OCR Text |
Show :84 may", OF A CHRISTIAN Part3: they had no Written Word of God, but ruled according to their own difcretion, or by the direction of fuch, as each or t rem elteemcd hets. _ The 0" TC' Prggom hence we may inferre, that the Scriptures of the Old Te- fldm‘i'" "be." flament, which we have at this day, were not Canonicall, nor a m‘dqcmm- Law unto the Jews, till the renovation or their Covenant with God W". at their return from the CaptivityJ and reliauration of their Com- ‘-"-j)v "Eu ‘4. <"‘r"'"‘a mon-Wealth under Efdm. But from that time forward they were accounted the Law of the Jews, and for fuch tranllated into Greek by Seventy Elders of Judas'a, and putmto the Library of Ptolemy at Alexandria, and approved for the Word of God. Now feeing Efdras was the High Priefiz, and the High l'ricl} was their Civill Soveraigne, it is manifeft, that the Scrip. tures were never made Laws , but by the Soveraign Cm" b P . _ l . Power. The Km By the Writings of the Fathers that lived lnvEIC time c ore Teflamettbe- that Chriflian Religion was received, and authoriled by Lonfian- Em" [‘6 C" tine the Emperour, we may find, that the Books wee now have '1°"l""""d" of the New Teftament, were held by the Chrifiians of that Chm-film SO- time ( except a few, in refpeét of Wiofe paucrty the relt were called the Catholique Church, and others eretiques ) lot the "Mg" dictates of the Holy Gholt; and confequently ‘for the Canon,or e f, r t t t l l i Rule of faith: fuch was the reverence and opinion they had or their Teachers, as generally the reverence that the DilCiples beat to their full Mailers, in all mannerof doctrine they receive-from them,is not (mall. Therefore there is no doubt, but when S. Paul wrote to the Churches he had converted; or any other Apolilc, or Difciple of Chrift, to thofe. which had tnen embraced Lhrifi, they received thofe their Writings for the true Clil‘llllflnDOC: trine. But in that time, when not the Power and Authority oi the Teacher , but the Faith of the Hearer carried them, to receive it, it was not the Apol'tles that made their own Vyiitin s Canonicall, fel . but every Convert made [item to to himfl . ' "AP-42! COMMON-WE ALTII. Part. 3‘: trary to the Laws already eflablifhed, without injuflice cannot ob- ferve, how good foever he conceiveth it to be. Ifay, he cannot in this cafe oblerve the fame in his actions, nor in his dicoutle with other men; though he may without blame beleeve his private Tea. chers,and will] he had the liberty to praé'cife their advice; and that it were publiquely received for Law. For inrernall Faith is in its own nature invilible, and conlequently exempted from all humane juril‘diftion; whereas the words, and actions that proceeed from it, as breaches of our Civill obedience, are injuflice both before God and Man. Seeing then our Saviour hath denyed his Kingdome to be in this world, feeing he had laid, he came nottojudee , but to fave the world, he hath not liibjetfted us to other Laws than thofe ofthc Common-wealth; that is, the jews to the Law of Moles (which he faithtMtzt. 5.) he came not to del‘troy, butro fiilfillQ and other Nationstothe Laws oftheir leverallSovcraigns, and all men to the Laws of Natmenhe oblci'ving whereoflboth he liiiiilEIle,an<l his Apoftles have in their teaching recommended to us,as a neceflary condition of being admitted )y him in thelall day Ainto his eternall Kingt‘iomc,whcreinlhall be Protection, and Lite everlallingSeeing, then our Saviour, and his Apol‘tles, left not new Laws to oblige us in this world, but new Doc‘trine to prepare us for the next; the Bowls oftlie New Teltament, which Containe that Doctrine, untill obedience to them was commanded, bytheinthat God had given power to oncarthto be lregillators, were not obligatory Canons, thatis,Laws, but oncly good, and me advice , torilie direction or linntrs in the way to iltlvationnvhich every man might take , and refine at his owne peril], vithoutinjufiice. Again, our Saviour (Ihrifls Commiilion to his. Apoflles, and Dilciplcs, was [01)1‘0Cllllll ill» Kingdome {not preltnrdnaho come; and to'feachall Nations, andro Baptizethem that lhoiild l)ClCCVC'5 and tocntt r into the [routes of them that lliouldrecervetlrunwnd where they were not received , to lhahe of}~ the dull: of their leer. againlt them; but not tocall for tire from heaven todeltroy them, nor to compell them to obedience by me Sword. Inall which there But the queflion here, is not what any -(,hri_l‘tian made ahaw, or Canon to himfelf, (which he might again reieft , by the lam: is nothing or'l'owcr, but of l'erl‘walion. right he received it-,) but what was [0 made a Canon to them , as Commiflion to make Laws-1 but to obey , and teach obedience to without injuftice they could not doe anything contrarytnereimio. That the New Teltament lliould in this ienle be Canonicall, that}; to fay, aLaw in any place where the Law or the Coiriitpndi'tlhh had not madeit {o , is contrary to the nature or a Law. :l‘or a Law, (as hath been already fliewn) is the Commandement or that Maria-r Allembly, to whom we have given Soveraign Authority,t_o mllu. fuch Rules for the direction of our aétions, as hee lhall thinh m; and to puniih us , when we doe any thing contrary to the lai‘ntWhen therefore any other man lhall offer unto us any other 1i tiff: which the Soveraign Ruler hath not pi‘eicribed , they siren?» COUchllfind Advice-7 which,whether,good, prbad, lice Ill-fl -' counlelled, may without injufiicerefuie t0 OblCl‘YC; and whcnton- nary O He lent them ()llt .i-z Sheep unto Wolves, not as Kings to their Subjects. They had not in Laws made ,and conieqircntlythey could not make their Writings obligatory Canons,without the help ofthe Soveraign Civill Power. And therefore the Scripture ol‘the New Tellament is there only Law , where the la‘a‘liill Civill Power hath made it lo. And there alto the King, or Soveraign,maketli it a Law to himliell', by which he lillflt'ftctli himl'elr‘e, not to the l)i)€t<)i‘,()r Apollle that converted him, but to God himiielt‘, and his Sonjeliis Chrill, as immediately as did the Apollles thcmlelves. , That which may leem to give the New Tefiament, in relpect of Off/"MW tholethat have embraced Chrifiian Doctrine, the three ol~ Laws,in 0/ fi_"'_""l‘;/n/' I" the tunes, and places ofperlecution , is the decrees they made a- 35""; monglt themlelves in their Synods. For we read (A61: 1 5.28.) the 1,"; {tile ot‘the Councellof the Apollles, the Elders, and the whole 0 0 Church, |