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I
d
treatif'e
®f Confcience,
law,
4-1z.
fcience
:
There
is
one
Law-giver,
who is
able
to
Pave
or to de-
fgroy
:
who
art
then
that
jsdgeft
another
?
that
is,
There
is
but
one
fupreme
Law
-giver
to
bind the
confciences
of
men, and
that
is
God.
And
the
reafon
is
given, Becaufe
it
is
God
onely
who
is able to
fave
and to
detlroy.
As
ifhe
had
laid,
God
on-
:ly bath
power
over
life
and
death,
either
to
fave a
man
for
e-
ver, or
dellroy
a
man
for ever,
and
to judge
a
man
according
to
all
that
he
bath done
:
and
therefore he
onely
can
make
laws
to
bind the
confciences
of
men.
2
Now
the
fecondarie or
relative bond
of
confcience
is,
when
others
who
have
authoritie
from
God
to
bind
confcience
to
this or
that.
J
call this
a
relative bond, becaule
it
is
onely
in
relation
to
the
authoritie
of
God.
For
though
men
cannot
challenge
any
doings or omillions contrarie to
their
law
to
be
linnes,
yet
if
they have authoritie
from
God
to
command any
thing,
then
they become
beams
and
parts
of
Gods law,
and do
by virtue
of
that
bind
a
mans
confcience.
Thic relative
bond
ofcon',cience
is
two
-fold,
Firf1,
other
men
may bind our
confciences
;
as
Magiflrates, and
Mailers,
and
Parents,
who though
they cannot
bind
confcience
as
they are
'
men,
yet when they have authoritie from
God,
their
commands
have
Gods
feals
upon
them, and
do bind,
J
fay, in
relation
to
Gods law
,
which
biddeth
us
obey
them
;
Rom. 13.
5.
re
mu0
needs
be
fnb]ec
-,
not
enely
for
wrath
but
alfo
for
confcience
fake. The
Apotalc there fpeaketh
of
Magifkrates
;
and
he
telleth
us
that
their
laws
bind
our
confciences
in
relation
to
Gods,
and therefore
we
muff be
fubjea
unto them
for
confci-
cnc.c
fake.
Thus
others
may
bind
our
confciences.
Secondly,
w
e
our
fèlves
may bind our
own
confciences
;
and
that
is
by
vows
lAhich
we
make unto
God,
or
by our
promifés which
we
lawfully
make unto
men. The' vows
which we
freely
make
unto
God,
there
bind confCienceto keep
them
:
Num.
30.
4.
the vow
of
a
woman
is
`called
the
bond
wherewith
(he
bath
bound
her foul.
Mark
;
fhe bindeth
her
foul and
her
confci-
ence
with
ii.
So
thé promifès which
we
lawfully
make unto
men,
thefe all()
bind
confcience
:
For though
before
we
promife
it