Vindiciae legis, or, A vindication of the moral law and the covenants, from the…Vindiciae legis, or, A vindication of the morall law and the covenants, from the…

We therefore come to the Questions: And first concerning capital punishments to be inflicted upon some offenders. There ⟨p. 189⟩are those that say, It doth not stand with the goodness and meekness of a Gospel-spirit to put any man to death for any crime whatsoever. But the falseness hereof doth appear, 1. In that it's a command of God from the beginning, with a perpetual reason added to it, that he who was guilty of murder, should be put to death; so that at least in this case there ought to be a capital punishment. Now the command that God gave is Gen. 9. 6. Whatsoever sheddeth mans blood, by man shall his blood be shed, and there is the reason given of it, because the image of God, viz. in his soul, is in him To elude this, they say that this is not a command but a mere prediction: God doth here fore-tell (say they) what will befall the murderer, not what a Magistrate is bound to do. But that is a mere evasion; for why should God fore-tell this, but because it was a duty to be done? Therefore it's not said indefinitely, He that sheddeth mans blood, his blood shall be shed, but he addeth, by man it shall be shed. Therefore, howsoever a great ^*Scholar saith, that those are deceived, who think capital punishments are appointed by the Law of Nature, or any perpetual Law of God; yet this place demonstrateth the contrary: neither is it any matter that Plato would have reduced into his common-wealth the abrogation of capital punishments; or that the Romans for a while did use no heavier punishment, then deportation, or banishment; we must live by commands, and not by examples, especially humane. It's instanced in Cain, who, though he killed his brother Abel, yet God did not destroy him. It must be granted, that, Gods indulgence to Cain was very great; for he doth not only spare his life, but sets a mark upon him to preserve him (what this was, they are most to be commended, who dare not determine it, because the Scripture is silent in it.) and not only so, but he addeth a more severe punishment to that man that shall kill Cain, then was due to the killing of any man. Although it may be thought God in suffering Cain to live, was not so much indulgent as severe, in suffering him to be an instance of his displeasure against him to all the world; As Psal. 59. 11