Magistraticall administration of their object is to bring men in soule and body to live together in the plentifull enjoyment of all good things honestly peaceably and safely one with another 6 That the fundamentall right unto a Ministeriall administration is to be called thereunto as Aaron was Heb. 5. 4. And that the fundamentall right unto a Magistratical administration is to be in the place of power and obliged to look to others and see right done among them as Moses was Exod. 2. 11 12 13. 14. compared with Acts 7. 23 24. 25. 7. That the properties of the Ministeriall right unto the administration of their object in their charges are chiefly twofold their due qualifications for their employment and their lawfull entry upon the charge of souls committed unto them Their qualification for their employment must be such as the Apostle doth require it to be 1 Tim. 3. v. 1. till 8. and Tit. 1. v. 6. till 10. And their entry upon the charge of souls committed unto them must be such as Christ doth require it to be John 10 v. 1 2 7 8 9. 8. That the properties of the Magistraticall right unto the administration of their object in their charges are chiefly a threefold preeminencie viz. a preeminencie over the persons of all men that all soules must be subject unto the higher powers Rom. 13. v. 1. A preeminency over the might and strength of all men that none may resist the higher powers Rom. 13. 2. and a preeminencie over the goods and possessions of all men that every one is bound to pay them tributes and taxes Rom. 13. 6. 9. That the wayes of the ministerial administration of their Charge are mainly three and no more Instructive Persuasive and Declarative Instructive to work upon the understanding that which is rational to manifest truth unto it Persuasive to work upon the will and affections by intreaties promises and threatnings the sence of good and evill to cause it imbrace the one and fly from the other Declarative to denounce in Gods name from his undoubted word his expres will to move the Conscience to yield obedience thereunto that is either to be comforted or to be afflicted as the Kingdom of Heaven is either opened or shut upon it by the declared will of God towards it 10. That the wayes of the Magistratical Administration of their Charge are Directive Legislative and Coercive to order the wayes of their Subjects in righteousnes Directive by Councel and Instructions to set subordinate Officers a work towards their Subjects to lead them unto the performance of their duties and prevent disorders Legislative by Lawes and Ordinances to let all men know the just duties which are to be observed towards all men in all cases relating the safety of the society and the indempnity of every one belonging thereunto from each other Coercive to right all things that are amisse by distributing rewards and punishments to every one as they do deserve 11. That this Magistratical function may be in a Heathen man for the good of a Common-wealth and although it may be in the hands of such a man or men that Christian Ministers and Professors ought nevertheles to acknowledge him or them in the place to be their lawful Magistrates to respect them to pray for them and to submit themselves unto them either actively or passively as their Commands shall be consistent with a good Conscience under the rules of Christianity Hitherto I have offered that wherein I suppose an agreement will be found in respect of the coexistence and distirction of the employments now I shall go a step further and offer that also wherein I suppose we shall agree in respect of the concurrence of the employments under Christ for his ends upon Mankind here then I suppose it will be granted 12. That it is as lawful for a Christian man to be a Magistrate as it is expedient for him to be rational and necessary to be a true sociable man by nature for as the profession of Christianity doth neither make void the use of reason nor abolish the true life of nature but sanctifies the one and the other and exalts both to an use wherein God is glorified by them so the rules of Government in a sociable life and the rational principle of good order in nature are no wayes cast off or neglected by the Rules of Christianity but exalted and made subservient to the highest way of happines 13. That in a whole society of men every thing is proportionably to be allowed which in one man cannot be disallowed as therefore the life of right reason and true nature are not inconsistent in one single man but concurrent with Christianity to make him truly happy so in a society of men to become a State and to be governed by Magistrates according to the Rules of reason and the principles of good order in nature is no wayes inconsistent but wholly concurrent with the frame and life of a Christian society although Christianity abstractively in it self is nothing else but the Rule of a spiritual life whereby we are directed to follow Christs foot-steps that we may come to God by him as new Creatures separate from the world 14. That a Christian being a Magistrate in a Christian State although all his Subjects in respect of Christ and the way of the heavenly profession are his Brethren and in that respect his equals yet by this he doth loose nothing of the natural right and properties of this place which God hath given to a very Heathen over Christians but gaineth rather thereby an enlargement of his preeminency and an additional right and gracious priviledge to his place which is at least threefold First the right to be more beloved and honoured than if he were a meer Heathen Secondly the priviledge to become a nursing Father to the Church of God to provide for it all things outwardly comfortable and to protect it Thirdly the preeminencie of being Christs Vice-gerent in the outward frame of the society by which meanes he hath an influence to see things ordered according to his known will in the Common-wealth and to sway things to the best frame in the publique profession for the body of the society and an obligation laid upon him not to see and suffer Christs name to be dishonoured and his Ordinances blasphamed so farre as by his place he can hinder it without constraining and persecuting any man for the enjoyment of his Conscience whereby he doth not give any publike offence 15. That a Christian being a Magistrate although his professiō doth ad these priviledges to him in his Magistracy yet his Magistracy doth not exalt him above the Church of Christ that he should have a right to cōmand any thing therein after his own wil as in humane affaires for Christ only who is the head hath authority to command in the Church and those that either teach for Doctrines the Commandements of men or impose those Commandements upon
sinne but rather our triall and through the lot of our affliction the way to a blessing if we behave our selves as Christians ought to do therein For if all the good or evil of every outward condition as to us doth wholly depend upon the frame of our spirit and upon the way of our behaviour before God therin then it doth follow that according to our spirituall temper or distemper and our orderly or disorderly carriages in this condition the event thereof will be our happinesse or our miserie for if our spirits are distempered and our course disordered against the rule of our profession it is evident that this will redouble the evill of our affliction inwardly and outwardly making it both wayes sinfull and thereby miserable but if our outward changes take us not off from the way of Christianity which is unchangeable we have just cause to beleeve that by the increase of vertue and grace they will become our onely happinesse because we have a promise that in all these things we shall be more then conquerours through him that loveth us Rom. 8. 37. And we are further taught that as the sufferings of Christ abound in us so our consolation also shall abound by Christ Now the 2 Cor. 2. 5. sufferings of Christ are said to abound in us when in all our afflictions we walk sted fastly with him in the profession of his way for then whiles the outward man doth decay the 2 Cor. 4. 16. inward is renewed day by day is there any thing even in the midst of greatest distresses that can obstruct the enjoyment of this consolation but the discomposure of our spirits and the disorderlinesse of our behaviour in the work of our employment And lest by these means we may be deprived of our comforts and lose the fruit of our labours which are undertaken for the reparation of that which is laid waste among us let us point at the chief distempers and disorders which obstruct our work that they may be removed and the course sutable to the Rules of our holy profession heretofore set down seriously taken up and sincerely followed I have already given you my sense of severall distempers and disorderly carriages of some particular men in their distinct wayes which have a speciall influence upon our spirituall affairs to make us as the confused builders of Babylon the authors of our own dissipation and ruine I shall now mention a few disorderly courses which are incident unto all men more or lesse and seeme to discompose the healthfull constitution of our whole societie in the management of all outward affaires and here although I am not ignorant that the distemper of the spirit and the disorder of the behaviour are things very farre distant in their nature and distinct in their properties yet because in matters of outward concernment they are seldome separate and going hand in hand they beget interchangably and are begotten by each other therefore and for brevities sake I shall not heed their distinction at this time but leave it to every ones thought in that which I shall offer here then let me speak of the distemper and disorderlinesse proceeding from these following roots of bitternesse viz from envie from jealousies and fears from tale bearing and private censuring from revenge which I conceive to be the chief causes of our present diseases and of all these this is to be said in the generall that as no man can exempt himself from the danger of these sinfull motions so those that are most remarkably engaged either by their places or proceedings in the management of publick affaires are most lyable to the temptations thereof which are so much the more hurtfull to the Societies of mankind by how much the persons upon whom they seize are found more eminent in parts or places and the affaires upon which they reflect are more important and by how much the complication of these distempers in those that are acted by them is more powerfull lesse corrigible and lesse discernable By the chief causes of our diseases But let us come to the particulars of these evils to see the symptomes of our publick maladies therein and finde the cure thereof Whereof envy is the first First concerning envy the spirit of God by the Apostle Iames discovers the nature of it unto us in his 4. Chapter where he shewes that all our wars and fightings come from our inbred lusts Chap. 4. v. 1. that these beget an extream disorder in all our carriages towards God and men ver 2. 3. that the object our lust is conversant withall is nothing else but this world and that the end whereat we aime thereby is the enjoyment and friendship of the world in the satisfaction of an adulterate affection which is enmity unto God ver 4. then he confirms this last assertion by the testimony of the Scripture and declares furthermore that the root of all our lustfull disorderlinesse is nothing else but envy v. 5. The testimony of Scripture is alleadged thus or do ye think saith he that the Scripture speaks in vain viz when it calls you adulterers intimating that by this denomination our lustfull friendship with the world is branded to be a defection and breach of Covenant and consequently enmity with God Then the root of all these lustings and of our disorderly behaviour therein is expressed in the following words by another question thus Doth the Spirit which dwelleth in us lust to envie as if he had said it is evident that your friendship with the world is enmity with God seeing the Scripture doth not call you adulterers and adulteresses without a just cause and as for us that make profession of Christianity to serve God in Spirit and truth doe ye think that the Spirit of Christ which dwelleth in us hath any lust to envy no certainly there is no such lust in this Spirit therefore you ought to judge your selves that in all these irregular proceedings whereof the root is nothing but envie you are not led by the Spirit of Christ but by the adulterous spirit of this world from which Analysis and interpretation of the Apostles words we may gather evidently three conclusions The nature of it as opposite to Christianity 1. That the originall of our distemper and disorderlines is enviousnesse For he saith the spirit doth lust to envie that is desires to fulfill the motions of envie if then the satisfaction of our envy be the end of our lusting envie is the root whence lust proceeds for in the immediate end of every thing the principle of the being thereof is to be found 2. That the Spirit which dwelleth in the Saints doth not lust to envie For the assertion in it self is clear and undeniable and that in the Apostles words it is intended is evident by the adversative Particle of the following words which joyneth them unto the latter end of the 5. verse and the whole context and coherence of the matter
triall from God and to look after and flie unto secondary causes The means therefore to rectifie these is that we should draw nigh unto God for if we do so the promise is that he will draw nigh unto us v. 8. which is our cure For by his drawing nigh unto us we become partaker of his vertue and nature which alters our inclinations Here then the Apostle doth presuppose that when the soul is under the triall of a temptation it doth put it self at a distance from God and that Gods presence is not with it for if he were present with it Satan could neither appear nor prevail against it but now our naturall inclinations being to wander and go astray from him as it is written Hebr. 3. 10. They erre alwayes in their heart and have not known my wayes therefore Satan doth find the soul as a lost sheep out of the way and is readie if God should not restrain him to devour it for whiles we are at a distance from God we neither are nor indeed can we be subject to his wil and consequently cannot with submission accept of his dispensation over us That therefore we may be brought about to submit our wils unto Gods will and by that means resist the devil who dwels in the turbulencie of our envious spirit we are exhorted and instructed to draw nigh unto God in our spirits that he may meet us and draw nigh unto us by his Spirit We draw nigh unto God when we come to Christ in the Spirit of prayer and faith to be reconciled to the Father by the redemption which is in him and to be united to him through the covenant that we may live by his word For Ioh. 146. Christ is the way the truth and the life and because none can come without him therefore all must come to the Father by him and live in him according to his word And God doth draw nigh to us when for Christs sake he doth accept of us graciously and testifieth his acceptance of us by the spirit of Adoption by which he beareth witnesse to our spirits that we are the Sons of God and by which he sheddeth abroad his love in our hearts sealing us up unto himself untill the day of our Redemption To draw nigh therefore unto God is in a word when we want his presence to call upon his name as our Father in Christ knowing that whatsoever we ask in his name shall be granted for Christ hath said that he will do it Ioh. 14. 13. This Communion with God in Christ and nothing but this is able to alter the perversnesse of our inclination which resists the will of God and hardens our hearts from submitting thereunto for being in Christ we become new creatures and the law of the spirit of life which is in him doth free us from the Law of sin and death which is in our nature Rom. 8 2. Gal 5. 16. whereby Satan takes hold of us that we may be inabled to walk after the Spirit and not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh whereby Satan doth work in us and lead us captive after his own will The Remedie of the guilt of sinfulnesse which is Repentance Having two parts And severall Acts answerable to the iniquity of our courses In what sense repentance is said to take away the guilt of sinne The third duty which the Apostle doth offer as a further remedie to this our evill doth tend to free us from the guilt under which we lye by reason of the sinfulnesse of our envious courses for as the perversenesse of our nature hindering us from submitting our wills to the will of God is cured onely by Gods drawing nigh unto us when we draw nigh unto him by calling upon his name that we may be saved in Christ so the guilt of our sinfull wayes which is the maine hinderance of our drawing nigh unto God and the cause of our distance from him is cured onely by the grace of repentance when we entertain it as our duty and that we may so do the Apostle doth lay open to us the parts of this duty which we finde to be two in his words the one relating to our selves the other unto God for as the nature of our guilt doth stand in the iniquity of our course and the dishonour done to God thereby so repentance by which this guilt is to be wiped away must relate unto both these that every thing amisse may be righted in that whence the evill doth proceed and so the causes of our separation in all respects removed Now the iniquity of our course is twofold the one is outward the other inward the outward defilements of the flesh going along with all our naturall actions bring us under the guilt of the Law and to free us from this the Apostle enjoyns us to cleanse our hands from sinfullnesse ver 8. but the inward pollutions are from the heart when it is destitute of Faith and sincerity towards God and man and to remedy this the Apostle enjoyns us to purifie our hearts from double-mindednes ver 8. The dishonour done to God by the iniquity of our course doth make us liable to wrath in respect of the Supream Majesty which by our offence is made void and to free us from this part of the guilt the Apostle enjoynes godly sorrow in the inward affections and a behaviour sutable thereunto in the outward expressions In respect of our inward affections we should be afflicted In respect of our outward expressions we should give way to grief Mourne saith he and weepe and we should abstaine from mirth Let your laughter saith he be turned to mourning and your joy to heavines ver 9. For the sacrifices of God which are accepted from us for sin that we may be freed from guilt are a broken spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise saith David Psal 51. 17. The proper effect of guiltines is to keep us back from the presence of God and deprive us of the freedom of spirit without which we cannot draw neer unto him this is by these meanes taken away and we are fitted by the sincerity of true Repentance both to come with boldnesse to the Throne of Heb. 4. 16. Grace and also to obtaine Mercy and finde Grace to help our misery in time of need Not that our acts of Repentance are any satisfaction unto Gods Justice for our sins by-past that is for the uncleanesse practised and the spots contracted upon our souls which is our misery or for the Orders and Rules of righteousnes broken and disturbed by us in his Kingdom which is our rebellion and for the wrongs and dishonour done to the name of God thereby which is our Treason as if he should in consideration of the worth of such performances as done by us remit the guilt which we have incurred and account such actions a compensation for the same No that is not the Apostles
taken up of designes persons will never suffer the mind to be at rest but by the apprehensions of evil listning after rumors and reports the heart will be moved as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind The remedy of Tale-bearing and private censuring By every one Therefore the first remedy of tale-bearing and private censuring is this cure of jealousies and feares for where the spirit is free from this distemper and in a serene frame within it selfe following that which is good towards all men before God there will be no listening after evill reports nor entertaining of tale-bearers upon evill surmisings and if no man will lend a tale-bearer his eares he will be soon weary of his employment By the Magistrate But the more direct cure of this disease is partly in the Magistrates partly in the Ministers hand for if the Christian Magistrate would take up Davids resolution and Psalm 101. practice it To know no wicked person To cut off such as privily stander others To cast out of his sight and discountenance every where such as carry tales from one to another and tell lies and consequently to represse railing accusations scandalous pamphlets and injurious reproaches so that a way might be opened at least for a reparation of the injuries of such a nature with infamy to those that inferre the same as in other Common-wealths the custome is If I say this were done by the Magistrate the publick inconveniencie of tale-bearing private censurings and of defamations would soone be cured As the North-wind saith Solomon ariveth away Prov. 25. 23 rain so doth an angry countenance a back-biting tongue If the angry countenance of a private man will doe this to a slanderer in private much more will the angry countenance of a Magistrate be able to effect it when a just reward of punishment will take hold of the transgressors By the Minister But to perfect this cure the Ministers of the Gospel should make it a part of their work as well in privat as publick to make all men sensible of the sinfulnes of whispering and backbiting and of the danger of an unruly tongue which sets the world on fire and is set on fire of hell What shall be given unto Psal 120. 3. 4. thee or what shall be done unto thee thou false tongue sharp Arrowes of the mighty with Coales of Juniper and such as with a deceitful tongue love devouring words God shall likewise destroy Psal 52. 4. 5. them for ever he shall take them away and pluck them out of their dwelling-place and root them out of the land of the living Saith the Holy Ghost and if free passage of the Gospel into the soules of men is to be regarded there is nothing that doth more directly obstruct it and hinder men from entertaining it then envies and evil speakings which are alwayes accompanied with malice guile and hypocrisie as the Apostle doth intimate 1 Peter 2. 1. 2. nor shall we ever see Jerusalem a quiet Habitation nor peace upon Israel till the disorder lines of whispering tale-bearing and passionate censuring be removed from the zeale of the Profession if Ministers themselves too too many were not guilty of this it might hopefully be in some Zelots but the zeale for one and against another party which hath drowned the zeale for meeknes for love and for true unpartial Christianity doth licenciat the spirits of professors to do this without controll by the example of some of their Ministers for it is from the pride of men that dote about questions of their own framing because they mind not with true zeale the undoubted and known truths of the Gospel that this heat of strife and railing and of passionatenes which is mistaken for zeale doth proceed as the Apostle declares 1 Tim. 6. 3. 4. 5. and truly it is hard to know whether Satan doth more harme to the felicity of mankind by the false accusations which unconscionable and profane men give out against the godly in the world or by the privat and faulty reprovings of true faults which disorderly zealous professors give out against them in the Church By all Conscionable Professors of Religion The Rules then to be offered to such as make Conscience of their wayes which may prevent and cure the disorderlines of these courses are these First let us watch over our spirits that nothing be done through strife and vain glory but all things in humility and without murmurings and disputings Phil. 2. 3. 14. Secondly if a man in the way of a lawful Calling must needs contend for Truth and Righteousnes and for the Faith once given to the Saints yet then let him remember that he ought to be slow to speake and slow to wrath because the wrath of man Jam. 1. 19. 2. worketh not the Righteousnes of God for our heat and passions do rather prejudice then advantage the truth in the minds of those to whom it is offered Thirdly let us consider this truth that to relate the faults and errors of one man who is a stranger to another under the pretence of warning him to whom the relation is made of the danger thereof is neither charitable nor positively edifying it is not charitable because the discoveries of mans failings to strangers can proceed from no love to those that faile for love covereth from strangers a multitude of sins nor can it work any love in strangers towards them nor is it possitively edifying to those that are made acquainted therewith because nothing doth positively edifie but the manifestation of Truth and Righteousnes Fourthly and lastly let this Rule be laid to heart that to lay open the faults of any either to himself or to others otherwise then in order to the course which Christ hath appointed to rectifie the same and with a charitable design to bring him that erreth from the error of his way is altogether unlawful and therefore none ought to censure any man or fault but that at the same instant is able and willing to shew the way how to reclaim the man and redresse the fault Concerning the remedy of revenge The first is Prayer Hitherto I have spoken of the distempers which are cureable in our nature by reasonable perswasions the distemper of revenge which we have found to be incureable by ordinary meanes must be referred unto the prayers of the Godly to intercede for those that are in danger thereof that their passion may not be an incentive of the fierce wrath of God against their own soules and over the whole Nation but that the remainder of wrath may be restrained from breaking forth upon Psal 76. 10. others and by the spirit of Christ subdued within themselves The second is Christs Spirit To be held forth by the Ministers for nothing but the mighty spirit by which Jesus Christ did walk in our flesh and overcome the world bound the strong man in our nature and spoiled him of his goods can
their charge bring guilt upon them and make them accessary to sin except they represse and reprove the evill which they find in them nnd shew their hatred against all those that turne aside from the direct way of godlinesse and honesty of justice and sobriety Then also in the persons of others 7. That Magistrates walk not in a perfect way in respect of their places although they free both themselves and their attendants from evill except they also take notice of others that are without to oppose the vicious and advance the vertuous both in private and publick occasions This axiome is evident from the whole matter of Davids profession especially from ver 4. till the end and the reason of it will appear if the nature and motion of a perfect way be compared with the nature motion of a Magistrates place for the place of a Magistrate is wholly relative and towards others except therefore his way be perfect against evill and for good in teference to others it doth not answer his place and except it be so as well in private as in publick it is not perfect for although a good man may be an ill Magistrate for want of Ruling parts yet no man that is ill can be a good Magistate though his parts be never so eminent Because an evill man as he makes no conscience of sin in private so he will never be zealous for vertue nor against vice in publick All that he will do will be onely for himself to save his owne credit that he may not be cryed out against For if his heart be evill he hath no love to Judgement and Mercy as they are works good to all as they are acceptable to God who hath commanded them and as they are proper to his place of Rule but onely as they make a shew before men and serve ro keep up his reputation amongst them By cutting off the incorrigible 8. That by opposing vice in others privatly and publickly Magistrates do not enough to remove the wicked from places of Trust and to shew their dislike of men except also they use meanes to cut them off from the society over which they are set and especially if they be found incorrigible This is plainly Davids resolution in his perfect way of walking as appears by ver 5. 7. 8. Especially of foure sorts 9. That Magistrates walking in their places in a perfect way should take notice as well of those that plot perverse designes as of those that put them in execution but amongst all these the slanderer the proud the deceiver and the lyar are especially to be hunted out of all places of trust and cast out of the Common-wealth for these foure may be compared to the wheeles of Satans Chariot on which he rides through the societies of mankind to disturbe the Peace and Happinesse by the corruption of our nature which Magistrates are appointed to curb and resist This is that which David resolves upon in ver 4. 5. 7. and by experience we find that without the discovery and removall of these foure sorts of wicked men there can be no Peace and quietnesse in humaine Societies By seeking out and calling the vertuous to places of employment 10. That the way of a Magistrate is not perfect although he thus oppose vice except he also seek out those that are vertuous and make use of them for privat and publick occasions of employment This is manifestly Davids resolution in ver 6. and the perfect way of Magistracy can no more subsist without the use of good instruments than consist with the employment of evill ones as therefore the removing of the one is necessary so is the finding out and calling of the other nor can there be a greater cause of corruption in Civill Government than the want of care to finde out and employ vertuous men therein 11. That no man ought to be intrusted with any accesse or privacy about the Magistrate but he that is faithfull in the Land and no man employed by him in any service but he that is upright in his way And how that should be done These are the two Characters of persons whom David resolves to seek out and call to himself ver 6. and till Magistrates make it a chief maxime of State to follow his example herein it will never go well with them in their Government It is not he who commends himself that is offered by the solicitation of friends unto a place but he whom God commends by his abilities and such Characters as these who is fit to be employed it were greatly to be wished if it could also be hoped that these who have the disposall of places would make it an unalterable maxime of State to reject all sutors for places and to admit of none but whom they themselves should chuse and call upon the discovery of their abilities and of these Characters found in them Namely that they are faithfull in the Land and perfect in their way He is faithfull in the Land who is true to the publick good thereof who hath not sought his own private advantage before the interest of the Common-wealth such a one may be trusted with a publick place that he will not abuse it for his own ends and he is perfect in his way whose course of life is sincere and conscionable and who is carefull to maintain his integrity without offence towards all If none but such were sought out for publick places the affairs of States and Common-wealths would indeed be successfull but as long as the maximes and interests of factions and parties which all along destroy humane societies are followed and private aimes bear rule over the spirits of those that rule in a State these characters of men fit for places will never be regarded nor the course to chuse and call thereunto taken up by any 12. That the aime of a godly and wise Magistrate is not to serve himself in his place but others nor his ultimate end to serve others so much in their temporall conveniences as to protect the City of God and free it from the disturbance of Gods service and all causes of trouble And why he ought mainly to intend this This is professedly Davids end in ver 8. and if we first look upon a Magistrate as Gods substitute and Deputy and then if we grant that no Deputy can be counted faithfull to him that hath deputed him except he mainly intend that which his Superiour doth aime at then this cannot be denied that the Magistrates ultimate end must needs be the safety and prosperity of the City of the Lord for God having created all for his own glory hath given the world unto Christ and Christ having Redeemed all for the glory of his Father hath given all to his Church where God doth dwell with men So that for the Churches sake which is the City of God all Government is maintained and appointed by God
and determine our thoughts in the debate it selfe lest they miscarry and be suffered to wander upon use lesse and by-matters uncertainly as it happeneth unto others in the debates of this and of some other kinds therefore I declare before-hand that my resolution is unalterably to wave every thing which shall be offered that hath no direct or collaterall tendency and subordination towards the discovery of these Rules for to finde out a cleare demonstration of the truth of these is the whole fruit of all this Disquisition The termes of the Question explained Thus having determined the end of the debate let us come to look upon the point of difference which may be between us And here I cannot definitly say wherein others differ from me in a positive opinion I see what the positive difference of their practice is from mine but men oft-times doe more then they think they doe but that they who allow at large which I do not Ministers to meddle in matters of State may judge wherein I doe differ from them I shall follow the method formerly set down and first open my sense of the question and then declare both the agreement and the difference which I conceive to be therein between us The termes of the question I understand thus 1. By the Ministers of the Gospel of Christ I understand certain men who take not upon them at their own hand but are called in an ordinary and orderly way to teach other men the knowledge of Christ to perswade and exhort them to receive him and walk in him by faith and love for the salvation of their own soules and the enlargement of his kingdome towards others in the world to pray for and with them and to oversee their wayes that they may be found conformable to their profession And this I conceive is the whole substance of their imployment 2. By the Gospel of Christ I understand the glad Tidings of Gods free Grace offered to us in the new Covenant made with mankind in Christ that we may entertain it by faith 3. By the Sermons of those Ministers teaching this Gospel I meane their ordinary speeches to their hearers concerning this subject by which they ought to bring them to the obedience of faith 4 By the Magistrates I understand certain men whom God hath exalted and set over the visible Societies of men for their good to over-see their wayes and order them in righteousnesse by power and authority to make them conformable unto his known will 5. By State-affaires which are said to be the employments of the Magistrate I mean all things which concerne either the visible societies or the single persons of men as relating to their outward state and condition of life in the world wherein power and authority can be exercised for the ordering of the same 6. By Power I mean the forcible meanes of constraining through feare those that are in subjection to doe that which their superiors will have them to do This is that which the Apostle calls the Sword Rom. 12. 4. 7. By Authority I meane a right to administer a charge and to beare rule therein over others for the government of their wayes whereunto those that are to be governed owe respect and submission And this is that which the Apostle calls to be subject for conscience sake Rom. 12. 5. These are the things whereof the question doth speak but The thing questioned or the matter of doubt The question it selfe or the thing questioned concerning these things is this Whether yea or no it doth appertain to the calling and charge of those that are employed in the service of Christ for spirituall matters when they are about that service to utter in publick their particular thoughts concerning worldly matters which appertain to the calling and charge of those who are set in power and authority over the Common-wealth To this question whether we should say absolutely Yea or absolutly No or in some respect yea and in some respect no and how farre yea and how farre no in each respect is the matter of doubt which by a friendly conference and debate fitted to search after hidden Truths may be resolved And that we may endeavour this so as to bring the matter to an issue without distractednesse or confusion let us first consider that wherein we agree as a known and determined truth then view that which remaineth yet unknown as an undetermined doubt that by the help of some principles and the right application thereof unto the point of difference we may make a way for our understanding to determine the same The matters of agreement The matters wherein I suppose an agreement will be found are these 1. That the terms of the question as they have been opened are truths viz. That by Ministers and Magistrates and their employments such men such things and such actions are to be understood as were described in the opening of the question and that the point of doubt in generall doth lie there where it is said to lie For if either these termes or any of them be otherwise understood or the point of doubt otherwise placed than hath been now mentioned although in words we may seem to agree upon the stating of the question yet the thing it selfe is not agreed upon therefore this must needs be presupposed to be so before we can proceed to any other points of agreement and then I shall offer this further 2. That Iesus Christ who is now at the right hand of God having all power in heaven and earth hath ordained in this world both these kinds of Officers some to preach the Gospell unto men as Ministers of his Word and Mysteries 1 Cor. 9. 14. and chap. 4. 1. with Tit. 1. 7. and 1 Pet. 4. 10. and some to rule the Societies of men to keep them in good order as Magistrates endued with power to punish the evill and reward the good Rom. 13. vers 1. till 8. and 1 Pet. 2. vers 13. till 18. 3. That the employments of these two Officers although they are coexistent under Christ towards the same men who are to be governed by them and concurrent towards them for his ends upon them yet they are distinguishable the one from the other chiefly in respect of their different objects of their different immediate ends of their different fundamentall rights to their charges and the properties thereof and of their different wayes of administring their charges 4. That the object of the Ministeriall administration is nothing else but the truth and will of God in the Gospel as it is revealed in the Scriptures and that the object of the Magistraticall administration is the Truth and Will of God as in the Principles of right Reason and the Law of Nature it is revealed 5. That the immediate end of the Ministeriall administration of their object is to bring mens soules to have communion with God in Christ by his spirit and that the immediate end of the