Vye with the Church of Rome for Antiquity and Duration and though they may not be able to boast of the same outward Splendor Plenty and Prosperity yet what is outward Splendor and Prosperity to a Christian Church when in Scripture it is made the Character of wicked Men more then of those who will live godly in Christ Jesus 3. We do not deny that the Church of Christ hath been visible so far from it that we believe it to have been visible in all Ages indeed some of our Divines talk of a visible and invisible Church but when they do so they consider the Church as we consider a Man who consists of two Parts a Body and a Soul the Body is visible the Soul invisible so it is with the Church the outward Society in which true and sincere Believers live is the Body and that 's visible the sincere Believers are the Soul of that Body and they are and must be invisible being known only to God the searcher of Hearts but the outward Society which profess the Faith of Christ and which is the Body wherein that Soul lives is and hath been always visible and that which makes it so is the Profession of the Fundamental Principles of Christianity contain'd in the Apostles Creed and understood in that Sense that the Primitive Church understood them in this makes and constitutes a Christian Church and there is none but must grant that these Fundamental Principles of Christianity have been visible in all Ages even in times of the greatest Persecution even in the midst of Arianism and consequently the Church of Christ hath been visible in all Ages and shall continue so to the end of the World and though in abundance of Churches for some Ages together these Fundamental Principles of Christianity have been mingled with many accidental Errours Superstitions and Idolatries yet still so far as these Fundamental Principles have been retained in the respective Churches so far the Church of Christ hath been always visible as a sound Egg swiming in a filthy nasty stinking Pool of Water is visible notwithstanding the Filth which surrounds it and therefore as sickly and corrupt as the Church might be in some Ages the essentials of Christianity being every where retain'd Heathens and Infidels had still Opportunity and Motives to joyn themselves to it for in these Principles and the Profession of them it was visible So that 4. To that common impertinent Query Where was your Church before Luther Calvin or Henry VIII The answer is this It was all the Christian World over even in all the Christian Societies that were either in Ethiopia or Egypt or Africa or Asia or Greece or Constantinople or Alexandria or Antioch or in Muscovy and even in the Church of Rome her self for since we profess the same Faith or the same Fundamental Principles of Christianity which were profess'd in all these Churches all along our Church must necessarily have been in all those Churches where those Fundamental Principles were Retain'd and Professed so that it is in vain to urge that our Church was not visible two hundred Years ago for it 's enough that the universal Church of Christ is always visible I mean the Church of Christ dispers'd through the four Quarters of the World This will be always some where and God will never suffer it to decay according to his Promise Matth. XVI that the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it As for particular Churches they may either become invisible by being destroy'd or become visible whenever they appear in the World and hold the same Catholick Faith that the universal Church holds but from thence it follows not that either these particular Churches which have been destroy'd or which rise at such a time be it sooner or later are no true Churches As to particular Churches which decay it 's evident that the Churches of Africa of Carthage Hippo Numidia where St. Cyprian St. Austin St. Fulgentius and other eminent Bishops govern'd are totally destroy'd but no Man will therefore say that they were no true Churches when they were in being and as to Churches which are of no long standing their being of a late Plantation or Erection doth not make them false Churches else the Church of Rome her self would be in an ill case for the Churches they pretend to have erected in China and in other Eastern parts of the World are not much above a Hundred years Standing yet they will not think them false Churches because their Plantation is late and they cannot boast of many Hundred years continuance So that the Faith a Church holds must be the great Standart to judge by both of the Truth and Visibility of it where the aforesaid Fundamental Principles of Chrianity are retain'd professed Preacht and Maintain'd there the Church is visible and consequently the Church of Christ hath been visible in all Ages for in one part of the World or other those Fundamental Principles have been Profess'd and Retained from the beginning of Christianity unto this Day and if a Church appear'd but yesterday it holding these Fundamental Principles the Pillars and Foundations of Truth it would be a true Church and Visible and consequently hath been visible in those Churches where the same Truths have been Profess'd and had the Church of England been raised but Forty or Fifty years agon that would not make her either a false or invisible Church because she retains the Principles on which Christianity is founded But 5. Lest any Person should infer from this Discourse that since the Church of Rome hath been visible for many Ages as well as other Churches and hath retain'd and doth retain to this Day the Fundamental Principles of Christianity there is no reason to separate our selves from her or to leave her Communion I answer were it possible in that Church to eat only of the wholsome Fruit she hath kept and preserv'd without Participating of the Poison she hath added to it or mingled with it something might be pleaded for continuing in that Communion But that 's impossible now as the Case stands Of Children that are Baptiz'd in that Church and Baptiz'd only into the Faith deliver'd in the Apostles Creed and die before they come to be of Age we cannot but entertain a favourable Opinion But for the adult and Persons who are of years of Discretion that joyn with that Church It is evident they cannot be Members of that Church except they swallow the Rats-bane as well as the Milk the unwholsome as well as the wholsome Food especially since the Confession of Pope Pius IV. and the Councel of Trent which hath made the monstrous Sacrifice of the Mass Transubstantiation Invocation of Saints worshiping of Images Purgatory Indulgences seven Sacraments the Belief of human Traditions c. of the same necessity to Salvation that the Incarnation of the Son of God is They do indeed retain the Foundation of Christianity but then they have added also Fundamental Errours which
in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God Excellent Counsel In the midst of all temptations darkness clouds and shadows of Death let them even resolve to depend upon God's Mercy and Goodness and rest there whatever comes of it and though they can give no reason for so doing yet let them fix here and upon this Resolution If I perish I will perish in the hopes of God's Mercy While the Light of Holiness shines and burns in them there is that in them which will secure their Title to the Enjoyment of God's everlasting Light Light will mingle with Light and the Light of the Love of God in the Soul on this side Heaven by a natural Tendency must necessarily at last terminate in and be united to him who dwelleth in a Light which no mortal Man can approach unto For with thee O Lord is the Fountain of Light and in thy Light shall we see Light Lift thou up the Light of thy Countenance upon us and we shall be safe SERMON XV. St. Matth. Ch. V. Ver. 14. A City set upon a Hill cannot be hid IN these Words our Saviour prosecutes his Design in the preceding Characters he had given of his Disciples and Followers He had called them the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World and these Characters he illustrates and inlarges upon not only in the Text but in the two Verses following He had told them that their Lives must be Exemplary their Conversation Edifying and their Actions such as might serve both to reform and enlighten others to this he adds another simile ye are saith he and God expects and intends you should be like a City set upon a Hill now a City set upon a Hill cannot be hid i. e. Men will take notice of you as they do of a City seated upon a Hill if your Lives are not according to the rules of my Gospel your Christianity and Discipleship will soon be seen through and you will quickly betray your Hypocrisy Your business is to own and profess the Truth in the Face of the Sun and by your conformity to my holy Laws to let the World see that you are of the same Mind and Spirit and Temper that I am of Cities are conspicuous all Men that pass by them look upon them especially if they be set on a Hill so the Eyes of the World are and will be upon you and it will soon appear what manner of Spirit you are of Let it be therefore your care so to behave your selves that those who look upon you and observe your deportment may be convinc'd that you do not profess one thing and practise another This is the natural Sense and Design of our Saviour's Expression here as will appear to any one that shall examine the Drift and Scope of Christ in this Sermon on the Mount and the antecedent and consequent Passages But because the Church of Rome lays a great stress upon this Place and makes use of it to prove the perpetual visibility of their Church I must necessarily discover to you the Vanity of that pretence before I draw any Inferences from this Passage to instruct you how to govern your Lives and Actions according to the import of this Similitude not that I am fond of controversy or love to insult over a dying Religion but the Subject lies in my way and to balk it would look like betraying the noble Cause we have espoused built upon the eternal Pillars of Truth and Reason The pretence therefore is this It must be granted say they that the Church of Christ must have been visible in all Ages for it is a City set upon a Hill which cannot be hid and there is no reason it should for how should Heathens and Infidels be converted to the Faith of Christ if the Church which must teach them that Faith were not visible If it had lain hid and obscure in the World for several Ages confined to Caves and Dens to Corners and Deserts as you Protestants pretend Christ must have miss'd of his Design which was by the conspicuousness of his Church to draw Unbelievers into the bosom of it Now it 's evident that the Church of Rome hath been visible in all Ages conspicuous and splendid for many Centuries together without any interruption yours never began to appear till Luther and Calvin and Henry VIII made it visible therefore the Church of Rome must be the true Church and yours the false because it hath not been visible in all Ages This is the Pretence and now let us briefly consider the Weakness and Absurdity of it 1. Whatever may be said for the perpetual visibility of Christ's Church it is plain that from this Text it cannot be proved for Christ doth not speak here of his Followers considered as a Church or a body of Men united under their Pastors in the Profession of the Doctrin of the Gospel and in the Use and Administration of the Sacraments of the New Testament but of every individual Disciple considered as a Christian and a follower of Christ to teach him how he ought to live and behave himself in the World to the Edification of others And this is evident from the Virtues of Meekness and Humility and Patience and Peaceableness c. press'd in the foregoing Verses which are things appertaining to every private Christian and this saying you are a City set on a Hill which cannot be hid is spoken to the very same Persons of whom the aforesaid Virtues are required So that these Words relate to a Christian Duty not to the State or Condition or Splendour or visibility of Christ's Church But 2. Suppose they do relate to Christ's Church considered as a Church they must necessarily relate to Christ's universal Church for here is no particular Church mention'd Christ's universal Church of all Ages Nations Countrys may he called a City as it is in other places stiled a Body for as a City is made up of various Buldings and as a Body consists of many Members so Christ's universal Church consists of many particular Churches which make up that great City and that vast Body and if these Words relate to Christ's universal Church how can they be applied to a particular and especially to the Church of Rome more then to the Church of Ethiopia or Greece or Armenia and how absurd must be the Consequence The universal Church of Christ is a City set upon a Hill which cannot be hid therefore the Church of Rome is that Church or therefore the Church of Rome is that City It 's true they call themselves the Vniversal or Catholick Church so did the Donatists of old but what doth calling themselves so signify when it is evident and clear as the Sun at Noon that the Church of Rome is but a particular Church There were Churches in the World before the Church of Rome was heard of and there are at this Day and have been all along Churches which may
stamped and impressed upon his Soul He imitated God in those two things which one of the Ancients tells us will make us like God viz. speaking truth and bestowing benefits A man of greater simplicity and veracity I never knew and there are multitudes that will witness that he went about doing good He did vow in his Baptism to renounce the Devil the World and Flesh. Some men go no farther All their Religion comes from the Font. This good Man perform'd his Vow he cast out of himself the Evil One and renounced all his Works overcame the World in the noblest sense and subdued and mortified all the sinfull desires of the flesh He was a Conquerour and more than Conquerour He devoted himself intirely and without reservation to the service of his God It was not only his business but his choice and delight his meat and drink I need not say that he was much in Prayers and Fastings in Meditation and heavenly Discourse very frequent in devout Communions in reading and hearing the Word in watchings and great austerities He wisely considered that these were the means and not the end of Religion that these are not godliness but only helps and the way to it He arrived at the end of these things He had an ardent love of God a great Faith in him and was resigned to his Will He had an unspeakable Zeal for his Honour a profound regard to his Word and to his Worship and to all that had the nearest relation to him or did most partake of his image and likeness He was a Man after God's own heart He lived under a most gratefull sense of his Mercies he was governed by his fear and had a lively sense of God's special Care and Providence He had that sense of God's Mercy in giving us his Son to die for us that it was observed of him that when he discoursed of that Argument he used no measure no bounds or limits of his Discourse His heart was so affected with that Argument that he cou'd not put a stop to himself Jesus was his Lord and Master and he had his Life and Example always before him and conformed himself to it in the whole Tenour and Course of his Life His Religion was unaffected and substantial it was genuine and primitive and so great a pattern he was that he might have passed for a Saint even in the first and best times of Christianity He was of the Church of England and a most true Son of that Church and gave the greatest proofs of it Far was he from the Innovations of the Roman Church on the one hand and from Enthusiasm on the other His Writings are a sufficient proof of this I very well know that when the Church of England hath been traduced and disparaged he hath not forborn to make so vigorous a Defence that he lost a very great Man's friendship by it and felt the Effects of it afterwards by the loss of a considerable worldly advantage which he would otherwise have stood very fair for He shewed his Zeal for the Church of England when she was in greatest danger from many Enemies especially from the Church of Rome At that time when some were so wicked as to change their profession and others so tame as to sit still and not to concern themselves when the Enemies were at the Gates for there were too many that professed to be Sons of this Church and do so still who were over-awed and durst not appear with that Courage which God and all good Men might justly have expected from them then did this good Man bestir himself and lifted up his Voice like a Trumpet and undauntedly defended the Church when she most needed it God be praised there were others who did so likewise with great vigour and resolution and great hazard of their liberty and worldly Comforts And many of these had the hard hap to be traduced by their lukewarm Brethren who cry up the Church as if these were not the genuine Sons of this Church It hath not been for the advantage of the Church that those Men have been decried as not genuine Church-men who have done her the greatest service on the other hand some vaunt themselves to be such who have never been any support to their Mother in her greatest distress There are some of these who are like the Images we see in many Churches that are so placed in that bending Posture as if they bore upon their Shoulders the weight of the Building whereas in truth they are only the fancy of the Architect and bear no weight at all The Doctor believed the Doctrine of this Church obeyed her Injunctions and conformed to her Constitutions Headmonished and diligently instructed his Charge kept Multitudes in her Communion and lived up to her holy Rules and was ready to sacrifice all that was dear to him in the World to promote the true Interest of this Church He would not indeed take the Cure of Souls and then put them out to nurse to some cheap and negligent Curate receive the profits and leave another man to take the pains He would not take a Vicarage and swear residence before his Ordinary and afterwards refuse to reside on pretence of some privilege or exempt Jurisdiction c. as very many have done But a Church-man he was notwithstanding Indeed the best of men have been mis-represented And there are a Number of the most useless men that yet in all places are crying up the Church of England but have little regard to her holy Rules I knew two men of the same Faculty in the same neighbourhood They were in their profession very eminent One of these had the Name of a Church of England man the other of a Fanatick And yet it is well known that the first very rarely if at all came to the Church or Communion the other was a great frequenter of both The Doctor was a man of very good Learning He had very goods kill in Languages He had addicted himself to the Arabic from his younger time and retained it in good measure to the last He had great skill in the Hebrew likewise nor was his skill limited to the Biblical Hebrew only in which he was a great Master but he was seen in the Rabbinical also He was a most diligent Reader of the Holy Scriptures in that Language in which they were originally written Sacras literas tractavit indefesso studio This Dr. Spanheim says of him in his youth viz. that he was indefatigable in the Study of the Holy Scriptures He adds that he was then one of an elevated wit of a mind that was cheerfull and covetous of making substantial proficiency And also that he gave a Specimen of it about the year 1659 when he was very young by a publick defending a Dissertation concerning the Vow of Jephtah touching the sacrificing his Daughter This upon his own request and motion he publickly defended with great presence of mind He had very good
and thousands whose Eyes do not open till approaching Death doth clear them and the Testimony of an Enemy is sometimes very considerable But 6. What matter is it what Men think God surely cannot be mistaken and he is intirely of this mind For what shall it profit a Man if he gain the whole World and lose his own Soul or what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul saith Christ Matth. XVI 24. a known place a place most Children can repeat a place often quoted in Sermons but where are the Persons that are concern'd at it I mean concern'd like Men that are in danger of losing so great a Treasure When a Man is in danger of losing an Estate or a few Acres of Land or his good Name or his Goods How pensive how melancholy doth he grow His mirth all flies away and how doth he storm and fret and rage sometime This very Man many times is in danger of losing his Soul yet he is merry and chearfull and sings and dances and one would think nothing ails him Notwithstanding all this the Foundation of God stands sure and God having affirm'd and pronounc'd that the gain of the whole World cannot counterballance the loss of one Soul The matters relating to the Bliss and Happiness of our Souls must needs be the greatest and weightiest Concerns imaginable I might easily enlarge upon this Subject but it 's needless Your understandings are commonly better than your Wills and Affections and being sensible that it is a greater and nobler Work to prevail with the latter than to convince the former give me leave to turn these Assertions into a serious Expostulation 1. Are the things belonging to the Bliss and Happiness of your Souls the greatest Concerns of all how is it that they are minded no more than they are How are they the greatest when they are regarded least of all How the weightiest when a Trifle is preferr'd before them What doth it signify to confess so much when your Actions give your Mouths the lye And do not you expose your selves to the laughter of all judicious Men when your Practices do so manifestly contradict your Profession How will you answer this Argument in the last Day How can you hope to come off when the Judge shall argue with you from this Topick Did you really look upon the Concerns relating to the Bliss of your Souls as the greatest how could you be so indifferent as to knowing whether your Souls are in a State of Bliss or not How could you forbear examining your selves by the Rules laid down by Christ in this Sermon whether Happiness is like to be the Portion of your Souls at last or not Can it be safe to take it for granted that your Souls are in a blessed State when a mistake in this matter is the most dangerous thing in the World What satisfaction can it be to you to believe at random that all is well when that very Confidence is an Argument that the Foundation is rotten and unsound If you do in good earnest believe these Concerns to be of the greatest importance I will tell you what the Effects will be and to avoid Prolixity I shall only name them 1. Your thoughts will be much employ'd about them you will certainly find time to think of them and all the little Excuses that you have a Trade and Business and a Family to look after will be laid aside for all this you may do in a moderate way and yet make these weighty Concerns the frequent Objects of your serious Thoughts What Are these the greatest Concerns and doth it not deserve one sober reflection have I Soul that is immortal Is this Soul capable of being either happy or miserable Is there a way to make it happy What is that way Where shall I find it If God hath revealed it in his word is it not worth enquiring or searching into it c. 2. In your lawfull Callings and Employments you will be very cautious of doing any thing that shall hurt or spoil or prejudice the Bliss and Happiness of your Souls as all sins against Knowledge and all wilfull sins will certainly do 3. You will take care that the Briars and Thorns of the World I mean the Riches the Cares the Pleasures of this Life do not choak your Care and Sollicitude about this Bliss of your Souls and to this end you will avoid burthening your selves with over-much Business which will engross your Care and Thoughts and Time and drown the other 4. You will not content your selves with general Notions of this Bliss but you 'll go deeper and descend to particulars and examine the special Ingredients that must make your Souls truly happy and which are described in this admirable Sermon of our Saviour and take them into consideration 5. You will pray hard and with fervour and importunity to be strengthen'd from above in order to a chearfull Performance of the Rules specified in this Sermon 6. If at any time you find that you grow dull and lazy in the conscientious observance and performance of these particulars you will rouze your selves by fresh Arguments into your first love and if at any time surpriz'd by a strong Temptation you neglect any Lesson injoin'd here you will chide and check and force your selves into a more vigorous watchfulness and diligence 7. You will not neglect the proper means whereby this Bliss of your Souls must be promoted one of which is the frequent and conscientious use of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper for here you see how dear your Souls were to the Son of God what he did for them to make them happy how he laid down his Life to procure their Life and Bliss and can there be a greater motive to prosecute the Bliss of your immortal Souls These will certainly be the effects of your Belief i. e. if from your Heart you believe that the Concerns relating to the Bliss and Happiness of your Souls are the greatest and weightiest Concerns if these effects appear not it 's plain you do not look upon these Concerns as things of the greatest importance and consequently you are unfit for the Kingdom of God 2. As Christ open'd his mouth and taught the People so the Ministers of the Gospel after their Great Master's Example are to read and learn their Duty for they are sent by Christ to supply his place on Earth to the end of the World Teaching is their Business not only with their Lips but with their Lives Their lives must be visible Comments upon the word they publish and as one said they must be like Gideon's Souldiers carry Trumpets of sound Doctrine in one Hand and Lamps of good Lives in the other A Minister whose Life contradicts his Preaching is one of the worst Men in the World and makes himself Two-fold more the Child of Hell than his Hearers that imitate his ill Example and if there be one place hotter than another in the
him have any good opinion of it and therefore if the Father be carnal and wicked he will hate his Son for being so holy and precise and keeping such a stir about Religion or if the Father be good and the Son nought the Son will be either secretly or openly angry with his Father for having so strait-laced a Conscience Hence arise quarrels and dissensions which are not the natural Effects of the Gospel but of Men's vitious humours which hate to be controll'd by the Gospel and hither must be referr'd the Persecutions that befell the Primitive believers when they would not offer incense to the Heathen Gods whereupon they were imprison'd harrass'd persecuted with Fire and Sword The Son rose against his Father if he were a Christian and the Daughter did her best to throw the believing Mother into the Fire and the nearest Relations became mortal Enemies one to another not that Christianity made the Christians hate their Heathen Relations but it made the Heathen Relations hate their Christian Kindred 2. This Christ speaks with relation to those Carnal and Hypocritical Professours of his Religion who in After-ages pusht on by Pride and by the Devil under a pretence of Zeal for his Honour and Glory would kill butcher burn massacre thousands of their Brethren who retain'd the Substantials of Christianity only differ'd from them in things which Carnality and Pomp and Superstition and Ambition to regulate the Church by the Court of Princes should add to the ancient Faith deliver'd unto the Saints and of this we have seen very sad instances But still these are only accidental Effects of Men's Pride and Passions not the natural Products of the Design and Tendency of the Gospel so that notwithstanding all these quarrels and dissensions ill Men raise about the Gospel Christ is still the Prince of Peace and the Peaceable and such as are of a peace-making Temper are upon that account his Brethren for he is not asham'd to call them Brethren Heb. II. 11. and therefore the Children of God As to the Life to come These Peace-makers shall be and shall be treated like darling Children of God This St. John assures us of 1 John III. 2. Beloved now are we the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him Like him How Like him in Eternal Glory and Honour and Splendour They were like Christ in their peace-making Temper here and they shall be like him in a glorious Immortality Their Father which is in Heaven will let Men and Angels sees that they are his Children that they are so not in Name only but in Deed. He will give the unbelieving World a visible Demonstration that they are so in the last Day in the great Day of Account he will place them at Christ's Right-hand and the Men that would not believe and repent shall behold how dear they are to him for the great Redeemer shall carry them up into his Father's Kingdom If Sons then Heirs Heirs of God and joint Heirs with Christ saith the Apostle Rom. VIII 17. Christ as Man and Mediatour became Heir of his Father's Royalty and Power so shall they in the right of adopted Children As Christ ascended into Heaven so shall they as Christ was exalted so shall they as Christ was enthroned so shall they as Christ was advanced from a low Estate to the highest Dignity so shall they as Christ lives for ever so shall they as Christ cannot be hurt by the second Death no more shall they as Christ had power given him over the Nations over Hell and Devils so shall they reign over all their Enemies as Christ shall judge the World and the Apostate Angels so shall they being Fellow-sons Fellow-heirs they all share in his Authority and Grandeur It 's true all this must be believed for it is not seen yet but who can forbear to believe it when we have the Word of the living God for it In a word They shall be Possessours of Heaven and Earth for not only their Father but their Elder Brother is so Crowns and Diadems are preparing for them Crowns which fade not away Crowns which the Moth cannot corrupt nor Thieves break through and steal Crowns made of Beams of Eternal Light Crowns which not only adorn their Heads but fill their Faces with incomparable Beauty Crowns such as Angels wear Crowns which cannot be viewed cannot be thought of without Eternal Admiration Inferences I. It is easie to guess what Tempers and Actions are contrary and directly opposite to the admirable Qualification recommended and commanded in the Text. Peace being either publick or private and the publick either Political or Ecclesiastical either of Church or State whoever they be that wilfully pusht on by Pride or Passion or some worldly carnal Design without a just lawfull or warrantable Cause disorder or disturb that Peace cannot be true Disciples of Christ because they have an Aversion from that peaceable peace-keeping and peace-making Temper which Christ with all the pathetick Adjurations imaginable hath enjoin'd his Followers I shall not here reflect on secular Estates and Princes who either begin or maintain an unjust Warr either to enrich themselves by the Spoils of their Neighbours or to advance their own Glory or to enlarge their Empire and Dominion for the very Light of Nature confutes these Practices and he that is but a Novice in Religion may see nothing is more contrary to the Design of the Gospel However I cannot but spend some Considerations on the sad Divisions and Quarrels that are among those who call themselves Christians upon the Account of Religion I wonder not to see Mahometans and Jews scandaliz'd at these Divisions the Jews especially when they read such lofty Promises of the Peace and Unity of the Church that was to be under the Messiah as Isa. II. 4. They shall heat their Spears into Plough-shares and their Swords into Pruning-hooks Nation shall not lift up Sword against Nation neither shall they learn War any more and Isa. XI 6. The Wolf shall dwell with the Lamb and the Leopard lie down with the Kid and the Calf and the young Lion and the Fatling together and a little Child shall lead them Though these Prophecies have been in a great measure fulfill'd not only in the Apostles times when the Jews and Gentiles who were mortal Enemies before united into one Church under their common Head Christ Jesus but afterward when the Empire became Christian and the Heathen Powers who had most violently persecuted the Christians submitted to the Gospel and embraced those whom they had burnt before and though these Prophecies may moreover be said to be exactly fulfilled partly with respect to the Design and Tendency of the Christian Religion the design and intent of Christ's Laws being to make Men peaceable and partly with respect to the signal Change that 's actually wrought upon those who are truly not only in
profession and outwardly but inwardly too converted to the Faith of Christ for upon this Conversion their former hatred and enmity to others is laid aside and they are all for Peace and Concord though I say these Prophecies are actually accomplisht in despight of all the Sects that profess Christ's Religion yet the Jews a dull hard inconsiderate sort of People and who are guided much by their Senses seeing the everlasting quarrels that are among Christians and how one party persecutes and abuses the other and upon what slight occasions they quarrel and fall out and break Peace and Communion one with another I wonder not to see them offended at these doings and harden'd in their Unbelief for not to mention the Divisions Heresies and Schisms in the ancient Church at this day the Eastern Churches stand divided against the Western the Western is broke into several Parties the Church of Rome against the Protestants and the Protestants against the Church of Rome and the Protestants are divided among themselves In these Divisions the Church of Rome erects her Head and pretends she is the only True and Catholick Church because they are united among themselves But to shew the weakness of this boasting 1. At this rate every particular Church must be the Catholick Church because the Members of every particular Church are united among themselves So in the Church of England her Members and Pastours all subscribing to the Articles of her Communion and professing the same Doctrine Ceremonies and Worship whether they be in Europe or Africa or Asia or America and there is no particular Church that 's constituted by any publick Authority but may boast of this Unity 2. It is not a bare Union of Men that makes a Church a true Church but that Union must have Truth for its Foundation else you know Thieves and Robbers and High-way-men and Pyrates and Buccaneers because they agree among themselves might lay claim to this Title and the most perverse Hereticks because they agree in certain Points might say they are the true Church and Heathens and Pagans because they agree in Superstition and in believing a Multitude of Gods might bid fair for this Character However 3. The Unity the Church of Rome boasts of is only a pretence for all the World knows the mighty differences that are within her own Bosom of the Scotists and Thomists of the Franciscans and Dominicans of the Jansenists and Jesuits who stick not to call one another Hereticks not to mention the late Divisions betwixt the Disciples of Molinos and their Opponents and were it not for fear of Fire and Prisons and the Inquisition some of these would break out into open War against their Adversaries and Competitours Nay 4. There is no Christian Church that hath been more guilty of breaking the Peace of Christendom than the Church of Rome and because several Churches would not satisfie or gratifie her Ambition would not put their Necks under her Yoke nor believe the falsest and idlest thing in the World her Supremacy and Infallibility she hath boldly separated her self from their Communion this was the reason why she separated from the Eastern Churches and by this insolence she hath forced the Protestant Churches from her Communion and not he that is forced away but he that forces is the Schismatick And indeed that which justifies the Protestant Churches separation from her or breaking Peace and Communion with her is 1. Because she would impose that upon the Consciences of Men which Christ and his Apostles never imposed 2. Because she hath turned the Spiritual Worship of the Gospel into carnal and mechanical Devotion and introduced innumerable Superstitions which have no foundation in the Word of God and would have them believ'd as firmly as the Gospel it self 3. Because she hath brought in a Worship which with all the favourable Interpretations imaginable cannot be excused from Idolatry even the Worship of dead Men and Women of the Bread in the Eucharist of Images and Pictures and Reliques c. contrary to the Design of the Gospel 4. Because though she hath been often entreated admonish'd and exhorted to reform these Abuses for some hundred Years together yet she is obstinate and instead of reforming hath harden'd her self in them and thinks to hectour Men by her Power and Authority into a Belief of that which cannot be defended with solid Arguments 5. Because rejecting the Supreme Authority of the Scriptures which are the sole Rule of Faith she hath made her pretended Head and such Councils as he shall call or approve of the sole Dictatours and Expositours of the Doctrine of Christ requiring blind Obedience to their Decisions contrary not only to the Word of God but to the Sense of all true Antiquity So that there can be no peace I mean no Peace of Communion with Rome for though we are commanded to live peaceably with all Men yet we are withall to have a due regard to Truth Eph. IV. 15. Nor must Peace be bought at so dear a Rate as to comply with Men in their Sins and Errours which is the Reason why Peace and Holiness are join'd together in that known Exhortation of the Apostle Follow peace with all men and Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord Heb. XII 14. Indeed an external Peace we are to maintain with all Mankind but this differs much from Peace of Communion in Divine Worship and Sacraments The Divisions among Protestant Churches are to be deplored so much the more because the Points they differ in are inconsiderable and might easily be composed if Men had but peaceable Tempers and were resolved to lay aside Interest and carnal Respects and Punctilio's of Honour and Credit c. for they all agree in fundamentals all are satisfied that the Church of Rome hath notoriously deviated from the simplicity of the Gospel and the matters in difference are things in which Salvation is not concerned And upon that account their labours deserve great Commendations who heretofore and very lately have endeavour'd to reconcile the Protestant Churches into a perfect Union A blessed Work Blessed are the Peace-makers that endeavour to make Peace among the jarring Members of Christ's Body and though they may fail of Success yet they shall not lose their Reward In the mean while those who widen or heighten these differences and incite the respective Parties to hatred and wrath and animosities one against another to be sure are no Children of the God of Peace and had need at least before they die make publick Satisfaction for the dreadfull Effects their Heats and Passions do produce But as this Peace among Protestant Churches is very much to be wish'd and pray'd for so I despair to see so glorious a Work take effect except the differing Parties would resolve to stand to the Rules following 1. That the respective Parties which agree in the chief Points of Religion do not make any of those Points they differ in fundamental as if