words, that if they meet with any obstacle, if any one prevents them from freeing sinners from the bonds of the devil, from drawing them to God in confessing the faith, they ought not, for this reason, to renounce preaching his word, but should, on the contrary, continue to insinuate it into their souls; for the Lord has need of such labourers to edify his Church. Who could, in fact, quote all that the saints have written, when teaching us, that it is better to obey God than man?
Our oppressors oppose to us these words:—"All, therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do," (Matth. xxiii.); but they are reduced to silence by the prohibition which follows:—“But do not ye after their works.” God says, (Deut. xxiv.)—“Do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.” The Lord desires, therefore, that he who obeys, should only do so after his own commandments. It is also said, (1 Pet. ii.)—“Servants be subject to your masters with all fear.” And the Apostle further adds:—“Not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.” Not, however, in things in which they are wickedly inclined; for that would be to obey the devil. The will of God and the Holy Scriptures, therefore, teach us, that obedience to superiors is obligatory only in lawful matters. I have clung firmly to this truth, and have preferred in my
