1St CIVIL POWER IN THINGS SACRED. sincerely with an oath ; they may dread the vengeance of their gods failing upon them for falsehoods, and may perhaps add great wealth and strength to a government or nation ; why then should they be utterly secluded from it? If it be 'objected that no such persons as idolaters were permitted to live in the Jewish state by the laws bf God, Mr. Locke in his admirable letters of toleration has answered that difficulty, by strewing that the Jewish government was a theocracy wherein God, even Jeho- vah, the one true God, was their political king, and therefore the acknowledgment of any other God was treason against the state ; but it was never soin any other nation upon eartl;`. II. If the members of any state or government happen to be heathens or idolaters, or perhaps manichees, who believe two sovereign principle or powers, one of good, the other of evil, &c. they may be invited and inclined to hearken to the princi- ples of true religionand christiauity, if they are not utterly dis- couraged by finding penalties laid upon their mistaken belief; and they might by the same gentleness continue their favourable opinion of us, and grow up by degrees into believers of the one true God., I might repeat the same thing concerning the heathen neighbours of such a state or government, and strangers who come to traffic with them. By seeing the gentleness and goodness of such a christian nation, they iby degrees may attend to the gospel of Christ, and be converted and become his dis- . ciples, and may be allured to unite themselves and their riches and powers to support this government. Penalties may make dissemblers and hypocrites, but good, christiaus are not to be Meade this way. III. If it be allowed that polytheists should lie under any penalty by the law for owing many gods, let us suppose a Soci Man or an Arian, a Turk or a Deist to be the supreme governor : May he not take into his head to -lay the saine penalty on Atha- nasians for owning and adoring three distinct, infinite and al- mighty persons, of which the Unitarian governor perhapscan get no other idea than that of three gods ? 'We well know that the governmentsof this world are not wont of themselves to be too nice or too just in their distinction of theological matters, nor too ready to put a favourable construction on the sentiments * I would not willingly divert from my subject bere so for es to skew, that Cod was the proper political I. rd and supreme, Meg of the Jews, even after they had kings, as well as b fore. It was'God lb soself who froth time to time pointed out by inspiration, or by extraordinary providence., the judges who abontd 'rule them : It was Oi.d who pointed oui their kings as his deputies in an immediate manufr, as Saul, David, Solomon who oar one of David's younger sons, &c. It was Guit who divided the kingdom into two kingdoms, who by his prophets gave Jeoobonne ten tribes, who cut oN his posivi icy, and anointed Jelin, and again ont 'off his posterity, and did what he pleased in altering the succes- sions of their kings s Jehovah the May One of 7sra<t, who was their God, wps also theos King.
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