} neighbour in these words, "If thou offerest thy gift upon the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath any thing against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, then come and offer thy gift; agree with thine adversary whilst thou art in the way with him, lest the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison: verily I say unto thee, thou shalt not come forth thence, until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." Chap. v. 23 to 26. To be reconciled to a brother is to shun enmity, hatred, and revenge; that it is to shun such evils as sins, is evident. The Lord also teaches in Matthew, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do unto them, for this is the law and the prophets," vii. 12; consequently evil should not be done; not to mention many other passages to the same purport. The Lord also teaches that murder consists in being angry with a brother or a neighbour without a cause, and in accounting him as an enemy. Matt. v. 21, 22. That so far as any one shuns adulteries of every kind as sins, so far he loves chastity. 74. By adultery, in the seventh commandment of the decalogue, in a natural sense, is not only meant whoredom, but also all obscene acts, all wanton discourse, and all filthy unclean thoughts; but by committing adultery in a spiritual sense is meant, to adulterate the good things of the Word, and to falsify its truth; and in a supreme sense, by committing adultery is meant to deny the Lord's divinity and to profane the Word: these are the several kinds of adultery. The natural man, by means of his rational light, may know, that by adultery is meant every obscene act, all wanton discourse, and every filthy thought; but he does not know that by committing adultery is also meant, to adul terate the good things of the Word, and to falsify its truths; and still less that it means the denying the Lord's divinity and profaning the Word; hence he does not know, that adultery is so great an evil, that it may be called essentially diabolical; for whosoever is principled in natural adultery, is also in spiritual adultery, and vice versa; that this is the case, will be demonstrated in a particular treatise concerning marriage. But they are at once in adulteries of every kind, who by virtue of faith and life do not make adulteries sins. 75. The reason why so far as any one shuns adultery, so far he loves marriage, or what is the same thing, so far as any one shuns the lasciviousness of adultery, so far he loves the chastity of marriage, is, because the lasciviousness of adultery and the chastity of marriage are two opposites, wherefore so far as man is not in one, so far he is in the other. The case in this respect is as was described above, n. 70. 76. It is impossible for any one to know what is the chastity of marriage, unless he shuns the lasciviousness of adultery as sin; a man may know that in which he is, but he cannot know that in which he is not; if he knows any thing, in which he is not, by description, or by thinking about it, still he knows it only as in a shade of obscurity, and involved in doubt; wherefore he does not see it in a clear light, and extricated from doubt, until he is in it; in the latter case therefore he knows, but in the former case he may he said to know, and not to know. The truth is, that the lasciviousness of adultery and the chastity of marriage compared with each other are like hell and keaven compared with each other, and that the lasciviousness of adultery makes hell with man, and the chastity of marriage makes heaven with him. The chastity of marriage however is not given to abide with any one, unless he shuns the lasciviousness of adultery as sin: see below, n. 111. 77. From what has been said it may without ambiguity be concluded and seen, whether a man be a Christian or not, yea, whether he has any religion or not: for whosoever by virtue of faith and life does not make adulteries sins, he is not a Christian, neither has he any religion. But on the other hand, whosoever shuns adulteries as sins, especially if he has an aversion thereto in consideration of their being sins, and still more if he abominates them on that account, he has religion, and if he be in the christian church, he is a Christian. But more will be seen on this subject in the treatise concerning Marriage. In the mean time see what is said upon it in the treatise on Heaven and Hell, n. 366 to 380. 78. That by adulteries are also meant obscene acts, loose, wanton discourse, and filthy thoughts, appears plain from the Lord's words in Matthew, " Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery ; but I say unto you, that whosoever shall look upon a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart." v. 27, 28. 79. That by committing adultery, in a spiritual sense, is meant to adulterate the good of the Word, and to falsify its truth, appears from the following passages, "Babylon hath made all nations drink of the wine of her fornication." Rev. xiv. 8. “The angel said, I will shew thee the judgment of the great whore, that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed whoredom." Rev. xvii. 1, 2. "All nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her. Rev. xviii. 3. "God hath judged the great whore, who corrupted the earth with her whoredom. Rev. xix. 2. Whoredom is spoken of in regard to Babylon, because by Babylon are meant those, who arrogate to themselves |