would feem indifferent to be done or not done; and fo likewise must needs appear to every man as the precept is understood. Whence I here mean by confcience or religion, that full perfuafion whereby we are affured that our belief and practice, as far as we are able to apprehend and probably make appear, is according to the will of God and his holy spirit within us, which we ought to follow much rather than any law of man, as not only his word every where bids us, but the very dictate of reafon tells us. (Acts iv. 19.) " Whether it be right in the fight of God, to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." That for belief or practice in religion according to this conscientious perfuafion no man ought to be punished or molefted by any outward force on earth whatsoever, I diftruft not, through God's implored affiftance, to make plain by these following arguments.

First, it cannot be denied, being the main foundation of our protestant religion, that we of these ages, have no other divine rule or authoritie from without us, warrantable to one another as a common ground but the holy fcripture; and no other within us, but the illumination of the holy spirit fo interpreting that scripture as warrantable only to ourfelves, and to fuch whofe confciences we can fo perfuade, can have no other ground in matters of religion but only from the fcriptures. And these being not poffible to be understood without this

divine

divine illumination, which no man can know at all times to be in himself, much lefs to be at any time for certain in any other, it follows clearly, that no man or body of men in these times can be the infallible judges or determiners in matters of religion to any other mens confciences but their own. And therefore thofe Bereans are commended, (Acts xvii. 11.) who after the preaching even of St. Paul, "fearched the fcriptures daily, whether those things were fo." Nor did they more than what God himself in many places commands us by the fame apostle, to search, to try, to judge of these things ourselves: and gives us reafon also, (Gal. vi. 4, 5.) "let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another: for every man fhall bear his own burden." If then we count it fo ignorant and irreligious in the papift to think himself discharged in God's account, believing only as the church believes, how much greater condemnation will it be to the protestant his condemner, to think himself juftified, believing only as the state believes?

With good cause therefore, it is the general confent of all found proteftant writers, that neither traditions, counfels, nor canons of any vifible church, much lefs edicts of any magiftrate or civil feffion, but the fcripture only can be the final judge or rule in matters of religion, and that only in the confcience of every christian to himself.

Which

5

Which protestation made by the first publick reformers of our religion against the imperial edicts of Charles the fifth, imposing church-traditions without scripture, gave first beginning

. first beginning to the name of PROTESTANT; and with that name hath ever been received this doctrine, which prefers the scripture before the church, and acknowledges none but the scripture sole interpreter of itself to the conscience. For if the church be not fufficient to be implicitly believed, as we hold it is not, what can there else be named of more authoritie than the church but the conscience ; than which God only is greater? (1 John iïi. 20.) But if any man shall pretend, that the scripture judges to his conscience for other men, he makes himself greater not only than the church, but also than the scripture, than the consciences of other men; a presumption too high for any mortal; since every true christian able to give a reason of his faith, hath the word of God before him, the promised holy spirit, and the mind of Christ within him. (1 Cor. ii. 16.) A much better and safer guide of conscience, which as far as concerns himself he may far more certainly know, than any outward rule imposed upon him by others whom he inwardly neither knows nor can know, at least knows nothing of them more sure than this one thing, that they cannot be his judges in religion. (1 Cor. ii. 15.) « The spiritual man judgeth all things, but he himself is judged of no man.”

Chiefly

Chiefly for this caufe do all true protestants account the pope antichrift, for that he affumes to himself this infallibilitie over both the conscience and the fcripture; " fitting in the tem ple of God," as it were oppofite to God," and exalting himself above all that is called God, or is worshiped," (2 Theff. ii. 4.) That is to fay, not only above all judges and magiftrates, who though they be called gods, are far beneath infal◄ lible, but also above God himself, by giving law both to the scripture, to the confcience, and to the fpirit itself of God within us. Whereas we find, (James iv. 12.) "there is one lawgiver, who is able to fave and to deftroy: who art thou that judgeft another?" That Chrift is the only lawgiver of his church and that it is here meant in re→ ligious matters, no well grounded chriftian will deny. Thus alfo St. Paul, (Rom. xiv. 4.) "who art thou that judgest the fervant of another? to his own lord he standeth or falleth: but he shall ftand; for God is able to make him ftand." As therefore, of one beyond expreffion bold and prefumptuous, both these apoftles demand, "who art thou" that prefumeft to impofe other law or judgment in religion than the only lawgiver and judge Chrift, who only can fave and can destroy, gives to the confcience? And the forecited place to the Theffalonians by compared effects refolves. us, that be he or they who or wherever they be or

can

can be, they are of far less authoritie than the church, whom in these things as protestants they receive not, and yet no less antichrist in this main point of antichristianism, no less a pope or popedom than he at Rome, if not much more; by setting up supreme interpreters of scripture either those doctors whom they follow, or, which is far worse, themselves as a civil papacie assuming unaccountable supremacie to themselves not in civil only but ecclesiastical causes,

Seeing then that in matters of religion, as hath been proved, none can judge or determine here on earth, no not church-governors themselves, against the consciences of other believers, my inference is, or rather not mine but our faviour's own, that in those matters they neither can command nor use constraint; lest they run rashly on a pernicious consequence, forewarned in that parable, Matt. xiii. from verse 26. to 31 : « least while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest : and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers-Gather ye together first the tares, &c.” whereby he declares that this work neither his own ministers, nor any else, can discerningly enough or judgingly perform without his own immediate direction, in his own fit feason; and that they ought till then not to attempt it. Which is further confirmed 2 Cor. i. 24. “ not that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of