy.</HI></P>
<P>O how bravely is <HI>Balaams</HI> Coun&s;el to <HI>Balac</HI> back'd and &s;econ|ded by Mr. <HI>T.</HI> by his Evil Councel to <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> in tho&s;e words of his, be&s;ides his Arguments in his Book, by which he labours
<PB N="39" REF="24">with his little might and main to per&s;wade Gods <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to com|ply, and join affinity with, the unregenerated, un&s;anctified, &s;uper&s;titious world:
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Who &s;o cau&s;eth the righteous to go a|&s;tray in an evil way, he &s;hall fall him|&s;elf into his own pit; but the up|right &s;hall have good things in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion,</HI> Prov. 28.10.</NOTE> what cau&s;e have that People to repent that they have had and &s;till have &s;uch a one, that not only hol|deth <HI>Balaams</HI> Doctrine, but teacheth the People complyance with it, and to commit the &s;in <HI>i.e.</HI> Fornication, and hath expo|&s;ed it to publick view, if they therefore &s;hall not repent thereof Chri&s;t <HI>will come unto them quickly, and will &s;ight again&s;t them with the Sword of his mouth.</HI> Rev. 2.16. Thus it is &s;hewn what the &s;tumbling block was <HI>Balaam</HI> ca&s;t before the Children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> what his Doctrine was, or wherein he taught <HI>Balac</HI> what to do, to cau&s;e <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to fall into the di&s;plea&s;ure of God by their com|mitting <HI>Idolatry,</HI> and <HI>Fornication</HI> in their taking them wives of the Daughters of <HI>Moab,</HI> and <HI>Midian,</HI> which is by the Spirit &s;aid to be <HI>Fornication, Rev.</HI> 2.14. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.8.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>Truly I now &s;ee and believe what you have &s;aid is the Truth, and am convinced that <HI>Mixt-Marriages</HI> is (in the &s;ence you have &s;hewn) <HI>Fornication,</HI> and therefore to be avoided by all that fear the Lord, but what then pray doth his &s;aying mean, that <HI>Balac</HI> might make &s;ome &s;cruple, as fore&s;eeing &s;ome great evil mu&s;t be committed to accompli&s;h his de&s;ign, and then his four Rea&s;ons to &s;trengthen his &s;cruple, then his imaginary talk about <HI>Balaams</HI> &s;atisfying of <HI>Balac,</HI> and la&s;tly his concluding thus, this I take to be the Doctrine of <HI>Balaam,</HI> pray what doth all this &s;ignifie?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Indeed and in truth nothing at all, and there is as little need to &s;ay any thing to it, only I take notice that Mr. <HI>T.</HI> tells you that tho&s;e rea&s;ons he imagins <HI>Balaam</HI> gives <HI>Balac</HI> to &s;atisfie his &s;uppo&s;ed &s;cruple, is <HI>Balaams</HI> Doctrine, Learnedly conclu|ded, when nothing but Conceit is the Foundation of it, for <HI>Ba|laams</HI> Doctrine was the Coun&s;el he gave <HI>Balas,</HI> to cau&s;e <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to &s;in. And moreover I ob&s;erve as lightly as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;ets by <HI>Jo|&s;ephus,</HI> he is forced to make u&s;e of &s;ome of his words, (for &s;aith he <HI>Balaam</HI> &s;pake to <HI>Balac;</HI>) when he thinks they will &s;erve to &s;trengthen his Imagination. <HI>The Plot was that</HI> Balac <HI>&s;hould take the faire&s;t of their Virgins and dre&s;s them richly, and &s;end them to dance about the Tents of</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>that he might provoke the</HI> I&s;rae|lites, <HI>whom he knew to be great Admirers of Beautifull Women.</HI> &amp;c. This although he conceals, yet he takes out of <HI>Jo&s;ephus,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fol.</HI> 22.</NOTE> though not word for word, and therefore you may &s;ee the man
<PB N="40" REF="25">being &s;trangly conceited, will make u&s;e of <HI>Jo&s;ephus,</HI> though to no purpo&s;e, and therefore &s;ince in all this he is be&s;ides the matter, I &s;hall lay it a&s;ide and &s;ay no more to it, as not worth any farther notice taken of them.</P>
<P>But yet I mu&s;t not &s;o pa&s;s by what he &s;aith in his la&s;t, before he comes to 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.14. And that is this. <HI>I will &s;hew you for all this</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that</HI> I&s;rael <HI>might marry both with</HI> Moab <HI>and</HI> Ammon, <HI>and that the Children begot of them, might in time be admitted in|to the Congregation. And that both the&s;e are true.</HI> See Ruth. 1.4. Deut. 23.3. <HI>And the rea&s;on is rendred, why they might not be admitted &s;ooner,</HI> ver. 4. I will &s;peak to the la&s;t fir&s;t. The Text &s;aith <HI>Deut.</HI> 23.3. <HI>An</HI> Ammonite, <HI>or</HI> Moabite <HI>&s;hall not en|ter into the Congregation of the Lord, even to their Tenth Genera|tion, &s;hall they not enter into the Congregation of the Lord for ever.</HI> Therefore the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> might Lawfully Marry with <HI>Moab,</HI> and <HI>Ammon</HI> as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> argues, the Second ver&s;e of the &s;ame Chapter, &s;aith thus, <HI>A Ba&s;tard &s;hall not enter into the Con|gregation of the Lord; even to the Tenth Generation &s;hall he not enter into the Congregation of the Lord.</HI> From whence one may as fairly rea&s;on and &s;ay, Ergo a man that is a Believer may law|fully defile a Virgin and have a Ba&s;tard by her, beeau&s;e they, namely Ba&s;tards, may enter into the Congregation in their Tenth Generation. If Mr. <HI>T</HI>'s arguing be right rea&s;on, with what an ugly face doth this look, be &s;hamed of this foul, imper|tinent, and irrational talking. And then farther Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith the Rea&s;on is rendred why they might not enter no &s;ooner, <HI>ver.</HI> 4. Yea &s;o it is and a binding one it is al&s;o, <HI>becau&s;e they met you not with Bread, &s;aith the Lord, and with Water in the way, when ye came forth out of</HI> Egypt, <HI>and becau&s;e they hired again&s;t thee</HI> Ba|laam <HI>the Son of</HI> Beor <HI>of</HI> Pether <HI>of</HI> Me&s;opotamia, <HI>to cur&s;e thee.</HI> See ver&s;e the Sixth, and al&s;o therefore for that rea&s;on, <HI>thou &s;halt not &s;eek their Peace, nor their pro&s;perity all thy Days for ever.</HI> Then if &s;o, they mu&s;t not make Marriages with them for ever, any rational man will &s;ay.</P>
<P>Now Secondly, To what he &s;aith that <HI>I&s;rael</HI> might Marry both with <HI>Moab</HI> and <HI>Ammon,</HI> for which he quotes <HI>Ruth</HI> 1.4. which words are the&s;e, <HI>and</HI> Elimelech Naomies <HI>Hu&s;band died, and &s;he was left and her two Sons, and they took them wives of the wo|men of</HI> Moab, <HI>the Name of the one was</HI> Orpah, <HI>and the name of the other</HI> Ruth, <HI>and they dwelled there about Ten Years.</HI></P>
<PB N="41" REF="25">
<P>I &s;ay that tho&s;e <HI>Moabiti&s;h</HI> Women were then pro&s;ylited, and had ca&s;t off their Idolatry, or it had been unlawfull for <HI>Nao|mies</HI> Sons to marry them, as was but now &s;hown a little above, and in this I am not alone. <HI>They took them</HI> Moabiti&s;h <HI>wives, which was lawfull to do, if the&s;e women were converted, otherwi&s;e not: for to Marry</HI> Canaaniti&s;h <HI>wives, was forbidden upon this ground, le&s;t they &s;hould &s;educe the People of God to Idolatry, which rea&s;on or ground had al&s;o place in the</HI> Moabiti&s;h <HI>Idolatrous women.</HI> See Ezra 9.1. Neh. 13.23. <HI>that</HI> Ruth <HI>was converted appeareth plain,</HI> ver. 16. Chap. 2.12. See the <HI>Dutch</HI> Annotations on this place, and that <HI>Orpha</HI> was converted, is as little to be doubted, <HI>and they &s;aid unto her &s;urely we will return with thee unto thy people,</HI> i.e. <HI>Orpha</HI> as well as <HI>Ruth</HI> &s;aid &s;o, <HI>ver.</HI> the 10. <HI>and they wept,</HI> i.e. <HI>Orpha</HI> as well as <HI>Ruth</HI> wept, <HI>ver.</HI> the 9. And they lift up their voice again and wept, when their Mother in Law impor|tuned them to go back, <HI>ver.</HI> 14. Though <HI>Orpah</HI> did not per&s;e|vere as <HI>Ruth</HI> did to go on with her Mother, but went back to her Country, and it may be to her Gods al&s;o.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 6.14. <HI>Fol.</HI> 25.</NOTE> As many in our days do. Be not unequally yoked together believers with un|believers. Is the next place which Mr. <HI>T.</HI> thinks to wipe off the force of, by wondring that it &s;hould be urged, for the ca&s;e is plain &s;aith he, <HI>it &s;peaks of wor&s;hip, and a Spiritual Relation, and that appears from many expre&s;&s;ions the Apo&s;tle u&s;eth.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Mr. <HI>T.</HI> hath no &s;uch cau&s;e to wonder, for Marriages may be the thing, at lea&s;t one intended by the Apo&s;tle in this place, for any thing he hath &s;aid to the contrary, and it is the opinion of Dr. <HI>Babington,</HI> that the Apo&s;tle forbids Marriage in 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.14. <HI>Be not unequally Yoaked &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, for what Fellow&s;hip hath Righteou&s;ne&s;s with &V;nrighteou&s;ne&s;s, what</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>See Dr.</HI> Babinton <HI>&s;ometime Bi&s;hop of</HI> Worce|&s;ter.</NOTE> <HI>com|munion hath Light with Darkne&s;s, or what Concord hath Chri&s;t with</HI> Belial, <HI>and what part hath he that believeth with an Infidel, and what agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols. It is a law</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>of Marriage that &s;hould not be broken.</HI> But Mr. <HI>T.</HI> thinks this place doth not intend Marriage at all, though the text Reads, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.14. Thus, <HI>Ne impari Jugo copulamini cum infi|delibus;</HI> be not unequally Yoaked, coupled, or tyed together with Unbelievers, and as Mr. <HI>Denn</HI> &s;aith <HI>Conjugium</HI> is wedlock or Marriage, and <HI>Conjuga</HI> a wi&s;e, &s;o that the Prohibition of the Apo&s;tle is, that Believers do not Yoak, couple, or tye them|&s;elves together <HI>cum infidelibus,</HI> i.e. with Infidels or Unbelievers,
<PB N="42" REF="26"><HI>Conjugium</HI> in Marriage or Wedlock, and for this the Apo&s;tle gives his following rea&s;ons by way of Interrogation, among which take notice of this particular one, <HI>and what part hath he that be|lieveth with an Infidel?</HI> ver. 15. To which que&s;tion we mu&s;t an&s;wer none, no part at all, if &s;o then Marriage is prohibited in this place, for if a Believer Marry with an Unbeliever or Infidel, he that is a Believer hath a peculiar and &s;pecial part with the Un|believer, they are no longer twain but one Fle&s;h, a greater part then any other can have, &s;he the wife, (that is an Unbeliever) of a Believer, <HI>is Bone of his Bone, and Fle&s;h of his Fle&s;h,</HI> then &s;ince man and wife have &s;uch part one with another, a believer mu&s;t not be yoaked, coupled, or tied together in Wedlock, or Marriage with an Unbeliever, as is forbid or prohibited in the 14. <HI>ver. Be not unequally Yoaked, together with &V;nbelivers,</HI> and confirmed by this Interrogation, <HI>ver.</HI> 15. And the Apo&s;tles farther Rea&s;ons, <HI>for ye are the Temple of the Living God,</HI> ver. 16. Now for a Believer, who&s;e body is the Temple of the Holy Gho&s;t, to be joyned to a Harlot, makes him&s;elf one Fle&s;h with her, and this were to defile the Temple of God, and &s;uch will God de&s;troy, this con&s;idered, there is no cau&s;e to wonder this place 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.14. &s;hould be urged to prove Mixt-Marriages unlawfull, which &s;o fully doth it: unle&s;s Ignorance &s;hould be the cau&s;e of Admiration.</P>
<P><HI>Now it's plain</HI> &s;aith Mr. <HI>T., this Re&s;pects the Church, and their A&s;&s;emblings, and having Communion one with another, and with God him&s;elf,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>For though</HI> &s;aith he <HI>I may not go to the Idols Temple, and eat their Sacrifices with a</HI> Pagan, <HI>nor &s;uffer him to &s;it down with me at the Lords Table, yet I may joyn Partners with him in Trade and Bu&s;ine&s;s,</HI> Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;hould have &s;aid, yet I a Be|liever may joyn with him in Marriage, though he be a Pagan, Turk, or Papi&s;t, and then he had drawn his conclu&s;ion right, and had he proved it al&s;o, he then had put all out of doubt, but to &s;ay, I may Trade with him, would be a very far fetch'd con|&s;equence, if he &s;hould thus Rea&s;on, I may Trade with him, therefore I may Marry with him, be yoak'd, ti'd, or coupl'd together with him in Marriage, and if he &s;ay not &s;o, he &s;aith no|thing to the purpo&s;e, for we may Trade with many we may not Marry with. And therefore to as little purpo&s;e would it be to &s;ay any more, in an&s;wer to what he &s;aith, to make invalid 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.14. this that hath been &s;aid being &s;ufficient to &s;hew that, that
<PB N="43" REF="26">place doth plainly, and fully prohibite Mixt-Marriages.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>I am &s;o well &s;atisfied, that truly I think, if no more be &s;aid this that hath been &s;aid is enough, and &s;ufficient to convince any man, but there is one Text more that Mr. <HI>T.</HI> labours to make invalid, as to the bu&s;ine&s;s of Mixt-Marriages, pray let me hear your Judgment on it, that I may be &s;atisfied in that al&s;o.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yea Mr. <HI>T.</HI> makes a heavy &s;tir about it, as if he would, if not tire his Reader, yet weary his re&s;pondent with an&s;wer|ing, that which is (though much of it) little or nothing to the purpo&s;e, the place is 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.39. <HI>The Wife is bound by the Law, as long as her Husband liveth, but if her Hu&s;band be dead &s;he is at liberty to Marry with whom &s;he will, onely in the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>And he would have us to under&s;tand, he might put many que&s;tions to us about the&s;e words, naming them, and &s;o pa&s;&s;eth them, and &s;o &s;hall I, only his la&s;t which is this,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol. 26.</NOTE> <HI>&s;eeing the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks only of the women, and although many times, when men are mentioned the women are included, yet I know not where the women being mentioned includes the men,</HI> to which I &s;ay, whe|ther when the women being mentioned includes the men, or no, I will not &s;tand upon, but this I may farther &s;ay, that when wo|men are put upon &s;omethings as their duties to do, the &s;ame du|ties are incumbant upon men, as for Example, <HI>even the Orna|ment of a meek and quiet Spirit, which is in the &s;ight of God of great price,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.4. This is mentioned as the womens duty, but is it not the duty of men as well as of women to put on the Ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit, although this place requires it of women, and men are not mentioned, is it not evil and &s;in for men to be haughty and proud: as &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>and be cloathed with Humility, for God re&s;i&s;teth the proud and giveth Grace to the Humble.</HI> 1 Pet. 5.5. men are here re|quired to be humble as well as women, and &s;o would it not be &s;in in a man to be a Brawler, Contentious, furious, pa&s;&s;ionate, unquiet, but for men to be of a meek and quiet Spirit, (<HI>learn of me,</HI> (&s;aith our Saviour) <HI>for I am meek and lowly in heart.</HI> Mat. 11.29.) without doubt is equally valuable in the &s;ight of God, as for women to be &s;o. So then what the limits and bounds that the Spirit of God doth &s;et the Women in this place, he al&s;o &s;ets the men, yea Young Men and Virgins, according to the Law, <HI>thou &s;halt not give thy Daughter to his Son, nor take his Daughter to thy Son; have not we Power to lead about a Sister, a wife as
<PB N="44" REF="27">well as other Apo&s;tles, and as the brethren of the Lord and</HI> Cephas 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9.5. where you &s;ee it mu&s;t be a Si&s;ter, a wife, no power hath <HI>Paul</HI> to Marry a wife that is no Si&s;ter, men may not then (to wit Believers) Marry but only in the Lord, no more than women. But the whole &s;tre&s;s &s;aith Mr. <HI>T. lies in the la&s;t clau&s;e, now &s;uppo&s;e &s;aith he I allow you, that to be rightly baptized is to be in the Lord, yet I deny the&s;e words to be a command or the recitall of a Command.</HI> And yet pre&s;ently he recites one him&s;elf in the Old Te&s;tament, <HI>thou &s;halt not give thy Daughter to his Son, nor take his Daughter to thy Son.</HI> And then with his own words con|fe&s;&s;eth that by tho&s;e Precepts (mark that) <HI>men were bound as well as women, which</HI> &s;aith he <HI>is not expre&s;&s;ed here,</HI> what if it be not expre&s;&s;ed there, that men were bound to Marry in the Lord, as well as women, yet if it be in another place it is well enough, as he him&s;elf &s;aith it is, and &s;aith it was a Precept too; be&s;ides I have above &s;hewed that &s;ome duties applied to women, and men not expre&s;&s;ed, yet the duty is the &s;ame to men, and they bound to be found in tho&s;e &s;ame duties as well as women, &s;o it is in this ca&s;e be not unequally Yoaked together with Unbeliev|ers. which Prohibition doth include Men, Widows and Maids, and is equally binding to them all, as if it had been &s;aid thou &s;halt not be unequally Yoaked together with unbelievers, neither men nor women, and the Di&s;obedience to the one as &s;infull as it would be to the other, and &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>if any man thinks him&s;elf to be a Prophet or Spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you, are the Commandments of the Lord.</HI> 1 Cor. 14.37. but if any &s;hould object and &s;ay, that all that <HI>Paul</HI> writ to the Corinthians, were not the Commandments of the Lord, as he him&s;elf confe&s;&s;eth, though &s;ome things he writes might be to them; I an&s;wer, that in tho&s;e things that are not the commands of the Lord, he like a faithfull Steward gives them &s;o to under&s;tand, <HI>but I &s;peak&punc; this by Permi&s;&s;ion, but not of Com|mandment.</HI> 1 Cor. 7.6. But in the ca&s;e of Marriage he &s;peaks by command, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.10. As I &s;hall &s;hew hereafter. If &s;o then the limitation only in the Lord is not le&s;s then the Com|mandment of the Lord. This may &s;erve al&s;o for an an&s;wer to his &s;econd rea&s;on of his denyal the&s;e words, only in the Lord to be a Command or the recital of a Command.</P>
<P>In his Third Rea&s;on he &s;aith, <HI>if ever there were any &s;uch Law that a VViddow might Marry with none but a Baptized Per&s;on,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol. 27.</NOTE> <HI>or
<PB N="45" REF="27">one in the Church, then it's either a Law given by way of Precept, and is &s;ome where to be found among&s;t Gods Commands, or el&s;e &s;he is bound to Marry in the Lord, by the Law of Prudence. If you &s;ay &s;he is bound by the former of the&s;e Laws, then I pray &s;hew when it was given, and by whom, and where the Record is to be found.</HI></P>
<P>VVhat I have &s;aid above, might well &s;erve for an&s;wer to all this, but further what &s;hould Mr. <HI>T.</HI> demand to know, when &s;uch a Law was given: and by whom, and where the Record is to be found, when he him&s;elf hath found it all. VVhen he cites that place; <HI>Thou &s;halt not give thy Daughter to his Son, nor take his Daughter to thy Son,</HI> and tho&s;e he doth acknowledge to be binding Precepts, <HI>by which Precept</HI> &s;aith he <HI>Men were bound as well as Women,</HI> now if that were a binding Precept then un|der the Law both to Men and to VVomen, (though he hath be|fore contended again&s;t the &s;ame) and if the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> were not to Marry but only in the Lord, that is none that were <HI>Idolaters,</HI> but tho&s;e among&s;t them&s;elves that were in Covenant with God, according to that made with <HI>Abraham, Gen.</HI> 17.10, 11. The now <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> i.e. the Circumci&s;ed In Heart, <HI>Rom</HI> 2.29. who are (being Chri&s;ts) <HI>Abrahams</HI> Seed, <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.29. are not to be yoak|ed, coupled or tyed together in VVedlock or Marriage with the Seed of the <HI>Mother</HI> of <HI>Harlots,</HI> becau&s;e the one hath no part with the other, and therefore widdows Men or Maids, though they are at Liberty to Marry with whom they will, it is with this limitation only in the Lord; an&s;wering to the former Law given to <HI>Abrahams Natural Seed</HI> (they being a <HI>peculiar people</HI> or <HI>Nation</HI> cho&s;en and &s;eparated from all other <HI>People</HI> and <HI>Nations</HI> in the world,) that they &s;hould not make Marriages with any other People or Nations, and this Law being continued now under the Go&s;pel to Believers, who are a <HI>Cho&s;en Generation, a Royal Prie&s;t-hood, an Holy Nation, a Peculiar People.</HI> 1 Pet. 2.9. no man need to go far to find when it was given, by whom, and where the Record is, it being fir&s;t, or originally given after the fall, when there was two &s;orts of men in the world, Godly, and Ungodly, and continued to <HI>Abraham,</HI> down to <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and &s;o to <HI>Christ,</HI> who hath al&s;o by his Spirit continued this Law to <HI>Abrahams</HI> Seed, according to the Faith, and by this it may be &s;een by whom it was given, and as for the Record it is up and down, here and there, throughout the whole Scriptures both
<PB N="46" REF="28">of the Old, and New Te&s;tament, and who&s;oever plea&s;eth to have recour&s;e thereunto, may be &s;atisfied. And therefore it is &s;in, and Imprudence too, for a woman man or maid that is at liberty by the Law, to marry contrary to the Law, which giveth not liberty to an Holy Nation, as the true Church is &s;aid to be, to marry with any of the Nations of the world, no more then had that peculiar Nation of the <HI>Jews,</HI> to marry with other Nations, who all of them being in the &s;tate of Nature Unregene|rated, and therefore not in <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 Cor. 5.17. They are for|bidden to yoak with in Marriages, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.14. and expre&s;ly limited to Marry with them that are in the Lord, only in the Lord. In this that I have la&s;t &s;poke to, lies the &s;tre&s;s of all that Mr. <HI>Tory</HI> &s;aith, and therefore to trace him in his nothing to pur|po&s;e Rea&s;ons that follow, would be as impertinent as he is in laying of them down, and troubling his Reader with; only I will remind him of Mr. <HI>Denns</HI> words, which may &s;erve for a full an&s;wer to what he &s;aith in his following rea&s;ons about the Apo&s;tles advice, it was a matter of doubt (I &s;ay with Mr. <HI>Denn</HI>) in the Corinthian Church, whether a man, and woman coming together, when both of them were Unbelievers, and one of them afterwards be converted, it were not the duty of the Believer to put the Unbeliever away, the&s;e things they wrote to the Apo&s;tle about, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.1. As is plain by his an&s;wer; <HI>and un|to the Married I command, yet not I but the Lord, let not the wife depart from her Hu&s;band, but if &s;he depart let her remain unmarri|ed, or be Reconciled to her Husband: and let not the Husband put away his wife.</HI> ver. 10.11. For the Lord commands it, &s;he is bound by the Law as long as her Husband liveth. But if Death part them, if her Husband be dead &s;he is at liberty to be Mar|ried to whom &s;he will, only in the Lord, <HI>ver.</HI> 39. Note now the &s;ame Lord that commanded, that &s;he mu&s;t not depart from her Husband, &s;he being by the Law free, and not bound to her Husband, he being dead doth al&s;o command her, &s;he being at liberty to marry, that &s;he do not yoak, bind, or tye her &s;elf again to an Unbeliever, but if &s;he do marry, as &s;he is at liberty to do with whom &s;he will, provided he be in the Lord, the Lord that commandeth her not to depart from her Husband, while he lived, though he were an Unbeliever, doth al&s;o com|mand her, he being dead, that if &s;he marry another as &s;he now is at liberty to do, that &s;he marry onely in the Lord, one
<PB N="47" REF="28">that is a New Creature, a Believer, one that is born again.</P>
<P>I may with good rea&s;on, then conclude that the Lord hath commanded the Widdow to Marry only in the Lord, that limi|tation is by way of command, as well as it was his command &s;he &s;hould not depart from her Husband though an unbeliever, whil&s;t he lived.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>You Brother have given me content and &s;atisfaction, and I hope your pains will be to the &s;atisfaction of many others, pray &s;peak &s;omewhat to his third head or demon&s;tration as he call's it about the puni&s;hment God hath inflicted upon &s;uch as have &s;o Married.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yea, I &s;hall &s;o do, and I &s;hall begin with tho&s;e words of his, <HI>&s;lay ye every one his man that is joined unto</HI> Baal-Peor.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol. 31.</NOTE> <HI>Not</HI> &s;aith Mr. <HI>T. tho&s;e that were Married to Moabites,</HI> it is true, the Text doth not &s;ay, &s;lay them that are Married to <HI>Moabites,</HI> and if that be all he means, I have nothing to &s;ay to him about it. But I &s;uppo&s;e he means that the <HI>Elders</HI> of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were forbidden by <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> to &s;lay tho&s;e that had Married the <HI>Moabites,</HI> &s;ugge&s;t|ing that &s;ome did Marry with the <HI>Moabites</HI> that did not joyn to their Gods, for (&s;aith he) <HI>I&s;rael might Marry with the</HI> Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites <HI>and</HI> Egyptians, and (he &s;aith) he hath &s;hewed it.</P>
<P>If this he &s;aith be true, there is but little rea&s;on they &s;hould be &s;lain for it, but the Truth thereof hath been already above by me plainly di&s;proved, and therefore his &s;aying not tho&s;e that were marryed to the <HI>Moabites,</HI> is an Addition to the Scrip|ture.</P>
<P>I have &s;hewed that &s;ome of the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> did Marry, with the <HI>Moabites, Num.</HI> 25. And it is more then probable, that only they that did Marry with them did joyn to <HI>Baal-Peor,</HI> but however <HI>Zimri</HI> was Married to <HI>Cozbi</HI> a <HI>Midianiti&s;h</HI> Woman, and this I am &s;ure of, that he was &s;lain by <HI>Phineas</HI> the Prie&s;t, but Mr. <HI>T.</HI> will &s;ay it was for his Idolatry, and not for his mar|rying; and why not for both? &s;uppo&s;e a Company of <HI>Thieves</HI> &s;hould Rob by the High-way, or break into a mans Hou&s;e, and &s;hould not only take their Mony and Goods, but murder them al&s;o, and they afterwards taken &amp; Convicted both of the robbery and murder, and Hang'd for it, will any man affirm that tho&s;e men that did both Steal and Kill, were puni&s;hed with Death, for Killing, but not for Stealing, or that they were Executed
<PB N="48" REF="29">for Robbery, but not for Murder, no man would be &s;o irratio|nal, but all men will &s;ay they died by the hand of Ju&s;tice, both for Theft, and Murder; even &s;o the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> having both &s;in|ned in marrying the Daughters of <HI>Moab,</HI> and <HI>Ammon,</HI> and in Sacrificing to their Gods, what rational man will &s;ay, there fell of them 24000, for marrying the Daughters of <HI>Moab,</HI> but not for their joyning them&s;elves to the Gods of <HI>Moab,</HI> or will &s;ay they were puni&s;hed for their <HI>Idolatry,</HI> but not for their marry|ing; it is true, puni&s;hed they were for their Idolatry, but who will pre&s;ume to &s;ay (except God had in &s;ome place of Scripture &s;aid it) that they were not puni&s;hed for their Marrying with the <HI>Moabites,</HI> &s;ince it is clear, that God had commanded they &s;hould not Marry with them, as I have proved, and that they &s;inned in Marrying with the <HI>Moabites.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, what Idolatry did the <HI>Jews</HI> commit, that Marryed VVives of
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">A&s;hdod <HI>was a Ci|ty of the</HI> Phili&s;ti|ans, <HI>but none of the &s;even Nations.</HI></NOTE> <HI>A&s;hdod, Ammon</HI> and <HI>Moab, Nehem.</HI> 13.23. There is no mention made of any, indeed Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith, that <HI>they brought up their Children in the Language of</HI> A&s;hdod, <HI>which we have rea&s;on to believe &s;aith he, was to fit them for the Service of</HI> A&s;hdod, but however this is only his &s;uppo&s;ition, the Scripture doth not charge them with that, or any part of Idolatry, but meerly for the &s;ingle &s;in of Marrying with tho&s;e Nations, <HI>and I contended with them,</HI> &s;aith Nehemiah, <HI>and cur&s;ed them, and &s;mote &s;ome of them,</HI> &amp;c. He contended with &s;ome body, it's true &s;aith Mr. <HI>T.,</HI> but <HI>with who? tho&s;e that had Married Wives of</HI> A&s;hdod. And why I pray, not as well with tho&s;e that Marry|ed with <HI>Moab</HI> and <HI>Ammon, A&s;hdod</HI> was a City of the <HI>Phili&s;tians,</HI> and none of the Seven Nations, no more then the <HI>Moabites,</HI> and the <HI>Ammonites</HI> were, and therefore he had as much rea&s;on to contend with, cur&s;e, and &s;mite them that Marryed with the wo|men of <HI>Moab</HI> and <HI>Ammon,</HI> as tho&s;e that marryed the Daughters of <HI>A&s;hdod.</HI> But note, <HI>Nehemiah</HI> doth not complain of their Ido|latry, but of their marrying with tho&s;e Nations he doth, <HI>ver.</HI> 27. <HI>Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to tran&s;|gre&s;s again&s;t our God in marrying &s;trange Wives;</HI> you &s;ee it was a Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion again&s;t God, namely their marrying them, if &s;o, then they had a Law forbidding it, el&s;e it could be no Tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ion, <HI>for where no Law is, there is no Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion.</HI> Rom. 4.15. Now for this &s;in and no other that is mentioned, doth <HI>Nehemiah</HI> puni&s;h the <HI>Jews</HI> that had marryed &s;trange wives? by
<PB N="49" REF="29">all which it may ea&s;ily be perceived, that the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> were pu|ni&s;hed of God divers ways, not only for their <HI>Idolatry,</HI> but for their making <HI>marriages</HI> with tho&s;e Nations al&s;o.</P>
<P><HI>Idolatry</HI> was indeed a great Aggravation when it was com|plicated with &s;uch <HI>marriages,</HI> and did incen&s;e the Lord the more again&s;t them, and much heighthen their Puni&s;hment, but to &s;ay that <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was not puni&s;hed for the &s;in of <HI>mixt-marriages,</HI> but for their Idolatry only, is non-Scriptural and without Rea&s;on, and &s;o is it to &s;ay that &s;uch Marriages is not in it &s;elf evil, that which the Holy Scripture never in no place hath &s;aid, but that it is &s;in, and a Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion again&s;t God, the word doth in terminis &s;ay; yea and that it was a &s;in of that tendancy which drew at the Heels of it, other &s;ins after it, namely Idolatry, as &s;ome other &s;ins doth, as Drunkenne&s;s, Lying and Stealing, are com|monly attended with other &s;ins, yea it is a &s;in that was common|ly then attended with <HI>Idolatry,</HI> which was one Rea&s;on why the Lord did forbid <HI>I&s;raels</HI> marrying with any of the Nations; and &s;o it doth now as experience hath proved, and therefore a &s;in the more to be avoided by the Lords People, the Lord him&s;elf &s;aw not only that it would endanger his People, but that it would turn away his People from following of him; <HI>neither &s;halt thou make marriages with them. Thy Daughter &s;halt not thou give unto his Son, nor his Daughter &s;halt thou take unto thy Son, for they will turn away thy Son from following of me, that they may &s;erve other Gods.</HI> Deut. 7.3, 4. And that &s;o it commonly proved the Scripture and our experience hath plentifully &s;hewn, but to &s;ay as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> doth, that it is not a puni&s;hable &s;in, or in it &s;elf no &s;in is to op|po&s;e him&s;elf to the very expre&s;s words of God.</P>
<P>Thus have I according to my under&s;tanding &s;hewn you that in this la&s;t as in all the re&s;t, he is be&s;ide the Truth,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>To what Mr. T. farther &s;aith to this, &s;ee</HI> Mr. I. <HI>D's an&s;wer.</HI></NOTE> to follow him in all that he after &s;aith, would be but lo&s;t time for me to write, and others to read, &s;ince what he farther &s;aith to this third de|mon&s;tration is but reiteration, and &s;o it would be in me, to an|&s;wer over and over, it &s;ufficeth that I have proved that <HI>mixt-mar|riages</HI> was &s;infull before the Law, in the Law, and now in the <HI>Go&s;pel,</HI> the which if Mr. <HI>T.</HI> or any one el&s;e thinks I have not, let them di&s;prove me if they can.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>Brother I de&s;ire God may ble&s;s what you have &s;aid to all them in the Churches that have &s;inned in this matter of Marriage, and that it may put a &s;top to this growing evil, that is &s;o defi|ling,
<PB N="50" REF="30">now I pray go on to Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;econd Affirmation, that the Church hath no Rule to withdraw from &s;uch Sinners, given them by the Lord.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>I &s;hall an&s;wer him in that al&s;o, I ob&s;erve his Confidence is great, he &s;uppo&s;ing it can never be proved, for he grants for Arguments &s;ake, that &s;uch Marriages are Unlawfull, and yet he affirmeth there is no Precept to warrant the Churches withdraw|ing from them.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I &s;hall endeavour to prove that the Church hath a Rule to withdraw from &s;uch Members as &s;inners, for Marrying of Unbelievers.</P>
<P>Secondly, An&s;wer what of Con&s;equence, (if any be) that Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith to the contrary, and I hope you will &s;ee that there is &s;ufficient Ground to deal with them.</P>
<P>And Fir&s;t, I &s;hall begin with &s;ome Proof out of the Old Te&s;ta|ment. VVhere were many examples of Gods &s;evere Judgments executed upon Offenders in this ca&s;e.</P>
<P>As in the de&s;troying the Old VVorld by the Flood, 24000 fell of the Plague together with them which by the hand of Ju&s;tice were hang'd up before the Sun, <HI>Num.</HI> 25.4. which were about a 1000, and 23000 fell by the immediate hand of the Lord as the Apo&s;tle counts, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.8. (in all 24000 as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> counts, <HI>Num.</HI> 25.4.) which makes the ju&s;t number of 24000, who all were cut off from the Congregation of the Lord for the &s;in of Mixt-Marriages, namely 1000 by the cen&s;ure of the Judges, and 23000 by the Hand of the Lord for this &s;in, the cau&s;e of their committing Idolatry, and al&s;o for their Idolatry, which was the effect of Mixt-Marriages, the&s;e <HI>cum multis aliis</HI> I might here &s;et down, but I know the&s;e will not &s;erve Mr. <HI>T</HI>'s turn they will not &s;atisfie him, yet I hope &s;ome concerned will tremble at the word of God, and mourn for their &s;in in the &s;ence of the&s;e great and dreadfull Judgments of the Lord, poured down upon &s;uch &s;in|ners, and that others that have not yet defiled them&s;elves in Marrying with the Seed of the Great <HI>Whore,</HI> will be warned by tho&s;e plagues and puni&s;hments which fell on them, not to provoke God in the like manner.</P>
<P>But Secondly, to come nearer Mr. <HI>T.;</HI> I find they had a Law or Precept in the Church of the <HI>Jews,</HI> to excommunicate &s;uch as joined in Affinity with any of the Nations, you will &s;ee it in <HI>Neh.</HI> 13.23. <HI>In tho&s;e days al&s;o &s;aw I</HI> Jews, <HI>that had Married
<PB N="51" REF="30">Wives of</HI> A&s;hdod, <HI>of</HI> Ammon, <HI>and of</HI> Moab, ver. 24. <HI>And I contended with them, and cur&s;ed them, and &s;mote certain of them, and pluckt off their Hair,</HI> &amp;c. [And he cur&s;ed them] (note that) <HI>i.e.</HI> he excommunicated them, as &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>if any man love not the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, let him be</HI> Anathema Maranatha, that is, let him be accur&s;ed or excommunicated, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 16.22. So &s;aith <HI>Nehemiah, I cur&s;ed them,</HI> I excommunicated them, I put them away from the Congregation of the Lord. And with me agrees in this the <HI>Dutch</HI> Annotations: <HI>Then I contended with them and cur&s;ed them, [out of Zeal unto Ju&s;tice, declaring,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See the Dutch Annotai|ons upon</HI> Neh. 13.23.24, 25.</NOTE> <HI>that as perjured Covenant Breakers, they had brought a Cur&s;e upon them|&s;elves, and had de&s;erved to be Banned, and cut off from the People of God,] and &s;mote &s;ome men of them and pluckt of their Hair, [for an open Puni&s;hment or di&s;grace, compare,</HI> Deut. 25. 2 Sam. 10.4.] <HI>and I made them &s;wear by God, if you &s;hall give your Daughters un|to their Sons, and if you &s;hall take of their Daughters for your Sons or for your &s;elves [an abrupt kind of Speech, which was frequently u&s;ed in Oaths, or Swearing, wherein mu&s;t be under&s;tood, then thou &s;halt be cur&s;ed, or then let God puni&s;h thee, this Oath which he pronounceth before them, they were to take the &s;ame upon them|&s;elves, that being by this means &s;tirred up, they might not hereafter fall into the &s;ame Abomination again.]</HI> You &s;ee by this expo&s;ition of the Synod, that <HI>Nehemiahs</HI> Cur&s;ing them was no le&s;s then a cutting them off from the People of God, and of the like import is that in the 28 ver. <HI>and one of the Sons of</HI> Joiada, <HI>the Sons of</HI> Elia&s;hib <HI>the High Prie&s;t, was Son in Law to</HI> Sanballat <HI>the</HI> Horo|nite, <HI>therefore I cha&s;ed him from me.</HI></P>
<P>And it is to be ob&s;erved.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, That the&s;e Nations the <HI>Jews</HI> had Marryed were <HI>Phi|li&s;tians, Ammonites,</HI> and <HI>Moabites,</HI> which three were none of the Seven Nations, Mr. <HI>Tory</HI> all along &s;o &s;toutly affirmeth that the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> were forbidden to Marry with, and none other but them, and yet <HI>Nehemiah</HI> &s;aith, they Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed again&s;t God in Marrying with tho&s;e Three, and he al&s;o cur&s;ed them for it.</P>
<P>Secondly, It is to be ob&s;erved that <HI>Nehemiah</HI> doth not charge the&s;e <HI>Jews</HI> with the Sin of Idolatry, but &s;ingly for making Mar|riages with the&s;e fore-mentioned Three Nations, and for that &s;in he cur&s;ed them, now <HI>Nehemiah</HI> either had a Precept to war|rant his Cur&s;ing them, or he had none, if he had he did well to
<PB N="52" REF="31">cur&s;e them, and what he did, God did approve of him for do|ing, and without doubt he knew full well, that he did what God required him to do, by his Reque&s;t in the 31. ver&s;e, <HI>Remember me, O my God, for good;</HI> or el&s;e if he had no Precept, he pre|&s;umptiou&s;ly took upon him without any warranty from God, to cur&s;e, (which <HI>Balaam</HI> could not do while God &s;aw no &s;in in them.) tho&s;e <HI>Jews</HI> which had &s;inned in Marrying with <HI>A&s;hdod, Ammon</HI> and <HI>Moab,</HI> and &s;o became a &s;inner him&s;elf, being at the be&s;t but pa&s;&s;ionately, and not according to Knowledge, Zealous in that thing, which I &s;uppo&s;e Mr. <HI>T.</HI> will not lay the Imputation of &s;uch a Crime to the charge of this good man <HI>Nehemiah,</HI> and al|though we do not find where God gave this Precept in particular, yet the practice of <HI>Nehemiah</HI> may &s;ufficiently convince us that there was one given, here therefore although I have not yet pro|duced a Precept, yet <HI>I</HI> have an example which proveth that the Church of the <HI>Jews</HI> had power given them to deal with &s;uch offen|ders.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>I</HI> will now come to the New Te&s;tament, which mu&s;t be the Rule for Churches now, and &s;hew from thence that the Church hath power by Virtue of Precept to deal with, and withdraw from &s;uch Members as do yoak them&s;elves in Marriage with Unbelievers; and <HI>I</HI> will begin with 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 3.6. <HI>Now we command you Brethren in the Name of our Lord Je&s;us Christ, that ye withdraw your &s;elves from every Brother that walketh di&s;or|derly, and not after the Tradition which he Received of us.</HI></P>
<P>This is commanded, it is not only the advi&s;e of the Apo&s;tle to them, but his command, and in the Name of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t they are commanded (to wit) the Church to withdraw from every brother that walks di&s;orderly, now Mixt-Marria|ges is di&s;order, it's again&s;t the mind of the Spirit, as <HI>I</HI> have proved from 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.15, 16. &amp;c. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14. 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.39. Then he that is yoaked unequally in Marriage, and that Marry|eth one not in the Lord, and that taketh the Members of <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> and maketh them the Members of an <HI>Harlot,</HI> mu&s;t needs be a di&s;orderly Walker, and them that walk di&s;orderly, the Apo&s;tle commands the Church in the Name of the <HI>Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> to withdraw from, this is a plain and full Text, where it is comman|ded.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>But Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith this Text is no General Rule, it is plain|ly de&s;igned again&s;t &s;uch who are Idle, and negligent in their out|ward calling.</P>
</SP>
<PB N="53" REF="31">
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>That idle Per&s;ons are &s;uch who walk di&s;orderly is true, and that they ought to be withdrawn from, is true, but that the Apo&s;tle de&s;igned that particular di&s;order, and no other, in this Command withdraw from every Brother that walketh di&s;order|ly, is not true, except Mr. <HI>T.</HI> will prove that there is no di&s;|orderly walkers but &s;uch as are Idle, or if there be, they are to be &s;uffered in their di&s;order, by the Church, they having no power to deal with a Member for any other di&s;orderly walk|ing what&s;oever, if he &s;hould &s;ay &s;o, then would he &s;et open the Door yet wider to let in Fle&s;hly Liberty, and &s;in, and &s;tiffen the Necks, and harden the Hearts of Members again&s;t Church Admonitions and Cen&s;ures almo&s;t in all ca&s;es that are &s;infull, as if the Church were to have a particular Law, or command ex|pre&s;&s;ed particularly in dealing with every &s;ingle and particular di&s;order.</P>
<P>Pray if I &s;hould ask Mr. <HI>T.</HI> where he will find in the New Te&s;tament a Precept, or an example to give the Church power to deal with or withdraw from a Member, that &s;hould make it his practi&s;e to &s;wear in his Communication, this is a &s;in, and I believe a breach of that Moral Precept, <HI>Thou &s;halt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.</HI> Exod. 2.7. Yet hath the Church no particular Precept, no nor example to deal with this Swearer, for this particular &s;in of &s;wearing, I might in&s;tance in many other Sins as VVitch-Craft, Lying, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> For which there is no Law particularly given the Church to withdraw from &s;uch Di&s;orderly Per&s;ons, for tho&s;e particular &s;ins, what then mu&s;t they be &s;uffered in the Church, except they had it in the Scripture expre&s;&s;y &s;aid, now we command you Brethren in the Name of the <HI>Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> that you withdraw from every Brother, that is a Common <HI>Swearer,</HI> or <HI>Lier,</HI> or a <HI>Wizzard,</HI> no &s;ure that needs not, but it &s;ufficeth, that Swearing, Lying and Witch-Craft is &s;in and di&s;orderly walking, and the Church hath this Law and general Rule given them to u&s;e their power, or to impower them to withdraw from every Brother that walks di&s;orderly, whether it be the &s;in and di&s;order of Idlene&s;s, or of Swearing, Lying, VVitch-Craft, yea and all other &s;ins and di&s;|order what&s;oever, neither can Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;ay any thing to the con|trary, except he will &s;ay (which I think when he comes to him|&s;elf he will not) that the Church mu&s;t &s;uffer &s;uch &s;inners and &s;ins to be in the Church, for they have no Precept nor Example to with|draw
<PB N="54" REF="32">from, or Excommunicate them in particular; and there|fore they have no power &s;o to do, but mu&s;t let them alone, but he will &s;ay the&s;e are &s;candalous &s;ins, and therefore the Church may withdraw from every Brother that is guilty of tho&s;e &s;ins and di&s;orders, but then I &s;ay they mu&s;t have (if Mr. <HI>T.</HI> be in the right) a particular Precept or Example for it, as they have to withdraw from an idle per&s;on who is &s;candalous, or el&s;e they have (&s;aith Mr. <HI>T.</HI>) no Power or Rule to deal with &s;uch Offen|ders, but farther, (as Mr. <HI>D.</HI> hath minded) what if &s;ome Mem|bers &s;hould &s;prinkle their Children, that would not be &s;canda|lous, but rather commendable in the &s;ight of the world, and &s;up|po&s;e &s;ome other Members &s;hould for&s;ake the a&s;&s;embling of them|&s;elves together with the Church as it was and &s;till is the manner of &s;ome, and make it their practice to &s;it at home, or take their plea&s;ure abroad after &s;ome &s;ober &s;ort, and manner, this would not be &s;candalous to the world but accounted good, and friend|ly Neighbour-hood, mu&s;t both the&s;e be &s;uffered in the Church, becau&s;e the Church hath no Precept that &s;aith particularly we command you, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> To withdraw from every Brother that &s;prinkleth his Babe, and from every Brother that for&s;aketh the A&s;&s;embling of the Saints, mu&s;t the Church let them go on in their &s;in and keep them &s;tanding Members &s;till with them, though they repent not but per&s;i&s;t in tho&s;e di&s;orders, if what Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;ay be true, the Church mu&s;t, and by this means in time there may be no baptized Believers, but that of Babes come in the &s;tead of it, nor no a&s;&s;embling of the Saints, but when every one plea&s;eth, and &s;o all things turn into meer di&s;order and confu&s;ion, even in like manner, the Church it appears then having that Rule, 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 3.6. may withdraw from &s;uch di&s;orderly per|&s;ons, and therefore it is not a particular rule, only re&s;pecting the &s;in of Idlene&s;s as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith, but it is a general command or rule, giving the Church power to deal with every Brother for every di&s;order, and &s;in they &s;hall be found guilty by the Law of God of, and then it is a Command, and Rule, giving the Church Power to withdraw from every Brother, yea and Si&s;ter, that doth Marry &s;infully, <HI>i.e.</HI> a Believer with an Unbeliever; though there could be no particular Law found to warrant the &s;ame, &s;uch Marriages being &s;in and di&s;order, as I have proved, which tho' it be &s;in, yet Mr. <HI>T.</HI> is &s;o bold as to affirm there is neither Precept nor Example, therefore no Rule or Power giv|en
<PB N="55" REF="32">to the Church to deal with &s;uch Offenders, but how far from the Truth he is in his &s;o affirming, may be ea&s;ily perceived by his grand mi&s;take about the mind and intent of the Spirit of God (as I have &s;hewed) in 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 3.6.</P>
<P>Secondly, we have another General Command, &s;o compre|hen&s;ive that it excludes no Offence, nor &s;in, but includes all of all &s;orts and kinds what&s;oever, and of what degree &s;oever, that is publick and open to be known, and that can be di&s;cerned, <HI>Mat.</HI> 18.15, 16, 17. <HI>If thy Brother Tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t thee, go and tell him his Fault between thee and him alone,</HI> agreeable to that in <HI>Levit.</HI> 19.17. Here in this &s;ort as is directed by our Saviour, a Brother, a &s;ingle per&s;on hath power and a Rule given him to deal with a di&s;orderly per&s;on. In the fir&s;t place &s;o far as to tell the Offender his Fault, privately or between them two alone, if the Offender hear the Offended, then he hath gained his Bro|ther, he hath no more to do, he mu&s;t forgive him, but <HI>if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the Mouth of two or three Witne&s;&s;es every word may be E&s;tabli&s;hed, and if he &s;hall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church, but if he ne|glect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a Heathen Man and a Publican.</HI> Mat. 18.15.16, 17. In this Law of Chri&s;t it is clear and plain that the lea&s;t &s;in of the lowe&s;t degree, even an Offence given to a Brother, comes within the Cognizance thereof provi|ded it be a ju&s;t offence, and if the Offender be ob&s;tinate, and im|penitent, will not hear the Fir&s;t and Second Admonition, and La&s;tly doth neglect to hear the Church, the Church hath power given them by Chri&s;t, to hear, examine and give Judgment, namely to Excommunicate him, he [Chri&s;t] al&s;o giveth them to know, that what they Righteou&s;ly do in this thing &s;hall be confirmed in Heaven. <HI>Verily I &s;ay unto you, what&s;oever ye &s;hall bind on Earth &s;hall be bound in Heaven,</HI> ver. 18. It will naturally follow then, that if this Law doth impower the Church to deal with Members for the lea&s;t known &s;in per&s;i&s;ted in, then for great|er &s;ins in degree, as Mixt-Marriages, which is a &s;in again&s;t a Po|&s;itive Prohibition, <HI>neither &s;halt thou make Marriages with them,</HI> Deut. 7.3. <HI>Only in the Lord;</HI> 1 Cor. 7.39. Be not unequally Yoked together in Marriage with Unbelievers. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.14.</P>
<P>Thus you may &s;ee, and Mr. <HI>T.</HI> al&s;o if he do not clo&s;e his Eyes, that the <HI>Church</HI> hath power to withdraw from every Member that &s;hall Marry with the Seed of the great <HI>Whore,</HI> which in the &s;ence of the <HI>Apo&s;tle</HI> are <HI>Harlots.</HI></P>
<PB N="56" REF="33">
<P>Thirdly, There is another Law which doth give the Church power to withdraw from Members, for the Sin of Mixt-Mar|riages, <HI>but now I have written unto you not to keep Company, if any man that is called a Brother be a Fornicator, or Covetous, or an Idolater, or a Railer, or a Drunkard, or an Extortioner, with &s;uch a one, no not to eat.</HI> 1 Cor. 5.11. <HI>[if any man that is called a Brother be a Fornicator,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>keep no company with him, with &s;uch a one, no not to eat,]</HI> whence it is apparent that if the Church be commanded not to Company with &s;uch, no not &s;o much as to eat with them, then the Church mu&s;t not have him in her Compa|ny at the Lords Table, that is a Fornicator, nor &s;uffer him to partake with her, and &s;he eat with him of that Holy Bread that is con&s;ecrated and &s;et apart for the Commemoration of the death of her <HI>Lord,</HI> and in which &s;he hath Holy Communion with the <HI>Lord</HI> in his <HI>Body</HI> and <HI>Blood,</HI> this I &s;ay we mu&s;t under&s;tand to be in this Text prohibited by the Spirit of <HI>God,</HI> if &s;o (as it cannot be denyed) &s;uch then that Marry contrary to po&s;itive prohibiti|ons laid down by the Spirit of God, forbidding Believers to Marry with Unbelievers, do &s;in again&s;t God in their &s;o marry|ing, which &s;in in the &s;ence I have above &s;hewed, the Spirit of <HI>God</HI> &s;aith is <HI>Fornication,</HI> then they that commit the afore&s;aid &s;in are <HI>Fornicators,</HI> the <HI>Church</HI> hath here then an expre&s;s Law, which doth require, and impower her to withdraw from any man that is called a Brother, and guilty of that particular &s;in of <HI>Mixt-Marriages,</HI> which in the &s;ence of the Spirit of <HI>God</HI> is <HI>For|nication,</HI> as lawfully, and by as good Authority, as from any man that is called a Brother, if he be <HI>Covetous,</HI> or an <HI>Idolater,</HI> or a <HI>Railer,</HI> or a <HI>Drunkard,</HI> or an <HI>Extortioner,</HI> (which <HI>Mr. T.</HI> will &s;ay) all &s;uch &s;inners the Church ought to withdraw from, and not partake with &s;uch Sinners and &s;ins, but keep them&s;elves pure which no Church can do, if they &s;uffer and allow &s;in and &s;inners among&s;t them, but will be defiled and corrupted, them&s;elves, yea the whole Church, Sin will over&s;pread as an Inveterate Lepro&s;ie, for a little Leaven leaveneth the whole Lump. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.6.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>I &s;ee now clearly that there is Precept and Rule enough to deal with, yea to withdraw from every member that marryeth contrary to Gods Law. But I pray &s;atisfie me a little farther, may not the Church forgive &s;uch that &s;o &s;in (if they repent, and
<PB N="57" REF="33">are &s;orry, and do confe&s;s their &s;in,) imbrace them, and take them into their Communion again.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>True Repentance, hath not only the&s;e parts in it, &s;orrow and confe&s;&s;ion, but a for&s;aking of the &s;in, abhorring it, and him&s;elf for committing it. <HI>He that covereth his &s;ins &s;hall not pro&s;|per; but who &s;o confe&s;&s;eth and for&s;aketh them &s;hall have Mercy.</HI> Prov. 28.13. There will not only be (where Repentance is true) a confe&s;&s;ing of the &s;in committed, but a for&s;aking of the &s;in al&s;o, without which, there is only an outward &s;hew of Re|pentance, but in truth, and reallity there is none, nay there can be none, acceptable to God, nor ought to be none acceptable to the Church, &s;uch Repentance can be but feigned, and hypo|critical, for who doth (can it be &s;uppo&s;ed) repent truly and &s;in|cerely, of his Marrying contrary to the <HI>Law</HI> of <HI>God,</HI> (at lea&s;t if he yet meet with no di&s;appointment) though he with his Lips doth confe&s;s that he hath &s;inned, yet in his heart he is glad that he hath got a Fair and Beautiful Wife, or if not a fair one, a Rich and Wealthy one, a great or a good fortune, as &s;ome call it, or at lea&s;t one that he loves, and that plea&s;eth him, and he goes home and rejoyceth in her, notwith&s;tanding, and con|tinueth in the Sin &s;till, this can be no Repentance but feigned &s;or|row.</P>
<P>Secondly, When a man hath &s;inned, and doth confe&s;s it with &s;ome &s;hew of Sorrow for his &s;in, his Sorrow and Confe&s;&s;ion doth not make that which was &s;in before, and when he confe&s;&s;eth it, to be no &s;in, when he hath acknowledged and confe&s;&s;ed his &s;in, as for Example, Drunkenne&s;s is &s;in, and there is a man called a <HI>Brother</HI> that is a <HI>Drunkard,</HI> (we will &s;uppo&s;e) and he is admo|ni&s;hed by the Church, and it may be withdrawn from, he then &s;aith, he is &s;orry he hath &s;inned again&s;t God, will this his ac|knowledgment and confe&s;&s;ion alter the &s;in of Drunkenne&s;s, and make it to be no &s;in unto him for the future, but rather a virtue, no &s;ure, no wi&s;e man will &s;o &s;ay, and that he may be drunk as oft as he will, and remain a Drunkard, becau&s;e he hath at &s;ome time or other confe&s;&s;ed (with &s;ome &s;hew of Sorrow) that he hath &s;inned, no this cannot be, the &s;in is the &s;ame, and as abominable as it was before he &s;hewed &s;uch Sorrow, and he is (if he liveth in the &s;in of Drunkenne&s;s,) altogether as much a Drunkard as he was before his &s;orrow and confe&s;&s;ion, and to be denyed commu|nion with the Church. For,</P>
<PB N="58" REF="34">
<P>Thirdly, if the Church &s;hould receive him, and take him into their Fellow&s;hip under the pretext of his Repentance, he once manife&s;ted to them, (notwith&s;tanding he &s;till lives in the &s;in,) he then &s;ins with their approbation and allowance, and thereby the whole Church will become guilty of his &s;in, becau&s;e they allow him in it, without any farther reproof; <HI>be not ye therefore partakers with them,</HI> Eph. 5.7. <HI>Neither be partakers with other mens &s;ins, keep thy &s;elf pure.</HI> 1 Tim. 5.22. The Church may yea doth partake with him in his &s;in, by con&s;enting, he &s;hould live in it, &s;uch a thing the Lord reproves, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.18. <HI>VVhen thou &s;awe&s;t a Thief, then thou con&s;ente&s;t with him, and ha&s;t been partaker with Adulterers,</HI> men may be guilty of other mens &s;ins when they con&s;ent, and give their allowance to them to &s;in, even &s;o the Church doth become guilty of the &s;in of any man, or of any &s;ort of &s;in that is committed by any Member thereof, by the allowance of that Church to whom the Sinner belongs, and thereby that Church doth not keep her &s;elf pure but is defiled, <HI>a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.</HI> 1 Cor. 5.6. this is true, and will hold good in the &s;in of Drunkenae&s;s, Mixt-Marriages or any other &s;in what&s;oever.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>What mu&s;t they do then, that have Marryed &s;infully, if their confe&s;&s;ing their &s;in, and being &s;orrowfull for the &s;ame will not be &s;ufficient to the Church, and if they may not receive &s;uch of|fenders into Communion again.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Such that &s;o &s;in ought greatly to mourn, and to humble their Souls for their &s;in, they have committed again&s;t God, all their days, and not as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> advi&s;eth, to go to other Congre|gations where they may (the more is the &s;hame and pity) be Re|ceived, but &s;till humbly with contrition of Spirit wait upon God and the Congregation where they do belong, and have walked with, in the Fellow&s;hip of the Go&s;pel, bearing the Puni&s;hment in|flicted on them for their &s;in, patiently &s;aying, <HI>I will bear the in|dignation of the Lord, becau&s;e I have &s;inned again&s;t him.</HI> Micah 7.9. And &s;o wait upon the Lord, &s;itting under the mini&s;try of the word untill a Door may be opened by the Lord, of Repen|tance effectually and &s;incerely, wrought in him even that Godly Sorrow, never to be repented of, and the mean time let him &s;ee that his Conver&s;ation in all other things be circum&s;pect, Holy and Pious, that &s;o God peradventure might bring his un|believing wife to the knowledge of, and obedience to the truth,
<PB N="59" REF="34">and &s;o be brought out of Mi&s;tery <HI>Babylon</HI> into the Church, to walk in all the Ordinances of the Go&s;pel blamele&s;ly, this he &s;hould do, which if he do not he will add more &s;in to &s;in, and thereby provoke the Lord more to Anger again&s;t him, and then namely if his Wife be converted, there may be (if he heartily repent,) an admi&s;&s;ion of him into Communion with the Church again. Agreeable to the Mind of God, the Churches &s;atisfaction and his Comfort, Joy and Peace, and the Church keep her Vir|gin purity, un&s;potted and undefiled, which otherwi&s;e &s;he can|not do, as I have &s;hewed above.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>I &s;ee this mu&s;t be the way the Churches ought to take,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fol.</HI> 42.</NOTE> but Mr. <HI>T.</HI> affirms, that God at all times did bear (upon occa&s;ion) with the breach of his po&s;itive Law.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yea he doth &s;ay &s;o indeed, but with little &s;hew of verity, he gives for his in&s;tance <HI>Davids</HI> eating of the &s;hew-bread, and the Di&s;ciples plucking the Ears of Corn, but doth not our Savi|our ju&s;tifie his Di&s;ciples namely in their plucking the Ears of Corn on the Sabbath Day, by <HI>Davids</HI> eating the &s;hew-bread he being an hungry, and &s;ure our Saviour (he will not &s;ay) doth not ju&s;tifie one evil by another, (namely his Di&s;ciples plucking the Ears of Corn) either in the breach of a Moral or Po&s;itive Law, by <HI>Davids</HI> eating the &s;hew-bread, which indeed was Unlawfull for him to eat, had not the circum&s;tance he was under at that time excu&s;ed, and for that cau&s;e, though God did bear with <HI>David,</HI> it doth not follow that the Church may take upon them to do the like without warrant from him, much le&s;s to bear with &s;inful Marriages, which God &s;o po&s;itively forbids. And hath time after time manife&s;ted his indignation again&s;t by his &s;e|vere Judgments, poured out upon the Offenders; yea a &s;in which the Spirit of God in the Scripture calleth <HI>Fornication:</HI> and likewi&s;e in the ca&s;e of the <HI>Gibionites</HI> much like the &s;ame may be &s;aid, con&s;idering the circum&s;tances, for they namely the <HI>Gibio|nites</HI> wrought deceitfully with <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> and the Princes of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> as the &s;tory relates, and it being &s;o, they namely <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> and the Princes were not blamed by the Lord, it being no wilfull di&s;o|bedience in them, or breach of Gods Command, and I hope God may anticipate his own command without leave fir&s;t, had from any man, and men not pre&s;ume to do the &s;ame without a warrant from him in any ca&s;e, touching his commands, and though the People did murmur again&s;t <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> and the Princes of
<PB N="60" REF="35"><HI>I&s;rael,</HI> yet were they contented, when <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> and the Princes told them they &s;hould be <HI>Hewers of Wood and Drawers of Water unto all the Congregation;</HI> Jo&s;h. 9.21. And moreover <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> cur&s;ed them for their deceit u&s;ed by them, (as you may there read) in beguiling him and the princes by Lying and Di&s;&s;imula|tion; <HI>ver.</HI> 22.23. And <HI>Jo&s;hua made them that day Hewers of Wood and Drawers of VVater for the Congregation,</HI> ver. 27. all which &s;heweth that <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> doth not ju&s;tifie what he and the Prin|ces had done in Swearing to the&s;e <HI>Gibionites,</HI> yet being done it could not be undone, becau&s;e of their <HI>Oath;</HI> though as much was done namely by <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> to the <HI>Gibionites,</HI> as was &s;ufflicient to demon&s;trate his Heart upright, and no ways &s;tarted a&s;ide from the Law of his God, and therefore we cannot &s;ee (by all this talk he hath made) unle&s;s he had &s;hewed it more plainly that as he &s;aith, a Church is &s;ometimes bound to bear with the breach of a po&s;itive Law, for if it &s;hould be granted, that Almighty God did in tho&s;e things he mentioneth, bear with the breaking of a po&s;itive Law, yet doth it not prove, that therefore his Church is bound to do the &s;ame, without leave fir&s;t had from him.</P>
<P>Secondly, if the praying for &s;uperiours be neglected, and the Church do not deal with any for that neglect, it doth not there|fore follow that the Church is bound to bear with any man that neglects a duty po&s;itively required, for that Mr. <HI>T.</HI> affirms, nor if the Church do not deal with any for their neglect of con|tributing to the Mini&s;try, it doth not follow the Church is bound by any Law of God to bear with &s;uch neglects, it may be the Churches &s;in not to deal with &s;uch Members, and they far from being bound to bear with them, except the Church be poor, and cannot contribute any thing at all, or not &s;o much as need re|quires, and in &s;uch a Ca&s;e God doth not require it. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8.11, 12. Or if the Mini&s;ter will make the Go&s;pel without charge, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9.18. And will labour with his own hands, 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 3.8. As the Apo&s;tle &s;aith he did, <HI>Act.</HI> 20.34. And &s;hewed the El|ders how they &s;hould labour as he did; <HI>ver.</HI> 35. Now in the&s;e ca&s;es it may be no evil in the Members, not to contribute name|ly to the Mini&s;try, though an Ordinance of God, nor no bear|ing of the Church with the breaking of a po&s;itive Law.</P>
<P>And la&s;tly whereas Mr. <HI>T.</HI> offers &s;ome few things as he &s;aith to con&s;ideration, I &s;hall offer as many to him which may &s;erve, as an an&s;wer in &s;ome &s;ort to his.</P>
<PB N="61" REF="35">
<P>Fir&s;t, con&s;ider the Yoke of Chri&s;t is ea&s;y, and his Burden is light; <HI>Mat.</HI> 11.30. And this is no more; nor other Yoke then Chri&s;t hath (not we) put upon his Di&s;ciples. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.15.16, 17, 18. <HI>Chap.</HI> 7.39. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.14 <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.14. <HI>ver.</HI> 20. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.8. (Which is the thing we contend for, namely that Believ|ers &s;hould Marry with Believers) but to be unequally Yoked to|gether with Unbelievers is a Yoke indeed hard, and heavy to bear, as many have found by &s;ad experience, as I do now know &s;ome, and have in my time known many more, but them who obey the Lord do find this yoke ea&s;y and light, &s;weet, Plea&s;ant peaceable; and much joy and comfort they have found therein, as many can witne&s;s, and if the women, and Maids (many of them) have none in the Church will take notice of them, at who&s;e Door will it lye but at Mr. <HI>Tory's,</HI> who hath taught the men to look abroad in the world for Wives Rich and Beautifull, by which means, they being taught &s;o to do, they will not take notice of the poor women in the Church, though they be virtu|ous and pious, but will. take all worldly advantages they can, and thereby the women go without Husbands, except by temp|tation (as too many do) they make a breach upon the Law of God.</P>
<P>Secondly, Let Mr. <HI>Tory</HI> and all others of his mind, con&s;ider how rediculous not only to the <HI>Rude</HI> and <HI>Prophane,</HI> but to the &s;ober minded, the <HI>Pre&s;byter</HI> and the <HI>Independant,</HI> the denying of the <HI>Baptizing</HI> of Children, and the <HI>Dipping</HI> of Believers is, as many of them have manife&s;ted in their Printed Books, &s;et forth in oppo&s;ition to the one, and in confirmation (as well as they could) of the other, what do the <HI>Pre&s;oyter</HI> and <HI>Independant</HI> &s;ay to this, do they think you do well, and do they look upon you as wi&s;e men, to dipp in water &s;uch Per&s;ons as &s;ometimes comes from them to you; do they think it good dealing, that you &s;hould take from them &s;uch as they e&s;teem, or at lea&s;t did e&s;teem Faithfull and Upright, and al&s;o rightly baptized in their in&s;ancy, and baptize them again, (as they count it) do they not think you are not only be&s;ides the Truth, but your Wits al&s;o, e&s;pecially when you &s;hall <HI>Baptize</HI> them in Winters Fro&s;t and Snow, to endanger their Health, if not their Lives thereby, as they think, nor will it be &s;ufficient for you to tell them you have a command; in <HI>Mat.</HI> 28.19. For they will tell you, that the Covenant made with <HI>Abraham</HI> and his Seed, will ju&s;tifie
<PB N="62" REF="36">the <HI>Baptizing</HI> of <HI>Children,</HI> and therefore your <HI>Baptizing</HI> of <HI>Adult</HI> Per&s;ons is Rediculous, Erronious and &s;infull, but we mu&s;t not &s;eek the prai&s;e of men, <HI>for he is not a</HI> Jew <HI>which is one outward|ly, neither is that Circumci&s;ion that is outward in the Fle&s;h, but he is a</HI> Jew, <HI>which is one inwardly, and Circumci&s;ion is that of the heart in the Spirit, and not in the Letter, who&s;e prai&s;e is not of men but of God.</HI> Rom. 2.28.29. <HI>For if I yet plea&s;e men, I &s;hall not be the Servant of Chri&s;t.</HI> Gal. 1.10. See 1 The&s;&s;a. 2.4.5.6.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Let Mr. <HI>T.</HI> con&s;ider, how he doth lay a &s;tumbling block (like as <HI>Balaam</HI> did) in the way of Members, both men, and women, in teaching them as he hath done in his book, to mix them&s;elves in Marriage or VVedlock with <HI>unbaptized</HI> Per|&s;ons, and &s;o cau&s;e them to &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;s again&s;t God, as for the Truth, if any &s;tumble at that, the cau&s;e is their Unbelief, and for them who cannot deny them&s;elves this world and worldly plea&s;ures and advantages for <HI>Chri&s;ts</HI> &s;ake, and bring their hearts wholly and fully over to him, and be content to be &s;ubject to the Lord, in doing the things he commands to be done, and in not doing that which he forbids them to do, will not be a true Di&s;|ciple of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> and a many &s;uch there are now a days, who are as unfit to be Church Members, as they are &s;hort in being the true followers of the Lord, and truly good it is for all men, to be well advi&s;ed, when they enter into Go&s;pel profe&s;&s;ion, and for them to con&s;ider all the co&s;t, and not to turn hand over head, about the weighty matters of <HI>Eternity,</HI> for he that &s;etteth his hand to the <HI>Plough, and looketh back is unfit for the Kingdom of God;</HI> Luke 9.62. It is good to <HI>Remember</HI> Lots <HI>Wife,</HI> Luke 17.32. <HI>For it had been better for them, not to have known the way of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, then after they have known it, to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered unto them.</HI> 2 Pet. 2.21. For tho&s;e that are not well advi&s;ed, and who expect to advance their for|tunes in the world, (will not it's to be feared) bear to be ha|ted by the world, per&s;ecuted, and have tribulation in the world, as <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> hath foretold his Di&s;ciples &s;hall, <HI>John</HI> 15.18.19. <HI>Chap.</HI> 16.33. And &s;uch the Church is not like to have much com|fort in, nor the poor much relief from.</P>
<P>Fourthly, Let Mr. <HI>T.</HI> con&s;ider what account he will be able
<PB N="63" REF="36">to give in the day of the <HI>Lord,</HI> if all he hath writ in <HI>vindication</HI> of <HI>Mixt-Marriages</HI> be (as it is) grounded upon <HI>Error</HI> and mi|&s;take, when he hath taught and publi&s;hed in print the <HI>I&s;rael</HI> of God to comply with <HI>Balaams</HI> Doctrine, in that part of it, namely to Marry with the Daughters of the great <HI>Whore,</HI> (if he doth not teach them al&s;o in word and practice, to comply and joyn with them in &s;ome part of their wor&s;hip,) for all which he pretendeth to have the VVord of God to warrant what he &s;aith, when the Lord hath not &s;poke by him, neither in the one, nor the other, in which he hath grieved many, and cau&s;ed others to turn a&s;ide, and harden their Hearts again&s;t Church Ad|monitions and Cen&s;ures, by teaching them Rebellion again&s;t <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> and his Church, and by labouring to per&s;wade &s;inners that the Church hath received no power from <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> to withdraw from them for their &s;in, then which nothing can be more fal&s;e, but as for the Church, &s;he having a Rule to deal with &s;uch &s;in|ners, would not be able to give account in the day of the <HI>Lord,</HI> if they have among&s;t them tho&s;e that hold &s;uch Doctrine, much le&s;s, if they have and &s;uffer tho&s;e that put &s;uch Doctrine into practice. <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.14.20.</P>
<P>And La&s;tly let him con&s;ider, that he hath u&s;ed the name of <HI>God,</HI> to open one door to let in &s;in by the great, and &s;hut ano|ther door to keep the &s;in and &s;inner in the Church, and by that means (as much as in him lyeth) hath &s;hut them out of <HI>Heaven,</HI> for their impenitency, there being nothing el&s;e will do it, as for the Cen&s;ures of the Church duly and ju&s;tly executed, they are not in them&s;elves a means to &s;hut any out of Heaven, as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> &s;aith, the end of them being no other then <HI>the Destruction of the Fle&s;h, that the Spirit may be &s;aved in the day of the Lord Je&s;us.</HI> 1 Cor. 5.5. Then is it no pre&s;umptious zeal as he is plea&s;ed to call it, for I have given both precept and example to warrant the Churches dealing with &s;uch Sinners, and therefore it will become him, and the re&s;t of his Brethren, that are of his opinion, to con&s;ider well of the&s;e things, and not to &s;uffer the Love and de|&s;ire of Friend&s;hip they have with the world, to tran&s;port them, nor prepo&s;&s;e&s;s their Judgments, from retracting any thing that doth appear to be to the prejudice of the Truth, and the peace and purity of the Church, which every &s;incere Chri&s;tian doth de|&s;ire, and will labour to pre&s;erve.</P>
</SP>
<PB N="64" REF="37">
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>I thank you for this pains you have taken to &s;atisfie me, I pray <HI>God</HI> it may be a means to prevent tho&s;e growing evils that are crept in among&s;t profe&s;&s;ours in this Perilous Day, that <HI>God</HI> may divert tho&s;e Judgments, which are threatned again&s;t us, for the &s;in of his People.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>I de&s;ire the &s;ame, and with all may God &s;o ble&s;s my En|deavours to his Glory, and the purging of the Church, I have my end.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>Had Mr. <HI>T.</HI> laid &s;uch a Foundation as you have done, his <HI>Appendix</HI> had been &s;uitable and proper, had it not?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yea, but he fir&s;t takes away or at lea&s;t undermines the <HI>Ba&s;is</HI> of his <HI>Appendix,</HI> and then he builds up his caution, and advice to the unmarried upon it, (though what he &s;aith therein doth notoriou&s;ly contradict all that he &s;aith before,) but to what purpo&s;e is his advice, to them it is directed to, &s;ince he gives them the whole world to choo&s;e <HI>Wives</HI> or <HI>Hu&s;bands</HI> in, tho&s;e cautions that comes out of the &s;ame mouth, that gives them liber|ty to Marry any one whom they plea&s;e, telling them it is no vio|lation of Gods Law, no evil in it &s;elf, nay that there is no Law to prohibite them: what re&s;traint can that put upon any that are minded to make u&s;e of his incouragements, men and women in the world are generally of this mind, that they will as neer as they can get them <HI>Hu&s;bands</HI> and <HI>Wives</HI> that are Fair, Rich, have good conditions, are of a good nature, affable, &s;ober and the like, this propencity is in mo&s;t People, though they mind not Religion in their choice, and that they will pur&s;ue, if Mr. <HI>T.</HI> had not advi&s;ed them, and therefore although the advice may be good in it &s;elf, (mo&s;t of it) yet from him it is little more then to &s;how, that Mr. <HI>Stephen</HI> is again&s;t Mr. <HI>Tory,</HI> and that they are in &s;ome &s;ort divided about one and the &s;elf &s;ame thing, and do not agree in their Judgments, what I &s;ay is not that I would, that any of the Lord's People &s;hould &s;light or reject any good advi&s;e, but rather that they would follow them, not as his advi&s;e only, but as it is grounded upon the Law of God, ari&s;ing not from prudence and policy only, as Mr. <HI>T.</HI> hath in his <HI>vindication</HI> affirmed, but from his <HI>Po&s;itive</HI> prohibitions as I have &s;hewed, and then I hope his <HI>Appendix</HI> may prove no &s;nare
<PB N="65" REF="37">to any, but rather be a means (whether he intended it &s;hould or no) to keep the Unmarried from breaking thorrow the limits and bounds that the Lord hath &s;et them, and to cau&s;e them that have Married contrary to the mind of God, greatly to humble them&s;elves under his mighty hand for the &s;ame.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>F.</SPEAKER>
<P>I have given you this trouble to the end I might be &s;atis|fied, and others al&s;o, and that their might be a &s;top put to the growing greatne&s;s of that &s;in, namely Mixt-Marriages, and I hope God will ble&s;s your labours, and cau&s;e the fruit of them to be an effectual means to purge the Churches, (at lea&s;t &s;ome of them) from that defilement.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P>I pray God it may, and then I &s;hall have cau&s;e to be thankfull, that his Church be pre&s;ented as a cha&s;t <HI>Virgin</HI> to <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> which I greatly de&s;ire may be, and which is my end, as God knoweth.</P>
<P>I will now take my leave of you Brother, de&s;iring the Lord may cau&s;e you yet more and more to encrea&s;e in Grace and Knowledge, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord, <HI>unto God our Fa|ther be Glory in the Church, by Chri&s;t Je&s;us throughout all ages world without end.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>E.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Amen,</HI> Fare ye well.</P>
</SP>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>A Word to tho&s;e Congregations in general, who allow of Mixt-Marriages</HEAD>
<P>BRethren, I cannot pa&s;s this oportunity, and occation, which now pre&s;ents it &s;elf, but mu&s;t in &s;hort di&s;charge my tru&s;t, and a good Con&s;cience towards you, whether I love you or no, and de&s;ire your pre&s;ent pro&s;perity in Truth, Peace and Purity here, and Eternal Happine&s;s hereafter, in what I &s;hall &s;ay, Al|mighty God can only witne&s;s for or again&s;t me, I have that te&s;ti|mony in my &s;elf that I greatly long after you, and de&s;ire your wel|fare
<PB N="66" REF="38">in the Lord, and could gladly &s;pend, and be &s;pent for you, though the more I love you, the le&s;s I am loved by you, and how much I have been grieved and in &s;ecret have mourned and with what fervency I have prayed, and &s;till do, both in publick and private for you, the Lord knoweth, and many can witne&s;s; yet notwith&s;tanding I know my Reward will be from &s;ome fro|ward, and unmortified Spirits, no better then unkind reflecti|ons, with unchri&s;tian, uncharitable and ra&s;h cen&s;ures, but how|ever tho&s;e things give me no di&s;couragement, nor &s;hall cau&s;e me to de&s;i&s;t from any thing, may be hopefully a means to call you back from your declen&s;ions, to your fir&s;t Love and works, I have &s;een to the grief of my Soul (which you have not regarded nor taken any care of) that you have defiled your &s;elves, and corrupted your way in &s;uffering the Doctrine of <HI>Balaam</HI> to be held, taught, and put in practice among&s;t you, namely <HI>Mixt-Marriages,</HI> Believers to be unequally Yoked together in Marri|age with Unbelievers; which you in your Con&s;ciences have known, and have bore your te&s;timony again&s;t with much zeal, as being a &s;in and Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, but now being perverted, I fear by your too much Love of the World, and delighting in the modes and fa&s;hions thereof, which you once prote&s;ted again&s;t, and &s;eparated your &s;elves from, hath made you &s;o ea&s;y to be &s;e|duced, and turned a&s;ide from your <HI>Virgin</HI> purity and cha&s;tity, and not to keep out that &s;in, nor now it is got in, you &s;uffer it and indulge it, and do not reform &s;uch enormity, by which you are, even the whole body defiled, you being partakers with them in that &s;in, in that you keep them in your Communion at the Lords Table; which by your &s;o doing they continue in their &s;in, <HI>cum privilegio,</HI> and by allowance from you. And that you have long &s;ince inclined hereunto, (being &s;educed by the fair pre|tences of &s;ome who&s;e minds were corrupted in that matter) as appears by your con&s;enting to the pa&s;&s;ing of two decrees, or Church agreements in order thereunto, the Fir&s;t was to this ef|fect, that no Member &s;hould call or give <HI>Mixt-Marriages</HI> the name of <HI>Fornication,</HI> which is the proper name the Spirit of God doth give it, as I have &s;hewn from 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.15.16, 18. <HI>Chap.</HI> 10.8. <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.14. Which I pray you carefully con&s;ider, this no doubt was the fir&s;t &s;tep to the introducing of that &s;in, for, to take away the name of a &s;in which makes it look with a &s;oul face, and &s;heweth the true and proper colours of it, is the
<PB N="67" REF="38">ready way to incline Members both Men and Women to make le&s;s Con&s;cience of it, and in time make none at all, the Second decree was, that tho&s;e Members that did Marry contrary to the Rule of Gods Holy word, &s;hould upon the acknowledgement of their &s;in, and &s;orrow for the &s;ame, be Received into Com|munion again, or to this effect, this was another &s;tep to incline Members &s;o to Marry, and to break down the bounds that hed|ged up the way of that &s;in, for who would keep him&s;elf pure from this defilement, when any carnal and worldly advantages do offer them&s;elves, that is &s;et &s;o light by, that an outward con|fe&s;&s;ion and &s;hew of &s;orrow &s;hall not only make his peace with the Church, but &s;hall al&s;o give him their approbation and con&s;ent that he &s;hall now continue in his &s;in, and enjoy his Communion with them al&s;o, and by this means the way is &s;top'd up, by which the &s;inner and &s;in &s;hould go out, and be &s;eparated from the Church; the&s;e inventions and traditions of men (for no other name can I give them) contrary to the mind of Chri&s;t was the product of your <HI>Primary</HI> defect, and procidence from your pri&s;tine integrity, and that good order you once per&s;ued to keep this (with &s;ome other evils) out of your Camp; <HI>For the leaders of this People cau&s;e them to err, and they that are led of them are de&s;troyed.</HI> I&s;a. 9.16. And now at la&s;t you are &s;o far from refor|mation, that you have &s;uffered Mr. <HI>T.</HI> to publi&s;h to the world an ab&s;olute defiance again&s;t the Unlawfulne&s;s of <HI>Mixt-Marriages,</HI> and the Churches power to deal with any that &s;hall Tran&s;gre&s;s, proclaiming to all the Churches both in City and Country that it is no &s;in, no evil in it &s;elf, contrary to no Law, and therefore Lawfull, and likewi&s;e that if it be a &s;in, the Church hath no Precept, nor no Example, and therefore no power to withdraw from any for &s;o Marrying, &s;o that what was done by you be|fore in your agreements, though they were of the &s;ame tendan|cy, yet now he hath &s;poke plainly, what you in tho&s;e agree|ments &s;poke but darkly, and unto his, you have rather writ <HI>Imprimatur</HI> then any ways made it your endeavour to detect his Errors, it being thus with you as is too apparant, your practice being &s;ufficient proof, I can do no le&s;s then admoni&s;h you of the&s;e evils and defilements, that now &s;eem to &s;tick fa&s;t unto you, and to call upon you in the Name of the Lord to repent, and reform of tho&s;e great evils and pollutions that are among&s;t you, before it be to late, and that you labour to work &s;uch a reformation as
<PB N="68" REF="39">will be plea&s;ing to the Lord, and al&s;o demon&s;trate to all, the Truth of your Repentance, and amendment, this I &s;peak is in love to your Souls how ever you will take it, and in di&s;charge of my Duty to God and you, and therefore whether you hear or forbear, I have di&s;charged my Con&s;cience in the &s;ight of God, and &s;hall not cea&s;e praying for you, nor to be willing to &s;erve you in the Lord.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>I. G.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="69" REF="39">
<HEAD>A word to <HI>Mr. Tory</HI> in particular.</HEAD>
<P>BRother I have peru&s;ed your Book, which you Entitule <HI>Mixt-Marriages Vindicated,</HI> without any prejudicate opinion to yours, or partiallity to my own per&s;wa&s;ion, and have compiled an an&s;wer with as much candor and cordial love to you and the truth, as you could have in publi&s;hing your Book, and therefore I hope it will find acceptance with you, &s;o far as to give it a di|ligent &s;erious and impartial &s;peculation, and &s;hew it the kind|ne&s;s of a moderate correction and detection, if you find it merit nothing el&s;e from you, but if not, I then hope and am &s;o chari|tably per&s;waded of you, that you will retract your own opinion, and Book.</P>
<P>I cannot but here remind you of the greatne&s;s of tho&s;e evils that lye couched in your <HI>Vindication</HI> of &s;o great a &s;in as <HI>Mixt-Marriages</HI> is, and how much di&s;&s;ervice you have done the Chur|ches thereby, the which I hope upon a &s;econd &s;erious and deli|berate view you will &s;ee.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I cannot but note, and put you in mind how prodigi|ou&s;ly you were tran&s;ported in your confidence, when you do of|ten here and there in your Book boldly affirm that <HI>Mixt-Marri|ages</HI> is no &s;in, no evil in it &s;elf, it &s;hall be a Snare to thee, but no &s;in in thee, and that tho&s;e &s;ayings you put as an Addition to the Word of God, when you in your very Title Page forewarn me and all other men, that we pre&s;ume not to Add to the Word of God, in the words of <HI>Solomon; Add not thou to his Word, lea&s;t he reprove thee, and thou be found a Liar.</HI> Prov. 30.6. And yet you &s;tick not to do the &s;ame thing, for I pray where hath the Lord &s;aid, in the whole or any one part or place of the Scripture, <HI>Mixt-Marriages</HI> (which you <HI>vindicate</HI>) is no &s;in, no evil in it &s;elf, it &s;hall be a Snare to thee, but no &s;in in thee to Marry with the Na|tions, had the Lord in any place &s;o &s;aid, as you &s;ay, you would not have been &s;o unju&s;t to your own opinion, nor &s;o unkind to your Brethren, whom you would have believe what you affirm
<PB N="70" REF="40">to be true, but you would have plainly in Capital Letters quoted, and &s;et down that &s;aying of the Lord, if there had been any, and directed your Reader to the Book, Chapter and Ver&s;e, where it was written, and be&s;ides, then you had put all out of doubt, the controver&s;ie had been ended, and the labour &s;pared in an&s;wering you, I &s;ay, this is high pre&s;umption, for which you have cau&s;e to repent, and &s;peedily retract.</P>
<P>Secondly, I mu&s;t take notice of your oft a&s;&s;erting, that God forbad the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> to Marry with the other Nations, only in prudence, and policy, and that you make the ground of your pre&s;umptious &s;ayings it was no &s;in, no evil in it &s;elf, (as much as to &s;ay) to be di&s;obedient to tho&s;e Laws was no &s;in, &s;uppo&s;e I &s;hould grant that tho&s;e Laws were only prudent and politick, by who&s;e authority do you undertake to affirm, that divine pru|dence and policy may at the plea&s;ure of Mortals be di&s;obeyed, were it no other then that you give as an in&s;tance, <HI>Deut.</HI> 20.19. In the ca&s;e of a long &s;iege, &s;urely had the be&s;iegers de&s;troyed tho&s;e Trees by cutting them down, which the Lord expre&s;ly prohibited they had &s;inned, though you pre&s;ume to &s;ay the rea|&s;on was <HI>not, becau&s;e the thing was &s;infull,</HI> (adding to the word of the Lord,) but becau&s;e <HI>thou maye&s;t eat of them,</HI> when the Lords rea&s;on is this, <HI>for the Tree of the Field is mans Life,</HI> &s;o may you as well &s;ay of that prohibition in <HI>Deut.</HI> 24.6. <HI>No man &s;hall take the nether, or the &V;pper Mil&s;tone to pledge, for he taketh a mans Life to pledge,</HI> and put in this as the rea&s;on, <HI>not becau&s;e it was &s;infull,</HI> to take a Mil&s;tone to pledge, but becau&s;e the &s;tones were to grind Corn for Bread, and thus you labour to make the Law of God of none effect, by your Additions to his Word.</P>
<P>Thirdly, For you at &s;uch a time as this is, and when Profe&s;|&s;ors are many of them become Carnal, and do take liberty to commit &s;everal di&s;orders, to publi&s;h a book to encourage them more, was (to &s;ay no wor&s;e) very great imprudence in you, had you publi&s;hed your cautions, or advice only, you might have done &s;ome &s;ervice to God, and his people, but you having fir&s;t with all your might and indu&s;try, laboured to remove out of their way the ground, and ba&s;&s;is of your Councel, by which only men are limited, and bound, namely the Law of God, your cautions &s;eem to be nothing el&s;e but a <HI>Vizzard</HI> put upon the face of your book, that the uncomely make, and features thereof might not be &s;een nor ob&s;erved, that &s;o it might pa&s;s with little
<PB N="71" REF="40">in&s;pection, and &s;o in&s;tead of delivering any from the evil of <HI>un|equally yoking them&s;elves with unbelievers,</HI> it may prove a &s;nare to many, even your very cautions, by prompting them to Marry with the greate&s;t of <HI>Idolaters,</HI> provided they be but &s;ober.</P>
<P>Fourthly, I note your evil advice in your &s;econd <HI>Po&s;t-&s;cript,</HI> where you council &s;uch as are denyed Communion for their &s;in|full Marrying, to apply them&s;elves to &s;ome other Congregation, where they may be entertained, councel rather proceeding from <HI>Satan</HI> the Author of confu&s;ion, then from the God of order, by which you that advi&s;e, and tho&s;e Congregations that enter|tain them, do thereby all you can to break Church order and di&s;cipline, and likewi&s;e harden the hearts of &s;inners again&s;t re|proof, and Church cen&s;ures, tho&s;e Congregations making them|&s;elves Sanctuaries, and Cities of refuge, whereunto criminals may fly for to &s;helter them&s;elves from the execution of Gods Law, provided as a puni&s;hment for their &s;in, the end of which is not as you in&s;inuate, to &s;hut them out of Heaven, but <HI>for the de&s;truc|tion of their fle&s;h, that there Spirit might be &s;aved in the Day of the Lord;</HI> which Salvation you and tho&s;e Congregations (as much as in you lies, by your councel and their entertainment,) en|deavour to keep them from: all the&s;e things you have adventu|red to do, again&s;t the word of the Lord, for which in the Bowels of <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> I exhort you to repent, you having been an in&s;trument of much evil and confu&s;ion, that for time to come you may be a means, <HI>being converted to &s;trengthen your Brethren,</HI> &s;etting your heart and hand to the work of reformation, that God may have Glory, the Church purged from her defilements, and enjoy the Ble&s;&s;ings of Peace and Tranquillity, which is the hearty prayer of</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Brother and Servant in Chri&s;t. <HI>I. G.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS;</TRAILER>
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