and Church priviledges and be incouraged unto Church communion in all the waies of Christ that so they may come under Church discipline the best remedy to reclaim the obstinate and wilfull offenders 6. I wish the gifted brethren were better imployed then in unchurching our Churches and gathering Churches out of them it were a work more proper and acceptable either to be content to exercise their gifts to the edifying and building up of that Church in which they received them or else to goe into the infidell world as the Apostles did and preach the Gospel and plant Churches there The Scripture Raile Examined REader since I parted with what I had written in answer to Doctor Drake in the foregoing discourse there came to my hand Mr. Humfreys Rejoyner in vindication of himself a work very well performed by him wherein the truth formerly by him asserted is better cleared and confirmed to the satisfaction of many souls fearing God and breathing forth their earnest desires after the settlement reformation and uniformity of the Church of God in England according to the Word of God Be not prejudiced against his book by other learned men who have and still do appear with much bitternesse and passion against him more to affright with words and humane dictates meerly then with matter of grounded truth according to the sense of the holy Scripture witnesse that book put forth by some Ministers of Glocester-shire intituled A Scripture Raile to the Communion Table I confesse the title is good for we do acknowledge there ought to be such a thing but not in their sense as I hope shall appear by the discovery made in this short discourse following in which I shall wave what hath been already written in answer to D. Drake by Mr. Humfrey and my self and take notice only of some things in the Scripture Raile which have not yet been spoken to that I know of And this I shall do as briefly as I can because I would not anticipate him whom it doth more nearly concern And first of all because I would not leave the weak and incautelous Reader deceived with vain and groundlesse words in reading this Scripture Raile let this be noted that I take Scripture discipline to be the only Rail for the Communion Table which I hope both the Author reproached and my self earnestly desire may be set up and all our indevours tend as conducible means to that end as being assured that the first stone in the building of the reformation as to our case is holy discipline And whether their principles or ours tend most to that I hope to make appear to sober and unprejudiced Christians And the way I shall take shall be to discover some of these Gentlemens unbrotherly dealings with Mr. Humfrey first in perverting his sense Secondly in setting up a Raile to the Lords Table by perverting Scripture and so making that Raile to be a pretended discipline meerly 1. They have damned and censured his Book to be an ungodly pamphlet in which is a masse of perverting Scriptures tending to destroy all Church reformation little better then carnall and profane reasoning sophistry a heterodox piece abomination a vile piece with divers other such hard censures language enough to affright any from ever looking into it that have any care of their souls to avoid their own destruction in complying with that soul damning practise of maintaining mixt communion as they call it I must confesse these men seem very confident in reproaching and censuring both the Book and the man but in this their indeavour to make it thus vile and odious to the world they have not the least evidence of truth or strength of reason to evince it that I can finde in their Book And it will so appear if you minde what is Mr. H. scope and end in his discourse and what are the principles upon which it is founded As 1. That the visible Church of Christ consists of men making a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and so are Saints by calling what ever they are in truth while they so professe and adhere to the true worship the means and matter of which are hearing the word receiving the Sacrament and prayer and of these many are called and few are chosen 2. That all of these of years come under the obligation of Christs commands and are bound to do their duty homage to Christ their Lord as well as they can according to Mat. 28.19 20. 3. That all such ought to submit to Church discipline and not to be excluded from any observance nor denyed any Church priviledge untill they be judicially proceeded against and debarred by vertue of positive excommunication 4. That Ministers by vertue of their function and office may lawfully administer the Sacraments to Church members though they be ignorant and scandalous he doing his duty as well as he may in preparing them in the want of Church discipline These I dare boldly affirme are the main things asserted in that little despised piece which with a sober spirit the Author hath soberly discussed and cleared from the common exceptions made against it by men of different mindes for which his pains first and last I verily beleeve the Church of God in England have great cause to be thankfull to the Lord of the harvest for sending such a faithfull plain-hearted labourer amongst us the sweet temperature of his spirit so adorned with wisdome charity and such a peaceable frame bespeaks him taught of God the true sense of his will in his holy Scriptures rather then his reproachers 1. Touching the visible Church what evill hath he done in asserting it to consist of men making a profession of faith in Christ Wherein doth he dissent from the most orthodox writers in all ages in judging the Church of England a true Church It is confessed by the adversaries and also that a parochiall congregation where the Word is truly preached and the Sacraments administred according to order being a part of the whole is a true Church likewise And this is also confessed by these Gentlemen for they grant that our parochiall Churches are true Churches in a large sense and that is enough as to this and so I hope there is no evill in this first position 2. For the next thing by him asserted namely that all of years in a parish being baptized come under the obligation of all Christs commands it is proved by the text before cited Mat. 28.19 20. And that in order to the Lords Supper Do this in remembrance of me is a known duty belonging to every particular member of the Church in common with all other parts of the worship and service of God And is it then profane reasoning to urge Church members to do their duty and homage in this particular more then in all others To this these Gentlemen have said but little that I can finde to take off what is urged by Mr. H. As for that of the Passeover Mr. H.
committing of some grosse and scandalous sinne is made by God an occasion of conversion shall any take warrant therefrom to commit scandalous sins c. To all which I answer That all which he hath to that purpose is argued from meer mistakes he taking for granted all along that the unregenerate in the Church do necessarily eat and drink unworthily in the Apostles sense whereas I conceive the contrary hath been already fully declared And therefore it would be well if he would see his mistake and alter his judgement that others might not be in danger of being misled by him In the mean time what he hath charged Mr. H. with in point of excommunication untruly may be retorted upon himself justly It is a cruell assertion a bloudy tenent c. And that not only in his depriving many souls of the benefit and spirituall good of so blessed an ordinance but in his detracting also from the goodnesse grace and power of God in that ordinance as if Christ had appointed it in the Church rather for the hurt then for the spirituall good of his visible subjects they partaking thereof conformly according to their present capacity Object But then saith the Doctor If it be a convering ordinance we may administer the Sacrament to the Heathen to convert them to Christianity for if it will convert those in the Church that have but the form to the power of Religion then it will sure convert the Heathen at least to the form if it will do the greater much more the lesser To this I answer Solution That an argument drawn from the greater to the lesser must be of things of the same kinde and so of men under an equall capacity else it will not hold I can throw a stone over a house can I therefore throw a feather this is lesse then the other and yet though the same arme and strength be put forth it will not do it The fallacy of the argument lies in this That there is not the same capacity of receiving good by the Sacrament in both the formall professing Christian is not in such an incapacity of receiving good by that ordinance as the Heathen are We know that to Heathens that never heard of Christ or at least do not acknowledge him their redeeming Lord so as to come under his Lawes no not so much as Baptisme the outward elements are but meer civill things And they might be easily perswaded to take and eat of those elements of Bread and Wine in order to the good of their bodies but not for the good of their souls before they own Christ to be their Lord Redeemer and Saviour till then they know not what these things mean But those among us educated in the true Religion do acknowledge Christ their redeeming Lord and they do know in some measure what these things of God mean so that the Sacrament in an ordinary way may work some proper effect upon the one but can have none upon the other without a miracle Besides it is clear enough that as no uncircumcised persons were to enter into the Sanctuary or to eat of the Passeover so no unbaptized person is to partake of the holy Supper in that Communion Were there the like ground of denying the Sacrament to the ignorant and scandalous persons under Church indulgence that there is of denying it to infidels this controversie had been at an end before this time It cannot be denyed but excommunication is appointed in the Church to convert and reduce the obstinate and wilful sinners therein doth it therefore follow that we may exercise this means of conversion to Heathens out of the Church What can be more absurd Nay what have we to do to judge them that are without 1 Cor. 5.12 The Doctor knowes well enough that different premises will not bear the same conclusions and the truth is for want of making premises equall according to Scripture presidents we have run upon false conclusions to instance in some 1. Because we finde in Scripture the distinction of beleever and unbeleever used to distinguish the Church from the World how commonly is the same used to make a distinction in the Church amongst us who in Scripture sense are all beleevers for it is evident that an unbeleever in the Scripture sense is either a Pagan infidell or an unbeleeving Jew that absolutely renounces Christ under the notion of a false Christ a deceiver a devill c. refusing to obey his Lawes or to expect salvation by him 2. Because we finde that these unbeleevers are under wrath Aliens from the common-wealth of Israel strangers to the Covenants of promise without hope and without God in the world Ephes 2.12 Which was true of the Ephesians before they received the Gospell that therefore the unregenerate in the Church are under the same condition though they beleeve in a true sense though not sincerely and are under the Covenant and persons to whom the adoption and the giving of the Law and the service of God pertains as once to the Jewes Rom. 9.4 34. finding warrant in the word to separate from the Infidell and idolatrous world especially in matter of worship therefore they conclude we must separate our selves from the unregenerate in the Church 4. Because we finde that some beleevers have by their unworthy and undecent behaviour in time of administration profaned the Sacrament to their own perill and judgement therefore we conclude First That those whose persons are unworthy as not being regenerate eat and drink unworthily Secondly That some other unworthy actions of Christians committed before their comming to the Sacrament renders them uncapable of worthy receiving and consequently renders them liable to judgement therein 5. Because we finde in the Scripture some excommunicated for foul and scandalous sins and blasphemous opinions therefore we conclude we may exercise Church censures for any sin even for omission of such duties as are dubious whether injoyned in the word or no but I have done with these false conclusions There is one objection more which the Doctor makes against Mr. H. Free Admission to which I desire to speak something The objection is this Object That Mr. H. Free Admission strengthens the hands of the wicked by promising them lies in the Name of the Lord and makes sad the hearts of the righteous whom God would not have made sad by their profaning the ordinance c. And this he endevours to back with the language of the Sacrament or words which the Minister uses in the delivering of the Sacrament to particular persons by his words and action giving and tendring Christ and all his benefits of grace and glory to the wicked as well as to the godly the which grace and glory the Sacraments are appointed to assure and confirm c. When as in the preaching of the word it is farre otherwise the Minister therein not dispensing the same to all alike but preaching comfort to whom comfort belongs and terrour to whom
H. provided it be done by the just censures of the Church so that these Gentlemen may see what a noise they make about nothing But they go on and tell us what Gelaspy saith on 1 Cor. 10. in his Book called Aarons Rod budded concerning those Israelites that did eat of the Manna and drank of the Rock that followed them that they falling into idolatry whoredomes murmurings and the like the wrath of God came upon them hence they inferre They did not eat of the Manna and drink of the Rock after the committing of those sins and so were excluded for morall uncleannesse as good a consequence as the former For first I deny that all that were guilty of those sins were cut off from the congregation for the whole congregation murmured c. yet were they not all destroyed their carkasses fell in the wildernesse not all at once in one day but by degrees for many years and yet those that were spared did eat Manna otherwise they must needs have perished with hunger Secondly For those that were destroyed and cut off was it that they might not eat Manna any more What a strange and absurd consequence is this They were destroyed for their idolatry whoredomes and murmurings therefore they were cut off that they might not eat of that Sacramentall Manna What a strange fancy is this as if a malefactor were put to death that he might not live to come to the Sacrament any more me thinks it were more rationall to say they were cut off by death that they might not dishonour God by the committing of those sins of idolatry whoredomes and murmurings any more In the same page from the false and absurd premises as they are already discovered to be those Gentlemen urge Mr. H. with an argument but it is so long flat and false that I shall passe it by having already cut the legs it stands upon And the truth is the Author whom they reproach hath said enough concerning this Scripture to stop the mouth of very malice and envie it self if any thing would do it But let us remember what we are upon These Gentlemen have denied that all the Israelites were admitted to their Sacraments especially the Passeover and to prove this they have brought some Scriptures I have examined them you see and their interences and conclusions drawn from them and all they have said and make a shew of amounts to no more but this 1. That some were denyed the Passeover for a moneths space by reason of their legall uncleâ—nnesse 2. That some have been cut off by death for morall uncleannesse or that some have otherwise been separated from the congregation and so from all ordinances of divine worship for scandalous sins And all that can possibly be gathered hence is no more then what Mr. H. hath all along granted for he excepts the excommunicate in his Free Admission to the Lords Supper and this is by them yeelded unto if he mean right according to the word the matter is ended So that one would think they granted this and in another place that our parochiall congregations are true Churches in a large sense that the whole difference between Mr. H. and them were only in point of discipline And if so then the fault Mr. H. is chargeable with in this point is his not setting up discipline but exercising the ordinances of worship without it But M. Joanes hath said enough to take off this in urging and proving a necessity of administring the Sacrament of the Supper in congregations not Presbytered Thus we have considered the admission to the Passeover among the Jewes Now seeing there is such analogie between the Passeover and the Lords Supper the admission to the one seems to be a good rule for admission to the other and seems to be granted on both sides in that it is urged by both And therefore I shal assert some things from the law of the Passeover for further confirmation and strengthning of the duty of free admission to the Lords Supper 1. The Passeover was the same for substance with the holy Supper signifying the same things 2. It was a service commanded the whole Church that whosoever should neglect it in his season should be cut off from his people 3. The people of Israel were a mixt people and many of them as uncapable of making a spirituall use of the Passeover as ours of the Supper 4. The Church under the Gospell administration is under the same Covenant and is but added to or graffed into the Church of the Jewes and their constitution Rom. 11.18 5. The Church of Christ since the comming of Christ in the flesh is under the same principles and in some respects greater then under Moses and the Prophets And therefore why should not admission to the Lords Supper be as free as the Passeover First I say the Jewes Passeover was the same for substance with our Sacrament of the Lords Supper both signifie the same things 1. The Paschal Lamb appointed for that holy service was a lively type of the Lamb of God slain from the beginning of the world to take away the sins thereof 2. The offering of this Lamb whole without dismembring or breaking a bone of him did shew that whole Christ must suffer that his suffering might be sufficient to satisfie divine justice 3. The bloud of the lamb was to be stricken on the lintels and side posts of every ones door as a token upon those houses where the Israelites were that when the Lord passed through the land of Egypt to destroy the first born both of man and beast the plague might not smite those houses which was to instruct them that this Lamb of God Christ Jesus whose bloud was shed upon the crosse was the only Saviour of his Church and people from the wrath which the Egyptian world lies under and not having any knowledge of him nor means of coming unto him must needs perish And all this concerning the Passeover was to be observed yearly at the time appointed through their generations for ever for a memoriall of their deliverance out of Egypt which though it were but bodily and temporall yet it was to lead them to the understanding of their spirituall and eternall deliverance by the bloud of Christ And hence it is that the Apostle saith Christ our Passeover is sacrificed for us 1 Cor. 5.7 We in the Supper have the signs of Christs own death held out as already accomplished they in the type had him held forth as decreed and promised to be accomplished and both to be observed in that remembrance And as it is well observed that Christ having kept the last Passeover did immediately institute the Sacrament of the Supper that it might succeed in the room and stead of the Passeover A change in the thing typified Christ then to come and suffer death now already come and suffered was the cause of the change in the externals of this service Secondly That the Law of
and live unto him according to the grace they have received from him 3. That the scandalous in the Church are to be dealt with under the notion of offending brethren whom they that are spirituall ought by private admonitions and Christian counsell and wise and seasonable reproofs to restore in the spirit of meeknesse Gal. 6.1 And the person or sin of any member not to be nominated in publick while there is any reasonable hope in charity of amendment by the private means provided the offence be not already publick and infamous to all in that case I think though the offender be penitent and ashamed yet he ought to be rebuked before all that the rest may fear and the congregation be satisfied And that it is only in case of obstinacy and hating to be reformed notwithstanding all possible means used by the Church for their reformation that the authoritative act of excommunication is to be issued out against any member The Apostle did more often threaten and shake the rod then make use of it The administration of publick censures should be carried on with that solemnness and mourning over the offender that might shew a reall unwillingnesse to put the same in execution if any other means would humble and break the heart of an obstinate transgressor And though there may be in the Church a readinesse to revenge all wilfull disobedience yet a readinesse to forgive also as they shall see cause 4. That none ought to usurpe the power of the keyes of Christs visible Kingdome or take upon them the power of stewards and to be Judges of Christs subjects that have not a clear warrant in the Word for the same lest they be judged For my part I must confesse I utterly reject as impious and against all rule and order for the common members to claim an interest in the exercise of the keys either of Doctrine Sacraments or Discipline save only to be obedient in declining familiarity with those that are justly excommunicated and all communion with them in worship and to be witnesses to attest what they know against an offending brother when it is necessary to prove the fact and conviction of his obstinacy I professe I wonder that any acquainted with the holy Scriptures should plead for any other power to be allowed to any of the common members I cannot see how this should be but that some men drive on designes of their own factious framing rather to hinder the setting up of discipline then any way to advance it What dismall divisions separations and confusions what prejudices heart-burnings and bitternesse do such practises every where necessarily occasion between Pastours and their people while the better part must withdraw from the rest and set up Discipline among themselves chuse their own officers and use a language beyond the ordinary and think they are in a fine posture when alasse they are out of their station and all they do is but erecting waies of their own chusing and setting up altars to sin some of Jeroboams craft to keep the people from worshipping at Jerusalem And the truth is members that separate from the body are not like to live long What strange exorbitances very often are the consequences of such uncharitable zealous waies And how can it be avoided if the power of the keys reside in the common brotherhood but the major part of a parochiall congregation may chuse their own officers set up Discipline and judge in the Church and what reformation is then like to follow may easily be imagined Doubtlesse all Church members as such stand upon a levell in point of externall priviledges for we do not finde different priviledges of those that are members of the same Church planted together into the same visible body by baptism and so by consequence women and children ignorant and scandalous persons shall have power to judge the rest nay they may create and ordain their own officers and consequently take upon them all Gospell administrations for if the keys reside in them originally so that they may make Ministers c. then they themselves are much more such and may do the works they are to do The effect cannot be greater then the cause But they will say Object the power of the keys resides not in all but in worthy and compleat Church-members or beleevers that have the spirit of sanctification c. I know no such distinction in the Word of God Answ Look upon the Church of the Jewes they were a holy nation a kingdome of Priests a peculiar and royall people in generall without distinction of worthy and unworthy compleat and incompleat And doth not the Apostle Peter use the same words and apply them to the scattered strangers embracing Christianity 1 Pet. 2.9 And doth not the Apostle give equall titles to all those to whom he writes and to all in every place that call upon the name of the Lord Jesus 1 Cor. 1.1 2 3. If we never read of any such distinction in Moses and the Prophets nor finde any such used by Christ or his Apostles why should any plead for it in our congregations but that they would see more then all that ever were before them But the keyes were given to the twelve as beleevers Object and that which is given to them as such is given to the whole kinde of beleevers in the world Solut. That the twelve were impowered with the keyes of Christs Kingdom is beyond all dispute and that they were beleevers when they received that power is as certain but that the Lord Jesus gave the keyes to them as such is denyed And they might as well say they were given to them as men for they were men when they received them But the truth is that though there were many Disciples and beleevers beside the twelve yet of his meer good pleasure he gave the keyes of his Kingdome to the twelve only not to the rest that beleeved as well as they He hath set some in the Church Apostles Pastours and Teachers not all And we know the twelve by vertue of that authority received preached and baptized and ordered all the affairs of Christs Kingdome during their age they planted severall Churches and ordained them Elders and Deacons they were the instruments for the propagation of the Gospell in almost all places Doubtlesse after Jesus Christ had received all power in heaven and earth he put the twelve only in commission to build his Church and they ordained Elders and Deacons and gave order to some others as Timothy and Titus to ordain and directed them also to commit the same power to able and sit men in after ages to teach others c. And in the seven Churches of Asia the Angell of every Church is writ unto and blamed or commended according as they demeaned themselves in their places in opposing errour or cleaving to the truth But we never finde that the common brotherhood or membership were impowered with the keys either by