Page:Against profane dealing with holy matrimony.djvu/17

 done, which were before you, and the land is defiled:) that the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep Mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the Lord your God.”

Clearly, if the Canaanites, who had never heard of Moses and his law, were offending God so grievously by doing these things, the offence cannot be against the Levitical law only. If I may without presumption, I would earnestly intreat all serious persons, clergy and laity, who for whatever reason have been induced to take part in this movement:—I would earnestly intreat them well to consider this:—lest they find by and by that they have been instrumental in bringing the curse of Canaan on themselves, on our Church and country, while they thought they were only pleading for Christian liberty, and doing away with the remnant of an obsolete foreign code.