in an Vnity in matters of Faith so that they are truly Schismaticks that are divided from the External Communion of the true Church viz that do not own all the Ordinances of the true Church or if they own them do not live in the Exercise of them these are the Persons that are guilty of Schism Now how deeply guilty of Schism you are who charge us with it I shall leave all honest Men to judge Now if you cannot prove that we own any thing in point of Doctrine or Discipline in our Church that is not according to the word of God how can you have the face to accuse us of Schism If you have any thing to Accuse us of in point of Doctrine or Discipline let us have it and I doubt not but we shall be able to clear our selves of all your false Accusations REPLY Schism he knows not well what to make of he gives me the 〈◊〉 signification of the Word it is true but when he comes to apply it he says 't is a Division in the Church of Christ consisting in an Vanity in matters of Faith either as if the Vnity of the Church consisted only in an Vnity in matters of Faith or that Schism were a Separation from the true Church in matters of Faith But besides Vnity in matters of Faith there is an Unity and Communion of Saints in Worship and whether he knew it or no if he separates from the true Church in Matters of Faith he is an Heretick more properly than a Schismatick for a Man may be a Schismatick and yet be right as to the main Articles of Faith If he is divided from the external Communion of the true Church he is a Schismatick or to explain it in other words if he does not own all the Ordinances of the true Church or if he does own them does not however live in the exercise of them viz in the external Communion of the true Church this person is guilty of Schism Now I leave all men that have sence as well as honesty to Judge whether you or we are divided from the External Communion of the true Church and consequently which are Schismaticks We own all the Ordinances of the true Church and live in the Exercise of them We are in Communion with all the sound parts of Christ's Church all the world over They own our Church as their Sister and give her the right hand of Fellowship and highly condemn you for your separation The Church of Rome only accuses us of Schism and the Charge would be good against ours with respect to her if we had no better reasons for separating from her than the Dissenters in England give for their Separation from Vs Our Separation from the Church of Rome has been sufficiently cleared from the Charge of Schism and when you have brought as good Arguments in defence of your dividing from External Communion with us we shall then pronounce you not guilty of it neither But till then till you prove that ours is not the National Establisht Church with which you lie under an Obligation to Communicate that this established Church is not a sound part of the Church of Christ and that she imposes sinful Terms of Communion till I say you have done all this I shall continue my Accusation of Schism as long as you continue in your Separation and put as good a Face upon it as the Godly Learned of old did who say That every unjust and rash Separation from a true Church i. e. when there is no just or at least no sufficient cause of the Separation is a Schism and that there is a Negative and a Positive Schism The former is when Men do peaceably and quietly draw from Communion with a Church not making head against that Church from which they are departed The other is when Persons so withdrawing do consociate and withdraw themselves into a distinct opposite Body setting up Church against Church which Camero calls a Schism by way of Eminency and farther 〈◊〉 there are four Causes that makes a Separation from a Church 〈◊〉 First when they that separate are grievously and intollerably persecuted Secondly when the Church they separate from is Heretical Thirdly when it is idolatrous Fourthly when 't is the Seat of Anti-Christ And where none of these four are found there the Separation is insufficient and Schism Now we are fully assured that none of these Four Causes can be justly charged upon our Congregations therefore you must not be displeased with us but with your selves if we blame you as guilty of positive Schism This was the Presbyterian Doctrine in those Blessed Days of 49 to those who stood in divided Congregations from them And if it was good Doctrine then I am sure it is much more so now as coming from Vs to You. In what sence you call your separate Meetings a Church I know not but if you think that they deserve that Name more than the Quakers or Anabaptists or Independants who all assume that Title to themselves then I must tell you that I take your Church to be a Schismatical Church for let your Faith be as right as that of the 3 Creeds and your Discipline if you have any as free from fault as you would have the world think you to be yet if you are divided from the external Communion of the true Church in the exercise of the Ordinances of the true Church i. e. if you do not joyn with the true Church in Prayers hearing the Word and receiving the Sacraments your own Paper makes you Schismaticks and I must freely own I do not see how any Man can be acquitted therefrom who being a Member of a particular established Church does upon any pretended Offence taken against such Rites Modes and Ceremonies which are thought convenient by that Church separate himself from the publick Worship when the Substantials and Essentials thereof are so unexceptionable as ours are But forasmuch as your Notions and Discourses about the true Church and about Schism seem to be so confused and extravagant Before I dismiss this point I desire you will give me Liberty to instruct you in the meaning of a Christian Church which I am apt to believe you do not rightly understand Now among the several Acceptations of the word Church one whereof belongs to the place consecrated and set apart for the publick Assemblies of Christians the Church in the Language of the New Testament of Intelligent Writers and indeed of all Men that understand themselves when they talk about it especially with Reference to Communion doth generally signifie the Christian Church either as it is Catholick or as it is Particular The Christian Church considered as Catholick or Universal signifies the whole Body of Christians dispersed upon the Face of the whole Earth and so it comprehends all Persons and all particular Churches professing Christianity And whosoever shall make a Defection or Separation from this Church will be found guilty
of a manifest dangerous most abominable Schism or rather Apostacy This general and Universal Church tho' but one body is yet made up of several particular Members or Churches and by a particular Christian Church we understand a Number of Men of the same Country professing Christianity formed into a Society under lawful Governours and governed by such Laws and Rules as are not different from but agreeable to the Laws and Rules of the Catholick Church And if any Man or number of Men who are Members of that Society shall without just cause separate themselves from the Communion thereof he or they so doing are certainly guilty of Schism Such a Church as this was the Church at Corinth the Church at Jerusalem the Church at Ephesus the Church of the Thessalonians the Church of Laodicea the Church of Smyrna the Church of Pergamus the Church of Thyatira the Church of Sardis the Church of Philadelphia and such a Church as this is the National Establisht Church of England which through a Collection of several Parochial Congregations is yet properly but one particular Church by reason of the same bond of Faith Worship and Government whereby they are all United and so make one true sound and pure part of the Catholick or Universal Church Except then there be a more just cause of Separation than you either have alledged or can alledge it must be a very great sin to erect new Churches and separate in the Acts of Prayer and Sacraments from the Body of a Church and Nation For so at Corinth St. Paul told them whilst one was for Paul and another for Apollos and there were divisions among them they were Carnal and walked as Men 1 Cor. 3.34 And at Rome he bids them mark them who cause Divisions and Offences and not adhere and associate with but avoid them Rom. 16.17 or to enforce this in the words of the Presbyterians whereby they of old pleaded for Unity and Uniformity We are loth to speak any thing that may offend you yet we entreat you to consider that if the Apostle call those Divisions of the Church of Corinth wherein Christians did not separate into diverse formed Congregations of several Communions in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Schism 1 Cor. 1.10 may not your secession from us and professing you cannot joyn with us as Members and setting up Congregations of another Communion be more properly called Schism And I must tell you further that it is never the less so in you upon the Account of the Act of Toleration which cannot nor does not pretend to exempt you from the Duty of Conformity but only from the Penalties of Nonconformity Your Separation is not one Jot the more reasonable or more just than it was before and those that were concerned in the drawing up of this Paper seem to be sensible of this in that they do not urge the Plea of Toleration but put their cause upon another Issue viz. the Merits of it But however Mr. Norris has cleared this case in his Charge of Schism continued notwithstanding the Toleration And now that I may be even with my Gentleman for his Idol-syllogism I shâ—â—â— Sum this whole Matter in a Syllogism all the parts whereof have been sufficiently proved to be as true as that was proved to be false and it runs thus Whoever separate from a Church with which they may lawfully communicate are guilty of Schism But you separate from a Church with which you may lawfully communicate Therefore you are guilty of Schism Or if you would rather that I should put the Argument into form in your own Words it stands thus Whoever are divided from the external Communion of the true Church are Schismatiks But you are divided from the external Communion of the true Church Therefore you are Schismaticks The Major or first of these Propositions is your own The Minor or second Proposition is true also because it is undeniable that the Church of England is a true Church and too sadly apparent that you separate from external Communion with her in the Exercise of Prayers and Sacraments the Ordinances of the true Church whence the Conclusion necessarily follows that you are Schismaticks And if so then I beseech you lay to Heart the words of Mr. Ball one of the most learned and judicious Non-conformists before the Wars as Dr. Stilling fleet stiles him in his Mischief of Separaton where he quotes him for them speaking of Separation he calls it a Renting the Church the Disgrace of Religion the Advancement of Pride Schism and Contention the Offence of the Weak the Grief of the Godly who be better setled the Hardning of the Wicked and Recovery or Rising again of Anti-Christianism nay even persecuting the Lord Jesus in his Host which they revile in his Ordinances which they dishonour and in his Servants whose Footsteps they slander whose Graces they Despise whose Office they Trample upon with Disdain ANSWER And I hope God will so direct us in Choosing our Minister that we shall make choice of such a one as will eandeavour to keep with in the Bounds and Limits of the Laws of God and Man and in particular the Act of Toleration and one I hope that will give no Disturbance in the Parish unless you will be disturbed as I fear you are and have been for the Preaching of the Gospel you know such Men there were in the Apostles days these Men say they do exceedingly trouble our City you know who they were that were accused those who were the Faithful Ambassadours of Jesus Christ REPLY I did not desire you to take care in the choice of a Minister there is no Room for that as long as I live and I am not legally dispossessed But if you must have another Preacher who in your Judgements is better qualified than I am I wish still that he may be a Man of Prudence and Temper one that will strictly confine himself within the Bounds and Limits of the Act of Toleration which restrains him wholly to the Meeting-House where he is licenced in the Exercise of his Talent of preaching gives him no Indulgence to perform any other Ministerial Office either there or in any other place nor to Rail and Revile or speak against the Church and Common Prayer either in his Sermons or elsewhere nor to go about to seduce People from the Established Service and their own Proper Minister There is no Toleration that I know of for these and the like Practises to either him or any other and therefore I think it is good and kind Advice both to you and him to keep within the Bounds of that Act for fear an Enquiry should be made whether all such who do not observe the Conditions of the Indulgence be not as liable to the Law as if they had none But let him be as cautious as he will not to transgress that particular Law he must not pretend that he observes all the Laws of God and
Obligations he lyes under ANSWER Although you tell us this Church is the Church we ought to hold Communion with and our Parish Church the Place we ought to serve and worship God in and that you how unworthy soever are the Person whose proper business it is to perform any Ministerial Office in this Parish this Doctrine I doubt not but will take with the Church of Rome for they will tell you that their Church is the Church you ought to hold Communion with and the Parish Church the place you ought to serve and worship God in and will give as good Proofs for what they assert as you have in your Paper REPLY I wish with all my heart that this Doctrine would take with those of the Church of Rome in this Kingdom but if he means that Papists may urge the same thing to invite Protestants into their Communion I would fain ask this Man whether he does in his Conscience think that they may do it upon as good Grounds and Reasons as we do For that 's the Question and not whether they can give as Good Proofs as any I have in My Paper for as there was not room so neither was it the Business and Design thereof to give Proofs To those who wanted them and desired them of me I offered to give the best Satisfaction I was able ANSWER Sir As to your Life and Doctrine against which you hope no just Exception can be made it is best known to God and your Conscience how you have lived and what Doctrine you have preached and believed Only I shall say this that if you can make it appear you have lived and preached according to the Rule Christ hath set us you may expect Peace and Comfort at the last day but till then you may never expect us to embrace the Exhortation altho' we tender the Peace of Church and State and the eternal Happyness of our own Souls above all earthly things and do hope through Grace stedfastly to hold Communion with that Church whereof Jesus Christ is the Head against which the Gates of Hell shall never prevail REPLY It is a strange way to put me upon the Proof that my Life and Doctrine hath been according to the Rule Christ hath set us He should rather have asked those that have heard and conversed with me If he or any of those whose Cause he espouses have any Objection against either let them in the Name of God speak and spare not let them be as inquisitive as they are desirous to find Faults I fear not the utmost Effort of their Malice But do thou O God be merciful to me a Sinner Enter not into Judgment with thy Servant O Lord for in thy sight shall no Man living be justified If nothing appears against either my Life or Doctrine you ought in Charity to believe both to be agreeable to God's Word and then according to your Champion himself to embrace the Exhortation I made you You may pretend as great a Tenderness as you please for the Peace of Church and State yet it is undeniable Matter of Fact that by the Separation both are mightily disturbed and disquieted and tho' I am unwilling to carry the Controversie so high as to dispute whether according to the Laws and Rules of Catholick Communion you do hold Communion with that Church of which Jesus Christ is the Head Yet I beg leave to tell you that Jesus Christ is not the Head of this or that particular Sect or Party of Christians only but of the whole Catholick Church of which our Establish'd Church being a true and sound Part or Branch by vertue of your Profession to hold Communion with that you will if you drive the Argument as far as in its just Consequence it will bear find your selves obliged to hold Actual Communion with this But to save my self the trouble of pursuing this Argument as far as it will go I refer you to the Case of Church-Communion stated by a learned Hand for your right information And I pray as Mr. Baxter advises you endeavour to understand the right Terms of Church-Communion especially the Unity of the Universal Church and the Universal Communion which you must hold with all the Parts And hereupon I desire you 'll let me ask you whether or no you do not really believe the Establish'd Church of England to be a true Church of Jesus Christ a Church of which he is the Head and with which he holds Communion The most eminent and sober Nonconformists as it can and has been proved have own'd Her to be a true Church that She is sound and true as to her Doctrine that her Worship for Matter and Substance is good and for Edification that her Ministry is true and the same for Substance which Christ hath establish'd Nay they have not only own'd the Church of England to be a true Church but have looked upon it as the most valuable in the World both as to the Church it self and as to the Ministry of it And I dare be confident that there is not an honest true Presbyterian in England but will say if he will be ingenuous that the Church of England by which I alwaies mean that Establish'd Church from whose Communion you separate is a true Member of Christ's Body and that Christ holds Communion with her Now as the Presbyterians of old asked their Brethren of the Separation so ask I you If we be a Church of Christ and Christ hold Communion with us why do you separate from us If we be the Body of Christ do not they that separate from the Body separate from the Head also ANSWER Sir give me leave to tell you our Separation is grounded upon real Scruples of Conscience and there is but one way I know of to Answer them and that is to take away the Cause of them for I can assure you that it is neither Humor nor Prejudice that is the Cause of our Dissenting REPLY If you have not endeavour'd all you can to have your Scruples satisfied and removed you do thereby shew your selves to be glad of them and that therefore Humor and Prejudice have the greatest share in your Separation But if after your best Endeavours for Satisfaction in those matters which make you withdraw from our Communion you cannot obtain it your Case is the more pitiable and the more excusable and I am by no means concerned at the Liberty which is indulg'd you But to Answer your Scruples at so dear a rate as the taking away our Liturgy and the abolishing of Episcopacy which you do more than intimate is the Cause of them is what I hope our Governours will never consent to for make what use of it you please I do think them more valuable than your Company at Church as earnestly as I do desire it ANSWER But if you would know I will tell you it 's the Liturgy or Service-book in which you impose such things on us in
Man if he sets up Altar against Altar Church against Church and Heads a Separation from the external Communion of the true Church of Christ and be he who he will and let his Pretence be what it will if he sets himself here in Opposition to me and that true Church of which I am a lawful Minister I must say of him that he does exceedingly trouble our City and that too by Teaching Customs which are not lawful for us to Receive neither to observe being Members of the Church of England for if any Man seem to be contentious we have no such Custom nor the Churches of God from whence we may by the way observe that the Apostle disputing concerning an Ecclesiastick Ceremony with the Corinthian Church appeals to the Custom of the Churches of God as sufficient to confute even the most contentious without any express Determination of the word of God in matters of that Nature I know very well who they were that said these men do exceedingly trouble our City and of whom they spake it and upon what Principle they spake it and I know that your Application of it to me is not Parallel in any of these but I am sure that the Expression as applied by me is as to the matter of Fact true and I know further that they were the Children of Edom that cryed out upon Jerusalem Down with it Down with it even to the Ground It is I do own a daring and provoking piece of Impudence to have a Company of Vzziah's unto whom it appertaineth not to burn Incense unto the Lord but to the Priests the Sons of Aaron that are consecrated to burn Incense compared with the Holy Apostles of our Blessed Saviour who gave such undeniable Proof of the Divinity of their Commission And a good Man cannot but be troubled at the Injustice and Confusion of breaking in upon sacred Rights and invading Holy Offices But however I do assure you that having as I hope now discharged my Duty to the full in this particular I shall give no farther Disturbance to my self than to lament our Divisions and beseech God to compose them and to take what care I can to secure the Rigths and Priviledges which do yet belong to the Church and Minister of this Parish from being either withheld or encroached upon And this as it is all the Disturbance or indeed Incivility that I have offered you notwithstanding sufficient Provocation during the time that I have been in this place so need you not be apprehensive of any other from me for the future Only forgive me that Wrong and give me leave to maintain my Fidelity to the Church to be firm to my Subscriptions and my Vows of Ordination constantly to use and as well as I am able to defend that Liturgy which I have solemnly testified my Approbation of in the Presence of God and in the face of his congregation Pardon me in these things and excuse me that I am resolutely bent not to speak beneath the Dignity of my Function and the Station I am in and you may depend according to the Opportunities you give me of performing them upon all the good Offices which can reasonably be expected from either a good Neighbour a charitable Christian or an honest Minister ANSWER Sir You charge us with causing Divisions among us by bringing in another Preacher as if the Preaching the Gospel by the Authoriz'd Ambassadors of God were the only Cause whom alas you do not consider it 's the unlawful Impositions Superstitions Traditions that is the principal Cause of those Divisions that we are among us for all those are removed we cannot be united REPLY And notwithstanding this impertinent Cant I say still that the bringing in another Preacher does and will maintain the Divisions among us and further that such Preachers are the main if not the only true Causes of them thro' the just Judgment of God upon a sinful People who have not lived answerably to their holy Profession and that Excellent Church which God in wonderful Mercy and by miraculous Providences hath established and preserved among us And I shall alwaies be of that Opinion till it is proved that those Men are Ambassadors authorized by God to preach the Gospel in this Nation and that there are any unlawful Impositions Superstitions and Traditions in our Church which are a just cause for the People to forsake their own Pastors and give themselves up to the guidance of those Intruders And this is a sufficient Reply to his complemental Conclusion with the false Accusation of Vnlawful Impositions Superstitions and Traditions clamorous Phrases which every ignorant Wretch can make use of when he has a mind to reproach our Church Methinks it would have been but fair dealing to have made good this Charge by shewing what Vnlawful things we impose wherein we are superstitious and by what Traditions we make the Word of God of none effect But he knows that to cry out against any Man of a different Opinion is enough to raise the whole Discontented Party against him If he thinks he has given sufficient Proof of Vnlawful Impositions in our Church I think I have proved he has not and in reference to whatsoever is imposed upon us meerly by the Churches Authority I shall only further say That none of the things imposed are Unlawful in themselves that to abridge Authority is the exercise of their Power in things of a middle nature that are of themselves indifferent and neither simply good or evil is to cancel and make Authority useless because their Power lies mainly in things of that nature since things that are simply and absolutely good are commanded by God himself and things that are in themselves evil forbidden by him that if where some are impower'd to give Orders others are not under an Obligation to observe them Authority is nugatory and ridiculous and that before these latter days there were never any Christians in the World that held themselves bound not to do a lawful thing meerly because it was commanded and imposed upon them which makes Obedience and Observance of those things a Duty in us which before they were clothed with a particular and punctual Command were no ways obligatory What this Man means by Traditions I can hardly guess As for Traditions about Matters of Doctrine we hold none but those which are deliver'd to us in the Writings of the Penmen of Holy Writ and for the proof of the Authority of those Sacred Books we look upon the written Tradition of the Church to be a good Argument If by Traditions he means the Customs and Ceremonies of the Church then they have already been consider'd as far as he gave me occasion to do it And I shall only add that I do believe what the Church of England declares in the 34th Article of her Religion That whosoever thro' his private Judgment willingly and purposely doth openly break the Traditions i. e. Customs and
Ceremonies of the Church which be not repugnant to the Word of God and be Ordained and Approved by Common Authority ought to be rebuked openly c. As to the Charge of Superstition it will most certainly fall where that of Will-worship did and the same Instances prove you as guilty of the one as the other What this Man's Notion of Superstition is I cannot tell but to use the Words of a judicious Author in this case I look upon the Men of his Way to be the most superstitious People upon Earth they declaim against things in their own nature innocent and useful as if they were forbidden by God When we represent to our selves the Deity as one that is pleased with the imaginary Notions that we groundlesly entertain of things this is the Superstition that poysons the Soul and all its Faculties When we say that such a thing is forbidden by God only because we forbid it our selves this is to teach for Doctrines the Commandments of Men but to regulate Actions that are indifferent in their nature according to the prudent determination of our Superiors cannot fall under that Censure else all Societies both Civil and Ecclesiastical must be involved in the Guilt When we say things are unlawful that are not unlawful when we prefer Human Institutions to the Commandments of God when we overvalue things beyond their own Nature Dignity and Order in which God hath placed them when we esteem the Means more than the End and separate the Ecclesiastical Laws from their Relation and Subserviency to the Laws of God when our Thoughts and Notions of things are so confus'd that we mistake their subordination one unto another and practise according to such Notions then we put light for darkness and darkness for light Our best Performances must needs be tainted with Folly an Superstition and we worship God not according to the dictates of true Reason or Revelation but according to the dark Idea which we form to our selves This is Superstition in its true colours Superstition is a piece of blind Service and therefore unacceptable a Bastard kind of Worship that proceeds from Pusillanimity and Unreasonable Fear If we struggle for the Opinions and Fancies that are but of yesterday in opposition to the Doctrine and Practices of the Catholick Church we believe our selves rather than the Gospel we are superstitious in the strictest Notion and to set up our own Decrees against the Suffrage of so many Ages is Arrogance and Vanity in the highest sence Or in shorter and perhaps plainer terms Superstition is a needless Fear in matters of Religion which makes a Man either not dare to do those things which he hath a liberty to do or think he must upon pain of Damnation do those things which he may as well let alone So that if either all or any part of this be a right Account of Superstition we are as free therefrom as from Vnlawful Impositions and Vnjustifiable Traditions And it appears that there is no necessity that any thing be removed but that superstitious Humor and untractable Temper which reigns so powerfully among your Party in order to accomplish that blessed Vnion which all good Men Endeavour after and Pray for And now my Brethren upon a serious review of what I have written I do think that I hare returned a full and more than sufficient Answer to that Paper which was drawn up in defence of the Cause of Separation and triumphed in even to my Face as Unanswerable I have followed the Author of it step by step and have not omitted to take notice of the most impertinent thing he has said The close Attendance which I have given to so silly and trifling a Scribbler cannot be Answer'd for any other way than by telling the real Truth which is that I thought my self in Duty bound with Meekness to instruct those in my own Parish that Oppose themselves tho' with never so weak Arguments that I cannot think it becomes us who have taken the Ministry thereof upon us to suffer so excellent a Church to be run down and its Constitution publickly and privately decry'd and in the mean while stand still as it we were either afraid to speak or else had nothing to say in its defence that tho' the Prejudices of its Adversaries are it is to be fear'd too strong to be removed it is however proper to shew the Weakness of their Arguments thereby to keep its own Members firm in its Communion and to Arm them against the slight of Mâ—n and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive And if I can but obtain this by the pains I have herein taken I shall have no cause to repent thereof These are the Principles upon which I have acted in this whole Affair and therefore tho' you may deprive your selves of the Benefit thereof by unkind Resentments and uncharitable Censures of this Work yet you cannot rob me of the satisfaction of having done what I took to be my Duty nor spoil the Acceptableness of an honest and well meant Endeavour with that God who neither sees nor judges as Man doth Where Obstinacy and Perverseness put a Bar in the Way and Mens Judgments are corrupted with Passion and Prejudice there can be no Hopes of doing good But they who divesting themselves of all these are really desirous of it may I hope receive some Satisfaction from the Considerations I have offer'd however in the Books I have refer'd the Reader to I beseech you therefore to reduce your Judgments to an even poise impartially weigh and consider things and for a conclusion of all suffer the Word of Exhortation from your own Reverend Mr. Baxter I advise you that if there be Parish-Churches orderly setled under the Magistrates Countenance whose Teachers are sound and promote the Power of Godliness in Concord tho' an able Minister should gather a separated Church in the same place out of that and other neighbouring Parishes and should have stricter Communicants and Discipline be not too forward to joyn your selves to that Separated Church till you can prove that the Hurt that will follow by Discord Offence Division encouraging of Schism and Pride is not like to be greater than your Benefit can compensate Indeed he says where Liberty is such as these Mischiefs are not like to follow as among us you see they do take your Liberty if your Benefit require it But then he adds in the very next words If this Separated Church be a factions Antichurch set up contentiously against the Concordant Churches tho' on pretence of greater Purity and if their Meetings be imploy'd in contention and reviling others and making them odious that are not of their mind and in killing the Love of Christians to each other and in condemning other Churches as no Churches or such as may not lawfully be communicated with and in puffing up themselves with Pride as if they were the only Churches of Christ avoid such Separated Churches as the Enemies of Love and Peace Do not peevishly pick Quarrels with the Prayers of the Church nor come to them with humor some Prejudice think not that you must stay away or go out of the Church for every passage that is disorderly unmeet yea or unsound or untrue for the Words of Prayer are the Work of Man And while Men are fallible imperfect and sinful their Prayers and Praises and Preaching will be like themselves And he that is the highest Pretender and the peevishest Quarreller hath his own Failings Division is wounding and tends to death abhor it as you love the Churches Welfare or your own The Wisdom from above is first pure and then peaceable never separate what God conjoyneth It is the earthly sensual devilish Wisdom which causeth bitter Envying and Strife and Confusion and every Evil Work Blessed are the Peace-makers This Advice is so proper and applicable to your Case and Circumstances that I only need to add the Words of St. Paul which I desire every Soul in my Parish to look upon with as much Regard as if they had been immediately and particularly spoke to them by the blessed Apostle himself If there be therefore any Consolation in Christ if any Comfort of Love if any Fellowship of the Spirit if any Bowels of Mercy fulfill ye my Joy that ye be like minded having the same Love being of one Accord of one Mind Follow Peace with all Men and Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. I am Your Faithful and Affectionate Pastor Jos Harrison Poor Man's Family Book 4 Ed. p. 316. John 20.21 Tit. 1.5 Poor Man's Family-Book p. 273. Case of Lay-Communica Friendly Deb. part I. p. 165. Christ Libert p. 183. Heb. 13.17 1 Pet. 2.13 Answer to the Vnlawfulness of Com. Pray-Worsh p. 9. 1 Cor. 1.25 25. Numb 14.41 1 Kings 8 3. 2 Chron. 30.23 Est 9.20 Zech. 8.19 1 Mac. 4.9 John 10.22 Mat. 26.30 1 Cor. 14.40 1 Pet 2.13 Mat. 6.9 Friendly Deb. part 1. p 93. Preface to the Com. Prayer 1 John 3.4 Rom. 4.15 Misch of Sep. p. 20. Friendly Deb. part 1. p 166. Friend Deb. par 1. p. 165. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Misch of Sep. p. 29. 1 Cor. 11.16 Presb. of Scotland Enquiry into the new Opinion c. by A. M. D. D. p. 295. p. 305. p. 307. Fr. Deb. par 1 p. 95. Poor Man's Family-book p. 316. p. 321. p. 274. Phil. 2.1 2. Heb. 12.14