xi. 4, Deliver us ȧπò тоυ πоvηρоυ, from evil, or wickedness; opposite to the children of the kingdom and the righteousness thereof. CHAP. XXIV. Peace. It is true, that all drunkards, thieves, unclean persons, &c., are opposite to God's children. Truth. Answ. Their opposition here against the children of the kingdom, is such an opposition as properly fights against the religious state, or worship, of the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, it is manifest that the Lord Jesus in this parable intends no other sort of sinners: unto whom he saith, Let them alone, in church or state; for then he should contradict other holy and blessed ordinances for the punishment of offenders, both in Christian and civil state. tracy from ning of the world First, in civil state. From the beginning of the world, Civil magisGod hath armed fathers, masters, magistrates, to punish the beginevil doers; that is, such, of whose actions fathers, masters, magistrates are to judge, and accordingly to punish such sinners as transgress against the good and peace of their civil state, families, towns, cities, kingdoms-their states, governments, governors, laws, punishments, and weapons being all of a civil nature; and therefore neither disobedience to parents or magistrates, nor murder, nor Offenders quarrelling, uncleanness, nor lasciviousness, stealing nor civil laws extortion, neither aught of that kind ought to be let alone, perpetually either in lesser or greater families, towns, cities, kingdoms, Rom. xiii.; but seasonably to be suppressed, as may best conduce to the public safety. against the not to be tolerated. Nor offenders in the church of to be suf fered. Again, secondly, in the kingdom of Christ Jesus, whose Christ Jesus kingdom, officers, laws, punishments, weapons, are spiritual and of a soul nature, he will not have anti-christian idolaters, extortioners, covetous, &c., to be let alone; but the unclean and lepers to be thrust forth, the old leaven purged out, the obstinate in sin spiritually stoned to death, and put away from Israel; and this by many degrees of gentle admonition in private and public, as the case requires. Therefore, if neither offenders against the civil laws, state, and peace ought to be let alone; nor the spiritual estate, the church of Jesus Christ, ought to bear with them that are evil, Rev. ii. 2, I conclude that these are sinners of another nature-idolaters, false worshippers, anti-christians, who without discouragement to true Christians must be let alone, and permitted in the world to grow and fill up the measure of their sins, after the image of him that hath sown them, until the great harvest shall make the difference.+ The great reapers are CHAP. XXV. Thirdly, in that the officers, unto whom these tares the angels. are referred, are the angels, the heavenly reapers at the ["Neither is it true that anti-chris- a Christian church shall some of them anti-christian persons, out of zeal to the catholic cause, and out of conscience to the command of their superiors, should seek to destroy the king and parliament, should such an one by any ordinance of Christ be let alone in the civil state?". Cotton's Reply, p. 47.] last day, it is clear as the light that, as before, these tares cannot signify hypocrites in the church; who, when they are discovered and seen to be tares, opposite to the good fruit of the good seed, are not to be let alone to the angels at harvest, or end of the world, but purged out by the governors of the church, and the whole church of Christ.5 Again, they cannot be offenders against the civil state and common welfare, whose dealing with is not suspended unto the coming of the angels, but [permitted] unto men, who, although they know not the Lord Jesus Christ, yet are lawful governors and rulers in civil things. Accordingly, in the fourth and last place, in that the plucking up of these tares out of this field must be let alone unto the very harvest or end of the world, it is apparent from thence, that, as before, they could not signify hypocrites in the church, who, when they are discovered to be so, as these tares were discovered to be tares, are not to be suffered, after the first and second admonition, but to be rejected, and every brother that walketh disorderly to be withdrawn or separated from.6 So likewise no offender against the civil state, by robbery, murder, adultery, oppression, sedition, mutiny, is for ever to be connived at, and to enjoy a perpetual toleration unto the world's end, as these tares must. be tolerated Moses for a while held his peace against the sedition The tares to of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. David for a season the longest tolerated Shimei, Joab, Adonijah. But till the harvest, of any sinners. 5 ["Let it be again denied, that hypocrites, when they appear to be hypocrites, are to be purged out by the government of the church. Otherwise they may soon root out, sometime or other, the best wheat in God's field, and the sweetest flowers in the garden, who sometimes lose their fat- ["Not every hypocrite, but only G or end of the world, the Lord never intended that any but these spiritual and mystical tares should be so permitted. The danger of infection by these tares assoiled. Lamentable experience CHAP. XXVI. Truth. Now if any imagine that the time or date is long, that in the mean season they may do a world of mischief before the world's end, as by infection, &c. First, I answer, that as the civil state keeps itself with hath proved a civil guard, in case these tares shall attempt aught this true of late in Europe, and against the peace and welfare of it let such civil offences lamentably true in the be punished; and yet, as tares opposite to Christ's kingdom, let their worship and consciences be tolerated." slaughter of some hun dred thousands of the English.. Secondly, the church, or spiritual state, city, or kingdom, hath laws, and orders, and armories, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, Cant. iv. 4, weapons and ammunition, able to break down the strongest holds, 2 Cor. x. 4, and so to defend itself against the very gates of earth or hell. Thirdly, the Lord himself knows who are his, and his foundation remaineth sure; his elect or chosen cannot perish nor be finally deceived. Lastly, the Lord Jesus here, in this parable, lays down two reasons, able to content and satisfy our hearts to bear "["But what if their worship and consciences incite them to civil offences? How shall then the civil state keep itself safe with a civil sword ?" Cotton's Reply, p. 50.] 7 ["But if their members be leavened with anti-christian idolatry and superstition, and yet must be tolerated —will not a little leaven, so tolerated, leaven the whole lump? How then is the safety of the church guarded?" Ib. p. 50.] ["The elect of God shall be saved: but yet if idolaters and seducers be tolerated-the church will stand guilty before God of the seduction and corruption of the people of God." Ib. p. 50.] patiently this their contradiction and anti-christianity, and to permit or let them alone. First, lest the good wheat be plucked up and rooted up also out of this field of the world. If such combustions and fightings were as to pluck up all the false professors of the name of Christ, the good wheat also would enjoy little peace, but be in danger to be plucked up and torn out of this world by such bloody storms and tempests.9 And, therefore, as God's people are commanded, Jer. xxix. 7, to pray for the peace of material Babel, wherein they were captivated, and 1 Tim. ii. 1,2, to pray for all men, and specially [for] kings and governors, that in the peace of the civil state they may have peace: so, contrary to the opinion and practice of most, drunk with the cup of the whore's fornication, yea, and of God's own people, fast asleep in anti-christian Delilah's lap, obedience to the command of Christ to let the tares alone will prove the only means to preserve their civil peace, and that without obedience to this command of Christ, it is impossible (without great transgression against the Lord in carnal policy, which will not long hold out) to preserve the civil peace. Beside, God's people, the good wheat, are generally plucked up and persecuted, as well as the vilest idolaters, whether Jews or anti-christians: which the Lord Jesus seems in this parable to foretel. The second reason noted in the parable, which may satisfy any man from wondering at the patience of God, is this: when the world is ripe in sin, in the sins of antichristianism (as the Lord spake of the sins of the Amorites, The great Gen. xv. 16), then those holy and mighty officers and harvest, "["There is no fear of plucking up the wheat, by rooting out idolaters and seducers-the censures inflicted (upon God's people), would be blessed and dreadful |