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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85986	The libertine school'd, or A vindication of the magistrates power in religious matters. In ansvver to some fallacious quæries scattered about the city of Limrick, by a nameless author, about the 15th of December, 1656. And for detection of those mysterious designs so vigorously fomented, if not begun among us, by romish engineers, and Jesuitick emissaries, under notionall disguises ... (politicæ uti & ecclesiasticæ. axiom. Arabic.) Published, by Claudus Gilbert, B.D. and minister of the Gospel at Limrick in Ireland.	Gilbert, Claudius, d. 1696?	1657 (1657)	Wing G702; Thomason E923_4; ESTC R202210	61,982	75

froward people Your Honours charge here looks too much like them The wisdom and zeal He received from God are stored up in Christ for all Your supplies That Christ who was all to Him and to them is ready to give all to You and to us His Substitutes You are who is our Sovereign that His work in Your hands may be prosperous is our ardent prayer The Magistrates Right is the scope of these Papers duly therefore presented to You to do their homage They speak Your Honour and Your Happiness in Your honouring and serving the Lord His Jewels on earth he trusts with You that his Worship and friends may be Your Jewels The Lord is with You whilst You be with Him if any forsake Him such will He forsake The glorious characters of His presence with You to this very day may much revive Your hearts and strengthen Your hands He hath been with You as the Lord of Hoasts He will be Yours still as the God of Peace That You may do much expect much from Him so shall Your Returns answer Your Receipts Those unclean spirits that are now raging shall soon be cast out by the Prince of Peace He doth overturn and shake all Nations that Christ the desire of the Nations may come That King of Nations shall regain his right which as King of Saints he will still improve Your Honours daily work is multiplicious and momentous still Aarons and Hurs hands must be subservient to uphold your own It 's our delight to serve You cordially that You may serve Christ most effectually I dare not presume any longer on You than to signifie my zealous ambition to be and appear in the work of Christ Your Lordships humbly devoted Servant Claudius Gilbert From my Study in Limrick Decem. 22. 1656. THE PREFACE Christian Reader THe Civil power of the Magistrate in matters of Religion is a weighty Point much controverted in these daies as it hath formerly been upon severall accounts The Champions of Truth have been put upon it in all ages to vindicate this part of Christs interest against the renewed assaults of numerous adversaries The sophisticall mistakes of its oppugners hath drawn them and their followers into dangerous absurdities and contradictions therein Very few of them if any have laboured to state the question aright that they might debate it methodically Many outcries we indeed meet with against compulsion of conscience but very little of sober discourse about the Magistrates Civil power in Religious matters where it crosses the pretence of conscience That no violent force should or can be put upon mens consciences being granted to them most of their Arguments fight with their own shadows Some would seem to oppose all kinde of Magistraticall power in any part of the first Table pleading for a licentious liberty of all sorts therein Others admit of limitations and severall distinctions therein and yet the strength of their reasons complies with the former when duly weighod Many worthy Pens have taken very commendable pains in stating and vindicating of that legall Right which the Lords Magistraticall substitute is entrusted with as Custos vindex utriusque Tabulae Specially Mr Thomas Cobbet in 1653. N. England hath found abundant cause to praise the Lord for the due exercise and vindication of that Power the neglect and opposition whereof was like to have proved their overthrow in Civils and Ecclesiasticals The same spirit of Error hath struggled there so hard for Libertinism hath gotten too much strength and favour in these Nations The like design hath been therefore vigorously drawn on to take off the Magistrate from that part of his work which is the most noble and most needfull in such a season Various interests have joined forces herein yea divers good men have been ensnured into it at unawares There is a fallacious plausibility in many things said therein which takes easily with the weak and credulous Christian as in all other doctrines of Error Some would promote it that they may promote and shelter at pleasure their Levelling Ranting and Quaking principles Others favour it for fear of being restrained in some things which the Magistrate cannot but see just cause to take cognizance of for regulation What rank our Querist is to be numbred in we cannot certainly say his Paper not being subscribed by any though his drift may be easily guessed at It grieves our hearts most to see any of Christs professed friends taking part in such a quarrell with the common enemy of his Word and Ordinances The sad consequent of sinfull separations from the Reformed Protestant Churches appears much in this as in other things When the unity of the Spirit that should keep the bond of peace in the unity of Christian Faith and Baptism within Gods house comes into disregard it cannot but prove fatally ominous to the ushering in of those many evils which have still been concomitants thereof The Primitive times afford us many wofull instances of it and Germany with other parts hath verified it by sad experience ever since the great Reformation begun Schismaticall rendings of the Church of Christ were very seldom free from hereticall Apostasi●s Had we no Record Divine or Humane Ancient or Modern to testifie this truth the posture of persons and things among us would demonstrate it too abundantly Yet would not we be mistaken in shewing the bitter fruits of sinfull separations as if we disowned all separations There is a good separation from evil required of God as there is an evil separation from good forbidden by him A separation from the man of sinne and from the sinne of man is a Christians duty Revel. 18. 4. 2 Cor. 6. 18 19. Isa 52. 11. Jer. 51. 6. But separation from the Church and good Ordinances of God is an unchristian sinne Christ owned the Jewish Church in its publique Ministry and worship though distempered with many corruptions in every part thereof whilst they retained the fundamentals of Religion he still entertained communion with them As long as that first administration of the Lords gracious Covenant lasted both he and his Apostles maintained correspondency with that visible Church of his whilst they did most keenly rebuke the members thereof for their severall enormities yea and after their setting up of that Evangelicall worship which as the second administration of the Lords gracious Covenant was to make an end of the Ceremonials and continue to the worlds end Heb. 9. 10 11 12. Heb. 12. 26 27. Matth. 28. 21. Matth. 26. 1 Cor. 11. 26. yet were they so shie of rending the Garment of Christs body his Church that they did for a long time bear with the Jewish outrages labouring by all means to keep fair with them and broke not off as long as they could hold with them in the great foundation of Religion The like course was taken by God and his servants towards Israel and Judah before their

mischief restrained usefully thereby Better have the devil bound then loose though he will be a devil still The duration of every mans life is certainly fore-appointed of God beyond which he shall not pass This will not indeed excuse any mans wilfull neglect of himself or others yet it may satisfie mans heart upon the unchangeable event of things He that appoints the end appoints indeed the means subservient thereto when therefore his providence indispensably necessitates the defect of the means it clearly signifies that it 's Gods purpose to have such a thing come to pass Joseph comforts his Brethren on that consideration though they had used ill means God over-ruled them to a good end But if such malefactors hasten their own end by unlawfull means as * Parnell lately in Colchester Gaol did starve himself to death by fasting ten daies wilfully and ill demerits they can blame none but themselves Qu. 6. Whether compulsion of conscience do not make differences arise to a greater heighth which if men were left to their own light what is not of God would far more easily fall Ans. Conscience properly cannot be compelled it being the Reflexion of mans judgement on himself with respect to Gods judgement Such is the nature of humane souls in their intellectuals that they cannot be forced though they may be moved by external objects God alone is the Lord of conscience he made it and knows how to rule it at his Will Conscience is his Royal fear his Throne of Majesty his Deputy and Witness his Recorder and Judge his Teacher and Executioner in mans heart It was thus perfectly before the fall but it 's now corrupted by mans sin and little remains of that glorious fabrick but ruinous heaps though enough to testifie the wofulness of that fall In the most it still lies under darkness and death the devil being gotten into Gods seat by just judgement doth usurp further in playing the pranks of a dreadfull Jaylor In the Regenerate conscience is purified and restored to its primitive use in part though much evil remains there as in other faculties to be gradually removed Conscience then cannot be constrained but the evil of a pretended perverted conscience may be restrained If that Officer that should act Gods part in mans soul be bribed by Satan to take his part through the compliance of inward corruption against God his Sovereign he may surely be called to account for it by men as far as that treason appears externally God judges of the outward by the inward man judges of the inward by the outward man The Magistrate is Gods externall Deputy called therefore an heir of restraint to put the wicked to shame The first and second Table of Gods Law are both committed to his charge as to the externals thereof as we hinted before When that care was wanting Gods honour suffered sadly in all ages So farre as conscience is corrupted so farre are the differences widened between God and man which increases differences among men The way then to compose differences is not to dally with any corruption either of judgement affection or practice but to remove it effectually Man can but use the means and is obliged thereto specially the Magistrate in his place for God as every one should do in himself and by himself through Gods help To leave every man to his own light is to leave a mans ground to it self without dressing The most consciences are but like the dunghill as all are by nature before conversion The best are like a garden wherein the Lord through grace hath set and sown the fruits of his Spirit But if you let the dunghill alone will it ever be better If you let the best garden alone will it not soon grow worse and will not the weeds spoil all at last Doth not Christ himself press this parable to that end What 's a mans own light before conversion but the dim snuff of a candle every moment ready to go out in a stink into utter darkness What will become of him and of his light if left to himself What 's mans light after conversion in the best but a weak glimmering candle though snuffed and renewed by the Lords gracious hand yet every moment ready to perish in the storms of temptations and corruptions if not continually revived supported and supplied by the same Almighty hand How doth God promise and use to effect this and all other favours but in the diligent use of the means whereto he ties us and whereby he conveys his blessing Is not mans heart full of corruption by nature Doth not much of it remain in the best Will not corruption increase if let alone Try it in your sinks and kennels if you be yet strangers to your own heart then answer this Query What sad work would so many foolish heads like Sampsons Foxes tied only by the tail of carnal interest with burning fire-brands make in Church and State in following every one his own light A short portraicture may be seen of it in Whimses Island vulgo Road-Island near N. England the Receptacle of Notionists where confusion and profanness seem to triumph over all order and piety to say nothing of these distempered Nations Qu. 7. Whether it be not the command of Christ that the Tares i.e. they that walk in lies and the Wheat i.e. they that walk in truth should be let alone Matth. 13. 30 31. Ans. 1. No parable is to be strained beyond its scope Scriptura parabolica non est argumentativa The scope of that Parable appears clearly in the {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} and explanation thereof given by Christ himself where he omits that branch of letting them alone and only mentions the event of the Tares and Wheat following the purpose of his Will but nothing of the precept of his Will concerning mans duty in point of obedience Ans. 2. Mind the particulars of that Parable The Field is the World the Angels are the Reapers the Wicked are the Tares the Godly are the Wheat saith Christ describing the Tares to be such as offend and do iniquity the Wheat to be the children of the Kingdom By Field you may understand either the state of the Church visible universally considered in the world or the world wherein that Church subsists from time to time In either sense the case will be clear 1. If you understand it of the Catholick Church considered in its succession from age to age it will signifie the permission of providence which suffers some hypocrites still to remain therein even in the purest times but it cannot be meant of Gods precept to man to let known wicked persons alone in the Church seeing he hath appointed censures for such commending the use rebuking and threatning the neglect thereof 2. If you understand it of the world it self