against mâ—n iâ—â—hey 〈…〉 〈…〉 are men from Loving their enemies 〈◊〉 â—â—â—ssing them that curse them and doing good to them that hate them and praying for them that despightfully use them or falsely accuse them and persecute them that they are hardly kept from hating those that Love them and cursing those that bless them and hurting those that would do them good and falsely accusing and despightfully using and persecuting those that pray for them And yet lest they should not be flattered in their sin and that yet they may judge themselves the children of our heavenly father they will do all this as Acts of Love to the Church and Truth and to the persons souls and will Love them as is said with a hurting a reviling a slandering a cursing and a hating and malicious Love O that the God of Love would pitty and undeceive the selfish and passionate sort of professed Christians and teach them to know what manner of spirit they are of O that he would rebuke the evil spirits that are gone foâ—th The spirit of Coveâ—oâ—sness and Pride 〈◊〉 Hypocrisie and Religious Imagery Oâ— Self-conceitedness Of Malice and Wrath Of Back-biting and False accusing before that both Christianity and Humanity be turned into Devilisme 2. Tim. 3. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and earth be more conformable to Hell O that the spirit of Light would make us of one mind and the spirit of Love would mortifie both mens malignant and religious passions contentiousness and malice and cause us to Love our Neighbours as our selves That as the envious and striving wisdom from beneath hath caused Confusion and every evil work so the wisdom from above which is first pure and then peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated might bring forth Mercy and good fruits without partiality and hypocrisie that we might edifie the body of Christ in Love Eph. 4. 16. and frustrate the hopes of the enemies of our peace who wait for our total dissolution and triumph already in our Divisions when it is their own Mill which grindeth us into powder But God can make their Oven to bake us into a more Christian and salubrious Consistency that I may use Ignatius his â—llegory but it must be first by â—ermenting us with unfeigned Love and then we shall be Lovely in his â—ight and the God of Love and Peace will be with us 2 Cor. 13. 11. Amen POSTSCRIPT THat the Excepter may yet further be convinced that it is not any Party of men called Independents or Anabaptists as such that I here speak against As I did in my opposed Book declare that I thought them both and all others that hold the foundation and disclaim it not by Heresie or wicked lives to be such as the Churches should receive into their Communion and that it is their duty to hold Communion in the same Assemblies notwithstanding their difference and that it is not the Opinions which denominate them that I write against but only the Love-killing and Dividing principles which are among them which make them fly with censure and alienation from their brethren that are as meet for Church-Communion as they and oft break them into pieces among themselves so do I yet again here declare the same And not only so but that if it were in my power when their Communion with others cannot be procured they should yet be tolerated in their separation it self and enjoy Communion with themselves alone in their separated Congregations under the Laws of Peace being not tolerated to turn their preaching or worship into a reviling and reproaching of the Orthodox to the destruction of Christian Love And I should not doubt but the Communion of the Orthodox Churches maintained in Constant Synods together with the special Countenance of the Christian Magistrate and the daily experience of Believers which would still make the aged sort forsake them would suffice better than violent severities to repress the evil and to give victorious Truth opportunity to do its proper work And to silence this calumny yet more I do renew the Profession which I have often published that my own opinion is so much for Independency as that I think no Church is made by God to be a Ruler to other Churches under the name of a Mother Church or a Metropolitane or Patriarchal but that all these are humane forms And that Councils are not the proper Governours of the particular Pastors but are for Communion of Pastors and Churches directly by way of Consultation Consent and Agreement As I have heretofore declared that Bishop Usher professed his judgement to me Though I confess that the Pastors in Council are still the Guides of the people as well as singly at home and by their Consent lay a stronger governing obligation on them And that the General Law of Unity and Concord doth consequently bind the several Pastors to concurr in all things Lawful Consideratis considerandis with the Confenting Churches And even Dr. Hammond is for Independency so far as to say that every such regular assembly of Christians under a Bishop such as Timothy was an Oeconomus set over them by Christ was the Church of the Living God Though he adde such again every larger circuit under the Metropolitane c. Yet he confesseth And such all the particular Churches of the whole World considered together under the supream head Christ Iesus dispensing them all by himself and administring them severally not by any one Oeconomus but by the several Bishops as inferiour heads of unity to the several bodies so constituted by the several Apostles in their plantatiâ—â—s each of them having an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a several distinct commission from Christ immediately and subordinate to none but the supream Donor or plenepotentiary So far he on 1 Tim. 3. 1â— e. To this do but adde what Bishop Bilson of subjection largely sheweth and other Bishops as well as he that Metropolitanes and Patriarks are not of Divine but humane institution ad accidental to the Divine constitution of Churches And also what Ignatius saith of the Unity of Churches and description of a Bishop that To every Church there was one Altar and one Bishop with the Presbyters and Deacons and so every communicating body or Congregation that had an Altar had a Bishop as Mr. Mâ—de on this of Ignatius sheweth and then you will see how far Independency is owned by others as well as by me And for further silencing the calumny let it be noted that the Churches in New-England are commonly called Independent or Congregational and yet they are against Separation and do find by experience that Separation is as perillous a thing to Independent free Churches as it is to Diocesane Churches and somewhat more Because they use not outward force to preserve their Unity and because one single Congregation is sooner dissolved by division than such a thing as a Diocesane Church is And therefore no men should be more willing to suppress Dividing Principles and
Christians and in particular between the Non-conformists and Conformists 1. The General Part or Introduction Chap. 1. A Narrative of those late Actions which have occasioned mens displeasure of both sides against me The Reasons of my omitting the Narration of those former Actions which Mr. Durel and many others have reported falsly because they wrote of that which they knew not The Reasons of my earnest displeasing endeavours with the Bishops for Reconciling and Uniting terms in 1660. Our Common Profession about a Liturgie at that time and about this Liturgie and my practiee ever since How the Non-conformists must be united among themselves Of our judgement about Communion in the Liturgie and Sacrament with the Parish Churches in aâ— 1663. My ends in opening this 27. Reasons for the writing and publishing my Book called The Cure of Church-Divisions A word of the Debatemaker Of the filse reports that have been vented of my Book aâ—d me and of some Inferences to be noted by the Reporters Chap. 2. The state of the Controversie which I specialy managed in that Book with thâ—se that I called Diâ—iders Chap. 3. Objections and Questions about this subject Quest. 1. Doth not the second Commandment and Gods oft expressed jealousie in the matters of his Worship make it a sin to communicate in the Liturgie Quest. 2. Doth not the Covenant make it now unlawfull Quest. 3. Whether the case be not much altered since the Old Non-câ—nformists wrote against separation then called Brownisme And whether we have not greater Light into these Controversies than they had Quest. 4 Is it not a shameful receding from our Reformation now to use an unreformed Liturgie and a pulling down what we have been building Quest. 5. Will it not strengthen and encourage the adversaries of Reformation Quest. 6. Will it not divide us among our selves while one goeth to the Parish Churches and another doth not Quest. 7. Shall we not countenance Church Tyranny and harden Prelates in their usurpations and invite them to go further and make more burdens of Ceremonies or Forms to lay upon the Churches The manifold danger of feigning the Scripture to be a particular Rule where it is none The Contents of the Answer to the Exceptions Except 1. False Worship distinguished and opened Whether I speak very little against persecution Exc. 2. Whether I was as guilty as any one whatsoever in stirring up and fomenting the War Whether it be unbecoming a Minister to blame the sin which he hath been guilty of or to blame the Effects if he encouraged the Cause Whether nothing of the late Military Actions be to be openly repented of Whether I never mention the prophane but with honour Exc. 3. Of partial tenderness as to Reproof Whether my prayer was jesting c. Exc. 4. Of the supposed Expressions of my Pride Exc. 5. More of the Excepters mistakes Exc. 6. What separation Scripture calleth us to and what not Exc. 7. Of the Corruptions in the primitive Churches and of Imposing Exc. 8. Whether I be a Revealer of mens secrets Exc. 9. Whether the Universality of Christians ever took the Pope for their Head Of my Dispute with Mr. Johnson alias Terret on that point Whether all History be uncertain Whether it be intolerable to say that the Papists understand not that answer which is Christian sense and reason Exc. 10. Of Local Communion of separating from the particular Churches which we were never members of Exc. 11. Of Censurers requitals Whether a Papist can go beyond a Reprobate Exc. 12. Of Scandal and of Pauls case 1 Cor. 8. explained Exc. 13. More of my revealing secrets and other of the Excepters mistakes Exc. 14. Whether by Separatists I meant the Independents as such Exc. 15. Whether I speak slightly of Prayer in comparison of Study Whether it be a slighting of Christ to say that he increased in wisdom which is opened Whether Christ needed not prayer but as a pattern to us c. Exc. 16. Of expounding Scripture by the Impressions set upon our minds in Melancholy How the Spirit cureth our fears and giveth us comfort by twelve acts Exc. 17. Whether my saying that God hateth neither extemporate prayers nor forms be as if I could never speak meanly enough of prayer Whether I be a Trifler that neither believe the Scripture or my self for saying that in Christs time both Liturgies by forms and prayers by habit were used and that Christ yet made no question about them Seldens words upon the Iews Liturgies Exc. 18. Whether I did ill in disswading men from jeering and jesting at other true Christians manner of Worship And whether I purposely justifie persecution Exc. 19. Whether all be Idolatry which is used in the Worship of God without a Command of God to make it lawful The unhappy consequents of making so many Christians and Churches Idolatrous Exc. 20. More of the Excepters mistakes Exc. 21. Whether our presence at the prayers of every Church be a professing of consent to all that is faulty in those prayers Exc. 22. Of not silencing any truth for peace Exc. 23. Of imprudent speeches to superiours Exc. 24. Whether there â—e any weak ignorant and injudicious Christians and whether they hereby have been any cause of our divisions And whether these be vile Epithets not to be given to Christians but instead of them all Christians are to be told that they have the anointing and know all things Twenty proofs of such ignorance And the greatness of their sin especially Ministers that would hide it or deny it at this time manifested in forty aggravations Exc. 25. Whether any hearers use to be more moved with the affectionate delivery of meaner than with a colder delivery of more excellent things Of my forsaking the Lords work Exc. 26. Whether there be any Article necessary to salvation unknown to the universal Church Whether in points of difficult speculation one clear judicious well studied Divine be not to be more hearkened to than the Major Vote Whether the perfection and plainness of the Scriptures prove all Christians to be of equal understanding or to need no others help Exc. 27. Whether honest people be not in danger of following others into error and sin And whether to say so be enough to make people afraid of being honest Exc. 28. Whether it be new or intolerable to advise men not to imitate Religious people in the sins which they are most prone to What it is to flatter Professors of Religion and what it is in them to expect it Exc. 29. Of the name of a Sect. Exc. 30. Whether we must avoid that good which is owned by bad men Exc. 31. Of his accusations of my unsetledness in the point of Church Government and suspectedness in the point of Iustification Exc. 32. Whether we can speak bad enough of corrupted Nature Twenty instances of speaking too bad of it Whether I understand by the flesh only the sensitive Appetive Whether I be strongly inclined to deny Original sin
and Dr. Bernard and Dr. Manton and I where I spake these words which he Printed without the limitation annexed which I set right in my next Printed Book viz. That I found then little or nothing in the doctrinal part of the Common prayer Book which was not sound having but as favourable an exposition as good mens writings usually mnst have He left out the doctrinal part At last when the Earle of Oâ—ery perswaded me to be his Majesties Chaplain in Ordinary and was present when the Earl of Manchester gave me and Mr. Ash an oath of fidelity it being he that first brought me acquainted with Bishop Usher the mention of the same business fell in Whereupon we shortly after were told by the Lord Chamberlain that it was his Majesties pleasure that there should be a treaty for Union between the Episcopal party and the Presbyterians And Dr. Reignolds Mr. Calamy Mr. Ash and my self being first Employed when we had made some entrance we desired that some might be chosen by the Ministers throughout the land to signifie their sense because we could speak in the name and sense of none but our selves But his Majesty not consenting to that we desired an addition of many brethren at hand which was granted and the liberty for all Ministers that would to meet with us for consultation as many did at Sion-Colledge and elsewhere In this Treaty we all professed our Judgements for the Lawfulness of a Liturgie and desired the Reformation of that which we had with the addition of new forms in Scripture phrase fitted to the several Offices with Liberty to the Ministers to use this or that Whereupon we drew up such a Liturgie our selves which though it fell to my share yet the rest of our brethren examined and approved of it saving that Dr. Reignolds disliked the displeasing the Bishops by such large additions and a Liturgie seeming entire of it self instead of some additional prayers to theirs How many weeks we were employed from first to last in these debates how fully and freely we took that opportunity to plead for reformation and against unnecessary impositions whilest the men that now quarrel with us said nothing that we know of how hard a province fell to my own lot as to the offending of the Bishops under whose hot displeasure I thereby in obedience to my Conscience did cast my self our writings which somebody hath published for the greater part of them shew and our Savoy conference and my prohibition to preach in Worcester Diocess shortly after before other Ministers were silenced and the published writings against me did all sufficiently acquaint the world And the particulars of this business I now pass by Only I think meet to make this twofold profession to the two parties on the Extreams 1. That the true reason why I wrote and spake so much so long and so vehemently had it been possible to have prevented many Impositions was principally because I undoubtedly foresaw how great a number of faithful worthy Ministers would else be silenced by them and how ill the Church could spare those Ministers while there are so many hundred thousands of ignorant and ungodly people in the land and what sort of Ministers in too many places must unavoidably succeed them unless the Church doors should be shut up and I foresaw how the people under such Ministers would be affected to Religion and to the Bishops and Ministry And I foresaw what multitudes of Religious persons would take the things imposed as unlawful and would separate from Communion with the publick Churches and would worship God in private meetings with the silenced Ministers I foresaw how many Ministers and people that did Conform with a grudging Conscience would do more at last to undermine the Impositions than the Non-Conformists I foresaw easily what jealousies displeasure severities imprisonments c. would follow the private preaching of the silenced Ministers and the private meetings of the people And I knew well that other Ministers as well as I would judge it no better than perfidious sacriledge to forsake the holy calling to which they were consecrated and devoted and to desert so many thousand needy souls But above all I foresaw how certainly and sadly the Churches divisions would be hereby increased and the Love of each party to the other would be abated if not destroyed How hard it was for one side to Love and Honour the Non-conformists that accounted them Persecutors and unconscionable men And how hard it was for the other side to Love and Honour those that they suffered by And how little Reproaches Fines and Imprisonments do use to increase mens Love to others I â—orâ—knew that one side would call the other Rebellious Schismatical Phanaticks and the other side were like enough to account them Perjured Perfidious Persecutors and that in the midst of such thoughts such words such usage Love was no more like to prosper than fire in the sea And I knew that whatever zeal be pretended for Obedience and Order on one side or for purity of Worship on the other when Love dieth Religion dieth and they that are destroyers of Love are destroyers of the Church and of Christianity and of the souls of men and to increase Love is to save sâ—iâ—ls And I foresaw that the further they go in this way the further they will go from God and Godliness from peace and safety and that it will be the longer the worse till they retire For one hard usage on one side and hard censure on the other side after another will by degrees raise men to the height of bitterness and make them think that their interest conâ—isteth in the hurt and ruine of each other Also I foresaw that while we worried and weakned one another as all Sects would grow under the discontents of one party so the Papists were like to be the principal gainers And they would be ready to offer their service to strengthen one of the parties against the other and would be glad to take up the reproaches against the most religious people that were by angry adversaries brought unto their hands And that when we had made our selves a Common scorn by our manifold divisions and by our biting and devouring one another they would plead this as our shame to draw people to themselves as the only stable and consistent Church and would make us giddy that we might rest on them as our Supporters and when they saw us weak enough would be ready to devour us all And I easily foresaw how calamitous a thing it would be to the Kingdom to have most Towns and Parishes set all together by the ears and for the neighbours to be as Guâ—lphes and Gibellines every man employed in censuring and reproaching others instead of living together in neighbourly and Christian Love And I foresaw what an injury this would be to the King to have the suffering party under these temptations and wise men made mad and his people weakned
observe 1. That it is none of our Question Whether you should Communicate with the Parish Churches alone and no other 2. Nor Whether you should Communicate with every Parish Church or any one whose Pastors are through insufficiency heresie or impiety intolerable which I have written against Dir. 36. p. 202 c. 3. Nor Whether we may hold local Communion in Worship with a Church which denyeth us such Communion unless we will sin This I have oft enough denyed p. 203 c. 4. Nor Whether caeteris paribus local Communion with a purer and better Church be not ordinarily to be preferred before local Communion with a worse which I assert p. 203 c. 5. Nor Whether a man be a Separatist from another Church meerly because he is not locally present with it For then when I am in one Church I separate from all other in the world 6. Nor Whether it be lawful to remove ones dwelling for Communion with a better Minister and Church supposing that we are free p. 204. 7. Nor Whether it be lawful to remove to a better Church without removing ones dwelling in a place where another Church is near to which we may go without any publick injury or hurt to our selves or others which is greater than the benefit pag. 204. 8. Nor Whether we may remove both from Church and Countrey by the occasions of our Callings or Trades or other outward weighty reasons pag. 298. 9. Nor Whether we may keep in Communion privately with our lawful Pastors if they be turned out of the publick Temples Which I have asserted pag. 299. and have said that where the Pastor is there the Church is in whatever place they do assemble p. 250. which Dr. Hide also thought when he began his Book with an assertion of the necessity of separating then from the publick places And so did other Prelatists then and so think the Papists now and most other parties 10. Nor is it any of our Question Whether you should have Communion with a Diocesan Church as such It is a Parochial Church with such others that I spake of and never a word of a Diocesan Church 11. Therefore it is none of the Question Whether you must own our Diocesan Bishops 12. Nor yet Whether you must have Communion with any thing called A National Church as a Political Society constituted of an Ecclesiastical Head and Body and denominated from that form â—r Constitutive Head Though we must own a National Church as it is improperly so denominated from the King that is the Civil Head accidental and not Constitutive to the Spiritual Church And as it is a Community of Christians and a part of the Universal Church united by the Concord of her Pastors who in Synods may represent the whole Ministry and be the means of their agreement 13. Nor is it the Question Whether you must needs hold Communion with those individual Bishops whom you account the Persecutors and Causes of our silence and confusions I have told you in the Story of Martin how he separated from the Synods of thâ—se individual Bishops and from their local Communion without separating from the Office the Churches or from any other Bishops This is a matter that I did not meddle with because it is not their Communion that you are called to but the Parish Churches Indeed to save mâ—ns lives he did yield to the Emperour once to communicate with them But saith Sulp. Severus â—iâ—l 3. p. Bib. Paâ— 254. Summa vi Episcopis nitentibus ut communionem illâ—m subscriptione firmaret extorqueri non potuit And the Angel that appeared to him said Merito Martine compungeris sed aliter exiâ—e nequiâ—ti repara virtutem resume Constantiam nâ— jam non periculum gloriae sed salutis incuâ—reris Ita ab illo tempore satis cavit cum illa Iâ—haâ—ianae partis Communione misâ—â—ri And after finding his power of Miracles abated with tears he conâ—essed to Sulpit. That propter Communionis illius malum cui se vel puncto temporis necessitate non Spiritu misâ—â—isset dâ—trimentum sâ—etire virtutis Sâ—dâ—â—im pâ—sâ—ea vixit annos nullam Synodum adiit ab omnibus Episcâ—porum Conveâ—â—ibus se remâ—vit But this was only from those Bishops who by provoking Magistrates against the Priscillian Gnosticks had brought all strict Religious people under scorn But he separated not from any others 14. Nay I made it none of our Question Whether you should Communicate with any Parish Minister who concurreth with theâ— in the said matters whiâ—h yâ—u â—â—cuse the Bishops of aâ—y farther than by Câ—â—â—orming to the Laâ— For it is but few o◠〈◊〉 Parish Ministers that were Convâ—cation Men or that you can prove did ever consent to our silencing 15. Nor is it any of the Question Whether those also be guilty of separation and divisions whâ— shall make unnecessary Engines of division and â—â—y upon the neâ—ks of any Churches such unnecessary things as have a tendency to divide Who hath said more against this than I have done 16. Nor is it any of our Question Which of the two is the greater cause of divisâ—â—â—s or which of the foresaid persons is mâ—â—t 〈◊〉 Who hath spoken plainlier in this than I Iâ— the Brother that excepteth would maâ—â— you believe that any one of these is the 〈◊〉 iâ— you believe him he doth but deceiive you But whom I mean by Sâ—paratiâ—â— I havâ— plaâ—ly told you pag. 249. 2â—0 c. ☞ And that which I perswade men to is this 1. To love all Christians as themselves 2. To hold nothing and do nothing which is contrary to this Love and would destroy it 3. Therefore to deny no Christians to be Christians nor no Churches to be Churches nor no lawful Worship of any Mâ—de or Party to be lawfull 4. Not to sepâ—â—ate from any others upon any of these three false suppositions or accusations viz. 1. As no true Christians 2. As no true Churches 3. As having no true Worship or as worshipping so as it is not lawful to joyn with them 5. To choose the most edifying Ministry and the soundest Church and purest manner of worshipping God that possibly you can have on lawful terms as to your ordinary use and Communion so far as you are free to choose 6. To joyn with a defective faulty true Church ordinarily and in a manner of Worship which is defective when you can have no better on lawful terms as without the publick injury or your own greater hinderance than help And I prove that this is the worst that you can charge as to this matter of Communion on those Parish Churches in England that have honest compâ—tent Pastors and the same others charge on the Churches of Independents and Anabaptists And that it is a duty to hold communion with any one of thâ—se constantly when you can have no better 7. That if you can statedly have better yet sometimes to Communicate with a defective Church as a stranger may do that is
Passions than the Independents both because they are most charged with them and with all our Sects and Confusioâ—â— and because they are not the least in danger of them And that the New England Churches are against the Separation which hath been commonly known by the name of Brownisme I will give you these following evidences 1. Even Mr. Robinson himself a part of whose Church began the Plantation at Plimouth though he was one of those that was called a Semi-separatist yet hath written for the lawfulness of hearing in our English Conformable Parish Churches And in his Letter to his people in New-England in Mortons Memorial he hath these honest observable passages How imperfect and lame is the work of grace in that person who wants Charity to cover a multitude of offences Neither are you to be exhorted to this grace only upon the common grounds of Christianity which are that persons ready to take offence either want Charity to cover offences or wisdom duely to weigh humane frailties or lastly are gross though close hypocrites as Christ our Lord teacheth Mat. 7. 1 2 3. As indeed in my own experience few or none have been found which sooner give offence than such as easily take it neither have they ever proved sound and profitable members in societies who have nourished this touchy humâ—ur To these he addeth special Reasons from themselves Mr. Browne accusing the Ministers as being Separatists and would be Anabapists c. The Ministers answered that They were neither Separatists nor Anabaptists they did not separate from the Church of England nor from the ordinances of God there but only from the corruptions and disorders there c. Old Mr. Wilson Pastor of Boston being desired by all the Elders of the Churches assembled at his house that on his dying bed he would solemnly declare to them what he conceived to be those sins which provoked the displeasure of God against the Countrey told them that he had long feared these sins following as chief among others which God was greatly provoked by 1. Separation 2. Anabaptisme 3. Corahisme when people rise up as Corah against their Ministers and Elders as if they took too much upon them when indeed they do but Rule for Christ and according to Christ yet it is nothing for a brother to stand up and oppose without Scripture or reason the doctrine and word of the Elder saying I am not satisfied c. And hence if he do not like the Administration be it Baptisme or the like he will then turn his back upon God and his Ordinances and go away c. And saith he for our neglect of baptizing the children of the Church those that some call Grand-children I think God is provoked by it 4. Another I take to be the making light of and not subjecting to the Authority of Synods without which the Churches cannot long subsist And so for the Magistrates being Gallio like not caring for these things or else not using their power and authority for the maintenance of the Truth and Gospel and Ordinances c. Morton p. 133. 184. And among the Poems there recorded of him this is part Firm stood he 'gainst the Familist And Antinomian spirit strong He never lov'd the Separatist Nor yet the Anabaptists throng Neither the Tolerators strein Nor Quakers spirit could he brook Nor bow'd to the Morellian train Nor childrens right did over-look p. 186. And Pag. 195. in the Poems on their famous Mitchell it followeth The Quaker trembling at his thunder fled And with Caligula resum'd his bed He by the motions of a nobler spirit Clear'd men and made their Notions swine inherit The Munster Goblin by his holy flood Exorcis'd like a thin Phantasma stood Brown's Babel shatter'd by his lightning fell And with confused horror pack'd to Hell Let not the brazen Schismatick aspire Lot's leaving Sodom left them to the fire But the fullest evidence is the work of the New-England Synod 1662. who determined of two great points of Church-practice so as greatly tendeth to reconcile them to all the moderate Presbyterians and other peaceable Christians The one is 2. That Members of the visible Church according to Scripture are confederate visible believers in particular Churches and their Infant-seed that is Children in minority whose next Parents one or both are in Covenant The Case of Christians that are of no particular Church is not here medled with 3. And that The Infant-seed of such when grown up are personally under the Watch Discipline and Government of the Church 4. That these adult persons are not to be admitted to full Communion meerly because they are and continue members without such further qualifications as the Word of God requireth thereunto 5. That Church-Members who were admitted in minority understanding the doctrine of Faith and publickly professing their Assent thereto not scandalous in life and solemnly owning the Covenant before the Church wherein they give up themselves and their Children to the Lord and subject themselves to the Government of Christ in his Church their children are to be baptised As to the points themselves having written a Treatise on the subject under the name of Confirmation and therein distinctly shewed my Opinion in reconciling terms though it may seem stricter than these propositions and more inclining to the dissenters in some things I shall say nothing of it here But by this it is visible that the New-England Synod do not only exclude the practice of Gathering Churches out of Churches which was the great contest in England between the Assembly and the Congregational party but they provide that not so much as any particular persons that were Baptized in their Churches in Infancy shall be made Church-members de novo unless by removing from one Church to another but shall be accounted members till they apostatize notoriously or are Excommunicated And so shall their children after them succeed by the way of Baptism into the Church and they will have no other ordinary Church-door but Baptism And so gathering Churches of Baptized persons will cease unless it be in a ravelled state when the old Churches being dissolved believers are to embody themselves anew And Mr. Davenport and a few more seeing that by this way their Churches would fall into the way of England and other Churches by a succession of Members growing up from Infancy and not by making them up of new Adult enterers as the Anabaptists do did oppose himself by writing against the Synod which by some of them is largely Answered Wherein they tell us that there were nâ—t ten in a Synod of above seventy that did in any thing Vote on the Negative and not above three against the third Proposition which carryeth the Cause They frequently disclaim Separation They cite Allen and Shephard p. 33. as advising for the Reformation of such Churches as our Parishes that they be acknowledged true Churches and then called to Repentance and Reformation and a select number of those that agree to it