Obey their Overseers in some Cases but our Apostles did foresee that the People would be alwayes most prone to disobedience upon lesse Occasions then was requisite and yet Disobedience unlesse upon evident and just Occasions he knew to be as dangerous as blind Obedience in matters Unlawfull the one usually is the forerunner of Superstition and Idolatrie the other the Mother of carnall Securitie Schisme and Infidelity And according to our Apostles fear did it fall out in the Church of God The first Mischief which befell her in her Prime was from the want of due Reverence and awfull regard of Ecclesiastick Injunctions and Constitutions Hence did Heresies spring in such abundance Sathan had sown their seeds in proud hearts and the Civil Magistrates facility to countenance every prating Discontent or Forth-putting Vocalist in preaching what he list though contrary to his Governours Constitutions was as the Spring-Sun to cherish and bring them forth And as the Romish Church upon the depression of such rebellious Spirits did raise her self above all that is called GOD So in truth it cannot be denied but that many in reformed Congregations by seeking to cure her Diseases have cast the Church of God into a Relapse of her former Sicknesse which was the Usurpation of too much Libertie in her children For the Avoidance whereof we are now as God hath enabled us to Advise CAP. V. Of the Diversity of human Actions The Original of their Lawfulnesse Unlawfulnesse or Indifferencie Which without question belong to the proper Subject of Obedience which not 1 OF the Subordination of Spiritual Governours amongst themselves we shall have fitter occasion elsewhere to treat Now we are to enquire the limits and Bounds of Spiritual Authoritie in general onely so far forth as it concerns the rectifying of their Belief who are bound to Obey 2 Out of the places before alleaged these Truths necessarily and immediately flow There is some peculiar Authority in the Priesthood or Ministers which is not to be found in other men This Authority in them is as essentially Subordinate to Christ as the Authority of any other Magistrates is unto the Principality or Soveraigntie of that Nation wherein they live Disobedience unto Spiritual Governours doth redound as directly and fully unto Christs as disobedience to inferiour Magistrates doth unto the Princes or Supreme Governours dishonour For he that heareth Christs Messengers heareth Him he that despiseth Them despiseth Him and yet it is as Evident again in some Cases they may be Disobeyed The difficulty is in which they are to be Obeyed in which not or in one word What is the proper Subject of Obedience due unto them 3 All Obedience is seen either in doing what is Commanded or abstaining from what is forbidden all Disobedience in refusing to do what is Commanded and doing that which is forbidden by Superiours or Men in Authoritie Things commanded or forbidden are of three sorts either Good in themselves and required or else simply Bad and prohibited by the Law of God or Nature or finally Indifferent neither Commanded nor forbidden by either of the former Lawes Again of Good things some are better some lesse Good And so of Evil some are more some lesse Evil Things Indifferent onely admit no degrees but our Perswasion of their Indifferencie as also of the two other kinds may be stronger or weaker Our Perswasion in all three kinds may be Pure or Mixt. Our Perswasion of any kind is then Pure when there is no surmise or Perswasion of any contrary Quality in the Action to be undertaken then Mixt when we are partly Perswaded that it is of this or that Nature but not without some Surmise or Probability that it may be of another Quality The Mixture of our Perswasion likewise may be divers Sometimes we may be strongly perswaded that the Matter enjoyned is Good and yet have some weak Perswasion or Surmise that it is Evil or contrariwise Sometimes we may have an equal perswasion both wayes and think it as probably Good as Evil. Sometimes we may have a strong Perswasion that it is indifferent and a weak that it is Good or Evil or contrariwise Sometimes we may have a weak Perswasion or Conjecture that it may be a great Good and a strong Perswasion that it is but a little Evil or contrariwise Sometimes a strong Perswasion that it is a thing â—ndifferent and yet some surmise that it is a great Evil or great Good Finally as the Good or Evil apprehended by us so our apprehension or Perswasion of theâ— Truth or the Truth of that Indifferencie which is found in some Actions may be divided into as many Degrees as we please from the Multiplicity of whose different Combination the Variety of Human Actions if we would descend to Mathematical mensurations of our Conceits or calculate every scruple which Curiositie of Speculation might breed in matters of Practise may be in a manner Infinite But because most men measure matters of Conscience as they do Commodities of little worth only Grosso modo for our present purpose it will suffice to suppose three degrees of Good and three of Evil and as many of our Perswasions concerning the Lawfulnesse Unlawfulnesse or Indifferency of our Actions 4 Of Things Good in themselves or so Apprehended by us without any Suspition or scruple of Evil in them there is no Question Every mans Conscience hath Authoritie sufficient to enjoyn their Practise and other Authoritie is scarce seen in the Substance of such Actions For seeing the Good it self is to be done one time or other in some Measure only the Alacritie of doing it being enjoyned in what Time or Measure it is to be done or other like Circumstances do properly come within the Subject of Obedience 5 Concerning pure perswasion of things Indifferent likewise there is no Difficulty of moment For no man that understands what he saith will once denie that every lawful Governour is to be Obeyed in things acknowledged for meerly Indifferent Only this Question may be made Whether things Indifferent in the general or unto many or most men at ordinary times be Indifferent in the individual to this or that particular man at some peculiar Seasons Either he makes no Conscience of his wayes or else he is Besides himself that denies Obedience unto any Lawful Magistrate save only in such matters as at that time seem Unlawful for him to do though Indifferent in the general or at other Seasons or to other men Hence ariseth the first degree of Difference betwixt Governours and private Persons That in things acknowledged for Indifferent unto us at this very instant we are not bound to follow private mens Advice But a Magistrates or Governours Command we are in Conscience to Obey and to make choice of whether part He shall appoint 6 If we speak of private Resolutions concerning things evil This Rule in general is most Certain Whilest we are perswaded that any Action is Evil without any
now not to be such but Necessarie and good So as not only the Obedience is to be thought good but the very Action wherein Obedience is seen though before Indifferent is now inherently good and the Omission of it would be in it self Evil and not by Consequent only For Obedience either is or causeth a new Form or Essential Difference which doth as it were sublimate the outward Action to an higher Nature and Quality then it was capable of before For the same Reason may this goodnesse of Obedience and the due Consideration of Harms which may follow its Refusal make such Actions as before had been Evil for us out of private Resolutions to have undertaken not to be any more Evil but Good The Difficultie only is what private Doubts or Dislikes may be countervailed by publick Authoritie or what certain Rule may be given when they may and when they may not 8 General Rules in this Case are very hard to be given because the Circumstances may be many and divers The Authority may be greater or lesse so may their Dislike that are to perform Obedience be of the things enjoyned The Injunction likewise may be more or lesse Peremptorie Sometimes it may seem to resemble rather an Advice then absolute Command sometimes rather to Adjure then Command Sometimes the Parties in Authority may be of lesse and the parties of whom Obedience is exacted of greater Reach and deeper Insight in those matters whereunto Obedience is enjoyned according to the Diversitie of the Subject of Obedience which sometime may be such wherein men of Experience or Practice are to be most Believed wherein Concurrence of Judgements and Multitude of Voices may argue more Truth Sometimes the Subject of Obedience may be matters of abstruse Speculation wherein one man of profound Judgement is more to be Believed then five hundred but of ordinarie Capacitie For as things Visible but far Distant so matters of abstruse Speculation cannot be discerned by multitude of Eyes but by clearnesse of Sight and as he that could discern ships in the Carthaginian from the Lilibaean haven saw more then all Xerxes Armie could in like Distance so doth it oft fall out that some one profound Judicious Contemplator sees clearly that Truth which all the Wits of the same Age had not been able without him to discover Such men may sin in obeying Authority whereunto others in yeelding Obedience sin not because they can discern the Unlawfulnesse of the Command it self better than others But unlesse a man can justly plead this or some other like peculiar Reason or Priviledge it is a very suspitious and dangerous Case to Disobey lawfull Authority whether Spiritual or Temporal in such matters as he thinks others of his own Rank may with safe Conscience Obey or in such matters whereunto he sees many men by his own Confession of great Judgement and Integrity of Life yeelding Obedience with alacritie For if thus he think of them he cannot but suspect himself and his Perswasions of Error nay he cannot be otherwise perswaded but that the Commandment or publick Injunction of Authority is not absolutely against Gods Commandment for so it could not be Obeyed with safe Conscience by men of Skil and Integrity And this I take to be the safest general Rule that can be given in this Case Not to consider the particular Matters enjoyned with such of their Circumstances or Consequences as we out of our private Imaginations conceive or fear so much as the general Form of publick Injunction as it indistinctly concerns All. If we can truly discern the Law or publike Act it self to be against Gods Law and such as will lay a Necessitie upon us of transgressing Gods Commandements if we yeeld Obedience to particulars enjoyned by it Our Apostles have already answered for us It is better to Obey God then Men. Christ had commanded them to preach the Gospel The Priests and other Governours forbid them to preach Christ Here was a Contradiction in the Lawes themselves But GOD Commands us to Obey the Powers ordained by him and their Commandements are particular Branches of Gods General Commandements for this purpose and he that Disobeyeth them Disobeyeth God unlesse their Commandements be contrary to some other of Gods Commandements And it is a Course as preposterous as dangerous to Disobey Authority because we dislike the things Commanded by it in respect of our selves or upon some Perswasion peculiar to us not common to All. For seeing Obedience is Gods expresse Commandement yea seeing We can no more Obey than Love God whom we have not seen but by obeying our Superiours whom we have seen True Spiritual Obedience were it rightly planted in our hearts would bind us rather to like Well of the things Commanded for Authorities sake than to Disobey Authority for the private dislike of them Both our Disobedience to the one and Dislike of the other are unwarrantable unlesse we can truly derive them from some formal Contradiction or Opposition betwixt the publick or general Injunction of Superiours and expresse Law of the most High 9 It will be replied That albeit the general Form of publick Injunction be not absolutely Unlawful nor the things enjoyned for this reason essentially or necessarily Evil yet are these most Unexpedient and may be grand Occasions of great Evil. He that is thus Perswaded might as far as became his Place disswade any Publike Act concerning such Matters and yet withall was bound to consider whether the Want of such an Act might not Occasion as great Evils as he fears may follow the Practise of such Obedience as it commands or whether other might not as probably foresee some equivalent â—ood which he sees not But after such Acts are publickly made and Obedience duely demanded he that denies it upon fear onely of some Evil that may follow doth give great Occasion to others of Committing that Evil which he himself by this Refusal certainly Commits he opens the gap to that Capital Mischief of publike Societies Anarchie and Disobedience In Doubts of this Nature it will abundantly suffice to make sincere Protestation in the sight of God or if need require before Men that we undertake not such Actions upon any private liking of the things enjoyned but onely upon sincere respect of performing Obedience to Superiours whom God hath appointed to make Lawes for Us but not Us to appoint them what Lawes they should make nor to Judge of their Equity being made save onely where the Form of the Commandement is contrary to some of Gods Commandements so as the particulars enjoyned become therby essentially and necessarily Evil. In such Case the Lawes of Superiours are already Judged and Condemned by Gods Law by which whilest they stand Uncondemned they shall condemn us for Disobedience both to Gods Lawes and Them albeit we stand in Doubt whether that which they enjoyn would not be most unlawfull for us to do if we were left unto our Private Choyce
through mine Hypocrisie for a little time of a transitory Life they might be deceived by me and I should procure malediction and reproach to mine old Age. This eating which he refused could never have been of Faith that is no way Warrantable by the Doctrine or Principles of Faith which had taught him the contrary as he well exprest in the next words following for though I were now delivered from the Torments of Men yet could I not escape the Hand of the Almighty neither alive nor dead Wherefore I will now change this Life manfully and will shew my self such as mine Age requireth 9 And it should be considered that the Parties of whom our Apostle speaks in the forementioned place were never injoyned by any Lawful Superiours either Civil or Ecclesiastick to eat such Meats as they made scruple of yea the very original or fountain of their Scruple was from the expresse Law of God denouncing fearful Judgements against all such as polluted themselves with Unclean Meats so that their eating albeit solemnly injoyned by the greatest Powers on earth could not fall within the Subject of true Obedience because the Laws injoyning it as they conceived stood actually condemned by the expresse Law of God to the contrary in defence whereof many of their Ancestors had exposed their Bodies to most grievous Tortures and the refusal of such Meats as they made Scruple of had been alwayes accounted the justest Title of glorious Martyrdom amongst the Jews And albeit these Laws concerning Unclean Meats were indeed Antiquated at the Alteration of the Priesthood yet should we not marvail if at the first planting of the Gospel many good Christians did make great Conscience of eating such Meats as were forbidden by them when S. Peter himself long after our Saviours Ascension durst scarce take Gods own word against his written Law then not Abrogated as he supposed in this Case For when there came a voice unto him saying Arise Peter kill and eat Peter said Not so Lord for I have never eaten any thing that is Polluted or Unclean And the voice came unto him again the second time saying the things that God hath purified do not thou account Polluted Nor was Peter as it seems yet fully satisfied for it is added in the next words This was so done thrice and the vessel was drawn up again into Heaven All these Circumstances abundantly evince that it was not the bare Doubt or Scruple but the Quality of the things doubted of and the inveterate Opinion or abominable Conceit which the Jews or other of their Instruction had of the Meats themselves that made their eating to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so far from being of Faith that it rather seemed to overthrow it Had the excesse of the Danger they feared been lesse or had there been any ordinary Possibility of any proportionable Good to set against it their Sin in eating had been lesse albeit the Grounds of their Scruple had been greater or their Perswasions one way or other lesse setled 10 Albeit this Exposition of our Apostle may seem strange and new to many honest and well disposed Minds in our Church yet in truth the manner of the deduction only is new the Doctrine it self is generally held by all Divines though not expresly in Conclusion yet in the Premises wherein it is essentially contained and may be most evidently deduced Thus. 11 All Sin consists either in preferring none before some the lesse before a greater or a Corporal before a Spiritual Good the Hainousnesse of Sin in the excesse of difference betwixt the true good neglected and the seeming good embraced which is either absolutely evil or else a far lesse good which in competition with the greater good is likewise to be accounted evil Now if whatsoever be not of Faith be a Sin then by the former Rules it is a Sin because a lesse good is preferred before a greater or some evil chosen without any proportionable good that might serve as a sufficient Recompence But if the nature of all Actual Sin consist in one of these two It is questionable how or in what case Doubting or Scruple of what we do doth make our Actions Sinful Briefly it is an External Cause or Circumstance concurring to the making of a Sinful Action not any essential part or internal Circumstance of the Sin it self once caused And it thus concurs only when that which in it self is Evil or proves so in the event would not be â—vil unto us unlesse we had some doubt or scruple that is some Notice or Apprehension of it as Evil In such Cases indeed we should not Sin unlesse we had formerly doubted but to speak exactly we do not sin because we do what we doubt of but because in doing some Actions when we Doubt we exactly prefer Evil before Good which otherwise we should not albeit we did the self same Action For it could not be Evil to us without the Apprehension of its Nature so as the Apprehension of it concurs to the making of it Evil. And because in all Doubts or Scruples there is some Apprehension of Evil therefore when we Doubt in Cases above mentioned our Actions are not of Faith but Sinful But if either we could be fully perswaded to the contrary that is if we could out of sincerity of Conscience setled Judgement discern that very thing which either we our selves sometimes did or others yet Apprehend as Evil not to be truly Evil the same Action which before had been shall not be now sinful unto us because we now prefer not Evil before Good Or again albeit the thing were in it self Evil being prohibited by some positive Law but we upon invincible or unculpable Ignorance did not Apprehend it for such we should not actually sin in doing it because in this Case we could not truly be câ—nsured for preferring Evil before Good seeing the Apprehension maketh it evil to us albeâ—t we did prefer that which was evil before that which was good As for example If a Proâ—â—â—yte should have eaten Swines Flesh being altogether ignorant not by his own but the Priests Negligence of the Israelites Law to the contrary he had done that which was evil because forbidden by the Law but not ill because he had no Apprehension of it as evil but did eat it without all scruple as well as the strong in Faith did in S. Pauls time As doubting in those Cases wherein we have an Apprehension of some excesse of evil makes mens Actions not to be of Faith and want of doubt so all other Circumstances be observed makes them to be according unto Faith †so it oft-times fals out that such as nothing Doubt whether they do ill or no do Sin far more then such as not without great Scruple of Conscience make the same sinisâ—er Châ—ice For oft-times the Causes why men make no scruple or why they Apprehend not the evil which they do are such
Conceit or Perswasion of Good in the same the adventuring upon it is Desperate and the performance of it Unlawful And yet as he that exchangeth a Commoditie worth eleven shillings for another not worth five sustains greater losse then he that hath a Crown taken from him without any thing in liew thereof so may a man oft-times wrong his own Soul and Conscience more by undertaking Actions which have some Shew or Probabilitie of Goodnesse in them then in undertaking others which have none but are only apprehended as evil This fals out only and alwayes then when the Difference between the Greatnesse or Probabilities of the evil feared in the one and the Goodnesse hoped in the other Action is greater then the Quantitie or Probabilitie of the former evil which admitted no mixt Apprehension of Good The Reason is plain because the Mixture of good doth only recompense so many degrees of evil as it self contains of good Now if in the Actions of equally mixt Perswasions the Proportion between the evil and good be such as is between eleven and five the overplus of the evil will be as six and so shall it make that Action wherein it is worse then that which hath but five degrees or parts of evil albeit without all Mixture of any contrarie Perswasion or Conceit of good But alwayes where the evils feared are equal and the Probabilities of their ensuing likewise equal any mixt Apprehension of some good probably incident to the one not to the other doth make the Action whereto it is incident lesse evil according to the degrees either of the good apprehended or of our Probabilities that it may be accomplisht and yet shall the Action still be evil as long as the evil which we Fear is greater then the good which we can Hope for or these being equal the Probabilities greater that the evil should fall out then the good For if to prefer a lesse good before a greater be evil much more to adventure upon a great evil in hope of a lesser good most of all to adventure upon any great or probable evil without Probabilitie of any good to countervail it in the choice 7 Concerning mixt Persivasions of good and evil this Rule is general for private Resolutions Wheresoever the Probabilities or Perswasions of the Goodnesse of any Action are as great as the Perswasions and Probabilities of the Evil that may ensue and the Measure of the Goodnesse apprehended as great as the Quantity of the Evil feared a man of his own private accord may as safely adventure upon the Action as the Omission of it referring the Event to Gods Providence which favoureth positive Actions more then Privations Works rather then Idlenesse and the following of that which is Good more then abstinence from Evil. A Lawful Governours Command whether Spiritual or Temporal must in this Case rule all private Choice either for doing or omitting it the Case is all one as in things meerly Indifferent for here is an Indifferencie of Perswasions These Rules are evident in private Resolutions 8 All the Difficultie concerning the Subject of Obedience unto Governours is either in pure Perswasions of the evil that may be in Matters Commanded without any Probabilitie of Good or else where the mixture of Perswasions is unequal in respect of the evil feared or lastly where supposing the Probabilities of good and evil are equal the Quantitie of the evil which men Fear is greater then the Quantitie of the good which they Hope The Points of Difficulty are especially Two 9 First whether Injunction of Publick Authoritie may oversway any degree of our private Perswasions concerning the Unlawfulnesse of any Opinion or Action as whether we may safely adventure upon such Actions or embrace such Opinions as we our selves judge Evil without any shew or conceit of Good or such as we are more strongly perswaded that they are evil then good or such wherein the evil which we Fear seems greater then it can be recompenced with the good which we can Hope for though it were as likely to ensue 10 Secondly if Publick Authoritie may over-sway any at all what kind of private Perswasions these Be or how far they may be overswayed by it CAP. VI. That sincere Obedience unto lawful Authority makes sundry Actions Lawful and Good which without it would be altogether Unlawful and Evil. 1 MAny in our dayes are perswaded that no Injunction of Authoritie ought to move us to any thing which privately we deem Evil either Absolutely or Unto us Obedience in matters Lawful they acknowledg to be good and acceptable in the sight of God but the goodnesse of it not so great as may warrant our undertaking Actions either suspected for unlawful or already condemned for such in the Consistorie of our private Conscience for this in their opinion were to do Evil that Good might ensue 2 But here men should consider that many Actions may be Evil whilest undertaken by private Men upon private Motions which are not Evil once allowed or enjoyned by Authority not that any Authoritie can make that which is Evil Good but that it may adde some Circumstance or Motive whereby the same Action which barely considered was Evil before may now by this Addition or Alteration become not Evil because not altogether the same For Abraham upon private Instigation or secular Motives to have killed his Son had been hideous and monstrous Cruelty one of the greatest Breaches imaginable of the Law of Nature but being appointed by God so to do to have killed his Son had been no Man-slaughter Not that God in this particular did as some speak Dispense with the Law of Nature for dispensation had made his Action or purpose only not Unlawful whereas Gods Commandment did not only exempt his Resolution from that Precept Thou shalt not Kill but placed it in the highest rank of Goodnesse For he had done better in killing his Son upon this Motive then in saving of his enemies Life out of his private Resolution or Goodnesse of Nature Most true it is for a Prophet said it of the general Obedience is better then Sacrifice the truth whereof was most undoubtedly most perspicuous in this particular by which that very Action which otherwise had been most cruel Murther became more acceptable in the sight of God then any Sacrifice that ever was offered save only That wherein greater Obedience then Abraham here intended was here actually performed 3 But some perhaps will here demand what Argument can be drawn from Obedience unto Divine Supreme Authoritie for justifying Obedience unto Subordinate Powers in Matters which in our private estimation we deem Unlawful Shal we equalize Man with God or Humane Authority with Divine No but we should know that all Lawful Powers are from God and he that resisteth them resisteth the Authoritie of Divine Power Abrahams Warrant for killing his Son was more Authentick and express then we can have for any particular Action which we
concerning this Point That happily may be yet Objected which hath alwayes bred greatest Scruple for yeelding Obedience in doubtfull Cases For our Apostle saith Whatsoever is not of faith is sin But whilest men Obey Spiritual Governours in those particulars for which they shew no Scripture This Obedience is not of faith for Faith is alwayes Ruled by the Word Ergo this Obedience is sinfull even in this respect alone that it hath not the Word for its Warrant but much more if we doubt whether the things enjoyned be Good or Bad for Doubting breeds Condemnation as our Apostle in the same place gathereth He that Doubteth is condemned if he eat because he eateth not of faith 2 Unto the former part of this Objection the Answer is easie and brief Seeing Gods Word Commands Obedience in general unto Spiritual Pastors and that in most expresse termes It doth warrant our Obedience in particulars which are not forbidden by the same Word But for clearing of the later Objection because this place of Saint Paul is as often urged to as little purpose as any other in the whole Book of God besides it shall not be amisse to consider First in what Sense it is true Whatsoever is not of faith is sin Secondly what manner of Doâ—bt it is that makes a thing to be not of faith in that sense which our Apostle means 3 A thing may be said to be of Faith three wayes First strictly and properly That is said to be ex Fide of faith which is an Act or exercise of the Habit or Vertue of faith as to beleeve in God in Christ or to Assent unto any Article in the Creed In this Sense no man I think doth urge this place of our Apostle Whatsoever is not of faith is sin For then all Deeds of Charity should be sinfull seeing they are no Acts or exercises of the Habit of Faith but of Charity which is a distinct Habit from Faith according to best Divines nor can we properly say that such works flow from Faith as the fruit doth from the root seeing Charitie is no branch of faith but a Coaeval stemme of infused sanctifying Grace the common Root to both Such Acts then may be said to be of Faith onely because the Doctrine of Faith enjoyns them and the Habit or Vertue of Faith inclines the Soul unto them and moves Charity unto the exercise of them And this is the second Sense or Meaning of the speech ex fide of faith that is those things are said to be of faith or to proceed from faith which are commanded by the Doctrine of faith or unto which we are inclined or moved by the Habit or Vertue of Faith But neither is it alwayes true Whatsoever is not of faith in this sense is sinne For so no Recreation no Merriment not Eating and Drinking with many other Works both of Reason and Nature generally nothing meerly Indifferent could be truly of faith at the least at this or that Time How then are not all these sinfull seeing they are not of faith in none of the former Senses being neither Acts of Faith nor enjoyned by the Doctrine of Faith This necessarily enforceth us to seek a third Signification of the former words 4 Thirdly then that is said to be not of Faith whatsoever is not warrantable by the Doctrine of faith whatsoever Conscience or the Vertue of faith being consultâ—… countenance or allow but rather disswade And in this Sense all that may be said to be ex file of faith whatsoever is warrantable by the Doctrine of Faith whatsoever Faith Conscience or the Law of Reason and Nature can approve or allow of either Absolutely or at that Present whilest they are undertaken albeit they do not enjoyn them or impell us unto them at the least for that Season As for example If a man free from necessary Imployments of his Calling should ride half a score of miles to be merry with his honest friend this were neither an act of faith nor an exercise enjoynea by faith and yet truely of faith in our Apostles Sense and no way Sinfull because warrantable by the Doctrine of faith Neither Faith nor Conscience nor Law of Nature would condemn him for so doing But if his dearest Friend lay on his Death-bed and did expect some comfort by his Presence his Absence upon such light Occasions would be sinfull because it could not be of Faith Neither the doctrine of Faith nor the Law of Reason could countenance such an Action Such resolutions may properly be said Not of Faith because they cannot proceed but from some Inclination or disposition opposite to the Habit of true Faith and the dictates of Natural well disposed much more of sanctified Conscience Suppose some mans Conscience were so scrupulous as to doubt whether he might ride so farre to be merrie with his friend when he had no urgent Occasions to withdraw him and another so confident and fully persvvaded in his mind as to make no question whether he should meet his friend in a Plaguie house or when his own Father lay a dying The Question is whether of these two doth sinne the more or if both do not sin whether of them is freed from sin and by what means The former as is supposed doubts of the Action and yet doth it the other doth the like but worse and doubteth not If that Journey which in it self is Lawfull supposing the former Case becomes unlawfull to the one because he doubts it is Unlawfull then may the others confident Perswasion make his expedition Lavvfull unto him although in it self supposing the Case above mentioned it were Unlawfull For who can give any Reason why Confidence of Perswasion may not as well legitimate what otherwise is Unlawfull as Doubt or Scruple illegitimate that which otherwise were Lawfull and Warrantable So that according to these Grounds the former party above mentioned should Sin not the Later And our Apostles Speeches unlesse they admit some restraint will infer thus much I Know and am Perswaded through the Lord Jesus that there is nothing Unclean of it self but unto him that Jâ—ageth 〈◊〉 anything to be unclean to him it is unclean And again This man esteemeth one day above another day another man counteth every day alike let every man be fully persuadâ—…d in his Mind as if he added and then there is no danger And yet if we should but consult natural reason who could deny that he that made an idle Journey whereby he might endanger his own or neglect his Fathers life did â—n most grievously albeit he were most fully Perswaded to the contrary yea the stronger his Perswasion were the greater his Sin On the contrary he that should undertake the like Journey having no serious Occasions to withdraw him if the Truth be rightly scanned did not Sin at all unlesse perhaps in Doubting whether he Sinned or no. For every Doubt of what we do doth not make our Action sinful
Spirit our Comforter and Instructer have far greater interest in our Souls and Consciences then either Aristotle or Plato or any other Philosopher or Philosophie it self hath in our Opinions or Perswasions 6 But though Gratitude to our God could not move us are those blessed hopes of Immortality so little worth as upon every light or no occasion we should adventure their eternal losse And yet idly desperately and frantickly adventure it we do unlesse such as urge us with solemn subscription to this more then Monarchical Supremacy over our souls enstamped not with any Roman Caesars but Gods own Image Superscription can shew us sufficient Warrant that thus to offer up not only the calves of our lips but even our Faith the best Tribute our hearts can yield wholly into Christs pretended Vicars hands be not a witnesse of our Rebellion against Christ himself the Supream Lord as wel of them that challenge this Authority as of us of whom this servile subjection is exacted All the warrant or Evidence which in this case they can pretend must either be drawn from the Rules of Reason or from the Scriptures the Rule as we contend of Faith which for this reason may justly controul all pretended Rules of Natural Reason And as we have said before if the Pope be as usually he is but homo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with a witnesse then both Scripture and Reason teach us that he cannot perceive the things of God nor the Meaning of his Spirit for as our Apostle saith they are foolish unto him And if they be foolish to him then is he as foolish a Judge of them and of all things that must be Spiritually discerned as the meerest natural Idiot would be of natural Philosophie or other secular Arts or Sciences Even to this one place of Scripture uttered by the Spirit of God and the Ministry of that Apostle no sufficient Answer can be given without the evident Testimony of the same Spirit under some Prophets Apostles or Evangelists hand either mitigating or restraining that sense which the words naturally import and we collect whose Probability in it self and Consonancy with other Scriptures are so great that we stand bound by our general Allegiance which we ow unto GODS Spirit to suspect all men for Incompetent Judges or witnesses in matters concerning GOD unlesse we know certainly of what Spirit they are or have great Inducements to presume them of a better Spirit and in more favour with the Spirit of God then they themselves report their Popes to be CAP. XXIX That their Arguments drawn from conveniency of Reason or pretended Correspondency between Civil and Ecclesiastical Regiment do prejudice themselves not us 1 THat this is no general Dictate of common Reason or any part of the Law of Nature Reason and common Sense make evident And we may rest assured hereof in that no Jesuite nor other Stickler for the Popes Authority hath been so impudent hitherto as to avouch thus much That there are some Probabilities or Conveniencies which in Reason might perswade any indifferent man that there must be some one Umpire or Tribunal Seat by whose Authority all Controversies of Religion must be determined BELLARMINE thus goes about to prove GOD was not ignorant that many Difficulties about Faith would arise in the Church What then In Reason then he was to provide his Church of a Judge suppose he were But this Judge cannot be the Scripture nor any private revealing Spirit nor any Secular therefore an Eccesiastical Prince which may determin such matters either of himself alone or at least with the advice and consent of Bishops his Associates Nâ—… hath any yet as nor can any indeed imagin any other to whom the Judgement of these things can possibly appertain 2 That neither the Scripture nor any private man nor secular Prince is this Judge he labours to prove by Arguments whose strength hath been broken in the former Discourses concerning the Obscurity of Scriptures and the Varieties of Interpretations But how cunningly soever his sagacity may seem to have cast about he is at the same default Valentian and Sacroboscus were all of them over-ran the Sent by leaping from one Extream to another without search of the Mean betwixt them for they take it as granted that we deny all living Judges of Controversies because we acknowledge no absolute Infallibility in any Our Assertion is The Scripture is a Law or Rule most infallible whereby every man must judge himself whereby such as are in lawful Authority may judge others for not judging themselves by it but not alwayes infallibly Nor can it stand with the sobriety of Christian Wisdom to expect such a precise determination of all Points disputed much lesse disputable among the learned as might bind all men to an absolute Belief whether explicit or implicit of this or that determinate sense all others excluded Notwithstanding the more conscious any ordinary Judge is of his own or others Fallibility or Facility of erring dangerously if they should take upon them strictly to determin all Religious doubts much more all doubts in matters of Religion that might be moved the more infallibly may he rest assured that many cases of that Quality are very doubtful that in sundry of many Opinions all to his knowledge possible as much may be as probably alledged for any one as for other Now the true and proper Use of an Ecclesiastick Judge or Magistracy is not only to punish Oppugners of Truths either evident in themselves and infallibly Believed of all Christians or generally received by the best and most unpartial Writers in every Age but as wel to moderate mens carriage in Controversies of the former nature sometimes by restraining all peremptory Assertions one way or other all exasperating censures or contumelious contradictions as in difficulties aquipendent betwixt an equality of contrary Probabilities sometimes as in matters not so useful or unto whose search the Signs of times present do not solicit us by enjoyning a general Silence that all may hearken with better attention to GOD alwayes speaking by the ordinary Course of his Providence albeit softly and leasurely yet distinctly and audibly to quiet minds already instructed in that Heavenly knowledge though not simply unto all for many of us can perfectly distinguish mens voices whiles they repeat what in part we know though not whiles they pronounce matters unheard before or altogether unknown to us 3 By this it may appear would our Adversaries make an equal comparison that God hath better provided for his Churches Regiment in matters Spiritual then Common-weales in Temporal First the Scripture is a Rule as al-sufficient for all such Businesses as any Temporal Laws could be for effecting their proper End albeit we should suppose the Lord had dictated them immediately as he did the Scriptures This our Adversaries cannot deny unlesse they doubt whether the eternal Spirit have as great skil in Heavenly matters as