Pastor is dead it is an existent Community and virtually and morally a Political Church because by the Law and the peoples resolution another is to be seasonably chosen As an elective Kingdom in the interregnum is virtually and morally a Kingdom But if the purpose of chosing a Successour be changed the Kingdom and so the Church is dissolved or changed into somewhat else § 12. 5. It is indifferent to the being though not usually to the well-being of a Church whether it have one Pastor or many § 13. 6. The number of the people though not precisely determined must be competent to the Ends of the Society If it be Greater or smaller than is necessary to the Ends it is no Church of this defined species As Logicians say of the subject of other relations If a Boat or Ship be no bigger than a spoon it is not a Boat or Ship but equivocally And it may be so big as to be no Boat or Ship when it is uncapable of the Ends. A Family is too small to be a City And a Kingdom or the world is too big Dispositio materiae est necessaria ad receptionem formae § 14. 7. It is impossible to be a Church without the cement of Consent professed or cordial If many be forced into a Temple not consenting it is a Prison and they are not a Church If they consent only to meet on other occasions or for some occasional act of Religion it is not thereby made a Church If they be commanded to consent and do not and if it only be their duty it maketh them not a Church but only proveth that they ought to be one No Law or command maketh a Church without Consent But this Consent may be divers waies expressed The plainest most obliging way is best but is not absolutely necessary In some times and cases it may be more needful than at others especially at the first gathering and forming of a Church sometime ordinary Communion or attendance specially of persons born in that Church may signifie necessary Consent It 's pity then that men should be so weak as some to make express Covenanting of each member with the Church and Pastor necessary and others to deride it when it is laudable ad bene esse but not necessary ad esse But some signification of Consent is necessary ad esse that is A Consent to be a member of the society and submit to the Pastor and hold Communion with the Church to the Ends in the definition And the plainer this is exprest it is the fitter to satisfie the Church and oblige the person But whether the Consent be signified by words writings or deeds is undetermined No man can have the great priviledges of a member either of the universal or particular Church against or without his will and consent And no Minister not consenting can be a Pastor to any The Relation of a Church member consisteth in a Right to great benefits due to no refuser or unwilling person and in obligation to duty contracted by Consent besides the obligation of Gods Command We can no further prove any Company of Christians to be a Church than we can prove that they Consent to Church relation for Church Ends. § 15. Christianity it self consisteth in a believing Consent to the Covenant of Grace and as no man is a Christian nor hath right to Christ and his saving benefits without Consent so no man can have right to the Sacraments that seal and deliver this Covenant and benefits without consent No Christian in his wits is for the Baptizing of any adult person that consenteth not And the Lords Supper is a seal of the same Covenant and no more due to non-consenters than Baptism And as it is not enough to say I am willing to be Baptized but not by a Minister or not in the order appointed by Christ so it is not enough to say I would have the Sacrament and Communion with the Church but I will not submit to the Ministry Doctrine Worship or Discipline of that Church For this is as great a contradiction as to say I will be a servant to you but I will not work or obey but only have my wages or I will be a Soldier but I will not fight but be paid He that will have Communion with the Church must consent to the Ministry Worship and Discipline of that Church in which Communion consisteth § 16. And if a Minister shall be so imposed on as that any man or woman may come when they please and force him to give them the Sacrament of Communion without consenting to take him for their Pastor or to be taught or guided by him yea or give him satisfactory notice that they know what the Sacrament is or who Christ is he is a slave and not a Pastor Baser than any School-master Philosopher or Physicion that are not forced to take a Scholar Pupil or Patient against their will or that will not take them for their Teacher or Physicion and obey them § 17. Yet if on this pretence any Bishop or Pastor will impose unnecessary Covenants promises or professions on the Church or any Christians and make their wills a Law and oblige men to give them any other Belief or Obedience than truly belongeth to the Pastoral Office and so will set up a tyranny instead of a Christian Ministry they are not herein to be obeyed lest we be guilty of the corruption § 18. Yea if every integral part of the Pastors power and the peoples duty be put into such Promises or Contracts and the people required to profess their Consent as a necessary condition of their Communion it is sinful tyranny contrary to Gods Law and common reason and the constant practice of the Primitive Church Christ himself requireth unto Baptism no other Consent as necessary save to the essentials of Religion A thousand Integrals may be unknown to the Baptized and are so to most Christians It is our duty never to think speak or do amiss But Christ maketh not such duty necessary to our Baptism Christianity or Church Communion It is the duty of every member of a single Church to hear believe and obey the Pastor in many things where the best may fail To excommunicate a man therefore for not subscribing or professing assent to some unnecessary doubtful form for not being convinced by a Lay-Chancellours sayings in a doubted case or for not paying the Court Fees or for not appearing the day that one is summoned to appear at the Chancellours Court and such like are but tyrannical Schismatical acts The King himself is satisfied with the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacie and doth not require all the subjects no nor the wisest Lawyers or Judges to swear subscribe or profess that they assent and consent to all the Laws of the land § 19. 8. The great Controversie of the age and many ages is about the true and formal difference between the lowest species of Churches which
dividers sense I tell you if you will be welcome to God in your prayers or any other religious services you must come as in Vnion with Christ and with his Universal Church God will receive no one that cometh to him as alone and divided from the rest As you must have Union with Christ the Head so must you have with his Body A divided member is no member but a dead thing Little think many ignorant persons of this who think that the singularity and smallness of their sect or party is the necessary sign of their acceptance with God Because they read Fear not little flock As if a little flock must separate from Christs little flock for fear of being too great And as if his Flock which then was but a few hundreds must be no greater when the Kingdoms of the world are become his Kingdoms Yet such have there been of late among us who first became as they were called Puritans or Presbyterians when they saw them a small and suffering party But when they prospered and multiplyed they turned Independents or Separatists thinking that the former were too many to be the true Church And on the same reason when the Independents prospered they turned Anabaptists And when they prospered they turned Quakers thinking that unless it were a small and suffering party it could not be the Little flock of Christ As if he that is called The Saviour of the world would take it for his honour to be the Saviour only of a few Families or Villages and his Kingdom must be as little as Bethlehem where he was born Should they take the same course about their Language and say that it is not the language of Canaan but of the beast if it grow common and so take up with a new one that it might be a narrow one the folly of it would discover it self And what is the excellency of a Language but significancy and extensive community and what greater plague since Adams sin hath befaln mankind than the division of tongues as hindering communication and propagation of the Gospel And what greater blessing as a means to universal Reformation could be given men than an universal common language And what is the property of Babel but division and confusion of tongues And doth not all this intimate the necessity of a Union of minds While we keep in the Vnity of the Body and spirit we may we must strive for such a singularity as consisteth in an excellency of degree and endeavour to be the best and holiest persons and the usefullest members in the body of Christ But if once you must separate from the body as too good to be members of so great or so bad a society you perish God will own no Church which is so Independent as not to be a member of the universal not any person who is so independent as not to come to him as in Communion with all the Christians in the world We must not approve of the faults of any Church or Christian and so communicate with their sin by Voluntary consent But disowning their sin we must own them as Christs members and have communion with them in faith and Love and holy profession of both and while we are absent in body must be as present in spirit with them and still come to God as in communion with all his Church on earth and offer up our prayers as in conjunction with them and not as a separated independent thing 2. And as our Vnity is part of our necessary fitness for duties of holy worship so is it also for duties of the second table that is of Justice and Charity to men And this is evident in the nature of the thing No man will be exact in Justice till he do as he would be done by And who can do that who Loveth not his neighbour as himself What is our unity but our Love to others as our selves And how can we do the works of Love without Love It is divided SELF that is the cause of all the unmercifulness and injustice in the world Unity maketh my neighbour to be to me as my self and his Interest and welfare to be to me as my own and his loss and hurt to be as mine And were he indeed my self and his welfare and his hurt mine own you may judge without many words how I should use him whether I should shew him mercy in his wants and misery whether I should rejoice with him in his joy and mourn with him in his sorrows whether I should speak well or ill of him behind his back and whether I should persecute him and undo him whether I should defame him and write books to render him odious and to perswade the rulers that he is unworthy to have the liberty of a Christian or of a man to preach to pray to be conversed with or to live Would not uniting Love make a wonderful change in some mens judgements speeches and behaviour and make those men good Christians or good Moralists at least who now when they have cryed up Morality and Charity and good works would perswade men by the Commentary of their practice that they mean Malignity cruelty and the propagating of hatred and all iniquity Where there is not a dominion of LOVE and UNITY there is a dominion of SELFISHNESS and ENMITY and how well these will keep the Commandments which are all fulfilled in LOVE how well they will do good to all men especially to them of the houshold of faith and provoke one another to Love and to good works it is easie for any man to judge Once alienate mens hearts from one another and the Life will shew the alienation 3. This UNITY of SPIRIT and spirit of unity is our necessary preservation against sins of commission as well as of omission as aforesaid even against the common iniquities of the world LOVE and UNITY tyrannize not over inferiours contrive not to tread down others that we may rise and to keep them down to secure our domination They oppress not the poor the weak or innocent They make not snares for other mens Consciences nor lay stumbling-blocks before them to occasion them to sin nor drive men on to sin against Conscience and so to hell to shew mens authority in a thing of nought Had this ruled in Ahab and his Prophets Michaiah had not been smitten on the mouth nor fed in a Prison with the bread and water of affliction nor had Elijah been hunted after as the troubler of Israel Had this unity of spirit ruled in Jeroboam and in Rehoboam one had not stretcht out his hand against the Prophet nor the other despised experienced Counsellours to make heavier the burdens of the complaining people Had it overcome the SELFISHNESS of the Kings of Israel their Calves and High places had not engaged them against the Prophets and been their ruine Had it prevailed in the Kings of Judah and their people Jeremy had not been
Baptism the term of Christian Catholick unity and concord as necessary ad esse and the Creed as needful and apt ad bene esse ordinarily § 22. There is a controversie raised as aforesaid by Donatists and other Sectaries so now by the Papists whether the person baptized must not also own 1. the Ministry in general 2. the particular Minister that baptizeth him 3. and the particular Church into which he is received 4. and subject himself by profession to such pastoral power To all which I shall distinctly answer § 23. I. To the first 1. what is connoted is not alwayes a necessary part of the contract A man cannot be baptized but he must know that some one hath power to baptize him 2. It is more needful of the two that the Apostolical office and power be known and believed than the successive ordinary Ministry Because the belief of the truth of the Gospel more dependeth on their testimony as commissioned and qualified with those extraordinary gifts of the spirit which are its seal and proof 3. It is of great use to our faith and obedience to understand that Christ hath settled an authorized Ministry to preserve and preach his Word and administer his Sacraments and guide his Churches to the end of the world and he that knoweth not this wanteth an integral part of Christianity and a great and needful help to his edification and salvation 4. Yet none of these are absolutely necessary to the essence of Christianity If any lived where the ministerial office were not known or should by misleading so far err as to think that any judicious Christian or any Christian Magistrate or master of a family might preach and administer the Sacraments if yet this man believe in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost as his Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier and be accordingly devoted to him in baptism this man shall be saved notwithstanding his ignorance or errour about the Ministry yea though he knew not of the office of the Apostles but took them for lay men For the promise is that whoever believeth in Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life Joh. 3. 16 18. by what means soever he was converted to the faith It is not only He that is converted by a Priest shall not perish Nor is it ever said He that believeth in the Apostles or Priests shall not perish but he that believeth in Christ which essentially includeth the belief in the Father and the Holy Ghost And therefore Paul calleth them carnal as guilty of Schism that said I am of Paul and I of Cephas because they were not baptized into the name of Paul or Cephas but of Christ And he thanketh God that he had baptized few of them lest they should say that he had baptized them into his own name And yet are the Apostles foundations or bases and pillars in the Church because Christ used them as the first great keepers of his word and seals and the means of converting unbelievers and it 's hard and rare to believe in Christ without knowing and believing that they were his commissioned Ministers § 24. II. But though it be a duty to choose a true Minister to be baptized by yet it is not at all necessary to the validity of baptism to know that the baptizer is such Indeed not one of many can be sure as not having seen his ordination nor knowing of his necessary qualifications Many things may deceive them and all baptism by Lay-men is not null as the Fathers held and the Papists now hold and confess § 25. III. And as to reception into a particular Church I have proved before that it is no work of baptism as such but a consequent act in order of nature alwayes and oft of time The Eunuch Act. 8. was baptized into no Church but the Universal There be some few rigid mistaken brethren called Independents in New England that think indeed that all baptized persons must be baptized into a particular Church but others even of that party are wiser herein It is very fit that every one that can be a member of some particular Church But some cannot as Travellers Merchants Ambassadors c. who reside among Infidels only and those that live in Countreys where the Pastors by tyranny refuse to admit any to their communion who will not say or do some unlawful thing But yet Baptism as such is no such thing nor hath such an effect Much less is it a profession that such a particular Church is sound § 26. IV. And as to subjection to the Clergie It is true that Baptism essentially subjecteth us to Christ and this includeth an obligation to obey him in all things which we know to be his Law And it is true that just obedience to the Guides of the Church is his command But it followeth not that every man knoweth this nor that every disobedience unchurcheth us It is his command that we pray continually and in all things give thanks and that we speak not an idle word and use not vain jeasting c. But it nullifieth not Christianity that we culpably offend in one of these Nor doth our baptism contain our promise that we will never sin nor that we will obey a command which we understand not but that we will be Christs subjects and obey him sincerely so as that when we fail by weakness we will renew our repentance Christ also commandeth every child subject wife servant to obey their parents Princes and Magistrates Husband and Master And he that is baptized bindeth himself also to obey these Laws sincerely if he know them But it followeth not that it is essential to Baptism to oblige us to subjection to parents husbands masters but only to Christ who commandeth us to obey them Even as subjects take not an Oath of Allegiance to every Justice Constable or Messenger but only to the King who yet commandeth us to obey his Judges Justices Constables c. § 27. To pretend that Baptism as such doth subject men to the Bishop of Rome or to the Bishop of Alexandria Antioch Paris London or to the Pastor of a single Church is a perverting the sence of it and to be answered as the Apostle did others Were ye baptized into the Name of Paul CHAP. IV. II. What are the terms necessary for the continuance of church-Church-Communion and what are the lawful Causes of abscission or Excommunication § 1. IT is granted that as there is somewhat more necessary to the continuance of our pardon justification and right to glory than was to our first reception so also to our continuance as members of the Catholick Church That is the bare profession of faith and consent and subjection or Covenanting with Christ for future sincere obedience is enough to our first reception by baptism But some performance of this Covenant is necessary to our continuance The reasons are 1. Because the Covenant or promise is necessary not meerly for it self but for the
to sentence or declare him none For the sentence must be true Many things in such cases may cause a man to err which do not unchristen him or cut him off from Christ § 42. The disowning and refusing some humane forms of Profession of faith called Creeds or some doubtful though lawful subscriptions promises declarations Covenants or oaths much less false ones are no just causes of Excommunicating that man who professeth all the essentials of Christianity and whatever is necessary to salvation § 43. The condemning of some such humane Creeds Articles Forms Covenants promises or oaths though unjustly is no just cause of such excommunication because all men being known to be fallible a good Christian may mistake another mans or many mens words And the misunderstanding of a man or many men may stand with Christianity piety and salvation § 44. It is not all that maketh a man uncapable of local Communion with this or that particular Church which unchristeneth him or maketh him uncapable of continuing in the Church-universal as shall be after proved § 45. Nay a man may be a Christian in the Universal Church who is a member of no particular Church as is before shewed As 1. some newly Baptized as the Eunuch Act. 8. 2. Some Christians that live among Infidels where is no Pastor or Church As if one were now Converted in any Heathen Land or cast there after or called as an Embassador or Merchant to live there 3. Some poor vagrant persons that have no dwelling as Pedlars Tinkers and such others that go from place to place and some others § 46. Therefore if a man should so far err as to think that he were not bound to be a member of some particular Church it may consist with his being a member of the Universal Church § 47. Some few brethren called Independents think that none are members of the Church-Universal but those that are members of some particular Church But it is but few of them and they are mistaken As Corporations are the most regular parts of the Kingdom but not the whole Kingdom so particular Churches are the most regular parts of the universal Church but not the whole as hath been proved by instances § 48. Yea though we need lay no stress on this I doubt not but in cases of necessity an open profession of Christianity and entring into the Covenant of God doth make a man a Christian even without baptism it self As if a Bible or good book or speech convert a man among Infidels where there is no one to baptize him St. Peter saith It is not the outward washing that saveth but the answer of a good Conscience to God in the holy Covenant And it is a dishonourable doctrine against God and Christianity to say that God layeth his love and mans salvation so much on a Ceremony as to damn or deny an upright holy soul for want of it or to give grace to none but by that Ceremony though it be of Gods institution I am sure St. Paul saith Else were your Children unclean but now are they holy 1 Cor. 7. 14. And if Holy before baptism because the Parents are so and do devote them to God and God accepts them then baptism doth but solemnize this dedication and invest them It is the solemn Covenanting with God that is the chief part of baptism and is it which the ancient Churches meant when they pleaded for the necessity of baptism to salvation Though it is no doubt a duty where it may be had and the thing signified is necessary to salvation § 49. The Keyes of Admission and exclusion as to the Church universal and salvation are not given absolutely to the Pastors but only to exercise on qualified persons And every man herein hath more power as to his own entrance or ejection than the Pastors have They do but judge a man to be what he is according to Christs Law and not what he is not no man can make a man a Christian without himself nor unchristian him without himself nor can all men and devils do so much to it as himself God hath not put our salvation or damnation so much in any ones power as our own § 50. A false and unjust sentence of excommunication doth no more to damn a man than a false absolution doth to save him But till the falshood is known others for order sake must avoid the person if it be done by a just power and not notoriously abused to the subversion of order or the Church otherwise not But the injured person is still a member of the Catholick Church And is not disobliged from his Communion with it and publick worshipping of God because a Pastor unjustly forbiddeth him Though he must give all due satisfaction and seek his right in a regular way CHAP. V. III. What are the terms necessary to the Office and Exercise of the Sacred Ministry § 1. THe Schisms in the Church are far more among the Clergy than the people and have been mostly exercised by Bishops militating against each other and anathematizing each other as hereticks or as not submitting to the challengers of superiour jurisdiction Or else in the Bishops silencing Christs Ministers for not obeying them as they expect HARD WORDS for want of an equal skill in speaking and JURISDICTION or superiority through pride and a carnal mind contended for by the Clergy against each other have torn the Church and confounded States and been the shame of Christianity in the eyes of Infidels and brought us to the low and broken state that we are in § 2. The great cause of all this hath been the introduction of ignorant or bad men into the sacred Pastoral Office And the remedy doth not yet seem very hopeful to us And operari sequitur esse As the man is so will he do A good tree will bring forth good fruit and è contra An ignorant man will err An erring man will do evil and not repent none will do more mischief against the Churches peace than an erring Ruler that Can do it and thinketh that he Ought to do it worldly men will prefer their worldly interest before the interest of Christianity and mens souls The carnal mind is not subject to the Law of God nor while such can be But the Proud while they will not obey God will rage against the best that obey not them Read Church-History and you 'll see it proved § 3. Such as the choosers are such ordinarily the chosen are like to be God and the ancient Churches set three locks to this door for the safety of the Church that so great a matter should not be disposed of without a manifold consent 1. The person to be Ordained and the Ordainers were made the Judges who should be a Minister of Christ in the Church-Universal as being qualified by God thereto II. The People and the Ordainers were to choose or consent who should be their Pastors in particular The people and the
to retain in Church-Communion multitudes of Infidels Adulterers Fornicators Perjured persons drunkards railers slanderers oppressours hereticks scorners at piety c. And it 's yet worse to cast out men for not subscribing to some lye false doctrine or wicked thing or for refusing down right heinous sin And yet worse is it to make Discipline an engine to dethrone Kings and embroile confound or subdue Kingdoms and enslave the earth § 50. The lower first degrees of Church-Government which is but doctrinally to teach men and reprove them all Pastors must use or they omit the essential work of their office But the full prosecution of it to excommunication or publick repentance is rather needful to the Well-being than to the Being of the Churches and Ministry especially when the Christian-Magistrate doth his part No doubt but the Magistrate may admonish a sinner and command him to make publick Confession in the Church and may shame the impenitent and forbid familiarity with him yea and Church-Communion when the case is notorious or judged by the Pastor But it is the Pastors office to judge of his crime impenitence and repentance in order to excommunication and absolution and herein the Magistrate is not to take on him the Pastors work but to command the Pastor and people to do their duties § 51. III. So much of the necessaries to the Being and Well being of the Ministry As to the exercise it may be gathered from what is said There is further necessary to it 1. Natural ability possibility liberty and opportunity and the peoples acceptance consent and reception 2. And as to the Well-being and success 1. The great diligence and skill of the Minister 2. The forwardness and teachableness and zeal and concord of the flock 3. The Concord of the Ministers and Neighbour Pastors 4. And the countenance and encouragement of faithful Magistrates will much promote it CHAP. VI. IV. What is necessary to the Constitution Administration and Communion of single Churches § 1. BY single and Particular Churches I still mean those that are compounded of many Christians but not of many Churches And I take not the word Church in any of the laâ—e senses for civil or occasional meetings or societies or for every religious concourse of Christians as a Synod an accidental day of fasting and prayer c. nor for a meer Community or neighbourhood of Christians nor for a Christian Kingdom or City governed by the Magistrates sword But for a proper Church as political consisting of Pastor and flock § 2. When the Apostles ordained them Elders in every Church Act. 14. 23. it signifieth that they setled these Elders as the proper fixed Church-guides of those Churches Not that they had no Ministerial power elsewhere but that this was their proper special Charge or Province As a Licensed Physicion that hath a particular Hospital or City is a Physicion every where that he cometh and not breaking order may exercise his Art but he may not invade another mans Hospital or Province nor is bound as the other is to medicate that Hospital c. So a Minister of Christ lawfully invited may Preach and Administer Sacraments yea and Discipline in any other Church pro tempore not as a Lay-man but as a Minister in office But he is not bound to take the Charge of another mans flock nor may intrude disorderly but as a helper or on just call § 3. Titus is appointed to ordain such Elders in every City which is all one as in every Church not that every City then had a Church nor that he was to ordain Elders in the Cities that had no Churches nor that he was forbidden to ordain Elders in Countrey Villages Nor that he was tyed either to ordain many Elders in every Church or City or yet to ordain but One in one City or one Church But because de facto there were few or no Villages then that had Christians enow to make a Church of desirable consistence therefore they were congregate commonly in Cities and great Towns where the Christians of the neighbour Villages joyned with them § 4. Every such single Church then by the Apostles order had their own Pastor one or more and every such fixed Pastor knew his proper Charge and flock And in the time when the Epistles of Ignatius were written every such Church had One Bishop over the other Elders and usually some fellow Elders and Deacons and a single undivided Church was known by these notes of Unity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. In every Church there is one Altar or Altar place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and one Bishop with his fellow Presbyters and Deacons Whence Mr. Mede well noteth the certainty that then no Church of one Altar was denyed a Bishop and no Bishop had more Churches with an Altar than one That is no other Assembly for stated Communion § 5. Yet occasional and subordinate Communion parts of a Church may hold Those called Independents deny not but that in persecution or for want of a large room the same Church may meet by parts in several places at once And all confess that a Parish Church may admit of Chapels and Oratories where distant and weak persons may frequently meet that yet sometimes must come to the Parish Church And families that have sick persons may Communicate with neighbours joyning with them But these are not Churches but parts of such § 6. God hath not said just how many persons must make a single Church no more and no less determinately but he hath given us sufficient notice to guide us by the work and end and by his general precepts and examples § 7. A single Church is a society of Christians of Divine institution consisting of one Pastor or more as the Guiding part and a competent number of private Christians as the Guided part associated by Consent for personal presential holy Communion and mutual assistance in holy Doctrine holy worship of God holy order and holy Conversation for the edification preservation and salvation of that Church and the welfare of the Church universal of which it is a part and the Glorifying and Pleasing of God our Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier § 8. To open the parts of this definition observe 1. That as in defining a Sacrament so in defining a Church we mention the Divine Institution because it is not human Sacraments or humanly-invented Churches that we treat of § 9. 2. Note that only Christians make a Christian Church as is oft said Professed Christians the visible Church and sincere heart consenters the mystical regenerated saved Church § 10. 3. It is not any other company of Christians but a society or Governed association that we speak of as strictly called a Church § 11. 4. The Pastors and flock are the essential constitutive parts It may be a Community without a Pastor but not a Policie or Ecclesiastical Society While the Pastor liveth it is such a Church in esse existente when the
is called A particular or single Church and an association of Churches or a compound Church That we may not confound them nor make a meer gradual difference in the same species to pass for a specifick difference And there is more lyeth on this than most observe And therefore I determine it here in the definition 1. It is commonly granted that there must be Christian Assemblies fixed for ordinary Communion in Gods worship 2. And it is agreed that these Assemblies cannot be held without the officiating and conduct of Ministers of Christ authorized to teach and administer the Sacraments Though there be also another sort of assemblies even for some Religious exercises which may be held by Princes Judges and other Lay-men 3. And it is by Grotius and many others manifested that Christ formed his Churches more to the similitude of the Synagogue than the Temple state of order and worship 4. And it is agreed that though Apostles Evangelists and other itinerant Preachers might gather Sacred Assemblies where they came and were as transient temporary Pastors to them yet the Apostles were guided by the Spirit to settle Elders in every Church as is proved before But here men make a great and distracting Controversie 1. Whether this first Church-species may not consist of many Congregations yea many hundreds or thousands 2. And whether every Church of the lowest species must have a Bishop § 20. To decide this Controversie I do in the definition express the specification of this Church relation from the End as all such kind of relations must be It must be a fixed association of Christians for personal presential Communion and assistance in holy doctrine worship c. This definition is necessary and herein sufficient 1. It is necessary that a difference be noted between a single Church and a Composition of Churches Because 1. Several ends shew us that they are not univocaly called Churches but are of several sorts 2. The first is past controversie of Divine institution The other are by some men taken for Divine by some for Lawful humane and by some for sinful inventions and additions to Gods appointed order Things that so much differ must be differenced 2. It is sufficient as 1. Assigning the true specifying end 2. and avoiding all extreams 1. It assigneth the true end For that Churches of such a sort for that end were settled by the Apostles none deny 2. It justly differenceth them from all other societies 1. There may be occasional meetings of Part of a Church for want of room or liberty in private houses Chapels or Oratories Independents Presbyterians and Diocesans grant this But these still acknowledge themselves to be but parts of a larger society consenting to the same specifying ends and assembling sometimes with that larger body and sometimes apart by reason of impediments age weakness distance weather persecution c And though a Parish as many have far more than can meet at once together yet 1. Still the ends of the association is for that sort of Communion 2. Some of a family may meet one day and some another and some a third 3. Every error and corruption altereth not the species of the Church The individuals that fail and absent themselves make not Parochial Communion to be another thing for other ends A Parochial Church then is the lowest and first true species of Churches 2. And this distinguisheth it from all Compound Churches which are not for Present Ordinary Communion in publick worship and Discipline but only for Distant Communion by Officers Delegates or Letters 1. A Synod is for Consultation and not purposely congregated for ordinary Communion in worship and the Churches which send their Bishops or Pastors thither have not personal presential Communion one with another ever the more but only mediate by Delegates or Officers They may dwell a thousand miles or more from one another If all the Schoolmasters in several Kingdoms should hold Provincial National or much larger Synods for agreement in Teaching and Governing their Schools this would not confound such a Synod with a School as if they were of the same Species of society 2. This distinguisheth a single Church from the Papal pretended universal policy And from a Patriarchal Church and from a Provincial and a Diocesan Church in the sense now used For these are compounded of several single Churches and they are not a society at all associated for ordinary personal presential Communion in Gods worship and holy living Only they are all under one General Governour not using to meet themselves nor ever seeing one another Now if to be under one absent General Bishop be that which specifyeth a single or particular Church then All that called the Roman Catholick Church is but one single Church compounded of no Churches Or one Patriarchal or Provincial or National Church were the lowest species and a single Church and so the Diocesans were none But if that which maketh it a single Church of the lowest species were that no Bishop is under them but that they are under one sole Bishop then 1. If all England had but one Bishop as many tell us all Abassia hath but one called the Abunah or if a Patriarch put down all the Bishops under him this Church of his would be but a single Church 2. And then there would be no such thing as a Church associated for personal presential Communion which I have proved that the Apostles by the spirit settled § 21. Those that tell us that a Diocesan Church is the first or lowest species of Divine institution do either mean by a Diocess such a society as we now call a Parish associated for presential Communion or a Church made of many such associated under one Bishop If the first they differ only about the name in which they go against our common use and are not intelligible by the vulgar Though in old Church writers a Diocess is sometimes taken as greater than a Province and sometime as less and a Parish and a Diocess are sometimes used for the same and sometime not yet that diversity of naming hindreth us not from knowing the difference of the things either as defined or as commonly now denominated a Parish Church and a Diocess And if their meaning be to prove that single Churches essentiated by their Association for Present personal Communion are not of Gods institution no intelligent impartial Christians will believe them who understand the Scripture and the state of the primitive Churches and the reason of the thing Did men believe this they would believe that Christ had instituted no Church order or form at all Much less being to be said for the rest than this And even those few that say that no form of Church Government is settled by God do yet grant that setled congregations for ordinary worship and mutual help with their guiding Pastors are of Divine right and so confute themselves unless they mean only that Pastoral Government of compounded Churches
is not jure Divino § 22. And some called Presbyterians distinguish between a Worshipping Church and a Governed Church and tell us that the lowest Governed Church should consist of divers worshipping Churches It may sometime contein divers subordinate by-meetings as Chapels for them that must needs be oft absent from the full assembly But that it must have many such or that it must or may have many full settled worshipping Churches that personally communicate still distantly only in their several Parishes is contrary to Scripture antiquity and reason and denyeth the first instituted Church form Thorndikes first books which fetch the reason of Church Government from Assemblies were far truer than his later in which he seemed to dream of a humane universal Policy § 23. Either a Bishop as distinct in Order or Degree from Presbyters is necessary to the Being of a Church of Divine institution or not If not then it may be a Church without such a Bishop and have accordingly the rights of a Church in the proper political sense now intended by the word Church And then the old sayings would not be true 1. Of Ignatius that to every Church there is one Altar and one Bishop with his fellow Presbyters and Deacons 2. Of Cyprian that ubi Episcopus ibi Ecclesia 3. Of Hierome and others Ecclesia eft plâ—bs adunat a Episcopo If yea then 1. Our Parish Priests are true Bishops or else the Parish Churches are no true Churches but Chapels as wanting an essential part 2. And then there are no Churches in England of the lowest species for present Communion c. 3. And then it will be hard to confute them that say No form of Church Government is jure Divino or instituted of God 4. And the form of Government being the specifying form of the policy or Church it will follow that God hath instituted no Churches but the universal as headed by Christ 5. And if you will confess to the Separatists that we have no Churches of Gods institution you will never heal their separation § 24. I am therefore past all doubt that if it can be proved that a Bishop is necessary to every true Church that every Parish should have a Bishop and if Arch-bishops be good and meet the Diocesans should be their Arch-bishops And that deposing the Parish Bishops and Churches is a heinous corrupting crime But if Bishops be not necessary to a Church as such the case is otherwise § 25. It is therefore of great importance that single Churches be neither too great nor too small If too small they will want 1. the honour of fulness 2. and the cheering help of praising God in great assemblies 3. and the mutual counsel and vigilant help of many 4. and the safe guidance of many Presbyters or a Bishop and Presbyters which a few people cannot expect And if it be too great it will 1. hinder the comfort of those that want room in the Church assembly 2. or cause the Church to degenerate into another sort of society It is best therefore that it should be as Great as that all the people who are constant worshippers of God on the Lords days may meet in one place where they have liberty Chapels or lesser meetings being allowed to the aged weak sick or very distant yet all that are able coming sometime to the common Church § 26. The first degenerating of single Churches grew 1. out of the ambition of the Pastors to extend their power as far as they could 2. and out of a desire in the people to see their assemblies as honourable for greatness number and concord as they might 3. and out of a conceit that one City should have but one Bishop and so be one Governed Church And hereupon at Alexandria and Rome they began to have several fixed Chapels in the same City and neighbour villages and the Bishop to send Curate-Presbyters to them as he pleased yet so that at first they communicated frequently in the Bishops Church After that these Presbyters were fixed and gave them the Sacraments where they came After that they were tyed to come to the Bishops Church for communion but at Easter Whitsontide or some great and rare seasons After that they were so many and far off that they were no more obliged to come at all or to hear or see the Bishop but only to be distantly ruled by him and their Presbyters Then many Countrey Parishes got Bishops But the City Bishops disagreeing with them long after got them down § 27. Were it true that every City in the old sense should have a Bishop and but one it would follow that every Corporation or great Town or Borough called Market Towns in England should have one the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying such of old And were it so and the Countrey Parishes adjoyning made Chapels and distributed accordingly to the several Towns it would be like the old state of the Church about three hundred and four hundred and five hundred years after Christ and much better than it is though not as it should be § 28. 9. The remote ends are mentioned in the definition viz. the right worshipping and obeying God the welfare of the Church-universal for the parts all contribute to the perfection of the whole and the glory and pleasing of God are the common ultimate end of all § 29. By all this it appeareth what is necessary to make a particular Church and to make a man a member of it And that it is not necessary hereto that the person be a member of a Compound Church Diocesan Provincial Patriarchial National or Papal whatever it be to some of these on any other accounts Nor yet that he make any unnecessary profession promise or Covenant § 30. But to the actual Communion with such a Church in exercise the nature of the thing maketh it necessary that the people consent and be guided by their Pastor in the circumstances belonging to his office which are necessary in genere to be some way determined but not necessary in specie vel individuo this rather than that For instance They that will have communion in publick worship must meet in some capacious place at some day some hour If any one will not come to that place at that time appointed he separateth from that Communion in that act The Scripture must be read in some Translation some order If any say I will not Communicate with you unless you use another translation another order without verses and Chapters or read some other parts he so far separateth from that Church In singing Psalms if he will not joyn in that Version that Psalm that Tune which the Church useth he so far separateth If he will not hear the Preacher unless he change his text his method or use notes or no notes and so in such cases will not follow but lead he separateth so far for all cannot be leaders and be of one mind But if the Minister
will say You shall not communicate with us unless you will swear or say or do some unnecessary thing it is he then that is the divider and unjustly casteth out a Christian CHAP. VII What are the necessary terms of Concord of these single Churches with one another in the same Kingdome or in divers § 1. THat they be under the Government of a Christian Magistrate is necessary to the well-being or great advantage of them though not to the being of which more in due place § 2. That they live as neighbour Churches in Unity of faith and love and avoid all things contrary and to their power help each other according to need and opportunity is their duty § 3. It is necessary that they agree in all things necessary to the communion of men as members of the Church universal mention'd before and in all things essential to particular Churches § 4. If any one excommunicated justly for heresie apostasie or impenitence in any crimes shall offer to defile and endanger any other Church by intrusion or deceit the Church which cast him out is bound by the Laws of Love and Concord to send notice to such endangered neighbour Churches of the person and his case to prevent their hurt And unless the Church that cast him out have criminally forfeited their credit other Churches are bound by the Law of Charity to take their sentence as probably just and not to receive the ejected person till he have either proved his sentence unjust or profess repentance Not that they are bound absolutely to exclude him and deny him audience though yet they claim no superiority over the Church that excommunicated him but as neighbours and parts of the same Church universal they must hear both sides before they deny any Christian communion that claimeth it at least when his allegations have great probability of truth and seem to weigh down all that they have received against him And they may absolve the Criminal upon a just profession of true repentance but such a prosession will not stand with a refusal to confess in the same Church where the man sinned without some special probable reason it being that Church which is most wronged by the scandal and hath heard the causes § 5. If any Church in the same Kingdom or another be accused of violating the Christian faith or of any crime which Christians are bound to disown by avoiding the criminal it is the duty of the accused Church to be ready to satisfie the offended Churches by answering the accusation not as to Rulers by the reasons of obedience but as to Christian neighbours by the rule of common equity and love and for the preservation of unity and peace § 6. If the charge be but general that the Church is guilty of heresie or unsoundness in the faith it is the duty of the accused Church to send to the offended the Profession of their Faith and Religion which need to be no more than this which the offended ought to take as satisfactory We hereby profess that we stand to our Baptismal Covenant fiducially believing in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost our Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier and give up our selves to him accordingly in these Relations Believing the articles of all the Creeds in which the universal Church ever agreed and desiring the things contained in the Lords Prayer and consenting to obey the ten Commandements as delivered to us in nature and by Christ and we profess our obligation and Consent to Believe Love and obey all that we do or shall understand to be the revealed word of God even the sacred Canonical books of Scripture and in this common Belief and Love and practice to livein the Communion of the unniversal Church of Christ Renouncing the Devil the world and the flesh as they are enemies to any of this and all doctrines desires and practices contrary hereunto so far as unfeignedly to endeavour to resâ—â—t and overcome them and when we 〈◊〉 and sin to rise by true repentance And all this in Hope of the Love of God the Father the Grace of the Son in our Pardon Justification and Adoption and the Communion of the Holy Ghost and of the Perfection of these and of our selves with the Church in everlasting Glory This may be briefly exprest in Baptism and to present persons that may receive our explications where they doubt of our understanding or sincerity But to distant suspecting persons or Churches such largeness is useful and this is enough § 7. But if any particular heresie or crime be charged on a neighbour Church it is not to be believed without proof nor they to be disclaimed till the charge be sent to them and their defence be heard And herein they ought to offer satisfaction to the offended Church 1. By denying the charge if false 2. By explaining words and actions which are ambiguous and to be suspected 3. In controverted cases by renewing the foresaid profession of all that is necessary explicitely to be held and promising to renounce any opinion or practice as soon as they perceive it contrary thereto 4. And in all cases of words or deeds expressly contrary to Gods doctrine or Law or which they shall be convinced to be sinfull to confess the errour or crime and humbly crave the prayers of the Church for pardon and profess their purpose of future reformation This is the means and this is enough for the offenders satisfaction And if the errour be no real and discerned denyal of any necessary article of faith but an undiscerned remote consequential contrariety with which the professed holding of that particular necessary article which they seem to overthrow may stand that Church or person is not to be rejected from Communion or hereticated For instance If a Church be accused to be Nestorians or Eutychians or Monothelites their answer ought to be Mary is the Mother of Christ who is God and in that sense of God but not of the Deity or as God And Christs Naâ—ures Wills and operations are two as distinct but not two as divided But if they have not so much easie skill to explain themselves but say rudely as Nestorius I will not say that God was two or three months old or as Cyril and Eutychius and Dioscorus Christs natures were two before the Union but since One and not Two if withal they prosess that they believe Christ to be true God and true man in one person and do not destroy deny or confound the Godhead and manhood or any other essential point of faith or religion they ought not to be hereticated or rejected § 8. No Church hath power or duty to deny any other Communion to another Church or person but such as they had power to grant them But to remote persons or Churches never seen by them as in other lands or Countries they can grant them no Presential local Communion but only Mental Therefore they can eject them from none but mental They
member of the universal Church who is not a member of some particular Church 23. That none are in the universal Church who are not the subjects of Diocesan Bishops 24. That a man not baptized by one that hath Ordination from a Diocesan Bishop is no member of the universal Church 25. That a member of the visible Church cannot be certainly known because it cannot be known what is essential to a Christian seeing it depends on the sufficiency of the proposal of truths which cannot be known of many or most XVII Of Gods worship preaching and Ministers and his day 1. That there are more Gods than one and several Countreys may worship their several Gods 2. That if we keep our hearts to God we may bow down before Images as Idolaters do 3. That it is not necessary that we actually love God above once a year or once a month or week at most 4. That if we fear Gods wrath and love one another we may be saved without any other love to God 5. That no higher Love to God is necessary than to love him for our selves and others as a Benefactor and means to the Creatures good 6. That Gods word is not to be trusted as infallibly true 7. That because God will be spiritually worshipped outward bodily worship is not necessary to spiritual persons 8. That he that loveth trusteth and serveth God so as yet he loveth trusteth and serveth the flesh and the world and sinful pleasure more prevalently may yet be saved without more 9. That outward worship without inward love and holiness may serve to Salvation 10. That we may give Divine worship to Angels or glorified souls or to the Cross or Images 11. That if prayer move not or change not Gods will it is needless to use much prayer 12. That it is lawful to require the people to pray and praise God in an unknown language instead of words which they understand and such prayer and worship they must preferr or use if the Pope or Bishops command it 13. That any man may make himself or become a Pastor or Teacher of the Church in office who thinketh himself fit without mans election or ordination 14. That none are true Ministers of Christ who are not sent by the Bishop of Rome or some authorized by him or ordained by such 15. That no Ministers are owned as such by Christ nor are the Sacraments administred by them valid that are not ordained by Diocesans or by such as had an ordination themselves by an uninterrupted succession from the Apostles down by Diocesan Bishops or a Canonical succession 16. That all Ministers ought to cease preaching the Gospel and all Churches or persons publick worshipping God who are forbidden by the Pope as some say or by Bishops as others say or by the King or Magistrate as others 17. That it is sinful for Presbyters to preach say some or to pray say others publickly in any other words save those that are written down for them or prescribed by the authority either of Pope Council Bishops or Civil Magistrates 18. That it is sinful to instruct the people or to pray to God or praise him in a form of words premeditated or prescribed by any other or agreed on in Councils 19. That it is sinful to joyn with any Pastor who speaketh any unlawful words in preaching prayer or other ministration 20. That it is unlawful to hold Communion with any Church where scandalous sinners are present or are tolerated members 21. That men may lawfully change the essential or integral parts of Gods commanded worship by diminution or additions of the like 22. That spiritual men are not bound to be members of particular Churches or put themselves under the guidance of any Pastors 23. That all the people are bound to believe all that to be Gods word which the Bishop or Priests tell them is so 24. That the people are bound to do in Gods worship whatever Bishops or other Rulers command them without examining and judging whether it be agreeable to the Law of God 25. That Pope Bishops or Priests can forgive sin even as to the punishment in another life by immediate pardoning power in themselves and not only by preparing men for pardon and offering and declaring it and delivering it ministerially by application from Gods word and in order hereto judging who are capable of Consolatory and Sacramental applications 26. That God pardoneth in heaven all that the Priest pardoneth on earth though erroneously and by mistake 27. That God will condemn to hell all that an erring or malicious Pope Bishop or Priest condemneth 28. That it is lawful to separate from and disown Communion with all parties of Christians differing in things not necessary to Gods acceptance except that one party which we judge to be rightest or allowed by the higher powers 29. That the first day of the week was not separated to Divine worship in commemoration of Christs resurrection by the Spirit of Christ in his Apostles or is not to be observed to that holy use any more than any other day 30. That it is lawful to swear unnecessarily and to use Gods name lightly and vainly in our talk 31. That perjury is lawful for our safety or in obedience to man 32. That Popes Councils or Bishops can dissolve the obligations of our Vows to God or Oaths of fidelity to Princes though the matter be lawful and good and otherwise God dissolve them not 33. That all Oaths and Vows are to be interpreted as not binding us longer than it is for our commodity or safety 34. That we may take Oaths imposed in words whose common sense is false or sinful though not otherwise expounded by the imposer because in charity we must suppose always that our Rulers mean nothing against Gods word or their own or the peoples good 35. That it is unlawful to break any Vow or Oath which was unlawfully imposed on us by man or unlawfully taken by our selves though the matter of it be good or lawful 36. That no Vow bindeth us to that which we were bound to before That all Vowing is sinful and all swearing when lawfully called for the attesting truth and ending strife XVIII Of our duty to our Rulers and Pastors and their duty 1. That Christianity so nullifieth all natural and civil relations or obligations that Children subjects and servants owe nothing to Parents Rulers or Masters but what they are bound to in meer justice and gratitude to them as benefactors or by voluntary consent and promise 2. That Parents owe nothing for their children but bodily provision and not to educate them in Godly and Christian doctrine and practice 3. That Princes may seek their own pleasure and wealth against the common good or above it 4. That they may lawfully make war upon neighbour Countreys only to enlarge their power or dominions or satisfie their pride passion or wills 5. That they or Bishops may fine imprison banish or put to death all
world falsly that it is but Things Indifferent that we deny obedience to and call on us to tell them what it is that we fear if we conform and when we tell them they make this also our crime because they think themselves accused what remedy have we against such men 2. I love and honour all good and pious men that Conform For I consider how variously the same thing is represented to and apprehended by men of various educations converse and advantages so that the same sin materially heinous may formally be much less in some than in others As was Paul's ignorant unbelief and persecution Or else saith the Papist Answerer of the three books for the Jesuites Loyalty Most Princes must be most heinous sinners that make wars against each other in which multitudes are killed when both sides cannot have a just cause unless the supposition that their cause was good by mistake excuse them THE CONTENTS The First Part. THe Reasons for Christian Vnity and Concord after the nature of it described and how much may be hoped for on earth Chap. 1. The Text opened The Doctrines named The method proposed page 1 Chap. 2. The Nature of Vnity and this Vnity of the Spirit opened p. 10. Chap. 3. The necessity and benefits of this Vnity and Peace to all men p. 30. Chap. 4. The Vnity of the Spirit is the welfare of the Church p. 45. Chap. 5. This Vnity is for the good of the World without the Church p. 67. Chap. 6. It is due to the honour of Christ and amiable to God p. 71. Chap. 7. What obligations are on all Christians to avoid sinful divisions and discord and to promote this unity and peace p. 75. Chap. 8. What sort and measure of Vnion may or may not be hoped for on earth p. 79. Chap. 9. That Christ who commanded our Vnion hath himself prescribed the terms p. 98. Chap. 10. No humane terms not made by Christ or his Spirit extraordinarily given to the Apostles are necessary to the Being of particular Churches but divers humane Acts are necessary to their existence p. 100. Chap. 11. The danger of the two extremes And first of despairing of Concord and unjust tolerations p. 114. Chap. 12. The sin and danger of making too much necessary to Vnion and Communion p. 119. Chap. 13. To cry out of the mischiefs of Toleration and call for sharper execution while dividing snares are made the terms of Vnion is the work of ignorant proud and malignant Church destroyers p. 125. The Second Part. THe Terms of Concord Chap. 1. In General what are the true and only terms of Church Concord and what not p. 135. Chap. 2. Instances of Gods description of these terms in Scripture p. 143. Chap. 3. The true terms of Catholick Vnion and Concord more particularly described as the chief means of hope for the Churches peace p. 162. Chap. 4. What are the terms necessary for the continuance of this Communion and what are the causes of abscission and excommunication p. 177. Chap. 5. What are the terms necessary to the office and exercise of the Sacred Ministry p. 200. Chap. 6. What is necessary to the Constitution administration and Communion of single Churches p. 228. Chap. 7. What are the necessary terms of Concord of those single Churches with one another in the same Kingdome or in divers p. 243. Chap. 8. What is necessary to the Civil peace and Concord of Christians and what is the part of the Christian Magistrate about Religion as to his promoting or tolerating mens doctrines or practices therein p. 248. Chap. 9. Objections answered about Toleration especially p. 267. Chap. 10. A draught or Specimen of such Forms as are mentioned for Approved and Tolerated Ministers p. 279. The Third Part. Of Schism ESpecially the false dividing Terms of Vnion and other Causes of Schism Chap. 1. What SCHISM is and what are its Causes and effects p. 1. Chap. 2. The true Preventions and Remedies of Schism p. 16. Chap. 3. More of the same Twenty things necessary hereunto p. 26. Chap. 4. The Catholick Church will never unite in the Papacy p. 29. 1. What the Papists opinion is of the Terms of Vnion 2. The fifth Monarchy opinion of Campanella de Regno Dei and some other Papists That it is really an Vniversal Kingdome which is claimed by the Pope 3. The Christian world will never unite in one Pope Chap. 5. The Catholick Church will never unite in Patriarchs or any humane Church officers or forms of Government p. 41. Chap. 6. The Catholick Church will never unite in General Councils as their Head or necessary center or terms of Concord p. 52. Chap. 7. The Catholick Church will never unite in a Multitude of pretended articles of faith not proved certainly to be Divine nor in subscribing to or owning any unnecessary doubtful opinions or practices p. 60. Chap. 8. The Catholick Church will never unite by receiving all that is now owned by the Greek or Latine Church the Abassine Armenian the Lutherans or Calvinists or in a full Conformity to any divided party which addeth to the primitive simplicity in her terms of Concord p. 68. Chap. 9. The pretended necessity of an uninterrupted successive ordination by Diocesan Bishops will never unite the Churches but is Schismatical Mr. Dodwells book hereof confuted p. 73. Chap. 10. None of these terms will unite a National Church associated Churches nor well any single Church Though by other means a competent Vnion may be kept in some Churches notwithstanding some such Schismatical inventions as lesser diseases destroy not nature p. 104. Chap. 11. The severity and force of Magistrates denying necessary Toleration and punishing dissenters from uncertain unnecessary things will never procure Church Vnion and Concord but division p. 107. Chap. 12. Excommunicating and Anathematizing in such cases will not do it p. 112. Chap. 13. Any one unlawful uncertain doctrine oath Covenant profession subscription or practice so imposed will divide p. 116. Chap. 14. Vnlimited Toleration will divide and wrong the Church p. 118. Chap. 15. The Catholick Church will never unite in a reception and subscription to every word verse or book of the holy Scripture as in our Translations or any particular Copy nor otherwise known but some will still doubt of the Divine authority of some parts p. 134. Chap. 16. The Church will never unite in any mens Commentaries on the Bible p. 137. Chap. 17. A summary recital of the true terms of Concord and of the Causes of Schism p. 139. Id quod natura remittit Invida jura negant Ovid. ERRATA In the First and Second Parts Page 17. line 19. for more read as p. 19. for affecteth r. asserteth p. 26. l. 11. dele with p. 45. l. 17. for in r. is p. 58. l. 13. r. above p. 96. l. 7. r. to their p. 130. l. 2. r. Placeus p. 225. l. 2. r. condemn In the Third Part. Page 4. line 25. read sin p. 5. l. 11. r.
all mankind and is very apt to enquire and take knowledge how it goeth with all the world and specially with all the Churches For none can much love and desire that which they mind not or take no thought of And this is the chief News which a true Christian enquireth after whether Gods name be hallowed his Kingdom come and his will be done on Earth as it is done in heaven And of this he is sollicitous even on his death-bed 52. The Vnity of the spirit inclineth men to mourn much for the sects Schisms divisions and discords of believers and to smart in the sense of them as the body does by its wounds And they that bewail them not are so far void of the Vnity of the spirit 53. The Vnity of the spirit helpeth a man greatly to distinguish between wounding and healing Doctrines wounding and healing courses of practice and between wounding and healing persons even as Nature teacheth us to discern and abhor that which would dismember or divide the body as painful and destructive 54. Therefore holy experienced Christians who have most of the Vnity of the spirit are most against the dividing impositions of Church Tyrants and also against the quarrelsom humour and causeless separations of self conceited Singularists whether Dogmatical or superstitious who proudly overvalue their own conceptions forms and modes of worship and doctrine and thence aggravate all that they dislike into the shape of Idolatry Antichristianism false worship or some such hainous sin when the beam of self-conceit and pride in their own eye is worse than the moâ—e of a modall imperfection of words method or matter in anothers eye 55. The Vnity of the spirit inclineth men to hope the best of others till we know it to be untrue and to take more notice of mens vertues than of their faults and love covereth such infirmities as may be covered beareth with one anothers burdens while we consider that we also may be tempted 56. The Vnity of the spirit teacheth and inclineth men to yield for peace and concord to such lawful things whose practice doth truly conduce to unity yea and to give up much of our own right for unity and peace 57. This Love and Vnity of the spirit inclineth men to vigorours Endeavours for concord with all others so that such will not slothfully wish it but diligently seek it They will pursue and follow peace with all men Heb. 12. 14. as far as is possible and as in them lieth Rom. 12. 18. They that are true Peace-lovers are diligent Peace-makers if it be in their power and way 58. This Love and Vnity of the spirit will prevail with the sincere to prosecute it through difficulties and oppositions and to conquer all And it teacheth them at the first hearing to abhor back-biters and slanderous censurers who on pretence of a blind zeal for Orthodoxness or Piety or Purity of worship are ready to reproach those that are not of their mind and way in points where difference is tolerable And when children that are tost up and down and carried to and fro Eph. 4. 14. with every wind of doctrine are presently filled with distast and prejudice when they hear other mens tolerable opinions forms and orders aggravated the right Christian is more affected with displeasure against the self-conceited reproacher who is employed by Satan though perhaps he be a child of God against the Love and Vnity of believers 59. The more any man hath of Love and Vnity of the Spirit the greater matter he maketh of Vniversal Vnity and the more Zealous he is for it A small fire or Candle giveth but a faint and little light and heat and that but a little way But the Sun â—light and heat extendeth to all the surface of the earth and much farther and that so vigorously as to be the life of the things that live on earth so strong love is extensive 60. The more any man hath of Love and the Vnity of the spirit the more resolved and patient he is in bearing any thing for the furthering of Vnity If he must be hated for it or undone for it if his friends censure and forsake him for it If Church Tyrants will ruine him he can joyfully be a Martyr for Love and Vnity If Dogmatists condemn him as an Heretick he can joyfully bear the censure and reproach If blind superstitious persons charge him with Luke-warmness or sinful confederacies or compliance or corrupting Godsâ—worship or such like as their errour leadeth them he can bear evil report and to be made of no reputation and to be slandered and vilisyed by the Learned by the Zealous by his ancient friends rather than forsake the principles affections and practice of Universal Charity Vnity and peace 61. Though Perfection must be desired it is but a very imperfect Unity which can be reasonably hoped for on earth 62. There must go very much wisdom goodness and careful diligence to get and keep Vnity and Peace in our own souls it being that healthful equal temperature and harmony of all within us which few obtain And most have a discord and War or disquiet in themselves But to have a family of such is harder and to have a Church of such yet harder and much more to have a Kingdom of such and a conjunction of such Churches and most of all to bring all the world to such a state And they that have a War in themselves are not fit to be the Peace-making healers of the Church in that degree 63. Yet as every Christian hath so much concord and peace at home as is necessary to his salvation so we may well hope that by just endeavours the Churches may have so much as may preserve the essentials of Christianity and Communion and also may fortifie the Integrals and may much encrease the greatness and glory of the Church and much further holiness and righteousness in its members and remove many of the scandals and sinful contentions which are the great hinderers of piety and are Satans advantages against mans recovery and salvation This much we may seek in hope 64. Despair of success is a an enemy to all pacificatory endeavours and low and narrow designs shew a low Spirit and a little degree of holy love and all other uniting grace 65. An earnest desire of the worlds Conversion and of the bringing in the barbarous ignorant infidels and impious to the knowledge of Christ and a holy life doth shew a large degree of charity and of the Vnity of the spirit which would fain bring in all men to the bond of the same Unity and participation of the same spirit 66. The most publick endeavours therefore of the good of many of Churches of Kingdoms of mankind are the most noble and most beseeming Christianity though it 's possible that an hypocrite may attempt the like to get a name or for other carnal ends 67. And it is very savoury and suitable to the Vnity
of the spirit to hear men in prayer and thanksgiving to be much and fervent for the Churches and for all the world and to make it the first and heartiest of their requests that Gods name may be hallowed his Kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is done in heaven and not to be almost all for themselves or for a sect or a few friends about them as selfish persons use to be 68. A very fervent desire of Vnion conâ—ined to some few that are mistaken for all or the chief part of the Church with a â—ensorious undervaluing of others and a secret desire that God would weaken and dishonour them because they are against the opinions and the interest of that sect or party is not only consistent with Schism as I said before but is the very state of Schism called Heresie of old And the stronger the desire of that inordinate separating Unity is as opposite to the Common Vnity of all Christians the greater is the Schism Even as a bile or other aposteme or inflammation containeth an inordinate burning collection or confluence of the blood to the diseased place instead of an equal distribution CHAP. III. II. The necessity and Benefits of this Unity and Peace II. THE Necessity and excellency of the Vnity of the spirit and peace will appear in these respects 1. For the good of the particular persons that possess it 2. For the good of Christian societies 3. For the good of the uncalled world 4. For the Glory and well-pleasing of Jesus Christ and of the Father of these in order 1. For the good of each particular person that possesseth it 1. It is the very Health and Holiness of the soul and the contrary is the very state of sin and death What is Holiness but that Vniting Love by which the will adhereth to God and delighteth in his Goodness as it shineth to us in his works and specially in Christ and in all his members and in a common sort in all mankind And what is the unholy state of sin and death but that Conâ—ractedness and retiring to our SELVES by which the selfish person departeth from the due Love of God and others and of that holiness which is contrary to this his selfishness So far as any mans Love is contracted narrowed confined to himself and to a few so far his soul is indeed unsanctified and void of the Vnity of the Spirit or the Spirit of Vnity If a man lived in banishment or a prison uncapable of doing others any good yet if he have that Love and spirit of Unity which inclineth him to do it if he could this is his own health and rectitude and acceptable unto God Little do many Religious people think how much they do mistake unholiness and sin it self for a degree of holiness above their neighbours When they contract and narrow their Christian Love and Communion to a party and talk against the Churches of Christ by disgraceful and Love-killing censures and reproaches as being not holy enough for their Communion this want of the spirit of Love and Unity is their own want of holiness it self It was the old deceit of the Pharisees which Christ the messenger and mediator of love condemned to think that holiness lay more in sacrifices and Ritual observances and in a strict keeping of the Sabbaths rest and such like than in the Love of God and all men And the lesson that Christ twice set them to learn was I will have mercy and not sacrifice He hath most grace and holiness who hath most of the spirit of Love and Unity 2. It is the souls necessary qualification for that life of true Christianity which God hath commanded us in the world It is this inward Health which must enable us to all our duty 1. Without this spirit of Vnity we cannot perform the duties of the first table unto God Our sacrifices will be as loathsome as theirs described Isa 1. and Isa 58. If we lift not up pure hands without wrath and wrangling or disputing for so I would rather translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 2. 8. than doubting our prayers will not be acceptable to God Though it be Christs worthiness for which our prayers and services are accepted yet there must be the subordinate worthiness of necessary qualification in our selves For Christ himself hath annexed specially the express mention of this one qualification in the Lords prayer it self Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us and he repeateth it after For if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will forgive you your trespasses but if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your heavenly Father forgive you Mat. 6. 13 14. Love is here included in forgiving as a cause in its effect And Christ rather nameth forgiving than Love because men may pretend to that act which is secret in the heart but if it should not work in the necessary fruits of which forgiving others is one it would be but a vain pretence And here I intreat the Reader to consider a while the singularities of this passage of Christ 1. That men that must trust in Christs merits and mediation must yet be told of such an absolute necessity of a Condition or qualification in themselves 2. That Forgiving others as an Act of Love is singled out as this qualification 3. That this condition must be put into the very prayer it self that our own mouths may utter it to God 4. That it must be annexed to this one petition of Forgiveness rather than any of the rest where men are apt to confess their own necessity and where many are readiest to think that Gods mercy and Christs merits and mediation must do all without any condition on their part They that know that their daily bread and deliverance from temptation and evil must have some care and endeavours of their own are yet apt to think that the Forgiveness of sin needeth nothing on their part but asking and receiving 5. That Christ should after single out this one clause to repeat to them by urgent application And yet how little is this laid to heart And indeed the first word in the Lords prayer Our Father teacheth us the same lesson How needful a qualification Love and Vnity are to all that will come to God in prayer He that teacheth us that to Love our neighbour as our selves is the second summary Commandment and even like to the first which is Love to God for it is Loving God in his Likeness on his works doth here call us in all our prayers to express it by Praying for our brethren as for our selves O that men of wrath and wrangling were truly sensible what affections should be expressed by that word OVR FATHER and with what a heart men should say GIVE US and FORGIVE US and how far VS must extend beyond ME and beyond OUR PARTY or our side or our Church in the
exercised by the worldly Clergy and so much the more odiously by how much the more the sacred name of Religion hath been used for its justification or excuse VI. UNITING LOVE is the GLORY and Perfection of the Church And therefore there will be in Heaven much greater Love and much nearer UNITY than there is of the dearest friends on earth yea greater and nearer than we can now distinctly understand And again I say that they that in thinking of the state of separated souls do fear lest all souls do lose their individuation and fall into one common soul do foolishly fear a greater Vnity than is to be expected And yet nothing else about the souls Immortality is lyable to a rational doubt For 1. It s substance certainly is not annihilated 2. Nor its formal essential Virtues lost by mutation into some other species 3. Nor doth the Activity of such an Active nature cease 4. Nor will there want objects for it to act upon Were it well considered that LOVE is as Natural to a soul as Heat is to the Sun that is an effect of that Act which its very essence doth perform 2. And that our UNITY is an Unity of LOVE Voluntarily performed it would much abate such selfish fears of too much Unity For who ever feared too much Love too extensive or too intensive too large or too near a Union of minds And as the beloved Apostle saith that GOD IS LOVE as a name which signifieth his essence why may not the same be said of souls which are his Image that A SOUL IS LOVE Not that this is an Adequate conception of A SOUL much less of GOD but of the partial or inadequate Conceptions it seemeth to be the chiefest The SOVL of Man is a Pure or Spiritual substance informed by a Virtue of Vital activity Intellection and Volition which is LOVE informing or animating an organical body for a time and separable at the bodies dissolution And as the Calefactive Virtue is the Essence of the Fire though not an adequate Conception of its essence For it is a pure substance formally induâ—d with the Virtue Motive Illuminative and Calefactive and the act of Calefaction is its essence as operative on a due recipient so LOVE is the souls essence in the faculty or Virtue and its Essence as operative on a due object in the Act which Act though the soul exercise it not ad ultimum posse by such a Natural necessity as the fire heateth yet its Nature or Essence immediately exerciseth it though in a freâ—r manner yea some Acts of Love quoad specificationem though not quoad exercitium are exercised as necessarily as calefaction by the fire yea more though now in the body the exercise by cogitation and sense be not so necessary we cannot say that in its separated state it will not be so yea yet more even in the body the LOVE of a Mans SELF and of felicity or pleasure seemeth to be a deep constant or uncessant Act of the soul though not sensibly observed And if LOVE be so far essential to it the perfection of Love is the souls perfection and the exercises of Love are the chief operations of the soul And consequently the perfection and glory of the Church which is but a conjunction of holy persons consisteth in the same Uniting Love which perfecteth souls And indeed Vniformity in circumstantials and in external Polity were but a Carkass or Image of Unity without Uniting Love which is its soul As much external Union in good as we are capable of doth advantage Vnity of spirit But all Union in evil and all in unnecessary circumstantials which is managed to the diminution of Christian Love are to the Church but as the glory of adorned cloathing or monuments or pictures to a carkass And the Church-Tyrants that would thus Unite us and sacrifice Love and the means of it to their sort of Vnity are but like the Physician that prescribed a sicâ—man a draught of his own heart blood to cure him The Inquisitors that torture mens bodies to save their souls are not more unskilful in their pretended Charity to save men than is he that hindereth or destroyeth Love while he seeketh the Churches Unity in humane Ordinances by fraud or fear When they have killed any Church by Love killing snares and practices and glory that it is united in Papal power splendor and decrees it is but as if they cut all a mans nerves or cast him into a Palsie or killed him and gloried that they have tyed his limbs together with strings or bound them all up in the same Winding-sheet and Coffin That edifieth not the Church which tendeth not to save but to destroy mens souls CHAP. V. This Vnity conduceth to the good of the world without the Church § 1. THe chief hopes of the Heathen and Infidel world consist in their hopes of being brought into the faith and Church of Christians And as God addeth to the Church such as shall be saved so the means that our charity must use to save them is to get them into this ark The measure of their other hopes or what possibility there is of their salvation I have elsewhere plainly opened It sufficeth us here to remember that no man cometh to the Father but by the Son and that he is the Saviour of his body however he be called also the Saviour of the world § 2. And as in nature it is the principle of life in the seed and womb which is the Generating Cause of formation and augmentation of the soetuâ— And it is the vital powers in Man which maketh his daily nourishment become a living part of himself and causeth his growth So is iâ— the Spirit in the Church that is Gods appointed means to quicken and convert the Infidel world And it is those Christian Countreys which are adjoyning to Mahometans and Heathens that should do most to their conversion who have far easier means than others by proximity and converse to do it and therefore are under the greatest obligations to attempt it As also those remoter Countreys that are most in amity and traffick with them § 3. And as Instruction by evidence must do much so this Vniting Spirit of Love must do a great part of this work and that both as it worketh inwardly on our selves in the Communion of Saints and as it worketh outwardly by attraction and communication to draw in and assimilate others § 4. I. The Churches Vnity of Spirit doth fortifie and fit it for all its own offices in order to the conversion of the world All parts are better qualified for the work by that Wisdom Goodness and Life which they must work by And each member partaketh of the common strength which their Unity causeth An united Army is likest to be victorious Their routing is their flight and overthrow And the Army or Kingdom that is Mutinous or in Civil Wars or not unanimous is unfit to enlarge dominion and conquer
the world that doth not save his own disciples from sin and folly No wonder that God hath no pleasure in fools and that the foolish shall not stand in his fight when they are such a dishonour to Christ and him what fellowship hath Light with darkness And who knoweth not that disagreement proveth ignorance and errour in one party at least When they hold and plead for contrary opinions both cannot be in the right And when this is but in dark and difficult matters of no great influence on our hearts and lives and future hopes it is tolerable and no more to be wondered at than that we are yet but imperfect men in flesh and in this low and darksome world But when it amounteth to that which maketh Christians judge it necessary to anathematize one another and to cast out each other from their communion as intolerable and perhaps to seek one anothers destruction do they not loudly proclaim their shameful ignorance to the world § 3. I know that discipline must be exercised and the precious separated from the vile and this especially for the honour of Christianity For if the Church be as a Swinesty and the clean and unclean the sober and the drunken the chaste and the fornicators equally members of it such a society and their religion will be contemned For sin is a reproach to any people But casting a felon or murderer in Jaile doth much differ from a civil war For the Church to cast out the impure that repent not is necessary to their honour but to divide and subdivide among themselves is their reproach though the dividers have never so fair pretences § 4. I know also what pretences against heresie c. the dividing sects have had in all ages They have pretended that they only being the true Church the condemning and rejecting of all others was necessary to the Churches honour But is it indeed to the honour of the Christian name that so great bodies for so many ages have continu'd to condemn and anathematize each other That the Greek Church condemneth the Western and the Western them That the Eastern and Southern are separated from both And the Western Christians so divided among themselves Who that is not a stranger to man and history knoweth not that it hath been to exercise a Dominion over others and also to extol the skill of their understandings as speaking rightlier than others when they strove about ambiguous words that very much of their anathematizing hath been used And when the Pope hath anathematized the Patriarch of Constantinople he hath anathematized him again yea so hath the Patriarch of Alexandria also And when the three parties the Orthodox the Nestorians and the Eutychians for so many ages have continued anathematizing each other the dishonour falleth on them all in the eyes of beholders and no party recovereth their honour with the rest § 5. Undoubtedly it is they that God shall make the blessed instruments of restoring the necessary means of Concord and thereby of reviving Christian Love and peace that will be the chief and honourable agents for the repairing of the honour of the Christian Church if ever it be repaired in this world All parties seem agreed in this even they that most foolishly and cruelly tear and distract the Church that it must be Love and Concord that at last must heal it and recover its glory if ever it be healed And how much Christ is pleased to see his servants live in Love and peace his office his nature his many and vehement Commands do tell us CHAP. VII III. What obligations are on all Christians to avoid sinful divisions and discord and to promote this Vnity and peace § 1. FRom what is already said it is easie to gather that many and great obligations are on all Christians to be promoters of Concord and enemies of discord and divisions I. The many and express commands of Christ in Scripture do oblige them This is no dark or controverted point written in words which are hard to be understood but plainly uttered and often urged Yea when several of Gods commands are mentioned this is still preferred before most others that can be imagined to stand in competition against it As the uniting Love of God is called the first and great Command so the uniting Love of man is called the second like to that and the summ of the second table and the fulfilling of the Law It is not mentioned as an Accident of the New Creature but as an essential part not as the high qualification of some rare Christian but as that which is necessary and common to all that are the living members of Christ Not only as needful to some inferiour uses but as necessary to all the great Ends of our Religion preferred before sacrifice and all the rituals and not to be dispensed with on any pretence § 2. II. No man therefore can be an obedient servant of Christ that seeketh not to keep the Vnity of the spirit in the bond of peace If he that breaketh one of the least commands and teacheth men so to do shall be called Least in the Kingdom of God what shall he be called and where shall be his lot that breaketh the greatest § 3. III. The Love of God our Father and of Christ our Redeemer doth oblige us For if he that loveth not his brother whom he seâ—th daily cannot Love God whom he never saw how much less he that loveth not the multitude of believers and so great an interest of God in the world as is that unity and concord of the body of Christ And if he that doth or doth not good to one of the least of the servants of Christ is supposed to have done it or not done it to himself how much more he that doth or omitteth that which Christ and his whole Church is so much concerned in § 4. IV. The Love of our own souls obligeth us considering how many and great impediments discord doth raise against all grace and duty and against our holiness comfort and salvation And how much Christian Love and Concord do conduce to the preservation of all grace and to the attainment of Glory All men in true Concord are our helpers and all men in discord are our hinderers and tempters How fair and easie is the way to Heaven among true Loving and agreeing Christians and how hard is it where divisions and contentions take place § 5. V. The Love of our neighbours souls obligeth us to this That which is best for us is best for them Alas carnal minds deceived by sin need not to have the way to heaven made harder nor to be tempted by the discords of Christians to despise them Their own malignity and the devils temptations when we have done our best may suffice to deceive them and undo them Every Christian should be a helper to the salvation of all about him and a souldier under Christ to fight against Satan as he
and to their works § 31. III. And they all believe that the Holy Spirit being God and one in Essence with the Father and the Son proceeding from the Father and or by the Son is the Great Witness Agent and Advocate of Christ before at and after his coming into the world incarnate by his gifts of Prophecy Miracles and Sanctification convincing sinners and drawing them to Repent and Believe and dwelling in Believers as an operating cause of Divine Life and Light and Love thus Uniting them to God in Christ their Head and to each other in Faith and Love by which they are gathered to him as his Church or body having the forgiveness of their sins and the adoption of Sons and right to the heavenly inheritance And living in holy communion on earth their souls at death are received to happiness with Christ and their Bodies shall be raised and soul and body Glorified at the last with Jesus Christ and all the blessed in the perfect Vision Love and joyful Praise of the most Glorious Jehovah § 32. And as I. All Christians agree in this Belief so also II. They all solemnly in and by the Baptismal Covenant and their holy Eucharistical Communion and other duties Profess the Consent of their wills to these Relations to God their Creatour Redeemer and Sanctifier and to his Church or body and their thankful Acceptance of the foresaid Gifts And they profess and express their seeking-desires hereof according to the Contents of the Lords Prayer § 33. III. And as to Practice they all agree in professing and promising obedience to Christ according to the Law of Nature the Decalogue and all his Written Laws so far as they understand them and their desire to Learn them to that end § 34. All sincere Christians agree in the true and Hearty Consent to all this And these are the true saved Church of Christ called Invisible because their Hearts-consent is Invisible All other Baptized and Professing Christians with them agree in the Profession of all this And are called The Church-visible their Profession being visible And all this being truly included in Baptism which is our entrance into the Catholick or Universal Church in this before described consisteth our Catholick Communion in Christs body as spiritual or invisible and as visible § 35. II. But besides this Universal Church-Union and Communion for ORDER and Advantage to our great end God hath instituted the ORDER of Christian Assemblies or Particular Churches which are to the Vniversal Church as Cities and Corporations to a Kingdom Which are the noblest and most priviledged parts of the Kingdom but yet not essential parts but eminently Integral For it may be a Kingdom without them and would be if they were all disfranchised and laid common And if Apostles and Evangelists as Itinerant Preachers convert and baptize men they are part of the Church Universal before they are gathered into distinct societies under proper Pastors of their own The Eunuch Act. 8. was baptized into no particular Church but into the universal only and so were many others And meer Baptism as such without any additional contract doth no more If thousands were Converted in America or cast there without Pastors they were parts of the Universal Church if baptized Professing Christians And before the Apostles ordained any fixed Bishops or Pastors of particular Churches the Church Universal was in being though small § 36. But these particular Churches being a great part of Christs Institutions and necessary not only by Precept but as a means to the Well-being of the Universal and the Edification of it and the particular members It must be endeavoured and that with good hope of success that there may so much Particular Church-Vnion be obtained and maintained as shall much conduce to its great and excellent ends That is 1. So much as that in them God the Father Son and Holy Ghost may be Publickly solemnly and constantly confessed by sound doctrine holy worship and holy discipline and conversation 2. So much as that hearty Christian Love may be exercised and maintained and Christians edified in Communion of Saints 3. So much as that God shall accept them delight in them and bless them their converting edifying and comforting souls hearing their prayers and praises and owning them by his Ministry Covenants and grace and differencing them from the people that do not thus confess and worship him and promoting hereby their salvation And if this much be attained it is not to be vilified for want of more nor blotted with reproachful names but acknowledged with thankfulness and praise § 37. III. And yet there is a further degree of concord to be hoped for and endeavoured and that is the concord of these particular Churches with one another That they may all Profess 1. The same faith and necessary doctrine 2. and the same Love to God and one another 3. and the same Hope of life eternal 4. and may offer to God the same necessary and acceptable sort of worship viz. by preaching and applying his holy word recorded in the holy Scriptures preserving and reading them calling upon his holy name by Confession prayer thanksgiving and praises and holding respective communion in the use also of the Sacraments of his Covenant and exercising in some measure such holy Government and Discipline by Pastors overseeing their several flocks as he himself by his institution hath made universally necessary And all this though not in perfection nor every where with the same degree of purity and care yet so far 1. as that Gods word and ordinances be kept up in soundness in all parts and respects necessary to salvation 2. and as may tend to the edifying of the Churches by Love and concord in necessary things and their mutual help by counsel and strength by that concord 3. and the avoiding of pernicious feuds and divisions § 38. The means by which this is to be done 1. by communicatory Letters 2. by Synods 3. and by Civil Governours is after in due place to be explained Thus much of Christian Vnity and Concord may be well hoped for upon just endeavours here on earth But neither Perfection in these nor those unnecessary terms of Concord which some have long taken to be necessary § 39. And indeed so much as may be hoped for is so very hardly to be obtained that if we trusted not to Gods extraordinary Grace more than to any natural probability that appeareth to us in man we should be ready to despair that ever Christians should live long in so much peace and concord And though the great difficulty must not kill our hopes it must much quicken us to strenuous endeavours Of which more anon Satan is so great an enemy to it and every sin in man is so much against it as every disease in the body is against its ease and peace and the multitude and malignity of sins and sinners is so great and the very healers so few and faulty and unskilful
form of a particular Church lawful but what is of Divine institution some hold that only a Diocesan Church that hath many Congregations and Altars is of Divine institution and that the Parochial are not Churches but Oratories or Chapels or parts of a Church Others hoâ—d that only Parochial Churches of one Altar or associated for personal Communion in presence are of Divine institution some that both Diocesane and Parochial Churches are of Divine institution and some that these and Provincial National Patriarchal and the Papal are of Divine institution Thus do mens judgements vary § 3. A third sort hold that God hath instituted some Church forms besides the Universal and left men to make others And here some think that God instituted Patriarchal and left them to make the Diocesan and Parochial some hold that God instituted only the Diocesan and left them power to make the Patriarchal and the Parochial some hold that he made only the Parochial I mean single societies associated for present personal Communion and left them by voluntary associations to make the greater over them § 4. Among these opinions let us first try whether Christ hath instituted any Church form besides the universal and 2. what that is I. And 1. if Christ hath instituted a holy Christian society for ordinary holy Communion and mutual help in Gods publick worship and holy living consisting of Pastors authorized and obliged to Teach and Guide and speak for the flock in Gods publick worship and administer his Sacraments according to Christs word and of a flock obliged to hear them learn obey and follow such their conduct to the foresaid ends then Christ hath instituted a form of a particular Church and its policy But the antecedent is true as shall be proved And the consequent or major is proved à definito ad denominatum This definition containeth the Essentials of a Church No man can deny that to be a Christian Church which hath this definition § 5. Here still it is supposed that the Spirit in the Apostles who were designed to be founders and master-builders and to gather and order Churches and teach them to observe all Christs commands was Christs promised Agent as Tertullian calls him and that Christ did what the Spirit did by the Apostles in their proper work to which he was promised them as their Guide as it is aforesaid § 6. And that Christ and his Apostles instituted sacred ordinary Assemblies of Christians for holy worship and Communion is so clear in the New Testament that it were vain to prove it § 7. And 2. as notorious and past doubt it is that the end of these Assemblies was such as is here mentioned 3. And as plain that such Pastors as are here described were set over all these Congregations and authorized and obliged to the foresaid work that is under Christ the great Teacher Priest and Ruler of the Church to Teach them Gods word to intercede under Christ for them to God and from Christ to them in prayer and Sacraments c. and to Guide them by that called the Keyes of the Church discerning whom to receive by Baptism whom to reprove exhort comfort or absolve Act. 14. 23. Act. 20. 1 Tim. 3. Tit. 1. and many other places shew this § 8. And it is no less plain that the people were bound to continue in their doctrine communion and prayer and to obey them in that which they were commissioned to do Heb. 13. 7 13 24. 10. 25 26. 1 Thes 5. 12 13. 1 Tim. 5. 17. 20. and many other places so that the form of such Churches as consist of such Congregations and their Pastors is past all denyal and just doubt § 9. And as to all other Church-forms Classical Diocesan Metropolitical Provincial National Patriarchal and Papal it is these only that fall under reasonable doubt and controversie And 1. for Classical Churches I can say but this 1. That the General commands of holding Christian Love and Concord and doing all to edification require such Churches as live near together to be helpers to each other and that counsel and correspondency is necessary hereto which the Churches have still laudably exercised by Synods And if these associations for order-sake be agreed on as to stated times and numbers and bounds it is but the circumstantiating of a known duty And if any will call this a distinct Policy or Church-form I contend not against their liberty of speech while we agree de re But I judge it perillous to give the same name to such an Assembly or Association as to a Church of Christs institution lest it seduce men to think that the word is not equivocally used If the Agents of several Kingdoms met at a common Dyet I had rather not call them a superiour Kingdom were their meeting never so necessary An Assembly that is the Pars Imperans of one body Politick having Legislative power is one thing and an Assembly of Agents or Princes for meer concord and strength and help of distinct Kingdoms Schools Armies c. is another thing And I know no proof that such Councils must be ordinary or at stated Times and places but sometimes that is best and sometime not as the case standeth as even the Papists confess And when they begin to degenerate from a Council for Concord to a Majesty or highest Governing power it 's time to cross their claim and interrupt the occasions of it § 10. And if men at such Classes and Councils choose one to keep order as a moderator yea if they fix him it is but the circumstantiating of the Assemblies work But if he will claim hereupon a distinct order office and proper political Church relation so as hence to make himself the Regent part of a species of a Church yea and claim this as of God and unalterable I cannot justifie such a Church-form § 11. This holds as to the Presidents of all ranks of Synods Classical Diocesan Metropolitical Provincial National or Patriarchal To use them as Presidents of Councils for Concord is one thing and to use them as the Pars Imperans or the constitutive heads of a distinct Church species is another Arch-Bishop Vsher told me himself his judgement that Councils were but for Counsel and Concord and not for the Government of each other or any of the members and that they had no proper Governing power either over their Minor part or over any absent Bishops Though each Bishop was still the Governour of his own flock and their power over their flocks was exercised with the greater advantage by their Concord in Councils Dyets and Councils of distinct independent Bishops are not distinct forms of policy or Churches § 12. And if this hold true that the Councils themselves are not thereby Rectors of a distinct political society but for Concord of many then it will follow that a President of such a Council whether Diocesan Provincial National or more General is not as such a
Rector of the Bishops under him and their people but only the Orderer or Guide of the Modes and Circumstances of the Council as such And therefore could the Pope prove a right to preside in General Councils orbis Romani vel orbis terrarum which he cannot it were no proof that he is Regent Head of the Church universal The same I may say of the other Presidents § 13. If it hold that God instituted only Congregational or Parochial Churches as for present Communion then it must needs follow that none of the rest instituted by man have power to deprive such single Churches of any of the Priviledges granted them by Christ And therefore whereas Christ hath made the terms of Catholick Communion himself and hath commanded all such to worship him publickly in holy Communion under faithful Pastors chosen or at least consented to by themselves which many hundred years was the judgement of the Churches no humane order or power can deprive them of any of this benefit nor disoblige them from any of this duty by just authority § 14. Nay seeing that the universal Church is certainly the highest species none hath authority on pretence of narrower Communion in lower Churches to change Christs terms of Catholick Communion nor to deprive Christians of the right of being loved and received by each other or disoblige them from the duty of loving and receiving each other Humane power made by their own contracts cannot change Christs Laws nor the Priviledges or forms of Christs own Churches § 15. They that say that these several Church species are of God must prove that God instituted them and that can be only by Scripture or else that he gave some power to institute them since Scripture times which till they prove none are bound to obey them at least when they over rule Christs own institutions § 16. To devise new species of Churches without Gods authority and impose them on the world yea in his name and call all dissenters schismaticks is a far worse Usurpation than to make and impose new Ceremonies or Liturgies § 17. Dr. Hammond Dissert cont Blond Annot in Act. 11. pass affirmeth that it cannot be proved that the order of subject Presbyters was existent in Scripture times and consequently holdeth that Bishops had but single Congregations as Ignatius speaketh with One Altar Now if Diocesans Metropolitans Provincials Patriarchs or Pope as constitutive of Church-species were made after either these new Churches were made by the Bishops of Parochial Churches or by those that were No Bishops or Pastors of any Churches at all For the Apostles were dead and no institution of these but Scriptural can be truly proved And other Churches besides the Catholick and Parochial or single distinct from a compound of Churches there were then none For the lower to make the higher Churches is that which they will not grant who grant not that Presbyters may propagate their own species and deny that power ascendeth ab inferioribus And that men of no Church made all these new Church species is no honour to them § 18. Two contrary opinions herein now reign One of the Papists that think Christ instituted the Pope with power to make inferiour Church species That other is that Christ or his Apostles instituted Diocesans giving them power both as rulers to make Parish Churches or Chapels under them and by Contract or Consent to make the highest species over them Provincial National Patriarchal and say some Papal But as to the Papists so much is said against their supposition that it 's not here to be confuted And it 's certain that single Church order was constituted by no Pope and that all the Apostles had power thereto And as for the latter which affirmeth the lower degrees to make the higher we still want the proofs of their authority so to do of which more afterwards § 19. As for them that say that it is Magistrates that have power to make new species of Churches I grant them that whatever alterations of Church-Orders may be made Magistrates may do much in them The Power of Princes and the Guidance of Pastors and the Consent of the people have each herein their special place But what these alterations or additions are which they may make is the chief question Both the Catholick Church and single Church assemblies being instituted by Christ are not left to them The circumstantiating of other Assemblies and Associations are left to them to be done according to Gods general Law But that making new Political Societies that are properly called Churches or Religious bodies consisting of the Pars regens pars subdita is left to them by Christ I never saw proved any more than the making of new Sacraments But if that could be proved yet that these humane Churches or their makers may change those that are of Divine institution or deprive them of their priviledges or forbid them commanded duty cannot be proved § 20. And it is certain 1. That if Princes or Bishops or the people did institute Diocesan or Metropolitan Provincial or Patriarchal Churches they may yet make more and other species And who knoweth how many new forms of Churches we may yet expect 2. And they that made them upon good reason may unmake them or alter them when they please § 21. But though the Legislator and not the Subjects be the institutor of the Vniversal and particular Church-policies yet men are the constitutive matter and mans consent and faith is the dispositio materiae without which the form is not received and mans welfare is part of the final cause and Ministers are the instruments and Gods word written and preached for the gathering of Churches by such qualification of the persons and also of revealing the Institution of Christ and investing of particular persons in their Church-relations § 22. By all this it appeareth that as it belongeth to Christ to institute the political species of Churches though circumstantiating may be left to man at least undoubtedly of the Vniversal and of the single species so it belongeth to Christ and not to man to institute and describe their terms of Union For this is the very institution of the species And we are not to receive humane Church-policies without good proof of mens authority to make them and impose them CHAP. XI The danger of the two extreams And first of despairing of any Concord and of unjust Tolerations § 1. SOme men having seen the Christian world so long in Sects and contending parties do think that there is no hope of Vnity and Concord and therefore that all should be left at liberty And others think that there is no hope but on terms so wide as shall take such as Christ receiveth not nor would have us receive And on such accounts there were very early great contentions about the qualifications of the baptizers and baptized and the validity of baptism and about re-baptizing As to the Baptizers some thought
that only Priests should baptize none appropriated it to Bishops some thought Lay-men might baptize in case of necessity and some thought that women also might do it And some thought that though women or Lay-men might not do it lawfully yet factum valet being done such should not be re-baptized And some thought that those that were baptized even by Priests that were Schismaticks or as they called them Hereticks when they separated from common Concord and Communion must be rebaptized And they thought that if they were baptized in such a Schismatical or Heretical society by whomsoever it was not into the true Church In this case Cyprian and the African Bishops with Firmilian and his Collegues were in the wrong when the Bishop of Rome was in the right And the Donatists thought they were but of Cyprians mind For it seems they had there the greater number of Bishops And the greater number went for the Church and the less for hereticks and so they called themselves the Church though out of Africa the number against them or that meddled not in the quarrel was far greater And all this arose but by the contests of two men for the Bishoprick of Carthage some following one and some the other § 2. This errour of Cyprian and the Donatists arose 1. from their not sufficiently distinguishing the Church universal from the Associated Churches of their Countrey nor well considering that Baptism as such is but our entrance into the universal Church and not into this or that particular Church 2. By an abusive or equivocal use of the name Heretick their doctrine being true of Hereticks strictly so called who deny in baptizing any essential part of Christianity but false of Hereticks laxly so called that are only Schismaticks or deny only or corrupt some lower doctrines precepts or practices of Religion § 3. Therefore the Council of Nice truly decided the case by distinction decreeing the re-baptizing of some as such as the Paulinists baptized and not of others That is All that had not true Christian baptism consisting of all the true essentials were to be re-baptized and not others whatever particular Church they were of § 4. Hereupon also among the Roman Doctors it hath been a great debate whether the Priests Intention was necessary to the validity of baptism The true answer to which is this It is one question what is necessary to the justifying of the Priest before the Church and another before God and another question what is necessary to the validity of baptism to the receiver before the Church and another before God And so I answer Supposing that no man shall suffer for anothers fault but for his own 1. If the Priest profess and Intention to baptize in general and express it in the true words of baptism his act ex parte sui is valid coram ecclesiâ though he dissemble 2. If the Priest dissemble his act is a crime and shall be punished by God 3. If he profess not to intend to baptize the person or to intend it in general but to corrupt it in the Essentials it is as a Ministration invalid coram Ecclesiâ and should be done again 4. If the adult person baptized profess baptismal Consent dissemblingly it is valid baptism coram ecclesiâ as to what the Church must do upon it but invalid as to what God is to do as the performer of the Covenant 5. If the person baptized do not so much as profess consent or profess not to consent nor to intend to be then baptized it is no baptism before God or the Church 6. If he profess to be baptized in general but deny any Essential in particular it is not the true Christian baptism but must be better done § 5. When any came in so great errour as that the Church scarce knew whether it was an Essential part of faith and baptism that was denyed it made the Controversie hard about their re-baptizing Many thought that the Photinians and Arians denying Christs Godhead as of the same substance with the father denyed an essential article and were to be re-baptized if they so entred at first Our Socinians are much worse that deny Christs Godhead in a fuller sence And how doth he believe in Christ that believeth him not to be God which is most eminently essential to him § 6. They that are over-bold in altering Christs terms of Church Union and Communion making them less or more or other if they knew what they do would find themselves more concerned in these controversies of baptizing and re-baptizing and consequently greater corrupters than they have thought § 7. To think that Church Vnion is impossible is to deny that there is any Church and consequently any Christ To think that necessary Concord in Communion is impossible is so great a disparagement to the Church as tempteth men by vilifying it to doubt of Christianity For if Christians cannot live in Unity of faith and love and converse what is their Christianity And such despair of Concord will make men suspend all endeavours to attain it For Despair useth no means § 8. And to take into the Church of Christ such as want the Essentials and Christ would not have received is to corrupt his Church and bring in Confusion and such as will dishonour him and will be more hurtful in the Church than they would be without like rebels in a Kingdom or mutineers in an Army or enemies in a Family The nearer the worse § 9. It is for this use especially that Christ hath committed the Church Keyes to the Pastors And the Key of entrance is the Chief Therefore he that judgeth who is to be Baptized exerciseth the chief act of the Church Keyes And he that Baptized was held to have the Power of judging whom to baptize which was never denyed to the Presbyters till after for order some restrained them § 10. It is a strange contrariety of some Pastors to themselves who judge that all Infants of Heathens Jews Turks or wicked men are without exception to be taken into the Church if any ignorant Christian will but offer them and say over a few words and the Adult also if they can but say over the Creed by rote and a few words more and thus fill the Church with Enemies of Christ and yet when they are in deny them Communion unless they will strictly come up to many humane unnecessary impositions as if far stricter obedience to men perhaps in usurpations were necessary than to Jesus Christ § 11. How far Infidels Catechumens or Heretical or Schismatical Assemblies may be tolerated in the world about us by Magistrates is not here to be enquired but hereafter But that the Churches themselves should not corrupt their own Communion by taking and keeping in uncapable persons the nature of the Church and discipline and its ends and the reproof of the Churches Rev. 2. 3. and the judgement of the Universal Church do tell us CHAP. XII The sin and danger of
making too much necessary to Church Vnion and Communion § 1. ADdition to Christs terms are very perillous as well as diminution When men will deny either Church entrance or Communion to any that Christ would have received because they come not up to certain terms which they or such as they devise And though they think that Christ giveth them Power to do thus or that reason or necessity justifieth them their errour will not make them guiltless Imputing their errour to Christ untruly is no small aggravation of the sin § 2. Nor is it a small fault to usurp a power proper to Christ to make themselves Law givers to his Church without any authority given them by him Their Ministry is another work § 3. And it is dangerous Pride to think themselves Great enough Wise enough and Good enough to come after Christ and to amend his work and do it better than he hath done § 4. Much less when they hereby imply an accusation against him and his institutions as if he had not done it well but they must amend it or all will be intolerable § 5. And indeed Mans work will be like man weak and faulty and full of flaws when Gods work will be like God the effect of Alsufficience power wisdom and Love § 6. And the merciful Lord and Saviour of the Church that came to take off heavy burdens and intolerable yokes will not take it well to have men come after him and as by his authority to make his easie yoke more strait and his light burden heavy and to cast or keep out those that he hath Redeemed and doth receive and to deal cruelly with those that he hath so dearly bought and tenderly loveth § 7. And indeed it is ofter for mens own interest and dominion to keep up their power and honour of superiority that men thus use the servants of Christ than truly to keep clear the Church and to keep out the polluters § 8. But when it is done by too much strictness and as for Church-purity yet this also hath its aggravations For men so far to forget themselves that they are servants and not Lords sinners that have need themselves of mercy unfit to be too forward to cast the first stone to seem more wise and holy than Christ is but specious offending him § 9. And as spiritual priviledges excel temporal so is it an aggravated Tyranny to deprive Christs servants of benefits so precious and so dearly bought As it was not with Silver and Gold that we were Redeemed so neither for the enjoying of Silver and Gold Communion with Christ his body and blood and his Saints in his Ordinances is a blessing so great that he that robs such of it that have right to it may answer it dearlier than if he had rob'd them of their purses O what then hath the Roman Usurper done that hath oft interdicted whole Kingdoms of Christians the use of holy priviledges and duties § 10. Little do many men that cry up faith and Orthodoxness and Catholicism and obedience and cry down Heresie Schism Errour and Disobedience believe how much guilt lyeth on their souls and without Repentance how terrible it will prove to be charged with the cruelties which they have used to good Christians in reproaching them and casting them out of the Church and destroying them as Hereticks and Schismaticks that should have been loved and honoured as Saints But some men cannot see by the light of the fire till they come so near it as to be burned § 11. These self-made or over-doing terms of Church-Union and Concord will prove the certainest Engines of Schism And none are so heinous Schismaticks as they that make unnecessary terms of Union and then call all Schismaticks that consent not to them For 1. these are the Leaders of the disorder when other sort of Schismaticks usually are but followers 2. These do it by Law which is of most extensive mischief even to all that are subject to them when others do it but by local practice extending but to those that are about them or the particular assemblies which they gather 3. These make the Schism unavoidable when private Seducers may be resisted For it is not in the power of good men to bring their judgements to the sentiments of every or any dictator or yet to go contrary to their judgements Ilicitum stat pro impossibili 4. These aggravate the crime by pretending power from God and fathering Schism on so good a thing as Government and causing it as for Unity it self 5. They condemn themselves by crying down Schism while they unavoidably cause it § 12. And this over-doing and making unnecessary termes unavoidably involveth them in the guilt of persecution and when they have begun it they know not where to stop Suppose they decree that none shall preach the Gospel or assemble for holy Communion in publick Worship but those that subscribe or swear or promise or profess or do somewhat accounted sinful by the persons commanded and not necessary indeed however esteemed by the imposer who yet perhaps calls it but Indifferent It is certain that no honest Christian will do that which he judgeth to be sin It is certain that other mens confident talk will not make all men of their minds to take all for lawful which they take for such what then will the Imposers do They will make strict Laws to punish severely all that disobey For say they Our commands must not be contemned nor disobedience tolerated so do the Papists as to the Trent Oath c. so did Charles the fifth a while about the Interim and so many others These Laws then must be executed The Pastors must be cast out the preachers silenced They still believe as Daniel did about praying and the Apostles about preaching that God commandeth what men forbid and it is a damnable sin to forsake their calling and duty no less than sacriledge and cruelty to souls and deserting the Church and worship and cause of Christ and the people will still believe that no mans prohibition can excuse them if they forsake Gods publick worship and comply with sin The Prelates will say that all this is but errour wilfulness and rebellion and they can prove the contrary Their words will not change the judgement of dissenters The Pastors and preachers then must be fined imprisoned or banished for preaching and the people for publick worshipping God when they are fined they will go on when they are out of prison they will return to their work nothing is left then to remedy it but either perpetual imprisonment banishment or death When this is done more will still rise of the same mind and continue the work that others were disabled to perform And the Prelates that cause this will be taken by the suffering people for thorns and thistles and grievous Wolves that devour the flocks and the military Ministers of the Devil The indifferent common people knowing their Neighbours to
as well as wicked There is so full testimony given to the world that there is a God and a life to come that still some men will believe it and will think whither they must go next and therefore will not forsake their religion through fear seeing that is to forsake their God and their salvation 2. And if you could accomplish it it were not worth your labour If all the Princes on earth should force their subjects to be of One Religion it would be their own And then five parts of six would be Heathens and Mahometans and of the sixth part a third or fourth would be Papists and above two parts of the other three would have foul corruptions for which they would be sharply censured by the rest Is it not better that in Congo China c. Christianity is tolerated than that they had all continued of their One Religion And so is it that the Turks do tolerate the Greeks and other Christians And I think if Spain had both Papists and Protestants it were better than to have but Papists only And if the Swedes Danes and Saxons did tolerate the more Reformed it would do more good than harm If Prelacy were banished out of Scotland and England many would think it better to tolerate it § 12. It is certain that Unity and Concord is most desirable and as certain that these over-doers do destroy it while they lay it upon impossible terms 1. The most desirable Concord is in common perfection of wisdom and holiness But it 's certain it will not be nor are any perfect 2. The next desirable Concord is in such high degrees of Wisdom and Goodness as that all Christians be strong and excellent and err not notably in a word ceremony or mode But it is certain this is not to be expected 3. The next degree desirable is that all should be so far teachable and perswadeable as to yield to every truth and lawful imposition when reason is set before them But it is certain this is not to be expected And he that denyeth it knoweth not man § 13. A Peace-maker therefore must understand 1. What Concord is already among all Christians and what is of necessity to Communion with the Church universal 2. And what more is necessary to Communion in a particular Church 3. And what more is necessary to the Association and Concord of such particular Churches 4. And what is necessary only to eminency praise and special encouragement 5. And what is necessary to meer humane neighbourhood and converse And accordingly he should study 1. How all men may be used like men and all peaceable men as peaceable 2. How all Christians may be used as Christians 3. How all the members of particular Churches may hold such Concord as the ends of their society require 4. How all such Churches may keep such Love and Correspondency as tendeth to the good of all 5. And how eminent Christians may be used according to their worth 6. And how heresie and sin may be suppressed without contradicting any of these ends § 14. If once unnecessary terms of Unity and Concord be taken for necessary even multitudes of honest well meaning men will hence bend all their strength to do mischief They will think that all Peace-makers must promote these terms and all must be used as Schismaticks that are against them and so all the fore-mentioned accusations cruelties and persecutions will alas go for the work even of Peace-makers And so the common engine of Church-division and persecution and discord will be preaching and writing against Schism and crying up peace and aggravating dissent as a heinous crime even when it is a duty and making all odious as far as they can that are not of their mind The Second Part. The Terms of Concord CHAP. I. In general What are the true and only terms of Church-Vnion and Concord and what not § 1. THE true works of a Peace-maker consisteth 1. In finding out the true and necessary terms of Concord and discerning the evil and insufficiency of the false terms 2. In finding out the meet and necessary Instruments and helps 3. In discovering the Hinderances and Enemies and 4. In faithful prosecuting his known duty And the first is not the least § 2. Having proved what Christ himself hath already done in instituting the terms of Unity and Concord I shall here further shew I. In General what these Terms are and must be and what not II. What Texts of Scripture describe them III. Particularly and distinctly what they are IV. I shall answer some of the objections that are made against them And V. The false Terms shall be detected and confuted in the third Part. § 3. I. In General the terms of Catholick Unity and Concord necessary to all Christians must be and are I. Only things Great and needful II. Only things True and Sure III. Only things plain and intelligible IV. Only things of Gods institution or authority V. And but Few and not very many as to matter of Knowledge and belief § 4. If they were not such mans known incapacity would make them unfit to be any means of the intended end And this is fully proved by all the foregoing proofs of unavoidable diversity that will be found in men And I will here add yet more profs that Concord is so very difficult as that it will not be had on any stricter terms and when all is done it will be very imperfect in this life § 5. The great difficulty of Concord doth further thus appear 1. It cannot be expected but that the greatest part of men will be of low capacity and partial and ignorant and therefore uncapable of understanding higher terms than these 2. The Greater number or too many will be bad though their profest Religion be Good And bad men will be still self-troublers and troublers of others There is no Peace saith my God to the wicked They are like the troubled Sea that casteth up mire and dirt Isa 46. Piety and true Concord must grow together There will be in Christs Kingdom things that offend and men that work iniquity There will be Pastors and people that are Worldly Covetous Lovers of themselves Lovers of pleasures more than of God proud boasters haters of those that are good striving who shall be greatest And these will be unfit materials in the building as to full unity peace and concord 3. Yea there will be Satans Souldiers and bitter enemies to true piety in the Ministry and all ranks of men In the same houshold as he that was born after the flesh did persecute him that was born after the Spirit even so saith St. Paul is it now and so it will be The first born man was a murderer of his own brother because his works were evil and his brothers good 4. And Christ saith that the Rich shall hardly enter into heaven And yet we see the Rich will be the Rulers It hath been so and will be so and
must be so And if they are as usually bad as Christ and his Apostles tell us then bad men will rule And operari sequitur esse As men are they will do Great men will have worldly selfish interests clean contrary to the interest of Christ and his doctrine And how great influence Rulers have as to concord or division is easily known 5. And hitherto the Pastors of the Churches have been alas such as Gregory Nazianzen Isidore Pelusiota and many others have described to say nothing of Gildas or Salvian or the sad Characters that most parties give of one another and the accusations that Afflicters bring against those whom they afflict and which the sufferers give of them If Paul then must say All seek their own and not the things that are Jesus Christs no wonder if it be so now and that even General Councils have sadly anathematized one another and thousands of Bishops or Pastors have been cursed from Christ by the rest And how much power proud turbulent ignorant and worldly Pastors have to hinder the Churches Concord hath been found by too long and sad experience 6. And mans nature is sensual and slothful and it will cost so dear by long and hard study to be wise indeed and by mortification and self-denyal to be truly good that few are likely to attain it 7. And education company friends and false writers and teachers will still cherish faction and discord in the world 8. And distance and disacquaintance will leave open mens ears to back-biters slanderers and false reports Men will think it uncharitable not to believe such e. g. as Learned Historians Doctors and their Pastors are 9. And the wars and cross-interests of Princes and States have hitherto by jealousies fomented divisions in the Church 10. And the false wayes and termes of Concord will be kept up in opposition to the true and will not be the least impediment 11. And Lastly Even the Wise and Good that must be the Peace-makers are such but in part and have in them too much of the folly errour and sin of others which will hinder their work yea and make them also troublers of themselves and others § 6. These being not doubtful conjectures but certain Prognosticks the remedy must be suited to the Patients capacity And I. Necessary Essentials all Christians are and must be agreed in But unnecessary things such as I have described are never like to be commonly united in nor is it necessary that they should It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to the Apostles to impose nothing on the Church but Necessary things Act. 15. It was the deceivers and false Teachers which would have done otherwise Against whom St. Paul doth copiously and zealously dispute in his Epistles to the Romans Corinthians Galatians Colossians c. To pretend that as necessary which is not so or to command that as necessary and causelesly to make it necessary which is not so in it self and which we may easily know will never be so judged of nor received by all is but to rack and tear the Church and do mischief for an unnecessary thing § 7. II. As it is certain that nothing but Truth can be fit matter for the Churches Concord so it must be certain Truth that is not only such as whoever believeth is not deceived but such as may be discerned by ascertaining Evidence by all sober willing Christians Not only such as the Learned may be sure of but all that must take it as certain in their profession For no man must make a false profession and say he is certain when he is not Not that all that may be called certainty must needs exclude all doubting but that the Assent be prevalent against such doubting Nor do I mean that it must be certain by natural evidence It is enough if it be so by Divine Revelation And if any be so weak that they perceive not some necessary revealed truth to be certainly so revealed they must be put on no more than to say I do though not with certainty believe it And no probability must be imposed on mens profession when there is notable danger on the contrary side if they should mistake § 8. III. Therefore the terms of Union must be only things plain and intelligible to all sober willing minds For all persons of dull wits and diverting business cannot attain such certainty or firm belief of things which they cannot understâ—nd Belief without understanding is but a dead notion or name or rather a contradiction § 9. As for the Popish doctrine of Implicite faith it is no true belief of any thing but that General verity in which they say the particulars are implicitely contained We must all believe implicitely in God that is That whatever God revealeth is true But he that believeth no more but this is falsly said to believe other things For he may believe this who never understood that God revealed any thing in particular He that never heard of Christ or the resurrection may believe that all Gods revelations are true But to call this an Implicite belief of Christ and the Resurrection is but to equivocate and call that believing a thing which is no believing of it If they hold that to believe that the Church that is the Pope and his Councils is infallible in acquainting us with matter of faith is all that is necessary to salvation though they know not what the particulars are let them say so plainly and not call this a believing of other things or a believing in Jesus Christ or his Gospel § 10. IV. And it is only things of Divine Authority that can be the necessary terms of universal Unity or Concord supposing the necessary media of bringing them to mens notice Had we lived in the time and place where Christ and his Apostles did preach and work their Miracles it had been one thing to determine what were then preached as the necessary articles of faith and another thing how we come to hear know and understand them It must have been by our ears eyes and intellects that we knew and perceived what was said and done And so now standing at the distance of many ages certain history or tradition must bring that to our notice which our eyes and ears would then have brought to it But still the Law and terms of Vnion are no less Divine whatever means do help us to understand them And as for them that will make humane terms seem necessary to Catholick Vnion or Communion that they deceive themselves and others and shall never attain the end but tear the Church by such ill engines is easily thus proved § 11. The Catholick Church never did or will agree what humane power it is to whom this work belongeth whether it be a Pope or Council or some universal Monarch or a Council of Princes by agreement Never such a thing was or will be Popes and Councils were but in one Empire the chief Ecclesiastical
Governours under the Emperours Civil Government and not over the world nor was there ever such a thing as a General Council of all the Christian world but only General as to one Empire Nor did any of these Councils take on them to make Constitutive terms of the Universal Church or its Union but only to preserve declare and expound them and to make subordinate governing Canons And if they had undertaken more no wise man can imagine that all Christians will therefore confess the right of such a claim and so submit to it The proof of their authority will be so obscure that as such as I cannot see it so there will be so many no wiser than I am as that the exclusion of all Christians that are but of our size will never stand with Catholick Unity And if it were possible to satisfie all the present age 1. that some have such authority from God 2. and who they are 3. and how far it extendeth yet still such will succeed them in whom the uncertainty and dissent will be revived What needeth there more proof than mans incapacity and the experience of so many Generations All Christians agree in Christianity All Christians never agreed on any human◠terms of Unity Pope Council or Monarch One Empire hath pretended to agree in Councils but have been so far from it as that they have been the occasion of their greatest disagreements witness even the Great ones Const 1. Ephes 1. 2. Calcedon which some blessed and some cursed for many generations after and that at Constantinople that made the decree de tribus capitulis divided even the Roman Church so far as that for one hundred years a great part of it renounced the Roman Bishop and set up another Patriarch against him And Abassia and other extra-imperial Churches were never under the Roman or Imperial Government § 12. V. And that the terms of Catholick unity must not be very many things is evident from the foresaid Incapacity of the most to comprehend many things and also from the confession of almost all sorts of Christians Even the Papists who have advanced the Christian Religion to the monstrous magnitude of their vast and numerous Decrees of Councils are forced yet to make them almost all unnecessary under the name of Implicite belief and do narrow the necessary articles of the Christian faith almost to an annihilation while they agree not whether it be necessary explicitely to believe the life death resurrection mediation judgement yea or being of Christ himself or any more than that there is a God and an Infallible Church Of which see Francisc de sancta Clara his Deus Natura Gratia at large And those of our selves that eject Ministers and Christians for dissenting from some of their own impositions are yet contented to admit such as submit to themselves upon very low terms of Christian knowledge to the Sacraments and Communion of the Church And indeed he knoweth not man who knoweth not that universal unity and concord will never be had upon the terms of Many dark uncertain humane or unnecessary things but only on the terms of things Few sure plain divine and necessary CHAP. II. Some instances of Gods description of these terms in the words of the Sacred Scriptures § 1. I Have before proved that Christ instituted the terms of Catholick Unity in Scripture and have cited some texts on the by It will not be amiss for conviction to set divers texts together which will fullier open the terms themselves § 2. The words of the institution of Baptism before mentioned are the most convincing Matth. 28. 19 20. Go ye and disciple all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you alway even to the end of the world Here Christ himself sendeth his messengers and prescribeth them their work and maketh the terms of Baptism the Entering and Constitutive terms of his Church which they were to gather But the Administring or Governing terms are larger even teaching them all things which Christ hath commanded them And this was a Law not only for that age but to the End of the world § 3. It is the same in sense which reduceth all the terms to Believing in Jesus Christ as including Belief in the Father and the Holy Ghost John 1. 12. As many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name John 3. 14 15 16 18 36. Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life He that believeth on him is not condemned He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life John 17. 3. This is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent John 14. 1. Ye believe in God believe also in me John 15. 1 2 3. Now are ye clean through the word that I have spoken to you abide in me and I in you c. See John 6. Mark 16. 16. Preach the Gospel to every creature He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned It will be needless to repeat all words to the same purpose Matth. 18. 6. He that offendeth one of these little ones that believe in me it were better a mill-stone were hanged about his neck c. And yet must Bishops curse such from Christ and excommunicate them Mar. 1. 15. John 6. 29 69. 7. 39. 4. 35 38. 11. 27 42. 12. 36. 13. 9. 16. 30. 31. 17. 20 21. 20. 31. 2. 11 22. 9. 53. 16. 27. 7. 31. 8. 30. 10. 42. 11. 26 27. 5. 24. 6. 35 40 47. 7. 38. 12. 46. Acts 10. 42. 5. 14. 8. 37. 13. 39. 16. 31. 19. 7. 18. 8. 17. 4 34. 14. 1. 13. 12 48. And all these believers no doubt of no hard numerous humane articles lived in Love and Communion Acts 2. 44. 4. 32. so Rom. 3. 22. The Righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ is unto all and upon all them that do believe for there is no difference 4. 11 24. Abraham is the Father of all them that believe and righteousness shall be imputed to them all Rom. 10. 9 10. If thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation Gal. 3. 22. 2. 16. Heb. 11. 6 c. 10. 39. 4. 3. 1 John 3. 23. 5. 1 5 10 13. § 4. Other texts that add Repentance to Faith speak but the same sense adding the express mention of the terminus à quo as well
useful and humble as a servant unto all and not as the Rulers of the world to be called Benefactors and gracious Lords not as Lording it over Gods heritage but as examples to the flock Not smiting with the sword but leaving force to Civil Magistrates 4. And it is a simple conversation that Christ by his Law and example hath prescribed and his servants used This was Paul's rejoycing the testimony of his Conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity not in fleshly wisdom he had his conversation in the world 2 Cor. 1. 12. Wisdom must go with innocency but it is not worldly carnal wisdom but such as consisteth in knowing God in Christ to be wise to salvation § 24. Now this fourfold Christian-simplicity Paul foresaw the Serpent on pretence of finer wit and subtilty would draw the Church to forsake till as Erasmus saith it became a point of wit to be a Christian and this would be and hath been the corruption of the Churches 1. The simplicity of Doctrine is turned by Councils and by other Dictators into multitudes of unnecessary and uncertain notions to say nothing of the false ones In the clear discovery of the sence and method of the sacred doctrine we must use our greatest skill and accurateness But salvation peace and concord is not to be laid on the fine elucidations and numerous articles of mens wits 2. The simplicity of Christian worship is corrupted and turned into such pageantry of Ceremonies and formalities to pass by much worse that spiritual worshippers find it exceeding unsuitable to them in much of the Christian world 3. And how far and dolefully the simplicity of Church-Government or Discipline is lost in more places than the Papal Kingdom needs not many words to tell him that can compare things old and new 4. And what wonder if the honest simplicity of Conversation perish with the rest and carnal interest and fraud and falshood and oppression reign by carnal wisdom Thus hath the subtile serpent corrupted the Churches by drawing them from the simplicity that is in Christ CHAP. III. III. The true terms of Catholick Vnity and Concord more particularly described as the principal means of hope for the Churches Peace § 1. THe false terms having been the engines of Schism and Church-distractions it is the opening of the true terms that must be the cure with which I shall begin because Rectum est index sui obliqui And here are distinctly to be laid down I. What are the terms of entering into Christian Catholick Church-Vnity and Communion II. What are the necessary terms of continuing it and what are the causes of abscission either by apostasie or excommunication III. What are the terms necessary to the office and exercise of the sacred Ministry IV. What are the terms necessary to the constitution administration and Communion in single Churches V. What are the terms necessary to the concord of such single Churches among themselves as associated or corresponding for mutual help VI. And what is necessary to the civil peace and concord of Christians in Kingdoms Cities and Families Of these in order § 2. I. Nothing but Baptism truly received is necessary to entrance into the state of Vnion with the visible Church called Catholick or Vniversal § 3. I before shewed that Christ himself instituted the terms in the institution of Baptism and that herein all Christians are agreed The proof of this is so full that nothing but gross ignorance or wilfulness can make it a matter of doubt 1. In the fore-cited institution 2. In the constant judgement and practice of the Universal Church through all places and ages since the institution of baptism to this day 1. That Baptism hath been still used no one that knoweth Church history can deny 2. That it hath been used to this end to be the entrance into the Church universal and visible Christian state is an undenyable About Infant baptism the Anabaptists doubt But they also deny Infants to be Christians or Church-members and we prove to them both together by Christs command to Disciple Nations baptizing them They confess that Baptism is the Church-entrance as well as we 3. And all that are truly baptized persons are Christians or visible Church-members till they revolt or are cast out all the Christian world from the dayes of the Apostles are agreed 4. And as all visible Covenanters in baptism have been taken for visible Christians so all sincere heart-Covenanters have ever been supposed by the Church to have by Baptism a sealed and delivered pardon of sin and right to adoption and everlasting life All this is so evident that it is labour in vain to prove it that this hath been the constant consent of the Christian world and so continueth to this day And all that are Christians are still in all Countries thus baptized § 4. And if Baptism be the common symbol of Christianity and the common making of a visible Christian then it must needs be the constitutive term or qualification sufficient to mens first Church-Vnion and Communion which is commonly confessed § 5. If there be any place for contention here it must be only about the validity of mens Received baptism 1. As to the Minister and his part 2. As to the mode and Ceremonies 3. As to the qualification of the receiver or baptized § 6. I. As to the first though all be not agreed in point of Duty who should baptize yet so great a number of the Christian world are agreed as to the validity of baptism received de necessitate medii that the dissenters are so few as that we need not fear any great disagreement hereabout The very Romanists maintain the validity not only of the Baptism received by hereticks and wicked Priests and silenced and suspended Priests but also of Lay-men yea of women But de officio all are agreed that where it is possible a lawful Minister of Christ should do it Only a few Anabaptists say that it must be only one that was baptized at age himself And one or two Singularists whether in ignorance or design I know not think it the aptest medium to unchurch the Reformed Churches that they have no true Priests for want of due succession of ordination and consequently no true Sacraments because God owneth no Acts but such as are commissioned or appointed by him and consequently no Covenant and consequently no Covenant promise and benefits of pardon justification and salvation But this is after at large to be detected and confuted § 7. The great difficulty is of the necessary qualification of the baptized And there 1. the Anabaptists keep out Infants But besides Baptism and Church-membership they deny them no offices that their age is capable of And they are ready to receive them all by baptism as soon as they come to the use of due understanding And these delayes are but few in comparison And 1. the ancient Churches compelled none to be baptized but only received them that
I am loth to cite them § 32. X. The next lamentable Schism and Cursing arose from the Decree of the Constantinopolitan Council de tribus capitulis The Cursing one another for owning or not owning the Council of Chalcedon still continuing and Learned Theodoret with Theodore of Mopsuest and Ibas having been formerly by Dioscorus Ephesine Council condemned and deposed as Nestorian hereticks and the Council of Chalcedon having restored them upon their just subscriptions a crafty Eutychian perswaded the Emperour that he might reconcile all the Eutychians to the Council of Chalcedon if he would but condemn some ill words in the writings of these three Bishops which the Emperour called a General Council together presently to do The one half the Bishops absent thought this was a condemning in part of the Chalcedon Council And Vigilius Bishop of Rome being then at Constantinople refused to subscribe and after excommunicated Menna the Patriarch The Emperour caused him to be dragg'd through the streets by a rope to reconcile him The flames of the Church were by this Council much increased and by condemning three dead mens writings the living were more engaged in a doleful war At last Pope Vigilius consented to the Council whereupon a great part even of the Western Churches and Italy separated from and renounced the Pope and chose them another Patriarch at Aquileia to be their chief Church-Ruler in his stead And this continued about an hundred years till Sergius reconciled them so far was the universal Church even then from taking the Pope or Church of Rome for the Head or any essential part of the Church-Universal And all this was about the Exposition of some doubtful words in three mens writings And can any sober man now think that the right or wrong Exposition of every mans or those three mens writings was a thing that salvation lyeth on or that these are the terms of Christianity and Church-membership § 33. It would be but matter of shame and sorrow to go on and add the later and more shameful instances of Anathematizing especially about Images several Emperours and Councils hereticating each other What an Engine the Pope and Prelates made Cursing men from Christ to get dominion over Emperours and Kings to subdue Kingdoms and to turn Love and peace into wrath and wars and bloodshed and pernicious divisions To recite their damning of Loyalty under the name of the Henrician heresie their damning all that about Transubstantiation renounced not the belief of all their senses and rational perception of sensate things and that renounced not also the belief of all the sound mens senses in the world and consequently the belief of God as he is the God of Nature making his revelation to our understandings by our senses making it necessary to salvation to take God for the deceiver of the senses or apprehensions by sensation of all the world How they have decreed the burning or exterminating of all others that do not thus believe Transubstantiation and deposing temporal Lords that will not exterminate them and absolving their Subjects from their Oaths and Allegiance and giving their dominions to others Did I but recite to you how ridiculously they hereticated Gilbert Porretane and some other learned men and how such exposed the Councils of Bishops to scorn by detecting their ignorance by some questions which they could not answer should I tell you what work their long and numerous Schisms and two or three Popes at once made for the great Councils of Constance and Basil and also what work those Councils made themselves it might melt the heart of a lover of Christianity into grief and tears § 34. I conclude this that the hereticating and Cursing men for doubtful words or want of skill in aptness of expressions yea or for errours which consist with saving faith in Christ is so far from being a means of the Churches good that it hath been the grand engine of Satan to exercise Tyranny excite hatred and Schism and Rebellions and do most lamentable mischiefs in the world and therefore carefully to be avoided § 35. II. And what I have said of words I may partly say of actions Anathematizing men for doubtful actions or for such faults as consist with true Christianity and continued subjection to Jesus Christ is a sinful Church-dividing means § 36. More particularly I shall shew after in the third part of this book that it is not all the same things that make a man uncapable of present Communion in this or that single or particular Church or in a compound Church Diocesane Metropolitane Provincial or National or Imperial which make him uncapable of continuing in the Universal Church Much less doth every continued disobedience to a Bishops or Councils Canons or Commands make him Excommunicable from the Church Universal § 37. But most abominable was it in the Roman Popes and Prelates to shut up all Churches interdict whole Kingdoms and excommunicate the innocent people because a King displeased them or denyed them subjection or obedience And as old Robert Grosthead Bishop of Lincoln in his Epistle to Pope Innocent IV. recorded by Matth. Paris truly tells them It is the work of Satan and next Antichristianity one of the greatest sins in all the world thus to silence Christs Ministers and hinder the preaching of the Word of God and the exercise of his publick Worship Which it concerneth all unjust Silencers to consider § 38. But yet somewhat more tyrannical and abominable is it for one man the Bishop of Rome to damn all the Church of Christ on earth that will not be his Subjects as the Vicar-General of Christ and own his Usurpation and so to cut off and damn the far greatest part of the Christian world But the best is procul à Jove procul à fulmine the remote Churches feel it not and do but deride it and to the nearer parts his thunderbolt doth not kill all so many nor kindle so many fagots as once it did nor is any one ever the more condemned by God for such Papal condemnations § 39. But when I speak of particular church-Church-Communion I shall shew that there is some lawful suspension called by some the Minor excommunication which cuts not a man off from Communion with any Church much less from the universal or from Christ § 40. Not approving of or practising a doubtful or indifferent humane form of Liturgy or ceremony or circumstance or mode is no just cause of cutting off a man from the Universal Church Because notwithstanding that he may be a true Christian and a member of Christ and his Church and therefore must not falsly be declared to be none § 41. Not taking this or that man to be ones Bishop or Pastor who is obtruded yea or justly set over that Church nor yet particular acts of disobedience to him meerly as such are no good proofs that a man is no true Christian or member of Christ and his Church and therefore are no just cause
Ministers be tryed men of sound understanding in that which they must teach and do and therefore that both the ordainers and the hearers try them This account of their understanding is better than the imposing of humane forms upon them for subscription Not but that Teachers should know more than the flock that is than the essentials nor that I presume to condemn all the Churches that impose their Confessions to be subscribed in their own and not in Scripture-words while they keep only to necessary certain things But I shall afterward prove that this way though tolerable is not best but unnecessary and dangerous 1. the Scripture affording us apt words enow to form our Confessions in which are past Controversie 2. and there being no probability of bounding mens Impositions of this kind when once they set upon this way 3. and most Confessions of that nature now extant having some needless words which other Churches or good Christians do dissent from 4. And the ancient Creeds understood which the ordainers must try and the old Catechistical Verities being sufficient to this use 5. And there being means of restraining men from preaching and vending heresies which are more safe and congruous 3. I add therefore that a certain Confession containing the certainest and needfullest Integrals of Religion should or may well be drawn up as a Law forbidding all upon meet penalties to preach or speak against them without any subscribing promising or professing 4. And upon proof of the violating of such a Law and preaching against such articles it is sufficient that both the Church and the Christian Magistrate in their several ways may judge them and by just penalties correct them of which more after in due place For it is very hard so to form long Confessions beyond the old Creeds Lords Prayer Decalogue and the General belief of Scripture and this not in Scripture-terms which shall not have some words which sound and honest Ministers cannot assent to without lying which they will not do But to silence many words which yet we conceive true and forbear speaking against some things which yet he cannot profess assent to there are very few sober men but will do And an errour never spoken or written hurts not others nor is to be judged being not known Non apparere here is as non esse And if it be vended the person may be judged as well as if he had sworn subscribed or promised And they that will tell us yet what evil may befall secret whispering errours without out such oaths subscriptions or promises do by this over-doing dangerously undo and lest man should be man and the Church imperfect on pretence of avoiding a possible unavoidable hurt they will set up knaves that will say any thing shut out honest men and necessitate divisions confusions and persecutions where they can never stop on this side banishing or killing or continued imprisoning multitudes of faithful men and never the more attain their ends Sound doctrine may be kept up as far as is to be hoped by the aforesaid means § 41. III. It is greatly needful to the well-being of Ministry and Church that Gods publick worship and Sacraments be kept pure Not that any thing done by man will be void of imperfection but that it be such as is acceptable to God honourable to Religion and profitable and suitable to the flock and to good men To which end 1. Christian simplicity here also is necessary That it be not corrupted or clogged with things uncertain needless curious nor yet much defective not confused disorderly much less erroneous superstitious ludicrous undecent false or prophane 2. It is needful that men to be ordained be tryed and known to be such as can speak to God and men without such unsufferable mis-performance 3. And that they be responsible to the Church and Magistrate for what they say and do Of Liturgies I am to speak in the third Part Only here 4. I add that fit words and spiritual life are the body and soul of worship and one must not be pleaded against another nor any by Formality mortifie holy worship and turn it into a Carkass or a lifeless image Nor yet on pretence of spirituality condemned the frequent use of the same words commonly called Forms whether prepared by the speaker who best knoweth what he needeth or agreed on by the Churches in fit cases and measures for greater Concord § 42. IV. It is needful to the well-being of the Ministry and Churches that all Pastors in their places be not only allowed to use Christs true Discipline but that it be expected and really done in every Church and that this Discipline be neither cast aside nor corrupted and turned into malignant war against the good nor into tyranny and usurpation § 43. What this Discipline is is opened before It is described by Christ in Matth. 18. If thy brother trespass against thee tell him his fault between thee and him If he hear thee thou hast won thy brother If he hear thee not take with thee two or three If he hear not them tell the Church If he hear not the Church let him be to thee as a Heathen or a publican Serious convincing admonition must be used with due patience to bring a sinner to repentance And more publick admonition after private And the person sentenced unfit for Christian Communion when refusing all he sheweth himself utterly impenitent And he must be reconciled absolved and received when he giveth the Church just proof of his true repentance § 44. 1. It is a great corruption of this Discipline when it is exercised by Lay-Chancellors or other Lay-men to whom the Keyes of the Church-Government were never committed by Christ § 45. 2. It is a great corruption when it is done only by an officer of another species than Christ ever instituted § 46. 3. It is an usurpation and corruption when it is done by the Pastor of some other Church and not by the proper Pastor of the Church where the sinner liveth Such is Papal Usurpation when the Bishop of Rome will be judge in London § 47. 4. Especially when such a pretender liveth far from the place where persons and actions are not half known and that only by great charge and travel When the Pastor and people of the present Church may easily know all and it belongeth to them who are executively either to communicate with him or avoid him which distant strangers have no opportunity or occasion to do further than by declared consent § 48. 5. It is a heinous corruption of it to Excommunicate men in a prophane worldly manner without wise serious patient endeavours to apply Gods word to the sinners case and conscience to bring him to true repentance and amendment § 49. 6. And it is yet more heinous abuse to excommunicate the faithful for a fearful avoiding sin in some imposed Oath Covenant Profession promise subscription or unnecessary Ceremony or Form and especially withal
cannot take from them what they never had nor are capable of But we in London never had local Communion with them of Vienna Paris Rome c. nor ever saw them All therefore that they can do is to account those Hereticks or wicked or Apostates whom before they accounted good Christians and to declare that they own them not as fellow Christians and would not communicate with them did they live among them and to warn others that are in danger of them to avoid them and this not as an act of Government over them but of common Christian duty for the honour of our common religion and in charity to others The just renouncing of mental or local Communion by equals or neighbours much differs from a Governing commanding excommunication forbiding other Churches as their subjects to communicate with such on certain penalties which is the usurpation of Popes Patriarchs and some others who claim such governing power without proof CHAP. VIII VI. What is necessary to the Civil Peace and concord of Christians and what is the part of the Christian Magistrate about Religion as to his promoting or tolerating mens doctrines or practices therein § 1. THe contentions of the world here call us to resolve these several doubts 1. Who it is that should have the power of the sword or Magistracy 2. How it is to be used towards all men as men in society 3. How it is to be used for the service of Christ and good of the Church in encouraging some and tolerating others and keeping peace among them all § 2. It is here supposed that the subject is understood and that we are agreed what the Magistrates power is at least de re though not de definitione vel de nomine that is it is the power of Governing by the sword that is of making Laws and judging according to them and executing them by outward force on mens bodies or estates And so it is contradistinguished from the power called Ministerial Pastoral Priestly or Ecclesiastical which is the gathering and guiding of Christian Churches by Gods word preached expounded and applyed The nature of each and their differences I have formerly opened in a small treatise written purposely on that subject to end the Erastian controversie And Bishop Bilson fuily openeth them in his excellent book of Christian Obedience c. The Magistrate hath power forcibly to seize on offenders estates and bodies to imprison mutilate scourge strike and kill them that deserve it and to make Laws and judge men unto such punishments The Ministers of Christ or Pastors of the Churches have no such power but only to declare Gods Laws to the people and convert and baptize the wicked unbelievers and teach them the word and will of Christ and guide them in publick worship and Communion and judge who is capable thereof and to require the people in the name of Christ to love and receive the worthy and to avoid the unworthy and to resolve the peoples particular doubts and by personal application to pronounce and declare Gods acceptance of penitent believers and his promise to save them and his decree to condemn the ungodly unbelievers impenitent and Hypocrites § 3. This difference is commonly acknowledged by the generality of sober Christians But one schismatical Writer against schism will needs call this Pastoral power Coactive coercive or forcing also though he confess that it is not a power to touch mens Bodies or estates that so by casting out all differencing names he may hide the acknowledged difference of the power and execution And his reason for this errour de nomine is because suspension and excommunication are executed on the involuntary and compel those that believe the power and fear them to obey Where 1. The word compel containeth the confusion compelling the mind by meer argument being not the compelling by corporal force which we are speaking of 2. And every man that chideth reproveth or threatneth a sinner usually doth it to the involuntary And if he believe him and yield he will obey And if you argue from his future danger or suffering it is the fear of it that moveth him But the fear of Gods declared threatnings is not the same as the fear of mans stripes imprisonments unless c. 3. And excommunication worketh on no mans body further than it worketh on his conscience to make him a voluntary agent If you denounce damnation against him it moveth him no further than he believeth you as applying to him the word of God If you forbid him to be present or take the sacrament and he refuse to obey you may not forcibly thrust him out without the Magistrates consent but only suspend your own act of delivery or depart If you command the people to avoid him they will no further obey you than they perceive Gods authority in your words and are convinc't in Conscience of their duty And every sermon may thus compel men And all that judge the sentence unjust and powerless will despise it § 4. 1. There are four or five opinions about the possessors of this forcing power by the sword or violence The first of them that say It belongeth to all Magistrates Christian and unchristian The second of them that say It belongeth only to Christian Magistrates The third of them that say It belongeth to Orthodox Magistrates or Catholick only and not to Hereticks The fourth of those that say that the Judicial part in cases of Religion belongeth to the Pope Prelats or Presbyters and the executive only to the Magistrate The fifth of those that say that both judicial and executive belong to the Pope Prelats and Priests I may add a sixth of them that say it is radically in the people § 5. 1. As to the first it is undoubtedly true if you distinguish between the Office Power and the aptitude of the person to perform it The Office of a Supreme Ruler is the same in all but all are not equally capable of performing it That is It is the same as described by Gods command of their performance As he commandeth infidels to believe and communicate with the Church but not to communicate before they believe so he commandeth Infidel Princes to believe and to govern the Christian affairs but to govern them as they are capable The common Laws of nature justice and peace among Christian subjects an Infidel Prince may and must see executed The Laws of Christ revealed supernaturally he ought to understand believe and execute But till he understand and believe them he cannot execute them And therefore wants the disposition and ability to do what he had command and authority to do but to do it only in the due manner to which his sin disableth him and so his Power is in him incomplete § 6. I confess it is a very hard question How an Atheist can be said to have any Governing right from that God whom he denyeth any more than a Constable from the King from whom by
rebellion he revolteth And also since all power in Heaven and earth is given to Christ how an infidel that renounceth him can be said to be authorized by him And I can no otherwise resolve it than by distinguishing of a King or ruler that is such simpliciter and one that is such but secundum quid 2. One that is tolerated in the place by God the Soveraign and one that is also approved 3. One that the people are bound to obey only in tantum for civil order peace and safety and one that they must obey in matters of Religion and whom God will not condemn as an Usurper in part The case is much the same as that How far subjects that are necessitated to live under a Foolish Prince must obey him which is 1. So far as it is no wrong to another 2. So far as is necessary to the due honour of the office which he possesseth 3. So far as is needful to the common peace order and safety and to our own and to the ends of Government But so as still to desire a better and by just means to endeavour it but not by sin or that which is worse to the Common-wealth than his Foolishness is § 7. II. The same answer mutatis mutandis will serve to the second A Heretick truly so called or a wicked man or persecutor hath radical remote power to all a Princes work But he hath immediate full power to no more than he can do according to Gods Laws and in so much he is to be obeyed and in nothing that is against them § 8. III. The office of Orthodox Rulers is the same fundamentally and radically But their full nearest Power is greater because their Capacity is greater But yet even they are never to be obeyed against the Laws of God which give them their power and limit it and are theirs and their subjects highest rule § 9. IV. The Papists commonly and many Prelatists and some Presbyterians say that about causes of Heresie or Church Communion the Church is to judge and the Prince to execute the Churches judgement But with great difference some Presbyterians only say that the Magistrate ought upon the bare judgement of the Church to force the excommunicate person from the Assembly if he intrude And the Independents will say as much as this And indeed this is but to keep peace it being due to a family that none intrude against their will But yet as a Prince or Judge may right a servant child or wife so may they the excommunicate when it is proved that they are wronged And therefore may to that end re-examine the cause But other Presbyterians and Diocesans say that when the Church hath excomunicated a man the Magistrate is bound to force him by imprisonment fines or corporal penalties to repent and be reconciled And the Papists say that men judged Hereticks he must burn or banish which is all false as shall be proved in the third book § 10. V. The fifth sort hold that as Melchizedek and Christ were both Priests and Kings so it should be now And some say before confuted that every King is the chief Priest and others that the chief Priest should be King and that the Pope is the universal Monarch having both swords Spiritual and Corporal But as to the execution Bishops are to obey him in excommunicating Hereticks that is his adversaries and Kings in killing or banishing otherwise he may depose both Kings and Bishops But against this more in due place § 11. VI. As to the Radical power of the people I have said so much against it in my Christian Directory in confutation of Richard Hookers Ecclesiastical Policie that I need to add no more In my Political Aphorismes I more fully opened this I conclude with the common Christian judgment that the Civil Magistrate only hath the power of Ruling by the sword § 12. II. As to the second case How the Magistrates power is to be used towards all men in Common I answer in short 1. All are agreed that the good of the Commonwealth is the end of Government as the Terminus of a Relation which essentiateth it It is not government univocally but equivocally which is not for the common good really or visibly intentionally really or pretendedly § 13. 2. Every true member of the Common-wealth hath a right to a part in this common good till he forfeit it § 14. 3. Every member hath not an equall right because all have not equal capacity or worthiness § 15. 4. It is as hard a question How far an Atheist or Infidel is a rightful member of a Common-wealth as how far such a one may be a rightful Governour And 1. It is certain that as to obligation he is a subject of God and man and bound to obey as an Atheist King possessing the place is bound to rule well and smneth by not doing it 2. It is certain that as a man he hath a fundamental conditional right to the priviledges of a good subject that is if he will be such a one 3. A Negative not-knowing God or Christ much differeth from a positive denying him rebelling and opposing As Catechumens that know not God or Christ are not Anathematized as deniers and opposers are because they are teachable and coming towards the Church though not of it so in a Christian Commonwealth such are members in a large sense secundum quid and forfeit not their lives liberties or estates but are only candidates as to the rewards and preferments and special priviledges of worthy members who either rule or have a voice in choosing Rulers But being willing to learn to know God and Christ they should with love and kindness be encouraged and drawn on 4. But in a Kingdom of such as know not God or Christ they must have rule and priviledges because there are no fitter to have them But such a Kingdom is to God no otherwise his subjects than such a person before described is 5. But those that after sufficient instruction deny and oppose God as God do forfeit the protection and common liberty of subjects in a Kingdom that confesseth God and those that deny Christ in a Christian Kingdom and oppose him as Christ do forfeit the Common protection of Christian subjects But wise men think that because the Deity is of Natural Revelation by all Gods works to all men as men and Christ only of supernatural revelation by the Gospel and the work of faith more difficult therefore the opposers of a Deity forfeit their lives if they continue obstinate but the enemies of Christ only forfeit their place in a Christian Commonwealth and should be banished if obstinate As the meer ignorance of him keepeth such out of the Church till they believe But then denying or opposing Christ deserveth ejection with anathema § 16. 5. All men then must by the Magistrate be used as men according to their natures and not as bruits and therefore must be instructed
and ruled by laws of reason and led towards Christianity and the hopes of future felicity And if they sin against the Laws of humanity they so far forfeit the priviledges of humanity or are to be punished as the ends of the society require § 17. III. To the third question how Magigistracie or the sword or forcing power is to be used for Christ and for his Church and on Christians as such who is to be rewarded punished or tolerated for the Churches Vnity and edification and preservation I answer I. In general Men should be used as men Christians as Christians The weak as weak The strong as strong and the eminently wise and good as such The criminal as criminal And all this with chief respect to the laws of God and the common good § 18. II. More particularly 1. Negatively 1. The Magistrate cannot make men Believers by the sword He cannot make the ignorant wise nor the wicked godly at the heart § 19. 2. He ought not to force men to lie by professing themselves to be what they are not or to know or believe or do what they do not Therefore he may not make a Law that All men shall be compelled to profess themselves Christians or Godly persons or any that are not such indeed And therefore none must be compelled to it because no man knoweth who are such but every man must be the voluntary professor of his own faith and piety § 20. 3. He ought not to force the weak to profess that they are strong or know or believe more than they do either to profess those measures of wisdom those Articles of faith that are not essentials or those measures of affection or practice which are proper to strong Christians And for not professing such things or Covenanting accordingly he may not deny them any priviledges belonging to Christians as such but only such as are proper to wiser and stronger Christians § 21. 4. Princes and other Magistrates may not make themselves the Lictors or executioners to the Clergie to punish men with fines imprisonment banishment or death eo nomine because they stand excommunicate by the Clergy without trying whether it was rightly or wrongfully done and whether the crime be such as should be so punished by them Excommunication if just is it self a dreadful punishment no man is to be punished for being punished If it be for not repenting 1. He must first be sure that it was a crime 2. And that God hath appointed this way to force men to repentance 3. And that such forced repentance must go for true But when the excommunication is unjust the Magistrate must not second it with oppression It is enough to be so much wronged by the Clergy more should not be added for that cause nor must the Magistrate suppose the Clergy to be unerring and so lay by the person of a Judge himself and become the blind executioner of their sentence § 22. II. Affirmatively The Christian Magistrates Office is To promote the common good of the people and their salvation and the pleasing and glory of God by preserving and promoting Piety Love Justice and peace even mens obedience to all the Laws of God in Nature and Scripture § 23. Therefore as the means 1. He must promote to his power the due publication or preaching of the Gospel and the subordinate means that are needful thereunto 2. He must by just means restrain and punish the gross violators of Gods Laws and must encourage the obedient and good § 24. Therefore III. He must deal differently with his subjects as they differ according to this common distribution They are I. Not Christians who are 1. Enemies of the Church or of Christianity 2. Neglecters of Christianity 3. Candidates or Catechumens Seekers II. Christians who are to be considered as 1. Personally qualified and so they are 1. Eminently wise good and strong 2. Of a middle sort or degree 3. Ignorant culpable and weak 2. Relatively as being 1. Only Christians of the universal Church and no particular 1. Not yet entred into particular Churches 2. Separated from them 3. Cast out of such only 2. In particular Churches which are either 1. Consociate viz. under 1. The Pope 2. Diocesans 3. Presbyteries 2. Independent and diverse 3. Opposites and adverse 3. In their Practice which is either 1. Laudable to be encouraged and promoted 2. Tolerable 3. Intolerable I shall therefore briefly shew how each of these sorts are to be used by a wise and righteous Christian Prince or other Magistrate though somewhat is said already to the first § 25. I. The enemies and opposers of Christianity are 1. To be wisely and soberly restrained from any effectual dangerous hindering of it By moderate means if they are moderate and by greater severity if they be violent and inhumane 2. As far as obstinacy maketh them uncapable Light and Love should be used to win them with the example of our better lives In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth that they may escape out of the snare of Satan 2 Tim. 2. 26. § 26. II. The Neglecters of Christianity are to be instructed and excited And therefore 1. By perswasion 2. or necessary moderate penalties constrained only to Hear what can be said for it § 27. III. The seekers or willing candidates are to be clearly and skillfully and patiently taught and encouraged by love § 28. IV. Eminent Christians are to be made the Teachers and Rulers of the rest and to have praise and best encouragement § 29. V. The middle sort of Christians must be governed and instructed with encouragement to grow and the body of a Christian Common-wealth well ordered will be most of such § 30. VI. The ignorant faulty and weak must be pityed and gently used but as children under more teaching restraint and necessary rebukes than better men § 31. VII Those that are not yet entred into any particular Churches Communion under any known particular Pastor if necessarily such as persons that have no dwelling but wander up and down as Pedlars c. are to be pityed and suffered if we cannot help them to better Those that being baptized only into the universal Church as wanderers children c. and are not come to knowledge or desire should be taught and perswaded into Church order as a second sort of Catechumens Those that are hindred by the disorder or persecution of the place and times must be pityed and patiently born with § 32. VIII Those that separate from one or other particular Churches if by some great crime and abuse must be used according to their fault as is after shewed about Practice But if either by tolerable weakness or outward necessity they depart but from one Church they must be received into others If from all particular Churches as some called Seekers and not from the universal they must be used as the seventh sort those
such bloody work as hath been made by Bishops Councils and Emperors for the suppressing of dissenters What hath been done at Alexandria Antioch Constantinople Jerusalem Rome I have elsewhere shewed The late publisher of his travels in Egypt Vaneslup a Roman they say a Jesuite tells us that Egypt is deprived of her ancient sort of inhabitants destroyed for following Dioscorus and that Justinian killed no less than two hundred thousand of them I believe not his number But if this be true the tyrannical hereticaters are the Pikes in the pond and a far more bloody and devouring sort of men than most of those that they destroy as intolerable 3. But it is not yet divers Religions that is the subject in dispute every different opinion or practice or diversity in some small point in Religion is not a divers Religion He knoweth not what Religion is that thinketh that there are as many different Religions as there are controversies among religious persons In a word Bear a little or you must bear more § 8. Obj. 8. But the tolerated will seduce the ignorant and poison Souls And therefore are no more to be tolerated than murderers souls being more precious than bodies Answ 1. Who have poisoned the Church and souls with more errors and more palpable than the Papists who are most against Toleration 2. The meerly Tolerated being discountenanced by Authority have less advantage to deceive men than the Approved if as erroneous 3. We plead for restraining men from poisoning souls by dangerous doctrines and not for tolerating that But every dissenter or mistaking person is not such a poisoner of souls 4. The Tolerated speaking in publick are more responsible and more easily convicted of their fault than those that do it secretly where there are no witnesses And this your violence cannot hinder 5. As their errors will be openly known so you have advantage openly to confute them and to keep the people right § 9. Obj. 9. But dissenting teachers will unsay what the Approved Teachers say and hinder their work and steal the hearts of the people from them and make their calling bur densome to them Answ 1. They are to be restrained from preaching against any great sure necessary doctrine or practice 2. Christ never sent out his Ministers with a supposition that none should contradict them but with that light and strength which which was to overcome contradiction Do you so debase and disgrace your selves and your religion as to think or say that it cannot prosper if any be but suffered to speak against you 3. Doth the work of Christ afford you no more comfort than shall leave you thus burdened if any will but gainsay you How unlike Christs Ministers or Christians do you speak 4. Have not you that have sound doctrine Gods promise the Rulers countenance maintenance and honour much more to support you than they that are supposed to have none of these 5. If you tolerate not their open preaching their secret endeavours and your seeming cruelty together will alienate more from you and make you not only neglected but abhorred § 10. Obj. 10. The number of the erroneous will increase by a toleration Answ And the number of the ungodly that will say swear or do any thing for worldly respects will increase by your mistaken way of suppressing them 2. It is better that tolerated honest Christians erring in tolerable cases do increase than that they be banished or destroyed and a worldly Ministry thereby lift up abhorred by the religious and heading the malignant and prophane against all serious piety 3. Violence and Tyranny against good men for tolerable error hath already increased that same error more than wiser means would have done and hath introduced worse 4. We have found where I lived in Worcestershire and the neighbouring Counties Warwickshire Staffordshire and Shropshire in the late times of liberty in Religion that an unanimous humble able diligent Ministry frequently and lovingly consulting and all agreeing did more effectually suppress heresie error and schism than violence ever did or would have done The next Parish to me had a grave learned sober Anabaptist B. of D. that had great advantages and yet almost all our flocks were kept from the infection In my own Charge a great Parish of many thousand souls where I was above 14. years we had no one separate assembly nor one sectary that I remember save two or three apostate Infidels or Socinians and two or three Papists A faithful agreeing Ministry with the advantage of a good cause we found sufficient to shame all the Sectaries and frustrate most of their endeavours and to keep the people unanimous and right § 11. Obj. 11. If every one that will may set up for a preacher and gather a congregation or if the ignorant people shall all choose their own Teachers we shall have ignorance error and confusion Answ 1. I told you that every one that will may not turn preacher The Tolerated are to pass their proper tryal as well as the Approved before they receive their Toleration 2. The Churches commonly chose their own Bishops or Pastors for near a thousand years after Christ or had a Negative consenting voice at least And many Canons did confirm it yea and decrees of the Popes themselves yea when the Popes and Emperours in Germany the Henries c. strove about the investing power it was yet granted that the people should have their electing or free conrsenting power continued And no man can be really their Pastor till they consent And your contrary course will make worse work 3. Our way is of all other the safest Two or three locks keep the Churches treasure safest We say none shall be approved but by three parties consent nor Tolerated but by two or three The Ordainers are to consent to him as a Minister and the people as their Minister and the Magistrate as a Tolerated Minister or if any unordained be tolerated which I determine not at least the People and the Ruler must consent and that upon a just testimonial of his ability Piety and fitness for such toleration 4. And yet we speak this but of Pastors not denying but Teachers and Catechizers may be imposed on children infidels and others that are not in Communion with any particular Church § 12. Obj. 12. You would have the Church Articles at least for the Tolerated in Scripture phrase And what 's the phrase without the right sence How easily may Hereticks creep in under such phrases as several men put several sences on Answ 1. Is there not Truth enough in all the Bible in intelligible words necessary to salvation and Church Communion Is the Scripture as insufficient as the Papists make it without their supplemental Traditions or Decrees And had not the Holy Ghost skill to speak even things necessary in tolerable intelligible phrase who are they that are wiser to reform it 2. Almost all words are ambiguous and may be diversly understood your own
derogateth from his glory XIV Of Baptism 1. That Baptism was instituted only for the first times or for reception of Infidel countreys when converted and not for to be continued in Christian Countreys and Churches 2. That outward Baptism by water will save the adult that have not true Repentance and faith and sincere consent to the baptismal Covenant 3. That all the children of Infidels Heathens Hereticks or wicked men are certainly saved if they be baptized and have Godfathers professing Christianity though those Godfathers be wicked hypocrites and take not the infants by adoption or otherwise as their own nor really intend to educate them as they promise and if they die before they actually sin and that this is certain by the word of God 4. That all the baptized are delivered from all culpable pravity of soul or inherent sin 5. That it is certain that all baptized Infants of what parents soever have special grace infused into their souls by the Holy Ghost in Baptism 6. That baptism entering all into the Catholick Church obligeth all the baptized to the Bishop of Rome as the supreme head or pastor 7. That the Infants of believers dedicated to God are holy only as legitimate and not bastards but are not as a holy seed under promise to be entered into the Church and Covenant of God by baptism but all baptized in Infancy must be taken as no visible Christians till they are rebaptized 8. That none that sin grosly after baptism are upon their repentance to be received into the communion of the Church 9. That it is not necessary to baptism of the adult that they make any covenant promise or vow to God nor to the baptism of Infants that Parents or Proparents devote them to Christ by entering them into an obliging Vow or Covenant 10. That Baptism was not instituted to invest the baptized in his right to pardon and life but only to enter him into the visible Church where as a disciple he may learn how to come to such right and pardon hereafter 11. That the adult duely baptized have no right to the Communion of the Church though they profess to continue their Covenant-consent and none disprove the truth of their profession unless they have some higher qualification and title XV. Of the Lords Supper 1. That the Lords Supper is but an ordinance for young or carnal Christians but they that have the Spirit must live without it as being above outward signs and ordinances And so of the Lords Day 2. That the Bread broken and Wine poured out to be eaten and drunk are not the representative Sacramental body and blood of Christ delivering us the real benefits of his sacrifice to be received by faith 3. That after the words of Consecration duly uttered there remaineth no true substance of bread or wine but all is turned into the very body and blood of Christ 4. That the wine may justly be denyed the Laity and they be required to communicate by receiving only the bread consecrated or the body of Christ as they call it without the other half of the Sacrament 5. That Christs flesh and blood is really and properly sacrificed by the Priest 6. That ordinarily the Priest is to partake alone and the people only to be Spectators 7. That the consecrated host being Christs body is to be adored as very God 8. That this sacrifice is to be offered by the Priest for the living and the dead and to ease the pains of Purgatory 9. That God himself here deceiveth the soundest senses of all men making that to be no bread or wine which their senses and intellects of things as sensate apprehend as such 10. That it is heresie and deserveth extermination or death to deny these things of the Sacrament and to believe our senses that there remaineth true bread and wine after Consecration 11. That unbelievers and wicked men in the Eucharist truly eat the real body of Christ 12. That the bare receiving of the Sacrament though without true faith and repentance will procure pardon of sin from God and Salvation XVI Of the Church 1. That the Church of Christ as visible is lost or ceased or hath been lost since the Apostles days so that there was a time when Christ had no visible subjects and disciples 2. That the Church differeth from Heathens and Infidels only in opinion and not in real holiness 3. That only the Clergy or Rulers are the Church of Christ 4. That Christ hath instituted a vicarious visible Head of all the world or of all the Church on earth under himself to whom all Christians must be subject as their chief Pastor 5. That this Head or universal Church Monarch is the Bishop of Rome or else a general Council 6. That this Head or chief Ruler Pope Council or both hath universal Legislative power to make Laws obliging the whole world or the whole Church 7. That this Head is made the judge to all Christians what shall be taken for articles of faith and what for heresie and all are bound to believe such judgement or at least to acquiesce in submission to it 8. That no one is bound to believe the Scripture or the Christian Verity but for or upon the proposal of the Pope Council or both 9. That such judgement and proposal is certain and infallible 10. That this Church and its authority must be believed to be given by Christ before men can believe in Christ himself 11. That this Pope Council or both have power from Christ to excommunicate such as deserve excommunication throughout all the world and to judge who deserve it 12. That the Pope hath power to call general Councils out of all Christian Churches or nations on earth and to preside in them and to approve or reject and invalidate their decrees 13. That all Churches are bound to send Bishops or Delegates to â—uch Councils if required by the Pope 14. That a General Council approved by the Pope is infallible in all points of faith else not 15. That the Pope or Council or both may judge all Christian Kings and depose such as they judge deserve it and give their Countreys to others and disoblige their subjects from their Oaths of Allegiance 16. That they may interdict Gods worship to whole Countreys and Kingdomes and the Clergy must obey such interdicts 17. That whom they or the Clergy judge hereticks all are bound to avoid as hereticks be they never so falsly judged such 18. That at least in ordine ad spiritualia the Pope hath power over Princes and their Crowns 19. That the Clergy owe not obedience to Princes nor may be judged by them 20. That the universal Church can have no errour in any point which God hath revealed in his word 21. That the universal Church hath erred or may err in points essential to Christianity or absolutely necessary to Salvation and so become no Church and Christ no King or Head of it 22. That no one is a
renounced by Ministers but to lie before the Church Rulers to tell them what to forbid Ministers to preach and moderately and wisely to rebuke or restrain the offenders as wisdome shall direct them according to the quality of the persons and the offence and their frequency obstinacy or impenitency in offending Not that every one should be ejected or silenced that holdeth or preacheth any one such errour but only those who consideratis considerandis are found to do more harm than good The Third Part OF SCHISM OR The False Dividing Terms and Means OF UNITY and PEACE CHAP. I. What Schism is and what are its Causes and Effects Sect. I. SCHISM or Divisions among Christians is by the Common Confession of all Christians a sin against God and a dishonour and hurt and danger to the Church but especially to the guilty But what it is and who are the guilty men are not so much agreed on Each Party laying it upon the other and one taking that for Damnable Schism which another taketh for his greatest Duty And while the guilty are no better known the Division is continued and few repent Sect. II. SCHISM or Division or Rents among Christians is considerable I. As to the Agents when it is by 1. Many 2. Few 1. The Pastors or Rulers 2. The People either 1. The Learned 2. The Ignorant II. The Terminus as it is dividing 1. In a Church and not from it 1. From their Government 1. Of one 2. Of More 1. Few 2. Many 1. Sound 2. Unsound 3. From the Universal Church 2. Communion 2. From a Church III. The Act As 1. In kind 2. In degree which both are either 1. Inward 1. Of Mind 1. Dividing Opinions 1. Of Doctrines 1. Of Faith 2. Practice 1. Worship 2. Conversation 2. Of Persons by consent 2. Ignorance of necessary means of Unity 2. Of will and passion 1. Wrath and uncharitableness 1. To things 2. Persons 2. Love to 1. Division 2. Dividers 2. Outward by 1. Words 1. Of Persons 1. Single 1. Rulers 2. People 2. Collective the Church 2. Things of 1. Doctrine 2. Practice 1. Towards God 2. Towards Men 2. Deeds 1. Separating 1. Morally by merit 2. Actually 2. Promoting Schism 1. Drawing Others 2. Resisting 1. Uniting Persons 2. Uniting Means Doctrine Acts IV. The Effects 1. On Christians 1. Single 1. The Dividers 2. Others viz. 1. Pastors 2. People 1. Weak 2. Strong 2. Collective 1. That Church 2. Other Churches 1. Church 2. State 3. Families 2. On those without 1. Unbelievers 2. Enemies All these things should here distinctly be considered A large Scheme of the Causes Nature and Effects of Schism and Contentions with the Remedies c. I have prefixed to my Book called Catholick Theology Sect. III. Of all the sins that men charge on one another there is none used by Accusers more partially and less regardably than the charge of Heresie and Schism the words usually signifying no more but that the accused differ in judgment from the accusers and are not so obedient to them in matters of Religion as they expect Insomuch that whoever can but get uppermost or get the major Vote doth usually make it his advantage to call himself Orthodox and Catholick and all Dissenters Hereticks and Schismaticks By which means Heresie and Schism are greatly promoted while many that else would hate and oppose them are tempted by this usage to take the words to be but proud mens reproach of the innocent Sect. IV. The full opening of all the parts of Schism will be a work so long as may tire the Reader I will therefore first give some notice of them transiently and briefly and then examine some things that are by others supposed to be the Causes and shew how uncapable divers means are of being terms of real Union and Concord which some men venditate as the only or necessary terms Sect. V. 1. A Schism made by Many is in some repects worse than by Few and in some not all so bad The sins of many hath more guilt than of one Their ill success is like to be greater Those will fall in with the multitude who would despise a singular tempter The Donatists prevailed in Africa by their number It seemeth by their Bishops in their Councils that they were the greater part It is not impossible for the far greater number to be the Schismaticks But yet the guilt of singularity is more upon a single Separatist or few that dare separate from the whole or most of the Churches Sect. VI. 2. The Bishops and Pastors are liable to the sin of Schism as well as the ignorant people Yea as Mutinies seldom happen in an Army at least to any great danger unless they be headed by some Commander so seldom hath there been any Heresie or Schism in the Church of which some Bishops have not been the Leaders or Chief Promoters since Bishops were great in the world at least and before they or some Elders were the Chief To instance in Paulus Samosit Apollinarius Novatus and his followers Maximinus and the Donatists Nestorius Dioscorus Severus and the multitudes more which Church-History mentioneth and which made up the Councils at Ephes 2. Arrinene Sinnium Milan divers at Constantinople Alexandria and multitudes more would be but to suppose my Reader a stranger to such History which here I must not do for then I cannot expect that he should take my word Sect. VII It is a far greater sin in Bishops and Pastors to be Schismaticks than in the People because they are supposed to know more the Good of Concord and the Means and the Mischiefs of Schism and the Causes and Remedies And it is their Office to be the Preachers of Unity and Peace and to save the People from the temptations which would draw them into such guilt Sect. VIII Bishops and Pastors have greater temptations to Schism than the People and therefore have been so frequent in the guilt especially Pride and Covetousness in them hath stronger Faith And 1. Striving who shall be Greatest and have Rule 2. Who shall be thought Wisest and most Orthodox have been the cause of most of the Schisms in the world And 3. Sometimes especially with the Presbyters and People it hath been who shall be thought the Best and Holiest persons But the two former have done much more than this Goodness being that which corrupt nature doth not so much contend for or the reputation of Holiness as for Greatness and Wisdom the commoner baits of Pride Therefore Controversies and Power and Riches have been the usual matters of Dissension Sect. IX 3. True Learning tendeth to prevent and end Controversies which Ignorance cherisheth as it did with the Egyptian Monks that turned Anthropomorphites But a smattering in Learning which amounts not to solidity and a settled mind is the common cause of Heresies and Schism while praters must needs be taken for wise and to know more than others while they know nothing as they ought to know
Sect. X. 4. Yet when the very Matter of a dividing Heresie is laid upon much Learning or subtle Notions or any words or things very hard to be understood it seldom spreadeth far and liveth long Because it must cost men dear to understand it and humane nature is slothful and multitudes will not be at long and hard study to know what is right or wrong Therefore such as the Rosie Crucians Behmens c. do but little harm Sect. XI 5. It is not only separating from the Church but causing divisions and contentions in a Church which in Scripture is reproved as sinful Schism And indeed this is the commonest acception of the word as may be seen Rom. 16. 17. 1 Cor. 1. 10. 3. 3. 11. 18. Matth. 12. 25. Luk. 12. 52 53. 2 Cor. 12. 25. They that by ill Doctrine or abuse of each other or causless quarrels do disturb the Churches Peace and cause disaffection murmurings and unbrotherly distance are guilty of Schism though they separate not Sect. XII 6. Separating from a Church is sometimes a greater and sometime a less fault than dividing in a Church and sometime no fault but a duty It is a greater fault 1. When the Church is by the Separater falsly accused of greater crimes 2. And when it tendeth to greater hurt It is a less fault when a man removeth from one Church to another though causelesly yet with less accusation of that Church and less detriment to the common Cause It is no fault when there is just cause and it is done in a just manner Sect. XIII 7. Separating from the Universal Church which is the Universality of Christians as Headed by Christ is separating from Christ and ever damnable and is Apostasie Sect. XIV But to separate from some Accident or Integral part of the Church Universal is not to separate from the Church To differ from Christians in any thing essential to Christianity is to apostatize or separate from the whole Church and so it is à materia to renounce the universality of Christians But to differ from the whole Church in some accident or integral is not to separate from it Sect. XV. To separate from any one Church upon a reason common to all is so far to separate from all And upon a reason that is against the essence of all it is to separate from all as Churches Sect. XVI To separate from any Church by denyal of some one essential part of Christianity though all the rest be confess'd is Heresie in the strict sense and Apostasie in a larger sense and to deny all Christanity is Apostasie in the strict sense But the ancient Christians called it Heresie when men separated into distinct opposing Bodies as parties from the generality of Christians for the cherishing of any dangerous errour Sect. XVII It is lawful to separate from particular Churches in all the degrees and Cases following 1. It is lawful to abate our esteem of any Church or Pastor as they are less worthy or more corrupt or culpable and to value more the more worthy Sect. XVIII 2. It is lawful to remove ones dwelling from one City or Parish to another for the just reasons of our worldly Affairs and thereby to remove from other Churches And it is lawful to do the same for the good of our Souls when one Minister is bad or less fit for our Edification and one Church more corrupt and culpable and others more sound and pure and their Communion more conducible to our Salvation Sect. XIX 3. Parish bounds being but humane Institutions for order sake it is lawfull to be of a Church in a neighbour Parish instead of ones own Parish Church in case we have the allowance of the higher Powers or without that in cases of true necessity or when consideratis considerandis the Benefit is evidently greater than any hurt that it is like to do For no man hath power to bind me to that which is to the danger or detriment of my Soul unless at least some greater notorious interest of the Community require it If my Parish have an ignorant unsound Teacher or a weak dull dangerous or unprofitable careless or scandalous vicious Pastor yet tolerable rather than to have none or judged tolerable by the Rulers and the next Parish have an able holy faithful Pastor by whom I am more abundantly edified I am not bound by Mans Commands to trust the conduct of my Soul with the former or to deny my self the benefit of the latter when I cannot remove my dwelling For mens power is not to destruction but to edification and Order is for the Thing Ordered and not against it My Soul is more Christs and my own than the Rulers And I am not unthankfully to neglect the helps offered me by Christ who ascended to give gifts to men for the edifying of his Body merely because a man commandeth me so to do Sect. XX. 4. Even Pope Nicholas and some of the Popish Councils forbad all men to hear Mass from a fornicating Priest Protestants should not be less strict And it is as lawfull to depart from the Parish-Priest for being a Drunkard a Scorner at Godliness a Persecutor an insufficient Guide of Souls as for being a Fornicator And many Councils forbid me hearing Hereticks Sect. XXI 5. There is so great difference between Teachers and Teachers that are tolerable that some by unsuitableness are to some persons almost equal to none some that preach only in high Language fit for learned ears and withall never speak to the people singly in any private oversight do little or no more good to some of the ignorant than none And God useth to work on Souls by Means and according to the aptitude of Means and therefore Heathens that have no Preachers are unconverted And men are not to forsake the ordinary helps and hopes of their Salvation for Parish-Order or mens Commands Christ twice sent the Pharisees to learn the meaning of I will have mercy and not sacrifice Souls are better than Ceremonies as the Redeemer of Souls will judge Sect. XXII 6. Where we cannot joyn with any Congregation without sin imposed on us by Profession Subscription Covenants Oaths Declaration Practice or Omission it is a Duty not to joyn with such Sect. XXIII 7. When the Pastor is an Usurper and hath no true title to that place it is no Schism to desert him By many Canons of Councils and it seemeth to me by Scripture the Bishop is an Usurper who hath not the consent of his Flock and of the Ordainers Much more he that is utterly intolerable by Insufficiency Heresie Tyranny wickedness or Malignancy against that Piety which he should promote Sect. XXIV 8. Where one Diocesan Bishop hath many hundred Parishes under him which have no other Bishop and so are not taken for Churches but for Chappels or parts of a Church by them that take a Bishop to be a constitutive part of a Church there he that goeth from his
Parish but not out of the Diocese nor separateth from his Diocesan doth not separate from that particular Church as they esteem it Sect. XXV 9. If the Temples and Tythes be given to a Priest or Bishop not lawfully called nor consented to by the Flocks and another be lawfully called whom the Magistrate casteth out of the Temples and Tythes or denyeth them to him it is the Peoples duty to adhere to the Pastor that is justly called And it is not alwayes a duty to adhere to him whom the Magistrate imposeth nor a sin to withdraw from him The Churches met against the Magistrates will above three hundred years Sect. XXVI 10. If a lawfull Bishop or Pastor be set over the Flocks and either Magistrate or Synod unjustly depose him because he refuseth some heresie or sin and set up another in his stead especially one justly suspected of unsoundness the People are not hereby disobliged from their first Pastor nor obliged to the latter But yet if the latter be tolerable the Magistrates Countenance may be so great an advantage to the one and disadvantage to the other especially in case of Persecution as may make it their duty in point of Prudence for the first Pastor and People to consent to the Change And the same is to be said of the abusive deposition by a Synod Sect. XXVII 11. If the Parish Minister be lawfully called and the Pishop not so he that separateth only from the Diocesan and not from that Parish-Church is not guilty of Schism The same I say of separating from an unlawfull Arch-Bishop or Metropolitan Sect. XXVIII 12. If the species of the Office Church-Policie or Form be unlawfull it is a duty to separate from that species On which account we separate from the Papal Church the species of an Universal Church as Headed by one Man without Christs Institution being unlawfull though we separate from no Material part of Christs own universal Church as such and so related And as the Mass Sacrifice seemeth to be of another species than Christs Sacrament so the Mass-Priest seemeth to be a new species of Office and unlawfull The case of Patriarks and other Church-Offices and Forms of mans invention is after to be spoken of Sect. XXIX 8. There is a great deal of difference between the several local separations of men according to their several reasons and mutual separations No meer local separation without the mental is Schism or sin A man can be but in one place at once and is locally separate or absent from all Churches in the World save one Sect. XXX He that separateth from a true Church accusing it to be no true Church caeteris paribus is of the highest degree of Separation except that which is from all or from many And he that separateth as falsly accusing the Doctrine Worship Discipline or Conversation of the Church to be such as that a good Christian may not lawfully hold Communion with them therefore is in the next degree of Schism But he that withdraweth from one Church only for a greater convenience or profit or for purer Doctrine Worship Discipline or Practice in another is guilty either of no Schism if he have just cause or of little if he have not just cause while he no further accuseth the Church Sect. XXXI To separate unwarrantably from a pure and sound Church is a worse Schism caeteris paribus than to separate from an impure unsound maculated and undisciplined Church And to separate from many caeteris paribus is worse than from one Sect. XXXII If the Magistrate cast true Pastors and Churches out of his favour and out of the Temples and Tythes and forbid their Meetings and persecute them unjustly it is schismatical in any to call these men Schismaticks and to deny Communion with them as holding and calling them unlawful Conventicks as long as it is not so To separate from a prohibited Church may be Schism as well as from an allowed one when it is unjust Sect. XXXIII 9. To separate in mind from the Doctrine of Faith or in heart from the Love of Truth Worship or Brethren is dangerous mental Schism in those that ordinarily assemble with them Sect. XXXIV And all dividing Opinions and Doctrines and Practices tending to open Schism are schismatical according to their degree such are false accusing thoughts of the Churches Doctrine the Ministers Preaching the Churches Worship Order or Government or of the persons of the Pastors or the People Sect. XXXV 10. Secret ignorance or unbelief of necessary things is inconsistent with that internal union that maketh the Church Mystical Negatives may be Schism as well as Positives Sect. XXXVI 11. It is also internal Schism when men hate or love not Gods Word and Worship and the Communion of Saints and the Servants of God but love Pleasures Sin Deceivers and Dividers better Sect. XXXVII 12. Censuring reviling slandering defaming Rulers Teachers or People or other Churches of Christ by tongue or writing in Pulpits or in common talk especially by published false Invectives is Schismatical Of which many Controvertists and Disputants are guilty and many that reproach oppressed Churches and Persons are schismatical in calling others Schismaticks and Hereticks Sect. XXXVIII 13. Printing preaching or publishing Heresies or any false dividing doctrines is in its degree schismatical Sect. XXXIX 14. Making ones self uncapable of Communion and doing that which deserveth Excommunication is a rending ones self morally and by merit from the Church Sect. XL. 15. Causeless renouncing Communion with true Churches especially also setting up Anti-churches unwarrantably against them is Schism according to the degrees before described yea to hold Churches in other Countreys uncapable of Communion and unjustly condemn them as Hereticks is Schism Sect. XLI 16. The more men draw with them into Schism the more caeteris paribus it is aggravated And the Leaders and zealous Promoters are most guilty Sect. XLII 17. It is aggravated Schism to oppose Reconcilers or the healing Doctrines and Practices that are the proper means of unity and to reproach vilifie or resist them Sect. XLIII 18. The greatest and commonest Schism is by Dividing Laws and Canons which causelesly silence Ministers scatter Flocks and Decree the unjust Excommunication of Christians and deny Communion to those that yield not to sinfull or unnecessary ill-made terms of Communion And Persecution and Excommunications in the executing of such Laws are Schism in its virulent exercise Sect. XLIV 19. It is therefore schismatical to deny necessary toleration of Dissenters and Liberty for such to worship God in several places who by unavoidable difference of judgement in things tolerable cannot without violence to their Consciences meet in the same place For instance suppose the Parish-Churches have the use of Organs and some cannot be perswaded but it â—s sin As the rest will not be deprived of the Musick â—for their sakes so it is unjust and schismatical that they should be denyed leave to worship God elsewhere without
down Sect. XI 3. They turn all the Parish-Churches into Chappels or meer parts of one Church and Unchurch them all in the judgment of those that take a Bishop to be essential to a Church And all will not agree to Unchurch all such Parishes Sect. XII 4. It maketh true Discipline as impossible as is the Government of so many score oâ— hundred Schools by one Schoolmaster or Hospitals by one Physician without any other Schoolmaster or Physician under him but Ushers and Apothecaries which all Christians will not agree to Sect. XIII 5. It is contrary to the Practice of the Primitive Churches and casteth out their sort oâ— Parochial Bishops as I have elsewhere fully proved 1. From the Testimonies of many such as that oâ— Ignatius before cited 2. From the custom of choosing Bishops by all the People 3. And of managing Discipline before all the Church 4. By the custom mentioned by Tertulliâ—â— and Justin Martyr of receiving the Sacrament onely from the hand of the Bishop or when he Consecrated it 5. By the custom of the Bishops onely Preaching except in case of his special appointment 6. In every Church the Bishop sate on a high Seat with the Presbyters about him 7. The Bishop onely pronounced the Blessing 8. Many Canons after when the Churches grew greater command all the People to be present and communicate with the Bishop on the great Festivals These and many more Evidences prove That in the Primitive Times the Bishops had but single Churches and every Altar and Church had a Bishop Sect. XIV 6. The very Species of the old Churches is thus overthrown and the old office of Presbyters therewith which was to be assistant Governors with the Bishop and not meer Preachers or Readers And all these Changes all Christians will not agree to Sect. XV. 7. Especially the sad History of Councils and Prelacy will deter them from such Concord when they find that their Aspiring Ambition and Contention hath been the grand Cause of Schisms and Rebellions and kept the Church in confusion and brought it to the lamentable state in East and West that it is in Sect. XVI 8. And constant Experience will be the greatest hinderance As in our own Age many good Men that had favourable thoughts of Diocesans are quite turned from them since they saw Two thousand faithful Ministers silenced by them and that it is the work of too many of them to cast out such and set up such as I am not willing to describe And such Experience After-Ages are like to have which will produce the same effects When Experience persuadeth Men That under the name of Bishops they are Troublers Persecutors and Destroyers they will account them Wolves and not agree to take them for their Shepherds It will be said That Good Bishops are not such It 's true and that there are Good Ones no sober Man doubteth But when 1300 years Experience hath told Men That the Good Ones are few in comparison of the Bad Ones ever since they had large Dominions and Jurisdictions And when Reason tells Men That the worst and most worldly Men will be the most diligent seekers of such Power and Wealth and that he that seeketh them is liker to find them than he that doth not and so that Bad men are still likest to be Diâ—cesans And when the divided scattered persecuted Flocks find that the work of such Men is to silence the most conscionable Ministers and to be Thorns and Thistâ—es to the People though they wear Sheeps cloathing Men will judge of theâ— by their fruits and the Churches will never be united in them Sect. XVII 9. The greatest Defenders of Episcopacy say so much to make Men against them as will hinder this from being an uniting course I wiâ—l instance now but in Petavius and Doctor Hamâ—â—d who followeth him and Scolus who saith 〈…〉 Clara led them the way These hold That the Apâ—stâ—â—s setled a Bishop without any subject sort of Presbyters in every City and single Congregational Church And Doctor Hammond Annot. in Act. 11. Dissertat adversus Blondel saith That it cannot be proved that there were any subject Presbyters in Scripture-times but that the word Presbyter every where in Scripture signifieth a Bishop And if so 1. Men will know that the Apostolical Form was for every Congregational Church to have a Bishop of its own 2. That no Bishop had more setled Congregations than one For no such Congregation could worship God and celebrate the Sacrament of Communion as then they constantly did without a Minister And one Bishop could be but in one place at once and so without Curates could have but one Assembly 3. And Men will be inquisitive By what Authority Subject Presbyters and Diocesan Bishops and Churches were introduced after Scripture-times in which they will never receive universal satisfaction If it be said that the Apostles gave Bishops Power to make a subject order of Presbyters and to turn Parish or Congregational Churches into Diocesan and so to alter the first Forms of Government when they were dead this will not be received without proofs which never will be given to satisfie all Nay it will seem utterly improbable and Men will ask 1. Why did not the Apostles do it themselves if they would have it done Was not their Authority more unquestionable than theirs that should come after If it be said that there were not qualified Men enow it will 2. Be asked Were there not like to be then greatest Choice upon the extraordinary pouring out of the Spirit 3. Do we not find in Corinth so many inspired gifted persons in one Assembly that Paul was put to limit them in their Prophecying yet allowing many to do it one by one And Acts 13. there were many Prophets and Teachers in Antioch And at Jerusalem more and at Ephesus Acts 20. and at Philippi Phil. 1. 1 2. there were many Bishops or Elders And such Deacons as Stephen and Philip c. would have served for Elders rather than to have none 4. Doth not this imply that after-times that might make so great a change may also do the like in other things 5. And that Diocesans and subject Presbyters be but humane Institutions and therefore Men may again change them 6. Doth it not dishonour the Apostles to say that they setled one Form of Government for their own Age which should so quickly be changed by their Followers into another species All these things and much more will hinder Universal Concord in Diocesans Sect. XIX Yet I must add that there is great difference between Diocesans both as to their Government and their Persons whence some Churches may comfortably live in Concord under them though 〈◊〉 be divided and afflicted under them 1. Some Diocesans have Diocesses so small that Discipline is there a possible thing Others as ours in England have some above a thousand some many hundred or score Parishes which maketh true Discipâ—â—â— impossible 2. Some Diocesans exercise
Gates And it is a greater wonder that Parents and Children should through so many Generations and Countries have so unerring surâ— a memory And it is strange how their own Commentators come to differ about the sense of Thousands of Texts of Scripture if the Churches Tradition have publickly and notoriously delivered down the meaning of them If not how Councils come to be the infallible Commentators and Declarers of the Sense of Scriptures But if really such men believe themselves it will be long before either by fraud or force they can make all others believe such things Sect. IX Gods wisdom appointed a few great and necessary things to be the terms of the Churches Unity and Love but Ignorance and Pride by pretences of Enmity to Error and Heresie have plagued and torn the Churches by Decrees and Canons and led us into a Labyrinth so that men know not where they are nor what to hold nor what the Christian Religion is nor who are Orthodox and who are not so great a work it is to understand such Voluminous Councils and then to be sure that they are all right even when they condemn and damn each other That which hath been the chief Cause and Engine of Division will never become the means or terms of the Unity or Concord of all the Churches But such are the multitude of unnecessary uncertain humane Decrees Laws and Canons of Faith and Religion whatever the proud and ignorant say to the contrary CHAP. VIII The Vniversal Church will never Vnite by receiving all that is now received by Greeks Latines Armenians Abassines Lutherans Calvinists Diocesane Presbyterians Independants Erastians Anabaptists or in full Conformity to any of the present Parties which addeth to the Primitive Simplicity in her terms of Communion or Concord Sect. I. I Must expect that the Evil Spirit which hath long torn the Church and made multitudes tear themselves and foam out Reproach yea and Blood against each other will presently meet the very Title of this Chapter with a charge of Pride against the Writer and say What are you that you should know more than all the Churches in the World And preâ—ume to charge them all with so great Error as not to know the terms of Christian Concord nor the way of Universal Peace But I answer 1. Is the Church now United in any of these terms or ways Are they all Papists Are they all of the Greek Church or Armenian Abassine c Are they all Lutherans or Calvinists c If not why should you conclude that ever they will be Or that any of these are congruous terms of Concord and that the same that doth not heal will heal them Will not Christians be the same as now Sect. II. They never were United on any of these terms I have proved that they were never all Papists And it will be easily granted of the rest that they were never all Greeks Lutherans c. And that which never did unite the Church never will do Sect. III. If you think all must be united in any of these wayes which of them is it And why that rather than any of the rest 1. Must they all be of the Greek opinions You see that the Papists condemn them for Schismaticks And other Churches lament their manifold Corruptions And the Eastern Countries long since divided from them We have here in London a Greek Church new built and Tolerated and their work is done so ignorantly and unreverently that they have usually not twice the number of the officiating or present Priests who join with them 2. Must they all be Papists Never was more Policy and Cruelty used to propagate and prop up any Church under Heaven and yet they cannot prevail for Universal Subjection Nay many Kingdoms and Countries are fallen from them while they used such means to keep them insomuch that by many of the soundest Churches they are taken for no better than Antichristian Hereticks And even the Greek Church separateth from them and pronounceth them Schijmaticks and Excommunicates them every year And they can never obliterate the History of their horrid Schisms and Usurpations and inhumane Butcheries which will alienate many from them Will all the world ever agree to the Dominion of one Usurper Will they all believe the Monster of Transubstantiation Will they all agree That all the Senses of all men are deceived who think that they see and taste Bread and Wine and there is none And that it is necessary to Salvation to renounce all our Senses and the Scripture that oft calls it Bread after the Consecration 1 Cor. 11. Will all agree That God who cannot lie by Supernatural Revelation is the Father of all the lies to Sense that perceive real Bread and Wine and deceiveth them all by his Natural Revelation Will all men believe That every lying fornicating proud and covetous Priest even many Thousands of them can work Miracles at their pleasures every day in the week by making Bread no Bread and turning it into Flesh and 〈◊〉 And that there are visible Accidents without a Subject even a round nothing a white nothing a sweet nothing c. And that there are no substantial sâ—â—ns in that Sacrament of the thing signified And that Christs true Flesh was broken and his Blood shed by himself in the Sacrament before it was broken and shed on the Cross And that two General Councils who decree as de Fide that Christ hath not now Flesh in Heaven hath yet heavenly Flesh in the Sacrament I know that Augustine retracted somewhat as an oversight that looked that way But two General Councils that at Constantinople called the 7th General by some and that at Nice 2d which damned one another about Images yet agreed in this That Christ hath not Flesh in Heaven The words are Bin. p. 378. defin 7. Siauis non confessus fuerit Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum post Assumptionem animatae rationalis intelleâ—â—â—â— carnis simul sedere cum Deo â—atre atque ita quique rursus venturum cum Paternâ Majestate judicaturum vâ—vos mortuos non amplius quidem Carnem neque incorporeum tamen ut videatur ab iâ—s a quibus conpunctus est maneat Deus extra crassitudinem Carnis Anathema And in this they say that the Constantin Council which they are condemning was in the right so that they anathematize the Church of Rome which think that Christ hath Flesh in Heaven and in the Eucharist which they deny yet saying that he hath a Body And let those that would pervert the word Crassitudinem note that he doth not distinguish of Christs flesh and ours as two sorts and say extra carnem Crassam but deny him to have flesh and say extra crassitudinem carnis as an essential property of flesh And one of these Councils the Papists own Will all Christians agree that every Priest must first make his God and then eat him or that he must communicate alone without communion
and Congregations of true Christians that have true Pastors to be true Churches of Christ And they take such Ministers as Conform to be notwithstanding that true Ministers though culpable and therefore they separate not from any such Churches as no Churches or from such Ministers as none 2. They take particular Churches associated under Diocesanes Archbishops and Nationally under one King and represented in one Convocation or Synod to be still true Churches and such as may be lawfully communicated with and these Diocesane Provincial and National Associations to be laudable as they are meer Associations for Concord and though culpable in some other respects yet such as good Christians may lawfully live under submissively and in peace 3. They think it lawful to preach and administer the Sacraments in the Parish Churches and have these 17 years been cast out and kept out much against their wills and laboured and hoped though in vain for Restoration 4. It is not Communion with any Christian Church in Faith Love or Holy Worship or any thing of Gods Institution no nor any thing of Mans commanding but what they believe God hath forbidden them which they deny To deny to take many Covenants Oaths Professions or to do some Practices which upon their best enquiry they verily believe to be great Sins this is not separating from any thing of God 5. They do not depart from the Churches but are cast out The Ministers are Silenced and â—â—â—cted as they verily believe for not sinning and hazarding their Souls Ministers and People are expresly by the Canon of the Church Excommunicated ipso facto which is sine sententia judicis if they but say that there is any thing in the Conformity which a good Christian may not with a good Conscience do The Canon is visible and plain so that they cannot possibly avoid being cast out and think that the Ejecters are the Schismaticks 6. When they are thus cast out or driven away they yet hold distant Christian Communion with all Christians in one universal Church one Spirit one Lord one God one Faith one Baptismal Covenant and one Hope Ephes 4. But local Communion they can have but in one place at once and none are said to separate from all the Churches where they are not present 7. The King by his Licence allowed them for a time to hold their own Assemblies and the Conformists themselves swear the Oath of Supremacy and take the King to be Supreme Governor in all Causes and over all Persons Ecclesiastical and Civil And yet then accused the Licensed of Schism 8. Though there be some things in the Liturgy which the Nonconformists dare not Declare Assent and Consent to and therefore suffer yet they hold it lawful both to join in Hearing Prayer and Sacraments with the Parish Churches and Conformists in the Lords days Worship and use of that Liturgy and many of them do so ordinarily And others do not hold it unlawful but are hindered by Preaching themselves where they can which they dare not forbear And the People that hold it lawful yet hold that better is to be preferred when they can have it And he that preferreth a Minister which he findeth most Edification by doth not therefore separate from all others because he is absent from them 9. The Nonconformists have in their appointed Treaties for Concord offered to use the Liturgy with some Emendations and to submit even to the present Archbishops Bishops and other parts of the Church-Government as is expressed in the Kings Declaration about Ecclesiastical Affairs By which visible in Print it may be seen how far they were from separating inclinations but it could not by the Bishops be accepted 10. But it is true withall that many of the Common People having constantly preferred that which they thought they were bound to prefer and seeing their former Pastors cast out and silenced thought they ought notwithstanding to adhere to them and grew into so hard thoughts of the Bishops that silenced them about 2000 at once that they are more alienated than before from them and their Assemblies as Chrysostoms Joannites were at Constantinople till the kindness of Atticus and Prâ—â—lus brought them back to the old publick Church Sect. XVII It is commonly confessed by their sharpest Accusers that the Nonconformists do well to forbear all that can be proved to be sinful And if they prove not Conformity sinful they are content to suffer as real Schismaticks Sect. XVIII We all agree of the necessity of a continued Succession in the Universal Church of the same Faith Religion and Ministerial Office which we profess and possess We have no one new Article of Faith or Religion nor any that have not continued in the Church we have no new Office But that the Office and Administrations cannot pass as valid unless the particular Minister can prove that he had Canonical Ordination from one that had the like and he from one that had the like and he from another that had the like and so up to the Apostles this we suppose irrational schismatical false and of malignant tendency against the Church and Interest of Christ Sect. XIX Mr. Henry Dodwell is the Man that hath newly and copiously promoted this Schismatical Error in a Book pretended to be against the Nonconformists Schism but disowned by the Conformable Doctors themselves many of them And indeed notwithstanding the tedious wordiness of it it hath little in it in comparison of Jansenius long ago fully answered by Voetius And though I told him over and over first that if he did not answer Voetius and my dispute of Ordination we should take him but to labor in vain as to our use yet hath he taken no notice of either of them at all If he intend it in any following Book it is but fraudulent to send out this great Volume first to do his work before he gave any notice of what is already said against him Must we write the same things as oft as Men arise that will repeat the Arguments so oft confuted Sect. XX His Design and Schismatical Doctrine is thus laid 1. That the ordinary means of Salvation are in respect of every particular person confined to the Episcopal Communion to the place he lives in as long as he lives in it 2. That we cannot be assured that God will do for us what is necessary for Salvation on his part otherwise than by his express promises that he will do it 3. Therefore we must have interest in his Covenant 4. Therefore we must have the Sacrament by which the Covenant is transacted 5. These as Legally valid are to be had only in the external Communion of the Visible Church 6. This is only the Episcopal Communion of the place we live in 7. The Validity of the Sacraments depends on the Authority of the persons by whom they are administred 8. No Ministers have Authority of administring Sacraments but only they that have their Orders in the Episcopal
Communion 9. This cannot be from God but by a continued Succession of persons orderly receiving Authority from those who had Authority to give it them viz. Bishops from those first times of the Apostles to ours at present 10. That the Holy Ghost is the Instituter of this Order and to violate it by administring without such Ordination is to sin against the Holy Ghost the Sin that hath no other sacrifice and promise of pardon 11. That the Ordained have no more or other power than the Ordainers intend or profess to give them 12. That it is certain that the Bishops of all former Ages intended not to give Presbyters power of Ordaining or Administring out of their Subjection Ergo they have it not Sect. XXI This and a great deal more to this purpose is his matter To gather all the Confusions Contradictions and Absurdities of that wordy Volume would be tedious and little profitable to the Reader only these three things in general I tell such as may be in danger of infection by it 1. That he never agreeth with his Adversaries of the state of the question nor so much as explicateth the terms nor doth any thing beseeming a Disputant to make himself understood 2. That not only by denied false Suppositions he maketh all his Discourse useless to the Nonconformists but also at the first giveth them their Cause and confirmeth them 3. That while in his Preface he disowneth Popery it is the very sting of their Argumentation which he useth And that which yet by consequence overthroweth not only the Churches Ministery Sacraments and Salvation of the Protestants but of all Christians on Earth and of none more certainly than of the Papists All which I undertake when called to prove Sect. XXII It were tedious to mention all his ambiguous confounding terms For a few 1. He that layeth so great a stress on Episcopacy never tells us what he meaneth by a Bishop when he ought to know that with the chief of his Adversaries the Controversie is very much in that For as Grotius de Imper. Summ. Pol. and many others they take the chief Pastor of every Parish-Church especially that hath Curates under him for a Bishop at least if he be Pastor of a City or Town so called of old 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when others deny him to be a Bishop that hath not many Altars or Parishes under him 2 Some take him for a Bishop that is but the prime Presbyter or different from the rest but Gradu non ordine call'd Episcopus Praeses And others deny him to be one unless he differ Gradu as another Officer in specie 3. Some take him to be a Bishop that hath no Presbyter but Deacons under him and that in a single Assembly as Doctor Hammond on Act. 11. Dissertat Others deny him to be one that is not over Presbyters 4. Some take him to be no Bishop that is not elected or consented to by the people and the Clergy if there be any Others hold him to be one that hath the consent of neither but only the Pope or the Archbishop or the King electing and imposing him and some Bishops consecrating him 5. Some hold him to be no Bishop unless three Bishops Consecrate him Others say one may make him Bishop 6. If three Bishops Consecrate one and 〈◊〉 another he tell◠〈…〉 that Church 〈…〉 see examine◠〈…〉 Church against 〈…〉 Sect. XXIII 〈…〉 repeateth the necessity of being in an 〈…〉 by it when he must need◠〈◊〉 that th◠〈◊〉 or definition of it is the very first point of 〈◊〉 between us and the Papists By the tenor of his discourse the Reader may suspect that he meaneth some Universal Society of Men on Earth under some one visible humane Head either Monarchical or Aristocratical or Democratical a Sovereign who is â—ersona Civilis and Pars Impâ—rans Constitutiva But if so Protestants we at least deny any such thinking this the prime essential difference between us and the Papists the second being whether the Pope or his Council be this Head and he never tells who this supposed Head is So he frequently talketh of necessary Communion with a particular Church and never tells us what he meaneth by it Nor can I gather often whether he means a Diocesane Church or a Provincial or a National But I perceive that he meaneth not a Parochial when yet he knew that the Adversaries take those for particular Churches Sect. XXIV 1. So he oft talks of the necessity of Successive Canonical Ordination and never defineth either Ordination or Canonical Ordination when he must know that some take Imposition of Hands to be essential to Ordination and some deny it and hold that Letters may do it on the absent besides other differences 2. And some take those to be obligatory Canons which others contemn as of no authority The Papists are not agreed what Canons are valid And the Dissenters and this Disputer are not agreed in England Many besides Dr. Heylin say That the Popes Canon Law is yet in force in England except some Particulars that were cast out Others believe not this what is said against the Authority of the English Canons I will not recite 3. And some take it for Canonical Ordination if it be done by one Bishop and Presbyters Others say No unless by three Bishops 4. Some say it is not Canonical without the Clergies and Peoples Election or Consent as aforesaid and others find it necessary to their Cause to deny this Sect. XXV He calls Men oft to Catholick Unity and never tells us what it is or how it may be known Abundance more such Ambiguities make his Disputes to me unintelligible Sect. XXVI Or if he be to be understood in these and such like then he goeth all along by a begging of the questions which are denied 1. He should have rather proved than taken it as granted that those are not Bishops whom we hold to be such 2. And that it is not the Visible Church which we take for such 3. And that it is not a Particular Church which we take for such 4. And that it is no Regular Ordiâ—â—tion which we take for such 5. And that it is no Catholick Unity which we take for such And so of the rest Sect. XXVII 2. He supposeth that there is but one Episcopal Communion in the places where Men live or never tells us if there be divers Bishops which it is whose Communion is so necessary when he knoweth that Grotius thought that of old Churches were formed in imitation of the Synagogues and that one City had divers Churches and Bishops as well as divers Synagogues And Dr. Hammond thought that Rome Antioch and other Cities had two Churches and Bishops one of Jews and another of Gentiles and that Peter and Paul had two Churches at Rome And he knoweth I suppose not only that there were Novatian Bishops in the same Cities with the Orthodox but that oft and long Constantinople Antiâ—ch
all 21. What if a thousand honest weak Men mistake and think that the things imposed as necessary to their Sacramental Communion are great Sins and it be not so as our Doubts against Conformity are thought to be Mistakes yea the Anabaptists Error Can he prove that all such are damning Errors for want of Sacraments 22. Gods Oath is also to confirm our Faith And if a Man may be saved that beâ—ieveth Gods 〈◊〉 and knoweth not of his Oath why not he that believeth it and knoweth not of the Sacrament 23. Doth not his Doctrine make the Priests the absolute Lords of all Mens Souls that can deny Salvation to any or all Men by denying them the Sacrament Is this the sense of their having the Power of the Keys 24. Is not this abuse of Tibi dabo Claves and the office of Key-bearing the knack by which Popes have subdued Kings and Kingdoms 25. Is not the Argument which this Man manageth against the Reformed Churches to prove them â—o Churches and to have no Ministery and Sacrament the Achilles of the Papists in which is their chief coâ—fidence but often baffled as by Voetius against Jarâ—nius aforesaid 26. Nay the Papists themselves are far more moderate than this Man for they take a Laymans Baptism yea a Womans to be sufficient to salvation when this Man denieth it of all the most learned and holy Pastors that have not uninterrupted Episcopal Ordination 27. Bishops have too oft conspired to corrupt Gods Sacraments witness the Lateran Council sub Innc. 3. and to interdict Kingdoms and oppress Princes and People and may do so again And have the People no remedy against them 28. A Minister justly ordained and unjustly suspended or silenced by a Bishop hath more authority than Laymen and their Sacraments are not Nullities by the Romanists Confession 29. Is not this Mans Doctrine far grosser than Cyprians and the Africans yea the Dâ—natists that denied the validity of Heretick Baptism 30. A Lay-Chancellor in these mens judgments useth the Keys of Excommunication and Absolution validly and yet are not the Sacraments or Ordination of the Reformed Churches aforesaid valid 31. Surrogate Priests by the Bishops consent validly Excommunicate that are no Bishops 32. No People can be sure by this Mans Rule that they have Sacraments or shall be saved except by faâ—lible presumption not knowing that their Priest hath uninterrupted successive Ordination 33. When your presumptuous Ordination is discovered to be Null must all the People be Re-baptized 34. The Church of England giveth none the Lords Supper till 16 years old Doth it become absolutely necessary to Salvation just at that Age and not before 35. The Burial Office pronounceth all saved that never Communicated so they be Baptized and not Excommunicate nor kill themselves 36. What work would this Man make for Rebaptizers if all the Protestanâ—s of all Nations must be Re-baptized that have not the foresaid Ordination 37. Is it suitable to the description of God and his grace in Scripture to believe that he layeth all mens Salvation upon Sacraments performed by men Ordained as he describeth 38. Are not we Reproached Silenced Ministers as like to be good Protestants as such men as this that say that 1. The Reformed Churches that have not Episcopal Ordination from uninterrupted Succession are no true Churches 2. Have no true Ministers 3. Nor true Sacraments 4. Nor part in the Covenant of Grace 5. Nor hope of Salvation by promise from God 6. That their Ministery and Sacraments is the Sin against the Holy Ghost 7. That the Church of Rome hath this uninter rupted Succession as he tells me 8. That as will hence follow the French Protestant were better turn Papists than be as they are Sect. XXXI There are as many and greater Objections that I should lay before him about his Doctrine of an Universal Church-Policy and that sort of Episcopacy which he rather supposeth than proveth necessary and such other Points But I will no more tire the Reader herein Sect. XXXII All the definition of the Protestant Religion that I can extort from him is Communicating with the Church of England and those that it holds communion with 1. And so did the Papists saith Dr. Heylin in the beginning of Queen Elizabeths Reign till the Pope forbad them 2. The Church of England never renounced Communion with the Reformed Churches which he renounceth 3. A particular Church is no Standard of Religion Nor England more than the rest Sect. XXXIII If he renounce Communion with all these Reformed Churches and with the Romans also what a Separatist is this Man and how narrow is his Communion and into how small a number hath he reduced the Universal Church If neither Papists nor any Churches that have not Ordination from uninterrupted Succession be parts of the Catholick Church it is very little if not invisible Sect. XXXIV He thus teacheth almost all the Christian world instead of Love and Concord to Unchurch Unchristen and Condemn each other The Romans on such accounts already Unchurch all the rest The rest will far more easily prove that Simony Heresie uncalled Popes uncapable ones and manifold Schisms have oft interrupted his described Succession at Rome And so Turks and Heathens have matter given them against us all Already by such kind of Schismatical Principles there are few parts of the Church on Earth that are not by others Unchurched and Unchurch not others But yet it is but few of them that have proceeded to that Anabaptistical height as to nullifie all their Sacraments and to expect that almost all the Christian world should be again baptized Yea this is far more Schismatical than common Anabaptism For the Anabaptists with us Re-baptize not them that were baptized at age by such Ministers as this Writer and such others degrade much less do they damn almost all the Christian world or other Reformed Churches and say They have no part in Gods Covenant of Grace and Promise of Salvation and that they sin against the Holy Ghost as this Man doth CHAP. X. None of these terms will unite a National Church or any Associated Churches nor well any single Church Though by other means a competent Vnion may be kept in some Churches notwithstanding such Schismatical Courses § I. THE same Reasons which prove that none of these terms will ever unite the Universal Church but that all are fitted to promote Divisions will prove also that they tend of themselves to the dividing and distracting of all lesser Church Societies and Communions Though yet we do not deny but de facto a particular Church may easilier agree in an Error or be kept in some Concord under the same Pastor where a Sin or Error prevaileth than the Universal Church on Earth can As the Church of Rome may agree in Popery but all the Christian world will not And as a great part hath agreed in Arianism called Christians and a great part in Nestorianism and to this day in Eutychianism
and in the Mâ—nâ—thelites Error and a great part for Image-worship and as now many Churches of the Protestants agree in Consubstantiation and Church-Images and many in rejecting Prelacy and many in asserting it but all agree not in any of these though the eldest sort of Episcopacy for ought appeareth almost all in many ages did acknowledge and agree in But yet that which never united the Universal Church but tended to discord will have everywhere usually no better a tendency § II. Yet I have before enumerated divers Particulars which are needful and useful to the Concord of a particular Church which are not so to the Universal As that all the Members have the same Numerical Pastors the same Translation of the Scriptures read to them the same Versions and Tunes of Psalms when they meet together the same place and day and hour of meeting Because these in the nature of the thing are necessary to Concord and avoid Discord and Confusion And if divers Churches associated or all in a Kingdom or divers Kingdoms can agree in the same convenient modes and circumstances as the same Translation of the Bible so far as they have one language the same day of Easter Anniversarily to Commemorate Christs Resurrection as they do weekly on the same first day and some such like it will be laudable so it be done by voluntary consent as a thing of convenience and not of necessity and without tyrannizing over one another or persecuting or despising those that differ or turn it into an Engine of Rents and Schism by making it necessary to their communion which is the unhappy end of most humane impositions of indifferent unnecessary things He that thinketh he hath hit on the fittest Ceremonies â—ites or Modes is seldom ever content with liberty to use them but he must force all others if he can to his way and take away the liberty of all that differ from him We see it by sad experience that men think their Forms and Ceremonies cast out if all may not be compelled to use them though many think them sinful and they had rather have none of them than have them upon terms of meer liberty lest they be disgraced by the disuse or contradiction of those that do forbear theâ— And such men are never content with Union and Concord in Gods own Institutions and in circumstances that are in genere necessary § III. But some men are stiff in the Schismatical Opinion that though Churches of many Kingdoms may charitably differ in Ceremonies and indifferent things yet none in the same Kingdoms should be suffered so to differ of which I spake before But 1. Christ hath given us no such different measures of our Charity Forbearance or Communion 2. The old Churches were quite of another mind as Socrates and Sozomen shew in several instances And it is known that in the same Empire every Bishop had power to use his own Liturgy and other Modes as I instanced in the Canon that requireth every man to bring his Form first to the Synod to be tryed and in the contention between Basil and the Church of Neocesarea and the strife about Gregories and Ambrose's Liturgy and such like 3. It was the Pastors and People of the same Church of Rome that St. Paul giveth the Precepts of Forbearing and Receiving Dissenters in things indifferent to And still mark that he wrote not only to the Laity but to the Rulers as is evident and therefore forbiddeth them such narrowing impositions being himself also a chief Pastor an Apostle and so declareth his own judgment as one that would himself make no such uncharitable impositions § IV. We deny not but some Churches have a while continued in laudable Concord notwithstanding such ensnaring Impositions But 1. It hath been but for a time and this Worm hath fretted them and it hath ended in their great detriment at least 2. And it was not by these means but by better causes notwithstanding these diseases so that as we answer the Question Whether a Papist may be saved so do we answer the Question Whether such Churches may have prosperous Concord viz. 1. If the Essentials of Christianity in Papists and of Communion in such Churches be practically held so as to be more powerful than their Contraries 2. But not by their Contraries but by overcoming them one may be saved and the other have peace even as we answer the Question Whether a Man may live that taketh Poyson or hath the Leprosie 1. Not if it be prevalent according to its malignant nature 2. But yea if it be overcome by natural strength or medicine § V. Chillingworth our powerfullest Disputant against the Papists hath fully laid down the true Principles of Christian Concord and the Causes of Schism even the making more necessary to Salvation or Communion than is necessary indeed And the famous Hales though too bold and sometime going a step too far hath said more against these true Causes of Schism with great Truth and Reason than the Authors of it can well bear But wisdom is justified of all her children CHAP. XI The Severity and Force of Magistrates denying necessary Toleration and punishing the Refusers of unnecessary uncertain suspected things will never procure Church Vnity and Concord but in time increase Divisions § I. HAles of Schism speaking of having two Bishops in a Diocess saith pag. 223. Neither doth it any way savor of Vice or Misdemeanor instancing in Austin's doing it ignorantly their punishment sleeps not who unnecessarily and wantonly go about to infringe it The most pious and wise Church Historians extoll the two peaceable Bishops of Constantinople that quietly bore the Novatian Bishops by them and geâ—tâ—y reduced Chrysostom's Followers the Joannites and dâ—spraise Nestorius and such other turbulent Prelates that persecuted them on pretence of zeal against Error and some of them proved more erroneous themselves § II. This crying out for the drawing of the Sword against those that differ in unnecessary things 〈◊〉 a great dishonour to the persons that tell men how conscious they are of their own insufficiency for their proper work and a reproach to the power of the Keys as if it signified nothing without the Sword And in all Ages Men of Ambition and Insufficienâ—â—y and Uncharitableness have been thus calling to the Magistrate to do all when yet in general claim they have set themselves far above him as being for the Soul when he is but for the Body § III. But Experience hath still confuted them and that which one Age or year thus built the next hath ordinarily pull'd down Not but that orthodox pious Princes are an unspeakable blessing to the Church and the want of such are ordinary causes of sin distraction and misery But such must know and do their proper work and not serve the pride and humor of ambitious ignorant Clergymen nor be their Lictors or Executioners nor lend them the Sword to execute their wills § IV. Constantine defended the
I. THere need not much more be said of this it is already proved That Christ himself hath in his Law made the terms of the Union and Communion of his Members As the same Nature that formeth all our members in the womb is also the placer and uniter of them Therefore that which is contrary to Christs terms yea which is none of them cannot prove the true terms and means of Concord § II. Indeed no man ought to be Excommunicated otherwise than by Ministerial Declaration and Judgment how far he hath first departed from Union and cut off or Excommunicated himself An impenitent Fornicator Drunkard Persecutor doth cut off himself from the favor of God and his part in Christ and the rights of his true Church Therefore the Pastors may declare that he doth so And if it become a Controversie either de facto whether he be such an one or de jure whether this be true the Pastors are the proper Judges so far as to resolve the Consciences of the Flock whether they must avoid that man or communicate with him And this I think the Rational Mr. Hales would not have denied though in his Treatise of the Keyes he asserteth only a Declarative and denieth a Judicial Power For his Reasons shew that he only meant that the Church hath no efficient Judgment to cut off any man from Christ or his Body further than he first cuts off himself And far be it from any Friend of the Church to say That it is the Bishops Office to undo Souls and to separate any from Christ save only by declaring and judging that they wilfully separate themselves and therefore requiring the People to avoid them and binding them over to answer their sin at the Bar of God The rest is the Devils work and the impenitent Sinners and not the Pastors of the Church § III. And what is said against the Magistrates unseasonable force will mostly hold against such undue Excommunication 1. If the person believe that he is cast out for not forsaking his duty to God he will rejoyce that he is counted worthy to suffer for righteousness sake remembring that Christ said They shall cast you out of their Synagogues And this will bring no man to Repentance § IV. And 2. Then the Pastors will fall under the imputation of Tyranny and Persecution and be taken to be Haters and Hinderers of Conscionable men and grievous Wolves that devour the Flock § V. And 3. The Parties Excommunicate will think that this doth not excuse them from the duty of worshipping God and therefore they will assemble by themselves for such worship and there they will think That they are a better Church than those that cast them out and perhaps may Excommunicate their Excommunicaters as the Bishop of Alexandria and Constantinople have done by the Bishop of Rome Or more likely despise their Censure and go on unless the Sword be drawn to suppress them to which only such Excommunicaters use finally to trust And then what will follow I have shewed before § VI. And indeed we need no greater proof of the ineffectualness of Excommunication in such cases than the open confession of the Users of it who if they have not an Act for Horning as they call it in Scotland or to imprison the Excommunicate or punish him by the Sword confess that their Sentence will be contemned which is most true § VII Yet sad Experience further assureth us That Papal Anathematizings yea and those of General Councils have been no small cause of Schism Confusions and Rebellions The History of this would fill a Volume Alas what did the Councils of Ephesus Constantinople Chalcedon and many others by their Anathemas The state of Syria Egypt and Abassia c. of those called Jacobites and Nestorians tells us to this day And these Thunderbolts have been the Popes great Engines to beat down Kings and batter Kingdoms It is the admiration of the world next to the success of ignorant Mahomet That a company of old Usurpers many of them successively being notoriously wicked men and so judged by Councils and their most flattering Historians should conquer Christian Kingdoms and Empires by sitting at home and â—ursing men and telling them St. Peter is angry with them and will keep them out of Heaven if they be not obedient to the Pope But men that will be the Slaves of Sin deserve to have their Reason so forsaken to make themselves the Slaves of Subjects § VIII Yet we are far from thinking That just Excommunication is of no use God would not have the Church of Christ to seem no better than the world it is a Society gathered out of the world by the sanctifying Word and Spirit and as holy devoted to the most holy God And he would have the Church Visible to be visibly the womb of the Triumphant Church or the Sheepfold of Christ containing such as have a seeming or visible right to salvation however Hypocrites do intrude And therefore the Keys of the Church should be much of Kin to the Keys of Heaven so that he that is taken in or shut out may seem to the Christian judgment of probability to be taken into or shut out of a right to salvation And therefore as impenitent wicked men should not be deluded in vain hopes by being received to Church Communion so neither should godly men for pardoned or tolerable infirmities be shut out of the Church while God continueth their visible Title to salvation much less a Lay-Chancellor or a Bishop Excommunicate Christs Members for not paying their Fees or for not kneeling at the Sacraments or for not submitting to unnecessary Impositions or for holding such Things unlawful or such like This way will never heal our breaches or unite the Churches CHAP. XIII Any One Vnlawful Vncertain Doctrine Oath Covenant Profession Subscription or Practice so imposed as necessary to Communion will be a dividing Engine § I. THis is proved in what is said before For a Conscionable Man will not wilfully and deliberately commit One Sin to save his Liberty Estate or Life though many Sins be worse For he that wilfully commits one virtually committeth many And as St. James saith Breaketh the whole Law § II. Yea though the matter of the Sin seem little a Believer will not think it a little Sin to do it deliberately and stand to it by Covenant consent The high places among the Jews seemed no great matter but a good man would not have Covenanted never to endeavor any Reformation of them § III. A peaceable Man will live quietly in a Church that hath many Sins and Errors but he dare not deliberately own or justifie the least I should communicate with no Church on earth if I thought all the Ministers or Peoples Sins yea all the Faults in their Prayers or Doctrine or Discipline were made mine by it I will live peaceably with a Church that hath a faulty Doctrine Liturgy and Discipline in Things Tolerable as
Sins are not within his Cognizance 3. To do the work of Parents Pastors Tutors or Physicians is no part of the Office to which he is appointed and authorized 4. But he may drive on all these to do their duties by due means 5. It is unlawful to seek to cure a lesser Evil with a greater That is to be numbred with the things which the Prince cannot do which he cannot do by lawful means or such as do more hurt than good 6. The Mischiefs before enumerated against the Princes Safety and Honour and against Love and Justice and Conscience and Religion are so great as that no Severity must be used which procureth them and doth not a greater good 7. The punishing of small Faults by great Punishments is Injustice and Unlawful 8. Abundance of Infirmities and humane Frailties and Errors are such as must be endured so they be but by Doctrine Love and gentle Reproofs rebuked and disowned without Punishments Ecclesiastical or Corporal else there will be no Love or Peace 9. Preachers must not be suffered to persuade Men from the Faith Love or Obedience of God in Christ against any Article of the Creed or Petition of the Lords Prayer or Precept of the Decalogue or any essential part of the Christian Religion 10. If such speak a damnable Error or Heresie by Ignorance or Heedlesness they must have a first and second Admonition and they 〈◊〉 repent But if they forbear not upon Admonition they do it studiously and wilfully and such are to be Silenced till they Reform because the Preaching of one that opposeth an essential Point of Religion will do more harm than good except among Heathens or where no better Preachers can be had 11. It will not be unmeet for the Rulers to draw up either a Catalogue of integral Points of Religion of great moment which all shall be forbidden to Preach or Dispute against or else a Catalogue of Errors contrary to such which none shall have leave to propagate But it is not every one that violateth the Law that is to be forbidden to preach Christs Gospel but lesser pecuniary Mulcts may be sufficient punishment to many and the bare denying them preferment or maintenance and casting them among the disowned that are but tolerated may be better punishment and more effectual in case of tolerable Faults than the more severe 12. Rulers should do much more to restrain from Evils than to constrain to Religious Duties And those Evils are of these sorts First Such as blaspheme God Secondly Such as draw the Hearers Souls into damnable Error or Sin Thirdly Such as tend to overthrow the Honour and Safety of the Governors Fourthly Such as tend directly to breed Hatred in men against each other and kindle the fire of Contention and Enmity Fifthly Such as draw men from the common duties of Justice towards Neighbors or Relations into Fraud and Injury 13. It is the greatest part of the Magistrates duty about Religion First To see Gods own Laws kept in Honour Secondly And to keep Peace by Church Justices among Clergymen and People that are apt to take occasion from Religion to abuse and calumniate one another 14. Yet Rulers may and must compel Persons that are grosly ignorant or erroneous to hear what can be said against their Error and for their Instruction As Parents so Magistrates may compel Children and Subjects to be Catechized and to hear Gods Word and may compel them to hear such Teachers as have the Rulers Licence either as Approved or Tolerated to Teach 15. Men ought not to be compelled to receive the Sacraments of Baptism or the Lords Supper by the Sword or Force because it is to receive a sealed Pardon of Sin and Donation of Christ and Life which no unwilling person hath right to or doth receive For to say I am unwilling is to say I receive not and so the reception of the outward sign is Hypocrisie Prophanation and taking the Name of God in vain 16. Yet those that being Baptized and at Age avoid Communion are after Admonition to be taken for Revolters so far and to be declared such as so far cast themselves from the Communion of the Church And the Christian Magistrate may well deny them many Priviledges in the Commonwealth which he should appropriate to sound persevering Christians 17. Places in Government Trust Burgess-ship and Votes in Elections of Governors and such like are best appropriated to the Approved part of Christians and some the Tolerated but never granted to Apostates proper Hereticks or any that are intolerable 18. Pastors of the Churches should not be constrained to give the Sacrament of Baptism or the Lords Supper to any one against their Consciences because First It is their Office to be Judges who is to be Baptized and to Communicate This is the power of the Keys Secondly If they may not judge of the very Act which they are to perform they have not so much as that judicium discretionis which belongeth to every man as a man and so must act brutishly Thirdly If they may administer against Conscience when they think it Sin the same reason would hold for all men to sin whenever a Ruler commandeth them that judgeth it no Sin what Bounds shall be set against absolute blind Obedience Fourthly Whereas the Objection is from Inconveniences As Then every Pastor may deny Men Sacraments I answer 1. So every Tutor Physician c. may abuse his Trust 2. Therefore men must have care whom they choose and trust 3. There are better Remedies than sinful slavery in the Minister even consulting with Synods of Ministers or where Bishops rule appealing to them 4. The persons that expect the Sacrament may have it from some other Pastor that is willing It is a less inconvenience that a single person remove or else communicate in another Assembly than that the Pastor whose Office is to use the Church Keys be enslaved to sin against his Conscience 5. We suppose that of ancient right the Church is not to have a Pastor over them whom they consent not to Therefore if the Church find themselves wronged by the Pastors Fact they have their Remedy They may admonish the Pastor and if he hear not tell the Bishop Synod or Magistrate for I am not now determining the case of superior Bishops but tell what is the actual Remedy where such bear Rule And if he hear not the Church Synod Bishop or Magistrate they may desert him and choose a fitter Pastor and yet neither Excommunicate nor Silence him but the same man may be more sutable to another Flock which will desire him They that object Inconveniences in this motion should consider First That a Mischief and Sin is worse than an Inconvenience Secondly That there is nothing desirable here without Inconveniences which may furnish an unwise Contender with Objections Thirdly That they that cry up the Canons and Traditions Custom or judgment of Antiquity Bishops Councils Fathers and the Catholick
Church should not hastily set their own Wit or Authority against them all who for 600 if not nearer 1000 years after Christ did not only judge that Bishops must come in by the Peoples Election and Consent but that he was to be accounted an Usurper and no Bishop of theirs that had it not Fourthly And we have reason to think St. Cyprian and the Carthage Council of Bishops as wise as the Objectors who in the Case of Martial and Basilides before described judged that the People ought to forsake an uncapable scandalous Pastor though other Bishops even he of Rome absolved him And that the chief power of choosing or forsaking was in them and if they did otherwise it was not the contrary Sentence of Bishops that would excuse them before God It is easie to say St. Cyprian erred and we are in the right and this would overthrow all Government But neither the persons that object nor their Reasons have ever yet seemed to me sufficient to make me prefer their judgment even in this before Cyprian and the African Fathers XI In all probability FREE SACRAMENTS administred by such Ministers of Christ as by the Christian Magistrates Licence are either Approved or Tolerated would heal most of all the Discords about Religion in England I mean Sacraments not constrainedly but freely given and received I shall tell you why I think so by instances 1. The Thing call'd Strict Presbytery with a power of Classes and National Assemblies composed of Ordained and Unordained Elders as a Judicature whose Excommunication is to be enforced by the Magistrates Sword is approved by few of my acquaintance in England But those that Prelatists calâ— Presbyterians here commonly are Ministers that desire but the exercise of so much of their proper Office and the freedom of a Christian and a Man as not to be forced to administer Sacraments against their knowledge and conscience to the uncapable because a Lay-Chancelor or a Diocesane that knoweth not his Neighbours and Flocks so well as he shall say that they are worthy and command him to renounce his knowledge in obeying them And if God had made all such Ministers to be only the Lay-Chancellors or the Diocesanes Agents or Servants to Baptize and give the Lords Supper only in the Chancellors or Bishops name as a Messenger and if it be done amiss that not we but the Chancellor or Bishop should answer it to God then we could joyfully thus obey them But while we believe That we must answer our selves for our own actions and that we must Baptize and give the Lords Body and Blood in Christs Name and not the Bishops we dare not obey Men before God nor renounce our own judgment in the matters of our own Office and Trust Therefore it would satisfie us had we but freedom in our Ministerial action not to go against our Conscience however blind malice would make the world believe that it is some Papal Empire even over Princes that we desire Nay we desire That if the Magistrate will allow us Parish-Churches and Maintenance and Countenance in our work that any person that cannot remove his dwelling without great detriment and cannot be satisfied in our Order of Worship and Communion but can receive more Edification from another Minister may have leave to join in Communion with any other Approved or Tolerated Church keeping the Laws of Loyalty and Peace Why should I envy anothers desires or benefits Or think it hard that any can profit more by another than by me Or why should I be against it And we desire not that the People may be Ordainers or Church-Governors or have the power of the Keys but that if any Flock cannot be satisfied after full hearing to rest under the conduct of our Ministery they may freely chooâ—e another and remove us And for my own part as I never did so I wonder how any ingenious Minister can obtrude himself on any People and pretend to be their Pastor against their wills As my Conscience condemneth it as against God and them so I confess my Prudence is against it for my self and I am not so base as to endure such a life 2. And as for the Party called Independant I have reason to think that it is the main of that Toleration which they desire For Mr. Philip Nye who led them more than any one man known to me did purposely write to prove That the Christian Magistrate may set up Teachers all over his Dominions whom the People upon his Command are bound to hear But that to take any for their Pastors he thought they might not be compelled 3. And even the Anabaptists would be contented with the same liberty if they be but near as peaceable as Mr. Tombes was who wrote for even Parâ—chial Communion and persuaded the Anabaptists to it Though few so far followed him most I think would be contented with Free Sacraments in which I include the Eucharistical Lords-day worship § X. And what harm will this do where Love prevaileth and where Pride and Envy make not 〈◊〉 Priests to think all wrong them that do not Adore or Idolize them or give them more than is their due What harm will it do me if an hundred of my Parish hear and prefer another man by whom they can profit more than by me What if they worship God in other sound words or in Cloaths of another make or colour as long as they are restrained from reviling and the breach of Peace Are they any better in my Auditory with censuring or dissenting â—â—dgments hearing me against their wills than where they can freely join in Love and Peace If a bad or weak Minister grudge at all that go to an able Conformist in the next Parish few wise men will think that he doth it more for God or for his Brothers Soul than for himself and yet that person breaketh the Canon that goeth to the next Parish as well as he that goeth to a Nonconformist And why should we be more impatient with this man than with that § XXI The Pamphlets that are spread abroad for Rigor and Severity of late under the pretence of Conformity do many of them savor so rankly of Church-Tyranny and a bloody Mind and Principles and are made up of such Reasons as give us just cause to suspect that more of them are written by Papists than some think I instance in one called A Representation of the State of Christianity in England and of its decay and danger from Sectaries as well as Papists Printed 1674 for Benjamin Tooke in which the Staâ—e of Religion here is unworthily slandered and the Follies of some few such as the Quakers pretended to be the State of our Religion and words beseeming Mad-men which we never hear fathered on those that he pleaseâ— to call Sectaries and they are represented as 〈◊〉 of the Creed Lords Prayer and Commandments and what not that is reverend good and holy and the Papists much preferred before them
more besides Origen sheweth 6. The Papists ordinarily take liberty to differ from the Commentaries of divers of the most Renowned of the Fathers 7. And the learnedst men of the Papists themselves do differ from one another 8. And no General Council that pretend to be the Judge of thesense of the Scripture durst ever yet venture to write a Commentary on it 9. No nor any Pope nor any by his appointment or a Councils is written by any other and by them approved as infallible By all which and much more it is evident That subscribing wholly to any Commentary will never unite the Churches of Christ Sect. II. And no wonder when that 1. God hath composed the Scripture of such various parts as that all are not of the same neceâ—sity or intelligibility but some are harder than the rest to be understood and many hundred Texts are such that a man that understands them not may be saved 2. And Pastors as well as People are of various degrees of understanding and all imperfect and know but in part Sect. III. Yet are good Commentaries of great use as other teaching is but not to be subscribed as the terms of the Unity or Liberty of the Churches Sect. IV. Nay those particular Expositions which General Councils the Pretenders to deciding judgment have made are not to be subscribed as infallible as I have before proved by the quality of the men and by their many Errors and contradicting and condemning one another CHAP. XVII A Summary Recital of the true Terms of Concord and some of the true Causes of Schism THE Sum of all that is said of Schism and Unity is this § I. Schism is an unlawful separating from one or many Churches or making Parties and Divisions in them and is caused usually either 1. By unskilful proud Church-Tyrants Dogmatists or Superstitious Persons by departing from Christs instituted terms of Concord the Christian Purity and Simplicity and denying Communion to those that unite not on their sinful or unnecessary self-devised terms and obey not their ensnaring Canons or Wills or malignantly forbidding what Christ hath commanded and excommunicating and persecuting men for obeying him 2. Or else by erroneous proud self-conceited persons that will not unite and live in Communion upon Christs instituted terms but feigning some Doctrine or Practice of their devising to be true good and necessary which is not or something to be intolerably sinful that is good or lawful do therefore cast off their Guides and the Communion of the Church as unlawful on pretence of choosing a better necessary way § II. 2. The necessary means of Unity and Church Concord are these 1. That every Catechized understanding person professing Repentance Belief and Consent to the Baptismal Covenant and the Children of such dedicated by them to Christ be Baptized And the Baptized accounted Christians having right to Christian Communion till their Profession be validly disproved by an inconsistent Profession or Conversation that is by some Doctrine against the Essence of Christianity or some scandalous wilful sin with Impenitence after sufficient Admonition And that no man be Excommunicated that is not proved thus far to Excommunicate himself And that the Catechized or Examined person be put upon no other profession of Belief Consent and Practice as interpreting the Sacramental Covenant but of the Articles of the Creed the Lords Prayer and Decalogue understood and the general belief of consent to and practice of all that he discerneth to be the Word of God 2. That in Church Cases and Religion I. The Magistrate have the onely publick judgment whom he shall countenance and maintain or tolerate and whom he shall punish or not tolerate nor maintain and never be the Executioner of the Clergies Sentence without or against his own Conscience and Judgment II. That the Ordainers being the senior Pastors or a Bishop or President with other Pastors which is to be left to the concurrent judgments of themselves and the people be the Judges of the fitness of the Ordained person to be a Minister of Christ and the said Pastors in their respective particular Churches be the Key-bearers or Judges who is to be Baptized and admitted to Communion in the Church and who not and not constrained to Baptize or to give or deny Communion there by the judgment of others against their Consciences though in case of forfeiture or just cause they may be removed from that Church or from the sacred Office III. That the People of that Church be the private discerning Judges who shall be their Pastors to whose conduct they will trust their Souls if not so far as to be the first Electors at least so far as to have a free consenting or dissenting power and they be not forced to trust their Souls with any man as a Pastor against their Consciences And that every man be the private discerning Judge of his own Duty to God and Man and of his sin forbidden and of his own secret Case whether he believe in God and Christ and purpose to obey him or whether he be an Atheist or Infidel or secretly wicked and so fit or unfit for Baptism and Communion so that though he be not to be received without the judgment of the Pastors yet he may exclude himself if conscious of incapacity and therefore that none be forced by corporal Penalties or Mulcts to be Baptized or to Communicate 3. That the Christian Magistrate make three sorts of Laws one for the approved and maintained Churches and Pastors another for the Tolerated and a third sort for the Intolerable I. And that a sufficient number of the ablest soundest and worthiest Ministers be made the publick approved maintained Preachers and Pastors And where Parish Bounds are judged necessary that all persons living in the Parish be constrained to contribute proportionably to maintain the Parish Ministers and Temple and Poor and to hear publick Teaching and to worship God either in that or some other Approved or Tolerated Church within their convenient reach or neighborhood II. And that the Tolerated Ministers tryed and licensed have protection and peace in the publick exercise of their Ministery though not Approbation and Maintenance III. But that the Intolerable be restrained by sutable restraints 4. That the Approved and Maintained Ministers be put to subscribe their Belief of Consent to and resolved practice or obedience of all the Sacred Canonical Scriptures so far as by diligent study they are able to understand them and more particularly of the Christian Religion summarily contained in the Sacramental Covenant and in the ancient Creeds received by the Universal Church the Lords Prayer and the Decalogue as it is the Law of Christ and expounded by him in the Holy Scriptures And that they will be faithful to the King and Kingdom and as Ministers will faithfully guide the Flocks in holy Doctrine Worship Discipline and Example of Life labouring to promote Truth Holiness Love Peace and Justice for the salvation of mens Souls
the edification of the Church and the glorifying and pleasing of God our Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier And that the said Maintained Ministers be tyed by the regulating Laws which determine only such circumstances as in genere are necessary to be agreed in for Uniformity and common harmony As of Time Place Parish Bounds what Translation of Scripture to use what Version of Psalms what decent Habit c. not put to profess Approbation of all these but required to use them and censured if they do not 5. That the Tolerated Ministers subscribe all the same things except these last Regulating Laws for Circumstances of Order 6. That either a Catalogue of Errors and Sins be drawn up in the Law which no Minister shall preach or else it be left to the Judges to discern when any is proved to preach against any necessary Article of his subscribed Profession And it is meet that the Catalogue prohibited to the Maintained Ministers be larger than that prohibited to the Tolerated some Errors being tolerable which are not approvable And it is not the first fault that should suspend or silence either of them but obstinacy after a first and second admonition Yea many lesser Errors must be punished only with congruous Mulcts or Rebukes or after that with loss of Maintenance that are not to be punished with Silencing 7. That no other Test Profession Covenant Subscription or Promise be required of any as necessary to Ministery or Communion which may become dividing Snares and Engines But only that where Papal Tyrannies or any other Usurpers claim it dangerous to the Church and Kingdom the Essentials of that Papacy or Usurpation be expresly renounced by all that will have Maintenance or Toleration yet not on this pretence making every claim of Patriarchs Archbishops Bishops Councils or Synods of Presbyters which others think to be a Usurpation to be so dangerous as the Papacy and so the renunciation of them as necessary because such existent persons claim not such Power nor make such Laws for deposing Kings and murdering or exterminating Dissenters which if they do they must be expresly renounced else the keeping out usurping practice is enough 8. The Christian Magistrate must keep Peace among all both the Approved and Tolerated and not suffer any unpeaceable Preaching or Disputes which tend to destroy Love and Quietness nor suffer railing Calumnies against each other to be published or printed § III. 1. Particular Churches and their Pastors should be so far Associated as is necessary to their mutual peace concord and strength And therefore should keep frequent Synods for Correspondency to these Ends and by Messengers and Letters also keep up their Brotherly Concord 2. But whether these Associations of single Churches should be headed by Diocesanes Metropolitanes Archbishops Primates Patriarchs most think is a matter of meer humane Prudence 3. But certainly the Magistrate must see that neither the Synods nor their Heads or Presidents tyrannize 〈◊〉 instead of Assemblies for Concord become an Aristocratical or Monarchical Church-Government nor force not any to approve of them or such humane Forms of Churches much less that they infringe not the Rights and Liberties of the Churches formed by the institution of Christ and his Apostles § IV. Yet more briefly 1. Approving the beâ—â— 2. Tolerating the Tolerable 3. Sacraments fre◠〈◊〉 not forced 4. The Intolerable restrained 5. The test of Toleration being this Whether such Tolerated Worship do more good or hurt in true impartial judgment 6. Magistrates keeping all in peace would heal us FINIS Jam. 3. 17. Act. 20. 28 29 30 c. Act. 19. 19. * See Beza's Conjecture of the summe in loc †Rev. 2. 2 3 4 5 6. 1 Pet. 4. * In Methodo Theologiâ—e Part. 2. Rom. 14. 17. 15. 1 Cor. 12. 13. Gal. 6. 1 2 3. * Such as now worketh in Mr. Eliats in New England and Mr. Thomas Gouge in England towards the Welsh in many worthy Ministers who suffer the reproach and persecutions of men because they will not consent to be as lights put under a bushel Rom. 13. 12 13. Gal. 6. 6 7 8. Mark 3. 24 25. Luke 11. 17 18. * Sicut noxium est si unitas desit bonis ita perniciosum est si sit in malis Perversos quippe unitas corroborat dum concordant taâ—to magis incorrigibiles quanto unanimes facit Greg. Moral l. 33. * See Whateley's notable Diâ—course of this in his Carecloth Doct. 1. * De consol philos l. 4. * Moral l. 9. Gen. 4. 8 9. 13. 7. c. 19. 4. 26. 20. 27. 41. 31. 36. 34. 25 c. 49. 50. 53. Exod. 2. 13. 16. 2. 17. 3. Numb 21. 4 5 6. Judg. 9. 12. 20. 1 Sam. 18. 2 Sam. 3. 15. 19. 1 King 12. c. 2 Chron. 36. 16. Mat. 2. 3. Luke 22. Act. 15. 1 c. 15. 39 40. 1 Cor. 1. 3. c. Prov. 14. 34. 6. 33. 19. 26. Jer. 23. 40. 29. 18. 42. 18. 44. 8. Ezek. 5. 1â— 15. 22. 4. Of this I have written at large in my last Confutation of Johnson Which is the true Church or for our Churches perpetual Visibility 1 Pet. 5. 2 3. See what I have recited out of Philastrius in my book against Johnson called Which is the true Church in the end * Greg. Nazianzene See Mr. Dâ—dwill This second may be spared if the third be well done And instead of both may well be a Catalogue of doctrines erroneous or doubtful which none shall preach or propagate of which after See more against the Magistrates overdoing in the third Part. A. The form Common to all Christians Mat. 28. 19. Mark 16. 16. I. Assent Heb. 11. 6. 1 Cor. 8. 4. Mat. 28. 19. Joh. 4. 24. Psal 90. 2. Gen. 17. 1. Heb. 4. 13. Luk. 18. 19. Psal 117. 2. Deut. 32. 4. Isa 6. 3. Ge. 1. Act. 17. 24. Gen. 1. 27. 1 Chron. 28. 9. Luk. 10. 27. Joh. 17. 3. Mat. 4. 10. 19. 17. Gen. 3. Rom. 5. 12. 3. 23. Gen. 2. 17. Eph. 2. 3. I Joh. 4. 14. Joh. 1. 1 14. 1 Tim. 2. 5. Luk. 1. 35. Rom. 9. 5. Joh. 16. 33. Heb. 2. 14. Mat. 3. 15. Heb. 7. 26. 1 Joh. 2. 6. Gal. 3. 13. 1 Cor. 15. 3 4. Act. 3. 9. 3. 21. Eph. 5. 23. Luk. 1. 33. Act. 3. 22. Heb. 7. 25 26. Eph. 1. 23 24. Rom. 14. 9 10. Joh. 5. 22. 17. 1 2 3. Luk. 24. 47. Mat. 28. 19 20 Mark 16. 15 16. Joh. 3. 16. 1 Joh. 5. 11 22. Joh. 1. 10 11 12. Gal. 3. 27 28. 5. 24. 1 Pet. 5. 8 9. Luk. 14. 33. Tit. 2. 14. 1 Pet. 3. 21. Mat. 28. 20. Heb. 5. 9. Luk. 14. 32. Rev. 22. 14. Joh. 16. 13. Eph. 2. 20. 3. 5. 2 Tim. 3. 16 17. Joh. 3. 5 6. Rom. 8. 9. Gal. 4. 6. Tit. 3. 3 5. Heb. 12. 14. Tit. 2. 11 12. Rom. 8. 13. Heb. 5. 9. 1 Cor. 12. Mar. 16. 16. Joh. 1. 11 12. Eph. 4. 1. to 17. Rom. 8. 1. Act. 26. 18. Rom. 14. 15 1 Thes 5. 12 13. Rom. 16. 16 17. Joh. 15. 1. to 10. 1 Pet. 3. 21. Mat. 7. 21 22. 1 Cor. 7. 14. Rom. 11. 17. Gal. 3. 26 27 28. Joh. 12. 26. 2 Cor. 5. 1 7 8. Act. 7. 59. Act. 17. 31. 2 Thes 1. 7 8. Joh. 5. 28 29. Mat. 25. 46. Matth. 13. 1 Thes 1. 6 10 11. Rev. 22. II. Consent and Desire Rom. 12. 1. Joh. 1. 11 12. Deut. 10. 12. Rom. 8. 8. Heb. 11. 12. 28 29. Isa 56. 4 5. 55. 2 3 4 6. Rev. 22. 17. Luk. 14. 26 29. 2 Cor. 5. 7 8 9. 2 Pet. 3. 11 12. 1 Pet. 1. 4 5. 2 Pet. 1. 3 4. Tit. 1. 3 4. Mat. 7. 7. III. Practice Act. 27. 23. Ps 73. 25 26. Deut. 10. 12. 2 Chron. 20. 20. 2 Cor. 5. 8 9. Mat. 5. 17 18 19. Jo. 15. 10 12 14. Jo. 16. 7. 1 Jo. 5. 20 21. Mat. 4. 9 10. Psal 1. 1 2 3. 37. 4. 104. 34. 89. 7. 2 Tim. 3. 4. 1 Cor. 11. 23 c. Psal 119. 97. Jam. 4. 12. Exod. 20. 7 8. Rev. 1. 10. Rom. 13. Col. 3. 20. Deut. 27. 16. Rom. 12. 19 20. 2 Sam. 23. 3. Rom. 13. 9 10. Luk. 18. 20. Mat. 5. 44 45. 1 Jo. 3. 15 16. Eph. 5. 3 4 5. 1 Thes 4. 6. Lev. 19. 11. Prov. 19. 5. Psal 15. 3. Mat. 19. 19. 7. 12. B. Proper to Ministers of the Gospel Act. 20. 20 c. Jo. 21. 15 16 17. 2 Tim. 4. 1 2. 1 Tim. 4. 16. 3. 2 3 4 5 6. 4. 1 3 15. 1 Tim. 3. 4 5 6 19. 2 Tim. 1. 7 8 9 10 13. 2 Tim. 2. to the end 1 Tim. 6. 16 17 18. Tit. 1. 2. 3. 1 Thes 5. 12 13. Mat. 6. 33. Heb. 13. 17. 1 Cor. 4. 1 2. Mat. 24. 45 46 47 48 49. 1 Cor. 9. 16 to the end 1 Cor. 11. 23. Mat. 5. 16 20. Mat. 15. 8 9. Isa 8. 20. 1 Pet. 5. 1 2 3 4. C. Special duty to Civil Rulers Rom. 13. 1 c. Mat. 28. 19. 1 Tim. 2. 1 2 3. 1 Pet. 2. 13 14 15 16 17 18. 2 Pet. 2. 10 11. Rom. 13. 7. 5. Col. 3. 12 13 14. Jam. 3. 1 14 15 16 17. Jud. 8 9 10. * See the sâ—â—ond Council◠〈◊〉 â—citing and appâ—â—â—ing thâ— former General Council of 〈◊〉 which in other things they opposed yet both condemned this opinion See all this fally proved in my Books against Jâ—hnson of the Visibility of our Church especially in my last called Wâ—ich is the true Church Of this more before See my Last Book against Johnson of this See Sir Thomas Overbury's late Plea for Toleration in Answer to Ataxiae Obstaculum Renouncing Unlimited Toleration
with the People or that he must worship Bread and Wine as his God or that he may give a half-Sacrament of Bread without Wine contrary to Christs Institution the Apostles Doctrine 1 Cor. 11. and all the Churches constant practice till of late And that instead of a Commemoration he offereth a real present Sacrifice for the quick and dead Will all agree to their Image-worship Why then did so many Councils condemn it Will all agree that the Assemblies pray in an unknown tongue He is mad with errour who believeth that ever the Church Universal will receive all these and the rest which pretended Infallibility maketh to be uncurable Errours in the impenitent Roman Sect. 3. And briefly as to the rest there is no Calvinist believeth that ever all the Churches will receive the Lutherane Consubstantiation or Church-Images Nor any Lutherane that believeth that ever all the Church will be of the way called Calvinism a Name even here in England honoured by many that yet disown it as a note of Schism and reproached with the bitterest scorn and accusations by others Indeed the Behmenists the Quakers and some Anabaptists have said that all the Churches would at last and shortly be of their mind But few others believe them nor have cause Sect. IV. That which hath divided the Churches will never be the cement of their Concord But every one of these parties as Sects by that whence others denominate and oppose them have done something to divide the Churches what the Greeks Armâ—â—ans Nestorians Eutychians or Jacobites have done the Papists and others tell you at large what the Abassines do by their Baptizings and other Fopperies I need not declare What the Papists do above all oâ—â—ers I have opened before What the Anabaptists do by differing from almost all other Christians is known What the Diocesans have done in Councils and by silencing others c. enow have shewed What Independents and their way have done towards Divisions and Separations it is in vain in this Age in England to recite And many wise men think that the Presbyterians over violent rejecting of all Episcopacy setting up unordained Elders and National Churches as headed by National Assemblies c. are divisive and unwarrantable As the same men think their making by the Scots Covenant the renouncing of the Prelacy to be the test of National Concord also was And who can think that Erastianism deposing the true use of Church-Government as it hath begun will not still more divide than heal Sect. V. I deny not but Universal Concord may take in almost all such parties but not as such by receiving any of their Errours but as Christians who agree in the common Essentials of Faith and Piety We can unite with sober Anabaptists but not by becoming Anabaptists Christïanity is our Religion and with all that hold the Essentials of Christianity we can hold essential Unity And with those that hold the Integrals most purely we have more and neerer Concord than with the rest that have more errours And if any of these parties be sounder than the rest we love and honour them above the rest and preferre their Assemblies for our local Communion But though my Parlour or Bed-chamber be a cleaner part of my house than my Kitchin or my Coâ—-house I will not say therefore that the whole house must be a Parlour or Bed-chamber or that the hand and the foot are no parts of the body because they are not the head or heart or that all the body must be an Eye or one of the Noblest parts St. Paul hath taught me better than so 1 Cor. 12 We must expect that each party should labour to propagate that which they take to be the truth But to force all to their sayings or persecute or cast off all Dissenters is schismatical whatever be pretended CHAP. IX The pretended Necessity of an uninterrupted Canonical or Episcopal Ordination will never unite the Church but is Schismatical Mr. Henry Dodwells Sâ—hismatical Treatise against Schism considered and confuted § 1. BEcause the City of Rome hath not been conquered and kept by Infidels nor Christianity thence ejected the Papists think that they excell other Churches in an uninterrupted Succession of ordained Pastors and therefore they bend their wits to prove this necessary to every true Church and then to prove others to be no true Churches or Ministers of Christ that want it And because they think that our Pastors can prove no such continued Succession unless as derived to us from Rome and that to acknowledge such a derivation is to acknowledge them a true Church on which we have and must depend therefore they most earnestly manage this Argument against us as their strength Sect. II. And there is lately a young unordained Student of Trinity-Colledge neer Dublin come out of Ireland to propagate this and such like Doctrines in London to which end he hath lately written a large and wordy Volume as if it were only against the Non-conformists Which being new and the most audacious and confident attempt that ever I knew made against the reformed Churches by one that saith himself he is no Papist and being the moâ—t elaborate enforcement of the Papists grand Argument on which of late they build their cause I think it needful to the Readers satisfaction not to pass it by though it will not stand with the order of this undertaken work nor with my want of leisure to write a particular Answer to all the words of so exceeding prolix and tedious a discourse Sect. III. I have oft handled this case already especially in my Disput of Church-Government Disp of Ordination and in my Ecclesiastical Cases in my Christian Directory and that more largely than I must here doe And the Reader that would see more may read the Protestants Cause fully vindicated against Cornelius Jansenius a stronger adversary by Gisb. Voetius in a full Volume de desperata causa Papatus But I shall here first briefly assert the Truth Sect. IV. 1. Christ and his Spirit in his Apostles have already instituted and described the Office of the sacred Ministry and determined what Power and what Obligations to the work it doth contain and what the work is to which they are designed so that it is not left to any Church now to make or amend or change the Oâ—â—â—ce what it is I have described in the Second â—art Sect. V. 2. Christ also and his Spirit in his Apostles have told us what are the necessary qualifications of such as shall receive this Office and be received into it viz. what is necessary to the Being and what to the Well-being of a Minister of Christ And consequently who are utterly uncapable so that Men may by Canons enforce the Execution of these Canons of Christ and may instruct each other how to understand them but they cannot make a Pastor of an uncapable unqualified person no more than they can make currant Coin of forbidden Mettal or Meat of