Four books on the eleventh of Matthew

First. Take my yoke upon you, and I require you to be under no kind of government, but what you shall appoint your own officers, Antichrist he will appoint hi• officers; but Christ he allows you to choose your own officers.

First. Take my yoke upon you, and I require you to be under no kind of government, but what you shal appoint your own officers, Antichrist he will appoin• hi• officers; but Christ he allows you to chuse your own officers.

And Secondly, No law that you shall be under for your spiritual estate, as a Church, that which is properly ecclesiastical and spiritual, no law but what I appoint in my word, I will not give liberty to men to make what laws they will make, no law enjoined for your spiritual estate but what I appoint: if there be a company of men and women that meet in a congregation, ⟨p. 730⟩and meet not only as Christians, but as men and women, there is somewhat common to them as men and women, and there indeed the laws of men may take hold of them, in those actions that are but humane and civill, but now in those things that are properly ecclesiastical and spiritual, that concerns the spiritual man, such things as I must expect for spiritual efficacy upon my Soul, to work upon my heart, to draw me to God, or to bring God to me, in these things I am under no law but the law of Jesus Christ, no men in the world have power, no not Church officers, nor civil officers, neither Magistrates, nor Ministers, have any power to put any Law upon a church in regard of the spiritual estate of it, in regard of any spiritual ordinance, but such as are in the word of God. Christ is the great Law-giver, and hath made them already, and and they are to look that those Laws be kept, but they are to make no new ones, there is no new act, no new Statute, for the ordering of men in their spiritual estate. Those things that are properly spiritual, to work upon the inward man, that concerns the worship of God, to draw their hearts to Christ, or Christ to them, to work upon their hearts, there can be no new act, no new Law made by Magistrates, or any church officers in the world, but only such as you find in the Scripture now this is a great ease to a Christian, to think, Lord thou tenderest my Soul so much, that none can command any thing but what thou hast set down in the word, and what thou hast commanded: indeed Lawyers are to show men the Laws of the state, and Ministers are bound to show the people if there be any Law, and to teach it the church, but there is no law that Ministers are bound to open but only the commands of Jesus Christ, they may be made use of as men, as public men, and as opportunity serves be helpful in the civil State, but as Ministers, they have nothing to do but to open the