under a duty and Obligation which he is bound to before God and the Congregation also to discharge himself in Namely all the Duties pertaining to a Member of that Particular Congregation or Paroch to which he comes Although he Swear not such an Oath We say Secondly he may also Swear to do these Duties But Thirdly To bind this on all the Consciences of the Members of the Church to take such an Oath so as if they take it not They are not Church Members We say It is Will Worship not commanded by God either by Practice or Precept in Old or New Testament We might easily prove that Jesus Christ never took This way to gather a Visible Church But the main difference is the Fourth and that is Concerning those who are to be kept or received Members of the Church Visible Or who they are that have right to these Outward Priviledges we spoke of That which they hold in this Point is That they would have all Visible Churches disolved and then Churches gathered out of these wherein none are to be received or admitted to partake of Church Priviledges so as to be under the care of Ministers Admitted to the Sacraments c. but those who have evident positive signes of Grace and these not only evident to the Minister and a few moe but to all the Members of the Congregation so that every one in the Congregation must be convinced so far as men can attain unto that he hath Grace or else he is no Member of the Visible Church by which Rule they model Congregations But there was never a Congregation since Christ was on the earth so constitute except Their Own For according to this Rule they will cast out the Two Part and of some Congregations leave Ten Parts and take but the Eleventh leaving all the rest as Pagans without Baptising their Children or admitting themselves to any Church Priviledge This is what They hold As for the Judgment of our Church and that which is according to the Word take those Assertions First We hold that every man indeed that is a Member of the Visible Church ought to have Grace so that he sins against God and his own Soul if he have it not And all the priviledges he enjoyes will do him no good without it We say in this respect all the Members of the Church ought to have Grace But to say That they so ought to have Grace that none of them must be admitted to be a Member of the Church Visible without it This we deny It is ill reasoning from unanswerableness to an obligation to a forfaulture of Priviledges For every man that is a Magistrate ought to have Grace so as he sins against God if he have it not yet a man may be a lawful Magistrate and have the Priviledges of a Magistrate although he have not Grace Secondly We do willingly grant that in the Constitution of our Church and admitting of People to the Lords Table Our Practice comes far short of the Rule There is not that care taken to purge out scandalous persons as should be Our practice is indeed short of the Rule But Our Rule which we shall hold out as we shall prove is Good To know then what is the Rule according to which we should admit men to be Members of the Church First There are some who are admitted to some Priviledges only and not to all as to Baptism And these are Members of the Church Incompleatly They are Members but not so fully And those are Infants that are born within the Church Visible They are Members although not to be admitted to the Lords Supper Now betwixt Us and the Separatists herein to wit whether Infants should be Baptized there is no difference Secondly There are some who are admitted to all Priviledges of the Visible Church And those are Members Compleatly and fully And concerning those the dispute is Who are those that ought to be admitted to all the common Priviledges of the Visible Church They mantain as we heard that none should be admitted but those that can give evident Signs of Grace to the satisfaction of the Consciences of all within the Church We hold First that if it be known that Men be Baptized And Secondly If they be free of Scandal And Thirdly If they submit themselves to the Doctrine of the Gospel and have some competent knowledge of the Grounds of the Christian Religion If these things I say be in a man We hold that he is to be received although he cannot give evident signes of the reality of the Grace of God in him to All. And this is the Controversie II. Now we come to prove that which we hold by Arguments The first is John the Baptist did not follow this Rule of Theirs in receiving Members to the Church and therefore it is not the right Rule That John the Baptist did not follow this Rule will appear if we consider Luke 3. Wherein consider Who it was whom John Baptized v 21. Now when all the People were Baptized c. It was all the People Consider Secondly What he requires of this People before he Baptize them We shall find in the preceeding words that he seeks no more than that they would be convinced that they were wrong before And Secondly Profess an earnest desire to amend So we find in v 10. And the People asked him saying what shall we do And the publicans in the 12. v do the same who yet were but Course Men. And in the 14 v The souldiers likewise demanded of him saying what shall we do Now these Questions import this much That they were convinced they were wrong and professed at least a desire to become better And accordingly John instructs them thus and thus ye shall do And without more ado in v 21. He Baptizes them Now it is not possible that John could have got positive signes from every one of them to convince him that they had real Grace Far less That every one of the multitude could have been perswaded in Conscience of the reality of Grace in each other And therefore the Rule of admiting men to be Members of the Visible Church cannot be this That every one to be admitted should have evident signes of Grace satisfactory to the Consciences of all John sought not this of those whom he received It 's true he fals very sharply on the Scribes Matth. 3 v 7 O generations of vipers who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come But it is as true when he hath rebuked them as ill as they were before seing now they professed a desire to amend he Baptizes them in v 11. I indeed Baptise you with water c The same You whom he spoke to in v. 7. As is clear from the Connexion of every Verse If it be Objected that they were not received to be Members of the Church although they were Baptized We shall once for all clear that Baptism sealeth up a mans
somewhat against thee because thou hast left thy first love Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and and do the first works or else I will come vnto thee quickly and will remove thy Candelstick out of his place c. From whence They argue thus None are to be admitted to the Church who will ruin the Church But all those who cannot convincingly prove their Regeneration will ruin the Church Therefore they ought not to be admitted We Answer That the last part of their Argument is false For there are many Gracious Persons keeping their first love who yet can neither satisfy themselves nor others in the Truth of their Regeneration and that will not ruin the Church Secondly We Answer To the first part of their Argument where they say that every one who hath not real Grace will ruin the Church It is not universally true for then there should be no Hypocrites in the Church at all neither known nor unknown for Hypocrites can do no other thing but that which is tending to the ruin of the Church Now themselves will not say That all Hypocrites are debarred For they admit some such and Scripture saith the contrair in the admission of Annanias and Saphira And so some must be admitted who If God look not more to his own mercy than to their meâ—â—t and more to the respect he hath to others than to them can do nothing but ruin the Church Obj. V. Their last Objection is taken from 2 Tim 3. 5. Having a forme of Goâ—liness but denying the power thereof from such turn away Therefore none are to be admitted but those who can give satisfactory signes of their Regeneration For Answer It is a gross mistake For if we look to the place Those who have only a forme of Godliness he tells what they are High-minded c. v 4. And in the 6 v Subtile Hereticks who lead away the simple Now we say none such ought to be admitted for those are Scandalous But what they say doth not follow For many cannot give satisfactory Signes of their Regeneration who yet are not Gross Livers nor Scandalous nor seduceing Hereticks And so not of the number of those from whom Paul bids Turn away And thus we have Answered the strongest of their Objections IV. Use. I. This Doctrine being thus cleared ye ought not to look on what our Opposites hold in this Point as a matter of small moment neither ought ye to suffer your selves to be deceived with the pretence of strictness with which they cover it It is a Doctrine that hath fearful Consequences For by this the third part of the best Churches that ever were shall be put in no better case than Pagans themselves to live without all ordinances their Children without Baptism And this will hold off many who have true Grace for how many are there even of those who cannot give convincing signs of Grace either to themselves or others By this Rule mens Consciences shall still be held in an Uncertainty whether they may stay members of such a Church or not because they can hardly be satisfied whether all in it have convincing signs of Grace or not Now the Judgment of our Opposits is that if the Rule be not keeped Conscientiously Christians ought to Separate By this Rule an insupportable Burthen is put on Christians not only to examine themselves but also the inward state of others By this Rule all the Churches that ever were in the dayes of the Prophets Christs Apostles or in the Primitive Times have been in the mist all living and dying without the Visible Church and so without Baptism and so as Pagans As also this shew of strictness beyond whatever God hath commanded doth ever end in looseness as appears by the Separatists present practise for what ever they speak against the looseness of other Churches that we are but a mixture of Drunkards and loose prophane Livers yet there is as great looseness in their own Churches as in any other for they make no scruple to admit Hereticks Covetous Vain Proud Boasters almost of all sorts if so be they agree with them in Principles against Presbyterians This Rule puts men in an overweening conceit of themselves others are nothing to them all are unclean or at best but civil natural moral Men but they are the Godly Saints and what not Now that Doctrine which in its natural Consequence puts People to overvalue themseves and undervalue others is certainly not of God This rule of theirs makes way for infinite Janglings and carrying on of self interests under pretence of Holiness for when the Rule is That which every particular man thinks Signs of Grace Such is the Corruption of the best that it will not be applyed to all alike To some they will be too strict to others more lax as affection caries Untill at last they think all good enough who are for Their Way And all others but Natural Worldly and Carnal who are not so I may say that this hath been one of the most unhappy Doctrines that ever the Devil hatched For it is that whereby Sathan hath carried on his design mainly these years by past Many such Deceivers crying up strictness whereby they have made themselves to be respected by some and terrible to others while under this pretence they have born down Christ Truth and Holiness I speak not this to countenance Looseness nor to give a dash to holy Strictness It is our sin and we are plagued for it that we have not walked according to our Rule Yet I love no further Strictness than what Christ Commands Let us stretch out our Arms to invite sinners to give Outward Obedience and then when they are in let us Hew them with the Word and Discipline This was Christs way And his Apostles way as we have proved So when Separatists say to you That there are such sinful mixtures in your Churches that an honest man is polluted to come among them And so it is better to stay in your Chambers with a few of a gracious temper and let the rest run to the Devil Tell them Christ and his Apostles made no such separation And ye desire to be no stricter than They were Only this is not to plead for our coming short of Christs Rule in our practise That Scandals are too easily past That so many Ignorants are admitted to the Lords Table is our sin and so not to be pleaded for This for the first Head of Separation Head II. No Separation from a True Church or Gods worship in the Church because of the sins of Fellow-worshipers WE are now to speak of the Second Head Concerning Separation from true Churches and the true worship of God in them because of the sins of Fellow-worshipers I. That which our Adversaries hold concerning this is That the presence of wicked men at Ordinances do defile the Ordinances to the Godly Therefore say they where ever there is any corruption in a Church
Church-member then every church-Church-member is bound in Conscience to attend all Church Judicatories to wait on the deciding of all Ecclesiastical questions But what inevitable confusion would follow on this How long time would it take to inform People about the Circumstances of things How tedious would it be to hear every mans judgment to the point And what distractions would it be to Peoples Callings This certainly would bring great confusion And so such a Power as this cannot be from God who is the God of Order These are now the Arguments for the Truth III. In the next place we shall answer their Arguments brought against the Truth The first they use is grounded on Coloss. 4. 17. A command There is given to the Body of Believers in reference to the Minister Say to Archippus Take heed to the Ministry which thou hast received in the Lord. From this they infer That People have Power to Censure their Minister And so have Church Authority We answer They make much of this Argument and yet it is little worth For they build their Power to Censure upon this that they have Power to Say A poor reason So Matth. 18. 17. Say to the Church or tell the Church It is the same word that is here used But to infer from this that one man had Authority over the Church were very ridiculous Surely if he had commanded a judicial act of Authority he would have said Command and Charge Archippus with all Authority as in the like case he speaks to Timothy But as we shew in the state of the question private Christians have Power to exhort and admonish one another yea their Pastors But this doth not import any Power of Church-Government over others else women who are not permitted to speak in the Church should have Power of Church-Government to make Church Canons Censure and Ordain their Ministers For they are bound to exhort and admonish as occasion offers Obj. 2. A second Argument they bring from Act. 11. 1. When Peter comes up to Jerusalem verse 3. the people Challenge him saying Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised and didst eat with them and verse 4 He begins to clear himself to them and rehearsed the matter from the beginning c. And from this they reason thus That the Church hath Power to call Peter to an account And therefore they have Power to Censure for Scandals It s answered first Besides the People there were Apostles and Brethren There verse 1. Secondly We answer It doth not follow because Peter purgeth himself of a Scandal unjustly laid upon him That therefore they had Power to Censure him For every Christian is bound to clear himself to another Christian of that which he is stumbled within his carriage yet one private Christian hath not Church Power over another to Censure So Peter was bound to clear himself before any one of them and if he had done wrong to take with it but that That one could not be a Church Judicatory having Power to inflict Censure on Peter our Opposits themselves will grant Obj. 3. A Third Argument they bring against the Truth is from Revel 2. 14. I have a few things against thee because thou hast there them that hold the Doctrine of Balaam The Spirit of God here is wriâ—ing to the Church of Pergamus And after he hath commended them for their Doctrine he reproves them for not exercising Discipline against these Hereticks to wit Balaam Iesabel and the Nicolattans Now from this they argue The whole Church is reproved here for not executing Discipline against these Hereticks and therefore they had power to do it Otherwise they would not have been reproved for the neglect of it But that all were reproved they prove from vers 13. and its connection with the 14. say they these who are commended in the 13. are rebuked in the 14 verse I know thy Works and where thou dwellest even where Sathan's seat is c. But so it is that not only the Ministers and Elders but all the People dwelt where Sathan's Seat was Therefore they all are reproved Answer It followeth well that they are all reproved for one fault But not that they were accessory to it after one and the same way It was the Rulers part judicially to cast out these vile Hereticks It was the Peoples part to have stirred up the Rulers to it Now because these were neglected on both hands both have their own guilt and so both reproved for their respective guilt The People are reproved for not Mourning to God for the tollerating such like abominations and their not stirring up the Rulers to take course with them But it will not follow that they were reproved for not sitting down in the Judicatory and inflicting Censures themselves That was the Rulers fault And therefore we deny that they are all rebuked for their accession to that guilt in the same way And we clear it thus Doubtless the Teachers did not teach against these vile Hereticks Now there were Women there and yet surely they are not rebuked for not Preaching against them for They ought to be silent in the Church So their fault as of all other Church Members was of another kind to wit Their not Mourning nor stirring up the Officers And so it followes that it was their Duty to Mourn stir others up to their Duty which we grant But not to exercise the Power themselves for that is not the thing they are reproved for Obj. 4. The Fourth Objection is grounded on Mat 18 17 If he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the Church but if he neglect to hear the Church let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a Publican Whence say they the power of Church Censure is in the hand of the Church but so it is Church Officers are never called the Church Neither can they be so called without the Body of the People Therefore the power of the Church Censures is in the hand of the Body of the People Wee Answer This Argument will make more against them than us and that because they grant that neither Women nor Children have hand in Church Government but only professing Men Now they shall get no place in Scripture wherein the name of the Church is given to the Body of the Men Assembled without Women and Children Secondly We grant that the name of the Church is very sparingly given to Officers without the People Yet we say 1. 't is given them in some places As for Example Acts 18. 22. It is said of Paul When he had landed at Caesarea and gone up and saluted the Church c. Now by the Church here certainly cannot be meaned the body of professâ—rs which did amount to many thousands of People as shall appear from Acts 21. 20. In its own time So by the Church must be meaned the Chief men and Rulers of the Church For Paul having so short time to stay he seeing them but at the by could
There is an Union in Judgement when there is no considerable Difference among the Members of the Church in the matter of Opinion When all Think the same thing And this is here pressed Be prefectly joined in one Judgement 2. There is an Union in Heart and Affections spoken of Act. 4. 32. The multitude of them that believed were of one Heart and of one Soul And this Union is also here pressed Be perfectly join'd together in the same Mind or in Love and Affection as we shew'd in the opening up of the Words 3. There is an Union in Practice and that is when whatever Difference there is in Judgement yet it 's not openly proclaim'd Publick Contradictions and Eristick Debates are eschewed and an unanimous joint practice in these things wherein there is Agreement is followed And this Union is also pressed in the Text I beseech you that ye all speak the same thing So it 's clear the Text means all these three sorts of Union the Doctrine intends them All and as might be made evident other Scriptures press them All. Only this we would know the Order wherein they are pressed to wit So as every Breach in the Former is not to make a Breach in the Latter Every Difference in Judgement is not to make a Rent in Heart or Affection Nor tho a Rent be in both doth it infer necessarly a Divided Practice at least in these things wherein there is Agreement And for that the Scripture is clear especially Philipp 3. 15 16 where v. 15 the Apostle supposeth difference of Judgement among the Philippians as to the point he is there speaking of and subjoineth for matter of Practice v. 16. Nevertheless whereunto we have already attained let us walk by the same Rule That is to say Tho we cannot agree in all things yet let us eschew the prolaiming of Our Differences by Our contrary Practices This much for the first thing to wit What Union the Doctrine presseth It is an Union necessary to the Well-being of the Visible Church particularly an Union in Judgement an Union in Affection an Union in Practice An Union all these wayes is to be sought for and laboured after yet so as if we cannot attain to Union in the Former we are yet still to endeavour it in the Latter For Confirmation of this Truth we might cite several Scriptures 1. These wherein this Union is promised to the Church and that as a rich Covenant Blessing such as Jer. 32. 39. I will give them one Heart and one way that they may fear Me for ever The like is in Ezek. 37. 22. 2. These Scriptures wherein this Vnion is highly commended Especially Ps. 133. 1. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in Vnity and so through the whole 3. These Scriptures which hold out the Mediator's Prayer to the Father for this Union Joh. 17. 21. That they all may be one as Thou Father art in Me and I in Thee that they also may be one in Vs and so v. 23. 4. Those Scriptures where this Union is expresly enjoyned and pressed whereof there are many Such as Philipp 2. 1 2 3. If there be any consolation in Christ if any comfort of Love if any fellowship of the Spirit if any Bowels and Mercies Fulfil ye My Joy that ye be like minded having the same Love being of one accord of one mind And 2 Cor. 13. 11. Finally Brethren farewel be of one mind live in peace And lastly these Scriptures where Division contrary to Unity is condemned as Rom. 16. 17. I beseech you Brethren mark them which cause Divisions and Offences and avoid them But for further Confirmation of this Truth we shall in the next place bring foreward some Reasons concluding the equity and necessity of seeking after and entertaining of Unity in the Church which shall also serve as motives to the Duty Reason 1. Union furthers Edification So Eph. 4. 3. Union is pressed And One Fruit among many to be reaped hereby is v. 12. the edifying of the Body of Christ. And as Unity furthers Edification so Division marreth it Divisions in a Church tho about small things yet if stiffly mantain'd prove a great stumbling Block to the Weak they are put to doubt all Truths because Men gracious and learned doubt of some So Division not only marreth progress in the building but striketh at the very foundation of what is already built Reas. 2. Divisions in a Church make the Ministers contemptible Of all Men Ministers suffer most this way because usually they are most active in beginning and upholding the Division and usually even these who have Truth for them suffer much if not most this way Paul tho an Apostle and a Man for Truth yet he lost much of the former esteem he had amongst the Corinthians though once they would have pluck'd out their Eyes for him yet through the Division their Distemper grew to such an hight that he was look'd on as Contemptible rude in speech yea A Fool and what not as appears from 2 Cor 10. 10. Ch. 11. 6 16. Reas. 3. The Essential Unity of the Church and the many things wherein a Church agreeth that way should enforce this Union The Apostle Paul Eph. 4. draweth a strong Argument for Unity and Peace in the Church from this Ground The Duty is propounded v. 3. Endeavouring to keep the Vnity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace And v. 4 5 6. it is pressed by this Argument There is on Body and one Spirit One Lord one Faith one Baptism One God and Father of all Here are many Ones together in two or three lines as if he had said What a shame is it for you who are so many wayes One to rent in pieces for a thing of so small moment Reas. 4. Divisions in a Church turn away every Man's Eye from his main Task I mean from the joint opposing of Satan's main Design to be wrangling one with another It 's Satans Policy when he intends to bear down Truth in a Church to set those who should oppose him most by the Ears about smaller things that so he may carry his point with less difficulty herein making use of Matchiavils or rather his own Principle divide impera Divide and Carry It 's often seen that the nearer those who differ come to one another they drive on their point against others with the greater Animosity and Eagerness the Jews and Samaritans were at greater variance than Jews and Heathens And the Reason is this The less the Difference is they have the more hopes to bring others to their mind hence their mutual On-setts are more furious and their Disappointments the more bitter the higher they were in their hopes and in the mean time while they mind nothing so much as to bear down one another Satan cometh good speed in bearing down of Truth and Them and All. Reas. 5. Union when once lost in a Church is hardly ever
again attained We read Act. 15. 39. that Paul and Barnabas parted but we hear nothing of their meeting again And Church History sheweth us That Schisms in a Church for almost just nothing have continued incureable for some Generations until not only the Authors and Ring-leaders of the Schism but also their Disciples were removed by Death Osiand Gent. 4. Reas. 6. When a Rent is made in a Church as it is hardly curable so it still groweth wider It is easier to know whereabout a Rent begins than whereat it will end The greatest of Church Divisions some of them at least have been observed to have had but small Beginnings hence is that commonly received Maxim Omne Schisma desinit in haresin The Faction of the Donatists at first made but a Schism separating from the Communion of the Church upon pretence of some faulty Officers and mixed Communions but it was not long until they fell into several Heresies The Doctrine being thus Explained and Confirmed from Scripture and Reason I shall now apply it to Use. Our first Use is for Refutation The Doctrine refutes at least layeth a just odium upon the Doctrine of Separation and that Way which is called Independant or Congregational in so far as it is made up of such Principles as lay a Foundation for the perpetual Renting of the Church Of which Principles I shall reckon Four The First is That Principle whereby They maintain the Lawfulness of gathering Churches out of Churches acknowledged by themselves to be True Churches A most dividing Principle in so far as it gives way for every Man to Separate from his Own and to join himself with another Church supposed Purer with contempt of the former Congregation To gather Churches out of Churches is the way to destroy but not to heal diseased Churches It is to destroy many Churches for making up of One as if one going about the Cure of a Natural Body should cut off and take out all the sound Members and leave the rotten and diseased Members either to Cure one another or to perish A strange and desperate way of Cure A Second Dividing Principle in that Way is The Rule according to which they will have Ecclesiastick Judgement pass'd upon their Church Members to wit Conviction of their Inward good Estate which Rule being variable and uncertain some will judge one way some another according as they are more or less enclined to Charity yea the same Man at several times will have a various Judgement of the Inward State of another according as the Presumptions and Probabilities by which only he is led to judge of what is within are more fully or sparingly represented Hence there is a Seed of Breach upon Breach But God hath not left his Church in the matter of Authoritative judging to walk by such uncertain Rules A Third Dividing Principle in the Independant Way is this That all Church Power is solely in a Particular Congregation Hence if a Particular Congregation go wrong tho but made up of seven Persons which is a competent number with them there is no Authoritative Mean in all the Churches of the World to reclaim them This must needs open a Door to as many Divisions as there are Churches A Fourth Dividing Principle is That there is not a Catholick Visible Church yea no Church Visible but a Particular Congregation and another Principle they hold which followeth upon this to wit That a Minister can exerce no Acts as a Minister to any but those of his own Flock Hence 1. There can be no Communion of Churches as Churches there remaineâ—h only a Communion of Members There can be no Church Act from one Church or many towards another The Results and Determinations of the most Famous Synods made up of never so many Churches are to be look'd upon but as the Actings of so many private Christians Yea 2. Hence it will follow that there can be no Communion amongst Members of several Congregations in publick Church Ordinances as in hearing the Word jointly from a sent Minister in Receiving the Seals together For according to this Principle a Minister cannot Authoritatively Preach nor in any respect Administer Baptism or the Lords Supper unto any though never so Gracious except to those of his own Flock no not tho they be occasionally present when he is dispensing these Ordinances unto his Own Which Consequence is expresly granted by some of the chief of that Perswasion So it is a Principle which destroyeth all Communion of Churches and Members and therefore inconsistent with Union Several such like Principles in That Way might be reckoned out Concerning which the Doctrine warrandeth us to say this much If Unity be so necessary and so much to be sought after then such Dividing Principles cannot be of God Our Second Use is for Direction If Unity be so necessary and so much to be laboured for then we are to bewail that we our selves are so far and every day a step further from it Our Divisions grow I fear all the three wayes and in all ranks Our Heads are divided our Tongues divided yea and our Hearts divided Synods are divided Presbyteries are divided Congregations divided Ministers divided People divided yea and in some places Families divided Husband and Wife Father and Son Mother and Daughter Master and Servant yea and all divided We are as Mad-men every one eating the flesh of his own Arm. Manasseh Ephraim and Ephraim Manasseh And they together against Judah An Evil never enough lamented and the more to be lamented that there is no appearance how it shall be helped There are many things may make us look upon the present Division as our saddest Affliction and greatest Weight I shall reckon Six things 1. The many particular Evils which upon an exact search it will be found Our Divisions have brought upon Peoples own Spirits How much of our precious time is spent in vain jangling by which our Heart cannot but â—e made worse Many I fear too too many so taken up with their Heads that they forget their Hearts the sweetness and profit of mutual converse and fellowship is much marred Our mutual freedom and benefit that way much impaired Our Peace with God by our hot Debates untender Expressions and bitter and unnecessary Reflections of times brangled and shaken A Second Thing that may make Us look on our Present Divisions as our great Weight is The name of Praise which this Church hath had for Unity in times by-past amongst the Reformed Churches In the Harmony of Confessions the Preface to the Confession of Faith of the Church of Scotland makes mention of this as a rare Priviledge of This Church beyond many and that which makes Her very Name Famous among Churches abroad That for the space almost of Sixty Years She had keep'd Unity with Purity without either Schism or Heresy Now if Unity hath been formerly this Church's Praise how sad and weighty is it and how woeful men are we that
least not such an ample grant as it is Matth 28. 19. Goe ye therefore and teach all nations c and lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the World It doth not exeem them indeed from Erring themselves but the promise is there more largly given to them than to others And Secondly Ministers as called watch men have the charge of Peoples Souls God hath charged them with them which he hath not charged others with there is not a charge of Peoples Souls laid on private men by way of office every one is bound indeed by way of Charity to take a care of the Souls of others contrair to that of Cain am I my brothers keeper But beside this tye of Charity lying on sent Ministers there is a tye by vertue of a particular charge So that place Act 20. Take heed to the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers He hath given them a special Charge and so they are charged in a special way with Peoples Souls Then there is a Third Reason it is Sathan's Method to bring in Error on People by casting in prejudices betwixt them and sent Ministers which we have cleared sometimes from Scripture and so it should be watched against lest Sathans subtility prevail so far as to bring People to dis-respect their Ministers for if that be once gained he hath prevailed very much Doct VIII Now further he sayes Believe noâ— every Spirit But bring them to the tryal Doe not cast at all but try the Spirits Hence take this Doctrine It is not Gods way that People because there are differences about Religion should therefore believe no Religion that is not Gods way So Matth 16. we see the Apostles practise Christ sayes unto them whom say they that I am Say they some say thaâ— thou art John the Baptist some Elias others Jeremiah or one of the Prophets But whom say ye that I am They do not Answer we know not what to say there are so many different sayings about thee but say they Thou art Christ the son of the living God Reas So People are not to cast at all Religion because there are differences about it and that because First that were to give way to the Devils plot His design in raising up Error about Religion is to make People Atheists so as not to care for any Religion and so when the use which thou makest of different Opinions is that thou wilt believe none Thou fulfillest the Devils design Secondly thou makes use of Gods Providence to thy destruction The Lords Providence in raising up Error is to make men seek more after the knowledge of the Truth And when thou makest that use of it to cast at all Religion thou mockest the Holy Counsel of God to thy own ruin The Use then of the Doctrine is to reprove those of this stamp to wit Prophane Atheistical men that make no differences about Religion but this Let Church-men once agree among themselves what 's right and what 's wrong untill then the back of our hand to altogether that is a wofull way Indeed there may be a doubt proposed here viz. What else shall poor ignorant People do about differences in Religion but to lay aside the care of all when they see every party have their own Reasons stronger than these poor People can Answer I Answer there are some directions grounded on Scripture which if we walk by may bring us to a safe shore amidst these rocks of contrary Opinions And the first is this that for Differences that concern not Peoples practice I would not have People trouble themselves much with them as for example Our late unhappy Differences about the publick Resolutions the Lord hath taken the occasion of them away so I would not have any troubling themselves much about them Whatever Differences in matters of practice fall in it seems to be a safe rule that when the occasion of such Practices are removed all Contention about them should be laid aside Secondly As to the Differences wherein Peoples practice is concerned take these Rules First For these that are uncontraverted Truths make Conscience of the practice of them which will help to the knowledge of other things this rule Christ prescrives John 7. 17. sayes he If any man do his will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God c. There is something that thy Conscience is clear of to be Duty and although the Differences of Opinion might be some excuse to make thee keep off from these things about which there is difference yet how art thou excused for neglect of these things which thou art convinced to be Duty as Prayer Reading the Word c. Secondly We would know whatever be the contrary Opinions about matters of Religion yet there is but one true way and the knowledge of this one way may be attained to by those who seek humbly after it At least if thou be judging thy self and as a damned Bankrupt or Dâ—vour by Nature be closing with Christ and drawing Grace from him to make thee Holy Thou wilt attain to the knowledge of as much of these things debated as will take thee home to Heaven A Third Direction is That ye should beware of calling in question any of these Truths that once have been Sealed into your Spirits by the Spirit from the Word of God 2 John ver 8. Look to your selves that we lose not those things which we have wrought The point of Truth that People have got thus Sealed to their Conscience should not readily be called in question A Fourth Direction is this That in seeking out Truth under Differences we should beware of Loftyness of Spirit 1 Cor. 14. 32 it is said The Spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets How much more ought the Spirits of private persons to be subject to the voice of Christs Ambassadors speaking in his Courts This is not as if we would make Ministers Sayings the Peoples Rule to walk by But this much will follow that in a constitute Church where Discipline is Exercised there should be that Humility in People that whâ—n doubts arise concerning any point of received Truth within the Church they should offer their Judgement and the Reason of it to the Prophets and Christs Courts to be tryed before they lay down any new Opinion as a solid Truth That much is contained under this The Spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets if it mean any thing at all Doct IX Now we proceed The next thing that we come to is what People should do Try the Spirits and the Rule of Tryal is whether they are of God The first point we learn is that how fair soever the pretence be that our Doctrine is colloured with it should not be taken upon Trust but the Spirits must be Tryed Such we see was the practice of the Bâ—reans and they are commended for it they would not take the Apostles Doctrine on
trust Act 17. 11. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures dayly whither those things were so They would not take the Apostles Doctrine on trust and this is a command given by Paul writing to the Thess 1 Epistle ch 5. v. 21. Prove all things after he had said despise not Prophecyings So that Doctrines should be brought to a Tryal whatever be their fair pretences Reas The Reasons are first because foulest Errors may be coloured over with fairest pretences And Secondly the Scripture sayes all men are Lyars that is to say all men may Err and therefore words cannot be the Ground of Divine Faith for Faith must have an infallible ground as Ephes 2. 20. And are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets c. i. e. the word Preached by them and dictated by the Spirit of God Vse This Doctrine reproves first the Papists that will have nothing Tryed that comes from the Church but all taken upon trust hence is it that many swallow such Monsters of Absurdities as the Errors of Transubstantiation Purgatory Merite Mals and such like for which they have no other ground but because their Church sayes so But this Doctrine holdeth out another duty that who ever heareth any Doctrine proponed by one or other they are bound to pass their Judgment on it Try the Spirits Now that we may walk betwixt extreams the Papists on the one hand who set up Tyranny and these Sectaries on the other hand who set up Confusion we would know there is a twofold Judgement to be passed on Doctrine Publick Judgement and Private Judgement Publick Judgement again is either peremptorily absolute or limited A publick peremptory Judgement is That which binds the Conscience to obey simply that which is spoken and none have this Judgement but God himself Secondly There is a publick Judgement which is limited and this is a publick declaring and holding out that which is found to be God's mind in his word which does not bind absolutely but in so far as it agrees with the Word and this Judgement belongs to publick Church Judicatories met together in Christs Name They are like the Lyon-Herauld set forth to proclaim the Royal Acts if he proclaim that which is contained in the principal Acts it binds but if he add any thing of his own it binds not Next there is a private Judgement of Discretion and this belongs to every Christian every man in relation to his own practice is bound to pass Sentence on what is held out to him by others that if it be right he may embrace it but if wrong he may reject it but his private Judgement is not binding to others Now this private Judgement or this Judgement of Discretion is necessary because all men may Err Councils may Err Synods c. And Secondly Their Error will not excuse private Christians to follow them in their Error sayes Christ When the Blind leads the Blind both falls into the Ditch And therefore there must be a Judgement of Discretion in private persons to try what they hear And this much for guarding against the Popish Tyranny but least this Doctrine be abused to cast at all publick Church Judicatories we shall next speak somewhat to guard against Sectarian Confusion First Although publick Church Judicatories have not Power to bind Consciences yet when men are in a doubt concerning a point of Truth their Judgement ought to have more weight than the Judgement of private Men And that not only because there are more Gifts exercised together but mainly because there is a promise annexed to the Commission given by Christ to publick Church Judicatories Matth. 18. 20. Where two or three are gathered together in my Name there am I in the midst of them And Secondly From this it followes that there would be a kind of loathness to differ from publick Church Judicatories a man's grounds would be well examined lâ—st if differing from these Judicatories they also differ from Truth And Thirdly when they differ they are to bear them at Reverence although in such a point they should Err yet for their Authority they are to be Reverenced This much is granted by us to Church Judicatories but no further They are not to be made the Rule of our Faith Vse 2. It reproves those who are Lazie and cannot endure the trouble of trying what they hear but take things on trust and have no more but such a mans Authority he is of that Way and Opinion and therefore they are Fire and Flint Tooth and Nail for it as much as if they had the Word of God for it We have seen much of this in the unhappy Differences that have fallen out in our time which I have no pleasure to speak much of and therefore we proceed to another Doctrine Doct. X. The next thing then that we observe is from what he sayes Try c. whether they be of God that is the Tryal The Doctrine is this That the right tryal of Doctrine is To try whether they be of God or not and this point puts us to give Marks whereby it shall be known what Doctrine is of God and what Doctrine is not of God and here we shall speak to two things First We shall show what are the marks that necessarly infer a Doctrine to be of God And secondly we shall speak of other things that do not infer necessarly a Doctrine to be of God but for the most part follow upon such a Doctrine For the First That which makes Doctrine necessarily to be of God is if it be according to the rule of the Word So when the Bereans are commended Acts 17. The rule they went by in the tryal of Paul's Doctrine is the Scripture And this is Isaâ—a's rule chap. 8. ver 20. To the Law and to the Testimony c. He would have all Doctrines tryed by the Word of God So the Word is the rule and that Doctrine which has the Word for it is of God and whatever Doctrine has not the Word for it is not of God All Spirits even the Spirit of God himself must be tryed that way And that because the Word is a perfect rule I give only two places of Scripture to clear the perfection of this rule First The heavy Plagues pronounced against those who add to this rule The Word is so perfect that if an Angel should come and pretend a purer Rule Let him be sayes Paul Anathema Gal. 1. 8. There is another place which proves the perfection of this rule according to this point in hand 2 Timoth. 3. 16 17. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine for reproof for correction for Instruction in righteousness That the Man of God may be perfect c. So there is as much in the word of God as may make the man of God perfect And this in relation
it followeth not that therefore they have no power to punish Error no more than because that a Godless Magistrate as Nero was may abuse his power to oppress Murther honest Citizens and do other Acts of Injustice against the second Table that therefore the Magistrate hath no power to punish Theeves Robbers Murderers because either through mistake or wickedness he may abuse it to punish innocent Men whatever remedy is left for the Magistrates abusing of his power under the one the same is left under the other as insome cases suffering in others resisting There is an Eighth Objection they have against this Truth say they we make the mean unproportionate to the end no outward force can convert a man and brâ—ng him to Christ it makes men but Hypocrites the blast of the Kings horn or outlawry can make no man a member of Christs body that must be done willingly not by compulsion and this were to cudgell People out of their opinions To this we Answer That our Doctrine doth not hold forth that the power of the Magistrate is any mean to convert Souls Only this it doth hold forth that the power of the Magistrate is a mean to restrain men from doing sinful Acts against Christ as Asa made use of his Civil Power to keep down Idolatry it puts People indeed on the profession of outward Obedience and to this it is very proportioned And therefore Secondly Though the blast of the Kings horn cannot make a Member of Christs invisible Body by working Grace Yet it may be a mean in its own kind for making a Member of the Church visible by with-holding from sinful Acts and putting them on Acts of outward Obedience A Third Answer we give That the power of the Magistrate doth not make men Hypocrites of it self but through the corruption of Man's heart who makes himself an Hypocrite The end of this ordinance what it is in it self is set down in Deut 13. 11. And all Israel shall hear and fear and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you That is the end that they being moved by their Example should abstain from such like worke but that they do this Hypocritically is from their corrupt nature who fears him more who can kill the Body than him who after he hath killed the Body can cast both Soul and Body into Hell We Answer lastly if this were a good Argument why a Magistrate should not make use of his power to punish for false Doctrine because throw occasion thereof many turn Hypocrites then say we It should follow that the Magistrate should not make use of his power to punish Incests Adulteries Murders Thefts c. because it is the occasion of many Hypocrites who abstain more from such for the fear of punishment than for the fear of God yea according to this Doctrine it should follow That the Preaching of the word should be unlawful because through the occasion of it many turn Hypocrites under it There is a Ninth Objection they have against this Truth and it is this say they By this power we give to the Magistrate to punish Error and Heresy we give him the Power of Church Judicatories to judge of Doctrines Error and Heresy In Answer to this we shall speak more fully in the 〈◊〉 Doctrine only for the present this giving Power to the Magistrate to punish Error and Heresy gives him not a publick Judgement to discern what is Error and what not as a Judge in Church matters but only a Judgement of Discretion in relation to his own Act As for Example when the Lord gives Power to Masters of Families not to let Hereticks come into their House it is not a putting the Power of Church Judicatories in their Hands IV. The last thing we promised to speak to you of was to give you some use of this And the First is to reprove those who think Opinions are free and that none ought to be punished for such We grant as we said that there would be a difference amongst Errors some more damnable some less and so to be less punished and there is a difference to be put amongst persons some are seduced some whose Conscience is Seared some venting their Darkness some seeking Light In such there should be a difference observed Again the Magistrate is to deal one way with a Community another way with some persons before it come to such an hight And Lastly He is to deal otherwise with Errors that cannot be mantained without troubling the Peace of the Church and State and those that break not Love nor strike not at any material point of Truth the last happily may be Tollerate if the Maintaineâ—s of them do not evidence contempt But not so the first These and such like Distinctions may be to qualify this Power but to deny it altogether is the most damnable Doctrine that ever was vented the Devil cannot take a shorter course to undoe Religion and there can be no heart zealous for God but he must loath it and therefore look so on it Think not what is that to you what others do if ye get leave to serve God your self Is that all your zeal for God that if ye get leave to serve him ye care not that all beside you Spit on his Face and serve the Devil Vse 2. Hence see what an Account those Magistrates have to make who make no use of their Power this way for God if they get their own Houses built cares not for his if Rebellion against themselves be curbed cares not for the curbing of Rebellion against God This was the Sin of the Parliament of England though they entred into a Covenant with the most high God That they would suppress Error and Heresy they never employed their Power that way and that because they durst not for angring of their Army and therefore God hath suffered their Army to overturn them and set themselves and whom they please in their place And now they by their practice give Tolleratâ—on to all and this is the way to strengthen them I say in the Name of the Lord if they repent not it shall be the way to ruine them A people Swearing in their low condition to root out Heresy c. And God blessing them from that day and within a few years carrying themselves as if they had Sworn to do the contrary to suffer all encourage all invite all the Devils in Hell to vent what Blasphemies they please and for their encouragement to give them Surety that no Power in Brittain shall hinder them Was there ever such an affront done to God Think ye that he will sit with it No if he should make the one half avengers of a broken Covenant against the other He will not It is noted of Asa 2 Chron. 14. 5. Gods way to keep Magistrates sure and their Kingdoms quiet is to be zealous against false Worship No but say they the way is not to anger Hereticks they
his Deputes so that they are to act by vertue of a Commission from him and meddle only with these things that he gives them Warrand for and so to meddle with them as to be lyable to an Appeal to him as the supream Judge in all Church matters We contrary to all these shall make out this following Assertion To wit That the Civil Magistrate as a Magistrate hath no Power either to Preach or Administrate the Sacraments nor yet to make Church Laws or inflict Church Censures either by himself or others as his Deputes but all this power doth belong wholly to Church Officers Ministers and Elders Which power they are to execute without Dependency on the Civil Magistrate so that they are not lyable to Appeals to his Court neither hath he Power to rescind the Sentence pronounced by them In following out of this point we shall go on as in the former we shall First clear the state of the question Secondly We shall bring Arguments for the Truth Thirdly We shall bring their Arguments against the Truth and refute them Fourthly We shall apply the whole to some use 1. First For clearing the State of the Question take this assertion that however we do not give the Civil Magistrate Power of Church Discipline or the power of governing the Church yet we give him much Power about Church matters Our Divines following the word of God give the Christian Magistrate a threefold Power about Church matters 1. A defensive protecting Power 2 A ruling Power And 3. a Punishing Power First They give him a Defending Power and that is grounded on that Promise made to the Church in Isa. 49. 23. And Kings shall be thy Nursing Fathers c. By this Power the Christian Magistrate is to do three things 1. By his Power he is to encourage countenance and advance by his Authority and example the publick exercise of all Gods Ordinances and so defend the Church in her Liberties that are given to her by Christ This was the practice of those Godly Kings under the Old Testament So did Asa 2 Chron. 15. to verse â—8 and Jehoshaphat 2 Chron. 1. 8 9. 10 11. And other Godly Kings They encouraged others in the Service of God they countenanced them and by their Authority and example allured others to the practice of Godliness which I ower Christian Magistrates have yet 2. By this Power they are to provide the Church with all external Necessaries as publick convenient Pâ—aces of meeting for Gods Worship and publick Mantainance for the Church Officers c This we see was Hezekiah's practice 2 Chron. 31. 4. Moreover he commanded the People that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the Priests and the Levites that they might be encouraged in the Law of the Lord. And it was Joâ—â—ah's practice 2 Chron. 34. He repaired the House of the Lord The publick place of Gods Worship 3. By this defending Power of the Christian Magistrate he is to remove all outward Impediments lying in the way of God's Worship such as Prophanity Idolatry Heresy and Blaspemy as we did prove at length in the former Controversy Secondly We give to the Christian Magistrate a Ruling Power about Church matters By this Power 1. He may convocate Church Judicatories command them to meet and to enact Canons and to make rules for Governing the Church although he cannot make Church Laws himself So pious Magistrates under the Old Testament did call Synods as David 1 Chron. 23 2. And he gathered together all the Princes of Israel with the Priests and Levites 2. By this Power the Christian Magistrate is to confirm the acts of the Church Judicatories and to give the force of a Civil Law Only herein we differ from the Papists They say the Magistrate should do this blindly he is only say they the Churches Echo to â—ay Amen to what they conclude But we say the Magistrate is not to do this blindly we allow to him a judgement of Discretion to try whether what they conclude be right or not and accordingly he is to add his Authority or not and yet this makes him not a Judge in Church matters but only a Judge of his own Actions 3. By this Power the Magistrate is to take Inspection of the Carriage of Church Judicatories so that all things be rightly managed by them so as if they should conclude a point of Injustice though he may not rescind their Act himself yet he may command them to resume the the matter take it to their second Thoughts give Reasons to the contrair exhort them to their Duties from time to time until the matter be rightly concluded Only it is still the Church Judicatory that must rescind their own Act. By this ruling Power the Magistrate may do much When the Church is corrupt he may reform it That is when Church Judicatories are all wrong that they will do nothing for his upstirring In this case the Magistrate may lay the Church Judicatory aside and do that himself which they should do His Power in this case is extraordinary he may reform by his own Power as Godly Josiah did 2 King 23. And as Asa and Jehoshaphat At such a time Magistrates may do much this way But extraordinary Cases are not to be made ordinary Rules Thirdly We give to the Magistrate a Coactive punishing power about Church-matters and by this power we affirm that all the persons of Church-men and their goods are lyable to the Civil Magistrate in things Civil According to that Let every soul be subject to the higher powers contrary to what the Papists teach so that if a Church-man should commit a Civil crime the Magistrate by his own power may punish him as Solomon did Abiathar 2. By this coactive punishing power he may see to the Observation of Divine and Church Laws and punish those that are contemners of them by Civil punishments There are several examples of this as that of Josiah He made all the People stand to the Covenant Now by all that is said ye may easily perceive that We give to Caesar that which is Caesars although we give him not what is Gods We give him much power about the Church but not the power of Governing the Church We shall clear this by a simile how the Magistrate may have much power about Church-matters although not power of Governing the Church Ye know the Civil Magistrate or Church Sessions have much power about matters belonging to husband and wife Parents and Children so as to censure and punish them for their unnatural carriage towards each other and to see every one do duty to another and yet neither the Civil Magistrate nor Church Session hath Marital or Husbandly power over the Wife or Parental power over the Children so as they might challenge the same duties from them to be done to themselves which the Wife oweth to her Husband or the Children to the Parents the Husband and Parents only have that power So it is here
the Communion and not only so but to quite That Church and set up a new Church of Their own We shall begin first with that Doctrine that concerns the Constitution of Visible Churches And therein we shall follow our usual Order First Clear the Question Secondly Bring Arguments for the Truth Thirdly Answer those they bring against the Truth And Fourthly Apply the whole to some Use. I. First For clearing of the Question ye would know what Church it is concerning which the Controversy is First It is not that place where Gods people meet to go about Gods publick Worship such as this House we now are in which is called the Church by a Figure improperly But it is the People gathered together in it which People are really and properly the Church although the House be so called because it contains them by an usual Figure The Church that we are to dispute of is made up of Men and Women And not that which is built of Timber and Stone Secondly The Controversy betwixt Us and Them is not concerning the Invisible Church that is called the Church of the First-born Those who by vertue of their Effectual Calling are united to Jesus Christ the Head are living Members of His Mystical Body and draw Spiritual Influence from him Concerning the Church taken in this Sense There is no Controversy betwixt Us and the Separatists but that the Members of this Church are only made up of Believers are all gracious because this Church is Christs Mystical Body a Royal Priest-hood the Lambs Wife all fair undefiled c. Thirdly The Question Then is concerning the Church Visible which is a Company of Men and Women who have according to the Tenor of Gods Covenant with the Visible Church an Outward Ecclesiastical which is in its kind a real Right to enjoy the Outward Priviledges of the Children of God This being the Church about which the Controversy betwixt Us and the Separatists is We shall speak a litle to clear what is meaned by it And First The Church is called Visible not because the Members of it may be seen For in that respect the Church Invisible the Church of Believers may be called Visible For the Members of it being believing Men and Women may be seen also But the difference betwixt the Churches in those two Senses is taken from that which makes one to be a Member of the one Church as it differs from that which makes one a Member of the other That which makes One man a Member of the Invisible Church is True Grace sincere Faith inward Marks thereof Now Grace is a thing that cannot be seen by another certainly It s true there are outward effects of it but they are such that a Hypocrite may have the counterfeit of them so as the one cannot be discerned from the other by a Beholder The nature of Grace is only known Infallibly and certainly to God And therefore This Church is called Invisible Again that which makes a Man or Woman a Member of the Visible Church is something that may be seen something that may be judged of by those who have Power to receive Members into the Church and cast them out from it Secondly We said that this Visible Church is a Company or Society of Men and Women that have an Ecclesiastical Right to enjoy the Outward Priviledges of the Sons of God For understanding what is meaned by enjoying of Outward Priviledges we shall show you That there are Outward Priviledges and Inward Priviledges of those who are the Sons of God Inward Priviledges are Jesus Christ himself a Right to him a saving Right to the Covenant of Grace and Life Eternal These are the Inward Priviledges of the Sons of God And only Believers have right to those Painted Hypocrites have no right to them But Secondly There are Outward Priviledges of the Sons of God such as these To be ordinary Hearers of the Word Preached To be taken a care of by Jesus Christ his Servants To have liberty to come to the Sacraments These are Outward Priviledges And these are Priviledges that a Member of the Visible Church hath a right to We said they had an Ecclesiastical Right or a Church Right to them That is such a Right as gives Warrand to the Church for receiving them to enjoy these Priviledges and yet possibly they have not a Right to them before God As for Example when there is a painted Hypocrite in a Congregation who makes Conscience seemingly to use the Means That man hath an Ecclesiastical Right to come to a Communion such a Right as may Warrand the Minister for admitting of him although he have not a Right to come before God God will challenge the Hypocrite for coming and not the Minister for suffering him to come Yet we are still to consider that tho' this Ecclesiestical Right be not Saving yet it is Real in its kind being founded upon Gods Covenant with the Visible Church and his Ordinance of admitting such therein Now ye may know somewhat by this what we mean by an Ecclesiastical Right it 's That which gives warrand to Church Officers to admit a man to enjoy these Outward Priviledges And so ye may know what we mean by the Visible Church whereof we Dispute There are several differences betwixt Us and the Separatists Concerning the Visible Church First They affirm That there is no Visible Church on Earth But a single Congregation As many as may meet in one place This we refuted in the former Controversie by shewing That in the Church of Jerusalem there were far moe than could meet in one single Congregation yea many particular Congregations And yet are called but One Church Secondly They differ much from us as also from the Truth concerning the power They give to this Visible Church They give them the full power of Church Government and that Independently from any Chuch power on earth This difference also we spoke of in the preceeding Debate And so we shall stand now no longer upon it Thirdly We differ concerning That which gives a Being to the Church Visible They say To make a Society of People a Visible Church so as to have right to partake of the Priviledges there of It is requisite that all the Members of that Society Swear a Covenant one to another wherein they bind themselves to submit one to another in the Lord to walk in all the Ordinances of God and not to leave that Society till liberty be given them by the rest So that tho a man should be never so truely Godly and Gracious yet if he take not such a Covenant and if he Swear not such an Oath He is without the Visible Church He is in the state of a â—agan to live and to die without any Church Ordinance The Judgement of our Church and that of Truth herein is this That wherever a man comes out of one Particular Congregation which we call a Paroch to another By his so doing he comes
preventing their stumbling and making Shipwrack upon the present Divisions The First Consideration is this The Church in all Ages hath been afflicted with Divisions from the Apostles time even till now yea in the very time when the Apostles were alive themselves We read Act. 15. 39. That two great Apostles Paul and Barnabas were so divided that they parted one from another The Word made use of in the Original to express their Contention signifieth The high fit of a Fever a Paroxism It is the very word The Spirit of the Lord thereby insinuating That their Contention cast them as it were in the rage of a Fever and yet the matter whereabout the contest fell out was not very great Much like That which was the Fountain of our woful Rent to wit whether Mark who had before deserted the Work should be again employed in it The one would have him the other would not hence they part Company And what Divisions fell out amongst the primitive Churches almost presently after they were planted by the Apostles The Epistles of Paul to the Romans Corinthians Galatians c. make it very clear And for the times following the History of the Church doth abundantly testify That from the Apostles Death to this very Age the Church hath still been shaken with Rents and Schisms in some one place or other and these sometimes even amongst the most Gracious Men of those times as Augustine Hierom Zuinglius Luther and Calvin Together with several others whose Names if it were pertinent I might recite So that ye are not to stumble at the present Divisions There is no new or strange thing befallen Us The Church of Christ in all Ages hath been tryed with the like A Second Consideration to prevent stumbling at our present Divisions is That God hath foretold Church Divisions should be 1 Cor. 11. 19. There must be also Heresies among you And he hath not only foretold that simply they must be but so aâ— he should have an holy hand in them Matth. 10. 35. I am come to set a man at variance against his Father and the Daughter against her Mother So that he hath an Holy hand in Church Divisions he permits them to be and for wise Reasons whereof I shall reckon Three 1. He permits Divisions to be That Men's Spirits may be thereby tryed So 1 Cor. 11. 19. There must be Heresies among you And wherefore That they which are approved may be made manifest There is a great deal of evil lurking in Peoples Spirits Unsound Principles in some Seeds of loose practices in others Pride Conceit and other unmortified Distempers in a third sort and Divisions in a Church decipher those 2. Divisions are sent for the clearing of Truths This as we shewed before has been Gods method from the beginning when he had a point of Truth to clear he hath suffered men to contradict it and the more it hath been contradicted it hath still grown the brighter 3. He permits Divisions to be that in his Holy Justice they may be a stumbling block to the wicked If thou think there are so many Opinions and so many Religions that thou 'l care for no Religion until wiser People than thou agree among themselves Then Church Divisions and difference of Opinions in Gods just judgment are thy Destruction A third Consideration to prevent stumbling at our present Divisions is That some good use may be made of them in the mean time I shall first speak to some Bad Uses of them which ye are to eschew And then to speak to some Good Uses of them which ye are to seek after 1. The First bad Use of the present Divisions is From them to take occasion of Rejoycing that Ministers are set together by the Ears A woeful Use Thou rejoycest in that which is the Gospels shame the Godly's weight and God's dishonour and God shall rejoyce in thy shame and ruin another day for it 2. Another bad Use is Because of them to wish That the work of Reformation had never been begun as having such ills following upon it An use which the carnal Israelites did often make of their present strait Would God say they we had never come out of Egypt An Use which speaks That for all thy professed adherence to the work of God and Covenant yet thou hast never thought upon it as His work else a blast of Affliction could not have put thee so soon out of love with it 3. The giving over of your selves to a Spirit of Loosness it being a lawless time Some Ministers may possibly make this Use of the present Division but it is a woeful Use and such as will deceive God may of purpose have sent such a time that thou may without fear fill up thy Cup and so be taken course with afterwards for all together 4. It is a bad Use of them to observe only which of the wayes do afford most advantage where the Sun of Prosperity is most like to shine that ye may strike in there but with a resolution if the Wind change ye will change also A bad Use and unworthy of a Man much more of a Christian Man whose Profession is to be ruled by Conscience Scripture and Reason and not by self-interest and advantage 5. The last bad Use of the present Division is To blow at the Coal making it your work what ye can search out and scrape together from the carriage of these who differ that ye may vent it and make them odious by it A base uncharitable and unchristian Use. A thing so woeful that David complains of it in his very Enemies Ps. 56. 5 6. Every day they wrest my words all their thoughts are against me for evil They gather themselves together they hide themselves they mark my steps when they wait for my Soul This is a thing I may say which hath had it's own hand in the hightning and continuance of our Differences if that which Solomon saith Prov. 26. 20. be true as it is most true Where there is no tale-bearer the strife ceaseth These now are bad Uses which ye are to eschew but out of the Eater cometh meat there is some good Use may be made of our present Divisions and that ye should seek after The first good Use is That from these separating stirs ye would labour to be convinced of abused Vnion Our Division speaketh that Union hath not been improven aright neither amongst Ministers nor Professors there hath been much of carnal Joy triffling over of time but little and too too little of God in our Fellowship And therefore in His just Judgement He hath given us some other thing to set our Teeth on edge with ye should be convinced of this and be humbled for it A Second good use of our present Division is Ye should press so much the more after Peace with God If strife with men be so wasting and wearisome what will Gods feud be If peace with men be so hard to
was One Athanasius And when Antichrist was to prevail it is shown Rev. 11. 3. That notwithstanding all the Tyranny of Antichrist and the torrent of Corruption in these times God should have His Two that is tho not many yet some few Witnesses 3. The Lord in His deep Wisdom doth measure out such a Dispensation for heightning His Churches Tryal And that these who keep their Garments clean may come forth as Gold It is but an inconsiderable Tryal and calls for little Resolution to stand it out When all the Lord's Ministers speak one thing lifting up their Voice as a Trumpet and denouncing the dreadful Judgements of God on all who turn their back on Truth and Piety But when the generality of Ministers at any time do blow the Trumpet of Defection from the Lord That speaks Loyalty indeed If then notwithstanding such Defection People stand to the Lords Banner and in nothing be moved from it And that because the Trumpet gives an uncertain sound speaking one thing one day and another thing the next So that to stumble at Christ's Way because of this when it falleth out is to stumble at the Wisdom of God 4. Therefore should no Man stumble at Christ nor His Way for this because the Lord in all times hath made it and no doubt will yet make it tend to the advantage of His Way in the close So as afterwards times growing more favourable the Church of God hath thereby been freed from a Fleece of Time-servers who would never otherwayes have discovered themselves Besides that others who through weakness had turned aside in some degreâ—â— with the torrent of the time somewhat against their Heart have been made to acknowledge their weakness to God's Glory And so make up by their Repentance the breach they had made on God's Way by their Fall And consequently for any to stumble at Christ's Way because of This is to break their neck on that which in God's method doth make His Way most lovely in the Close There are other Two Points yet which might be handled jointly as the former The one Expressed The other Implyed and both of them serve to confirm the last to wit That whatever we meet with in Christ's Way we should not love Christ nor His Way the less None of these things should make us take up an halt in His Way much less turn our back upon it For 1. It is an happy thing not to stumble at Christ or His Way This is expressed in the Text. 2. The Man who is offended in Christ who turneth his back upon Him because of Stumbling-blocks or Rocks of Offence in the Way That Man is an unhappy Man and cursed I might prosecute both these Points but for the time I shall forbear and only say something in Answer to a needful Question I think one may readily ask what I call Christ's Way whereat we should not stumble For there are Men and Parties of several wayes There are Papists and Protestants Sectaries Socinians Formalists Anabaptists Prelatists or Episcopâ—l-men Presbyterians Independents and Quakers every one whereof have their Own Way about Religion And no doubt all of them will call their Own Way Christ's Way And therefore it is needful to know which of these wayes are Christ's Way indeed that so we may not turn our backs upon it In Answer to which Question It cannot be expected if it were but for the time I can enter in a Debate concerning what is Right or Wrong what is Christs what is not Christs in All those Wayes I shall therefore only give you some general Directions for finding out what is Christ's Way amidst the tide and torrent of so many contrary Opinions And these such that upon the one hand I think there is no Man having his right Wits about him with the least Grain of Piety but he must give his Assent unto them And yet such as through God's Blessing being rightly improven shall not leave you without a Guide what to choose as God's Way and what not First then I doubt not it will be taken for granted by All. That the Way of Christ whereat we should not stumble are the Essentialls of Piety and Christianity I mean Faith in Jesus Christ Repentance unto Life Holiness and tenderness of Walk in eschewing all known Sin and coming up to the Practice of all known Duty This is it I intended mainly all alongs to wit That notwithstanding all the forementioned Rocks of Offence ye would not turn Profligate Profane Debauch'd and Irreligious Atheists but hold on in the Way of substantial Piety notwithstanding of all and over the belly of all 2. But this is not all It 's but a loose way of Religion and very near to no Religion at all for a Man to pretend to no more but adhere to the Practice of substantial Duties and the Faith of Fundamental Truths while in other things he sayes and unsays and rolls about with the times For hereby they may suffer the Devil to do with the most part of Scripture what he pleases For Truths absolutely necessary to Salvation are but few the Lord in Mercy having so provided that the meanest capacity may explicitly comprehend them and all of them seing they cannot be saved without them But tho there be some few Truths only of absolute necessity for Salvation yet there are others in their own kind also necessary to wit for Gods Glory and your own Comfort and the Lord will have you sticking closs by these Truths once knowing them to be Truths as well as by others and that because a great part of Christ's Way lyeth in a Mans adherence even to these Truths to wit God's Glory and the Man 's own Comfort And a Profane loose and indifferent Spirit as to these doth both in the nature of the thing and in God's just Judgement beget in progress of time Profane Indifferency and Atheism as to other more great and substantial Truths So doth the Apostle Paul inform the Galatians Ch. 5. 9. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump Thus then the great Question is to know which is Christ's Way in Truths of that sort that so we may not stumble at it For which in the first place take Paul's Rule Philipp 3. 16. Nevertheless whereto we have already attained let us walk by the same Rule And 2 John 8. Look to your selves that we lose not these things that we have wrought In a word whatever a Man is perswaded on good ground to be Christ's Way let him stick closly by That as his way and whatever he meet with beware of doing any thing wherein his own Heart will condemn him I say this because there are some Truths of an inferiour Nature which are as clearly revealed in Scriptures as other more substantial Truths And consequently a Man may as much be perswaded of the one as the other And tho another Man may think or say he is perswaded of the contrary Error that it is Truth and be deceived
A Good which they were to Follow The Evil to be Eschewed is in the second Sentence to wit That there be no Divisions or as it is in the Original Schism's among you I shall not enter to speak of the nature of Schism or how it differeth from Heresy It is sufficient for the opening up of the Text to know what Divisions or Schisms the Apostle meaneth by here And that is know'n from the following Verse to wit Their Factious sidings in extolling One Minister and debasing Another with many fruitless Janglings and other bad consequences following thereupon whereof doubtless this was One The engaging of the Ministers themselves in Parties for upholding their Dependants So Verse 12. Every one of you saith I am of Paul and I of Apollos and I of Cephas One saith Paul is best let us follow him Another sayeth Nay but Apollos is best we 'll follow him A third saith Cephas is better than them both I 'le follow none of them Now away with these fruitless Contests saith he In the next place There is the Good to be Followed and that is threefold in opposition to three sorts of Evils which usually accompany Schism in a Church The first Evil accompanying Schism is Flat Contradiction first among Ministers and next among People when not only their Opinions do differ but they are so hot upon the Business that at all occasions they proclaim their Differences In opposition to this he exhorts them To speak the same thing that is They would beware of Contradictions in a matter of so small importance Wherein they agreed they would speak to that Wherein they differ'd they would forbear others spending their time and parts upon more edifying purpose The second Evil accompanying Schism in a Church is Renting of Affections When the Members of one Body turn cold-rife one towards another and their Affection dyeth In opoosition to this Evil he exhorts them to be Joined together in the same Mind or the same Affection It 's true the Word here rendred Mind is used indifferently for the whole Faculties of the Soul as the Understanding Will and Affections But the Understanding being spoken to under the Word Judgement which followeth We think with some of the best Interpreters That by the Mind here is meaned the Affections So the thing he presseth in the second Place is That not only they would forbear others in the matter of their Publick Expressions but also would labour to blow at the Coal of their almost dying Affections The third Evil accompanying a Schism is Difference of Judgement And in opposition to this he exhorts them to be Perfectly joined in the same Judgement The meaning is They would labour to remove the Root of the Difference by coming to One Judgement Not as if the Apostle had been careless what Judgement they had been of providing they had been One No the one part of every Contradiction is Truth and there is no Truth which the Apostle would have denied for Peace This for the Duty pressed Next there are some Arguments perswading to this Duty As 1. There is the Apostles Insinuation partly in his Affectionate Exhortation I beseech you partly in his lovely Compellation Brethren 2. There is his Grave Obtestation By the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ That is to say as the Name of Christ is dear to you which ye profess so much respect unto so set about the Cure of these Factions and Fractious Sidings and Schisms by which His Name suffereth so much There is a third Argument to enforce this Duty in the words perfectly joined whereby the Apostle hints at the great Evil the Church was under by the present Schism and the great good they should attain to by the removal of it The word in the Original is borrowed from the Office of Chirurgeons and that part of it which consists in the mending of broken Bones and setting in joynt of Dislocated Members So it imports 1. That through occasion of the Schism they were put all out of joynt All the Members of the Church were Dislocated and therefore unfit so long as they remained in that case for doing of any good Office to the Body 2. It imports that their following of his Advice for removing of the Schism would set every Member of the Body in it's own place and so enable the Body for going about actions profitable unto it self which now the whole Members being out of joynt it could not do This This much for opening up the meaning of the Words Divers points of Truth arising from the several branches of the Text might here be handled but I intend to insist upon One arising from the scope which will comprehended the most part of the rest It is this Vnity in the Church is a thing much to be laboured for and sought after and Division and Schism in a Church is much to be eschewed In prosecuting this Doctrine I shall first distinguish Vnion That we may know what Vnion is meaned 2. I shall confirm the point 1. By Scripture 2. By Reason 3. I shall apply the Doctrine for our Vse First then To know what Vnion the Text and Doctrine speaks of It 's fit you know That there are several sorts of Union 1. There is an Union of the Church Invisible the tye and bond whereof is Inward Graces All the Members of the Church Invisible are United to Christ the Head by Faith and one to another by Love This is not the Union here meaned The Text speaks of a Visible Union of the Church Visible In Opposition to a Visible Rent and Schism Secondly There is an Union of the Church Visible and of it's Members among themselves This again is twofold The first is That Vnion which is necessary to the Being of a Church and the Being of a Member So that a Church cannot be a Church nor a Man a Member of the Visible Church without it Wherein this Vnion consists is Controverted betwixt Us and the Independants But the Doctrine meaneth not of This Vnion either So we insist not on it The Vnion pressed in the Text is such that the Church at Corinth for the time did want and yet remained a Church The Union therefore here meaned is A second sort of Union belonging to the Visible Church To wit That which is necessary to the Well-being of a Church without the which tho a Church remain a Church yet she losseth much of her outward Beauty her Authority is much weakned her great work which is the edification of her self in Love Eph. 4. 13. is much retarded She remains a Church but not such a Church as is described Cant. 6. 10. Who is she that looketh forth as the Morning fair as the Moon clear as the Sun and terrible as an Army with Banners A divided Church is not such a Church But for further understanding of the Vnion here pressed ye would know that this Union which is necessary to the Well-being of a Church is Threefold 1.