16. The magistrate will not imprison, harm, confiscate, banish, or otherwise punish any of his subjects, _eo nomine_, because they are excommunicate; for that is to punish his body because his soul is punished. Nor will he hearken to those unbelieving clergymen, that cry up the power of the keys as their office; and when they have done, scorn it as an ineffectual shadow of power, which will do nothing without the magistrate's force. But he will himself hear and judge before he punish, and not be debased to be the clergy's executioner, to punish before he have tried the cause; because clergymen's pride and passions may else engage him to be the instrument of their vices and revenge. Yea, as he that seeth a man punished in one court, will be the more dilatory to bring him to punishment in another, for the same crime; so the magistrate that seeth a man excommunicated for his fault, will rather delay his civil force against that man, to see what effect his excommunication will have: because the conjunction of the sword against the excommunicate as such, doth corrupt Christ's ordinance, and make the fruit of it utterly undiscernible, so that no one can see whether ever it did any thing at all, or whether all was done by the fear of the sword. And verily, a faithful minister, that seeth a sinner come to confession of his fault, but when he must else lie in gaol and be undone, will be loth to take that man for a true penitent. And to force pastors to absolve or give the sacrament to every one that had rather take it than lie in gaol and be undone, is to set up such new terms of church communion, which Christ will give men little thanks for. Church communion is only a privilege due to volunteers and penitents. But yet the magistrate may punish men with fines or other penalties for the same faults for which they are excommunicated, having tried and judged them in his own court; but not "_quarterus_" excommunicate, but according to the nature of the crime.
17. The schools of learning, and academies, shall not educate youth either in idleness, luxury, or hypocritical formality; but under learned, pious tutors, in learning sobriety and piety; from whence they shall not over-hastily leap into the pastoral office.
18. None under thirty years of age (at what time Christ himself entered on his public works) shall take a pastoral charge, except in case of mere necessity of the church, no, not on pretence of extraordinary fitness; but till then shall employ themselves as learners, catechists, schoolmasters, or probationers. Nor shall they meddle in the pulpits with matters of such controversies as the church is in danger to be troubled with.
19. Ministers shall all be commanded by the magistrate, and advised by the neighbour pastors, to forbear all unnecessary controversies in the pulpits; and to teach the people the foresaid substantials, the covenant of grace, the creed, Lord's prayer, and decalogue, the duties of faith, love, repentance, and obedience; and shall reserve their subtle and curious speculations for schools and theological writings: and so the christian people shall be bred up in the primitive, plain simplicity of doctrine and religion; and their brains shall not be heated and racked with those new-coined phrases and subtleties, which will but distemper them into a proud, contentious, wrangling disease; but will not be truly understood by them, when all is done. And so, when it is the people's work to hear only (usually) the doctrine of the catechism, and simple old christianity, and to talk of no other; 1. Their time will be employed in promoting faith, repentance, love, and obedience, which was wont to be spent in vain janglings and strife of words. And, 2. Religion will be an easier thing; and, consequently, will be more common (as cheap food and raiment is every one's pennyworth): and ministers may hope to bring the generality of their people to be savingly and practically religious: whereas the fine-spun religion of novelists, and wranglers, that pretend new light and increase of knowledge, doth not only dwindle into a cobweb of no use, or life, or power; but must be confined to a few, that can have leisure to learn to talk in new phrases, and will but become the matter of ignorant men's pride and ostentation; and make them think, that they only are the religious people; and all that cannot talk as they, are profane, and not to be admitted to their communion. Whenas the apostolic, primitive, plain religion, without the laces, and whimsies, that dreamers have since introduced, would make men humble, holy, heavenly, obedient, meek, and patient; and spare men the loss of a great deal of time.