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Show The Magiflratu Duty to be by the will of G.od preferred before the life of any lingle perCons. ~- In cafe he teacheth Blafph•my, I make t1o que!lion but it may be puni!hed by the Sword ; but yet l would be tender in this cafe and by it under !land only rtproacbfNl fc••dalous Bla{phemy. No ~an can fo much as pretend confcience for reviling by the Ia w of God of old : the Blafpbemer wa1 to be pr<t to d_.tb. This you !<now was rhe chorge again!l Naboth, Chrijl and Stephm. It is true, they erred in the particular judgment, but the Blafphemer wano dk, Lrt'<f 24. 16. Blafphemy is taken in a large fe<1fe even in relation to God i he that denieth God to be what indeed he is, it a b/afphemer ,and thus doubtlel~ the Socini~ns are gr~a~ blafpbemers both againll the fecond and thud perfon tn the TrmHy; but yet I !hould hardly agree the putting them to death for thefe opinions how abominable foever, but if they cannot be content to de. ny our Lord his Divine nature, and to fpread this; but they mull reproach, and revile our bldfed Lord and the holy Spirit, and be pertinacious in it, I think they ought to d!e : and I take it to be the fame cafe as to the boly Scripturn whrch are the Law of our God. Thus much I think the very light of nature would teach the Magilhate if there were no Scripture. There can be no pretence of confcience for fuch extravagancies. 3· The third cafe is_groft Idolatry. !~is was _the ~aw of God in the old Te!lament, Deut. 13. that It IS not h1s Will under the new Tellament ; I know no Text faith it, nor can I under!land any reafon for it: It was no t~l'ical or carnal Ordinance~ and. fo upon that account abolifhed : and why any one !hould Judg It a municipa1 Law refpeding only the Jewi!h polity, and ceafing with that, I cannot tell, conlidering_how much the glory of qcod is eternally concerned io the fuppre!hon of Idolatry, and how Jealous he is of his glory, and that the Scripture mentioneth it ev;rywhere as the greate!l fin in its kind, and therefore compareth 1~ to Whoredome. But what Idolaters may or ought thus to be pum!hcd, is another queftion. ~If I might offer my opinion in this cafe, I:!hould determine S11ch only wberei11 men ferve other godt: offuch God fpeaks Dmt. ;3. 2, 8. In !hort, I think in a Chri!lian Com· mon-wealth; Publick,. open rr>or{hippm,,o! olher godJ ought not to be endured, but after caution and admo'nifioH if they wit not be am~ntkd, they may bt put to death, and if Apo!lates th•~ o;~ghtto dz~. Son of man (faith Goa to E:r.echiel,) They have let up Idols ''!' tbur at to ftt/.fe Teachel'l. tbt!r hMrt, but fuch ·ldql.aters ought not to die; Nay, ther~ is an Idolatry in open ad! on, which I fee no ground for the Magi!lrate to punilh with death. When the true God is worfhipped,though before an Image, undoubtedly this is Idolatry; but whether th~ Magi !Irate ought to puni!h it with death or no, I doubt : It was indeed puni!hed in extraordinary manner upon the I{raelitu by Jeath, when they had made and worfhipped the golden Calf; but we do not find It further prefidcnted in the ordinary courfe of MagiOracy among!l the Jews : though iirll Micah, then rhe tm Tribu under 1troboarn ran into it. That this is Idolat ry and an hainous fin to be puni!hed by the Judge; I can eafily grant, whether with death or no, I doubt. I do rather thin!< the Law of God ref peds the Idolatry of Abab. Thefe in the grolfell fenfe were other gods, when the true God was not at all wor!hipped, but the creature in llead of him. If any openly worfhippeth the ' Sun, Moon orjlarJ, or any other creature, and will not be reclaimed after due admonition and patience, I do think that by the Law of God he ought to die. But except in thefe cafes, I do very much ·doubt the putting of any to death for falfe T eaching• I am aware that there are both the judgments of divers Calvini{t 'Divtnes, as well as thePopifh Divines againll me,fome ofwhofe names I very much honour: but I cannot fee with their eyes, nor do I know by what light they fawany fuch thing the Will of God under the Gofpel; I do not know any Scripture directs it : neither have I heard that any Council of any Antiquity determined it. The lirll Couneill can meet wirh determining fuch a puni!hment was that ol CoHjlance, no older than 141 ). where the Popi!h Synagogue condemned John Husand Hierome of Pragu•,though the Primitive ' Church had moll dangerous Here ticks. Arius, Macedo>tiUf, Neflo· riw,whom they confuted,conviCl:ed,and thrull our of the Chttrch, ,yet npne of them were put to death by Chrit\ian Emperours, but Conflantini the·Great utterly refuftd it. I would have this B{oody field left to be the ground of the Arms of the City of Kame, which · hath fo long Iince made her felf drunlt· with the bloud of the Sain.ts under that notion ; and for thofe Examples ofProre!lanr feveritl we hav~ in Church-!lory , as that of Vt~!entinru Gentilu at ~erne, SrrvetuJ at Geneva, and others, I do believe upon the readIng of the !lories, we !hall lind they were guilty either of reproachful b!a[phemy , or leading people into arms againll the pub lick pea.,e. . Chdfi would not have his fervanrs pluck rrp tbe taru that H h h 2 were |