The Obligation of Human Conscience, Lecture 4

The Obligation of Human Conscience · Lecture 4

p. 105THE FOURTH LECTURE, In which it is both Diſcuſſed, and Stated, what is the Adaequate Rule of Conſcience.

JAMES. 4. 12.

For there is but one Law-giver who can both Save, and Deſtroy.

I. HOw ſmall is the Benefit and Protection which redoundeth to every one, either in the reſpect of the Fruit of his Conſcience to excuſe thoſe things which he hath done, or of the ſecurity of it with confidence to undertake thoſe things which he is about to do, if they only do rely upon the Intention of a good End, or upon the Authority altogether of another Judgement or Example, I have abundantly declared in my two laſt Lectures, in p. 106which my purpoſe was, thoſe ſtops being removed, to make the way more plain & ready to proceed unto thoſe things which I had determined to ſpeak, of the obligation of Conſcience; which obligation being two fold, Active, by which it bringeth one obligation on another, and Paſſive, by which it is ſubjected to the obligation of another, the method and privilege of order doth require that we ſhould begin with the Paſſive; For then we more ſecurely can pronounce of the thing meaſured, when it is once manifeſt that the meaſure it ſelf is juſt. Our buſineſſe therefore now in hand, is to inquire what that is which properly doth oblige Conſcience, or, (which is the ſame) what is the proper and Adaequate Rule of Conſcience, to which, to be upright, it ought to conform it ſelf; which inquiſition, that it may be the more certain, and profitable, ſome few things being premiſed by way of explication, I ſhall endeavour at the laſt by certain concluſions to give you an account of the thing it ſelf.

II. In the firſt place therefore it is to be underſtood, that for the more exact performance of the offices of Conſcience it is neceſſary to lay down ſome Rules to which it ought to be ſubjected; for whereſoever there is any Virtue active which of its own Nature is not determined unto one thing in its acting, but is in a Potentia to another, ſo that it may act either well, or evilly; whether this Virtue be a Habite of the firſt Species of Quality, or a natural Potentia of the ſecond, it is neceſſary that there ſhould be ſome Law or Rule, which may direct it in the acting; For as often as any thing doth offer it ſelf to the Fancy to be done, whither repreſented by the exterior ſence, or by ſome internal p. 107ſuggeſtion of the mind, becauſe the Will which is the next principium of acting is (as commonly it is ſpoken in the Schools) but Potentia caeca, a blind Potentia, and of it ſelf cannot diſcern Good from Evill, ſo as to be a Rule unto it ſelf, the Inquiſitive Reaſon doth ſtraight reflect on Conſcience, and doth liſten to her Dictates. Now it is the Office of Conſcience preſently to Examine the thing propounded; And the examination being made, to Judge whether it ought to be performed, or eſchewed, whether to be admitted or omitted, and accordingly as ſhe hath judged, ſo preſently to tranſmit her Judgement to the Will, that is to propound it to the Free-will, the ſame thing either to be choſen, or diſliked; To which Office, of Examining, Judging, and Informing, leaſt it ſhould raſhly be performed, & leſt the Conſcience as blind as the Will it ſelf ſhould miſguide it, it is neceſſary that there ſhould be a certain Rule according to which it ſhould be examined.

III. In the ſecond place we are to know, that in Rules as well as in Cauſes, there is a kind of ſubordination; And as in Cauſes that are ordinated to one another, the latter, if compared with the former, carry with them the Relation and the Account of Effects; So in Rules and Meaſures ordinated to one another, every one of the poſterior, in reſpect of the ſuperior, doth ſeem to be regulated, or to be menſurated by it. Since therefore the Rule of the Conſcience is two fold, one next or the immediate, and the other the firſt, and more remote; that Rule which is next, as it is a Rule in reſpect of the Conſcience, which it doth direct, ſo it is alſo as a Rule Regulated in reſpect of the firſt p. 108Rule by which it is it ſelf to be directed.

IV. Seeing the Rectitude of every thing, whatſoever, doth conſiſt in the conformity of it to its Rule; we are in the third place to underſtand that (as I have ſaid) there is a two fold Rule of Conſcience, to wit the Rule which is neereſt, & the Rule which is more remote; So there is alſo a twofold Rectitude of Conſcience correſpondent to that two fold Rule of it; For the Conſcience may be ſaid to be upright either abſolutely and ſimply, or reſpectively, and ſecundum quid as the Schoolmen do expreſſe it; In this laſt Acceptation, a Conſcience may be ſaid to be upright when it is conformable to its neareſt, and immediate Rule, as he is ſaid to have a true and certain knowledge of any proper paſſion, who from the Subject of it, can demonſtrate it by its next Cauſe, although he can aſcend no higher. But in the former acceptation, the Conſcience may then be ſaid to be upright, when it is not only conformable it ſelf to its next Rule, but when that Rule is conformable alſo unto the firſt Rule; In the ſame ſence he may be ſaid to have attained to a perfect knowledge of any thing, who knoweth all the cauſes of it from the firſt to the laſt, ſo ſaith Ariſtotle lib. 1. phiſica: Tunc enim unam quamque rem ſcire dicimur, quum omnes ejus Cauſas, principia & elementa cognoſcimus, uſque ad prima. We are then ſaid to underſtand what any thing is, when we can give you an account of all its cauſes, principals, even to the firſt Elements thereof. Therefore as the certainty of Science, though immediately ariſing from the knowledge of the next Cauſe doth not arrive to its ultimate perfection but by the knowledge of the firſt cauſe, ſo the Rectitude of p. 109Conſcience though immediately it reflecteth upon a conformity to its next rule, yet it aſcendeth higher, and ultimately concludeth in that Rule which is the firſt rule of it, and the ſupreme.

II. In the fourth place it is to be underſtood that when we ſpeak of the obligation of Conſcience, that the ſaid obligation doth not ſignifie any compulſion (for to ſpeak properly, the Conſcience can no more be compelled than the free-Will) but a power rather and authority (which ſhe is bound to obey) to urge her to the performance of that which belongs unto her duty; In the very ſame manner altogether, as a King, who hath the Legiſlative power, by enacting lawes, doth oblige his ſubjects to the obſervation of them. As therefore in the external Courts, Subjects properly and formally are obliged to obedience, not ſo much by the law it ſelf, as by the power of the Law-giver, (howſoever the Law it ſelf is ſaid to oblige, but when it is ſo ſpoken, it is to be underſtood improperly, and as it were materially and terminatively becauſe the obligation is made by it, and to it, ſo the Law is ſaid to judge, John 7. 5. Doth our Law judge any one? although the Law it ſelf doth not judge, but the Magiſtrate, becauſe the Magiſtrate ought to judge according to the Law) ſo in the internal Court, the Rule or the Law impoſed on Conſcience doth not properly oblige it, but the power and authority of the Impoſer, yet ſo, as by the Conſequent truly and not unaptly although not ſo properly, the Rule it ſelf may be ſaid to carry with it an obliging Virtue. When therefore it is demanded, what is that which obligeth Conſcience to the performance of her duty? At the ſame time both theſe queſtions are propounded; p. 110First and principally, who is the Lord of Conſcience, who hath right and power to impoſe a Rule or Law upon it, to which it ought to conforme it ſelf? And then ſecondly and conſequently, what is that Rule of Conſcience, or that Law which is impoſed on it by the Lord thereof, and to which by his dominion and Empire over it, it is bound to conform it ſelf.

VI. In the fifth place it is to be underſtood, when any thing is attributed to another, it is attributed either by it ſelf, or not by it ſelf, that is to ſay, by accident; Thoſe things therefore to which the power of obliging the Conſcience is any ways to be attributed, do fall under a threefold conſideration; For in the firſt place they either oblige the Conſcience ſimply by themſelves, that is, they do directly oblige by themſelves, and by their own power, not only as the Term by it ſelf is oppoſed to the Term by accident, but as it oppoſed alſo to this Term by another. Or in the ſecond place they do oblige by themſelves reſpectively, that is, as the Term by it ſelf is oppoſed to the Term by accident, and not as it is oppoſed to the Term per aliud, that is by another; The meaning is they do not oblige by their own proper power, but by the vertue of another, having a power to oblige. Or thirdly they do oblige by accident only, and in neither of the conſiderations by it ſelf. It is beſides obſervable that in thoſe things which do oblige the Conſcience in the ſecond conſideration there is ſome difference to be made according to the different account of the cauſe from whence the obligation doth ariſe; For it is one thing when the obligation is forcibly impoſed by the authority of another, and another thing when it is willingly contracted, p. 111and of its own accord,

By this that hath been ſpoken it is manifeſt, that there are four degrees of thoſe things which do oblige the Conſcience; For examples ſake (to give you a ſhort view of what hath been already ſpoken, and of what as yet remaineth to be ſpoken) you are to underſtand in the first place; that the expreſs 1Commandment of God doth oblige properly by it ſelf, and by its own force.

In the ſecond place, the Laws of men, and the 2mandates and orders of our Superiours, do oblige the Conſcience, but by no power or authority, but by the vertue of the Commandement of God.

Thirdly, Vows and promiſes being made of our own accord, when it was wholy in our own choice 3to do otherwiſe, do in their proper fact, and freedom of election oblige our Conſciences to the performance of them.

Fourthly and laſtly, the Law of conſideration of 4Scandal and offence doth by accident oblige the Conſcience.

VII. We are here to underſtand, that only that obligation which conſiſteth in the firſt degree is abſolute and univerſal, the other three are relative and particular; I ſay it is abſolute becauſe it doth directly and alwayes oblige, and becauſe it obligeth all perſons; and the obligation of it is never to be cancell'd. The others may be ſaid to be relative both becauſe they do not bind of themſelves, or by their own power, but by a relation to ſome precept, or inſtitution of God, as alſo becauſe they do not always or every where oblige, and in every caſe, but when thoſe conſiderations do require which they do bear p. 112a reference and reſpect unto. The obligation therefore of the firſt degree is predominant over any obligation whatſoever in the other three, inſomuch that it is able to make them of no effect, but it is impoſſible for them to render it fruſtrate; Nay, if we take it univerſally, the obligation in any ſuperiour degree, (the other being equall) is more valid than the obligation in any inferiour degrees whatſoever, and doth judge over them, either by taking away what was done and contracted, as oftentimes, or at leaſt by hindring what was to be done, as always. Therefore as to the power of obligation, the Laws of men muſt give place to the Laws of God, private contracts and promiſes to publick conſtitutions, and the Law or conſideration of offence or ſcandal to them both.

VIII. Theſe things being thus premiſed, that we may be happy in a certain Rule by which we may know how to live, I will according to my promiſe comprehend in ſome few concluſions thoſe which are moſt neceſſary to be underſtood concerning the Rule of Conſcience and the paſſive obligation of it.

The firſt concluſion is; That God alone hath a moſt proper and direct command on the Conſciences of all men; So that none but God alone hath power to impoſe a Law upon the Conſcience of any man, to which it ought to be ſubjected, as obliging by it ſelf, I ſay by it ſelf, for we are all bound in our Conſciences to obſerve the juſt Laws of men, to keep our vows and promiſes made to God, or men, and to be careful that we become not a ſcandal or an offence unto others; But we are bound unto all theſe things upon no other tye but as they are reduceable to the will of God, commanding them as in its due p. 113place we ſhall give an account unto you of the particulars thereof.

IX. This Concluſion is proved firſt by the words of the Apoſtle already mentioned, There is but one Law-giver, who can both ſave, and deſtroy. In which words two arguments do prefer themſelves to our obſervation; In the firſt place; they aſſert there is but one Legiſlator; not one picked out amongſt many, not one above many, but one excluſively, that is to ſay, one, and but one only. The Apoſtle otherwiſe had made uſe of a very uneffectual argument, to prove what he had propounded; For he rebuketh thoſe who unadviſedly did paſs their judgments either on the perſons, or the deeds of other men, as the invaders of their Rights. Who art thou (ſaith he) who Doſt judge another? As if he ſhould have ſaid, doſt thou know thy ſelf, what thou art, and what thou doſt? It doth not belong to thee to thruſt thy ſawcy Sicle into the harveſt of another man, much leſs boldly to fling thy ſelf into the Throne of Almighty God. If already thou are ignorant of it, then know, that it belongeth to him alone to judge of the Conſciences of men, to whom alone it doth belong to impoſe Laws upon the Conſciences of men, which none can do but God alone. foreign, There is but one Law-giver.

It is obſervable, that the Apoſtle doth aſcribe unto God alone the power of ſaving and deſtroying, from whence we frame the ſecond Argument; He only hath power over the Conſciences of men either for command or prohibition, who hath power with unmerited Rewards to crown the well-doers, and with juſt puniſhments to torment the tranſgreſſors: but it is in the power of God alone, the onelyonly Law-giver p. 114to give Rewards and Puniſhments according to the quality of every conſcience; Therefore he alone hath a right and privilege over the Conſciences of men.

X. It is thus proved again in the ſecond place; He who alone knoweth the internal motions of the Conſcience, he only hath the power of preſcribing a Law unto them (for the Law doth neither determine or judge of things unknown) But unto God alone the ſearcher of the heart, the internal motions of hearts and Conſciences are diſcovered; Therefore he alone hath the power of impoſing a Law upon the Conſciences, which may oblige them. From hence it is that the Laws of men do only bind the external motions of the body to an external Conformity, from the knowledge and command whereof, all internal motions, and ſeveral hammers that ſtrike upon the clocks of the mind, and Conſcience, are altogether to be exempted; And upon this account it was, that not only holy men and endued with the knowledge of the true God, ſuch as were the three Captive young men amongſt the Babylonians in the third of Daniel, and the ſeven brethren of Maccabeus, but many wiſe men amongſt the Heathens did deride the threatnings and torments of Tyrants, as exerciſing their violence not ſo much upon themſelves, as upon the outſides only, and on the ſubburbs of them. But let us conſider what our Saviour Jeſus Chriſt did think himſelf of theſe thing…, and what Counſels he preſcribed to his Diſciples concerning them: Fear not them, ſaith he, that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do upon you, but fear him, who after he hath killed, hath power to caſt into Hell, yea I ſay unto you fear him, p. 115Luke 12. 3, 4. As if he ſhould have ſaid, Tyrants by the permiſſion of God have power upon the Bodies, but upon the Souls and Conſciences of men they have no power, no right at all, the Laws can neither ordain nor afflict any puniſhment which doth belong to the inward man; God hath only the prerogative of the Soul and Body, and for the neglect of their duties can afflict puniſhments on both, and condemn the whole man to everlaſting torment.

XI. In the third place it is proved by the condition, and natural eſtate of the Conſcience it ſelf, which (as before I have expreſſed) is ſo placed as it were in the middle betwixt God, & the Will of man, as that which is uſually and truly ſpoken of Kings and Emperours, may as truly be verified of the Conſciences of every man, Solo Deo minores eſſe, nec aliquem in terris ſuperiorem agnoſcere; They are leſſe than God only, and on Earth do acknowledge no Superior. That ſpeech of the Emperour Maximilian the firſt is very memorable, Conſcientiis dominari velle, est arcem coeli invadere, To exerciſe a domination over Conſciences, is to invade the Tower of Heaven. He is a plunderer of the glory of God, and a nefarious invader of the power that is due unto him, whoſoever he is that ſhall claim a right to the Conſciences of men, or practice an uſurpation over them. Let the Biſhops of Rome, (and the Canoniſts and the Jeſuits who do flatter and cringe unto him, & all others) take heed that they be not guilty of this ſo great a Sacrilege; I would alſo have thoſe admoniſhed who do ſo ſubmit their Conſciences to the power of any creature which ought only to be ſubjected to God himſelf, to be carefull, leſt whiles they conferre the Honour of that ſervice to the p. 116creature which is due unto God alone, they make a God of the Creature, which at leaſt is interpreted to be Idolatry. From this firſt Concluſion thus proved, there followeth this remarkable poſition, That the proper Rule of Conſcience is that which God the ſupreme Law-giver hath preſcribed to it, and beſides that Rule there ought no other to be admitted.

XII. The ſecond Concluſion followeth, which is, That the next and moſt immediate Rule of Conſcience (although it be neither the Adaequate or the ſupreme Rule) is that light with which the mind at that inſtant is endued. foreign. Socrat. ap. Stob. foreign. Joh. 1. 9. foreign. Nazian. Orat 15.John 1:9And this is the ſame light which ſome do call the light of Reaſon, others the Law of the mind, and which the Schoolmen following the Philoſophers do call right, or rectified Reaſon. This is firſt proved by ſome places out of the word of God, as Luke 12. 57. Wherefore even of your ſelves do you not judge that which is right? They are the words of our Saviour; as if he ſhould have ſaid, You have the light within you infuſed into your minds from that true light which enlightneth every man comming into this world, by the help whereof (unleſſe you will be wanting to your ſelves) you can diſtinguiſh what is ſtraight from what is crooked, and what is juſt from that which is unjuſt. The Text Rom. 2. verſe 14. and 15. is very remarkable, Quum Gentes quae legem (ſcriptam ſcilicet) non habent, naturâ ea quae ſunt legis faciunt, Seeing the Gentiles who have not the Law (viz. the written Law) do by natue perform thoſe things which are of the Law, to wit they practice the Acts of Juſtice, Prudence, Fortitude, and Temperance, and of all other Virtues, Theſe men having not the Law are a Law unto themſelves, for they ſhow the works of p. 117the Law written in their hearts, their Conſciences giveing witneſſe thereunto, and their thoughts either accuſing or defending them. By which words it is manifeſt, that in the particular Acts of Teſtifying, accuſing, and defending, and in whatſoever Acts that already are committed by any perſon, his Conſcience doth paſſe its judgment on every one of them by the light of Reaſon which is infuſed and imprinted into his mind; And ſeeing the Rule is the ſame concerning Acts to come, as well as concerning Acts paſt, it followeth, that the Conſcience as well in thoſe Acts determined to be done, as in thoſe which are already done, doth make uſe of the ſame light of examining, judging, and dictating, as the Rule & meaſure of thoſe Acts. I here ſhall willingly take no notice of that Text in the fourth Pſalm and ſixth verſe, which is commonly produced by the Latin Fathers eſpecially of the latter times, and by the Schoolmen, for a proof of this Concluſion, the words are Signatum eſt ſuper nos lumen vultus tui domine, Thy light O Lord is ſigned over us, becauſe that interpretation of the words are grounded on a bad tranſlation, & ſeemeth not to appertain to the mind and ſcope of the Prophet.

XIII. This is proved again by our common cuſtom, and manner of ſpeech, for we uſually ſay, that the man who acteth according to the light of his mind, doth uſe a good Conſcience, although peradventure he hath committed or omitted that which was not to be omitted or committed by him; and again, that he who hath not obeyed thoſe dictates of his mind, but hath acted contrary to them, hath uſed a bad Conſcience. St. Paul the Apoſtle, Acts 2…. 1 doth profeſſe, that In all things he ſerved God with a p. 118good Conſcience even unto that day, which words, if they are to be extended to the former part of his life before he was made a Chriſtian, (which interpretation hath been complacent to many, and ſeemeth probable unto me) we may conclude by them, that although he was an open and a dangerous enemy to Chriſtianity,1 Tim. 1. 13.1 Tim 1:13 and as he himſelf confeſſeth, a perſecutor and a blaſphemer, yet it may be ſaid, that even then, in all good Conſcience he ſerved God, becauſe in all that time he acted nothing but what his Conſcience (according to the meaſure of that light with which it was then endued) did preſcribe unto him; For indeed he then thought (as he himſelf doth openly and ſincerely profeſſe in his Apology before King Agrippa) that foreign, he thought in himſelf, Act. 26. 9.Acts 26:9that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jeſus of Nazareth; But whatſoever may be determined of Paul and of his Conſcience at that time, moſt certain it is, that God himſelf gave a teſtimony to Abimeleck, Gen. 20. 6.Gen 20:6who ignorantly ſent for the wife of Abraham, that he did it, integritate cordis, in the integrity of his heart, that is with a good Conſcience, and for no other reaſon but for this only, by which he did excuſe himſelf, for had he known her to have been the wife of another man, he would not have ſent for her unto his houſe. The Conſcience therefore (by an ignorance of it ſelf not much to be blamed, peradventure erronious) may be ſaid to be good and right, God himſelf being Judge, (not ſimply and abſolutely, but as but ſo far, & ſecundum quid, as they ſpeak it in the Schooles) by reaſon of the conformity which it hath with the light of the mind thereof, as its next and immediate Rule. But that the Conſcience may be ſaid to be p. 119right foreign, that is fully, and in every reſpect, there muſt another and a further Conformity be of neceſſity added unto it, which is, it muſt be conformable to its firſt and ſupreme Rule, which what it is, ſhall moſt diligently be now diſcuſſed.

XIV. This therefore ſhall be our third Concluſion: The holy Scripture or the written word of God is not the Adaequate Rule of Conſcience. Which in the firſt place is thus proved; Beyond the Adaequate Rule of any thing whatſoever, it is not neceſſary that for the ſame thing there ſhould be any other Rule to be added to it, for Adaequation doth exclude the neceſſity of any Supplement: But it is neceſſary that there ſhould be another Rule of Conſcience beſides the holy Scripture, for otherwiſe the Gentiles who have not the Scripture ſhould have no Rule for their Conſcience, which comes quite croſſe to reaſon, experience, and the expreſſe teſtimony of the Apoſtle in the Text above mentioned. Moſt certain it is, that there is a Conſcience in all men, and that it is under a Law, which is a rule to direct it; For as the Apoſtle maketh mention, and it is every where extant in Hiſtory, and confirmed by daily experience, from whence do proceed thoſe grievous accuſations of Conſcience, thoſe whips, thoſe pangs, and torments of the Soul, & thoſe furies expreſſed by the Tragedians, but from the violated Law of Conſcience? of which if there were no Law at all, thoſe people that are moſt barbarous ſhould be ſo much the more happy, as they are the more far remote from the voice, and ſound of the Goſpel, becauſe that then no crime of ſin could juſtly be imputed to them, For where there is no Law, there is no p. 120tranſgreſſion, Rom. 4. 15. Sin being nothing elſe but the tranſgreſſion of the Law, foreign, 1 Joh. 3. 4. That the power of Conſcience is ſtrong in both regards, to fear every thing when it is guilty, and to be in dread of nothing when it is innocent, is not only cryed up by the Schools, but by the Theaters of the Heathens, who notwithſtanding knew nothing of Moſes, or of Chriſt, nor of the Law or the Prophets, and never heard of the Goſpel or the Apoſtles. The Scripture therefore is not the ſole and Adaequate Rule of Conſcience.

XV. It is confirmed again in the ſecond place from the proper end of the holy Scripture, which is foreign, 2 Tim. 3. 15. To make us wiſe to everlaſt…g Salvation by faith in Jeſus Chriſt. For when the light of natural reaſon could not raiſe us high enough to thoſe things which do tend to a ſupernatural end, both becauſe of our natural light too much obſcured and ecclipſed by the fall of Adam, and becauſe we muſt have ſupernatural helps to arrive to ſupernatural ends, it pleaſed Almighty God in pity of our infirmities, in his own word to open his own will unto us, according to that meaſure which he himſelf thought good, inſomuch that by this gracious and ſaving Counſel, not only thoſe things by divine revelation may be made known unto us, which properly do concern our faith, and cannot be known by the light of nature, but that more perfectly and more ſavingly we may be inſtructed in thoſe things alſo which by nature are known unto us, that ſo thoſe works which nature enjoyneth to be performed, taking their riſe from a nobler principle, which is, the love of God, and ordained to more noble ends, to wit the Glory of God, and the p. 221ſalvation of our ſouls, may from moral become ſpiritual, and be grateful and acceptable to God by Chriſt. The Scripture therefore, as ſupernaturally it is to be believed, is the only and Adaequate Rule of our faith, and according to our actions and performances (ſo far as they are ſpiritual, and pertain to a ſpiritual end) it is to be the only and Adaequate Rule of our Manners, and by conſequent the principal, and (as I may ſo ſpeak it) the Architectonical Rule of all our actions. But ſeeing it doth belong to Conſcience to look back on things that are done, not only upon this account as they are ſpiritual, that is to ſay whether they are done out of Charity, and directed to a ſupernatural end, but as they are moral, that is, whether they be good or evil, lawfull or unlawful, free or neceſſary, that a right judgment may be paſſed on theſe things, we are not only to ſeek unto the holy Scriptures, but to make our ſeaſonable addreſſes unto other helps.

XVI. In the third place this is proved again, by the Form, the Character, and the Temperature of the Scripture, which ſeeing it containeth in it very many precepts, but not all of one kind, ſome of them pertayning to Manners, ſome to Rites, and ſome indifferently common unto all, and ſome peculiar only to ſome Nation, and ſome again to ſome one order or perſon; Some of them induring only for a time, and others of a perpetual obligation, ſome by way of Counſel, of things expedient according as the exigence of the affairs requireth, and ſome again in the way of mandate or command, of things ſimply or abſolutely neceſſary in themſelves, if there were not ſome other rule, beſides the Scriptures, for the diſcerning of moral from ritual p. 122precepts, and of things temporary from perpetual and of things peculiar from common, the Conſcience would oftentimes labour in a Labyrinth of doubts, and know not which way to turn, eſpecially when precepts of diverſe kinds being delivered as it were in one & the ſame breath, in the ſame Phraſe, and in continued connexion of words, do immediately follow and tread on the heels of one another. For examples ſake, Levit. 19. 18. An example is there given to love thy neigbour as thy ſelf; And in the verſe immediately following there is a command, that two Beaſts of a ſeveral kind might not be ſuffered to mingle in generation with one another, and that one Field be not ſowen with diverſe ſorts of ſeeds, nor any garment made of Linnen thread interwoven with Woollen. The firſt command herein is moral and univerſal, the other but Ceremonial and judicial, and peculiar only to the Nation of the Jews; But when theſe things are read in the Churches, it cannot by the Text appear what ſo great a difference there is betwixt them; And in the 30th. verſe of the ſame Chapter, the Sanctification of the Sabbath, & the reverence of the Sanctuary are equally commanded, and in a continued courſe of words, and even in the very ſame ſolemn ſanction of the Law given, Ego Jehovah, I the Jehovah: yet I doubt not but that moſt men are of opinion, that in one of the Precepts the Conſciences of men are at this day obliged to the performance of it, and that in the other they are not. Now what the reaſon is that their opinion is ſuch, the precepts in the Text being all alike, and no diſtinction, nor the leaſt apparence of ſo great a difference, there can certainly no other reaſon be given but that it proceedeth p. 123from the judgment of reaſon and prudence, which being excluded, obligatory precepts cannot ſo be known from thoſe which are not obligatory, but that the Conſcience will be oftentimes in a ſuſpence, and not able to know or judge what is commanded to be done, or what to be left undone.

XVII. It is proved in the fourth place by an argument drawn from the inconvenicies which do ariſe from the contrary opinion, that is, from the moſt grievous calamities which have a long time afflicted the church of Chriſt by reaſon of the miſunderſtanding of the perfection of the holy Scriptures, from whence a moſt dangerous error hath poſſeſſed ſome men of great eſtimation, that they have declared, that nothing can be lawfuly done, or commanded, which is not authorized by God in the Scripture, or at leaſt there approved by ſome laudable example. This foundation being once laid, not a few men of a hot ſpirit being tranſported (to judge charitably of them) with a zeale to God, but not according to knowledge, did begin to raiſe unneceſſary ſtrifes and diſputation concerning the Ceremonies of the Church, they did declare that all Ceremonies not expreſsly mentioned in the word of God, were to be thruſt out, and for ever to be baniſhed from the Church of Chriſt; that Laws ordained by men concerning things Indifferent were to be cancelled, that all the Churches throughout Europe were to be reformed, & all things to be reduced to the Evangelical purity and Simplicity. The unruly rage of theſe men did hete for a while make a ſtand, but it did not ſtand here long, but as commonly it commeth to paſſe foreign one abſurdity being granted, a thouſand will inſue, their boldneſſe derived from his fountain did flow p. 124at laſt into an open rage, and brake forth into an Anabaptiſtical fury; And although the growing miſchief hath gon ſo far that it can ſcarce riſe higher, yet every day it ſwels, and more and more doth inlarge it ſelf by bringing into the world new monſters of opinions, that were we not aſſured by the word of God, that the foundation of God doth continue firm, and that the Gates of Hell ſhall never be able to prevail altogether againſt the Church, it were much to be feared, leſt the univerſal Church of Chriſt overwhelmed with a Deluge of Atheiſm, ſhould utterly be ſwallowed up by it throughout the world.

XVIII. And let no man think that in vain Rhetorick I do complain of this, with more enuy, than truth; for I am moſt confident, that he whoſoever he is that is ſtrongly prepoſſeſſed and infected with this errour, ſhall never be able in his daily controverſies any ways to ſatisfie the importunate arguments of the Anabaptiſts, Socinians, and other Sectaries, whoſe names I am aſhamed to mention. For to paſſe by the eſtabliſhed form of Eccleſiaſtical Government which now adays our Political Divines would either referr to the Civil Magiſtrate, or quite take them away, upon no other account but this only, that they think it is no where expreſſed in the word of God, they muſt take away with it the obſervation of the Lords day, the Ordination of Miniſters of the Goſpel, the Baptiſm of Infants, the Sprinkling of water in Baptiſm for the dipping of the whole body, the Sacramental reverence, and many other things, with all Eccleſiaſtical Rites, and Laws, or elſe having reformed their judgements, they muſt confeſſe they may all of them p. 125be retained without, or ſin or ſcandal.

XIX. But this, you will ſay, is to derogate from the perfection of the Scriptures (which all the Divines of the reformed Churches do willingly acknowledge) and to open a door to the Traditions of the Church of Rome, and to take away all the force from the arguments drawn negatively from the Scriptures, which the antient Fathers of the Church, and the moſt learned of the Divines of theſe times do very frequently make uſe of. I make anſwer, that the Church of Rome doth derogate from the perfection of the Scripture in this conſideration, that in the matters of Faith, and things neceſſary to ſalvation, they do thruſt in their unwritten Traditions to be received with the ſame reverence as the written word of God, as if it were not enough for the ſons of God, to be wiſe unto ſalvation, by having the new Teſtament conferred on them, which is the Inheritance left them by their Father, but they muſt alſo have the vain books inſerted of humane Traditions; But as for thoſe who do diſpute negatively from the Scriptures, concerning things which are neceſſary to ſalvation, either to be believed or practiſed, let them make uſe of this argument, as indeed they ought to do. But there is no queſtion here of the rule of Faith, but of the rule of Conſcience, and not of the chief rule of it, but of the Adaequate, and not what is neceſſary for a Chriſtian to believe or practice to attain unto the ſalvation of the Soul, but what is lawfull for a pious and prudent man to do lawfully, or to leave undone, at ſuch a time, or in ſuch a place. The ſum of all is, that the holy Scripture is the Adaequate Rule of Faith, and of things ſupernaturally to p. 126be believed, as alſo of all moral actions ſo far as they are ſpiritual, and ordained to a ſupernatural end, and it is alſo the the Law of Conſcience, & the Chief and ſupreme Rule for the putting of moral things in practice; ſo that where the Scripture determineth of any thing univerſally, either by the way of precept or prohibition, it is not lawfull for any other Law whatſoever to ſtand in oppoſition to it: but it is not ſo to be underſtood to be the only Law of Conſcience, that what is not commanded there, to be therefore preſently unlawfull: And thus much of the third Concluſion.

XX. The fourth followeth; The proper and adaequate Rule of Conſcience is the will of God, in what way ſoever it is revealed unto Men. Some call this the Law of God, others the eternal Law, the words differing in the ſound, but agreeing in the ſence. Every part of this Concluſion is to be weighed by it ſelf; In the firſt place I do ſay, it is the will of God, which by the Schoolemen (though by ſome of them not rightly expounded, and by others of them not rightly applyed) is diſtinguiſhed into Voluntatem, beneplaciti, and Voluntatem ſigni, the will of the good pleaſure, and the will of the ſign. The firſt called the will of the good pleaſure of God, is that, which God from all eternity did with himſelf reſolve what he himſelf will do; the other which is called the will of the ſign is that by which God hath given us a Law, by ſignifying what he would have us to do. The firſt is called the will of God properly, and univocally, the other improperly, and analogically. The will of the good pleaſure, (if it be lawfull to ſpeak of the majeſty of God after the manner of men) is in ſome reſpect a Law unto p. 127God himſelf, whereby he acteth, for he always acteth that which is complacent unto him; but it is not given to us by God to be a Law, or to be a rule unto our Conſciences, or at the leaſt for the putting of any thing into action; In ſome reſpect indeed it may be ſaid to pertain unto the Conſciences, in regard of ſufferings; but this is a poſteriori, & from an after obſervation, & in this ſence, that in Conſcience we are obliged with patience to endure all things whatſoever ſhall befall us, after that by the event it is manifeſt to us that God would have it ſo; For rectified reaſon doth dictate this unto us, that we ought not to be diſpleaſed at the method of the Divine Providence, who can will nothing but that which is moſt righteous: It remaineth therefore,Optimum eſt Deum quo Authore omnia proveniunt ſine murmuratione concomitari: Senec. Epiſtol. 108 Placeat homini quicquid Deo placuit. Idem Epiſt. 71. that the will be the rule of our Conſciences, which is called, The will of the ſign; For when God by prohibiting and by commanding hath ſignified what we ought to do, and what we ought not to do, it is our duties abſolutely to conform our wills unto his will. Many things amongſt the School-men are with unprofitable acuteneſſe diſputed on this Subject, viz. Whether and how far the will of the reaſonable creature in a thing willed is bound to conform it ſelf to the will of the Creator? When the whole matter (as much as belongs to our buſineſs, and the uſe of humane life) may briefly in one word be diſpatched, which is, That we are always bound to will that which God willeth, that we ſhould will; Thus when God commanded Abraham to offer up his Son Iſaac, Although God in the will of his good pleaſure would not have had that done which at the ſame time he commanded to be done, as by and by ſhall appear by the event, yet Abraham p. 127was bound to will the very ſame thing, becauſe God by commanding it, did ſignifie that it was his will that Abraham ſhould have a will unto it.

XXI. I ſay ſecondly; the will of God revealed unto Men, becauſe this revealed will is the formal Cauſe and Reaſon of the obligation; For the will of God doth not oblige thoſe unto whom it is not revealed; And hence it is, that the Gentiles to whom the Goſpel is not preached, are not bound to believe it, or to have any faith in Chriſt; for there is no man that is bound to that which is impoſſible: And it is impoſſible for that man to whom the Goſpel hath been never preached, and who never hath heard any thing of Chriſt, to believe either in Chriſt, or in the Goſpel, ſeeing that the light of Reaſon cannot aſcend ſo high, according to that of the Apoſtle, Rom. 10. 15. How ſhall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how ſhall they hear without a Preacher? And the ſame Apoſtle thinks it not meet, that others ſhould be judged by the Law, but thoſe only who have ſinned in the Law, Rom. 11. 12. Neither doth this ſuffize to bring an obligation upon the Conſcience, that the will of God is revealed to him, unleſſe it be revealed to him as the will of God, in a peculiar reference to himſelf. Inſomuch that if any of the Gentiles who were Aliens ſhould caſually have met with the Books of Moſes; and by reading of them ſhould obſerve the Commandements which are there given to the people of Iſrael, he had not preſently been obliged to the performance of them, becauſe they did not pertain unto him, but were only peculiar to the Iſraelites; and it is known, that the Law doth not oblige all men unto whom it is p. 129known, but all thoſe only to whom it is given.

XXII. In the third place I ſay, the will of God in what way ſoever it be revealed; for the will of God receiveth its authority from it ſelf, and not from the manner of revealing it. So that the Church of Rome, in their controverſie concerning Traditions, need not to take ſo much pains to prove That the word of God unwritten is of equal authority with the word of God that is written, for this we willingly do grant unto them; We only …ain would underſtand how we may ſatisfie our ſelves that the Tradition unwritten, may appear to be the word of God, as undoubtedly as the word which is written. The will of God therefore in what manner ſoever it be revealed, is the Rule of the Conſcience, provided, it be ſo revealed, that it either actually be made known, or may be ſo made known unto the mind, if culpable negligence doth not hinder; And it doth oblige the Conſcience to acknowledge it, and to propound it unto our own will, as the will of God, to which it is bound to conform it ſelf, and not only ſo, but to command the executive potentiaes to beſtirre themſelves for the fulfilling of this will of God. Remarkable is that of Damaſcene, foreign, what God willeth, m…ſt of neceſſity be good; for his will is the meaſure of goodneſſe: but the Law of God is foreign, …hat commandment by which … that good will of his; he proceeds foreign, the Law of God comming to our …ind doth attract it to it, foreign, it doth incite, inſtim…late, and as it were ſpurs it doth urge our Conſciences to the performance of their duties, by repreſenting p. 130and inculcating into our wills the will of God. And this is that moſt proper and exact obligation of Conſcience which we before have ſpoken of.

XXIII. The force and effect of this obligation is variouſly expreſſed by St. Paul; Sometimes he confeſſeth himſelf a Debator to the Grecians and Barbarians, Rom. 1. 14. As if he ſhould ſay, ſeeing I know by the will of God that I am ſet apart to preach the Goſpel to the Gentiles, without difference, whether they are Graecians, or Barbarians, I acknowledge that in this reſpect I am a Debtor to them; And in the 2 Cor. 2. 14. he ſaith, that he is tyed, and bound, as men are bound with bonds, to the performance of this duty. And in the firſt of the Corinthians, the ninth Chapter, and the ſixteenth verſe, foreign, The preaching of the Goſpel is intruſted to me, ſo that I have not the leaſure to be idle, for a great neceſſity doth preſſe me, and wo unto me if I ſhould neglect it. The like neceſſity to be impoſed upon them, and not to be ſhaken off, was openly and before St. Pauls time acknowledged by two of the greateſt of the Apoſtles, and for a long time individual Companions, S. Peter, and St. John, Acts 4. 20. foreign, For we cannot but ſpeak. God hath commanded us to ſpeak with authority, and you command us to hold our peace; Whether it be better to obey him, or to obey you, Do you judge? We are free, and can be ſo from your command, for you have no power upon our Conſciences: but the command of God doth hold us faſt, and ha…h ſuch a coercive power over us, that unleſſe we wil periſh, we cannot be free, nor do any thing but that only which he commandeth.

XXIV. Moreover, when it is aſſerted, that the p. 131next and immediate Rule of the Conſcience is the light of the mind, and the primary and the ſupreme Rule, is the written word of God, and the proper and the Adaequate Rule of it, the will of God by manner whatſoever revealed, or which is to the ſame ſence, The Law impoſed by God on the reaſonable Creature, That theſe things may more fully be underſtood, we are to know, that the light of the mind is threefold, as God in three ways hath manifeſted his will to the reaſonable Creature. There is the light innate, the light inferred, and the light acquired; or the light of nature, the light of Scripture, and the light of Doctrine. The firſt light, which I do call the light Innate, doth proceed from the Law of nature; For in the firſt creation of the World, as God endued brute and inanimate Creatures with a natural inſtinct, by which they are inclined unto thoſe things which are congruous to their natures, and the conſervatives of it, which is as a Law unto them, as it is ſo expreſſed by David, Pſal. 148. 6. Thou haſt given them a Law which they may not tranſgreſſe, So a certain natural Law is given unto man, and proportionated to his nature, as he is a reaſonable Creature, that is, more ſublime and noble, and if I may ſo ſpeak it more Divine than what is given to other Creatures of this inferiour O…h; And this Law doth incite him to the performance of thoſe things which are agreeable to his nature, as he is a man, that is to ſay, a living Creature indued with reaſon, or to live according to reaſon. Now this Law is natural impreſſion, and as it were a figure of that eternal Law which is in the mind of God, and it is a part of that Divine Image after which man at the firſt was ſaid to be p. 132made, Gen. 1. by which knowing of a certainty that there are ſome things in our reaſonable nature that are congruous to the will of God the Creator, and other things which are not ſo, we do conclude, that the one is good and ought to be performed by us, and the other evil & altogether to be abhomined. The light proceeding from this law is extremely obſcured by that grievous ruine which folowed the fall of Adam, and from hence ariſe thoſe thick clouds of Ignorance and Error in which all his poſterity whilſt we live in this World, are invelopped. But the providence of God hath ſo moſt wiſely ordered it, that in the common wrack it hath come off more unhurt than many other of the Faculties: for it hath pleaſed God that certain propoſitions, and practical principles, Quae animis imprimuntur in…atae intelligentiae Cic. 1 de leg.which the Philoſophers call foreign and foreign, and Baſilius moſt acutely foreign, ſpark of the Divine Fire which in the great conflagration was preſerved in the aſhes of it, ſhould ſtill remain, that ſo in our breaſts and moſt inward parts,Haec tamen exigua lucis ſcintillula r…manſit. Calvin. Inſtit. 10. Sect. 5. he might have the Preachers of his will. Theſe foreign, Theſe common Notions, are that Law of God, which the Apoſtle Rom. 1. doth ſay is written in the Hearts of men, in the very ſame manner, as the Lawes of Cities or o… the Prince are accuſtomed to be inſcribed in Tables of Braſſe. For they have the ſame authority and eſtimation of a Law or of a Rule impoſed by God upon us, as the Will of the Law-giver ſignified in a publick inſtrument, and expoſed to the peoples view, is adjudged to be a Law.

XXV. This natural Law doth conſiſt of dive… practical principles which notwithſtanding are red… ced p. 133to one firſt and univerſal Law which doth contain the other, This univerſal Law, though but ſhort, is bipartite, of two parts, viz. Good is to be done, Evil is to be avoyded. In the ſame manner all the Commandements in the Decalogue are reduced to one Univerſal Law, to wit, the love of God, and the love of our neighbour. To this Univerſal Law conſerved in the Syntereſis there are other particular Laws ſubordinated, which are derived from it, as Concluſions are from Premiſes; ſome whereof are of the firſt Dictate of Nature, and next of all adjoyning to that principal Law; others ſtand farther off, and have only a Secondary relation, and by the virtue of thoſe which are more neere. Thoſe which are of the firſt dictate of Nature, as ſoon as they are preſented to our minds and cogitations, they preſently command our belief, and by reaſon of the undeniable evidence of them, they do inforce us to aſſent unto them; for it is not lawful to doubt of the truth of them, nor is it poſſible for any one who underſtands the ſence of the words, to erre concerning them; for no ſooner it is propounded that God is to be worſhiped, and no man to be injured, but the mind preſently is at reſt, and without delay aſſenteth to it; but in the latter, by reaſon of the difference which may ariſe from Circumſtances, it moſt often comes to paſſe, that we both doubt, and erre, and the more remote we are from thoſe firſt Principles, the more prone we are to run into error. For the firſt and univerſal Principles, are ſo much the more certain than the poſterior and the particular, as they are the leſſe circumſtanced. For by Circumſtances, and by deſcending, as commonly it is ſpoken p. 134we oftentimes do fall into errors, The precepts of the firſt kind are, that Parents are to be honoured, Children nurſed, the life of our neighbours to be preſerved, the pledge to be reſtored; which as they are commonly and for the moſt part to be obſerved, yet they are not abſolutely and ſimply if the thing and place (which might ſo come to paſſe) ſhould otherwiſe require it. For the Commands of the Parents are to be deſpiſed in compariſon of the Love of God, and there may be a juſt cauſe of diſclayming unreclaymed Children, and taking away the life of our neighbour, neither is the ſword to be reſtored to the mad man. Near unto this diſtinction is that diſtribution of Offices, Cicer. lib. 1. Offic.in Cicero, which he hath taken from the Stoicks, for with them, a right and perfect Duty which the Greeks call foreign is one thing, and a mean or a common duty which the Greeks call foreign is another. Wherefore that the Conſcience may judge more rightly and more certainly, what is the will of God ſo far as is pertaining to this part of the Rule of it, it will be requiſite to direct it to the moſt univerſal precepts that poſſibly may be had, and to thoſe firſt Axioms which are of themſelves to be believed. But becauſe I muſt make haſte to other obſervations, I ſhall here put a period to my diſcourſe concerning this Law of Nature, and preſent you with that of Cicero, in his loſt books de Republica, which by Lactantius, 6. Inſtit. 8. is expreſſely thus recorded. Eſt quidem verò lex recta ratio, naturae congruens, diffuſa in omnes, conſtans, ſempiterna, quae vocet ad officium jubendo, vetando à fraude detereat. —Huic legi nec obrogari fas eſt, nec derogari ex hac aliquid licet, ne que tota abrogari poteſt; Nec verò p. 135aut per Senatum, aut per populum ſolvi hac lege poſſumus. Nec eſt quaerendus explanator, aut interpres ejus alius; Nec erit alia Lex Romae, alia Athenis; alia nunc, alia poſthac: ſed & omnes gentes, & omni tempore, una lex & ſempiterna & immortalis continebit. Unúſque erit communis quaſi Magiſter & imperator omnium Deus ille Legis hujus inventor, diſceptator, lator, cui qui non parebit, ipſe ſe fugiet, ac naturam hominis aſpernabitur; atque hoc ipſo luet maximas poenas, etiamſi caetera ſupplicia qu…e putantur effugerit. The Law is right Reaſon, agreeable to nature, diffuſed into all, conſtant, everlaſting, which calleth unto duty by commanding, and by forbidding deterreth from deceit.—This Law is not to be contradicted, neither is it lawfull for any man to derogate from it, neither is it poſſible that it ſhould be altogether abrogated. We cannot be diſcharged from it either by the Senate, or the People; It needs not an Expounder, or Interpreter; It will not bear one conſtruction at Rome and another at Athens; it will not be one now, and another hereafter: but being the ſame Law, perpetual, and immortal, it includeth all Nations, and at all times▪ And there is as it were one common maſter, and Soveraign Commander over all, the one God, the Inventor, Diſcuſſor, and Communicator, of this Law, whom whoſoever ſhall not obey, he ſhall fly from himſelf, and be unworthy of the nature of man; and for this alone ſhall grievouſly be tormented, although he eſcapeth other puniſhments that are conceived. A remarkable place, and which ſo cleerly unfoldeth the force and nature of this inbred light, that we need not to make any addition to it.

XXVI. The ſecond light which is conveyed into the p. 136mind (as I have ſaid) doth come unto it from without, and proceedeth from Divine Revelation, to wit, from that light which God hath held forth unto us in the holy Scriptures, in which more fully he hath made known his will unto man; that there nothing might be wanting which is neceſſary for the inſtitution of his manners, and the attainment of everlaſting happineſſe. And the rather, becauſe the inward natural light, as already I have ſhewed, doth not ſuffice thereto. Now this light differs from the natural light, not only in its original, but in its perfection. Firſt, becauſe it manifeſteth the will of God in thoſe things to which the light of Nature cannot attain. Secondly, becauſe it ordinateth the moral actions dictated by the light of Nature, to a higher end; Thirdly, becauſe that whereas the Law ingraven in the mind is inſtituted by God, as he is the Author of Nature; This Law revealed in the word is inſtituted by him, as he is the Author of Grace and Salvation. Therefore where the light of nature is either weak, or defective, as it is defective in thoſe things which are beyond its Sphear, of which nature are the myſteries of Faith, and weak in thoſe things which are a little more remote from thoſe precepts which are moſt univerſal, in thoſe caſes I ſay we muſt have recourſe to the light of the word, as to a light ſhining in a dark place, 2 Pet. 1. 19. To the Law and the Teſtimony: if they ſpeak not according to this word, it is becauſe there is no light in them. Ifa. 8. 20. Thy word is a Lantern unto my feet, and a light unto my path, Pſ. 119. 105. If I ſhould enlarge my ſelf upon the perfection and the profit of this Law, there would be no end of my diſcourſe. See on this Subject, the nineteenth Pſalm, where p. 137there you ſhall find much in few words, and conciſely; And the hundred and nineteenth Pſalm, where you ſhall find the ſame things in more words, and more largely repreſented.

XXVII. Moreover, there are two parts of this Law, the Law properly ſo called, and the Goſpel. I do not here underſtand the Law and the Gospel in that ſence, as for the moſt part it is taken by Divines, for the two Covenants made by God with man; The covenant of Works, and the covenant of Grace: but in the more common acceptation, for the Books of the old and new Teſtament, which the Fathers not unaptly for this purpoſe have called the old Law, and the new Law; but both theſe Laws, all the whole Law of Moſes, and the new Law of Chriſt, for that part of it which containeth moral inſtitutions, is cryed down by the Antinomians, the Anabaptiſts, and Enthuſiaſts, and other prodigious names of a generation of people of our age, as altogether unprofitable, and unworthy of the care, and ſtudy of a Chriſtian, after he is come to be of age in Chriſt, and annoynted with the unction of the Spirit; They will admit of no Law but only the Law of Faith, and the Dictates of the Spirit. I am not at leaſure now to confute them, neither indeed is it very needfull, ſeeing that the Apoſtle James hath long ſince ſo oppoſed the Monſters of ſuch errours, as if by ſome Prophetick Spirit, he had on purpoſe undertaken the Confutation of them.

XXVIII. The old Law, which is called the Moſaical Law, is diſtinguiſhed into three parts, the Moral, the Ceremonial, and the Judicial; Of every one whereof, many things are diverſely diſputed by p. 138many men; I ſhall at this time paſſe them by, and briefly propound unto you what I conceive of the obligation of them, reſerving in the mean time to every man his own Judgment. I ſay therefore in the firſt place, That no Law at all delivered by Moſes, doth formally, directly, and by its ſelf oblige the Conſcience of Chriſtians, as it is the Law delivered by Moſes; my reaſon is, that every Moſaical Law, as Moſaical, was poſitive, and a Law poſitive doth oblige none but thoſe only on whom it is impoſed. Seeing therefore that the Law delivered by Moſes was only impoſed on the peculiar Nation of the Hebrews, as may eaſily appear to any man that will obſerve but the beginning of it, Hear Iſrael, and the whole Addreſſe of the folowing diſcourſe, it cannot ſo appertain unto thoſe who are out of the number of that Nation, as by that account to oblige them becauſe delivered by Moſes. But if any part of that Law doth now oblige Chriſtians (as certainly the Commandements of the Decalogue are obliging) it commeth to paſſe by Accident, and ratione materiae, by reaſon of the matter, not becauſe Moſes ſo commanded, but becauſe that which hath been commanded by him is either agreeable to the Law of Nature, or confirmed in the new Law by Chriſt himſelf.

XXIX. I ſay in the ſecond place, That the Ceremonial Law of Moſes doth oblige the Jewes in their Conſciences, before the Goſpel of Jeſus Chriſt was preached to them, but not other men, unleſſe thoſe only who were Proſelytes of the Jewiſh Religion, and worſhip, who conſiſting of two kinds, Proſelytae Portae, and Proſelytae Juſtitiae, ſo p. 139called by the Jews, that is to ſay, Proſelytes of the Gate, and Proſelytes of Righteouſneſſe, were obliged to the obſervation of the Ritual precepts; Thoſe of the former kind were obliged to the fewer, but thoſe of the latter, as the Jews themſelves, were obliged to the obſervation of them all. Now from the time of the Death and Reſurrection of Chriſt, ſince the Goſpel began firſt to be preached to the Jews, and afterwards to the Gentiles, until the everſion of the Temple of Jeruſalem, and the Jewiſh Common-wealth, this Law indeed was dead (if we love to ſpeak after St. Auguſtine) but not deadly, which is to ſay, that it had loſt the force of obliging, but the Rites, and Ceremonies delivered by Moſes were not altogether unlawful, but left as indifferent to the obſervation of every man, ſo that it was lawful for any one (according to the emergency of the occaſion) to uſe the freedom of his own will, and to uſe them, or not to uſe them, a due reſpect being always had to Prudence, and Charity. And that this was the ſence of St. Paul, is ſo manifeſt, both by his conſtant Doctrine and his Practice, that there needeth no proof of it. And▪ after the everſion of the Temple it was ſpoken by diverſe men, that this part of the Law of Moſes was not only dead, but mortiferous; which unleſſe it be rightly applyed, and with a prepared Diſtinction, I am affraid will be found to be more wittily than ſolidly expreſſed; For all Ceremonies are not alike to be eſteemed; But thoſe which concern Order, and Decency, are wiſely to be ſevered from thoſe which were the Figures of Chriſt to come: for thoſe figurative Ceremonies, which were inſtituted by God, to be p. 140Types of Chriſt our Redeemer, to come in the Fleſh, ſuch as were Circumciſion, ſacrifices, and many ſuch like, became certainly of no uſe after Chriſt did really fulfill all things which were typically figured in thoſe Ceremonies, and ſufficiently declared to the whole world by the Preachers of his Goſpel, that all thoſe things were rightly fulfilled, they are therefore to be taken away, not only as dead, and rotten, but are moſt carefully to be ſhunned by every true Chriſtian, as deadly and peſtiferous; and above all things it muſt moſt preciſely be taken heed unto, that they be not obſerved with any opinion of neceſſity, according to that, Gal. 5. 2. I Paul ſay unto you, if you be circumciſed, Chriſt will profit you nothing. But thoſe Ceremonies which pertain only to the outward Decency, in the ſolemnity of the Divine-worſhip, although peradventure it were better not to uſe them where a juſt cauſe of offence may be given, yet they are not ſimply to be condemned as unlawfull, upon this bare account, that they are a part of the Moſaical paedagogy.

XXX. I ſay in the third place, That although many do diſtinguiſh betwixt thoſe Political Laws of Moſes which were of a common right, of which they aſſign ſome Notes and Critiſms, and betwixt thoſe which were of a particular right, it is not neceſſary that any ſuch diſtinction ſhould be made; Nay we may roundly affirm, that thoſe Laws of Moſes which are called Political, or Judicial, do none of them oblige Chriſtian Magiſtrates to a ſtrict obſervation of them, but it is lawfull for them, according to their own diſcretion, and as they ſhall find find it expedient for the ſafety and profit of the p. 141Common-wealth, either to revive them into power, or to make them of no effect.

XXXI. I affirm in the fourth place, That the moral Law delivered by Moſes, that is to ſay, the praecepts of the Decalogue or the ten Commandements, do oblige all Chriſtians as well as Jews to the obſervation of them; All Proteſtants that I do know of, do with one mouth acknowledge this truth; Bellarmine therefore doth us the greater injury, who feigneth, that we do make Chriſtian liberty to conſiſt in this, not to be bound in Conſcience to be ſubjected to any Law, and that Moſes with his Decalogue doth not pertain unto us. Let him ſee how he can clear himſelf of this ſcandal, and vindicate thoſe of his part from this crime, if we are in it. For the Controverſie amongſt his School-men is agitated, Whether Chriſtians are bound to the praecepts of the Decalogue, only as they are the Declaratives of the Law of Nature, or as they were alſo delivered by God to Moſes, and by Gods Commandement given by Moſes to the people of God, and tranſmitted into the holy Books; Some there are of them that do deny the one, & others that do affirm both. And in our Churches the ſame diverſity of opinions is to be found, if it be not rather a diverſity in words, than in opinions. For ſeeing they amongſt themſelves, and we do agree with them in this, which is the main of all, that the Moral Law which is delivered by Moſes, and is contained in the precepts of the Decalogue, hath the power to oblige the Conſciences of Chriſtians, it will peradventure, be not worth our labour, from whence it doth obtain that power to oblige; In my judgement they ſpeak more unto the purpoſe, who ſay, p. 142that this Law of Moſes doth not oblige Chriſtians formally, and as it is delivered by Moſes, but onelyonly by reaſon of the matter, as it is the Declarative of the Law of Nature; and it receiveth therefore all its force of obliging, not from Moſes bringing or delivering it, but from the Dictates of the Law of Nature, which God in the firſt Creation did inſpire into our minds, and after the Fall would have it to remain in them, as the Remembrancer of his will. And this may ſuffice to be ſpoken of the old Law, or the Law of Moſes.

XXXII. The new Law, or the Law of Chriſt, that is to ſay, the Goſpel, doth contain theſe three things. 1. Myſteries of Faith to be believed, in which chapter I comprehend the promiſes of God by Grace. 2. Sacred Inſtitutions Ceremonial, and Eccleſiaſtick. And 3. The Moral Precepts, of which I ſpeak, and univerſally of all of them; That the Goſpel obligeth none but thoſe only who are called, thoſe only to whom it is preached. For where there is no Law, there can be no tranſgreſſion, for moraly, eſpecially in Supernaturals, it is the ſame thing, Non eſſe, et non apparere, not to be, and not to appear, or not to be ſo ſufficiently propounded, as it may be known. The words of our Saviour are expreſsly to this ſence, Ioh. 15. 22. If I had not come, and ſpoken to them, they had not had ſin, that is, they had not been guilty of deſpiſing the Goſpel; But it obligeth all men to whom it is preached to an obedience as well of Faith as of Life, ſo that we are all bound, to whom the Goſpel is preached, both to believe in Chriſt as our Redeemer, and to obey him as our Law-giver; And whoſoever ſhall fail in the performance of theſe p. 143two things, ſhall ſuffer everlaſting puniſhment for the neglect of his duty.

XXXIII. I ſay in the third place, That the Chriſtian Church is obliged to the Sacred Inſtitutions, that is, to the preaching of the word, the adminiſtration of the Sacraments, the Ordination of Miniſters of the Goſpel, and the exerciſe of the Keyes as well of Knowledg as of Power; it is bound, I ſay, in all thoſe things which pertain to the eſſence of them, according to the inſtitution of Chriſt, and the Apoſtles, ſo that it is not lawful for the Church, much leſſe for any particular congregation, or perſon, either willingly to diminiſh, or to change any thing at all therein: But the external circumſtances of the Sacred Inſtitution are ſo free, that any particular Church may determine of them according to Time and Place, and to the cuſtome of the People of God, and as it ſhall ſeem moſt expedient to Edification.

XXXIV. In the third place I affirm, That the Moral Precepts of the New Teſtament are the ſame, according to their ſubſtance, with the Morals of the Old Teſtament; and they are both of them to be reduced to the Law of Nature, which is contained in the ten Commandements; as omnia Entia realia, all real Beings are reduced to the ten Predicaments. But the Precepts of Chriſt in the new Law, as the holy Fathers of the Church do every where acknowledge, are in many things far more excellent than the Precepts of Moſes in the old Law, not onelyonly in that reſpect, that they are propounded more fully and clearly, but becauſe they aſcend alſo higher, and do advance the true Chriſtian to a more eminent degree of perfection, and that with moſt p. 143effectual inducements on both ſides, the paſt Example of Chriſt being propounded to him on the one ſide, and the ineſtimable reward to come in the Kingdom of Heaven on the other. And this moſt clearly may appear in thoſe two great Duties of a Chriſtians life commanded in the new Law, viz. of loving our enemies, and taking up the croſs; For as ſome have dreamed, theſe are not ſo onelyonly to be eſteemed, as if they were onelyonly Counſels to a more perfect life, propounded to all men under the condition of a more large reward, and oblige no man under ſin and puniſhment, but thoſe onelyonly who by a vow have obliged themſelves to the obſervation of them: But they expreſly in themſelves are Precepts, and properly ſo called, and univerſally obliging, to the obſervation whereof all thoſe who profeſs the Name of Chriſt are bound under the guilt of the moſt grievous ſin; to wit, the abnegation of Chriſt, and the puniſhment of eternal damnation unleſs they truly do repent. And thus much concerning the ſecond Light of the mind.

XXXV. The third remaineth, which we call the light acquired; which ſurely is nothing elſe but an addition or increaſe of that light (whether of Nature or Revelation) which was before in the minde, to ſome more eminent degree of clearneſs; as when the will of God, the knowledge whereof hath hitherto ſhined into our minds (whether internally imprinted by the light of Nature, or externally revealed by the Word) or whether by our own meditation, or by the inſtitution of others, is now more excellently, and more illuſtriouſly made manifeſt unto us. The chief Helps or Mediums thereunto are the Diſcourſe of Reaſon and Authority; the p. 144laſt of which is the Judgement, and the Practice of the Church; of which neither doth the time permit to ſpeak much, neither doth it ſelf require that many things ſhould be ſpoken of it. From the Law of Nature many partic…lar Propoſitions of things to be done, like ſo many Concluſions from their Principles, are deduced by the diſcourſe of Reaſon to the uſe of the Conſcience; In which, unleſs we orderly proceed from the firſt unto the laſt, we ſhall be apt to erre, as already I have expreſſed; we muſt therefore be very carefull, that in every part of the Diſcourſe the proceeding be legitimate, that thoſe things that follow, may aptly depend upon thoſe which go before, and that the conſequence be neceſſary; leſt the Conſcience being miſ-led, do not dictate this or that or otherwiſe to the will than what it ought to do. It is again to be feared, leſt we erre alſo in applying the holy Scripture unto the uſe of the Conſcience, unleſs a due regard of Reaſon be had unto Reaſon, and of Authority unto Authority. The Papiſts, while they beſtow all their ſtudies that nothing be taken away from the Authority of the Church, they give but little unto Reaſon. The Socinians on the other ſide, whiles rejecting all Authority, they do meaſure Faith by Reaſon onelyonly, they do onelyonly attain unto this, that they grow mad with reaſon. Both have the ſame errour, but it variouſly deceiveth; And both rocks ſhall not more eaſily be avoided, than if Authority with Reaſon, and Reaſon with Authority ſhall handſomely and prudently be conjoyned.

XXXVI. What place either of them ought to have in the right and orderly unfolding and applying the holy Scripture, it is not for this time, or my p. 145preſent purpoſe to repreſent unto you; I ſhall touch upon it in few words: There is eſpecially a twofold Uſe of Reaſon in relation to the Scriptures, Collative and Illative; Collative, diligently to compare thoſe divers places of Scripture, eſpecially thoſe which ſeem to bear a remarkable correſpondence, or repugnancy amongſt themſelves. Illative, the propriety of the words, the context and the ſcope being found out, effectually and artificially to infer Doctrines; being in the mean time not forgetfull that we muſt attribute, ſo much the more, to humane Reaſon in things to be done, than in things to be believed, as the myſteries of Faith do more exceed the capacity of natural underſtanding than the Offices of Life.

XXXVII. The chiefeſt uſe of Authority is to beat down the boldneſs of Hereticks and Impoſtor, who indeavour to caſt a miſt over the cleareſt teſtimonies of the Scripture, and to elude the force of them with their ſubtilties and diſtinctions; whoſe mouths you can no better ſtop, nor more effectually preſerve your ſelves and others from the contagion of them, than by oppoſing unto their Sophiſms and Deceits, the Judgement and Practice, not of one, or of a few men, not of one Age, or of one corner of the Church, but of the whole Catholick Church, of all places, and all times, ſpread over the whole face of the Earth; ſo heretofore thoſe great Advocates of the Chriſtian Faith, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Vicentius, and others; judged it to be their ſafeſt courſe to deal with their Adverſaries by the right of preſcription; which how advantagious it hath been to Chriſtendome, the event hath taught. But thoſe things which deſerve a larger p. 146conſideration, I am now forced to omit, being mindfull of the time, of you, and of my ſelf, and to defer unto another day what remaineth to be ſpoken concerning the Obligation of Humane Laws.