the bad from among the good in the Church but from among the good in the World Not that they should both grow together in the Church till Harvest but in the World And to strengthen this they alledge our Saviours interpretation of this Parable where he says that the Field where the Tares and the Wheat grow together is the World Mat. 13.38 And this indeed at first sight seems to be a very considerable Objection But if we consider the matter well I think it may appear otherwise The Field indeed in which the Seed was sown and the Gospel first preached was the World according to our Saviours Commission to his Apostles Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel Mar. 16.15 But then those that received this Seed of the Gospel so as to make profession of adhering to it were presently baptized and received into the Church Now it was among these that the Tares sprang up many of them proving bad Christians So that the Seed was first sown in the World as in a common field But yet the Tares sprang up in that part of the world which was now become the Visible Church and an enclosed Garden And therefore when the time of the Harvest shall come when these Tares must be separated from the Wheat our Saviour says They shall be gathered out of the Kingdom of the Son of Man Ver. 41. where they were permitted to grow till this Harvest And what is this Kingdom of the Son of Man but his Visible Church The History of the Event of the Apostles Preaching does plainly lay open the meaning of this Parable and that of the Draw-net and other like Parables in that the Visible Church which they gathered out of the world consisted of bad as well as good And this Parable in particular shews further that these Tares were not to be gathered out of the Church for this very reason Lest while ye gather up the Tares saith he ye root up also the Wheat with them So that it seems that the Tares growing with the Wheat is in some respect matter of security to the Wheat and that the Wheat would be in more danger by the Tares being gathered from among it than by their growing together with it in more danger of bein rooted up or rooted out And this seems fully to justifie and make good that reason I am now upon why all unregenerate Christians should not be denied a place and being in the Visible Church If it shall be hear said that the Church in the Primitive times when but few in number did yet subsist yea and abundantly increase too tho they had no humane or worldly Power to defend them and when almost the whole world both of Jews and Gentiles were against them And why may it not as well do so now tho none that are not of the Invisible Church should be any defence unto it I answer that there is no doubt but that they might subsist in the world continue and increase as well as they did provided they had but the same extraordinary means to back and abet them and to increase their numbers as those Primitive Christians had I mean those miraculous Powers which then procured the Christians great reputation among the People and which did still attract and draw in more to their Party than were diminished by the Persecution which was raised against them by the higher Powers which were then Infidel For by reason of those miraculous wonders which were done by the Apostles and others in those times the multitude of People were so astonished and affected that they favoured them so far as that the Rulers were put under some awe For we read that for the reason aforesaid great grace or favour was upon them all to wit all the Christians Acts 4.33 And Chap. 5.13 it s said that the people magnified them So that the Rulers when they had otherwise a mind to it found not how to punish them because of the people for all men glorified God for that which was done Chap. 4.21 And in Chap. 5.26 it s said of the Captain and Officers that were sent to bring the Apostles before the Council that they brought them without violence because they feared the people lest they should have been stoned And by reason of the credit they obtained among the people both to themselves and their way by the numerous Miracles they wrought believers were the more added to the Lord multitudes both of men and women notwithstanding all the opposition which was made against them by the Rulers Chap. 5.14 And that wonderful increase of Believers which was made from among the Heathen also was attributed by St. Paul unto those Signs and Wonders that were wrought for the proof and confirmation of the Christian Way I will not dare saith he to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed through mighty Signs and Wonders by the Spirit of God Rom. 15.18 19. But if the small number of sincere Christians that are in the world had no other means to preserve themselves and to increase their number but the goodness of their Cause and their own Innocency and were not countenanced and protected by Christian States and Governours and by a multitude more of the same Profession with themselves than are of like sincerity in that Profession they would be in great danger of being in a manner extirpated out of the world by the Insidel and Antichristian Parties in it When the Papal defection befel the Church within the Roman Empire the greatest part perhaps of the then Visible Church in that part of the world fell off from the Orthodox and sincere and became their Enemies in time The consequence of which was the exterminating and rooting out of that part of the world in a great measure the Orthodox and sincere Christians Which is a great instance to shew how it would fare with those of the Invisible Church if they were deserted by those Christians which are not of it or if those were rejected as no fellow-members of the Visible Church and thereby made their Enemies 4. Another reason is taken from the danger in another respect of reckoning none of the Church as Visible but upon the reputation of their being of the Church as Invisible For to admit men upon no other terms into the Visible Church nor to its Communion but upon the reputation and under the Notion of their being already of the Church as Invisible tends greatly to betray many Souls into a dangerous snare of self-deceiving For if this rule of admission should be observed many mistakes would be committed either through fallibility or partiality of judgment in them that admit them and so many would be received into the Visible Church or to the Communion of it as Members of the Invisible which yet are not of it And if so then all those which are thus received under the approbation of
Pray while unregenerate as not come to the Sacrament while they are so For they are required to do both the one and the other in a right manner as well as to do them at all But yet no judicious Man will say that all unregenerate Men ought to restrain Prayer before God or to be restrained from it For it is possible and to be hoped that their Praying may have that good effect upon them as to make them better And the same may be said of such mens coming to the Sacrament 3. Though the Scripture directs that by Church-Censure Men should be debarr'd from the Sacrament for open Acts of Scandal yet I know not where it directs to keep them from it for want of saving Grace so long as not guilty of such Scandal 2. Obj. It is again Objected that this Ordinance is appointed for the Confirmation of the Converted but not for the Conversion of the unconverted Answer I grant indeed that this Sacrament is not appointed for mens first Conversion to Christianity or for unbaptized Persons But yet it may be very useful together with other means to carry on the work of Conversion from common Grace to special And yet such is the Conversion generally which is wrought in such as are Educated in the Christian Religion The use of this Sacrament in conjunction with Christian Doctrine may very well contribute its share in carrying on this progressive change in Men by improving common Grace into special The Preaching of the Cross is to us who are saved the Power of God to Salvation saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 1.18 And Christ as Crucified is by the Lords Supper Preached to the seeing of the Eye as well as by Word and Doctrine he is Preached to the hearing of the Ear And the Eye affecteth the Heart as the Prophet speaks as well as the Ear And therefore the one may help on the work of Conversion from common Grace to special as well as the other And in all likelyhood it often does so as we have reason to think when we see Men who as may be seared have no more than common Grace upon occasion of their going to the Sacrament to become more serious both before and after than usually they are at other times And if such would but frequent it often it might well be hoped that it would work a great alteration in them by making them often more serious and considerate about the things of their Souls And indeed what is more likely to beget a love to our Blessed Saviour than such a lively representation of his wonderful love in dying for us as is made in the Celebration of that Sacrament 3. Obj. The giving this Sacrament to such as by a saving Faith are not in Covenant with God is but like setting a Seal unto a blank To which it is answered First That this Sacrament is not a Seal of Mans Faith but of Gods Covenant and the Seal that is set to that is not set to a Blank The Lords Supper is not a Seal to assure such as receive it that they have Faith but to assure them of Gods Faithfulness in his Covenant and to work in them a confidence in that Circumcision which was a Seal of the Covenant was not set to a blank when applyed to Children before they had Faith Secondly though this Sacrament be indeed a Seal of Gods Covenant directly yet it must be acknowledged that the end and design of its being so is to help Mens Faith in Gods Faithfulness and Goodness in reference to what he has promised in his Covenant But then though this be so yet the giving this Sacrament to such who have but common Faith cannot be said to be like setting a Seal to a blank because a common Faith such as unregenerate Men may have is more than no Faith at all and yet it is the having no Faith at all which can only answer to the setting a Seal to a blank in this case For a common Faith may be improved until it become special as I have shewed and upon that account this Sacrament being a Sacrament for Mens improvement in Faith and Love may as well belong to them who have but common Faith as to those whose Faith is special and saving And indeed what is more likely to make a Faith which is but dull and unactive as a common Faith is to become lively and vigorous than that which with great Advantage is to this end represented to the Mind in this Sacrament as I said before Thirdly I might add that the Covenant made in Baptism is Recognized and renewed in the use of the Lords Supper and this doubtless may be done by such as have but common Faith as well as by those who have that which is special and saving 4. Obj. The saying of St. Paul in 1 Cor. 11.28 Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup is alledged against mens being admitted or presuming to come to the Lords Supper who have not saving Grace though otherwise free from Scandalous Offences They suppose Saving Grace Repentance Faith and Love to be the Matter about which the Apostle would have Men to examine themselves as necessary to qualifie them for Lawful Communion in that Sacrament Now that for Men to examine themselves whether they have saving Grace or no is very necessary for their Preparation for coming to the Sacrament is granted because thereby they will the better come to know the state of their own Souls and what it is that hinders their assurance of having such Grace and the necessity of removing it and their need of such a Saviour as he is whose Love they are to commemorate in that Sacrament And God forbid that I should in the least encourage any to neglect the best Preparation they can make for so concerning a business as the approaching to the Table of the Lord is And except by examination they can find in themselves some knowledge and belief that Christ Jesus is the Saviour of Sinners by dying for them and of the Nature and End of this Sacrament in general I do not understand how they should receive any benefit by coming to it But to conclude from this saying of the Apostle that Men are to forbear coming to the Table of the Lord until by self-examination they can satisfie themselves that they have saving Grace I think to be more than ever the Apostle intended in those words For such satisfaction and assurance is hardly attainable while Christians are but weak and unexperienced though known to God to be sincere And for this cause it seems to be more than is fit to be imposed upon Men as a condition of their coming to the Lords Supper But by the reason which St. Paul gives in verse 29. why he would have Men to examine themselves before they eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup it appears that the thing in special and in particular concerning
Publick Worship at least in part should be performed by a Liturgy appears by their having ordered that so it should be And this ought to weigh much with humble and modest men remembring what St. Paul hath said in another case to shew what esteem ought to be had of the Usages and Customs of the Churches of God If any man seem contentious we have no Such Custom neither the Churches of God 1 Cor. 11.16 2. To satisfie yea to convince such as are under a prejudice against worshipping God by the use of our English Liturgy that there is no such difference as they fancy between the worshipping God according to that in conjunction with Pulpit Worship and that way of Worship which they so much prefer before it I shall offer this to their consideration viz. That there have as worthy men for Piety and Learning both Conformists and Non-conformists as perhaps ever England bred lived and died in Communion in that Whorship which has been performed by our English Liturgy from the beginning of the Reformation downward And we may well conclude that their Souls would never have prospered and flourished so as no mens more if there had been any such difference as some men imagine between the way of their Communion and that of others Men do not gather Grapes of thorns nor Figs of thistles That the souls of many prosper no better under it proceeds not from the nature of the provision for them but from their own gross neglect both of it and of themselves who doubtless would be such as they are whatever the manner of Worship is in the places where they live 3. If we have in the place where the providence of God hath set us means of worshipping God publickly competently useful and sufficient to the ends of such Worship tho it should in some respects be inferiour to some other yet if we can have no better without breaking Order and running into confusion nor without breaking one Commandment to observe another nor without making our selves guilty of an unlawful separation and all the dreadful consequences of it we may be said to worship God in the best manner we can tho we content our selves with this provided we be not wanting to improve it the best we can to its end And the reason is because we then perform the best Worship we can that will consist with edification Publick Order and the peace of the Church and a Worship wherein all these concur does best answer to general Rules for the manner of Publick Worship taken together 4. For men to separate from Parochial Communion in the Worship performed according to the Liturgy to the end God may be worshipped by them after a better manner in separate Assemblies is to do evil that good may come of it unless they can prove a necessity so to separate or to sin For that to separate without such a necessity is to do evil is a Protestant Maxim assented to on all hands among them And that they are under no such necessity as to sin if they do not so separate I have shewed before by shewing that the said Worship is neither corrupt in the essence of it nor is the external manner of performance of it deficient as to its end and use one of which must be proved against it before separation from it can be justified 5. By such a separation as that we speak of men really do much more disservice to God and the great concerns of Religion and the Souls of men than they can with any colour of reason pretend that by worshipping God without the Liturgy they honour him or Religion or advantage the Souls of men The effects of such a Separation are very visible which do too naturally flow from it such as the destruction of Peace Charity and Humility the engendering of Envy Hatred Strife and Contention to the great reproach of Religion and dishonour of Almighty God and the hurt of mens Souls But how these great evils can be pretended to be counter-ballanced by their Worship being performed without the Liturgy I understand not but do take it to be a matter past doubt that the benefit which those that separate get by their Communion without a Liturgy over and above what they might have gained by Communion where that is used will never equal the hurt they draw upon themselves and others and the wrong they do to Religion by their separation And if not then when ever the account comes to be made up and their loss to be compared with their gain they will be found exceeding great losers by their separation notwithstanding all the advantages they promised themselves by it Thus far to shew that there is no just cause of separating from Communion in the Worship performed by the Liturgy every Lords day As for the gesture of kneeling in the act of receiving the Lords Supper so much hath been written to prove it no sin and so little that looks like an Argument to prove the contrary that if men of understanding would but lay aside prejudice and impartially compare and consider what hath been said on both sides I cannot think that after this any could be long without satisfaction touching the lawfulness of complying with publick Order in that matter especially considering how much is declared at the end of the Office for administration of the Lords Supper in the Liturgy to clear that gesture in that action from all suspicion of Bread-worship more than in the Liturgy in use in the old Non-conformists days when they scrupled it But if any after they have done thus shall not for all that be satisfied yet that can be no more an Argument to them than it was to the old Non-conformists why they should not hold Communion in the rest of the Lords-day Worship as they did and not only so but pressed it also on others as their duty to do so and zealously inveyed against separation from it as a great evil as their Writings do abundantly shew And that for such to hold Communion with their Brethren so far as they can is plain matter of duty I have shewed before And in case they should thus hold Communion in the other parts of Worship they need no more to live without the use of the Lords Supper than the old Non-conformists did since I doubt not but they know how to be therein accommodated as well as they did and as they were And so for Baptism in case they cannot be active in the use of the Cross after it yet they may be passive in as much as it is not used as any sign of Gods conveying grace as Sacraments are but only as a token of duty nor as any Rite in Baptism neither but only in receiving the Persons baptized into the Church after they are baptized and seems to be no more ground of scruple than laying the hand upon and kissing the Book in swearing is which is a piece of Divine Worship which none scruple