were guilty of great Immoralities for it would be easie for them to recriminate and the truth is there have been and are on both sides great Numbers of Men notoriously Vicious but we must leave them to bear their own burthen Offences will come and such there were in the Apostles Days in the Churches at Corinth and Philippi in the Churches of the Galatians and in all the Seven Churches of Asia Yet on that occasion no allowance was given to any of the Faithful to withdraw themselves from the Publick Assemblies It is therefore to be suppos'd that you can prove some very hainous thing not only against particular Persons who profess themselves Conformists but against the Conforming Churches as such some great thing for which they ought to be forsaken or you are very injurious to them in your desertion of them For by this you do what in you lies to dishonour them and to fix a publick Disgrace or Infamy upon them in the Eye of the World It is now your Business to exalt the Societies with which you are at present in Communion as well as to depress those which you have deserted a thing very usual in such cases But that you may state the Account aright when you are comparing the Old Churches with the New as they are call'd you ought carefully to examine whether the last be Churches in reality or in Name only Whether any of your Pastors have Right to exercise their Office in the Separate Way and whether the far greater part of them are not meer Usurpers that have no just Title to the Ministry and the Administration of the Sacraments All these are things of great weight and what I said before may help you in your Enquiries into them and convince you if you please to consider it attentively that you have been mistaken about them and that where you thought your selves safe you are in great danger You have seen some of the sad effects of your Separation upon a Pretence of joyning with a better People Yet I have the Charity to believe that you expected much good Fruit from it But had you consulted Mr. Baxter he would have instructed you better for he says That to Reform the Church by dividing it is no wiser than to cut out the Liver or Spleen or Gall to cleanse them from the Filth that doth obstruct them and hinder them in their Office You may indeed thus cleanse them but it will be a Mortal Cure As he that should divide the Kingdom into two Kingdoms dissolveth the old Kingdom or part of it at least to erect two new ones So he that would divide the Catholick Church into two must thereby destroy it if he could succeed or destroy that part which divideth it self from the rest Can a Member live that is cut off from the Body or a Branch that is separated from the Tree And to these Questions I shall leave you to reply III. It hath been said That the Way of the Separatists conduces more to your Edification and that if you would provide what is best for your Bodies you ought more especially to do so for your Souls That you are more Edified by the Dissenting Ministers than by the Conforming Clergy and think it requisite to be Hearers of those by whom you profit most And this I confess is Popular and affords a very ready Answer such as it is to the strongest Arguments that can be produced against you But that you may not be too confident of it the Assembly of Divines tell you that the gathering of Churches out of Churches hath no footsteps in Scripture is contrary to Apostolical Practice is the scattering of Churches the Daughter of Schism the Mother of Confusion but the Step-Mother to Edification Mr. Baxter also says That Divisions among Christians do greatly hinder the Edification of the Members of the Church While they are possess'd of Envyings and Distast of one another they lose all the benefit of each others Gifts and of that Holy Communion which they should have with one another And they are possess'd with that Zeal and Wisdom which James calleth Earthly Sensual and Devilish which corrupteth all their Affections and turneth their Food to the Nourishment of their Disease and maheth their very Worshipping of God to become the increase of their Sin Where Divisions and Contentions are the Members that should grow up in Humility Meekness Self-denial Holiness and Love do grow in Pride and perverse Disputings and passionate Strivings and envious Wranglings The Spirit of God departeth from them and an Evil Spirit of Malice and Vexation taketh place though in their Passion they know not what Spirit they are of Whereas if they be of one Mind and live in Peace the God of Love and Peace will be with them To speak more distinctly to this Matter I shall enquire I. What is the True Notion of Edification II. What you understand by it and whether you rightly judge how it is best promoted III. Whether according to your sense of it it be a good Rule that you may or ought to follow those Teachers by whom you can most be Edified IV. Whether this may justifie your present Separation I. I am first to enquire What is the True Notion of Edification And to clear this it is to be consider'd that the word which is Literally render'd Building is often in the Holy Scripture applied to Spiritual Matters and being taken in a good Sense as commonly it is it signifies the Advancement of Persons in some Spiritual Good And to Edifie them is to do that Work of Charity whereby we become beneficial to their Souls Knowledge puffeth saith the Apostle but Charity Edifieth 1 Cor. 8. 1. Comfort your selves together and Edifie one another 1 Thes 5. 11. Let no corrupt Communication proceed out of your Mouth but that which is good to the use of Edifying that it may minister Grace to the Hearers Ephes 4. 29. Let us follow after things which make for Peace and things wherewith one may Edifie another Rom. 14. 19. Let every one please his Neighbour for his good to Edification Rom. 15. 2. In which places it is the Edifying of our Neighbours that is required of us and that of our selves is never enjoyn'd under this Expression nor can it well be sought but in conjunction with the Publick good 'T is true St. Paul tells us That he that speaketh in an unknown Tongue Edifieth himself 1 Cor. 14. 4. But this is mention'd but as a mean use of his Gift and one that Prophefied and instructed others was for this reason prefer'd before him For says the Apostle Greater is he that Prophesieth than he that speaketh with Tongues except he Interpret that the Church may receive Edifying 1 Cor. 14. 5. It is certain that the Business of Edification duly managed hath a principal regard to the Church And by how much more any thing is beneficial to that by so much more it ought to be
is said in Scripture to be one Body and it is compar'd to an Organical Body because of the close connexion of the parts and that due subordination which as I have shew'd there is amongst them This may seem evident enough and yet the Question about Catholick Vnity hath been so intangled with various Disputes that I shall endeavour to set it in its proper Light And for this purpose I observe 1. That the Church is not said to be One meerly as professing a Subjection to One Invisible Head which is Jesus Christ but also because all the Faithful are united and compacted as in One Body For says the Apostle as we have many Members in One Body and all the Members have not the same Office So we being many are One Body and every one Members one of another All being knit together and fitly dispos'd for the benefit of the whole As there is but One Root so there is but One Stock from which indeed some Branches were broken off But many others were ingrafted into it and it is still the same The falling off of the Jews would have left an empty space but the Complement or Fulness of the Gentiles coming in it abundantly supplies the Vacancy And the Society which is represented by the good 〈◊〉 Tree is still the same notwithstanding it hath been under various Circumstances and Dispensations As there is but One Lord or Master so there is but One Spiritual 〈◊〉 or Houshold As there is but One Foundations of Faith so all the 〈…〉 and the whole Building must be 〈◊〉 fram'd together that it may grew up into a Holy Temple in the Lord. As there is One Shepherd so there is but One Flock and all that 〈◊〉 his Voice must be of the 〈…〉 As there is but One Captain of Salvation so there is but One Army that is said to be Terrible with Banners and which is never so formidable as when all that serve in it keep their Ranks and unanimously discharge their Duties in their several Stations As there is but One Governour so there is but One Holy City And as there is but One King of Saints so there is but One Kingdom and all must be Fellow-Citizens or Fellow-Subjects that own his Dominion or Sovereign Power As there is One Prince of Peace so he would have all his Followers to have Peace with one another Mark 9. 50. That is he would have them live not only as Persons that have Charitable Inclinations but in an outward and visible Agreement and Communion together as the Word signifies frequently in the Holy Scriptures and in the 〈◊〉 of the Fathers To the 〈◊〉 effect I suppose it is that he requires them to have Salt in or amongst themselves For Salt being sprinkled on the Sacrifices and Offer'd with them was a Sign of a Covenant with God 〈◊〉 being us'd amongst Men at their Entertainments it was also a Pledge or Symbol of their Concord and Friendship And our Lord probably alluding to such Practices would have his Disciples live as Persons that are united to himself and to one another in a firm League and a League that none may break and expect Happiness from him who hath drawn them into so strict a Confederacy In this Confederacy all the Faithful of whâ— Nation soever they â—â—e are alike concern'd for Jesus Christ who 〈◊〉 said to be our Peace 〈…〉 to thâ—se that were 〈…〉 and 〈◊〉 thâ—se that were nigh He hath brought together 〈…〉 and Gentiles and 〈…〉 that was between them he made them One Of the Two he made One New Man So that they who were Strangers and Forreigners are 〈…〉 with the Saints and of the 〈◊〉 of God They that were at a great distance are now Reconcil'd to God in one Body But no longer than they are of this Body can they claim this benefit of that Reconciliation Nor may they hope for Spiritual Nourishment from the Head but as it is ministrâ—â— by the Joynts and Bands by which the Body being knit together increaseth with the Increase of God 2. To maintain a Catholick Vnity it is not necessary that there should be a Visible and Catholick Monarch or Vicar of Christ with Jurisdiction over all Churches and their several Pastors For Christ hath appointed no such Deputy nor hath he left any Instructions to inform us that there should be Oneâ— On the contraryâ— the Apostles 〈◊〉 have shew'd who receiv'd their Commission immediately from him were of equal Authority and so were their Successors None of us says St. 〈◊〉 maâ—â—s himself a Bishop of Bishops or by a â—yrannical Terroâ—â— compels his Collegues into a Necessity of Obedience This he spake in a Council at Carthage and with Reflection probably on Stephen Bishop of Rome who injuriously invaded the Rights and Liberties of his Brethren as in succeeding times many others have done who were possess'd of the Papal Throne But a just Account of their Usurpations would fill many Volumes and belongs not to this place 3. Neither to maintain a Catholick Communion is it necessary that there should be a standing Court for the Administration of the Government of the Catholick Church It is decreed by us all says S. â—â—prian and it is fit and just that every one's Cause should be heard where the Crime was committed So far was he and his Collegues from approving the Appeals of Offenders to any 〈◊〉 Country or Forreign 〈◊〉 'T is true in some Cases the Ancient Canons allow'd that Appeals might be made from a Bishop to a Provincial Synod and such a Synod might well decide Matters in debate within the Bounds of a Province But beyond them it had not the same Authority And as for General Councils they were only summon'd upon extraordinary Occasions and having done their Work they were Dissolved But that a General Council should always be continued for the ending of Differences and the Exercise of Discipline that there should be such a Perpetualâ— Council Establish'd in any place and that the last Resort should be made to it from all the Parts of the Christian World is not I suppose asserted by any It can neither be expedient in it self nor hath it any foundation in the Holy Scriptures But since the Catholick Church was not to be Govern'd by a Visible Monarch nor by a Fixed Senate since it is distinguish'd into many particular Societies the Governours of which are of equal Authority and not subject to one another the Difficulty still remains How it can be One as a Political Body For resolution of which I shall shew First That the Government of it is One. Secondly That the People under it are One also But what I say of both is to be understood of them so far as they agree to Christ's Institution For we can form no good Idea of Church-Government from the present broken State of Christendom I.
The Government of the Universal Church is One. According to St. Cyprian who understood this matter perfectly there is but One Episâ—â—â—acy And this is possess'd by the Bishops in such a manner that they are all legally One and every one of them is vertually all But both these Propositions may require some Explication 1. All the Bishops of the Universal Church are Legally One That is as a College in Law is One Person so they being a College in the Sense of the Ancients are One also They 〈◊〉 the Person of Christ and if Christ be not divided neither are they They are not divided I mean so far as they act according to his Will and the Rules of their Order But I meddle not with the particular Faults of any nor am I accountable for their irregularities 2. Every Bishop is vertually all or hath vertually the power of the whole Episcopal Order And so United he is with the other Bishops in the Administration of the Government that what he does in several Cases which I shall mention is as Obligatory to all the rest and of as much force as if it had been done by their actual Consent and Approbation For Example 1. A Bishop Ordaining Presbyters does it as effectually as if all other Bishops had assisted at it and his Act is as Obligatory to them all For the Persons so Ordain'd do not part with their Office when they change Climates but ought to be receiv'd in all Churches as bearing the same Character and be employ'd accordinly if there be occasion in the Work of their Ministry without a new Imposition of Hands This I know is contrary to the Opinion of some of your Brethren who are persuaded that a Minister is only so to his own Congregation and that if he Preaches to another he doth it not as a Pastor but as a Gifted Man And consequently if he takes a new Charge upon him he must have a new Ordination and this I consess is agreeable enough to their own System For their Minister being a Creature of their own and claiming his 〈◊〉 to the Ministry from their Election of him and upon such Terms as they prescrib'd to him all the supposed vertue of that Choice must cease when he is gone from them and cannot bind another Congregation that hath no dependence on them But how ever this is suitable to thâ—â—â— own Principles it hath no Ground in Scripture or the Practice of Antiquity Amongst the Hereticks indeed in Tertullian's time there was something like it for with them a Person was the Day a Priest and the next a Laymâ—â— But in the Church the standing Officers were so for Life 〈◊〉 in all places kept their Station unless they were Depos'd for their Crimes or advanced to a higher Dignity The Words of a Judiâ—ious Nonconfor mist which I shall here cite are very pertinent to my purpose If a Minister says he be only so to his own Congregation and not in other Churches Then are not the Churches of God One nor the Ministry One nor the Flock which they feed One nor the Communion One which they had each with others And I add That if a Minister as such be related to the Catholick Church if he may be remov'd from one part of it and take on him the peculiar charge of another without a new Ordination as the Presbyterians generally asseâ—â— Then are the Churches One the Ministry One the Flock which they feed One and the Communion is One as that of a Visible and Political Society 2. If a Bishop or other Minister appointed by him confers Baptism on Persons fit to receive it it is as effectual every where as if all the Spiritual Pasters upon Earth had concurr'd in that Act. It is that One Baptism which never ought to be repeated nor is there any need that it should for the â—ame being every where of the same vertue it both qualifies us alike in all places for Christian Communion and gives us a Right to demand it in any part of the World But of this more hereafter 3. When a Bishop Excommunicates Oftenders they are thereby cut off from the Communion of the whole Church We have been told by a Dissenter That whosoever will erect a Stated National Governing Church in England 〈◊〉 find us an Officer cloathed with Authority to Excommunicate from Michael ' s â—Mount in Cornwall to Carlile and Berwick But there is no need of such a Discovery to prove more than he demands To prove the Vnity of the Catholick Church it is enough that when a Bishop Excommunicates any Criminals of his own Diocese the Effect of his Sentence reaches every where and at the greatest distance it is Obligatory to his Collegues who being duly inform'd of it are â—o regulate their Practice by it and not admit those to Communion whom he hath Expell'd from it unless it be by his Câ—â—â—ent either expresly given or vertually contain'd in 〈…〉 of the Church And anciently it was a great part of the Business oâ— Episcopal Letters to declare what Offenders were Excommunicate that they might every where be avoided or treated as Persons that were Ejected out of the Christian Society This way of proceeding with them is a plain Argument that in the sense of these times Ecclesiastical Government was One however the Administration of it was in many Hands And it is also agreeable to the Holy Scripture which will not suffer us to believe that they who are cut off from the Body of Christ in one Country are Members of it in another They can gain no such Advantage by shifting Places Nor can it be thought that they are kept bound and loos'd on Earthâ— unless they may be Absolv'd and Condemn'd in Heaven at the same time 4. It follows that when a Bishop Absolves the Offenders of his Diocese from the Ecclesiastical Censures under which he had put them he thereby restâ—â—es them to the Peace of the Universal Church Thus it was generally thought 〈◊〉 the Primitive times and the Persons to Absolv'd having obtain'd from their Bishop his Communicatory Letters were then as much qualified for full Communion in Worship with other Christians in all parts of the World as if they had 〈◊〉 been Condemn'd All other Bishops to whom they apply'd themselves were obliged to râ—â—â—â—ve them into the Number of the Faithful and to act by the Sentence of 〈◊〉 Collegue as if it had been their own And this they did sometimes and thought it expedient when they were not well satisfied with his Proceedings 'T is true the Sentence of a Bishop either for Condemnation or Absolution might be revers'd or declared void by a Synod and it was fit that it should if it was Unjust or sometimes if it was only Irregular If it was otherwise he might withdraw it or he concluded by the Votes of the Synod and it was â—â—ch better in such Cases that One should submit to the
under the Peril of their Souls And did none of them discover what it was Did the Ancient Fathers speak such terrible things against it and none of them understand what they said Did they make no doubt to lay it to the Charge of the Novations and Donatists And might these be Innocent all the while Are the Scriptures so plain in their Directions about things that are necessary either to be done or avoided And are they so obscure in this that for the space of about Sixteen hundred Years neither the Learned nor Unlearned could find out what they meant till in this present Age One arose who made the Discovery But in this case the Novelty of his 〈◊〉 once it is a sufficient Argument against it and it is in effect an acknowledgment that the Independents wanted some New thing for the Vindication of their Practice which I am sure cannot be defended by the common receiv'd Principles of Christianity But because the Doctor is of no small Reputation amongst Dissenters let us consider a little the force of his Reasoning The Schism at Corinth was a Disorder in a Church and from hence he infers That a Separation from a Church is not Schism and that for the Separatist to be a Schismatick is impossible But can you really believe that one would do you wrong if he made a small Rent in your Garment and none if he should tear it in pieces That he would be injurious if be Wounded your Hand and Innocent if he cut it off Can you imagine that a Mutiny begun in a Camp or Kingdom is Seditious and that an open Revolt is not so But as well may you be persuaded of all this as that Faction and Disorder in a Church is a Sinful Division and to Desert it as unworthy of Communion is none Whether such a Desertion be expresly stiled Schism in Scripture is not material if it be a greater Division than that which is call'd by that Name For as I have always thought when any thing is forbidden as sinful others that are worse but of the same kind come under the same Prohibition Otherwise things that for their Filthiness are not fit to be Nam'd may be very fit to be done and Holiness may be consistent with the most detestable Pollutions 2. A farther degree of Schism is a causeless Separation from the Church For it is worse in its own Nature to renounce a Society with which one is obliged to live in Communion and ordinarily more tends to the Dissolution of it than it does to create some Disturbances in it as it also gives more Scandal in the Eye of the World 'T is true the Disturbances may sometimes be so great that the Desertion of those that raise or keep them up may be more desirable or a less Evil to the Church than their continuance in it but to the Offenders themselves it can be of no advantage but is rather an Addition to their Guilt and Misery I would says St. Paul to the Galatians that they were even cut off which trouble you or that unsettle or move you from your Stations And to be cut off doubtless he esteem'd a very great Judgment And yet under this the Sectary brings himself of whom the same Apostle says That he is Self-condemn'd Not that the Sectary confess'd his Fault nor that he had secret Convictions for it for these could not have been Ground of his Rejection or of Proceedings against him but by wilfully departing from the Unity of the Church he in effect inflicted on himself the Punishment which the Church useth to the greatest Malefactors and so was broken off from the Body of Christ I need not here enter upon the Debate whether Episcopal Ordinations and Baptism confer'd in Schism are valid it being sufficient for my present purpose that according to the Rule of Catholick Vnity which is grounded on the Scripture and was Universally receiv'd by the Faithful in the purest Ages Schismaticks persisting in their Separation can do nothing that can qualifie them for Communion with any part of the Catholick Church and therefore in that State they must be excluded from the whole Being wilfully divided from some they cannot be United to the rest of the Christian Society which are One amongst themselves and all Members one of another If they are not of the Body I do not see how they can be United to the Head Break off a Bough from the Tree says S. Cyprian and it blossoms no more Divide a River from the Fountain and it will be dried up And this in his judgment sets forth the Condition of those that cut off themselves from the Christian Church He adds a little after If a Person could escape who was out of the Ark of Noah then shall one escape also who is out of the Church But says our Lord he that is not with me is against me and he that gathereth not with me scattereth And he that breaks the Peace and Concord which Christ hath established acts against Christ himself In like manner St. Ignatius a Disciple of St. John and Glorious Martyr of Jesus Christ tells us That he that is not in the Sanctuary is depriv'd of the Bread of God And of a Person that comes not to the Publick Assemblies he says That he is proud and hath condemn'd himself For it is written God resisteth the Proud Let us therefore not resist the Bishop that we may be the Subjects of God If you search the Scriptures you will find that to forsake the Christian Community was in effect to renounce all the Priviledges of it and openly to disown Christianity it self They went out from us says St. John but they were not of us For if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us St. Jude represents such Men under a very ill Character as being Mockers and wâ—â—king after their own Vngodly Lusts And says he These are they who separate themselves sensual having not the Spirit They pretended to greater perfection than others but their deserting the Christian Assemblies together with a vicious Conversation discover'd them to be Carnal and to be govern'd by no higher Principle than that of the Animal Life They that are truly Spiritual are of another Temper and as they walk in the Light so they also think themselves obliged to cause their Light to shine before Men and to keep up the Face of a Church not only when their Affairs are prosperous but also in times of difficulty For then it is that they are more especially requir'd To consider and provoke one another unto Love and unto good Works not to forsake the Assembling of themselves together as the manner of some is but to exhort one another and so much the more as they see the Day approaching 3. Schism sometimes proceeds beyond a Separation
that they who take upon them the Power to Ordain having never receiv'd it from those that were vested with it do it in the wrong of the Lawful Possessors who alone could convey it and having np just Title to it they can no more Constitute a Minister of Christ than they can make dead Bones live 3. The Office which Timothy had was given him by Prophecy 1 Tim. 4. 14. or according to the Prophecies that went before of him 1 Tim. 1. 8. His Ordination therefore if the way of arguing much us'd amongst Dissenâ—â—rs be good must have been an Extraordinary thing and is not to be drawn into Precedent except in Parallel Cases But your Pastors I suppose do not pretend that they were markt out by Prophecy or distinguish'd by a particular Revelation and therefore they cannot here find any defence of their Pretences to the Ministry 4. The Dissenters by affirming that Timothy was an Extraordinary Officer and Evangelist cut off all the Succour which they would draw from this place for the Vindication of their Ordinations For according to their own Opinion here is no Example of Presbyters Constituting a Presbyter or a Fixed Pastor of a Church and then certainly there is none to be found in the Bible I know not what they can reply to this unless they would shift their Principles and confess that we have in Timothy an Instance of Episcopal Government or Standing Prelacy and if they would advance thus far towards us I may refer them to what I said before to prove that his Ordainers must have had Apostolical or Episcopal Authority III. Others claim their Title to the Ministry as being Ordain'd by the People But what Divine Precept what Rule have they for this What Example have they for it either in Scripture or out of Scripture in any part of the Catholick Church If they have discover'd in it so much as One Pastor of their way for above a Thousand Years after the Day of the Apostles I would demand as St. Austin did in another case Out of what Earth did he spring Out of what Sea did he arise From which of the Heavens was he dropt For my own part after all the research that I have been able to make I can find no such Person not so much as an Instance of One in all Antiquity 'T is true St. Paul did foretell That the Time would come when Men would not endure sound Doctrine But having itching Ears would heap to themselves Teachers after their own Lusts And Tertullian informs us of some Hereticks who impos'd on private Persons the Office or peculiar Work of the Priesthood But your Ministers I suppose will not insist upon such Passages as these for their Vindication and yet I know no other that can support their Cause The Assembly of Divines who have been the Oracles of the Presbyterians write with great assurance of this Matter For say they We challenge any Man to shew any one Text in all the New Testament for the Justification of a Popular Ordination To what purpose add they did Paul aud Barnabas 〈◊〉 from place to place to Ordain Elders Why was Titus left in Crete to appoint Elders in every City Might not the People say What need Paul leave Titus to do that which we can do our selves If this Doctrine were true the Apostles needed only to have Preach'd and to have Converted the People to the Faith and when they had done to have said We have now done our Work You may 〈◊〉 Elect and Ordain your Officers your selves the power of these things belongs to you But the Apostles did quite contrary c. They afterwards complain of a Generation of Men then risen up amongst them who disclaim'd all Ordination from Ministers asVnwarrantable and Antichristian and took it up from the People as the only way of the Gospel Whereas they tell us it hath not the least â—ooting in the New Testament nor in Antiquity but is in effect a renouncing of 〈◊〉 Ordinance of Christ as Antichristian and of all the Ministers and Churches in the Christian World A thing that would engage Men to be Seekers and to forsake all Church-Communion as many they say did in those Vnhappy Days Salmasius who was on the side of the Assembly and otherwise a Man of Prodigious Learning declares That the People have power to impose over themselves a King which may be true in some cases but they had never any to Elect and Ordain Presbyters and Bishops Calvin also affirms That not the Multitude of Believers but the Pastors only impos'd Hands on their Ministers And that they only ought to do so is so much the common Opinion of the Reform'd that in the Judgment of Blondel that Work was not ascrib'd to Laymen by any Protestant Our Separatisâ—s I know are divided about this Matter And however theâ— that call themselves the Vnited Ministers c. agree in this That it is requâ—site that a Person who is chosen to the Ministerial Office be duly Ordain'd They do not declare by whom or 〈◊〉 what manner he is to be so Nor could they declare it but they must have discover'd their Divisions which 〈◊〉 much Art they endeavour'd to conceâ—â— And now that I am upon this Subject I cannot but take notice that when the Heads of their Agreement were sent from the City into the Country to gather Subscriptions Amongst other Articles of that Union it was asserted that Ordination was to be perform'd 〈◊〉 Imposition of Hands but this was afterwards left out in the Printed Copy to the great Surprize of many Subscribers that had approv'd it And leaving you to judge of the Sincerity of the Managers of this Affair I shall think it no great Digression to make this Remark That there is amongst the Separatists a prevailing Party who would say aside a Ceremony which is of Divine or Apostolical Institution and which has been of constant use in all Churches But whether they reject it as sinful or whether they are sensible that their Ordainers have no Right to it or what other Inducement they had to discharge it I pretend not to determine I only urge them to prove by any good Authority that a Congregation may Ordain their own Pastor either without that Rite or with it If they are not able to do this it may easily be decided whether they have imitated the Pattern in the Mount which they would be thought to follow with so much exactness or whether they have not forsaken it in a Matter of the greatest Moment that they might establish their own Inventions I have now enquir'd what Title your Pastors have to the Ministry whether they pretend to it as being Ordain'd by Presbyters or by the People and can find nothing of Validity in it If they can demonstrate it to be good let them produce their strong Reasons for it But if no just Defence can be made of it Then according
two things which I shall add for illustration of it are only Consequences of what I have already prov'd 1. It follows from that which was said before that what is against the Vnity of the Church is also against the Edification of it and consequently of the parts whereof it consists That which separates the Stones of this Building from one another hinders the conveyance of that Vital Spirit which would animate them all That which divides this Body weakens it and puts it into a Sickly Condition The Members that make a Schism in it throw it into dangerous Convulsions And they that make a Schism from it give it a grievous Wound and afterwards can neither grow up with it nor without it If therefore they that make Divisions could speak with the Tongue of Angels we ought to avoid them If in some things we might arrive at great Knowledge by their Instruction we must avoid them notwithstanding Such Knowledge would be apt to puff us up but it is Charity that Edifieth And Charity says Clemens Romanus Admits of no Schism Charity is not Seditious but doth all things in Concord All the Elect were perfected by it and without it nothing is acceptable unto God 2. What is against Order is also against the Edification of the Church and consequently of the particular Members of it That which justles the Stones of this Spiritual Building out of their places hinders it as much as possible from growing unto a Holy Temple in the Lord. That which diverts the parts of this Body from their proper Offices or puts them out of Joynt hinders the Nourishment abates the Strength and destroys the Comeliness and Beauty of it That which brings Confusion into my Society Ecclesiastical or Civil tends to the Ruine of it and fails not of doing Mischief to it To prevent this even they that were inspir'd from Heaven and had Psalms and Doctrines Tongues and Revelations and Interpretations by Miracle were yet limited in the Exercise of their Gifts and to restrain them these two Precepts were given by the Apostle Let all things be done to Edification Let all things be done decently and in order Decency and Order have such a connexion with Edification that what promotes Them advances This What is contrary to Them is contrary to This also It is no wonder then that St. Paul was so much concern'd when he heard that among the Thessalonians there were some that walked disorderly or did break their Ranks For as such Men might be useful in their proper Places so out of them they hinder the Edification of the Church and are wont to be Disturbers of the Publick Peace Many in the way of their Vocation might have excell'd who going beyond their Line intrenching on the Rights of others and assuming an Authority which did not belong to them have become great Incendiaries and Persons of that Character have been most pernicious to the best Societies When such Disturbers invade the Offices of the Church it is not enough to say That they Act the Part well which they have taken upon them when it is none of their own or that they have great Gifts and are well qualified for the Sacred Function when their assuming it is a meer Usurpation There were many doubtless in Israel who could have managed the Business of Sacrificing more deâ—trously than some of the Priests themselves But it appertained not to them and if they undertook it they incurr'd the Indignation of the Almighty And in a Christian Congregation there may be some Private Persons who are of better Capacity or much fitter for the Ministry than the Minister himself But having no Lawful Call to it it appertains not to them And if in Confidence of their own Abilities they set up for Spiritual Pastors they are so far from promoting Edification that they become open Enemies to the Church and liable as are also their Followers to a just Condemnation IV. The fourth Enquiry is Whether your hopes of being better Edified may justifie your Separation That is if I have stated the Matter rightly Whether your false Hopes may justifie a sinful Practice And this I think may easily be resolv'd It appears from what was said before that your Practice is against the Church as a Visible and a Regular Society That it is against the Vnity and Order of it and consequently that it is against the Edification which the Scripture requires as pulling a House in pieces is contrary to the Building it up and throwing it in Heaps is contraary to the adorning and reparation of it 'T is true the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church nor shall the Fury of Man be able to destroy it But to bring Divisions and Disorders into any part of it to Separate from any sound Members of it and to form Societies or be of those that are opposite to it is to strike at the Whole and to attempt the Ruine of it As it is also to act against Christ himself who hath purchas'd and cemented it with his own Blood SECT V. HAving examin'd the Arguments which have been offer'd on your part to excuse you from the guilt of Schism I am now to treat of the Consequences of it And these are so deplorable and of such a Nature that they induced many Antient and Modern Writers who had them in view to reckon This amongst the worst of Crimes Mark those says the Apostle which cause Divisions and Offences And he had reason to put these things together For Divisions having their usual effect become Offences and may well be esteem'd amongst the greatest Scandals I pretend not to give any compleat History of the Evils which Church-Divisions have produced Yet I shall briefly shew I. That they have hardned the Infidels in their Unbelief and hindred their Conversion II. That they have brought a Reproach on the Reformation of the Church and hindred the Progress of it III. That they have given occasion to the spreading of many detestable Errors in Matters of Religion III. That they have greatly encouraged Immorality I. They have hardned Infidels in their Unbelief and hindred their Conversion This says Clemens Alexandrinus is the Thing which they first produce against us We ought not say they to believe because of the Difference of Sects amongst you To the Corinthians on the occasion of their Divisions Clemens Romanus does thus address himself Your Schism saith he hath perverted many hath discouraged many It hath raised Doubts in many and Sorrow in us all And a little after It is shameful Beloved yea very shameful and unworthy of a Christian Conversation to hear that the most Firm and Antient Church of the Corinthians should by one or two Persons be led into Sedition against their Pastors And this Report is not only come to us but to those also who are disaffected and estranged from us Insomuch that by your Folly the Name of the Lord is
Judgment of many who were Assembled by Mutual Agreement for the Administration of Discipline than that the great Benefit of Synods should be lost But when 〈◊〉 began to make himself a Bishop of Bishops When he took it upon him to be their Judge and to exercise a Jurisdiction over them this gave a new Turn to the Affairs of the Church and alter'd them much for the worse It made a mighty Breach upon the Antient Discipliâ—â— and was the Foundation of the Papul 〈◊〉 I have suppos'd all along that however a Bishop is by his Office a Pastor of the Catholick Church yet it is but some part of it that is allotted to his special care as it was most expedient for the benefit of the Whole But the further Consideration of this Matter being of great use it may be requâ—â—â—â—e to trace it to the beginning and to observe that the Apostles who of all the Officers of Christ were most at liberty being sent to Disciple all Nations might all have gone to one Nation and leâ—t others destitute of help But to prevent this they distributed their Work in such a manner as might be most for the Publick Good and best answer the Ends of their Commission I need not inquire what Countries or Cities fell to the Charge of this or that Apostle And indeed our Knowledge of that is very imperfect But this you find in Scripture that St. Paul with whom the other Apostles doubtless agreed would not build upon anothers Foundation He would not stretch himself beyond his Measure nor boast in another Man's Line of things made ready to his Hand As the Apostles employ'd themselves with great Prudence to carry on the Work of Conversion so they dispos'd and settled things in an excellent order and some Light it may give into them that when there is mention in Scripture of a Province or Country where the Gospel was received we read of the Churches of it Thus we read of the Churches of Jâ—dea of the Churches of Macedonia of the Churches of Galatia and of the Churches of Asia These several Churches then were distinct Societies under their proper Governours who yet were United in such a manner as I have describ'd and the nearer they liv'd to one another the better opportunity they had of meeting together for mutual Advice and Assistance and for the Decision of Ecclesiastical Matters But when the Discourse is of the Christians of a City which is to be understood as taking in its Territory then the Style is alter'd and we read of the Church in Jerusalem in Antioch in Corinth of the Church in Pergamus in Thyatira in Sardis in Philadelphia of the Ephesine Church of the Church of â—â—â—â—â—naeans of the Laodiceans and of the Thessalonians If you will but be at the pains to consult the places to which I have refer'd you you will certainly find the Matter as I have related it And from hence the Presbyterians strongly argue That how great soever the Number of Christians was in any City and notwithstanding they made up many Congregations as they needs must in some of the Cities yet they were constantly call'd a Church as being under the same particular Government I differ from them in this That I believe the Government was Episcopal For as there is mention of Seven Churches of Asia so there were just so many Angels or Supream Pastors of those Churches and the like may be said of others But this I have more fully handled in another Treatise to which I have refer'd you before for satisfaction 'T is true the extent of Diocesses is not always the same nor is there any certain Rule for it in the Holy Scripture but since it appears necessary from the Scripture and the Nature of the thing that some limits be fixed and since the Diocesan and Parochial Divisions in this Kingdom are confirm'd by all the Authority that the Church and 〈◊〉 could give them Private Persons â—â—ght to submit to it For however there may be some inequality in such Distributions that being hardly avoidable no Disturbances ought to be rais'd about them it being certain that such Inconveniences can never be mended by Confusion II. The Faithful People under their Lawful Pastors make up One Body This may be gather'd from what went 〈◊〉 but I shall farther make it evident 1. From their Duty 2. From their Rights From both it will be manifest that they are Fellow-Citizens or Visible Members of the same Community I. To begin with their Duty 1. They are obliged as you have seen to Honour 〈◊〉 Obey their Spiritual Rulers to adhere to those that are over them in the Lord and hereby they maintain an Union with all other Pastors of the Church that are One in Government For if they are One with any of those that are One amongst themselves they must needs be all One 〈◊〉 2. It is their Duty to joyn together in Publick Acts of Worship with that Company of Christians which they find Established under a Lawful Pastor where they reside which may happen to be in England or America or at different times in the most distant places as they remove from one to another And from hence it appears that all those Companies make but One Society or Catholick Church and are Members of it For otherwise by passing from one Country to another and consequently from the Congregation to another a Person would lose his former Title and Benefit of being a Visible Member of Christ and his Church and gain others in their stead and this might happen as often as he changed Climates But this is too absurd to need a Consutation II. That the Faithful make up One Body appears from their Rights which are the same every where In one sense they aâ—â— every where Strangers on Earth but in another they are at Home in all Places The Priviledges which belong to them as Christians are the same in every Country and they may as justly challenge them as the Natives of it Some Cities who were associated together did so value themselves for it and receiv'd such mutual Benefits and Honours from their Concord and from their being of One Community that they express'd these things upon their Coins and other Monuments of Antiquity which are yet remaining But the Vnity of the Christian Church is of greater extent and takes in the Faithful of all Nations This Vnity is founded on a Divine Institution and the Baptismal Covenant in which they are all alike engaged and not on a Formal Positive League amongst themselves Nor does it so much resemble the Union of the Confederate Cities as that of a City in its self which may consist of many Corporations For all the Members of it are Fellow-Citizens and as such they have the same Prerogatives in all the parts of the World But more particularly 1. According to Scripture and the Sence of the Primitive
Times a Christian Travelling into any remote parts of the World was intitled to the Rights of Hospitality amongst other Christians Rights which anciently were held Great and Sacred and in times of Persecution were very useful and necessary He need but produce the usual Testimonials by which he might be known to be a Christian and to have liv'd in Conformity with the Church from whence he came and he was to be receiv'd and entertain'd by the Faithful in all places with such Tenderness and Liberality as if he had been a Guest of the most intimate Friendship and long Acquaintance A thing that Julian the Apostate could not see without Envy and Admiration If a Christian suffer'd Want other Christians were to consider him and provide for him as one that was of the Houshold of Faith or of the same Family with themselves And whether he was a Hebrew or Greek or of what Nation soever he was it was the same thing he was not to be neglected in such Ministrations It was also the same whether he was of this particular Church or another for if one Church was in Distress and not sufficient for the Maintenance of its own Poor others were obliged to assist it out of their Collections still remembring that as they were of the same Body so they were also Members one of another Lucian in his usual way scoffing at the Christians represents them flocking to his Peregrinus in Prison moving every Stone that they might free him performing diligently for him all Offices of Kindness and sending Messengers to him joyntly from the Cities of Asia to support and comfort him under his Sufferings It is incredible says he what Expedition they shew when such a thing is publickly known But to be short they spare nothing on such Occasions And whosoever is meant by this Peregrinus the truth is that if a Christian Brother was in Distress they gave him what Assistance they were able if he was Imprison'd or in Chains for Righteousness sake they were not asham'd of his Bonds but openly own'd his Cause and chearfully Ministred to his Necessities even when it expos'd them to the greatest Dangers This they did not as a Matter of choice which they might have omitted but as a necessary Duty and they did it so often and that without any regard to nearness of Blood or Habitation in the Sufferers that their Union was Visible to the Eye of the World and the Heathens who were astonish'd at it did then make no doubt whatever Men do now but that they were of the same Community It is farther observable that their contributing to the support of one another is never in the Epistles of the New Testament call'd A giving of Alms but Communion or Communication And I take the reason of it to be this That the Faithful had thus far at least all things in Common that the Wants of some were to be supply'd out of the Plenty of others as out of a Common Stock or Treasury in which they had a share as being Members of the same Society 2. The Faithful have every where a just Title to all the Common Ordinances and Priviledges of Christianity For instance Are they here admitted to Visible Communion in Publick Acts of Worship So they ought to be if they come to the remotest Churches upon Earth St. Peter said of the Gentile Converts Can any Man forbid Water that these should not be Baptized And so may we say concerning those who are Baptized and have done nothing to deserve Excommunication Can any Man forbid them the Publick Prayers that they should not put up their Requests joyntly with other Christians in any part of the World Can any Man forbid them to partake of the Lord's Supper when their demand of it is regular Now as St. Paul when he pleaded at Jerusalem that he was a Roman gave a sufficient Indication if it had not been otherwise known that he was within the Bounds of the Roman Empire So if a true Christian in all Churches where-ever he comes hath a Right to Communion with them and may plead that Right 't is manifest that they all make up but One Vniversal Church and are Members of One Body Diogenes the Cynick refus'd to be admitted into some of the Heathen Mysteries because in order to it he must have been made a Citizen of Athens which did not seem agreeable with his Profession of being a Citizen of the World And indeed if a Christian could only partake of the Holy Mystery as the Lord's Supper is sometimes call'd in a particular Congregation I know not how it could be said That he were a Member of the Catholick Church or that in strictness of Speech there is any such thing But since in all the Nations under Heaven where Christianity is establish'd he hath a Right to Communicate at the Lord's Table as well as in other parts of Worship this is a plain Argument that the Christian Society is the same every where and is not to be multiplied according to the Number of the Places where it is dispers'd Jesus Christ hath broken down the Wall of Partition which was between the Jews and Gentiles and permits not any thing amongst his Followers like the distinction which there was between the Proselytes and the Native Israelites There is nothing in his Gospel like that Inscription which forbad the Aliens to enter into the Inner Court of the Temple nor doth he esteem any to be such that submit themselves to his Discipline He gathers his Subjects out of all Nations governs them by the same Laws and gives them the same Charter the Benefit of which they may alike enjoy in Samaria or Jerusalem or in any other place as well as either This shews that living in a way suitable to the Dignity of their Profession they are in all places of the same Community And according to St. Peter where he speaks of them as distinct from the World and with respect to it They are a Chosen Generation a Royal Priesthood an Holy Nation a Peculiar People the People of God as Israel was formerly the Lot of his Inheritance 3. Any of the Faithful that are personally qualified to bear an Office in the Christian Church are capable of it or of being Ordain'd to it in all Churches and this also proves That they are all United in One Community The Cumani and others were but imperfectly United to the Romans when they could only serve in the Roman Armies but might have no Command in them and neither had any Voice in the Choice of Magistrates nor might themselves be chosen But according to Aristotle it is a principal Mark of a Citizen that he doth or may partake of the Judicature and Government of the City And since every Christian who is otherwise fit for it proceeding regularly may be advanced to a Sacred Function in any Country where
he is a Stranger as well as if he were a Native of it From hence it follows that both Strangers and Natives are alike of the same Political Body And this reasoning must be good if Aristotle had the true Notion of a City who is generally allow'd to write of such things with great exactness What hath been said sufficiently shews how the Catholick Church however dispers'd is One But it will appear with the greater force If you please to compare it with the Case of Independent and Separate Societies in which you find nothing like it You may bear Office in one of these Societies but have no Title to it nor have any of your Acts esteem'd valid in another You may be Members of one and justly excluded from another You may enjoy the Priviledges of one and want those of another You may be banish'd from one and made Denizons of another Acts of State bind only the Subjects of the State and oblige not Forreigners that are under another Dominion But this demonstrates the Vnity of the Catholick Church that what is done by one Governour or Bishop is valid amongst all the rest and taht a private Christian who hath an Obligation on him and a Right to an actual and full Communion with a particular Church hath the like with all other Churches where he happens to reside Having prov'd that the Vniversal Church is One Body I shall only add what gives us great encouragement to preserve the Unity of it and affords us a most delightful Contemplation that it is now the same Body that it was from the Beginning For as a City may remain the same for a Thousand Years or even to the End of the World and is therefore said by some Ancient Writers to be Immortal So is the Church the same that it was from the first Foundation of it And from hence it is that if we Communicate with those who derive their Ministry by Succession from the Apostles and with such Professors of Christianity as adhere to that Ministry we do it vertually or by Interpretation with the Apostles themselves and with the Saints Confessors and Martyrs that rest from their Labours and are now in Happiness waiting for a Glorious Resurrection To this effect Tertullian says That from the Apostolical Churches all other Churches borrowed the Branch of Faith and Seeds of Doctrine and from them it is daily that Churches become such and so are esteem'd Apostolical as being the Off-spring of the Apostolical Churches Every thing must be reckon'd with its Original and therefore so many Great Churches are as the One First Church constituted by the Apostles and from which all are descended So all are First and Apostolical whilst they alike approve the Vnity Whilst there is amongst them the Communication of Peace the Title of Brotherhood the Covenant of Hospitality the Rights of which nothing preserves but the Tradition of the same Sacrament or Mystery But this is not all For being in Communion with the Apostles we are so with the Father and the Son That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you says St. John that you also may have Fellowship with us and truly our Fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ The Father will take care of us as his Peculiar People and the Son will Influence and Govern us as our Head a Head that hath such a Tenderness for his Church that he is represented in Scripture as making up One Person with it For says the Apostle as the Body is One and hath many Members and all the Members of that One Body being many are One Body So also is Christ And being of his Church we are assur'd that he will nourish and cherish us as Members of his Body of his Flesh and of his Bones SECT II. VVE have seen that all Christians ought to be United in Faith Love and in Outward Worship and Communion And if you grant this you must also acknowledge that a Breach of Union in any of these things where-ever the fault is must needs be sinful For it is plain I. That if there be but One Faith delivered to the Saints for which they must earnestly contend they grievously offend who add New Articles to it or take away from it such as are already reveald or otherwise deprave it by a mixture of Falshood And so far as they do so we ought to depart from them and not betray or deny the Truth in compliance with them II. If all the Faithful must be firmly link'd together in Love this must condemn all Discord and Malice all Envying and Strife amongst them as being directly against the Spirit of Charity And indeed where these things are there is Confusion and every Evil Work III. If all the Faithful are obliged to live in Outward Communion as Visible Members of the same Body then such a Division in the Body as is a Breach of that Communion must be Criminal a thing I know that many of you are unwilling to hear of But Mr. Baxter has suggested a reason of it which I hope does not reach you all Whence is it says he but for want of Self-denial that Men that know that Whoredom and Drunkenness and These are Sins can be ignorant in the midst of Light that Discord and Church-Divisions are Sins And that they hear him with Heart-rising Enmity or Suspicion that doth declaim against them As if Vniting were become the Work of Satan and Dividing were become the Work of Christ These Words I would recommend to your serious Thoughts and being now come to that which is the chief Subject of our Debate I desire you sincerely to consider that not only Modern Writers but the Fathers who were no Parties in our present Controversies speak of Schism as a most horrid Crime St. Optatus mentions it as a mighty Wickedness and argues that it is worse than Murder and Idolatry And St. Chrysostom affirms That nothing equally provokes God as the Division of his Church He makes it equal to the Crucifying of Christ Which he says was for the good of the World however not intended but this continues he affords no Benefit but the greatest Mischief To mention no more at this time St. Irenaeus says That God will judge the Schismaticks who having not the Love of God but being intent on their own Profit rather than the Peace of the Church for small Matters or for any divide the Great and Glorious Body of Christ and do what in them lies to kill it speaking Peace but making War straining indeed at a Gnat and swallowing a Camel You need not think it strange that these Excellent Men who had seen the sad Effects of Church-Divisions express'd such an Abhorrence of them St. Paul himself reckons Seditions and Heresies with Adultery Fornication Vncleanness Lasciviousness Idolatry Withchcraft and other Works of the Flesh of which he says That they that practise such
Establishment of Separate Churches under their proper Pastors in the same City Yet do I not reject this Opinion merely because it hath no good Foundation I shall produce such Arguments against it as being duly consider'd may help to determine this Controversie 1. My first Argument is taken from the Design of Christ for that was to Unite both Jews and Gentiles in one Body and to make of the Two one New Man And accordingly he made of Both One People prescrib'd to them the same Law and confer'd on them Equal Priviledges It is not therefore to be imagin'd that the Jewish Converts were to be drawn out from amongst the Believers of the Gentiles and gather'd into Churches apart by themselves Churches that excluded all Christians from their Communion who submitted not to the Law of Moses For this had been to Divide those whom our Lord had made One and to revive the Enmity which he had slain It had been to treat those as Forreigners whom he would have to be Fellow-Citizens and to expel them as Aliens who are his Domesticks and of the Houshold of Faith It had been to cast those out as Ismaelites whom he had call'd to be Heirs of Promise and to rebuild the Wall of Partition which he had broken down 2. According to the Mind of Christ St. Paul labour'd to restore Peace and Conformity between the Judaizers and other Christians that they might live together as Members one of another And to this purpose when some believed that they might eat all things and others being Weak did eat Herbs he shews that this difference should be no cause of a Breach of Communion amongst them For says he to the Strong who were apt to despise others Him that is weak in Faith receive to you Rom. 14. 1. That is notwithstanding the Scruples of such a Person about Meats and Drinks and other things of that nature admit him into the Congregation as a Brother He is not fit indeed to hear doubtful Disputations or to be engaged in them but he ought to joyn with you in the Publick Worship The Apostle himself leads us to this Interpretation in the following Chapter where having put up his Request for those that Dissented about the Mosaical Rites that they might with one Mind and one Mouth glorifie God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ he presently addresses his Discourse to them and says Wherefore receive ye one another For what end was it that they must receive one another He himself has given a sufficient intimation of it It was that they might glorifie God with one Mind and with one Mouth The thing then requir'd of them was that both the Weak and Strong both the Jewish and Gentile Converts should meet together in the same Assemblies and unanimously joyn in the same Prayers and Praises as if they had been Animated by one Soul 3. However the Apostle us'd great Tenderness towards the Dissenting Parties whether they understood their Christian Liberty and did eat things forbidden by the Mosaical Law or whether they did not Yet when the Judaizers withdrew themselves from the Communion of those that would not come up to their Rigours and labour'd to seduce as many as they could into the way of Separation he then treated them in another Style He represented them as Persons that corrupted the Gospel and pronounced an Anathema against them Speaking of them to the Philippians he says Beware of those Dogs beware of Evil-workers beware of the Concision that is of those that cut the Church in pieces And to the Romans he says I beseech you Brethren mark them which cause Divisions and Offences contrary to the Doctrine which ye have learn'd and avoid them So far was this Apostle from approving or allowing of their Separate Congregations 4. We may gain farther Light into this Matter and what I have said of it may be confirm'd from a Remarkable Transaction which the same Apostle relates in these words When Peter says he was come to Antioch I withstood him to the Face because he was to be blam'd For before certain came from James he did eaâ— with the Gentiles but when they were come he withdrew and Separated himself fearing them which were of the Circumcision And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their Dissimulation But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the Truth of the Gospel I said unto Peter before them all If thou being a Jew livest after the manner of the Gentiles and not as do the Jews why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews From hence it is plain 1. That Peter liv'd at Antioch after the manner of the Believing Gentiles using the same Christian Liberty as they did and not withdrawing himself from them before the Judaizers came thither from Jerusalem 2. When he struck in with the Judaizers it is not to be imagin'd that they had alter'd his Judgment or that he had received any new Illumination to direct him but the Change he shew'd proceeded from his Fear a Fear as we may well suppose that if he yielded not to those Obstinate Men they would renounce the Christian Faith 3. The Jewish Converts at Antioch were not of a distinct Church by themselves separate from the Gentiles Certainly they were not so before the coming of the Zealots with whom they comply'd not out of Conscience but Dissimulation 4. With their Dissimulation Barnabas was carried away and this intimates that his Concurrence with the Dividers was a new thing to him or a departure from his former practice Upon the whole he and the rest whom he follow'd in this Action may seem to have had a good intention which was not to provoke those of the Circumcision but to do what they were able to preserve them from Apostacy Yet in their Conduct there was more of the Policy of the World than of true Christian Wisdom and Sincerity Wherefore St. Paul seeing that they walked not uprightly according to the Truth of the Gospel withstood Peter to the Face because he was to be blam'd and reprov'd him before all that they might see their Error who had been drawn into it by his Example And if Paul was so much against Separation when St. Peter himself was at the Head of it and when Barnabas an Apostle also together with the Multitude was engaged in it if he oppos'd it when it came with so strong a Torrent doubtless he resisted it with like Courage wherever he met it in any part of the World 5. The Jewish and Gentile Christians together at Antioch are stiled a Church and so are they that resided at Rome But to call them so if in the same City they had been divided into several Independent Congregations is not agreeable to the Language of that Age. Nor could they with any propriety of Speech be mention'd as one Society or Body if they were
separate and had no Communion with one another 6. In the time when this Division is suppos'd to have been between the Jewish and Gentile Converts single Persons successively govern'd the Church of Antioch and the like may be said of that of Rome as the Fathers inform us who liv'd near that Age. And it is well known that Cyprian Cornelim and Others did much insist upon this that of One Church or Diâ—â—ese there could be but One Bishop and we need not doubt but the Novatians against whom they argued would have reply'd That according to Apostolical Institution the Christians living in One City might have several Bishops over them had this been then believ'd But what was the sense of this Matter on both sides may be gathered from the Roman Confessors who had been for both but repenting of the Schism profess'd that they could not charge themselves with the Ignorance of this That as there is One God One Christ One Holy Spirit so there ought to be but One Bishop of a Catholick Church III. It hath been said That Jesus Christ hath declar'd That When two or three are gathered together in his Name he is in the midst of them and that you Assemble in this manner and are therefore assur'd of his favourable Presence But to this I need return no other Answer but what was given by St. Cyprian to the Novatians who objected the same thing These Corrupters of the Gospel and false Interpreters says Cyprian only lay held on the end of a Discourse and omit what went before Part they remember and part they craftily conceal As they are cut off from the Church so they would cut in pieces a passage of Scripture They forget that when our Lord would persuade his own Disciples to Vnanimity and Peace He said to them If two of you shall agree on Earth as touching any thing that they shall ask it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven And this he spake concerning his Church and to those that are in the Church he says That if they are of one Heart if according to his Command and Admonition but two or three of them are gathered together and pray unanimously they may obtain what they ask of the Divine Majesty Where two or three says he are gathered together in my Name I am with theme That is with the Sincere and Peaceable with those that fear God and keep his Precepts So that he that founded and made the Church doth not divide Men from it but upbraiding the Perfidâ—â—us with their Discord and commending Peace to the Faithful he shews that he is rather with two or three that pray in concerd than with the many that are at strife But what Peace do they promise themselves who are Enemies of the Brethren What Sacrifices do they believe they offer when they contend with the Priests Can they imagine that Christ is with them when they are Assembled out of his Church No tho' such Men were slain confessing his Name the blemish of Schism would not be wash'd off with their Blood IV. It hath been said That Paul rejoyced that Christ was Preach'd even by those Men who did it out of Envy and Strife and if the case of your Teachers were as bad as this as long as they preach Christ you have no reason to be solicitous about their Call nor we to be offended at their Work But to this I reply 1. That it does not appear that they who preach'd Christ out of Envy and Strife did take on them the Work of the Ministry without a Call to that Office And if they were lawfully admitted into it it only proves that Ill Men may be so and yet be useful to others but not that any may usurp the Sacred Function and how far this concerns your Teachers and their Followers I have shew'd before 2. Neither doth it appear that they Preach'd Christ to any other than the Infidels and this can never justifie your Pastors for gathering Disciples out of sound Churches or your selves for breaking the Bond of Peace in compliance with them It is one thing to add Members to a Church taken out of the Unbelieving World and for Members to withdraw themselves from it and joyn together in an Opposite Society 3. What the Apostle rejoyced at was the good that his Envyers did beside their intention The Benefit that did spring from the Evil they design'd and not the Evil that set them on Work So that notwithstanding this Example Envy and Strife are as hateful as ever and so are Church-Divisions and all things else condemn'd in the Gospel 4. What they acted out of Envy and Strife did no hurt to any but themselves 'T is true they were guilty of great Inhumanity and Cruelty towards St. Paul yet their Malice had no ill effect on him but rested on their own Heads How it was that they suppos'd that they should add Affliction to his Bonds is not so clear but that it hath given occasion to several Conjectures But to me it seems most probable that they emulated the Glory which he had acquir'd by many Conversions and judging of him by themselves they imagin'd it would be a grievous thing to him to hear that they shar'd with him in that Honour the Faith being propâ—â—gated by their Diligence Whereas iâ— was great satisfaction to him that when he was under Confinement they carried on the Work in which he himself should have been employ'd had he been at liberty Indeed their manner of doing it did exercise his Patience and Self denial yet even that was for his Advantage and he was assur'd that their Preaching would turn to his Salvation And as it was beneficial to him so it was also to the Church as being a means of gaining Proselytes and both to Jews and Gentiles as an Instrument of their Conversion But on the contrary Church-Divisions are prejudicial to all sorts of Persons to the Pastors of the Church and to the Flock To those that are within the Church and to those that are without This I might fully prove but I refer it to a more proper place and shall only here set down the Words of the Lord Chancellor Bacon who says in his Essays That Heresies and Schisms are of all others the greatest Scandals yea more than Corruption of Manners For as in the Natural Body Wound or Solution of Continuity is 〈◊〉 than a corrupt Humour so in the Spiritual So that nothing doth so much keep Meâ—â— out of the Church and drive Men out of the Church as breach of Vnity V. It hath been said That you are only return'd to those whom you had forsaken before and that you might do this since you had the Indulgence or the Liberty granted to you by the Law But if your Separation was sinful before you Conform'd your Return to it must be so too For the Law hath not alter'd the Case nor done