mixture of good and bad in the church,
Augustine takes there occasion to reprove those who abused these
scriptures against the exercise of discipline and church censures, the
necessity whereof he showeth to be the greater, because the magistrate
doth not punish by death all such crimes as under the law were punished by
death, as, namely, adultery, the scandal chiefly by him insisted upon. As
for that passage concerning excommunication supplying the place of the
sword,(1359) it plainly holds forth excommunication under Christian
emperors and magistrates, for such they were at that time, so far it is
from making against us. For these are the words which say no such thing as
Mr Coleman would make them say: "And Phinehas the priest did thrust
through the adulterous persons found together with the avenging sword;"
which signified that it should be none by degradations and
excommunications in this time, when, in the discipline of the church, the
visible sword was to cease.

If the reverend brother had let me know where to find his other
testimonies of Origen and Chrysostom, peradventure I had given him as good
an account of them. Tertullian's(1360) words which he citeth, _Praesident
probati seniores_, I know very well where to find; and I know also, that
if there be a passage in all antiquity against the Erastians, that is one.
Which therefore I here offer as it is to be considered.

One instance more of his misalleging and perverting of testimonies. In the
close, he citeth a passage of Mr Case's sermon, Aug. 22, 1645. "He
(Christ) is king of nations and king of saints. As king of nations he hath
a temporal kingdom and government over the world," &c., "and the rule and
regiment of this kingdom he hath committed to monarchies," &c. "Here is
Erastianism (saith Mr Coleman, p. 38), a step higher than ever I or
Erastus himself went. And I desire to know of Mr Gillespie, if he will own
this as good divinity?" Yes, Sir, I own it for very good divinity; for my
reverend brother, Mr Case, saith not that Christ, as Mediator, is king of
nations, and hath a temporal kingdom in the world, and hath committed rule
and regiment to monarchies or other lawful magistrates (which is the point
that you and Mr Hussey contend for, being a great heterodoxy in divinity),
but he saith of the Son of God, that he is king of nations, and hath
committed rule to monarchies, which I own with all my heart. The
distinction of the twofold kingdom of Christ,--a