thought by us and others to be inspired is that we are many times enabled in them to enlarge extempore with so much readiness and fluency which may be easily resolv'd into meer natural Enthusiasm or present fervour of temper And that from hence this fluency and enlargement in Prayer doth ordinarily proceed seems very evident by two undeniable signs first that according to our Brethrens own confession it comes upon them much oftener in their publick than in their private Devotions For this is an ordinary case in their Divinity how comes it to pass that good men often find themselves so enlarg'd in their publick and so strengthen'd in their private Prayers And indeed supposing the Spirit did ordinarily inspire the matter and words of their Prayer I see not how it could be well resolv'd unless we suppose the Spirit to be more concern'd to inspire us with fluency of matter and words when we are to speak before men than when we are only to speak before God The true resolution therefore of the case is this that in our private Prayers we want the sighs and groans and passionate gestures of a devout Congregation to chafe and excite our affections and the reverence of a numerous Auditory to oblige us to teaz and wrack our inventions for want of which our spirits are not ordinarily so vehemently agitated and heated as when we Pray in publick where being more than ordinarily warm'd partly with our own efforts and struglings to invent and partly with the warmths and pious fervours of the Congregation we are many times transported by this natural Enthusiasm into raptures of passion and inlargement this I say is the only reason that can be assign'd of it unless we will suppose that which is very unsupposeable of the Spirit of God viz. That he is more solicitous to indite our Prayers when we are in the presence of men than when we are only in the presence of God Secondly Another sign that this admired fluency and enlargement in Prayer proceeds from meer natural Enthusiasm is this that generally in the beginning of the Prayer they find themselves streighten'd and confin'd both as to the matter and words of it till they have Pray'd on for a while and then they grow more ready and fluent which how it should come to pass I know not supposing the Prayer were inspired unless perhaps the Spirit comes in only in the middle or towards the latter end of their Prayer but leaves them to their own invention in the beginning and what reason there should be for such an imagination I confess I am not able to guess The true account therefore of the matter is this that in the beginning of the Prayer their Spirits are usually dull and sluggish and do not flow and reflow so briskly to their heads and hearts as afterwards when they have been throughly chaft and heated with a labour and exercise of invention by which being excited and awaken'd they naturally raise the drooping fancy and render the invention more copious fluent and easie So that meerly by the Laws of Matter and Motion as plain an account may be given of this extemporary fluency and enlargement of Prayer as of any other natural effect whatsoever and therefore for our Brethren to attibute to the immediate inspiration of the Spirit of God that which hath such apparent signs of its derivation from natural causes is I conceive very unwarrantable By all which I think it 's very evident not only that we have no sign of the continuance of this Gift of Inspiration of Prayer remaining among us but that we have manifest signs of the contrary 4. And lastly That to suppose the continuance of this Gift of Inspiration of Prayer is to suppose more than our Brethren themselves will allow of viz. That their conceiv'd Prayers are infallible and of equal authority with the Word of God For if our Prayers are dictated to us by the Spirit of God they must be as infallible as he whose infinite knowledge cannot suffer him to be deceiv'd and whose infinite veracity will not admit him to deceive and if so then whatsoever he dictates or inspires must be remov'd from all possibility of error or mistake and consequently our Prayers must be so too supposing he inspires the matter and words of them And as they must be infallible in themselves so they must be of equal authority with Scripture for that which gives the Scriptures the authority of the Word of God is their being inspired by the Spirit of God and therefore whatsoever matter or words are so inspired are as much the Word of God as any matter or words in Scripture All Scripture is given saith the Apostle by the Inspiration of God And therefore whatsoever is given by his Inspiration must necessarily be his Word for what those Holy Men of God spake who deliver'd the Scripture they spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 1 Pet. 1. 21. and therefore what they deliver'd was the Word of God because their Mouths were the Oracles through which God spake if therefore when we Pray we are mov'd as they were by the immediate inspiration of God what we pray must be as much the Word of God as what they spake So that either our Brethren must affirm that their conceiv'd Prayers are of equal authority with Scripture which I am sure no sober Dissenter will presume or deny that they are immediately inspired by the Holy Ghost And thus I have shewn what those extraordinary Operations are which the Scripture attributes to the Spirit in Prayer I proceed in the next place to enquire what the ordinary and standing Operations are which the Scripture attributes to him and which he hath promised to continue to the end of the World Of which I shall give but a very brief account because herein we are all agreed In short therefore the ordinary Operations of the Spirit consist in exciting in us the graces and proper affections of Prayer such as shame and sorrow in the confession of our sins a sense of our need of mercy and a hope of obtaining it in our supplications for pardon resignation to God's will and dependance on his goodness in our Prayers for temporal mercies and deliverances hunger and thirst after righteousness in our Petitions for his grace and assistance and in a word gratitude and love and admiration of God in our Praises and Thanksgivings for Mercy For in these divine and gracious Affections the life and soul of Prayer consists as for the Words and Expressions of it about which our Brethren disagree with us they are of no other account with God than as they signifie to him the graces and affections of our Prayers without which he regards them no more than he doth the whistling of the wind and therefore since these affections are the main of our Prayer and words are nothing in his account in comparison with them can any man be so vain as to imagin that
not excuse him from guilt in not Practising it if indeed Gods Law hath made it a Duty So that it infinitely concerns all our Dissenting Brethren to consider very well what they do when they withdraw from our Communion Schism undoubtedly is a great and crying Sin A Sin against which there are as many hard things said in the Discourses of our Lord and his Apostles and in the Writings of the Ancient Christians as against any other Sin whatsoever And therefore let those that forsake our Communion and set up or joyn with other Assemblies in Opposition to ours I say let them look to it that they be not involved in the Guilt of this dreadful Sin They must be sure that their Separation proceeds upon good grounds if they would free themselves from the imputation of it It is not always enough to excuse them that they do believe there are Sinful Conditions imposed in our Communion and consequently it is their Duty to withdraw For unless the thing be so indeed their believing so will not cancel their Obligation to our Church Communion or make it cease to be Schism to withdraw themselves from it This may perhaps at the first hearing seem very strange Doctrine to many but yet it is true for all that and will appear a little more Evident if we put the Case in another instance wherein we are not so nearly concerned Here is one of the Roman-Catholick perswasion as they call it that hath been trained up in Popery and heartily believes it to be true Religion and the Only one wherein Salvation is to be had and therefore in Obedience to the Laws and Customs of that Church doth pay Religious Worship to Images doth pray to Saints and Angels doth give Divine Adoration to the Consecrated Bread in the Sacrament as really believing it to be turned into the Body of Christ to which his Soul and Deity is personally United Is now such a Person as this Guilty of Idolatry in these Practices or is he not He doth verily believe that he is not He would abhor these Practices if he did in the least believe that God had Forbid them as Idolatrous Nay he is so far from believing that they are Forbid that on the contrary he hath been taught to believe that they are necessary Duties and he cannot be a good Catholick unless he thus Worship Images and Saints and the Bread of the Host Well now the point is Whether such a Man believing as he doth be upon that Account acquitted from the Sin of Idolatry We all grant that if he had such clear Information about these things as we Protestants have he would certainly be an Idolater if he should contitinue in these Practices But whether his belief and Opinion and perswasion concerning these things do not excuse him and make that cease to be Idolatry that would otherwise be so This I say is the question But yet none of us make any great question of it For we do charge the Papists indiscriminately with Idolatry in their Worship notwithstanding their disclaiming it notwithstanding their Profession to Worship God no otherwise than according to his own Will notwithstanding they do really take themselves Obliged in Conscience to give Divine Worship to the Consecrated Elements and those other Objects And we charge them rightly in this For if it be really Idolatry by Gods word to do these things then it will be Idolatry in any Man to do them let his Opinion about them be what it Will. A Mans Ignorance or mistake or false Opinion doth not alter the nature of things it can neither make that cease to be a Duty which God hath Commanded nor that cease to be a Sin which God hath Forbidden All that it will do is that according to the Nature and Circumstances of it it may more or less Extenuate the Transgression that is committed upon the Account thereof And the Case is just the same in the matter before us For any Man to withdraw his Communion from that Church with which he ought and with which he may Lawfully Communicate That is as properly the Sin of Schism as it is the Sin of Idolatry to give Divine Worship to that which is not God For any Man therefore to break the Unity of the Church though it be upon this very Account that he doth believe it is his Duty so to do or that he cannot Communicate with that Church without Sin Yet if this perswasion of his be false and Erroneous he is no less a Schismatick for all this than the other Man is an Idolater that thinks it his Duty to adore Images and those other undue Objects of Divine Worship among the Romanists It is true the Mans Ignorance or Misperswasion will according to the greater or less Culpability of it more or less excuse the Mans Person before God as it doth in the other Case But it cannot in the least make that which God hath made to be Schism to be no Schism no more than in the other Case it makes that to be no Idolatry which Gods word hath declared to be Idolatry Well now admitting all this here comes the pinch of the thing It will be said What would you have a Man do in this Case He cannot conform with a safe Conscience and yet he is a Transgressor if he do not If he comply against his Conscience you grant he is guilty of Sin in so doing If he doth not Comply then you say he is a Schismatick and so is a Sinner upon that Account Why to this I say that both these things are often true and here is that Dilemma which Men by Suffering their minds to be abused with Evil Principles and Perswasions do frequently run themselves into They are reduced to that Extremity that they can neither Act nor forbear Acting They can neither Obey nor Disobey without Sin But what is to be done in this Case I know nothing but this That all Imaginable Care is to be taken that the Error and false Principles which misled the Man be deposed and that his Judgment be better informed and then he may both do his Duty which Gods Law requireth of him and avoid Sinning against his Conscience But how is this to be done Why no other way but by using Conscientiously all those means which common Prudence will Recommend to a Man for the gaining Instruction and Information to himself about any point that he desires throughly to understand That is to say Freeing his Mind from all Pride and Passion and Interest and all other carnal Prepossessions and applying himself seriously and impartially to the getting right Notions and Sentiments about his Duty in these matters Considering without prejudice what can be said on both sides Calling in the best assistance of the ablest and wisest Men that he can come by And above all things seriously endeavouring to understand the Nature and Spirit of the Christian Religion and to practice all that he is undoubtedly convinced to
the Poets and Orators of the Heathens whose fancies have been very often so strangely exalted by the fervour of their temper or disease that not only they themselves but they that heard them believed that they were inspired by God Supposing then that under a fit of this natural Enthusiasm a man should pray agreeably to Scripture how shall he be able to know by Scripture whether the present inspiration he is under be natural or divine and how will it be possible for him to avoid many times attributing the natural effects of his temper or disease to the immediate operation of the Spirit of God But you will say we all agree that the Spirit of God inspires good men with holy and fervent affections in their Prayers and yet it cannot be deni'd that this fervency of affection doth sometimes also proceed from the present temper of our bodies notwithstanding which we have no other sign or testimony besides that of Scripture whereby to distinguish when 't is divine and when natural doth not therefore the want of such sign as effectually conclude against the Spirits inspiring the fervour of our Prayers as against his inspiring the matter and words of them I answer no For as for the former we have a sure word of promise which we have not for the latter and therefore if we can claim the promise we have just reason to conclude when we feel our affections actually excited that how much soever other causes might contribute to it the Holy Spirit was the principal cause but where we have no promise we have no ground for such conclusion besides which we have no such need of signs to enable us to distinguish in the one case as in the other For as for the inspiration of affection we may easily distinguish whether it be natural or divine by our own sense if our present fervour be accompanied with a fixt and constant devotion of soul we may certainly conclude that the same Spirit which inspired the one inspired the other and whether it be so accompanied or no that natural sense and feeling we have of our own motions and affections will quickly inform us and we have no more need of an outward sign to satisfie us in this matter than we have to know whether we are hungry or thirsty but if the present fervour of our affections in Prayer be only a sudden fit and pang of devotion that finds and leaves us habitually indevout we have just reason to conclude that 't is intirely owing to our present bodily temper whether therefore our affections in Prayer are inspired by God our own sense will inform us if we impartially consult it but whether our matter and words are so no sense we have can resolve us we may feel the matter of our Prayer pour in upon us with extraordinary readiness and be inabled to pour it out again with extraordinary fluency and yet all this may proceed from our own fancy and invention quickned and enlarg'd by meerly natural Enthusiasm and therefore unless we had some other sign besides that of Scripture 't will be impossible for us to distinguish between a divine and natural inspiration of matter and words because that which is natural may be as agreeable to Scripture as that which is suppos'd to be divine and God hath given us no inward sense to distinguish betweeen one and t'other and can it be imagin'd that had he meant to continue this Gift of inspiration to us he would have thus left us in the dark concerning it without any certain sign whereby we might distinguish whether it be from his Spirit or from an ill-affected Spleen or a Feaver But then secondly as for Diabolical Inspirations of Matter and Words in Prayer we have sundry very probable Instances such as Major Weir who is said to have received his Inspirations through a Staff Hacket David George and that Monster of wickedness John Basilides Duke of Russia who were all of them possess'd with such a wonderful Gift of Prayer as did not only charm and ravish those that heard them but seem'd in the opinion of the most wise and impartial to exceed the power of nature which renders it very probable that the matter of their Prayers was for the most part agreeable to Scripture otherwise 't is hardly conceivable how they could have procured to themselves so many admirers and abused so many honest minds into a belief that they were immediately inspired by God And since by inspiring his Votaries with such matter of Prayer as is agreeable to Scripture the Devil may sometimes serve his own ends since he may thereby puff up giddy minds with pride and self-conceit and more effectually recommend Seducers and false Teachers to the World it 's very reasonable to suppose that this subtle Agent who so throughly understands his own game will in some case be forward enough to do it and if in any cases we may reasonably suppose that the Devil may inspire men with such matter of Prayer as is agreeable to Scripture then we can never certainly distinguish by Scripture whether it be the Spirit of God or the Devil that inspires us And can we without blaspheming the goodness of God imagin that if he had continu'd this Gift of immediate inspiration to us he would have neglected to continue such signs and testimonies of it as are necessary to distinguish it from the inspirations of the Devil doubtless 't is much better for us that this Gift should be totally withdrawn and that as to the matter and expressions of our Prayer we should be left to the guidance of Scripture and Reason than that by the continuance of it without some certain sign to know and distinguish it we should be left under a fatal necessity either of rejecting Divine Inspirations or of admitting Diabolical for Divine And therefore since we have no such sign continu'd among us we have all the reason in the world to conclude that this Gift is discontinu'd and ceas'd especially considering that we have not only no certain sign of any such inspiration in the conceiv'd Prayers of those which most pretend to it but many very certain ones of the contrary I will instance in four 1. The great impertinence and nonsense and rudeness to say no worse that are sometimes mingled with these Extempore Prayers I will not give Instances of this because it is so notorious that our Brethren themselves cannot but in part acknowledge it now to attribute these faults of conceiv'd Prayers to immediate inspiration would be to blaspheme the Holy Ghost and father our own follies upon him and yet sure had he thought meet to have continu'd to the Church this Gift of inspiration of Prayer it would have been in order to the securing the Worship of God from those rudenesses and indecencies to which extemporary Prayers of mens own conceiving are liable and if so to be sure in publick Prayer at least he would have constantly taken care to
to express their minds to him in Prayer these being the onely Scriptures that are urg'd by them to prove it But they object yet further That supposing God hath not given to all Christians the Gift of praying extempore yet to a great many he hath and therefore these at least he requires to pray by their Gift and not by a Form for so in 1 Tim. 4. 14. He expresly requires them not to neglect the gift that is in them but to stir up the gift of God that is in them 2 Tim. 1. 6. And as they have received the gift even so to minister the same to one another 1 Pet. 4. 10. And that having gifts differing according to the grace given to us whether prophesie to prophesie according to the proportion of Faith And if they are obliged by these Texts to exercise their Gifts in general then are they obliged by them to exercise their Gift of praying extempore in particular In answer to which I shall need do no more than explain the nature of the Gifts here mentioned from which I doubt not it will evidently appear that these Texts make nothing to the purpose for which they are cited First then as for the Gift spoken of in 1 Tim. 4. 14. the words themselves will sufficiently inform us what it is Neglect not the gift â—â—t is in thee which was given thee by prophesie with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery By which Gift it 's evident St. Paul means that of the Episcopal Dignity for first it 's here said to be given him by prophesie for so at the first plantation of the Gospel when the Apostles after they had made some Converts in any City or Country could make but a short stay among them and were forc'd to substitute some new-made Convert to supply their room and perfect their beginnings it was impossible that in so small a time they should be able by any humane means to discern which of their Converts was most fit for that employment and therefore the Holy Ghost did ordinarily point out the person to them by immediate revelation for so Clemens Rom. tells that at their first preaching in every City and Country 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. they ordained their first-fruits making proof of them by the Spirit Bishops and Deacons And thus Acts 20. 28. it 's said of the Bishops of Asia that the Holy Ghost set them over the Flock and in Acts 13. 2. that as they were ministring the Holy Ghost said Separate to me Barnabas and Saul And St. Clemens * * * Ep. 1. ad Cor. tells us that in those times they ordianed Bishops 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. discerning by the Spirit who should be ordain'd and that they did it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon perfect fore-knowledge who should be the man even as Moses saith he foreknew by divine revelation that Aaron should be advanc'd to the Priesthood And accordingly St. Chrysostom upon this place thus discourses The dignity of being a Doctor and a Priest being great wants God's suffrage that a worthy person may receive it thereupon the Priests were made anciently by prophesie that is by the Holy Ghost thus Timothy was chosen to the Priesthood Since therefore this Gift of Timothy's was conferr'd on him by prophesie it 's eviâ—â—nt 't was the Episcopal Office which in those days was always conferr'd by prophesie i. e. by the immediate direction of the Holy Ghost especially considering 2ly That it was not onely given him by prophesie but also with or together with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery which was the outward signe or ceremony of ordination to spiritual Offices as is evident Acts 6. 6. 8. 17. 13. 3. And that this Gift was not the Gift of prophesying and of laying hands upon others as hath been pretended is evident not onely from the words of the Text which assert it to be given him by prophesie together with the laying on of hands but also from 1 Tim. 1. 18. compar'd with 2 Tim. 1. 6. where this phrase by prophesie is thus explain'd According to the prophesies which went before on thee and this phrase with laying on of the hands of the Presbytery is thus rendred By the putting of my hands that is together with the hands of other Presbyters Which is a plain evidence that by this phrase here by prophesie with the laying on of hands must be meant by divine Predâ—ctions concerning thee together with the laying the hands of the Presbytery upon thee and if so what other Gift can be here meant but onely that of his Episcopal Office which was always conferr'd by prophesie and imposition of hands So that the meaning of these words Neglect not the Gift which is in thee stir up the Gift which is in thee is onely to admonish him to a diligent exercise of his Episcopal Power and Authority in the Flock of which he was Overseer And what doth this signifie towards the proving it necessary that we should exercise our own Gifts in vocal Prayer and express our Affections in our own words And then as for those other Texts viz. 1 Pet. 4. 10 11. and Rom. 12. 6. I answer 1. That there can be nothing in them against praying by a Form for if so they would make as much against using the Lord's Prayer as any other Form 2. That all that is intended in these Texts is to stir men up to diligence and fidelity in those particular Offices and Capacities wherein they are plac'd So 1. Pet. 4. 10 11. As every man hath received a Gift i. e. according to the Office or Capacity he is plac'd in even so minister the same to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God If any man speak that is if it be his Office to teach let him speak as the Oracles of God if any man minister or distribute to the poor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let him do it as of the ability which God giveth that is proportionably to his estate for just before he had been pressing them to be hospitable to one another without grudging So also Rom. 12. 6. Having then Gifts differing according to the Grace that is given to us that is being put into various Offices and Capacities according to the various dispensations of Divine Grace whether it be that of prophesie let us prophesie according to the proportion of faith i. e. according to those principles of faith and good life which are known and received among us or whether it be Ministry that is Deaconship let us wait on our ministring or he that teacheth on teaching or he that exhorteth on exhortation he that giveth let him do it with simplicity he that ruleth with diligence he that sheweth mercy with chearfulness In all which it is evident the designe is to excite them faithfully to discharge those several Offices whereunto God had call'd and appointed them for so the word Gift as
of it But for their sakes who may not have that Book by them I shall add out of it another answer which I think may satisfie a Reasonable Man Supposing then that the Evangelists did not relate the Matter Summarily but as distinctly as the Words were spoken by our Saviour Yet 2. Our Saviour also Commanded his Disciples Mat. 28. 19. to teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost But will any Christian think it hence deducible That where divers Persons or great numbers are to be Baptized together the Solemn Words of Baptizing them in the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost may not lawfully be expressed severally to every Person And if the Baptismal Form of Words may be Solemnly and Suitably to that Sacrament applied to every Person Baptized by the General acknowledgment of all Christians there can be no Reason why the like may not be allowed in the Lord's Supper Wherefore the Practice of our Church herein is no way unsuitable to the Institution of Christ or the Nature of the Sacrament and the Alteration of it would be for the worse and to the abating the Solemnity of its Administration Lib. Eccl. p. 224. There remains but two more particular Exceptions which I think needful to take notice of and those are in the Office of Baptism And the first I mean is 1. That all Baptized Infants are supposed to be Regenerated of which as some say we cannot be certain But I desire those that say so to consider if the Scripture does not attribute to Baptism as much as the Liturgie does We are said by Baptism to be made Members of Christ's Body By one Spirit we are all Baptized into one Body 1 Cor. 12. 13. And to be Baptized into Christ and to put on Christ Gal. 3. 27. and he that is in Christ is a new creature And to be Baptized for the Remission of sins Acts 2. 38. Baptism is also called the washing of Regeneration Tit. 3. 5. Now if it be made a Question Whether Infants are Regenerated in Baptism the Question at last must come to this Whether they are Qualified to become Members of Christs Body to be admitted into God's Covenant to receive Pardon of Original Sin and to become New Creatures gaining that State by Grace which they could not have by Nature And I do not see that any but Anabaptists can deny this For they that contend as we do that Infants are capable of Baptism must not deny them to be qualified for this Grace of Baptism unless they will make the Ordinance and Promises of God to be of none effect towards them Now if Infants do by Baptism gain Remission of Sin and are made Members of Christ they are Regenerated and Born anew If they do not gain this by it what does their Baptism signifie Or what benefit can they be supposed to have by it if they die in their Infancy more than if they had not been Baptiz'd at all This is the only means of Salvation they can have And those expressions of the Scripture above recited with many more will justifie our Church which supposes that this means will be effectual so long as they are capable of none other and therefore ought to be considered by those that make it to be of none effect I shall only add That this had been thought a strange Question in the Ancient Church Whether Infants were Regenerated by Baptism when the Pelagians whose cause led them to deny it yet durst not do it directly because they knew it would not be endured and therefore they confessed that Infants were to be Baptiz'd to qualifie them for the Kingdom of Heaven but not for the Remission of Sin So that they themselves seemed to acknowledge the saving effect of Baptism to Infants though as St. Austin often shewed them they contradicted themselves by so doing But they durst do no otherwise because the Doctrine of the Church was so plainly against them in this matter and every Believer was so settled in it that I remember St. Austin somewhere speaks to this purpose that the Pelagians would have come to the point and denied that the Baptism of Infants signified any thing at all to their Salvation and therefore might be as well let alone but that they were afraid the Mothers themselves of those Children would every where reproach them for it The other Objection against the Office of Baptism is this That the Godfathers and Godmothers that answer for Infants are not their Parents or Guardians but others who have they say no Authority to Covenant or Act in their Names In answer to whih I shall omit several things that might be said and content my self with these two things which I think may be sufficient 1. That in all cases where the Sureties are procured by the Parents there they have Authority to Covenant in behalf of the Infant and this the Objectors must grant I think upon their own Principles since they contend that Parents or Pro-parents are fittest to act in behalf of the Baptized Infants as having Authority so to do since they have the Power to dispose of their Education afterward For then the Sureties which are by them prevailed with to stand for their Children have at least all that Authority which the Parents can give them And this is sufficiently known to be the case with us And this is that which the Church might well suppose viz. that the Sureties which contract with the Church in the Infants Name would be procured by the Parents so that the Parents Contracting in behalf of the Infant is included in the Undertaking of the Sureties who although they are required by the Church to answer for the Infant yet are they supposed to be Authoriz'd by its Parents also so to do 2. The good Design of this Order and Appointment in the Church ought to be considered which is not the less for the fault of Men and the looseness of these times does often defeat it For hereby the Church taketh greater security that the Infant shall be brought up in the Knowledge and Practice of that Holy Covenant into which it is Baptiz'd In as much as besides the care of the Parents which is in effect promised and may be more reasonably rely'd upon without their own Solemn Act upon the account of that Natural Affection which makes them particularly concerned besides this I say there is a Particular Obligation laid upon others also to see that the Infant be so Educated as much as in them lies In case the Parents should die before the Child is grown to years of Discretion the Sureties are then more Particularly Obliged to look to their Godchild that he be put into a way of learning and doing his Duty If they should not die before but be remiss the Sureties have Authority to come to them and Admonish them of their Duty and to let them know
the Primitive Church in reading them for Example of Life and instruction of Manners but not for the Establishing of any Doctrine Which in that Article is shewed from St. Hierom to have been the Practice of that Church And besides they are not now appointed to be ordinarily on Sundays read in Our Churches These I take to be the chief of those instances of our Churches Symbolizing with that of Rome in the Composure of the Liturgy that Our Dissenters are offended at And as for their other Objections of this kind they are as easily answered And I most sincerely profess that 't is not to me imaginable that any thing better than Extreme prejudice can make any Man a Separatist from Our Communion upon such accounts as these As also that I cannot understand how any devout and pious Souls that come to our Publick Prayers without prejudice can find themselves in the least tempted not to joyn in them heartily with the Congregation Absolute perfection is not to be expected in any thing of a human make but if all would read Our Liturgy with that Candour they use in reading the Books of those they have a good opinion of as I am sure they could think nothing intolerable therein so am I as sure they would freely acknowledge it to be exceedingly well adapted to the design of it viz. the exciting of Devotion and that good temper of mind that is necessary to Our Worshipping of God in Spirit and in Truth I am certain the experience of very many as excellent Christians as this Age can boast of do bear me witness that this is no lavish commendation of Our Prayers Dr. Tayler that blessed Martyr gave this Testimony to Our Liturgy There was set Acts and Monuments p. 1696. forth by the most Innocent King Edward for whom God be Praised everlastingly the whole Church-Service with great deliberation and advice of the best Learned Men in the Realm and Authorised by the whole Parliament and received and Publisht gladly by the whole Realm which Book was never reformed but once and yet by that one Reformation it was as fully perfected according to the Rules of Our Christian Religion in every behalf that no Christian Conscience could be Offended with any thing therein contained I mean of that Book Reformed What then would he have thought of it had he lived to see it twice more Reformed as it hath been since Lastly I proceed to the fore-named Rites and Ceremonies of Our Church in which Our Symbolizing with Popery is so much Condemned and made a pretence for Separation But before I come to particulars I will observe in the general that the distance Our Church keeps from that of Rome in the imposition of Ceremonies is infinitely greater than her Agreement therein with her For as those imposed by our Church as hath been already said are exceeding few not the hundredth part scarcely of those imposed by the Roman Church so doth not our Church impose them as the other doth on the Consciences of her Members as things of necessity as parts of Religion or meritorious Services as hath been proved out of the Articles Now then 1. As to the Surplice our Church requires not the wearing of this Garment as an Holy Vestment like the Priestly Garments under the Old Law but meerly for the sake of Order and Uniformity whereas in the Church of Rome a Surplice may not be worn till 't is hallowed in a solemn manner by the Bishop or some one by his Allowance as may be seen in the Missal with divers Prayers that it may defend him who wears it from the Assaults of the Devil the Prayers being accompanied with a number of Crossings and in fine the Surplice besprinkled with Holy Water in the Name of the Blessed Trinity But I say in our Church 't is used only as a Garment of distinction no more holiness is placed in it than in the Hoods worn over it meerly for distinction of degrees And the White is preferred before any other Colour because it was a very antient Custom in the Primitive Church for the Ministers to Officiate in White Garments Beza saith of the Surplice These linnen Garments Contra Westphalum vol. 1. p. 255. we do not so stick at that we would have the progress of the Word of God hindred in the least for them And we might shew that Mr. Calvin much blamed contending with Authority about the wearing this Garment Particularly in his Epistle to Bullinger And since all the Popish abuse of this Garment is perfectly removed I know not why all Ministers should not be of their mind and much less can I imagine why those who are not obliged to wear it should be affrighted from our Churches by the meer sight of so Innocent a thing 2. As to the Cross in Baptism Our Church holds so little Conformity with the Papists herein that in no one thing of an Indifferent nature can our Symbolizing with them be less scandalous Dr. Burges in his defence of Dr. Morton Sheweth that we hold no Conformity with the Papists in the use thereof either in the P. 416. c. time when or place where or manner how or end whereto The Minister with us as he there sheweth may not Cross Himself or the People or Font Water Communion-Table or Cups or the Bread and Wine or any other of Gods Ordinances All which in Popery the Priest is bound to do for their Consecration or blessing of himself or them as without which nothing is Consecrated The Child to be Baptized with us may not be Crossed before Baptism on the Forehead Breast or any part which in Popery the Priest must do to drive away the Devil and make the Efficacy of that Sacrament more easy and strong as they teach After Baptism the Minister may not with us Cross the Children with Oyl or Chrism or without on the Crown of the Head as in Popery is required to give them their full Christendom lest they should die before Confirmation Yea at Confirmation the Minister is not to make the sign of the Cross on the Forehead with Chrism or without which is enjoyned in Popery as an Essential part of the Sacrament as they call it of Confirmation Nay as he proceeds if the Child be in danger of present death and not like to live to make profession of Christ Crucified the Minister is directed not to use the sign of the Cross that all may know that we hold it not to be either Operative upon the Child or at all necessary to the Efficacy of the Lord's Sacrament but do onely retain it according to the first and best intention as an outward badg of the Constant profession of Christ Crucified And whereas 't is said in the 30 Canon that by this lawful Ceremony and honorable badg this Child is dedicated to the service of Christ the Doctor declareth that he hath good warrant to assure those who are offended at that Explication
and I perceive you mean that it pleaseth you to find it not written in a heat and that there is nothing of a Censorious or Peevish humour or of a haughty contempt of those he deals with therein exprest And he hopes that upon the same accounts you are no less pleased with the other Resolutions of Cases which bear this company But he thinks it no mighty Attainment to be able in writing to manage a Controversie Coolly and Sedately without bitter or provoking Reflexions or contemptuous Expressions Though men of warm Tempers may find it somewhat difficult to govern their Spirits and Passions as it becomes them in the heat of disputing by word of mouth one would think that a small measure of Humility or Good nature or of Discretion and Prudence should make it no hard matter to acquire that other Attainment And much more that no one who is a Christian in Spirit and Temper as well as in Notion and Profession can find it a difficult thing to arrive at it But enough of this In your Second Paragraph you seem to intimate that our Author might have spared his pains in dwelling so long upon the Distance between our Church and the Church of Rome in points of Doctrine But he is not satisfied with the reasons you give for the needlesness of so doing Your reasons are two First because he argued chiefly for Communion in Worship And Secondly you never met with the Doctrinal part of the 39 Articles charged as Popish nor our Church reflected on as symbolizing with that Idolatrous Church in Points of Doctrine But these reasons have not convinced our Author that he is over long upon this Argument for it was not his design to shew that our Church doth not symbolize in Points of Doctrine with that of Rome but that She stands at greatest defyance with that Church Not that She doth not teach her Corrupt Doctrine in her Articles but that she designedly confutes them and exposeth the falsity and corruption of them And this surely was worth the shewing in so many instances for their sakes who never read or considered those Articles as I fear very few of the Dissenters have done And whereas you say you never met with the Doctrinal part of the 39 Articles charged as Popish and it would be strange if you had I say there is too great cause to suspect that very few of our Dissenting Brethren do understand how Anti-popish they are though they do not charge them as Popish And I doubt you have met with many I am sure very many are to be met with who have reflected upon our Church as an Idolatrous Church though you never heard her accused as symbolizing with the Idolatrous Church of Rome in Points of Doctrine But they will find it somewhat hard to understand how a Church can be Idolatrous in matters of Practice and yet be pure in her Doctrine from any tang of Idolatry Surely her Practices must be grounded upon her Doctrines or they would be strange Practices indeed And it would be wonderfull if she should Practise Idola try and yet Believe nothing that tends to the encouragement of that foul Sin nay believe and teach all those Doctrines that are as Opposite to Idolatry as Light to Darkness So that I conceive nothing could be more to our Author's purpose than to endeavour to remove that prejudice of many against the Constitution of our Church which is grounded upon an Opinion of its being near of kin to Popery And what could signifie more to their Conviction that there is not any ground for such an Opinion than the shewing how abhorrent to Popery our Church is in her Doctrine and what a testimony she beareth in her Articles against the Idolatrous and Superstitious Doctrines of the Romish Church and the Practices which she foundeth upon those Doctrines As to the several Additions you say may be made to the * * * pag. 4. Anti-popish Doctrines contained in the 39 Articles our Author conceives he was not guilty of any Oversight in not preventing you because some of them are not properly Anti-popish but contrary to the Doctrine of other Sects which are to be found among Abhorrers of Popery as well as Papists and others of them our Author hath not omitted but if you 'll look again you may find them in their proper places Viz. those Doctrines contained in Artic. VI. and Artic. XI This under the head of Doctrines flatly contradicting the Holy Scriptures pag. 9. That under the head of the Authority on which each of the two Churches founds its whole Religion pag. 18. Now I hope by this time you understand very well what our Author would have you conclude from this first part of his Performance which you say * * * pag. 4. you do not well understand And whereas you ask whether it be that the 39 Articles have in them nothing of kin to Popery as to matters of Faith And add that you dare say there is not a judicious Dissenter in England will say they have I answer if there be any injudicious Dissenters in England that will say they have I hope these poor people ought not to be so despised as that we should use no means for the undeceiving of them But our Author would have you conclude that he hath done what he designed which is as hath been already said not to shew that the 39 Articles have nothing of kin to Popery but that they are most abhorrent from it and that our Church is at the widest and vastest distance from Popery in her Doctrinals and consequently one would think too in matters of Practice But our Author does not satisfie himself to prove this by this consequence but goes on to shew it in the particular instances of matters of Practice after he had done it in Points of Doctrine To return now to your Second Page You say that it is mightily Satisfactory to you to hear our Author assuring you that our Church alloweth her Members the judgment of Discretion c. But Sir you needed no Authors to assure you of this since our Church hath done it as fully as it can be done by words and our Author no otherwise assures you of it than by citing our Churches Articles But whereas you add that this you cannot but think implieth a Liberty not onely to Believe and Judge but to Doe also according to what a man believes and judgeth surely you will find your self able to think otherwise when you have considered what is the necessary and immediate consequence of such a thought viz. that all such things as Laws are utterly inconsistent with allowing to men the Judgment of Discretion according to this large notion And that therefore our Church doth faultily Symbolize with the Church of Rome in having any such things as Government and Discipline You next say that our Author speaketh very true as to the Popish Rites and Ceremonies and that those in our Church are
the Church in this Particular by shewing First That Baptismal-Initiation is very beneficial and profitable for Infants And Secondly That the Baptizing of them conduceth very much to the well-being and edification of the Church First then Baptismal-Initiation is very beneficial and profitable for Infants because they are capable of the Benefits and Priviledges of Baptism This I shewed in general before under the first Question and now I will shew it in a more particular manner of Induction by insisting upon the several Ends for which Baptism was ordained First then Baptism was ordained That the Baptized Person might be thereby solemnly consecrated unto God and dedicated to his Service and I hope I need not prove that Children are capable of this benefit since Jewish Infants were Consecrated to God by Circumcision and the Scripture tells us that * * * Judges 13. 15. Sampson was a Nazarite from the Womb and that Samuel from the time of his Weaning was dedicated unto the Lord. Secondly Baptism was ordained That the Baptized Person might be made a Member of Christ's Mystical Body which is the Holy Catholick Church This is a great and honourable Priviledge and no Man can deny but Infants are as capable of it under the New as they were under the Old Testament Nay so far are they from being under any Natural Incapacity as to Church-Membership that they are ordinarily born free of Kingdoms Cities and Companies and therefore why any Man should think it not so proper for the Church-Christian to be as indulgent to them as the Jewish Church was and Civil Societies usually are I profess I cannot tell Thirdly it was ordained That the Baptized Person might by that Solemnity pass from a State of Nature wherein he was a Child of Wrath into a State of Adoption or Grace wherein he becomes a Child of God For by our First Birth we are all Children of Wrath. But by our Second Birth in Baptism we are made Children of God And why it should be so improper for a Child to pass in this solemn manner from one Spiritual as well as from one Temporal State to another or be Solemnly Adopted by God as well as Man or Lastly Why a Child may not be Adopted under the Gospel as well as under the Law I am confident those who are willing to defer the Baptism of Infants would be puzzled to give any rational account In the Fourth place Baptism was instituted for a Sign to Seal unto Baptized Persons the pardon of their Sins and to confer upon them a Right of Inheritance unto Everlasting Life but Baptism hath this Effect upon Infants as well as upon adult Persons for it washes them clean from * * * De hoc etiā David dixisse credendus est illud qui in peccato concepit me mater mea pro hoc Ecclesia ab Apostolis traditionem suscepit etiam parvulis Baptismum dare Sciebant enim illi quibus mysteriorum secreta commissa sunt divinorum quia essent in omnibus genuinae sordes peccati quae per aquam spiritum ablui deberent Origen in Ep. ad Lous l. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Contra Celsum l. 4. Quanto magis prohiberi non debet Infans qui recens natus nihil peccavit nisi quod secundum Adam carnaliter natus contagium mortis antiquae primâ Nativitate contraxit Cyprian in Ep. ad Fidum Those that would see more Testimonies out of the Ancients about Original Sin before the time of the Pelagian Controversie may consult Irenaeus l. 4. cap. 5. l. 5. cap. 16. l. 3. cap. 20. l. 5. cap. 14. 17 21. and many more cited out of Just Mart. in Dial cum Tryph. Tatianus his Scholar Athanasius c. by Vossius in his Hist Pelag. l. 2. part 1. Th. 6. Vid. Can. Concil Carthag 112. Original as it doth Men and Women both from Actual and Original Sin I say it washes them clean from Original Sin and seals the Pardon of it and the assurance of God's favour unto them and being cleansed by the washing of Regeneration from the guilt of that natural vitiosity which they derived from Adam and which made them obnoxious to the displeasure of God they become reconciled unto him and acquire as certain a Right to Eternal Life upon their justification as any actual Believer in the Word I cannot deny but they may be saved without Baptism by the extraordinary and uncovenanted Mercies of God and so may actual Believers who die unbaptized if they did not contemn Baptism but then the hopes which we ought to have of Gods Mercy in extraordinary Cases ought not to make us less regardful of his sure ordinary and covenanted Mercies and the appointed means unto which they are annexed But in the Fifth place Baptism was ordained That being admitted into the Covenant and ingrafted into Christ's Body we might acquire a present Right unto all the Promises of the Gospel and particularly unto te promises of the Spirit which is so ready to assist Initiated Persons that it will descend in its influences upon them at the time of their Initiation in such a manner and measure as they are capable thereof This the Primitive Christians found by experience to be so true that they called Baptism by the names of * * * Heb. 6. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Just Mart. Apol. 2. 94. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gregor Nazianz. Orat. 40. †Vid. Cypriani Ep. 1. ad Donatum Illumination Grace and Unction and we need not doubt but they talked as they felt and for this reason they Baptized Infants because they knew that they acquired a Right unto the same Spirit by Baptism who would be sure to preside and watch over them and act upon their Souls according to the measure of their capacity and prevent them in their very first doings with his gracious helps Wherefore though it should be granted that the Holy Ghost cannot be actually conferred upon Infants in Baptism by reason of their natural incapacity as Anabaptists rashly assert yet the Baptizing of them is not frustraneous as to this great End of Baptism because they thereby acquire an actual Antecedent Right to the Assistances and Illuminations of the Holy Spirit which they shall receive as soon and as fast as their natural incapacity removes This distinction betwixt having the Spirit and having a Right unto the Spirit holds not only in Infant-Baptism but in the Baptism of Hypocrites and secret Sinners who by submitting unto the Ordinances of Baptism acquire an actual Antecedent Right unto the Spirit although they are in a moral incapacity of receiving the Graces of it till their Hypocrisie is removed Nevertheless their Baptism is not ineffectual as to this End but is a means of conferring the Holy Ghost upon them without re-baptization because though they cannot receive it at the moment of their Baptism by reason of their Hypocrisie as sincere Penitents do in whom there is no such Moral
the rest 5. The Sacrament was Instituted to be a means of Receiving the benefits of his Death and Passion and a Pledge to assure us thereof If we do but Consider what invaluable Blessings we expect to receive by our worthy partaking of the Consecrated Bread and Wine at the Table of our Lord such as the forgiveness of all our Sins the plentiful Communications of his Grace and Spirit and a Right and Title to Eternal Life we can't think Kneeling an Unmeet and Unbecoming Gesture in the Act of Receiving the Outward Signs and Pledges of this Inward and Invisible Grace If a Graceful Hearty sense of Gods infinite mercy through the Merits and Sufferings of his Son and of the manifold rich benefits which our Lord hath purchased with his most Precious Blood if a mind deeply Humbled under the sense of our own Guilt and Unworthiness to Receive any mercy at all from the Hands of our Creator and Soveraign Lord whom we have by numberless and Heinous Crimes so highly provok't and incensed against us If such an inward temper and disposition of Soul becomes us at this Holy Feast which I think no Man will deny then surely the most Humble and reverential Gesture of our Body will become us too Why should not a Submissive Lowly deportment of Body sute with this Solemnity as well as a Humble Lowly Mind And this is that which our Church Declares See the Declaration at the end of the Communion-Service in the Book of Common Prayer to be the end and design of her Injunction in requiring all her Communicants to Kneel viz. for a Signification of an Humble and Grateful acknowledgment of the Benefits of Christ therein given to all worthy Receivers 6. They who urge Sitting as necessary and the only agreeable Gesture to the Nature of the Lord's Supper because it 's the Common Table-Gesture must make the Sacrament either the same with an Ordinary and Common Feast or onely like it in some respects and unlike it in others as every like is not the same To make it the same is directly to unhallow and prophane the Ordinance it is to Eat and Drink unworthily not discerning 1 Cor 11 29. the Lord's Body as St. Paul charges the Corinthians For it 's clear from that Discourse of the Apostle that their not distinguishing between the Lord's Supper and a Common Meal or Supper was their great fault which he sharply reproves them for as that which render'd them unworthy Communicants Which will appear to any that will take the pains to examine Vid. 20 21 22. and compare them with 33 34. the matter If the Lord's Supper be not the same with an Ordinary Feast how comes it to pass that the same Gesture must be necessarily used at both If they differ in their whole nature then that which is agreeable to the nature of the one must be Repugnant to the nature of the other If they agree in some respects only and differ in others but not in their whole nature then Kneeling may be as proper and sutable in some respects as Sitting is in others For though the Civil Custom of a Table-Gesture be allowed to strike some stroke in a Spiritual Ordinance where there is Eating and Drinking yet other respects in the Lord's Supper have a stroke too and that the greatest if we duly weigh and consider the ends of its Institution which I have already described And if upon such Examination it appear that Kneeling or an adoring Gesture holds fitting Correspondence with the principal respects and ends of the Lord's Supper then the Banquetting Gesture though Lawful and Sutable in some less respects must and ought in reason to give place at least it ought not to be Insisted on as the onely agreeable and necessary Gesture without which we cannot worthily Communicate Whatsoever Gesture answers the principal respects and ends of this Holy Feast best Sutes to its Nature and consequently ought in reason to be best esteemed of and sway more with us than any other if we will wholly guide our selves by the Nature of the thing And that Kneeling or an adoring posture doth best answer the Nature and Ends of the Sacrament I think is clear and undenyable if the account I have given of the Sacrament be good I am sure howsoever that there is no reason why Sitting should justle out Kneeling as Sinful and Unsutable to the Nature of this Holy Ordinance Let Mr. Cartwright a Learned Advocate Annot. in Luk. 22. 14. for Nonconformists be heard in this matter and determine it A Man must not saith he refuse to Receive the Sacrament Kneeling when he cannot have it otherwise 4. The Primitive Church and Ancient Fathers had no such notion of the necessity of a Table-Gesture as is maintained and urged by Dissenters at present which will appear from those Names and Titles they gave to this Holy Feast And First I observe from the Learned Mr. Mede that for the space of 200 years after Christ there is not the least mention made of the name Table in any of their Writings They call the place on which Can. Apost 2. St. Ignat. in 3 Epistles and Philad Trallen Eph. Justin Mart. Irenaeus the Consecrated Elements stood the Altar and the Eucharist An Oblation and a Sacrifice because at this Solemnity they did Commemorate and Represent that Sacrifice which Christ once offered on the Cross for the Sins of the World Now the Eucharist conceived under the Notion of a Sacrifice and the place on which it was offered of an Altar doth not necessarily require a Table-Gesture there is not that strict Connexion and Relation between an Altar or a Sacrifice and a Common Table-Gesture as is conceived to be between a Feast or Table and a Feast or Table-Gesture 2. The Primitive Christians and Ancient Fathers of the Church did not entertain any such conceits about the necessity of a Common Table-Gesture as our Dissenters do As that Kneeling or an adoring Gesture is against Dispute against Kneeling Arg. 1. p. 6. p. 26 27 28 31 37. the Dignity of Guests and Debarrs us the Priviledges and Prerogatives of the Lord's Table such as Social admittance and Social Entertainment that it is against the purpose of Christ whose intention was to Dignify us by Setting us at his Table and much more of this Nature and to this effect Now the Primitive Church little dreamt of this Dignity and Priviledge of Communicants of this purpose of Christ and of this kind of Fellowship and Familiarity with him as the Phrases they use and the August and Venerable Titles they give the Holy Sacrament even when they consider it as a Feast and Supper and speak of the Table on which it was Celebrated plainly demonstrate They call it as St. Paul doth the Lord's Supper the Kingly Royal and most Divine Supper which Import Deference Distance and Respect on our Parts the Dreadful Sacrifice the Venerable and Vnbloody Sacrifice the Wonderful and
many times is no more than a bright or a lowring day can do acting upon the Animal Spirits and a Dose of Physick will do the same And if they carry the men no further improve no virtue in them they are nothing else but downright flesh and blood And they are hot and cold high and low very changeable and uncertain according as the humours flow and as is the bodily temper of the men Upon this account some are melted into Tears and others are fired into Rage and Zeal their Spirits like Tinder easily catching the flame and these have happened in the worst of Men serving onely the Designs of Fury and Hypocrisie and can no more be called Edification than the Fire from the Altar that may consume the Temple Zeal Yet such mistakes as these have been too common Anger and Revenge have been called Zeal for God Trade and Interest have been Baptized Christianity Fury and Fumes of the Stomach have been thought the Divine Spirit ridiculous Looks and unmanly Postures have been fanci'd true Acts of Devotion and when they themselves were pleas'd and in the good humour God was reconcil'd and when they were dull and heavy the Spirit was withdrawn and according as these heats and bodily passions were stirr'd so the Ministry was Edifying or unprofitable pale Cheeks and hollow Looks have been Matth. 6. 16. counted signs of Grace and the Diseases of their body pass'd for the Virtue of their mind And when a Doctrine hath been so insinuated as to hit and favour these they were strangely improv'd and had obtain'd a good degree in Religion Many of these may be beginnings or occasions leading unto Religion and may serve some good purposes in men that can manage them well but to cry up these for Edification and going on unto perfection is to betray their People into the power of every Cheat and Impostor who hath the knack to raise these heats which pass for reason and conviction of mind and most commonly are great hindrances to solid and sound reasoning plain discourses the true way to Edification to make firm and lasting impressions upon the mind while the silly and the weak who are most subject to these heats and colds the uncertain motions of their Spirits are fickle and inconstant turning round in all Religions such men being all Sail are more easily tost about with every wind of Doctrine 3. Argument to confirm the Answer is That pretence of better Edification will cause endless Divisions in the Church This Question doth suppose that every man must judge and so great a part of the World being ignorant and vicious partial and prejudic'd false and insincere to themselves and others they may run from Teacher to Teacher from Presbyterian to Independent from Independent to Anabaptist or Quaker and never stop till they come at their Grave to find out better Edification ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth ever seeking and 2 Tim. 3. 7. never satisfi'd till they find the Pattern upon the Mount or the new Jerusalem be come down from above till they meet with such a perfect Church as perhaps will never be here upon earth till her great Master comes The ignorant will easily mistake and who can know the heart and intention of the false and the Hypocrite And the Governour hath nothing to do here to retrench this liberty which as they pretend is either born with them or given them by God At this rate may not every single person be a Church leaving all other Christian Societies fancying that he can better Edifie at home with the workings of his own mind and some pretended infusions of the Spirit that he shall better meet with in his privacies and retirements than in an external and carnal Ministry and Crowd When once they have torn the Unity of the Church in pieces and set up their more Edifying Meetings in comes whole shoals of Vices Envy and Detraction Strife and Emulation Murmurings and Complainings Fierceness and Wrath and a great number of things more prejudicial to the State of the Kingdom the interest of Families the good of Friendship and all civil Conversation a wonderful Edification destroying the very Soul of Christianity The same Principles that divide them from this Church will crumble them into endless Parties and every little Chip may call it self a Building and so destroy all good Government and Discipline so necessary to propagate and preserve Christianity in the World And should I live to see that fatal day when the Government in our Church should be dissolv'd and liberty given to every man upon pretence of better Edification to chuse his Pastour and his Church so many Mischiefs and Confusions would follow from it that if there was any regard to common Christianity or sense of temporal happiness left within their Breast they would too late repent their Schism as once in a great degree many of them did and beg upon their Knees that the Pale of this Government in Church might be set up again and they would receive it with all its pretended load of Impositions This will certainly follow from dividing from the Church to the laughter of Rome and joy of all the Enemies of our Christian Religion All this would be avoided if men were sensible of the hainous nature of Schism which the Apostles and all the ancient Christians have painted forth in such black colours though others think our Divisions in the Church are no more than variety of Companies and Liveries in a City 4. What great discouragement this is to an honest and truly Christian Ministry When a Pastour of our Church shall diligently and faithfully plainly and devoutly unfold the Articles of Faith and lay down Rules for Practice which will certainly bring him to Heaven yet his Flock or Charge one after another upon pretence of greener Pastures greater Knowledge better Elocution Delivery Tone or the like to be had elsewhere shall run from him will it not cool his Zeal check his Labours and affront his Person and Office This may be done to the painful as well as idle to the judicious and learned as well as imprudent and Ignorant Pastour where the People shall have liberty of Separation for the sake of Edification The ill effects of this have turn'd upon their own Ministers and new Government and the most judicious among them have sadly complain'd of it Formerly they Petition'd for a painful and preaching Ministry but this pretence of better Edification gives denial to their own request such Discouragements as these happening severely sometimes to the best of Pastours as well as the worst And they have no cure for this having put a power into the Peoples hands which they cannot recal for neither King Parliament Bishop or Pastour can tell them what is Edification so well as themselves And are the Pastours of the Church to be so treated and trifled with who derive their Offices and Authority from God to Command and