titude of cavils may be started against the magiftrates' power about religious matters mentioned in our excellent Standards, as may be against every divine truth, the most fundamental not excepted; and that the proper application of it to practice may be, in fome circumstances, not a little difficult. But not cavils however fpecious; nor difficulty of upright performance of duty, but demonftrative arguments of its finfulness will warrant my renouncing a principle which I have fo folemnly espoused in ordination vows and covenants with God; and far lefs to admit, That men's confcience and magiftrates ought, in the name of God, to warrant, encourage, and protect men in grofs herefy, blafphemy, and idolatry, though they cannot warrant, encourage, or protect them in doing any civil injury to men. Perhaps, Tindal alone hath raised as many fhrewd objections against the divine authority of our Bible, as have, or can be, raised against that power of magiftrates mentioned in our Standards; and yet Wo, wo, wo for ever, to my foul, if, on that account, Irenounce it, as an impofture of Satan.

On the PERFIDY of all AUTHORITATIVE TOLERATION of grofs Herefy, Blafphemy or Idolatry, in

BRITAIN.

SIR,

To exhibit the contrariety of an authoritative toleration of grofs herefy, blafphemy, and idolatry, to many, if not all the Burgefs Oaths, in our country, and to the established oaths of allegiance

to His Majefty, or even to his own Coronation Oath, to maintain the true Proteftant religion, as by law established in his dominions, and to our Solemn vows in Baptifm and the Lord's Supper, I leave to fome fiter hand, and fhall only reprefent it as a violation of these public covenants with God, which our fathers framed, as their ftrongest human fecurities against gross herefy, blafphemy, idolatry, Popery, and every thing fimilar.

Being treacherously and cruelly opposed in their reformation of religion, by their two Popish Queens, the Proteftant lords and others in Scotland, entered into five feveral bonds, A. D. 1557, 1559, 1560, 1563, in which they folemnly engaged to affift and protect each other, in promoting the free exercife of the Proteftant religion. It was only the smaller part of the Proteftants in our land, which entered into these bonds,-nor doth it appear, they were intended as general obligations.- -But, when the Papifts abroad were labouring, with all their might, to extirpate the Proteftant religion; and the Pope was found to have granted difpenfations for qualify ing his votaries, to undermine it in our land,-the National Covenant was formed and fworn in 1581in order to fruftrate their attempts, and secure the reformation attained. In it the abominations of Popery were expressly and particularly abjured; and and it was understood as adhered to and renewed in every religious bond that followed. After God had marvellously fruftrated the attempts of the Spaniards and other Papifts against Britain, our fathers, in thankfulness to Him and to fecure themfelves a gainst the Popish confederates abroad and their friends at home,-with much unanimity and joy renewed their National Covenant, A. D. 1590, along with the fubfcription of a General bond for prefervation of the Protestant religion, and the King's

Majesty. In 1596, apprehenfions of danger from the Popish lords, and the treacherous regard fhewed them by K. James, and especially a very extraordinary effufion of the Holy Ghoft on the GeneralAffembly, iffued in much folemn mourning for fin, and renovation of their covenant with God. After forty years of fearful perfidious apoftacy, and much finful veering towards the abjured abominations of Popery, they, awakened by K. Charles and Archbishop Laud's impofition of an almost Popish Liturgy and Book of Canons,-Searched out, and lamented, their perfidy to God, as the caufe of their manifold miferies; and folemnly renewed their covenant with Him, as a mean of obtaining his gracious affiftance, and fecuring their Proteftant religion and liberties. Affrighted by the Papifts' massacring of about two hundred thoufand Proteftants in Ireland, inftigated by their diftreffes in England, and encouraged by the remarkable countenance of God's Spirit and Providence to the Scotch covenanters, most of the English and Irish Proteftants in 1643 and 1644. along with them, entered into a Solemn League and Covenant with God, and with one another, in which they exprefsly abjured Popery, and Prelacy as a branch of it.-K. Charles had fcarce granted a peace, a kind of establishment of their religion to the murderous Papists in Ireland; and Duke Hamilton's attempts to restore him to his throne without giving any fecurity for religion or liberty mifcarried in England, when the Scots, and not a few of the Irish renewed their Covenant, with a folemn acknowledgment of fins and engagement to duties.To manifest the fearful perfidy of all authoritative toleration of grofs herefy, blafphemy, idolatry, Popery, and every other form of encouragement to, or reception of them, the folemn, the religious nature of

thefe covenants, and their extensive and perpetual obligation must be confidered.

God alone hath a fupreme and unlimited authority and right to regulate his own, and the conduct of all his creatures, Pfal. lxxxiii. 18. Dan. iv. 35. James iv. 12. But the very conftitution of a rational creature, implies a power derived from him to govern itself, even as men's ftanding in the relation of parents, mafters, magiftrates, or Church-rulers, neceffarily implies their power to govern others,in fubordination to him. By virtue of their divinely originated authority over others, parents, masters, and other rulers make laws, or binding rules, for directing the external behaviour of thofe who are commited to their charge. And by their authority derived from God to rule their own Spirit, and to govern and keep in fubjection their whole body, Prov. xvi. 32. James iii. 2. 1 Cor. ix. 27. all men are empowered to make for themselves laws of felf engage ment, in promifes, oaths, vows and covenants, which extend to their purposes and inclinations as well as to their external acts. And, as all the authority, which men have over themselves or others, is derived from that fupreme and independent authority, which is in God himself, and is communicated to them, by an act of his will, and is implied in his giving them fuch a nature and station, it is plain, that no human laws of authority, or felf-engagement, can have any obligation or binding force, but what are regulated by and fubordinated to the divine laws of nature or revelation, 2 Cor. xiii. 8. and that, if fuch laws and engagements be lawful, God, not only doth, but muft neceffarily ratify them, his law requiring the fulfilment of them, under pain of his higheft difpleasure, Rom. xiii. 1-6. Mat. v. 33.

As no deputed authority derived from God, can increase that supreme, that infinte authority, which

he hath in himself; fo no human command or en gagement can increase that infinite obligation to duty, which his law hath in itfelf. But, if lawful, they have in them a real obligation, diftinct, though neither separated nor feparable, from the obligation of God's law. To pretend with Bellarmine and other Papifts, that our promifes or vows do not bind us in moral duties commanded by the law of God, is manifeftly abfurd. It neceffarily infers, that all human commands of fuperiors as well as human promifes, oaths, vows, and covenants, are in themselves deftitute of all binding force, except in fo far as they relate to such trifling things, as the law of God doth not require of men in fuch particular circumstances; and thus faps the foundation of all relative order and mutal truft and confidence among man-` kind. Commands of fuperiors must be mere declarations of the will of God in his law, and promises, saths, vows and covenants must be nothing but mere acknowledgments, that God's law requires fuch things from us,-in fo far as relating to moral duties. It reprefents the authority which God hath in himself, and with which he hath invefted men, as his depu ties, as fo inconfiftent and mutually deftructive of each other, that men cannot be bound to the fame thing by both. It reprefents the law of God as neceffarily deftructive of the being of an ordinance appointed by itfelf, to promote the more exact obfervance of itself,-in fo far as that ordinance binds to a confcientious and diligent obedience to it. It is contrary to the common fenfe of mankind in every age, who have all along confidered men's promifes, oaths and covenants, as binding them to pay their juft debts, perform their juft duties of allegiance or the like, and to declare the truth and nothing but the truth in witnefs bearing, &c. It is contrary to Scripture, which reprefents promifes, promiflory