confound all within Church and State If such gifts and impulses be sufficient call for intruding in the office of the Magistrate to execute justice why is it not also sufficient for the office of the Ministry without call from men externally And thus Anabaptists Enthusiasts Photinians and the like denying the necessity of external call to the Ministry avowing gifts and excitations to be a sufficient call shall gain the day a man may take the honour of a Ministry to himself without waiting mans call as well as the honour of Magistracy a self-called-Magistrate and a self-called Minister are very sib together And how shall the Libeller refuse to admit women to baptize children in case of necessity the thing it self being good and for a good end and there being none other to do it and the exigence great or how will he hold back any private persons from preaching and ministring all Sacraments though they have no external call It is easie to pretend as great need for this as for intruding into the Magistrates office 8. It is in vain for this man to tell us that Gods hand is not shortened and he hath plenty of the Spâ—rit to give and is the same yesterday and to day and for ever and can give such gifts and excitations and such allowance in acting as Phineas had For our question is not anent Gods power or what he may do we adore that glorious Majesty who doth what he will in heaven and in earth and can do above all we can think But our question is if now after that the Canon of holy Scripture is perfected sealed and consigned we have warrand to look for any extraordinary persons having Gods secret and special mandates to do works which any ordinary calling they have by allowance and approbation of men according to the rules of common reason and the word doth not interest them in such as Phineas act supposing him a private man is to be esteemed The man falls out in wishing that all Gods people were as Phineas and had the same Spirit of holy Zeal that by removal of the cause his fierce anger against this poor Land might cease We shall easily concur with him in wishing and praying that Gods people may be filled with zeal to his Glory as Phineas was but not that they should have that same exercise of zeal that he had nor follow his fact unlesse they could be certified of their warrand and calling to do so as he was The Apostles of Christ are to us examples of zeal for God in their Ministery but who will say that the acts which they zealously did by vertue of their extraordinary calling are for our imitation albeit their zeal be Peter in zeal to Gods honour killed Ananias and Saphira who lied to the holy Ghost Shall therefore Ministers slay men that deal deceitfully with God or shed their blood the zeal was imitable but not the fact the fact is not justified meerly by the zeal that puts on to it but by the calling and warrand To follow all the facts of them who have been truly zealous for God is indeed a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an evil zeal like the zeal of the disciples Luke 9.54 Who knew not of what Spirit they were Peter Martyrs word speaking of imitation of extraordinary examples of zeal and facts done that way Loc. comâ— Clas 2. cap. 9. is good Nobis cavendum est ne illa quae vehementer extraordinario cupimus aliquo exemplo Majorum velimus constabilire cum inusitata volumus aggredi contra ordinaria Dei praecepta non est satis exempla produxisse Majorum sed excutiendus Spiritus quo ducimur ne spâ—cioso quodam praetextu carnis affectum prudentiam sequamur And Perkins on the Creed pag. 194. sayes well If a man be zealous for Christ he must be zealous within the compasse of his Calling and not be zealous first and then look for a Calling but first look for a Calling and then be zealous Which thing if Peter had marked he would not have dealt so rashly in drawing his sword and smitting for being without compass of his Calling he could not but do amisse But yet this man urgeth Nap. p. 24 impiety shall quickly gain an universal Empire to the extermination of all goodness if for fear of accidental hazards vertue and vertuous actions of private persons shall be utterly neglected Ans None offers to hinder vertue and vertuous actions of private persons but only their vitious usurpations upon the Magistrate no evil should be done either that good may come of it or a worse evil prevented the exercise of the Magistrates office in executing judgement is good being done by him but it is evil being done by a private person that hath no calling so to do every man hath not a calling to do all good but only that good which is competent to him in his calling to do when iniquity is like to prevail it is my part who am a private person to mourn for it to pray against it to use fraternal loving warnings to others as I have occasion and to keep my self pure from pollutions in so doing I may sit down with contentment referring the remedy of evils to God in his own way and time but to break Gods order by intruding into publick places and the actions of Magistrates for preventing or remedying impiety is but to cure one sin by another And when we have invaded the Magistrates place being private persons others will do the like to us and there shall be no end of confusion Fearers of God would not listen to the charmes of vain talkers but beware of removing the ancient limits God hath set of mens callings were it for prevention of greatest idolatry or wickedness nothing that is either evil in it self or evil as circumstantiated in our hands from whom God hath required no such thing is to be done Will ye speak wickedly for God and talk deceitfully for him Job 13.7 But this Libeller insists upon the matter of private mens usurping the Magistrates place not only in the first part of his Book speaking in reference to our first Reformation and Way of it which he brings to justifie present insurrections but in the latter part p. 151.152 he will have private men taking the punishing and reforming sword in their hands against all Magistrates and sayes expresly people of inferior degree may step forward to occupy the places and assert the interests which wicked Rulers have forfeited and deserted And this he sayes is according to the Covenant where they swear in their places and callings to endeavour reformation c. which clause he sayes is to be taken not restrictively but as he speaks the clause is exegetick and ampliative and that the sense is that if others in their respective places concur in advancing the work every one shall confine himself to his own place and calling but if these in higher employment fail in their oath
Satyrum for hardly can a man meet in any book with more bitter invectives against all Authorities and Dignities appointed and approven by God then are here to be found All that have gone that path before him seem but children in wickedness in comparison of him He deserves to be in the first classe of these Jude 8. who despise Dominion and speak evil of Dignities Yet it must be confessed that the man deserves well albeit beside his intention of all the Authorities civil and ecclesiastical in the Land for while others do politickly keep in supprimit Orator quae rusticus edit inepte He hath plainly laid open the spirit of the faction for which he is Advocate and gives as we will hear fair warning to the King that he must not expect impunity if they can have their will and to all the Nobles and Magistrates whose places and dignities forfeited as he saith by them private persons in a Phineas-like spirit are allowed to possess removing and taking order with them for great apostasie and patronising abominations as he speaks but especially to all the ministry whom he calls Wolves and Theeves and mainely to the Bishops what they are to expect for loading them outragiously with all sorts of reproaches which his wicked heart could prompt him to utter he directly endeavours to stir up the people to embrew their hands in their blood and to destroy them in their innocency with tragical oh s awakening the rage of the rudest multitude which he calls zeal of God to execute judgement on them that the fierce anger of God may be turned away and tells them if they do not so they are plagued with stupidity and blindness All sorts of rulers in the Land may see their dittay and their doom drawn in this Libell and the man should have thanks for discovering the malitious bloody and cruel designs of his party that these who are concerned being fore-warned may be fore-armed professa perdunt odia vendictae locum when the snare is sett in a mans sight he deserves to fall into it that will fall into it When a mans deadly enemies proclaim their intentions if he take not warning and be not upon his guard who will not think that in his lifetime he were worthy of a fair hood and bells and because he perishes in the snare that was set in his sight he will be thought worthy of Abners Epitaph Dyed Abner as a fool dyeth This man will make us wise whither we will or not and force us to keep our eyes in our head But as to this infamous Libeller how irksome a thing were it to follow him closely in all his foolish reasonings that are continually interlaced and larded with foul revilings How unsuitable were it for one who desires to keep the constant composure of a Christian spirit to indulge a humour in retaliating according as the indignity of his abuses requires verily in dealing with men of this stamp outragious in their opprobrious speeches defenders of the truth are at a great disadvantage in regard of these who have sober and grave adversaries to deal with But it almost transcends humane patience to treat myldly with such an insolent one as this who transgresseth so far the bounds of all humane modesty in dealing with all sorts of persons in Authority as will be seen anone Although then a more then ordinary vehemency of a keen stile should be used in beating down the fierceness of one so excessively insolent whose intemperate pride despiseth moderate remedies good and wise men will not judge it very criminal but at least somewhat excusable Shall Masters of confusion indulging themselves in their proud morosity unworthily demean themselves toward the sober defenders of the truth and will not this be sufficient Apology for them to put forth some sting and use some measure of vehemency in this case Should such a person as this who as the Poets feign of Hecuba metamorphosed into a mad barking bitch after the destruction of Troy barks and bawles and dares with his furious petulant and pestilent pen overrun and bespatter King Parliament Council Nobles Judges Bishops Ministers and all ranks of people in the Land should he be smoothed and stroaked with soft words might not possibly a too faint-like and toothless defense of the truth tend to harden him and his complices and breed suspition of some signs of diffidence distrust and timorousness in owning the truth and rightousnesse of the cause that is owned against him Sed motos praestat componere fluctus It shall be fitter to consider what becomes us to utter then what becomes him to hear or what he is worthy of There lyes indeed a tentation in these nameless writings which therefore it is to be wished were not in use to exceed in passions and to utter words incognito that will not be stood to but remembring that we have not so learn'd Christ as to render revilling for reviling and that mans wrath works not the rightousness of God though sometimes it is for peoples edification to see the due characters of such as lead them out of the way so far as humane infirmity permitts the truth shall be searched after and spoken in love all bitterness wrath anger and clamour with all malice being put away but if any thing aculeat and pungent do escape it not being used in any private cause or quarrel but in the publick concerns of truth of the Church of God and of the State of the Common-wealth nor proceeding from any private revenge there being room enough in our fraternal affection for any who will leave their unchristian sanguinary and inhumane wayes it will at least be excused by the judicious and wise And if any such thing be it is heartily wished it may prick the Libeller to repentance for these things wherein he hath already put himself to shame But to prepare for consideration of the matter of this infamous Libel it shall be fit to advert how palpably and closely this man treads in the foot-steps of the old Masters of confusion the Anabaptists It shall not be said that his complices or he are arrived to the owning of the highest mysteries of that Sect in the points of Enthusiasme and Libertinisme nor that they are so cruel as to exclude Christian infants from their Birth-right priviledge of Baptisme howbeit it is worthy to be considered how far the common demand of expresse command or example in Scripture for Episcopacy may reach the Anabaptists conclusion concerning infants And this man doth let fall such tenets as smell too rankly of the foul scum of the high flown Anabaptistical and Enthusiastical way while he tells us pag. 21. c. That meer private men may now a dayes take their impulses of Zeal as a sufficient call to pull down all Magistrates from their seats which they abuse to execute judgement on them and to place themselves in their rooms thinking that Phineas act may justifie them and while he tells us
his Spirit with heroical motions to such acts as were not according to ordinary rules of procedure thence they would bring warrand for their irregularities and for going out of their line This vain Orator Naph p. 21 22 23 24 25. catches hold on the instance of Phineas Numb 25.7 8. executing justice upon an Israelitish Prince and will have that a precedent for any private persons such as lately did rise under colour of high pitches of zeal and fortitude whereto they are incited as he sayes by Gods Spirit to execute justice upon all the powers and people of the Land they being fallen in such a fearful apostatic as keeping the true protestant Religion to vary from them in the external ordering of the Ministry of the Church and embracing that way and order against which there is no command of Christ yea for the consonancy whereof to his word much and very much may be said and hath been And although he cannot but see the dreadful consequences of extracting a general rule for these times out of such an example yet though he turns himself Proteus-like into many shapes distinguishing about heroick and extraordinary motions denying Phineas act to be extraordinary but only heroical talking much of good intentions warrandableness of the work in it self deficiency of others in doing it and of Gods power to give rare heroick incitations c. he cannot by any thing he sayes put a sufficient bar against confusions under such pretexts but he opens a door he cannot close again And the result of all is to fasten the last insurrection upon the holy spirit of God to justifie their attempts against all Authorities in the Land and to assert they were no more to be condemned as Traitors then Phineas should be for his executing judgement seing they were led with the same spirit and had as good warrand as he And the design further is to inflame people again to the like courses under the like pretences for justifying the same When this mans discourse concerning Phineas fact and the exemplariness thereof and concerning pretended extraordinary or heroick incitations he talkes of was first looked upon men of any judgement consider'd that as the former bloody insurrections were endeavoured to be justified by him so he was laying down grounds for some merciless massacre or horrid assassinations on persons in power and others if any people might be found so deserted of God as to be serviceable to him in that wickedness for now no man can have security of his life if any private persons be allowed under Phineas cloak to come and cut the throats of all whom this man will point forth as black Apostats Such deeds must be fatherd upon the holy Spirit of God and his excitations to zeal which are held a sufficient calling though that so called zeal will prove no other but a corrupt lust proceeding from another spirit And we must forsooth when these men will have us so do own these irregularities as being from God and say He is employing the weak things and foolish of the world to confound the mighty and wise and must not condemn them as Vsurpers or Intruders although they be but meer private men more then we would have done Phineas in his fact Thus he What great Villanies have been under such pretences carried on in the world by persons taking their heroical motions and excitations of zeal for a sufficient calling to their irregular actions which is the direct Doctrine of this man the World knows well How the Munster madness was carried on under extraordinary shewes of zeal is known and how also God confounded that way The murthers of the two Kings Henries of France the third and fourth have been famous or infamous in this last age by the cruel hands of two Zelots inflamed by seditious Predicants and Jesuits they fell The assassinates actions were cryed up by such as set them on against these Neroes of the time as these Kings were called by them as actions most heroically zealous most Phineas like proceeding not from common vertue or grace sed à dono speciali Spiritus Sancti proh nefas And they taught that it was of God to excite these miscreants to cut the Basilick vein as they spake to prevent the State and Churches falling into a burning feaver And to come neerer home the remembrance of the Gun-powder Traitors who attempted at one blow to destroy King James and all his Family and Parliament is yet recent a deed which wanted nothing of the high commendation of an heroical and Phineas-like fact amongst the Zelots of the antichristian party but that it wanted successe which marred all Further in the time of Queen Elizabeth of England Anno 1591. Some male-contented Presbyterians being taken in the head with the same fancy of Heroical motions of zeal as a sufficient calling to attempt something beyond rule in the desolate and colapsed estate of the Church as they call'd it began first to question and propose it as a case of conscience If in such a case God might not give such high measures of zeal fortitude courage and rare excitations of his Spirit to meer private persons against oppressing powers which might be a sufficient call to attempt somewhat against Magistrates not suiting ordinarily rules and committing the event to God The men were Arthington Coppinger and Hacket the chief of the three as they were all marvelous zealous for the discipline So this third having debauched his estate surpassed in zeal this way perhaps looking for some reparation by it and was as the History tells us a man of highest pretences of the internal unction of spirituality and of pure zeal and one who could ex tempore pray to admiration The godly Ministers who were of their perswasion in matters of discipline for the most part disliked and disswaded them from their course albeit some too furious entertained and encouraged them After this they went to action Hackets two complices went to the most open and publick streets of the City of London declaring to them that Hacket who was to be found at his lodging in one Mr. Walkers in Cripple-gate was sent of God to represent Jesus Christ on earth with his fan in his hand to separate the pretious from the vile and to erect the holy discipline in all Europe they having a great concourse of people flocking about them declared themselves to be his extraordinary Prophets the one to preach vengeance to them who would not obey them the other to preach mercy to all who would obey them And in the great concourse of people they ceased not to cry repent repent O England and embrace the Gospel and opportunity of Reformation As for the Queen they cried she had fallen from her right to the Kingdom And that most of her Councellours were but betrayers of the Kingdom And all their doctrines they set forth with terrible imprecations against themselves if they spake not truth The Queen being at Greenwich and
hearing of the uproar at London sent two of her Councellors to see what the matter was the deceivers all three were apprehended and arraigned as stirring up sedition against the Queen and designing to destroy her to murther her Councellors and Bishops to bring in their new King and trans-form all things in Church and State to their own fancies Hacket the King was executed and dyed blaspheming Coppinger in a fury pining himself with hunger at last beat his own brains against the wall and dyed Arthington upon his repentance obtained mercy of the Queen Such abominable courses carried on under pretext of Heroick motions and rare excitations of the Spirit should make the fearers of God very cautelous against the Principles of this man which lead this way For he asserts There needs no standing upon an external call if men think they have this internal call to use the Sword for vengeance against Apostate Magistrates all and sundry such as he reckons they are in this time Napht. p. 24. Any party of private men may according to his mind rise up in a Phineas like fortitude against not only Princes but all the Primores Regni becoming Patrons of abominations to execute Judgement upon them Napht. p. 22. and to reform an Apostate Church their zeal c. is a sufficient call without further If such Doctrines passe for current and good coine and if our people be so principled it were better living under the great Turk where no man is to losse his life but by Law then in Scotland where all Magistrates and others shall be proclaimed lyable to the fury of any private persons who can pretend rare and Heroick excitations of the Spirit to zealous executing justice upon men whenever they thus animated think there is cause For this man proclaims these inward excitations as a sufficient call without any other external call But this man seing the mischief of his evil Doctrine though he is loath to part with it would gladly add some Salvo if he could for saith he p. 24. We held not such instances viz. as that of Phineas as regular Precedents for all times and persons universally That is well said but where is the caution that is put in against any that will pretend Heroical excitations by the Spirit as a sufficient call He hath opened a door but how will he close it again It is easie to raise the Devil but not so easie to lay him again the man would say something to satisfaction if he could set down certain rules to bar a heady people under a pretence of Phineas-like motions and excitations to arise upon every occasion to confound all But as he cannot do this so doth he not attempt it he cannot give any remedy against confusion in all cases having proclaimed this libertinisme to private persons upon pretence of Heroick excitations of zeal c. to rise up against all Powers above them for they are made Judges in their own private discretion when it is fit to fall in hand with such irregular practices And when it is that such Heroick excitations are upon their Spirits and when it is that matters are so far out of order that they cannot be amended without their violent interposing and pulling down of Powers all this is referred to private persons private discretion and if this mans party were posessed in Power upon their principles another party perhaps of Quakers Ranters c. could easily start up and plead their impulses from above to rectifie the corrupted and collapsed estate of affairs and to reform and punish offenders So there shall be no end of confusion when these are got into the saddle others shall met to them in that same measure erranti nullus terminus there shall be a progress to confusion in infinitum And never shall people when they mind changes want the pretexts of corruption in Rulers and in all besides themselves and will lay hold on any probable capacity which qualifies them for exercise of Justice against all not of their way And although they be not in probable capacity to take the fields or leavy Armies yet they will go so far in executing justice upon all Magistrates Phineas-like as upon patronisers p. 24. of abominations as he sayes all our Magistrates of all degrees are now for he tells us p. 18. They ought without doubt be suppressed by all meanes n. b. by all meanes if there be no probable capacity for armies a dag or a dagger a pistol or poisoned poinard a Spanish-fig or some secret applications may do the business with some great ones And any Heroick Saint may be in probable capacity for such matters these are amongst the generality of any means usable for suppressing Powers it is all one matter if Justice be execute and the evil removed whatever way it is all one as Phineas did it with his Javelin and God should be praised when justice is executed on adversaries an apostat Church such as now is reformed Of this no more shall be said But we are to pray that the life of our dread Soveraign may be bound up with the Lord his God in the bundle of Life and also that the same great and good God may be a shield and buckler to his servants who desire in honouring the King to fear him the King of Kings above all against the generation of men of blood and violence who bewray their ungodliness too much in daring to seek patrociny for villanous assassinations from the holy Scriptures of God But behold how the man wrings his wit to work out Napht. pag. 21 23 24 25. an Apologie for the seditions from Phineas example he tells us Phineas was but a private man that he had no extraordinary calling to execute judgement only he had heroical motions and zealous excitations to it and that God who is the same yesterday and to day and for ever and hath the residue and plenty of his Spirit to pour out upon meer private persons may by giving them such or the same Spirit of zeal magnaminity and courage sufficiently call them by his breathings upon them to execute justice on adversaries and to reform an apostate Church c. and when it is so we should not condemn but honour Gods instruments for if they did not step in to act impiety would quickly gaine an universal empire to the extermination of all goodness To all which we say 1. As to the person Phineas from whose actings Patrociny is â—ought for justifying the violence of private persons against the Magistrate and their usurping over him as Judges to punish him it is much doubted if he was a meer private person he was the high Priests son a chief Priest himself and afterward he became high Priest himself he was a singular person and a Prince in his tribe employed with other Princes by Gods people in great Embassages both in Peace and in War Numb 31.6 Josh 22.31.32 he was one of the great Council of the people of
the heads or rulers and famous men amongst them called the congregation or the renouned of the congregation Numb 1.16.16.2 who did in that dismal time wherein so much sin did break forth and so much wrath from the Lord attending sin meet with Moses the chief Magistrate Numb 25.6 to lament the abominable idolatry and bodily filthiness committed at that time and to consult and advise about the authoritative restraining of this wickedness In the mean time when the great Council are humbled before the Lord for the common wickedness and for the wrath that was upon them Zimri a Prince of Simeon with his Midianitish woman are in their very sight going into the Prince of Israels tent and Josephus tells us that before Moses and the Council he justified the fact and pleaded frowardly to have and retain her In this case of so effronted wickedness Phineas then one of the congregation or great Council 7. ver Rose from amongst the congregation or great Council which shews he was sitting amongst them and under the eye and knowledge and approbation of Moses the supreme Magistrate pursued them both to the tent executing judgment on them and thrusting them through The words of Diodat on ver 8. are That this was an act of extraordinary zeal and motion of Gods Spirit in a cruel and fierce delict which was approved in Phineas by God after the act was done And n. b. by Moses the supreme Magistrate the execution being done under his eyes and known of him Thus Diodat To this purpose Aquinas 2◠2ae quest 60. Art 6. where he disputes Vtrum Judicium reddator perversum per usurpationem Resolves That judgement cannot be execute upon any without publick Authority more then a Law can be made without publick Authority and speaking of the fact of Phineas he sayes He did this by divine inspiration being moved with the zeal of God and adds Albeit he was not the high Priest yet he was the Son of the high Priest and the executing of judgement belonged to him as to other Judges to whom that was commanded of God Gerhard de Magistratu P. 841. Phineas non fuit omnino privata persona he was one of the chief Priests who as Aarons rod tells us lib. 1. cap. 1. had equal power with all other members both in decrees and executions of judgments So that he in all probability being no meer private person and doing what he did with approbation of the Soveraign Magistrate it is a very weak argument that is brought from him to enstate any private persons in a power of executing judgement 2. Suppose Phineas to have been a meer private person yet seing he did this act under the eye and presence with the approbation and good-liking of Moses as Diodat rationally saith and of the great Council there assembled and he is to be looked upon as the executor of their unaninimous sentence against effronted villany As at another time Exod. 32.27 28. Moses as Gods Vice-gerent set the Levits and others on work to execute judgment by the sword upon an idolatrous people in which case they were satellites Magistratus and had his Commission and why might not Phineas have here the like warrand from Moses If any say it is not written it may be answered In rebus facti à non scripto ad non factum non valet consequentia all things done are not written We have heard famous Authors accouning him to have had warrand whether as a Judge or Executor of the will of the great Council and of Moses who did well approve his deed But how absurd is it to bring an argument from this instance to warrand any private man to do justice when he thinks there is need not only without the Magistrates consent but even upon all Magistrates supreme and subordinate which is the scope this mans writing drives at 3. The case wherein Phineas executed judgement was when horrible idolatry and villanous whoredom was avowedly and with an high hand committed in the sight of the Sun and in way of open doing despite to God and to all Magistrates and the supreme Council then assembled to mourn before God and to take course for remedying by their Authority the horrible looseness broken forth at that time But dare this man say that there is now such horrid wickedness although he is bold to call all the Magistrates supreme and subordinate Patrons of abominations and men acting in the meer spirit of wickedness while the true Protestant Religion according to the Scriptures and the Laws at our first Reformation and Confession of Faith recorded in Parliament is sincerely and constantly held There is a change and regulation of the exterior form of Church-government anent which godly men differ and the change that is made will be maintained against this man to contain nothing contrary to Gods Word Yet forsooth this is the great abomination and so gross that it may licence every private person to rise up against all Magistrates supreme and subordinate to depose them or cut their throats and this must be called executing judgement for the Lord and a Phineas-like fact 4. Let it be so that Phineas was a meer private man and had no warrand from the supreme Magistrate to do what he did which yet cannot be proved his fact can be no warrand for private men to attempt the doing of such acts unless they can shew as good warrand and approbation from God as he could God who is the Lord of all Magistrates and of all mens lives can when it pleaseth him cross ordinary rules and can appoint some to execute his judgements extraordinarily wherein they are not to be followed by such as have not the same spirit the same warrand and command or commission He may send Moses to kill the Egyptian Eglon to kill Ehud Elias to destroy companies of men with fire from Heaven or to kill Baals Priests an instance which it is strange the Libeller omitted seing it is the ordinary dialect of the Faction as may be seen in the Apology and elsewhere to call most wickedly all Church-men dissenting from their way Baals Priests God may command Abraham to kill his Son Isaac he may excite David to a bloody duel and Samson to murther himself with others so also might he stir up Phineas though a private man to execute judgement but 1. he had the motion and direction of Gods Spirit setting him on to that work such motions were loco specialis mandati as Divines speak and Calvin Ps 106. speaking of this same fact saith he had singularis extraordinarius motus qui ad communem regulam exigi non debet And when he hath compared Moses killing the Egyptian with this fact of Phineas he saith Talis fuit impulsus in Phinea nam et si nemo putabat gladio Dei esse armatum ipse tamen potestatis divinitus concessae probe sibi conscius fuit Augustin speaking of Samson lib. 2. de civit Dei c. 21.