fcience iss

understood that perfuafion of the mind which arifes What confrom the understanding's being poffeffed with the belief of the truth or falfity of any thing; which tho' it may be falfe or evil upon the matter, yet if a man fhould go against his perfuafion or confcience, he would commit a fin; because what a man doth contrary to his faith, though his faith be wrong, is no ways acceptable to God. Hence the apoftle faith, Whatfoever is not of faith, is fin; and he that Rom. 14. doubteth is damned if he eat; tho' the thing might 23 have been lawful to another; and that this doubting to eat fome kind of meats (fince all the creatures of God are good, and for the ufe of man, if re-ceived with thanksgiving) might be a fuperftition, or at least a weaknefs, which were better removed. Hence Amef. de Caf. Conf. faith, The confcience, although erring, doth evermore bind, fo as that he finneth who doth contrary to his confcience, becaufe bei. e. As he doth contrary to the will of God, although not mate- he fuprially and truly, yet formally and interpretatively.

pofeth.

So the question is Firft, Whether the civil magiftrate bath power to force men in things religious to do contrary to their confcience; and if they will not, to punish them in their goods, liberties, and lives? This we hold in the negative. But Secondly, As we would have the magiftrate to avoid this extreme of incroaching upon mens confciences, fo on the other hand we are far from joining with or ftrengthening fuch libertines as would ftretch the liberty of their confciences to the prejudice of their neighbours, or to the ruin of human fociety. We understand therefore by matters of confcience fuch as immediately relate betwixt God and man, or men and men, that are under the fame perfuafion, as to meet together and worship God in that way which they judge is moft acceptable unto him, and not to incroach upon, or feek to force their neighbours, otherwife than by reafon, or fuch other means as Chrift and his apoftles

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ufed,

ufed, viz. Preaching and inftructing fuch as will hear, and receive it; but not at all for men, under the notion of confcience, to do any thing contrary to the moral and perpetual ftatutes generally acknowledged by all Chriftians; in which cafe the magiftrate may very lawfully ufe his authority; as on those, who, under a pretence of confcience, make it a principle to kill and destroy all the wicked, id eft, all that differ from them, that they, to wit, the faints, may rule, and who therefore feek to make all things common, and would force their neighbours to fhare their eftates with them, and many fuch wild notions; as is reported of the Anabaptifts of Munster; which evidently appears to proceed from pride and covetoufnefs, and not from purity or confcience; and therefore I have fufficiently guarded against that in the latter part of the propofition. But the liberty we lay claim to is fuch as the primitive church justly fought under the heathen emperors, to wit, for men of fobriety, honesty, and a peaceable conversation, to enjoy the liberty and exercife of their confcience towards God and among themselves, and to admit among them fuch, as, by their perfuafion and influence, come to be convinced of the fame truth with them, without being therefore molested by the civil magiftrate. Thirdly, Though we would not have men hurt in their temporals, nor robbed of their privileges as men and members of the commonwealth, because of their inward perfuafion; yet we are far from judging that in the church of God there fhould not be cenfures exercised against fuch as fall into error, as well as fuch as commit open evils; and therefore we believe it may be very lawful for a Chriftian church, if the find any of her members fall into any error, after due admonitions and inftructions according to gofpel order, if the find them pertinacious, to cut them off from her fellowship by the fword of the Spirit,

Spirit, and deprive them of those privileges which they had as fellow-members; but not to cut them off from the world by the temporal fword, or rob them of their common privileges as men, feeing they enjoy not thefe as Chriftians, or under fuch a fellowship, but as men, and members of the creation. Hence Chryfoftom faith well, (de Anath.) We must condemn and reprove the evil doctrines that proceed from Hereticks; but fpare the men, and pray for their falvation.

of God.

§. II. But that no man, by virtue of any power or principality he hath in the government of this world, hath power over the confciences of men, is apparent, because the confcience of man is the feat Confcience and throne of God in him, of which God is the alone the throne proper and infallible judge, who by his power and Spirit can alone rectify the mistakes of confcience, and therefore hath referved to himself the power of punishing the errors thereof as he feeth meet. Now for the magiftrate to affume this, is to take upon him to meddle with things not within the compafs of his jurifdiction; for if this were within the compafs of his jurifdiction, he should be the proper judge in these things; and also it were needful to him, as an effential qualification of his being a magistrate, to be capable to judge in them. But that the magiftrate, as a magiftrate, is neither proper judge in thefe cafes, nor yet that the capacity fo to be is requifite in him as a magiftrate, our adverfaries cannot deny; or elfe they muft fay, That all the beatben magiftrates were either no lawful magiftrates, as wanting fomething effential to magiftracy; and this were contrary to the express doctrine of the apostle, Rom, xiii. or elfe (which is more abfurd) that those heathen magiftrates were proper judges in matters of confcience among Chriftians. As for that evafion that the magistrate ought to punish according to the church cenfure and determination, which is indeed no lefs than to make the magiftrate

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magiftrate the church's bangman, we fhall have occafion to speak of it hereafter. But if the chief members of the church, tho' ordained to inform, inftruct, and reprove, are not to have dominion over the faith nor confciences of the faithful, as the apostle exprefly affirms, 2 Cor. i. 24. then far lefs ought they to ufurp this dominion, or stir up the magiftrate to perfecute and murder those who cannot yield to them therein.

Secondly, This pretended power of the magiftrate is both contrary unto, and inconfiftent with the nature of the gospel, which is a thing altogether extrinfick to the rule and government of political states, as Chrift exprefly fignified, faying, His kingdom was not of this world; and if the propagating of the gospel had had any neceffary relation thereunto, then Chrift had not faid fo. But he abundantly hath fhewn by his example, whom we are chiefly to imitate in matters of that nature, that it is by perfuafion and the power of God, not by whips, imprisonments, banishments, and murderings, that the gofpel is to be propagated; and that those that are the propagators of it are often to fuffer by the wicked, but never to cause the wicked to fuffer. When he fends forth his difciples, he tells them, he fends them forth as lambs Mat.10. 16. among wolves, to be willing to be devoured, not to

devour: he tells them of their being whipped, imprifoned, and killed for their confcience; but never that they fhall either whip, imprison, or kill: and indeed if Chriftians must be as lambs, it is not the nature of lambs to deftroy or devour any. It serves nothing to alledge, that in Chrift's and his apoftles times the magistrates were heathens, and therefore Chrift and his apoftles, nor yet any of the believers, being no magifirates, could not exercise the power; because it cannot be denied but Chrift, being the Son of God, had a true right to Mat.28.18, all kingdoms, and was righteous heir of the earth.

Next, as to his power, it cannot be denied but he could, if he had feen meet, have called for legions of angels to defend him, and have forced the princes and potentates of the earth to be fubject unto him, Mat. xxvi. 53. So that it was only because it was contrary to the nature of Chrift's gofpel and miniftry to use any force or violence in the gathering of fouls to him. This he abundantly expreffed in his reproof to the two fons of Zebedee, who would have been calling for fire from heaven to burn thofe that refufed to receive Chrift: it is not to be doubted but this was as great a crime as now to be in an error concerning the faith and doctrine of Chrift. That there was not power wanting to have punished thofe refufers of Chrift cannot be doubted; for they that could do other miracles, might have done this also. And moreover, they wanted not the precedent of a holy man under the law, as did Elias; yet we fee what Christ faith to them, Ye know not what Spirit ye are of, Luke ix. 55. For the Son of Man is not come to defroy mens lives, but to fave them. Here Chrift fhews that fuch kind of zeal was no ways approved of him; and fuch as think to make way for Chrift or his gospel by this means, do not understand what Spirit they are of. But if it was not lawful to call for fire from heaven to deftroy fuch as refused to receive Chrift, it is far lefs lawful to kindle fire upon earth to destroy those that believe in Chrift, because they will not believe, nor can believe, as the magiftrates do, for confcience fake. And if it was not lawful for the apoftles, who had fo large a measure of the Spirit, and were fo little liable to mistake, to force others to their judgment, it can be far lefs lawful now for men, who as experience declareth, and many of themselves confefs, are fallible, and often mistaken, to kill and deftroy all fuch as cannot, because otherwise perfuaded in their minds, judge and believe in matters of con

fcience