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<NAME>Megan Marion</NAME>
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<P>THE SVVORDS ABUSE ASSERTED: or, A word to the <HI>ARMY;</HI> SHEWING, The weakne&s;s of Carnal weapons in <HI>SPIRITVAL WARFARE.</HI> The Sword an U&s;ele&s;s Tool in <HI>TEMPLE WORK:</HI> and The Bearer thereof an Unfit Builder.</P>
<P>TENDRED To the &s;erious Con&s;ideration of His Excellency, The Lord <HI>Fairfax,</HI> and His General Councel, upon occa&s;ion of their late Debates about the Clau&s;e concerning RELIGION in the promi&s;ed AGREEMENT.</P>
<P>By JOHN VERNON, &s;ometimes a Mem|ber of the <HI>ARMY.</HI></P>
<Q><BIBL>LUKE 11.48.</BIBL>
<P>Truly ye bear witne&s;s, that ye allow the deed; of your fathers, for they indeed killed the Prophets, and ye build their Sepulchres.</P></Q>
<Q><L>Simulata &s;anctitas e&s;t duplex iniquitas.</L>
<L>Fides &s;ua &s;ponte non coacte agere vult, Chri&s;tus non voluit</L>
<L>vi &amp; Gladio cogere homines ad fidem.</L></Q>
<P>Imprinted for <HI>John Harris,</HI> Decemb. 1648.</P>
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<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>To His Excellency, THOMAS Lord FAIRFAX, &amp;c.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>My Lord,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>HAving directed the Title Page of this little Treati&s;e &s;omewhat too general, and being de&s;irous in &s;uch undertakings to &s;peak as well di&s;cerningly, as without re&s;pect to ends or per&s;ons impartially; The a&s;&s;urance I had, and hope I have yet of your continued tender|ne&s;s and &s;implicity, con&s;trains me to expre&s;s you by my Pen, who &s;tand truly in my heart amongst the lea&s;t Impo&s;tors mentioned in the following Di&s;cour&s;e: Yet this Epi&s;tle truly mu&s;t forewarn you would not now in Power forget (God) your former Strength, by making filthy Policy your Refuge, in Courting any Parties, with con&s;ent to their cruel and lu&s;tful de&s;ire of Re&s;trictive reigning over others Con&s;cience; Which &s;hould not onely &s;oon requite many (your mo&s;t Chri&s;tian Adherents) with inevitable Slavery or Ruine, for all their faithful Services; but al&s;o quickly overthrow our Common Peace, for which (with Thou&s;ands &s;lain) their lives and yours have been &s;o long expo&s;ed, or re-in&s;lave us at the be&s;t, in as bad as for|mer Thraldom. And truly, my Lord, (though in God there was Mercy, yet) if you look back, there is more rea&s;on your Councel &s;hould mourn over, then be in love with, glory in, or now repeat their la&s;t years Policy, henceforth deal plainly, and beware no fal&s;e Re&s;erve (in Imperious brea&s;ts) do re-divide them, and pre&s;ent the &s;ame advantage to your Enemy; &s;o may you be unable to avoid, (through all their Policy) your own or Countreys &s;adly forewarn'd of, much fear'd and threatned Slavery. Finally, be pleas'd (at lei|&s;ure) to read over this poor Treati&s;e, and if yet you finde your heart or hand to any Crime herein recorded, I much de&s;ire in your behalf Chri&s;ts (onely able) weapon may re&s;train it: And that <HI>Englands</HI> Common Right and Freedom may be the compleat Account of your Steward&s;hip, Your &s;elf al&s;o enjoy the Heavenly Freedom of e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters">|la&s;ting Felicity, is the unfeigned de&s;ire of</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Excellencies faithful Servant, in what&s;oever h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters">n di&s;cern you faithfully &s;erve your Countrey, <HI>J. V.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<HEAD><HI>The SWORDS abu&s;e a&s;&s;erted:</HI> OR, A word to the ARMY.</HEAD>
<P>HAving the priviledge to be pre&s;ent at your Con&s;ultation about the pretended Agreement, I rejoyced greatly to hear your concurrence in &s;ome things indeed con|ducing to the common welfare, which I &s;hould be as &s;ad to &s;ee bla&s;ted through Debates about Religious Wor&s;hip, which is &s;o exceedingly beyond your &s;phaere and mea&s;ure, that if not ma|naged with &s;utable &s;implicity, and more then your ordinary meekne&s;s and &s;elf-denial, may prove the mi&s;erable mi&s;carriage of that &s;econd Price repo&s;ed in your hands to improve for this oppre&s;&s;ed Nation: For prevention whereof, I &s;hall with all &s;ingle|ne&s;s pro&s;trate my weak a&s;&s;i&s;tance by advice, That you confer not with Powers or Policy in this matter; but as your &s;elves would be indeed accounted Chri&s;tians, and not (as &s;ome &s;u&s;pect) over-bya&s;&s;ed, according to the exigency of Civil Intere&s;t, nor the in&s;piration of the great things of this world; as you will allow Chri&s;t indeed to be Supream, and his proclaimed Law your line (at lea&s;t for the work of his own Wor&s;hip and Temple) I pray you mea&s;ure your proceedings herein by the patern of his Scriptures: For, I mu&s;t tell you, though your policy may appear in the managing of the uncertain Affairs of an Earthly and Politique State, yet, if you intermeddle with matters beyond that &s;phaere, <HI>viz</HI> The ordering of the vi&s;ible Wor&s;hip and Service of God, wherein all are alike &s;ubject, and your &s;elves as unskilful as any, whereunto no Terre&s;tial Poten|tate hath a Grain more Title then the poore&s;t Pea&s;ant, nor is able to &s;ubdue the lea&s;t of his own or anothers &s;ins, and in which Kingdom Chri&s;t alone &s;hould have the Dominion, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.24. and wherein its &s;in to be the &s;ervants of men, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI>
<PB N="4" REF="3">7.23. I &s;ay, However you determine of earthly Affairs now in your hands, to the overturning or altering &s;uch Govern|ments, Beware how you go about to gain any Party what&s;o|ever, by gratifying their proud Expectations of Dominion or Preeminence in the&s;e Heavenly affairs (never committed to your &s;elves) le&s;t you be judged Infringers of, or Copartners with, whats committed alone to be both governed, ordered and &s;tabli&s;hed for evermore in Ju&s;tice and Judgement by the Scepter of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 9.7. wherein you may not adde nor dimini&s;h, neither alter or repeal the lea&s;t tittle of that mo&s;t Royal Rule, under penalty of everla&s;ting ruine, <HI>Rev.</HI> 22.19. For if you herein plea&s;e men, you &s;hall be judged by the impartial Judgement of Truth to be none of the &s;ervants of Chri&s;t, <HI>Gal.</HI> 1.10. and con&s;equently Idolaters, 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 18.21. Having thus pre&s;ented my Advice, I crave your &s;ingle con&s;ideration of the en&s;uing Scriptures and Rea&s;ons, which through Grace, may contribute towards the an&s;wering of your <HI>Quaere,</HI>
<Q>Whether the Civil Magi&s;trate, though he &s;hall not compel, yet may not re&s;train tho&s;e who profe&s;s not Chri&s;tianity from divulging their Principles, e&s;pecially by vi&s;ible Wor&s;hip or Practice in Idolatry?</Q></P>
<P>Whereunto, Fir&s;t, I mu&s;t needs affirm, That my capacity cannot di&s;cern your di&s;tinction betwixt the Compul&s;ive and Re&s;trictive Power, being fully per&s;waded, That the former (though &s;eemingly here excepted) is &s;ufficiently included in the latter; and he who hath power for the latter, &s;hall by frequent re&s;training upon every frivolous occa&s;ion, make me re&s;tle&s;s, until I read his plea&s;ure, That I Wor&s;hip as he Wor&s;hips, and &s;o I feel his Power to the former. And indeed, though the Re&s;tri|ctive may be different, as being the forerunner, yet it ever cen|ter'd in the Compul&s;ive; and the mo&s;t cruel of Tyrants have fir&s;t appeared but in the Re&s;trictive: and therefore the <HI>Phari&s;ees intreat Chri&s;t to preach no more in their Countrey;</HI> and the Jews fir&s;t charge the Apo&s;tles, <HI>To &s;peak no more in the Name of this Je&s;us,</HI> before they execute the rigor of Compul&s;ion; and &s;o
<PB N="5" REF="3">Compul&s;ion comes in as the con&s;equent, if men continue incor|rigible after Re&s;triction.</P>
<P>Secondly, Hereby I make the Civil Magi&s;trate Judge of Chri|&s;tianity; which as none can a&s;&s;ume without &s;in, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.24. &s;o none can con&s;ent to, without being guilty of &s;trong endeavors to dethrone the Lord Je&s;us, to whom this Judgement alone is committed, and who&s;e Scepter onely can &s;way the Con&s;cience, and &s;ubdue the proud imagination of the &s;toute&s;t Idolaters: So that its indeed a way in&s;ufficient to effect the overthrow of Ido|latry or Antichri&s;tianity; wherein al&s;o you would bewray your great pride, in over-advancing the Civil Power, to the under|valuing of the Word of God, which onely is able to re&s;train from Idolatry, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.5. and herein you would not onely be guilty of exceeding diffidence, in e&s;teeming ineffectual that way of his Word, which he hath e&s;teemed &s;ufficiently powerful for this work, <HI>Heb</HI> 4.12. but indeed could not di&s;charge your &s;elves from being guilty of making God a lyar, who hath given this record of his Son, That he alone was &s;ent, and &s;ufficiently &s;eal|ed for the re&s;training of poor Sinners, by compelling them to the Wor&s;hip of his Father, and that by no Humane Power or &s;triving, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 42.2. but <HI>by the Sword of his Mouth.</HI> And as he never a&s;&s;umed any &s;uch Civil Power of re&s;training the mo&s;t re|fractory, &s;o he hath Commi&s;&s;ioned no other with it; But to preach the Go&s;pel and long-&s;ufferance of God, which onely leads to Repentance: And this was <HI>Pauls</HI> Re&s;trictive power he exerci&s;ed upon <HI>Mars-hill,</HI> amid&s;t a crowd of <HI>Athenian</HI> Ido|laters, <HI>As I pa&s;&s;ed by and beheld your Devotions</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>I found an Altar with this In&s;cription,</HI> TO THE UNKNOVVN GOD; <HI>whom therefore ye ignorantly wor&s;hip, him declare I unto you:</HI> This is a &s;ure way of re&s;training from Idolatry; <HI>And daily in the Jews Synagogues did Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles rea&s;on again&s;t Super&s;tition and fal&s;e wor&s;hip,</HI> which you will not now have &s;o di&s;turbed: To which al&s;o I mu&s;t needs give this Caution, That if Chri&s;t &s;end a &s;ervant, as (its probable) &s;aying, <HI>What I have revealed to you in &s;ecret, preach you on the hou&s;e top; Go to the publique Synagogue in this &s;ea&s;on of their a&s;&s;embling, which otherwi&s;e you cannot procure; Go, I &s;ay, and rea&s;on with them,
<PB N="6" REF="4">for they are in all things too &s;uper&s;titious,</HI> Do not you run the hazard of re&s;training in this ca&s;e, under pretence of di&s;turbance: If their publique way be according to the way of Chri&s;t, the priviledge of Di&s;puting what was delivered is according to the Directory of Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14.22. But if their Wor&s;hip be (as its to be feared) un&s;utable to the Way and Wor&s;hip of Chri&s;t, take heed of re&s;training tho&s;e that would go &s;ingly to &s;hew them a better way, le&s;t you conclude Chri&s;t (who&s;e Practice was, and Precept is, the &s;ame) a di&s;turber. But</P>
<P>Thirdly, The conviction of the Under&s;tanding being the foundation of Conver&s;ion, and that being a faculty which can|not be forced, nor &s;atisfied without an overcoming Rea&s;on pre|vailing over what it hath fir&s;t received. A powerful Argument would &s;oon &s;ubdue that noble part, when Civil Re&s;traint would increa&s;e prejudice, and confirm ob&s;curity; and therefore the way of God is rather, <HI>Come, let us rea&s;on together;</HI> and, <HI>I be|&s;eech you therefore, Brethren, by the tender mercies of God</HI> (or, fora&s;much as God is thus merciful) <HI>that you offer up your bodies a living &s;acrifice, holy and acceptable, which is your rea&s;onable &s;ervice, &amp;c.</HI> This is a Chri&s;tians way of re&s;training; Which Apo&s;tle al&s;o commends the <HI>Bereans</HI> nobility, for refu&s;ing to re|ceive him implicitely, until they were confirmed in the truth of his Doctrine by &s;crutiny: And, I &s;ay, a noble Spirit the Carnal Sword can never re&s;train, but who ere attempts it, &s;hall but partake (at be&s;t) in other mens Hypocri&s;ie.</P>
<P>Fourthly, Humane Re&s;triction is &s;o incon&s;i&s;tent with the ve|ry name and nature of the Go&s;pel, that a man cannot mention &s;uch a thing, without including him&s;elf among&s;t the Enemies thereof: If your pre&s;ident for it be from the Law (wherein indeed &s;uch Re&s;triction would better &s;uit with literal &s;er|vices, e&s;pecially the Re&s;trainers being as well Typical as the Sacrifices) <HI>You are debtors to the whole Law, to do it;</HI> and, <HI>Chri&s;t &s;hall profit you nothing:</HI> But if you indeed pur&s;ue Chri&s;ti|anity as you pretend, why propo&s;e you &s;uch Oppo&s;ition to it? which imports nothing but a proffer of Peace, Love, Gentle|ne&s;s, glad Tidings, Freedom, and not forcible re&s;traint, even
<PB N="7" REF="4">to the poore&s;t of Captives, to flat Idolaters; and on the con|trary, Violence, Fury, de&s;ire after Civil Power to re&s;train, &amp;c. is the lively Character of men not yet reformed by the power of the Go&s;pel: This was poor <HI>Pauls Dama&s;cus</HI> work, <HI>Acts</HI> 9.2.13. which he &s;o much di&s;owned, <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 22. when he had in|deed ta&s;ted the more milde nature of Chri&s;tianity. Moreover, if your Policy be not become Scripture proof, I &s;hall propo&s;e &s;ome &s;o plainly po&s;itive again&s;t this Re&s;trictive Power, that I believe you cannot rea&s;onably evade; as, <HI>Mat.</HI> 13.28. If you plea&s;e to peru&s;e that place, you &s;hall perceive a zealous &s;ervant for the honor of Chri&s;t, di&s;cerning clearly the Enemies of Chri&s;t, and was al&s;o told they were &s;uch by Chri&s;t, apparent Idolaters, for they were the vi&s;ible children of the Devil, com|pared to Tares; of a very ill quality, e&s;pecially growing Tares, the mo&s;t at enmity with Wheat of any Weed that groweth: Well, the Servant de&s;ires to de&s;troy them, <HI>No,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>le&s;t you pluck up the wheat likewi&s;e:</HI> Yes, but might he not re&s;train them? <HI>No, let them grow,</HI> &amp;c. from which An&s;wer I conceive may be clearly and &s;afely concluded, That men, though the &s;ervants of Chri&s;t, and clearly di&s;cerning his Enemies, may not yet pluck them up, or re&s;train them by a Humane Power with|out tre&s;pa&s;s, again&s;t the expre&s;s command of Chri&s;t, who hath re|&s;erved that work to his Harve&s;t, the end of the world, &amp;c. <HI>v.</HI> 38. Fifthly, Its the mo&s;t u&s;ual thing in the world for Chri&s;tians in|deed to be plucked up and re&s;trained, though under other Noti|ons; and that perhaps might be the Rea&s;on why Chri&s;t refu&s;ed to &s;uffer any re&s;training pre&s;ident, though by a Tare-di&s;cerning &s;ervant: I pray you then agree you to none in our Erroneous age, wherein is nothing more common then to put a Chri&s;tian into a Bears skin, when men intend to bait him, and the Magi|&s;trate (&s;o called) as prone to mi&s;cal good evil, and evil good as any.</P>
<Q>I but &s;ay &s;ome, though the Magi&s;trate Que&s;tion any, if he do but &s;ay Sir, I profe&s;s Chri&s;tianity, its &s;ufficient to &s;e|cure him, &amp;c.</Q>
<P>To which I An&s;wer, That let him &s;ay what he will, it mu&s;t
<PB N="8" REF="5">not then be as the accu&s;ed &s;ays, but as he whom you make Judge determines in the&s;e Re&s;trictive ca&s;es, which if any people could po&s;&s;ibly, or dur&s;t be &s;o bruti&s;h to betru&s;t, With who&s;oe|ever &s;hould pre&s;ume the execution hereof, I am per&s;waded it would be more effectual to &s;ay
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mar. 7.11.</NOTE> <HI>Corban,</HI> then, Sir, I am a Chri&s;ti|an, to free me from his &s;nare: And &s;ure I am, let a man &s;ay what he will for him&s;elf, he cannot &s;ay more then Chri&s;t Je&s;us could (and did) for the clearing of his innocency; and yet the Re|&s;trictive Sentence <HI>(Nemine contradicenti)</HI> concluded him a Bla&s;phemer, a Wine-bibber, a Companion with Harlots, a man not fit to live, becau&s;e he would not be re&s;trained, &amp;c. Nei|ther indeed do the mo&s;t cruel among&s;t Tyrants per&s;ecute or re|&s;train Chri&s;tians, as Chri&s;tians, but under other horrid criminal Notions, &amp;c. which have ever been a poor Chri&s;tians portion, as being the &s;tanding Principle of all oppre&s;&s;ing Powers, to vi|lifie, that they may pluck up or re&s;train whom&s;oever they cannot otherways more voluntarily &s;ubject unto their lu&s;ts; Witne&s;s the Ordinance of Parliament lately renewed, for the re&s;training and puni&s;hing of men as Bla&s;phemers and Sectaries, even with Death, for many Points con&s;onant with &s;ound Chri&s;tiani|ty, &s;o unskilful are our Civil Stewards in &s;uch Affairs; nor can any commit &s;uch tru&s;t unto them, becau&s;e they could not indeed give, nor the people who &s;hould betru&s;t them could po&s;&s;ibly take, an account from them in &s;uch ca&s;es, &s;o confu&s;ed is the judge|ment of the univer&s;al, that we cannot expect a concurrance of any party con&s;iderable in the Nation, in Principles of Chri&s;tia|nity; and, I hope, there's none that a&s;pire to any power, but what the People &s;hall inve&s;t them with, and may repeal, as they &s;hall &s;ee &s;uch their Servants proceedings conduce to or again&s;t their common &s;afety, which by Nature all men are enabled to determine. Or if any among&s;t you &s;hall contend for other Power, then whats thus betru&s;ted in his hands, and him&s;elf ac|countable unto tho&s;e who betru&s;ted him, he &s;hal not free him&s;elf from being a Tyrant, &s;eeking &s;ome private Factions, or his own &s;ingle Intere&s;t, to the &s;ubverting of the Common Freedom, and &s;o ought to be proceeded again&s;t according to your own patern or pre&s;ident, again&s;t him or them who thus before op|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters">&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">d us.</P>
<PB N="9" REF="5">
<P>Moreover the fury of <HI>Smectimnius</HI> and others, though &s;ome|times groaning under this re&s;traint them&s;elves, having yet in their deliverance and arbitrarily u&s;urped power u&s;ed the &s;ame violence not only to their fellow &s;ufferers, but towards even tho&s;e who wa&s;ted them&s;elves to effect their freedom, (though we might in faith, which yet no friend to Chri&s;t dares a&s;&s;ert,) yet con&s;idering the common frailty, e&s;pecially in men, deputed to publique Tru&s;t, the be&s;t of whom have not well di&s;charged their &s;ix years Se&s;&s;ion, as civil Repre&s;entatives, through their continuing &s;o long unac|countable &s;hall I tru&s;t &s;ufficiently forewarn us, that we depute no &s;uch power, whereof they cannot po&s;&s;ibly be accountable, except we will herein become the &s;inful &s;ervants of men, and &s;et them up in the &s;tead of Chri&s;t, yea to Lord it over the flock of Chri&s;t, and &s;it Judg as if in the room of Chri&s;t, which as none can do without mo&s;t Antichri&s;tian Tyranny, &s;o none can de&s;ire to depute him to without partaking of his great Iniquity; for indeed this is the An|tichri&s;t, to deny Chri&s;t come in the Fle&s;h, by depriving him of his Offices; and though your &s;elves &s;hould &s;ay, you profe&s;s Chri&s;t, and yet contend (as herein) to a&s;&s;ume the kingly Office of Chri&s;t, you will be found no &s;uch friends, as you e&s;teem your &s;elves, to Chri&s;tianity.</P>
<P>Furthermore, if we &s;hould reflect unto former times, &s;hould we con&s;ider poor <HI>I&s;raels</HI> po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing the <HI>Canaanities</HI> &s;ins with their Nation? <HI>Amazaahs</HI> adoring the gods of <HI>Seir,</HI> when he had redu|ced the <HI>Edomites,</HI> 2 Chron. 25.14. and inumerable &s;uch examples, both in pri&s;tine and pre&s;ent time, would &s;o confirm any faithful man in the frailty of the mo&s;t faithful and de&s;erving; that though they &s;hould fray away the horns of former oppre&s;&s;ors, <HI>Zech.</HI> 1.21. he would not repo&s;e to him any &s;uch re&s;trictive power in &s;piritual ca&s;es, (wherein he cannot po&s;&s;ible be accountable,) nor indeed any civil Tru&s;t without con&s;tant account, as occa&s;ion &s;erves, how he hath performed it: For in the fir&s;t he &s;hould be ab&s;olutely guilty of dethroning the Lord Je&s;us; by the latter al&s;o he would incou|rage men (as of late) to &s;uch corruptions, that to keep them&s;elves from account, they would endeavor to en&s;lave tho&s;e who intru&s;ted them.</P>
<P>I mu&s;t add one word more to the unfitne&s;s of the Magi&s;trate a|bove
<PB N="10" REF="6">all others, as con&s;idering how much more Self-Denial it would require in him then in another, to be &s;ingle in the&s;e affairs, as con&s;idering him, continued by the con&s;ent, and originally the e|lective of the people, who, though he might be fit enough for civil and accountable &s;ervices, which every carnal &s;pirit would for &s;elf &s;ake &s;eek to pre&s;erve, yet probably not the quainte&s;t choice to be Judg in matter of Chri&s;tianity. More might be &s;aid to the &s;pirit of tho&s;e men whom you de&s;ire to delude with this compliance, as how much it would incourage them to what your con&s;cience knows they are too much inclin'd: How much you would &s;up|port, and make provi&s;ion for their &s;in and future cruelty: How much indeed you would promote mo&s;t foul Idolatry, and fill the world with Phari&s;ees and Hypocrites, and that not from the Spirit of Chri&s;t, I am &s;ure, but plain Self-Intere&s;t.</P>
<P>I &s;hould too far tre&s;pa&s;s now to be more tedious, and my in&s;uf|ficiency reproves my wading far in &s;uch a weighty &s;ubject. I will pre&s;ent you with another Scripture, and ha&s;ten to a period, but I pray you con&s;ider it impartially, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.24. <HI>The &s;ervant of the Lord mu&s;t not &s;trive,</HI> (for his Ma&s;ter did it not, <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 42:2.) <HI>but be gentle,</HI> (gentlene&s;s, it &s;eems, be&s;t befits a Chri&s;tian, and re&s;trains the rebellious,) <HI>unto all men who oppo&s;e them&s;elves,</HI> (poor Naturali&s;ts, Jews, Heathens, Idolaters, &amp;c.) yea (&s;aith that word) to tho&s;e that are &s;o in the &s;nares of the Devil, that they are taken captive, or a|live, at his plea&s;ure; and this &s;imple way is the Lord Chri&s;ts way of re&s;training: Though it confound the wi&s;dom of the wi&s;e, and be accounted an inlet to all manner of Libertini&s;m, e&s;teemed le&s;s then the carnal weapon, &amp;c. yet this way Chri&s;t hath cho&s;en, as his mighty way of re&s;training; hee'l have no unwilling wor&s;hipers, no civil re&s;training; A word of glad tydings, the Go&s;pel of Peace, is that which he proclaims to poor Idolaters; and this is the &s;word which he alone will allow of to reduce the rebellious, and make the wor&s;t of them a willing people in this day of his Power: If that this weapon were more well managed among&s;t us, your de|&s;troying one would be much more di&s;e&s;teemed, &amp;c.</P>
<P>Truly friends, you know not what &s;pirit you are of in this &s;word|re&s;training de&s;ire, &amp;c. If <HI>England</HI> &s;hould now call to an account her late civil Stewards, I &s;ee they are not able to give an account of
<PB N="11" REF="6">their earthly &s;teward&s;hip: Mo&s;t of them drunk with Iniquity, Pride, Pa&s;&s;ion, Oppre&s;&s;ion, Tyranny, protecting the rich and their great relations untaxed, without pity, grinding the face of the poor, cannot lo&s;e the lea&s;t lu&s;t to &s;et the captive and the oppre&s;&s;ed at liberty, Partial, Extortioners, Lovers of plea&s;ure, and humane prai&s;e, what not, that may compleat a wicked one, &amp;c. Mo&s;t un|con&s;cionably covetous, which the Word of God declares to be flat Idolatry, <HI>Colo&s;.</HI> 3.5.</P>
<P>And how &s;hall we tru&s;t the&s;e (if we could tru&s;t any) with re|&s;training, &amp;c? No my friends, if your faces be indeed toward the welfare and freedom of the Nation, con&s;ult rather how you may, in your place and &s;phere, re&s;train the rage of our civil wrongs, and great agrievances, by laying a &s;ure Foundation for our Countries Freedom: Confer with your fellow-Freemen of <HI>England,</HI> con|cerning it, with &s;inglene&s;s of &s;pirit, &s;ay unto them, truly you were the life of our power, by you we were lifted up into the&s;e places which men call Honorable: It's our honor truly to &s;erve you in your di&s;tre&s;s, which is our own al&s;o: Your money and other a&s;&s;i&s;tance, hath been the &s;inews of our Service: and our Service having been pro&s;pered to effect our mutual Peace, pray let's con|&s;ult how we may be &s;etled in a more firm Quiet to univer&s;al Free|dom: How we may be united again&s;t the fir&s;t appearance of Ty|ranny, &amp;c. This language would be your Laurel indeed; you might then &s;it down with great content, acknowledging Gods goodne&s;s in chu&s;ing you (the mo&s;t contemptible) to be &s;o &s;erviceable to your native Country. But alas, with &s;orrow, even to impatiency, do I con&s;ider, that after this Nation hath been the&s;e &s;even years langui&s;h|ing under a Bloody Flux, and but beginning to recover, that any of her (e&s;teemed) Doctors &s;hould, like unmerciful Mountebanks, di&s;play their policy by trying conclu&s;ions with an almo&s;t con&s;umed Nation! Oh how dare any Chri&s;tian contend for the continuing (yea, by a free Agreement, &s;upporting and renewing) of that re|&s;training power which hath been from age to age, &s;ince Chri&s;t was crucified at <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> to this pre&s;ent time, the known &s;upporter of the Dragons Cre&s;t! Oh let all that call them&s;elves Chri&s;tians be|ware they plea&s;e not men on &s;uch accounts, le&s;t they cruelly con|tract upon them&s;elves all the righteous blood that hath been &s;hed
<PB N="12" REF="7">&s;ince <HI>Abel,</HI> by ju&s;tifying Chri&s;tian crucifiers, in pleading for re|&s;trictive power, <HI>Rev.</HI> 17.13.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But you will &s;ay, What the Jewi&s;h Magi&s;trates puni&s;h|ed as evils and di&s;cernable by the light of nature, Magi&s;trates may puni&s;h now? But the Magi&s;trates re&s;trained Idolaters of old, and that as being again&s;t the light of nature, and &s;o they may now.</P>
<P>In an&s;wer to this, let us examine the true ground of Idolaters be|ing puni&s;hed, and we &s;hall find in it the&s;e three things remarkable.</P>
<P N="1">1. That they never puni&s;hed them, till they were commanded from Heaven to do it, <HI>Exod.</HI> 22.20.</P>
<P N="2">2. The people, as well as the Magi&s;trate, had a hand in puni&s;h|ing the Idolater, <HI>Deut.</HI> 13.9.</P>
<P N="3">3. The puni&s;hment is exactly there de&s;cribed, and &s;o, if we make that our rule, we mu&s;t not mangle it according to our own imaginations; But death even to wives or ne<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters">&s;t relations was here commanded, and yet as well for &s;ecret as publique Idolatry: Neither were Idolaters &s;uffered to live in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> but to be driven out. Be&s;ides, they had a compul&s;ive power, as well as a re&s;trictive, <HI>Deut.</HI> 6.13. All which indeed did lively repre&s;ent, in every of tho&s;e particulars, the power of Chri&s;t, and the &s;piritual order of his Church in the Go&s;pel, and hath now no relation to any Nation or Civil Power what&s;oever, which to affirm would but render the ob&s;erver mainly di&s;obedient to his own rule, which requires exact obedience; &s;o al&s;o would it thwart the very drift of the Go&s;pel, which is, without re&s;pect to any nation, tongue or kindred, to gather out of every nation a people unto Chri&s;t: and therefore, in order to that work, his &s;ervants are to conver&s;e with Idolaters, and may have civil &s;ociety with them al&s;o, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.10. I might &s;peak yet to the va&s;t di&s;agreement betwixt <HI>England</HI> and <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and their Magi&s;trates; but I think no man, except &s;uch who plead now National Churches for their profit, or ab&s;olute Monarchy through their a&s;piring hope, can well conceit a paralel.</P>
<P>Yet if you de&s;ire to be Re&s;trainers of fal&s;e wor&s;hip, &s;eeing the civil Sword in &s;piritual affairs is the &s;upporter of the bea&s;t &amp; not Chri&s;ts way of re&s;training, it remains that we u&s;e Chri&s;ts weapons only in his work, and rather that you pity poor Idolaters, even as God for Chri&s;ts &s;ake pityed us; And, con&s;idering that &s;uch were all of
<PB N="13" REF="7">you, that you now apply your &s;elves &s;uitably to &s;uccor &s;uch poor creatures, who oppo&s;e them&s;elvs; be&s;eeching them, as if in Chri&s;t &s;tead, to be reconciled unto God: convincing their under|&s;tanding, and &s;o re&s;training them from Idolatry. You who call your &s;elves Chri&s;tians, giving no occa&s;ion of &s;tumbling by a vain conver|&s;ation, &amp;c. &s;hould hereby add much to the re&s;traint of fal&s;e wor|&s;hip, yea and compel to the true, if your &s;elves walked Chri&s;tian|like in it: When by a&s;&s;uming to confer on others a power which never was, nor can &s;afely be committed to your &s;elves, you &s;hould become the chief in re&s;training of Chri&s;tianity, in &s;owing of inno|cent blood, and reaping hypocri&s;ie.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But would you then have Idolaters to dwell among&s;t us? Men may then live as they li&s;t?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> I would neither have them live as they nor as you li&s;t, but wi&s;h that you, as they, were more led by light and truth, &s;etting you free from all fal&s;e ways, attempts, and wor&s;hips: But I would indeed have all Jews or Heathens, or what ever Ignorants are Native, with all &s;uch Forreign you invite to traffique and &s;uffer to inhabit, as freely to Conver&s;e as Commerce with you, with|out re&s;traint upon religious Cau&s;es; and that you would con&s;ider your &s;elves might never have been converted, if you &s;hould not &s;o have been freely &s;uffered; nor that you would, by any practice in your pride, reprove Chri&s;t for providing no other way to re&s;train Idolatry. I have heard of a few Chri&s;tians that wrought righteou&s;ne&s;s over Idolatrous Nations by the power of their word, but never of Idolaters that &s;o &s;ubverted Chri&s;tians; for its the word of Chri&s;ts patience, and a name written in the book of life &s;hall pre&s;erve and e&s;tabli&s;h them, when all the world be|fide&s;hall wonder after the bea&s;t and wor&s;hip him; they can freely conver&s;e with Heathens, and account it their meat and drink, yea it &s;hall renew their &s;trength to di&s;cour&s;e with poor Idolaters, e|&s;pecially in their publique a&s;&s;emblies: You that have ta&s;ted of the Word of Chri&s;t, know this to be the re&s;trictive power and way of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But if you will allow this, we may quickly have our civil State &s;ubverted?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> To this the experience of other Nations might be a &s;uffi|cient
<PB N="14" REF="8">an&s;wer: let any man con&s;ider the flouri&s;hing e|&s;tate of the Low Countries ever &s;ince they &s;uffered e|very man to wor&s;hip according to his Con&s;cience, and even the Lews them&s;elves to wor&s;hip in their pub|like Synagogues; And let it be ob&s;erved, that while&s;t every man enjoys his Liberty, it is his proper Intere&s;t to endeavor the Pre&s;ervation of that Common-wealth (for in that he pre&s;erves him&s;elf,) and in the &s;ubver&s;ion of &s;uch a State no &s;ort of people could be gainers, only it might be the Intere&s;t of one, or &s;ome few men, to en|deavor to tyrannize over the re&s;t. But there would be no great danger of their prevailing, becau&s;e the whole multitudes Intere&s;t lead them to oppo&s;e any &s;uch at|tempts. Yet if a fuller an&s;wer be thought nece&s;&s;ary, I may &s;hew clearly that there is no danger of the &s;ubvert|ing the State, by rea&s;on of every mans wor&s;hiping God according to his Con&s;cience; For a State cannot be &s;ubverted but either by force, or by a general con&s;ent of the people. The Force is ea&s;ily prevented, when the fir&s;t thirty men, meeting in Arms for any &s;uch end, are by the Law Traytors, and may be proceeded again&s;t accordingly; and I &s;uppo&s;e no man will imagine it po&s;&s;ible to &s;ubvert the State by a general con&s;ent of the People, when there will be &s;uch a variety of judgments, and every man is free, and in fear of a change, le&s;t he be a lo&s;er by it.</P>
<P>Finally, having through the Di&s;cour&s;e declared the civil Steward no fit re&s;trainer nor determiner of what's Idolatry; I would not now be thought I judg you free from that foul &s;in, to whom I &s;peak, who act &s;o fierce for this re&s;traint; nor call I that the mo&s;t gro&s;s Idolatry which you account &s;o, but the more &s;piritual extract,
<PB N="15" REF="8">the more &s;trong and de&s;perate, except it &s;hall be a re|&s;trictive &s;in, that one cannot &s;o skilfully cloak his cor|ruption as another, and that &s;nare indeed would take the &s;imple&s;t, and loo&s;e the &s;ubtile&s;t &s;inners; but Chri&s;t, who &s;hall be Judg, will far more righteou&s;ly, and acquit poor dumb Idolater, as &s;oon as one that calls him&s;elf a Chri&s;tian, and yet walks not accordingly: His is the way of Truth, and all ways el&s;e are but Imaginary. Examine your &s;elves, whether you walk in the Faith, and are freed from flat Idolatry. The Di&s;ciple <HI>John</HI> laying down &s;ure Principles before a People not inclined to dumb Idolatry, yet &s;aw great occa&s;ion to &s;um up all with this exhortation, <HI>Little children keep your &s;elves from Idols,</HI> 1 <HI>John</HI> v. 21. which compared with <HI>Ezek.</HI> 14.7. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.5. <HI>Col.</HI> 3.5. Would be, I fear, fit coun&s;el for you al|&s;o; and truly when I con&s;ider the uncertain found this day among&s;t many, who oft Trumpet out the word Chri&s;tianity, but yet by far exceed the Native <HI>Indian</HI> in fallacious fancies, alledging the leadings forth of God by his infallible and tran&s;parent Spirit, to their mo&s;t inextricable ab&s;urdities; and what recent my &s;elf have had, and &s;ome have &s;till of &s;uch their fla&s;hes, it makes me tremble to conceipt how unfit frail man at be&s;t is for re&s;trictive power in the&s;e affairs, &amp;c. I will &s;hut up all with this a&s;&s;ertion, That Chri&s;tians and Hea|thens in civil offences are alike &s;ubjected to the civil Sword, and pretence to the former would aggravate his mi&s;demeanor, but neither &s;ubject in religious cau&s;es, and there can be no &s;uch re&s;traint where there mu&s;t be no &s;uperiority. What <HI>Salmeron</HI> ob&s;erved upon <HI>John</HI> 2.4. may as fitly be applyed to our Publique Deputies, as to Parents; <HI>In cau&s;a Religionis Con&s;anguineos non e&s;se
<PB N="17" REF="9">Audiendos nee re&s;piciendos.</HI> Now the God of Wi&s;dom re&s;train you from your ways, and compel you to his Will; but if ye now draw back from his plea&s;ure to your own policy, (let your end be never &s;o good,) <HI>My Soul &s;hall have no plea&s;ure in you.</HI></P>
<P>BUt one &s;trange Argument for re&s;trictive Power came to my ear &s;ince the conclu&s;ion; and &s;ome I under&s;tand do &s;tart this Quaere from the word Agree|ment; How can it be called an Agreement of the Peo|ple when many thou&s;ands there are, (who are otherwi&s;e faithful) yet in con&s;cience cannot con&s;ent or &s;ub&s;cribe to it, if ye di&s;allow of this civil re&s;trictive Power, &amp;c. and &s;o &s;hall be deprived of their other Priviledges? I an|&s;wer, That the Title (An Agreement) imports nothing without relation to the &s;ub&s;tance following, which is for the Foundation of future Peace &amp; Freedom, and he that lays a foundation of &s;lavery to plea&s;e oppre&s;&s;ors, when he proclaims out Freedom, &s;hal not an&s;wer that Agreement, but the carnal heart of a deceitful Tyrant. Nor de&s;erves he to be accounted faithful, but deprives him&s;elf of profer'd Priviledg and Freedom that cannot &s;ub&s;cribe or agree thereto, except he may make all others his &s;laves. Which pride, I hope, no Chri&s;tian will &s;up|port, nor take are to gorge his Pallet with Antichri&s;ti|an (re&s;trictive Power,) <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">ho at ea&s;ier rates will not agree to Common Right and Freedom.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<CLOSER>Soli deo Gloaia.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
