A92140:737
A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience tending to resolve doubts moved
A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience tending to resolve doubts moved by Mr. John Goodwin, John Baptist, Dr. Jer. Taylor, the Belgic Arminians, Socinians, and other authors contending for lawless liberty, or licentious toleration of sects and heresies. / By Samuel Rutherfurd professor of divinity in the University of St. Andrews.A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience tending to resolve doubts moved by Mr. John Goodwin, John Baptist, Dr. Jer. Taylor, the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other authors contending for lawlesse liberty, or licentious toleration of sects and heresies. / By Samuel Rutherfurd professor of divinity in the University of St. Andrews.
London: printed by R.I. for Andrew Crook, 1649
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
3 What ever by order of justice, doth concern the life and death of our neighbour, rewarding or punishing him in name, body, goods, so as if it be justly inflicted, it is justice; and if unduly and undeservedly, it is unjustice, and murder: as wronging of him in his body by stripes, wounding, death; in his liberty by prison; in his goods, by fines; that must be determined in the word by him that is Lord of life, death, liberty, of our name and goods, otherwayes the word should not teach us when the Judge sins, when not, when he makes just Laws, when unjust, when he exceeds in punishing, when he is deficient.
3 What ever by order of justice, doth concerne the life and death of our neighbour, rewarding or punishing him in name, body, goods, so as if it bee justly inflicted, it is justice; and if unduely and undeservedly, it is unjustice, and murther: as wronging of him in his body by stripes, wounding, death; in his liberty by prison; in his goods, by fines; that must be determined in the word by him that is Lord of life, death, libertie, of our name and goods, otherwayes the word should not teach us when the Judge sinnes, when not, when he makes just Lawes, when unjust, when he exceeds in punishing, when he is deficient.
I come to the assumption, The punishing of a seducing Prophet is moral.1 In that it is commanded to father and mother, not to pity him, Deut. 13. 6. holden forth as the zeal of God, in father and mother, under the Messiahs Kingdom, Zach. 13. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. and every one is forbidden, To bid him God speed, yea, and commanded to deny him an act of humanity, and hospitality, and not receive him in his house, 2 Joh. 1. If we be commanded to put any shame on him, far more must the Ruler be taught of God, what shame he should put on him. For what ever under the New Testament is capable of a command, is moral. And if moral, what the Magistrate should do to him can no more be determined by the will and wit of man, than it can be determined what punishment the Magistrate must inflict upon the murderer, the adulterer, the Sorcerer, the Sodomite; which all the wisdom of God hath determined: in the word, otherways God hath left the Magistrate in the dark, that from the word he hath no direction, when he committeth murder, or when he doth acts of justice. And