that account is never in the least insinuated this therefore Principles of love p 44. saith Mr. Baxter to his dissenting Brethren you may observe that no one Member is in these Scriptures or any other commanded to come out and separate from any one of all these Churches as if Communion with them in Worship were unlawful and therefore before you separate from any as judging Communion with them unlawful be sure that you bring greater reasons for it than any of these recited were And to confirm this Answer it deserves to be considered that we find in the New Testament express injunctions directed to the whole body of the Christian Churches requiring them to refuse Communion in their private conversations with such persons or to renounce familiarity with them not to company with them 1 Cor. 5.9 Not to eat with them v. 11. To mark them who cause divisions and scandals contrary to the Doctrine which they had received and avoid them Rom. 16.17 To withdraw from every Brother that walks disorderly Thess 2.3 6. To have no company with them that they may be ashamed v. 14. We also find the Angels or Officers of the Church oft blamed for this neglect by Christ and his Apostles as in the case of the Incestuous Person the case of Pergamos and Thyatira where they were suffered who taught the Doctrins of the Nicolaitans of Balaam and of Jezebel that is both spiritual and carnal fornication This I have against thee O Thyatira that thou permittest Jezebel Vid. Synops in locum quod eam non coerces censuris Ecclesiae that thou doest not execute the censures of the Church upon her this against thee O Pergamos that thou hast those who teach the Doctrine of Balaam whereas thou being the Angel of the Church shouldst have fought against them with the Spiritual Sword as did the Angel who resisted Balaam because his way Numb 22.22 23. Hebr. 12.15 was perverse before God We find them call'd upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to execute the Office of a Bishop by looking diligently that no such persons be among them and warned of the great danger that the Whole lump might be exposed to by such Soure Leaven We lasty find our Saviour praising the Angel of the Church of Ephesus that he could not bear them but never do we find our Lord or his Apostles calling the People to come out from them or to be separate but only in such cases as did oblige them to touch the unclean thing 2 Cor. 6.17 that is to joyn in their Idolatries or partake with them in their Sins From which Considerations Rev. 18.4 it follows as Estius well notes that the Governors of the Church which tolerate Such Persons in the Church offend and that the People who use familiar converse with them do likewise offend but it by no means follows that they who do perform the publick duties of Religion where they are present do offend and as the Reverend and Learned Dr. Unreas of Sep. p. 217. Stillingfleet well notes There be many Reasons to break off private familiarity which will not hold as to Publick Communion and which may render it the Christians duty to do the first and not the latter For our Communion in Publick is a thing which Chiefly Respects God and is a necessary duty of his own appointing the benefit whereof depends upon his promises and all the Communion we have with other men therein is only that of Christ and his Apostles with Judas at the Paschal Supper joyning together for the performance of a Common Religious duty But private familiarity is a thing which wholly respects the persons we converse with it is a thing of meer choice and of much danger it being hardly to be imagined without approbation at least if not imitation of their wickedness And to this the concurrent judgment of the Old Nonconformists who did not think this want of Discipline sufficient cause of separation from Communion with us for having laid this as a foundation that no man ought to separate from a true Church requiring nothing sinful of him Grav confut p. 18. in order to Communion with them they add that altho it were Granted that we wanted both the exercise of the Churches Censures and some of those Officers which Christ hath appointed to exercise them by yet might we be a true Church notwithstanding as there was a true Church in Judah all the days of Asa and Jehosaphat yet was not the Discipline reformed there till the latter end of Jehosaphats Reign The Church of Corinth was a true Church even when the Apostle blamed them for want of Discipline the Congregation of Samaria is called a Church before the Discipline was established there and even in Jerusalem there was a famous visible Church of Christ long before Sundry parts of the Discipline for want whereof they condemn us were established there yea it is evident that by the Apostles themselves divers Churches were Gathered some Good space of time before the Discipline was setled or exercised by all which it is manifest that howsoever those parts of the Discipline which we want be necessary to the beauty and well being and perservation of the Church yet are they not necessary to the being thereof but a true Church may be without them 2ly They add Ibid. p. 51.52 That it doth not belong to private persons to set up the Discipline of the Church against the will and consent of the Christian Magistrate and Governors of the Church yea they declare that in so doing they should highly offend they are bound saith Giffard P. 59 95 100 101 102. by the bands of Conscience and the fear of God from presuming to take upon them publick Authority And if so it is evident that they cannot chuse Pastors for themselves and set up other Churches and Church Governors to exercise the Churches Discipline because they do conceive it is neglected by the Christian Magistrate and other Governors of the Church Yea lastly let me ask our dissenting Brethren if on account of this supposed neglect of Discipline they think themselves obliged to desert Communion with the Church of England whether will they go The Church of Rome they know besides her other errors is more Guilty of this crime than we men may be any thing in their Communion provided that they be not Hereticks and still be owned as Genuine Members of their Church The rest of the Reformed Churches are as loose as we their Members Generally are as corrupt in manners as ours are the same may be affirmed of the Eastern Churches they therfore must acknowledge that they cannot lawfully maintain Communion with any other Church on this account and that there always was even since the reformation a necessity of separation from all Christian Churches in the world for this neglect of Discipline or that they notwithstanding this supposed neglect may hold Communion with the Church of England now have
Gibbet set up to mind us of the Punishment of evil doers and every person executed on them must be Sacraments they being objects proper to Minister occasion to our minds to reflect upon the shame and punishment of such offences as bring Men to the Gibbet then all Gods judgments upon wicked Persons and all the mercies he vouchsafes unto his Servants as Testimonies of his kindness to them and the examples of all Pious Men must be accounted Sacraments they being all designed to teach our understanding or excite devotion in us and it will be as much unlawful when I wash my hands to reflect upon my obligation to purity of heart and life or when I tast the sweetness of my food or think upon my care and labour to procure it to reflect upon the sweetness of the bread of life and how much more I am concern'd to labour after it as to use the imposed Ceremonies as the occasions of devout conceptions And lastly then to smite upon my Breast to excite Godly sorrow to Pray prostrate to encrease or to express my humility or perform any other actions of like Nature must be to add unto the Sacraments of Christs appointment And whereas the objection adds that no reason can be given why the representation of some Spiritual Duty by a Mystical Rite should not as properly pertain to the Nature of a Sacrament as the shadowing or sealing some Spiritual promise I Answer the disparity is very plain for these Rites falsly stiled Mystical may of themselves be apt to express or put me in mind of my Duty but cannot of themselves be apt without Gods pleasure signified to seal his promise or to assure me of his grace I can by meditation or by reflection upon the meanest object move my self to the performance of my Duty but cannot by the like reflections move the Author of every good and perfect gift to give me what he never promised or seal unto me any Spiritual blessing § 9 Lastly If we may take an estimate of Sacraments from those recorded in the Old or the New Testament we shall find many things required to Sacraments which are all wanting in our Ceremonies supposing that they were injoyned to these very ends For 1. A Sacramental sign of Duty obliges us to the performance of the Duty signified the Sacrament of the Lords Supper to thankfulness for the blessings represented by the Elements and to walk as becomes the Members of Christ's Body whereas a Ceremony tho apt to signifie doth not oblige us to the performance of the Duty signified nor do I sin against God provided I live holily and purely tho the consideration of a Surplice do never move me so to do or be by me improved to that end 2ly All Sacraments import a Covenant established betwixt God and Man a Stipulation on each part and by partaking of them we either enter into or else renew our Covenant with God and make profession that we are in Covenant with him And by just consequence a Sacrament is Sacrae rei signum in quantum est significans a sacred sign which sanctifies and separates the receiver from others who do not receive or own such Rites thus by the Sacraments of Circumcision and the Passover the Jews were made a separate People from all other Nations and the neglect of either of these ordinances was Cutting off from Gods People because this was a breaking of Gods Covenant Numb 9.13 Gen. 17.14 likewise we Christians are by Baptism received into Covenant with God by eating at Gods Table we make profession of our adherence to that Covenant and also by participating in the Blood of the New Covenant and to exclude a Person from the Sacrament of the Lords Supper is to exclude him from the Communion of the Body of Christ 3ly All Sacraments contain a promise on the part of God and Stipulation on the part of Man and upon this account they do not only mind us of our Duty but also lay upon us fresh obligations to perform it and also they oblige our God to give us grace sufficient to perform that Duty to which he doth oblige us by these Sacraments Now there is nothing of all this in our three Ceremonies we do not by them enter into Covenant with God nor are we by them Sanctified or Separated from other Christians who use them not nor doth God by them promise any Blessings to us nor do we oblige our Souls to any Duties towards him nor do we enter into any Stipulations with him or he with us they who do most do only take occasion from them to reflect upon their Duty as Men of Phancy and Devout affections may do from any other thing which doth occasionally present it self unto their minds And whereas it is more particularly excepted against the sign of the Cross that as it is imposed it hath the Nature of a Sacrament from this discourse we may return an easie Answer to the objections made against it as v. g. § 10 Here is saith Mr. Baxter the outward visible sign the Cross Diâ—p 5. of Cer. chap. 2. §. 56. Answ Just such another as is made in the Air by Preaching we may see the Minister making a Cross but who ever saw an Aerial Cross after it was made 2ly The inward and Spiritual Grace saith he is a Holy resolution to fight Manfully under the banner of Christ and to persevere therein Answ An Holy resolution in an Infant is a Spiritual grace indeed Here is saith he 1st A signification of grace to be wrought on the Soul and given us by God 2ly An engagement to perform the Duties of the Covenant our selves on Gods part we are to receive by this sign both qualitative and actual grace and relative grace Answ All this is said without all ground from any thing delivered by the Church of England it is no sign assuring us of Gods grace as all true Sacraments are 't is no engaging sign either on Gods part or on ours but only an Indicatory sign to the Congregation that the Baptized Person is listed among those who are to fight under Christ's Banner The Cross saith he is to Teach our Understandings and help our Memories and quickâ—n our dull Affections by minding us of a Crucified Christ and the benefits of his Cross so that this § 57 and such other Ceremonies are appointed to Teach the understanding by their Signification Answ The Book of Common Prayer saith not they are appointed to teach but only that the things appointed are apt to stir up the dull mind the difference of which two Phrases I have shew'd already And that this saith he § 58 is the way of working grace as Gods word and Sacraments do is undeniable Answ We are discoursing here not of Gods Word but of his Sacraments and that they only work grace Morally and as things apt to stir up the dull mind of Man and by objective Teaching is a false assertion which renders the
they not just reason to suspect that opinion which will force them to deny Communion with all the Churches of the world besides themselves and that not on the score of any Idolatrous Worship exercised by them or of any false doctrine required to be assented to as the condition of Communion but barely on the account of some supposed defect as to her Discipline 2ly Have they not reason to suspect the truth of that opinion which will render Union and Communion with any of the Reformed Churches beyond the Seas a thing unlawful and as things do now stand impossible For as the Reverend and Learned Dr. Vnreas of separ p. 190 191. Still doth put the Question Do we want Discipline And do not they in other Churches abroad The Transylvanian Divines in their discourse of the Union of Protestant Churches declared that little or none was observed among them Irenic Tract p. 55. will they then separate from all Protestant Churches Will they shut them out from any possibility of Union with them For what union can be justifyable with those whose terms of Communion are unlawful since Union supposeth such a Communion of Churches that the Members of one may Communicate in another or if they notwithstanding this defect can hold Communion with them will they be so unjust as not to allow the same favor and kindness to their own Church 3ly Have they not reason to suspect that doctrin which is so like to some of the old Heresies or Schisms exploded by the Church of Christ that 't is not easie to perceive a difference betwixt the principles of our Dissenters and those which moved those condemned Schismaticks to separate from the Communion of the Church Vide Petav. ad Haer. 59. Novat p. 226. 227. For tho I cannot exactly Parallel them with the Novatians who did not properly desert the Church because she did not exercise the power of the Keys upon Offenders but because she afterwards admitted them upon Repentance and so they did not separate on the pretence of the defect of Discipline but on pretence that the Church exercised a part of Discipline which did not properly belong unto her Meletiani nolentes orare cum conversis Schisma fecerunt Aug. de Haer. c. 48. Epiph Haer. 68. §. 2. Luciferiani poenitentiam clerici post ordinem in Ecclesia gradum acceptum lapsis denegant Dan. in Haer. 81. p. 2â—9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb Eccles Hist l. 6. c. 45. nor yet with the Meletians and Luciferians who did not separate from the Church because Offenders were not censured by her but because after Censures executed the lapsed Clerks were readmitted to their Stations in the Church and who with the Novatians did without cause pretend corruption in the Churches Discipline whereas I fear there may be too much cause to Charge our Churches with defect of Discipline yet will not these disparities excuse them wholly from Communion with them in their Schism For 1. 't is certain that the Novatians did separate out of zeal for the purity of Ecclesiastical Discipline and yet Dionysius of Alexandria tells the Author of that Schism that he had better have suffered any thing than thus to have made a rent in the Church and therefore he had better suffered a defect in the Purity of Discipline now this comes home unto the case of our Dissenters 2ly The Meletians would not pray with the lapsed after their renovation by repentance therefore separated from that Church which did so they therefore must divide upon presumption that the Church was polluted by Communion with them and that her Discipline required their separation Com. in August de Her p. 161. Epiph. Haer. 68. §. 3. and therefore as Danaeus notes from Epiphanius this Schism spread it self among the Monks Praetextu severioris cujusdam in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Disciplinae zeli in Deum Majoris under pretence of zeal for God and severity of Discipline against those who denyed him Com. in August Haer. 50 p. 169. Epiph. Haer. 70. §. 1. p. 812. contr Epist par l. 2. c. 10.21 3ly As for the Audians since as Danaeus saith from Epiphanius propter hominum vitia caetum Orthodoxae Ecclesiae deserebant they left the Church for the vices of those that were in it as for the Donatists since among others this was their peculiar tenet that no wicked person was to be tolerated in the Church no tares continued with the wheat and that those Churches were not to be communicated with which did not cast them out because they were defiled by Communion with them as appears fully by St. Austins disputations against the Donatists and more especially by his three Books against Parmenianus the Donatist I see not how our Brethren will be able to Escape their condemnation That altho excommunication be the Duty of Church Officers Prop. 7. and they are by the Author to the Hebrews strictly required 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to look diligently that none among them fail of the Grace of God Hebr. 12.15 16 that there bo no root of bitterness springing up among them by which many may be defiled that there be among them no Fornicator or profane person yet is not this a duty necessary to be exercised at all times on all Offenders in all Conjunctures but only when it is likely to do more Good than hurt and therefore is the exercise of the power which the Lord hath given them for edification and not for destruction For all Agree that Affirmative duties do not bind ad semper for tho that which is evil must never be done yet that which generally considered is good may sometimes be omitted especially when it is only Matter of Discipline and when the danger of exercising of it is greater than the hope of doing good thereby Upon the equity of which case it is determined by the Canon Law that a Kingdom a Corporation a Community or Body Politick ought not to be excommunicated nor in the whole New Testament do we find any Rules or Precepts for the Excommunication of such multitudes Now the harm our Church might suffer by the strict exercise of these her Censures in this age of General looseness upon all Offenders even those of highest Rank and quality among us is threefold 1. That hereby they may be exasperated against the Government and Office which inflicts these Censures and be induced to use their power to undermine and overthrow it and to set up her enemies upon the Ruins of it 2ly That they may some of them be tempted to fly off from her government to one of the two potent factions now among us and so may strengthen them and weaken us Or 3ly That being Sceptically or Atheistically inclined as practically we are sure the wicked of our Nation are and have great cause to fear too many of them are in speculation also they would but rally on the execution of these censures and we