but him Now there are three things which are either imply'd or expresly contain'd in the not having any other gods beside the True 1. That we should not substitute any other in his room 2. That we should not receive any other gods into copartnership with him And 3. Thirdly and lastly That we should not attribute to any thing else any part of that Honour which is due unto him 1. The first of these is rather imply'd than express'd but so strongly imply'd that there cannot be any the least doubt of it For beside that the One True God doth here declare himself to be so and not onely so but call upon us to yield Obedience to all those Commands which we are now upon the consideration of the very Words wherein this Commandment is express'd do à fortiori imply the not substituting any other in his room For if we may not have any other before or beside him much less may we admit of any to the utter exclusion of him and build their Honour upon the Ruines of the other's But such Transgressors were the Heathen or at least a great part of them after God had for their sins given them over to vain imaginations as worshipping in stead of him all the Host of Heaven such Men by whom their several Nations had receiv'd any great advantage particularly Kings and Princes and in fine the brute Beasts yea Inanimate Creatures But how much they acted against the light of their own Reason as well as the Precepts of this great Lawgiver will easily appear if we survey the several Objects of their Worship To begin with the Host of Heaven even the Sun Moon and Stars because thought by Learned Men * Vid. Grot. Explic. Decal Job 31.26 to be the first Instances of Idolatry in the World Concerning which it is easie to shew how unreasonable it was to substitute them in the place of God For though it be not to be doubted but that great Benefits come from thence particularly from the Sun by whose Influence this lower World is actuated yet is there nothing in that glorious Body which can tempt a considering Man to pay Divine Honours to it it being evident to our sense that it moves and acts necessarily neither can do any other than it doth Which one thing duly weigh'd will to all impartial Understandings evince it not to have the Nature or deserve the Honour of a God For beside that the Nature of God implieth the most Perfect One and consequently such as is not ty'd up to Rules but is free in its Motions and Operations all the Honour of God as the Author to the Hebrews observes is built upon this great Principle That he is a rewarder of such as diligently seek him Which Principle can have no place where there is no freedom in acting and the supposed Deity is oblig'd not onely to shine alike upon the evil and the good but either to afford or withhold its shining as the Laws of its Creation admonish yea as it pleaseth those Clouds that are below it From the Host of Heaven pass we to Men such as many of those were whom the Heathen worshipp'd Where again we shall see how little reason there was to substitute them in the place of God For as even these could not save themselves from death but were fain to pass through that to their suppos'd Divinity so many of them were such as may be suppos'd rather to have fallen into the state of Devils to whose nature they bear so great a resemblance than to be advanc'd to the Honour of Gods To say nothing at all that it appeareth not they had any knowledge of things below and much less any Power either to reward or punish As little yea far less reason was there for the Worship of Beasts and Inanimate Creatures which was the particular Error of the Egyptians and the lowest to which Humane Nature could fall these having not so much as the Reason of a Man and much less the Understanding to know the Necessities of those that pray'd to them or the Power to relieve and redress them 2. But because the not substituting False Gods in the place of the True is rather suppos'd by than directly contain'd in the present Prohibition proceed we to that which the Words do clearly and plainly import even the not receiving any other into Copartnership with him Which as it probably was the Error of the wiser Heathen so to be sure is that which this Commandment doth more immediately strike at he that requireth the not having any other gods before or beside himself both supposing the having of himself and forbidding the superinducing any other And in this notion it was that the Samaritans became Offenders against it as you may see 2 Kings 17.33 it being there remark'd concerning them That they feared the Lord and served their own Gods after the manner of the Nations whom God carried away from thence From which Passage compar'd with the present Prohibition it is manifest That to admit any Being into a Copartnership with the True God is enough to make a Man a Transgressor the Law at the same time it forbids the having of other Gods supposing in some measure the having of the True Which said I shall now inquire Whether those of the Church of Rome are not justly chargeable with the breach of it in that Honour which they give both to Saints and Angels To begin with the Honour of Saints departed because most stood upon by them and which indeed makes up a great part of their Religion Concerning which I shall propose to consideration Whether the Prayers they make to them be not in effect to set up other Gods For is not Prayer a great part of Religious Worship nay is it not so considerable as to give a denomination to the Place of God's Worship yea to be an Ingredient in his Titles He himself calling his House the House of Prayer and the Psalmist him that inhabiteth it the God that heareth it And is it then any other than the setting up other Gods to make Saints departed the Objects of it But it will be said it may be That they do not pray to them or at least not in that manner they do to God only imploring their Intercession with our Maker and theirs but begging no Blessing from themselves But first of all Quid verba audio facta cum videam What will Words avail when their Practice is oftentimes so contrary Neither is there any real difference between their Prayers to them and those to God I instance in that which the Rosary of the Virgin Mary presents us with where we have this very Prayer to the Mother of our Lord Virgo singularis Vid. Jacks of the Original of Unbelief c. cap. 28. Intrae omnes mitis Nos culpis solutos Mites fac castos Vitam praesta puram Iter para tutum That is to say O thou who art the chief
Spirits and that too in an especial manner For as it is but requisite that he who is a Spirit should have the worship of ours because most agreeable to his own Nature so also that we should for that reason intend that Worship especially and make it the chief of our Study and Design And accordingly though under the Law for the grosness of the Jews God appointed them a Worship which consisted much in Rites and Ceremonies yet he gave them sufficiently to understand that the spiritual Worship or the Worship of the Soul was that which he principally requir'd Witness one for all that of the Prophet David Psal 51.16 17. For thou desirest not Sacrifice else would I give it thee thou delightest not in burnt-offering The Sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God thou shalt not despise The result of the Premises is this That to worship God in Spirit and consequently to worship him after a due manner is especially to intend the worshipping him with ours that is to say by entertaining honourable thoughts of him by endeavouring to conform our Wills to his most holy one and lastly by suiting our Affections to his several Attributes by fearing and loving and trusting in him But beside the Worshipping of God with our Spirits and that too in a more especial manner to worship God in Spirit doth also imply the worshipping him without an Image or any Corporeal Representation For beside that this is the very thing here forbidden and therefore in reason to be suppos'd to be excluded by worshipping God in spirit and in truth to worship God by an Image is so far from being consistent with a spiritual Worship that it is but a dishonouring of him because resembling him to things to which he is no way like and which indeed are infinitely below the Excellencies of his Nature 2. Of the Natural or Moral Sense of Worshipping God in Spirit I have spoken hitherto and shewn both the Ground and Importance of it Let us now consider the Evangelical one according as was before insinuated For that such a one was also intended is evident from that Story to which this Passage is subjoyn'd If you please to consult the Verse preceding that which I have chosen for the Ground-work of this Argument you will there find a Woman of Samaria demanding of our Saviour whether Mount Gerizim by Sichem where the Samaritans sacrific'd or Jerusalem were the true Place of Worship In answer to which after our Saviour had told her That that Question was not now of much moment because ere long they should neither worship in the one or the other for a farther proof of that his Assertion he adds that the time was coming and even then was Mr. Mede on Joh. 4.23 that the true worshippers should worship the Father in spirit and in truth Which being compar'd with the foregoing Words and the State of the Controversie to which they do relate will shew that by worshipping in spirit and in truth is meant no other than the worshipping of God with a spiritual Worship as that is oppos'd to the Sacrifices and Ceremonies of the Law For the Question being not whether Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem were the place of Publick Prayer because both Jews and Samaritans had particular Places for them but which of the two was the proper Place to send their Sacrifices to and our Saviour making answer That in a little time neither of them should be because the Father sought such to worship him as should worship him in spirit and in truth he thereby plainly shews his meaning to be That to worship God in spirit and in truth was not to worship him with Sacrifices and other such Figures but in spiritual and substantial Worship such as are the Sacrifices of Prayer and Praise with other the like Natural Expressions of our Devotion But from hence it will follow not onely that we are to worship God without those Legal Rites wherewith it was before sufficiently clogg'd but also that we are not to clog it with other Rites than Decency and Order shall require For our Saviour not onely excluding the Rites and Sacrifices of the Law but affirming the Worship which his Father sought to be a spiritual one he doth thereby cut off the affixing of all other Rites as being alike contrary thereto save what Decency and Order shall require But so the Church of England hath declar'd it self to understand the Worshipping of God in spirit and in truth telling us in one of its Prefaces to our Liturgy That Christ's Gospel is not a Ceremonial Law as much of Moses Law was but it is a Religion to serve God not in bondage of the Figure or Shadow but in the freedom of the Spirit contenting it self onely with those Ceremonies which do serve to a decent Order and comely Discipline and such as be apt to stir up the dull mind of Man to the remembrance of his Duty to God by some notable and special signification whereby he might be edified In conformity whereto as she her self hath proceeded injoyning neither many nor trifling ones so what she hath done is sufficiently warranted not onely by that Solemnity which Experience shews Things of that nature to add to all Matters of Importance but which is of more avail from the Institution of our Saviour and the Practice of the Church in the Apostles days For if all Rites are to be excluded what shall become of the Sacraments themselves But how shall we any way excuse the Apostolical Church for that holy Kiss wherewith they were wont to conclude their Prayers the laying on of hands in admitting Ministers to the Church or shaking off the dust of their feet against those that should not receive them in testimony of their rejection of them For that all those things were then in use even with the allowance of the Apostles themselves the Scripture is our Witness to which therefore if Men will exclude all things of that nature they must first oppose themselves Such is the Practice of that Church to which we relate such the Grounds upon which she proceeds but as farther than that she neither goes nor pretends to do so if she did there is no doubt she would offend against that Precept which requires the worshipping of God in spirit and in truth For how can they be said to do so whose Devotion spends it self in outward Ceremonies Which as they are of no value in themselves so have this ill property of the Ivy that where they are suffer'd to grow too luxuriant they eat out the Heart of that Religion about which they twine PART II. A Transition to the Negative part of the Precept and therein first to that part of it which forbids the making any Graven Image or other Corporeal Representation That all Images are not forbidden but such onely as are made with a design to represent the Divine Majesty or to bow down to and
I should go about to prove it The onely thing worthy our consideration will be what use may be made of it to infer our own Obligation to observe it And here in the first place I shall alledge the Practice it self as a sufficient Argument to evince it For as an approved Custom hath the nature of a Law because declaring the Consent of that Body wherein it is and to which it is but reasonable that particular Men should subject themselves so St. Paul gives it that force in the Church where disputing against the Corinthian Women's praying uncovered he alledges That they had no such custom nor the Churches of God 1 Cor. 11.16 For if the Argument from a Custom negative be good and valid much more from the same positive and especially when there is so general an one But because such arguments as these through the contempt Men now have of the Church may possibly not have their due efficacy I will alledge in the second place that there is reason enough even from that Practice to believe it to have been of Apostolical Institution For it being morally impossible that the Christians of all Places should so unanimously agree to the Observation of it if there had not been something of a Law to constrain them to it and there appearing no such Law of the Church it self antecedent to the Practice of it it is but reasonable to believe it to have been Instituted by those who were the first Founders of it according to that known Rule * Quod universa tenet Ecclesia nec Conciliis institutum sed semper retentum est non nisi Authoritate Apostolica traditum rectissimè creditur of St. Augustine That what the Vniversal Church holds and always hath if it appear not that the same was first decreed by Councils is most rightly believ'd to have been delivered by the Authority of the Holy Apostles And higher than that we shall not need to go because he who had all power in heaven and earth given him did at his departure hence delegate so much of it to them as was necessary for the regulating of the Church The onely thing that may seem to have any difficulty is Why when God gave the Jews so clear a Precept for the Observation of their Sabbath he should leave us who live at so great a distance from the Institution of ours rather to collect it from the Practice of the Apostles and the Church than to read it in some express Declaration But even this how difficult soever in appearance will not be hard for him to unriddle who shall remember what hath been before brought to establish it For the Law of Nature and this of Moses evidencing the necessity of a Set Time and the Equity of Moses Law and our own Obligations to the Divine Majesty that we cannot give God a less proportion of our Time than what he exacted of the Jews nothing remained for God to declare but whether he would require more than a Seventh of which there is not the least Indication or if not which of those Seven he would make choice of which an easie hint might suffice to discover For the Saturday which is the last of those Seven being expresly abolish'd and no other having the like Pretences to succeed it it was easie to guess God meant that Day which had not onely our Saviour's Resurrection to adorn it but was moreover by the Apostles and those that followed them kept as holy unto the Lord. PART III. A Digression concerning the Fasts and Festivals of the Church where the Lawfulness of their Institution is evicted and vindicated from the Exceptions of their Adversaries That they are of signal use to insinuate the main Articles of our Religion into the Vnderstanding of the Weak to bring the Occasions thereof to the Memories of the Strong and prompt us all both more particularly and with greater edification to consider them That being instituted by the Church they ought to be Religiously observ'd by all that are the Members of it Of the Manner of the Observation of the Jewish Sabbath which is another of the Circumstantials of this Commandment Of the Strictness of the Rest enjoyn'd the Jews on it and that as such it is not onely not obligatory to us but superstitious What Rest is now obligatory to us by vertue of this Commandment where that Rest is considered both in the Letter and in the Mystery To whom and in what manner the Jewish Rest appertain'd with an application thereof to our own Concernments A particular Inquiry concerning those who are under the Power of others and whether or no they are oblig'd to Rest where they are constrain'd to Labour by Threats or Stripes Of Recreation on the Jewish Sabbath and our own and that rightly dispos'd it is not onely not unlawful but useful An Objection from Isa 58.13 propos'd and answered A Restriction of Recreations to such as are neither unsuitable for the Kind to the Gravity of such a Solemnity nor take up too much time in the Exercise thereof A Caution against profane neglect of the Lord's-day with the necessity that lieth upon the Generality of Men more than ordinarily to intend their Eternal Concernments on it 3. THE Lord's-day being as you have seen establish'd upon Christian Principles and thereby equally secur'd from a Judaical Observance and a profane Neglect the Commandment I am now upon no less than my proposed Method obligeth me to entreat of other the Festivals and Fast-days of the Church For though these have not the Authority of a Divine Command as the Jewish Sabbath had though there is not the same clearness of Evidence for their Apostolical Institution as there is for the Lord's-day or Sunday yet they have this in common with the Jewish Sabbath and our own that they have the same Worship of God for their End and the like signal Acts of God for the Occasions of their Institution even those which have the Title of Saints-days looking through them to the Mercy of God who made them what they are and dedicated to his onely Worship and Service Having therefore so much affinity with the Day here enjoyn'd I shall think it no way impertinent to my present Argument to inquire into the Lawfulness of their Institution their Vsefulness and the Esteem wherein they are to be held 1. It being certain that that is to be look'd upon as lawful which is not forbidden by any Command nothing can be requir'd to establish the Holy-days of the Church but the taking off those Objections which may be made against the lawfulness thereof Now there are two things commonly objected against them and to which therefore before I proceed I will shape an Answer the former whereof strikes at the Observation it self the other at the Injunction of it The ground of the former is laid in those Words of St. Paul Gal. 4.10 11. where the Apostle not onely finds fault with their observing days and
better and render them more apt for the Practice of it both the Chaldee * Chal. pro eo quod est in Hebr. faciendo voluntatem tuam ut non facias necessaria tua pro ab inveniendo voluntatem tuam neque provideas in eo quae tibi necessaria sunt and the ‖ LXX pro à faciendo vias tuas ab inveniendo voluntatem tuam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Septuagint understand it of the pleasure of gain of making provision for their necessities and commodities Which restriction is the rather to be admitted as because the Sabbath was ordain'd for †Vid. Exod. 23.12 ubi LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. refreshment so because there is not the least mention elsewhere of forbidding Recreation on it Add hereunto what will farther confirm the former Notion that of the same Prophet vers 3. Behold in the day of your fast you find pleasure and exact all your labours For as it is probable from what he there subjoyns concerning the exacting of their labours that he meant no other pleasure than the pursuing of their profits so that he could not mean pleasures in the proper acception of the Word the fifth Verse of the same Chapter shews he there intimating that they were not wanting in afflicting their souls which shews they were far from finding pleasure This onely would be added That as Recreation how lawful soever in it self may upon other Days become unlawful according as it may happen to be circumstantiated so it will become so more especially upon this if either it be unsuitable for the Kind to the Gravity of such a Solemnity or take up too much Time in the exercise thereof Upon which account I should make no difficulty to condemn as the Statute 1 Caroli chap. 1. did all Meetings Assemblies or Concourse of People out of their own Parishes for any Sports or Pastimes whatsoever or any Bear-baiting Bull-baiting Enterludes or Common Plays within them these latter as they are rarely managed without either those Vanities or Heats which are very unsuitable to the Day so both the one and the other being not well to be either provided for or attended to according as that Statute remarques without entrenching upon those Duties for which it was set apart Besides when it is apparent how great the Necessities of Men's Souls are and how little leisure the Common sort have to consider them upon other Days when it is farther apparent how ill the other Festivals of the Church are observ'd and consequently how little likelihood there is of Mens supplying those Necessities in them by a conscionable discharge either of Publick or Private Duties of Religion lastly when it is apparent how apt Men are to exceed and upon a pretence of the lawfulness of Recreation on it to convert that Day which was set apart for God's Service into a Day of Sloth or Merriment it is easie to see how much it concerns Men to set Bounds to their Recreations on it and avoid a profane neglect as well as a too nice and superstitious observation of it PART IV. By what Religious Offices the Jewish Sabbath was sanctified which beside the offering of Sacrifices and other such Legal Ministrations are shewn to have been the reading of the Law and the Prophets An Explication of and Exhortation out of them Praying to and Praising God A Transition to the Publick Sanctification of the Lord's-day where the several Offices thereof are commemorated and evidenced at large both from Scripture and Antiquity Of Reading the Scriptures in the Publick Assemblies and the both Necessity and Vsefulness of continuing that Practice in them That the Reading and Hearing of the Scriptures is no improper part of God's Worship A Caution against those who reject the Reading of the Scriptures as insufficient to convert Souls unto God Of the Explication of the Scriptures and Exhortations out of them What the Ancient Form of Sermons was and the Vsefulness of all Concerning Prayer and Praise both which are at large evidenc'd to be Parts of the Lord's-day Service The vanity of those Mens Pretences who absent themselves from our Publick Prayers because as they think they can make as good at home The Administration of the Lord's-Supper a great part of the Office of the Day 3. BEING by the Order of my Discourse to inquire by what Offices the Jewish Sabbath was and ours is to be sanctified after its example I must admonish you in the general That it is especially by such as are strictly and properly Religious For though God may be honour'd by other Offices yet those tend more directly towards it and consequently also to the Sanctification of those Days which were set apart for his Honour Setting aside therefore for the present what place other good Offices may have in it I will make it my business to inquire what Religious ones were requir'd toward the Sanctification of the Jewish Sabbath and what are to the Sanctification of our own And first of all if the Question be concerning the Sanctification of the Jewish Sabbath and particularly concerning the Sanctification of it in Publick so beside the offering of Sacrifices and other such Legal Ministrations we shall find they had 1. The Reading of the Law and the Prophets For that this was a great part of the Business of their Sabbath is evident from what was * See Part 1. of the Explic. of this Commandment heretofore alledg'd out of the Jewish Writers and a Passage of St. James but may be made yet more clear from Acts 13.27 where St. Paul not onely affirms the Prophets to have been read every Sabbath-day but makes it an aggravation of the Jews ignorance in the matter of our Saviour concerning whom they so clearly foretold 2. But beside the Reading of the Law and the Prophets which yet was always a part of their Service they had at least for the most part an Explication of them by those who were the most eminent in Knowledge among them And accordingly as we find our Saviour after the reading of a Passage in Isaiah proceeding to the Explication of it Luke 4.16 so the Rulers of the Synagogue of Antioch after the reading of the Law and the Prophets sending to Paul and Barnabas to tell them that if they had any word of exhortation to the people they should say on Acts 13.14 Agreeable hereto is a Passage of Philo concerning a Sect among the Jews call'd Essenes to wit Thorndike Rel. Assembl ch 3. p. 60. That coming to their Holy Places called Synagogues they sit down in Ranks according to Years the Younger under the Elder with fit decorum dispos'd to hear Then one taketh the Book and readeth another of the best practised cometh afterwards and recogniseth that which is least understood that is expoundeth it From all which it appeareth that the Exposition of the Law and the Prophets was a part of their Sabbath-Service as well as the Reading of it 3. The
Archangel had it in such abhorrence that when contending with the Devil who was sometime a glorious Angel he disputed with him about the Body of Moses yet he durst not bring even against him a railing accusation but said The Lord rebuke thee I will conclude this Particular with that of St. Peter as well for the affinity it hath with the fore-quoted Passage of St. Jude as because it will add more strength to the Prohibition of Evil speaking 'T is in 2 Pet. 2.10 11. For as he there reckons those that despise Government amongst such unjust ones whom God hath reserv'd to the day of Judgment to be punish'd so resuming their Character anew he tells us among other things that they are not afraid to speak evil of Dignities plainly intimating the so speaking to be a thing which is not onely unlawful for a Christian to do but to such a degree also as that he ought to tremble at the very thoughts of it adding moreover that the Angels themselves however mightier and greater do not bring a railing accusation against them before the Lord. They may perhaps according to their Office represent their Crimes before the Almighty they may for God's Glory and the sake of the Oppressed invoke the Divine Majesty to avenge himself upon them But remembring that how criminal soever they may be they are God's Vicegerents and of his own Divine Appointment they abstain from all reviling Speeches and rather accuse their Enormities than their Persons Now forasmuch as even the Angels who are mightier either than us or Princes themselves do yet religiously abstain from all reproachful Language of them forasmuch as Michael the Archangel durst not so treat the Devil himself because as anciently a glorious Image of the Almighty so at this very time an Instrument of his Vengeance upon ungodly Men forasmuch as both St. Peter and St. Jude reckon those who speak evil of Dignities amongst the worst yea the most obnoxious to the Divine Justice and St. Peter moreover intimates the so speaking to be a thing which a Christian ought to tremble at the thought of it is easie to guess that Princes as they are in no small consideration with God so they ought to be had in no small veneration with those over whom God hath appointed them to preside PART VI. Of that Declaration of our Esteem which is made by Obedience to the Commands of Princes the Necessity whereof is evidenc'd from their Legislative Power as that again from the Scriptures attributing that Power to Princes and from the impossibility of compassing otherwise the Ends of their Institution The same Obedience evidenced to be necessary from express Precepts of Scripture That every Soul whatsoever is under the tie of this Obedience as well of the Clergie as the Laity The onely particular Limits of this Obedience an express Prohibition from the Almighty or those which the Prince hath set to himself Of the Authority of Princes in Religious Matters which is either Indirect or Direct the former whereof is evidenc'd from the Influence Religious Matters have upon the State and which therefore are to be so far under their Inspection as the Weal of the State is concerned in them The Result of this Power the Calling or Limiting of Religious Assemblies the Appointing those that shall serve at the Altar in them or putting by those that are That Princes have also a Direct Authority in Religious Matters that is to say an Authority in them consider'd as such Where is also shewn what that Authority is and that it consists rather in encouraging or compelling those that preside in Religious Matters to do their respective Duties than to take upon themselves the Administration thereof The Result of which Authority is the Defending the Church from all both Foreign and Domestick Enemies the keeping the Members of it within their respective Duties and punishing with the Civil Sword those that shall refuse so to do the calling Councils to determine of Matters of Religion and giving force to those Things that shall be rightly determin'd by them The Accordance both of the Practice of this Kingdom and of the Doctrine of the Church with the foregoing Determination Of Submission to the Censures of Princes which is another Declaration of our Inward Esteem The Necessity thereof evidenc'd from the Power of Coercion in them which infers a like Necessity in the Subject of submitting to it Whether this Submission be to be understood where the Coercion is ill employ'd which is answered by distinguishing of Submission to wit as that is oppos'd to all Means of avoiding it or onely to forcible ones The former Submission no way necessary as appears by our Saviour's exhorting Men to flee in Case of Persecution and the Liberty that is given by the Laws to appeal to the Princes Courts of Judicature The latter Submission is of indispensible Duty as appears both by the Scripture and the Practice of the Ancient and Purest Church The like evidenc'd from the inconsistency of Resistance with Princes being the immediate Ministers of God with the End of their Institution and the Counsels of the Divine Providence The first because he who resisteth them endeavours to subject those who are God's immediate Ministers and therefore subject to no other so far at least unto himself as may secure him from the Effects of their Violence The second because leaving it in the power of the Subject to resist when he will himself which will make the Power of the Prince precarious and consequently because that depends upon it the Weal of the People which is the end for which all Governours were instituted The third because the Counsels of the Divine Providence are no less interessed in the Violence of Evil Princes than in the Power of Good Of the paying of Tribute to Princes and that it is both a Duty and a Declaration of our Esteem What Tribute to be paid to be judg'd of by the Laws IT having been before shewn That Honour in the Latitude of the Word comprehends Obedience to Commands it remains that we now inquire whether the Honour of Princes does so also by whom and in what measure that Obedience is to be paid 1. That Obedience is part of that Honour we are to give to Princes is evident from that Legislative Power which God hath given them over their respective Subjects For Laws being nothing else than Rules prescrib'd by those that give them for the regulating the Actions of those to whom they are if it be in the power of Princes to prescribe such Laws it must be the Duty of the Subject to obey them because that Power would be otherwise in vain Now that it is in the power of Princes to give such Laws to their Subjects will appear first of all from the Scriptures annexing this Power to them as the main of that Authority by which they shine Thus for instance when Jacob would describe the continuance of the Regal Dignity in Judah till
there is not the same reason where the thing commanded is not evidently against the Law of God but only doubted of whether it be so or no. For it being certainly a duty to obey the Magistrate in all things not forbidden and but uncertain whether the thing commanded by him be forbidden reason would that that which is the more certain should be preferr'd before that which is uncertain and consequently a clear and express Command before an uncertain scruple But as where the thing commanded by Princes is apparently against that of God there cannot be the least pretence of yeilding Obedience to it so other limits of our Obedience I know none saving those before-mentioned * Vid. Part 2. of the Explic. of this Commandment where we entreated of the Obedience due to Parents and which are no less appliable here unless it be where the Prince hath set bounds to his own Power by Laws or accepted of them when tendred by others In which case because the Princes Laws are the most Authentick declarations of his Will it is to be presum'd that he wills not my obedience in any thing which is contrary thereto and consequently that in those things it is no sin to refuse it Now though what hath been already said concerning the measure of our Obedience may suffice any reasonable man in civil matters yet because Princes do also challenge to themselves an Authority in Religious ones and we of this Nation in particular are oblig'd under an Oath to acknowledge it it will be necessary to enquire farther whether they have any such Authority and what obedience is due from us to it Now the Authority of Princes in Religious matters may be two-fold indirect or direct by the former whereof we are to understand that which pretends to have an oversight of them only in relation to the State by the latter that which pretends to have an Interest in Religious matters as such If the question be whether Princes are invested with such an Authority as pretends to an oversight of them in relation to the State so no doubt can be made by those who shall consider the influence Religious matters may have upon the State For inasmuch as on the one hand the powers of the world were before the Church and the Church it self is by the command of God oblig'd to revere them and on the other hand the things of Religion according as they are constituted may be profitable or hurtful to the State which is committed to their custody those Powers must of necessity be invested with such an Authority therein as may preserve the peace of the State entire But from hence it will follow That Princes have a power so far of calling or limiting Religious Assemblies of appointing who shall serve at the Altars in them or putting by those that are For inasmuch as the Peace of the State may be concern'd in all these particulars they are of necessity so far to fall under the cognizance of those to whom the Government of the State doth appertain And accordingly as all Princes of what perswasion soever in Religion have in Profession or Fact arrogated such an Authority to themselves so provided they do not entrench upon the Laws of Christianity they cannot in the least be faulted for the exercise thereof nor be disobey'd without a violation of the Ordinance of God that constitutes them Because what they do is no more than necessary for the preservation of that State which God hath committed to their charge Thus for instance inasmuch as by means of the Assemblies of discontented Persons there may arise great prejudice to the State no man in his right wits can deny but it may be lawful for a Prince to retrench the number or appoint the manner of the holding of them For though Christianity enjoin upon Christians the assembling of themselves for Religious Worship yet no Law of Christianity appoints that they should meet by Thousands but on the contrary assures them that where even two or three meet together in his name there Christ is in the midst of them From the indirect Authority of Princes in Religious matters pass we to that which we call direct which interests it self in Religious matters as such For the establishing whereof I shall desire you in the first place to reflect upon that of St. Paul to Timothy 1 Tim. 2. from Verse 1. to 4. I exhort therefore first of all that supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men For Kings and all that are in Authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth From which words as it is evident that it is acceptable to God that Kings become Christians this as will appear by comparing the first Verse and the fourth being the thing he instructs Timothy to beg of God for them so also that being made Christians they should by their Authority procure to other Christians a peaceable exercise of that Religion whereunto they are called The reason assign'd by the Apostle for praying for their Conversion being that under them and by their Arbitriment they might lead a quiet and peaceable Life in all godliness and honesty From the exhortation of St. Paul pass we to that of David which will both lend light to the former Exhortation and more clearly discover to us that Authority wich we seek Be wise now therefore O ye Kings be instructed ye Judges of the Earth serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling Kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little For herein as St. Augustine observes do Kings serve the Lord as Kings if in their Kingdom they command those things that are good and forbid evil and that not only such as appertain to Humane Society but such as appertain also to the Religion of God And elsewhere Wherein then doth Kings serve the Lord in fear but by forbidding and punishing with a Religious severity those things which are done against the commands of the Lord Jesus For one way doth a King serve the Lord as a man and another way as a King And a little after to the same purpose though yet more closely Herein therefore do Kings serve the Lord as Kings when they do those things to serve him which they could not do unless they were Kings Add hereunto that known Prophecy of Isa 49.23 where speaking of the times of the Church he affirms that Kings should be its nursing Fathers and Queens its nursing Mothers Which what other is it than that the Church should be taken care of by them and consequently that it should be committed to their trust But from hence we may collect what the Authority of Princes in Religious matters is and wherein
it ought to be exerted to wit not in determining of them according to their own will and pleasure and much less in invading the Office of the Priesthood which we know he that attempted was strucken with a Leprosie for but in defending the Church from all both Foraign and Domestick Enemies in keeping the Members of the Church within their respective Duties and punishing with the civil Sword those that shall refuse so to do in calling Councils to determine of matters of Religion and giving force to those things that shall be rightly determin'd by them For as more than these cannot be legitimately inferr'd from those places we have made use of to establish the Authority of Princes by so that they cannot rightly claim more the nature of the Church according as I have before stated it shews For since the Church by the Institution of Christ is endow'd with a power in determining in things relating to it self since also the secular Powers as well by their Baptism as the precepts of the Scripture are bound to be defenders of it for he who gives up himself to the Christian Religion doth thereby profess that he will perform his proper part in it and therefore if he be a King the part of a King it must needs be that their Authority in sacred matters should consist rather in obliging the several members of it to their respective duties than in determining of their own head concerning them The same is no less evident from the practice of Christian Princes in calling together a Council as often as any thing hath stood in need of a definition For as Mr. Thorndike * De ratione ac jure finiendi controversias hath well observ'd he who calls a Council of Bishops to make a Decree to receive a civil sanction from himself doth thereby profess as well that it belongs to the Church to determine in it as to himself to pass that Decree into a Law Which is so true as the same Mr. Thorndike ‖ Ibid. hath observ'd that though Constantius the Emperour would fain have undone what had been decreed by the Council of Nice yet he never attempted it but by Decrees of other Councils which shews what opinion was had of the Authority of the Church even by the Enemies of the Church it self These two things only seem necessary to be subjoin'd that we may give Christian Princes the whole of what is due to them 1. That it belongs to Princes to judge what is rightly or not rightly decreed by the Church and according as they shall judge either to give or withold their assent and 2. That though in things dubious or not at all determin'd by Councils the Prince is to expect the decision of the Church yet there is no necessity of so doing where the thing is evident from the word of God or hath been generally defin'd by former Councils For as where the word of God is clear the Prince need no other warrant who by that word it self is call'd upon to serve the Lord and add the force of his Sanction to the general Injunctions of it so where the thing hath been generally defin'd little doubt can be made of Princes passing what is so into a Law partly because it hath been in some measure defined by the Church and partly because it is to be presum'd the Church gives way to a more particular determination where the thing doth require a present definition or is not of such moment to require the calling of the Bishops from their several charges with the far greater detriment of the Church over which they are appointed to preside In the mean time as it is not to be deny'd that those Princes shall best provide for the peace of their own Consciences who shall not ordinarily determine of Ecclesiastical affairs without the consent of the Church or at least of some of the principal Bishops of it so we can never sufficiently commend the Institutions of this Kingdom whereas in the Parliament the place where all Laws are framed the Bishops have the principal place so the commands of King and Parliament in Ecclesiastical Affairs do for the most part follow the Canons dereed by our Convocations For after this manner both now and heretofore the Book of Common Prayers underwent the Examination of a Convocation before the use of it passed into a Law and extraordinary Forms of Prayers are approv'd by some Bishops before they have the Kings Mandate affix'd to them I will conclude this Discourse with the Doctrine of the Articles of our Church because exactly according with what I have before delivered For as the 20th of those Articles declares the Church to have power to decree Rites or Ceremonies and Authority in controversies of Faith so the 37th not only excludes from Princes the ministring either of Gods word or of the Sacraments but makes their Supremacy to consist in ruling all Estates and Degrees committed to their charge by God whether they be Ecclesiastical or Temporal and restraining with the civil Sword the stubborn and evil doers To which as I know not what any reasonable man can oppose because so exactly distinguishing between the Churches Power and that of Princes so I see not how any reasonable man where the Authority of Princes keeps within these bounds can think himself exempted from yeilding obedience to it He who commits the care of the Church to secular Princes necessarily allowing them a superintendency over it and consequently also where that superintendency is not manifestly made use of to the prejudice of Religion obliging all the Members of the Church to yield obedience to their Commands How we are to honour Princes by our Obedience hath been at large declar'd It remains that we also shew both that we are and how we are to honour them with submission to their Censures Which will appear first of all from that Authority wherewith they are invested of drawing the Sword of Justice against Offenders For as an Authority to Command infers a necessity of Obedience in all those that are subjected to it so a Power of Coercion a like necessity of Submission to it in all those who are subjected to it The onely thing of difficulty is Whether that Submission be necessary where the Power of Coercion is us'd against those who seem to themselves and it may be not without reason to have done nothing to deserve it For inasmuch as the Sword of Justice is committed to Princes for the avenging of such onely as are Eyil doers it may seem but reasonable to infer that they who are not Evil doers are free from submitting themselves to the Stroke of it And indeed if the Question be concerning the avoiding of it by Flight there is no doubt it is in the power of the Subject who conceives himself not to have deserv'd it so to avoid if he can the falling under the Power of it Our Saviour having expresly given leave that if we be
Which it will not be hard for him to discern who comes to it with an unprejudic'd Mind For inasmuch as that Society whereof they are Governours is instituted by God for the Conservation of Religion it will follow that the onely Authority to which they can pretend is to extend no farther than to Matters of Religion or what is necessary to the Conservation of it Which makes a strange that the Church of Rome should pretend to a Power of taking away the Civil Rights of Princes or their Subjects especially when he who is Head even of their Head hath so frankly declar'd that his kingdom is not of this world If the Governours of the Church claim any Power of that nature it must be by the Indulgence of Princes and to it they are to ascribe it Again Forasmuch as the Governours of the Church are but the Ministers of him who is the Great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls whatever Authority they have must be within the Limits of his Discipline who is the Author no less of their Power than it Lastly Forasmuch as that Power which the Governours of the Church have was given for the edification and not for the destruction of those that are to be ruled by it 2 Cor. 10.8 it will follow that that ought to be the Limit of their Commands and consequently also of our Obedience Care onely would be taken that we do not rashly nor indeed without great and manifest reason pronounce of any thing they enjoyn as either not for edification or to the destruction of the Church partly because what is for edification of the Publick is not easily to be judg'd of by Private Persons and partly because there are few things more destructive to the Being of the Church than the dissolution of that Discipline by which it is ty'd together 3. From the Commands of the Governours of the Church as which do for the most part respect things to be done pass we to their Decrees in such Controversies as do arise concerning thâ—se â—â—ings which are to be believ'd where at the same time I shall set down what Authority those our Spiritual Parents may pretend to and what kind of Honour is to be paid by us to it For the resolution whereof I shall no way doubt to affirm first That it is in the Power of those Governours to come to a decision in them and oblige the several Members of the Church not to make any Publick Opposition to them For the Peace of the Church being broken not so much by any thing as by Controversies which may arise concerning those things that are to be believ'd the Governours of the Church to whom the preservation of the Peace thereof is committed must consequently be suppos'd to be furnish'd with such a Power of Decision as shall bind up the several Members thereof from making any Publick Opposition to what they do so decide Which is so reasonable a thing that there is no formed Church in the World which doth not claim such a Power nor any reasonable Man in them which doth not think himself to be so far bound up by it provided the Decision do not entrench upon an Article of Faith nor be impos'd upon ours but recommended as such onely to which Men shall not openly oppose themselves For though it be not lawful for any Man to abjure that which he does believe to be a Truth yet it may be lawful and sometime necessary not to make profession of some Truths if the Peace of the Church be like to be broken by it But beside that the Honour of the Governours of the Church may require an Acquiescence in their Decisions where those Decisions though it may be not exact do not entrench upon an Article of Faith nor are impos'd upon our Belief I do no way doubt but it may also require the exacting a cordial Acknowledgment of them from those that are the Ministers thereof For it being of great importance to the Welfare of the Church that those which are its Teachers should be well perswaded themselves lest as is but too frequent they disperse their Errours among the People it cannot but be thought requisite for those who are the Governours to exact of those Teachers before they be approv'd a cordial Acknowledgment of such Articles of Religion as they shall deem expedient to be publickly profess'd and taught For how shall they otherwise provide for the Welfare of that Church which is committed to their Charge and for which they shall be accountable to Almighty God or those Candidates of the Ministry provide for the Honour of their Governours who shall not be content to make such an Acknowledgment if they do heartily believe the things propos'd or to be excluded from the Office of Teachers if they do not Honour implying an Acknowledgment of all such Power and Authority as is requisite in a Governour for the conservation of that Society over which he is appointed to preside 4. One onely Species of Honour remains of those which are more peculiar to their Function and that is Submission to th Censures of these our Spiritual Parents Of which beside the Admonition of the Author to the Hebrews where he requires us not onely to obey those that have the Rule over us but also to submit our selves a Proof may be fetch'd from the Authority those Governours are invested with of excluding them from the Communion of the Church who shall not shew themselves faithful Members of it For beside that every Member of the Church covenants in Baptism to shew himself a faithful Soldier of Christ Jesus and consequently cannot be thought to have any injury done him if he be debarr'd the Communion of the Church upon the breach of that his Covenant beside that the Scripture doth so far enjoyn it upon particular Persons as to oblige them to withdraw themselves from every Brother that walketh disorderly beside lastly that God hath committed to the Governours of the Church the power of binding and losing and promis'd that what they do so bind and loose on earth shall be bound and loos'd in heaven which the Church of God hath ever understood with reference to the Power of Excommunication and Absolution that Power is no more than necessary for the conservation of the Church in obedience to God and to the wholsom Commands of their Superiours For who will generally be very careful of keeping the Covenants they have made in Baptism if it be not in the Power of the Governours thereof to debar them the Priviledges of that Communion which the more sound Members of the Church enjoy Now forasmuch as it is in the Power of these our Spiritual Parents not onely to command such things as are salutary but to exclude from the Communion of the Church all such as are disorderly walkers if we will give them that Honour which is due to them we must of necessity acquiesce in that their Censure if justly inflicted so long as
they shall think fit to continue it and because that their Censure is in order to our Amendment give them such Proofs of our Sorrow and Repentance as may oblige them to receive us again into the Bosom of that Church out of which we have been ejected for our disorderliness 2. Now though it were to be wish'd that even these kinds of Honour were paid unto the Clergy partly because they are more proper to their Function and partly because the welfare of Religion is more immediately concerned in them yet forasmuch as by the Consent of the World they have been thought worthy of other Honours even such as in themselves savour more of Earth than Heaven I think it not amiss to make these also the Subject of my Inquiry and the rather because they have been of late deny'd them In order whereunto I shall lay for my Foundation that which if it had been heeded would perhaps have made this Question unnecessary I mean the Behaviour of those of Melita to St. Paul and them that travell'd with him Acts 28.20 concerning whom St. Luke there tells us that they honour'd them with many Honours and when they departed laded them with such things as were necessary For there appearing not any the least intimation of those Islanders conversion to the Faith that we should think the Honours they bestow'd upon St. Paul were other than Civil ones and St. Luke who writes the Story and had a share in those Honours remembring this Act of theirs with Commendation and Applause it is evident that Civil Honours are not onely not disagreeable to their Function but also because we are indefinitely commanded to honour them in the number of those that are to be paid For how should we think those other than due which we find both St. Paul and St. Luke to have willingly receiv'd and the latter moreover to have transmitted the Cognisance of to the World as it were by their Example to incite others to the like And though it be true the Text particularizeth not the Honours that were bestow'd upon them and leaves us to collect that they were for the kind Civil ones yet forasmuch as it makes mention of their honouring them with many Honours and moreover expresseth in the same Period their furnishing them with such things as were necessary at their departure I think it but reasonable to collect that whilst the Apostle and his Company were with them they treated them with all kind of Respect in Gesture Language and Entertainment and when they departed no less officiously than courteously accompanied them to their Ship But because in this particular we have to do with envious Men who will not easily be convinc'd of what they are unwilling to believe and because the thing whereof we speak is a matter of Interest in which whatever professions we may make Men will be apt to think we will be partial to our selves therefore to make our Cause so much the more plausible I will both instance in one kind of Civil Honour and shew from Reason the Equity of others Now the Honour that I shall instance in is that of Maintenance because St. Paul hath so expresly asserted the paying of it to the Ministers of Religion Witness first of all that Affirmation of his 1 Cor. 9.14 Where having premis'd many Arguments concerning this Affair and inquir'd in particular whether the Corinthians were not very well satisfied that they who ministred about Holy Things in the Temple were Partakers with it he subjoyns in the next Words Even so hath the Lord ordain'd that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel In which place not onely affirming the necessity of a Maintenance but arguing that necessity from what God had establish'd among the Jews he gives us plainly enough to understand that he meant an Honourable one because the Priests among the Jews were so provided for But so the same Apostle gives us yet more clearly to understand 1 Tim. 5.17 18. where he exhorts that the Elders that rule well be accounted worthy of double honour especially they who labour in the Word and Doctrine because as he there subjoyns the Scripture hath said Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the Oxe that treadeth out the Corn and the Labourer is worthy of his Reward From which Reason as it is manifest that the thing whereof he entreats is the Maintenance of those who labour in the Word and Doctrine so it is no less manifest from his before expressing it under the Title of Honour and a double one that he meant such a Maintenance as should not onely afford them a Subsistence but above the common Condition of Ordinary Men. Of which even some of those who were otherwise no great Friends to the Clergy were so sensible that one of them did not stick to affirm in the late Long Parliament That they were Scandalous Livings that made so many Scandalous Ministers in the Church Now though from this one Topick because the Reason is the same of all it were easie to infer that those of whom we speak are susceptible of other Civil Honours yet I think it not amiss especially having before promis'd it to add the Suffrage of Reason also Now there are two things which Reason offers toward the confirmation of those outward Marks of Honour which this Church and almost all others have set upon the Ministers of Religion whereof the former respects the generality of those that are under their respective Charges the other the Invitation of such as are to be admitted into them For though to begin with the former there be enough in that Sacred Function to engage Mens Esteem though it had nothing to commend those who were of it beside the Dignity of their Office and the Honourableness of their Work yet forasmuch as the Common sort judge rather by their Eyes than by their Understandings and indeed cannot well do otherwise unless they had more exalted ones how is it possible to think they should ever hold such in reputation upon whom they discern no outward Marks of Honour Especially when they see all other Governours adorned with the like and appearing outwardly as Specious as they are inwardly Great and Glorious For by how much the more their Eyes are dazled with that outward Pomp and Splendor which they do every day behold those Ministers of God in the State to be compass'd with so much the less regard must they be suppos'd to have for his Ministers in the Church upon whom they discern none of the same Greatness Unless as it hapned in the Apostles times they could bear themselves above the Condition of Men and outshine the Laity as much by the miraculousness of their Works as they do them by the outward Marks of Majesty and Greatness There is the same or far greater reason for the Confirmation of those outward Marks of Honour if we consider the necessity there is of them to invite Men of Worth and Parts to
Suffrages of those who have been eminent for their Learning or Piety in the World I begin with the Ancient Fathers both because the first in Time and because they have been most unanimously esteem'd For the judging of whose Authority and consequently of the Honour that is to be given by us to them I will first of all consider them as Witnesses of Ecclesiastical Tradition and then as delivering their own Sense in Matters of Religion If we consider them in the former notion so little doubt can be made of their Authority especially if we understand by Fathers such of them as had eminent Places in the Hierarchy of the Church as Mr. Thorndike * Socrates Hist Eccl. li. 2. c. 40. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vid. eundem lib. 2. cap. 10. Hilar in fine libr. de Synodis cum observat Thorndic lib. de ratione ac jure finiendi controversias cap. 25. pag. 489 c. hath shewn out of * Socrates Hist Eccl. li. 2. c. 40. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vid. eundem lib. 2. cap. 10. Hilar in fine libr. de Synodis cum observat Thorndic lib. de ratione ac jure finiendi controversias cap. 25. pag. 489 c. Ancient Writers that we ought to understand the Name of Fathers For living so near as they did to the Times of the Apostles by which means they had opportunity to know what things had been delivered by Christ and his Apostles and being moreover thought worthy in those purer Times to be set in the highest Places of Dignity and Authority in the Church the Prerogative of that their Rank and their nearness to the Apostles Times is in reason to oblige us to look upon them as competent Witnesses of the Tradition of the Apostles and consequently to give up our Belief to what they shall so testifie especially if we find them to have so testified with one consent or with no material difference in it Whence it is that all reasonable Men must look upon the Government of the Church by Bishops Priests and Deacons as instituted by the Apostles because with one consent so declar'd by the Ancient Fathers And though the same Authority be not to be given to them where they pretend to speak rather their own Sense than the Tradition of the Church which is the second Notion under which I promis'd to look upon them yet even there they are caeteris paribus to be preferr'd in their Opinions before those of later date both because as was before said they were of eminent account in the Church and because of the opportunity they had by their neerness to the Apostles times to know the sense both of them and of our Lord and Saviour Of the Fathers of the Church what hath been said may suffice at least as to those who are most like to be my Readers proceed we now to consider how far the judgment of Learned men in general is to prevail with us in the squaring of our own in matters of Religion In order whereunto 1. The first thing I shall represent is that whatever Authority the judgment of Learned men ought to have with us yet ought it not to be of any account against the clear and express Dictates of Reason and Scripture Because whatever their judgment is it is but the judgment of men whereas the voice of Reason and Scripture is no other than the Voice of God To which therefore there is but reason the other should yield because it is but fallible whereas Reason and Scripture is the voice of him whose property it is not to be in a capacity to be deceiv'd Again forasmuch as whatever force the judgment of Learned men may be of it is upon the presumption of the concurrency of their judgments with Reason and Scripture which they have such ability to discern the voice of Reason and Scripture must consequently be of more force it self as which gives all the force it hath to the judgment of Learned men Against the clear and express dictates of Reason and Scripture therefore the judgment of Learned men can be of no avail and consequently in that case no Honour to be given to it 2. But neither secondly is any such Honour to be given to the judgment of Learned Men where there is a strong or very probable reason against it For besides that Learned Men may be biast by Interest and other such like considerations which serve rather to corrupt than inform their judgments a reason as a Learned Man * Taylor 's Ductor Dubit l. 1. c. 4. Rule 9. observes is an intrinsecal proper and apportion'd Motive to the Conscience but humane Authority or citation of consenting Authors is but an extrinsecal accidental and presumptive Inducement and a meer suppletory in the destitution of Reason Truth as the forenamed Person observes from Socrates being not to be weighed by Witnesses but by Argument not by the Authority of Authors but by the Reasons they alledge 3. But because what the voice of Scripture or Reason is is not always apparent of it self nor yet with any great probability to be collected or at least not by men of ordinary Capacities hence there ariseth a necessity of having recourse to the judgment of the Learned and a reasonableness of things of that nature of being bound up by it For as it is but reasonable to yeild to the judgments of others where our own will not serve to extricate our selves so it is but a just respect which we owe to their Learning and indeed to God himself who is the Author of it For what other is it than a contempt of their Gifts and of God who is the Donor of them not to submit to their judgments whom God hath so well furnish'd with an ability to inform us Whence it is That though in matters of Religion men are generally more headstrong yet in matters relating to their Health or Estate there are none of Common Understanding which do not square their Opinions and Actions by the advice of those who are the Sages either of the Law or Physick But so the same Reason will oblige us to proceed in things relating to the discipline and outward oeconomy of Religion For what can be more reasonable especially in things of that nature than to square our judgments by theirs whom God hath bless'd with an ability to discern The only scruple in this Affair is what is to be done where we find Learned Men to differ Where first little doubt is to be made but we are to follow the judgments of those whom we apprehend to be in the right as to the main Thus for example Though there be as much Learning among the Papists as the Protestants in all sorts of knowledge relating to Religion yet inasmuch as I believe the latter to be in the right as to the main and the other not I think it but reasonable to defer to their judgment whom I am so well perswaded of There being
of the Church in a Christian State cap. 1. pag. 37. c. upon it Which whilst the Emperours continued Heathen decided Differences in matters of Estate between those of their own Body and after that and when therefore there was not the like Reason of making the Church a Judge in matters of that nature continu'd so to do in some measure by the Indulgence of Christian Princes All which things I have laid together not to give countenance to Contentions from which I know our Religion is most averse but to shew that as Suits of Law may be sometime necessary to the conserving of our Properties so where they are so in any great measure they are no way contrary to the Doctrine of the Gospel which however it may disallow of scandalous vexatious and trifling Suits yet doth not disapprove inoffensive charitable and important ones 4. But because the Properties of Men may not onely perish to the Owners but in themselves and consequently put Men upon a necessity of seeking a new Supply therefore it may not be amiss to subjoyn the Means of effecting that also which where ordinary Means fail is no other than that of Asking our Saviour both supposing as much when he requires us to give to them that ask and that Order which God hath established in the World confirming it For though as I before * See Explic. of this Commandment Part 1. observ'd all Men have a Natural Right to such a Portion of this Worlds Goods as is necessary to their Support by means of that Grant of them which was made to Adam and his Posterity yet inasmuch as particular Properties stand by the same Divine Will by which that general Charter did which was made to Adam and his Posterity no Man is ordinarily to supply his Wants but by making suit to those Persons into whose Hands God hath by his Providence put the possession of this Worlds Conveniences But so that we are to proceed the Scripture gives us sufficiently to understand even where it doth most strongly assert the Right of the Poor to a Subsistence For though Solomon where he requires the not withholding of good from the necessitous as both the Septuagint Version * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the following Words oblige us to explain it though he I say Prov. 3.27 calls those necessitous ones such to whom that good is due or as it is in the Hebrew †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lords or Owners of it yet advising afterwards as he does that we should not say to them Go and come again and to morrow I will give when thou hast it by thee he plainly shews that that Right of the necessitous is to be su'd out by Entreaties and not either clancularly withdrawn or extorted That which is properly a Gift depending upon the good will of him that is to bestow it and consequently not to be attain'd without the use of such Means as may make that Will of his propitious to us PART VII Concerning the contributing what in us lies to the procuring conserving or enlarging our Neighbours Property which is the Second Branch of the Affirmative part of the Commandment The Means of effecting that the Liberality of our Endeavours or of our Purses The former whereof is recommended upon the score of its both general practicableness and use the latter for its immediate subserviency to the advantaging of our Neighbour The Liberality of the Purse more particularly consider'd and shewn to imply the remitting of what is due or at least not exacting it with rigour the giving of what we are actually possess'd or lending and in fine an Hospitable Entertainment Inquiry is next made whether the use of the formentioned Means be to be extended unto all and in what order and manner and proportion For the resolution whereof the Reader is in part remanded to the Affirmative part of the Sixth Commandment and in part afforded Satisfaction here In order thereunto the several Liberalities before spoken of are resum'd and such Remarques made upon each of them as were before omitted Concerning the Liberality of Mens Endeavours is noted That inasmuch as it takes little from our own Properties we ought to be the more free of it but yet not so free as for the sake of one to offer any Injustice unto others Concerning the remitting of what is due which is the first Species of the other Liberality That it cannot be omitted without a manifest resistance of the Divine Will where the Person concern'd becomes insolvent by the sole disposition of his Providence provided that the Remission be not prejudicial to others nor draw after it any intolerable prejudice to our selves The Explication more particular in the Liberality of Giving as observing concerning the Objects of it that they are such and such onely who are under any need of it and are beside that in an incapacity to provide for themselves by which means all wealthy or slothful Persons are excluded from any share of it concerning the Order which it ought to observe that though those of the Houshold of Faith ought caeteris paribus to be preferr'd before other Men yet not before those of a Man 's own Family and Kindred as moreover that where the necessitous Persons are many the preference ought to be given to those whose Necessities are most pressing concerning the Proportion this Liberality is to observe that it ought to be according to Mens Ability and that no one ought to value that at less than the Thirtieth part of his yearly Income that where the Necessities of those that are about us cannot otherwise be provided for we ought to give above our Ability if we understand thereby an Ability to provide for our selves according to that Condition wherein God hath placed us concerning the Manner of our Giving that it ought to be without superciliousness and contempt as also with chearfulness speed and secrecie A Transition to the Liberality of Lending and of Hospitality concerning the former whereof is observ'd That though there be no necessity of lending gratis to such as borrow onely for the Improvement of their Fortunes yet that we ought so to do where those that borrow borrow onely to procure or continue to themselves a bare Subsistence Concerning the latter That it ought to be extended to Strangers as well as to those of our own Neighbourhood yea to all whom we are in a capacity so to minister to That though it minister to Mens Necessities yet it ought not to minister to their Intemperance where also the means of retrenching that is described The Conclusion of the whole with the Promises that are made to the Charitable Man and that his own Property is more likely to be improved than any way diminished by his Liberality II. IT having been often said and largely prov'd that every Negative in the Decalogue includes an Affirmative and that that Affirmative is Love it is easie to infer That the Negative we are