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ftrates to force their true religion upon their Heathen neighbours, Philiflines, Moabites, Ammonites, or Syrians, whom they conquered, or to put them to - death for their idolatry. Nor hath He ever commanded magiftrates, who have embraced the true Christian religion to FORCE men by fire or fword, or any like punishments, to embrace and profefs it, or to inflict, the fame punishments upon blafphemers or idolaters in unenlightenend countries, which they may do upon fuch as obftinately rebel against and apoftatize from the truth, amidst plenti

ful means of conviction and establishment in it.

(3.) Never did God, that I know of, require the Jewish magiftrates to punish any of their subjects for leffer faults, however open or manifeft, or to punish them for the fimple neglect of duties ftrictly religious, or to annex fentences of outlawry and of death to ecclefiaftical cutting off by excommunication from the Church. Nor can I find, that he hath enjoined any fuch thing upon the Chriftian magiftrate.

(14.) Among the Jews, fome things partaking of both a civil and religious nature, did, in thefe different refpects, fall under the government of both Church and State. Even circumcifion itself was a national badge as well as a religious feal of God's covenant.. Among Chriftians, public fafts and thanksgivings, calling of Synods, &c. do, in different refpects, fall under the power of both Church and State.. -Pretend therefore no more, that there is a total difference between the cafe of our magiftrates, and that of the Jewish, recorded in Scrip

ture.

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OBJECT. XXI. "To allow magiftrates a power of judging, making and executing laws, about religion, and of punishing men for erroneous opinions, or for disturbing the peace and order of the Church,

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as in our Confeffion of Faith and Second Book of Difcipline, altogether confounds the kingdoms of Chrift with the kingdoms of this world, contrary to John xviii. 36."

ANSW. 1. Sir, Have you in an honest and orderly manner, renounced thefe Confeffions of Faith, as plainly and publicly as you folemnly avowed, if not alfo, fubfcribed a ftedfaft adherence to the Westmin

fter one, at your ordination? Dare you, one day, call God, angels and men to witnefs, that you fincerely avow that Confeffion of Faith to be the Confeffion of your Faith, and that you fincerely believe the WHOLE DOCTRINE Contained in it, to be founded on the word of God, and will conftantly adhere to and maintain the fame all the days of your life;—and the next, flight, reproach, revile and attempt to confute an important article of it *?

2. Have you fuffered as much for a zealous maintenance of the intrinfic power of the Church, and of Chrift's fole headship over her as his fpiritual kingdom, as the compilers and cordial adherers to that Confeffion have done? If not, modefty, as well as equity, might have refrained your revilings.

3. Suppofe that, contrary to my judgment, P fhould allow, that magiftrates as fuch have not that. power relative to religious matters mentioned in our Confeffions, and folemnly avowed in our Covenants, yet, being Chriftians, they are bound as fuch to execute their civil offices in that manner which moft effectually promotes the honour and kingdom of Chrift,‚—even as parents or masters, who are Chriftians, are bound to exercife their power in their families, as may best maintain and propagate the

See the wickedness of fuch conduct excellently expofed in Walker's Vindication of the Difcipline and Conftitutions of the Church of Scotland.

knowledge, faith, and obedience of the gofpel. Every other character or office, which a Chriilian hath, must be fubordinated to his character as a Chriftian, 1 Pet. iv. 11. Col. iii. 17. Eph. v. 21-33. vi. — 9. Col. iii. 18-25. iv. 1. 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2, 3. Tit. ii. I-10. iii. 2. Pet. ii. 11-20. & iii. I-7.

Rom. xiii.

4. If to prevent confounding of the kingdom of Chrift with the kingdoms of this world, magiftrates who are heads of large political families, must be excluded from all that care about religion, which is alloted them in our Confeffion of Faith, Heads of families, muft, for the fame reafon, be excluded from eftablishing the gofpel-worship of God in their houfes, and from inftructing their children or fervants in the truths of divine revelation, at least from requiring them to attend such inftructions and worship. You pretend there is a difference; But, Sir, I infift on your ftating it precifely, and proving from Scripture and reafon, that headship over families, is a more fpiritual relation than headship over multitudes of families; or, that magiftrates cannot without fin, do what is fimilar to every thing. which parents and mafters, as fuch, are commanded to do.

5. If, to prevent confounding of the Church with the State, magistrates must exercise no care about religion,-must punish no publicly obftinate heretic, blafphemer, idolater, profaner of the Sabbath, or reviler of the oracles and ordinances of Chrift, as a criminal against the welfare of the State, -Church-courts muft cenfure, as fcandals against the welfare of the Church, no theft, murder, robbery, treafon, unlawful war, perverfion of civil judgment, or the like; as thefe pertain to the kingdoms of this world.

6. Though the powers of civil and ecclefiaftical

government be cO-ORDINATE, each standing on its proper bafis, and the right exercife of Church-pow-. er contributing mightily to the welfare of the State, -and of civil power to the advancement of the Church, yet they are not COLLA FERAL, infeparable from, or dependent opon each other, but are altogether diftinct from, and different, in many refpects *.

1. Civil and ecclefiaftical power differ in their FOUNDATION. Magiftracy is founded on God's univerfal dominon over all nations; and hence the law of nature is the immediate fupreme rule of its administrations, and the Scriptures become the rule of them only as introduced by the law of nature, requiring magiftrates as well as others to believe and obey whatever revelation, duly attefted, God is pleased to grant them, or, by magiftrates' fubjecting their confciences, as followers of Christ, to the Scriptures as their only rule to direct them how to glorify God and enjoy him for ever. But ecclefiaftical power is founded in the economical or mediatoral headship of Jesus Chrisft over his Church, as his fpiritual kingdom; and hence the immediate ftandard for regulating the exercise of it, is that Revelation, which God hath given to, and by him, in his word;--and the laws of nature have a regulat ing force in the Church by virtue of the general precepts of Scripture, as 1 Cor. xiv. 26, 40. vi, 12. xvi. 14. Phil. iv. 8. Mat. vii. 12.

2. Civil and ecclefiaftical power differ in their IMMEDIA TE OBJECT. Magiftratical power immediate ly relates only to things external, pertaining to the outward man. Even, when exercised about facred things, it hath that which is external för its immedi

* See this point excellently handled in the Hundred and Eleven > Propofitions of the Affembly, 1645. republished by Alfton Edinburgh.

ate object. It removes external hinderances of spiritual exercifes, and provides external opportunities and accommodations for the performance of them. If. magiftrates call a Synod, they do not properly call it as a court of Chrift, or as minifters of Chrift, but as a meeting of fubjects, whofe joint deliberations are calculated to promote the honour of God the King of nations, and the happinefs of their country, by the right government of the Church. If a magiftrate command perfons to compear before a Church-court to be judged, or to bear witness, he commands them not as fpiritual members of Chrift's myftical body, but as his own and Jehovah's subjects, to take their trial or atteft the truth before proper arbitrators of their caufe, that God may be honoured, and through keeping of order in the Church, the welfare of the city or nation may be advanced and confirmed. If he punish infolent contemners of the authority and cenfures of the Church, he punifheth them not as. fcandalous perfons, but as criminals, infulters of that true religion which the civil law hath eftablished, and contemners of thofe judicatories which it hath authorized, and to which themselves have folemnly en-. gaged all due fubjection,-and thus, as treacherous. disturbers of the good order and peace of his kingdom, and tramplers on the laws of the Moft High Sovereign of the nation.- -But Church power hath that which is fpiritual for its only proper object. It properly deals with men's confciences and heart, and with their outward man, only in order to affect those, in the way of conviction, reformation, comfort, &.c It confiders. the perfons, with whom it deals, not as mere men, or as members of a civil fociety, but as members of the fpiritual and myftical body of Chrift,

in the vifible form of it.

3 Civil and ecclefiaftical power differ in their FORM. Though magiftrates be the minifiers of God

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