Irenicum, to the lovers of truth and peace heart-divisions opened in the causes and…

But how can natural and external things be helps to things spiritual and divine?

But how can naturall and externall things be helps to things spirituall and divine?

Any mans reason,¹ yea sense may tell him, that the taking away external hindrances, and the putting upon external use of divers things, may keep from much evil, and further much good that is spiritual and divine; though it cannot reach to the spiritualness and divineness of that good, yet it reaches to the external action, without which that divine and spiritual good cannot be. Wherefore seeing the New Testament sets out the power of Magistrates, and requires submission to them in such general terms; from this we may draw such a conclusion, Therefore the Lord intended to leave Christians for their subjection to Magistrates, to the light of nature, & to the equity of the general rules that were in Scripture before time; if God should say, Ye are Christians, see you part not with that liberty Christ hath purchased for you; we may give this account, Lord we found in thy word that once thou didst make use of the power of Magistrates in matters of Religion, & in the New Testament there was nothing revealed to forbid their power in them; nay Lord, Thou toldst us there, that thou hast appointed them for our good, and to be a terror to evil works in the general. From thence we gathered, that in our yielding to their power, it was thy will we should make use of those general rules in Scripture we found before the times of the Gospel, & of the light of nature. Being also persuaded it was thy mind we should make use ⟨p. 28⟩of all the natural helps we could for our spiritual advantage, & we found it recorded in thy Word that thou didst allow of the exercise of such power in the things of Religion, even to those who had only the light of nature to guide them and being the use of it reached only to the outward man, we did not see a necessity of a special institution for this, knowing what naturalness it had in it, to be an external help was put into it by thy self, therefore we made use of it. God will accept of this account. Add yet a consideration or two.