bound to obey God more then man and as his subjection unto man is but conditional and subordinate to his subjection to God so his obedience to man is limited and only to be performed in such things as his supreme and absolute Lord doth allow him And though man may suffer for his disobedience to humane Laws yet he had better suffer a temporal then an eternal penalty and offend man rather then God Neither doth this doctrine any waies prejudice the civil power nor encourage any man to disobedience and violation of civil Laws if they be just and good as they ought to be and the subject hath not only liberty but a command to examine the Laws of his Soveraign and judge within himself and for himself whether they be not contrary to the Laws of his God T. H. The third Doctrine That faith and sanctity are not to be attained by Study and Reason but by supernatural inspiration and infusion G. L. That divine faith wherby we believe on Jesus Christ and obtain eternal life in him and that sanctity of life whereby we please God and are accepted of him are no doubt both merited by Christ and inspired and wrought in us supernaturally by the power of the Holy-Ghost And there can be no doubt of this to such as believe the Scripture to be the Word of God written wherein we read That except a man be born again of water and the spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God John 3.5 And no man can come unto me except the Father draw him cap. 6.44 And to believe that Jesus was the Son of the living God was not from flesh and blood but by revelation of his heavenly Father Christ himself teacheth us Mat. 16.17 This revelation was an inspiration or infusion except we will quarrel with words and it was not natural for then it might have been by and from flesh and blood but it was supernatural and from God revealing not only outwardly but inwardly too It is also further taught us in Scripture That no man can say that Jesus Christ is the Lord but by the Spirit 1 Cor. 12.3 Yet this faith and sanctity are so wrought in us as that ordinarily God makes use of the Scriptures taught explained applyed unto mans heart of hearing study and meditation which are acts of reason and such acts as man may naturally perform and also so neglect them as to give God just cause to deny the inspiration of his Spirit for to make the word taught heard meditated effectual upon his heart This Doctrine hath been believed and professed in the most peaceable Common-wealths of the world and did strengthen not weaken much less dissolve the same If he understand by the professors of this Doctrine the phanatick Enthusiasts of these times who pretend so much that Spirit which God never gave them and upon this pretence boast themselves to be spiritual men judging all and to be judged of none as they use to abuse the Scripture then its true that these are enemies to all Government and their Doctrine tends to the dissolution of all order Ecclesiastical and Civil and is to be rooted out of all Common-wealths T. H. A fourth opinion repugnant to the nature of a Common-wealth is this That he that hath the Soveraign power is subject to the Civil Laws G. L. There is no doubt but this is destructive of Government and contrary to the very nature and essence of a Common-wealth the essential parts whereof are imperans subditus the Soveraign and the subject take this difference away you confound all and turn the Common-wealth into a Community yet though Soveraigns are above their own Laws how otherwise could they dispense with them and repeal them wise men have given advice to Princes for to observe their own Laws and that for example unto others and good Princes have followed this advice Soveraigns are to govern by Laws not to be subject unto them or as Subjects obey them or be punished by them But what this man means by Soveraign in the hypothesis is hard to know For he presupposeth all Soveraigns absolute and all Kings of England such Soveraigns and so in general it may be granted that all Soveraigns are above the Laws civil yet the application of this rule to particular Princes of limited power may be false and no waies tolerable The question is not so much concerning the superiority of the Soveraign over the Laws but whether a Soveraign by Law for Administration who is not sole Legislator is not in divers respects inferiour to the Law or whether an an absolute Soveraign may not cease to be such and ex obligatione criminis ex superiore fieri inferior T. H. A fifth Doctrine which tendeth to the dissolution of a Common-wealth is That every man hath an absolute propriety in his goods such as excludeth the right of the Soveraign Every man hath indeed a propriety that excludes the right of the subject which is derived from the Soveraign without whose protection every man should have equal right to the same G. L. 1. If the subject have propriety as the Author grants it must needs be absolute and must needs exclude not only the right of the fellow-subject but of the Soveraign too For propriety in proper sense is an independent right of total alienation without any license of a Superiour or any other 2. This propriety is not derived from the Soveraign except he be despotical and such indeed the Author affirmeth all Soveraigns to be and in that respect the subjects can neither have propriety nor liberty therefore he contradicts himself when he saith in many places that the Soveraign is absolute and here that the subject hath propriety 3. It s to be granted that even in a free-State the subjects proprity cannot free from the publick charges for as a Member of the whole body he is bound to contribute to the maintenance of the State without the preservation whereof he cannot so well preserve his own private right 4. Propriety is by the Law of Nature and Nations at least agreeable unto both And when men agree to constitute a Common-wealth they retain their proper right which they had unto their goods before the Constitution which doth not destroy but preserve propriety if well ordered For men may advance a Soveraign without any alienation of their estates No man hath any propriety from God but so as to be bound to give unto the poor relieve the distressed and maintain the Soveraign in his just Government yet this doth not take away but prove propriety because every one gives even unto the Common-wealth that which is his own not another mans nor his Soveraigns who may justly in necessary cases for the preservation of the State impose a just rate upon the subject But if the Reader seriously consider the Authors discourse in other parts of his Book he may easily know whereat he aims For 1. He makes all Soveraigns absolute 2. The Kings
interpretation of the word Holy is not usual and at all times very Katachrestical For he can instance in no place where it s properly so taken except it be wrested from the intended sense The meaning of the words Sacred and Sacraments are known to children out of ordinary Catechisms and therefore I forbear any further discourse concerning them CAP. V. Of the third part the 36. of the Book Of the word of God and of Prophets T. H. THe word of God or man may be understood sometimes of the speaker sometimes of the subject as the book of Chronicles hath the Title Verba Dierum for the acts done in such times So in the Scriptures many times the word of God is not that which is spoken by God but concerning God c. G. L. This is the substance though not the very words of the Author in the beginning of this Chapter yet we may observe in Scripture according to the Heb e. v and the Greek That Dabar 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Raema signifie things as well as words and that the word of God is either verbum Dei or verbum de Deo or both or verbum quod est Deus There is an usual distinction of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an inward or outward word An outward word whereby we speak to others or an inward word whereby we speak unto our selves This inward word is either of things or acts out of our selves or of acts or operations in our selves or our own being and essence Now the word of God which is God is his word in himself of himself And this term Word signifying the eternal Son of God and the Messias is taken out of the Chaldee Paraphrast as many expressions of the New Testament are And some learned men have observed that the Chaldee Paraphrast took that term from the Prophet Esay 40.8 The word of our God shall stand for ever as also the Title of Messias from Daniel 9.25 Of this word of God it s written John 1.1 In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and ver 14. The word was made flesh Yet if we may believe Mr. Hobbs this word is the purpose of God and then the sense is the purpose of God is God and the purpose of God was made flesh and the purpose of God dwelt amongst us and we saw the glory of this purpose as of the onely begotten Son of God This is his cursed and blasphemous gloss upon these blessed Texts of Scripture whereupon depends so much our faith and eternal salvation If any man would give an accurate account of the several significations of the word of God as it s used in Scripture he ought diligently to observe how oft it s used in Scripture consider the Context and drift of those places where it s read examine the originals and find out first the Proper signification secondly the Tropical and also distinguish them The reason why we say the Scripture is the word of God written is 1. Because it was revealed by God and the writers thereof were infallibly directed And this is the most proper signification yet secondly by a Metonymie it s so called because it principally speaks of God and he is the subject of it to which all particulars may be some ways referred or reduced But let no man that loves the truth hearken unto this man least he be seduced For with some truths he mixeth abominable Errours T. H. The name of Prophet in Scripture signifies sometimes a Prolocutor sometimes a Predictor c. G. L. In the rest of this Chapter he informs us 1. Of the several senses and significations of the word Prophet 2. Of the several distinct kinds of them 3. Of Rules how to try Prophets And his end is to make a civil soveraign Christian the supreme and infallible Judge Prophets in Scripture are true or false for false Prophets have the name True are extraordinary ordinary Extraordinary are such as either were Penmen of the Scripture or such only as whose Prophesies are related in Scripture These Prophets he divides into supreme and subordinate Yet the Prophets extraordinary as such can admit of no such distinctions Amongst the supreme he reckons Moses the high Priests Kings Yet the high Priests were neither supreme nor Prophets except very rarely That God did make use of the Priest with the Vrim and Thummim in giving his answers did not make the Priest a Prophet in proper sense That David and Solomon were Prophets seems peculiar to them That some of the Kings also called for the Priest to consult with God according to the ordinary way Instituted by God who promised to give answer so as he did to no people in the world it could neither make Kings or Priests supreme Neither did Solomon take the Priesthood from Abiathar but for his treason suspended him ab offi io That the Christian Soveraign should now be the supreme Prophet in whose Judgement all their subjects must acquiesce is to be derided and rejected as a thing which neither can be proved or approved CAP. VI. Of the third part The 37. of the Book Of Miracles SOmething he hath taught his Reader that had not learned so much before concerning the nature and end of Miracles And in this particular he is more Orthodox then in other points That Miracles are immediate works of God we believe and such as wherein he doth not make use of natural causes for to do them Neither can any created cause reach them These are not ordinary works of God neither are they usually done but seldom and upon some special occasion and for some special end This end in general is the same with that of all his works and that is the manifestation of his glory yet in a more special manner to awaken mens sleepy minds and stir up attention to perswade and confirm the truth of those Doctrines which are above the reach of reason by this perswasion to work faith and conversion These Miracles are works either of judgement or mercy and do really differ and far excell all enchantments strange works done by natural causes delusions of the Devil and such like which seem to be Miracles and are not any such thing And they are never done to confirm an errour or perswade the doing of evil For his Almighty power is the immediate cause of them and is exercised according to the counsel of his will and subservient alwaies and only to his truth and glory CAP. VII Of the third Part. And the 38. of the Book Concerning eternal life hell salvation the world to come and redemption THAT there is eternal life we believe as also that it is an excellent glorious blessed estate and the same to be enjoyed by certain persons c. in some certain place and that there shall be no end either of the persons or estate or the enjoyment we are fully perswaded
that an absolute sentence on earth is made valid from heaven And this Jurisdiction exercised according to the Laws of Christ hath alwaies a real effect upon the party judged and that without any co-ercive power civil at all And the effect was comfortable or terrible both unto Believers and Apostates too according as they should be truly impenitent or penitent This power is alwaies in the Church and to be exercised by such as are trusted with that power and fit for such a work And this is the plain truth though the world be on a flame and so many Christians in a cumbustion because of their different opinions concerning the subject of this power But concerning this point I have spoken more at large in another Treatise He goes on to teach us the causes of Excomunication and denies heresie to be any cause though scandal by his own confession be yet heresie is the greatest scandal And here he abuseth that place of Titus 3.10 where it s written A man that is an Heretick after the first and second admonition reject where he plainly contradicts the Apostles words As though he had said Reject the heresie not the person whereas the Apostle commands the rejection of the person the Heretick and not only the heresie That some make Articles of Faith which God never made such cannot be excused After this he determines the persons who are liable to excommunication yet so as that he might have been instructed better then he hath instructed us by those who deserve to be his Masters He exempts one Church from the jurisdiction of another so that the one cannot excommunicate the other Yet he doth not inform us what the extent of a Church-Independent is and so leaves the question undecided He also exempts all Soveraign Princes and Assemblies from excommunication yet so as that he most grosly mistakes the nature and effect of excommunication Yet here he staies not but a subject obeying his Soveraigns command is not liable to this sentence neither can it be in this cause and case of any effect if we may believe him This in terminis is false except he mean obedience in licitis The rest of his discourse concerning this particular is frivolous The of the Chapter is taken up and spent in the determination of two points The 1. is making of Scripture Canon and Law The 2. the power of the Pope The power of making Scripture-Canon is given by him unto the Soveraign civil being Christian Yet whether he be Christian or no he hath power to bind his subjects to acknowledge it subpoena temporali But the Scripture is Canonical in it self without any such Law at all As for the controversie concerning the Popes power he undertakes Bellarmine who had often been answered in a far better manner and more effectually by many before him And the truth is both he and the Cardinal run in extreams the one on one side and the other on the other side of the way of truth For that power which the one arrogates to the Pope the other gives to Christian civil powers but both unjustly For Ecclesiastical power is due in some measure unto the Pope but not unto the civil Soveraign The Pope is a Presbyter and a Bishop and some power was due unto him by divine Law But by that which humane Constitutions gave him and by his own usurpation he had ingrossed he was advanced very high To be a Patriarch would not serve his turn but he must be Christs universal Vicar and in the end by that means at length he hooked in the temporal power of the sword But to leave them both in their errours wherein they have entangled themselves before I conclude this Chapter I will say something of Church-officers and the Church-revenue The Church-officers may be conâ—dered either according to their Constitution or Imployment According to the first they were extraordinary or ordinary Extraordinary were such as had their power and gifts more immediately from Christ as Apostles Prophets Evangelists And here by the way we may take notice of two errours and mistakes of the Author 1. In that he affirms Matthias to be made an Apostle by the Assembly of an hundred and twenty Brethren assembled together Whereas from the text its apparent that they did only single out by suffrage two persons whom they conceived so qualified that one of them might if God pleased be made an Apostle for to succeed Judas and refer the case to God by prayer and lot that he might determine whether of the two should be an Apostle to make up the number of twelve Upon the reference God did chuse Matthias and so that he made him an Apostle and refused the other To make an extraordinary Officer was above the power of the Apostles and the Church therefore they did not take it upon them 2. The second errour is That Paul and Barnabas were made Apostles by the Church of Antioch Acts 13.2 3. yet Barnabas in strict sense was no Apostle and Paul was an Apostle before he came to Antioch He was a servant of Jesus Christ called to be an Apostle separated to the Gospel of God Rom. 1.1 His calling to be an Apostle was not of men nor by man Gal. 1.1 His separation was twofold 1. From God who separated him from his Mothers womb Gal. 1.15 2. From man as by the prayers and fasting of the Church of Antioch Yet Mr. Hobbs is not afraid to contradict the Scriptures Ordinary officers of the Church who succeeded the extraordinary were Pastors and Teachers Eph. 4.11 Both the ordinary and extraordinary in respect of their employment were either such as were designed for feeding of the soul by Prayer Word Sacraments and were to perform the acts of doctrine worship discipline or for feeding of the body and outward relief and such were Deacons After that the number of Christians were increased and devided into Congregations the Pastors and Teachers were set over their several Congregations and Flocks assigned unto them and these were called Elders Now the Question is who in a Christian Common-wealth have power to make constitute ordain these ordinary Officers The Common-wealth saith he the Church say others He confesseth that the Church did exercise this power till civil Soveraigns became Christian and then both the power and exercise thereof ceased to be in the Church if we may believe him but his credit is not much and with me his Authority is none To determine this question we must observe that its one thing to be a Pastor Minister or Presbyter another thing to be the Pastor of a certain congregation and another to have a right to some temporal revenue or dignity annexed A Minister was constituted in all well-ordered Churches to this day by the Church The Church and such as the Church doth trust doth chuse him try him approve him and ordains him And by the nomination approbation ordination of the Church according to the will of Christ all Presbyters