the fingular profit of mankind—they are the lieutenants of God, in whose fellions God himself doth fit and judge-to whom by God is given the fword to the praife and defence of good men, and to punish all open malefactors. To kings, princes, rulers and magiftrates chiefly, and moft principally, the confervation and purgation of religion appertains; fo that not only are they appointed for civil policy, but also for maintenance of the true religion, and for fuppreffion of all idolatry and fuperftition whatsoever." This doctrine is further afferted and explained in her fecond book of difcipline, Chap. i. x; The doctrine of her Wefiminster Confeffion of Faith, the WHOLE of which is folemnly efpoufed and engaged to, by every Prefbyterian minister and elder in Scotland in his ordination vows, is that "for their publishing opinions or maintaining practices contrary to the light of nature and the known principles of Chriftianity, whether concerning faith, worship or conversation, or to the power of godli nefs, or fuch erroneous opinions or practices, as either, in their own nature, or in the manner of publishing and maintaining them, are destructive to the external peace, and order, which Chrift hath > established in the Church, they may be lawfully called to account, and proceeded against by-the power of the civil magiftrate," Chap. xx. 4.that "God, the fupreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates to be under him, over the people, for his own glory and the public good-they ought efpecially, (in managing their office) to maintain PIETY, justice and peace, according to the wholefome laws of each Common wealth-That the civil magiftrate-HATH authority, and it is his duty to take order that unity and peace be preserved in the Church, and that the truth of God be kept pure and entire; that all blafphemies

and herefies be fuppreffed, all corruptions and abufes in worship and difcipline prevented and reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly fettled, adminiftred and obferved. For the better effecting of which, he hath power to call Synods, to be prefent at them, and to provide that whatsoever is tranfacted in them be according to the mind of God," Chap. xxiii. 1, 2, 3." The duties required in the fecond commandment are-the difapprov ing, detefting, oppofing all falfe worship, and according to each one's place and calling, removing it, and all monuments of idolatry;--The fins for bidden in the second commandment are, all devifing, counselling, commanding, ufing, and any ways approving any religious worship not inftituted by God himself, tolerating a falfe religion." Lar. Cat. Q 108, 109. Thefe declarations are an authentic explication of the power of the magistrate in main taining and preferving the true religion, the defence of which is exprefsly fworn in their folmen covenants with God. If therefore, Sir, you difcredit this doctrine, and plead the toleration of idolatry, blafphemy, herefy, and that magiftrates ought to meddle with nothing in religion, be fo honest, as openly to renounce your ordination vows and the Confeflion of Faith and Catechifms, as well as the national Covenant and Solemn League.

To illuftrate the above doctrine of our excellent Standards, it is proper to obferve,

1. God alone is the neceffarily exiftent, and abfolutely independent Creator and preferver, and therefore original and fupreme proprietor and governor of all things in heaven or earth, Exod. iii. 4. Gen. i. Pfal. civ. and xxiv. 1, 2. xxxiii. 6. lxxxiii 18. xlvii. 2, 7, 9. Ezek. i. 11. Col. i. 16,—18. Dan. iv. 34, 35.

2. All right, civil, natural, or fpiritualy whether

of conscience, or of perfons, or of husbands, parents, mafters, magiftrates, minifters, or even of Chrift as mediator, muft therefore wholly originate from God alone, Pfalm cxv. 16. Rom. xi. 36. Heb. ii. 10. Acts. x. 25, 28. 2 Cor. v. 18. Pfál. lxxv. 7. Dan. ii. 21. iv. 32, 35. Mat. xxviii. 18. xi. 27. John v. 35. To fuppofe any real right or being whatfoever, un originating from him, is to give up with the neceffary existence of God, and to plunge into the very depths of Atheism.

3. All right and authority of confcience, persons, hufbands, parents, magiftrates, minifters, or even of Christ as mediator, being wholly derived from God, ought, neceffarily ought, wholly to be improv ed, or exercised in his name, in conformity and fubordination to his law, as the fupreme rule, and in order to promote his declarative glory as the chief end of it, Prov. xvi. 4. Rom. xi. 36. i Pet. iv. 11. 1 Cor. x. 31. John v. 30. viii. 29. vii. 18. Eph. iii. 21..

4. No right or authority derived from God can therefore be lawfully improven or exercifed, in protecting, encouraging, allowing or commanding any thing which God himself, on account of his infinite perfection in holiness, justice, goodness and truth, cannot command; or in difcouraging, difallowing, or prohibiting any thing which God in his law requires. It is abfurd to fuppofe it, that God can give men a power which he hath not himself; and Thocking blafphemy to suppose him capable of giving men a right and authority to contemn or counteract his own law as their rule, or his own glory as their chief end, in every thing they do, 2 Tim. ii. 13. Hab. i. 12, 13. Exod. xv. 11. Deut. xxxii. 4. Zeph. iii. 5. James i. 13.

5. All the diverfified forms of right and authority. in confcience, hufbands, parents, masters, magi ftrates, minifters, and even in Chrift as mediator,

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being derived from the fame God of infinite wisdom and order, each of them may, and ought to be whol. ly exercised within its proper department, and in a manner anfwerable to its nature, and never in the way of invading the place or interrupting the exercife of any other right or authority. No right of confcience can be exercised to the interruption of the due exercife of marital, parental, magifterial, magiftratical, ministerial, or Chrift's mediatorial authori ty; nor, can any regular exercise of these powers interrupt the due exercife of the power of conscience, or of one another, 1 Cor. xiv. 33, 40. vii. 20, 24.

6. All these different forms of power and authority being derived from the fame God, may have the fame things for their object, but viewed in different refpects. The fame man may be fubject to the power of his confcience as he is arational creature,fubje&t to the power of parents as a child,fubject to the power of mafters as a fervant,fubject to the power of magiftrates as a member of the Commonwealth,→→→ fubject to the power of Church-rulers as a member of an organized vifible Church,-fubject to the me diatorial power of Chrift, as a member of his myftical body, or an agent for promoting the welfare of it.-The fame good work of piety or virtue may, or ought to be required by confcience, by parents, mafters, magistrates, minifters, and even by Christ as mediator, in different refpects, as calculated to promote the welfare of the perfons, families, nations,. and Churches concerned,-in fubordination to the glory of God as their refpective proprietor and fuperior. The performance of the fame good work may be encouraged by rewards from all thefe different powers, anfwerable to their refpective forms.→→ The fame vices of idolatry, blafphemy, calumny,. treason, theft, murder, &c. as in different refpects hurtful to perfons, families, civil focieties, and

Churches, may, and ought to be prohibited by ail thefe different powers, and refented by each, as hurtful to itself, as fubordinated to God,-in a manner anfwerable to its particular nature and department, -by confcience with ftinging rebukes, by parents with correction, difinheritng, or the like, by mafters with frowns, ftripes, abridgment of wages, or the like, by magiftrates with public difhonour, fining, imprisonment, or death,-by Church-rulers with ecclefiaftical rebuke, excommunicaton,-by Chrift with temporal, fpiritual or eternal judgment, Acts xxiv. 16. Josh. xxiv. 15. Pfal. ci. Mat. v. vi. vii. &c.

7. All these powers of confcience, hufbands, parents, masters, magiftrates, Church-rulers, and of Christ as mediator, proceeding from an infinitely wife, powerful and good God, are each of them, in its own place, altogether fufficient to gain its own end. Nevertheless, it mightily tends to the advan tage of each, that all of them be rightly exercifed at once, and to the hurt of all the reft, if any of them be not. If confcience act faithfully, this promotes the regular and comfortable exercife of the power of husbands, parents, mafters, magiftrates or minifters, &c. And it is to the advantage of confcience, if they regularly exercife their power, and especially if Chrift exercife his, in a remarkable manner. is much to the advantage of Church and State, if husbands, parents, and mafters, faithfully exercise their power in their refpective departments; and much to their hurt, if they do not. If the rulers in Church and State, faithfully discharge their trust, it will tend much to promote the welfare of families. The more faithfully minifters labour in winning fouls to Chrift, and teaching men to live foberly, righteously and godly in view of Chrift's fecond coming, the more eafy will the work of magiftrates,

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