pleading thy right during thy priviledge of positive Church membership And in the last place I shall in all humility offer a few words to the reverend Ministers of God as a means to quench the present flames that are in the Church of Christ in England First let me beseech you not to urge upon your people any practise under necessity of duties of worship either publique or private that is not evidently commanded or at least deducted from the clear and genuine sense of holy Scripture by necessary consequence Secondly labour so to agree among your selves in the main essentials of Doctrine Worship and Discipline that in every place there may be a preaching and holding forth of the same things in all Thirdly condescend to the meanest of your people with an equall respect in all your ministeriall administrations both publique and private that none may be discouraged nor any indulged in an evill way Fourthly be as watchfull of those that are inclined to an inordinate zeal in the smaller matters of Religion as of those that expresse but little zeal at all in Gods worship Fifthly allow the worst of your people the title of Christians beleevers members and allow them all other externall priviledges which of right are theirs in regard of their relative state as they are such yet deal faithfully with them as touching their reall state in order to their eternall weal or woe Sixthly decline as much as may be novelty and variety in profession catechismes and all essentials of publique worship that your people may more willingly adhere to you and give you the greater advantage to advance the Christian Religion among them Lastly What in you lies restore with the spirit of meeknesse in your private admonitions weak brethren that through infirmity fall do not exasperate any w th pulpit invections unlesse it be in case of known obstinacy But I shall leave all to your charitable construction and sober apprehension of what I do here offer to your consideration I am a poor worm and look to be despised for medling with things out of my spheare but I see it 's the common lot of the most learned in these times to be reproached and therefore I shall the better bear it though for this my vindicating of Mr. Humfrey from reproach I be the more reproached I am sorry his principles be not vindicated from the reverend Doctors exceptions and objections by a better pen then his Who is thy humble servant breathing after the simplicity of truth John Timson The Barre to free Admission to the LORDS SVPPER removed MEEting with a Book called A Barre to free Admission to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper written by Doctor Drake in answer to Mr. Humphrey and having diligently read both I finde that even good men are too apt to reprove one another in things controverted betwixt them which ought not so to be As for Mr. Humphreys vindication of free admission as he states bounds and handles it it seems to me more rationall and clear then to deserve so many harsh expressions from the reverend Doctor as he hath let slip whether in haste or more deliberately I leave to himself to consider Sure I am some words might better have been spared then so published in print to the world it being not yet determined whether Mr. Humphreys discourse be untrue or no though disputable with the Doctor it seems whether it be more full of words or untruthes which is very uncharitable and unbrotherly dealing but I forbear Both the reverend Doctor and Mr. Humprey are Gentlemen I am altogether unacquainted with whose gifts learned abilities I yet much reverence and wish this poor distracted Church may never want such officers to rule and feed her in the Lord as the meanest of them be It 's an unhappy controversie I confesse and little cause there is to take content in these debates yet as times are it hath need of scanning and sifting because much of the unity and welbeing of the nationall Church depends upon the right stating and clearing of this Question our doubts and scruples concerning the holy Supper having upon the matter unsetled all Some mistakes about admission thereto have run thousands into faction schisme and separation under a zeal of separating the Precious from the Vile of withholding the childrens bread from dogs of preserving the Ordinances pure c. The premises are good conducing much to reformation were they not misapplyed in respect of persons and in respect of the right way and means of putting them in execution as things now stand as I beleeve it will appear they are by this following discourse wherein I shall endevour to vindicate that little Tract of Mr. Humphrey from the Doctors unbrotherly dealing with him according to my measure and meannesse Not that I intend an orderly and exact reply to every particular which neither my capacity nor occasions of my laborious calling will bear but to undermine his chiefest strength passing by the rest And first of all for the Text which Mr. Humphrey delivers his discourse upon though he may be thought not so happy in his choice of it in order to what he insisteth on as having rather a sound then a true and full sense of the question and point concluded yet I doubt not but the discourse will as to the substance thereof be warranted by other Scriptures And for Judas his receiving or not receiving I look not upon it as clearly argumentative one way or other Neither do I think that first president without the supply of other Scriptures would make much for or against us in this matter they being Apostles only that then received whose office in the Church is now ceased In short I shall not go about to defend every quotation or assertion in Mr. H. Book nor to clear him from some inconsistences pointed out by the reverend Doctor it 's sufficient that he hath made good the main thing asserted namely That all Church members of years and under Church indulgence not rightly excommunicated may come freely to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper His free Admission is limited with exceptions of infants distracted the excommunicated and he might say the drunk Now the Doctor saith That by the same reason that he excepts these we may may except the grosly ignorant and scandalous in the Church Concerning which this twofold inquiry is made 1. Whether Church members of years having the exercise of reason being ignorant be as uncapable of the Sacrament as Infants or distraught 2. Whether scandalous members under Church indulgence may be equally debarred this Church priviledge with the regularly excommunicated To the former of these the Doctor saith That the grosly ignorant are as uncapable to examine themselves and discerne the Lords body as Infants and therefore as justly to be excepted against nay more because Infants and distraught may have the grace of the covenant really the other not To which I answer what the secret working of the
duties are common and universall to all of the same relations and sex And what though it be not the duty of all Church members to preach and administer Sacraments yet it is the duty of all Ministers what ever so to do But Mr. H. argument is If all other service lie in common it is an intrenchment upon the common liberty to put an inclosure upon the Sacraments And if the Sacrament come under the obligation of the first Table as a part of Gods worship it is equally binding to all and so in common with the rest of worship notwithstanding any thing yet made out to the contrary It is true affirmative precepts do not binde to every moment of time but that will not justifie a carelesse and wilfull neglect at any time And whereas it is said that Church members are not bid absolutely to come but so to come it seems strange to me I had thought that all precepts of worship had been absolute to persons of years in the Church of Christ And do this in remembrance of me is absolute and the principall duty however the Doctor is pleased to call it carnall Divinity and a setting up the form above the power of worship For in every duty there is a forme which is heedfully to be observed and it 's impossible there should be the power of godlinesse without the form To obey the voyce of God in regard of the matter injoyned seems to be the main as respecting reasonable man and when there is an externall conformity to the commands of the Lord such are said to walk in the waies of the Lord failings in the manner there will still be both good and bad are under a necessity of failings and miscarriages in every thing which is to be imputed to the common frailty of man fallen But not 〈◊〉 what God commands at all is voluntary rebellion and that which the Scriptures most usually threaten severe judgements unto But I hope the Doctor doth not mean that the celebration of the Lords Supper is the form and self-examination the power which yet he seems to do by his exceptions against making receiving to be the principal the other but an accessary To which exceptions I say First that this duty of examination of our selves is a private duty and the private is subordinate to the publick Secondly This duty was prescribed occasionally as a remedy to that particular case of making a breach upon the materials of divine institution and order and therefore a means to further them in the right observance of the Supper and we may most safely say the end is most principall the means lesse Besides where the duty ceaseth in some respects it is not to be urged in those respects but it 's clear there is not the same reason for point of offending in the Church of England as there was at Corinth about the Administration of the Sacrament the work of our congregations demeaning themselves more reverently and orderly in a way sutable to the carrying on of that service in regard of the externall part according to the rule of institution And therefore that duty is not to be urged upon ours with the same necessity of danger of eating and drinking unworthily as to the Church of Corinth It is true their ignorance and not discerning of the Lords body represented by the instituted signs was the cause of all their other miscarriages But some may say Object Doth it not therefore follow that the ignorant amongst us do necessarily run upon the same danger of miscarriage I answer Solut. we know they do not for ours many of them rather erre on the other hand by putting too much holinesse in the consecrated elements then by using them as common things such hath been the education of the most every where that they conceive this Sacrament to be a most holy ordinance of God appointed for the good of their souls And therefore out of fear and reverence they do demean themselves orderly and regularly conform to the externals of the institution Had the Corinthians come up to that conformity of Sacramentall actions and order that ours generally do we should not have read of their punishment for unworthy receiving as I humbly conceive nor of their being urged so to come for that principall duty is not to be neglected though through carelesnesse the other be But then saith the Doctor It is a sen to disswade men from doing their duty Object be they never so vile To which I say Solut. the Doctor knowes there be other waies to reform such enormities He instances in perswading to forbear duties of homage and worship but not only Mr. H. but many other sober Christians Ministers and others judge that all the visible subjects of Christs Kingdome are under the obligation of his commands And do this in remembrance of me is one not to be restrained to sex sunction or any particular relations but to be observed in common by all the baptized of years under Church indulgence And if the Doctor hath any thing further to say that may give satisfaction in that point my self and others will be very thankfull 9. And so I come to the last Querie propounded namely whether there be any thing in the nature language actions or end of the Sacrament in that place of the Corinths or elsewhere incongruous to the actuall receiving of the unregenerate in the Church Before I come to answer directly to the Querie I shall lay down these six propositions 1. I conceive that Sacraments in generall and this in particular were instituted for the spirituall good of the visible Church of Christ comprehensively taken in which every particular member is included 2. That the visible Church of Christ consists of persons regenerate and unregenerate professing the true religion and their seed 3. That the unregenerate in the Church are the only proper and immediate objects of the most sundamentall promises in the Gospell Covenant of the giving the first grace 4. That the whole administration of the Covenant belongs to those in the Church that are the immediate objects of the absolute promises in the Covenant they being of years of discretion to use the same in order to the Lords putting the promises into execution and performance 5. That whom the promises of grace do respect to them the use of the Sacraments do belong Sacraments being visible representations of the death and bloud of Christ on which those promises of grace are founded and by which they are confirmed 6. That those in the Church and of years whom we cannot exclude from covenant relation we may not exclude from the Sacraments they being visible seales and pledges of Covenant love to that people that are in possession of Covenant administrations of divine Ordinances of worship as ours are These being truths as I conceive they all are I think it will follow that there is nothing in the Word against the receiving of the unregenerate in the Church being of years
second chapter of this second Epistle they are set forth in their colours to be such as had escaped the pollutions that are in the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and by apostasie were intangled again therein and overcome and so their latter end was worse then the beginning They that have been converted from their heathen sins by receiving the knowledge and faith of Christ and then again relapse and turn to them again this latter estate of theirs this Christian Heathenisme is worse then their bare Heathenisme at first They had knowledge enough to bring in damnable heresies and wicked loose opinions to wrest the Scriptures to trouble the Church and unsettle many but they were willingly ignorant of the Word of God they had the knowledge of Scripture but against their knowledge did pervert the same and wrest all the Scriptures to their own destruction as the learned Papists and our Apostate Sects do But what is this to the simple ignorant among us that out of carelesnesse meerly or incapacity and weaknesse are so and yet adhere to the true religion by profession amongst us These are strange mistakes and applications of Scriptures but I hope the Doctor is not willingly ignorant By this he may see how severe he is against that in Mr. H. which he is more guilty of himself But I have done with this intreating him and all others into whose hands this shall come to make a charitable sense and construction of what I have here written and not to be offended or prejudiced at the plainnesse of the matter or rudenesse of the expressions and method because I want those advantages that should help all this The Lord knowes that I herein intend plainnesse and so farr as I know my own heart I have thus declared my judgement in these things in uprightnesse and sincerity hoping they may be a means of the Churches good tending to her peace and unity and I am perswaded will be so if prejudice or some other thing do not hinder the serious consideration right understanding and use of what I have here written And so I have done with the reverend Doctor And I shall now from the grounds and principles laid down in the foregoing discourse crave leave to hint a few things to the dissenting brethren of the Congregationall way and the rather because if the Presbyterian way as some do practise will not hold and stand good much lesse will the Independent novelty in point of separation and gathering Churches out of Presbyterian congregations or others and therefore give me leave you that are for that way to speak freely unto you in a few words If you judge the Ministry and the ordinances and particular congregations lawfull as to the main why do you separate from them and gather out their best members from them would you be content to be so served by other separated Churches Doth not this sensibly insinuate to the world that those gathered Churches are the only Churches of Christ and so all other congregations not after your moulding thereby called into question whether they be Churches of Christ or no Are you for order and edification and for the peace of the whole or are you not Do you intend the reformation of the whole or of a part only If you be only for the reformation of a part and your desire be to draw up some to purity of ordinances and spirituall communion with Christ their head and one with another what must become of all the rest that are not of your minde nor indeed in a capacity of admittance unto you upon your termes and qualifications of members what will you make of them that are not so qualified will you account them members of the true visible Catholick Church and yet not fit to be of particular congregations and enjoy communion with Christ in all his holy ordinances Are they by vertue of the holy Covenant of grace Church natives and members borne and declared to be such by publick testimony on the Churches part in administring of Baptisme unto them a great Church priviledge of right belonging to none but such as are in externall Covenant with God at least either by profession of faith in themselves or by their parents and yet not fit to be owned or received into communion by any particular congregation Why what a case are we in then Your selves were equall with the rest in your Baptisme and under the same administration of worship and service that others were and if you have found a blessing in your regeneration and effectuall calling keeping in that station why doe you forsake it now Hath the Covenant of grace in the use of ordinary means brought quickning grace and life to your souls which is the main in order to eternall blessednesse whither will you go to mend your selves Why should you be so offended at the presence of such as you your selves once were Did such kinde of persons hinder the power and blessing of ordinances from doing you good before that you are so zealous in separating from them now Will not the effects of free grace which you have already received convince you that it is good for you to keep your former station and wait upon the same God in covenant for increase and compleating of what he hath begun What fault can you finde with Word Sacraments and Prayer the main essentials of holy worship they being the same both with us and you only you are grieved that sinners should enjoy the benefit of all these though you as bad as they have found good in the use of all these Would you have Jesus Christ save no more then those that are already saved or in a saving state Would you have the effects of Covenant love flowing from a bleeding Saviour unto sinners now to cease Had not meer grace and mercy prevented when you were sinners you had been impenitent sinners still like to the worst Will not the remembrance of what you once were beget some bowels of tendernesse toward such sinners Is this your separation the way to draw on others that are weak ones and to recover offending brethren Is this the way to do their souls good to rail and revile them with reproachfull speeches and slanders calling them the World in opposition to the Church and unbeleevers aliens profane ones dogs and swine and the like Nay is not this the way rather to cast stumbling blocks before the blinde and to destroy many weak brethren whom Christ hath died for by hardning them in an evill way Is it not a means to make them apostatize from the true Religion and turn Papists or any thing to keep the name of Christians rather then to be under that reproach of Infidels Heathens the profane world c. You would have them left to wander in their own waies and so you make them objects of the threatnings but not of the grace of the Gospell and promises under the commands but
lawfully refuse to baptize them at the present without any long deferring of it although they had been Heathens born I would I did but understand your answer to this supposition I conceive that all those that being of years are in a capacity for Baptisme are in a capacity also of all other Christian communion I presume the Apostles baptized upon as easie termes and so might you except you have a different commission or understand the Apostles commission in some other sense then they themselves did But I must contract my self aske you once again whether you ever found any president in the Word for what you practise in this point what Church under the administration of the Gospell will afford a president for your practise Do you separate according to Apostolicall order and rule or by vertue of some new commission or light the Scriptures never taught you I pray you again consider you had need be sure of good warrant to bear you out for you have been the cause and means of our being without discipline Sacraments union and communion with other reformed Churches indulgence to you hath been the occasion of an unlimited Toleration the misery of all those factions Schismes Heresies Blasphemies now abounding in every corner of the Land Well if your foundation be only the wisdome of the flesh and a worldly interest time will discover more of the Babel you are building when the consequences of your principles practise and design are come to full maturity It may come to that passe and it is much to be feared it will that you would retreat if you could tell how In the mean time the wilde beasts of the wildernesse come into Gods vineyard and by heresies destroy the tender grapes and many follow their pernicious wayes by reason of whom the way of truth is evill spoken of Men arise from among our selves speaking perverse things to draw away Disciples after them 2 Pet. 2.2 Act. 20.30 But mark them thut cause divisions and avoid them Rom. 16.17 But let me speak one word more in order to discipline which as you were never yet willing to come under as to the reforming of the whole so have your indevours been all along most fierce to obstruct and retard the discipline debated on in order to that end Again when the fittest way in Christian prudence according to rule was agreed upon as a means to reforme the whole and confirmed by the supreme Authority of this Nation designs were driven on to obstruct it and such things attempted as are the greatest scandals to the Protestant Religion that ever it suffered under And thirdly notwithstanding many symptomes and sad omens of a carnall design tending to the confusion and ruine of the whole and those the proper products of your own miscarriages do already appear yet you persist in your own contrivances and will not retract untill not only the Church but also the flourishing state of the Common wealth be involved in the same confusion and ruine The very sinewes of the Common-wealth are the fear of God and divine order in carrying on the same in all its parts uniformly different parties and factions too much indulged do ever beget jealousies and fears the common nursery of sedition and rebellion And that which cannot be held without gratifying of all factions and parties cannot in reason and policy hold long Why may not men truly fear God and carry on the power of godlinesse in their several functions and places under an establishment of Doctrine worship and order the only way to honour God And the best expedient to preserve the whole uniformity in the Church is a good foundation of peace and tranquillity in the Common-wealth And that is ever the best policy amongst Christians that is subordinate to true piety and our greatest freedome desired will be soonest attained in the way of religiousnesse when sin will be a snare to any people I confesse it is meerly occasionally that some things have dropped from my pen of this nature I would not offend any nor have I undertaken to meddle with the Independent way strictly taken they have been sufficiently answered by divers learned and reverend Gentlemen and the inconsistences contradictions absurdities and mistakes of their way discovered and not yâ—t vindicated by any that ever I heard of I only have hinted some things tending as I conceive to the Churches peace and unity in vindicating Church members from reproach and slander and inference to the preceding discourse And therefore I shall end with Mr. Humphreys wishes adding some of mine own 1. I wish we had a government establisht in the Church the nearest in Christian prudence that may be to the word of God 2. I wish the duty of fraternall correption a watching over and admonishing one another in love were better known and practised amongst us 3. I wish that men would look more to their own consciences and leave the judging of others spirits heart and reins alone to the judgement seat of Christ 4. I wish though there may be some judging by the fruits that wise religious men would be more cautious of countenancing the separations in the visible Church seeing upon the same ground that you go to gather a Church out of any mixt congregation another will gather a separation out of your Church and so continue as I have intimated from our sad experience an endlesse separating untill this first separation shall in a few years be able to take up the saying of that greatest Grand-mother unto those many Schismes shee shall see issuing as her naturall off-spring out of her owne bowels Rise up daughter go to thy daughter for thy daughters daughter has a daughter for this separations separation has a separation so farre Mr. Humfrey I adde 1. I wish that the distinction of beleevers and unbeleevers Church and world Christ and Belial holy and profane worthy Church members and unworthy were used in the Church of God according to Scripture meaning and with due caution and no otherwise 2. I wish that Sacraments were more clearly understood in respect of their nature and end attributing unto them their due according to the Scripture avoiding all humane boldnesse either in adding to advance them or in diminishing them so as in the least degree to debase them 3. I wish that the Lord Jesus may have the liberty and full scope of his own instituted ordinances given for the spirituall good of his Church that he may use them as instruments of his Spirit in order to that end upon the spirits of all his subjects according to their necessities and spirituall wants 4. I wish that a godly care may be taken in the education of all borne in the Church that being instructed in the plainest way of faith and obedience in the Christian religion they may be prepared to profit by every ordinance in the Church when they come to years 5. I wish that all of years may be made to understand their duties
and Church priviledges and be incouraged unto Church communion in all the waies of Christ that so they may come under Church discipline the best remedy to reclaim the obstinate and wilfull offenders 6. I wish the gifted brethren were better imployed then in unchurching our Churches and gathering Churches out of them it were a work more proper and acceptable either to be content to exercise their gifts to the edifying and building up of that Church in which they received them or else to goe into the infidell world as the Apostles did and preach the Gospel and plant Churches there The Scripture Raile Examined REader since I parted with what I had written in answer to Doctor Drake in the foregoing discourse there came to my hand Mr. Humfreys Rejoyner in vindication of himself a work very well performed by him wherein the truth formerly by him asserted is better cleared and confirmed to the satisfaction of many souls fearing God and breathing forth their earnest desires after the settlement reformation and uniformity of the Church of God in England according to the Word of God Be not prejudiced against his book by other learned men who have and still do appear with much bitternesse and passion against him more to affright with words and humane dictates meerly then with matter of grounded truth according to the sense of the holy Scripture witnesse that book put forth by some Ministers of Glocester-shire intituled A Scripture Raile to the Communion Table I confesse the title is good for we do acknowledge there ought to be such a thing but not in their sense as I hope shall appear by the discovery made in this short discourse following in which I shall wave what hath been already written in answer to D. Drake by Mr. Humfrey and my self and take notice only of some things in the Scripture Raile which have not yet been spoken to that I know of And this I shall do as briefly as I can because I would not anticipate him whom it doth more nearly concern And first of all because I would not leave the weak and incautelous Reader deceived with vain and groundlesse words in reading this Scripture Raile let this be noted that I take Scripture discipline to be the only Rail for the Communion Table which I hope both the Author reproached and my self earnestly desire may be set up and all our indevours tend as conducible means to that end as being assured that the first stone in the building of the reformation as to our case is holy discipline And whether their principles or ours tend most to that I hope to make appear to sober and unprejudiced Christians And the way I shall take shall be to discover some of these Gentlemens unbrotherly dealings with Mr. Humfrey first in perverting his sense Secondly in setting up a Raile to the Lords Table by perverting Scripture and so making that Raile to be a pretended discipline meerly 1. They have damned and censured his Book to be an ungodly pamphlet in which is a masse of perverting Scriptures tending to destroy all Church reformation little better then carnall and profane reasoning sophistry a heterodox piece abomination a vile piece with divers other such hard censures language enough to affright any from ever looking into it that have any care of their souls to avoid their own destruction in complying with that soul damning practise of maintaining mixt communion as they call it I must confesse these men seem very confident in reproaching and censuring both the Book and the man but in this their indeavour to make it thus vile and odious to the world they have not the least evidence of truth or strength of reason to evince it that I can finde in their Book And it will so appear if you minde what is Mr. H. scope and end in his discourse and what are the principles upon which it is founded As 1. That the visible Church of Christ consists of men making a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and so are Saints by calling what ever they are in truth while they so professe and adhere to the true worship the means and matter of which are hearing the word receiving the Sacrament and prayer and of these many are called and few are chosen 2. That all of these of years come under the obligation of Christs commands and are bound to do their duty homage to Christ their Lord as well as they can according to Mat. 28.19 20. 3. That all such ought to submit to Church discipline and not to be excluded from any observance nor denyed any Church priviledge untill they be judicially proceeded against and debarred by vertue of positive excommunication 4. That Ministers by vertue of their function and office may lawfully administer the Sacraments to Church members though they be ignorant and scandalous he doing his duty as well as he may in preparing them in the want of Church discipline These I dare boldly affirme are the main things asserted in that little despised piece which with a sober spirit the Author hath soberly discussed and cleared from the common exceptions made against it by men of different mindes for which his pains first and last I verily beleeve the Church of God in England have great cause to be thankfull to the Lord of the harvest for sending such a faithfull plain-hearted labourer amongst us the sweet temperature of his spirit so adorned with wisdome charity and such a peaceable frame bespeaks him taught of God the true sense of his will in his holy Scriptures rather then his reproachers 1. Touching the visible Church what evill hath he done in asserting it to consist of men making a profession of faith in Christ Wherein doth he dissent from the most orthodox writers in all ages in judging the Church of England a true Church It is confessed by the adversaries and also that a parochiall congregation where the Word is truly preached and the Sacraments administred according to order being a part of the whole is a true Church likewise And this is also confessed by these Gentlemen for they grant that our parochiall Churches are true Churches in a large sense and that is enough as to this and so I hope there is no evill in this first position 2. For the next thing by him asserted namely that all of years in a parish being baptized come under the obligation of all Christs commands it is proved by the text before cited Mat. 28.19 20. And that in order to the Lords Supper Do this in remembrance of me is a known duty belonging to every particular member of the Church in common with all other parts of the worship and service of God And is it then profane reasoning to urge Church members to do their duty and homage in this particular more then in all others To this these Gentlemen have said but little that I can finde to take off what is urged by Mr. H. As for that of the Passeover Mr. H.
it consisted wholly of them for they undertook to cast out of the Synagogue Joh. 9. 12. And when Saul breathed out threatnings against the Saints in zeal of reducing them to the Church from which they were departed and seduced as he thought he went to the chief Priests and all the estate of the Elders for his commission and he received anthority from them to bring both men and women unto Jerusalem to be punished Act. 22.15 And that estate of Elders in the originall is called a Presbytery which also shewes that it was made up of chief Officers of the Church called Presbyters some of which were chief Priests the other Pharisees and some subordinate Presbyters were joyned with them to make up that assembly having authority to judge of manners according to the Lawes of God however upon mistake they punished the true professors of the Christian Religion yet not under the notion of professors of the true Religion but out of zeal to reduce the beleeving Jewes to conformity to the old administration as judging it still in force as it was delivered by Moses If any make question whether this Presbytery according to the Text were the Church to whom complaint was to be made concerning stubborn offenders I answer that Councell or Presbytery was made up of the chief Officers of the whole Church and so the Church representative on whom alone all the authority of the Church was involved for the punishing of sin and preserving the peace of the whole And for the word Church they that are acquainted with the Original language know it is used for any assembly or congregation called together whether to civill or sacred ends and so these Elders and Rulers of the Jewes assembled together for the ends aforesaid are not unproperly called a Church And for the latter thing propounded before namely that the Christian Churches in after ages are to proceed by the same rule and in the same order the Church of the Jewes then did that is to say by a Presbytery seems to me very probable For first of all there were in use in the Christian Church in reference to the rule and government thereof the same names that were in the Church of the Jewes which is a sign that there was the same thing Saint Paul who was well acquainted with the nature of the Presbytery at Jerusalem from whom he received authority to trouble the beleeving Jewes cals an assembly of Elders or Church officers a Presbytery of which what better reason may be conceived then this the resemblance that was between this Eldership and the great Councel in the Church of the Jewes It is clear the Apostles themselves did order all things in the Church ordained Elders and authorized them in the Name of Christ to ordain others c. And they were as much Rulers and Officers over the Catholick Church as the chief Priests and Elders were to the Jewes And hence in the Apostolical Churches Ordination of Ministers was derived from them that were Officers to the whole Church and in a most immediate manner by Jesus Christ were constituted so to be which makes me inclinable to beleeve that those still that are ordained Officers for the good and benefit of the whole should be ordained by such a Presbytery that are intrusted with that power by the Officers of the whole as much as may be So farre am I from consenting to these men that take it for granted that the common members of a particular society may chuse and install their own officers Now what is there in all this for that pretended way of discipline which these Gentlemen commend to their reader here is not the least warrant for any to separate from the Church or withdraw for all is one nor for the people to rule and chuse their own Officers nor for imposing a Church Covenant explicitly to be professed in the congregation and those that will not come up to this and such like termes must not be admitted unto Sacramentall communion Nor is here any warrant for sentencing Church members before a regular triall nay here is no warrant for any single Minister to set up discipline over his people without the consent and conjunction of the reverent brethren of the Ministry with them The key of discipline is not at all in one alone but rather in the whole together A word more on that Scripture as it is directed to the Apostles vers 18 19 20. and so in them to the officers of the Church in succeeding ages to the end of the world Verily saith our Saviour there if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall aske it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven for where two or three are gathered together in my Name there am I in the midst of them These words seem to have reference unto what was spoken before concerning the authority of the Jewes Church Officers and our Saviour would have his Apostles to know that though their authority may seem to the world yea and to themselves to be weak and contemptible in respect of that great bench of Elders generally submitted unto by the Jewes yet they should have as great authority to binde and loose as the other nay two of them by the authority given them by the Lord of the Church should be equivalent to their great authority And we know it came so to passe They had power to work miracles and were inspired with an extraordinary spirit and had some speciall promises peculiar to them alone as well as gifts They had power to give the holy Ghost by imposition of hands and an extraordinary power in prayer and power to punish and kill the bodies of men for sacriledge and hypocrisie And we know the very Church it self is said to be built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone Now what is this to these Ministers in Glocester-shire Dare two or three of them assume this power for I suppose all the Ministers of the County are not of their minde and way to do as the Apostles did Suppose they be Ministers of the Gospell is the Church built upon them or their Doctrine Where have they any such promise that they shall not erre and whatsoever they shall agree to aske shall be done for them of the Father of Jesus Christ They plead their serious and solemn seeking of God and commend unto us their model of Discipline as the result of their serious debates and returns of their prayers but that authority will not satisfie judicious Christians when the thing it self is so inconsistent with the generall rules of the Word as hath been shewed Besides it is well known that in many places the Ministers of the Gospell have used the like means in behalf of themselves and their people yet but few have run into their waies but either fall into some association of Churches and Presbyteries
THE BAR to Free Admission TO THE LORDS-SVPPER REMOVED OR A Vindication of Mr. Humfreys Free Admission to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Wherein the most materiall Exceptions and Objections of Doctor Drake against it in his Book called A Bar to Free Admission c. are taken off and answered Whereunto is annexed an expostulatory Speech unto them of the Congregationall way And also an Examination of the Book called A Scripture Rail to the Communion Table by some Ministers in Glocester shire By JOHN TIMSON a private Christian of Great Bowden in Leicester-shire JOH 15.14 Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you London Printed by E. Cotes and are to be sold by Will. Tompson Book-seller in Harborough 1654. To the Reader COURTEOUS READER I Am necessitated not only to give thee some advertisement concerning the following discourse but also to make some Apologie for my self in this my so bold undertaking as this will be thought to be and that perhaps even by some truly godly sober Christians and reverend Ministers of the Gospel to whom it may seem unfit that such a one as I should interpose in this Controversie concerning Admission to the Lords Supper and that I should undertake to make answer to a Reverend Doctor about these things And therefore let me intreat thy patience though I seem somewhat tedious in this Epistle by reason of the length of it I trust it will not be impertinent nor unprofitable but helping to the following discourse to free my self from blame and to help thee in the right understanding of what thou shalt read and of my end and aime therein The truth is these few sheets were not at first intended for publique view but only to be sent privately to the reverend Doctor that by the answer which I hoped he would return my self and some friends of mine might receive some satisfaction but through the importunity of some others to whom I imparted my thoughts herein I am now overcome perswaded to make them publique but with great disadvantage not having time to perfect and amplifie things sutable to so different an end from what I first intended And I confesse I have not so heedfully kept to the Doctors expressions nor writen arguments with that latitude or fulnesse nor kept to his method orderly as he goes on in answering Mr. Humfrey as I should and would have done if my intent at first had been to appear in publique But yet I have been as carefull as I could in taking his sense and have not omitted any thing of moment which I had occasion to insert and answer in my own method and way which I propounded to my self at first And for Mr. Humfreys arguments I have made but little use of them more out of haste then out of any dissenting from him and chusing rather to adde to what he hath asserted and strongly evinced then to repeat his own because I have an earnest desire that this controversie may be better sifted and more throughly searched into it being of greater concernment then most even of those that are godly have or do judge it to be for the ending of the present distractions and divisions in this unsetled Church Our being dissatisfied about Sacramental communion hath been the great occasion and instrumentall cause of our confusions and disorders tending to the Churches destruction If satisfaction can but be given in the warrant of free Admissions I conceive the only instrumentall cause of the Churches unsetlednesse will be removed and nothing will much hinder the falling in of Presbyterians and Independents into one way of communion and discipline especially the orthodox party of both And as for those that deny our Baptisme Church and Ministry as Antichristian there is little hope of gaining their return I desire it may be put to some solemn and serious debate impartially For although the principles committed to consideration in the ensuing discourse be somewhat against the common stream yet I have some hope they may be a means to discover some common mistakes with such glimmering of rationall and Scripture light as better heads may make to shine more bright in the Christian world I look to be censured for this my presumption in dissenting from the common interpretations of severall Scriptures and asserting some things against the judgement of many or most Divines and godly Christians who will be ready to object against me and charge me with a fault herein against which give me leave to make some defence First by confessing that this very thing of dissenting from so many learned and godly hath been a greater barre in my way then any ground of Scripture or strength of argument I ever heard or have seen from any godly man And were the Church in a well ordered setled state I had rather chosen in some lesser things to erre with the Church then dare to do any thing that mâ—ght break the peace and order of the same But in an unsetled disorderly condition of the Church as it is now with us all things in the Church being now upon the brinck of confusion and ruine it concerns even every private member to shew himself and to contribute his mite toward the conservation of the whole In vain do we look to have the effects and consequences our divisions breakings and separations to cease while the most sober and godly nourish them in their rise and cause The same principles maintained by the godly in the Bishops times would as necessarily have run us into the same separations and divisions had not the severity of discipline put a restraint to our excesse from the same or like mistakes Secondly I deny that this free admission pleaded for is altogether novell or a new thing For did not our first reformers maintain a free Admission nay command a generall observance of the Supper of the Lord three times in the year at least under some punishment to be inflicted for unnecessary neglect grounded I conceive from the equity of the Law of the Passeover Numb 9. and the command of Jesus Christ Do this in remembrance of me And will any say that our first reformers were not godly and learned men It 's true they urged it not till Church members were of years of discretion and not under Church censure and required that all should learn the Lords Prayer the Creed and the Ten Commandements c. which would be now easily yeelded to in order to the Sacrament Thirdly do not Protestant godly writers in all reformed Churches maintain infant Baptisme upon Covenant relation in that the children of Christians by birth priviledge are really members of the Church and so esteemed to be as truly as those that by nature are aliens and admitted upon their profession of faith And is not there the same reason for the injoyment of the other Sacrament of the Supper being of years and already admitted members should not these have as much priviledge as those that come in
as proselytes or Disciples by preaching of the Word Where do we finde that any were received to Baptisme and yet denied the Supper or what essentiall difference is there between Baptisme and the holy Supper that the same profession that fits for the one will not serve for the other being persons of years The Bloud of Christ crucified is represented in both for remission of sins Act. 2.37 And by consent of all both seal to the same Covenant in which the unregenerate as well as the regenerate are included and concerned and that as well when grown to years as in their minority they adhering to the ordinary means of grace as wel as others that they may obtain the blessings of the Covenant promised and sealed by the Sacrament And I think the wofull consequences and runnings out into such exorbitances amongst the godly in these times may make intelligent and sober men sensible of their own inconsistences and interfeering in things concerning the Sacraments Suppose the unregenerate in the Church not baptized till grown to years could that discovenant or dismember them it not being their own fault but the fault of their parents might not such challenge their priviledge of that Church in which they were born members by vertue of that membership meerly their membership not being an effect or consequent of Baptism but Baptism a consequent priviledge of membership though I confesse it 's true of aliens they are formally installed into membership in the Church by Baptisme upon their profession of faith Fourthly did not all godly Ministers in the Bishops time that were for conformity administer the Sacrament to all without excluding any and shall we judge that they practised against their judgement and conscience Mistake me not good Reader whosoever thou art as if I did indulge or labour to foster any in their grosse ignorance by the following discourse or any thing therein or the sloth and not profiting under the means or that I plead for a dispensation for the profane and scandalous in the Church poor creatures they shall know it one day to their cost if they repent not what it is to abuse the grace of holy administrations and to neglect the means of their salvation God will be sanctified by or in all he admits to come neer him and all his holy ordinances are a sweet savour to him in them that perish as well as in them that are saved in the use thereof Most terrible things are written of them that have the light and walk in darknesse that have the means to know and do and yet will not but remain both ignorant and disobedient to the Gospell of Jesus Christ Dreadfull will be the doom of all those that have had their residence at the feast of fat things of the Gospell and shall be found without the wedding garment at the last Therefore I shall desire and intreat all to take heed of this and to submit themselves to those that are over them in the Lord as to them that are appointed by Jesus Christ to watch over their souls as they that must give account thereof I say let me perswade you to be willing to be instructed catechized and tried refuse no means that tends to your edification instruction and salvation I beseech you I know your ignorance and unanswerable walking to the rules of the Gospell is such that most are unwilling to go to their Minister to be examined and admonished in private in order to the Sacrament I but remember you must be brought to a stricter search and account before you can be saved And if you be unwilling to give an account of your faith and hope that is in you to your Minister that would incourage you in your Christian profession and take such advantages to instruct you and confirm you in the grounds and practise of Christianity what would you do if a persecuting enemy to the Protestant Religion should put you upon the renouncing of the true Religion and turning Turk or Papist or else be put to death as hath been a common lot of the professors of the Christian Religion in most ages since the coming of Christ Oh be not such strangers to your Pastours that labour among you what shall they be appointed to bring your souls to heaven and will you not acquaint them with your ignorance and other wants and doubts which are impediments in your way Would you be more frequent friendly and familiar with your Pastours you would not be afraid to have conference with them in things concerning Gods Kingdome and the good of your own souls Let not good Reader shame of thy ignorance hinder thee from presenting thy self to be proved and taught in order to the Sacrament For ignorance continued in under the means of knowledge is damnable Barren branches of the true vine shall be cut off and burned Remember the barren fig-tree Though as yet thy profiting hath not been answerable to the cost and charge God hath been at or his grace mercy goodnesse and patience toward thee do require yet now let the patience and goodnesse of God so long abused lead thee to repentance and inquiring after him Let not sense of thine own ignorance make thee rather forbear the Sacrament then go to thy Minister to be better informed but rather implead thy right and come and do thy homage and service as well as thou canst though not so well as thou shouldst Put case thou be judged unfit to come to the Sacrament yet follow on doubling thy desires and endevours to receive as farre as thou canst If thou be desired to forbear untill the next Sacrament let it humble thee but not discourage thee that being better prepared thou mayest expect a greater blessing But if thou art beat off with delaies wait and be aspectator of thy bleeding Saviour set forth crucified before thine eyes by instituted signes of Bread and Wine and if thou maist not take and eat in remembrance that Christs bloud was shed for many for remission of sins and to save sinners by giving them grace and glory yet let me perswade thee to give thy presence to hear and see in that remembrance thou knowest not but that the sight of such an object the effect of love and bleeding bowels may melt thy heart and draw thy soul after him thy mercifull Redeemer it not being thy fault thou doest not actually receive Be it so that thou art still repulsed as like to eat and drink judgement to thy self yet let not that affright thee from the ordinance of Christ so long as thou art art a visible subject in his Kingdome Plead thy duty and homage how thou art obliged to Christ in this observance and say thou art so well perswaded of the goodnesse of Christ in all that he commands his subjects that thou wilt humbly venture upon his mercy in doing thy duty as thou art able But I shall commend thee to the ensuing discourse for further knowledge of thy duty and
Spirit may be in such comes not within the Churches cognisance to inquire but what is agreeable to the revealed will of God and then if any of years being baptized professing the true religion be in the same incapacity as Infants or distracted it 's true there is the same exception against them otherwise not For mine own part I never knew any of years but could take and eat and drink of the consecrated signes reverently and orderly according to the institution as to the externals of that service which the state of Infants is uncapable of And mad men would indanger the abuse of the holy signes by their undecent and unreverent demeanour in those necessary acts of communion and worship And it must be granted that persons at years are not under that naturall incapacity that infants are in order to the outward form of worship Neither are Infants as such under the obligation of precepts of worship as grown persons in the Church are Nor can it be reasonably imagined that such a state of persons in the Church should be admitted actually to receive that in the discretion of the Church are no proper objects of Church censures in point of offending which grown persons in the Church are though never so ignorant And what though the Doctor say he can teach a childe of three or four years old as much or more then some of our people at years have learned all their life time A Parrat may be taught to speak words but can he make such children rationally understand what they are taught and exercise devotion from a principle of conscience in reference to religious worship as in charity we may hope of grown ones according to that little they know which may be conceived by their desires after it and their demeanour in the Sacramentall actions Moreover I doubt not but the Doctor or any other Minister of the Gospell may in a short time inform the ignorant among their people so as to make them capable of discerning the Lords body and to eat and drink lawfully in the Apostles sense though not in the sense I shall give account of hereafter All which being laid together I conceive that Church members of years most ignorant are not so uncapable of the Sacrament as Infants or mad men are and therefore the same or like ground of excepting against the one will not equally reach the other And then the Doctors often retorting Mr. H. exception doth rather discover weaknesse then adde any strength to the cause This to the first inquiry As for the other namely whether the scandalous members under Church indulgence may be equally debarred this Church priviledge with the regularly excommunicated I do not finde the Doctors judgement so expresly delivered but he seems to debar such from the Sacrament But sure to debar Church members scandalous their externall priviledge during Church indulgence and toleration they being under triall or otherwise is contrary to the judgement and practise of the independent Churches and seems irrationall and unjust to execute before a judiciall triall and sentence I confesse I am unsatisfied with their proceedings as Presbytered toward Church members of years admitted 1. They set up an Eldership whose office is very doubtfull too doubtfull to assume and exercise the keyes of Christs Kingdome especially where there is no association of Churches so that upon the matter the power of sentence is in the Pastour alone or in those whom Jesus Christ never impowered with the keys at all to binde and loose authoratively 2. They set up such a way of triall and Church examination of native Church members in order to the Sacrament the observance whereof is both their duty and their priviledge as no word doth warrant discouraging the most from indevouring after their duty and priviledge so that upon the matter they are left out without any regular casting out 3. They cause a carelesse forbearance of the Sacrament and make their suspension and excommunication upon the matter all one and the Doctor allowes all presence at every ordinance denying only the act of receiving to the worst 4. They positively suspend Church members for ignorance and such like wants and comings short of what they should be to God for which there is not the least warrant either of rule or president in divine writ 5. They make excommunication lesse then it is indeed in allowing the excommunicate presence in the congregation at every ordinance and make it more then indeed it is in dismembring Church members by it it being appointed as the last remedy to heal diseased members not to destroy them They are not thereby dismembred but to be lookt upon saith Mr. Cawdry as diseased members under cure 6. No more priviledge is allowed to Church members not approved of by the eldership though not yet under any positive sentence then is allowed to Heathens and to the excommunicate as much of priviledge in the ordinances of the Church is allowed as to Heathens All which upon triall will be found to be beside the rule I think and yet such are the consequences that flow from the Doctors own principles and premises in his Bar to free admission to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper In the next place the Doctor declares his judgement concerning a scandalous member of a congregation impresbytered presuming to receive what is to be done in such a case As first the Minister is to tell him of the sinne and desire him to forbear if that will not do then to shew him the present danger of murdering Christ and eating and drinking judgement to himself and he hath done his duty But then it may be inquired whether he mean only in case of common fame the scandall having been publick otherwise I suppose it will not be a time to nominate any members sinne or person in publique first Then secondly I question whether a scandalous member doth necessarily murder Christ and eat and drink judgement to himself in the Scripture sense whether the person be regenerate or unregenerate For he may be Scandalous and yet knowing and able to put a difference between common bread and the instituted signs in order to their end He might be drunk the week before and yet sober scrious and reverent in the act of receiving and not guilty of the body and bloud of Christ nor eat and drink judgement to himself in the Doctors sense He often distinguishes of worthy Church members and unworthy according to the judgement of visibility accounting the regenerate in the Church only worthy of admittance but not the other they not having a personall worthinesse must necessarily eat and drink unworthily and so judgement to themselves in the Apostles sense c. Now because all his conclusions seem to be deducted from meer mistakes and misapplyings of the Apostles sense 1 Cor. 11.20 to the 34. to the great perill and danger of the visible Church of Christ as causing rents and divisions therein I shall therefore make
Mat 28.19 20. And do this in remembrance of me is a precept for the baptized of years to observe they being under Church indulgence otherwise we shall be driven to question our Baptisme and then our Church ministry and run mad to the separations or begin again if we could tell how In the mean time how injurious to Church members doth our ungrounded rigour and private interpretations cause us to be To the fift Querie I say The remedy is both by instruction and direction by these waies the Apostle applies himself to them for the cure of their maladie He repeats the first institution comments upon it the better to give them to understand the nature end and use of the ordinance which before they were ignorant of or did not well consider And having taught them the minde of Christ in what was necessary to that service then he gives direction what they must doe First to examine themselves whether they understand what these things of God did mean as they had been taught and then to tarry one for another that the ordinance may be carryed on with order decency and reverence becoming worship and then he assures them they shall not be judged of the Lord. To the sixth Querie I answer The Apostle intends the remedy to the good of the whole Church which comprehends every particular member of years that did actually receive and offend therein And he taught them not any thing but what was easie to be understood by any reasonable man owning the true Religion among them He directed them not to do any thing but what was easie for them to do externally And their offending was so obvious and apparent that they were easily convinced and yeelded to the reproofe Gods blessing concurring with the means and indeed we read no more of their offending in that manner afterwards nor any other Christian Church But they were a Church consisting of members under better qualifications then ours Object therefore the same remedy which was sufficient for them is not sufficient for most of ours 1. Solution I answer The Apostle writing to them That if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator or covetous or an idolater or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner with such they should not eat intimates that there were such among them that were as bad as ours But secondly if we be a true Church our members we admit true Church members even as theirs then ours come under the same rules with them unlesse we can finde different rules for the same Church in the same things and respects if not then ours are under the same rule in reference to the Sacrament untill they be legally ejected and cast out and are bound to act according to those rules and that order prescribed in hope of a blessing even the worst member among us To the seventh Querie whether the duty of self-examination in order to the sacrament be not properly to be restrained to the premises treated on in the context I answer That whether it be to be extended in this place so farre as most do urge in respect of their reall state unto God competent measure of knowledge in the many fundamentals of Religion the having and acting every grace necessary to salvation c. or to be restrained to the particulars there mentioned I dare not peremptorily determine though strongly inclined to beleeve the latter Not because I think self-examination touching the former may carelesly be neglected by any but I question whether the Apostle had any respect thereto in this place in reference to the Sacrament because I conceive the Apostle here sutes the remedy to the malady and that unworthinesse of person was not any part of malady nor ignorance in the fundamentals of Religion but their not discerning the Lords body and that put them upon other unworthy carriages as is shewed before And therefore as examination is part of the remedy prescribed it seems to me most probable that it properly refers to the rule of institution and those other directions given in the context The eighth Querie is whether a carelesse neglect of this private duty of self-examination before do give a writ of ease and excuse such negligent persons from the precept of publique duty and service Do this in remembrance of me To this I say I cannot conceive how the neglect of a private duty can excuse any in the neglect of publick worship that are Church members of years under the obligation of all that Christ commands The Apostles being sent to preach and baptize those that received their Doctrine the Doctrine of the Gospell and came under the baptisme of Christ were bound to teach them to observe all things whatsoever Christ had commanded and in so doing they had a promise of his presence and blessing upon their endevours And loe I am with you alwaies to the end of the world Mat. 28.19 20. What can be more plain except we shall say the observance of the holy Supper is none of his commands I think Christ commands nothing for the hurt of his visible subjects they observing it according to their present capacity Can an instance be given in the Old or New Testament of any that came under Circumcision or Baptisme whether proselyte or native of years that as private members were admitted to all other ordinances in the Church and yet were forbidden the use of the other Sacrament the Passover or the Lords Supper There is but one Law for the stranger and home-borne If our Baptisme be the Baptisme of Christ I say if it be the baptisme of Christ by which we are consecrated to Christ why should any be exempted from any obedience and priviledge being of years and under Church indulgence at least more then the circumcised under Moses or the Baptized under the Apostles Our not acting according to Scripture presidents in this particular will I fear in time unchurch us We blame the Separations when we our selves maintain the first principles of setting up distinctions and separations in the Church But it is dangerous to be partiall in the lawes of Christ Why may not the wofull neglect of Sacraments visible pledges of divine love be one thing that makes ministers be so contemptible and vile in the eyes of many as they are Well but to return I say this comming to the Sacrament is one of Christs commands and he that breaks the least of his commands and teaches men so shall be called the least in the Kingdome of God But I think Mr. H. hath said enough to this to satisfie any sober impartiall Christian to whom I must still referre the reader for further satisfaction herein The Doctor hath many quillets about this particular which are more like to puzzle then to satisfie the reader He strives to put an inclosure to some duties as not common to all and he instances in relations and sex that come under the obligations of the second Table the which
Christ in his laying down his life for sinners but I must contract But then saies the Doctor If this be so Object let all come pell-mell and then where is the reformation so much indevoured after of late To this I answer Solut. That if by coming all pell-mell be meant all though they come to mock at or openly to abuse the ordinance I say it doth no way follow from what I have asserted nor from any thing Mr. H. hath said For he hath very well stated the question and excepted infants distracted and justly excommunicated persons and these being excepted if he or I say let all come that will I think it neither to be absurd nor dangerous seeing that Christ when he offers himself and the thing signified in the Sacrament saith Let him that is athirst come and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely Rev. 22.17 Why may not we say of all of years under Church indulgence whether Presbytered or not Presbytered they offering themselves to receive are not to be denyed the Sacrament for supposed incapacity or unworthinesse Besides Mr. H. hath given a rationall account of his own practise to acquit himself from such reproachfull expressions as are used against him namely That he hath done his utmost de jure that all come prepared And that none may charge him with arrogance he modestly and humbly breaks out into this patheticall expression But woe is me if I justifie my self who am a man of unclean lips and dwell among people of unclean lips eminent only in failings By which words he doth not detract what he had said before but only shewes that though such were his frailty that he as all other failed and came short in every duty yet he had not willingly neglected or wholly omitted any duty in that respect which Christ requires of him And so whether Mr. H. or the Doctor favours most of pride and vanity let the intelligent and sober judge Now to the other part of the objection namely Where is the reformation so long indevoured after if we allow of such a free admission I answer 1. I would learned men did more study by the right means and in the right way to reform a true Church labouring under some corruptions in Doctrine worship and discipline which is our case 2. I would fain know whether the debarring of Church members of years and not excommunicated from the Sacrament be a means of reforming approved in the Word 3. Whether the want of discipline do justifie a totall neglect or suspension of Sacraments in order to reformation 4. Whether separation in the Church be a good expedient to further the reformation of the whole 5. Whether to abolish the essentials of Church discipline in the use thereof for some exorbitant abuses be a good expedient to reform the thing 6. Whether denying the Sacrament to those whom the Church cannot justly proceed against the positive excommunication be any furtherance to reformation 7. Whether there can be any reformation of the Church in that respect untill discipline be restored and uniformly exercised in the same and if so whether the Sacrament must be suspended till then and whether it be any thing towards reformation so to doe 8. Whether the very nature and being of reformation in the visible Church stands not only in the externall conformity to the indisputable Lawes of Christ their head constraining all to an uniformity thereunto When these few queries are answered either by the reverend Doctor or any other that holds the Church of England a true constituted Church as to its essentials and being if I live and God enable me thereto I may take occasion to make a further and more direct answer to that latter part of the objection concerning reformation In the mean time I shall go on to vindicate Mr. H. in what he asserts touching excommunication and censures of the Church For what he hath asserted concerning these is by the Doctor charged to be false bloudy tenants c. And here I shal first assert what I conceive is truth and then answer to what the Doctor hath said 1. I conceive that none are proper objects of excommunication but such as are in the true Church of God and in fellowship with the Saints in all acts of communication and worship publick For what have I to do to judge them that are without them God judges 1 Cor. 5.12 2. That no one is to be excommunicated but in case of violating some manifest and known Law of Christ and that violation peristed in to obstinacy after a judiciall triall conviction and patient waiting of the Church for his reformation 3. That none may exercise the key of Ecclesiasticall Discipline but such persons in office to whom all the keys of Christs Kingdome are committed being appointed by him to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments as well as exercise discipline 4. That no single pastour alone but such as are so in an association as to derive authority from the whole can exercise Church censures authoritatively and that every Presbyter in generall is not to have a part in this power but some in speciall chosen by the whole Church which are more eminently qualified and fitted for the exercise of Ecclesiasticall rule and government 5. That excommunication when it is just is a solemn ejecting or putting out of obstinate sinners in the Church from all acts of communion and worship of God in the publick congregation untill by repentance they manifest both their shame and sorrow for their sin and upon the manifestation of this and publick promise of amendment the Church ought to be satisfied therewith and the penitent offender to be restored and regularly admitted to all externall Church priviledges again 6. That those have much to answer for that were the occasion of laying Gods vineyard waste by throwing down the wall and plucking up the hedge of discipline established before they were agreed of another warranted by the Word to be set up in stead thereof By this time they may both see their folly and feel the smart of it in the evil effects and consequences Well having laid down these propositions let me a little apply them and shew you what will follow upon the truth of them And first if the first be true as I conceive it is then those that never were admitted to the Lords Supper are not in a capacity of these censures of the Church nor to be amended by them what ever their enormities be If the second be true then none in the Church may be censured for ignorance or for the omitting of doubtfull duties especially that of submitting to Church examination in order to the Sacrament If the third be true then not only the common members but the ruling Elders will be called in question for usurping the key of Discipline they not having power to exercise the key of Doctrine and Sacraments If the fourth be true then we may take notice how little
practise of the Greek Churches urged I say what is that to us when it is not agreeable to the practise of the first Apostolicall Church of Christ For upon the like ground on which they made four degrees of excommunication they might have brought in ten And therefore not so much their practise as the ground thereof is to be regarded in this point But then the Doctor addes That if this admitting of the excommunicated to be present at all ordinances be an error it is out of indulgence and an errour on the right hand for whereas he excludes from one ordinance he might exclude from all according to Mr. H. tenent c. 1. To this I answer right hand errours are evill as well as left and to be taken heed of and therefore not to be pleaded for but to be reformed 2. Suspension from the Sacrament only is no legall censure 1. Because it hath no ground nor footing in the Word 2. Because it is the same with excommunication according to the Doctors own principles and practise For he allowes presence at all the ordinances in the Church in both and his proceedings in order to both are the same And he and the rest of his opinion and way not coming up to the true nature of Church censures do as much as in them lies hinder the end of censures which is that the persons censured may either be ashamed and penitent and so return to Christian obedience or else renounce their profession and turn Apostates Thus I humbly conceive Mr. H. tenent is no bloudy tenent but a most mercifull way and means set up in the Church and left to be used as the last remedy for the cure of the most desperate souls And not to use this remedy according to its nature and true intent of Christ therein is to deprive the obstinate offendor of the only means left of his amendment and salvation and so is indeed far from being an errour on the right hand And yet by the way to expresse my thoughts a little further I hold that all unnecessarily friendly familiarity with scandalous disorderly brethren that sin out of wilfulnesse whether they be under Church induigence triall or censure is to be declined according to that 1 Cor. 5.10 11. which sense I humbly conceive comes neerer the meaning of the place then to understand it of or to inferre therefrom a suspension from the Sacrament The last thing that I shall speak to is the Doctors exceptions against some of Mr. H. quotations of Scripture concerning which I say let him but allow Mr. H. the same liberty he takes himself in some of his own quotations and then he will have little cause to finde fault for his impertinent allegations of Scripture I have given account of some of the Doctors already I shall here take notice of two or three more 1. He urges many texts of Scripture to prove that some in the Old Testament were debarred the priviledges of worship for morall uncleannesse but his proofs in that fal short of what they are brought to prove being in cases that will not serve his turn For such persons in the Jewish Church came under the censure of the Judicial Laws which were very severe against such offenders and there is nothing exprest in Moses or the Prophets that I know of in reference to excommunication And in that Church the porters charge concerning uncleannesse is to be understood of ceremoniall and Gentile uncleannesse Again for that Tit. 1.15 brought by the Doctor to prove that some in the Church not excommunicated were unclean I deny that those the Apostle there speaks of were of the Christian Church Let him consult with the tenth verse and he may easily see the Apostle means those vain talkers and deceivers that were especially of the circumcision they professe they know God as other unbeleeving Jewes did but in their works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and to every good work reprobate vers 16. They were either such as never were of the Christian Church or if they were once of it yet now were revolted and become Apostates by their horrid opinions and abominable impieties And then what is this to members of a Christian Church professing Christianity Again for Church examination in order to the Sacrament the Doctor alledges 1 Pet. 3.15 Be ready alway to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meeknesse and fear having a good conscience c. The scope of the place is to shew what a Christians duty is when they are apprehended and under the terrour of persecuting adversaries which duty is to be so far from being affrighted from their Christian profession that in such case they should be alwaies ready to give a reason of the hope that is in them with meeknesse and fear c. And the Apostle urges them to this duty of constancy from a great incouragement If you suffer for righteousnesse sake happy are ye vers 14. Now how impertinent is this place for Church examination or examination by the Pastour or Elders before admittance to the Sacrament If such kinde of proofs be sufficient to warrant that practise of examination and suspension from the ordinance for neglect of it men may prove any thing they have a minde to and make every fancy of their own a necessary duty and so make void the necessary Lawes of God by their traditions I shal instance in one quotation more and then I have done and it is 2 Pet. 3.5 For this they are willingly ignorant of that by the Word of God the heavens were of old c. This the Doctor quotes to prove that grosse ignorance in Church members is a scandalous sin for which the Church may proceed to censure them and to suspend them from the Sacrament but sure this is not very pertinent to his purpose as will easily appear if he consult with the Context This second Epistle was written to stir up their pure mindes by way of remembrance that they might be mindfull of the words spoken before by the holy Prophets c. and to arme them against those Scoffers that should come in the last daies 2 Pet. 3.1 2 3. Knowing this first that there shall come in the last daies scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying Where is the promise of his coming c. Scoffers at the Promise which notes the highest degree of defection from and renouncing of piety so Psal 1.1 of the three degrees of ungodly men the scoffers or scorners is the last as being the worst And by these are meant such as fell off and joined their selves with the persecuting Jewes complying with them and falling into all the villany in the world exprest here by walking after their own lusts that is going on habitually as in a constant course doing whatsoever seemed right in their own eyes without any restraint of law of nature of Christ c. In the
the Passeover was of absolute force in respect of all the congregation of Israel is so obvious and manifest that I need not say any thing for proof thereof Exod. 12. Numb 9. is without all gainsaying And though the end of that observance were spirituall and the service it self mysterious yet those that were most ignorant and carnall were as much under the obligation of that holy service as those that were regenerate and really holy it concerned them all to conforme to the externals of that service upon their lives no excuse would serve for the omission of it but that of legall uncleannesse and being in a journey and that but for the present only Thirdly That the Church of the Jewes was a mixt people in respect of reall goodnesse and badnesse even as ours are I know none will deny and yet in respect of their relative state in reference to the Covenant made with their fathers they were all equals in the enjoyment of the externall priviledges and observances of the Covenant and the Church of God in order to that blessednesse promised to all that diligently observed the duties of the Covenant And no people so happy and prosperous as they while they adhered to Gods worship prescribed unto them but when they forsook the waies of God and followed their own waies and went after other gods c. then it ever went ill with them I know the Lord required truth and power as well as externall form in worship yet they are not usually blamed for want of power but for want of form in not doing what God commanded 4. That the severall Churches of the Gentiles now are under the same Covenant of grace and added to or graffed into the Church of the Jewes and their Church constitution I think cannot be denied For though the administration of the Covenant now be different from what it was before Christ was exhibited yet there is no more change of the Church properly and formally considered then there is change of the Covenant or change of the head Christ the same yesterday to day and for ever on whom as the chief corner stone the Church in all ages hath been and still is built and founded The same persons that by birth priviledge were born members of the Jewes Church and beleeving in Christ kept their station were alwaies members they and their seed never ceasing so to be even thousands of the Jewes Jesus Christ had many Disciples while he himself was a member and a Prophet of that Church and conformed unto the ceremoniall Administration The twelve whom he chose were before most of them members of the Jewish Church and though not after the order of Aaron yet after the order of Melchisedech as being King and Lord of all he gave them authority to preach and baptize and work miracles in the Jewish Church only while he was conversant among them And those that beleeved in him and those that beleeved not were all one Church adhering to the same worship and order of that Church untill Christ was raised from the dead and had compleated the work of mans redemption then all those carnall ordinances were abolished he put an end to them all and those that never did beleeve that he was the true Messias did then unchurch themselves and their seed For they still adhering unto Moses and looking upon Christ as a false Christ refused to submit to the administration of the Lord Jesus and so lost their station in the Church but so many as were convinced that he was the true Messias adhered unto the Apostles Doctrine and came under all Church administrations so that for a good space of time the Apostles preached the Lord Jesus in Jury only before they preached to the Gentiles so that there was I beleeve many thousands of souls of the newly reformed Church of the Jewes before there were any particular Churches of the Gentiles And where it is said they were added to the Church it is not to be understood that here was now a new Church constituted where was none before but still the same Church under a different administration And the Jewes that were of the Church before beleeving in Christ as in him that was promised should come are now by the preaching of the Apostles convinced that Jesus whom their Rulers crucified is the Christ already come And this beleeving of theirs was no new faith but the same which they had before in respect of the object though under another consideration And for those Jewes which beleeved and adhered to the Apostles Doctrine many of them for a great while would not be taken off from their former customes and observations It is said that salvation is of the Jewes Joh. 4.22 Out of Sion shall go forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem Isa 2.3 After Christs ascension the Apostles were to preach the God to all nations but beginning first at Jerusalem Luk. 24.47 And they that were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Venice and Cyprus and Antioch preaching the Word to none but the Jewes only Act. 11.19 Certainly the Jewes were the first that came under the Gospell Ministry and although some of them did not beleeve yet that did not make the faith of God of none effect that did not deprive the beleevers of their Church state nor make void the promises of God made to them Rom. 3.3 The faithfulnesse of God appeared in the effects of great Covenant love to that people in opening the eyes and hearts of so many thousands to receive the Gospell There were but some of the branches that were broken off and not all Rom. 11.17 Besides the Gentiles received all from the Jewes they were the only instruments of their conversion there being few or none in authority to preach but such as were Jewes by nation at first All this being so it must needs follow that the beleeving Gentiles were but added to or graffed into the Church of the Jewes and baptized into the same body and so made partakers of the same hope and calling being made the children of the same God fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers with them of his promise in Christ by the Gospel Ephes 3.6 Fellow citizens with the Saints the beleeving Jewes and of the houshold of God Ephes 2.19 And true it is that the Churches of the Gentiles had a very reverent esteem of the Church of the Jewes and did readily conform to the directions of the Church at Jerusalem and were carefull in their charity to gather and distribute to their necessity confessing themselves their debtors having received from them their spirituall things and that alone by their means Rom. 15.26 27. So that all make up but one Church and all walk by the same rule having one faith one Lord one Baptisme All submitted themselves to the rule and order of the Apostles they undertaking the care and order of all
Churcher All the Churches of the Gentiles were not only converted to the faith by the Apostles but also put into an holy order and way by ordaining them officers to rule and feed them in the Lord. And as it was in the Jewes Church under Moses and the Prophets there was a receiving of Proselytes aliens converted and they became Jewes by religion so it was in the times of the Apâ—stles they made nations and cities and countreys proselytes and they became Christians with the Jewes and there was but one law rule and way for all that wâ—â—e imbodied into the Church And there was graâ—â—ing int◠〈…〉 off from the same Church still all along to this day I have been too long in this but I will be shorter in the next Fifthly that the Church of Christ since the coming of Christ in the flesh is under the same and in some respects greater â—riviledges then under Mâ—ses and the Prophets This will appear to be a truth if we conâ—â—der thâ—â— Jesus Christ is and ever was the mâ—â—â—ting â—â—ule of all blessings and privilâ—dges unto the Church in all times and ages of the world that the Church hath ever been in possession or expectation of On the account of his transaction with the Father all the promises of covenant blessings of grace and glory made to Abraham and his seed are founded and thereby confirmed and so consequently to all that are of his faith for so saith the Apostle They that are of the faith are blessed with faithfull Abraham even all the Gentiles that receive the Doctrine of faith so as to initiate them into that Church of which Abraham was the father it being first formed up in his family and the Govenant freely made with him and sealed to him by the Sacrament of Circumcision I say all that are of Abrahams faith are blessed with him Hence it is that the Apostle to the Ephesians hath many expressions to the same purpose Chap. 1.3 Blessed be God who hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings in Christ And in the second chapter it is clearly intimated that there was a time while they were in their state of Paganisme that they were Aliens from the Common wealth of Israel strangers from the Covenants of promise without hope and without God in the world But now saith he you that were afar off are made nigh by the bloud of Christ Ephes 2.11 12 13. But now in Christ Jesus you are of the Commonwealth of Israel children of the Covenants and Promises and have as much interest hope of good from God through Christ as the Jewes who by descent were the naturall seed of Abraham And therefore were now no more strangers and foreiners but fellow Citizens with the Saints and of the houshold of God vers 19. The reason of all is Christ is the same yesterday and to day and for ever in spirituall things as to the Church and their seed And therefore he is said to be the Minister of circumcision for the truth of God to confirme the promises made to the fathers and that the Gentiles might glorifie God for his mercies Rom. 15.8 9. as being made sharers in all those promises of free grace made to the fathers and their naturall seed Nay we may observe how the Apostles do usually apply the severall promises in the Prophets to particular cases in the Churches of Christ in their times But it may be asked Quest what were the priviledges of the Jewes Church under Moses and the Prophets The Law of the Passeover did oblige all the congregation of Israel upon their lives to observe it in the season Our Supper of the Lord is the same to us that the Passeover was to them for the substance as hath been proved having the same meaning and end The people of the Jewes as mixt as ours are if not worse in respect of good and bad regenerate and unregenerate and so as uncapable to make a spirituall use thereof The Church under the Law and the Prophets before the coming of Christ in the flesh and since the same which Jesus Christ and his Apostles only reformed in point of externall administration first owned by the Jewes unto which Church so reformed all beleeving Gentiles are added and graffed into it as the stock and so partake of the same spirituall and externall priviledges with them they and their seed so long as they continue to adhere and cleave to the outward means of salvation in order to that end and from these premises will follow these conclusions First that the same obligation lies now upon all Christians to observe the Ordinance of the holy Supper that did lie upon the whole congregation of Israel to observe the Ordinance of the Passeover and the Law of the Passeover may teach us so much and in some respect is still in force For so long as the equity and reason of a command or law remains the command and law it self remains for the substance of it but the equity and reason of that command concerning the Passeover still remains in respect of the Lords Supper succeeding in the room of the Passeover and therefore should guide and direct us in the administration thereof as touching the subjects or persons that ought to receive And then secondly if all that were in the Church of the Jewes came under the obligation of all the commands of God to that Church respecting the members in common and that both good and bad then all that are grassed into the same Church come under the obligation of all the Lawes given to the same Church and respecting the members in common now as well as then even all good and bad Thirdly the same exceptions that which all as he hath stated the thing are bound to observe I need not stand upon this Answ because I have already been somewhat large upon that Scripture where they say the Apostle requires such qualifications in my former discourse to which I reserre the reader Yet because these men have something which the Doctor hath not I shall hint a little at something of theirs I must confesse I judge the main stresse of the controversie to lie in that eleventh chapter of the first to the Corinthians And there need be no question but the Corinthians were injoyned by the Apostle to observe this ordinance of the holy Supper in remembrance of Christ for vers 2. he commends them for remembring him in all things and keeping the ordinances as he delivered them to them So that their keeping and observing of this ordinance as well as the other as to the thing it self was well done by them but then when he speaks to their miscarriages about the manner of performance he praises them not but reproves them for their wofull abuse of the ordinance in their excesse disorderly and unreverent behaviour in the very act of receiving or while they were together for that end They made a breach upon the very externals of that service using the
elements as common things to please the outward man and not to that end for which the Lord Jesus appointed them And these men in a manner confesse as much that they being newly come out of idolatry in imitation of their idolatrous feasts had their love-feasts when they came to the Lords Supper and that there was excesse among them though not precisely at the Lords Supper These men are not willing to yeeld they were drunk at the administration precisely but immediately before or if at the time of receiving yet not with the wine consecrated for that holy and spirituall end the remembrance of the death of Christ And therefore as most Divines conjecture their excesse was at their love-feast spoken of in Jude But I conceive it is very uncertain whether they had any such feast or no that place in Jude doth not determine it much lesse the keeping of it immediately before the Lords Supper or in the place where they met together for the celebration of that holy service But whether they came drunk or eat and drank unto excesse of the elements liberally provided it was such a profanenesse that neither 〈…〉 nor Mr. H. I hope shall never 〈…〉 what ever these men charge 〈◊〉 with in this respect telling the 〈…〉 he 〈…〉 the admission of idolaters drunkards and impenitents to the Sacrament pag 32.33 34. compared But is this brotherly dealing think you to mâ—ke such a wilde in 〈…〉 a Minister shew what 〈…〉 was â—or which God so severely punished the Câ—â—intâ—â—anâ— but he must be reproached as â—ne pleading for the admittance of idolaters drunkards and impenitentâ— to the Sacrament Hath not Mr. H. said enough in his Book to free himself from this crime He said indeed there was nothing against their coming for that was their duty which these men deny unlesse they be so qualisied but he doth not only say they ought to come but to come prepared yet mens impenitency and unpreparednesse doth not make void the commandement of God neither is the principall to be neglected for an 〈…〉 subservient thereto And I pray you whom doth the Apostle set up to be judge of theâ—â—â—â—â—â—â—fications in the Church What 〈…〉 hath he appointed for this Is it not clear that every man is to examine himself and judge himself that he may not be judged of the Lord Can men devise better waies to carry on Gods Ordinances with purity thâ—n himself hath prescribed The Câ—rinthians sinning was in unworthy actions at the time of the administration and I pray you who could foresee that to prevent it better then themselves And as for their persons and reall worthinesse the Apostle meddles not with it at all Neither may we denominâ—te men such in person really as some unworthy acts done by them do import for if we do so we shall condemn the generation of the just righteous men may be overtaken with some unrighteous actions for in many things we offend all Jam. 3.2 And I grant this unworthy receiving was out of weaknesse and ignorance as these Gentlemen plead the Corinthians coming newly out of their heathenism but what is this to them that are not guilty of their unworthy receiving at all as for matter of order and reverent decorum in the observances not one among a thousand offending therein And for unworthinesse of person there is not one word in the Text in reference to coming to the Sacrament and yet that makes all the trouble and causes many to run into a world of mischief in the Church Hence they inferre that the unregenerate in the Church receiving eat and drink judgement to themselves and therefore teach them to omit the duty contrary to all rule both in the Old and New Testament and all Scripture Churches And hence they make schismes and separations in the Church And hence they make this the highest ordinance as being a communion for Saints only and upon the matter the least of all in other respects detracting from the wisdome power and goodnesse of God in denying it to be a means of regenerating grace unto Church members And hence they have invented suspension from the Lords Supper with the losse or neglect of true discipline And hence these tlemen have commended unto us as the only expedient for reformation to begin with the minor part leaving out the rest as judged to be excommunicable without any tryall Hence it is that many are afraid of being guilty in partaking with others in their sins in unworthy receiving especially in the sin of murdering Christ And many other like errors they run into by reason of this one error in taking that eating and drinking unworthily to be meant of unworthinesse of person The holy Ghost intends the manner of eating but they will have it to be intended of the worthinesse of the man that eats And upon this error is grounded all that these men have to say against M. H. book I could wish they would better consider of it For still I say the Corinthians were commended for keeping this ordinance as well as any other in the Church and reproved only for some great abuse in their manner of carrying on that service the which abuse did not lie in coming unworthily nor in their other miscarriages which were many upon other occasions but in this their abusing of the holy signs unto câ—â—nall and common ends For this 〈…〉 and sickly amongst them an 〈…〉 So that this place cannot be urged against any that are Christians and exâ—â—nally at least commâ—â— to the holy actions required in this service but against open abuses of the institution But these men will say of me Object as they do of M. H. pag. 88 That I know well enough but that I would blinde poor souls that Do this in remembrance of me was spoken to the Disciples such as were of Christs family and not to all c. I know sure enough Answ that this command was spoken to the Disciples of Christs family not to all but then I know also and so might they that all that are born in the Church of Christ and baptized and of years and under Church indulgence are Disciples of Christs family and therefore that command is spoken to them and they are bound to observe it except they can produce some dispensation for the neglect of duty in this more then in all other observances for the baptized come under the obligation of doing all that Christ commands Mat. 28.19 20. And let the reader then judge who are most guilty of blinding poor souls they that teach them to observe and do all that Christ commands or they that teach men to omit and neglect some necessary duties of homage and service which Christ commands for the good of their souls as these Gentlemen make very bold to do but how they will answer it before their Master I leave to themselves to consider And when I say all ought to come I do not mean the justly excommunicated who while they
them to perform duties of worship then to omit them altogether or that it is better for all unregenerate persons not to come to the Sacrament then to come in a Christian way though but in outward conformity only which is the main thing now in question And the like may be said of that Isa 66.3 He that killeth an oxe is as if he slew a man and he that sacrificeth a lambe as if he cut off a dogs neck c. What is the reason of all this Because they have chosen their own waies and their soul delighteth in their own abominations therefore the Lord will also chuse their delusions and bring their fears upon them c. vers 3.4 The truth is the fault lay not in doing those things but in not doing all that the Lord required as well as they could but they would do some things he commanded and other things of their own chusing even their own abominations like those spoken of Jer. 7. that cry The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord and yet will steal murder and commit adultery and swear falsly and burn incense to Baal and walk after other gods and come and stand before God in his house and say We are delivered to commit all these abominations This is a profane presumptuous coming to an ordinance of God but to come in a Christian conformity unto duties of worship in hope of a blessing being restrained from such enormities as are spoken of in these Scriptures is a different thing especially these places respecting nationall sins rather then of particular private persons But these Gentlemen judge that this outward consormity in the duties of Christianity according to the present capacity of persons in the Church as they are able to performe is a sweet bit for the Devill and a means to keep up rotten formality still But I pray you what is reformation in the Church but to bring people to yeeld an outward conformity to the clear and undisputable Lawes which Jesus Christ hath set up in the Church I wish with all my heart the generality of Christs subjects in the Church of England were reduced to that obedience though but meerly externall I should then think we were very happy and should much rejoice to see such daies and times in England and I must confesse my desires and prayers unto the Lord are that all our exorbitances may be reduced unto uniformity of Christian obedience though it were but in respect of the outward man in doctrine worship and discipline that all might come under the ordinary means and waies of their salvation and that we might teach our posterity in the way of holy profession and establishment of the true and lively oracles of God in respect of which for the present we are the most unhappy of all the reformed Churches in Christendome For some men cannot indure to hear of such words as uniformity in Religion under the establishment of Christian Lawes of the nation nor of a form of godlinesse and holy order in the Church of Christ but in the Kingdome of Christ would upon the matter have every one left to his liberty to do what seems good in his own eyes But our God is the God of order and not of confusion And I doubt not but the Christian Magistrate hath as much power to reform Religion in times of defection and apostasie according to the manifest Lawes of Jesus Christ by whom they rule as the Kings and rulers of the house of Judah had and ought to follow those glorious presidents Josiah Hezekiah and Nehemiah who were carefull to reform Religion in all things according to the known Lawes of God These examples are recorded for our learning and for the incouragement of those whose hearts are warmed with the love of God and zeal for his glory to improve the advantages of power and opportunity to bring both Ministers and people to a conformity in the externals of holy worship and order And the memory of Queen Elizabeth in this Nation is blessed because of her care to reftrain the Papists from their superstition and cruelty and to draw on the whole people of the Nation to the Protestant Religion And the successe of this her care in reforming and restoring the true Religion hath been very glorious in all reformed Churches abroad and indeed was instrumentall of the greatest blessing that ever this nation was possessed of for being put into a peaceable injoyment of covenant ordinances and godly order we are still by that means a people in Covenant and have the Lord for our God yet not without our fears lest the lukewarmnesse of all in the things of our God especially in the matters of his worship will in a short time darken all our glory and render us a people most despicable and odious to God and men if not utterly unchurch and discovenant us as some do slanderously report that we are already But I shall now come to the third thing propounded namely that all in the Church and of years ought to submit themselves to the discipline of the Church not to be denyed any externall Church priviledge untill they be judicially proceeded against and justly excommunicated To omit what hath been already said in answer to the Doctor touching excommunication I shall propose some few things further to be considered for the stating and clearing of the true discipline and then I shall examine whether that which these Gentlemen commend to their reader be any thing like the discipline of Christ held forth in Scripture and practised by the primitive Churches of Christ 1. That all that are baptized and of years must of necessity come under the obligation of all the Lawes and Ordinances of Christ of which Discipline is one and therefore none may plead exemption from it whosoever he be that is a brother and within comes under the Church judgement and censure Mat. 18.1 Cor. 5. 2. That although all ought to come under the discipline of that Church of which they are members yet may not any be denied Church priviledges for the state of unregeneracy meerly nor for barrennesse and unfruitfulnesse under the ordinary means of grace or not coming up to the practise of such duties as are private and more doubtfull then the duties of publick worship are For it is certain that Jesus Christ hath his elect ones lost sheep and children of God among the naturall seed of Christians or to come of them as he had among the Jewes and these elect ones he is pleased more savingly to call some at the third hour others not untill the eleventh hour of the day of grace vouchsafed to them And these being the speciall objects of redemption included in the Gospell Covenant to whom the promises of the first grace do properly belong we must suffer Jesus Christ to have the liberty of his own appointments in the Church as the only means of gathering in such unto himself that they may have life in him
and live unto him according to the grace they have received from him 3. That the scandalous in the Church are to be dealt with under the notion of offending brethren whom they that are spirituall ought by private admonitions and Christian counsell and wise and seasonable reproofs to restore in the spirit of meeknesse Gal. 6.1 And the person or sin of any member not to be nominated in publick while there is any reasonable hope in charity of amendment by the private means provided the offence be not already publick and infamous to all in that case I think though the offender be penitent and ashamed yet he ought to be rebuked before all that the rest may fear and the congregation be satisfied And that it is only in case of obstinacy and hating to be reformed notwithstanding all possible means used by the Church for their reformation that the authoritative act of excommunication is to be issued out against any member The Apostle did more often threaten and shake the rod then make use of it The administration of publick censures should be carried on with that solemnness and mourning over the offender that might shew a reall unwillingnesse to put the same in execution if any other means would humble and break the heart of an obstinate transgressor And though there may be in the Church a readinesse to revenge all wilfull disobedience yet a readinesse to forgive also as they shall see cause 4. That none ought to usurpe the power of the keyes of Christs visible Kingdome or take upon them the power of stewards and to be Judges of Christs subjects that have not a clear warrant in the Word for the same lest they be judged For my part I must confesse I utterly reject as impious and against all rule and order for the common members to claim an interest in the exercise of the keys either of Doctrine Sacraments or Discipline save only to be obedient in declining familiarity with those that are justly excommunicated and all communion with them in worship and to be witnesses to attest what they know against an offending brother when it is necessary to prove the fact and conviction of his obstinacy I professe I wonder that any acquainted with the holy Scriptures should plead for any other power to be allowed to any of the common members I cannot see how this should be but that some men drive on designes of their own factious framing rather to hinder the setting up of discipline then any way to advance it What dismall divisions separations and confusions what prejudices heart-burnings and bitternesse do such practises every where necessarily occasion between Pastours and their people while the better part must withdraw from the rest and set up Discipline among themselves chuse their own officers and use a language beyond the ordinary and think they are in a fine posture when alasse they are out of their station and all they do is but erecting waies of their own chusing and setting up altars to sin some of Jeroboams craft to keep the people from worshipping at Jerusalem And the truth is members that separate from the body are not like to live long What strange exorbitances very often are the consequences of such uncharitable zealous waies And how can it be avoided if the power of the keys reside in the common brotherhood but the major part of a parochiall congregation may chuse their own officers set up Discipline and judge in the Church and what reformation is then like to follow may easily be imagined Doubtlesse all Church members as such stand upon a levell in point of externall priviledges for we do not finde different priviledges of those that are members of the same Church planted together into the same visible body by baptism and so by consequence women and children ignorant and scandalous persons shall have power to judge the rest nay they may create and ordain their own officers and consequently take upon them all Gospell administrations for if the keys reside in them originally so that they may make Ministers c. then they themselves are much more such and may do the works they are to do The effect cannot be greater then the cause But they will say Object the power of the keys resides not in all but in worthy and compleat church-Church-members or beleevers that have the spirit of sanctification c. I know no such distinction in the Word of God Answ Look upon the Church of the Jewes they were a holy nation a kingdome of Priests a peculiar and royall people in generall without distinction of worthy and unworthy compleat and incompleat And doth not the Apostle Peter use the same words and apply them to the scattered strangers embracing Christianity 1 Pet. 2.9 And doth not the Apostle give equall titles to all those to whom he writes and to all in every place that call upon the name of the Lord Jesus 1 Cor. 1.1 2 3. If we never read of any such distinction in Moses and the Prophets nor finde any such used by Christ or his Apostles why should any plead for it in our congregations but that they would see more then all that ever were before them But the keyes were given to the twelve as beleevers Object and that which is given to them as such is given to the whole kinde of beleevers in the world Solut. That the twelve were impowered with the keyes of Christs Kingdom is beyond all dispute and that they were beleevers when they received that power is as certain but that the Lord Jesus gave the keyes to them as such is denyed And they might as well say they were given to them as men for they were men when they received them But the truth is that though there were many Disciples and beleevers beside the twelve yet of his meer good pleasure he gave the keyes of his Kingdome to the twelve only not to the rest that beleeved as well as they He hath set some in the Church Apostles Pastours and Teachers not all And we know the twelve by vertue of that authority received preached and baptized and ordered all the affairs of Christs Kingdome during their age they planted severall Churches and ordained them Elders and Deacons they were the instruments for the propagation of the Gospell in almost all places Doubtlesse after Jesus Christ had received all power in heaven and earth he put the twelve only in commission to build his Church and they ordained Elders and Deacons and gave order to some others as Timothy and Titus to ordain and directed them also to commit the same power to able and sit men in after ages to teach others c. And in the seven Churches of Asia the Angell of every Church is writ unto and blamed or commended according as they demeaned themselves in their places in opposing errour or cleaving to the truth But we never finde that the common brotherhood or membership were impowered with the keys either by
Christ or by his Apostles or any that drived authority immediately from them and therefore they have it not at all and to intrude themselves and assume unto themselves things of such an high nature is a most insolent boldnesse and they may fear to perish in the gainsaying of Corah and his company 5. I cannot conceive how there should be any true discipline practised in our Churches without the speciall assistance countenance and power of the civill Magistrate as the state of things are in England For almost all of all sorts are either carelesse or impatient or erroneous and not willing to come under discipline And although these Gentlemen say it is our own fault and why do we not set upon it beginning with the minor part yet this is very ill nay absurdly advised For as I said before I beleeve I shall never see true discipline exercised in the Church of England untill the Lord so move upon the hearts of our Rulers as to make them instrumentall to put the Church into that capacity which ordinarily cannot be without a nationall assembly of learned grave moderate and godly Divines chosen if possible by the whole and carryed on without tumult And that a profession of faith if not already done may be so clearly drawn up in respect of fundamentals in doctrine and worship according to evident rules of holy Scripture as may be established to be the publique profession of the Nation which all whatsoever should with peaceable spirits submit unto And also that the subjects of the keyes in a nationall Church may be more clearly determined and liberty of conscience better stated and bounded that the reformation of the whole may grow up together at least in all the externals of Christian obedience Otherwise how shall discipline be practised if carnall and loose Christians shall be left at liberty whether they will come under it or no Now I say while they are within the visible Church and Kingdome of our Lord Jesus and professe his Name in hope of eternall life why should they not submit to all his Lawes as the way and means appointed of that blessed end And the same grounds that do warrant the restraining offenders from evill and the forcing of them to do their duty in reference to some of the Lawes of Christ do warrant the doing of the like in reference to all the rest of his royall Lawes What is more sutable then that they that reign and rule only by Jesus Christ should put forth their power and improve all their interest for the advancing of Christs Scepter over all I confesse these Gentlemen have some unhappy expressions questioning our Church members because as they say the main instruments of bringing them to the true Religion in England were such as carryed it on by a civill power when the outward calling ought to be by the word only which the most of our common people never had they say Answ 1. I wish our Governours had that holy and grounded zeal for the reformation of what is amisse now in the Church that our first reformers expressed in point of reformation in their generation 2. We must distinguish of a twofold state of Church membership or the way of bringing people to be Church members 1. Aliens of years are to be discipled and called by the Word before they may be baptized and received into the Church and so it was in the Apostles first planting of Churches But 2. The seed of persons so called are by vertue of the Gospell Covenant members borne and upon that account are baptized and when they come to years are as much under the obligation of all holy observances as those that are called by the word So it was in the Church of the Jewes in respect of all that were circumcised so that Church membership is and may be pleaded from birth priviledge Gal. 2.15 We who are Jewes by nature c. 3. Our first reformers did not force Heathens to receive and professe the Protestant Religion but reduced baptized erring Christians unto that obedience and reformation which their Baptisme and profession did oblige and ingage them unto according to the examples of godly Kings and Prophets amongst the Jewes in case of defection and irregularity I might produce divers instances of this holy and religious care and zeal in reforming but those that are acquainted with the Scripture can remember the histories of them And orthodox Divines do generally hold that the Baptisme of a Papist is valid and need not be repeated And it need not be doubted but upon that ground the King of Spain or the French King if the Lord should give them a heart throughly convinced of and affected with the truth might reduce their subjects if they were able to that conformity to the Lawes of Jesus Christ which their Baptisme doth oblige them to Rome it self upon such a reformation might become a true visible Church without any repeating either of the ordination of their Ministers or their Baptisme Were all that superfluity of naughtinesse from time to time contracted in Doctrine worship and discipline purged out and all administrations made conformable to the Lawes of Jesus Christ as it was with them for some hundreds of years from the Apostles times we could not tell what to object against them but might have communion with them Say that we heretofore were a member of Rome received all sacred ordinances from them having now repented of the evils and abominations which the holy things of Christ were polluted with and reformed them according to the institution what can be objected against us though we were put in possession of the ordinances of Christ by means of the civill power 4. If an argument drawn from successe be of any force in any case surely in supernaturall and spirituall events above any other and we are not left without innumerable evidences of the divine operations upon the souls of many in our Nation through the blessing of the Lord upon the use of those holy administrations of the Covenant which our first reformers with zeal care and power brought our fathers under blessed be God for this unspeakable gift This for the fifth thing proposed concerning discipline 6. The sixth and last is this That holy discipline is so to be ordered that the edification of all may be best furthered and preserved and the objects of Church censures may be healed rather then hurt by them Sometimes the Church must rebuke some that the rest may fear and sentence some few most notorious offenders when many deserve the same punishment rather then indanger the peace union and edification of the Church punish and chastise what they can with the health and safety of the whole and with patience bear and forbear when the remedy is like to prove worse then the disease Lawfull things are not alwaies expedient nor consist with charity It is a good saying of Cyprian mentioned by Calvin Let the Church mercifully correct what they
can and what they cannot let them patiently suffer and with love groan and lament it And to the same purpose he brings in the advice of Augustine touching the abounding of drunkennesse in Africa this and the like evils according to his judgement are to be taken away not roughly nor after an imperious manner but more by teaching then commanding more by admonishing then by threatning and that is the way to deal with a multitude of sinners severity must be exercised on the sin of a few c. And he concludeth thus The command of the Apostle 1 Cor. 5.7 to cast out the wicked is in no case to be neglected when it may be done without perill of breaking the peace of the Church Institut lib. 4. cap. 12. Sect. 11.13 And we may take notice that where there is mention made of the Apostles exercising of Discipline it is only upon particular persons and not upon a multitude when he findes many guilty of evill practises he reproves admonishes and threatens to come with the rod 2 Cor. 12.20 13.21 1 Cor. 4.21 And truly as the state of things now stands I think it will be found a very difficult thing to get into possession of the true way of discipline and to make that use of it that the Churches peace and edification may be promoted and not prejudiced by it For either the supposed unregenerate in the Church shall on the one hand be cast off and separated from as in the Independent way and some others or else on the other hand the dissenting brethren will be judged schismatical for causing divisions and separations in the Church contrary to the Doctrine of Jesus Christ And therefore our condition is the more sad in that Discipline which tends so much to the wel-being of the Church can so hardly be attained amongst us Thus I have given you my judgement and apprehensions in this point Now in the next place Because these Gentlemen have commended a way of Discipline to the godly I shall crave leave a little to examine it whether it be such a one as godly men may safely receive and use as the discipline of Jesus Christ and not rather reject it as having nothing of Christ in the rise and root of it according to holy Scripture and this I shall do very briefly because I have said so much to the point already 1. It 's well they acknowledge our parochiall congregations to be true Churches though it be but in a large sense for being such they come under the same lawes and priviledges externally which belong to true Churches in the strictest sense that is unlesse they can finde a different rule in Scripture for true Churches though not in the same degree of purity which I believe they cannot because I do not finde but Laodicea and Philadelphia as they were both true Churches so they were both under the same rule c. 2. They confesse that none but such as are already excommunicated and such as ought to be excommunicated are to be kept from the Sacrament and in this Mr. H. and they seem to be agreed pag. 27. provided say they that Mr. H. mean such as of right ought to be excommunicated by the Church For his meaning they may be sure he doth not mean that Church members should be censured without regular triall and that by a Church that is in a fit capacity to hear and judge and sentence according to divine rule But how will these gentlemen prove that the greater part in a parish are such as of right ought to be excommunicated and never put it to the triall whether their sinfulnesse be of that nature for which excommunication may and ought to be inflicted It is obstinacy and wilfull persisting in grosse sins after private and publick admonition that is to be punished with excommunication and how can they know that the greater part of a parish do so sin when they never admonish them either privately or publickly Sure there must be a clear conviction of their sins and all fair and amicable Christian means used to reclaim them before they can judge any in their parish excommunicable were they in a capacity thus authoritatively to deal with them which I think they are not 3. But they say This is a most generally received truth that every particular congregation hath power in it self to reforme it self according to what shall be practicable to them pag. 158. To which I shall oppose their own words pag. 7.10 Where first they say That the ignorant and profane must be withdrawn from because it is clear they cannot be regularly cast out by discipline neither is there any way how they should be rightly excommunicated for that the major part of the Church is corrupt and the same may be well supposed of most of the mixt parochiall congregations in England and will not excommunicate nor are fit to do so nor to chuse officers to do it pag. 9 10. Now is not this a strange thing they condemn Mr. Humfrey for not setting up Discipline in his Church and strongly assert That every Congregation hath power to reform it self and yet they say it is clear that the ignorant and profane cannot be regularly cast out by Discipline nor is there any way how they should be rightly excommunicated Reader Canst thou desire a better justification of Mr. Humfreys present practise in the matter of the Sacrament then these mens own words If he cannot reform in a right way must he and others undergoe reproach because they dare not exercise discipline in a wrong way as these gentlemen do There are many sober and godly Ministers that judge it better not to pretend to discipline at all then to take up that way to which some give the name when there is nothing of the nature of true discipline If we cannot exercise it aright why should any be censured for not exercising it wrong To doe evill that good may come the Apostle judges damnable so rarely it is that good ends and evill means stand together But they say Object If they cannot regularly excommunicate the ignorant and scandalous that are excommunicable then the Minister and those that are convinced of their duty to come up to a more close communion and fellowship in the Gospell must withdraw from the corrupt majority and wait for their coming in upon the same termes agreed upon by the minor part and for this they commend to us Mat. 18. 1. Answ It is very harsh to say that the ignorant in the Church are for that excommunicable they may expresse their desires to learn and use the means appointed to that end and so not be excommunicable nor to be separated from And for the scandalous they are to be tryed as was hinted before and then excommunicated if there be just cause else they shall be deprived of a speciall ordinance of the Church intended as the last remedy to convert the obstinate sinner from his evill waies And as
it is a means of conversion as these Gentlemen do confess the Magistrate may constrain all in the Church to come under it and submit to it They say Iesus Christ should rule by the Word of his mouth and not by the Magistrates compelling edicts and yet they say That in bringing all to converting ordinances they humbly conceive the Magistrate is to put forth his power pag. 176. And then will it not hence follow that as discipline is a means of conversion the Magistrate is to put forth his power for the bringing of all under it Yea doubtlesse and to assist the Church in the setling exercise and execution of it And to withdraw without a judiciall proceeding neither doth nor can attain the true end but doth harden and prejudice sinners a great deal more and so makes them worse in stead of making them better The end of withdrawing according to the Scripture is to bring the persons withdrawn from to shame and repentance and is this a likely way to attain that end for a Minister and some ten or twenty of his people to withdraw from three or four hundred as in some places would be the case they all professing the true Religion Do these men think the Apostle meant such a withdrawing to bring sinners in the Church to shame The rule is in reference to a disorderly brother to bring him to shame but in our times applyed to hundreds at once by the minor part in a Church and that very unfitly too there being many in some such places that as truly fear God and live in Christian obedience beyond some of them that withdraw from them who yet had rather be reckoned among sinners then to joine with them that by schisme break the peace of the Church Besides grant that many of them should be excommunicable doth that warrant a separation when it is not in our power to do it regularly It is ten to one that those that are so zealous for separating did never deal with their offending brethren so far as they lawfully may and ought to amend them If we should deal thus in the Kingdome of this world as they do in the Kingdome of Christ there would be but a sad accompt given of many subjects therein If it were enough to say such are fellons and hangable by the Law and thereupon never bring them to triall but knock them on the head and there 's an end of them How long think you would this Common-wealth stand were such a confusion and barbarisme tolerated Suppose these Gentlemen in Glocestershire are run into a dangerous way of schisme in the Church through error and mistake would they be content without any ordinary means used to convince them of their error or warning and admonishing them to retract to be forthwith sentenced by a Bench of Elders as schismaticall persons and upon that accompt suspended from their Ministry I think they would not And yet by what they appear by their Book to be I think they are scarce qualified as Bishops ought to be that undertake the rule of Christs Flock and my prayer is that their uncharitable practises may not be an occasion of destroying many weak brethren for whom Christ died As for Mat. 18. it comes now to be examined that we may see how it is appliable to these new found models of Discipline hinted at by these men in the preamble of their Book And it is most clear and certain that the main scope of our Saviour is to teach us these two things in generall First That the meanest person coming to Christ and professing faith in him is not to be despised Secondly That not to deal with offending brethren in the way and order by him there prescribed is to despise them And then for the way prescribed by our Saviour it ought to begin with private admonition in case of a brother offending and if that prevail for his amendment he is not to be put to publick shame but if that will not work upon him then upon sufficient proof of the fact he may and ought to be complained of to the Church and the Church may convent him before them admonish to confesse and reform his sin But if out of obstinacy he stubbornly refuse to hear the Church after first and second admonition then to be cast out not otherwise Now what is there in all this to favour or warrant these Gentlemens practise do they proceed after this manner with every offending brother in their severall parishes before they deny them Christian communion in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper If not why will they urge a rule from Jesus Christ to others which they themselves will not practise Would they have others do that themselves neither will nor can do as themselves confesse where the greater part is corrupt And this being the case of most Parishes in England how shall we take up an establishment of discipline from this place Why they tell us by withdrawing from the major part of the Church But then it will be demanded whether this Scripture do warrant any such practise and it must needs be granted it doth not Thus you may see how sutable these new models are to those Scriptures alledged by themselves for proof thereof But to proceed a little further concerning this Scripture Mat. 18. The greatest difficulty as I conceive lies in the word Church when our Saviour bids tell the Church I shall give my thoughts concerning that also and leave them to the intelligent reader to consider 1. I conceive our Saviours rules here given in this case respected the present state of the Jewes Church as well as the Christian Churches in after times and was practicable in that present state of the Jewes Church 2. According to the same rules and order his Disciples and their followers should act in after ages as vers 18. doth plainly shew Concerning the former of these as the rule given by our Saviour respected the present state of the Jewes and was practicable in that Church we are to inquire whether the complaint were to be made to the whole Church consisting of rulers and ruled assembled together in holy worship or to the Rulers and Officers of the Church only assembled in a Court of Judicature for the hearing of complaints and trying of offenders and punishing evill manners To this I answer That to one it seems very probable that Church here is to be taken in the latter sense because the common people among the Jewes never had any such authority in that Church as to judge of manners and censure according to the rule given by our Saviour in this Scripture But it is clear that they had a Councell of Elders called the Sanhedrin Mat. 5.22 that judged of manners and punished such as reviled their brother intimated in these words He that shall say to his Brother Racha shall be in danger of the Councell or Sanhedrin The Pharisees and chief Priests were chief in that Councell or
of true discipline is practised in the Church of England and in what an incapacity we are for the present of any true reformation whatever some pretend But the sixt and last I intend more especially to clear up in vindication of Mr. H. And take it thus Excommunication is a delivering to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. It 's a great thunder-bolt punishment inflicted by the Church as the last remedy to reduce the obstinate from the way of perishing Calvin saith As Christ is in the Church so Satan is out of the Church to which condition the excommunicated are sentenced but with a mercifull end to reduce them to Christian obedience where God gives the blessing Otherwise it is the very beginning of hell and eternall wrath when the sentence is just it being confirmed in heaven Put out from among you that wicked person 1 Cor. 5.13 He must be put out from among themselves and so out of all communion The same word seems to be Joh. 9.22 and 12.42 where it is said of some that they durst not confesse Christ for fear of the Jews for they had a greed that if any did confesse him they should be put out of the Synagogue So that if the Apostle Paul in the censure of the incestuous person have any reference to the practise of the Jewes as the Doctor seems to hint why then doubtlesse he was put out of the Churches assemblies For it is most certain the Synagogues were places of case where the Jewes publiquely assembled for divine worship of prayer reading preaching c. Act. 13 14 15 16. So that I say if Paul followed the practise of the Jewes or meant that the Corinthians should proceed according to their practise in this then his meaning was that they should put out that wicked person from their assemblies for communion and worship I professe I cannot but wonder the Doctor should be so tart with Mr. Humphrey in this thing he having the very letter of the Text and the practise of the Jewes Church to warrant what he hath asserted in this point For let me aske the reverend Doctor how he or any other of his opinion will reconcile that delivering to Satan out of the Church and allowing their presence in the congregation in all acts of worship and spirituall communion except actuall receiving of the Sacrament of the Supper To put out that wicked person from among themselves and at the same time to allow him presence among themselves and to have communion with them in all acts of worship except the Supper are altogether inconsistent Neither doth that any thing at all help which the Doctor so often urges in his book Let him be as a Heathen or publican But Heathens and publicans may be present at all the ordinances 1 Cor. 14.24 And therefore the excommunicate may because they are not to be unto the Church worse then a Heathen c. For to this I have many words to say which I think will answer the argument 1. It will appear that scandalous brethren are in some respect worse then infidels If any provide not for his own specially for those of his own house he hath denyed the faith and is worse then an infidell 1 Tim. 5.8 And it had been better for revolting Christians never to have known the way of righteousnesse 2 Pet. 2.21 And there was not such a thing so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his fathers wife 1 Cor. 5.1 And when scandalous brethren are worse then Heathens in sinning under such means of better obedience that Heathens have not there is reason they should be denied something of priviledge that Heathens may have 2. It 's clear that scandalous brethren are to be denied that priviledge in civill commerce and familiarity that Heathens are allowed to have with Christians and Christians with them 1 Cor. 5.9 10 11. 2 Thess 3.14 1 Cor. 10.27 compared Liberty is given to Christians to have civill and friendly familiarity with infidels and fornicators of the world which yet is absolutely to be denyed to scandalous and disorderly brethren as a means to bring them to shame And if scandalous brethren under triall or actuall censure are to be debarred of some priviledge that heathens are allowed it will somewhat weaken the strength of the Doctors argument 3. The Apostles had direct and expresse commission after Christs ascension to preach unto the Heathen and therefore had warrant to admit of their voluntary presence to hear in any place where opportunity might give the advantage of converting them But yet upon their rejecting the Gospel when it was faithfully tendred to them the Apostles might shake off the dust of their feet against them and leave them deeper under wrath The unbeleeving Jewes were within the commission too but when they rejected the words of eternall life and abused the messengers of Christ that preached this to them it 's said they judged themselves unworthy of eternall life and upon that account the Apostles forsake them Most terrible things are written against the disobedient to the Gospell And I am sure Christians that reject the Lawes of Christ as the excommunicated are supposed to do are worse then Infidels that never had the means of knowing and doing what Christ commands As in respect of sin and eternall punishment those that live under the Gospell but refuse to submit to it may be said to be worse then Heathens so why not in point of externall Church priviledge likewise they having forfeited all those priviledges of word prayer Sacraments ingaging all powerfull means of their reformation which heathens never had the advantage of And it is supposed that Christ is rejected in all the ordinary means appointed to reclaim the scandalous and obstinate in the Church before this sentence of excommunication is pronounced and put in execution against them And just it is that they that obstinately reject all should be banished from all that they may either return to their duty by repentance and thereby give satisfaction to the Church and be again received into communion or else adde to obstinacy apostasie also be rejected for ever that the Name of God be not evill spoken of because of such scandalous members 4. Let him be to thee as a Heathen or Publican that is let the excommunicated be as odious and as abominable to thee as a Publican or Roman officer sitting at the receit of custome was to the Jewes or as a Heathen was to the Jewes during the present state of the Jewish Church with respect to which Christ speaks when the uncircumcised were an abomination to the Jewes they being forbidden to let any stranger or uncircūcised in the flesh come into Gods Sanctuary or partake of any priviledge of worship but upon being a Proselyte And let the excommunicated be as such a one and then what hath the Doctor and his party gotten Touching the