er acknowledgeth a necessity of some tolera First. That although with him, in the first, I confess The answerthat princes may tolerate that out of state-policy which y will not stand with Christianity, yet, in the second, he tion. must acknowledge with me, that there is a necessity sometimes of state-toleration, as in the case of Joab, and so his former affirmation, generally laid down (viz., that it is evil to tolerate seducing teachers or scandalous livers), was not duly weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, and is too light. the deepest that ever was, and will yet he com mands a anti-christ Secondly. I affirm that the state-policy and state-neces- Christ Jesus sity, which, for the peace of the state and preventing of politician rivers of civil blood, permit the consciences of men, be found to agree most punctually with the rules of the toleration of best politician that ever the world saw, the King of kings, ians. and Lord of lords, in comparison of whom Solomon himself had but a drop of wisdom compared to Christ's ocean, and was but a farthing candle compared with the all and ever glorious Sun of righteousness. That absolute rule of this great politician for the peace of the field which is the world, and for the good and peace of the saints who must have a civil being in the world, I have discoursed of in his command of permitting the tares, that is, anti-christians, or false Christians, to be in the field of the world, growing up together with the true wheat, true Christians. CHAP. LXI. Peace. His third answer is this:- 5 "For those three princes named by you, who tolerated religion, we can name you more and greater who have not B [See before, p. 25.] tolerated heretics and schismatics, notwithstanding their pretence of conscience, and their arrogating the crown of martyrdom to their sufferings." "Constantine the Great at the request of the general council at Nice, banished Arius, with some of his fellows, Sozom. lib. i. Eccles. Hist. cap. 19, 20. "The same Constantine made a severe law against the Donatists and the like proceedings against them were used by Valentinian, Gratian, and Theodosius, as Augustine reports in Ep. 166. Only Julian the Apostate granted liberty to heretics as well as to pagans, that he might, by tolerating all weeds to grow, choke the vitals of Christianity which was also the practice and sin of Valens the Arian. : Queen Elizabeth, as famous for her government as most of the former, it is well known what laws she made and executed against papists. Yea, and King James, one of your own witnesses, though he was slow in proceeding against papists, as you say, for conscience' sake, yet you are not ignorant how sharply and severely he punished those whom the malignant world calls puritans, men of more conscience and better faith than the papists whom he tolerated." Truth. Unto this, I answer: First, that for mine own. part I would not use an argument from the number of The princes princes, witnessing in profession of practice against perseseldom take cution for cause of conscience; for the truth and faith of of the world part with Christ. the Lord Jesus must not be received with respect of faces, be they never so high, princely and glorious. Precious pearls and jewels, and far more precious truth, are found in muddy shells and places. The rich mines of golden truth lie hid under barren hills, and in obscure holes and corners. persecuting are rare. are very The most high and glorious God hath chosen the poor Princes not of the world, and the witnesses of truth (Rev. xi.) clothed in sackcloth, not in silk or satin, cloth of gold or tissue: and, therefore, I acknowledge, if the number of princes professing persecution be considered, it is rare to find a king, prince, or governor like Christ Jesus, the King of kings, and Prince of the princes of the earth, and who tread not in the steps of Herod the fox, or Nero the lion, openly or secretly persecuting the name of the Lord Jesus; such were Saul, Jeroboam, Ahab, though under a mask or pretence of the name of the God of Israel." item to To that purpose was it a noble speech of Buchanan, Buchanan's who, lying on his death-bed, sent this item to King King James. James:-"Remember my humble service to his majesty, and tell him that Buchanan is going to a place where few kings come." CHAP. LXII. Truth. Secondly. I observe how inconsiderately-I hope not willingly-he passeth by the reasons and grounds urged by those three princes for their practices; for, as for the bare examples of kings or princes, they are but like shining sands, or gilded rocks, giving no solace to such as make woful shipwreck on them. In King James's speech, he passeth by that golden King "["The answer which I gave to his argument is not taken from the like number of princes, but from the greater piety and presence of God with those princes who have professed and practised against toleration. It James's sayings maxim in divinity, "that God never loves to plant his against persecution. church by blood." King Stephen's, of Poland, speech Secondly. That civil obedience may be performed from the papists. Thirdly. In his observation on Rev. xx., that true and certain note of a false church, to wit, persecution: "The wicked are besiegers, the faithful are besieged." In King Stephen's, of Poland, speech, he passeth by the true difference between a civil and a spiritual governagainst ment: "I am," said Stephen, "a civil magistrate over the bodies of men, not a spiritual over their souls." persecution. Forcing of conscience is a soulrape. Persecution for con Now to confound these is Babel; and Jewish it is to seek for Moses, and bring him from his grave (which no man shall find, for God buried him) in setting up a national state or church, in a land of Canaan, which the great Messiah abolished at his coming. Thirdly. He passeth by, in the speech of the King of Bohemia, that foundation in grace and nature, to wit, "That conscience ought not to be violated or forced:" and indeed it is most true, that a soul or spiritual rape is more abominable in God's eye, than to force and ravish the bodies of all the women in the world. Secondly. science, the That most lamentably true experience of all ages, which that king observeth, viz., "That persecution for cause of conscience hath ever proved pernicious, being the causes of all those wonderful innovations of, or changes in, the principallest and mightiest kingdoms of Christendom.” He that reads the records of truth and time with an impartial eye, shall find this to be the lancet that hath pierced the veins of kings and kingdoms, of saints and sinners, and filled the streams and rivers with their blood. lancet that letteth blood of kings and kingdoms. Lastly. That king's observation of his own time, viz., ["If the discusser had well observed, he would have found, it was not the speech of the king, but of the prisoner." Cotton's Reply, p. 129.] whores are "That persecution for cause of conscience was practised All spiritual most in England, and such places where popery reigned:" bloody. implying, as I conceive, that such practices commonly proceed from that great whore the church of Rome, whose daughters are like their mother, and all of a bloody nature, as most commonly all whores be. CHAP. LXIII. Now thirdly. In that the answerer observeth, "That amongst the Roman emperors, they that did not persecute were Julian the Apostate, and Valens the Arian; whereas the good emperors, Constantine, Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, they did persecute the Arians, Donatists," &c: sometimes and the un actors. or the many Answ. It is no new thing for godly, and eminently The godly godly men to perform ungodly actions: nor for ungodly evil actors, persons, for wicked ends, to act what in itself is good and godly good righteous. Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon, &c. (as well as La- Polygamy, mech, Saul, &c.) lived in constant transgression against the institution of so holy and so ratified a law of marriage, &c.; and this not against the light and checks of conscience (as other sins are wont to be recorded of them), but according to the dictate and persuasion of a resolved soul and conscience. wives of the fathers. vancing of ship against David, out of zeal to God, with thirty thousand of David's adIsrael, and [with] majestical solemnity, carries up the ark God's worcontrary to the order God was pleased to appoint: the God's order. issue was both God's and David's great offence, 2 Sam. vi. David in his zeal would build a house to entertain his God! What more pious? and what more (in show) |