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<DATE>2008-5-2</DATE>
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<NAME>Elspeth Healey</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE
Libertine School'd,
OR A
VINDICATION
OF THE
Magi&s;trates Power in Religious matters.
IN
ANSWER
TO SOME
FALLACIOUS QUAERIES
Scattered about the City of <HI>Limrick,</HI>
by a Namele&s;s AUTHOR, about the
15^t^h of <HI>December,</HI> 1656.</P>
<P>And for Detection of tho&s;e My&s;terious De&s;igns &s;o vigorou&s;ly
fomented, if not begun among us, by Romi&s;h Engineers,
and Je&s;uitick Emi&s;&s;aries, under Notionall Di&s;gui&s;es.</P>
<P>Publi&s;hed, By <HI>Claudius Gilbert,</HI> B. D. and Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel
at <HI>Limrick</HI> in IRELAND.</P>
<BIBL>Rom. 13. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.</BIBL>
<Q>Let every &s;oul be &s;ubject, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></Q>
<BIBL>Zech. 13. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.</BIBL>
<Q>And I will cau&s;e the Prophets and unclean &s;pirits to pa&s;s out of
the Land, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></Q>
<BIBL>I&s;a. 49. 23.</BIBL>
<Q>And Kings &s;hall be thy uur&s;ing Fathers, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></Q>
<Q><GAP DESC="foreign"></Q>
<Q>Magi&s;tratus in terra, Coarctionis haeres, quodvis improbum pudefaciens,</Q>
<BIBL><HI>Judic.</HI> 18. 7.</BIBL>
<Q><GAP DESC="foreign"></Q>
<P>Dei timor Principium Sapientiae, (Politicae uti &amp; Eccle&s;ia&s;ticae. <HI>Axiom. Arabic.</HI></P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>Francis Tyton,</HI> at the three Daggers in <HI>Fleet&s;treet.</HI> 1657.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO HIS
EXCELLENCY
THE
Lord HENRY CROMWELL
Commander in Chief of the
Forces in IRELAND.
And to the Right Honourable
HIS
Highne&s;&s;es Councel
FOR THE
Affairs of IRELAND.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Right Honourable,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_THe Glory of the latter daies con&s;i&s;ts very
much in their godly Magi&s;trates; and the
Glory of tho&s;e Magi&s;trates in their promo|ting
of Chri&s;ts Glory. When the Lords
Spirit would give an ab&s;tract of heaven on
earth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 49. 23.</NOTE> he promi&s;es Kings and Queens for nur&s;ing Fathers
<PB REF="3">
and Mothers to his Church. Thus Portion and Pro|tection
are a&s;&s;ured to his people, on the mo&s;t honoura|ble
and happy tearms.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 82. 1. <GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> The Lord him&s;elf is plea&s;ed to
put his own Name upon tho&s;e per&s;ons to whom he
gives a providentiall Commi&s;&s;ion to act in his Name,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 82 5. <GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE>
with civil Authority in the managing of his intere&s;t on
earth. He hath &s;aid <HI>Ye are Gods,</HI> by a providentiall
voice, that ye might act like God, and for God, in &s;ub|ordination
to his providence.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 47. 9.</NOTE> Such <HI>Shields</HI> of the earth
belong unto him in a peculiar way, which are made <HI>by</HI>
him, and mu&s;t act <HI>for</HI> him in a peculiar manner. He
needs no in&s;truments about any work, yet is he plea&s;ed
to honour in&s;truments about his greate&s;t work.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 2. 30.</NOTE> Its Your
Honour to be employed by him, he makes it Your
Happine&s;s to be faithfull to him. That he will employ
Mini&s;ters of his Word to in&s;truct his Church, it's from
his Grace; that he doth intru&s;t Magi&s;trates with his
Sword for the protection of his Church, it's for his Glo|ry.
Both Jewell and Ca&s;e, mans Soul and Body were
framed by him, as God of Nature; both Soul and Bo|dy
were by his Sonne redeemed, as the God of all
Grace. Both the internall and externall man do need
his Spirit for the good of both: Magi&s;trates and Mini|&s;ters
are called to Office,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezra 1.</NOTE> and ble&s;&s;ed therein, by the
&s;ame Spirit.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezra 2. &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron</HI> were joined of old in or|dering
Chri&s;ts Law:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hag. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Zerubabell</HI> and <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> were not
&s;evered in the re&s;toring thereof.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 1.</NOTE> Though Primitive
Churches wanted,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 3.</NOTE> for a &s;ea&s;on, the Magi&s;trates help, yet
in due &s;ea&s;on were they made partakers of that Royall
favour.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 4. 10.</NOTE> They wanted them fir&s;t, that Gods glory might
not, on mi&s;take, be given to man; they had them a|gain,
that the &s;ame Glory might not be &s;till abu&s;ed by
man. No &s;ooner did Antichri&s;t make incroachments
on Chri&s;ts Mini&s;try, but he u&s;urped as fa&s;t on his Ma|gi&s;tracy;
<PB REF="3">
he &s;wallowed up that,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 13. 1, 7, 8. Rev. 13. 11, 12.</NOTE> as the two horned
Bea&s;t, Eccle&s;ia&s;tically; and he &s;ubdued this, as the ten
horned Bea&s;t, Politically. Chri&s;t recovered both from
Antichri&s;tian Yoke in his great Reformation, as both
had been u&s;urped from him, by Antichri&s;tian defection.
When he took care to purifie his Church in its Mini|&s;try,
he &s;hewed no le&s;s care about the Magi&s;tracy. As
&s;ome of both &s;orts have witne&s;&s;ed for him in a &s;ackcloth
condition; &s;o &s;ome of both &s;orts &s;hall witne&s;s of him
in a &s;ea&s;onable a&s;cen&s;ion.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. Jer. 3. 14, 15. Jer. 30. 21.</NOTE> When he gives his people
Pa&s;tors after his own heart, he gives them Rulers to
govern in his waies. Thus he acts by men after the
manner of men, becau&s;e he deals with men in the
things of God. The world is his great hou&s;e that mu&s;t
be well taught; but it's through &s;inne, a di&s;compo&s;ed
hou&s;e that needs a good Rule. Gods intere&s;t is &s;uch
in faithfull Rulers, that Satan will be &s;till attempting
all means to bla&s;t their faithfulne&s;s; if he cannot keep
them from doing Gods work, he will u&s;e in&s;truments
to marre that very work. Much of it appeared in for|mer
experiences, and we &s;ee it too &s;adly in the&s;e latter
daies. Good men &s;hall be &s;educed to betray Gods
work, yea and per&s;waded that it's Satans work. That
which the Lord doth tender with mo&s;t zeal, Error will
per&s;wade to &s;light with mo&s;t neglect: If God put much
&s;tre&s;s on the fir&s;t Table of his Law, Error will take it
off from the Magi&s;trates care. What many other
parts have &s;adly bewailed, we finde now much cau&s;e
to bemoan afre&s;h. That &s;pirit that once di&s;turbed
<HI>Germany,</HI> is gotten too deeply into our bowels. Chri&s;ts
Mini&s;ters were fir&s;t &s;truck at by that hand, which
reached the next blow to the Magi&s;trates. Tho&s;e
Foxes and Wolves that would worry Chri&s;ts Flock,
cannot bear good will to faithfull Shepherds. They
<PB REF="4">
would fir&s;t debauch the &s;pirits of men, and then their
bodies will be &s;urely theirs. The Mini&s;ters fir&s;t &s;hall
be Antichri&s;tian,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sisidan. <HI>Com|ment.</HI> Bullinger. Cloppenburg. Guy de Bre&s;.</NOTE> and the Magi&s;trates &s;hall bear that
title next. <HI>Mun&s;ter</HI> had once many fair warnings,
but the things of their peace were hid from their
eyes. If we gain wi&s;dom by our neighbours harm,
it's a mercy of the choice&s;t kinde. That good hand
of heaven that brought Your Honours into this
wilderne&s;s, hath much to do here for you, and by
you. <HI>I&s;raels</HI> condition in their wilderne&s;s, is a mo&s;t
lively parallell of this Land.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10. 1, 2, 3, 4.</NOTE> They had Chri&s;t pre|&s;ent
in his Ordinances,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 106. 13.</NOTE> but wanted a heart to im|prove
the &s;ame: Signall redemptions the Lord
wrought for them, but his wondrous works they
had &s;oon forgotten:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Numb. 16. 3, 4 16. 25.</NOTE> Magi&s;trates and Mini&s;ters he
provided them, but they &s;lighted and &s;corned the
one and the others: Holy profe&s;&s;ion God called
them to, they &s;oon abu&s;ed it to &s;elf-exalting: <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI>
and <HI>Aaron</HI> were ea&s;ily de&s;pi&s;ed, when <HI>Corah</HI> and
his crue had once got their hearts. When Di|vine
Ordinances were counted humane,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 106. 19, 20, 28, 29.</NOTE> humane
pre&s;umptions were counted Divine. Their Level|ling
&s;pirits that would equalize all, &s;oon met with
a check from their Superior. They &s;ank alive in|to
the earths bowels,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Numb. 16. 32</NOTE> that bid defiance to the God
of heaven.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 106. 17.</NOTE> The Lords jealou&s;ie maintained his &s;er|vants,
who had zealou&s;ly maintained his Name.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Numb. 16. 35.</NOTE>
They were &s;oon con&s;umed by fire from Gods
hou&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 106. 18.</NOTE> who made it their work to fire Gods hou&s;e.
They regarded not his daily provi&s;ions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 106. 15.</NOTE> and they
paid dear for fooli&s;h de&s;ires. When the Lords &s;er|vants
were doing them mo&s;t good, they were then
plotting to do them mo&s;t evil. Thus are they our
gla&s;s and our pourtraiture,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10. 6, 11</NOTE> that we may the better
<PB REF="4">
learn to mend our faults. <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had to do with
a froward people, Your Honours charge here looks
too much like them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 1. 14, 16. 1 Cor. 1. 30.</NOTE> The wi&s;dom and zeal He
received from God are &s;tored up in Chri&s;t for all
Your &s;upplies. That Chri&s;t who was all to Him
and to them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 1. 23.</NOTE> is ready to give all to You and to
us. His Sub&s;titutes You are, who is our Sove|reign;
that His work in Your hands may be pro&s;|perous,
is our ardent prayer. The Magi&s;trates
Right is the &s;cope of the&s;e Papers; duly there|fore
pre&s;ented to You,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 2. 30. Exod. 19. 5. <GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> to do their homage. They
&s;peak Your Honour and Your Happine&s;s, in Your
honouring and &s;erving the Lord. His Jewels on
earth he tru&s;ts with You,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2. 9. <GAP DESC="foreign">. 2 Chro. 15. 2.</NOTE> that his Wor&s;hip and
friends may be Your Jewels. The Lord is with
You, whil&s;t You be with Him, if any for&s;ake Him,
&s;uch will He for&s;ake. The glorious characters of
His pre&s;ence with You, to this very day, may
much revive Your hearts, and &s;trengthen Your
hands. He hath been with You as the Lord of
Hoa&s;ts, He will be Yours &s;till, as the God of
Peace. That You may do much, expect much
from Him, &s;o &s;hall Your Returns an&s;wer Your Re|ceipts.
Tho&s;e unclean &s;pirits that are now raging
&s;hall &s;oon be ca&s;t out by the Prince of Peace.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hag. 2. 6, 7, 8.</NOTE> He
doth overturn and &s;hake all Nations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 21. 27.</NOTE> that Chri&s;t
the de&s;ire of the Nations may come.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. 26, 27, 28, 29.</NOTE> That King
of Nations &s;hall regain his right,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 10. 7.</NOTE> which as King
of Saints he will &s;till improve.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 15. 4.</NOTE> Your Honours
daily work is multiplicious and momentous &s;till;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 17. 11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>Aa|rons</HI>
and <HI>Hurs</HI> hands mu&s;t be &s;ub&s;ervient to uphold
your own. It's our delight to &s;erve You cordially,
that You may &s;erve Chri&s;t mo&s;t effectually. I dare
<PB REF="5">
not pre&s;ume any longer on You than to &s;ignifie my
zealous ambition, to be and appear in the work of
Chri&s;t,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Lord&s;hips
humbly devoted
Servant,
Claudius Gilbert.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE>From my Study in
<HI>Limrick,</HI> <DATE>Decem. 22.
1656.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="preface">
<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>THE
PREFACE.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Chri&s;tian Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_THe Civil power of the Magistrate in matters of
Religion is a weighty Point much controverted in
the&s;e daies, as it hath formerly been upon &s;everall
accounts. The Champions of Truth have been put
upon it in all ages to vindicate this part of Chri&s;ts
intere&s;t, again&s;t the renewed a&s;&s;aults of numerous
adver&s;aries. The &s;ophi&s;ticall mi&s;takes of its oppugners hath drawn
them and their followers into dangerous ab&s;urdities and contra|dictions
therein. Very few of them, if any, have laboured to
&s;tate the que&s;tion aright, that they might debate it methodically.
Many outcries we indeed meet with again&s;t compul&s;ion of con&s;ci|ence,
but very little of &s;ober di&s;cour&s;e about the Magi&s;trates Ci|vil
power in Religious matters, where it cro&s;&s;es the pretence of
con&s;cience. That no violent force &s;hould or can be put upon mens
con&s;ciences, being granted to them, mo&s;t of their Arguments fight
with their own &s;hadows: Some would &s;eem to oppo&s;e all kinde of
Magi&s;traticall power in any part of the fir&s;t Table,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Be&s;ides the Greek and La|tine Fathers, See</HI> Bullinger, Paraeus, Calvin, Beza, To&s;sanus, Marlorat, Mu&s;|cul. Snecan, <HI>&amp;c. M^r</HI> Tho. Cobbet <HI>of</HI> N E 1653.</NOTE> pleading for
a licentious liberty of all &s;orts therein. Others admit of limita|tions
and &s;everall di&s;tinctions therein, and yet the &s;trength of
their rea&s;ons, complies with the former, when duly weighod.
Many worthy Pens have taken very commendable pains in &s;tating
and vindicating of that legall Right, which the Lords Magi&s;tra|ticall
&s;ub&s;titute is entrusted with as <HI>Cu&s;tos &amp; vindex utriu&s;que
Tabulae:</HI> Specially M^r <HI>Thomas Cobbet</HI> in 1653. <HI>N. England,</HI>
<PB REF="6">
hath found abundant cau&s;e to prai&s;e the Lord for the due exerci&s;e
and vindication of that Power, the neglect and oppo&s;ition whereof
was like to have proved their overthrow in Civils and Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|cals.
The &s;ame &s;pirit of Error hath &s;truggled there &s;o hard for
Libertini&s;m, hath gotten too much &s;trength and favour in the&s;e
Nations. The like de&s;ign hath been therefore vigorou&s;ly drawn on,
to take off the Magi&s;trate from that part of his work which is the
mo&s;t noble and mo&s;t needfull in &s;uch a &s;ea&s;on: Various intere&s;ts
have joined forces herein, yea divers good men have been en&s;nu|red
into it at unawares. There is a fallacious plau&s;ibility in many
things &s;aid therein, which takes ea&s;ily with the weak and credu|lous
Chri&s;tian, as in all other doctrines of Error. Some would
promote it, that they may promote and &s;helter at plea&s;ure, their
Levelling, Ranting and Quaking principles. Others favour it
for fear of being re&s;trained in &s;ome things which the Magi&s;trate
cannot but &s;ee ju&s;t cau&s;e to take cognizance of for regulation.
What rank our Queri&s;t is to be numbred in, we cannot certainly
&s;ay, his Paper not being &s;ub&s;cribed by any, though his drift may
be ea&s;ily gue&s;&s;ed at: It grieves our hearts mo&s;t, to &s;ee any of
Chri&s;ts profe&s;&s;ed friends taking part in &s;uch a quarrell with the
common enemy of his Word and Ordinances. The &s;ad con&s;equent
of &s;infull &s;eparations from the Reformed Prote&s;tant Churches,
appears much in this,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.</NOTE> as in other things. When the unity of the
Spirit that &s;hould keep the bond of peace in the unity of Chri&s;tian
Faith and Bapti&s;m within Gods hou&s;e, comes into di&s;regard, it
cannot but prove fatally ominous to the u&s;hering in of tho&s;e many
evils, which have &s;till been concomitants thereof. The Primitive
times afford us many wofull in&s;tances of it, and <HI>Germany</HI> with
other parts hath verified it by &s;ad experience ever &s;ince the great
Reformation begun. Schi&s;maticall rendings of the Church of
Christ were very &s;eldom free from hereticall Apo&s;ta&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">s Had
we no Record, Divine or Humane, Ancient or Modern to te&s;tifie
this truth, the po&s;ture of per&s;ons and things among us would de|mon&s;trate
it too abundantly. Yet would not we be mi&s;taken in
&s;hewing the bitter fruits of &s;infull &s;eparations, as if we di&s;owned
all &s;eparations. There is a good &s;eparation from evil, required
of God; as there is an evil &s;eparation from good, forbidden by
him.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 16. 17, 18.</NOTE> A &s;eparation from the man of &s;inne, and from the &s;inne of
man, is a Chri&s;tians duty, <HI>Revel. 18. 4. 2 Cor. 6. 18, 19. I&s;a&punc;</HI> 52.
11.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jud. 19.</NOTE> <HI>Jer.</HI> 51. 6. But &s;eparation from the Church and good Ordi|nances
<PB REF="6">
of God is an unchri&s;tian &s;inne. Chri&s;t owned the Jewi&s;h
Church in its publique Mini&s;try and wor&s;hip, though di&s;tempered
with many corruptions in every part thereof; whil&s;t they retained
the fundamentals of Religion, he &s;till entertained communion with
them. As long as that fir&s;t admini&s;tration of the Lords gracious
Covenant la&s;ted, both he and his Apo&s;tles maintained corre&s;pon|dency
with that vi&s;ible Church of his, whil&s;t they did mo&s;t keenly
rebuke the members thereof for their &s;everall enormities: yea,
and after their &s;etting up of that Evangelicall wor&s;hip (which as
the &s;econd admini&s;tration of the Lords gracious Covenant, was to
make an end of the Ceremonials, and continue to the worlds end,
<HI>Heb. 9. 10, 11, 12. Heb. 12. 26, 27. Matth. 28. 21. Matth.</HI> 26.
1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. 26.) yet were they &s;o &s;hie of rending the Garment of
Chri&s;ts body, his Church, that they did for a long time bear with
the Jewi&s;h outrages, labouring by all means to keep fair with them,
and broke not off, as long as they could hold with them in the great
foundation of Religion. The like cour&s;e was taken by God and
his &s;ervants towards <HI>I&s;rael</HI> and <HI>Judah,</HI> before their <HI>Babylonian</HI>
Captivity. The Kingdom of the ten Tribes (often called <HI>I&s;rael,
Ephraim, Samaria, &amp;c.</HI> by way of di&s;tinction) revolted from
Gods wor&s;hip, under <HI>Jeroboam</HI> and his &s;ucce&s;&s;ors, corrupting the
&s;ame, perverting the Mini&s;try, advancing the lowe&s;t of the people
to the Prie&s;thood, joining Idolatry of &s;everall kindes thereto, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
yet were they &s;till owned, and called the people and &s;pou&s;e of God,
and communion with them kept by the Prophets till their Captivity.
So when the Kingdom of the two Tribes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 King. 17.</NOTE> called <HI>Judah</HI> and <HI>Ben|jamin,</HI>
did gradually apo&s;tatize from the purity of Gods wor&s;hip,
joining often Idolatry and gro&s;s evils thereto, yet were they &s;till
honoured with the Name of Gods people, his Portion and Church,
<HI>Jerem. 50. 7. Jerem.</HI> 51. 5. Thus in former ages, though cor|ruption
did increa&s;e apace in the Chri&s;tian Churches beginning in
the Apo&s;tles daies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 2.</NOTE> and &s;ucce&s;&s;ively &s;preading till the Man of Sin
got into Chri&s;ts Seat,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 4.</NOTE> being a&s;cended to his Meridian of Supream
Power,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 11. 36, 37, 38.</NOTE> infallible in Eccle&s;ia&s;ticals and temporals; yet were the
Lords &s;ervants in all their vigilant and zealous Vindications of
his Truth, very carefull &s;till to maintain the &V;nity and Peace of
the Church to the utmo&s;t, till the Whore of <HI>Rome</HI> by &s;eparating
from Chri&s;tian Fundamentals,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 18. 4.</NOTE> had nece&s;&s;itated them to &s;eparate
utterly from her Communion.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 8. 16, 19.</NOTE> Truth and Peace are &s;o dear friends
to Chri&s;t, that his friends cannot but be friendly to them both,
<PB REF="7">
as farre as their power reaches. Tho&s;e faithfull defenders of the
Truth who were driven away into the wilderne&s;s of <HI>America,</HI>
by a turbulent party (vi&s;ibly then complying with the <HI>Roman</HI>
Antichri&s;t) did &s;till te&s;tifie their care of pre&s;erving that Chri|&s;tian
unity, in all their contentions for verity and purity. Though
they de&s;ired much and prayed earne&s;tly for further Reformation
in the Pari&s;h Churches of <HI>England,</HI> yet did they &s;till own their
Church &s;tate, and Communion therewith. Thus &s;ober Chri&s;ti|ans
will &s;till be manife&s;ting their love to Chri&s;tian peace, in their
hotte&s;t pur&s;uits after Truth, whether in their own or others &s;o|cieties.
The fire of Chri&s;tian zeal is of &s;ingular u&s;e, when it
keeps within its proper place and &s;ea&s;on. But when it's &s;cattered,
and gets into the thatch, the mi&s;chief thereof is unexpre&s;&s;ible.
What dreadfull Convul&s;ions and Inflammations hath not &s;uch a
ra&s;h zeal cau&s;ed&punc; among us, both in Church and State? When
Chri&s;tians cannot di&s;cover and mend faults without unchri&s;tian
&s;eparations from the Church, and unchurching of it, it mu&s;t
needs prove the ground of many &s;ad effects: It did &s;o in the pri|mitive
daies, it hath done &s;o in ours. In &s;tead of an amicable
debate of things controverted, bitter conte&s;ts, and wofull ruptures
have attended &s;uch cour&s;es: In &s;tead of amending one fault, more
are created afre&s;h; in &s;tead of recovering one Truth, many
errours are ea&s;ily let in. Romi&s;h Engineers are alwaies at hand,
to blow the bellows and widen differences; taking part now with
one, new with the other, under a di&s;gui&s;e, that their de&s;ignes may
be carried on. They fi&s;h be&s;t in all &s;uch troubled waters, and
improve the opportunities of gaining by our lo&s;&s;es. This hath been
one main cau&s;e of &s;o many out-cries for generall tolerations, un|der
the fair colours of Liberty of Con&s;cience, that every one
might follow his own li&s;t. The Magi&s;trates power hath been &s;o
often cried down and exclaimed again&s;t, le&s;t errour and &s;inne
&s;hould be any way curbed or checked in their unlimited unruly
power. Some well-minded Chri&s;tians have been that way &s;o ex|travagant
through mi&s;-applications and mi&s;-interpretations of
divers Scriptures, that they have too often pleaded the devils
cau&s;e, in thinking to plead the godlies intere&s;t. Some would give
too much to the Magi&s;trate, and others too little. Some would
de&s;troy Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Government by advancing the Civil:
Others would de&s;troy the Civill by exalting the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall.
The&s;e two powers which God hath appointed for the Churches
<PB REF="7">
good in their re&s;pective capacities and motions, &s;ome would
confound, others would de&s;troy, and others would make them
to de&s;troy each other. Thus varieties of peccant humours
breed &s;till varieties of di&s;ea&s;es, in all &s;ublunary &s;ubjects, when
they break their bounds limited to them by the Supream Di&s;|po&s;er
of all. To avoid all extreams in this affair, we finde
our &s;elves obliged by Scripture and rea&s;on to own a <HI>Magi|&s;traticall
power authorized by Gods Word to act officially
about &s;acred things in a civil manner, either in command|ing,
forbidding, or puni&s;hing the externall man, according
to Gods revealed Word, for the Lords honour, and mans
good:</HI> A <HI>power</HI> we &s;ay <HI>authorized,</HI> not a private charita|tive
act; <HI>Magi&s;traticall,</HI> not Mini&s;teriall; acting <HI>officially,</HI>
not indifferently; about <HI>&s;acred</HI> things of the first Table, in
a <HI>Civil</HI> manner, not by Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall cen&s;ures: <HI>concerning
the externall man</HI> expre&s;&s;ed in words or deeds, not the in|ternall
expre&s;&s;ed by thoughts; <HI>according to Gods revealed
Word,</HI> not his own fan&s;ie, or any mans will; <HI>for Gods ho|nour
and the publique good,</HI> not for any &s;elfi&s;h ends.
Thus we have the <HI>&s;ubject</HI> and <HI>matter,</HI> the <HI>Author</HI> and <HI>form,</HI>
the <HI>manner</HI> and <HI>Rule,</HI> the <HI>object</HI> and <HI>end</HI> of this <HI>Magi&s;tra|ticall
power,</HI> &s;o needfull, &s;o u&s;efull. How much is &s;aid for
demon&s;tration hereof by the rea&s;on of God and of man, is
touched at in the following Tract, having been fully made
out by the Learned in all Ages. All godly Princes, Jew|i&s;h
and Chri&s;tian have been rendred famous, more or le&s;s,
according as they more or le&s;s tendred Gods intere&s;t in this
eminent charge. If any object, that the Jewi&s;h Princes were
Types of Chri&s;t therein; We an&s;wer, The Scripture expre&s;&s;es
two &s;orts of Types:<NOTE PLACE="marg">There were al&s;o &s;ome mixt Types in morall things, which were occa&s;i|onally Re|pre&s;enters of Evangelicall &s;ub&s;tance, as <HI>Davids</HI> and <HI>Salomons</HI> acts of Ju&s;tice, Piety, and authoritative|ly done, which having a Morall ground, Rule and end, are &s;till to be imitated in the like ca&s;e, as the Scripture clears, both in fir&s;t and &s;econd Table; as <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 69. 9. with <HI>Joh. 2. 17. Ephe&s;.</HI> 6. 1, 2, 3. compared with <HI>Exod. 20. Gen.</HI> 18. 18, 19, &amp;c.</NOTE> Some properly for adumbration or re|pre&s;entation;
thus the High prie&s;t and Sacrifices typed out
Chri&s;t, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10. 1, 2. Others for imitation and direction, thus
Gods dealings with <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were Types, <GAP DESC="foreign">, or examples,
1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10. 6, 11. The former Types were to expire, the latter
to endure: Now that power u&s;ed by Jewi&s;h Magi&s;trates had
<PB REF="8">
nothing of a &s;hadow, but much for example, being &s;o com|manded
and commended of God therein, in performing a Mo|rall,
not Ceremoniall duty. If any object, It was part of the
Judiciall Law: We an&s;wer, 1. Let it be proved wherein
it was peculiar to the &s;tate. 2. If that were granted, yet
the equity of tho&s;e Judicials is &s;till in force, and imitable
now as occa&s;ion &s;erves; its not now unlawfull, though all Ju|dicials
be not alwaies expedient:<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Guildas.</HI> D^r <HI>U&s;hers</HI> Brit|ti&s;h Antiquit. <HI>Nath. Bacons</HI> Hi&s;t. of <HI>Engl.</HI> Govern.</NOTE> Gods Law is the be&s;t Rule
of our Judicials, as King <HI>Lucius</HI> the fir&s;t Chri&s;tian Monarch
of <HI>Brittain,</HI> learned of Gods Word, confirmed to him by Let|ters
from <HI>Eleutherius</HI> and others, in the &s;econd age from
Chri&s;t, which he al&s;o followed; as did <HI>Alfred</HI> the mirror of
Princes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bedae <HI>Hi&s;tor.</HI> Matth. We&s;tm. Matth. Pari&s; Engl. <HI>Hi&s;tor.</HI> Fox. <HI>Monum.</HI> Concil. Tom. Morn. My&s;ter. Iniquit. Magdeburg. Centur.</NOTE> and other &s;ucce&s;&s;ors, of their valour and vertue. As
for Christian Emperours, Hi&s;tory is full of their noble Acts
in this way for Chri&s;t, approved and applauded by all wi&s;e
Chri&s;tians, in their Synods and Councils Provinciall, Nati|onall,
and &V;niver&s;all. The Greek and Latine Fathers agree
in this thing very harmoniou&s;ly. The very light of nature
taught all &s;ober Heathens to ob&s;erve this very thing as a &s;pe|ciall
help to mans well being, both for temporals here, and a
better &s;tate beyond death it &s;elf.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Plutarc. Riligio propug|naculum pote|&s;tatis, legnm &amp; hone&s;ta di&s;ci|plinae vinculum. <HI>Plato.</HI></NOTE> Their famous Legi&s;lators,
<HI>Charondas, Solon, Licurgus, Zaleucus, Plato,</HI> &amp;c. their
learned Philo&s;ophers, <HI>Ari&s;totle, Socrates, Seneca, Plutarch,
&amp;c.</HI> their chief Poets and Orators, <HI>Homer, Tully, He&s;iod,
Virgill,</HI> &amp;c. have many pa&s;&s;ages to that purpo&s;e; they could
not but ob&s;erve the influence which Religion carries into the
actions of men, and how much providence hath been found in
all Ages, &s;miling upon tho&s;e Per&s;ons and Societies, who made
con&s;cience in a con&s;tant tenure of piety and ju&s;tice, of tendring
and promoting the will and honour of the &s;upream God. Ma|ny
hints thereof they have gathered out of holy Writs tran|&s;lated
into Greek (before that famous ver&s;ion of the LXX,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hnmanae &s;ocie|tatis fundamen|tum, Religio. <HI>Cicer.</HI></NOTE>
under <HI>Philadelphus</HI>) and much u&s;ed in <HI>Alexandria,</HI> whither
<HI>Plato,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heu! primae &s;celerum cau&s;ae mortalibus a gris naturam ne&s;cire Dei, Silius Italic. Clem. Alexand. Stromat.</NOTE> and other Philo&s;ophers frequently re&s;orted. The Aegy|ptians
al&s;o, and Phaenicians, and other neighbours of the He|brews,
had learned much of the Patriarchs and Jews &s;ucce&s;&s;ive|ly,
which they communicated to other Nations, as appears by
their Poeticall di&s;gui&s;es of Scripture &s;tories, &s;o abundant in
their Works. The &s;everall Churches reformed in <HI>France,
Holland, Switherland,</HI> &amp;c. in their Confe&s;&s;ions and Writings,
<PB REF="8">
have unanimou&s;ly owned this power of the Magi&s;trate, as of
&s;ingular conducement to the &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of evil, and encourage|ment
to the good. Many of the Learned Papi&s;ts<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">J. Pari&s;ion&s;. Victoria.</NOTE> them&s;elves,
(though the Je&s;uites a&s;cribe &s;o much to the Pope and Coun|cils,
as oppo&s;es it diametrally) have in their &s;ober mood acknow|ledged
the fore&s;aid Magi&s;traticall Powers upon the &s;aid rea&s;ons
to be very excellently u&s;efull.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Widrington.</NOTE> Thus the clear light of this
Truth extorts acknowledgements from the very adver&s;aries.
It's &s;o much the more &s;ad a judgement to &s;ee &s;o many profe&s;|&s;ors
of Truth prove oppo&s;ers thereof. The&s;e &s;pirituall judge|ments
&s;o common among us, are the wor&s;t of all, and u&s;ually
attended with temporall plagues. When there was no King in
<HI>I&s;rael,</HI> no Magi&s;trate, no <HI>heir of re&s;traint to put the wicked
to &s;hame,</HI> as it was at <HI>Lai&s;h,</HI> Judg. 18. 7. &s;o it fared with
Gods own people, they were &s;oon expo&s;ed to de&s;olations of all
&s;orts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Judg. 17. 6.</NOTE> 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 15. 3, 4, 5. whil&s;t <HI>every one did what was good
in his own eyes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Judg. 21. 25.</NOTE> very few could be found doing what was good
in Gods eyes. For want of &s;uch a Kingly exerci&s;e in the &s;eat of
judgement, to &s;catter all evil with his eyes, <HI>Prov.</HI> 20. 8. All
kinde of evil gathered &s;o fa&s;t, that many a &s;torm followed
tho&s;e dark clouds. The power ordained of God for <HI>thy good,</HI>
&s;aith the Apo&s;tle (without exception) <HI>Rom.</HI> 13. 3, 4, 5. is al&s;o
a <HI>revenger</HI> of <HI>every evil,</HI> (without exception, for which the
Law di&s;tingui&s;hes not, we may not di&s;tingui&s;h, and if you ex|cept
one &s;ort of good or evil, you may as well except the other,
and &s;o null the Text) and <HI>a terrour to all that do evil,</HI> &s;o
<HI>that we mu&s;t needs be &s;ubjects,</HI> not for wrath only, but al&s;o
<HI>for con&s;cience &s;ake:</HI> The con&s;cience you &s;ee is bound, though
it be not forced to &s;uch an obedience. As the Magi&s;trates
con&s;cience is bound in his charge as Gods Deputy to regulate
and promote every good of the externall man in Religion; &s;o
is he bound in con&s;cience to forbid and puni&s;h evil therein, ac|cording
to its degree. As thus his con&s;cience, &s;o is the &s;ubjects
con&s;cience bound by the Divine precept; as the one in command|ing,
&s;o the other in obeying. If any object, this will bring
tyranny and &s;lavery: An&s;wer, Where Gods Law is the Rule,
as here it ought to be, there can be neither tyranny nor &s;lavery.
2. By the &s;ame rea&s;on you might deny his power about the &s;e|cond
Table for fear of tyranny, and &s;o make him a Cipher.
If you &s;ay, there is an Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall way of dealing with
<PB REF="9">
Chri&s;tians: We an&s;wer, 1. All are not Chri&s;tians. 2. All
Chri&s;tians regard not Church cen&s;ures. 3. Chri&s;tians are to be
dealt with by the Church in matters of the &s;econd Table al&s;o; Will
you deny the Magi&s;trates cognizance of that therefore, that he may
be <HI>vox praeterea nihil?</HI> 4. The Church deals with offenders in
its way Eccle&s;ia&s;tically, the Magi&s;trate in his, Civilly (without
interfering) with their re&s;pective members. If any pretend con|&s;cience
again&s;t either, the Word of God is the <HI>Regula regulans</HI>
that rules con&s;cience, and all things el&s;e. Con&s;cience is but <HI>Re|gula
regulata,</HI> which obliges not again&s;t Gods Word, nor excu&s;es
from &s;inne: <HI>David</HI> and <HI>Paul</HI> acknowledge their &s;ins of ignorance,
and again&s;t a good con&s;cience, and very great, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 19. 12, 15.
<HI>Act.</HI> 26. 9, 10, 11. If a man &s;uffer with an erroneous con&s;cience,
its for &s;inne, not for con&s;cience. Is was and is &s;till the great &s;inne
of unregenerate con&s;cience, that it cannot be, its not &s;ubject to
the Law of God, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. 7. even the <GAP DESC="foreign">, the
wi&s;e&s;t and &s;ublime&s;t con&s;cience, and judgement before conver&s;ion,
is thus fle&s;hly; and &s;ome of it remains in the be&s;t, as farre as un|renewed.
The dictate of con&s;cience cannot be plea for any &s;inne,
though &s;ometimes it may le&s;&s;en it, it never can null &s;in. Nei|their
can any erring con&s;cience di&s;charge any from his duty requi|red
by Gods Word, it can make none lawle&s;s as it &s;elf may not be
<GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 9. 21.</NOTE> without Law. None therefore &s;hould plead for a generall
Toleration of con&s;cience, becau&s;e mo&s;t mens con&s;ciences being
wholly corrupt,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi d&agrave; libert&agrave; &agrave; mala con&s;cien|tia, da licentia a l'humo furio&s;o &egrave; pe&s;tilente. Axiom. Italic.</NOTE> <HI>Tit.</HI> 1. 15, 16, 17. and the be&s;t retaining much
corruption, this were to plead for &s;inne, yea to give publique al|lowance
to &s;inne, it were to proclaim rebellion again&s;t God, to &s;et
up a Traitor in Chri&s;ts &s;eat, to &s;et up mans fallible con&s;cience
for an infallible &s;upream Judge; this were to invite the wor&s;t of
men and &s;pirits to &s;ettle among us, under pretence of con&s;cience:
What mi&s;chief &s;o horrid in opinion, affection or practi&s;e, that
&s;uch a Toleration would not countenance? What if <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> by Gods
command, did tolerate Divorce, for the hardne&s;s of their heart?
Chri&s;t tels us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark 10. 5. When <HI>David</HI> was forced to &s;u&s;pend the puni&s;hment of <HI>Joabs</HI> and <HI>Abi&s;hai</HI>'s murther all his life, it was becau&s;e the &s;ons of <HI>Serviah</HI> were too &s;trong for him; as they often prove too hard for good men and good Laws.</NOTE> it was their &s;inne occa&s;ioned it; the &s;upream Law|giver
may di&s;pen&s;e therewith at his plea&s;ure, &s;o may not any infe|riour
per&s;on. We &s;hould not indeed be the &s;laves of men, as <HI>Paul</HI>
forbids, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7. 22, 23. but to have our con&s;cience bound to
<PB REF="9">
Gods Word, and our externall man bound to the Magi&s;trates
Rule, which &s;till is to be ruled by the Word, this is to be the &s;er|vants
of God in perfect freedom. The Magi&s;trate is bound to u&s;e
all fit means of &s;atisfying and rectifying mens con&s;ciences, e&s;pe|cially
in things le&s;s clear to &s;ome, but he mu&s;t not neglect his duty,
becau&s;e &s;ome will &s;till be un&s;atisfied, no more than the Church is
to neglect theirs. It's the &s;nare of an erroneous con&s;cience, that
it &s;ins either way, it cannot avoid &s;in; there is &s;o much the more
need that all means be endeavoured for the purging and clearing
thereof. It behoves the Magistrate as well as all other &s;uperiours,
not to make him&s;elf guilty of other mens &s;ins,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 5. 22.</NOTE> by neglect of his
own duty.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 King. 11.</NOTE> <HI>Salomon</HI> is charged for going after <HI>A&s;htaroth,</HI> be|cau&s;e
he gave his wives leave to do it, and joined therein after|wards
him&s;elf. The Toleration of the High-places (though they
were for wor&s;hip to God only, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 33. 17.) yet it was the &s;in
of tho&s;e Princes that &s;uffered it a long time, being contrary to Gods
Law, <HI>Deut.</HI> 12. 11, 12, 13. God charges it, even on godly eminent
Reformers, as <HI>A&s;a, Jeho&s;haphat,</HI> &amp;c. till <HI>Jo&s;ias. Gamaliels</HI>
coun&s;el, pleaded by &s;ome, will prove a poor &s;helter of fig-leaves to
cover &s;uch a &s;infull nakedne&s;s, of permitting known evil with
&s;uch a neutrall &s;pirit. What wickedne&s;s might not be pleaded for
by the &s;ame rea&s;on? A Chri&s;tian indeed &s;hould be meek and pa|tient,
1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13. in a good way; but not to the neglect of his duty
again&s;t evil, which was <HI>Eli</HI>'s great &s;in, who therein honoured his
&s;ons more than God, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2. 29. it co&s;t him, them, and all <HI>I&s;rael</HI>
dear, for a warning to us all, <HI>Eccl</HI> 8. 11. Sinfull Tolleration
brings wofull augmentation of evil &s;till. We mu&s;t do to others,
it's true, as we would be done to, &s;o that Gods will, and mans
duty be not neglected. The Law indeed is not to the righteous, or
again&s;t the righteous,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 1. 9. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> as righteous; but it's laid again&s;t all un|righteou&s;ne&s;s,
whether reigning or remaining in any; <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elf
was not without the Law, but under the Law to Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI>
9. 21. <HI>Jam.</HI> 2. 8. We &s;hould have a tender care of tender con&s;ci|ences,
but a mo&s;t tender care of Gods plea&s;ure and honour, the
&s;ole rule, and &s;ource of mans duty and good. &V;nfaithfull tender|ne&s;s
is cruell pity, both to the patient and others. The Magi&s;trate
is Lord of the externall man, for good; though not of any mans
faith; mans &s;oul being above his reach, whereof faith is a &s;pe|ciall
act. He infringes no Chri&s;tian liberty, when he checks &s;in|full
Libertini&s;m, mi&s;called liberty: pro&s;ecution of evil is no
<PB REF="10">
per&s;ecution of good. If Papi&s;ts and others take occa&s;ion to abu&s;e
any from hence, &s;o do they abu&s;e and pervert Scripture, and all
good things. We mu&s;t not think to do Jews or others good, by doing
or tollerating evil. Gods cau&s;e needs not be beholding to the devils
help, nor will it be furthered thereby. White witches are alwaies
mo&s;t mi&s;chievous in the conclu&s;ion. The Magi&s;trates authori|tative
owning of the truth, is not like to hinder the progre&s;s
thereof; he may po&s;&s;ibly mi&s;take, and therefore needs all meet help,
being accountable to God for the matter and manner of his work.
What other Objections are moved again&s;t this Truth, may be more
fully an&s;wered in the following Re&s;olves.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE>Decemb. 22. 1656.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>C. G.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="discourse">
<PB N="1" REF="10">
<HEAD>THE
Libertine School'd,
OR A
VINDICATION
OF THE
Magi&s;trates Power in matters of RELIGION.
IN
An&s;wer to the Fallacious Queries of a Namele&s;s Author,
lately &s;pread about the City of Limrick.
For Detection of tho&s;e My&s;terious De&s;igns &s;o vigorou&s;ly
fomented, if not begun among us, by Romi&s;h En|gineers,
and Je&s;uitick Emi&s;&s;aries, under No|tionall
Di&s;gui&s;es.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Thus begins our Queri&s;t.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 1. _WHether it be not better for us that a Patent
were granted to Monopolize all the Corn
and Cloth, and to have it mea&s;ured out
unto us at their price, and plea&s;ure, which
yet were as intollerable, as for &s;ome men to
appoint, and mea&s;ure out unto us what,
and how much we &s;hall believe and practi&s;e in matters of Re|ligion?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. The whole may be granted without danger as it's
<PB N="2" REF="11">
expre&s;&s;ed. 2. If we may gue&s;s that their meaning by their
&s;cope, is to &s;hew by this compari&s;on, the unrea&s;onablene&s;s of
the Magi&s;trates inforcing in Religious matters; then we an&s;wer
by &s;hewing the fallacy of the compari&s;on, in &s;etting forth the
true parallel. The Lord is the ab&s;olute Sovereign of all things
Civil and Sacred; man is not &s;o in neither, yet is the Magi&s;trate
the Lords &s;ervant to enforce by Civil power the di&s;po&s;all of
things in both, as God hath appointed in his Word: For things
Civil, it's ea&s;ily granted; for Sacred matters, be&s;ides many
other &s;ignall in&s;tances given in both Te&s;taments, by way of
precept and promi&s;e, prefiguration and pre&s;ident, &s;ee <HI>Deut.</HI>
13. 5. <HI>Deut. 17. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Ezra 6. 11. 12. Ezra</HI> 7. 6, 11, 25,
26, 27. compare tho&s;e ver&s;es together, proving the Kings
grant to be an an&s;wer to <HI>Ezra</HI>'s reque&s;t, for con&s;tituting Ma|gi&s;trates
with coercive power, in Religious things, in Gods
Name, <HI>Rom. 13. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Zech.</HI> 13. 3 4, 5, 6. a Prophe&s;ie of
Go&s;pel times: 1 <HI>Tim. 2. 1, 2. I&s;a.</HI> 49 23. applicable e&s;pecially
to later daies.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 2. Whether there be not the &s;ame rea&s;on that they &s;hould
be appointed by us what they &s;hall believe and practi&s;e in Religi|on;
as for them to do &s;o to us; &s;eeing we can give as good ground
for what we believe and practi&s;e, as they can do for what they
would have, if not better?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> It's not rea&s;onable that either they or we &s;hould ap|point
to each other, what is to be believed or practi&s;ed in
Religion; but it's mo&s;t rea&s;onable that Chri&s;ts Law given to
us both, &s;hould be inforced by the Magi&s;trate, the Civil &s;ub&s;ti|tute
of Chri&s;t. The former proofs do fully clear this, and
many other &s;uch places, as al&s;o, 2 <HI>Chron. 15. 12, 13. 2 Chron.</HI>
19. 2, 3, 4, &amp;c. 2 <HI>Chron. 34. 4, 5. Neh.</HI> 13. 19, 21, 22, &amp;c. We
might ea&s;ily bring in many in&s;tances for each command of the
fir&s;t Table, how the godly Magi&s;trates acted for God according
to his command, were it nece&s;&s;ary.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 3. Whether they that would force other mens con&s;ciences be
willing to have their own forced?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> No man may or can force another mans con&s;cience;
but the Magi&s;trate is bound by his Office as the Lords Deputy,
to oblige and force the externall man to the ob&s;ervance of
Gods will manife&s;ted in his written word, though he be unwil|ling
and pretend con&s;cience. Be&s;ides the former proofs clear|ing
<PB N="3" REF="11">
this, &s;ee 1 <HI>King.</HI> 18. 40, 41, &amp;c. though <HI>Baals</HI> Prie&s;ts plead|ed
con&s;cience for Idolatry, yet were they put to death by
<HI>Elijahs</HI> command, which execution was attended with &s;peciall
ble&s;&s;ings, <HI>Joh.</HI> 16. 2. They that plead con&s;cience for putting
Chri&s;tians to death, it excu&s;es not, but they &s;hould &s;uffer for
it, according to that indi&s;pen&s;able Law, <HI>Gene&s;. 9. 6. A&s;a,</HI>
2 <HI>Chron. 14. 4. commanded all to &s;eek the Lord, and to do the
Law Nehemiah contended with the Nobles,</HI> and threatned
&s;trangers about their abu&s;es in Tithes, and the Sabbath, <HI>Neh.</HI>
13. 11, 17, 19, 21.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 4. Whether Chri&s;t hath &s;aid he will have an unwilling peo|ple
compelled to &s;erve him?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Though he hath not &s;aid tho&s;e very words, yet hath
he &s;aid in effect &s;o much in tho&s;e many Scriptures that te&s;tifie
the Magi&s;trates duty, to that end, either by precept command|ing
it, or by pre&s;idents commended for it, or rewarded in it;
or by the contrary forbidden, reproved, threatned, and pu|ni&s;hed
for neglect, contempt, or abu&s;e of that duty. The
Scriptures forementioned do fully prove this, as al&s;o very ma|ny
more, were it needfull to quote them. It was the commen|dation
of <HI>A&s;a,</HI> and his people, 2 <HI>Chron. 14. 4, 5. 2 Chron.</HI> 15.
having been &s;tirred up by the Prophet, they acted further,
<HI>ver&s;.</HI> 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 putting down the Idolatrous Queen|mother
with her Idoll, for which they were &s;ignally
ble&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 5. If a Father or Magi&s;trate have not power to force a
Virgin to marry one &s;he cannot love; whether they have power to
force one where they cannot believe again&s;t the light and checks of
their own con&s;ciences?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. The Di&s;cour&s;e hitherto hath been concerning acts
of the outward, not of the inward man, whereof Believing
is one, wherein the Magi&s;trate hath no power nor authority,
neigher <GAP DESC="foreign">, nor <GAP DESC="foreign">, as is confe&s;&s;ed by all: So that the
que&s;tion as worded, is but captious and impertinent. Yet if
by Believing the Queri&s;t means profe&s;&s;ion of faith, or practi&s;e
of religious duties required of the outward man, it's an&s;wered,
That though a Father or Magi&s;trate have no power to force a
Virgin to marry one &s;he cannot love, yet hath the Magi&s;trate
power to force one, where he cannot believe, though again&s;t
the light and check of his con&s;cience. Becau&s;e, 1. A Virgin
<PB N="4" REF="12">
before contract is not bound to any one per&s;on for a husband,
but every &s;oul under Go&s;pel-publication is bound to own Chri&s;t
for a husband, and his Word written for the Rule of their faith,
profe&s;&s;ion and practice.</P>
<P>2. Though God allows Virgins to chu&s;e their husbands, yet
doth he not allow men to chu&s;e any Religion be&s;ides his
own.</P>
<P>3. As the Magi&s;trate hath power to re&s;train forcibly all wo|men
from fornication and adultery, and puni&s;h them for it;
&s;o may and &s;hould he re&s;train all per&s;ons from &s;pirituall forni|cation
and adultery committed by the outward man, and pu|ni&s;h
them for the &s;ame, though the light and checks of their
con&s;ciences &s;hould erroneou&s;ly ju&s;tifie them in their &s;aid for|nication
and adultery; &s;eeing no plea of con&s;cience can be
on any account, a &s;anctuary to any &s;in, or breach of Gods
revealed will. The Scriptures formerly named do &s;ufficiently
clear this truth.</P>
<P>We meet next with an Objection propo&s;ed by the Queri&s;t
to be an&s;wered by him&s;elf, drawn from <HI>Luke</HI> 14. 23. which
being but a man of clouts for him&s;elf to skirmi&s;h withall, and
not &s;o pertinent to the point in hand, as more weakly a&s;&s;erting
the Magi&s;trates power, we wave, that we may come the &s;ooner
to more expre&s;s matter for demon&s;tration, by this Queri&s;t ca|villed
at.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 6. Whether the &s;ervants of the Lord are not forbidden to
&s;trive, but to be gentle towards all? 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4. 2.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. We readily grant it; and that it was of force of old
when tran&s;gre&s;&s;ours of the fir&s;t and &s;econd Table were mo&s;t &s;e|verely
dealt withall.</P>
<P>2. The Scripture quoted &s;aith nothing for their purpo&s;e, in
that, 1. It &s;peaks not of Magi&s;trates, but of Mini&s;ters duty
properly, as appears by the whole context, directed to <HI>Timo|thy</HI>
a Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t, as a directory for the Mini&s;try.
2. Though it &s;hould be applied to the Magi&s;trate, yet will it
not exclude his civil Juri&s;diction, and power, as it excludes
not the Mini&s;ters: the &s;cope of the place &s;ignifying to us, that
none of the Lords &s;ervants &s;hould &s;trive for any evil matter,
nor in an evil manner, (though for good) but again&s;t evil in
a good manner, as <HI>Jud. 3. 4. Gal. 2. 11. Neh. 13. Rom.</HI> 13. 4, 5, 6.
For this they are commended, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2. 2, 3. For the neglect
<PB N="5" REF="12">
thereof they are rebuked, <HI>Rev. 2. 14. 20, 21. Rev.</HI> 3. 13, 16. To
this duty they are al&s;o often &s;tirred up, both in their civil and
&s;pirituall relations. It becometh not Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trates to
be cowed in Chri&s;ts Cau&s;e, nor to betray the &s;ame by coward|line&s;s,
or by re&s;pects, <HI>Prov. 20. 8. Exod.</HI> 32. 20, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.
<HI>Rom. 13. Zech.</HI> 13. 2, 3, 4&punc; 5. <HI>Rev.</HI> 17. 16.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 7. Whether the Saints weapons again&s;t errors be carnall or
no? 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10. 4. or whether the &s;emi-independents were of that
minde in the Bi&s;hops daies?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. To the fir&s;t part, Mini&s;ters weapons (of whom the
text properly quoted &s;peaks) are not carnall but &s;pirituall, and
mighty through God; of this minde were judicious Chri&s;tians
(whether nick-named Independents or others) in the Bi&s;hops
daies, as they are &s;till.</P>
<P>2. If we &s;hould grant it, to include the Magi&s;trates weapons,
we deny them to be &s;infully carnall, though we grant them to
be civilly carnall, and yet according to Gods Ordinance, <HI>Rom.</HI>
13. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 13, 14.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 8. Whether it be not in vain for us to have Bibles in En|gli&s;h,
if even again&s;t our &s;ouls per&s;wa&s;ions from the Scriptures,
we mu&s;t beleeve as the Church or Pari&s;h beleeves?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. This Que&s;tion is impertinently propo&s;ed to Prote|&s;tants,
who deny either Church or Pari&s;h to be the Rule of
their faith; however it may be among the Papi&s;ts, and all
Phari&s;aicall profe&s;&s;ours of implicite faith, and blinde obe|dience.</P>
<P>2. The Scripture mu&s;t therefore be tran&s;lated into all Vul|gar
tongues, that every man may thereby learn to know and
di&s;cern, what the Church and we ought to beleeve, and to
conform his belief thereto.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Veritas Index ac Judex &s;ui &amp; obliqui.</NOTE> Con&s;cience is to be enlightned
and quickned by Gods light in Scripture, that our faith may
not be pinned upon any mans &s;leeve; but that all, as the noble
<HI>Beraeans,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 17. 11.</NOTE> may try all Doctrines by the Word, bringing all to
the Law and to the Te&s;timony;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 4. 1.</NOTE> that thereby their dark mind
may be gradually directed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 8. 20.</NOTE> through that light which &s;hines
in the Mini&s;try of Chri&s;t and the Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 3. 18.</NOTE> and their mi&s;takes
rectified.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 4. 3, 4.</NOTE> Wherein their judgements may po&s;&s;ibly differ,
they are to enquire &s;oberly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14. 19, 20, 21, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">2.</NOTE> diligently, and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ively, till
&s;atisfaction be mutually given and received. But this takes
not off the Magi&s;trates power in commanding the outward
<PB N="6" REF="13">
man about things clearly revealed in Scripture,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2. 13, 14.</NOTE> witne&s;s <HI>Peter,
Paul,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13. 5, 6.</NOTE> and all the Scriptures before quoted.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 9. Whether our Magi&s;trates and Governours be not wrong|ed,
to give them the Titles of Civil Magi&s;trates only, if their
power be &s;pirituall?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. The Magi&s;trate is not wronged thereby, &s;eeing his
Power is not &s;piritual, but civil, though &s;ometimes imployed
about &s;piritual things.</P>
<P>2. Our Magi&s;trates are truly called Civil, becau&s;e the means
and manner of executing their Office, their Laws and Arms,
their Proceedings and Cour&s;es, their Rewards and Puni&s;hments,
are all Civil only,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.</NOTE> and not Spirituall or Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall. Though
their object is &s;ometimes &s;pirituall, as in things of the fir&s;t Ta|ble.
So that its their duty to reduce all to Gods honour, and
therefore to maintain and ob&s;erve his will revealed, being
<HI>Cu&s;todes utriu&s;que tabulae, uti &amp; Vindices;</HI> Keepers and De|fenders
of both Tables,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Circa res Ec|cle&s;ia&s;ticas, <GAP DESC="foreign">. Eu&s;eb.</NOTE> to regulate the externall man accord|ingly.
They act, politically, about Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall things, as
<HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> the Great &s;aid of him&s;elf, and as becomes the Nur|&s;ing-Fathers
of Gods people. Their charge is to be the Shep|heards
of Nations, as that great Prince is &s;tyled in Hi&s;tory.
Their Power therein is Directive,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> and Protective; Remune|rative
and Cumulative; not de&s;tructive, but edificative, as all
former Texts clearly demon&s;trate.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 10. Whether compul&s;ion of con&s;cience was ever in practi&s;e
among the Nations or Churches, till the times of Antichri&s;t?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Con&s;cience cannot, mu&s;t not be compelled forcibly
by man, yet is it no protection from that &s;word, which is a
terrour to every evil work,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6.</NOTE> and requires obedience from eve|ry
&s;oul. Here&s;ies are &s;uch evil works of the fle&s;h, called evil
deeds by <HI>John,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 5. 20.</NOTE> whereof he would have no Chri&s;tians to par|take,
2 <HI>Joh. v.</HI> 11.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Joh. 11.</NOTE> Errours de&s;tructive of fundamentals are
properly called Here&s;ies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 3. 10.</NOTE> e&s;pecially, when ob&s;tinately main|tained.
That very &s;word is al&s;o the Lords &s;ervant for good,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom 13. 4.</NOTE>
without exception. There were many Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trates
before the Roman Antichri&s;t gat up into Chri&s;ts Throne, as
<HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI> the <HI>Theodo&s;ii, Marcian,</HI> &amp;c. by who&s;e &s;ignall Or|ders
were kept the four General Councils:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Anno 330.</NOTE> 1. That of <HI>Nice,</HI>
again&s;t <HI>Arius,</HI> for denying Chri&s;ts God-head, under <HI>Con&s;tan|tine.</HI>
2.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Anno 383.</NOTE> That of <HI>Con&s;tantinople,</HI> again&s;t <HI>Macedonius,</HI> for
<PB N="7" REF="13">
denying the Spirits Godhead, under <HI>Theodo&s;ius &s;enior.</HI> 3. That
of <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Anno 440.</NOTE> again&s;t <HI>Ne&s;torius,</HI> for dividing Chri&s;t into two
per&s;ons,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Anno 454.</NOTE> under <HI>Theodo&s;ius junior.</HI> 4. That of <HI>Chalcedon,</HI> a|gain&s;t
<HI>Eutyches,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Concil. Tom. Eu&s;eb. Chron. Socrat. Zonar. My&s;ter. Iniquit. Morn.</NOTE> for confounding both Natures in Chri&s;t, un|der
<HI>Marcian.</HI> Tho&s;e godly Princes convened Synods, pre|&s;ided
therein, a&s;&s;i&s;ted, protected, and quickned them in their
&s;everall con&s;ults, owned their Re&s;olves, and promoted them
to their power, giving up therein their Scepter unto Chri&s;t,
according to tho&s;e famous Prophe&s;ies &s;o gloriou&s;ly expre&s;&s;ed
concerning them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 60. 3, 10, 11.</NOTE> They counted it more honour to be <HI>mem|brum
Eccle&s;iae,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 62. 2.</NOTE> a member of the Church, as Princely <HI>Theodo|&s;ius</HI>
&s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 15.</NOTE> <HI>qu&agrave;m caput Imperii,</HI> than Head of the Empire. It
was Antichri&s;t that u&s;urped on them gradually, and by getting
into the Magi&s;trates &s;eat di&s;abled him from doing his Homage
to his Sovereign Chri&s;t. Thus the faithfull Rulers are honour|ed
in Divine Records for their &s;ingular care of his intere&s;t.
<HI>David</HI> and <HI>Salomon, A&s;a</HI> and <HI>Jeho&s;haphat, Ezechias</HI> and <HI>Jo&s;i|as,
Zerubbabel</HI> and <HI>Nehemias,</HI> with divers others, have &s;ignall
monuments erected to their &s;ame, by the Lords own hands
upon that account: Yea, Pagan Princes were &s;o far owned
of God, as they owned him in that way; witne&s;s <HI>Nebuchad|nezzar,</HI>
&s;ent to learn that le&s;&s;on among Bruits,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 3. 29.</NOTE> in &s;even years
&s;chooling there,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 4. 36.</NOTE> becau&s;e he would not learn it to purpo&s;e be|fore
of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezra 6. 7.</NOTE> by man, for all <HI>Daniels</HI> teachings. Thus <HI>Darius,
Artaxerxes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezra 7.</NOTE> another <HI>Darius,</HI> and divers more, are memora|bly
recorded for this. Tho&s;e Princes were &s;till rebuked and
plagued that &s;lighted and abu&s;ed the &s;ame,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nehem. 1.</NOTE> as <HI>Jeroboam</HI> and his
&s;ucce&s;&s;ors in <HI>I&s;rael; Ahaez</HI> and others in <HI>Judah,</HI> be&s;ides many
more, that might be named.</P>
<P>But the Queri&s;t &s;ubjoyns Rea&s;ons to &s;trengthen his
doubt.</P>
<P><HI>R.</HI> 1. The Sichemites, <HI>&s;aith he,</HI> u&s;ed no compul&s;ion to <HI>Jacob</HI>
and his &s;ons, during their abode among them.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The Sichemits ca&s;e is ab&s;urdly quoted. <HI>Nihil ad Rhom|bum.</HI>
They were Heathens, who neither owned God, nor his
will revealed. <HI>Jacobs</HI> family were no &s;ubjects of theirs, no
di&s;turbers, no oppo&s;ers of Gods Will and Wor&s;hip. They
were neighbours entring into league, which was afterwards
wickedly broken by <HI>Simeon</HI> and <HI>Levi.</HI> Our Queri&s;t, it &s;eems,
is hard put to it, being forced to call in Heathens for his Rule.</P>
<P><PB N="8" REF="14">
<HI>R.</HI> 2. The I&s;raelites, <HI>&s;aith he,</HI> when a Captivity, yet enjoyed
their con&s;ciences.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The I&s;raelites in Captivity enjoyed their con&s;cience, &s;o
long as they kept to their duty, according to Gods will re|vealed
to them: But that cannot plead for Tolleration of any
thing contrary to Gods revealed will. When fal&s;e prophets
did then ari&s;e to &s;educe and corrupt, they met with their due
wages from God and from man; witne&s;s the juggling pro|phets,
<HI>Zedechias</HI> and <HI>Ahab,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 29. 21.</NOTE> burnt with fire by <HI>Nebuchad|nezzar,</HI>
for that &s;inne common among our Libertines, Com|munity
of Wives.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Socrat.</HI> lib. 2. c. 22.</NOTE> As <HI>Manes</HI> the &s;educer was afterwards flead
alive by the <HI>Per&s;ian</HI> King for his Impo&s;tures.</P>
<P><HI>R.</HI> 3. The Romans, <HI>&s;aith he,</HI> bore with the Jews in their Re|ligion,
though a Tributary Nation.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The Romans in&s;tance is little to the purpo&s;e, who
were Pagans, &s;trangers to Gods Word, and minded nothing
but their worldly intere&s;t, to keep all quiet under their Em|pire.
Yet did many of the Jewi&s;h fal&s;e prophets &s;uffer under
and by them;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;eph de bell. Judaic.</NOTE> witne&s;s <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> their great Hi&s;torian and Pa|triot.
It was the Jews following of &s;educing Impo&s;tors which
made them ri&s;e again&s;t Magi&s;tracy and Mini&s;try in their pre|tence
of the light within, and brought both their Church and
State into confu&s;ion, and them&s;elves to ruine by the Roman
power, and their inte&s;tine di&s;cords, as the &s;aid <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> clears
at large. Much after the &s;ame manner was that Tragedy, which
was re-acted by tho&s;e mon&s;trous Impo&s;tors of <HI>Germany, Mun|&s;ter,
Leyden, Amsterdam, Switzerland,</HI> &amp;c. in the years 1522,
1523,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eresbach. hi&s;t. Annal. Sleidan. Bullinger. Melancthon. Luther. Bledisk, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> 1533, 1534, &amp;c. <HI>Stock</HI> and <HI>Muncer, John Becold</HI>
and <HI>Knipperdoling, Skicker</HI> and <HI>Battenburgh,</HI> with many
more repre&s;enting the like &s;ad &s;pectacles, upon the like
pretences of Chri&s;ts Kingdom, and Liberty; witne&s;s &s;o many
Authors of approved fidelity, living about tho&s;e places and
times.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 11. What would become of the Prote&s;tants of <HI>France,</HI> who
live under Popi&s;h Magi&s;trates, if they &s;hould appear for compul|&s;ion
of con&s;cience?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Calvin. contr. Libert. Beza de haeret. pun. Junius, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> As for the French Prote&s;tants, their Doctrine agrees
harmoniou&s;ly with ours in this, as in other points of Religion,
witne&s;s their prime Authors. With them accord the Divines
of <HI>Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands,</HI> &amp;c. Yea, the very
<PB N="9" REF="14">
<HI>Lutherans</HI> in the ca&s;e of tumultuous Hereticks,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sleidan. Comm. Hornebeck, de haeretic.</NOTE> (though they
have &s;eemed mo&s;t favourable towards tho&s;e more quiet ones,
that &s;tirred not then &s;o openly, as many did.) <HI>Servetus</HI> &s;uffer|ed
death at <HI>Geneva</HI> for Bla&s;phemy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Guy de Bre&s;. contre les Anab. Cloppenburg. Gan. Anabapt. Spanhem. di&s;put. contr. Anabapt. Bulling. adv. Anab.</NOTE> by the Senates order, and
with the approbation of the Prote&s;tant <HI>Cantons</HI> and <HI>German</HI>
Divines, who were fir&s;t con&s;ulted with. Neither is there any
compul&s;ion of con&s;cience in this, but puni&s;hment of wicked|ne&s;s,
on &s;uch who &s;ubvert their own and others con&s;ciences,
in the ruine of all Truth and Peace. Good men need not fear
the Powers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bledskin. Hi&s;t. David Georg. Apocalyp&s;. Hae|ref. arch. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> but evil men mu&s;t and cannot but dread them.
Such a Liberty of Con&s;cience is de&s;ired among us and them,
as may prove freedom from &s;in, the liberty of heaven; not
freedom to &s;in, the liberty of hell. It would be their joy and
ours, as it's our joint de&s;ire and prayer, that all Magi&s;trates
may &s;o &s;tudy their power in Divine and &s;pirituall things, as to
countenance all good, and di&s;countenance all evil. If they
mi&s;take in the application, that is mans fault, not the rules.
None mu&s;t neglect their duty for fear of mi&s;takes, but be &s;o
much the more diligent and vigilant therein. As we may not
do evil, that good may come of it: &s;o may we not neglect the
good, lea&s;t evil &s;hould come. Man &s;hould minde Gods work,
and tru&s;t him for help and &s;ucce&s;s. The Prote&s;tants of <HI>France</HI>
have found the good experience thereof hitherto, under varie|ties
of di&s;pen&s;ations.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 12. Whether doth not the practi&s;e of compul&s;ion of con&s;ci|ence
among Prote&s;tants, greatly harden the Papi&s;ts in their In|qui&s;itory
practi&s;es? and whether &s;o long as they are hardned and
confirmed by us, there be any likelihood that the Go&s;pel &s;hould take
footing in <HI>Spain</HI> or <HI>Italy?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Our Doctrine and practi&s;e are no encouragement to
<HI>Spani&s;h</HI> and <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Inqui&s;itions, no more than the execution
of Ju&s;tice upon Malefactors may be called encouragement to
the bloodine&s;s of wicked men, again&s;t hone&s;t righteous per|&s;ons.
Let Ju&s;tice be done,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fiat Ju&s;titia &amp; ruat Caelum, aut pereat mun|dus. <HI>Ferdinan.</HI></NOTE> what ever become of it, &s;aid that
famous Emperour, upon good ground. The great favour
&s;hewed to the <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Papi&s;ts again&s;t the Laws of God and man,
before the late unparallel'd Rebellion, did no good, but much
hurt to all &s;orts. The pampering of a foul body, is no good
way to the curing of it, but effectuall phy&s;ick, diet and dre&s;|&s;ing.
Evil men will take advantage from, and offence at the
<PB N="10" REF="15">
be&s;t things,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See</HI> Engl. <HI>Hi&s;t.</HI> Camden. Elizab.</NOTE> as good men will extract good out of the wor&s;t.
<HI>Spain</HI> and <HI>Italy</HI> were awed in Queen <HI>Elizabeths</HI> time, when
good Laws were vigorou&s;ly pro&s;ecuted again&s;t perverters and
pretenders of con&s;cience, who carried on helli&s;h de&s;ignes,
under &s;pecious di&s;gui&s;es.<NOTE PLACE="marg">See their Let|ters, Courtiers and Councils in &s;everall books abroad, pictured out, to the life, out of their own papers, and bo&s;om Favorites. Parliaments Remon&s;tr. <HI>Ro<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1+ letters">es</HI> Ma&s;ter|piece Popi&s;h favo|rite. <HI>Cabala, Scrinia &s;acra, Motus Britaun. Engl.</HI> Hi&s;tor. The Romi&s;h &s;uper&s;titions &s;tirred then apace, as you may &s;ee in <HI>Clav. Apocalyp</HI> by a <HI>Germ</HI> Author. Rev. 12. 14. <HI>Med. Clav. Apocalypt. Brightman,</HI> &amp;c. My&s;ter. Iniquit. <HI>Morn Carion&punc; Chron.</HI></NOTE> But the &s;infull compliances of King
<HI>James</HI> and King <HI>Charles</HI> Courts, though from pretended depths
of politick intere&s;t, proved fatall to all, as in the&s;e Nations,
&s;o in foreign parts. Thereby were very many thou&s;ands of
Prote&s;tants betrayed and de&s;erted in <HI>Bohemia</HI> and the <HI>Palati|nate,</HI>
in <HI>France</HI> and <HI>Germany,</HI> in <HI>Denmark</HI> and <HI>Ha&s;&s;ia,</HI> &amp;c.
Thereby were the&s;e Nations almo&s;t en&s;laved under <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> and
<HI>Spani&s;h</HI> tyranny, and the Reformed Religion brought to its
la&s;t ga&s;p, if an extraordinary hand of heaven had not made
way towards our hopes of recovery in the &s;everall parts of
<HI>Europe. Spain</HI> and <HI>Italy</HI> have been the Mother and Nur&s;e of
Antichri&s;t from his fir&s;t ri&s;e hitherto, which way &s;oever you
plea&s;e to reckon it. Some begin about <HI>Anno</HI> 396. at the di|vi&s;ion
of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire (after the death of <HI>Theodo&s;ius</HI> the
Great) between his &s;ons <HI>Honorius</HI> and <HI>Arcadius.</HI></P>
<P>Others begin about <HI>Anno</HI> 408.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Then was <HI>Rome</HI> taken many times in fourty years &s;pace and the &s;tate altered. Revel. 13. 1, 2, &amp;c. Revel. 13. 11, 12, &amp;c. Dan. 11. 36, 37, 38, &amp;c.</NOTE> when the Empire was torn
into ten parts, by the barbarous inva&s;ions of the <HI>Huns</HI> and
<HI>Goths, Vandals</HI> and <HI>Franks, Heruls</HI> and <HI>Burgundians, Alemans</HI>
and <HI>Jepids,</HI> &amp;c. which gave ri&s;e to that ten-horned Bea&s;t in Po|liticals;
and to that two horned Bea&s;t in Eccle&s;ia&s;ticals.</P>
<P>Others rather begin it about <HI>Anno</HI> 607. when <HI>Mahomet</HI> did
ri&s;e in the Ea&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Then the Romi&s;h Pre|late rode in State, like the &s;carlet whore, upon all Power, and revived the Image of the fir&s;t Bea&s;t for future adoration.</NOTE> and <HI>Bonifacius</HI> the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Prelate in the We&s;t,
fir&s;t obtained the Title of Univer&s;all Bi&s;hop from bloody
<HI>Phocas,</HI> who gave it him to gain a friend in the We&s;t, who
&s;oon overtopp'd all. <HI>Gregory</HI> the Great, Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome,
Bonifacius</HI> his Predece&s;&s;or, had declared a while before, the
Patriarch of <HI>Con&s;tantinople</HI> to be the fore-runner of Antichri&s;t,
for u&s;urping that Title of Univer&s;all Bi&s;hop.</P>
<P><PB N="11" REF="15">
The <HI>Italian</HI> and <HI>Spani&s;h</HI> Churches did &s;uck in apace the
multiplicious Errors and Idolatrous Super&s;titions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Milan. Ravenna.</NOTE> which did
from time to time infe&s;t Chri&s;tianity, witne&s;s the many Coun|cils
and Synods of <HI>Rome,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See</HI> Hi&s;tor. Concil. Centuriator. Magdeburg. Binium. Baronii Annales. Armach. de &s;ucce&s; &amp; &s;tat. Eccle&s;.</NOTE> <HI>Braga, Toledo, Sevill,</HI> and of other
Cities of <HI>Spain</HI> and <HI>Italy</HI> in their &s;ucce&s;&s;ive progre&s;s. Since
the &s;etting up of the <HI>Au&s;trian</HI> family, fir&s;t in the <HI>German</HI>
Empire, and in the Kingdom of <HI>Spain,</HI> both <HI>Italy</HI> and <HI>Spain</HI>
have been twi&s;ting into one Antichri&s;tian intere&s;t (though &s;ome
particular States and Princes of <HI>Italy</HI> &s;ometimes be over-ruled
by their own proper byas.) And the Je&s;uites of all Nations
have learned to center all their de&s;ignes, in the advancement
of the &s;ame,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Campanell, de Monarch. Hi&s;p. Contzen. Polit. <HI>D.</HI> R. <HI>Intere&s;t of Princes.</HI> Hi&s;tor Je&s;uit. Specul. Je&s;uit. Specul. Europ.</NOTE> for the framing of a new European Monarchy,
under an <HI>Au&s;trian</HI> Head, and the Popes guidance. All their
my&s;teries of State, their <HI>Arcana Imperii</HI> move towards this
Head-plot, in every Nation. They have knit &s;o fa&s;t into mu|tuall
intimacy, that what the one gains &s;hall help the other.
Thus were <HI>Navarre</HI> and <HI>France, England</HI> and <HI>America</HI> given
up to the <HI>Spaniard</HI> by the Popes bounty, under pretence of
executing his Holine&s;&s;es decrees. There is therefore little
hopes of doing them any good or expecting converts there.
Their doom &s;eems to have been &s;ignally foretold,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 9, 11.</NOTE> That they
&s;hould not repent, neither by fair nor foul means, whil&s;t the
judiciall Vials of Gods wrath are pouring forth upon that
Antichri&s;tian Sun, the <HI>Au&s;trian</HI> family; and on <HI>Rome</HI> it &s;elf,
the Metropolitan Seat of that Antichri&s;tian Bea&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Engl. Hi&s;tor. Camd. Britann. <HI>Duke of</HI> Roans <HI>Intere&s;t of Princes.</HI></NOTE> This our
brave Queen <HI>Elizabeth,</HI> with her wi&s;e Council, did &s;till well
ob&s;erve, maintaining all in a flouri&s;hing &s;tate, by keeping the
<HI>Spaniard</HI> and Pope, at the &s;words point. They clearly di&s;cern|ed
the intere&s;t of <HI>England</HI> to lie, in uniting of all Prote&s;tants,
and keeping all clo&s;e to the truth and waies of Chri&s;t, again&s;t
the renewed combinations of <HI>Spain</HI> and <HI>Rome.</HI> Some few
&s;prinklings of converts have indeed formerly been found in
tho&s;e places, as <HI>Zanchius, Peter Martyr,</HI> the Noble Marque&s;s
<HI>Caracciolus</HI> of <HI>Vico,</HI> &amp;c. But of late they have been much
rarer, &s;ince the de&s;perate Inqui&s;ition, (the <HI>Spaniards</HI> right
eye, as he cals it) hath been &s;o exqui&s;itely cruell and tyran|nicall.
Thus the nearer they draw to their dregs, the wor&s;e
they prove.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 18. 15. 2 The&s;&s;. 2. 9, 10, 11, 12.</NOTE> It's ob&s;ervable, that the great Merchants of the
Bea&s;t, the <HI>Spani&s;h</HI> and <HI>Italian</HI> Grandees, are not amended by
her ruine, but only ca&s;t into de&s;pairing horrors and lamen|tations.
<PB N="12" REF="16">
So that little hope is left us of doing them good,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 4. 2, 3.</NOTE>
upon any terms, though we be &s;till bound and ready to pray
for them, and further their good who may be found there
to belong to God, &s;o farre as we may go, without neglect of
our duty, and without breach of Gods Law, which hath been
&s;ufficiently cleared, as to the Magi&s;trates charge, in the prece|ding
Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 13. Whether it be wi&s;dom and &s;afe to make &s;uch Judges
in matters of Religion, and to follow their dictates, who are not
infallible, but as &s;ubject to errours as others?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> In this our Queri&s;t begins more overtly to open his
Romi&s;h pack, and u&s;her in a Popi&s;h infallibility from the triple
Crown, for &s;upream Judge of all Controver&s;ies. This in&s;i|nuation
would make Prote&s;tants believe that there is neither
wi&s;dom nor &s;afety in their Religion, and con&s;equently that
they mu&s;t be looked for from that Church alone, where they
pretend that Judge to be found, that is in their own. Thus the
Papi&s;t and Quaker do boa&s;t of that mo&s;t whereto they are the
greate&s;t &s;trangers (<HI>viz.</HI>) Perfection and Infallibility. We
indeed confe&s;s our &s;elves (at the be&s;t) &s;ubject to errour, and
pretend not to be infallible Judges. We would not &s;eem wi&s;er
than <HI>Paul,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Jam. 3. 2.</NOTE> who knew but in part, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13. 12. or better
than <HI>James</HI> and <HI>John,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 1. 8, 10.</NOTE> who tell us, that <HI>in many things we &s;in all,</HI>
both in opinion and practice. But what then? Who &s;hall be
Judge of the meaning of Scripture? We an&s;wer: 1. The
Spirit of truth &s;peaking in his Word, is the &s;upream infallible
Judge. 2. Where he &s;eems to &s;peak ob&s;curely, his words in
the context, &s;cope, and other places mu&s;t be compared to
clear his meaning to our &s;hallow judgements. 3. Much in|du&s;try,
&s;tudy and &s;obriety are required to attain thereto in
&s;undry places; yet the Fundamentals of Religion are plainly
laid down for the meane&s;t capacity. The Lamb may wade
where the Elephant may &s;wimme. 4. He hath appointed
his Word to be a convincing, converting, and confirming
light to all his people. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 19. &amp; <HI>P&s;al. 119, &amp;c.</HI> having pro|mi&s;ed
to lead them thereby into all needfull truth, gradually
and proportionably, <HI>Joh. 16. 13. 1 Joh.</HI> 2. 20, 28. 5. He hath
appointed the Mini&s;ters of his Go&s;pel to be the in&s;trumentall
lights to guide his people thereto, <HI>Matth.</HI> 5. 14, 16. a&s;&s;uring
them of his pre&s;ence, and &s;peciall ble&s;&s;ing to the worlds end,
<PB N="13" REF="16">
<HI>Matth. 28. 20. Luke 10. 16. Matth.</HI> 10. 40. till all his elect be
compleated in the mea&s;ure of the fulne&s;s of Chri&s;t, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4. 11,
12. and ordained a way of a &s;ucce&s;&s;ive communication there|of,
2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2. 2. by the &s;olemn calling of per&s;ons qualified and
duly approved of into the Mini&s;teriall Office, according to his
rules, 1 <HI>Tim. 3. Tit. 1. 1 Tim</HI> 4. 14. &amp; 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5. 22. having
appointed them to be the Stewards, Shepherds, Guides and
Rulers of his flock in their &s;everall capacities, <HI>Act. 14. 22. ch.</HI>
20. 28. 1 <HI>Pet. 5. 2. 1 The&s;&s;. 5. Jer.</HI> 3. 14, 15. and this to be the
ordinary means leading to their &s;alvation, <HI>Rom.</HI> 10. 14, 17.
6. Becau&s;e they are weak fallible men who are to &s;ucceed the
Apo&s;tles, Prophets and Evangeli&s;ts (more extraordinarily
called, gifted, and a&s;&s;i&s;ted with a mea&s;ure an&s;werable to the
foundation of the Go&s;pel, <HI>Eph. 2. 20, 21. 1 Cor.</HI> 3. 9, 10, 11.)
he bids Chri&s;tians not to neglect prophecying; yet &s;o, as to
try all things, as to take nothing without triall, 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5.
1 <HI>Joh</HI> 4. 1, 2. and to redeem all opportunities of receiving and
doing good mutually, that they may grow in grace and in the
knowledge of Chri&s;t, <HI>Heb. 10. 23, 24. 2 Pet.</HI> 3. 18. Thus his
&s;ervants are made &s;ubordinately Mini&s;teriall Judges, by way
of declaration, and every particular Chri&s;tians judgement is,
as unto him&s;elf, the Judge of di&s;cretion, ultimately to deter|mine
the application of Gods will &s;o revealed to him, to the
di&s;charge of his duty. So farre then as any man keeps clo&s;e
to Gods Word &s;o declared to him, &s;o far is he infallible, whe|ther
he be a Magi&s;trate, a Mini&s;ter or private Chri&s;tian: here|in
lies our wi&s;dom and &s;afety, but not in the pretended infalli|bility
of a Romi&s;h &s;upream Judge, who doth &s;o often contra|dict
both the truth and him&s;elf; witne&s;s the many Schi&s;mes by
Antipopes among them,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In</HI> Baron. An|nal. Platin. de vit. Pontific. Magdeburg. Centur. Catalog. Te&s;t. Veritat. My&s;ter. Iniquit. Morn. Di&s;putat. inter Dominic &amp; Je&s;uit.</NOTE> to the number of twenty &s;even at lea&s;t
at &s;everall times, &s;ometimes three at once, and a fourth Pope
&s;et up by putting down the re&s;t; witne&s;s the gro&s;s here&s;ies,
horrid prophane&s;&s;es, de&s;perate &s;orceries, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> acknowledged
by their own authentick records to have been among &s;o many
of their Popes and Prelates; witne&s;s the many conte&s;ts, op|po&s;itions
and contradictions of their own Councils, Popes and
chief Doctors to this very day. From what hath been &s;aid it
appears that we make no man &s;upream Judge of truth: but
give to every man his judgement of di&s;cretion for his own
practice, and among the re&s;t to the Magi&s;trate, as in his pri|vate,
<PB N="14" REF="17">
&s;o in his publick capacity, of both which they are ac|countable
to their own Ma&s;ter.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 14. Whether Laws made concerning Religion, and procla|mation
for people to come to their Town or Pari&s;h-Church, have
not alwaies catched the mo&s;t holy and con&s;cientious men: witne&s;s
<HI>Daniel</HI> and the three children: and the re&s;t will be of what Reli|gion
you will?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> As for an orderly bringing of people to the publick
place where the Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t duly authorized is to di&s;pen&s;e
the Word, the thing it &s;elf is very needfull and u&s;efull. If
any particular branch of our Law be found le&s;s expedient, that
concerns our Lawgivers to look to, &s;o that no con&s;cience truly
tender, and truly enlightned, may &s;uffer; and no licentious
per&s;on may be &s;uffered to &s;pend tho&s;e precious &s;ea&s;ons, and
lo&s;e the opportunities of his eternall welfare: when godly,
able Preachers are &s;etled in all Pari&s;hes, there will be le&s;s excu&s;e
to idlers and wanderers. Till that can be obtained, the neare&s;t
may be attended. If any &s;cruple it upon &s;ufficient ground to
be &s;oberly rendered to the Magi&s;trate, he may be excu&s;ed from
that penalty, which the lazy and carele&s;s neglecters may be
obnoxious to through their default. If good men have &s;uffer|ed
&s;ometimes by the wre&s;ting of a good Law, or executing of
an evil Law, &s;hall it be a di&s;paragement to good Orders and
Laws? What is there &s;o good but may be abu&s;ed? <HI>Corruptio
optimi, pe&s;&s;ima.</HI> Shall men for bear their food, becau&s;e many
&s;urfet and riot? Shall there be no wine in u&s;e, becau&s;e &s;ome
will be drunk? This a mad <HI>Seyth,</HI> in <HI>Plutarch</HI> may think well
of, but a wi&s;e man will improve the good and watch again&s;t the
evil. Are not Magi&s;trates Nur&s;es to their people, Shepherds
to their flocks, Parents to the&s;e children? Should they not then
provide for their good, and labour to remove and prevent
all evil, both &s;pirituall and temporall in their proper
places?</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 15. Whether freedom of cen&s;cience will not join all &s;orts of
per&s;ons, &s;ouldiers and others, to their Officers and Magi&s;trates,
becau&s;e each &s;hared in the benefit?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Would you explain what con&s;cientiou&s;ne&s;s you mean,
and what freedom, we might an&s;wer more di&s;tinctly and effe|ctually.
Chri&s;tian liberty is indeed a choice jewell, purcha&s;ed
by Chri&s;t, and given by Gods Spirit to all his Elect, in their
<PB N="15" REF="17">
Regeneration: Thereby they are freed from the guilt of &s;inne
in their ju&s;tification, <HI>Rom. 3. 15. ch.</HI> 5. 1. &amp; <HI>ch.</HI> 6. 2. From the
power and pollution of &s;inne, in their redemption and &s;ancti|fication,
<HI>Act.</HI> 26. 18. 3. From the remainders of &s;inne gra|dually
in their progre&s;&s;ive renovation. 4. From the deadly
fruits and effects of &s;inne, the cur&s;e of the Law, the wrath of
God, the lo&s;s of all good, and infliction of all evil in their
improved adoption. 5. They &s;hall be freed from all fear of
future evil, to enjoy eternall good in their la&s;t di&s;&s;olution from
Grace to Glory, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12. 22. 6. Their Chri&s;tian liberty makes
them free to all &s;pirituall good in the right u&s;e of every creature
and Ordinance, &s;o farre as their minde and heart are graciou&s;ly
renewed. But for a &s;infull liberty to abu&s;e our &s;elves, or any
creature and Ordinance, either in committing evil, or omiting
good, it's a Satanicall liberty, it's none of Chri&s;ts purcha&s;e nor
gift. Will any &s;ober con&s;cientious Chri&s;tian plead for it? Sure|ly
no. Tho&s;e are the vile&s;t drudges that have mo&s;t of that
freedom. Do you de&s;ire freedom to &s;ay and do what you will?
Is it not the high way to hell? The ruine of Church and State?
The confounding of all things? But you plead con&s;cience:
Why, what do you mean? If it be a pure con&s;cience it will
thus act by faith in love to good, again&s;t evil, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1. 5. If it
be an erroneous con&s;cience, or &s;crupulous, or dubious in le&s;&s;er
things, there is a Chri&s;tian way to &s;atisfie &s;uch with tenderne&s;s,
prudence and fidelity, to the rectifying and &s;etling of them
pre&s;cribed, <HI>Rom. 14. Phil. 3. 15, 16. Gal.</HI> 6. 1. But if it be an evil
con&s;cience, a corrupt, a &s;eared, a blinde con&s;cience, that is a
dreadfull evil indeed, <HI>Tit. 1. 15, 16. 1 Tim. 4. 2, 3. 2 Tim.</HI> 3. 1,
2, 3, 4, 5. Such are not to be dallied with, no more than the le|prous,
poy&s;oned and ulcerous bodies, that call for purging,
dieting, and looking to narrowly, 2 <HI>Tim. 2. 25, 26. Tit.</HI> 3. 10,
11. Can you think a licentious liberty profitable to any man?
Is it for the Patients good that he be for&s;aken of his Phy&s;ician
or Chirurgion, and left alone undre&s;&s;ed, unlooked to? Is it
profitable to any family or &s;ociety, that the members thereof
&s;hould be left in a di&s;ordered, disjointed po&s;ture? Is it for the
profit of Church or State, that their &s;everall members &s;hould
be left to their own fan&s;ie and will, to move as they li&s;t? Will
not &s;uch dreadfull convul&s;ions prove mo&s;t deadly &s;ymptoms in
the Body Politick and Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall, as they do in the Body
<PB N="16" REF="18">
Naturall and Oeconomicall? Is this your egregious method
of joining all Inferiors to their Superiors? Is &s;uch a confu&s;ion
the way to &s;ettlement? Is this Libertini&s;m the way to any true
good, &s;pirituall or temporall? Are not Officers like to com|mand
bravely when their &s;ouldiers mu&s;t be left to their own
will? Are not Magi&s;trates like to &s;peed well, when their &s;ub|jects
&s;hall own no Law, no Rule, no Charge, but as they
think good? Are not Parents and Governours of families in a
hopefull ca&s;e, when the reins are laid on the neck of children
and &s;ervants? Is not every man naturally full of evil, and bent
to evil, empty of good, and backward thereto? Are not the
be&s;t &s;till minded of their emptine&s;s, in&s;ufficiency, &s;elfi&s;hne&s;s
and unworthine&s;s? that <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elf is feign to cry out, <HI>Rom.</HI>
7. 21. <HI>Oh mi&s;erable!</HI> &amp;c. No wonder if the world be &s;et on
fire, when young giddy <HI>Phaeton</HI> gets into his fathers &s;eat.
Could your Rhetorick prevail, what a Metamorpho&s;is &s;hould
we have in every relation and condition? How &s;oon &s;hould we
&s;ee the liberty of Chri&s;tianity turn'd into the liberty of Be&s;ti|ality?
fir&s;t per&s;wade men that darkne&s;s is light, and hell better
than heaven.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 16. Whether tho&s;e States, as the Low-Countries, who
grant &s;uch liberty to &s;ouldiers and others, do not live quietly, and
flouri&s;h in great pro&s;perity?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Your la&s;t &s;hews more of the Scorpions tail in your
Serpentine eloquence; you &s;pread your poi&s;onous &s;pawn in
plau&s;ible Queries &s;till. <HI>Later anguis in herba.</HI> Thus the old
Serpent began and ended with our fir&s;t Parents to delude and
de&s;troy them. You would fain make us believe that your pre|tended
liberty is the way to quiet, to flouri&s;hing, to pro&s;perity.
<HI>Ad populum phaleras.</HI> Do you think &s;o indeed? Why then
do not your gho&s;tly Fathers in <HI>Italy</HI> and <HI>Spain</HI> &s;tudy to pro|mote
this excellent art? Do they want contrivers and engines,
that have &s;o many thou&s;ands of Je&s;uites in every corner? that
can &s;pare &s;uch &s;warms of unclean &s;pirits and Romi&s;h locu&s;ts, to
darken and devour all the budding hopes of Truth and Peace
among us? Do they want a minde to attend their own intere&s;t,
who &s;pend all their skill and &s;trength about it? No, no, they
know the nature and i&s;&s;ue of that forbidden fruit, as the devil
knew it in per&s;wading <HI>Eve</HI> on the like account. It will teach
you the worth of good things by the lo&s;s thereof: you &s;hall
<PB N="17" REF="18">
&s;ee your nakedne&s;s and &s;hame by &s;ad experience. Have you
forgot what <HI>Amsterdam,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See al&s;o Hi&s;t. of</HI> Netherl. Slcidan. Comm. Bullinger. Guy de Bre&s;. Hoornbeck. Cloppenbur. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Arnheim</HI> and other Cities of <HI>Holland</HI>
were like to have gotten by &s;uch a liberty in 1535. a while after
<HI>Mun&s;ters</HI> Tragedy? Were not tho&s;e famous places like to have
fared as bad as <HI>Mun&s;ter</HI> it &s;elf, by the prodigious exce&s;s of the
fanatick Anabapti&s;ts, if the wi&s;dom and extraordinary care of
their Magi&s;trates had not prevented it? If you doubt of it,
reade <HI>Conrad. Ere&s;tachii hi&s;toriam Anabapti&s;t. cum notis The|odor.
Strackii, &amp; Lambert Hortens, Am&s;terod.</HI> 1637. Did
you never peru&s;e the wofull Tragedies that were acted in <HI>Ger|many</HI>
and <HI>Switzerland,</HI> from the year 1522, till 1534, to the
de&s;truction of 50000 (&s;ay the lea&s;t) of 100000 (&s;ay many)
of 150000 (&s;ay others.) If you doubt of the truth thereof,
reade your friend <HI>Ca&s;&s;ander,</HI> confirming what <HI>Bullinger, Slei|dan,
Nicolas Blediskio, in hi&s;tor. Davidis Georgii: Guy de Bre&s;.
Cloppenburgius,</HI> and other godly di&s;creet Writers have recor|ded
of tho&s;e times and places wherein they lived. Were not
tho&s;e &s;uperlative villains the fruits and effects of your de&s;ired
licentious freedom? Do you long to try it and put us on the
triall? <HI>Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum.</HI></P>
<P><HI>But</HI> Holland <HI>flouri&s;hes yet,</HI> &s;ay you, <HI>under &s;uch a liberty.</HI>
If they flouri&s;h, the more beholding are they to that Divine
providence who pre&s;erved them &s;o wonderfully from that ruine
threatned in 1534, 1535, and other times by &s;tirring up their
Rulers in a &s;ingular manner to watch again&s;t the pernicious
i&s;&s;ue of the liberty then too much indulged. They have &s;mar|ted
deeply of late, and are like to &s;mart more yet: God hath
not done with them: Neither is that liberty pretended &s;uch
there in all parts, as you would make us beleeve: But if we
&s;hould grant you all, were it not a &s;ad rea&s;oning to argue
from an externall accidentall pro&s;perity to the good e&s;tate or
well-doing of the per&s;ons? Might you not as ea&s;ily prove the
excellency of the <HI>Mahometan</HI> Religion, of the great <HI>Mogul,</HI>
or <HI>Tartarian</HI> Prince, becau&s;e of their great pomp and victori|ous
&s;ucce&s;s? Do not the wor&s;t of men enjoy often mo&s;t of the
world, being fattened for the &s;laughter? Confu&s;ion and de&s;o|lation
are the genuine fruits of Libertini&s;m, promi&s;cuou&s;ly
granted in Religious mattters, as well as in Civil; if it be for a
while retarded, it will but aggravate &s;inne and judgement.
Stoppage will be found no paiment at the la&s;t reckoning.</P>
<P><PB N="18" REF="19">
<HI>After the captious Queries an&s;wered, we meet next with
more in&s;inuating Que&s;tions about the toleration of Quakers,
fir&s;t, generally expre&s;&s;ed thus,</HI> Whether impri&s;onment or other
corporall puni&s;hment may be inflicted upon &s;uch as hold errors in
Religion? and whether that be the be&s;t way to prevent their increa&s;e
and recover them?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> This next Enquiry is it &s;eems about the Quakers, the
mo&s;t notorious Impo&s;tors that ever appeared, who&s;e princi|ples
and practi&s;es are &s;ufficiently di&s;covered,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Emmot, Gil|pins, Norman, Hawkins,</HI> &amp;c. M^r <HI>Prins</HI> book. The perfect Phari&s;ee, writ|ten by the Mi|ni&s;ters of <HI>Newca&s;tle.</HI></NOTE> as by their actings,
&s;o by their multitudes of railing bla&s;phemous Libels &s;cattered
daily in all parts. What de&s;perate my&s;teries of iniquity they
drive on, hath been abundantly demon&s;trated; 1. By the re|cantations
of divers of them. 2. By the &s;everall di&s;coveries in
every part of the&s;e Nations, witne&s;s the Magi&s;trates and Mini|&s;ters
in every County, as you may &s;ee particularly in the many
Books printed of that &s;ubject; the &s;umme of their Religion
being Popery and Pagani&s;m,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The my&s;teries of godline&s;s and ungodli|ne&s;s, by M^r <HI>Farmer</HI> of <HI>Bri&s;tol.</HI> Stabli&s;hing again&s;t Qua|king, by M^r <HI>Termin.</HI></NOTE> yea Athei&s;m refined, is on de|&s;ign
driven on by numerous Je&s;uites, Friars, and other Romi&s;h
Engineers to make a di&s;traction and party fit to &s;erve their
own ends, that having lo&s;t our Truth and Peace, we may be
fitted for their will. The many Je&s;uites and Friars that have
been already detected under various di&s;gui&s;es, te&s;tifie &s;o much,
as <HI>Ram&s;ey</HI> of <HI>Exham</HI> near <HI>New ca&s;tle,</HI> the Anabapti&s;t Teacher,
circumci&s;ed at <HI>Rome,</HI> and pretended here to be a convert Jew.
<HI>Coppinger</HI> the <HI>Franci&s;can</HI> Friar in his di&s;covery to M^r <HI>Cowli|&s;haw</HI>
of <HI>Bri&s;toll.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Nor|thern bla&s;t. The Quakers Catechi&s;m, by Mr. <HI>Baxter.</HI> With divers others.</NOTE> Some lately impri&s;oned; &s;ome executed in
<HI>England:</HI> Others in <HI>Spain</HI> having declared &s;o much to <HI>Engli&s;h</HI>
Merchants. Thirteen of them &s;ent out of <HI>Portugall</HI> two years
ago to that purpo&s;e, well known to a Merchant then in tho&s;e
parts: Six at another time di&s;covered teaching among the
Quakers, being their prime Leaders, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Yet &s;uch diabolicall
jugglers can finde Patrons every where,<NOTE PLACE="marg">One of them lately affirmed (to a Per&s;on of honour here) their party to be &s;trong enough to procure their will by arms, if they li&s;ted.</NOTE> yea thou&s;ands of fol|lowers;
them&s;elves having reckoned a while ago 30000 in
their li&s;t, having account of their party in every Town, a
publique Trea&s;ury, (as we under&s;tand from good hands) A|gents
beyond &s;eas with the common enemy, labouring to de|bauch
our Army from their Officers, the &s;ubjects from their
Magi&s;trate, the people from their Mini&s;ters, (whom they mo&s;t
&s;tomack at, as the Wolves do at the Flocks Guardians.) Thus
the old Serpent, <HI>Proteus</HI>-like, changes his &s;hape, though not
<PB N="19" REF="19">
his nature. What he could not effect by the Popi&s;h and ma|lignant
&s;word, nor by the Prelaticall <HI>Ca&s;&s;andrian</HI> compliance,
he hopes now to gain by univer&s;all Toleration, the grand
Idol and Image of jealou&s;ie, which our age is to abhor mo&s;t,
if they de&s;ire to avoid the con&s;uming wrath of our jealous
God. The foot&s;teps of that Serpentine deceit, we may trace
from age to age, from the very Apo&s;tles daies. Divers Learn|ed
Pens have taken pains to demon&s;trate it; and M^r <HI>Baxter</HI>
lately in his <HI>&V;nrea&s;onablene&s;s of Infidelity.</HI> The wretched
opinions and cour&s;es of the old Gno&s;ticks, Carpocratians, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
were renewed in <HI>Germany</HI> when the Reformation went for|ward
there in <HI>Luthers</HI> time, and are again broached out to the
very dreggs among us. Yet &s;ome difference appears in the
dre&s;&s;ing; lea&s;t this <HI>Crambe recocta</HI> &s;hould nau&s;eate; The&s;e
methods are refined and &s;ublimed, that &s;uch &s;pirituall extracts
may be mo&s;t quick and operative. The gro&s;s parts of Popery,
Pagani&s;m and Athei&s;m, like the <HI>Caput mortuum,</HI> are now laid
a&s;ide, that the Mercury, Sulphur and Salt thereof may be more
effectually improved, &s;utably to every ones condition. This
Prince of darkne&s;s would &s;care people, were he not tran&s;|form'd
into an Angel of light. His mini&s;teriall engineers mu&s;t
therefore appear under a Phari&s;aicall Monki&s;h Garb, pretend|ing
much to externall righteou&s;ne&s;s, and &s;elf-denial, that their
plau&s;ible colours may di&s;gui&s;e their horrid in&s;ide. Were not
the Ratsbane well &s;ugard,<NOTE PLACE="marg">For larger par|ticulars of this nature, reade Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> of the &s;in again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, Printed 1655 <HI>pag. 146, 147, 148, &amp;c. Beckmans</HI> Ex|ercitations.</NOTE> it would not &s;o ea&s;ily take. What
could not be done by Seekers, Levellers, Arminians and
Ranters, &s;hall be now better carried on by Quakers, the
&s;ublimat of them all. What <HI>Stock</HI> and <HI>Muncer, John Becold</HI>
and <HI>Knipperdoling, Ba<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">tenburgh</HI> and <HI>David George, Hophman</HI>
and <HI>Menno, Paracel&s;us</HI> and <HI>Jacob Behmen</HI> did but attempt in
<HI>Germany,</HI> the&s;e expect now to perfect among us. What the
<HI>Italian</HI> and <HI>Polonian</HI> Socinians did but &s;catter in few places,
&s;hall be now commonly divulged and readily promoted, as the
only truth and light,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hoornbeck, de Haeretic.</NOTE> though it be old abominable darkne&s;s.
A pretended Chri&s;t and light within &s;hall &s;erve their turn to
di&s;grace and de&s;troy Chri&s;t and light above,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Calvins P&s;ycho|pannychia, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Era&s;tus contrae Paracel&s;. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> as far as they can.
Therefore <HI>Jacob Behmens</HI> books &s;o my&s;teriou&s;ly mon&s;trous,
and the Socinian bewitching pieces mu&s;t be Engli&s;hed for the
Vulgar; the Pre&s;s mu&s;t be crowded with multitudes of direfull
Libels without controll, and when their denying of Scripture
<PB N="20" REF="20">
will not carry on the work, now they will own it, and &s;eem
mo&s;t for it, but &s;o ambiguou&s;ly, that every part thereof &s;hall
be wre&s;ted,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quien te h&aacute;ze fie&s;ta que no lo &s;&uacute;ele hazer, o t&egrave; qui&eacute;re engan|nar, o te ha mene&s;ter.</NOTE> and their meaning not known. If their former
way of cur&s;ing and railing &s;erve not, they will now grow mild
and gentle, to in&s;inuate the more effectually. Thence &s;o ma|ny
are gained to them, either common Athei&s;ts, or carnall
hypocrites,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A Spani&s;h Proverb too much verified in them.</NOTE> or at the be&s;t young Chri&s;tian novices, that were
never &s;oundly principled. I need not repeat what hath been
&s;o &s;ufficiently cleared by &s;o many faithfull pens of late, about
this quaking generation. But may not &s;omething be pleaded
for them? yea very much, the wor&s;t of evils never wanted
Patrons, witne&s;s our Queri&s;t in the&s;e following in&s;inua|tions.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 1. Whether the Scriptures appoint any other puni&s;hment
to be inflicted upon Hereticks, than rejection and excommunica|tion?
<HI>Tit.</HI> 3. 10. When <HI>Hymeneus</HI> and <HI>Alexander</HI> made &s;hip|wrack
of their faith, <HI>Paul</HI> delivered them to Satan, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1. 20.
There was no Writ <HI>Capiendi</HI> granted, or any compul&s;ion by the
Civil Magi&s;trate?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. This fallacious &s;ophi&s;m concludes from a particular
affirmative, to an uuiver&s;all negative, again&s;t all rule of Scri|pture
or rea&s;on. Hereticks are to be puni&s;hed by rejection and
excommunication, <HI>Tit.</HI> 3. 10. granted; this is the Church-cen&s;ure
upon their members Eccle&s;ia&s;tically di&s;pen&s;ed: <HI>Hyme|neus</HI>
and <HI>Alexander</HI> made &s;hipwrack of their profe&s;&s;ed faith,
and therefore were delivered to Satan by <HI>Paul,</HI> 1 Tim. 1. 20.
granted: this was an Apo&s;tolicall cen&s;ure. There was no
Civil Magi&s;trates cen&s;ure then could be had, therefore there
&s;hould be none where it may be had: This is a <HI>non</HI> con&s;equence.
And what other puni&s;hment doth the Scripture appoint for
Hereticks? What Laws about them? very many, both in the
Old and New Te&s;tament, as you may &s;ee fully demon&s;trated
by all our Reformers on this &s;ubject, as <HI>Zanchy, Calvin, Beza,
Polanus, Chemnitius,</HI> &amp;c. and lately by the whole Synod of
<HI>New England,</HI> in their Re&s;olves 1646. and by M^r <HI>Cobbet,</HI> in
his &s;olid Tract of the Civil Magi&s;trates power, Printed <HI>Anno</HI>
1653, be&s;ides many others. Do but examine tho&s;e pieces and
judge: if your lei&s;ure &s;erve not, then do but view what hath
been &s;aid already, and confirmed by <HI>Deut. 13. 1, 2, 3, &amp;c. Deut.</HI>
17. 1, 2, <HI>&amp;c. Jo&s;h.</HI> 22. 12, 13. &amp; 2 <HI>Chron. 15. 2 Chron.</HI> 17. &amp; 19.
<PB N="21" REF="20">
<HI>ch. 15. Dan. 3. Nehem. 13. Zech. 13. 3, 4, 5. Rom. 12. 1, 2, 3, &amp;c.</HI>
wherein you have the authority of the Magi&s;trate to command,
forbid and puni&s;h by civil cen&s;ure, and rule the externall man
(whether in &s;peech or action) in all things clearly declared by
the Word of God, and that for a godly peace. Chri&s;t gave
by his own practice, <HI>Joh.</HI> 2. 17, 18. a &s;ufficient intimation to all
Chri&s;tians in authority, what care they &s;hould have of purging
out and preventing corruption in wor&s;hip, and he repeated
it with renewed rigour, <HI>Matth. 21. Mark 11. Luke</HI> 19. in
the fir&s;t execution he throws out the buyers of Oxen and Sheep,
in this &s;econd the &s;ellers al&s;o: at fir&s;t Dove &s;ellers were gently
&s;poken to, to carry away their truck, but at la&s;t their &s;eats al&s;o
are overthrown. Chri&s;t &s;aith at fir&s;t, <HI>You have made my Fathers
hou&s;e an hou&s;e of merchandize:</HI> but at la&s;t, <HI>Ye have made it a
den of theeves.</HI> Thus the zeal of Gods hou&s;e, that inflamed
<HI>David</HI> the Type, had now eaten up Chri&s;t the &s;on of <HI>David,</HI>
the grand Anti-type. Therein (as the learned <HI>Beza, Melan|cthon,
Paeraeus, Snecanus, Ain&s;worth, Dike, &amp;c.</HI> ob&s;erve)
Chri&s;t acted extraordinarily, becau&s;e the ordinary help was
neglected by the Magi&s;tracy and Mini&s;try, as for the manner:
yet in effect he did &s;hew what &s;hould be done in the like ca&s;e
by the Magi&s;trate in his place, as al&s;o by the Church in their
place, as in the ca&s;e of <HI>Phinehas,</HI> Numb. 14. of <HI>Elijah,</HI> 1 King.
18. 40. of <HI>Samuel,</HI> 1 Sam. 15. 33, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> tho&s;e malefactours were
extraordinarily executed by the Lords &s;ervants for breach of
the fir&s;t and &s;econd Table, becau&s;e the Magi&s;trates duty was
neglected therein.</P>
<P>2. That Law of Chri&s;t which authorizeth the Magi&s;trate to
act for him, under him, and like him, in puni&s;hing the breaches
of every command, whether of the fir&s;t or &s;econd Table, doth
al&s;o regulate him in that execution. 1. Declaring his power
to be Civil, not Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall, by civil orders, proceedings
and cen&s;ures, not by &s;uch means as he appoints to his Church.
Indeed the Magi&s;trate may al&s;o be a Church-member, but in
this he acts not as &s;uch, but as a civil Officer, yet under Chri&s;t.
2. His power reaches to things that concern the outward man,
whether verball or actuall, not mentall and &s;ecret.</P>
<P>3. In tho&s;e externals he mu&s;t have a clear rule of Gods
Word, either expre&s;ly or by &s;ure con&s;equence, not his own
conceit, or any mans will.</P>
<P><PB N="22" REF="21">
4. Therein he mu&s;t proportion the puni&s;hment to the na|ture
of the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, whether lighter or heavier, for
matter or manner, to avoid fooli&s;h pity and rigorous
cruelty.</P>
<P>5. His end mu&s;t be a godly peace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 2. 2.</NOTE> 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2. 2. that thereby
all may be quickned to a peaceable life in all godline&s;s and ho|ne&s;ty:
Thus the Magi&s;trate is given as an Ordinance of God,
<HI>Rom.</HI> 13. 12. being a power <HI>ordained of God for a terrour to all
evil works,</HI> v. 3. yea, <HI>the Mini&s;try of God for mans good,</HI> v. 4.
and that <HI>for con&s;cience &s;ake,</HI> v. 5. to be done and obeyed. Thus
acted pious <HI>Job,</HI> ch. 29. declaring corruption of wor&s;hip in co|vetous
idolaters to be puni&s;hable by the Judge, <HI>Job.</HI> 31. 24, 28,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI> Thus <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> the Magi&s;trate, by Gods command, puni&s;hed
the breaches of the Sabbath, abu&s;e of Gods Name, Idolatry,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI> Thus <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> that noble conquering Protector of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI>
re&s;olved him&s;elf, and advi&s;ed others, <HI>Jo&s;h.</HI> 22. &amp; 23. &amp; 24. <HI>chap.</HI>
Thus <HI>Abraham</HI> that faithfull Prince ordered his charge, and
was &s;o favoured of God for it, <HI>Gen.</HI> 18. 18, 19. Thus victori|ous
<HI>David,</HI> wi&s;e <HI>Solomon,</HI> valiant <HI>A&s;a,</HI> zealous <HI>Jeho&s;haphat,</HI>
heroicall <HI>Jo&s;ias,</HI> noble <HI>Nehemiah,</HI> acted Gods part, in order|ing
the affairs of Gods hou&s;e, directing his people, puni&s;hing
the abu&s;es of his wor&s;hip, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> which the Lord records for a
monument and Crown of glory to them. Thus for the New
Te&s;tament God him&s;elf promi&s;eth, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 49. 23. to give &s;uch
nur&s;ing fathers and mothers of a Royall bloud and &s;pirit, who
&s;hall in&s;trumentally build up <HI>Zion</HI> in mercy, and pull down
<HI>Babylon</HI> in ju&s;tice, <HI>Rev.</HI> 12. compared with <HI>Rev. 17. ch.</HI> 18. &amp;
<HI>ch.</HI> 19. When Chri&s;t is Generall of the field, his followers,
Jews and Gentiles, the two Armies portraied out, <HI>Cant.</HI> 6. 13.
<HI>Zach.</HI> 12. 6, 7, 8. &s;hall be more zealous for his hou&s;e, than for
their own. But our Queri&s;t pekes.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 2. Whether per&s;ecution for con&s;cience doth not harden
men in their way, and make them cry out of oppre&s;&s;ion and ty|ranny?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Per&s;ecution of good is evil; but per&s;ecution of evil is
good. 2. A good con&s;cience mu&s;t be pre&s;erved, an evil con|&s;cience
mu&s;t be renewed. 3. A godly con&s;cience will abhorre
every evil, but a pretended con&s;cience will plead for evil.
4. A true con&s;cience will thank the Phy&s;ician that cures it,
though with &s;mart; a fal&s;e con&s;cience will cry out again&s;t the
<PB N="23" REF="21">
Phy&s;ician and &s;mart, to retain its evil. 5. A wi&s;e con&s;cience
will cry up the judicious care of Gods &s;ervants, for good, a|gain&s;t
evil; but a fooli&s;h con&s;cience will cry down both, for
evil, again&s;t good. 6. God gives not over his care of mens
&s;ouls, for cau&s;le&s;s out-cries; neither will his &s;ervants neglect
their duty for groundle&s;s calumnies.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 3. Whether to convert an heretick, and to ca&s;t out unclean
&s;pirits, be done any other way than by the finger of God, by the
mighty power of Gods Spirit in the Word?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. Here&s;ie is de&s;cribed, <HI>Tit.</HI> 3. 10. to be a &s;elf condemn|ing
errour, perverting Gods truth, and mens &s;ouls. What
cour&s;e is to be taken by the Church with a member pertinaci|ou&s;ly
offending,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. 5. 22.</NOTE> is there al&s;o declared: It's a work of the
fle&s;h,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13. 3, 4, 5</NOTE> and what cour&s;e is to be taken with a member of the
State by the Magi&s;trate for &s;uch an evil work,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 13. 3, 4, 5.</NOTE> we reade al&s;o.
Hereticks in all ages have troubled the Church, and very few
were ever reclaimed. For 300 years after Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See</HI> Eu&s;eb. Socrat. Sozomen. Zonar. Epiphan. Augu&s;tin.</NOTE> Satan em|ployed
many &s;uch Engineers to undermine Religion and di&s;pa|rage
the profe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t. Thus <HI>Simon</HI> and <HI>Cerinthus,
Menander</HI> and <HI>Ebion,</HI> di&s;turbed the Apo&s;tolicall daies. <HI>Sabelli|us</HI>
and <HI>Marcion, Pri&s;cillian</HI> and <HI>Samo&s;atenus, Arrius</HI> and
<HI>Macedonius, Ne&s;torius</HI> and <HI>Eutyches,</HI> with many more, &s;uc|ceeded
them in oppo&s;ing the Per&s;on and Office, the Nature
and Grace, the Spirit and Truth, the Sabbath and Ordinan|ces
of Chri&s;t. The <HI>Roman</HI> Antichri&s;t contracted the &s;ub|&s;tance
of all them; and no &s;ooner did Reformation dawn, but
all parts of <HI>Europe</HI> were infe&s;ted anew with that poi&s;onous
vermine. Mans dunghill heart yielded &s;till matter and help to
&s;uch a helli&s;h brood. What the Gno&s;ticks did of old, and the
ranting crue of <HI>Germany</HI> in the la&s;t age, we finde &s;adly revived
among us now. The conver&s;ion of &s;uch is very rare and diffi|cult,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 2. 7, 8, 9, 10.</NOTE>
witne&s;s the Apo&s;tle; &s;uch being given up to the raign and
vigour of delu&s;ion.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. 1 Joh. 5. 16.</NOTE> Tho&s;e &s;pirituall judgements that give up
mens con&s;ciences to that efficacious power of hell, are the mo&s;t
dreadfull judgements, bringing mo&s;t of them to that &s;in unto
death, which puts them into an impo&s;&s;ibility of repentance
and &s;alvation. It's indeed the finger of God, by the mighty
power of his Spirit in his Word, that mu&s;t do the work, when
ever its done. There is the more need therefore that all means
&s;hould be u&s;ed with diligence, in &s;ubordination to that power|full
<PB N="24" REF="22">
Spirit and Word of his. Thereby &s;ome <HI>German</HI> and <HI>Britti&s;h</HI>
Je&s;uites have been converted, and <HI>Indian</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Witches. See <HI>N. Engl.</HI> Hi&s;t. Relat. Jud. v. 18, 19.</NOTE> Pawawes, reduced
to Chri&s;tian faith. The Magi&s;trates help hath often been found
very effectuall thereto, if not to convert the &s;educers, yet to
prevent their infection from &s;preading, and plucked many as
brands out of the fire. Their mouth is to be &s;topped from bi|ting,
and their hands to be kept from abu&s;e, whil&s;t their phren|&s;ie
rages and ranges like a gangrene. A Bedlam may cure ma|ny
&s;uch mad pranks, or at lea&s;t tame them. The prudent zeal
of one Magi&s;trate doth often in &s;uch a ca&s;e more good than
the labours of many Mini&s;ters. To be plucked out of the de|vils
&s;nares is a mercy that God affords,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 2. 26.</NOTE> by ble&s;&s;ing the endea|vours
of his &s;ervants,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 13. 3, 4, 5, 6.</NOTE> as by his Word, Eccle&s;ia&s;tically; &s;o by
his Sword, Magi&s;tratically. Such &s;educers being reclaimed by
tho&s;e cen&s;ures &s;anctified to them, will ble&s;s God and man for
the&s;e healing wounds received in the hou&s;e of friends.</P>
<P>2. Unclean &s;pirits denote in Scripture, &s;ometimes devils,
&s;ometimes wicked men, the devils in&s;truments; &s;ometimes
wicked mens lu&s;ts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 14.</NOTE> &s;erving the devils purpo&s;e. All &s;ocieties
are too often pe&s;tered therewith, and their ejection is chiefly
to be minded. The principall efficient of that cure, is indeed
the mighty Spirit of God: His powerfull Word is the principal
In&s;trument. Yet are men and means appointed and ble&s;&s;ed
of God in &s;ub&s;erviency thereto. Chri&s;t him&s;elf told his Di&s;ci|ples,
that their <HI>unbelief</HI> hindered &s;uch a cure from being per|fected,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark 9. 29.</NOTE>
upon that famous patient;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 17. 20.</NOTE> &s;ome of them being &s;o te|nacious,
that they go not out, but with prayer and fa&s;ting.
It's dreadfull to &s;ee mens bodies po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with &s;uch gue&s;ts, but
their &s;ouls po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion more frequent and terrible, is not &s;o
much dreaded, becau&s;e le&s;s &s;en&s;ible. The &s;ad &s;ymptoms of &s;uch
a Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion are &s;o wofully manife&s;ted in the Quaking crue,
that it infe&s;ts all parts among us. It concerns all &s;orts among
us, if ever, to ob&s;erve Chri&s;ts method for their ejection.
They fume and foam, they range and rage; to&s;&s;ed they are
from one extream to another; &s;ometimes ca&s;t into the fire,
then into the water; fir&s;t ranting, then quaking. The filthy
excrements of the&s;e unclean &s;pirits boil &s;o exce&s;&s;ively within
them, that they do enormou&s;ly work out at every part of their
bodies. Their feet ramble, their tongues rail, all the facul|ties
of their &s;ouls te&s;tifie the &s;trangene&s;s of their inmate. He
<PB N="25" REF="22">
that but ob&s;erved within the&s;e few years, what horrid things
have appeared before multitudes of people, from that mi&s;era|ble
generation, cannot but wonder at Gods patience, the
devils malice, and tho&s;e wretches wofull &s;tate. The poi&s;on hath
&s;eized on their brains and &s;pirits, as the pe&s;tilence is wont to
do, and ca&s;ts many into Phren&s;ies, others into Lethargies. The
Ranters were merrily, the Quakers are melancholically mad:
tho&s;e had more of the fire,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See</HI> Ge&s;uer. Zuinger. Erae&s;tum. Beckmans Exer.</NOTE> The Le|gions
that po&s;&s;e&s;s them &s;hew varieties of tricks, and are &s;hift|ing
daily, that they may be&s;t &s;ute the various complexions of
men and &s;ea&s;ons. Ranting <HI>Paracel&s;us</HI> and fanatick <HI>Behmen</HI> are
out &s;tripped in their horrid jugglings, by the&s;e up-&s;tart di&s;ci|ples
of theirs. <HI>David George</HI> and the re&s;t of tho&s;e <HI>German</HI>
Impo&s;tors came &s;hort of the&s;e.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See</HI> Legend. Aur. de vit. Sanctor. Hi&s;tor. Indiar. Quien a &s;u ene|migo popa~, a &s;us manos muere. Adag. Hisp.</NOTE> The great Patrons of Qua|kers,
<HI>Mahomet</HI> with his <HI>Dervis</HI> in the Ea&s;t; the Romi&s;h <HI>Do|minick</HI>
and <HI>Francis, Benedict</HI> and <HI>Ignatius; Katharine</HI> of <HI>Siena,</HI>
and <HI>Bridget</HI> in the We&s;t, can hardly parallell them: Yea the
<HI>Brachmans</HI> of the Ea&s;tern, and the <HI>Pawawes</HI> of the We&s;tern
<HI>India's</HI> can hardly out-match them. When &s;o many &s;pirits are
abroad to repre&s;ent the Tragedy of hell let loo&s;e, doth it not
concern all Superiors in civils and &s;pirituals, to look narrowly
to them&s;elves, and to their re&s;pective charges? Should not that
warning be cautiou&s;ly improved, which Chri&s;t him&s;elf gives in
&s;uch a juncture?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 14, 15</NOTE> They are indeed &s;pirits nimble and &s;upple,
&s;hifting and active, crafty and re&s;tle&s;s; hardly di&s;cern'd, but
wofully felt; ea&s;ily piercing, hardly removed; &s;oon infecting,
difficult to cure: But they are unclean &s;pirits, bearing their
fathers image;<NOTE PLACE="marg">See the Rela|tions and books of the Quakers in all parts.</NOTE> lying &s;pirits in every word and act; As the de|vil
of old by his Pythons and Oracles: &s;o do the&s;e &s;till &s;peak
ambiguities. Slippersy &s;pirits, that ea&s;ily &s;hift off the &s;trength
of Scripture and rea&s;on, by equivocations and roving about:
Scarce a Scripture word do they under&s;tand in a Scripture &s;en&s;e,
but u&s;e that language only to deceive the &s;imple. Their Chri&s;t,
their light, their heaven and hell, their perfection and righ|teou&s;ne&s;s,
when brought to the touch, prove but Chimaera's,
and fanatick conceits. That <HI>pure convincement</HI> of the Ranters
(as the Quakers call it) of God being all things, and all things
God, appears to be their grand Principle, but trimm'd anew,
to plea&s;e the better. They finde no fault with the Ranters
principles, though they blame &s;omething of their practi&s;e;
<PB N="26" REF="23">
witne&s;s their books, complaining that they had a pure con|vincement,
but they &s;ank in the fle&s;h, and grew too loo&s;e.
Athei&s;m, in a word, the bottom of all evil, is the &s;pawn and
&s;ub&s;tance of the&s;e unclean &s;pirits. Their venom, like that of
the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">An <HI>Italian</HI> vermin.</NOTE> <HI>Tarantula,</HI> kils &s;uddenly, in the mid&s;t of plea&s;ing dreams,
making their di&s;ciples dance about the brims of eternall wo.
What think you of the&s;e things ye &s;ober Chri&s;tians? do not
the&s;e Nations need good Phy&s;icians, and utmo&s;t care to pre|vent
the &s;ubver&s;ion of all? Do not our State-Phy&s;icians finde
work enough among &s;uch a variety of Bedlams? Is not this
Calenture to be looked after with all diligence? Are not we all
bound to &s;ollicit heaven day and night, that &s;uch unclean &s;pi|rits
may be ca&s;t out?<NOTE PLACE="marg">From <HI>Anno</HI> 1520, to 1540.</NOTE> Could you but conceive what direfull
&s;pectacles the &s;tage of <HI>Germany</HI> felt and &s;aw, at the breaking
loo&s;e of &s;uch a hell among them for near twenty years &s;pace,
you would fa&s;t and pray to better purpo&s;e, than you have hi|therto
done. The&s;e unclean &s;pirits do mo&s;t &s;torm at tho&s;e &s;pi|rituall
Phy&s;icians, that would gladly be helpfull to them.
What hope then of a cure that way? They will not, they can|not
hear them with &s;en&s;e, patience, or manners. What hopes
of help below, but in a Bedlam or Bridewell, for &s;uch? Who
can tame the&s;e, but the Magi&s;trates power, under God? In
bodily phren&s;ies, we finde &s;till hard u&s;age to be the be&s;t means
of cure to the patient, and &s;afety to the re&s;t. The like hath
been found often in this very ca&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">About 2 years ago.</NOTE> witne&s;s that bla&s;phemous
villain of <HI>Andover,</HI> who &s;tiled him&s;elf the Bridegroom, and
his Trull (enticed by him away from her friends) <HI>Mary</HI> the
Lambs Wife. The Ju&s;tice of the Bench, and the execution|la&s;h
reclaimed them out of their madne&s;s, by the &s;en&s;e of &s;hame
and pain, to bewail their folly, and publickly cur&s;e their &s;edu|cers.
To be &s;ure,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 10. 13.</NOTE> if the Magi&s;traticall Rod, appointed for the
fools back, do not convince their folly, and teach them; it
will teach others wi&s;dom, and prevent that horrid confu&s;ion,
which otherwi&s;e is like to overflow all our banks. If the&s;e Bears
cannot be tamed, they had need be chained, except we love to
&s;ee them do mi&s;chief.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 4. Whether, if no Civil Law be broken, the Civil Peace
be hurt or no?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.</NOTE></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 2. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> Where there is no Law, there is no tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion:
For &s;in is oppo&s;ition to the Law, both privative and adver&s;a|tive,
<PB N="27" REF="23">
habitual and actual. The Law of God is the revelation
of the Divine will touching mans duty. The Civil Law then
mu&s;t be the rule &s;et among men, by authority, in conformity.
That is under&s;tood in its large &s;ignification, compri&s;ing all
&s;orts of humane Orders;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See</HI> Codic. Ju|&s;tinian. Bracton. Brito. <HI>Mirrour of</HI> Engl. <HI>Laws.</HI> Gildas. Tacit. Forte&s;cue. Coke'<HI>s In&s;tit. Reports.</HI> S^r Nath. Bacons <HI>Governm. of</HI> Engl. S^r Fran. Bac. <HI>Rom. 5. 1. Ho&s;.</HI> 2. Fleta, Littleton, Selden, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1+ letters"> Matth. We&s;tm.</NOTE> for in a &s;trict &s;en&s;e, the Civil Laws
&s;ignifie the imperial Law, called Civil, in di&s;tinction from our
Municipal Law, which is either Common or Statute Law, the
&s;tandard of good manners in this Commonwealth. This Law
of ours, being the quinte&s;&s;ence and extract of the be&s;t Laws
known among the <HI>Brittains</HI> and <HI>Romans, Saxons</HI> and <HI>Normans,</HI>
refined for <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> u&s;e by the <HI>Saxon</HI> Wittagen-Mots (or Ge|neral
A&s;&s;emblies) and <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Parliaments, is indeed the choice
Rule and Fountain, the Mother and Nur&s;e of our Civil Peace,
when execution an&s;wers their In&s;titution and Con&s;titution.
Peace in general &s;en&s;e, is the <HI>harmonious agreement</HI> of things,
attending their orderly compo&s;ure and motion. Peace with
God (by Chri&s;t conjugally embraced) produces peace of con|&s;cience
in man, and civil peace among men. Our civil peace
mu&s;t &s;till then have reflexion upon our Civil Law, and that
upon the Divine Law. Whil&s;t the Law is thus kept, peace is
not hurt; &s;o the Queri&s;t is an&s;wered. But would not he in&s;i|nuate,
that the Quakers and corrupters of our Religion break
not the Law, and therefore not the Peace. Ingenuity it &s;elf can
make no other con&s;truction of his dubious Query, compared
with his title and &s;cope: If &s;o, then we An&s;wer:</P>
<P>2. Our Lawyers can more exactly acquaint him with the
many branches of our Common and Statute Laws, which are
continually broken by this lawle&s;s brood. They that make &s;o
light of the Divine Law indited by the Spirit of God, penned
by the Prophets and Apo&s;tles of Chri&s;t, and given to man for
his eternal good, in conforming him, through grace, to the
Lords Image (who&s;e extract and repre&s;entation it is) are not
like to be very carefull of mens Law, in any &s;en&s;e. The beams
of that good,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7. 12.</NOTE> ju&s;t and holy Law, which do &s;hine through the
&s;everal parts of our <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Laws, carry too much light for
&s;uch birds of darkne&s;s,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The hi&s;tories and books of the Quakers fully clear all the&s;e things particularly.</NOTE> who can like and will own none, but
their light within. The light above and about them is &s;o of|fen&s;ive
to them, and &s;o little valued of them, that the bright|e&s;t
beams of Scripture light finde no credit nor favour with
them, if not &s;uted to their phanta&s;ticall light. Their own light
<PB N="28" REF="24">
is their Law, as it's their God, their Chri&s;t, their perfection,
their righteou&s;ne&s;s, their All. All the Laws of God and men
mu&s;t be reduced to that &s;tandard. They judge them&s;elves &s;till
ob&s;ervers of the Law in the mo&s;t egregious breaches thereof:
for indeed, what Law can they break, who&s;e will is their only
Law? Sometimes they pretend that Will in them, not to be
their own, but Gods Will. But that ea&s;ily appears to be but
a cunning &s;hift, to father their will on God, as they do their
light and all. As then their Law is in their brea&s;t, though they
be daily convinced (by every one that &s;peaks with them, who
hath not lo&s;t his rea&s;on and Religion at once, and particularly
by Authority) of their foul tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, yet are they &s;till
faultle&s;s. They witne&s;s perfection. You do but mi&s;take them.
They cannot &s;in. They cannot break the Law. All Authority
is tyrannical, that humours them not. The be&s;t Mini&s;ters are
fools and knaves to them. None knows and keeps the Laws
but them&s;elves and followers. Dare you then after this, charge
or puni&s;h the&s;e men for breach of any Law? No, by no means.
They are but mi&s;under&s;tood. Their railing and cur&s;ing, their
&s;landring and wandering, their idlene&s;s and irreverence, their
di&s;obedience and &s;educing, their errors and bla&s;phemies again&s;t
God and Chri&s;t, again&s;t the Divine Trinity and holy Spirit;
again&s;t the Scriptures and Ordinances of the Go&s;pel; their
contempt and &s;corn of all goodne&s;s and good men (not dan|cing
after their pipe,) The&s;e are no breaches of Law, but de|grees
and &s;ignes of their perfection. Their pride and pa&s;&s;ion,
their malice and hatred, their choler and rage, their Athei&s;m
and ignorance, their deceits and charms are but conformities
to the light within. Yea their Phari&s;aicall ab&s;tinence and fa|&s;tings,
their formalities and o&s;tentations, their di&s;orderly
&s;peeches and carriage, their oppo&s;ing of Orders from God
and his &s;ervants, their &s;elf-conceitedne&s;s and &s;elf-confidence,
mu&s;t not be thought breaches of Law, but fulfillings thereof.
In a word, if you think they can break the peace, by breaking
the Law, you are much mi&s;taken, for they are a Law to
them&s;elves; and the utmo&s;t mi&s;chief they can do to us all,
(that comply not with them) is but the fulfilling of that
Law.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 5. Whether corporall puni&s;hment, either by impri&s;onment
or otherwi&s;e, for errours, is not a means &s;ometimes to de&s;troy mens
<PB N="29" REF="24">
bodies, and po&s;&s;ibly prove a prevention of their conver&s;ion, &s;ee|ing
&s;ome are not called till the eleventh hour, and if they be cut
off the &s;eventh hour for their errours, how &s;hall they come in?
<HI>Matth.</HI> 20. 6.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Errour is a crooked deviation of a mans judgement
from the Truth of God. That Truth is con&s;iderable, either in
the Divine Being, or in the Emanation thereof.</P>
<P>Truth in Gods E&s;&s;ence, is E&s;&s;entially and Per&s;onally con&s;i|dered.
E&s;&s;ential Truth is God him&s;elf, in the eternal Unity of
his Divine Excellency.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 5. 6, 7, 20.</NOTE> Truth Per&s;onally expre&s;&s;ed &s;ets forth
each of the three Divine Per&s;ons, &s;ub&s;i&s;ting in the Divine E&s;|&s;ence,
di&s;tingui&s;hed by their per&s;onal properties; the Father is
Truth Begetting;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 15. 26.</NOTE> the Sonne is Truth Begotten; the Spirit is
Truth Proceeding from the Father and from the Son.</P>
<P>Truth in the Emanation of the Divine Being, or the Truth of
God, is the conformity of Gods expre&s;&s;ion to him&s;elf; which
is con&s;idered Intentionally, Verbally and Actually, in his
Thoughts, Words and Works.</P>
<P>I. The Truth of his Thoughts is called his Purpo&s;e and
Decree,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1. 5, 11.</NOTE> plea&s;ure and good will to &s;ignifie his eternal Councel
fore-ordaining all future things.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 9. 11.</NOTE> This is an ab&s;olute, entire,
perfect and unchangeable Act of the Divine Will,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act 15. 18.</NOTE> about the
good and evil of future Beings, as of them&s;elves, e&s;pecially
about rational creatures, men and Angels. This Divine Truth,
or Act, as it re&s;pects evil, is called Permi&s;&s;ion and Regulation;
as it re&s;pects good,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1. 4, 5.</NOTE> it's called fore-ordination. As it re&s;pects
the objects of Divine Benevolence,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1. 2, 3.</NOTE> it's called Election and
Prede&s;tination:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 13. 48.</NOTE> Election, chu&s;ing them in Chri&s;t to glory:
Prede&s;tination, fore-appointing them to conformity and
Adoption by Chri&s;t:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8. 28, 29, 30.</NOTE> Election, called al&s;o his fore-knowledge
(which in the Hebrew imports affect and effect) regarding
chiefly the End, and Prede&s;tination the Means to that End.
That eternal purpo&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1. 4, 5, 6.</NOTE> as it regards the objects of Gods di&s;|owning,
is called Reprobation and Predamnation. Repro|bation,
being properly an Act of Sovereignty, (we cannot
&s;peak of God, but after the manner of men, with di&s;tinctions
and denominations extrin&s;ecal, though he be one pure Act,
all the change being in the creature)<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 9. 12.</NOTE> is al&s;o called Preterition,
<HI>non</HI>-Election,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;&s; 5. 9.</NOTE> and <HI>non</HI>-Prede&s;tination, properly regarding
their State and End ab&s;olutely.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2. 8.</NOTE> Predamnation being an inten|ded
<PB N="30" REF="25">
Act of Ju&s;tice properly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jud. 4.</NOTE> con&s;iders the Means with tenden|cy
to that End, viewing &s;uch under the con&s;ideration of future
&s;inners. The like denominations may be given to Divine
Purpo&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 5. 21.</NOTE> about Angels, <HI>con&s;ideratis con&s;iderandis.</HI> Thus of
Intentional Truth.</P>
<P>II. The Verbal Truth of God is called his Word, which is
the declaration of his Mind and Will, revealed to man, con|cerning
him&s;elf and all his creatures. This he did manife&s;t to
<HI>Adam</HI> in his Creation, writing it upon his &s;oul in the characters
of his own Image (in perfect knowledge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gene&s;. 2.</NOTE> righteou&s;ne&s;s and
holine&s;s) and by po&s;itive &s;ignifications of his plea&s;ure.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 3. 10.</NOTE> After
his fall,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4. 24.</NOTE> and &s;ucce&s;&s;ively to others, this Truth of God, about
the &s;alvation of his Elect, in and by Chri&s;t alone, with all
things el&s;e needfull to be known, he did variou&s;ly reveal unto
men by In&s;pirations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 1. 1.</NOTE> Dreams, Vi&s;ions, Oracles, Paternall
Traditions, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and from <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> time &s;aw it fit to give it in
writing (for a &s;ure Record to all Ages) by in&s;piring and in|diting
the &s;ame upon the Spirits,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 1. 20, 21.</NOTE> and by the Pens of his holy.
Prophets and Apo&s;tles, &s;ucce&s;&s;ively, in an immediate, infalli|ble
and extraordinary manner.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2. 19, 20, 21.</NOTE> Thence are we &s;aid to be built
upon their doctrinal or Scriptural foundation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 3. 10, 11</NOTE> holding forth
Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. 15, 16, 17.</NOTE> (as we are properly on Chri&s;t him&s;elf, the per&s;onal
foundation, held forth by them.) The&s;e Writings are called
the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Te&s;tament,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 19.</NOTE> containing
all things needfull to the &s;alvation of Gods Elect,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.</NOTE> and the com|mon
good of man, called therefore his Laws and Statutes, Or|dinances
and Precepts, Te&s;timonies and Judgements, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> being
the perfect Rule of Truth and Grace, faith and obedience;
Gods mercy and mans duty;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Veritas mentis, oris, operis.</NOTE> requiring from man, truth men|tal,
oral and actual, <HI>i. e.</HI> a due conformity of every thought,
word and work, to that truth of God declared.</P>
<P>III. The Actual Truth of God is manife&s;ted in all his Works
of Creation and Providence, carrying on a con&s;tant, perfect
conformity to Gods intentional Truth, as al&s;o to his verbal, in
order to his &s;upream End, his own glory; by the &s;ea&s;onable
and admirable di&s;pen&s;ations of all his Attributes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 10. 19.</NOTE> e&s;pecially
mercy and ju&s;tice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 145. 17.</NOTE> towards men and Angels, in the mo&s;t wi&s;e,
holy and powerfull pre&s;erving of all his creatures,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 104. 14.</NOTE> and all their<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 28. 29.</NOTE>
actions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 1. 3.</NOTE> as they were all created of nothing by the Word of his
power,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 1, &amp; 2.</NOTE> in the &s;pace of &s;ix daies, and all very good.</P>
<P><PB N="31" REF="25">
Errour then being a crooked deviation of mans judgement
from the truth of God revealed, will admit of &s;everal degrees
and con&s;iderations, according to the varieties and imports of
that truth, and mans deviating from it. Some truth is natural,
&s;ome moral, &s;ome &s;piritual; about external, internal and eter|nal
things. Some are Fundamental of &s;alvation, &s;ome <HI>&s;upra-</HI>
fundamentall,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 32. 4.</NOTE> (or <HI>juxta</HI>) others more circum&s;tantial and
&s;uperficial.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 5. 7.</NOTE> Errours in Fundamentals,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 2. 5.</NOTE> about the perfection of
God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 3. 3, 5.</NOTE> the Trinity of Divine Per&s;ons, Chri&s;t the Mediatour,
God-man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 15.</NOTE> the fall of man, his forlorn &s;tate, his ab&s;olute need
of regeneration,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 18. 3.</NOTE> faith, repentance, obedience; as al&s;o of
the &s;ufficiency of Scripture, of mans eternal &s;tate, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> are
properly called Here&s;ies, which if ob&s;tinately per&s;i&s;ted in, af|ter
due means u&s;ed of reclaiming &s;uch, render men unfit for
Chri&s;tian communion.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 3. 12, 13, 14.</NOTE> <HI>Supra</HI>-fundamental Truths are the next
built on them, which admit of various debates among the
Learned. Errours again&s;t them are dangerous, but not &s;o
pernicious as the former,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10. 23, 24.</NOTE> e&s;pecially if the per&s;on erring be
humble and teachable.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14. 1, <HI>&amp;c</HI> Gal. 6. 1, 2.</NOTE> Such are many points of wor&s;hip, di&s;ci|pline,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI> Circum&s;tantial Truths are more external, about
place and time,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 8. 7, 8, 9.</NOTE> order and manner, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> expre&s;&s;ed in that u&s;u|all
Ver&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 9.</NOTE>
Quis, quid, ubi, quibus anxiliis, cur, quomodo, quando.
Errours again&s;t the&s;e are bad, but nothing like the former.</P>
<P>This needful explication will clear and an&s;wer to the Query.
The puni&s;hment for errour is not to exceed the nature of that
errour, and the manner of holding it; whether Eccle&s;ia&s;tical|ly,
by the Church; or Civilly, by the Magi&s;trate. The truth
of God gives a rule for all &s;uch ca&s;es, either in expre&s;s words,
or in clear con&s;equence, to be exactly &s;tudied and ob&s;erved,
by all per&s;ons concerned, &s;o that the ends of that puni&s;hment
be attended, <HI>viz.</HI> Gods honour, and the publick good; with
the parties al&s;o,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 18. 15, 16, 17, 18.</NOTE> as farre as may be. The Church meddles not
with Civil cen&s;ures, &s;uch as impri&s;oning, having its proper
way of Admonition, Su&s;pen&s;ion, Excommunication, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> for
its offending members. Impri&s;onment and other corporal pu|ni&s;hments
for errours require a &s;ufficient cau&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.</NOTE> as in ca&s;e of
herefie endangering mens &s;ouls, di&s;turbing Gods &s;ervice and
the publick peace, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> A godly Magi&s;trate will be heartily
glad never to meet with &s;uch occa&s;ions; but when he doth, as
<PB N="32" REF="26">
he cannot but be often forced to in this revolting age,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Crudelis mor|bus crudelem facit medicum. <HI>Prov.</HI></NOTE> it con|cerns
him to attend tho&s;e forementioned ends with zeal and
prudence, le&s;t fooli&s;h pity &s;poil the City, and le&s;t &s;eeming gen|tlene&s;s
prove real cruelty to many. De&s;tructive errours, &s;pe|cially
bla&s;phemous ones, are the malignant humours of mens
con&s;ciences, which endanger them and thou&s;ands be&s;ides, in
their eternal &s;tate.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Les cou&s;ciences Libertines &s;ont de vrages be&s;tes &s;aenuages, <HI>Adag.</HI> Gallic.</NOTE> Such per&s;ons, e&s;pecially if ob&s;tinate, are
the very <HI>plagues</HI> of the body Politick, endangering the whole.
What mi&s;chiefs may not &s;uch Pe&s;ts procure, if without re|&s;traint?
as &s;ad experience &s;hew'd in the Famili&s;ts crue, where|of
<HI>Henry Nichols</HI> was leader, followed by <HI>Hacket, Coppinger,</HI>
and <HI>Arthington;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">See <HI>Engl.</HI> Hi&s;t.</NOTE> till <HI>Hackets</HI> execution and <HI>Arthingtons</HI> recan|tation
had repre&s;&s;ed the fury thereof in Q <HI>Elizabeths</HI> time.
The Grundletonians in <HI>Yorkshire,</HI> acted divers &s;uch mad pranks,
as <HI>Valentinus, Ba&s;ilides,</HI> and the Carpocratians of old were
wont. Out of the North have we had the like Impo&s;tors of
late, to confirm the Proverb, <HI>Omne malum ab Aquilone.</HI> Such
phrenetick per&s;ons had need be clo&s;ely kept and look'd to, for
their own and others good. Such mad folks cannot be kept
from hurt, but by being kept from company. If re&s;traint may
&s;eem to endanger their bodies, they mu&s;t thank them&s;elves, &s;o
long as care is taken for &s;utable accommodations. It were to
be wi&s;hed that fair means might prevent that rigor, but if the
Patient, by his folly, nece&s;&s;itate his Chirurgion to bind and
wound him, who mu&s;t be blamed? If &s;uch belong to God, he
will ble&s;s that very dre&s;&s;ing to the humbling and healing of
them, whether in the &s;eventh or eleventh hour; he be&s;t knows
how to order it, to the fulfilling of his eternal purpo&s;e, on &s;uch
ve&s;&s;els of mercy, to be prepared for glory, through grace.
Thus <HI>Mana&s;&s;eh</HI> that bloody wretch,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chro. 33. 12.</NOTE> was changed in his pri&s;on,
and not till then. His heart was there broken and cured won|derfully.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccl. 12. 11.</NOTE>
The hammer of that weighty puni&s;hment drave
home to the head into his heart the many in&s;tructions of Gods
Word, which he had &s;o long heard and de&s;pi&s;ed, being guided
by the hand of Chri&s;ts Spirit. Thus the believing thief re|pented
at his execution.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 15. 17.</NOTE> The prodigall child came not to him|&s;elf,
till his mi&s;ery, ju&s;tly procured, was &s;anctified of God, to
the opening of his eyes.<NOTE PLACE="marg">La c&oacute;z de la Y&eacute;gua no haze mal al p&oacute;tro. <HI>Adag.</HI> Hispan.</NOTE> <HI>England</HI> hath had experience of &s;ome
late Quakers, horriby bla&s;pemous, much reclaimed by the
pri&s;on and la&s;h; and <HI>Ireland</HI> knows others of that tribe, who
<PB N="33" REF="26">
are come back again to &s;obriety, by the &s;en&s;e of that poverty,
whereinto their idle cour&s;es and ill companions had reduced
them. But if any &s;uch grow wor&s;e &s;till, as is the u&s;ual lot of
&s;uch &s;educers, by a dreadfull judgement of heaven, it will fall
on their own heads, and that penalty will do others much good,
if it do them but little. It may deter many from the like exce&s;s,
&s;o that <HI>paena ad paucos,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mi&eacute;do guarda vinna y no Vinnadero. Hi&s;pan. <HI>Prov.</HI></NOTE> proves <HI>terror ad omnes.</HI> It keeps them
from doing more mi&s;chief, and from increa&s;ing their &s;ins and
eternal &s;ufferings thereby. Though Lions and Bears nature be
not changed by their chains, yet is their mi&s;chief re&s;trained
u&s;efully thereby. Better have the devil bound then loo&s;e,
though he will be a devil &s;till.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 14. 14.</NOTE> The duration of every mans life
is certainly fore-appointed of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 7. 1.</NOTE> beyond which he &s;hall not
pa&s;s. This will not indeed excu&s;e any mans wilfull neglect of
him&s;elf or others, yet it may &s;atisfie mans heart, upon the
unchangeable event of things. He that appoints the end, ap|points
indeed the means &s;ub&s;ervient thereto: when therefore
his providence indi&s;pen&s;ably nece&s;&s;itates the defect of the
means, it clearly &s;ignifies that it's Gods purpo&s;e to have &s;uch
a thing come to pa&s;s.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 45. 5, 6.</NOTE> <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> comforts his Brethren on that con|&s;ideration;
though they had u&s;ed ill means, God over-ruled
them to a good end. But if &s;uch malefactors ha&s;ten their own
end, by unlawfull means (as<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">A great Quaker.</NOTE> <HI>Parnell</HI> lately in <HI>Colche&s;ter</HI> Gaol
did &s;tarve him&s;elf to death, by fa&s;ting ten daies wilfully) and ill
demerits, they can blame none but them&s;elves.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 6. Whether compul&s;ion of con&s;cience do not make diffe|rences
ari&s;e to a greater heighth, which if men were left to their
own light, what is not of God would far more ea&s;ily fall?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Con&s;cience properly cannot be compelled, it being
the Reflexion of mans judgement on him&s;elf,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11. 31.</NOTE> with re&s;pect to
Gods judgement. Such is the nature of humane &s;ouls in their
intellectuals, that they cannot be forced, though they may be
moved by external objects. God alone is the Lord of con&s;ci|ence,
he made it, and knows how to rule it at his Will. Con|&s;cience
is his Royal &s;ear,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 2.</NOTE> his Throne of Maje&s;ty, his Deputy
and Witne&s;s,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 7. 29.</NOTE> his Recorder and Judge, his Teacher and Execu|tioner
in mans heart. It was thus perfectly before the fall;
but it's now corrupted by mans &s;in, and little remains of that
glorious fabrick, but ruinous heaps, though enough to te&s;ti|fie
the wofulne&s;s of that fall. In the mo&s;t, it &s;till lies under
<PB N="34" REF="27">
darkne&s;s and death; the devil being gotten into Gods &s;eat, by
ju&s;t judgement doth u&s;urp further,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 1, 15, 16.</NOTE> in playing the pranks of a
dreadfull Jaylor. In the Regenerate, con&s;cience is purified,
and re&s;tored to its primitive u&s;e in part,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 9. 14.</NOTE> though much evil re|mains
there,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10. 22.</NOTE> as in other faculties to be gradually removed.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 24. 16.</NOTE>
Con&s;cience then cannot be con&s;trained, but the evil of a pre|tended,
perverted con&s;cience may be re&s;trained. If that Offi|cer
that &s;hould act Gods part in mans &s;oul, be bribed by Satan
to take his part, through the compliance of inward corrupti|on,
again&s;t God his Sovereign, he may &s;urely be called to
account for it by men, as far as that trea&s;on appears externally.
God judges of the outward by the inward, man judges of the
inward by the outward man. The Magi&s;trate is Gods exter|nall
Deputy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Judg. 18. 7.</NOTE> called therefore an heir of re&s;traint, to put the
wicked to &s;hame.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Judg. 17. 18, 19</NOTE> The fir&s;t and &s;econd Table of Gods Law are
both committed to his charge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chro. 15. 3, 4, 5.</NOTE> as to the externals thereof, as
we hinted before. When that care was wanting, Gods ho|nour
&s;uffered &s;adly in all ages.<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 59. 2.</NOTE> So farre as con&s;cience is cor|rupted,
&s;o farre are the differences widened between God and
man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerem. 5. 26.</NOTE> which increa&s;es differences among men. The way then
to compo&s;e differences, is not to dally with any corruption,
(either of judgement, affection, or practice) but to remove it
effectually. Man can but u&s;e the means, and is obliged there|to,
&s;pecially the Magi&s;trate in his place for God, as every one
&s;hould do in him&s;elf, and by him&s;elf, through Gods help. To
leave every man to his own light, is to leave a mans ground to
it &s;elf without dre&s;&s;ing. The mo&s;t con&s;ciences are but like the
dunghill,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2. 1, 2, 3.</NOTE> as all are by nature, before conver&s;ion. The be&s;t
are like a garden,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 5. 22, 23.</NOTE> wherein the Lord, through grace, hath &s;et
and &s;own the fruits of his Spirit. But if you let the dunghill
alone, will it ever be better? If you let the be&s;t garden alone,
will it not &s;oon grow wor&s;e, and will not the weeds &s;poil all at
la&s;t?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 15. 1, 2, 3, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> Doth not Chri&s;t him&s;elf pre&s;s this parable to that end?
What's a mans own light, before conver&s;ion, but the dim &s;nuff
of a candle, every moment ready to go out in a &s;tink, into
utter darkne&s;s?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5. 8.</NOTE> What will become of him and of his light, if
left to him&s;elf?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5. 21.</NOTE> What's mans light, after conver&s;ion, in the
be&s;t, but a weak glimmering candle, though &s;nuffed and re|newed
by the Lords gracious hand, yet every moment ready
to peri&s;h in the &s;torms of temptations and corruptions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 3. 5.</NOTE> if not
<PB N="35" REF="27">
continually revived, &s;upported and &s;upplied by the &s;ame Al|mighty
hand? How doth God promi&s;e and u&s;e to effect this
and all other favours, but in the diligent u&s;e of the means,
whereto he ties us, and whereby he conveys his ble&s;&s;ing? Is
not mans heart full of corruption by nature?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 6. 5.</NOTE> Doth not much
of it remain in the be&s;t? Will not corruption increa&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7. 14, 18, 19, 20.</NOTE> if let
alone? Try it in your &s;inks and kennels, if you be yet &s;tran|gers
to your own heart,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 1. 8, 10.</NOTE> then an&s;wer this Query. What &s;ad
work would &s;o many fooli&s;h heads,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jam. 3. 2.</NOTE> like <HI>Samp&s;ons</HI> Foxes, tied
only by the tail of carnal intere&s;t, with burning fire-brands,
make in Church and State, in following every one his own
light? A &s;hort portraicture may be &s;een of it in <HI>Whim&s;es</HI> I&s;land
(<HI>vulgo Road</HI>-I&s;land near <HI>N. England,</HI> the Receptacle of
Notioni&s;ts,) where confu&s;ion and profanne&s;s &s;eem to triumph
over all order and piety, to &s;ay nothing of the&s;e di&s;tempered
Nations.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 7. Whether it be not the command of Chri&s;t, that the Tares
(<HI>i.e.</HI> they that walk in lies,) and the Wheat (<HI>i.e.</HI> they that walk
in truth,) &s;hould be let alone? <HI>Matth.</HI> 13. 30, 31.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. No parable is to be &s;trained beyond its &s;cope: <HI>Scri|ptura
parabolica non e&s;t argumentativa.</HI> The &s;cope of that Pa|rable
appears clearly in the <GAP DESC="foreign"> and explanation thereof,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 13. 38, 39, 40.</NOTE>
given by Chri&s;t him&s;elf, where he omits that branch, of letting
them alone, and only mentions the event of the Tares and
Wheat, following the purpo&s;e of his Will, but nothing of
the precept of his Will, concerning mans duty, in point of
obedience.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 2. Mind the particulars of that Parable. The Field is the
World; the Angels are the Reapers; the Wicked are the
Tares; the Godly are the Wheat, &s;aith Chri&s;t, de&s;cribing the
Tares to be &s;uch as offend and do iniquity; the Wheat to be
the children of the Kingdom. By Field, you may under&s;tand,
either the &s;tate of the Church vi&s;ible, univer&s;ally con&s;idered in
the world; or the world, wherein that Church &s;ub&s;i&s;ts, from
time to time. In either &s;en&s;e the ca&s;e will be clear.</P>
<P>1. If you under&s;tand it of the Catholick Church, con&s;idered
in its &s;ucce&s;&s;ion from age to age, it will &s;ignifie the permi&s;&s;ion
of providence, which &s;uffers &s;ome hypocrites &s;till to remain
therein,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 25. 1, 2, 3, 4, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> even in the pure&s;t times; but it cannot be meant of
Gods precept to man, to let known wicked per&s;ons alone in
<PB N="36" REF="28">
the Church, &s;eeing he hath appointed cen&s;ures for &s;uch, com|mending
the u&s;e;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 5. 7, 8. <HI>&amp;c;</HI></NOTE> rebuking and threatning the neglect thereof.</P>
<P>2. If you under&s;tand it of the world it &s;elf,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 3. 10.</NOTE> among whom the
Church lives,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 2. 2, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> it mu&s;t needs be meant of a providential Tolera|tion
of the Tares, for the time of this life, in the general con|&s;titution
of it, God forbearing long, and not de&s;troying the
wicked &s;uddenly, by his Angelical in&s;truments, in the ordina|ry
cour&s;e of dealing below; though &s;ome notorious ones be
now and then pulled up by eminent Ju&s;tice. But it cannot be
meant of mans duty, injoyned by Gods Precept, to let every
wicked man alone; for then &s;hould he cro&s;s the whole &s;eries of
his Word, which injoyns the Magi&s;trate his duty &s;o clearly, for
puni&s;hing &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 20.</NOTE> whether again&s;t the fir&s;t Table, as perjury,
witchcraft,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.</NOTE> bla&s;phemy, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> or again&s;t the &s;econd, as murther,
theft,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 13.</NOTE> threatning the neglect thereof.</P>
<P>3. Mind who are the Reapers, that receive the command,
to <HI>let them alone:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 13. 40, 41.</NOTE> They are not men, but Angels, as Chri&s;t ex|plains,
who are providentially ordered not to make u&s;e of their
wonderfull power given them from God, to de&s;troy all the
wicked at once, which they might ea&s;ily effect, if providence
&s;hould require it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chro. 31. 21.</NOTE> as appears by the de&s;truction of 185000
lu&s;ty men in one night,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 King. 19. 35.</NOTE> in <HI>Sennacheribs</HI> Camp, by one of them;
they being all mighty in &s;trength,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 103. 20.</NOTE> whereby they in&s;trumentally
over-rule all the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 1. 5, 6, 7, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> under God, witne&s;s the Prophet, where
they are de&s;cribed at large, in their properties, office, motions
and effects, by the living creatures, who&s;e &s;pirit over-rules all
the wheels of the Creation, in every part of the world, in &s;ub|ordination
to Gods will. But they are bid to &s;uffer wicked men
in all ages, places and conditions, to fulfill their mea&s;ure of
iniquity,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 23. 10.</NOTE> till it comes to be &s;ealed up,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 6. 7, 8, 9, 10.</NOTE> and they with it carried
away by Gods executioners into the Land of <HI>Shinar</HI> and con|fu&s;ion;
as that of <HI>Zechary</HI> may be expounded,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 32. 1.</NOTE> though &s;ome
under&s;tand it of Chri&s;ts mercifull act in covering &s;in.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Micah 7. 19.</NOTE></P>
<P>4. Mind what are the Tares that are let alone. In general,
they are all that work iniquity and offend,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 13. 30.</NOTE> <HI>i. e.</HI> the multitude
collective of reprobates,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 9. 23.</NOTE> prepared for the fire, ve&s;&s;els of wrath
fitted for de&s;truction, in the complex of them. The Angels
have a providential command to let them alone, not to pluck
them all up at once by the root; for they being the mo&s;t and
greate&s;t part of the world, it would endanger the de&s;truction of
<PB N="37" REF="28">
the whole world, and con&s;equently of the Wheat al&s;o, if all
&s;hould thus &s;uddenly be pulled up; &s;ignifying, that he will
&s;uffer many wicked ones generally to abide in the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 5. 10.</NOTE> till
harve&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 24.</NOTE> though he deals with &s;ome of them judicially now and
then,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 25.</NOTE> in that way which may help, and not hurt the Wheat.</P>
<P>5. Mind the Precept it &s;elf, <HI>Let them alone;</HI> which implies a
&s;ufficient power in the in&s;truments imployed, were but Gods
will &s;ignified, to take a &s;peedy cour&s;e with all the Tares: A
power proper to Angels, not to any man or men.</P>
<P>6. Mind Chri&s;ts rea&s;on &s;ubjoined,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 13. 29.</NOTE> <HI>Le&s;t you root up the Wheat,</HI>
implying, &s;uch a total plucking up of the Tares, as would prove
the de&s;truction of the Wheat; which mu&s;t needs therefore be
under&s;tood in the &s;en&s;e fore-explained; for the puni&s;hing of
one or few offenders here and there, being &s;o often comman|ded
and ble&s;&s;ed from God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Praemium as paena ba&s;es hu|mana &s;ocietatis.</NOTE> to the common good of the re&s;t,
and the very pillar of Church and State, <HI>in genere mediorum,</HI>
cannot be thought or found &s;o prejudicially de&s;tructive to the
good.</P>
<P>This then is clearly the &s;en&s;e of the&s;e words, <HI>Let them alone;</HI>
that it's a Providential Command given to the Angels, not to
de&s;troy the whole race of the wicked at once; and not a Pre|ceptive
Rule to men, for the not executing of Gods will, upon
this or that particular offender, whether in Civils or Eccle|&s;ia&s;ticals.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 8. Whether Scripture declares that the Saints &s;hould per|&s;ecute
others, &s;eeing Chri&s;t &s;ent his as Sheep among Wolves, and
not as Wolves among Sheep, to per&s;ecute, kill and impri&s;on?
Matth. 10. 16.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The Scripture declares the Saints to be the righteous
fulfillers of his revealed will,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, ab &agrave; privat. &amp; <GAP DESC="foreign"> terra, <HI>i. e.</HI> &agrave; terra &s;ecretus.</NOTE> in their re&s;pective &s;tations and
motions, towards God and man. Their name <GAP DESC="foreign">, Saints,
or &s;eparated per&s;ons, con&s;ecrated to God, imports &s;o much.
Their copy and exemplar is Gods holine&s;s,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1. 14, 15</NOTE> which is magnified
often in his zeal and ju&s;tice upon offenders,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lev. 10. 3.</NOTE> for breaches of the
fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 20. 5.</NOTE> as well as of the &s;econd Table.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13. 3, 4, 5.</NOTE> If he call a Saint to the
Magi&s;tracy, he requires him to be faithfull and diligent therein,
in terrour to every evil work; if any called Saints, be fo farre
given up to &s;in, as to abu&s;e God and them&s;elves, by external
breaches of his holy Law, God him&s;elf will not dally with &s;uch,
and the Magi&s;trate is the Mini&s;ter of God, a <HI>Revenger to execute
<PB N="38" REF="29">
wrath on him that doth evil.</HI> This is pro&s;ecution of evil, not
per&s;ecution of good. Profe&s;&s;ion of holine&s;s was never intended
by God to be a Sanctuary to any &s;in. Chri&s;ts Di&s;ciples were
indeed &s;ent as Sheep among Wolves, not as Wolves among
Sheep.<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 10.</NOTE> They &s;hould be qualified like the Lamb of God, their
grand Shepherd, in meekne&s;s, innocency, u&s;efulne&s;s and obe|dience;
and not re&s;emble the wild and mi&s;chievous nature of
bruiti&s;h men, bea&s;ts of prey, living at their will, following
their own pretended light, abu&s;ing them that are not like them
in evil.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 7. 15, 16.</NOTE> But are not the&s;e Chri&s;tian Sheep directed al&s;o to be
as wi&s;e as Serpents,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 10. 16.</NOTE> to di&s;cern and repell all wolvi&s;h &s;educers
coming in &s;heeps clothing?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 5. 5.</NOTE> Is not Chri&s;t him&s;elf that Lamb of
God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jud. v. 3, 4.</NOTE> the Lion of the Tribe of <HI>Judah,</HI> that roars out of <HI>Zion</HI>
again&s;t all wickedne&s;s? Doth not he command his &s;ervants in
all ages and places, to contend earne&s;tly for the faith, once
delivered to the Saints;<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 7. 1.</NOTE> to ca&s;t out and keep out all filthine&s;s of
fle&s;h and &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 5. 7, 8.</NOTE> e&s;pecially in external breaking forth? Shall
the ravening Wolves, that watch for mens &s;ouls, be cheri&s;hed
and owned, becau&s;e they have got on the garb of Sheep?
Are not &s;uch Foxes and Wolves mo&s;t mi&s;chievous under that<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 2. 15.</NOTE>
di&s;gui&s;e? Doth not Chri&s;t, with his Spou&s;e, command his
&s;ervants in the Magi&s;tracy, to take up the Foxes, yea, the
little Foxes, that &s;poil the tender buddings of his Vineyard?
Was there ever more need of that watchfull care, than in this
age, and in the&s;e parts? wherein the Romi&s;h Cubs &s;warm
round about us, under the mask of Notions and new Lights?
Should not a Sheep of Chri&s;t be like him&s;elf, a Lamb to God,
and a Lion to &s;in? If wretched &s;educers will be &s;o de&s;perate in
the devils &s;ervice, as to venture all to promote his intere&s;t,
&s;hall Chri&s;ts friends be the le&s;s zealous and active for his ho|nour,
and the &s;alvation of &s;ouls? If wicked men will dare
both God and man in their de&s;tructive cour&s;es, and meet
therein with the wages of &s;inne, &s;hall they blame any but
them&s;elves? who will &s;pare them, that &s;o wilfully &s;uffer for
evil doing?<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 3. 20.</NOTE> What glory can &s;uch expect from God or man,
that refu&s;e all the fair means, which might prevent &s;uch evils of
&s;in and &s;orrow?</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 9. Whether he was not reproved, that would have fire from
heaven to devour tho&s;e that rejected Chri&s;t? <HI>Luk.</HI> 9. 54, 55.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. That we mi&s;take not Chri&s;ts meaning in this and
<PB N="39" REF="29">
other Scriptures, we mu&s;t wi&s;ely compare the context and
&s;cope, with the Text and other Scriptures; for through igno|rance
and un&s;tablene&s;s,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3. 16.</NOTE> Scriptures are wre&s;ted to mens perdi|tion.
The &s;cope here appears clearly to be a condemning of the
Di&s;ciples ra&s;hne&s;s, who&s;e blind zeal would have carried Chri&s;t
beyond his pre&s;ent work, in that &s;tate of humiliation, for the
conver&s;ion of &s;ouls.</P>
<P>2. Di&s;tingui&s;h between Chri&s;ts humiliation and exaltation.
In the former he acted as the &s;on of man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 4. 15.</NOTE> in all parts of hu|mane
weakne&s;s conforming to us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2. 4, 5, 6.</NOTE> &s;in only excepted. Therein
was he to act as a &s;ervant,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 42. 2.</NOTE> not intending to take on him the
Magi&s;trates Office, in any &s;uch ca&s;es, <HI>Luk.</HI> 12. 14. nor was it
fit that har&s;h means &s;hould be u&s;ed to tho&s;e &s;trangers, at his
fir&s;t coming, which might have &s;cared them away from Chri&s;t
and his &s;alvation.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 19. 16.</NOTE> But in his &s;tate of exaltation he is King of
Kings and Lord of Lords;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 8. 15, 16.</NOTE> by him Kings reign, and Princes
execute ju&s;tice, who hath all power given him in heaven and
earth; and he gives his Witne&s;&s;es (whether Magi&s;tratical or
Mini&s;terial,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 5.</NOTE> or both) power to con&s;ume his enemies with fire
out of their mouth.</P>
<P>3. Di&s;tingui&s;h between Samaritan &s;trangers, and Jewi&s;h
rebels; between the gro&s;ly ignorant heathens, and the wilfully
ob&s;tinate Chri&s;tians.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 22. 7.</NOTE> Again&s;t Jewi&s;h rebels the Lord &s;ent his
Armies to de&s;troy the de&s;troyers and abu&s;ers of his Emba&s;&s;a|dors;
though he would not fetch fire from heaven again&s;t the
mongrel heatheni&s;h Samaritans.</P>
<P>4. Di&s;tingui&s;h between Magi&s;tratical and Mini&s;terial cen|&s;ures
on offenders. Chri&s;t would not have his Di&s;ciples and
Mini&s;ters to u&s;urp the Magi&s;trates work in civil bodily cen&s;ures,
but to keep within their &s;phere,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 10. 4, 5, 6.</NOTE> with &s;piritual weapons, &s;uch
as are an&s;werable to the nature of their Mini&s;try, as admoni|tion,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI> towards their members ordinarily. The ca&s;e of
<HI>Ananias</HI> and <HI>Sapphira</HI> was extraordinary,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 5. 2, 3, 4.</NOTE> was extraordinary, as al&s;o was the Call,
Abilities and Work of Apo&s;tles. The Civil &s;word &s;till being left
to the Magi&s;trates right u&s;e, who is regulated about it &s;o fre|quently
in the Old and New Te&s;tament.</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 10. Whether it's not a burden enough for the Magi&s;trate
to govern and judge in Civil cau&s;es, to pre&s;erve the &s;ubjects right
and &s;afety?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. The Magi&s;trates burden is great indeed; <HI>Honos</HI> and
<PB N="40" REF="30">
<HI>Onus,</HI> Honour and Burden ever went together. Providence
orders all things &s;o wi&s;ely, that they who have mo&s;t from God,
&s;hould be obliged to do mo&s;t for God.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 20. 35.</NOTE> It's more Royal to give,
than to receive, in Chri&s;ts account. <HI>Magnates</HI> are <HI>Magnetes,</HI>
Great Men are Precious Load&s;tones: They &s;hould be <HI>Optimi,</HI>
that are <HI>Maximi,</HI> to an&s;wer Gods Title and Nature, whom
they repre&s;ent. The highe&s;t Spheres of heaven carry the mo&s;t
influence of light and life to all inferiours. Magi&s;trates have a
greater burden of care and trouble, of danger and account, to
make them the more humble and holy, the more diligent and
&s;elf denying, the more active and zealous in their places.</P>
<P>2. The choice part of the Magi&s;trates bu&s;ine&s;s is to be mo&s;t
for God, in being mo&s;t like God, who&s;e &s;ub&s;titute and Vice-Gerent
he is. What the Lord tenders mo&s;t, &s;hould be mo&s;t
rendred by him. God begins &s;till at his Glory, in the <HI>matter</HI>
and <HI>means,</HI> in the <HI>manner</HI> and <HI>time</HI> of his Wor&s;hip. The fir&s;t
Table therefore &s;hould be the Magi&s;trates fir&s;t care. <HI>Tho&s;e that
honour him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 2. 30.</NOTE> <HI>he will honour; but they that de&s;pi&s;e him, though
never &s;o great,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Vile&s;cent <GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>&s;hall be vilified.</HI> Is it not mo&s;t rational, that
the be&s;t things &s;hould have the be&s;t care from the be&s;t men?
Doth not Gods honour de&s;erve the preeminence &s;till?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezra 6. 12.</NOTE> Doth
he not &s;till appear again&s;t the neglecters and &s;lighters thereof?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezr. 7. 23, 26.</NOTE>
Even Pagan Monarchs could ea&s;ily di&s;cern it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan 3. 35.</NOTE> Ob&s;erve the &s;pe|cial
working of Gods Spirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 2. 47.</NOTE> directing <HI>Ezra</HI> to reque&s;t, and
the King to grant that Magi&s;tratical power of corporal pu|ni&s;hment
again&s;t offenders of his wor&s;hip,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Ari&s;t. <HI>Polit.</HI> 7, 8.</NOTE> by comparing <HI>Ezra</HI>
7. 6. with <HI>Ezra</HI> 7. 11, 27. How little beholding is the Lord to
tho&s;e Rulers, that care more for their honour than for his,
that defend their Word more than his; that will not &s;uffer
per&s;onal injuries, but regard not what affronts are put on
Chri&s;t! They that tender not his Name and Truth, his Wor|&s;hip
and Ordinances, are like to &s;mart dearly for it, at la&s;t.
Can you think that tho&s;e per&s;ons will &s;pare you, that &s;pare not
what is deare&s;t to God? Will they honour you that vilifie
God? Remember <HI>Eli's</HI> ca&s;e, that you may repent, who have
made light of Chri&s;ts great concernments! Did not <HI>Salomon</HI>
find it the be&s;t way to Wi&s;dom and Glory, to peace and plenty,
thus to begin with God? <HI>A Jove principium,</HI> was the great
Maxim, even of Heathen Schools, to the &s;hame of mo&s;t Chri|&s;tians.
Is not Chri&s;ts intere&s;t the be&s;t way to &s;ettle yours? Can
<PB N="41" REF="30">
you be &s;afe when that mi&s;carries? The Lord awaken all our
Magi&s;trates to mind this in earne&s;t. This <HI>Principium</HI> is certain|ly
<HI>dimidium totius,</HI> yea, <HI>dimidium plus toto.</HI> Will not the late
experiences of our Engli&s;h Worthies, with tho&s;e of the former
Champions of Chri&s;t, demon&s;trate fully this? Was it not their
zeal for God that made them great before God and good men?
Con&s;ult all Records, Hebrew and Greek, Latin and French,
German and Engli&s;h for proof. Our famous <HI>Alfred,</HI> our
conquering <HI>Edward</HI> 3^d, in the very heat of continual Warres
made it their chief work to preferre Chri&s;t in all, and to ca&s;t all
their Crowns at his feet. Their glorifying of him &s;o eminently,
made them truly glorious in their own and future ages. Such
a Whet will never prove a Let to any, from any true good.
Are not the &s;ubjects right, peace and &s;afety, the proper gifts of
God? Can we finde out any better way of procuring or pre|&s;erving
them, than by keeping clo&s;e to him, and being active
for him? Whil&s;t we cordially mind his intere&s;t, will not he
&s;urely minde ours? If we forget him, can we look to be remem|bred
of him?</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 11. If Magi&s;trates mu&s;t judge and puni&s;h of matters of
Religion, the Magi&s;trate mu&s;t ever be troubled with &s;uch persons
and &s;uch cau&s;es: and if after his con&s;cience be convinced, he
had no &s;uch power, what horrors of con&s;cience is he like to
po&s;&s;e&s;s?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The Magi&s;trate is the Lords Shepherd,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 44. 28.</NOTE> as he cals <HI>Cyrus,</HI>
and mu&s;t look for conte&s;t again&s;t Foxes and Wolves,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 7. 15.</NOTE> from time
to time. He is Gods Lieutenant, that mu&s;t &s;till be in a po&s;ture
of warre again&s;t his Sovereigns enemies.<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 15.</NOTE> He is <HI>Pater patriae,</HI>
the Father of his Country,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 49. 23.</NOTE> who cannot but be often taken up
in compo&s;ing the differences of that great Family. He is the
Lords Gardiner, and will not think much to be &s;till troubled
with weeding work. He is a Nur&s;ing father, and knows what
renewed troubles attend that employment. All his Titles of
honour mind him of duty and trouble. But his great comfort
is, that God him&s;elf takes the be&s;t &s;hare thereof, in who&s;e &s;tead
he acts. To act for God, and with God, like God and through
God, is his honour and happine&s;s. Chri&s;t him&s;elf &s;uffered
much more than all that comes to. But what if his con&s;cience
&s;hould afterwards check him for mi&s;takes therein? The &s;ure
way to prevent horrors of con&s;cience,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 1. 12.</NOTE> is to be diligent in the
<PB N="42" REF="31">
Lords work, that our re&s;pective Callings do challenge from us.
Sin is the great di&s;turber of con&s;cience,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 15. 15.</NOTE> e&s;pecially that darling
&s;in,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> Cor, vel con&s;ci|entia bona, con|vivium perpe|tuum.</NOTE> which hinders from Gods work, by taking from our heart
what is due to him. Every trouble proceeds from the want of
Gods grace given or manife&s;ted. <HI>He meets them that rejoyce in
working righteou&s;ne&s;s, tho&s;e that remember him in his waies.</HI>
Retort the Query you may thus then;<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 63. 5.</NOTE> What horrors of
con&s;cience &s;hall that Magi&s;trate feel, that hath minded him&s;elf
in neglecting God? that hath been zealous for Civil affairs,
but frozen to the Lords intere&s;t? that hath done much for the
world, but little for heaven? that hath been carefull of the
&s;ubjects bodies, but carele&s;s of their &s;ouls? that thought no
co&s;t too dear for their earthly priviledge, but every little too
much for &s;piritual help?</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> 12. Whether impri&s;onment or other corporal puni&s;hment
would not make thou&s;ands in <HI>England, Scotland</HI> and <HI>Ireland,</HI>
face about to any Religion, yea to Popery, as it did in Queen <HI>Ma|ries</HI>
daies?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> What of all this? becau&s;e many have their Religion
to chu&s;e, &s;hall not the Magi&s;trate di&s;charge his duty for their
good? Is there not &s;o much the more need he &s;hould be &s;o
much the more watchfull again&s;t jugling Mountebanks, be|cau&s;e
&s;o many are &s;o ea&s;ily fitted to their baits?<NOTE PLACE="marg">A cavallo ceme dor, Cabi&s;tro corto. <HI>Fro</HI> Hi&s;p.</NOTE> The corrupti|on
of mans heart, that di&s;po&s;es him to evil and indi&s;po&s;es him
&s;till to good, &s;hould be the more carefully looked after, for
re&s;training of that which cannot be renewed. External Refor|mation
is better than none at all; though the chief part of
Gods &s;acrifice is &s;till the heart of man, yet is it not much bet|ter,
that God &s;hould be publickly owned than di&s;owned?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 7. 13, 14.</NOTE> The
greate&s;t number will be the wor&s;t &s;till,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 13. 21.</NOTE> till the great re&s;tawration
come. Yet when the leaders do bring their people to &s;olemn
owning of God, he takes it kindly and rewards it. Was it not
&s;o in <HI>Jo&s;ias</HI> and <HI>Edward</HI> 6^t^h time?<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chron 34.</NOTE> a form of godline&s;s is good,
though formality be naught.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 3. 10.</NOTE> If the generality be brought to
the means of grace, they are in the road of Chri&s;ts ble&s;&s;ing.
Had not the poor man waited long at the pool of <HI>Bethe&s;da,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">John 7.</NOTE> he
had not been cured: It's good being in the Lords way,
when he pa&s;&s;es by to give out his doles. How many thou|&s;ands
were the better for crouding after Chri&s;t and his
Apo&s;tles, though mo&s;t for the loaves, or novelty &s;ake? But
<PB N="43" REF="31">
let's hear what the Queri&s;t Objects to him&s;elf.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> 1. We would willingly &s;uffer the Truth to be preached,
but tho&s;e that we per&s;ecute do teach erroneous doctrines, which
hazard the &s;ouls of men.</P>
<P>An&s;. He an&s;wers, <HI>The guilt thereof lies upon the Teachers
con&s;cience, not on the Magi&s;trate, or any other, as <HI>Matth.</HI> 5. 19.
Who&s;oever &s;hall teach men &s;o, he &s;hall be lea&s;t in the Kingdom of
heaven.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 5. 22.</NOTE> Is not he al&s;o guilty that prevents not evil, when he
may? What el&s;e means that of <HI>Paul, Be not partaker of other
mens &s;ins?</HI> Are there not &s;ins of omi&s;&s;ion, when we reprove
and di&s;countenance not evil? The very light of nature taught
the Heathens to &s;ay, <HI>Qui non vetat peccare, dum pote&s;t, jubet.</HI>
Had not <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> ju&s;t cau&s;e to complain &s;o much of his other
mens &s;ins? Is the Phy&s;ician guiltle&s;s,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Augu&s;t. Confe&s;&s;. Ephe&s;tions</HI> Phy&s;ician lo&s;t his life for neglect of his patient, who died al&s;o.</NOTE> that willingly &s;uffers his
patient to be poy&s;oned by Mountebanks? Is the Watch-man
blamele&s;s that warns not and keeps not the thief off? Is the
Gardiner faultle&s;s, that &s;uffers carele&s;ly the weeds to choak
the good plants? Is that Officer faithfull that lets an enemy
wittingly to debauch and ruine his &s;ouldiers?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quint. Curt in vit. Alexandr. Plutarchus.</NOTE> Is that Magi|&s;trate
faultle&s;s, that &s;uffers his people to be &s;educed by perni|cious
Praters, without check? Will Chri&s;t excu&s;e the re&s;t,
when he condemns the fal&s;e Teacher? Doth he ab&s;olve the
acce&s;&s;ory, that puni&s;hes the Principal? What &s;hall he be in
the Kingdom of hell, that teaches men to break the greate&s;t
commands, if he &s;hall be lea&s;t in the Kingdom of heaven, that
teaches men to break the lea&s;t of them? Is not he a breaker of
Gods command, that gives free licence to the notorious tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ors
thereof?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 12. 50.</NOTE> <HI>He that is not with me, is again&s;t me,</HI> &s;aith
the Lord him&s;elf.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 11. 23.</NOTE></P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> He Objects to him&s;elf again, The Kings and Governours
of <HI>Judah</HI> compelled men to &s;erve the Lord, therefore Kings and
Governours may now compell.</P>
<P>An&s;. 1. He an&s;wers, <HI>They that lived under the Jewi&s;h wor&s;hip
were compelled only, &s;trangers were not.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> We reply, As the Jewi&s;h wor&s;hippers, &s;o now the
Chri&s;tians are then obliged to the Law of that wor&s;hip they
profe&s;s. Indeed, for Jews, Turks and Pagans, the ca&s;e may
differ &s;omewhat. Yet, though &s;trangers were not compelled
to the wor&s;hip, they were to be re&s;trained from abu&s;ing it any
<PB N="44" REF="32">
way;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 20. 8, 9, 10.</NOTE> witne&s;s the fourth Command, that injoyns all &s;uperiors
to &s;ee that the Sabbath be not profaned by the &s;tranger within
their gates.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 5. 13, 14.</NOTE> <HI>Nehemiah</HI> that zealous and truly Noble Gover|nour,
threatned the Merchant-&s;trangers with impri&s;onment,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Neh. 13. 21.</NOTE>
if they came again to profane the Sabbath, though but without
the gates. But what means this kind of an&s;wer? Speak plain,
Do you di&s;own the Name and Wor&s;hip of Chri&s;t, as too many
of your comrades do in effect deny his Per&s;on and Office? If
you think much of being Chri&s;tians, tell us plainly what you are,
whether Jews, or Turks; Heathens, or Athei&s;ts, that we may
know what to &s;ay to you.</P>
<P>An&s;. 2. <HI>He an&s;wers &s;econdly,</HI> They were not compelled to any
thing, but what they knew and confe&s;&s;ed to be their duty, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI>
6. 12, 13, 14, 15.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> We reply, <HI>Salomon</HI> indeed and their faithfull Rulers
knew and confe&s;&s;ed their own and their peoples duty, in the
great matters of Gods wor&s;hip. A good patern for all Chri|&s;tian
Rulers, to &s;tudy it and profe&s;s it &s;olemnly, that they may
as effectually engage their people to God, and God to them.
He requires not a blind and lame &s;acrifice of implicite faith and
obedience;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Malac. 1. 8, 9.</NOTE> yet were &s;till too many of that people ignorant in
too many things, though in the gro&s;s they owned Gods ap|pointed
wor&s;hip. They needed &s;till teaching and quickning
means, as our people do &s;till now. Therefore godly <HI>Jeho&s;ha|phat</HI>
made it a chief part of his Reformation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 17. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.</NOTE> to &s;end abroad
Teachers into all vacant places, and with them his Princes to
countenance them, and to cau&s;e them with vigor and comfort
to teach (as the Hebrew elegance imports) the good know|ledge
of the Lord.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> When they had been orderly in&s;tructed,
then did he &s;end Judges in their circuits,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 19.</NOTE> to proceed further in
that great Work, as that juncture of affairs required. It will
be the joy of all Gods friends to &s;ee more of the like among us.
Their &s;ucce&s;s mentioned &s;o remarkably in the context, will
not be far from us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 2.</NOTE> whil&s;t we keep clo&s;e to God in their way.
But how farre are our Queri&s;ts friends from following that
good example! Do they labour &s;till to di&s;grace and di&s;courage
faithfull Magi&s;trates and Mini&s;ters from promoting it? Is it
not their bu&s;ine&s;s day and night, every where, to ob&s;truct and
di&s;turb it, what they can? If they &s;eem of late, to be grown
more mild and re&s;erved, we may thank the care of &s;uch Magi|&s;trates,
<PB N="45" REF="32">
who have given them cau&s;e to fear the de&s;erved la&s;h.
Their poy&s;on is but refined by this change, and made more
taking.</P>
<P>An&s;. 3. <HI>He an&s;wers again,</HI> The Kings of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> had extraor|dinary
Prophets to direct them infallibly. Our Kings and Gover|nours
have none &s;uch to direct them.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> We reply, Though many of them had &s;uch, yet even
then the Standard of all Doctrine and Wor&s;hip,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 8. 20.</NOTE> was the Law
and the Te&s;timony;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 13. 1, 2, 3, 4, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> thereby all &s;pirits and pretended Prophets
were to be tried: The like have we now in Go&s;pel-daies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 17. 1, 2. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> even
<HI>a more &s;ure word of Prophe&s;ie,</HI> a <HI>word</HI> &s;urer than the greate&s;t
Revelations mentioned in that context of <HI>Peter,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 1. 19, 20.</NOTE> a <HI>word</HI> &s;uffici|ent
every way to compleat the man of God in the knowledge<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. 15, 15, 16, 17.</NOTE>
and doing of his will. This is our Doctrinal foundation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2. 19, 20.</NOTE> our
infallible Judge, whereby all &s;pirits and Doctrines are to be
tried:<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 4. 1, 2.</NOTE> If any teach otherwi&s;e, though he &s;hould be an Angel
from heaven,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 1. 8.</NOTE> he is accur&s;ed. We need then no infallible Pro|phets
or Apo&s;tles, &s;eeing we have that &s;ure word of theirs,
which the Spirit of Truth &s;poke and writ by them, confirmed
by their miracles, and hath infallibly made the perfect rule of
our faith and life:<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 59. 21.</NOTE> all differing interpretations thereof may
and mu&s;t be reconciled by the light of that unerring &s;pirit,
which is in&s;eparable from his Word: Though fallible men
mi&s;take often, yet the &s;en&s;e of Chri&s;ts Spirit in his Word is
clear and &s;ure &s;till. Though blind eyes &s;ee not at all, and &s;ore
eyes &s;ee but dimly;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Malach. 4. 1, 2.</NOTE> though blood-&s;hot eyes will &s;ee ami&s;s, the
light of that Sun is alwaies clear and &s;ure. Though &s;ome ex|pre&s;&s;ions
may &s;eem ob&s;cure, yet the re&s;t duly compared, will
&s;ufficiently clear them. Though the &s;elf-conceited and proud
will wre&s;t and mi&s;take it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 25. 9, 12.</NOTE> yet the humble will God teach.
Though a corrupt mind will extract poy&s;on, as a &s;pider out of
flowers, errour out of truth, by poy&s;oning it, yet Chri&s;ts
Spirit will lead his people thereby into <HI>all Truth,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 16. 3.</NOTE> needfull for
them to know.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 14. 38.</NOTE> Though the carnal heart will &s;till be ignorant,
yet the teachable heart, by that anointing from above, will be
taught all things gradually,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 2. 20. 28</NOTE> proportionably and &s;ea&s;onably, &s;o
that he &s;hall not need to be taught by any Sect ma&s;ter, or Pha|ri&s;aical
Teacher, or infallible Pope, as too many have been
and are &s;till. Though this Go&s;pel be hid to them that peri&s;h,
who&s;e eyes are blinded by &s;in and Satan;<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 4. 3, 4.</NOTE> yet is it plain to him
<PB N="46" REF="33">
that under&s;tands,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 14. 6.</NOTE> and is tractable in the School of Chri&s;t.
Though it may prove a &s;avour of death to reprobate con&s;ci|ences,
yet is it &s;till the &s;weet &s;avour of Chri&s;t to his Di&s;ciples.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 2. 14, 15, 16.</NOTE>
Though worldly &s;pirits will &s;light and abu&s;e the &s;implicity
thereof; yet &s;piritual hearts will admire and improve &s;till the
Maje&s;ty of it. Though the perver&s;e minde will account it a
&s;elf-contradicting word, yet the rational Chri&s;tian will find it
&s;till mo&s;t harmonious in its whole compo&s;ure. Though a vain
&s;oul will finde it to be a killing letter, yet the wi&s;e heart will
finde it experimentally to have a mo&s;t quickning Spirit. Though
the &s;uperficial Reader will finde its &s;hell and bark to be hard
and knotty, yet the &s;tudious Chri&s;tian will ta&s;t the &s;weetne&s;s
and tenderne&s;s of its kernell and marrow. Though deluded
Impo&s;tors will pervert it &s;till to the taking off the Magi&s;trate
from his duty about the fir&s;t Table, yet the Lords &s;ervants
&s;hall finde every part thereof to be an eminent motive to quick|en,
direct and enable all Superiours to the faithfull pre&s;erving
and vindicating of it.</P>
<P>An&s;. 4. <HI>He an&s;wers fourthly,</HI> The Kings and Rulers of <HI>I&s;rael</HI>
did not impri&s;on Schi&s;maticks, Phari&s;ees, Herodians.</P>
<P><HI>Reply</HI> 1. The Law of God directed his &s;ervants then to di&s;|pen&s;e
all cen&s;ures, in a way proportionable to the nature of the
offence, and condition of the offender, which faithfull Magi|&s;trates
ob&s;erved,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 17. 17, 18.</NOTE> as hundred in&s;tances might demon&s;trate. The
King to that end was commanded to have a Copy of the Law
by him, to direct him &s;till daily.</P>
<P><HI>Reply</HI> 2. As there were divers &s;orts of Hereticks, which the
Lords Word bound over to ju&s;t penalties: &s;o was there variety
of Schi&s;maticks, rai&s;ed up by Satan to rend the Church, as the
Hereticks work was to poy&s;on it, for a ju&s;t execution on the
&s;pirits of &s;uch,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 2. 9, 10.</NOTE> as had not received the Truth in the love there|of,
that they might be &s;aved; God gave them up to &s;trong
delu&s;ions, to beleeve lies, as he doth daily. Becau&s;e they vo|luntarily
&s;eparated from God, and his Truth, to give up
them&s;elves to the &s;ervice of &s;inne and Satan; he ju&s;tly gave
them up to a perver&s;e &s;pirit, to break them into fractions and
factions, both in Church and State, even as he doth now by
&s;ad experience. Becau&s;e they would not be &s;eparated from the
evil of men, he permitted them to follow tho&s;e &s;educers, that
drove on their own intere&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 66. 4.</NOTE> by &s;eparating from good men.
<PB N="47" REF="33">
Doth he not &s;o &s;till? Becau&s;e they wilfully cho&s;e heaps of Teach|ers,
&s;elf-called, to &s;erve their fan&s;ies and lu&s;ts; God al&s;o cho&s;e
their delu&s;ions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 2. 9, 10.</NOTE> to give them up to the efficaciou&s;ne&s;s of deceit.
Is it not &s;o &s;till? Becau&s;e they refu&s;ed and abu&s;ed the lights of
his own &s;etting up,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> was it not ju&s;t with him to leave them in
darkne&s;s, to abu&s;e them&s;elves and others, even as it's now?
Thus Gods refu&s;als are &s;till the devils choice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 48. 11, 12, 13.</NOTE> and they that
for&s;ake his waies cannot e&s;cape the devils crooked paths:
Whil&s;t Authority kept all in their places clo&s;e to the Word and<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 101.</NOTE>
Waies of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 122.</NOTE> <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> the Metropolis of Church and State,
was a glorious and harmonious City.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 133.</NOTE> But as fa&s;t as they de|clined
in their zeal of Gods hou&s;e towards worldly Politicks,
they u&s;hered in as fa&s;t all &s;orts of di&s;cords and di&s;contents,
Civil and Eccle&s;ia&s;tical. <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> their Hi&s;torian, and many
others compared with Scripture Records, will fully demon|&s;trate
this to the judicious Reader. As before their <HI>Babylo|nian</HI>
Captivity, &s;o after it, they gradually lo&s;t Purity, then
Peace, inclining &s;till towards Errour and Di&s;cord. Thence
the direfull &s;eparations of <HI>Pharez</HI> and <HI>Sadock,</HI> the Ringleaders
of &s;o many Myriads into Phari&s;ai&s;m and Sadduci&s;m, followed
clo&s;e by the Monki&s;h E&s;&s;ens, and the Politick Herodians, tho&s;e
State &s;eparati&s;ts. The like befell the Chri&s;tian Churches in the
very Apo&s;tles daies, and &s;ucce&s;&s;ively more and more. The
&s;infull &s;eparations of the Novatians, Ace&s;ians, Donati&s;ts, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
with the multiplying Here&s;ies and Bla&s;phemies of that mon|&s;trous
brood,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 2.</NOTE> which &s;warmed every where,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 4.</NOTE> made way for that
grand Apo&s;ta&s;ie of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 13.</NOTE> and advanced that
man of Sin into Chri&s;ts Throne, to make him and his the &s;ons
of perdition, <GAP DESC="foreign">. Was not the like cour&s;e revived by
Satan ever &s;ince the Reformation was revived by Chri&s;t, for|merly
and lately? Our wofull experience will give a &s;ad,
though clear an&s;wer thereto.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Omenez&aacute;dos pan com&eacute;n. Pr. Hisp.</NOTE> Is it not high time then for all
Superiours and others, to hearken to Chri&s;ts voice &s;peaking
from heaven to us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 2. 5.</NOTE> as he did to langui&s;hing <HI>Ephe&s;us?</HI> Re|member
we now, before it be too late, whence we are fallen,
and repent, le&s;t our Candle&s;tick be removed &s;uddenly. If
our complexion be &s;till Laodicean,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 3. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, <HI>Eu&s;eb.</HI></NOTE> what is our condition like
to prove, but like to theirs? They were overthrown with an
Earthquake that de&s;pi&s;ed Chri&s;ts warning; if the quakings
of Church and State, progno&s;ticating the like now, effect not
<PB N="48" REF="34">
our overthrow, the trea&s;ures of Divine grace will be the more
magnified.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> 3. The Queri&s;t objects again to him&s;elf, Then every one
may live as he li&s;ts?</P>
<P>An&s;. <HI>He an&s;wers,</HI> Had he not as good live as he li&s;ts, as live as
you li&s;t?</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> Mans Li&s;t is not his Rule, but Gods revealed Will in
his Word of Scripture. By that mea&s;uring line of the Sanctua|ry,
all men and all their actions are to be mea&s;ured. That is
the perfect Copy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech 2. 1.</NOTE> that Gods people in all ages have learned to
write after.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 1.</NOTE> That's the ballance of the Sanctuary, that mu&s;t
weigh us all.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. 15, 16, 17.</NOTE> That's the Touch&s;tone, that will try our Alloy.
By that Standard godly Magi&s;trates have been in all ages
taught to govern happily,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 8. 20.</NOTE> in promoting good, and puni&s;hing
evil.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 1. 19, 20.</NOTE> So farre as they keep clo&s;e to that Rule,<NOTE PLACE="marg">No prophe&s;ie is <GAP DESC="foreign">, but gene|rally applica|ble to all ages. Rom. 13. 5, 6. Like the <HI>Ata|bantes,</HI> that fiercely &s;hoot their Arrows at the Sun, for &s;corching of them.</NOTE> all their com|mands
are to be obeyed for con&s;cience &s;ake, in matters of
Religion, as of Morality. That's the bridle of evil, and the
&s;pur to all good. Libertines therefore in all ages have &s;hewed
mo&s;t &s;pight again&s;t it, by reproaches and gro&s;s abu&s;es thereof.
The <HI>Roman</HI> Antichri&s;t, to &s;et up his own Traditional Li&s;t,
bla&s;phemes it many waies, charging it with imperfection, ob|&s;curity,
defects, in&s;ufficiency and corruption. The Quaking
Libertines, their ba&s;tard brood, hath done what they could
to defame, deface and de&s;troy it. At their fir&s;t &s;tirring, they
wholly denied the need and u&s;e thereof. But becau&s;e they lo&s;t
credit thereby,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plinius. Plutarch <HI>See</HI> Bellarm. Stapleton.</NOTE> on a &s;udden in all places, they agreed upon
the owning of it, at lea&s;t, verbally, that they might the better
abu&s;e it, and others by it. That &s;udden change, ob&s;erved by
the Judicious,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Stcuch. Gretzer. Gordon. Becan. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> &s;o unanimou&s;ly carried on in all parts, may
di&s;cover much of that &s;trong de&s;ign, which is &s;o notably fo|mented,
if not begun among them, by the Pontifician brats.
Now that in words they profe&s;s to own the Scripture, how deal
they with it? Ju&s;t as the Romani&s;ts, that give it as little credit
as they can. Both Originals, Hebrew and Greek, mu&s;t be
&s;lighted and &s;landered as corrupt; the Vulgar Tran&s;lation
exalted above them. Then there is no ab&s;olute need of it,
they can live well enough without it, by Traditional and En|thu&s;ia&s;tical
help. Then it mu&s;t have a Competitor, the Popes
infallible Chair, or the Councils determination, and the Qua|kers
Oracle, written, or verbal. Then it mu&s;t be wre&s;ted to
<PB N="49" REF="34">
patronize their gro&s;&s;e&s;t and wilde&s;t extravagancies. No bla&s;|phemy
&s;o horrid, no Ceremony &s;o ridiculous, no Doctrine &s;o
vile, but a Scriptural varni&s;h mu&s;t be got to &s;et it out. But
what's the end of all? That man may not be taught or ruled
as God li&s;ts, but as they li&s;t. Thence &s;uch &s;pecious Pleas again&s;t
the need and u&s;e of the Mini&s;terial Function, under many ta|king
pretences, That Gods Will may be determined by every
ones li&s;t: Thence &s;uch rea&s;onings with plau&s;ible Sophi&s;ms,
again&s;t the Magi&s;trates power in Religious matters, that they
may be taken off from attending the Lords Will therein. Thence
al&s;o &s;uch painted Arguments drawn from the very dregs of Pe|lagiani&s;m,
(revived by Popery and Arminiani&s;m,) for the
&s;ufficiency of the light within, that all things, at la&s;t, may be
brought to their li&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> The Queri&s;t again Objects to him&s;elf, Then it &s;eems
Errours may be &s;uffered.</P>
<P>An&s;. <HI>He an&s;wers,</HI> If truth may be &s;uffered al&s;o, it will pre|vail
again&s;t Errours: It's no more in your power to binder Er|rours,
than it was in the Prelates to hinder preaching, &s;peaking
and writing against them. If you can hinder Satans &s;ugge&s;tions,
and the vain imaginations of their hearts, and expell the dark|ne&s;s
in men, and place light in &s;tead thereof, and hinder men
from &s;peaking to each other, then you can &s;uppre&s;s Errour, el&s;e
not. The Lord alone by the mighty power of his Spirit with
his Word, can &s;uppre&s;s Errours; and we beleeve he will certain|ly
do it in his time, to his glory and the comfort of his people.
Amen.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> This is the up&s;hot of our Queri&s;ts attempt in this
Serpentine way of ambiguous Queries, plea&s;ingly dre&s;&s;ed for
the &s;tomack of this Libertine age;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Veritas magna &amp; praevalebit.</NOTE> for an&s;wer whereto, we
grant, That truth will indeed prevail again&s;t errours, as &s;urely
as God the Author thereof, is &s;ure to prevail again&s;t Satan the
father of errours. Truth will &s;ea&s;onably prevail, whether
&s;uffered or oppo&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Curvata re&s;ur|get. <HI>Plin.</HI> Dio&s;c.</NOTE> it being &s;till like to the Palm tree, that
will not be &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, though much oppre&s;&s;ed. But is &s;uffer|ing
of errours a good way to that end? Is the Patronage of
lies a friendly help to Truth? when Truth doth rife, it will
be with the fall and ruinous &s;hame of all its oppre&s;&s;ors, where|in
neutral &s;pirits will finde little comfort, and as little excu&s;e.
Are not errours the di&s;ea&s;es of mens &s;ouls; and is there no
<PB N="50" REF="35">
way to cure them, but by letting them alone? Your in&s;tance
from the Prelates is to little purpo&s;e, unle&s;s you intend to plead
their cau&s;e, or can demon&s;trate the ca&s;e in hand to be like
theirs. It's not our work to revive now that Controver&s;ie,
which &s;o many able pens have &s;ufficiently cleared from mi&s;takes.
Their Per&s;ons we leave for account to their only Judge. Their
Mini&s;terial Office, though corrupted many waies, we can own
&s;o farre as therein they owned Gods in&s;titution, whil&s;t we &s;ever
from it all humane inventions and corruptions. Their Lordly
Pomp and Tyrannical carriage we heartily renounce, hoping
that all good men among them have done the like. Their u|&s;urped
Juri&s;diction and &s;elf advancing Authority above their
Brethren of the Mini&s;try, we al&s;o finde in Scripture, Rea&s;on
and Antiquity &s;ufficient cau&s;e to di&s;claim. The many endea|vours
of many among them to ob&s;truct the Truth, and abu&s;e
her friends, we &s;uppo&s;e to have been one chief means of ha&s;t|ning
their ruine. Too many of them &s;hewed too much com|pliance,
if not cordial friend&s;hip, to the Popi&s;h Arminian er|rours,
which are now put into a more fa&s;hionable garb, by
our Notioni&s;ts, Seekers and Quakers. As then the friends of
Truth prevailed at la&s;t, though after much <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1+ letters">ugging, again&s;t
that Van-Guard of the Romi&s;h Camp; the good hand of hea|ven
&s;euding them a &s;trong Re&s;erve of the Magi&s;tratical power,
duly di&s;pen&s;ed<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In the great Parliament.</NOTE>. We have likewi&s;e ground to hope that the
followers of Truth, in this &s;ea&s;on al&s;o, may obtain a favou|rable
&s;ucce&s;s, again&s;t the recruits which that old enemy hath
rallied again, under new Colours. Yet dare we not limit our
General Chri&s;t, in the time or manner of relieving us. Po&s;&s;i|bly
our hour of Temptation is not yet over; we may haply
undergo yet longer the contradictions of many &s;inners, as our
former Worthies did, in their oppo&s;ing the Romi&s;h Inva&s;ions.
Our incouragement is, that Truth will prevail to Gods honour
and to the &s;hame of errour. It becomes therefore all Chri|&s;tians
to be more zealous and faithfull in their &s;everal places,
for Truth again&s;t Errour. Magi&s;trates and Mini&s;ters being
Officers of note under the Lord of Hoa&s;ts, &s;hould be mo&s;t
forward therein, as becomes their &s;everal Functions, that
Satans &s;ugge&s;tions may be hindred, and the vain imaginations
of mens hearts: That darkne&s;s may be expelled thence, and
light &s;et is &s;tead thereof. That great God, who hath promi&s;ed
<PB N="51" REF="35">
to bring this about eminently in the later daies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 2. 13.</NOTE> by the power|full
Word of his holy Spirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> that the Purcha&s;e of his Son may
be compleatly applied to all his Elect, according to the eternal
purpo&s;e of his glorious grace, hath al&s;o promi&s;ed to ble&s;s the
labours of his &s;ervants in &s;ubordination thereto, within their
&s;everal capacities. Ble&s;&s;ed are tho&s;e &s;ervants of his, whether
Superiour or inferiours, whom their Ma&s;ter coming &s;hall find
&s;o doing. It concerns every one to begin at our own hearts,
that Satans &s;ugge&s;tions may not be yielded to, but that Chri&s;t
may garri&s;on them effectually, again&s;t all the black Regiments
of hell. We mu&s;t look therefore more watchfully to the &s;up|pre&s;&s;ing
of tho&s;e vain imaginations in our hearts, which are
&s;till acting again&s;t the Crown of Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 10. 5.</NOTE> by corre&s;ponding
treacherou&s;ly with the common enemy.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5. 8.</NOTE> We are naturally
darkne&s;s, and retain too much of it, at the be&s;t; the more
need have we to attend the light of his Truth and Grace, that
we being made light in the Lord, may walk as children of light.
The &s;en&s;ible experience of that gracious work will render us
more capable of furthering it in others. To effect &s;uch a cure,
all impediments mu&s;t be removed, former cau&s;es prevented,
and &s;utable means u&s;ed, as in Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall, &s;o in Political
relations, by the Lords peculiar &s;ervants, appointed to that
work. If Seducers be active for evil, we have much more
cau&s;e to be active for good. Up therefore and be doing, for
this work will be rewarded.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 15. 6, 7, 8.</NOTE> The Lord teach and enable our
Magi&s;trates thereto, who are entru&s;ted with &s;o much of Chri&s;ts
intere&s;t in the&s;e three Nations, that their comfort in the ble&s;&s;ed
i&s;&s;ue may be an&s;werable to their tru&s;t. All mountains &s;hall ca|&s;ily
become plain before our <HI>Zerubbabels,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 4. 10.</NOTE> when their hearts,
heads and hands do harmoniou&s;ly concur in this great enter|prize.
Let's pray and beleeve,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 19. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.</NOTE> wait and labour for it, and the
Lord &s;hall be with the good.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="postscript">
<HEAD>Po&s;t&s;cript.</HEAD>
<P>IN the clo&s;e of our Queri&s;ts Paper, we meet with a <HI>Po&s;t&s;cript,</HI>
written with another hand, which was thought fit to be in|&s;erted
here, that they might not mi&s;s of their own, nor com|plain
of &s;uppre&s;&s;ing any part. It runs thus,</P>
<P><PB N="52" REF="36">
The main end of the Propo&s;er in the&s;e mode&s;t Questions, is to
a&s;&s;ert Chri&s;t to be the &s;ole Lord and Ruler in and over the Con|&s;cience,
who obtained the &s;ame by vertue of his Death and Re&s;ur|rection;
for to this end &s;aith the Scripture, Chri&s;t died, ro&s;e and
revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living, and
that every one might give an account unto God and Chri&s;t alone,
as their own Ma&s;ter, unto whom they &s;tand or fall in judgement;
and are not in the&s;e things to be oppre&s;&s;ed and brought before the
Judgement &s;eats of men; for why &s;hould&s;t thou &s;et at naught thy
brother in matters of his faith and Con&s;cience, and herein intrude
into the proper Office of Chri&s;t? &s;ince we are all to &s;tand before the
Judgement &s;eat of Chri&s;t, whether Governours or governed; and
with his Deci&s;ion only, are capable of being declared, either in the
right, or in the wrong.</P>
<P>This &s;pecious Conclu&s;ion de&s;erves a few Animadver&s;ions.</P>
<P>1. He would in&s;inuate thereby, whoever be the Author, that
all this labour tends to the Vindication and advance of Chri&s;ts
Prerogative; whereas their de&s;ire, if obtained, would prove
mo&s;t de&s;tructive thereto, as we have demon&s;trated &s;ufficiently
in the preceding An&s;wers.</P>
<P>2. He propo&s;es his de&s;ires &s;o generally, for Univer&s;al Tole|ration
in all matters of Wor&s;hip, that the vile&s;t Bla&s;phemies,
the gro&s;&s;e&s;t Idloatry, and mo&s;t de&s;perate Here&s;ies are not to be
excluded from it.</P>
<P>3. He would per&s;wade that the Scripture is altogether for it,
whereas it's as diametrally oppo&s;ite thereto, as heaven is to hell,
as hath been cleared.</P>
<P>4. He &s;trives to &s;trip the Magi&s;trate of the be&s;t Jewel of his
Crown, and the chiefe&s;t part of his Authority, wherewith he
is entru&s;ted by Chri&s;t, in his &s;tead; the pre&s;ervation and pro|moting
of his Wor&s;hip, according to his own written Word.</P>
<P>5. He opens a gap thereby to the greate&s;t flood of Infide|lity
and wickedne&s;s, that ever can be imagined, to the &s;wift and
de&s;perate overwhelming of Truth and Peace, both in Church
and State.</P>
<P>6. He &s;weetens this poy&s;oned Cup with a handfull of Scri|pture
quotations, and plau&s;ible expre&s;&s;ions of Gods Word,
but mi&s;erably wre&s;ted and mi&s;applied, as will appear to the
Judicious peru&s;er thereof; for in&s;tance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 14. 9, 10.</NOTE> the words of Scripture
he u&s;es, we find them in <HI>Pauls</HI> Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Corinthians;</HI> where|as
<PB N="53" REF="36">
as its mo&s;t clear, by comparing them with the context and &s;cope
of that Chapter, that there is no di&s;cour&s;e of the Magi&s;trates
power there (&s;ufficiently cleared el&s;ewhere) but of every
Chri&s;tians liberty in indifferent circum&s;tantials, and particu|larly
about Jewi&s;h meats, drinks and daies, wherein he would
not have them to offend, nor take offence, by ra&s;hne&s;s of judg|ing;
nor remain un&s;etled in their con&s;cience about the &s;ame,
&s;hewing that the Kingdom of God con&s;i&s;ts not in meats, drinks,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14. 17.</NOTE>
or any &s;uch externals, but in righteou&s;ne&s;s, peace, and joy in
the holy Gho&s;t. That therefore they &s;hould u&s;e Chri&s;tian
wi&s;dom, tenderne&s;s and diligence towards each other, for their
mutual edification. There was then a &s;pecial ground moving
thereto, becau&s;e the Jewi&s;h Wor&s;hip having been &s;o long in
force, and being but lately removed, many of the Chri&s;tian
converts, (the Jews e&s;pecially) thought them&s;elves bound &s;till
to the ob&s;ervance thereof, which offended others, who were
better informed. Therefore the Apo&s;tle,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 6. 1, 2, 4.</NOTE>(who became all
things to all in &s;uch indifferent matters) did u&s;e much compll|ance
and forbearance in this ca&s;e towards weak Chri&s;tians,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 18. 18.</NOTE>
pre&s;&s;ing others to do the like,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 21. 23, 24.</NOTE> as in other places al&s;o, yea him|&s;elf
made u&s;e &s;ometimes of tho&s;e Jewi&s;h Ceremonials, having
circumci&s;ed <HI>Timothy,</HI> &s;haven his head, made vows, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> to win
the more upon the Jews his Countrymen, who were &s;o de&s;pe|ratly
incen&s;ed again&s;t him for his leaving their way. Thus the
Ceremonial Rites were gradually to receive an <HI>honourable burial.</HI>
They had been <HI>Salutiferi</HI> and precious means of grace under
that Mo&s;aical di&s;pen&s;ation of the Lords gracious Covenant,
each of them holding forth &s;omething of Chri&s;t, being the
bark, the &s;hell and garment of his &s;ub&s;tantial grace, cloathed
therewith.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10. 1, 2, 3, 4, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> They began to appear <HI>mortui,</HI> and expire after
Chri&s;ts death,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Colo&s;&s;. 2. 14.</NOTE> having been nailed to his Cro&s;s, as being a Law
of Typical Ordinances,<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 19. 30.</NOTE> which were to end, at his accompli&s;h|ment
of all things. Yet &s;ome time was required to &s;atisfie the
Jewi&s;h converts therewith, before the total removal of them all.
Whence that famous Synod of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 25. 21, 22, 23, 24.</NOTE> found it needfull to
indulge &s;ome of them for a while; yet when many Seducers
began to pre&s;s the nece&s;&s;ity of that Ceremonial Law, teaching
them to re&s;t thereon al&s;o for righteou&s;ne&s;s, at <HI>Colo&s;&s;us</HI> in <HI>Ga|latia,</HI>
&amp;c. then did <HI>Paul</HI> appear expre&s;ly again&s;t them in his
Epi&s;tles,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 2. 11.</NOTE> yea he re&s;i&s;ted <HI>Peter</HI> to his face about it. That Apo|&s;tolical
<PB N="54" REF="37">
Synod al&s;o, proceeded formally again&s;t them, and &s;o
&s;etled the Chri&s;tian Wor&s;hip,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 15.</NOTE> allowing a &s;olemn funeral to
tho&s;e Ceremonial Rites, which afterwards became <HI>Lethiferi</HI>
and deadly, in the abu&s;e thereof. The &s;en&s;e then of this whole
fourteenth Chapter to the <HI>Romans</HI> being &s;o clear, it's a gro&s;s
perverting thereof, to per&s;wade thereby an univer&s;al Toleration
of all irreligion and ba&s;ene&s;s, if it be but mantled with the pre|tence
of con&s;cience.</P>
<P>7. Ob&s;erve a cozening Paralogi&s;m, and fal&s;e arguing run|ning
through every vein of this clo&s;e, as of all the Queries;
concluding from a particular affirmative, to univer&s;al ne|gatives,
pleading for a Toleration of all things, in all per&s;ons,
in point of Religion, becau&s;e &s;ome, in &s;ome Circum&s;tantials
were to be born with by private Chri&s;tians, and to forbear each
other in their judgement thereof.</P>
<P>8. If any of the&s;e Arguments &s;hould have any force to di&s;|prove
the Magi&s;trates power, in ruling the externals of man by
Civil Laws and penalties, according to the clear Word of God
in the point of Wor&s;hip, (which is the thing controverted
here, if any) it will be as effectual again&s;t every power of the
Magi&s;trate, about the &s;econd Table al&s;o, there being no evil
&s;o great, but it hath been and may &s;till be di&s;gui&s;ed, under pre|tence
of Con&s;cience, witne&s;s the Ranting and Quaking crue of
<HI>Germany,</HI> in the former Century; and their di&s;ciples now
among us, as <HI>James Nailer, George Fox,</HI> &amp;c. So that the Ma|gi&s;tratical
Office will be wholly taken away, and that grand Or|dinance
of heaven, appointed &s;o eminently for Gods honour
and mans good &s;hall be enervated and nullified.</P>
<P>Whil&s;t I was peru&s;ing of the forenamed Papers, I was oc|ca&s;ioned
to review a Book, Printed 1644. by M^r <HI>Charles Black|wood,</HI>
Intitled, <HI>The Sterming of Antichri&s;t in his two la&s;t and
&s;tronge&s;t Garri&s;ons of Compul&s;ion of Con&s;cience, and Infant Bap|ti&s;m,</HI>
and find the&s;e Queries to be extracted out of that Book,
at lea&s;t a full agreement therewith almo&s;t in every word, if not
altogether. Many Books of the like nature, as the <HI>Bloody
Tenent,</HI> and other Pamphlets, have been &s;cattered up and down
the&s;e Nations within the&s;e twelve years, as the like were in
<HI>Germany</HI> and <HI>Poland</HI> formerly: The point of who&s;e Rea&s;ons are
&s;o unhappily bent, that if it prove any thing, it will prove the
<PB N="55" REF="37">
&s;ubver&s;ion of all Magi&s;tratical power. It's a Levelling princi|ple
of &s;o &s;ad a con&s;equence, and the ground thereof &s;o laid
upon a continued mi&s;take of Scripture and Rea&s;on, that it
nearly concerns all Chri&s;ts friends, and all true Patriots to detect
and di&s;claim the fallaciou&s;ne&s;s thereof. As for M^r <HI>Black|woods</HI>
piece; his &s;econd part about Infant-Bapti&s;m was abun|dantly
confuted, with all the Books of the like import, by
many choice pens. In 1654. <HI>Blake</HI> his Antagoni&s;t, printed
a full an&s;wer thereto, which was &s;ucceeded by M^r <HI>Mar&s;hals</HI>
Vindication, M^r <HI>Baxters,</HI> M^r <HI>Sydenhams,</HI> and others in <HI>Eng|land;</HI>
as in <HI>Ireland</HI> by D^r <HI>Winter,</HI> D^r <HI>Worth,</HI> &amp;c. Who have
maintained this &s;ort of Chri&s;ts Kingdom again&s;t all the a&s;&s;aults
of di&s;&s;enters. And for his fir&s;t part about compul&s;ion of
con&s;cience, it labors of the &s;ame mi&s;takes that we have ob&s;erv|ed
in our Queri&s;t all along, be&s;ides &s;everal &s;elf-contradictions.
M^r <HI>Thomas Cobbet</HI> an&s;wered M^r <HI>Blackwood</HI> and his con&s;orts a|bout
Infant-Bapti&s;m long ago to the full; and hath an&s;wered
all oppo&s;ers of the Magi&s;trates Power, in his late piece printed
1653. mo&s;t &s;ub&s;tantially. When tho&s;e &s;olid pieces of his
and others, about the&s;e points, are an&s;wered to the purpo&s;e,
di&s;&s;enters may be further heard. Till then, we &s;hall have little
rea&s;on to regard, what &s;hall be &s;aid or written by any of
them in their ranewed cavils, touching the &s;ame, &s;o fully con|&s;uted
already. It's the fatal lot of Arguments mounted again&s;t
Truth in our late controver&s;ies, e&s;pecially about the Magi&s;trates
power; that either they are too weakly or too &s;trongly charged,
either &s;aying nothing, or proving more then they would grant
them&s;elves: either they charge not to any purpo&s;e; or el&s;e
they over-charge, and break, doing mi&s;chief to pur|po&s;e.</P>
<P>I have been per&s;waded to publi&s;h the&s;e hints for a caution to
all in the&s;e &s;lippery dayes, wherein &s;o many profe&s;&s;ors are rea|dy
to &s;lide into gro&s;s errors before they be aware. My heart
cannot but bleed at the &s;en&s;ible review of our unchri&s;tian Apo|&s;ta&s;ies
from the Will and Wayes of God. The woful di&s;tracti|ons
of Gods people, and the multiplied delu&s;ions of &s;educers
among us, could not but move my pen after the moving of my
heart. The crouding of Quakers into the&s;e parts, e&s;pecially
into this<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In the begin|ning of <HI>Decem.</HI> 1656.</NOTE> City, hath been a great occa&s;ion of the&s;e lines. The
<PB N="56" REF="38">
forenamed Quere clande&s;tinely &s;ealed up and &s;uper&s;cribed to
Colonel <HI>Henry Ingold&s;bey,</HI> our Vigilant Governor, to di&s;&s;wade
him from that noble Work, whereto he found him&s;elf emi|nently
obliged for Chri&s;t and the publike in the di&s;charge of his
great Tru&s;t here. The tumultuou&s;ne&s;s of the Quaking rout
had &s;everal times di&s;turbed, both the Wor&s;hipers of God, and
the publick Peace. They had en&s;nared many of our &s;ouldiers,
infected divers of our Citizens, gathered many di&s;ciples in the
Garri&s;ons and Country, and railed mo&s;t vilely at the Magi|&s;trates
and Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t. They had &s;pread multitudes of
Pamphlets, Libels and Papers, full of their &s;ad &s;tuffe, and by
all po&s;&s;ible ways labored to gather a &s;trong party, de&s;peratly
engaged to their way. What the drift and i&s;&s;ue thereof might
prove, the Judicious might ea&s;ily gue&s;s by &s;uch demon&s;trati|ons.
Divers Papi&s;ts among us began to like their way, finding
it &s;o like to the Monki&s;h cour&s;e of their Friars; many ignorant
and un&s;table &s;ouls were daily en&s;nared and endangered, publike
Out cries were made by their party again&s;t our faithful Gover|nor
and other Magi&s;trates, e&s;pecially again&s;t the Per&s;ons and
Office of the Go&s;pel Mini&s;ters, as al&s;o again&s;t Chri&s;ts Ordi|nances,
his Word, Sacraments, Prayers, Sabbath, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> They
mole&s;ted us daily from &s;everal parts of <HI>Ireland</HI> and <HI>England.</HI>
Being turned out, they returned again with their old tricks re|newed.
Our watchful Governor could not be quiet for them,
nor any of the Lords faithful &s;ervants, <HI>Francis Hogil,</HI> and <HI>Ed|ward
Burrough John Perrot</HI> and Cornet <HI>Cock, Humphrey Nor|ton,</HI>
and <HI>William Ames, Barbary Blaydon,</HI> and <HI>Sarah Bennet,</HI>
with divers others of that Gang, have been &s;o extreamly
trouble&s;ome, that our Governor was forced to take the be&s;t
cour&s;e he could for their conviction and others &s;afety. I my
&s;elf had &s;pent divers hours, at divers &s;ea&s;ons, with the chief of
them, and peru&s;ed their Papers and Books, full of ab&s;urd and
vile Notions: No means attempted could do them any good.
Their &s;ugard &s;tuffe was ea&s;ily &s;wallowed down, by &s;uch who&s;e
mind was &s;eeking &s;till where to &s;ettle; their <HI>Circean</HI> cup plea&s;ed
di&s;tempered Palats. To take of the zeal off our Rulers, if they
could, the afore&s;aid Queries were &s;ecretly di&s;per&s;ed here,
the peru&s;al where of &s;tirred up my Spirit to the detecting of that
cheat.</P>
<P>I had al&s;o thought to have an&s;wered the Quakers Queries
<PB N="57" REF="38">
&s;ent me before, which they importunately pre&s;&s;ed in to their
u&s;ual Rhetorick,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 26. 4, 5.</NOTE> having an eye to that of the Wi&s;e man, of
an&s;wering a fool, effectually, though not in his way. But
finding the &s;aid Queries to be the very &s;ame in &s;ub&s;tance, if not
<HI>verbatim,</HI> which as a common Babble, they had formerly been
&s;ent to M^r <HI>Eaton,</HI> M^r <HI>Baxter,</HI> M^r <HI>Farmer,</HI> and others by their
con&s;orts, already fully an&s;wered, I de&s;i&s;ted not willing to mi&s;|pend
&s;o much precious time; The multiplicious Work, where|to
I am nece&s;&s;itated in this City, by my Mini&s;terial Call, affords
me not many hours of re&s;pite, and may &s;ufficiently Apologize
for any defect in this book, whether for matter, method, or
expre&s;&s;ion; yet could not my heart re&s;t till it had breathed
forth its oppre&s;&s;ing troubles in this weak manner, that all &s;uch
who own the Lords honor and the Publike Weal, might have
this warning to awaken. The noi&s;e of a few de&s;pi&s;ed creatures
were once in&s;trumental to the &s;aving of a famous State, by &s;av|ing
their Capitol.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. Liv. Flor.</NOTE> The &s;ounding of Rams horns, by Gods ap|pointment,
was in&s;trumentally ble&s;&s;ed from above,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 6. 20.</NOTE> to the
pulling down of <HI>Jericho's</HI> Walls:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hebr. 11. 30.</NOTE> <HI>Maximus Deus, et in mini|mis.</HI>
A weak crooked tool in the Lords hand may &s;erve his
turn, for the greate&s;t work at his plea&s;ere. If either by this or
any thing el&s;e any benefit accrew to Chri&s;ts friends, let him
have the Glory, and forget not in thy be&s;t Addre&s;&s;es him,
whom the Lord hath made in any degree &s;erviceable to thy
good. It's his hearts de&s;ire to be made faithful to God and his
people that he may &s;pend and be &s;pent a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ight in the fini&s;hing of
his cour&s;e with joy. That Chri&s;t may be All in All things to
thee, is his longing de&s;ire, and &s;hall be &s;till his con&s;tant
prayer.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE>Decemb. 30. 1656.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<CLOSER>&Mgr;&oacugr;&ngr;&ohigr; &sgr;&oacugr;&phgr;&ohcigr; &thgr;&egr;&ohcigr;, &dgr;&igr;&agragr; &Igr;&eegr;&sgr;&ogr;&ugr; &khgr;&rgr;&igr;&sgr;&tgr;&ogr;&ugr;, &eerougr; &dgr;&oacugr;&xgr;&agr; &egr;&ismogr;&sgr; &tgr;&ogr;&ugragr;&sgr; &agr;&ismogr;&ohcirgr;&ngr;&agr;&sfgr;. &Asmogr;&mgr;&eegragr;&ngr;.</CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
