888 Is it alwayes a Si11 to obey a jinfid Law ? Q£ell:. qi. Is it tmlmvfttl to obey in all thofe cafes, tvl,ere it u tmlazvfitl to im. pofe and comma~id? Or m tvliat cafes? And liozv far Paftors nmjl be beliewd and obeyed ? An[rr. I Mufi intreat the Read<r carefully to difiinguilh here, r. Between Gods Law forbidding Rulm to do evil, and hi~ Law forbidding Subjells or private men. 2. Between Obetlience furmaOy Co call:d? which is, when we therefore.obry i'! confcitncc> bccttufe it U commanded, and the commaudcr1 Author·tty IS the Formal Rea{o1t and oh;ea of our obedience And Obedience Maltrial only, which is properly uoobedicnce, .but adoing the thing which is comrn'andcd upori other Reafonr, and not at all becaufe it i1 commanded. 3· Between Formal obedience to the Office of the Ruler in General, and formal obedience to him, as commanding thif very Matter in particular. 4· Between fuch Authority in the Ruler a~ will warrant his I~pofitionr htfort God for his own jujli– fication, And fuch,Authonty as may ma~ Jt my dHtJ to obey h1m. And fo l anfwtr, r. We (hall not be judged by tliofe Laws of God, which made the Kulm duty, but by that· which rnadt our own. lt is not all one to fay, 1'bo1e jhalt nut command it; and to fay, 'thoujh:~.lt 11ot doit. 2· Whatever God abfolutely forbiddeth men to do, we mufi not do whoever command it. 3• There are many of the thing• forementioned Ahfoluttly and alwayer unlawful, as being evil uf thtm{tlvrt, wh1ch no. man may Cithcr command or do: And there arc fome of them, which are only tvil by accident, wh1ch may not be commanded, but may be done when contrary weightier Accidents do preponderate. 4 • Many fuch things may be done MsttriaVy on other reafons (as for the Churches good, the fur– therance of the Gofpcl, the winningof~men to God, the avoiding of fcandal, or of hurt to mhers or our {elves, &c.) when they are not to be done in formal obedience, out of Confcience to the Autho.. rity impofing: (As if it be commanded by one that hath no juil power). S· Our Actions may putidpatc of obedience in gentral, as being alt:ions of fob}etlJ, when thc:y are not obedienct in the full and perfe6t formality as to the particular. The !ail leaf of Rich. Hooker's eighth Book of Ecc/. Polit. willlhew you the reafon of this. He that hath not juil ppw<r to com– Eph. 1 . :. 4 • man~ me this one particular All:, yet ~ay be O:Y Jjtuler ~n the General, ind I am bound lO HonBttl' Col. 3· 1.o,u. him m General as my Ruler; And todtfobey h1mm a thmg Lawful for me todo, though not for him Rom. 13.1, ,., to command, may be dijhonoHring of him, and an appearance of difobedience and denyall of his power. 3,4, h 6 · A Parent is fmbidden by God to command his Child to fpeak an idle word, or to do a vain and ufelefs a6tion (much more•a hurtful ). Yet if a Parent lhould command a Child to fpeak an id!e word, or do a vain action, the duty of obedience would make it at that time, not to be v:~in and idle to him ; yea if he bid him throw away a cup of 1Yine, or a piece of bread, which is evil whq1 catt{tlefs, the Child may be bound to do it: not only becaufe he knoweth not bl!t the Parents may have lawful ends and reafons for their command (as to try and exucife his obedience) ; but alfo if he were fure tha~ it were not fo; Becaufc he is a fubjeli, ~nd the honouring of a Parent is fo great a good, and the di£honouring him by that difobedicnce may have fuch ill confequcnts, as will preponderate the evil of the Ic.fs of a Cup of Wine, &c. Yet in this cafe, the Act of obedience is but mixt: It is an ad: of fuhjeliion or f!onour to ~Parent, bccaufe ~n General he is aGovtntour: B.ut it is but Materi~l!J obe,di~ cnce in refpect of that partzcular matter, wh1ch we know he had no Authouty to command. 6. In this refpect therefore, A Ruler may have fo much power as may induce on the fubje6t an ob– ligation to obey, and yet not fomuch as may jufiitie his command! before God, nor fave himfelf from Divine punifhmcnt. 1 add this fo difiinctly , le(\' any lhould mifapply Mr. Ricb. Hook!r's do6trine aforcfaid, E..;cl. Pol. I. 8. p. 22 3, 224· [ As for them tbat exercife power •ltogrtbtr againjl order, tbouth tbe kJ.xd of porf'tr rPhich they bave may be of God, )'et H their rxercife thereof againji God, and there.. fore not of God, otberwi[e than by permiffim IK aD injufti,t H---Vfitrpers of powir whereby wt do not mtan them that by violeffce have a[pired unto plJctJ of bigbejl amhorityl but them that u{e more authority than thiy did ever receive in form and manner,Yltfore mmtioncd---Such Vfurpers there· of, as i 11 tht Exercife of tbtir powtr, do mort th4n rbey have been authorized to do, cannot in Con{ciencr, bi11d a;ry m:m to obedieuc,·. ] )oh. 19 • n. Lcf\ any fhould gather hence that they are never bound in Confcicnce, to obey their Parents, their J\om.IJ. 1. King, their Panors, in any point where_in they. excrcife mo~e P?~er t_ha~ God ~ave them, I thought meet to fpc:"k more exactly to that pomr, wh1ch needed rlus dilhngu101mg. for the ground is furc that 11lcrc Uno power bttt of God; And that Gud bath given no man power againft himfelf, hU Laws and {Ervice: But yet (here are many cafes in which God bindttb childrw and jubje[IJ to obey their fuperiours, in fuch matters as they did finfully command. 7 . It grear\y concernt:th all fober Chrifiians rhercforc w be well lludied in the Law of God, that we may certainly know what thcfC things are which God hath abfolurcly forbidden us .ro do, who~ tvcr command them, and to diHingui(h them from things that dcpcn.I on mutable acc:dents; That as the three Wirndfes, and Daniel, Dan. 3· & 6. we may be uuc to God whatever we fuff,r for it; and yet may ob~:y men in all that is our duty w ~hem. Thus
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