hear ye the rod and who hath appointed it THe Word of the Lord came to the Prophet Micah in the dayes of Jotham Ahas and Hezekiah Kings of Judah This word concerned Samaria and Jerusalem the head Cities of the Kingdomes of Israel and Judah The word now read unto you concerneth us as well as them being written for our learning and for the admonition Rom. 15. 4. of us upon whom the ends of the world are come according as we are like to them in their sin and in their condition 1 Cor. 10. 11. In this Prophesie the Lord by this Prophet setteth before these Cities and Kingdomes the many and great sinnes which with an high hand they had committed against him And withall foretelleth them of those Judgements which he would certainly bring upon them if they continued in those their sins And that at last both kingdomes should be destroyed and captivated by their enemies the Assyrians and Chaldeans But withall to support and comfort the hearts of the faithfull that were found in those kingdomes he foretelleth the temporall deliverance of Judah out of the Babilonish Captivity also the everlasting deliverance of the Church of God to be gathered out of all Nations through the promised Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ The sins whereof he would convince and for which he denounceth Judgement against these Kingdomes were extream oppression by all from the Prince to the meanest according as they Micah 2. 1 2. had power in their hand The heads thereof judging for reward The Prophets and Priests were prophane and wicked all for their Micah 3. 11. covetousnesse teaching for hire and divining for money They were very licentious promising liberty saying Peace peace to Jer. 6. 13 14. the wicked The Prophets prophesying falsly and the Priests bearing Jer. 5. 31. rule by their means and the people loved to have it so They were also Idolaters Superstitious will-worshippers silencers as much as they could of the good Prophets and Ministers of the Word saying to the Scers see not and to the Prophets Prophesie not unto us Isa 30. 10. right things speak to us smooth things prophesie deceits They did set up and countenance false and wicked Prophets They notwithstanding these sinnes and other their abhominations and notwithstanding the severe threats of God were presumptuously secure because they had the Temple of the Lord a signe of his presence amongst them and because they professed the name and Religion of God having a forme of Godlinesse they promised to themselves impunity and freedome from the destroying Judgement They would yet as the Prophet saith Lean upon the Lord Micah 3. 11. and say Is not the Lord among us none evill can come upon us All which sins of theirs are aggravated by their ingratitude towards God who had been good unto them and had done great and wonderfull things for them from Shittim to Gilgall even Micah 6. 3 â— 5. from the miraculous leading them forth out of Egypt through the Wildernesse till he brought them into the Land of Canaan and untill this day At the time of this Prophesie the Kingdome of Judah was under the rod of Gods Judgements For in the dayes of Ahas Pekah the son of Remaliah King of Israel and Rezin King of Siria were 2 King 16. 5. confederate and came against Judah and came up even to Jerusalem and though they did not prevaile to take Jerusalem yet God delivered him and the people into the hand of the King of Syria so that They smote him and carried away a great multitude of them 2 Chron. 28. â— captive and brought them to Damascus And he was also delivered into the hand of the King of Israel who smote him with a great slaughter for one hundred and twenty thousand of the men of Judah were slain in one day which were all valiant men At which time 2 Chron. 28. 5 6 8. the Children of Israel carried away Captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women sons and daughters and took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria In his dayes also 2 Chron. 28. 17. the Edomites had come and smitten Judah and carried away captives The Philistims also invaded their Cities and took many of them with their villages and dwelt there God brought Judah very low at that time because they had transgressed sore against the Lord. This I have premised to leade you unto the Text and to 2 Chron. 28. 19. give some light for the better understanding of it Do we not as in a glasse see our selves in this kingdome of Judah wee being too to like them in their sin beginning also to be too like to them nay in a worse condition then they were if the Lord as he hath begun shall go on to powre out his wrath upon us The likenesse of our condition now with theirs then hath given me occasion to make choise of this Scripture to speak of it and to speak to you by it In these words God doth warn and advise his people what they The Text opened should do now they were under the rod of his anger and were like to be more sorely punished according as it had been denounced against them by his Prophets for their sins That whereas he had by fair and loving means spoken to them and warned them by his Prophets and had gently smitten them by the rod of his mouth that he might reclaim them and they were not sensible of his Word to obey it He now thinketh it best to teach and warn them by the rod of his hand and calleth upon them to hear and learn to be reformed by it Now concerning this admonition and Councell given the Prophet doth three things First to gain attention and that this Word might be entertained with the greater Authority he sheweth who it was that spake unto them Secondly who they were that would see God in his Judgements and would hear his voyce and would learn by his correction Thirdly what it is he warneth them of and adviseth them to do Every sentence in this verse is diversly rendred by Translators and Interpretors each of them two or three wayes but they agree in their scope namely That God would have them to hear him and turn to him that the judgement threatned might not come upon them I have diligently considered the severall readings and compared them with the Originall observing the context and scope of the place and do keep to the last Translation as it is now before you If I should rehearse them all and give reason why I make choise of this reading rather than other it would take up very much time and hinder the delivering of things more needfull First then the Voyce of the Lord cryeth to the City in this sentence we are to observe who speaketh and in what manner he speaketh and to whom The Voyce of the Lord that is God by his Prophet Micah uttereth
the Armie Divisions in Counsells Divisions every where amongst all sorts in the Kingdome Whilst God doth thus divide us and doth in his just judgement give us over thus to make Divisions certainly he meaneth that by our selves we shall be destroyed We would not in time of Peace agree together to serve him with one consent he will therefore that we shall agree in this By our dis-agreements to destroy and consume one another I beseech you take into your serious consideration those Symptomes which argued our utter ruine and destruction to be neere if not speedily prevented as you heard them so you may help your memories if you can gain time to read them in the ensuing Sermon which as it was Preached so now is Printed by your Order Are not gray haires upon us here and there already Hos 7. 9. Is not much of our strength devoured Are we blind Or will we still winke with our eyes and not see And not know all this Doth not our wickednesse which aboundeth more and more in England even while we are under the Rod testifie unto our faces that we do not return to the Lord our God and seeke him with our whole heart for all this When you were pleased to call me to go before you and to bear a part with you in your day of Fast and solemn Humiliation I looked upon our Nation in this ill Condition I knew no better Subject to Treate of to be applyed to your selves and to all that then heard me then to teach you or atleast to remember you of a timely and profitable Use-making of the Rod of God which is now so sore upon us Namely to learn what God teacheth us by it To be shewed our danger in which we are and the neerenesse of our ruine for our sinnes will be no discouragement unto you in the work of standing in the gap and Psal 106. 23. making up the breach in which you have so long stood and which with unweariednesse and undauntednesse you have to your eternall Renown endeavoured maugre all the mountains of opposition and difficulties which you have met withall But it should rather put an edge to your courage as all difficulties do to men of courage and true valour You are Honoured and worthy Patriots the repairers of our breaches under God Be ye Mosesses and Phineasses to our Israel When Israel sinned in the matter of the golden Calf God said He would destroy them had Psal 106. 23. not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach to turn away his wrath lest he should destroy them When Phineas executed Judgement the plague was Psal 106. 30. stayed you are called not extraordinarily as he but in an ordinary way to do it God when he foretold his purpose to destroy the Kingdome of Judah did look for such as you are to make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Ezek. 22. 30. the Lord that he might not destroy it These Worthies by prayer held Gods hands from striking Exod. 32. 10 27. and by executing judgement for him did save the Kingdome did save the people from destruction Whatsoever the event may prove Noble Sirs Let the fear of the Lord be upon you Be strong Let 2 Chron. 15. 7. not your hands be weak deal couragiously The Lord will be with the good and your work shall be rewarded 2 Chron. 19. 11. and you may expect a happy issue But however it is honourable for a Souldier to dye in maintaining or making up the breach and your work shall be with the Lord and if you save not the Kingdome you shal without Ezeck 14. 18 20. fail as it is sayd of Noah Job and Daniel save your own souls and may expect some temporall deliverance Neither should the knowledge of our likelinesse and neerenesse to ruine disanimate any or should it weaken the hands of the people of the Land For when God sent Jeremiah to Prophesie against Jerusalem that he would destroy it and that they should be carried Captive this is the inference from it Therefore amend your wayes Jer. 25. 13. and your doings and obey the voyce of the Lord your God and the Lord will repent him of the evill Jer. 18. 7 8. that he hath pronounced against you Moreover let it be conceived that God is peremptorily determined to destroy a Nation which we cannot be certain of though we can see a Nation deserving it and is neer to it For God is not limitted nor can be prescribed to do what in like case he hath done yet it will be profitable for a people to be warned of it For they that fear God will thereupon endeavour to prevent it or to Ezek. 9. 4. prepare for it That making their own peace with God they may be marked for safety as those in Ezekiel were and may make their adresses to God as to a safe and strong tower thereby entring into the chambers spoken of in Isaiah and shut the doores about them and hide themselves for a little-moment that is cast themselves upon Gods Providence and Protection securing themselves Isai 26. 20. in him untill the indignation of the Lord be overpast No man can apprehend misery and destruction more certainly to come upon a people then the Prophet Habbacuk did at which at the first hearing he was much terrified yet it was much for his good and advantage For it did cause him to humble himself before God and to seek his face That he might rest in the day of Hab. 3. 16. trouble when the Chaldeans should come up and invade them with his Troops Through faith he could see safety and matter of comfort and joy in God so that he could say though he should be deprived of all livelihood and means of subsistance for his person and outward man Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God Hab. 3. 1â— of my Salvation c. I have here given you some account of the choise of the Subject whereof in my Sermon I spake unto you and have prosecuted more fully something which I did then but hint unto you I take the boldnesse to publish it and put it forth under the shelter of your honourable patronage I have onely this maine suite unto you that you would continue resolute for God and his true Religion for the Kings Majesties just Rights for the Laws of the Kingdome and just Liberties to which we are all born And the Lord of Hoasts and King of kings our good God He blesse and prosper the work in your hands wherewith you are intrusted The Lord prosper your handy work So prayeth dayly The unworthiest of those which you have imployed to serve you in the Lord HENRY SCUDDER A Sermon at the monethly Fast Octob. 30. 1644. BEFORE the Honourable House of COMMONS MICAH 6. 9. The voyce of the Lord cryeth to the City and the man of wisedome shall see thy Name
from them and given to those that do not mister in the Word and Doctrine this can be nothing else but robbing of God and a great Sacriledge The same sins also may be charged upon us in England for which God had a controversie with his people and did judge them heretofore Hos 4. 1. Ezek. 22. 4. The knowledge of God is not in the Land This Kingdom notwithstanding the long time of our enjoying so plentifully the light of the Gospel doth yet remain extreme ignorant of God and their duty to him And this not onely in the dark places of it in Wales and far North and West but in the Countreys and Cities in the midst of the Kingdom 5. The sins of Swearing and Cursing of hellish and damming Blasphemie have overgrown this Land the cry whereof doth reach unto heaven besides the sin of Perjury concerning which sin God hath said that his curse shall remain and never depart from Ezek. 5. 3 4. the committers thereof nor from their houses till they be consumed with the timber thereof and the stones thereof All sorts of persons as Supreme and all Officers in the State from the Judge to the meanest all sorts of Jurours in any Jury and all sorts of Witnesses in all Courts they binde themselves to God by a solemn Oath How many Protestations Oaths and Covenants have been lately taken But have men kept their Oaths and do they keep them are they not broken by all that take them It had Eccles 5. 5 6. been much better for the Kingdom that we had not taken so many Oaths Vows and Protestations then having taken them not to keep them God is extremely incensed against a People guilty of Forswearing especially if the Oaths of State made by the supreme Magistrate 2 Sam. 21. 1. 2 Chron. 36. 13 to the Subject and of the Subject to the Magistrate be broken and violated We are blinde if we do not see that God is punishing this Nation for these sins of vain swearing cursing blasphemie and perjury We must call to remembrance these amongst other the sins of the Land to bewail them and make our Hos 4. 2 3. peace with God that he destroy us not for them Because of these the Land mourneth 6. The Land is also guilty of not opposing of the man of fin Popery and Idolatry unto the extirpation or it out of the Kingdom Idolatry hath not onely been tolerated to be committed in the secret Chambers of Imagery but allowed in places elsewhere We have complied much with Idolaters and Idolatry of Rome We may judge that for this also the Lord is punishing us The children of Israel did not drive out the Canaanites from amongst them therefore they were as pricks in their eyes and thorns Judg. 2. 3. in their sides And Joshua telleth them that for their compliances Josh 23. 13. with them they should remain to be snares and traps unto them and scourges in their sides and thorns in their eyes untill they should perish from the good land which the Lord their God had given them And they should make them sin against God and surely be a snare unto them as Moses telleth them Popish and Antichristian Religion Exod. 23 33. and Idolatry is as abominable to God as ever the Canaanitish Religion and Idolatry was For Rome is called The mother of Abominations Now whether the permitting of Popery and Papists amongst us have not been thorns in our eyes and pricks in our sides and have been snares and traps means of sin and vexation unto us God using them as rods and instruments to punish us I leave this to your consideration When the sons of God took them wives of the daughters of men Gen. 6. 2. when those of the true married those that were of a false Religion in the first Age of the world and when after that both before and after the Captivity Gods people by profession did marry strange wives the daughters of a strange god Gods judgements Gen. 6. 7. were upon the old world and all those States that were guilty of this sin As when the house of Judah made affinity with the house of Ahab we see what evil followed thereupon and what 2 Chron. 22. Ezra 9. 2 14. wrath it brought upon the Kingdom of Judah When Solomon a good King otherwise forgat himself and matched with Idolatrous wives sinning therein against God God gave him over to his folly though otherwise the wisest of men that whether in complement or otherwise he did accompany his wives to their Idolatrous Service whether he joyned with them therein it doth not so clearly appear yet he went thus far that it is said He went after Ashteroth the goddesse of the Zidonians and Milcom 1 Kings 11. 4 5 6 7. the abomination of the Amorites and he did build an high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab For these very things God brought evil upon his Kingdom He raised up adversaries against him and what a division and rent it made in that Kingdom we do well know May not this be another cause why Gods wrath is gone out against us Let us hear the rod doth it not tell us so Let us humble our selves this day for these sins also that God may be pleased to throw away this his rod from us We are guilty of other sins for which as for that of Idolatry when they reign in a Kingdom God doth punish it with his severest Judgements 7. These are Oppression and the not executing of Justice and Judgement in a Land These were the sins of the Princes and Judges of Judah they were for bribes and rewards And all Judah Micah 3. 9 11. according as they had power did oppresse one another Hath it not been thus in in England and which should humble us and grieve us most complaints every where tell us even while we are smarting by the rod of God that these sins of oppression and not executing judgement do encrease upon us Are not many partiall and injurious in their Levies of moneys for the publike use of the State sparing themselves and friends laying intolerable burdens upon those who have been most free and are now lesse able to bear them Also are there not those who were entrusted with the Moneys of the State and to pay Souldiers that do manage their Trust so ill that the Souldier is necessitated to live upon free Quarter and spoil of those that pay ordinary great Taxes for the publike Service Men do exceedingly complain that they cannot have Justice It concerneth you to look to these things As these were crying sins heretofore and God hath brought upon us these Judgements if these continue and encrease we cannot but fear that these Judgements shall be continued and encreased untill these sins be reformed 8. Bloodguiltinesse is another provoking sin It cannot go Deut. 19. 13. well with a Kingdom where the guilt of innocent blood is not
put away by the hand of the Magistrate God will not pardon a Land polluted with innocent blood he will sooner or later be 2 Kings 24. 4. avenged of it How much hath been shed heretofore and the murthers either not brought unto Judgement or not prosecuted in Judgement This polluteth a Kingdom with blood and this blood crieth loud for vengeance upon those into whose hands God did put the sword of Justice to revenge for him and to execute wrath upon such as are murtherers and do it not This causeth the Lord to execute Judgement himself in shedding the blood upon such a People as this 9. The sinnes of Sodom Pride fulnesse of bread idlenesse unmercifulnesse and all sorts of voluptuousnesse have been the common Ezek. 16. 49. sins of this Kingdom and yet are notwithstanding the hand of God is so heavie upon us Our Gentry and such as were born and left rich in estate they in a generality have given themselves so to live as if they had been made and born for nothing else but to eat and drink and play and sleep and satisfie their sensuall lusts They have accounted it to be a blemish and a matter of disrepute to them to live in a Calling or to give themselves unto any thing wherein they might be serviceable and profitable in any place of good employment in Church or Common-wealth Men and women have been most luxurious and wanton in matters of Diet Apparell and Gestures that they know not how or what to eat what to wear or how to attire themselves or what gate or gesture to use They for delicacie in these are too Isai 3. 16. like those inveighed against and threatned Isa 3. 16. The Land hath been and yet is polluted with Whoredoms and Hos 4. 2. Isa 28. 1 7 18. is even drowned with Drunkennesse For these sins also the Lord is now visiting of us 10. Another sin for which God will be wrath with a People and doth scourge them sore is formality in the true Worship and Religion Tit. 1. 16. of God when those who professe the Name of God do in works deny him and having a form of godlinesse deny the power of â— Tim. 3. 5. it This is the common and great sin of this Kingdom We in this declare that we are an hypocriticall Nation and therefore the people of Gods curse and people of his wrath So God spake of his people the Jews against whom he sent the King of Assyria Isa 10. 6. the rod of his anger I will send him against an hypocriticall Nation and against the people of his wrath giving him a charge to take the spoil and to take the prey and to tread them down like mire in the streets These sins I have remembred you of There are many others which I pray you to call to your remembrance Consider your own sins and the sins you see committed in the Land And be sure that you take this into your serious thoughts That for these and other our sins God is now punishing of us and which aggravates them all we are not amended by his Rod but grow worse and worse What is now therefore to be done You have heard what the Rod hath taught us that It is sor our sins that God is wrath with us We are this day therefore to humble our selves for those sins we must confesse them repent of them and disclaim them and be earnest suitors to God that he would make the Land sensible of Isa 9. 13. their sins and of this his Rod that we turn to him that smiteth us And every one of us must endeavour a Reformation in the Land first of our selves and then of others beseeching the Lord to work it We must with all earnestnesse intreat the Lord to forgive these sins of the Land and that he will be mercifull to us and be at peace with us and heal the Land We have great encouragement from God himself who saith If my people that are called 2 Chron. 7. 1â— by my Name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from heaven and will for give their sins and will heal their Land We may make this stroke and wound incurable if we go on still in our trespasses if we do not speedily make our peace with our God We have a promise let us take hold on it that he may make peace with us and he will be at peace with us for Isa 25. 7. he waiteth for our turning unto him and seeking favour of him that he may be gracious unto us Isa 30. 18 But as I said before let us take heed that we go not on in our sin lest we provoke the Lord to continue and encrease his iudgements even to make us a desolation We are in the high way to it For a kingdom divided against it self is brought to desolation There are many Symptomes if we consider the state of the Kingdom as now it is that may cause us to fear that if timely and thorow repentance do not prevent it this Judgement shall not be taken off but be encreased untill the Land be destroyed 1. The first I shall mention is When lesser judgements do Symptomes of our being neer to utter ruine not awaken and amend us especially if we are grown worse thereupon God hath told us that he will destroy such a Nation as this I sent cleannesse of teeth and you have not returned to me Amos 4. 6 7 9 10 11. saith the Lord I withheld rain from you I have smitten you with blasting c. I have sent among you the pestilence I overthrew some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah yet have ye not returned to me saith the Lord therefore thus will I do unto thee that is I will destroy thee utterly This you may reade in Amos 4. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. God sware by his holinesse vers 2. Am. 4. â— that he would take them away with hooks and their posterity with fishhooks they should be carried away captive and utterly ruined 2. A second Symptome is When the sins of a Land grow universall in respect of the severall kinde of sins and severall sorts of persons All sorts of sins are committed and all sorts of persons are grievous sinners Reade Ezek. 22. Adde thereunto these sins Contempt of the Word and holy Ordinances of God despising of those that truely fear God and enmity against the power of Godlinesse Every one wore in them to their Ezek. 22. power to shed blood and so he reckons up many other saying In thee there are that commit such and such sins There are many sins named There is scarce any one sin reckoned there but the salne sins are rife and common amongst us And there you shall also finde Princes and Nobles and Judges and Priests and Ezek. 22. 25 27 29. Prophets and People were
all guilty of some of the sins before mentioned Therefore the Lord saith to the Prophet Wilt thou judge Wilt thou judge the bloody Citie Thou shalt Ezek. 22. 2. shew her all her abominations He would have the Prophet declare to them that he would punish them more then yet he had done Indeed before he did bring that destroying Nationall Judgement before he brought the Caldeans upon them after he had threatned it he did wait to see whether any would make up the Ezek. 22. 30. hodge and stand in the gap before him for the land that he might not destroy it So if there be amongst us that will indeed get into the breach and in a right way stand in it and make it up namely by prayer executing judgement and reformation we may have hope that God will not destroy us We have reason to blesse God that you our Worthies of the Parliament do endeavour it But if the sinnes of the Land shall be too hard for you because they make breaches faster then you can make them up or if the Lord be not pleased that you shall continue in the breach to perfect the making it up if the Lord be so angry with us that nothing shall prevail in this way then we may fear that now this cloud of blood which hangeth over us and hath fallen in most parts of the Kingdom shall fall in all other parts till it have gone thorow the whole Nation to destroy it 3. That which may cause us much to fear is another Symptome God is now visiting this part of the world bringing the Sword upon it Gods manner is in such visitations to begin with his own people as he did when Jeremiah was to take Jer. 25. â—5 18. the wine-cup of Gods futy and cause all the Nations to drink of it beginning with his own people to wit Jerusalem and the Cities of Judah Thus the Lord hath begun with Bohemia the Palarinate and almost all Germany and other parts of Europe I am perswaded all this part of the world shall drink of it The dregs of this cup as that of Jeremies was reserved for Heathenish Babilon Jer. 25. 15. 18. who drunk of it last so the dreggs of this our cup shall be reserved for Antichrist even for spirituall Babylon for Rome that mother of fornications and for all those that are drunk with the wine of her fornications she happily shall drink last and drink up this cup of the Lords fury It was a great while before we began to drink of it but unlesse by a specialty of humbling our selves before God and turning to God and seeking of him more than ordinarily we do procure that it may passe and God do take it from us as true as God hath threatned such sinners as we are and hath begun to execute it the sword shall not be put up till we be destroyed Our times are very troublous and God useth to build his Dan. 9. â—â— Church as he did Jerusalem in such troublous times we are ready to hope that God will now reforme and build up his Church and make it a glorious Church in this Nation and we would gladly beleeve that these shakings are but preparations to a happy reformation I doubt not but these wars and commotions amongst the true Churches of God are preparations thereunto But whether we of this present generation may not for our sins and for our tryall be much wasted and destroyed with the sword and which is worse be put under the power of those that are for Antichrist we cannot promise to our selves I know that ere long that mother of abhomination with her Rev. 17. 6. children who have been drunk with the blood of the Saints and with the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus shall receive double Rev. 18. 6. In the cup that she hath filled it shall be filled to her double But whether sith the time of Antichrists raign is but short he may not have a lightning before his death as to rise to have so much power added to his malice as to shed more blood that the Lord may take a just occasion by it to execute vengeance upon that State for all the blood shed by it we cannot tell we have some cause to fear it if we do but observe that already the Palatinate and other Churches that were reformed are brought under the power of those that are Antichristian why should we not think that the like may befall us nothing but an unfained turning from our sins unto God and a through reformation which yet we are far from can hinder it I speak not this to discourage any but that we should be prepared for the worst and to put us upon a more through humbling of our selves before God and of getting into and making up the breach which our sinns have made that he may spare us and not destroy us 4. To adde one Symptome more A Spirit of perversnesse a spirit of Division is in the midst of us and is spread through all the Kingdome Divisions in Church divisions in Common-wealth A Kingdome thus divided how can it stand When the Lord is wrath with a people then he mingleth a perverse Isa 19. 13 14. Spirit amongst them he makes their Princes become fools and their Counsellors become brutish destitute of right reason yea he divideth them in their Councels He setteth Ephraim against Manasseh and Manasseh against Ephraim to the making Isa 9. 19 20 21. of a Land dark through miseries when no man shall spare his brother because of the discords and civill wars which God in his wrath should raise amongst them as a just punishment of their not joyning together to serve the Lord with one consent It will not be much out of the place to mention a sin which I omitted before which is the growth of Errours and Schismes in this Kingdome which are so much the more dangerous because this errour also is grown up with them a strong means to nourish them Namely that men must enjoy Liberty of Conscience denying it to be in the power of any no not in the Magistrate to restrain them This is grown to a great height and hath many abettors and pleaders for it Little course is taken to represse it Some to whom it belongs to do it I fear are corrupted with this Errour This is an in-let and ground for the toleration of all Religions Errours and Heresies are Gangrens which if their course be not stopped will increase to the destruction of the whole The Apostle will have that such should not onely be shunned but that their mouthes should be stopped lest they deceive others and it encrease Tit. 1. 11. to more ungodlinesse and he requireth Timothy to 1 Tim. 1. 3. Command that men preach no other Doctrine every one therefore may not teach what Doctrine he pleaseth but if he teach false Doctrine he is to be restrained I know the first way