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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	believe_v	faith_n	save_v	2,600	5	7.0153	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92140	A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience tending to resolve doubts moved by Mr. John Goodwin, John Baptist, Dr. Jer. Taylor, the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other authors contending for lawlesse liberty, or licentious toleration of sects and heresies. / By Samuel Rutherfurd professor of divinity in the University of St. Andrews.	Rutherford, Samuel, 1600?-1661.	1649 (1649)	Wing R2379; Thomason E567_2; ESTC R203453	351,532	454

are to believe Nazianz. Orat. 5. de Theol. perinde ea qua ex Scripturis colliguntur atqui ea qua scribuntur What is in Scripture by consequence is Scripture the ignorance of the Resurrection which was in Scripture to the Sadduces by consequence onely was an ignorance of the Scripture 〈◊〉 22. 29 30 31. and a soul condemning errour It is a question yea no question to die denying the resurrection is to die without saith happily to die ignorant of it having never heard the Gospel is not so high a sinne but who can say such can be saved August serm 30. de verbis Apost Si negent equalem negant filium si negant filium negant Christum si negant Christum negant in carne venisse Origen l. 2. de peccat c. 34. all Christians faith stands in these two that the first Adam destroyed us the second saves us errours about justifying saith and errours touching historicall faith are farre different The foundation is Christ and none but he 2. the gold builded on the foundation is the doctrine of Christ and a created thing yet simply necessary to be believed 3. the hay and stubble that is builded on it must be vanities and fooleries believed yet of themselves such as extinguish not saving faith and love no more then sins of infirmitie are inconsistent with saving faith then both the mans hay and stubble and his sins of infirmitie against the second table may be burnt and the man saved but it follows not the Church and Magistrate should therefore not punish or censure the builders of hay and stubble upon the foundation but should tollerate them for a Godly man as David and Peter may fall in adulterie in treacherous murther and denyall of Christ yet it follows not that the Magistrate should tollerate and not punish murther and adulterie in a Christian societie and that Paul should not sharply rebuke and if need be farther proceed to the censure of the Church if Peter either deny his Lord though out of infirmitie and fear or if he Judaize and looke awry to the Gospel CHAP. VI. Errours in Non-Fundamentals obstinately holden are punishable YEe must beare one anothers infirmities and restore these that fall with the spirit of meeknesse Gal. 6. 1. and yet not tollerate their errours and forbear to admonish and also sha●ply rebuke them and if need be the Church and Magistrate may proceed to further censures to excommunication and the use of the sword for justice is not contrary to meeknesse nor one fruit of the Spirit contrarie to another He 〈◊〉 spareth the rod hateth the childe yet should not a father be cruell to his childe nor is his correcting contrarie to fatherly compassion but not correcting is crueltie to and hatred of the childe and the like we are to think of the punishments and censures of the Nurse father of the Church and of the Church There be some things of doubtfull disputations that the weak in knowledge cannot conceive and yet are to be instructed in meeknesse and received as brethren Rom. 14. 1. 2. but if these same weak after sufficient instruction when the Ceremonies of Moses law became deadly and unlawfull as they were then indifferent would needs be circumcised abstain from meats and keep the whole Ceremoniall law whatever should be said on the contrarie and would compell others to be circumcised and pervert the souls of many even after the date of the indifferencie of these things is expired Paul then is so farre from giving place for an hour or betraying Christian libertie Gal. 2. or from bearing with them that he withstandeth them to their faces and wisheth that such as trouble others so were cut off and might bear their judgement Gal. 5. 10. 11. which clearly holdeth forth what ever the meaning of these words be that Paul though these that would teach others they must be circumcised were worthy to bear their judgement and to be punished for so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 importeth And it shall be a work of difficultie to prove that to be circumcised was necessary to salvation and these that so taught Act. 15. and Gal. chap. 5. did teach an errour of it self fundamentall and that subverted the faith who ever then would be circumcised fell from Christ Gal. 5. as Paul saith but that was by consequence sure it was not an errour in terminis fundamentall as this Christ is not the Saviour of mankinde onely it was an errour that by consequence subverted the foundation and was a falling from Christ by consequence and a comming again under the debt of the whole law and of salvation by the law which was ever impossible and to say it was necessary to salvation necessitate medij so as all the Galathians who received Christ and the Gospel and would have plucked out their eyes for Paul who died ignorant of this point who ever will now be circumcised is fallen from Christ were eternally damned and dyed out of Christ is a groundlesse saying there was a glorious Church in Galatia before Paul wrote that epistle to them for he wrote it upon occasion of their being seduced who were made believe the necessitie of circumcision and it is clear Paul would not have written that of circumcision if that errour had not been sowen among them by false teachers if therefore such as were made beleive that had not beene bewitched to believe the necessitie of Ceremonies for justification they being in Christ should have been saved by faith though this controversie in terminis had never come to their ears whither are believers justified by faith onely or must they also be circumcised and keep the Law that they may be justified and saved And sure many are now in our dayes which is more glorified who never knew but onely virtually and implicitely that to be circumcised or to keep Jewish dayes is not necessary to justified persons yea sure many in Britaine are saved who never knew this fundamentall truth 2. Act. 15. it is cleare that some taught the brethren except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses ye cannot be saved the contrary truth is no expresse fundamentall truth because a fundamentall truth expressely necessary is so necessary necessitate medij as without the knowledge thereof we cannot be saved Now these teachers knew that the Apostles and Elders and Saints at at Jerusalem were not circumcised so and they knew believing Gentiles were not circumcised at all and yet they knew the Apostles were not damned they knew all children dying before the eight day were not damned they must then hold that Circumcision was onely necessary to salvation by way of precept and the brethren that believed and so if they had dyed in that state had undeniably been saved were ignorant of this and v. 7. there was much disputing among believers yea among the Apostles who were not ignorant of fundamentals and undoubtedly had saving faith long before Math. 16. 17. 18.

the Lord instamped his divine Image of making just Lawes upon any nomethetick power of the most free and Independent Kingdome on earth so as the breach of lawfull promises Covenants Contracts which are against the Law of God of nature of nations should or can be the subject matter of any nomethetick power for God gives no power to make unjust decrees The pretended liberty is against the Articles matte● and ends of the Covenant a Parliamentary power interposed for the not punishing of deformity as touching many Religions must destroy the commanded nearest uniformity of the one only true Religion 2 Nor can they defend the one onely reformed Religion of Scotland commanding the Magistrate the Minister of God to use the sword against false teachers who give liberty to all Religions 3 Nor can the word of God bee our rule of Reformation except this rule be one and injoyne one only true Religion and forbid tolleration of all others 4 There can be no way so prevailing to promote cherish and foment Heresie and what is contrary to sound doctrine as for publique authority by law to permit it except wee would praise and reward such fleshly wayes 5 The Lord cannot be one nor his name one in both Kingdoms when by Law multitudes of names wayes and Religions are tollerated 6 Many Religions suffered must be contrary to the true religious liberty of Christian States and Churches when men are licenced to professe slavery and bondage to the efficacy and power of errour to beleeve professe and disseminate lies and blasphemies in the name of the Lord. 7 Many false wayes of religions doth in the Scripture argue a change of Gods for these that are no Gods which Heathens doe abhorre Jer. 2. 9 10 11. and a multiplying of Gods according to the number of each Sect and Societie Jer. 2. 28. and a manifest countenancing of Scepticisme of many Gods and of no God since then the Parliament not onely as Christian men but as a Parliament and as Magistrates have sworne the Covenant they must sweare each one of them to defend his owne Religion Familisme Arrianisme Antinomianisme which he beleeves to be the true religion and that as a Magistrate with the sword of God and so to oppose his fellow members with his Parliamentary power how then can the Parliament command others or ingage themselves to the Lord their God to indeavour the preservation of the one reformed Religion in Scotland that we and our posterity may live in faith and love for this is many faiths professedly different and that the Lord may delight to dwel in the midst of us and this is many Gods in the midst of us and that we shall indeavour the extirpation of heresie superstition prorpanenesse and whatsoever shall be found contrary to sound doctrine It is not every Parliament man who by law may be of any Religion oblieged by the oath of God to endeavour the extirpation of the true Protestant Religion since to him who is a Familist and Antinomian it is heresie and contrary to sound doctrine Are not Papists though known Papists to be Judges and Members of Parliament why should they be debarred for their Religion and they must by this oath indeavour the extirpation of Heresies and Hereticks that is of Protestan●s 8 The foresaid licentiousnesse is contrary to the indeavour to preserve the Rights Liberties of Parliaments and just power and greatnesse of the King now both King Parliaments and all Rulers have the sword committed to them to defend the Church against Seducers Wolves Hereticks false Teachers and by the sword are to stand against the violation of mercy righteousnesse and the peace of humaine societies and so against such as from meere grounds of conscience serve God in sacrificing their children to God promiscuous use of wives a part of the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free community of goods robing the just owners of their inheritances and possessions because the word saith the meeke shall inherit the earth lying and denying of our Religion before men For should the Magistrate kil the father whose only conscience nothatred which is the only essentiall ingredient to make killing of our neighbour without lawfull authority that murthering of our brother which by the law of God and Man is punishable with death Deut. 19. 11 12 13. c. 4. 42. c. 19. 4. and the sword of the Magistrate not any hatred I say or desire of revenge towards his sonne whom he loves as tenderly as Abraham did Isaack presseth out of meere religious obedience to God to offer his sonne to God in a sacrifice he should not punish a murtherer but offer violence to the conscience of his father since the word of God condemneth this as false worship not as murther yea as superstitious adding to the Word and as wil-worship Deu. 4. 31 32. Jer 7. 30 31. 9 Divers Religions being contrary to Christ and the one truth of the Gospell of their owne nature raise fire and sword betweene brethren and the mother against the daughter in law and must be a seminary of factions and devisions which is distructive to the unity in our Covenant Micah 7. 5 6. Matth. 10. 34 35. Luke 5. Verse 51 52. Gen. 3 16. 10 By which it cannot be possible we should defend one another in this common cause of Religion except a reconciliation be made betweene the seed of the woman and the serpent 11 And many being of divers Religions must need give themselves to a detestable indifferency and newtrality as touching the Common cause of God Since it cannot be the common cause of God but of Sathan and of forcing conscience by persecution to them Many men yea it s the cause of God to many to hate and persecute the Gospell by this 12 By which meanes every man may resile from this blessed union and conjunction so far must he be from zealous and constant continuing therein all the dayes of his life for Parliamentary authority frees them to imbrace any new Religion contrary to the Protestant Religion 13 And to what Church Sect or Religious societie can the Christian Magistrate be a nurse-father by his office is it not to the one onely true Church of Christ that professeth the sound faith certaine the Scripture saith as the sonnes of strangers shall build the wals of the true Church so Kings shall minister unto her Esay 60. 10. And she must sucke the brests of Kings Esay 6. 16. which evinceth that Kings as Kings are by their Office to doe some princely and royall acts of justice and favour for the good of the true Church and true Religion then must either the King by Office be indifferent and newtrall to all other Religions and Sects which must be inconsistent with his duty as nurse-father to the Church Esay 49. 23. whose part it is that according to his place he take care that the children sucke not poyson for milke or he must be newtrall to all Religions except to

aggravate the fact and give light to the Judge and what testimony the Conscience giveth of the actions of man the like it is to give of the state and condition whether it be good or ill hence these acts of recognition As 1. Conscience doth its duty in reflecting on it self It tryes the mans actions and state hence these three words 2 Cor. 13. 5. try or tempt or pierce and dig into your selves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 many dig holes and windows in the conscience of others who never digged a hole in their own heart 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 examine what mettall is in your selves and actions men are unwilling to find oare or drosse in themselves and we are bidden 1 Cor. 11. 31. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lead witnesses sentence and Judge our selves To these generals there is a second act which is called Psalm 4. 5. Speake with your heart You testifie little of the man that you never heard speake Men are frequently to converse with their heart by heart-communing and soule quaerees so you find out the by as and the weight that swaies with the heart Jer. 5. 24. Neither say they in their heare let us now feare the Lord our God Hos 7. 2. They say not in their heart that I consider all their wickednesse 3 There is laying of the Consience in its reflect act and the actions together Hag. 1. 5. Lay your heart upon your wales It is that which David saith Psalm 119. 59. I considered Heb. I thoughted my wayes 4. There is wandring and estrangement of a man from his own heart when he laies his case to heart he is said to return to his own heart 1 King 8. 47. If they shall be thinke themselves heb if they shall return to their owne heart or come home to their own heart in the land of their captivitie and repent then heare then Men are abroad in their thoughts and seldom at home with their own heart But of this act of witnessing of the Conscience it is of moment to know how by what Medium or way the conscience doth witnesse to man of his state that he is a childe of God in Christ whether God doth witnesse our state and condition to us by inherent quallifications in us Because we love the brethren because we have sincere hearts and ayme in all things to obey God A●er 1. God speaketh by his owne works of Sanctification that we are in Christ 1 Joh. 2. 3. And hereby we know that we know him because we keepe his commandements 1 Joh. 3. 14. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the Brethren Now as God speaketh and revealeth his glory God-head power and eternitie by his visible works of creation so as we may gather by certainty of faith that God is glorious wise omnipotent eternall Rom. 1. 19 20 21. Psal 19. 1 2 3 4. Rom. 10. 17 18 19 20 Upon them grounds when we finde in our soules the works of that spirit that raised the Lord from the death as love to the brethren because brethren sincere walking with God and Christs life Gal. 2. 20. we may with the certainty of faith collect that we are the children of God and if the knowledge of our state in Christ from the works of Sanctification be but conjecturall and may deceive us and not a sufficient foundation of sound peace nor enough to make us unexcusable that from the sicknesse of inward heart-love which I feele in my owne soule to Christ I can have no divine assurance that I am in Christ and cannot be made inexcusable in not beleeving the spirit dwelleth in me by his acting and working then we cannot inferre Gods infinite wisdome omnipotencie and eternity from his works of Creation and I cannot be inexcusable if I beleeve not Gods wisdome and power from the works of creation is not the pertinacie of unbeleefe as damnable when I beleeve not God acting in his Spirit as sanctifying as when I beleeve not God acting in this first workmanship of Creation 2. In all the actings motions and walkings of the Holy Ghost in my soule in the stirrings of the New birth when the spirit of Jesus maketh a noise with his feet walking acting moving in love joy peace long-suffering gentlenesse goodnesse meeknesse temperance which are apples and blossomes which grow on the tree of life Gal. 5. 22 23. It were no sinne to me to sleepe and beleeve these were but imaginary dreames and phancied notions if I ware not to beleeve where these are the soule that findeth them undenyably is in Christ 3. The Saints comforting themselves in their godly sincere and blamelesse walking before God in love knew what they spoke and what spirit was in them and that they walked not after the flesh as men speake and phancie in a night dreame not knowing whether they be in Christ or not these were speeches of waking men whose wits were in action Psalm 26. 8. Lord I have loved thy habitation and the place where thine honour dwelleth Psal 119. 63. I am a companion of all them that feare thee and of them that keepe thy precepts vers 97. O how love I thy law it is my meditation all the day vers 103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste Yea sweeter then honey to my mouth vers 111. Thy Testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever for they are the rejoycing of my heart vers 162. I rejoyce at thy word as one that findeth 〈◊〉 great spoile and the Church Cant. 2. 3. I sate downe under his shaddow and his fruit was sweet to my taste ver 5. Stay me with flagons and comfort mee with apples for I am sick of love Esay 26. 9. With my soule have I desired thee in the night yea with my spirit within me I will seeke thee early And Ezekiah looking to his good Conscience saith Ezech. 39 3. Remember now O Lord that I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart So Paul 2 Cor 1. 12. For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our Conscience that in simplicitie and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisdome but by the grace of God we had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you-wards Now if the Saints can thus speake with the light and perswasion of Faith before God and men to their owne solid peace and consolation then may they be perswaded by these fruits of the Spirit that they are branches growing in the Vine Christ else all these speeches are but delusions and phancies and they must speake no other thing of themselves as vessels of the grace of God then hypocrits 〈◊〉 reprobates may say of themselves For D. Crispe and also Libertines of New England whose doctrine subverts the Faith say there can be no marks of saving grace from whence we can draw either comfort or peace be it universall obedience st●●rity love to the Brethren but it may bee

am b● ye shall dye in your sins and he that beleeveth not is condemned already He chargeth no man guilty of unbeleefe that heareth the Gospel for simple not beleeving But then we are commanded to beleeve no truth that God speaketh to know no truth but onely to know it with an inclination of heart love and will toward the Commander and so the minde and understanding faculty the noblest and most excellent peece in the soule must be left lawlesse and free in its operations from all hazard of guilt or sinne 2. If this Argument be good sinnes of infirmities and of weaknesse must be no sin Idle words cannot come in reckoning in the last day contrary to Matth. 12. 36. for God forgives crimes Ergo he will not call us to an account for our venialls If this conclude any thing the strongest understanding cannot pretend immunity from being deceived Ergo simple ignorance of the things of God is no sin I may argue no man can pretend to be free of sin in the inclination of the heart and originall guiltinesse Job 4. 4. Ps 51. 5. Gen 8. 21. Prov. 20. 9. 1 Joh. 1. 8. 10. Eccles 7. 20. Ergo sin is no sin originall sin sins of infirmities are no sins Object No Christian is to be put to death for his opinion which doth not teach impiety or blasphemy If it plainly and apparently brings in a crime and himselfe doth act it or incourage it then the matter of fact is punishable according to its proportion and malignancy as if be preach Treason and Sedition his opinion cannot excuse because it brings in a crime a man is never the lesse Traytor because he beleeves it lawfull to commit Treason and a man is a murtherer if he kill his brother unjustly although he thinke to doe God good service in it matters of fact are equally judicable whether the principle of them he from within or without and if a man could pretend to innocency in being seditious blasphemous or perjured by perswading himselfe it is lawfull a gate were opened for all iniquity I deny not but certaine and knowne Idolatry or any other sort of practicall impiety with its principiant doctrine ought to be punished because it is no other but matter of fact but no matter of meer opinion no errours that of themselves are not sins are to be persecuted by death or corporall inflictions Answ 1. The Doctor mocketh when he saith No meer opinions are to be persecuted That was never in question a meer opinion is a meer act of the minde within the walls of the soule and can be knowne to no man for neither Magistrate nor Church can judge of invisible and hidden acts of the soule so he sayes nothing 2. The simple apprehension of God to be a fourfooted beast is by the Apostle Rom. 1. esteemed Idolatry and a mentall changing of the glory of the incorruptible God into the glory of a corruptible creature and the profession thereof must then be the profession of manifest Idolatry and so punishable yet it is a profession of a meer opinion but I confesse of a most Idolatrous opinion not of a fact otherwise by this learning of Libertines there can be no sin in simple apprehensions of God though most prodigious and monstrous what is blasphemy is as controverted and as unjudicable as simple errour Servetus his naming the blessed Trinity a Cerberus or three-headed dog blasphemed say we I thinke Doctour Taylor will not say so then by his way blasphemy must be as unjudicable as heresie and to him the formall of it is within in the heart 3. If matters of fact be punishable according to their proportion and malignancy then speaking lyes in the name of the Lord and teaching and professing malignant doctrine contrary to the doctrine of godlinesse that Christ thought it no robbery to be equall and consubstantiall to God that God is one in three persons and to teach any thing contrary to what God hath said in his word as that there were not eight persons in the Arke with Neah must be punishable the contrary whereof the Doctor saith here for every breach of a Commandement is malignancy and punishable when it hurteth humane society especially 4. Can a man be the lesse hereticall and his society the lesse detestable then that he thinks his heresie is sound doctrine for thoughts cannot change the nature of actions 5. To kill a man is indifferent of it self it may be done in justice it may be done in injustice but if a man kill his son and offer him to God neither hating nor envying nor grudging at the safety of his son only upon this meer opinion that he expresseth an act of love to God above that he beareth to his son as Abraham did then by this way he sinneth not this son-slaughter is not murther nor punishable but a simple errour For 1. It may be said by Libertines the act of killing is indifferent of it selfe 2. If he hate not his son and lye not in wait for him it is no murther Deut. 4. 42. Deut. 19. 46. He is not worthy of death for as much as he hated him not in times past Nor can killing be called a vertuall hating or essentially an hatred of our brother for then it were impossible for a Judge to kill a man and not to hate him As every breach of the Law of God is essentially an hatred of God and a vertuall hatred of God for simple killing of our neighbour is not murther by Gods reasoning but killing of him in hatred rage anger or desire of revenge Nor can it be said that hating forbidden in murther by the Law of God includes a loving of him and a saving of his life when it is in our power to save it as it is in the fathers power who sacrificeth his innocent Son to God to save his life Answer I deny not but it is murther for they teach that a man may publish that which by consequence destroyeth the faith of fundamentals and so subvert the faith of others which to do is a sin but because the man followeth the dictment of his erroneous conscience it is no sin to the man that so teacheth yea he may innocently suffer persecution for his conscience thus erroneous yea and dye a martyr for it Ergo if the following of an erroneous conscience shall make a lesse sin to be no sin but innocency it shall make a greater sin to wit killing of his son to his heavenly father no sin and so he may lawfully do it Nor wil it suffice to say to offer a man to God and kill him is against the light of nature and vincibly a sin what then if the man beleeve he is commanded to kill him his erroneous conscience must bind as the offering of whole burnt offerings to God to us is a sin against the light of nature in regard the law of nature can no more warrant it then it can

warrant Christ to offer up himself to God But upon the supposition of Libertines it 's no murther nor is it punishable at al because the father may yea lawfully ought to worship God according to the indictment of his conscience whither the conscience be right or bloody and erroneous and yet he is not punishable for blood-shed by their way for meerly and simply without any malignancy or hatred to the child he beleeves he ought to preferre his maker to his dearest childs life as well as Abraham and the conscience doth naturally and as under no Law simply beleeve it is the like service and worship that Abraham would have gratefully performed unto God if God in reward of that love had not forbidden him againe to kill his Sonne And this answer presupposes also that it is impossible for a father to have such a conscience as may stimulate and command to kill his son and that in the authority and name of God as he erroneously yea and as he invincibly holdeth as Socinians Familists Papists beleeve purgatory merits justification by workes who yet are not to be punished for their conscience according to Libertines Again there is no intrinsecall malignancy in the act of naticide or son-sacrificing but what it hath from the Lords Law forbiding to kill now those that killed their Sons to Molech yea to God as they thought strongly yea invincibly beleeved God commanded them to do him such bodily service as is clear from Jer. 7. 31. Jer. 15. 5. And that this is invincible ignorance I take the word invincible in the Libertines sense Libertines grant for in our condemning son-sacrificing they wil say we are not infallible Yea the understanding being spirituall cannot be restrained saith Dr. Taylor Sect. 13. n. 6. and no man can change his opinion when he will saith he ibid n. 7. and so should not be punished for it and n. 13. there is nothing under God Almighty that hath power over the soule of man so as to command a persuasion If hee be then perswaded that he ought to kill his Son he ought unpunishably so to do Lastly Doctor Taylor yeelds the cause when he saith that certaine known Idolaters may be punished with death or corporall inflictions For there is no Idolatry so grosse that strongly deluded consciences may not be carried invincibly I speake in the Libertine sense out of meer conscience to act Ergo some are justly punishable for their meer conscience and yet are not persecuted for conscience 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If a man preach treason saith he his opinion doth not excuse If a man preach murther and preach that Christ was an impostor that the Scripture is a fable how can his opinion excuse in a great sin and not all sins CHAP. XXVIII Divers other Arguments for pretended Toleration answered DOctor Taylor objects from the Arminians he that persecutes a disagreeing person doth arm all the world to persecu●● himself if he say he is no Heretick he is as confidently beleeved to be an Heretick as he beleeves his adversarie to be an Heretick if it be said every side must take their venture this is to make the Christian world a shambles Ans 1. Because sound and orthodoxe Magistrates punish Hereticks they doe no more arm Hereticks against them to punish them then they arme murtherers to punish them because no law of Conscience teacheth that a seducer is obliged to publish to others his erroneous opinion touching mansacrificing the unlawfulness of Magistracie under the New Testament Libertie of Conscience Familisme and the 〈◊〉 for then the Law of nature must teach men are obliged in conscience to sin and pervert others 2. They are obliged to beleeve that their Conscience must be a rule to others which two the Law of nature cannot teach since it is the just law of God If yee argue what Hereticks doe unjustly they persecute the sound in the faith and there is reciprocation of persecution amongst false Religions its true the Christian world is a shambles through the corruption of mens nature But if yee argue what Christian Orthodox Magistrates ought to doe they ought to punish only Hereticks and Seducers but they do not justly 〈◊〉 Hereticks and those of false Religions reciprocally against themselves for by this argument those that are just Magistrates and take away the life of Pirates Robbers 〈◊〉 of other Nations doe they therefore justly arme all Pirates and Robbers to take away their Lives I thinke not Obj. 2. Where the Christ or his Messengers charge the Magistrate to establish by his arme of flesh and 〈…〉 worship of God the beast indeed gets the power of the earth Rev. 17. Bloodie Tenent Answ Kisse the Son O Rulers Psal 2. The Kings of the earth shall lick the dust before Christ Psal 72. The Kings shall bring their glory to the new Ierusalem Ergo They shall guard the Law of God from violence 2. The Beast gets the power of Kings to bear down truth but this power of Kings shall burn the whore Rev. 17. 16. and act for Christ and his ordinances 3. Where reads Mr. Williams that Christ and his Messengers are to charge the Magistrate to give libertie to Wolves Boares Lions Foxes Serve your consciences O beasts in wasting the Mountain of the Lords House and in not sparing the flock the Nurse-father grants you libertie to waste the mountain of the Lord. Obj. 3. Artaxerxes knew not the Law of God which he confirmed how then could be judge it 2. In such fits and pangs of a terrifying conscience what lawes have Nebuchadnezzar Cyrus Darius Arta●erxes put forth for the Israel of God yet were they not charged with the spirituall crowne of governing the worship of God Answ That was their Error they knew not the Law of God but it was their dutie that they ratified it 2. Those Princes did their dutie as Magistrates in those Laws no matter what Conscience renewed or not renewed put them on to act the duties in the substance of the act were lawfull the corruption of nature they being unrenewed might vitiate the work and put them a working to act lawfully in the duties Saul as King did fight the battels of the Lord and led his people and that lawfully according to the substance of the work but God knowes his motives and end 3. This ignorant man never heares of a Magistraticall act to promote the worship of God in a civill way but he dreames of a spirituall tribunall given to the Magistrate which we abhorre as much as he for the materiall object of the Magistrates power though spirituall rendreth not his power spirituall as the Magistrate punisheth spirituall confederacie with Satan in Magitians and Sorcerers a Witch should not be suffered to live and Sodomie flowing from Gods judiciall delivering men up to a reprobate mind Rom. I. 28. and yet the Mastrates power is not spirituall nor terminated upon the consciences of men Not is this Argument