CHAP. CXXVIII.
Peace.Dear Truth, here are excellent confessions, unto which both truth and grace may gladly assent; but what is your second observation from hence?
A grievous charge against the Christian church, and the King of it.
Truth.I observe secondly, what a deep charge of weakness is laid upon the church of Christ, the laws, government, and officers thereof, and consequently upon the Lord Jesus himself: to wit, that the church is not enabled with all the power of Christ to censure sufficiently an offender—on whom yet they have executed the deepest censure in the world, to wit, cutting off from Christ, shutting out of heaven, casting to the devil—which offender’s crime reacheth not to hurt the good of the civil state; but that she is forced to make complaint to the civil state, and the officers thereof, for their help.
Oh! let not this be told in Gath, nor heard in Askelon! and oh! how dim must needs that eye be, which is bloodshot with that bloody and cruel tenent of persecution for cause of conscience!
Peace.But what should be meant by this passage, viz., “That they cannot give liberty to the magistrate topunish without exception all excommunicate persons, within so many months?”
A strange law in New England formerly, against excommunicate persons.
Truth.It may be this hath reference to a law made formerly in New England, that if an excommunicate person repented not within, as I have heard, three months after sentence of excommunication, then the civil magistrate might proceed with him.
A dangerous doctrine against all civil magistrates.
These worthy men see cause to question this law upon good reasons rendered, though it appears not by their words that they wholly condemn it, only they desire a longer time, implying that after some longer time the magistrate may proceed: and indeed I see not, but according to such principles, if the magistrate himself should be cast out, he ought to be proceeded against by the civil state, and consequently deposed and punished, as the pope teacheth: yea, though happily [haply?] he had not offended against either bodies or goods of any subject.
Many sins prohibited to be punished by the magistrate, and yet they also charge him to punish all sin, Rom. xiii.
Thirdly, from this confession, that the magistrate ought not to punish for many sins above-mentioned, I observe how they cross the plea which commonly they bring for the magistrates punishing of false doctrines, heretics, &c., (viz., Rom. xiii., The magistrate is to punish them that do evil); and when it is answered, True, evil against the second table, which is there only spoken of, and against the bodies and goods of the subject, which are the proper object of the civil magistrate, as they confess: it is replied, Why? is not idolatry sin? heresy, sin? schism and false worship, sin? Yet here in this passage many evils, many sins, even of parents against their children, masters against their servants, husbands against their wives, the magistrate ought not to meddle with.
Original sin charged to hurt remotely (but falsely) the civil state.
Fourthly. I dare not assent to that assertion, “That even original [sin] remotely hurts the civil state.” It is true some do, as inclinations to murder, theft, whoredom,slander, disobedience to parents, and magistrates; but blindness of mind, hardness of heart, inclination to choose or worship this or that God, this or that Christ, beside the true, these hurt not remotely the civil state, as not concerning it, but the spiritual.
Magistrates strangely forbidden to hear civil complaints.
Peace.Let me, in the last place, remind you of their charge against the magistrate, and which will necessarily turn to my wrong and prejudice: they say, the magistrate, in hearing and prosecuting the complaints of children against their parents, of servants against their masters, of wives against their husbands, without acquainting the church first, transgresseth the rule of Christ.
Truth.Sweet Peace, they that pretend to be thy dearest friends, will prove thy bitter enemies.
First, I ask for one rule out of the Testament of the Lord Jesus, to prove this deep charge and accusation against the civil magistrate?
Thousands of commonweals where no true church of Christ.
Secondly, this is built upon a supposition of what rarely falls out in the world, to wit, that there must necessarily be a true church of Christ in every lawful state, unto whom these complaints must go: whereas, how many thousand commonweals have been and are, where the name of Christ hath not (or not truly) been founded!
The complaints of families properly fall into the cognizance of the civil magistrate.
Thirdly, the magistrates’ office, according to their own grant, properly respecting the bodies and goods of their subjects, and the whole body of the commonweal being made up of families, as the members constituting that body, I see not how, according to the rule of Christ, Rom. xiii., the magistrate may refuse to hear and help the just complaints of any such petitioners—children, wives, and servants—against oppression, &c.
They who give to magistrates more than is due, are most apt to disrobe them of what is theirs.
Peace.I have long observed, that such as have been ready to ascribe to the civil magistrate and his sword more than God hath ascribed, have also been most ready to cutoff the skirts, and, in case of his inclining to another conscience than their own, to spoil him of the robe of that due authority with which it hath pleased God and the people to invest and clothe him.
But I shall now present you with the thirteenth head, whose title is,—