Obrazy na stronie
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and flattering pretences to man, he drew him down to gratify his eyes and his taste with forbidden fruit: and he had no fooner revolted from the authority of heaven, than the beauty and order of his family was broken; he turns accufer against the wife of his bosom, his first fon murders the next, and then lies to his Maker to conceal it; and that lying murderer's pofterity were the first who broke over the order of marriage which God had inftituted; and things *proceeded from bad to worfe, till all flesh had corrupted his way, and the earth was filled with violence, fo that they could no longer be borne with, but by a juft vengeance were all swept away, only one family.

Yet all this did not remove the dreadful diftemper from man's nature, for the great Ruler of the univerfe directly after the flood, gave this as one reason why he would not bring fuch another while the earth remains, namely, For the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; § fo that if he was to drown them as often as they deferved it, one deluge must follow another continually. Obferve well where the distemper lies; evil imaginations have ufurped the place of reason and a well informed judgment, and hold them in fuch bondage, that inftead of being governed by thofe noble faculties, they are put to the horrid drugery of feeking out inventions, for the gratification of fleshly lufts, which war against the foul; and to guard against having thefe worst of all enemies detected and fubdued. Enemies which are fo far from being God's creatures,

Gen. 4. 19. and 6. 13, 15. and 8. 21.

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tures, that strictly fpeaking, they have no being at all in themselves, only are the privation of his creatures well-being; therefore fin with it's offfpring death, will, as to thofe who are faved, be fwallowed up in victory. Sin is an enemy both to God and man, which was begotten by fatan, and was conceived and brought forth by man; for luft when it is conceived bringeth forth fin, and fin when it is finished bringeth forth death.

Now how often have we been told, that he is not a freeman but a flave, whose person and goods are not at his own but anothers difpofal? And to have foreigners come and riot at our expence and in the fruit of our labours, has often been reprefented to be worfe than death. And fhould the higher powers appear to deal with temporal oppreffors according to their deferts, it would seem strange indeed, if those who have fuffered intolerably by them, fhould employ all their art and power to conceal them, and fo to prevent their being brought to juftice! But how is our world filled with fuch madness concerning fpiritual tyrants! How far have pride and infidelity, covetoufnefs and luxury, yea deceit and cruelty, thofe foriegners which came from hell, carried their influence, and fpread their baneful mischiefs in our world! Yet who is willing to own that he has been deceived and enflaved by them? Who is willing honeftly to bring them forth to juftice! All acknowledge that these enemies are among us, and many complain aloud of the mifchiefs that they do; yet even those who lift their heads fo high as to laugh

1 Eccl. 7. 29. 1 Pet. 2. 11. Jam. 1. 14, 15.

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at the atonement of Jefus, and the powerful influences of the Spirit, and flight public & private devotion, are at the fame time very unwilling to own that they harbour pride,infidelity, or any other of thofe dreadful tyrants. And nothing but the divine law refered to above, brought home with convincing light and power, can make them truly fenfible of the foul-flavery that they are in : and 'tis only the power of the gofpel that can fet them free from fin, so as to become the fervants of righteousness: can deliver them from thefe enemies, fo as to ferve God in holiness all their days. And those who do not thus know the truth, and have not been made free thereby, ¶ yet have never been able in any country to fubfift long without fome fort of government; neither could any of them ever make out to ef tablish any proper government without calling in the help of the Deity. However abfurd their notions have been, yet they have found human fight and power to be fo fhort and weak, and able to do fo little toward watching over the conduct, and guarding the rights of individuals,that they have been forced to appeal to heaven by oaths, and to invoke affiftance from thence to avenge the cause of the injured upon the guilty. Hence it is fo far from being neceffary for any man to give up any part of his real liberty in order to fubmit to government, that all nations have found it neceffary to fubmit to fome government in order to enjoy any liberty and fecurity at all.

¶ Rom. 6. 18, Luke 1. 74, 75. John 8. 32.

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We are not infenfible that the general notion of liberty,is for each one to act or conduct as he pleases; but that government obliges us to act toward others by law and rule, which in the imagination of many, interferes with fuch liberty; though when we come to the light of truth, what can poffibly prevent it's being the highest pleasure, for every rational perfon, to love God with all his heart, and his neighbour as himself, but corruption and delufion? which, as was before noted, are foreigners and not originally belonging to men. Therefore the divine argument to prove, that those who promife liberty while they defpife government are fervants of corruption is this; For of whom a MAN is overcome, of the fame is be brought in bondage. 2 Pet. 2. 18, 19. He is fo far from being free to act the man, that he is a bond-flave to the worst of tyrants. And not a little of this tyranny is carried on by fuch an abuse of language, as to call it liberty, for men to yield themselves up, to be fo foolish, disobedient and deceived, as to ferve divers lufts and pleasures. Tit. 3. 3.

Having offered thefe few thoughts upon the general nature of government and liberty, it is needful to obferve, that God has appointed two kinds of government in the world, which are dif tinct in their nature, and ought never to be confounded together; one of which is called civil, the other ecclefiaftical government. And tho' we shall not attempt a full explanation of them, yet fome effential points of difference between them are neceflary to be mentioned, in order truly to open our grievances.

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SECT.

SECTION I

Some effential points of difference between civil and ecclefiaftical government.

I. The forming of the conftitution, and appointment of the particular orders and offices of civil government is left to human difcretion, and our fubmiffion thereto is required under the name of their being, the ordinances of men for the Lord's fake. 1 Pet. 2. 13, 14. Whereas in ecclefiaftical affairs we are moft folemnly warned not to be fubject to erdinances, after the doctrines and commandments of men. Col. 2. 20, 22. And it is evident that He who is the only worthy object of worship, has always claimed it as his fole prerogative, to determine by exprefs laws, what his worship shall be, who fhall minifter in it, and how they fhall be fupported. How exprefs were his appointments concerning these things by Mofes ? And fo wife and good a ruler as Solomon, was not intrusted with any legislative power upon either of thefe articles, but had the exact dimenfions of the temple, the pattern and weight of every veffel, with the treasuries of the dedicate things, and the courfes of the Priests and Levites, all given to him in writing by the Spirit, through the hand of his father David.

Chron. 28. 11-19. And fo strict were God's faithful fervants about thefe matters, that Daniel who in a high office in the Perfian court,behaved fo well that his moft envious and crafty foes, could find no occafion against him, nor fault in him concerning the kingdom, till they fell upon the device of moving the king to make

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