THE Foundation of this Pretence seems to be the great mistake of some men concerning the matter whereof the Church of Christ is to be composed, which they will have to be, only real Saints and persons endowed with inherent and substan­tial holiness; Accordingly finding in the Communion of our Church many corrupt Members, who lived not answerably to their Holy Vocation, they, for that rea­son, amongst some others alledg'd by them, cry her down as no true Church, or, which is all one, deal by her as if she was so, totally separating from her Communion and setting up Churches of their own, consisting wholly of persons, in their judgment, far more pure, that is, really holy and sanctified. Into this most false and [Page 2] dangerous conceit concerning the matter of the Chri­stian Church, I cannot tell what it is that should mislead them, unless it be,

The not rightly understanding the notion of that holiness that so often in Scripture is applied to the vi­sible Church of God. There is a twofold holiness in Scripture, Inherent and Relative.

Inherent holiness, and that can be in none properly but God, Angels and Men; In God essentially and ori­ginally, as he is the most perfect Being, in whom all excellencies do possess infinite perfection; As it's applied to God, it does not only signifie a perfect free­dom in him from all those sinful impurities, wherewith the sons of men are tainted, but all the excellencies of the divine nature, as wisdom, goodness, and power, and a super-eminent and incommunicable greatness in them all; hence he is call'd Psalm 89. 18. the holy One of Israel, Amos 8. 7. the excellency of Jacob, Psalm 89. 35.said to swear by his holiness, that is, by himself, and 1 Sam. 2. 2. there is none holy as the Lord, said Hannah, for there is none besides thee, none holy besides thee, as the Septuagint renders it, none comparable to thee in the heighth and greatness of all thy excellencies. In Angels and men by way of participation and as far as their natures are capable, hence there are holy Angels and holy men.

Relative holiness, which when it's applied to per­sons, may be more properly call'd foederal, and this is founded in the relation persons and things have to God, and the nature of it consists in a separation of them from common uses, and in appropriating of them to the peculiar use and service of God: hence the Sab­bath is call'd an holy Day, Judea an holy Land, Jeru­salem an holy City, and the Church and People of God an holy Church, that is, a Body or Society of men call'd and separated from the rest of the World to God, [Page 3] to worship him in a way distinguish'd from the rest of the World, having Laws and Promises and Rites of Wor­ship peculiar and appropriate to themselves; This ac­count God himself gives of it, I have separated you, Levit. 20. 24.says he to the Israelites, from other people, that you should be mine, and ye shall be an holy people unto me. For the same reason do we find the whole Church of the Jews, even then when its members had generally Deut. 9. 12. Deut. 9. 7. Deut. 32. 5.very much corrupted themselves, were a rebellious people, a crooked generation, yet upon the account of their being separated to God and in covenant with him, stil'd by Moses and other inspir'd men, Deut. 7. 6. Psal. 135. 4. his saints, his holy people, his peculiar treasure. For the same reason also did the Apostles dignifie those Churches to whom they wrote, with those great and glorious titles, [...] of saints, the sanctified, the call'd and chosen in Christ Jesus; because they, as of old the Jews, had entertain'd the profession of a Religion, distinct from others of the World, whereby they might be excited to the at­tainment of those excellencies, which in the object of their Worship they did admire and adore; and those Names being of as large a meaning as that of Christian, shew rather what they ought to have been, than assure us what they really were; for amongst those Saints were found strange immoralities altogether contradictory to the sacredness of their Vocation.

Eph. 5. 25. But does not the Apostle say, Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctifie and cleanse it by the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish?

I answer; Holiness in this place must be confest to be meant a real and inward holiness; but then by Church is not to be understood the whole complex [Page 4] Body of the universal Church in this World, but either that part of it that in this World is really, tho' imper­fectly, holy, and is every day pressing forwards to higher degrees of it, or else that Church which shall be in the future state, when all the corrupt and un­sound Members shall be by death and the final decision of God, for ever excommunicated out of it, and all the Members that remain in it, only such as were in some acceptable degrees holy here, and shall then be perfected in holiness. Neither is this to make two Churches of Christ, as the Donatists objected, one, in which good and bad are mingled together, and another, in which there are good alone; but only to assign two different states of the same Church, the one in this World, compos'd of good and bad, externally holy in respect of all by vocation, and internally holy in re­spect of some in it by sanctification; the other in the next World, where there shall be a separation made be­twixt the Sheep and the Goats, and all remaining in the Church, such, as shall at once be perfectly holy and compleatly happy: This is that Church which Christ shall present to himself, glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and with­out blemish.

This being suppos'd, all that will be needful to say in answer to this Question may be comprehended under these three Propositions:

• 1. That an external Profession of the Christian Faith is enough to qualifie a person to be admitted a Member of Christ's Church.
• 2. That every such Member has a right to all the external Priviledges of the Church, till by his continu­ance in some notorious and scandalous sins he has forfeited that right, and by the just censures of the Church he be [Page 5] for such behaviour actually excluded from those Pri­viledges.
• 3. That some corrupt and scandalous Members re­maining in the Communion, through the want of the due exercise of discipline in it, or the negligence and conni­vance of the Governours and Pastors of it, gives no just cause to any to Separate from her.

I begin with the first; That an external Profession of the Christian Faith, &c.

This Profession in grown and adult persons is to be made by themselves; Thus it was at the first erection of the Christian Church, when Persons by the Preach­ing and Miracles of the Apostles were converted from the Pagan Superstition and Jewish Religion to the Chri­stian Faith; they were to believe, and with the Eu­nuch to declare their belief, Acts 8. 27. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

In Infants and Children not grown up to years of discretion, by their Parents and those who at the request of their Parents do together with them undertake for them. So great an interest and propriety have Parents in their Children, so intire an affection and concern for their good and happiness, so unquestionable an autho­rity over them, so binding and obligatory are all their reasonable commands upon them, that we have good grounds to believe, that they that are born of Christian Parents will be brought up in the Christian Religion, and at years of understanding take upon themselves what their Parents and Sureties promis'd for them; and upon this account that profession of Faith made by others at their Baptism in their behalf may in a fa­vourable sense be reckon'd as made by themselves; so God accounted it in the Jewish Church, upon the ac­count of their Parents being in covenant with God, [Page 6] were the Children of the Jews esteem'd an holy Seed, and at eight days old admitted by Circumcision into the same Church and Covenant with them; And the same reason holds for admitting Children born of Christian Parents into the Christian Church by the Rite of Bap­tism, which is the Sign and Seal of the Covenant un­der the Gospel, as Circumcision was of that under the Law. Now that this external profession without any farther signs of saving grace is ground sufficient for those with whom God hath entrusted the Keys and Government of his Church to admit persons into it, will appear from these particulars:

1. This is the qualification prescrib'd by our Lord: he is the Head and Founder of his Church, to him there­fore does it appertain to appoint the terms and condi­tions of admission into it, and what these are, we may learn from that commission he gave his Apostles when he sent them out to gather a Church under him, viz. the becoming his Disciples; Go ye therefore and teach all Nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Matth. 28. 19. Teach all Na­tions, [...], Disciple all Nations; Now a Disciple is properly one, not that has already attain'd to the full knowledge and saving effects of the Gospel, but only understands so much of it as to be willing to be admit­ted into the Christian Church, in order to his being far­ther taught the one, and to have the other more through­ly wrought in him. Whether men are sincere in their profession of the Christian Faith and in their desires to be admitted Members of Christ's Church, and whe­ther this great Priviledge and Blessing of Church­membership will be effectual to produce in them that regeneration and new creature for which it was de­sign'd, the Pastors and Governours of the Church [Page 7] cannot know; This their bare profession and desire is enough to give them a title to it and qualification for it. By this rule the Apostles of Christ walkt as to this particular, even when they liv'd with him here on earth and were under his immediate direction: John 4. 2. The Pharisees heard that Jesus made and baptiz'd more Disciples than John, tho' Jesus himself did not baptize, but his Disciples. Now if, as it was fam'd abroad, and is not in the Text contradicted, Jesus's Disciples bap­tiz'd more than John, it follows that he baptiz'd more than were sincere, when we read that so few, not above an hundred and twenty continued with him to the last. Acts 1. 15.

2. It appears from the Apostles practice afterwards in admitting persons into the Church. Nothing but a profess'd willingness to receive the Gospel, tho' they receiv'd it not from the heart, was requir'd by them, in order to it: The Text tells us, Acts 2. 41. that they that gladly receiv'd St. Peter 's words were baptiz'd, and the same day were added to the Cburch about 3000 souls; It's true, St. Peter exhorted them all to repent in order to it, but whether they did so or no, he stay'd not for proof, from their bringing forth fruits worthy of repentance, but presently upon their profest willing reception of the Word they were baptiz'd and added to the Church. One might have been apt to suspect, that amongst so great a number, all would not prove sin­cere converts, and so it fell out; Ananias and Saphira Acts 4. 34. Acts 5. 1, 2, 3.were two of the number, in whom ye know, that glad reception of the Gospel was found to be but gross hypocrisie. By the same rule St. Philip proceeded in planting the Church at Samaria; Acts 8. 12▪ when the people seeing the miracles he did, gave heed to the doctrine he taught, concerning the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Name of Jesus, and declar'd their belief of it, without [Page 8] any farther examination they were baptiz'd both men and women: And amongst them was Simon Magus, whose former notorious Crimes of Sorcery, Witch­craft and Blasphemy, might have given just grounds of fear to the holy Deacon, that his Faith was but Acts 8. 20.hypocritical and his Heart not right in the sight of God, as appear'd afterwards, yet upon his believing, ver. 13.he was baptiz'd; such other Members of Christ's Church were Demas, Hymeneus, and Alexander, they had nothing, it seems, but a bare outward profession of the Faith, to entitle them to that Priviledge, since afterwards, as we read, the one embrac'd this present World, and the other two made shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience. 2 Tim. 4. 10. 1 Tim. 1. 19.

3. This appears from the representation Christ hath made of his Church in the Gospel, fore-instructing his Disciples by many Parables, that it should consist of a mixture of good and bad. It is a field wherein wheat Mat. 13, 24, 25.and tares grow up together; A net wherein are fishes ver. 47.of all sorts; A floor in which is laid up solid corn and Matth. 3. 12.light chaff; A vine on which are fruitful and barren John 15. 1.branches; A great house wherein are vessels of gold 2 Tim. 2. 20.and silver, and vessels of lesser value, wood and earth; A marriage feast, where are wise and foolish virgins, Matth. 25.some with wedding garments and some without, some had oyl and some but empty lamps; St. Hierome St. Hier. dial. con. Lucifer. Arca Noae Ec­clesiae typus. com­pares it to Noah's Ark, wherein were preserv'd beasts clean and unclean; when the Apostle said, They are not all Israel, that are of Israel, his meaning was, that in the Jewish Church many more were circum­cis'd in the flesh, than what were circumcis'd in heart; and when our Saviour said, Rom. 9, 6. many are call'd, but few chosen, he declar'd the same thing, that in his Church many more were call'd and admitted [Page 9] into it by Baptism than what were sanctified by his Spi­rit or should be admitted into his Heaven.

4. The many corrupt and vicious Members in the Churches, which the Apostles themselves had planted, is another proof of this; The number whereof, in all likelihood, could not have been so great, had they been so cautious and scrupulous as to admit none into them, but whom in their judgments they thought to be really holy. In the Church of Corinth 1 Cor. 15. 34. ver. 12. 2 Cor. 12. 20, 21. 1 Cor. 7. there were many, that had not the knowledge of God, that de­nied the Resurrection of the Dead, that came drunk to the Lord's Table, that were Fornicators, unclean and contentious Persons. In the Church of Galatia there were many that nauseated the Bread of Life, and made it their choice to pick and eat the rubbish of the partition wall, which Christ had demolisht; The Rites of the Law which expired at the death of Christ, they attempted to pull out of their graves, and to give a resurrection to them; They were so much gone off from the Doctrine of Christianity, to weak and beg­garly Rudiments, observing days and months, and Gal. 3. 7, 10, 11.times and years, that by reason of this their supersti­tion, St. Paul signifi'd his fears of quite losing them, and that his labour was bestowed upon them in vain.

Amongst all the seven Churches in Asia there was not one but what had receiv'd such Members into it, that were either very cold and lukewarm in their Re­ligion, or by their vicious lives proved a reproach and scandal to it; The Church of Sardis so swarm'd with these, that St. John tells us, that there were but Rev. 3. 1, 4. a few names in Sardis that had not defil'd their garments. Now if the Apostles of our Lord, who had the ex­traordinary assistances of the Holy Ghost, for the discerning of Spirits at that time, and were thereby [Page 10] enabl'd far beyond what any of their Successors can pretend to, to distinguish betwixt the good and the bad, did notwithstanding admit many meer formal Professors into the Church of Christ, we may conclude that they apprehended that 'twas the will of Christ it should be so.

5. No other rule in admitting persons into the Church is practicable. Whether Persons are really holy and truly regenerate or no, the Officers of Christ who know not the hearts of men, cannot make a certain judgment of, they may through want of judg­ment be deceiv'd, through the subtilty of hypocrites be impos'd upon, through humane frailty, passion or prejudice be misguided, and by this means many times the door may be open'd to the bad, and shut against the good; Now that cannot be suppos'd to be a rule of Christ's appointment, which is either impossible to be observ'd, or in observing which the Governours of his Church cannot be secur'd from acting wrongfully and injuriously to men.

In sum, Christ hath entrusted the power of the Keys into the hands of an Order of Men whom he hath set over his Church, and who, under him, are to manage the Affairs of it, but these being but 2 Cor. 4. 7. earthen vessels, of short and fallible understandings, he has not left the execution of their Office to be manag'd solely by their own prudence and discretion, but hath given them a certain publick Rule to go by, both in admitting persons into his Church, and in excluding them out of it; for the one, the Rule is, open and solemn profession of the Christian Faith; for the other, open and scandalous Offences, prov'd by witnesses.

[Page 11] 2. The second Proposition is, That every such Mem­ber has a right to all the external Priviledges of the Church, till by his continuance in some notorious and scandalous sins he forfeits that right, and by the just censures of the Church for such behaviour he be actually excluded from those Priviledges.

For the explanation and proof of this Proposition, these three particulars are to be done: (1.) What's meant by external Priviledges? (2.) What kind of Offenders those are that forfeit their right to them, and ought by the Censures of the Church to be excluded from them? (3.) Upon what the right of those Members that have not so offended, is grounded?

1. What's meant by external Priviledges? As there are two sorts of Members in Christ's visible Church, so there are two sorts of Priviledges that belong to them; each sort having those that are proper and peculiar to it, according to the nature of that relation they bear to the Head and their fellow Members.

1. There are Members only by foederal or covenant­holiness, such as are only born of water, when by Baptism they were united to Christ and the Church, and took upon them the Profession and Practice of the Christian Religion; Now the Priviledges that be­long to these are of the same make with their Church­membership, external, and consisting only in an out­ward and publick Communion with the Church in the Word and Ordinances.

2. There are Members by real and inherent holiness, such as are not only born of Water, but of the Spirit also, when by the inward operations of the Holy Ghost their Souls are renew'd after the Image of God, and made partakers of a Divine Nature; And the [Page 12] Priviledges that belong to these, are not only the fore­mentioned ones, but together with them, others that are sutable to their more spiritual relation, inward, and such as consist in the especial and particular care and protection of God, the pardon and remission of their sins by the Blood of Christ, and the gracious in­fluences and comforts of the Holy Ghost; All com­prehended in that Prayer of the Apostle for his Corin­thians, 2 Cor. 13. 14. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.

Now 'tis of the first sort of Members, and that sort of Priviledges that belong to them, that the Proposition is to be understood.

2. What kind of Offenders those are that have for­feited their right to, and ought by the Censures of the Church to be excluded from those Priviledges? This the Apostle hath plainly told us, and our own Church in its Exhortation to the Sacrament fairly intimates: 1 Cor. 5. 11. I have wrote unto you, says St. Paul, not to keep com­pany, if any man that is call'd a Brother, be a Forni­cator, or Covetous, or an Idolater, or a Railer, or a Drun­kard, or an Extortioner, no, not to eat; Not only, as ver. 10.much as can be, to have no familiar conversation with him in civil matters (tho' some must be had whilst we are in this World) but also, and more especially to avoid communion with him in religious exercises; and how that is to be done, the Apostle tells us, viz. not by forsaking the Church our selves, but by doing our ut­most endeavours to have him cast out of it: So it follows, ver. 13. Therefore put away from among your selves that wicked person. And, In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ver. 4, 5. when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit [Page 13] may be sav'd in the day of the Lord Jesus. Agreeable hereunto are the words of the Exhortation, If any of you be a blasphemer of God, a hinderer and slanderer of his Word, an Adulterer, or be in malice or envy, or in any other grievous crime, repent you of your sins, or come not to that holy Table. Such sinners as these have in a manner undone and made void what was done in their behalf in Baptism; They, by not performing what was then promis'd for them, but living directly contrary to it, do virtually renounce that Covenant they then entred into with God in Christ, and fall back again into the state of Pagans and Infidels; Their Sureties engag'd for them, that they should believe the Christian Faith, keep God's Commandments, and re­nounce the World, the Flesh and the Devil; But such habitual notorious Offenders as these say by their pra­ctice, what had they to do to undertake such things for us, we will stand to no such engagements, but we will be at large, to believe what we please, and to practice what we fancy, and to worship whom we think fit; And thus as it were breaking off from being in Covenant with God, and virtually renouncing their Church-membership, they at the same time lose all right and title to those Blessings and Priviledges that were due to them upon the account thereof; and in this sad state and condition did the Primitive Chri­stians reckon all, that had highly and notoriously sinn'd, amongst whom especially were the lapsed that had offer'd Sacrifice; they staid not for a formal Sen­tence to be pronounc'd against them by the Church, but lookt upon them as ipso facto excommunicate; and tho' till that was past they could not actually be shut out, yet they began before to avoid their company, and to forbear all religious commerce towards them. But so long as men keep in covenant with God, and [Page 14] abide in his Church, which may be done by holding that profession of Faith that they made at their first entrance into it, their right to the external franchises of it remains inviolable, and their title without que­stion. As may appear from these particulars,

1. From the Tenour of that Covenant they in their Baptism enter'd into with God; which consists of Pro­mises on God's part, as well as Conditions on mans. The Promises on God's part, are exprest in these ge­neral words, 2 Cor. 6. 61. I will be their God; The Conditions on mans, in those, and they shall be my People: Now so far as men perform the Conditions, so far will God make good his Promises; In what sense they are People to God, in the same he'll be a God unto them. If a bare faederal holiness can give men a relation to God, and God upon that account owns them to be a people unto him, the same gives them some kind of interest in God, and a claim to the blessings that belong to that relation; Not, that such Members as these are to expect those special and particular favours that are the portion of those that are more nearly and by a kind of spiritual consanguinity allied to God in Christ, but yet being of God's houshold, are to be allowed the liberty to par­take of those external blessings which he in common bestows upon the whole family.

2. From the nature of Church-membership. Church-membership necessarily implies Church-Communion, or else it signifies nothing; for to be admitted a Mem­ber of the Church, and not to have a right in common with the rest to Church-Priviledges, is to be taken in with one hand, and to be thrown out with the other, 'tis to be put back into the state of those that are no Members, and virtually to be cut off from the Body, by being denied all communications with it; Should a man be admitted a Member of any City or Corpo­ration, [Page 15] and yet at the same time be denied the privi­ledge of his freedom, and not be permitted to set up a Trade, to give a Vote, or to act in any other case, as other Members do, what would be the difference betwixt him and a Foreigner? unless it be, that his condition is the worse, by being mock'd, and abus'd, and cheated with the Name, whilst he has nothing of the Priviledges of a Freeman.

3. We have the Practice of the Church of God in the Old Testament for this; The whole Nation of the Jews were not only permittted, but commanded by God, except in cases of legal uncleanness and those notorious crimes for which they were to be cast out of the Congregation, to observe his Ordinances and to joyn in the celebration of his publick Worship, and we know they were not all Israel, that were of Israel; Three times a year were Exod. 23. 14, 17. all their males to appear before the Lord, to keep three solemn appointed feasts unto him; many of which, it is to be fear'd, had no other quali­fication, than what they were beholden to their birth and the loss of their fore-skin for; Again, All the Exod. 12. 44. congregation of Israel were to keep the passover, none were denied it but foreigners and hired servants, and they too no longer but till they were circumcis'd, and thereby admitted into covenant with God, which shews that meer circumcision was enough to put a man into a capacity of communicating with the Jewish Church in its most solemn and sacred Mysteries.

4. This was also the Practice of the Christian Church in the Apostolick Age; as is plainly inti­mated unto us from many Scriptures; St. Paul tells us, 1 Cor. 12. 13. by one spirit we are all baptiz'd into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. To drink into one spirit, parti­cularly relates to the Cup in the Lord's Supper, and by a [Page 16] figure of the part for the whole, it's put to signifie the whole Communion; but the thing here especially to be taken notice of, is, that the Apostle makes the num­ber of those that receiv'd the Lord's Supper to be as comprehensive and universal, as that of those that were receiv'd into the Church by Baptism; As by one spirit all were baptiz'd into one body, so all were made to drink into one spirit. The Apostle speaks the same thing again in another place, alluding to the other part of the Sacrament, 1 Cor. 10, 17. We being many▪ are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of one bread; all the members that conspired to make up the one body, did partake of the one bread; But if any thing yet can be clearer, 'tis that account St. Luke gives us of the practice of the first Christian Church at Jerusalem, where it's said of the three thousand that gladly re­ceiv'd St. Peter's words, and were by Baptism added to the Church, they, all the three thousand, Ananias and Saphira being of the number, continued in the Apostles doctrine, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

5. From the end of Church-membership; which is not only for the more solemn Worship of God, and the publick profession of Religion, but also for the more effectual edification and salvation of mens souls; By Baptism we were admitted into the Church, incor­porated into that Divine Society, and entitled to all the Priviledges of the Gospel, to the end, Eph. 4. 13. that in the uni­ty of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, we might come to a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; But how this is to be attain'd without being admitted to all the Acts and Offices of Communion with the Church, to the Com­munion of Prayers and Sacraments and the Word, and all other Priviledges and Duties, is not easily to [Page 17] be understood; hence, we may observe, that edifica­tion in Scripture is usually applied to the Church, and tho' the edification of the Church consists in the edifi­cation of the particular Members of it, yet because that is not to be had but in the Unity and Communion of the Church, 'tis usually stiled, the Eph. 4. 12. edifying of the Church, and the edifying the body of Christ; hence Faith is said to come by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God; Hence we are said Rom. 10. 17. 1 Pet. 1. 23. to be born again, not of cor­ruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever; The same is ex­prest in those words of our Saviour's Prayer for his Disciples, John 17. 17. Sanctifie them through thy truth, thy Word is truth. God's Church is his Family, which he espe­cially takes care of and provides for, he that is of it is under the Schechina, the wing of the Divine Maje­sty and his special grace and providence; It cannot but be of mighty advantage towards our growth and im­provement in all Christian graces and virtues, to have therein dispens't to us the lively Oracles of God, and provision made for a constant succession of dispensers of the Bread of Life, to fit it to all needs and all ca­pacities; Not to be left to the deceits and whispers of a private spirit, to personal conjectures or secret insi­nuations, but to have the publick Doctrine of the Church, to be our Guide and Leader; to have our De­votions mingled with the concurrent Prayers of all God's people, and so by their joynt forces, after an Coimus in cae­tum & ad De­um quasi manufact a precatio­nibus ambia­mus orantes, Tertul.humble, but powerful manner, to besiege and beleaguer Heaven; to have before our eyes all the great Examples in God's Church, to have our Faith strengthen'd, our Repentance heighten'd, our Love inflam'd, our Hopes and our Comforts rais'd by the Holy Commu­nion; Will not the flame of others kindle our zeal and affections? and will it not put us into a transport [Page 18] of devotion, to see therein Christ crucified before our eyes, pouring out his Blood for us, bowing his Head as it were to kiss, and stretching out his Arms as it were to embrace all that are penitent and return to him? These are some of the great Blessings and Advantages that cannot be had but in Church-Communion; To which, if we shall add▪ that our improvement in holi­ness and virtue is more to be ascrib'd to the internal operations of God's spirit, than any virtue or efficacy there can be in those external administrations, that God is pleas'd to promise his spirit to believers only as they are Members of his Church, and no otherwise than by the use and ministry of his Word and Sacraments, we shall farther see the necessity of mens holding actual Communion with the Church in order to their sancti­fication and salvation.

We are not now discoursing what God can or will do in some extraordinary cases, when Communion with a true visible Church cannot be had, as in a gene­ral Apostacy of the Church, or Persecution for Reli­gion, or unjust Excommunication; but what is God's ordinary method and means of bringing men to salva­tion, and that he himself tells us is by adding them to the Church; Acts 2. 47. and the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved; To this purpose we may ob­serve not only in general, that whatever Christ did and suffered for Mankind, 'twas for them as incorporated into a Church; Eph. 5. 25. Christ loved his Church and gave him­selffor it; Acts 26. 28. Christ redeem'd his Church with his ownblood; Eph. 5. 23. Christ is the saviour of the body, that is, the Church; But also in particular, that the Apostle con­fines the influences and operations of the spirit to the unity of the Church, Eph. 4. 4. there is one body and one spirit; Upon this account, viz. the efficacy of the means af­forded in Christ's Church, and the necessity of keeping [Page 19] in communion with it in order to salvation, was it that the Primitive Christians lookt upon it as so dreadful a thing to be shut or cast out of it; as laughing a matter as some now adays make it, as much as they slight the priviledge and benefit to be of Christ's Church, and count it their glory and saintship voluntarily to cut off themselves from it, I am sure, the Primitive Christians had a far different opinion of it; with them to be cast Nam judicatur magno cum pon­dere ut apud certos, &c. Tert. Apol.out of the Church, and to be deliver'd up to Satan, sig­nified the same thing, and the one accounted full as dreadful a doom as the other; hence was it that this sentence was rarely past against an offender, but with 1 Cor. 5. 2.grief and sorrow in him that was forc'd to do it; and that those against whom it was past, us'd the most ar­dent importunities, and were willing to undergo the se­verest penances in order to be restored into the bosom of it; you might have beheld them kissing the chains of imprison'd Martyrs, washing the feet of Lazars, Nazian. 12. Or.wallowing at the Temple-doors, on their knees beg­ging the Prayers of Saints; you might have seen them stript and naked, their hair neglected, their bodies wither'd, their eyes dejected, and sometimes crying out in the words of David, as the great Theodosius Theod. H. Eccl. 5. c. 15.in the state of penance, My soul cleaveth to the dust, quicken thou me, O Lord, according to thy Word.

Thus much seems to be enough to be said on the Second Proposition; but that our passage to the Third may be the clearer, I shall add a little by way of An­swer to an Objection or two that lies in our way. And the first is,

Obj. Do not all the Members of Christ's Church that come to the blessed Sacrament, having not the power of Godliness, as well as the Form, come unworthily and to their own great sin and danger, no less than 1 Cor. 11. 27, 29. being [Page 20] guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ, and eating and drinking their own damnation? And can they have a right to that they are so unworthy of? In doing which they sin so hainously? and for doing which they shall be punished so severely?

Answ. I Answer these two things:

1. All, even the best men, in a strict, legal sense, are unworthy, and that even of common mercies from God, much more of this prime Duty and Priviledge of Christianity. Psal. 39. 5. Every man in his best estate is altoge­thervanity: Isa. 39. 5. We are all an unclean thing, and our righ­teousness is as filthy rags: The meaning is, all men are sinners, and their best services imperfect and impure; But then, the right they have to this Priviledge does not depend on their own merit and worth, but, as was said before, on the promise of God, when they enter'd at first into covenant with him, whereby he was pleas'd to oblige himself to be their God so far, and so long, as they continued to be his people.

2. Those Members that we have asserted to have a right to the external Priviledges of Christ's Church are not guilty of that unworthiness St. Paul speaks of, the sin and danger whereof is so great; and this will appear by the description he gives of those unworthy Communicants:

[...], S. Chry­sost. 1 Cor. 11. 27. Dr. Lightf. in loc. 1. They discern'd not the Lord's body; he that eats this bread, and drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily, is guilty of the body and blood of Christ; how? not discerning the Lord's body. It may be, they did eat it still, as a part of the Jewish Passover, they understood not the nature of it▪ what it did represent, or for what end it was instituted, being ignorant of the infinite value and merit of Christ's blood, not at all affected with the greatness of his love, nor wrought upon by the infiniteness of his mercy, and altogether as void of any sincere affection and gratitude [Page 21] to Christ for that mighty redemption he wrought for mankind, as the Jew and Pagan, that neither know nor believe in him.

2. They were open and scandalous sinners; The Apostle charges them with Schisms and Divisions, 18, 21, 22, ver.pride and contempt of their brethren, sensuality and drunkenness; In those early days of Christianity, the Lord's Supper was usually usher'd in with a Love-feast that was eaten just before it, but so unchristian were these Corinthians, that every one took before other his own Supper, they run into parties, and tho' they had not yet left the place, they refus'd to communicate at the same time with their brethren, The rich despis'd and excluded the poor, that came not so well provided as they, from their feast, and that which was yet an higher aggravation of their sin, the poor were hungry, whilst the rich fed and pamper'd their bodies to excess and luxury: When ye come together, says he, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper, this is no fit preparation for it, for in eating every one takes before other his own supper, and one is hungry, and another is drunken: such Swine as these ought not indeed to come to the Holy Table of our Lord, and such as these, as I said, in the beginning of my Discourse on this Proposition, have forfeited their right to it, and ought by the Censures of the Church, to be excluded; This indeed is to be unworthy with a witness, to be guilty of the body and blood of Christ, or as St. Paul sometimes words it in the case of Apostacy and other hainous sins, Heb. 6. 6. Heb. 10. 16. to crucifie afresh the Lord of life, to tread under foot the Son of God, and to count the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing; that is, in an high degree to despise and vilifie the person and sufferings of the most holy Jesus, his person, as one not worthy to be obeyed and followed, his blood, as a thing of no value and merit; And [Page 22] what could such persons expect, but that God would vindicate the honour of his own Son and the infinitely wise contrivance of the redemption of the World by his great undertaking in some remarkable way upon them, either in this World, by Temporal Judgments, 1 Cor. 11. 30. for this cause many are weak and sickly amongst you, and many sleep; or in the next, without repentance, by their Eternal Damnation?

Obj. But the Members of Christ's Body that come to this blessed Sacrament and are destitute of saving grace, tho' they make a fair profession and are free from scandalous sins, are yet in an unconverted condi­tion; and this Sacrament is not a converting, but a confirming Ordinance.

Answ. Conversion may be taken in a two-fold sense.

1. For turning men from a state of open infidelity to the profession of the Christian Faith, and indeed till men are in this sense converted, they are not to be admitted to the Sacrament; neither Jews nor Turks, nor any others in a state of Gentilism, till by Baptism they are receiv'd into Christ's Church and make pro­fession of his Name, can come to it.

2. Taking conversion, for the turning of those who are already baptiz'd and do profess Christ's Religion, from the evil of their ways to a serious and hearty practice of holiness and virtue, and so this Sacrament is a converting Ordinance. And indeed I do not know any more forceable Arguments to an holy life than what are therein represented to us: What can more work upon ingenuous spirits, than the discovery of such undeserv'd love and kindness? Is it not enough to melt the most frozen heart into floods of tears and joy, to behold therein the blessed Jesus shedding his blood to reconcile sinners unto God? What can more powerfully [Page 23] captivate the most rebellious spirits into obedience, than the assurance of a pardon of their past transgres­sions by that full propitiatory Sacrifice of the Son of God? What can more effectually fright men from sin and folly, than the infinite displeasure of God declared therein against all iniquity? How accursed a thing is sin, will the considering Communicant say, that the blessed Jesus, who did but take sin upon him, was made a Curse for it! What a mighty evil must sin needs be, when nothing could be sufficient to expiate it, but the Blood of God! What an unspeakable malignity must sin have in it, when it laid on the shoulders of Omnipotency such a load of wrath, as made him com­plain and sweat and grone and die! Again, Here we repeat our baptismal Vow to God, solemnly engage our selves afresh to be his faithful servants, and bind our selves by a new Oath, to be true to the Covenant we have made with him, and certainly that man must have a mighty love for Sin and Death, that can break through all these Bonds and Obligations to come at it.

3. The third Proposition; That some corrupt and scandalous Members remaining in the Communion of the Church, through the want of the due exercise of Disci­pline in it, or the negligence and connivance of the Pa­stors and Governours of it, gives no just Cause for any to separate from her.

Gives no just Cause; That which is chiefly pretend­ed, is, That the viciousness of those Members do de­rive a stain and defilement on the whole Assembly, and pollute the Worship of God to others, as well as to themselves. Here therefore I shall shew what is to be done by us that we be no way accessary to others [Page 24] sins, and then, upon that condition, that we cannot be polluted by their sinful company. Now many things are to be done by good men who are to joyn in mixt Assemblies that the Communion receive no prejudice by the corruption of some of its Members.

They are frequently to exhort and advise them; for this end are we plac'd in the communion of Saints, and tho' to instruct the Flock God hath appointed a whole Order of Men on purpose, yet is it also the Duty of every private Christian in his place and calling, Heb. 3. 13. Heb. 10. 24. to exhort one another daily, whilst it is call'd to day; to consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works.

They are prudently and with much affection to ad­monish and reprove them; we must not be so rudely civil as to suffer sin to lie upon them without distur­bance;so runs the Precept, Lev. 19. 17. Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thy heart, but thou shalt rebuke thy Bro­ther, and not suffer sin to be upon him: and if any man be overtaken in a fault,says the Apostle, Gal. 6. 1. ye that are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering that thou also may'st be tempted.

They are to bewail their sins, and to pray for their reformation; this is the true spirit and temper of a good man, he cannot see God dishonour'd, his Laws trampled upon, his Brother wilfully undoing himself, but he must be deeply touch'd and affected with it; Rivers of wa­ter run down my eyes, says the Psalmist, because men keep not thy law; And when in Ezekiel's time the Jewish Church, both Priests and People, were very much corrupted, the Holy Ghost gives it as the parti­cular mark of the faithful and upright, not that they separated, Ezek. 9. 4. but sighed and cryed for all the abominations that were done in her. Of the same holy frame and disposition of mind was St. Paul, he could not men­tion [Page 25] those in the Church at Philippi, who, whilst they profest Christianity, shew'd themselves by their sen­suality and earthly-mindedness to be enemies to the Cross of Christ, without sorrow and tears; Of whom, says he, Phil. 3. 18. I have told you often, and now tell you weep­ing, that they are enemies to the Cross of Christ, whose God is their belly, &c.

They are to avoid, as much as they can, their com­pany, especially all familiarity with them; and tho' in order to their conviction and reformation, and in such cases where necessary business requires it, and the publick Worship of God can't be perform'd but in con­junction with such persons, I may be in their company without blame; yet in all other cases, I am to shew my dislike and abhorrence of their sins, by shunning their society. 2 Thess. 3. 14. If any man obey not our Word by this Epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be asham'd. Again says the same Apostle, I wrote to you in an Epistle, not to keep company, if any man be a fornicator, or an idolater—or, &c. with such an one, no, not to eat.

If private and often repeated Admonitions by him­self, or before one or two more, will not do, they are then to tell the Church of them, that by its more pub­lick Reproofs the scandalous Member may be reclaim'd, or by its just Censures be cut off from the Communion. Matth. 18. 17. If he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the Church. Our Church hath given every Minister of a Parish Rubr. before the Commun.power to refuse all scandalous and notorious sinners from the Lord's Supper, and as slack and as much disus'd as Discipline is amongst us, were such persons more generally inform'd against and complain'd of, they would not find it so easie a matter to continue in their offences and the Church together.

[Page 26] You see by what means the Church may either be clear'd in some measure of such publick Offenders, or the Members of it, together with the Ordinances of God secur'd from infection by their fellowship. By this did the Primitive Christians shew their Zeal for their Religion, as well as by suffering for it; They were infinitely careful to keep the honour of their Religion unspotted, and the Communion of the Church as much out of danger, as they could, from the ma­lignant influence of bad examples; for this reason they watch'd over one another, told them privately of their faults, and when that would not do, brought them be­fore the cognizance of the Church; And tho' lapsing into Idolatry in times of persecution was the common sin that for some Ages chiefly exerciz'd the Discipline of the Church, yet all Offences against the Christian Law, all Vices and Immoralities that were either pub­lick in themselves, or made known and prov'd to the Church, came also under the Ecclesiastical Rod, and were put to open shame and pennance; this was that Discipline that preserv'd their Manners so uncorrupt, and made their Religion so renown'd and triumphant Preface to the Comminat.in the World; and how happy would it be for us in this loose and degenerate Age, (as our own Church expres­ses her wishes and desires) were it again in its due force and vigour restored and resettled amongst us.

But, if after all imaginable care and endeavour by private Christians, some scandalous Members, through the defects of Power in the Discipline, or of Care and Watchfulness in Governours, should remain in the Church, whatever pollution those whose Office it is Tit. 3. last. to rebuke with all Authority, may draw on themselves by suffering it, private Members, that are no way, nei­ther by consent, nor councel, nor excuse, accessary to [Page 27] their sin, can receive none; for sin no otherwise pol­lutes, than as it is in the will, not as it is in the under­standing, as it's chose & embrac'd, and not as it's known; I may know Adultery and yet be chast, see Strife and Debate in the City and yet be peaceable, hear Oaths and Curses and yet tremble at God's Name; Noah was a good Man in an evil World, Lot a righteous person amongst the conversation of the wicked; neither is there any more fear of pollution from wicked men in Sacred than in Civil Society; Our Saviour and his Apostles were not the least defil'd by that society they had with Scribes and Pharisees, nor by that familiarity they had with the accursed Judas, tho' he eat the Pass­over with them and they kept him company after they knew him to be a Traytor; What pollution did Abel receive from Cain when they sacrific'd together? Or Elkanah and Hannah from Eli's debauch'd Sons when at Shilo they worshipt together? The good and bad indeed communicate together, but in what? not in sin, but in their common duty; and tho' to commu­nicate with sin is sin, yet to communicate with a sinner in that which is not sin can be none; Communion is a common union, many partaking of one thing where­in they do agree, now the common union of the good and bad in the Church is not in evil, but in hearing of the Word, in receiving of the Sacrament and in other holy Ordinances and Exercises; when therefore some do evil, the communion in spiritual things is not polluted, because evil is no part of the union in common one with another, but the error of man by himself, out of the Communion, which he himself, and they only that have been partakers with him in it, shall answer for.

[Page 28] Obj. But does not the Apostle say, 1 Cor. 5. 6. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

Ans. This is a proverbial speech, and shews only that sin, like leaven, is of a very spreading and diffu­sive nature, not that it actually defiles where it is not admitted: A People in one Assembly are as a lump, and a wicked person amongst them is as leaven, but now, altho' the leaven is apt to conveigh it self through the whole lump, yet only are those parts actually lea­ven'd with it that take the leaven; so it is with the Church, the sinner by his bad example is apt to spread the infection through the whole body, but only such as allow or any way communicate with him in his sin, 1 Cor. 1. 11.are actually infected; such as Chloe, that reprove the of­fender and present him, doing their utmost endeavour in their place to reform him, remain in spight of its ma­lignity, unpolluted: Beware of the leaven of the Pha­risees, says our Saviour, he adviseth not his Disciples to leave their Assemblies, but to beware that they take no leaven of them; shewing thereby, that a good man that stands upon his guard may be where leaven is and yet not be leaven'd; The incestuous person was not cast out of the Church of Corinth, and yet the Apostle says, at least of some of them, ver. 7. ye are unlea­ven'd: And why may not the joynt Prayers of the Church and the Examples of Pious and Devout Men in the Communion, be as sovereign an antidote against the infection, as the bare company of wicked men is of power to convey it? Why should not the holy Ordi­nances of God and the presence of holy men at them be of as much virtue and efficacy to purge and sanctifie the whole body, as the impurities of the bad are to stain and 2 Cor. 30. 18.pollute it; especially considering that the sins of the wicked shall never be imputed to the righteous, but the Prayers of the righteous have obtain'd pardon for the wicked.

[Page 29] Obj. Numb. 19. 13, 20. But were not the pollutions of sin typified by the legal uncleannesses? And was not every thing that the unclean person touch'd, made unclean?

Ans. Those legal and ceremonial pollutions concern not us under the Gospel; we may touch a grave, a dead person, a leper, and not at all be the less clean; it's not any outward uncleanness, but the corruption and depravity of the inner man that incapacitates men for the Worship of God and Communion with him.

2. Those legal pollutions did not defile the whole communion, but only those particular persons whom the unclean person touch'd, for (1.) there was no sa­crifice appointed for any such pollution as came upon all for the sin of some few. (2.) Tho' the Prophets many times reproved the Priests for not separating Jer. 15. 10. Ezek. 22. 26. the clean from the unclean, the precious from the vile, the holy from the prophane, yet did they never teach, that because the unclean came into the Congregation through the neglect of their duty, the whole Commu­nion was polluted by it; but as many as touch'd the unclean person were unclean, so as many as have fel­lowship with the wicked in their sins are polluted by it; to partake with men in their sins in a moral sense answers to the legal touching an unclean thing.

3. When it's said that the unclean person, that did not purifie himself, defil'd the Tabernacle and polluted the Sanctuary, the meaning is, that he did so to him­self, but not to others; so does a wicked man, the Ordi­nances of God, in respect of himself, but not of others: The Prayers of the wicked, tho' join'd with those of the Church, are an abomination unto God, whilst at the same time the Prayers of good men go up as a sweet smelling savour and are accepted by him; The person that comes unworthily to the Sacrament of the [Page 30] Lord's Supper, eats and drinks judgment to himself, but that hinders not but that those who at the same time come better prepared may do it to their own eternal comfort and salvation: Tit. 1. 15. To the pure all things are pure, but to them that are defil'd and unbelieving is nothing pure, but even their mind and conscience is defil'd.

The weakness of this suggestion, that the whole Communion and the Ordinances of God are polluted by the wicked mans company at and among them, being laid open; The truth of the Proposition may be sarther evinc'd from these particulars:

1. From the example of God's People in the Church of the Jews; We do not find that the sins either of the Priests or the People became at any time an occasion of separation to them; What sins could be greater than those of Eli'▪s Sons? What higher aggravations could there be of sin? Whether we consider the qua­lity of the persons that sinn'd, being the High-Priests Sons, or the publick scandal and impudence of the sin, Lying with the women before the door of the Tabernacle; yet did not the People of God, not Elkanah and Han­nah by name, refrain to come up to Shilo and to joyn with them in the publick Worship: nay, they are said to transgress who refus'd to come, tho' they refus'd out of abhorrence and detestation to the wickedness of those men; 1 Sam. 2. 17, 24. They abhorr'd the sacrifices of the Lord; ye make the Lord's people to transgress: In Ahab's time, when almost all Israel were Idolaters and halted be­twixt God and Baal, yet then did the Prophet Elijah summon all Israel to appear on Mount Carmel, and held a religious communion with them in Preaching and Praying and offering a miraculous Sacrifice; nei­ther did the seven thousand that had kept themselves [Page 33] upright and not bowed their knee to Baal, absent themselves because of the Idolatry of the rest, but they all came and join'd in that publick Worship per­form'd by the Prophet: 1 King. 18. 39. All the people fell on their faces, saying, the Lord he is God, the Lord he is God. All along the Old Testament, when both Prince and Priests and People were very much deprav'd and debauch'd in their manners, we do not find that the Prophets at any time exhorted the faith­ful and sincere to separate, or that they themselves set up any separate meetings, but continued in com­munion with the Church, preaching to them and ex­horting them to repentance.

2. From the example of God's People in the New Testament; In the Apostolick Churches of Corinth, Galatia, and the seven Churches in Asia, many of the Members were grown very bad and scandalous, yet do we not read of the example of any good man separating from the Church, or any such Precept from the Apostles so to do; They do not tell them that the whole body was polluted by those filthy Mem­bers, and that, if they would be safe themselves, they must withdraw from their communion, but exhort them to use all means to reclaim them, and if neither private nor publick Admonitions and Re­proofs would do, then to suspend them from the Communion of the Church, till by repentance and amendment they render'd themselves capable of being restored to peace and pardon; The Spirit of God in the Second of the Revelation, sends his Instructions to the Angels, that is, to the Bishops of those seven Churches in Asia, (whose Office it was) to Preach repentance to them, and by their authority, to reform [Page 32] abuses, but gives them no command to cease the pub­lick Administrations, or to advise the unpolluted part to separate from the rest; nay, altho' those Candle­sticks were very foul, yet was our Lord pleas'd still to bear with them, and Rev. 2. 1. to walk in the midst of them; and certainly so long as Christ affords his presence in a Church, none of its Members ought to withdraw theirs.

3. From our Saviour's own example, who, not­withstanding the Church of the Jews in his time was a most corrupt Church, and the Members of it very leud and vicious, yet kept in communion with it, and commanded his Disciples so to do: We read that the Scribes and Pharisees, who rul'd the Ecclesiastical Chair at that time, Mat. 15. 6, 7, 8. had perverted the law, corrupted the worship of God, were blind guides, devoured widows houses, were hypocrites and such as only had a form of godliness, yet did not our Saviour separate from their Communion; but was made under the Law, freely subjected himself to all the Rites and Ceremonies of it, he was circumcis'd on the eighth Luke 2. 22.day, redeem'd by a certain price, being a Son and a First­born, observ'd their Passover and other Feasts enjoin'd Matth. 26.by their Law, yea, and that of the dedication too, tho' but of humane institution, was baptiz'd amongst them, John 17. 37.preach'd in their Temples and Synagogues, reason'd with them about Religion, exhorted his Disciples to John 10. 24. Mat. 10. 6, 7.hear their Doctrine, tho' not to follow their Practice; What greater cause on the account of corruption in manners could be given to separate from a Church, than was here? yet how careful was our Saviour both by his Example and Precept, to forbid and discounte­nance it; Mat. 6. 7. They sit in Moses 's chair, hear them.

[Page 33] 4. From the Apostle's express command to hold communion with the Church of Corinth, notwith­standing the many and great immoralities that were amongst the Members of it; 1 Cor. 1. 12, 13. 1 Cor. 3. 3. 1 Cor. 5. 1. There were Schisms and contentions amongst them, strifes and envyings, fornication and incest, eating at the Idols table, and coming not so soberly as became them to the table of our Lord; yet does the Apostle not only not com­mand them to separate, but approves their meeting together, and exhorts them to continue it, 1 Cor. 5. 4. 1 Cor. 11. 18. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup; In which words the Apostle plainly solves the Case I am discoursing on, and shews what private Christians, in whose power it is not judicially to correct Vice, are to do, when they see so many vicious Members intruding to the blessed Sacrament; viz. not to abstain from it, but by preparation and examination of themselves to take care that they be not of their number; If to separate, had been the way, the Apostle would then have manag'd his Discourse after this manner, There are many Schisms and Strifes in the Church, there is an incestuous person not cast out, many proud contemners of their Brethren, men of strange opi­nions, of untam'd appetites, and unbridled passions, and therefore I advise you not to come amongst them, nor to partake of the holy Sacrament with them, lest you be infected with their Sores, and partake of their Judgments; But advising men to examine themselves, and then to come, he plainly intimates, that 'twas their duty to continue in the Communion of the Church notwithstanding these; as if he had said, I do not mention the foul Enormities [Page 34] of some that come to this holy Table, to discourage you from coming, lest ye should be polluted by their sins, but to excite you to a due care and examination of your selves, that you be not polluted by any sinful acts and compliances of your own, and then there's no danger of being defil'd by theirs.

But as clear and satisfactory as this Proposition seems to be, it yet suffers very much from the Excep­tions of some weak understandings, who meeting often in Scripture with such Commands and Exhor­tations as these, to separate, to come out, not to touch, to have no fellowship with, and the like, presently, without staying to examine the sense of the Texts, conclude, that it is the duty and character of good men to be always separating; and tho' wherever those places of Scripture are found, they are for the most part to be understood with relation to Idolaters and Idolatrous Practices, either amongst Jews or Gentiles, yet will they have them extended to every thing and person that either really is, or they think fit to call, a corruption or a corrupt Member in the Church of God.

Many Texts of Scripture are misunderstood and mis­appli'd by them to this purpose; I shall instance only in two as the chief, and hope in rescuing them from the false glosses they labour under, to give a deliverance to all the rest. The first is,

Obj. 1. Those words of the Apostle, 2 Cor. 6. 17. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing.

[Page 35] Ans. This being the main place to which they fly upon all occasions as their strongest hold, I shall give it a more particular consideration, and that by shew­ing these three things; (1.) The occasion of this Apo­stolical admonition. (2.) What were the persons the converted Corinthians were to separate from. (3.) What was the unclean thing they were not to touch.

1. What was the occasion of this Apostolical Ex­hortation. To this purpose you must know that the converted Corinthians liv'd in civil Society amongst the unbelieving Gentiles, by whom many of them being their kinsfolk and friends after the flesh, were often 1 Cor. 10. 27.invited to their Idol-feasts, to which some of them did not scruple to go and eat of the things sacrific'd to 1 Cor. 8. 10.Idols, even in the Idol's Temple, thinking it not un­lawful to do so, so long as they knew that an Idol was nothing, and did not intentionally go and eat in any honour to the Idol. Now from this Practice the 1 Cor. 8. 4.Apostle dissuades them by these two Arguments; (1.) Upon the account of scandal to their weak bre­thren, telling them that tho' they that were strong, knew that an Idol was nothing in the World, and that there was but one God, and so could not be suppos'd to worship the Idol when they eat of the Idol's sacri­fice; yet some other weak Christians and new Con­verts might not know so much, and consequently by their practice might be drawn into sin, not only to go to those Feasts, but to do it in honour to the Idol. (2.) As 1 Cor. 8. 7.harmless an action as they esteem'd it, that 'twas plain Idolatry; 1 Cor. 10. 14. Be not ye Idolaters, as were some of them, as it is written, they sate down to eat and to [Page 36] drink, and rose up to play; that is, they eat of those Exod. 32. 6.Sacrifices that had been offer'd up to the golden Calf; and that this Action was idolatrous, he proves by an Analogy it bears to a Rite of the same nature, both amongst Jews and Christians, for as the Jews, when they feasted on the Sacrifices, did it in honour 1 Cor. 10. 18.to God, to whom the Sacrifices were offer'd, and as the Christians, when they partake of the Lord's ver. 16.Supper, do it in honour to Christ, whose Death and Passion is therein commemorated, so when they did eat of the Idols Sacrifices, they must have been thought to do it in honour to the Idol, because to ver. 20.the Idol was the Sacrifice offer'd. But, blessed be God, we have not the like occasion for such an Ex­hortation, we live not in a civil society with Ido­laters, but under a Christian Prince, and with a People professing the Christian Religion; Here are no publick Idols set up, nor any Feasts kept in ho­nour of them; Had the Case been thus with us, we had been as much concern'd in the Text as the Corinthians were, but being far otherwise, not the least aid can be fetcht from hence, to defend Sepa­ration from our Publick Assemblies.

2. Who were the persons the Christian Corin­thians were requir'd to separate from: They were no better than Ʋnbelievers, than Infidels, than Idola­ters; 2 Cor. 6. 14. ver. 15. ver. 16. What fellowship hath righteousness with un­righteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Be­lial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an Infidel? And what agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols? And then it follows, ver. 17. wherefore come out from amongst them, &c. But now because Christians, [Page 37] by the Apostles command were to separate from the Assemblies of Heathen Idolaters, does it therefore follow that they must separate from the Assemblies of Christians, because some, who while they pro­fess Christ, do not live like Christians, afford their presence at them? Is there no difference betwixt a Pagan and an Infidel, that denies Christ and worships Devils, and an immoral Christian, who yet outwardly owns Christ and worships the true God? Betwixt a Church wholly made up of Heathens and Idolaters, and a Church made up of a mixture of good and bad Christians together?

3. What is the unclean thing they are not to touch; viz. the unclean and abominable Practices that were us'd by the Heathens in the Worship of their Gods. It's call'd by the Apostle in another place, Eph. 4. 11. the un­fruitful works of darkness; and again, thus describ'd by him, it's a shame to speak of those things that are done of them in secret; These they were not to touch, to have no followship with them in, but rather to reprove them, that is, in judgment to con­demn them, by words to reprove them, in conver­sation to avoid them. But now because Christians are not to communicate with Heathens in their fil­thy mysteries, nor to partake with any sort of wick­ed men in any action that's immoral, does it there­fore follow, that they must not do their duty, be­cause sometimes it cannot be done but in their com­pany? Must they abstain from the Publick Worship of God and their Lord's Table, to which they are commanded, because evil men, who, till they repent, have nothing to do there, rudely intrude themselves? May they not joyn with bad men in some cases, [Page 38] where it cannot be well avoided, in doing a good action? because they must in no case and on no ac­count joyn with them in doing a sinful one? Be­cause they have omitted their duty, must I neglect mine? Because they sin in coming unpreparedly, must I sin in not coming at all? Will their sin be any plea or excuse for mine? If I communicate with them, will their unworthiness be laid at my door? If I separate because of that, shall they answer for my contempt, as well as for their own prophanation of it? No surely, every man shall bear his own Ezek. 18. 20.burden. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The second is, that Text,

Obj. 2. In the Revelation, 18. c. 4. Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Answ. This place is most certainly to be under­stood of Idolaters, and according to most Interpre­ters, of the Roman Idolatrous Polity, and is a com­mand to all Christians to forsake the Communion of that Church, lest they endanger their own salva­tion by communicating with her in Masses and other idolatrous Worship. And if this be the true sense of the words, it abundantly justifies our Separation from the Roman Church, but affords not the least plea for Dissen­ters to separate from ours, unless any of them are so hardy as to say, that there is none, or but little diffe­rence betwixt the Church of Rome and the Church of England. But blessed be God, we have a Church reform'd from all her Superstitions, that retains no­thing of hers, but what she retains of the Gospel and the Primitive Church.

[Page 39] Here's no drowning Religion in shadow and for­mality, nor burying her under a load of ritual and ce­remonial Rubbish, no dressing up Religion in a flant­ing pomp to set her off, or a gaudy garb to recom­mend her, much less in such fantastical Rites, such an­tick Vestments and Gesticulations that may justly render her ridiculous and contemptible; but her Ceremonies are few and decent, countenanc'd by Pri­mitive Antiquity, and very much becoming the gra­vity and sobriety of Religion.

Here are no Half-Communions; no more Sacra­ments thrust upon us than our Lord himself instituted, and yet those left whole and entire, for our use and comfort, that he did; no Prayers in an unknown Tongue, which the votary neither minds nor under­stands; no praying to Saints or Angels; no adoring Images, Pictures, and Reliques; no worshipping the Creature besides or more than the Creator, which [...]they do, who in all their publick Offices of Devotion, for one Prayer to God, have order'd ten to be made to the blessed Virgin.

Here's no Doctrine obtruded on our Faith that's contrary to reason, nay, to sense, to all our senses, no Practices allowed that are forbidden by God, no Pardons to be bought, no Indulgences to be purchas'd, no expunging any one Commandment out of the De­calogue, or contriving arts and devices to make void the rest; but as her Devotions are pure and spiritual, having God, and him only, for their object, so her Doctrine is sound and orthodox, having Christ for its Corner-stone, and the Prophets and Apostles for its Foundation.

[Page 40] A Church that needs no counterfeit Legends, no incredible Miracles, no ridiculous Fables to promote her veneration, whose security lies not in the Peoples ignorance, but in their inlightned understandings, that can defend it self without the help of spurious Authors, or corrupting the words and sense of Authen­tick ones, a Church that dares to be understood, and is sure, the more she's lookt into, the more to be em­brac'd and admir'd.

And I would to God, 'twas as easie a matter to clear every one of her Members from Vice, as it is her Con­stitution from Corruption; But let those that stand, take heed lest they fall, and be sure to sweep their own door clean, who are so apt to throw dirt in the faces of their Fellow-Christians; St. Paul's advice is, that every man should examine himself, and I am much mistaken, if spiritual pride, a rash and censorious judg­ing of our Brethren, be not as great a crime, as some of those that are lookt upon to be of so polluting and infectious a nature in other men; I need not say, how directly opposite this Pharisaical humour is to that hu­mility, meekness and self-denial that the Gospel of our Saviour injoyns? how unsuitable to the temper of all good men, who are more apt to suspect and accuse themselves, than others, who, the more holy they are, the more sensible of their own imperfections? How contrary to the example of our blessed Lord; who balkt not at any time the society of Publicans and sinners, who when he knew what was in man, and who it was that should betray him, yet admitted Judas into the number of his Disciples, and familiarly con­verst with him? And yet, how fully it answers to the Spirit and Genius of those ancient Schismaticks, the [Page 41] Novatians and the Donatists? Might I stay to run the parallel, both those Schisms, and this amongst us, would be found to begin on the same Principles, slackness of Discipline in the Church, and corruption in Manners; To be carried on by the same pretences, zeal for purity, and fear of pollution; to spring from the same bitter fountain, pride and arrogance; But I speak not this to excuse our selves, or to recriminate them; My hearty Prayer to God is, that all Israel may be saved; that they, who dissent from us, would now, at last, lay aside all passion and prejudice, all groundless scruples and pretences, and come in and joyn their forces with our Church against the common Adversary; And that we, who profess our selves Members of the Church of England, would be extremely careful, for the honour of our Religion, for the preservation of our Church, for the recovery of our straying Brethren, (for whose sakes, in some cases, we are bound to lay down our lives) to lay down our sins, and, instead of blocking up the way against any, by scandalous living, invite and allure them all in, by exemplary Holiness and Pu­rity, and this I am sure, how short soever my Discourse comes of it, would be a full Answer to, and a perfect Confutation of this Objection.