if we consider God in himselfe as he is revealed in his word and workes to be the one only true Jehovah eternall omnipotent immortal immutable infinite in goodnesse bounty wisdome mercy justice faithfulnesse and truth most mighty wise and prudent to order rule and governe all the world most bountifull to reward all obedience and most just to punish and dreadfull and terrible in revenging all disobedience against his Word and Law Wee cannot but acknowledge and confesse that hee is the supreame Lord of all Lords King of Kings and the eternally blessed and onely Potentate who is in all things to bee obeyed above all and before all and all Lords Kings Fathers and Benefactors are to bee obeyed onely in and under him as his Substitutes subordinate Vicegerents Stewards and Messengers whosoever doe out of feare love or any affection and respect to any creature doe any thing contrary to his kowne will word and commandement they rob him of his honour and glory set up the creature above the Creator and make it their God which must needes by all reasonable men be confessed to be a most heinous and grievous sinne worthy of Gods wrath and all punishments This is the solid argument and invincible demonstration which fully proves the Doctrine which I will briefly reduce into the strict forme of a Sylogisme thus Whosoever robs the King and Lord of Lords the blessed and onely Potentate and cheife Father and Authour of all being goodnesse and bounty by taking from him the honour and glory which doth properly belong to him and setteth up the creature and servant above his Lord and Creator he is guilty of most heinous sinne and transgression Every one who out of feare love or any affection and respect to any creature doth any act contrary to the revealed will word and Commandement of God robbeth thereby God the supream Lord King Father and Benefactor and setteth up the creature and servant above his Lord and Creator Therefore he is guilty in this of heinous sinne and transgression and by consequence it followeth necessarily that as this Doctrine teacheth no feare threatning or commandement of earthly Potentates no love or respect of Parents and Benefactors can free from the foule staine of sinne in any act which they draw men to doe contrary to the Commandement of God This Doctrine is of speciall use First to admonish all Gods people to be carefull and diligent above all to know and acknowledge God aright and to set their hearts and affections chiefly on him as the supreme Lord and Father of all and the chiefe Author and Fountaine of all goodnesse and to put on a setled resolution to obey all his Commandements though all the world should perswade command them ro the contrary It is true that Kings Rulers and Potentates of the world are set up by God to rule by him and under him as his Vice-gerenâ—s Stewards and Messengers and all men who are under them especiaily Christians Gods free and willing people ought to give them all honour and reverence and to feare and obey them for conscience sake in and under God the very law of Nature binds all men to love reverence honour and obey their Parents and Benefactors who are Gods instruments of their being and well being and not onely Civility and the Common Law of Nations bindes men to honour and respect them who are honourable in wisdome gravity and authority but Religion and Gods Word teach men to honour and affect such as are Prophets Preachers Embassadours and Messengers of God unto them But yet all these are to be loved feared honoured and respected in and under God and with feare love and affection subordinate to the feare love and affection which they have towards God above all Wherefore let all Gods people take heed and beware and carefully looke to it that they give not too much way to humane passions and affections by regarding and respecting secondary meanes and inferiour causes more then God the first and chiefe cause Author and bountaine of all blessings or by accustoming themselves to esteeme too highly or to love feare and admire too excessively the persons of men how great wise and learned or how aimiable and honourable soever they appeare in their eyes If men once give way so far to the reverence awe feare and dread of earthly Kings Rulers and Potentates that they become more affraid of their faces angry countenances menacing and threatnings then of the terrours of Gods Law and of his wrathfull judgements this is that which will draw them to disobey Gods Word and Law out of respect to mortall men and will bring them under the staine and guilt of unecusable sinne laid open in this Text and Doctrine So likewise excessive love carnall affection and respect of Parents and Benefactors while men set their eyes and hearts on the things which are visible and sensible and on the outward meanes more then on the invisible hand power and goodnesse of God may easily supplant them and make them fall in like sort into heinous sinne and inexcusable transgression But most dangerous of all is that superstitious feare reverence and respect which men out of blind and undifereet zeale without knowledge doe shew to such as are set over them to rule and direct them in things which concerne God Religion and godlinesse and hold the place of Prophets Messengers Bishops wise Pastors and learned Teachers in Gods Church when men are so enthralled in their wills and become Slaves in their affections that they are ready to beleeve and embrace whatsoever they hold and teach without proofe from Gods Word or examination of things taught by the word or consent with the word and rule of Faith they are in the high way to horrible and dangerous errours and disobedience to the Law of God into which whosoever fall being led by immoderate affection and more then due respect to any persons whatsoever he may here learne from Gods proceeding against Adam the common Father and root of all mankinde that God will admit no excuse for breaking any of his Commandements out of any respect or any feare reverence love or affection to any persons how great wise learned honourable or aimiable soever they appeare to him As Adam by his excuse could not turne away the guilt and punishment of his disobedience but had a curse laid on the ground and all paines sorrowes and death it selfe on himselfe and all his posterity So it shall fare with all Adams seed and children in the like case For there is no respect of persons with God Secondly this Doctrine discovers unto us abundance of error in the judgements and iniquity in the practice of many worldly-wise and learned men especially in those State-polititions admirers of worldly power greatnesse and authority who doe thinke and hold that they may lawfully doe things commanded by such as have the rule over them without examining whether they be allowed or forbidden in the Law
penalties as trouble vexation imprisonment and losse of liberty or with hope of some preferment profit and gaine which they may reape by executing an unlawfull office they are ready to plead for themselves that they are excusable because they did take such oathes and doe execute such offices by command of Superiours and in obedience to authority and that otherwise they should forgoe a profitable office and trade which doth maintaine and enrich them and their Family and should be vexed troubled fined impoverished imprisoned and deprived of their libertie But let mee answer such in the words of Holy Iob chap. 27. 8. What is the hope of the Hypocrite that he hath gained when God taketh away his soule What will his gainefull office advantage him when God findeth and judgeth him guilty for profaning his holy Ordinance and taking his Name in vaine Yea our Saviour fully answereth such Hypocrites and discovereth the folly of such worldly Polititions in expresse words saying What is a man profited to gaine the whole World and lose his owne soule or what shall a man give in exchange for his soule Matth. 16. 26. All the liberty and freedome from bands and imprisonment all the worldly profits pleasures goods and wealth which men purchase and procure to themselves by their obsequious observing of great ones and obeying the authority and commandements of men in things contrary to the Word and Law of God will yeeld them no comfort at all but rather adde to their torment in that flaming fire wherein God will render vengeance to them and punish them with everlasting destruction from his presence and the glory of his power and shut them up with the Devill and damned spirits in the prison of blacknesse and darknesse for ever world without end Lastly whereas many who are wise in their owne conceit and most politicke for the world and in wordly matters when they are commanded as Doeg was by Saul his lawfull King to mangle murder and massacre the innocent servants of God and to oppresse and spoile them of goods lands and lives as the Nobles of Naboaths City were by Iezabels Letters written in Ahabs name and sealed with his Seale or to execute cruell and bloudy sentences given by Judges of unrighteousnesse under the name and colour of the Law by haling to prison torturing and punishing Christian people men and women as Saul did when he was a persecutor armed with Commission and Letters from the High Priests they perswade themselves and plead confidently that it is no sinne in them to doe such things though in themselves most unjust and contrary to the Law of God but that the sinne and guilt lyes wholly on their Superiours and on the Judges which by their authority and imperious commands doe impose upon them such executions and they the executioners shall never be called to account nor undergoe the punishment of just revenge from God Let all such be admonished by this Doctrine that this their plea and perswasion will never excuse them before God but as they have an hand in wicked workes and are executioners of cruell and ungodly sentences so they shall have their share in the just punishments of such heinous transgressions and the righteous and supreme Judge will cause just vengeance to be executed on them also It is true that seducors and perswaders of others to sinne and all they who by their power and authority feare and awe cause others to commit wickednes as they are cheife Authours there of next under the Divill the Father of all iniquity and the blood of those whome they haue seduced compelled and caused to transgresse Gods holy Commandements shall ly heavy upon them and God will certainly require it at their hands so shall they chiefly bear the curse and punishment But they who are seduced and led by them through blind obedience shall not escape but shall also fall with them into the pit of destruction And all they who are voluntarily instruments of cruell oppression violence or any wickednesse they shall undoubtedly dye and perish in those sinnes of which they are partakers with them who set them on worke to doe wickedly there is no way for them to escape Gods revenging curse but by godly griefe and sorrow to repentance and by seeking and finding pardon in Christ Wherefore behold your folly and wilfull madnesse yee worklly Polititions who are so wise to worke your owne ruine who by vaine excuses and subtile fallacies of fleshly reason doe blinde your owne eyes and hardon your hearts not to repent Alas what comfort will it be to you that your great Lords whom you feared and obeyed and the unrighteous Judges whose cruell sentences yee executed doe chiefely beare the curse and punishment of that cruelty injustice and iniquity which they acted by your hands what ease or mitigation of sorrow paine and griefe will it be to you that you see them leade the way and goe before you when you also follow them at the heeles and dance after them attendance unto Hell there to remaine for ever in the lake which burnes with fire and brimstone where the worme dyeth not and the fire never goeth out but burneth eternally and is unquenchable world without end From which wrath and eternall woe the Lord deliver us for his mercies sake and through the meritorious satisfaction of the Lord Jesus Christ our Redeemer and Saviour To whom with the Father and the blessed Spirit be all glory honour and praise now and for ever Amen â—INIS Doct. Reason Vse 1. Vse 2.
that when King Saul commanded the men of his Guard whom hee had obliged to him by many preferments and gifts as his upbraiding words in the seaventh verse seeme to imply that they should slay the Lords innocent Preists whome he out of false and unjust suspition and jelousy supposed to conspire with David against him they would not put forth their hands to fall upon them as the Text saith verse 17. and Doeg the Edomite who at the Kings Commandement slue the Preists and mangled and murthered their wives and children and innocent Sucklings and like a bloudy oppressing Tyrant spoyled their City and all their substance is by the Spirit of God in the mouth of David cursed with most dreadfull curses though hee did these things in obedience to the King his Lord upon whose favour all his preferment did depend the sentence of judgement passed upon him Psal. 52. that God would destroy him for ever pluck him out of his dwelling and root him out of the Land of the living doth most plainely shew that his Act was a most heinous sinne and wickednesse In like manner when Ieroboam commanded the Israelites who had chosen him for their King to worship God who brought them out of Aegypt in the Images of golden Calves such as Aaron had before made at Mount Horeh it is said in the Text that he made them to sinne his Commandâ—ment did not excuse them and their worship of Images neither did God spare to punish them for it but as the Prophet Hosea testifieth cap. 5. 11. Ephraim that is the Israelites of the ten Tribes was oppressed and broken in judgement because he willingly walked after the Commandement that is of Ieroboam and also of Baasha and other wicked Kings who walked in the wayes of Ieroboam and made Israel to sinne And although Omri Ahab and Iezabel were cruell Tyrants and by Statutes tyrannicall commands terrours threatnings and slaughter of the Lords Prophets teachers of Gods true worship did not onely draw but drive and force Israel their people and subjects to worship Baal yet this excused not the peoples Idolatry but the Lord threatens them by the Prophet Micha 6. 16. that because they kept the Statutes of Omri and walked in the counsels and wayes of the house of Ahab therefore hee will make the Land a desolation and an hissing and reproach and for their forsaking of Gods covenant and worshipping of Baal Idols and Groves Eliah the man of God accuseth them all as great offenders deeply guilty saying The Children of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant and broken downe thine Altars 1 King 19. 14. And God in his answer to Eliahs accusation exempts none from the guilt of these sinnes in all Israel but onely those seveven thousand men who had not been drawne by the terrours threatnings and cruell commands of Ahab and Iezabel to worship Baal but had kept their knees from bowing to him and their mouthes from kissing him as we see vers. 18 What man can plead more plausible for any disobedience to any Commandement of God then the man of God which came from Iudah to Bethel to prophesie against Ieroboams Altar might plead for his eating bread and drinking water in that wicked Idolatrous place contrary to Gods particular Commandement given to him First the thing forbidden was a matter in it selfe very indifferent there was no appearance of any evill in it so long as he did not eate and drinke with infectious and infamous Idolaters which might be a snare and scandall to him Secondly his resolution and endeavour to keep this Commandement was such that when King Ieroboam thankfully invited him to eate and drinke out of kindnesse for healing his withered hand he could not be overcome with any intreaty nor promise of great gifts and rewards Thirdly when he was seduced and drawne to eate and drinke in the place forbidden it was the authority of the old Prophet and his respect to his words which he confidently affirmed to be the words of God which perswaded him to returne with him and to eate bread with him and yet all this could not excuse this man of God from sinne in doing contrary to Gods Commandement given to him for God presently makes the old Prophet which deceived him a Messenger of death to declare unto him his untimely death for his disobedience and that his dead carkasse torne by a Lyon should not come to the Sepulchre of his Fathers 1 King 13. Whereby it is manifest that no power or authority of any man how fairely soever it is pretended to be from God can excuse any act done against any knowne Commandement of God though it be a Commandement of a small indifferent thing given onely to try mans obedience but whosoever upon any respect to any creature or by any perswasion doth transgresse any Precept or word of God he is guilty of sinne and worthy of death before Gods just Tribunall Sauls letters from the High-priests which gave him a Commission and authority to persecute Christians did not excuse him from sin though he did it in ignorance and blind zeale for he calls himselfe the greatest of sinners for that act of persecution 1 Tim. 1. 15. But I hold it needlesse to spend time in rehersing more examples to prove this doctrine though it is of all Doctrines the chiefest and most necessary to be beleeved continually kept in mind and observed of all Adams posterity I will onely adde one strong and invincible argument and demonstration to convince all men of the truth thereof grounded upon divers solid principles of Reason and Religion First it is a thing which none but Atheists can or will deny that when any creature stands in competition with God and seekes to bee respected and obeyed before God and to have his demands and commands yeelded unto which are contrary to the will and Law of God as he in that case seekes to rob God of his due honour and glory and to exalt himselfe above God which is Luciserian pride rebellion so they who in such a case obey him whether for feare or love or any respect and affection in a thing contrary to any Word or Commandement of God they do undobtedly rob God of his glory and of the honour which properly belongs to him for God as the Creator of all things and giver of being life and breath to all creatures severally who also upholds and preserves them all in being and well being and sustaines them by his providence so he is the chiefe Father of all worthy to be respected loved and obeyed above all other Parents and Benefactors who are but instruments of his bounty and subordinate meanes of our being and other benefits He also by the right both of Creation and also of redemption is the chiefe King Lord owner and possessor of all things in heaven and earth to whom all hearts hands wills desires and affections ought to be subject and obedient in all things and at all times Besides