A Second Admonition TO THE Dissenting Inhabitants Of the Diocess of DERRY CONCERNING Mr. J. Boyse's Vindication of his Remarks on a Discourse Concerning The Inventions of Men IN THE Worship of GOD. With an APPENDIX Containing an Answer to Mr. B's Objections against the Sign of the Cross. By WILLIAM Lord Bishop of Derry London Printed for R. Clavel at the Peacock in St. Paul's Church-yard 1696. Heads of the Discourse CHAP. I. Matters of Fact Sect. I. THE Numbers of those that Neglect all Publick Worship on the Lord's Day p. 3. II. The frequency of Sacraments p. 11 III. The Number of Communicants p. 20 IV. The Directory a hindrance to Communions p. 24 V. Mr. B's Excuses for few Communions Examined p. 27 VI. The Reading the Scriptures p. 38 VII The Mysteries of Religion p. 44 VIII The Catechism p. 54 IX Bodily Worship p. 59 X. The Practice of Reverence by Dissenters p. 75 XI The Praises of God p. 77 XII The Rule of Human Prudence p. 79 XIII The 3d 4th and 5th Canons p. 97 XIV Mr. B's Demands p. 99 XV. Mr. Sq. p. 107 XVI Personal Vindication p. 112 CHAP. II. Of the Reasoning part of Mr. B's Book Sect. I. MR. B's stating the Case as to purity of Worship and Discipline p. 126 II. Mr. B's Partiality p. 138 APPENDIX Containing an Answer to Mr. B's Objections against the Sign of the Cross. Sect. I. THE proper Method to discover the true Nature of Sacraments as Signs p. 159 II. That Sacraments are primarily Signs of God's Grace not of our duty 171 III. That the Scriptures Warrant us to use other Signs that are not Sacraments for the several uses assigned by Mr. B. to Sacraments 201 IV. Of Representing Signs 208 V. Of Obliging Signs 221 VI. Of Distinguishing Signs 240 VII That the Cross is such a Sign as the Scriptures Warrant 251 Conclusion 274 A SECOND ADMONITION TO THE Dissenting Inhabitants Of the Diocess of DERRY Concerning Mr. J. Boyse his Vindication of his Remarks on a late Discourse of William Lord Bishop of DERRY CONCERNING The Inventions of Men in the Worship of GOD. CHAP. I. Concerning Matters of Fact I. I Thought it necessary in a former Admonition to give you some account of my design in my Book concerning The Inventions of Men in the Worship of God in order to enable you to pass a judgment on Mr. Boyse's Remarks on it He has thought himself concerned to write a Vindication of them And tho' I do not suppose it very necessary I shall give you a few Reflections on it It consists of Matters of Fact and Reasonings I shall say a little to each of them and leave you to judge of it And I pray most heartily to God that it would please him to direct you The matter is of great moment since it concerns the Worship of God and whatever Mr. Boyse would suggest the true point is Whether about Nine in Ten of you shall Worship God publickly any where on the Lord's Day or stay at home If I can prevail with you to come to the Established Worship you may easily and conveniently Worship God in your Parish Churches every Lords Day or oftner and receive the Lords-Supper four times every Year at least and oftener if you desire it But if I cannot perswade you to this about Nine in Ten of you must stay at Home as you have done for many Years and perhaps not have a fit opportunity of Communicating afforded you once in Seven Years Sect. I. Concerning the Numbers of those that neglect all Publick Worship on the Lord's Day THis then shall be the First Matter of Fact of which I shall endeavour to make you sensible since Mr. Boyse questions it and jests at my concern about it Vind. p. 2. The account he opposes to it is in these words That in the Parish of Templemore alias Derry there are two Meetings in which there will be found above 2400 who ordinarily Worship God every Lord's Day the least Congregation amongst you are ordinarily 600 and some above a thousand that do Worship God every Lord's Day so that where Ministers are settled you do not know of one in twenty that do not ordinarily attend Publick Worship This account he says he has from your Ministers You will easily be Judges of the truth of it and therefore I desire you to consider II. First That even in Derry there are Congregations much less than 600 and seldom in Burt above 400 or 500 and that those two Meeting-Houses tho the largest will not hold 1200 to Hear I sent to count and am assured both have not a thousand ordinarily 2dly I desire you to remember that tho' these Meeting-Houses are both in the Parish of Derry yet the Inhabitants of 11 Parishes depend on them who have no nearer or more convenient Meetings to go to That is to say Fanthen Desertegny Clonmany Coldagh Clonca Donagh Movill Clandermot part of Faughanvale part of Cumber and part of Donaghedey a District in length from Malin to Donaghedey Church about 33 Miles and in breadth from the Church of Faughanvale to the lower end of Inch about 14 Miles In which there are 14 Churches and Chappels and in which 12 Conformable Clergy-Men continually Officiate Preaching in the Morning and Catechizing for about one half of the Year in the Afternoons with an Explanation of some heads of the Catechism This scope of ground is well Inhabited and if I mistake not is near as big as the County of Dublin and contains at least one fourth part of the whole Diocess and if there be in the Parish of Templemore of your perswasion 2400 as Mr. Boyse intimates and I do believe there are there can hardly be less in the other 11 Parishes than 4 times as many and then in all about 12000 depend on these two Meeting-Houses Of which I doubt if a thousand attend Publick Worship on one Lord's Day with another And if we allow 1200 as Mr Boyse suggests yet it doth not mend the matter for it is still but a tenth part of the whole III. Your next Meeting is yet in a worse condition for there depends on it Tamlaghfinlagan alias Ballykilly Drumchose Aughanlow Balteagh Dongevin Banagher part of Cumber part of Faughanvale and of Tamlanghard a District containing some of the richest and best planted Parishes in the County of Londonderry and in length from the point of Magilligan to the further part of Banagher at least 20 Miles and in breadth from the Church of Faughanvale to the utmost part of Balteagh or Drumchose about 14. Yet here the Meeting-House will not contain as I am informed above 400. The like may be said of the Meeting of Aghadowy upon which there depend the Parishes of Aghadowy Kilrea Desertoghill Erregill part of Macosquin part of Tamlaghocrielly and the Chappel of Fagevy in length from the old Church of Camus to the most distant parts of Tamlaghocrielly 13 or 14 Miles and from the Ban River to the most
had reformed effectually these Abuses I should not have troubled my self with a Vindication for my design was not to Accuse but Reform you yet I thank God my Endeavours have not altogether proved unsuccessful upon you even in this point VIII Mr. B. affirms Rem p. 111. That your Ministers frequently in their Discourses to their People recommend Standing or Kneeling in their publick Prayers and p. 112 That they have faithfully declared to their people their dislike of Sitting Now pray let me give you this easie Test to distinguish your Faithful Ministers from the Unfaithful Those of them that have frequently and heartily reproved you for Sitting at your publick Prayers before my Book appeared count them in this point Faithful Ministers of the Gospel and those that have not done so reckon them as they truly are Unfaithful and conniving Shepherds And take heed how you trust them in other cases I thank God for it that by all I can learn my Book has done more to reform this Unseemly Practice as Mr. B. himself calls it Rem p. 112. amongst you than all your Ministers these 50 years and plainly shews that they need some inspection to mind them of their Duty Sect. X. Concerning the Practise of Bodily Reverence by Dissenters 1. A Seventh Matter of Fact with which Mr. B. anew charges me Vind. p. 23. is That I affirm that the Dissenters are Taught that external postures of Bodily Worship may in no case be practised for which he quotes my Discourse p. 137. I wish that Mr. B. while he taxes me for Accusing you Unjustly and misrepresenting you were careful of avoiding such dealings toward others If you look into the place quoted you will neither find the Words nor Sence of what he alledges against me my Words are That in case of Necessity we think our Outward Performances may be lawfully omitted but you are Taught that in no case they may be lawfully practised You are Taught rather to stay at home and not to Worship God at all publickly than to conform in Outward Gestures or Circumstances In which words it is plain First That I address my self to you in particular and not to Dissenters in general as he represents me Secondly It is evident I spake here of the Outward Gestures and Circumstances to which our Church requires you to conform in order to joyn in her publick Worship and not of all External Postures of Bodily Worship And it is too sad a Truth that above Twenty thousand of you in this Diocess refrain and have refrained every Lord's day from all Publick Worship for many Years rather than joyn in these and that you have counted our Standing Kneeling c. idolatrous heretofore appears not only from your Practice and Profession but from your Authors Witness the Reasons for which the Service-book urged upon Scotland ought to be refused printed 1638 in which the Third Reason is because it hath a number of Popish Superstitious and Idolatrous Ceremonies amongst which are reckoned the Priest's Standing Kneeling Turning to the People and the Peoples Standing at Gospels at Gloria Patri c. Creeds their Answering the Minister and many such-like in number above Fifty These unchristian and unjust Censures are still in many of your Minds and for ought I find they are the chief Objections you have against our Service and I beseech God in his Mercy to grant that either my Reasons or Mr. B's Concessions may remove them so that we may hear no more from you of the Idolatry Superstition or Popery of our Ministers Kneeling at their Prayers or standing at their Blessings or of our Peoples Kneeling at their Confessions of Sins at their Prayers and Communions or Standing at their Praises Thanksgivings Professions of Faith and other parts of our Service that require a more solemn attention and concern Sect. XI Concerning the Praises of God 1. I Shall add an Eighth Matter of Fact that has relation to the same Affair and that is concerning your praising God Mr. B. alledges Vind. p. 23. these as my words and puts them as such in Italian Characters That You have no other way of Praising God but by singing a Verse or two of a Psalm And quotes my Discourse p. 24 for them but if you look into the place you will find that these are neither my words nor sense I am there only comparing your use of Psalms and Hymns in the Praises of God with ours and I observed that our Church praises God every day with five or six Psalms besides other Hymns Whereas You only praise him in a piece of a Psalm of a few Verses A thing so notoriously true that without perverting the words 't is impossible to find any Exception against them He objects indeed That your Directory prescribes Extemporary Thanksgivings and spends many Pages in his Remarks about them But I answer Thanksgivings and Praises are different things tho' they commonly go together and your Extempory Thanksgivings are reckoned in your Directory under the Head of Prayers The Title under which they are prescribed is that of publick Prayer after Sermon The Rule is The Sermon being ended the Minister shall give Thanks c. And then the Prayer ended let a Psalm be sung I had no intention to deny these but reckoned them as your Directory doth with your Prayers Which gives no other Rule for the Praises of God but under the head of singing Psalms the words there are It is the Duty of Christians to praise God by singing of Psalms the only Rule for the Praises of God in the whole Directory Properly speaking Psalms and Hymns are the Scripture way of praising God tho' in a large sense we praise him by our Confessions of Sins and Faith and by our Prayers as well as by our Thanksgivings Sect. XII Concerning the Rule of Human Prudence 1. A Ninth Matter of Fact is concerning the Rule of Human Prudence that we find Rem p. 7 9 he charges me Vind. p. 28 with Mistaking that Rule and supposing that he denied that God had given us any particular Directions at all in reference to the Modes of Worship But I must declare I neither did nor intended to ascribe any such Opinion to him I knew very well that he owned many such but he positively affirmed Rem p. 7. That tho' God has commanded publick Prayer Praise Hearing Celebration of the Lords-Supper c. yet at what time or place we shall assemble in in what order these parts of Worship shall be performed what particular devout posture we shall use among several equally expressive of our religious Reverence what Translation of the Bible or Version of the Psalms we shall chuse what portion of the Scripture shall be Read Explained and Applied what Utensils shall be employed in the celebration of the Sacraments and a multitude of such Circumstances and Modes of that kind are left to Human determination only therein the general Rules of Scripture must be regarded Now tho'
affect their Sect. II. Concerning Frequency of Sacraments I. BUt Secondly Because the Frequency of your Sacraments which is the next greatest Matter of Fact has a great dependance on this Last I shall consider it next and compare my Assertions with Mr. Boyse's and engage you to judge who comes nearest the Truth My words at which Mr. Boyse takes so great Exception are these Dis. Chap. 5. Sect. 3. N. 3. When People were relaxed from the particular and certain Rules of our Church by the first breaking off of those of your Perswasion from us the Lord's Supper was laid aside wholly for several Years by some Congregations I appeal to you whether it is not yet reckoned a great thing among you if once in a Year or two a Communion be Celebrated in one of your Meetings nay among some of you it is omitted for several Years By the best enquiry I could make I could not compute that one in ten that go to your Meetings ever Receive thro' the whole course of their Lives I should be glad to find that I were mistaken in this Computation Mr. B. denies every one of these with many hard words and asserts p. 136. That it is Universally usual in every Meeting where an Ordained Minister is to have the Lord's Supper Administred once a Year and twice in the larger Towns To convince the World of the Truth of what I said and of Mr. Boyse's mistake I laid down the account I received of this Matter and found that the Sacrament was Administred but about Nine times in Seven Years in all the Meeting-Houses of the Diocess before the writing of my Admonition which was May 1694 as appears from the date of it Mr. B. is very ill pleased with my Computation and alledges that a very particular enquiry has been made Vind. p. 16. The Account of which he sums up in these words The Year 88 falling within the Compass of the Seven Years mentioned by the Bishop you had it in that Seven Years 22 or 23 times If it had been thus it is very little to the purpose since even so it doth not amount to once a Year in every Meeting where there was an Ordained Minister But Mr. Boyse might have observed that Eight of these were Celebrated amongst you last Summer since my Admonition that is at Burt Strabane Donaghmore Ardstra Ballykelly Aughadowy Maghera and Derry This Last appears by the Derry Certificate it self to have been July 22 1694 near three Months after my Admonition was Written which shews that he includes the Sacraments of Summer 1694. There remains then confessedly but about 14 and I do not think it material to contend about five Sacraments in a whole Diocess in Seven Years II. But Secondly Mr. B. is so far from shewing any mistake in what I asserted that I think he has furnished me with a sufficient proof of it for he affirms p. 16. That after a very particular Enquiry he finds in the Years 87 and 88. The Sacrament was administred in Derry twice in Donagheede twice in Drumrah twice in Ardstra twice in Urny twice in Donaghmore twice in Lifford once in Clandermot once These then are all the Sacraments that your ministers on a particular Enquiry could find Administred in these two Years in this Diocess and indeed I perceive they took great pains in the Enquiry sending Quaeries about to this purpose It appears then that in other Meetings in this Diocess there was none Administred in those two Years and of such as had Ordained Ministers there was these following 1 Burt. Mr. Ferguson their present Minister No Sacrament in 1687 or 88. They had before Mr. Grahms Mr. Haunton Mr. Haliday These Officiated about 20 Years and had but three Sacraments that I can find 2 Ballykelly Mr. Crooke their present Minister has served above 30 Years No Sacrament in 87 or 88. When or how often before not known 3 Aughadowy Mr. Boyd their present Minister for above 30 Years No Sacrament in 87 or 88. Nor can I find when or how often before 4 Tamlaghocricly Mr. Gilchrest for many Years before the Troubles No Sacrament in 87 or 88. Nor any before that I can find 5 Macosquin Mr. Lowry before the Troubles No Sacrament in 87 or 88. Before him they had Mr. Boyd Mr. Wilson Mr. Eliot but no Sacrament for 16 Years that I can find 6 Maghera Mr. Kilpatrick who officiated above 20 Years No Sacrament in 87 or 88. The Sacrament Administred Seven or Eight times and no more in those 20 Years that I can find 7 Dumboe Mr. Wilson till the troubles and four Years before No Sacrament in his time Mr. Blair before no Sacrament two Years before he died I cannot find how many before 8 Strabane Mr. Wilson before the troubles for 20 Years No Sacrament in 87 or 88. But one or two at the most in his time as I can find Here you may observe that Eight Meetings in this Diocess for the Years 87 and 88 had no Sacrament at all of the rest some had one some had two as is alledged which to shorten the dispute I will take for granted since this is sufficient to prove that it is a great matter if a Sacrament be Administred in one of your Meetings in a Year or two which was my Assertion And I have been so far from wronging you in it that it appears after the most strict Enquiry that none had above one in a Year in which number Mr. B. reckons six two had but one in two Years and Eight Meetings had none at all in these two Years But Secondly How they behaved themselves before those two Years appears sufficiently from the Account I have added and if there should happen to have been twice more Sacraments than I have an Account of yet it would not excuse your Ministers from a very Criminal Neglect and fully justifies my Assertion That the Sacrament is often omitted for several Years together in some of your Meetings and in some places for ten Years or more In which Number are Tamlaugh o Crilly Macosquin and Strabane the second best Town in the Diocess Thirdly It shews what you are to judge of Mr. B's Assertion p. 14. That it is Universally usual in every Meeting where an Ordained Minister is settled to have the Lords-Supper Administred constantly once a Year Here are eight had none in two years and I doubt whether it has been a constant Custom in any one Meeting to have it once a year at least I have seen no Voucher for it III. As to his asserting Your having the Lord's Supper administred constantly twice a Year in the larger Towns I have told you in my Admonition p. 153 That I can call only three such in this part of the Country that is Londonderry and Strabane in this Diocess and Colrain in the border of it Now as to Londonderry it has had this Sacrament administred but twice in Six or Seven Years and Colrain but once in that time
Burt and then there remains 800 Communicants belonging to the twelve Parishes that I have shew'd depend on these two Meeting-houses which is not a tenth part of them Fourthly Let me observe that most other Meeting-houses are in worse circumstances than these as I have already shew'd in Ballikelly there was no Sacrament confessedly from summer 1686 till 1693 that is for seven years and then as I was informed there were not 400 Communicants Nor do I see any thing yet to oblige me to a ter my account but let it be 800 if we allow two thirds of these to be strangers according to Mr. B's assertion there remain 268 Communicants in that District in which there are five or six thousand People The like may be shewed of Aghadowy Maghera and others All which consider'd I think I spake modestly when I said one in ten III. But to comply with Mr. B. as much as I can I will take his own informations and examine this matter by them He mentions only one Sacrament celebrated in each Meeting-house amongst you this Year there are but eight in the Diocess but I will allow ten Sacraments Secondly He pleads for 1600 at two Sacraments in Derry and Burt I will allow proportionally for each of the rest tho' really some had not 400. The Number then of Communicants in the Diocess were this Year 8000 and those in effect are all that ever Communicated For he affirms as I already observed that those that Communicate once do it ordinarily on all following occasions Of these two thirds were Strangers by his own Confession that is such as came from other Parishes or Diocesses where they were likewise Communicants From whence it follows that only 2666 distinct Persons Communicated which is not one in ten of thirty thousand the Number of those of your Perswasion in this Diocess Sect. IV. The Directory a hindrance to Communions I. THere remains now my third Assertion to be examined that after the Establishing your Government the Lord's Supper was laid aside wholly for several Years this indeed I reckoned as an Effect of your Directory as you may see in my Book Chap. 5. Sect. 3. N. 3. And to make it good I will put you in mind that it orders That how often the Lord's Supper shall be Celebrated may be determined by the Ministers and other Church-Governours By other Church-Governours the Assembly tells us in their Humble Advice c. are meant Officers commonly called Elders From which it follows that where there are no such Elders the People must want the comfort of this Sacrament and the Parliament refusing the Erection of such Elders in every Parish the body of the People of England were kept from the Lord's Supper for many Years insomuch that in the Year 1649 I find Ministers meeting together to determine this Question Whether there were any Course warranted by the Word of God wherein Ministers might proceed to the Administration of this Sacrament as their Case then stood I find ten of these Ministers met at Taunton and wrote a Letter dated June 13. 1649 on this subject to Mr. Henry Jeanes of Chedzoy desiring him that He would be pleased to take the Question into serious Consideration and give his thoughts of it And say they We are the rather enclined to desire your particular Resolution therein because we understand that you have Administred that Sacrament and therefore doubt not but you have some way satisfied your self therein Upon this Mr. Jeans wrote a Piece publish'd 1650 entituled The Want of Church-Government no Warrant for a total omission of the Lord's Supper or A Debate of that Question which hath so wonderfully perplexed many both Ministers and People whether or no the Lord's Supper may be lawfully administred in a Church destitute of Ruling Elders He intimates p. 5. that they had omitted it five six or seven years together and might for the whole space of the remainder of their days for saith he to suppose that we shall never live to see the Church of God here in England setled in a Presbyterian way is a supposition of that which is neither impossible nor improbable II. From this you may observe to what a miserable condition your Directory had brought the People of England as to the participation of this Institution of Christ. I do believe Mr. Jeans's Book might do good and bring some â—o do what it seems he alone had ventur'd to do in those parts even to administer the Lord's Supper yet many continued in the omission of it as appears by the testimony of Dr. Causabon who lived at that time and has this passage in his Vindication of the Lord's Prayer published 1660 p. 55. Publick Catechising so necessary to uphold Christianity among Men tho' not so pleasing to itching Ears as ordinary Preaching is The use of the Sacraments which in divers Parishes were formerly duly Administred are now scarce known or named Mr. Boyse may give him hard words for this as he gives me but the thing is too notorious to be denied And when it was thus in Oxford where Dr. Owen had the Government and in Dublin till the Restauration you may imagine how it fared with Country Parishes whereas therefore Mr. B. would throw this practice of rare or no Communions peculiarly on you 't is manifest that you have only followed the President set you in England and Ireland by the body of Dissenters in their Prosperity and they are concerned in it as well as you tho' I did not address my self to them Sect. V. Mr. Boyse's Excuses for few Communions Examined I. IT remains to Consider some things that Mr. B. offers that seem to extenuate or excuse your Ministers us to their rare Communions The first is Rem p. 137. That Ministers of particular Congregations prepare their own People for it by visiting â—em round Examining every particular Member anew about their spiritual estate and making due Enquiry about their Conversation all which takes up a considerable time Now to this I answer that it is the Duty of Ministers to enquire concerning the spiritual estate of their People when it may be conveniently done but there is no Obligation on them to examine Men anew before every Sacrament The Scripture says Let a man examine himself and so let him eat Your Directory requires no such Examination nor is it agreeable to the sence of your own Party as appears from the Vindication of the Presbyterial Government by the London Ministers 1649 who own p. 59. this Examination or Profession is not required every time a Man comes to the Sacrament but only at their first admission and a compleat Member is by vertue of his first admission freed from all After-examination except in Case of Scandal For your Ministers therefore on pretence of their extraordinary pains in Examining to Celebrate the Lord's Supper but once in the year is plainly to prefer their own tradition to the Command of God that requires frequent Celebration of this
Sacrament II. But secondly Mr. B. alledges that you were Persecuted and that made you have the Sacrament so seldom This he alledges for Strabane Vind. p. 17. but I answer First That Persecution is no Reason for omitting the Lord's Supper any more than for omitting Sermons whilst your Ministers could not get opportunity to Preach they might be excused for omission of this Sacrament but it is full as easie to draw People together to receive the Sacrament as to hear a Sermon and to Administer it to them as to Preach twice or once a day If we will be content with the plainness and simplicity with which Christ instituted it and accordingly we find the first Christians in the deepest Persecutions were as constant in the one as in the other and thought the receiving it then most necessary to fortifie their Members with Resolution to endure Torments and Martyrdom From whence it is manifest your Ministers have a Notion of this Sacrament different from the Primitive Martyrs But Secondly I desire you to consider your manner of Administring this Sacrament concerning which Mr. B. tells us Remarks p. 137. that amongst you Every Parish having usually but one Minister 't is requisite the Ministers of neighbouring Parishes should assist them on that occasion and consequently they usually bring their People along with them I may add that there are often four or five Ministers at your Sacraments and sometimes 4 or 5000 People when only 400 receive you have likewise usually a Sermon some day before and the day after I confess Persecution is an effectual means to hinder the Celebration of the Lord's Supper in this fashion for no Government that is jealous of a People will suffer them to meet or continue together in this manner But I desire you to remember that Christ never required these things at your hands and therefore your omitting the Lord's Supper because you were not permitted thus to celebrate it is another instance of your Ministers making void the Commands of God by their own tradition Lastly I believe some of your Ministers might be hinder'd from publick Preaching and Sacraments for some short time that is whilst some of your Brethren were in Arms against the Government at Pentland-hills and Bothwell-bridge against whom they never made any publick Declaration or Address that I can learn but that this continued for any considerable time or that the inspection was so strict that they might not have Administred the Lord's Supper as our Saviour instituted it doth not appear nor is pretended And it is manifest that this is only a Pretence since they were no less negligent in the year 1687 88 when they had their full liberty III. A third thing offered by Mr. B. is Vind. p. 15 that I know well enough that for two Years of the seven at least both the Ministers and People were scattered and had no opportunity of Celebrating the Institution I must profess that I neither know nor have heard of any such dispersion of the People or Ministers as to hinder you from an Opportunity of Celebrating this Sacrament for two years The Irish Army came into this Diocess about April 1689 and left it in August following during which time some of your Ministers were in Derry and some in Scotland The People in the Country were then and for a considerable time after in a miserable condition and plunder'd of what they had but there were still great numbers of them and in their Circumstances being depriv'd of Worldly Comforts they needed and I hope were prepared for spiritual But your Ministers did not afford it to them as they ought to have done and this I do still make an aggravation of their Negligence tho' Mr. B. makes it an Argument of Imprudence in me to do so But I desire you to consider the Case and judge Mr. Crooke returned after the Siege to Ballikelly where there was still a large Congregation yet as he had been Negligent for two years or longer before so he continued unawakened by God's Judgments in the same Negligence till Summer 1693. Mr. Boyd had the same Opportunity at Aghadowy and yet shared in the same Guilt Mr. Ferguson returned soon after the Siege to his Congregation at Burt yet had no Sacrament till Summer 1692. Mr. Craghead returned soon likewise to his Congregation at Donaghmore and after removed to Derry and yet had no Sacrament till Summer 91 as is confessed at large in the Derry Certificate so far were these from going about and Administring to their Afflicted and desolate Neighbours that they starved their own Flocks and kept them from this Food of Life And this they did not only after the Siege till I came to this place but in it at that time when continual Deaths before their Eyes ought to have awaken'd them to more Devotion III. Mr. B. alledges Vind. p. 16. That the Conformists there ought to have a share in this reproof For those that he has desired to enquire upon the place could not learn that they Administred it more than the other I have enquired of this matter and am assured by those that Received at that time that this Holy Sacrament was Administred Monthly in the Cathedral as was usual that eleven Clergy-Men received it together and that towards the latter end when Wine grew scarce Dr. Walker reserved a proportion for the Sacrament and when he apprehended it would not hold out he declared That rather than not Celebrate he would mix it A Practice much more allowable than omitting it Besides the publick Administration it was frequently Administred to the sick And as to the Clergy that remained in the Diocess they behaved themselves worthy of their Character Travelling on foot many Miles to visit the Sick Baptise and Preach And as soon as they could procure Wine which was not to be had till after the Siege was rais'd Administred the Lord's Supper which so many as were not chas'd by the Enemy from their Cures had done the Easter before and did again Christmas after IV. But now I must tell you that Recrimination if true is a plain Confession of Guilt and a sign of a desperate Cause It may be very proper for a man that has Authority and is called to it by his Duty as I take my self to be to reprove what he finds amiss amongst those that he conceives to belong to his Inspection But for any one to go about to defend the Guilty by recriminating is to harden and encourage them in their sins by finding them out Examples and Presidents for their wickedness and is in effect to tell them what they are too apt of themselves to offer as an excuse for the worst of Practices that others are as ill as they Surely Examples fortify most of the World in Sin and I am heartily sorry that any one of Credit should point out this way of recrimination to harden them by it He is very guilty that has no way to clear himself but
by blackening another and when that is done without truth as the case is here it is a grief to a good Man to think that serving a Party should Influence any to do it V. But Mr. B. gives me very hard words Vind. p. 15. for looking back no further than my own time in my account of Sacraments administred in the Establish'd Church whereas I give an account of yours for seven Years If I had for 30 I do not see any harm in it but the truth was that many Ministers were dead and I could not meet with any that readily could inform me But to satisfy you that I had no design in this I will not give you the best Account I can get for these three Years that are omitted Tho' I suppose all are not come yet to my knowledge In the Year 1688 the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was Administred in the Cathedral 12 times In the Parish Churches 83 times In the Cathedral in the Year 1689 12 times In the Parish Churches 41 times In the year 1690 in the Cathedral 12 times In the Parish Churches 39 times In all 199 And now I do not see what advantage it was to me to have omitted this or why Mr. B. should express such resentment at it St Paul cautions us against Evil Surmisings 1 Tim. 6. 4. And whether the imputing this to Disingenuity in me be of that sort I leave you to judge if you compare the two years of the Troubles there is 104 of ours to none among you VI. The last excuse Mr. B. makes for your Ministers is their Sickness this he alledges in behalf of Mr. Wilson for Strabane Mr. Rowat for Lâ—fford and Mr. Crooke for Ballykelly but this is no excuse These were as negligent when well as sick and none of them was a year without Preaching several Sundays twice And it is full as easy to Administer the Sacrament to two or three hundred as to Preach a Sermon It is usual for 3 or 4 of your Ministers to assist at Neighbouring Sacraments and one assistant would have prevented any disappointment of the People which Mr. B. says Vin. p. 16. hapned twice at Balindret Ministers that are infirm may very lawfully omit one of their Sermons on the Lords Day and Administer the Sacrament in lieu of it In which Case there is no hardship on them since the People give it to one another amongst you without any blessing at the delivery to each Neither doth your Directory require the Minister to make any Exhortation whilst the People are receiving nor after they have received only says he may in a few words put them in mind c. And therefore whilst your Ministers make two Sermons a-day and yet pretend disability for Administring the Lords-Supper we must reckon this another instance of your making void the Commands of God by your own Tradition A Sermon that justles out the Sacrament is a Human Invention as much as Alms that hinder a Man from relieving his Parent Mark 7. 11. VII These are all the excuses that Mr. B. seem to have made for you and I doubt they will appear very slender in the eyes of God when he calls your Teachers to an account for their Stewardship in dispersing the Misteries of God It had been much more proper methinks for a Christian Minister to have reproved you for your negligence than to have denied plain Matter of Fact and pleaded such Excuses Mr. B. doth both in his Remarks and Vindication object to us the Diocess of Down and Conor I think he has little reason to do it to Me But I must now tell you that the neglects there were neither so Universal nor unexcusable as these of your Ministers have been in this particular and had you been in Chancery Michaelmas Term last you would have heard as much said for the most negligent there as Mr. B. has written for your Ministers which only shews that Money and interest will find colours for every thing But the negligence of your Ministers sufficiently shews the want of Discipline amongst them and that the Inspection of a Bishop would do them no harm And I hope this Admonition will not hurt you nor them I shall think I have done a good work and thank God for it if I can awaken you to more care for the future and reckon that the nearer you come to the Scripture-Rule the nearer you will come to us and there will be the more hopes of an Union which I shall always heartily endeavour Sect. VI. Concerning the Reading the Scriptures I. THE third Matter of Fact in dispute between Mr. B. and Me is concerning your Reading the Holy Scriptures The words he excepts against are these Disc. Chap. 3. S. 3. N. 3. but the most sad and deplorable defect of your performances of this Duty is your casting out the Word of God from most of your Publick Assemblies directly contrary to God's Institution and Ordinance for the Instruction of his Church insomuch that in many of your Meetings setting aside a Verse or two for a Text or Quotation at the discretion of the Minister the voice of God is never publickly heard amongst them And in all the Meetings in the North of Ireland in a whole Year perhaps there is not so much Scripture Read as in one day in our Church And 't is a sad thing that a man may go to most meetings many years and never hear One entire Chapter read in them The things Asserted here are First That the Reading of the Word of God as God Instituted and Ordained it for the Instruction of his Church is cast out of most of your Meetings I shewed that God ordered his Word to be read Regularly and in Order and that this Reading of it is cast out not only of most of your Meetings but out of all of them there not being one of them that yet appears to have read either Testament through in 30 Years before the writing of my Discourse or indeed ever that I can learn And therefore till I see good Vouchers that the Word of God has been thus Read I think there can be no question of the Truth of this Fact It is not only the manner of Reading is here in Dispute and denied by me but the thing it self of which we can never be sure without the Manner be settled for when there is a certain method for Reading the Word of God as in our Church we can be sure that it is Read But this is so far otherwise with you that no man that ever I yet met with or could have an account of could vouch that he heard so much of the Bible read in your Meetings in his whole Life as is read in the Cathedral of Derry every Year and in many other Churches and ought by our Rules to be in all Now when a Man has been a Hearer 50 years in your Meetings and cannot affirm that ever he heard two intire Books of the Bible
Authentick Rule concerning it at all as I shew'd in my Admonition And when Proposals were made concerning it they were rejected by a Parliament of your own Party with great Abhorrence We cannot say they in their Declaration 1646 consent to the granting of an Arbitrary and Unlimited Power and Jurisdiction to near Ten thousand Judicatories to be Erected within this Kingdom and this demanded in a way inconsistent with the Fundamentals of Government excluding the Power of Parliaments The Question then between Your Discipline and Ours is Whether it is better to have no Rules but meer Arbitrary Power in Ten thousand Judicatories to exercise a Discipline inconsistent with the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom and the Power of Parliaments or to have certain and determinate Rules for the Exercise of it such as our Canons and Rubricks which are very consistent with the Constitution of the Kingdom and would certainly reform the World if executed and nothing hinders their execution that I know but Your Separation I cannot reckon it a Happy Progress in Reformation as Mr. B. does to throw down a well-establish'd Discipline founded on good Authority and with good Rules and Establish nothing in the place of it 'T is not Purity of Discipline to make it Arbitrary and have no Rules at all And yet I am afraid many are for reforming Faith as You have reformed Discipline III. Secondly in your Church Constitution you are not yet agreed and we do not know what you would have I observed that Mr. B's sense of these things is much different from yours both as to the Rules and Manner of Proceeding in your Judicatories insomuch as you are not yet agreed who shall have the power of the Keys Whether a single Congregation or a Presbytery Adm. p. 47. To make you a little sensible of this I will compare Mr. B. and his Parties Sentiments with Yours First then You own generally That a National Church is of Divine institution but Mr. B. and his Party declare Reflect p. 4. That such a National Church is not of Divine Institution and is indeed only A Combination of Churches as united under one Civil Soveraign its true Notion lies not in any Combination purely Ecclesiastical and Intrinsical but Civil and Extrinsical Secondly You hold that many particular Congregations may be under one Presbyterial Government Mr. B. and his Party That no particular Church shall be subordinate to another and That none of them their Officer or Officers shall Exercise any power or have any Superiority over any other Church or their Officers Heads of Agreement p. 11. You hold That it is agreeable to the Word of God that there be a Subordination of Congregational Classical Provincial and National Assemblies for the Government of the Church Mr. B. and his Party That Church-Councils are not for Government but for Unity not as being in Order of Government over the several Bishops Reflect p. 58. and Heads of Agreement p. 10. Thirdly You hold that Excommunication is a shutting the Kingdom of Heaven against impenitent Sinners But with Mr B. and his Party Excommunication it self in their respective Churches is no other than a declaring such scandalous Members as are irreconcilable to be incapable of Communion with them in things peculiar to the visible Relievers Pref. to the Heads of Agreement In which sense any two Men may Excommunicate a third It requires no Power at all to declare a Man incapable of Communion with me but only Judgment and so there is an end of Church Governors and Censures Fourthly You hold That those that are Ordained ought not to be Ordained again but Mr. B. and his Party teach That if any hold in case of the Removal of one formerly Ordained to a new Station or Pastoral Charge there ought to be a like solemn Recommending him and his Labours to the Grace and Blessing of God No different Sentiments or Practice herein shall be any occasion of Contention or Breach of Communion amongst you Fifthly You hold That Ruling Elders are of Divine Right and your Constitution so far as appears to us is founded on them but Mr. B. and his Party declare that whereas divers are of Opinion that there is also the Office of Ruling Elders and others think otherwise They agree that this makes no Breach among them Heads of Agreement p. 13. Sixthly You hold That the Ruling Officers of a particular Congregation have only power to suspend from the Lord's Table and that Casting out belongs to the Presbytery But Mr. B. and his Party hold That each particular Church hath Authority from Christ for Exercising Government and of enjoying all the Ordinances of Worship within it self Heads of Agreement p. 4. All these are material Differences and concern the Being of a Government and in all of them you differ from Mr. B. and his Party and only in one of them from us that is in the Fifth and then judge what Progress it is in Reformation to separate from a National Constitution to joyn with such that do not so much as pretend to it IV. Thirdly Your Purity that should invite Men to joyn with you doth not consist in Doctrine for in this confessedly you have no Advantage of us for these very Heads of Agreement acknowledge it sufficient as to Soundness of Judgment in Matters of Faith to own the Doctrinal part of those commonly called The Articles of the Church of England which we all Subscribe You then have made no Progress in this Point Fourthly As to Preaching the Gospel which is a necessary Mark of the Purity of a Church it is manifest You come short of Us the great Mysteries thereof being neither so Diligently so Constantly so Regularly or so Universally taught by your Ministers as in our Church nor so Good and Obliging Rules for doing so So that Men that would hear them taught in this manner ought to joyn with us as I have already shew'd Fifthly As to the Administring the Sacraments which is another necessary Mark of the Purity of a Church Your Ministers have been Notoriously Defective they have let many dye without Baptism that had a Title to it and have been no less Negligent in Administring the Lord's Supper insomuch that not one of them have done their Duty this thirty Years in Administring it often as Christ requires Therefore those of you that would partake frequently of this Sacrament must joyn with our Church Sixthly As to Holiness of Life you have no Advantage over us being no better than your Neighbours and if you take away such as are not of us as a Church but as we are the Governing Party and who will always Joyn themselves to that which is so I doubt whether you be so good There needs no more to convince you of this than to consider that Mercy Justice and Truth are counted by our Saviour to be the great things of the Law and you will not find that the Protestants in the North of Ireland of which You
year This he interpreteth Vind. p. 17. only of the most devout and serious which is very different from the Generality since if One do it the words may be true in the sense he gives of them but I have allowed as you see before One in Four of your Communicants to be thus devout and serious III. Secondly He affirmed 〈◊〉 136. That all of you have the opportunity of Communicating 10 12 or 15 times a Year if you will take the advantage of receiving it as often as it is administred within a few Miles of your respective Habitations This he interprets Vind. p. 19. To be Estimated from those parts where the main Body of Dissenters are to be found and p. 19. That he is not obliged to prove it concerning every particular one in the Remotest parts of the Province of Ulster As if the Diocess of Ardmagh Clogher Rapho Derry Drummore with a considerable part of the Diocess of Down and Connor were more in the Remote parts of Ulster than Antrim Carrickfergus Glenarm and the other places he mentions But I fully shewed in my Admonition that there is no Congregation in the Diocess of Derry nor I believe in any of the other places named in which the people may Communicate ten times a year without Riding 40 Miles which is very unreasonable to expect let them take what advantage they will Nor had I any intention to consine you to one Diocess as Mr. B. wou'd insinuate Vind. p. 18. I mean honestly and plainly in what I say and never designed to help out a Cause by Equivocations And as to those places Mr. B. has mentioned they are all in a Nook or Corner as may be seen by the Mapp and yet by his own Confession it requires 24 Miles Riding to attend them and sometimes 30 which are not a few Miles for the Generality of Country People being an unreasonable Charge and impracticable by many especially by Women and Servants who have as good a title to the Lord's Supper and are often as serious and devout as the Masters of Families This contrivance therefore of sending People from their Parish Churches no ways answers either in point of Conveniency or Order to the frequent Administration of that Sacrament in every Parish nor is Equivalent to it as he suggests p. 32. IV. Thirdly Whereas he asserts Rem p. 13. That it is Universally usual in every Meeting where an Ordained Minister is settled to have the Lords Supper Administred twice in the larger Towns every Year He now tell us Vind. p. 17 That the twice a Year in the Larger Towns was intended and is true of Belfast Carrickfergus and Antrim As if Lisburn Colerain and Londonderry were not larger Towns then Antrim and as if Strabane Newry Ballymenagh Ballymony Ardmagh Dungannon Downpatrick and many others were not in an equal rank with it And yet he has not produced any Voucher that this practice has been constant in these very three Towns or how long These and many such are the favourable Interpretations he allows himself V. But then as to us he is resolved to put what sence on our words he pleases and oblige us to stand by it Thus he will needs know my design in publishing my Book better than my self and oblige me to design it for the generality of Dissenters in England as well as in Ireland Vind. p. 6. Tho' the whole scope of it the Addresses in it my Management of the Impression and the very Title I sent with it to the Press For the use of this Diocess tho' lost there as the Printer must acknowledge and another substituted in place of it without my knowledge sufficiently declare the contrary VI. Secondly He will pretend to know the design of our Church's using the Cross in Baptism better than all her Sons from the Learned Hooker to this day as you may see Vind. p. 44. VII Thirdly Our Church in her Catechism in answer to that question What is required of Persons to be Baptised determines that Repentance and Faith are required Mr. B. after Mr. Baxter puts a very absurd sense on these words and then disputes against them alledging that by Repentance and Faith is meant present Faith and Repentance Vind p. 35. directly against the Catechism which requires only present Faith and Repentance in those that are capable of them But of Children who have a right to Baptism and are not capable at present of actual Faith c. She accepts a rational Presumption that they will believe when capable and an Engagement made by the Parents and Congregation under whose power they are solemnly declared by their Proxies and Vouchers the Godfathers and Godmothers It shews a mighty Prejudice against the Established Church and a delight to find fault in those that insist on such forced and disowned Construction of our words if we should deal thus with the Holy Scripture it wou'd expose even them VIII Fourthly Whereas I quote your Directory for a certain Position Chap. 2. Sect. 3. N. 2. meaning thereby that Book which commonly goes under that Name among You and whose words one of your own Ministers Mr. Craghead quotes as the Express words of the Directory p. 45. Mr. B. will oblige me to mean The Directory made by the Assembly of Divines for Publick Worship Whereas I meant not that part of the Book but the Directions which are your Directory for Private Worship as the other for the Publick and which being bound together with the other and with the Directory for Ordination of Ministers and other pieces do all commonly pass under the Name of the Directory and are so quoted by one of your own Ministers as I have already shewed Yet this he imputes to me as a very unpardonable mistake and repeats it again in his Vind. p. 23. I suppose every Body sees this is nothing to the matter whether that Position I quoted was in the Directory for Publick Worship or in the Directions for Private since both are owned and received by you to whom I wrote Therefore for Mr. B. to insist on it a second time plainly shews that his business is with the Person not the Cause and that he writes for a Party not the Truth otherwise he would not offer a matter the second time that is nothing to the purpose and for which there was no ground besides his being unacquainted with the terms used among you IX Fifthly Whereas I laid it down as a thing that wou'd be granted me by you that all ways of Worship are displeasing to God That are not expresly contained in Scripture or Warranted by Examples of Holy Men mentioned therein Mr. B. misrepresents my sense Vind. p. 30. as if I had intended by this Rule to exclude such things as may be deduced by clear consequence or parity of Reason from them Now I desire you to compare this Rule with your Catechism and you will find it expressed there in these words The Second Commandment forbiddeth the Worshiping
of God by Images or any other way not appointed in his Word And in your Confession of Faith Chap. 21. N. 1. thus The acceptable way of Worshiping the true God is instituted by himself and so limited to his own revealed Will that he may not be Worshiped according to the imaginations and devises of Men or the suggestions of Satan under any visible Representations or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture This Rule is stricter and needs greater Limitations than the words of my Book For First Here is no Allowance for things Warranted by Scripture tho' not prescribed as many things are Secondly There is no Authority given to the Examples of Holy Men in Scripture which are sufficient to warrant a Religious practice in Gods Worship tho' they do not amount to an appointment or prescription and are not alwayes obligatory In short your Catechism and Confession of Faith if we take them according to the Letter make all wayes of Worship unacceptable and unlawful that are not prescribed and appointed in Scripture Whereas my Rule allows Examples and Precedents of Holy Men to be a sufficient Warrant I supposed and I think with reason that you understood this Rule in your own Catechism and Confession of Faith with due Limitations and therefore had no reason to suspect but you would understand it with the same Limitations in my Book it being a manifest partiality to except against it when used by me and yet allow of it tho' expressed with less caution in your Catechism and Confession of Faith which yet ought to be more exact in wording a Rule than is necessary in a private Man's Writings Of this partiality Mr. B. is guilty and plainly discovers by it that he has one Rule for interpreting the words of his own Party and another for interpreting those of his Adversary But Secondly I desire you to observe That in my whole Book I never used this Rule otherwise than with those Limitations that I have now expressed nor has Mr. B. produced one instance wherein I did otherwise As for Example I tax you with bringing in the Inventions of Men into the Service of God in your Use of the Psalms not for singing the Meetre Psalms for that I allow lawful but for introducing them without necessity to the exclusion of the Prose Psalms for Singing of which we have Scripture-Warrant and Example I taxed you likewise with introducing a Human Invention into the Worship of God in your Expounding Scripture not that Expositions of Scripture are unlawful but to make them necessary every time the Scripture is read is Literally such an invention and so is likewise your excluding the Regular and Orderly Reading the Word of God as he has appointed for the Edification of his Church to make room for your Lectures of both which you have been guilty these Fifty Years last past I past the same Censure on your Extemporary Prayers not that I condemned them in all Cases but because on the account of them you had turned the Lord's Prayer prescribed in God's Word and the Use of Forms in the Ordinary Prayers of the Assembly which is the Scripture way of Praying on such Occasions out of your Meetings Whereas it is manifestly a Teaching for Doctrine the Commandments of Men to Teach as you do that Praying extemporary is more acceptable to God or more edifying than Praying by a Form there not being the least colour in Scripture for such a Doctrine I might shew the like in every place of my Book where I used this Rule either in proving the Orders of our Church or in disproving yours so that Mr. B. had no reason to find fault with it But Thirdly The Rule needs not these Limitations it being agreed by all sober Interpreters That whatever can be deduced from Scriptures by Clear Consequence or Parity of Reason is sufficiently warranted by them though not expresly contained in them so there was no necessity to explain the Rule though I was willing to avoid the Exceptions even of the Captious and there fore put in the Explication you find in my Second Edition Fourthly Mr. B. excepts against my using the Phrase of Ways of Worship and alledges I used it frequently to signifie Circumstantiâ—â— Modes of it Vind. p. 30. But I Answer That I used the Phrase with which you were acquainted whereas I believe few of you ever heard of Circumstantial Modes of Worship before and I used it in the Sense you generally do when you ask for Scripture to warrant our using the Psalms by way of Answering our using Forms of Prayer our singing with Instrumental Musick our joyning our Voices in some Prayers our Receiving the Sacrament in a Worshiping posture and the other particulars against which you except in our Publick Service and I shewed these Ways are not only warranted but prescribed for the most part in Scripture Whereas those Ways you have introduced in the place of them have neither Command or Precedent in Scripture If these that I have named in our Service and yours be Circumstantial Modes they are the chief and greatest Exceptions that I ever found any of you make against joyning with us and they are the great matter of Reformation set forth in your Directory tho' Mr. B. seems to make light of them From the whole I think it appears That Mr. B. has both perverted and misapplyed my Rule and yet on this perverted sense of my Words are founded most of his Arguments against our publick Worship X. Lastly This Method of sixing Principles upon me and then writing a Book to Confute them is not new with Mr. B. He did it once before at a very unseasonable time and still persists in Taxing me with his own Consequences as if I indeed owned them Thus Vind. p. 25. he charges me with passing a Vertual Sentence of Damnation publickly upon you by Denying you to be a part of the Catholick Church and this he puts in Italian Letters as if they were my Words but there are no such Words in any Book I have yet written nor any just Ground to fix such a Sentence on me the whole Mystery of this so far as I know it is thus Mr. Manâ—y formerly Dean of Derry on his turning Papist published his Motives which prevailed with him to do so To these I wrote an Answer in the Year 1687 by which I thank God the Protestant Cause lost nothing and it was so well approved that it was Twice Reprinted in England But Mr. B. cou'd not digest it and therefore wrote Reflections on it and the greatest Exception he has against it is that I say in it That I meant by the Catholick Church the whole Body of Men professing the Religion of Christ and living under their Lawful Governours From which Words Mr. B. draws many strange and absurd Consequences alledging that they Un-Church all Dissenters all foreign Churches and render the Relation of all true Christians to our Blessed Lord as his
that accepts the King's Pardon and Protection under the Great Seal is obliged to be a good Subject and keep the Laws yet it doth not follow as I have already shewed that the King 's great Seal is a Sign from us to the King but solely from him to us 10thly He argues Vind p. 41. That Baptism was called a Sacrament because it was reckoned like the Military Oath of the Roman Soldiers as a solemn listing of the Person Baptized into the Service and Warfare of Christ. To this I answer First That the same Persons that call Baptism and the Lords-Supper Sacraments on this Account do likewise call several other Rites Sacraments And therefore in their Opinion to bind and oblige our selves to our Duty was not peculiar to those Signs which we now only call Sacraments Secondly I own there is such an Oath made at Baptism which binds and obliges us to be Faithful and thereupon we are admitted by Baptism into the Number and Priviledges of Christ's Soldiers But Baptism signifies God's act admitting us not ours any other way than by Consequence and Supposition And therefore we may make many such Vows beside what we make at Baptism and signify them by such Signs as are proper without any offence if we should do it by Writing and Sealing it were no harm which wou'd both be binding and obliging Signs on our parts yet no Sacraments or sinfull human Inventions any more than the Cross. 11thly He argues p. 42. That Sacrifices were Covenanting Rites and quotes Psal. 50. 5. Gather my Saints together those that have made a Covenant with me by Sacrifice To which I answer There were two things in Sacrifices First The offering of them to God as a Sign of our Homage and Duty which we owe him as we pay Tribute to the King And this was the Offerers Act and fully signified his Duty And then there was God's admitting the Offerer to feed on them after they were made his and this was God's Act and a Sign of his Favour and Reconciliation to the Person Therefore Sacrifices were Signs of our Duty to God as well as of his Favour to us but the case is otherwise in Baptism and the Lord's-Supper the offering that reconciles us to God was made by Christ not by us and we are reconcil'd by vertue of that And the Sacraments do only apply to us the Washing or Propitiation of Christ's Blood and feed us as reconcil'd Guests on his Body and therefore are wholly Signs from God to us and other Signs are necessary on our part to signify our Duty And therefore the Primitive Christians brought Meat and Drink for a common Feast at the Lord's Supper to signify the sincerity of their Love and Testify it to the World and we do yet Offer part of our Substance for the Relief of God's Servants at this Sacrament both which are Signs as well as Instances of our Duty and plainly shew that our Duty is not so signified in the Sacraments but other Signs are necessary on our part And if a man who came to demand Baptism shou'd as a Sign and Token of his Resolution to renounce the Devil the World and Flesh give a large Portion of his Substance to some Charitable use it were very lawful for him to use this Sign and no affront to Baptism as if it were not sufficient to signify our Duty and Obligation to God And such an Act would be a very acceptable Sacrifice to him 12thly He urges Acts 2. 38. Then Peter said unto them Repent and be Baptised every one of you in the Name of Christ for the remission of Sins and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost for the Promise is unto you and to your Children Whence he infers That they were by Baptism first to profess their Repentance towards God and Faith in our Lord Jesus and then receive the promised Benefit Remission of Sins Vind. p. 41. But here is not one word of professing Repentance by Baptism nor can any such thing be inferred from the Words but on the contrary they prove that the Sins of the Penitents are remitted by Baptism and they intitled to the promise of the Holy Ghost the granting both which are Acts of God's Favour bestowed on us in Baptism If Baptism were designed to profess or signify our Repentance directly there needed no other Profession or Signs of Repentance according to Mr. B. because the Sign appointed by God wou'd be sufficient but no Minister ought to Baptize any till by a solemn Profession before and other Signs and Tokens they satisfy him in some measure of the sincerity of their Faith and Repentance as I have already shewed 13thly He alledges our Saviours Command to Baptize Mat. 28. v. 19. Go ye therefore and Teach all Nations Baptising them c. This Command he says Vind. p. 41. plainly implies that one great use of Baptism was to be a solemn Bond upon them to the Duty of that Christan Profession they had imbraced and the Baptising them In the Name of the Father c. has been always supposed to imply a solemn Dedication of them by this Sacred Rite to the Faith Worship and Service of the Blessed Trinity But I answer That the plain meaning of these words is that Christ gives his Apostles power to admit Disciples by Baptism into the Priviledge of being Taught by the Father Son and Holy Ghost as their Master and Law-giver The Question is whether Baptism signifies God's admitting us to this Priviledge or our chusing him for our Lord and Master That is whether it signifies God's Act or ours I think it easy to determine this Question since it is manifest that Faith and Repentance which include our Submitting our selves to God are Qualifications required to Baptism and the person that demands it must satisfy the Ministers of the Sacraments that he is sincere in his Submission by such Signs and Profession of Repentance and of Faith as are proper to signify them before they ought to admit him I own Baptism is a Bond and dedicates us to God's Service but it is a Bond laid on us by God who requires Faith and Repentance of those that are Baptised and sets them apart and Consecrates them to his peculiar Service and to the Priviledges that attend and are promised to such 14thly He produces 1. Tim. 2. 19. Nevertheless the Foundation or Covenant of God stands sure having this Seal on God's part the Lord knows them that are his and this Seal on our part as he alledges Let him that names the Name of Christ depart from iniquity From whence he infers As the Covenant is mutual so the external Rite is intended to ratify our Restipulation as well as Gods promise But I answer This place proves that the Covenant of God requires on our part a Duty to depart from iniquity as well as it includes a Promise that God knows who are his that is will Own Protect and Reward them but that the Sacraments are our