Body of Divinity, Book 9 · Chapter 9
CHAP. IX. The eighth Commandment.
THou shalt not steal.
THe sixth Commandment gave charge for preservation of mans life, the seventhHinc constat omnia non debere esse communia. Ratio est, quia nullum furtum committi posset, nec opus esset praecepto de furto prohibendo. Macrov. loc. commun. c. 9. Ford of the Covenant between God and man. Vetatur hic omnes illicita usurpatio rei alienae. August. Vide August. confess. l. 2. c. 4. & 6. Furtum est ablatio injusta rei alienae invito Domino. Ephes. 4. 28. Ames. Medul. lib. 2. cap. 20. Gnanab propriè est clam surripere, vel occultè subducere. Unde & ad alias dolosas & clandestinas actiones transfertur, ut 1 Sam. 1. 6. & 2 Sam. 19. 3. Rivetus in Exod. 2. Varro l. 14. rerum divinarum, furem ex eo dictum ait, quod furvum atrum appellaverint, & fures per obscuras noctes atque atras facilius furentur. Quidam tamen à fer… dictum volunt, quod ferat, id est, auferat res alienas. Furari igitur tam apud Hebraeos & Graecos quàm apud Latinos, propriè est, res alienas clanculum auserre. Zanch. Miscel. De furto. Furtum propriè est actio adversans legi Dei. quà res aliena inscio & invito Domino clanculum aufertur. Ubi vox, inscio Domino & clanculum discriminat furtum à rapina. Rapina enim est actio, qua res aliena, invito Domino, apertâ vi aufertur. Id. ibid. See Dr. Willet on Exod. 32. 1. and on Exod. 22. quest. 3. and Estius on Gen. 31. 32. & on Exod. 22. for the honesty and chastity of the body, to keep it holy and undefiled; now the Lord cometh a degree lower, and sheweth, that he doth not onelyonly care for our lives and for our bodies that they may be kept holy, but also for our goods and cattel, our corn, our wares, our gold and silver, and whatsoever they have, that they may be in safety.
This Commandment enjoyneth men a due carriage in regard of worldly goods. This carriage is 1. Inward, in judgement, will, thought, affections. 2. Outward, which concerns the goods of every mans self and of others. For our own goods, in regard of getting, keeping, using. For getting, here is required the having of a lawful Calling, and using it lawfully, with diligence, discretion, cheerfulnesse and moderation. For keeping, is required thrift; for using, liberality. Now for the goods of others, there is required justice; that is, the vertue of giving every one his own. The common rules of which are, Do as you would be done to, and, Serve each other in love; and the parts are, truth and fidelity, plainnesse and equity.
There are several kinds of Iustice.
1. Commutative, consisting in a right exchange of one thing for another; the principal sorts of which are, 1. Buying and selling. 2. Setting and letting, with taking. 3. Borrowing and lending. 4. Hiring, and labouring for hire. 5. Partnership.
2. Distributive Iustice stands in a right division and parting of things; all thingsLatrocinium est quando aliquis domino praesente & manifesta vi rapit alienum, si sit in rebus privatorum est furtum simplex, si in rebus sacris sacrilegium, si in re publica, peculatus; si in ablatione jumentorum & pecorum, abigeatus; si in ablatione hominum Plagiarius. Lutherus in octavum praeceptum. Robbery is derived de la Robe, because in ancient times they bereaved the true man of some of his robes, or garments, or money and goods, out of some part of his garment or robe about his person. Sir Edward Cook. civil, in four chief things, Matter of Law about meum and tuum, publick Lands and Stocks, publick Payments and forfeitures, and in things sacred. Things profane and common, wherein we have to deal with man, must be rightly distributed; and so must things sacred, wherein the Lord of Heaven is interessed. But one *Master Mede on Acts 5. 3, 4, 5.observes, that it is an error to be noted among the Expositors of the Decalogue, that they rank Sacriledge as a sin of the eighth Commandment, when it is a sin of the first Table and not of the second; a breach of the loyalty we immediately owe to God, and not of the duty we owe to our neighbour. To steal or alienate that which is sacred, is to rob God not man, for he is the proprietary of things sacred, Mal. 3. 8, 9. He that commits this sin, indirectly and by consequent robbeth men too, viz. those who live of Gods provision.
Iulian the Apostate robbed the Church of the Revenues thereof, and took away all contributions to Schools of learning, that children might not be instructed in the liberal Arts, nor in any other good literature. He exaggerated also his Sacriledge with scornful jests, saying, that he did furth…r their salvation by making them poor; seeing it was written in their own Bibles, Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdome of Heaven.
All manner of stealing is expresly forbidden, Ier. 7. 9. Ephes. 4. 28. Theft is a taking away secretly of another mans goods, the owner not knowing of it. One is guilty by consenting and agreeing with a thief, Rom. 2. or giving him counsel, or hiding his fact.
This is so peculiar a sin in servants, as the Latine words which now signifie theeves, did at first signifie servants onelyonly, as fur was, a servant.
Quid facient Domini audent cum talia fures?
The Greek proverb is, quot servi tot sures.So latrones, robbers, were first those which did à latere stipari.
Object. God commands the Israelites to borrow of the Egyptians, Exod. 3. 22. to borrow and not to pay is a sin against this Commandment, Psal. 37. 21.
Answ.
1. The use onelyonly of things is in us, the propriety is still in God, 1 Sam. 2. 7. Hos. 2. 9. therefore God may take away one mans Estate, and give it to another.
2. The Egyptians had forfeited what God had given them, therefore it was just with the Lord to take it away.
3. He might do it not onelyonly as an act of vindicative justice to the Egyptians but as an act of remunerating justice to the Israelites, there being no Magistrates to do them justice, and reward them for their service, Gen. 31. 9▪ 16.
4. The Hebrew word there used, signifies to ask or desire, and Iunius and Ainsw. on 12. 36. render it not to borrow.A lewd Priest, when he was caught stealing contrary to his own Doctrine, could presently tell the reprover, the eighth Commandment doth not say, I shall not steal, but, Thou shalt not steal
It may be questioned whether it be just to punish theeves with hanging, when the Law of God hath not appointed this punishment, Exod. 22. Some therefore think our Law hath been too severe that way, and too remisse in case of Adultery. Chrysostome saith, Ubi damnum resarciri potest non est homini adimenda vita, yet by the Law of Moses, he that stole a man, though he could restore him, was punisht with death.
But there is no comparison (say some) between goods and the life of a man: yet those thieves that either assault a mans person on the high-way, or break open a mans house to rob him, are great *Vide Chemnit. & Gerh. loc. commun. Demosthenes said to him that objected that his speeches smelt of a candle, I know my candle stands in your light, the man being suspected for a thief. Varro said that fur was de…ived, à furvo (that is, dark) because theeves do willingly work by night, Ut jugulent homines surgunt de nocte latrones.offendors.
Draco the Law-giver of Athens appointed death to be the punishment of theft. Solon mitigated that rigour, and punished it with double restitution. The Locrians The Theatre of Gods judgements, part 1. cap. 38.put out his eyes that had stolne ought from his neighbour. The Hetrurians stoned them to death. There was no Common-wealth where this sin was not highly detested, and sharply punished, except the Lacedemonians, where it was permitted and tolerated for their exercise of warlike Discipline.
Mr. Gage in his Survey of the West-Indies c. 12. saith, in Nicaragua they adjudged not a thief to death, but to be a slave to that man whom he had robbed, till by his service he had made satisfaction: A course (saith he) truly more merciful, and not lesse just, then the losse of life.
Mens excuses for it.
First, It is but a small matter.
1. Thou art the more to be condemned; is it but a little matter, and wilt thou venture that which is more worth then all the world, thine own soul for it?
2. Thou then maist the better forbear it.
3. Hadst thou a tender conscience it would much trouble thee; Austin was troubled for his stealing of apples when he was a boy, and this he records in his Confessions too, he thought it so much.
4. By this little the Devil will carry thee to greater, it may be in consequence great, a great tree groweth from a little Mustard-seed.
Secondly, They do it for necessity.
Solomon saith, If a man steal for necessity, men will not much condemn him; but he speaks it comparatively with the sin of adultery; there can be no necessity to sin, though when a man steals that hath enough, it is a greater offence.
Thirdly, They have enough from whom they steal.
This doth not therefore warrant them to pervert all right and justice, as if they were Magistrates, or God himself, to appoint how much every one should have.
Fourthly, They do it secretly, they shall not be known nor discovered.
God and thy own conscience are enough to manifest it to all.