PART I.
The Question stated and explained.

THE main Question I would consider, and for the Negative of which, I would offer some Arguments in the following Discourse, is This; Whether, according to the Rules of CHRIST, any ought to be admitted to the Communion and Privileges of Members of the visible Church of CHRIST in compleat Standing, but such as are in Profession, and in the Eye of the Church's Christian Judgment, godly or gracious Persons?

When I speak of Members of the visible Church of Christ, in compleat Standing, I would be understood of those who are received as the proper immediate Subjects of all the external Privileges, Christ has appointed for the ordinary Members of his Church. I say ordinary Members, in Distinction from any peculiar Privileges and Honours of Church Officers and Rulers. All allow, there are some that are in some Respect in the Church of God, who are not Members in compleat Standing, in the Sense that has been ex­plain'd: All that acknowledge Infant-Baptism, allow Infants, who are the proper Subjects of Baptism, and are baptized, to be in some Sort Members of the Christian Church; yet none suppose them to be Members in such Stand­ing as to be the proper immediate Subjects of all ecclesiastical Ordinances and Privileges: But that some further Qualifications are requisite in order to this, to be obtained, either in a Course of Nature, or by Education, or by divine Grace. And some who were baptized in Infancy, even after they come to be adult, may yet remain for a Season short of such a Standing as has been spoken of; being destitute of sufficient Knowledge, and perhaps some other Qualifications, through the Neglect of Parents, or their own Negligence, or otherwise; or because they carelesly neglect to qualify them­selves for ecclesiastical Privileges by making a publick Profession of the Christian Faith, or owning the Christian Covenant, or forbear to offer them­selves [Page 2] as Candidates for these Privileges; and yet not be cast out of the Church, or cease to be in any Respect its Members: This, I suppose, will also be generally allowed.

One Thing mainly intended in the foregoing Question is, Whether any adult Persons but such as are in Profession and Appearance endow'd with Christian Grace or Piety, ought to be admitted to the Christian Sacraments: Particularly whether they ought to be admitted to the Lord's Supper; and, if they are such as were not baptized in Infancy, ought to be admitted to Baptism. Adult Persons having those Qualifications that oblige others to re­ceive 'em as the proper immediate Subjects of the Christian Sacraments, is a main Thing intended in the Question, by being such as ought to be admitted to the Communion and Privileges of Members of the visible Church, in compleat Standing. There are many adult Persons that by the Allowance of all are in some Respect within the Church of God, who are not Members in good Standing, in this Respect. There are many, for Instance, that have not at present the Qualifications proper to recommend 'em to Admission to the Lord's Supper: There are many scandalous Persons, who are under Suspension. The late venerable Mr. Stoddard and many other great Di­vines suppose, that even excommunicated Persons are still Members of the Church of God: and some suppose, the Worshippers of Baal in Israel, even those who were bred up such from their Infancy, remained still Mem­bers of the Church of God: And very many Protestant Divines suppose, that the Members of the Church of Rome, tho' they are brought up and live continually in gross idolatry, and innumerable Errors and Supersti­tions that tend utterly to make void the Gospel of Christ, still are in the visible Church of Christ: yet, I suppose, no orthodox Divines would hold these to be properly and regularly qualified for the Lord's Supper. It was therefore requisite, in the Question before us, that a Distinction should be made between Members of the visible Church in general, and Members in compleat Standing.

It was also requisite, that such a Distinction should be made in the Question, to avoid a lengthning out this Discourse exceedingly with need­less Questions and Debates concerning the State of baptized Infants; that is, needless as to my present Purpose. Tho' I have no Doubts about the Doctrine of Infant-Baptism; yet God's Manner of Dealing with such Infants as are regularly dedicated to Him in Baptism, is a Matter liable to great Disputes and many Controversies, and would require a large Disser­tation by it self to clear it up; which, as it would extend this Discourse beyond all Bounds, so it appears not necessary in order to a clear Deter­mination of the present Question. The Revelation of God's Word is much plainer & more express concerning adult Persons, that act for them­selves in religious Matters, than concerning Infants. The Scriptures were written for the Sake of adult Persons, or those that are capable of [Page 3] knowing what is written: 'Tis to such the Apostles speak in their Epistles, and to such only does God speak thro' out his Word: And the Scriptures especially speak for the Sake of those, and about those to whom they speak. And therefore if the Word of God affords us Light enough con­cerning those spoken of in the Question, as I have stated it, clearly to determine the Matter with Respect to them, we need not wait 'till we see all Doubts and Controversies about baptized Infants clear'd & settled, before we pass a Judgment with Respect to the Point in Hand. The Denominations, Characters and Descriptions, which we find given in Scripture to visible Christians, and to the visible Church, are prin­cipally with an Eye to the Church of Christ in its adult State and proper Standing. If any one was about to describe that Kind of Birds called Doves, it would be most proper to describe grown Doves, and not young Ones in the Egg or Nest, without Wings or Feathers: so if any one should describe a Palm-Tree or Olive-Tree by their visible Form and Appearance, it would be presumed that they described those of these Kinds of Trees in their mature and proper State; and not as just peeping from the Ground, or as Thunder-struck or blown down. And therefore I would here give Notice, once for all, that when in the ensuing Discourse I use such-like Phrases as visible Saints, Members of the visible Church &c. I, for the most Part, mean Persons that are adult and in good Standing.

The Question is not, whether Christ has made converting Grace or Piety itself the Condition or Rule of his People's admitting any to the Pri­vileges of Members in full Communion with them: There is no one Qua­lification of Mind, whatsoever, that Christ has properly made the Term of this; not so much as a common Belief that Jesus is the Messiah, or a Belief of the Being of a God. 'Tis the credible Profession and Visibility of these Things, that is the Church's Rule in this Case. Christian Piety or Godliness may be a Qualification requisite to Communion in the Christian Sacraments, just in the same Manner as a Belief that Jesus is the Messiah, and the Scriptures the Word of God, are requisite Qualifi­cations, and in the same Manner as some Kind of Repentance is a Quali­fication requisite in one that has been suspended for being grosly Scanda­lous, in order to his coming again to the Lord's Supper; and yet Godliness itself not be properly the Rule of the Church's Proceeding, in like Man­ner as such a Belief and Repentance, as I have mention'd, are not their Rule. 'Tis a Visibility to the Eye of a Christian Judgment, that is the Rule of the Church's Proceeding in each of these Cases.

There are two Distinctions must be here observed. As, I. We must distinguish between such Qualifications as are requisite to give a Person a Right to ecclesiastical Privileges in Foro Ecclesiae, or a Right to be, ad­mitted by the Church to those Privileges, and those Qualifications that [Page 4] are a proper and good Foundation for a Man's own Conduct in coming and offering himself as a Candidate for immediate Admission to these Pri­vileges: There is a Difference between these. Thus, for Instance, a Profession of the Belief of a future State and of revealed Religion, and some other Things that are internal and out of Sight, and a Visibility of these Things to the Eye of a Christian Judgment, is all, relating to these Things, that is requisite to give a Man a Right in Foro Ecclesiae, or before the Church; but it is the real Existence of these Things that is what lays a proper & good Foundation for his making this Profession, and so demanding these Privi­leges. None will suppose, that he has good and proper Ground for such a Conduct, who don't believe another World, nor believe the Bible to be the Word of God. And then,

2. We must distinguish between that which nextly brings an Obligation on a Man's Conscience to seek Admission to a Christian Ordinance, and that which is a good Foundation for the Dictate of an enlightned well­informed Conscience, and so is properly a solid Foundation of a Right in Him to act thus. Certainly this Distinction does really take Place among Mankind in innumerable Cases. The Dictates of Men's Consciences are what do bring them under a next or most immediate Obligation to act: But 'tis that which is a good Foundation for such a Dictate of an en­lightned Conscience, that alone is a solid Foundation of a Right in Him so to act. A believing the Doctrine of the Trinity with all the Heart, in some Sense (let us suppose a moral Sense) is one Thing requisite in order to a Person's having a solid Foundation of a Right in Him to go and demand Baptism in the Name of the Trinity: But his best Judgment or Dictate of his Conscience, concerning his believing this Doctrine with this Since­rity, or with all his Heart, may be sufficient to bring an Obligation on his Conscience. Again, when a Delinquent has been convicted of Scan­dal, 'tis Repentance in some Respect sincere (suppose a moral Sincerity) that is the proper Foundation of a Right in Him to offer Himself for For­giveness and Restoration: But 'tis the Dictate of his Conscience or his best Judgment concerning his Sincerity, that is the Thing which immedi­ately obliges him to offer himself. 'Tis Repentance itself, that is the pro­per Qualification fundamental of his Right, & what he can't have a proper Right without; For tho' he may be deceived, and think he has real Re­pentance when he has not, yet he has not properly a Right to be deceived; and perhaps Deceit in such Cases is always owing to something blameable, or the Influence of some corrupt Principle: But yet his best Judgment brings him under Obligation. In the same Manner, and no otherwise, I suppose that Christian Grace it self is a Qualification requisite in order to a pro­per solid Ground of a Right in a Person to come to the Christian Sacra­ments. But of this I may say something more when I come to answer Objections.

[Page 5] When I speak, in the Question, of a being godly or gracious in the Eye of a Christian Judgment, by Christian Judgment I intend something further than a Kind of meer negative Charity, implying that we forbear to censure and condemn a Man, because we don't know but that he may be godly, and therefore forbear to proceed on the Foot of such a Censure or Judgment in our Treatment of him: As we would kindly entertain a Stranger, not knowing but in so doing we entertain an Angel or pre­cious Saint of God. But I mean a positive Judgment, founded on some positive Appearance, or Visibility, some outward Manifestations that or­dinarily render the Thing probable. There is a Difference between sus­pending our Judgment, or forbearing to condemn, or having some Hope that possibly the Thing may be so, and so hoping the best; and a posi­tive Judgment in Favour of a Person. For an having some Hope, only implies that a Man is not in utter despair of a Thing, tho' his prevailing Opinion may be otherwise, or he may suspend his Opinion. Tho' we can't know a Man believes that Jesus is the Messiah, yet we expect some positive Manifestation or Visibility of it, to be a Ground of our charitable Judgment: so I suppose the Case is here.

When I speak of CHRISTIAN Judgment, I mean a Judgment where­in Men do properly exercise Reason, and have their Reason under the due Influence of Love and other Christian Principles; which don't blind Reason, but regulate its Exercises; being not contrary to Reason, tho' they be very contrary to Censoriousness or unreasonable Niceness and Rigidness.

I say in the Eye of the CHURCH's Christian Judgment, because 'tis pro­perly a Visibility to the Eye of the publick Charity, and not of a private Judgment, that gives a Person a Right to be received as a visible Saint by the Publick. If any are known to be Persons of an honest Character, and appear to be of good Understanding in the Doctrines of Christianity, and particularly those Doctrines that teach the grand Condition of Salvation, and the Nature of true saving Religion, and publickly and seriously profess the great and main Things wherein the Essence of true Religion or God­liness consists, and their Conversation is agreable; this justly recommends 'em to the good Opinion of the Publick, whatever Suspicions and Fears any particular Person, either the Minister, or some other, may entertain, from what he in particular has observed, perhaps from the Manner of his expressing himself in giving an Account of his Experiences, or an Obscu­rity in the Order and Method of his Experiences &c. The Minister, in receiving him to the Communion of the Church is to act as a publick Officer, and in Behalf of the publick Society, and not meerly for him­self, and therefore is to be governed, in acting, by a proper Visibility of Godliness in the Eye of the Publick.

[Page 6] 'Tis not my Design, in holding the Negative of the foregoing Question, to affirm, that all who are regularly admitted as Members of the visible Church in compleat Standing, ought to be believed to be godly or graci­ous Persons, when taken collectively, or considered in the Gross, by the Judg­ment of any Person or Society. This may not be, and yet each Person taken singly may visibly be a gracious Person to the Eye of the Judgment of Christians in general. These two are not the same Thing, but vastly diverse; and the latter may be, and yet not the former. If we should know so much of a Thousand Persons one after another, and from what we observed in them should have a prevailing Opinion concerning each one of them, singly taken, that they were indeed pious, and think the Judg­ment we pass'd, when we consider each Judgment apart, to be right; it won't follow, when we consider the whole Company collectively, that we shall have so high an Opinion of our own Judgment, as to think it probable, there was not one erroneous Judgment in the whole Thousand. We all have innumerable Judgments about one Thing or other, concern­ing religious, moral, secular, and philosophical Affairs, concerning past, present and future Matters, Reports, Facts, Persons, Things &c.&c. And concerning all the many thousand Dictates of Judgment that we have, we think 'em every one right, taken singly; for if there was any one that we thought wrong, it would not be our Judgment; and yet there is no Man, unless he is stupidly foolish, who when he considers all in the Gross, will say he thinks that every Opinion he is of, concerning all Persons and Things whatsoever, important and [...]rifling, is right, without the least Error. But the more clearly to illustrate this Matter, as it relates to Vi­sibility, or probable Appearances of Holiness in Professors: Supposing it had been found by Experience concerning precious Stones, that such and such external Marks were probable Signs of a Diamond, and it is made evident, by putting together a great Number of Experiments, that the Pro­bability is as Ten to one, and no more nor less▪ i. e. That, take one Time with another, there is one in Ten of the Stones that have these Marks (and no visible Signs to the contrary) proves a true Diamond, and no more; then it will follow, that when I find a particular Stone with these Marks, and nothing to the contrary, there is a Probability of ten to one, concern­ing that Stone, that it is a Diamond; and so concerning each Stone that I find with these Marks: But if we take ten of these together, 'tis as pro­bable as not, that some one of the Ten is spurious; because, if it were not as likely as not, that one in Ten is false, or if taking one Ten with ano­ther, there were not one in Ten that was false, then the Probability of those, that have these Marks, being true Diamonds, would be more than ten to one, contrary to the Supposition; because that is what we mean by a Probability of Ten to one, that they are not false, viz. that take one Ten with another there will be one false Stone among them, & no more. Hence [Page 7] if we take an Hundred such Stones together, the Probability will be just ten to one, that there is one false among them; and as likely as not that there are ten false ones in the whole Hundred: and the Probability of the Individuals must be much greater than ten to one, even a Probability of more than a Hundred to one, in order to its making it probable that every one is true. 'Tis an easy Mathematical Demonstration. Hence the Ne­gative of the foregoing Question by no Means implies a Presence of any Scheme, that shall be effectual to keep all Hypocrites out of the Church, and for the establishing in that Sense a pure Church.

When it is said, those who are admitted &c. ought to be by Pro­fession godly or gracious Persons, 'tis not meant, they should meerly pro­fess or say that they are converted or are gracious Persons, that they know so, or think so; but that they profess the great Things wherein Christian Piety consists, viz. a supream Respect to God, Faith in Christ &c. Indeed 'tis necessary, as Men would keep a good Conscience, that they should think that these Things are in them, which they profess to be in them; otherwise they are guilty of the horrid Wickedness of wilfully making a lying Profession. Hence 'tis supposed to be necessary, in order to Men's regularly and with a good Conscience coming into Communions with the Church of Christ in the Christian Sacraments, that they themselves should suppose the essential Things, belonging to Christian Piety, to be in them.

It don't belong to the present Question, to consider and determine what the Nature of Christian Piety is, or wherein it consists: This Question may be properly determined, and the Determination demonstrated, with­out entring into any Con [...]roversies about the Nature of Conversion &c. Nor does an asserting the Negative of the Question determine any Thing how particular the Profession of Godliness ought to be, but only that the more essential Things, which belong to it, ought to be profess'd. Nor is it determined, but that the publick Professions made on Occasion of Per­sons Admission to the Lord's Supper, in some of our Churches, who yet go upon that Principle, that Persons need not esteem themselves truly gra­cious in order to a coming conscienciously and properly to the Lord's Supper; I say, 'tis not determined but that some of these Professions are sufficient, if those that made them were taught to use the Words, and others to understand them, in no other than their proper Meaning, and Principle and Custom had not establish'd a Meaning very diverse from it, or perhaps an Use of the Words without any distinct and clear determi­nate Meaning.

PART II.
REASONS for the NEGATIVE of the foregoing Question.

HAVING thus explain'd what I mean, when I say, That none ought to be admitted to the Communion and Privileges of Members of the visible Church of Christ in compleat Standing, but such as are in Profession and in the Eye of the Church's Christian Judgment godly or gracious Persons: I now proceed to observe some Things which may tend to evince the Truth of this Position. And here,

1. I begin with observing, I think it is both evident by the Word of God, and also granted on all Hands, that none ought to be ad­mitted as Members of the visible Church of Christ but visible Saints and professing Saints, or visible and professing Christians.—We find the Word Saint, when applied to Men, used two Ways in the New-Testament: The Word in some Places is so used as to mean those that are real Saints, who are converted, and are truly gracious Persons; as I Cor. vi. 2. Do ye not know that the Saints shall judge the World? Eph. i. 18.— The Riches of the Glory of his Inheritance in the Saints. Chap. iii. 17, 18. That Christ may dwell in your Hearts by Faith, that ye being rooted and grounded in Love, may be able to comprehend with all Saints, what is the Breadth &c. 2 Thess. i. 10. When he shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and admired in all them that believe. So Rev v.8. Chap. viii.4. &xi. 18. &xiii.10. &xiv.12. &xix.8. In other Places the Word is used so as to have Respect not only to real Saints, but to such as were Saints in Visibility, Appearance, and Profession; and so were outwardly, as to what concerns their Acceptance among Men and their outward Treatment and Privileges, of the Company of Saints: So the Word is used in very many Places, which it is needless to mention, as every one acknowledges it.

In like Manner we find the Word Christian used two Ways: The Word is used to express the same Thing as a Righteous Man that shall be saved, 1 Pet. iv. 16, 17, 18. Elsewhere it is so used as to take in all that were Christians by Profession and outward Appearance; Act. xi. 26. So there is a twofold Use of the Word Disciples in the New-Testament. There were Disciples in Name, Profession and Appearance; and there were those whom Christ calls Disciples indeed, Joh. viii. 30, 31. The word is [...] truly. The Expression plainly supposes this Distinction of true or real Disciples, and those who were the same in Pretence and Appearance. See also Luk. xiv. 25, 26, 27. and Joh. xv. 8. The same Distinction is signified, in the New-Testament, by those that live, being alive from the Dead, and risen with Christ, (2 Cor, iv. 11. Rom. vi. 11. and elsewhere) and those who have a Name to live, having only a [Page 9] Pretence and Appearance of Life. And the Distinction of the visible Church of Christ into these two, is plainly signified of the Growth of the good Ground, and that in the stony and thorny Ground, which had the same Appearance and Show with the other, 'till it came to wither away; and also by the two Sorts of Virgins, Mat. xxv. who both had a Shew, Profession and Visibility of the same Thing. By these Things & many others which might be observed, it appears that the Distinction of real Saints and visible and professing Saints is scriptural, and that the visible Church was made up of these two, and that none are according to Scrip­ture admitted into the visible Church of Christ, but those who are visible and professing Saints or Christians. And it is the more needless to insist longer upon it, because 'tis not a Thing in Controversy; so far as my small Reading will inform me, 'tis own'd by all Protestants. To be sure, the most eminent Divine in New-England who has appear'd to maintain the Lord's Supper to be properly a converting Ordinance, was very full in it: In his Appeal to the Learned, in the Title Page, and thro' the Trea­tise, he supposes that all who come to the Lord's Supper must be visible Saints, and sometimes speaks of them as professing Saints. Pa. 85, 86. And supposes that it is requisite in order to their being admitted to the Communion of the Lord's Table, that they make a personal publick Profession of their Faith and Repentance to the just Satisfaction of the Church, Pa. 93, 94. In these Things the whole of the Position that I would prove is in Effect granted. If it be allowed (as it is allowed on all Sides) that none ought to be admitted to the Communion of the Christian visible Church, but visible and professing Saints or Christians, if these Words are used in any Propriety of Speech, or in any Agreement with Scripture Representations, the whole of that which I have laid down is either implied or will certainly follow.

As real Saints are the same with real Converts, or really gracious Per­sons, so visible Saints are the same with visible Converts, or those that are visibly converted and gracious Persons. Visibility is the same with Manifestation or Appearance to our View and Apprehension. And there­fore to be visibly a gracious Person, is the same Thing as to be a truly gracious Person to our View, Apprehension or Esteem. The Distinction of real and visible don't only take Place with Regard to Saintship or Holi­ness, but with Regard to innumerable other Things. There is visible and real Truth, visible & real Honesty, visible & real Money, visible & real Gold, visible & real Diamonds &c.&c. Visible & Real are Words that stand related one to another, as the Words real & seeming, or true and apparent. Some seem to speak of Visibility with Regard to Saintship or Holiness, as tho' it had no Reference to the Reality, or as tho' it were a distinct Reality by itself, as tho' by visible Saints were not meant those who to Appearance are real Saints or Disciples indeed, but properly a distant Sort of Saints, which is an Absurdity. There is a Distinction between real Money and [Page 10] visible Money, because all that is esteem'd Money and passes for Money is not real Money, but some is false and counterfeit. But yet by visible Money, is not meant that which is taken and passes for a different Sort of Money from true Money, but thereby is meant that which is esteemed and taken as real Money, or which has that Appearance that recom­mends to Mens Judgment and Acceptance as true Money; tho' Men may be deceived, and some of it may finally prove not to be so.

There are not properly two Sorts of Saints spoken of in Scripture: tho' the Word Saints may be said indeed to be used two Ways in Scrip­ture, or used so as to reach two Sorts of Persons; yet the Word has not properly two Significations in the New-Testament, any more than the Word Gold has two Significations among us: The Word Gold among us is so used as to extend to several Sorts of Substances; it is true, it ex­tends to true Gold, and also to that which only appears to be Gold, and is reputed Gold, and by that Appearance or Visibility some Things that are not real Gold obtain the Name of Gold; but this is not properly thro' a Diversity in the Signification of the Word, but by a Diversity of the Application of it, thro' the Imperfection of our discerning. It don't follow that there are properly two Sorts of Saints, because there are some who are not real Saints, that yet being visible or seeming Saints do by the Shew and Appearance they make obtain the Name of Saints, and are reputed Saints, and whom by the Rules of Scripture (which are ac­commodated to our imperfect State) we are directed to receive and treat as Saints; any more than it follows that there are two Sorts of honest Men, become some who are not truly honest Men, yet being so seem­ingly or visibly, do obtain the Name of honest Men, and ought to be treated by us as such. So there are not properly two distinct Churches of Christ, one the real, and another the visible; tho' they that are visibly or seemingly of the one only Church of Christ, are many more than they who are really of his Church; and so the visible or seeming Church is of larger Extent than the real.

Visibility is a relative Thing, and has Relation to an Eye that views or beholds. Visibility is the same as Appearance or Exhibition to the Eye; and to be a visible Saint is the same as to appear to be a real Saint in the Eye that beholds; not the Eye of God, but the Eye of Man. Real Saints or Converts are those that are so in the Eye of God; visible Saints or Converts are those who are so in the Eye of Man; not his bodily Eye, for thus no Man is a Saint any more in the Eye of a Man than he is in the Eye of a Beast; but the Eye of his Mind, which is his Judgment or Esteem. There is no more Visibility of Holiness in the brightest Professor to the Eye of our Bodies, without the Exercise of the Reason and Judgment of our Minds, than may be in a Machine. But nothing short of an apparent Probability, or a probable Exhibition, can [Page 11] amount to a Visibility to the Eye of Man's Reason or Judgment. The Eye which God has given to Man is the Eye of Reason; and the Eye of a Christian is Reason sanctified, regulated and enlightned by a Principle of Christian Love. But it implies a Contradiction to say, that That is visible to the Eye of Reason, which don't appear probable to Reason. And if there be a Man that is in this Sense a visible Saint, he is in the Eye of a rational Judgment a real Saint. To say a Man is visibly a Saint, but not visibly a real Saint, but only visibly a visible Saint, is a very absurd Way of speaking; it is as much as to say, He is to Ap­pearance an appearing Saint; which is in Effect to say nothing, and to use Words without Signification. The Thing which must be visible and probable, in order to visible Saintship, must be Saintship itself, or real Grace and true Holiness; not Visibility of Saintship, not unregenerate Morality, not meer moral Sincerity. To pretend to or in any Respect to exhibit moral Sincerity, makes nothing visible beyond what is pretended to or exhibited: For a Man to have that visibly, which if he had it really, and have nothing more, would not make him a real Saint, is not to be visibly a Saint.

Mr. Stoddard, in his Appeal to the Learned, seems to express the very same Notion of Visibility, and that Visibility of Saintship which is re­quisite to Persons coming to the Lord's Supper, that I have here express'd. In Page 10. he makes a Distinction between being visibly circumcised in Heart, and being really so; evidently meaning by the latter saving Con­version; and he allows the former viz. a Visibility of Heart-Circumcision, to be necessary to a coming to the Lord's Supper. So that according to Him, 'tis not a Visibility of moral Sincerity only, but a Visibility of Cir­cumcision of Heart, or saving Conversion, that is a necessary Requisite to a Person's coming to the Lord's Table. And in what Manner this must be visible, he signifies elsewhere, when he allows, that it must be so to a Judgment of Charity; a Judgment of rational Charity. This he ex­presly allows over & over; as in Pa. 2, 3. Pa. 28. Pa. 33. Pa. 72. & 95. And an having Reason to look upon them us such, Pa.28. And towards the Close of his Book, he declares himself sted fastly of the Mind, that it is requisite those be not admitted to the Lord's Supper, who don't make a personal & publick Profession of their Faith & Repentance, to the just Satisfaction of the Church, Pa.93,94. But how he reconciled these Passages with the rest of his Treatise, I would modestly say, I must confess myself at a Loss. And particularly, I can't see how they consist with what this venerable &ever honoured Author says, Pa. 16. in these Words; Indeed by the Rule that God has given for Ad­missions, if it be carefully attended, more Unconverted Persons will be admitted than Converted. I would humbly inquire, how those visible Qualifications can be the Ground of a rational Judgment, that a Person is circumcised in Heart, which nevertheless at the same Time, we are sensible are so far from be­ing [Page 12] any probable Signs of it, that they are more frequently without it, than with it. The Appearance of that Thing surely can't imply an appearing Probability of another Thing, which at the same Time we are sensible is most frequently, and so most probably, without that other Thing.

Indeed I can easily see, how that may seem visible, and appear proba­ble to God's People by Reason of the imperfect and dark State they are in, and so may oblige their Charity, which yet is not real, and which would not appear at all probable to Angels, who stand in a clearer Light: And the different Degrees of Light, that God's Church stands in in dif­ferent Ages, may make a Difference in this Respect: The Church under the New Testament being favoured by God with a vastly greater Light in divine Things, [...] the Church under the old Testament, that might make some Difference, as to the Kind of Profession of Religion that is requisite, under these different Dispensations, in order to a Visibility of Holiness; also a proper Visibility may fail in the greater Number in some extraordinary Case, & in exempt Circumstances: But how those Signs can be a Ground of a rational Judgment that a Thing is, which, at that very Time, and under that Degree of Light we then have, we are sensible do oftner fail than not, and this ordinarily, I own my self much at a Loss. Surely nothing but appearing Reason is the Ground of a rational Judgment. And indeed it is impossible in the Nature of Things, to form a Judgment, which at that very Time we think to be not only without but against Probability.

If it be said, that altho' Persons don't profess that wherein sanctifying Grace consids, yet seeing they profess to believe the Doctrines of the Gospel, which God is won't to make use of in order to Men's Sanctifi­cation, and are called the Doctrine which is according to Godliness; and since we see nothing in their Lives to make us determine, that they have not had a proper Effect on their Hearts, we are obliged in Charity to hope that they are real Saints, or gracious Persons, and to treat 'em ac­cordingly, and so to receive 'em into the Christian Church, and to its special Ordinances.

I answer, This Objection does in Effect suppose and grant the very Thing mainly in Dispute: For it supposes, that a gracious Character is the Thing that ought to be look'd at and aim'd at in admitting Persons into the Communion of the Church; and so that it is needful to have this Charity for Persons, or such a favourable Notion of them, in order to our receiving them as properly qualified Members of the Society, and properly qualify'd Subjects of the special Privileges they are admitted to. Whereas the Doctrine taught is, that sanctifying Grace is not a necessary Qualification herefor, and that there is no need that the Person himself, or any other, should have any Imagination, that he is a Person so quali­fied; [Page 13] because we know, 'tis no Qualification requisite in itself; we know the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper is as proper for them that are not so qualified as for those that are; it being according to the Design of the Institution a converting Ordinance, and so an Ordinance as much intended for the Good of the Unconverted, as of the Converted; even as 'tis with the Preaching of the Gospel. Now if the Case be so, why is there any Talk about a charitable hoping they are converted, and so admitting them? What need of any charitable Hope of such a Qualification, in order to admitting them to an Ordinance that is as proper for those who are with­out this Qualification, as for those that have it? We need not have any charitable Hope of any such Qualification in order to admit a Person to hear the Word preach'd. What need have we to aim at any Thing be­yond the proper Qualifications? And what Manner of Need of any charitable Opinion or Hope of any thing further? Some Sort of Belief, that Jesus is the Messiah, is a Qualification properly requisite to a coming to the Lord's Supper; and therefore 'tis necessary that we should have a charitable Hope, that those have such a Belief whom we admit; tho' it be not necessary that we should know it, it being what none can know of another. But as to Grace or Christian Piety, it clearly follows, on the Principles which I oppose, that if there be any Visibility of it, more or less, of any Sort, yet no Kind of Visi­bility or Appearance, whether more direct or indirect, whether to a greater or less Degree, no Charity or Hope of it, have any thing at all to do in the Affair of Admission to the Lord's Supper; for, according to Them, it is properly a converting Ordinance. What has any Visi­bility or Hope of a Person's being already in Health to admitting him into an Hospital for the Use of those Means that are the proper appointed Means for the healing of the Sick, and bringing them to Health? And therefore 'tis needless here to dispute about the Nature of Visibility; and all arguing concerning a Profession of Christian Doctrines, and an or­derly Life being a sufficient Ground of publick Charity, and an Obli­gation on the Church to treat 'em as Saints, are wholly impertinent and nothing to the Purpose. For on the Principles which I oppose, there is no Need of any Sort of Ground for treating them as Saints, in order to admitting them to the Lord's Supper, the very Design of which is to make 'em Saints, any more than there is Need of some Ground of treating a sick Man as being a Man in Health, in order to admitting him into a Hospital. Persons, by the Doctrine that I oppose, are not taught to offer themselves as Candidates for Church Communion under any such Notion, or with any such Pretence, as their being gracious Persons; and therefore surely when those that teach 'em, receive them to the Or­dinance, they don't receive them under any such Notion, nor has any Notion, Appearance, Hope, or Thought of it, any Thing to do in the Case.

[Page 14] The Apostle speaks of the Members of the Christian Church, as those that made a Profession of Godliness. 2 Cor. ix. 13. They glorified God for your professed Subjection to the Gospel of Christ. 1 Tim. ii. 10. In like Manner also that Women adorn themselves in modest Apparel,—not with costly Array; but, which becometh Women professing Godliness, with good Works. The Apostle is speaking of the Women that were Members of that great Church of Ephesus, which Timothy for the present had the Care of; and he speaks of them as supposing that they all profess'd God­liness. By the Allowance of all, Profession is one Thing belonging to the Visibility of Christanity or Holiness, that there is in the Members of the visible Church. Visible Holiness is an Appearance or Exhibition of Ho­liness, by those Things which are external, and so fall under our Notice and Observation. And these are two, viz. Profession, and an outward Behaviour, agreable to that Profession. That Profession which belongs to visible Saintship, must be a Profession of Godliness, or real Saintship; for a Profession makes nothing visible, beyond what is professed. What is it, to be a Saint by Profession, but to be by Profession a true Saint? For to be by Profession a false Saint, is to be by Profession no Saint; and only to profess that, which if never so true, is nothing peculiar to a Saint, is not to be a professing Saint.

In order to a M [...]n's being properly a professing Christian, he must pro­fess the Religion of Jesus Christ: And he surely don't profess the Religion that was taught by Jesus Christ, if he leaves out of his Profession the most essential Things that belong to that Religion. That which is most essential in that Religion itself, the Profession of that is essential in a Profession of that Religion; for (as I have observed elsewhere) that which is most essential in a Thing, in order to its being truly denomina­ted that Thing, the same is essentially necessary to be expressed or signified in any Exhibition or Declaration of that Thing, in order to its being truly denominated a Declaration or Exhibition of that Thing. If we take a more inconsiderable Part of Christ's Religion, and leave out the main and most essential, surely what we have can't be properly called the Reli­gion of Jesus Christ: so if we profess only a less important Part, and are silent about the most important and essential Part, it can't be properly said that we profess the Religion of Jesus Christ. And therefore we can't in any Propriety be said to profess the Christian or Christ's Religion, unless we profess those Things wherein consists Piety of Heart, which is vastly the most important & essential Part of that Religion that Christ came to teach and establish in the World, and is in Effect all; being that without which all the Rest that belongs to it, is nothing, and wholly in vain. But they who are admitted to the Lord's Supper, proceeding on the Prin­ciples of those who hold it to be a converting Ordinance, do in no Respect profess Christian Piety, neither in Whole nor in Part, neither explicitedly [Page 15] nor implicitedly, directly nor indirectly; and therefore are not professing Christians, or Saints by Profession. I mean, tho' they may be godly Persons, yet as they come to the Ordinance without professing Godliness, they can't properly be called professing Saints.

Here it may be said, that altho' no explicit and formal Profession of those Things which belong to true Piety, be required of them; yet there are many Things they do, that are a virtual and implicit Profession of these Things: Such as their owning the Christian Covenant, their owning God the Father Son and Holy Ghost, to be their God; and by their visibly joining in the publick Prayers and singing God's Praises, there is a Shew and implicit Profession of supreme Respect to God and Love to him; by joining in the publick Confessions, they make a Shew of Re­pentance; by keeping Sabbaths and hearing the Word, they make a Shew of a Spirit of Obedience; by offering to come to Sacraments, they make a Shew of Love to Christ and a Dependance on his Sacrifice.

To this I answer; 'Tis a great Mistake, if any one imagines, that all these external Performances are of the Nature of a Profession of any thing at all that belongs to saving Grace, as they are commonly used and under­stood: and to be sure none of them are so, according to the Doctrines that are taught and embraced, and the Customs that are established in such Churches as proceed on the Foot of the Principles foremention'd. For what is professing, but exhibiting, uttering, or declaring, either by intelligible Words, or by other establish'd Signs that are equivalent? But in such Churches, neither their publickly saying, that they avouch God the Father Son and Holy Ghost, to be their God, and that they give them­selves up to Him, and promise to obey all his Commands, nor their coming to the Lord's Supper, or to any other Ordinances, are taken for Expressions or Signs of any thing belonging to the Essence of Christian Piety. But on the contrary, the publick Doctrine, Principle and Custom in such Churches establishes a diverse Use of these Words & Signs. People are taught, that they may use 'em all, and not so much as make any Pre­tence to the least Degree of sanctifying Grace; and this is the established Custom: so they are used, and so they are understood. And therefore whatever some of these Words and Signs may in themselves most properly and naturally import or signify, they entirely cease to be Significations of any such Thing among People accustomed to understand and use them otherwise; and so cease to be of the Nature of a Profession of Christian Piety. There can be no such Thing among such a People, as either an explicit or implicit Profession of Godliness by any Thing which (by their establish'd Doctrine and Custom) an unregenerate Man may and ought to say and perform, knowing himself to be so. For let the Words and Actions otherwise signify what they will, yet that People have in Effect agreed among themselves, that Persons who use them, need not intend [Page 16] them so, and that others need not understand them so. And hence they cease to be of the Nature of any Pretension to Grace. And surely 'tis an Absurdity to say, that Men openly and solemnly profess Grace, and yet don't so much as pretend to it. If a certain People should agree, and it should be an established Principle among them, that Men might & ought to use such and such Words to their Neighbours, which according to their proper Signification were a Profession of entire Love and devoted Friendship towards the Man they speak to, and yet not think that he has any Love in his Heart to him, yea, and know at the same Time that he had a reigning Enmity against him; and it was known that this was the established Principle of the People; would not these Words, whatever their proper Signification was, entirely cease to be any Profession or Testimony of Friendship to his Neighbour? To be sure, there could be no Visibility of it to the Eye of Reason.

Thus it is evident, that those who are admitted into the Church on the Principles that I oppose, are not professing Saints, nor visible Saints; because that Thing which alone is truly Saintship, is not what they profess, or make any Pretence to, or have any Visibility of, to the Eye of a Christian Judg­ment. Or if they in Fact be visible and professing Saints, yet, they are not admitted as such; no Profession of true Saintship, nor any Manner of Visibility of it, has any Thing to do in the Affair.

There is one Way to evade these Things, which has been taken by some, and that they plead: Altho' it be true, that the Scripture repre­sents the Members of the visible Church of Christ as Professors of God­liness; and they are abundantly called by the Name of Saints in Scrip­ture, undoubtedly because they were Saints by Profession, and in Visibi­lity, and the Acceptance of others; yet this is not with any Reference to saving Holiness, but to quite another Sort of Saintship, viz. moral Since­rity; and that this is the real Saintship, Discipleship, and Godliness, which is profess'd, and visible in them, and with Regard to which, as having an Appearance of it to the Eye of Reason, they have the Name of Saints, Disciples &c. in Scripture.

It must be noted, that in this Objection the Visibility is supposed to be of real Saintship, Discipleship, and Godliness, but only another Sort of real Godliness, than that which belongs to those who shall finally be own'd by Christ as his People, at the Day of Judgment.

To which I answer, This is a meer Evasion; the only one, that ever I saw or heard of; and I think the only one possible. For 'tis certain, they are not Professors of sanctifying Grace, or true Saintship: The Principle proceeded on, being, that they need make no Pretence to that; nor has any Visibility of saving Holiness any Thing to do in the Affair. If then they have any Holiness at all, it must be of another Sort. And if this Evasion fails, and fails, and the whole Matter in Debate must [Page 17] be given up. Therefore I desire that this Matter may be impartially considered and examined to the very Bottom; and that it may be tho­roughly enquired, whether this Distinction of these two Sorts of real Christianity, Godliness, and Holiness, is a Distinction, that Christ in his Word is the Author of; or whether it be an human Invention of some­thing which the New-Testament knows nothing of, devised to serve and maintain an Hypothesis. And here I desire that the following Things may be observed.

1. According to this Hypothesis, the Words, Saints, Disciples, and Christians, are used four Ways in the New-Testament, as applied to four Sorts of Persons. (1) To those that in Truth and Reality are the Heirs of eternal Life, and that shall judge the World, or have indeed that Saintship which is saving. (2) To those who profess this, and pretend to and make a fair Shew of a supream Regard to Christ, and to renounce the World for his Sake, but have not real Ground for these Pretences and Appearances. (3) To those who, altho' they han't saving Grace, yet have that other Sort of real Godliness or Saintship, viz. moral Sincerity in Religion; and so are properly a Sort of real Saints, true Christians, sincerely godly Persons and Disciples indeed, tho' they have no saving Grace. And (4) To those who make a Profession and have a Visibility of this latter Sort of sincere Christianity, and are nominally such Kind of Saints, but are not so indeed.—So that here are two Sorts of real Christians, and two Sorts of visible Christians; two Sorts of invisible and real Churches of Christ, and two Sorts of visible Churches. Now will any one that is well acquainted with the New-Testament, say, there is in that the least Appearance or Shadow of such a four-fold Use of the Words, Saints, Disciples, &c.? 'Tis manifest by what was observed before, that these Words are there used but two Ways; and that those of Mankind to whom these Names are applied, are there distinguished into but two Sorts, viz. Those who have really a saving Interest in Christ, spiritual Conformity and Union to him, and those who have a Name for it, as having a Profession and Appearance of it. And this is further evident by various Re­presentations, which we there find of the visible Church; as in the Com­pany of Virgins that went forth to meet the Bridegroom, we find a Distinc­tion of them into but two Sorts, viz. The Wise that had both Lamps and Oil; and those who had Lamps indeed like the wise Virgins (therein hav­ing an external Shew of the same Thing, viz. Oil) but really had no Oil; signifying that they had the same Profession and outward Shew of the same Sort of Religion, and entertain'd the same Hopes with the wise Virgins. So when the visible Church is represented by the Husband-man's Floor, we find a Distinction but of two Sorts, viz. The Wheat and the Chaff. So again, when the Church is compar'd to the Husband-man's Field, we find a Distinction but of two Sorts, the Wheat and the Tares, [Page 18] which (Naturalists observe) show or appear exactly like the Wheat, 'till it comes to bring forth its Fruit; representing, that those who are only vi­sible Christians, have a Visibility or Appearance of the Nature of that Wheat, which shall be gathered into Christ's Barn; and that Nature is saving Grace.

2. 'Tis evident, that those who had the Name of Disciples in the Times of the New-Testament, bore that Name with Reference to a Visi­bility and Pretence of the same Relation to Christ, which they had who should be finally [...]ned as his. This is manifest by Joh. viii. 30, 31. As he spake these Words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to th [...]se Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my Disciples indeed. (Compare Luke xiv. 25, 26, 27. and Joh. 15. 8.) The Phrase, Disciples indeed, is relative; and has Reference to a Visibility, Pretence, or Name, only, which it is set in Opposition to, & has a Reference to that Name and Visibility that those, who then bore the Name of Disciples, had; which makes it evident, that those who then bore the Name of Disciples, had a Visibility and Pretence of the same Discipleship Christ speaks of, which he calls true Discipleship, or Discipleship indeed: for true Disciple­ship is not properly set in Opposition to any Thing else but a Pretence to the same Thing, that is not true. The Phrase Gold indeed is in Reference and Opposition to something that has the Appearance of that same Metal, and not to an Appearance of Brass. If there were another Sort of real Discipleship in those Days, besides saving Discipleship, Persons might be Christ's Disciples indeed, or truly (as the Word in the Original is) with­out continuing in his Word, and without selling all that they had, & with­out hating Father and Mother and their own Lives, for his Sake. By this it appears, that those who bore the Name of Disciples in those Times were distinguished into but two Sorts, Disciples in Name or Visibility, and Disciples indeed; and that the Visibility and Profession of the former was of the Discipleship of the latter.

3. The same Thing is evident by 1 Joh.ii.19. They went out from us, be­cause they were not of use: If they had been of us, they would no doubt have conti­nued with us. The Words naturally suggest & imply, that those professing Christians, who at [...] proved false, did, before they went out, seem to belong to the Society of the true Saints, or those endowed with persevering Grace and Holiness; They seem'd to be of their Number, i.e. They were so in Pretence & Visibility, and so were accepted in the Judgment of Charity.

4. The Name and Visibility, that nominal or visible Christians had in the Days of the New-Testament, was of saving Christianity, and not of moral Sincerity; for they had a Name to live, tho' many of them were [...] Rev.iii. 1. Now it is very plain what that is in Religion which is called by the Name of Life, all over the New-Testament, viz. saving Grace; and I don't know that any Thing else, of a religious Nature, is ever so called.

[Page 19] 5. The Visibility, that visible Christians had of Saintship in the Apostles Days, was not of moral Sincerity, but gracious Sincerity, or saving Saintship: For they are spoken of as being visibly of the Number of those Saint & who shall judge the World and judge Angels. 1 Cor. vi. 1, 2, 3. Dare any of you, having a Matter against another, go to Law before the Unjust, and not before the Saints? Do ye not know, that the Saints shall judge the World? And if the World shall be judged BY YOU, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest Matters? Know ye not that WE shall judge Angels? These Things do manifestly imply, that if the Christian Corinthians were what they supposed they were, and what they profess'd to be, and what they were accepted to be, they were some of those Saints who at the Day of Judgment should judge Angels and Men.

6. That the Visibility was not only of moral Sincerity, but saving Grace, is manifest, because the Apostle speaks of visible Christians as visible Members of Christ's Body, of his Flesh of his Bones, and one Spi­rit with him, and Temples of the holy Ghost. Eph. v. 30, and 1 Cor. vi. 16, 19. And the Apostle Peter speaks of visible Christians as those who were visibly such righteous Persons as should be saved; and that are distin­guished from the ungodly, and them that obey not the Gospel, who shall perish. 1Pet. iv. 16, 17, 18. Yet if any Man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this Behalf. For the Time is come that Judgment must begin at the House of God; and if it first begin at US ( us Christians, comprehending himself and those to whom he wrote, and all of that Sort) what shall the End of them be that obey not the Gospel of God? And if the Righteous Scarcely be saved, where shall the Ungodly and Sinner appear?

7. That the Visibility was not meerly of moral Sincerity, but of that Sort of Saintship which the Saints in Heaven have, is manifest by this, that they are often spoken of as visibly belonging to Heaven, and as of the Society of the Saints in Heaven. So the Apostle in his Epistle to the Ephesians speaks of them as visibly of the same Houshold or Family of God, a Part of which is in Heaven. Chap. ii. 19. Now therefore ye are no more Strangers and Foreigners, but Fellow-Citizens with the Saints, [...]nd of the Houshold of God. Together with the next Chapter, Ver.15. Of whom the whole Family in Heaven and Earth is named. Where the Context and Continuation of Discourse demonstrates, that he is still speaking of the same Family or Houshold he had spoken of in the latter Part of the preceeding Chapter. So all visible Christians are spoken of as visibly the Children of the Church which is in Heaven. Gal. iv. 26. Jerusalem which is above, is free, which is the Mother of us all. The same Apostle speaks of visible Christians as being visibly come to the Heavenly City, and having joined the glorious Company of Angels there, and as visi­bly belonging to the general Assembly and Church of the First-born, that are [Page 20] written in Heaven, and to the Spirits of just Men made perfect, Heb. xii. 22, 23. And elsewhere they are spoken of as being visibly of the Num­ber of those who have their Names written in the Book of Life, Rev. iii. 5. and xxii. 19. They who truly have their Names written in the Book of Life, are God's true Saints, that have saving Grace: as is evident by Rev.xiii. 8. And all that dwell on the Earth, shall worship Him, whose Names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the Foun­dation of the World. And Chap.xx. 12. And another Book was opened, which was the Book of Life. Ver.15. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life, was cast into the Lake of Fire. We are told, in the Con­clusion of this Chapter, how they were disposed of whose Names were not written in the Book of Life; and then the Prophet proceeds in the next Chapter to tell us how they were disposed whose Names were found there written, viz. that they were admitted into the New-Jerusalem, Ver. [...]7. And there shall in no wise enter into it any Thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh Abominati [...] [...] maketh a Lie; but they which are written in the Lamb's Book of [...]. And yet in the next Chap­ter it is implied, that some who were not truly gracious Persons, and some that should finally perish, were visibly of the Number of those that had both a Part in the New-Jerusalem, and also their Names written in the Book of Life. Ver. 19. And if any Man shall take away from the Words of the Book of this Prophecy, God shall take away his Part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy City.

8. That Baptism, by which the primitive Converts were admitted into the Church, was used as an Exhibition and Token of their being visibly regenerated, dead to Sin, alive to God, having the old Man crucified, being delivered from the reigning Power of Sin, being made free from Sin, and become the Servants of Righteousness, those Servants of God that have their Fruit unto that Holiness whose End is everlasting Life; as is evi­dent by Rom. vi. throughout. In the former Part of the Chapter, he speaks of the Christian Romans, as dead to Sin, being buried with Christ in Baptism having their old Man crucify'd with Christ &c. He don't mean, only, that their Baptism laid 'em under special Obligations to these Things, and was a Mark and Token of their Engagement to be thus hereafter; but was design'd as a Mark, Token and Exhibition of their being visibly thus already. As is most manifest by the Apostle's Prosecution of his Argument in the following Part of the Chapter. Ver. 14. For Sin shall not have Dominion over you, for ye are not under the Law but under Grace. Ver. 17, 18. God be thanked, ye were the Servants of Sin, but ye have obeyed from the Heart that Form of Doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from Sin, ye became the Servants of Righteousness. Ver. 22. But now being made free from Sin, and become Servants to God, ye have your Fruit unto Holiness, and the End everlasting Life.

[Page 21] 9. 'Tis evident, that 'tis not only a Visibility of moral Sincerity in Religion, which is the Scripture Qualification of Admission into the Christian Church, but a Visibility of Regeneration and Renovation of Heart, because it was foretold that God's People and the Ministers of his House in the Days of the Messiah, should not admit into the Christian Church any that were not visibly circumcised in Heart. Ezek. xliv. 6,—9. ‘And thou shalt say to the Rebellious, even to the House of Israel, Thus faith the Lord God, O ye House of Israel, let it suffice you of all your Abominations, in that ye have brought into my Sanctuary Stran­gers uncircumcised in Heart, and uncircumcised in Flesh, to be in my Sanctuary to pollute it, even my House, when ye offer my Bread, the Fat and the Blood; and they have broken my Covenant, because of all your Abominations: And ye have not kept the Charge of mine holy Things, but ye have set keepers of my Charge in my Sanctuary for your selves. Thus faith the Lord, no Stranger uncircumcised in Heart, nor uncircumcised in Flesh, shall enter into my Sanctuary, of any Stranger that is among the Children of Israel.’

The venerable Author of the Appeal to the Learned, says, Pag. 10. That this Scripture has no particular Reference to the Lord's Supper. I answer, tho' I don't suppose it has meerly a Reference to that Ordinance, yet I think it manifest, that it has a Reference to admitting Persons into the Christian Church, and to external Church-Priviledges. It might be easy to prove, that these nine last Chapters of Ezekiel must be a Vision and Prophecy of the State of Things in the Church of God in the Messiah's Days: But I suppose it will not be denied, it being a Thing wherein Divines are so generally agreed. And I suppose, none will dispute but that by the House of God & his Sanctuary, which it is here foretold the uncir­cumcised in Heart should not be admitted into in the Days of the Gospel, is meant the same House, Sanctuary, or Temple of God, that the Prophet had just before been speaking of, in the foregoing Part of the same Chap­ter, and been describing throughout the four preceeding Chapters. But we all know, that the New-Testament House of God is his Church. ‘Heb. iii. 3. For this Man was counted worthy of more Glory than Moses, in as much as he who builded the House, hath more Honour than the House. Ver.6. But Christ as a Son over his own House, whose House are we, &c. 2 Tim. ii. 20. In a great House there are not only Vessels of Gold and Silver, but also of Wood and of Earth, &c. I Tim. iii. 15. That thou mayst know how thou oughtest to behave thy self in the House of God, which is the Church of the living God. Eph. ii. 20,21. And are built upon the Foun­dation of the Prophets and Apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner Stone; in whom all the Building fitly framed together, groweth into an holy Temple in the Lord. 1 Cor. iii. 9. Ye are God's [Page 22] Building. ver. 16. Know ye not, that ye are the Temple of God? 1 Pet. ii. 5. Ye also as lively Stones are built up a spiritual House. Chap. iv. 17. For the Time is come, that Judgment must begin at the House of God: And if it begin at us, what shall the End be &c? Heb. x. 21. And having an high Priest over the House of God.’— Ezekiel's Temple is doubtless the same that it is foretold the Messiah should build Zech. vi. 12, 13. ‘The Man whose Name is the Branch—He shall build the Temple of the Lord, even he shall build the Temple of the Lord’—And what the Temple that Christ builds, is, the Apostle tells us, Heb. iii. 3,6. The Temple that Ezekiel in his Vision was bid to observe the Measures of, as it was measured with a Reed (Ezek.xl.3,4.) we have Reason to think, was the same the Apostle John in his Vision was bid to measure with a Reed, Rev.xi.1. And when it is here foretold, that the uncircumcised in Heart should not enter into the Christian Sanctuary or Church, nor have Communion in the Offerings of God's Bread, of the Fat and Blood, that were made there, I think so much is at least implied, that they should not have Communion in those Ordi­nances of the Christian Sanctuary, in which that Body and Blood of Christ were symbolically represented, which used of old to be symbolically re­presented by the Fat and the Blood. For the Admission into the Christian Church here spoken of, is an Admission into the visible, and not the mystical Church; For such an Admission is spoken of as is made by the Officers of the Church. And I suppose, it will not be doubted, but that by Circumcision of Heart is meant the spiritual renewing of the Heart; not any common Vertues, which don't in the least change the Nature, and mortify the Corruption of the Heart; as is held by all orthodox Di­vines, and as Mr. Stoddard in particular abundantly insisted. How­ever, if any Body disputes it, I desire that the Scripture may be allowed to speak for it self; for it very often speaks of Circumcision of Heart, and this every where, both in the old Testament and New, manifestly signifies that great Change of Heart that was typified by the Ceremony of Circumcision of the Flesh. The same which afterwards was signified by Baptism, viz. Regeneration, or else the Progress of that Work in Sancti­fication; as we read of the washing of Regeneration, &c. The Apostle tells us what was signified both by Circumcision & Baptism, Col. ii.11, 12; ‘In whom also ye are circumcised with the Circumcision made without Hands, in putting off the Sins of the Flesh by the Circumcision of Christ, buried with him in Baptism; wherein also you are risen with him, thro' the Faith of the Operation of God.’ Where I would observe by the Way, he speaks of all the Members of the Church of Colosse as visibly cir­cumcised with this Circumcision; agreable to Ezekiel's Prophecy, that the Members of the Christian Church shall visibly have this Circumcision. The Apostle speaks, in like Manner, of the Members of the Church of Philippi as spiritually circumcised (i. e, in Profession and Visibility) and [Page 23] tells wherein this Circumcision appear'd. Phil. iii. 3. ‘For we are the Circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoyce in Christ Jesus, and have no Confidence in the Flesh.’ And in Rom. ii.28, 29. the Apostle speaks of this Christian Circumcision and Jewish Circum­cision together, calling the former the Circumcision of the Heart. But he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the FLESH; But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and Cir­cumcision is that of THE HEART, in the Spirit, not in the Letter; whose Praise is not of Men, but of God. And whereas in this Prophecy of Ezekiel it is foretold, that none should enter into the Christian Sanctuary or Church, but such as are circumcised in Heart and circumcised in Flesh; thereby I suppose is intended, that none should be admitted but such as were visibly regenerated, and also baptised with outward Baptism.

By the Thing which have been observed, I think it abundantly evi­dent, that the Saintship, Godliness and Holiness, of which, according to Scripture, professing Christians and visible Saints do make a Profession and have a Visibility, is not any Religion and Virtue that is the Result of common Grace, or moral Sincerity (as it is called) but saving Grace.—Yet there are many other clear Evidences of the same Thing, which may in some Measure appear in all the following Part of this Discourse— Wherefore,

II. I come now to another Reason, why I answer the Question at first proposed, in the Negative, viz. That 'tis a Duty which in an ordinary State of Things is required of all that are capable of it, to make an explicit open Profession of the true Religion, by owning God's Covenant; or, in other Words, professedly and verbally to unite themselves to God in his Covenant, by their own publick Act.

Here I would ( First) prove this Point; and then ( Secondly) draw the Consequence, and shew how this demonstrates the Thing in Debate.

First, I shall endeavour to establish this Point, viz. That it is the Duty of God's People thus publickly to own the Covenant; and that it was not only a Duty in Israel of old, but is so in the Christian Church, and to the End of the World; and that it is a Duty required of adult Per­sons before they come to Sacraments. And this being a Point of great Consequence in this Controversy, but a Matter seldom handled (tho' it seems to be generally taken for granted) I shall be the more particular in the Consideration of it.

This not only seems to be in it self most consonant to Reason, and is a Duty generally allowed in New-England, but is evidently a great Insti­tution of the Word of God, appointed as a very important Part of that publick Religion by which God's People should give Honour to his Name. This Institution we have in Deut. vi. 13. Thou shall Fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt SWEAR BY HIS NAME, 'Tis repeated [Page 24] Chap. x. 20. Thou shalt Fear the Lord thy God, him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and SWEAR BY HIS NAME. In both Places it might have been render'd; Thou shalt swear in his Name, or into his Name. In the original, Bishmo, with the Prefix Beth which signifies in or into, as well as By. And whereas in the latter Place in our Translation it is said, to him shalt thou cleave, and Swear by his Name. The Words are thus in the Hebrew, Ubho Thidhbák Ubhishmo Tisshàbhéang. The literal Transla­tion of which is, [...] shalt thou cleave [ or unite] and into his Name shalt thou Swear. [...] the same Prefix, Beth, before him, when it is said, Thou shalt cleave to him, as before his Name, when it is said, Thou shalt Swear by his Name. Swearing into God's Name, is a very emphatical and significant Way of expressing a Person's taking on himself, by his own so­lemn Profession, the Name of God, as one of his People; or by swearing to or covenanting with God, uniting himself by his own Act to the Peo­ple that is called by his Name. The Figure of Speech is something like that by which Christians in the New-Testament are said to be Baptized [...] INTO THE NAME of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. So Christians are said to be baptized into Christ, Gal. iii. 17. This Swearing by the Name, or into the Name of the Lord, is so often, and in such a Manner spoken of by the Prophets as a great Duty of God's solemn pub­lick Worship, as much as Praying or Sacrificing, that it would be unrea­sonable to understand it only, or chiefly, of occasionally taking an Oath before a Court of Judicature, which, it may be, one tenth Part of the People never had Occasion to do once in their Lives. If we well consi­der the Matter, we shall see abundant Reason to be satisfied, that the Thing intended in this Institution was publickly covenanting with God. Covenanting in Scripture is very often called by the Name of Swearing, and a Covenant is called an Oath. ^* And particularly God's Covenant is called his Oath. Deut. xxix. 12. That thou Shouldst enter into Covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his Oath. Ver.14, Neither with you only do I make this Covenant and this Oath. 1 Chron.xvi.15, 16. Be ye mindful always of his Covenant— Even of the Covenant which he made with Abra­ham, and his Oath unto Isaac—2 Chron. xv. 12. And they entred into Covenant to seek the Lord God of their Fathers.— ver. 14, 15. And they swore unto the Lord with a loud Voice. And all Judah rejoyced at the Oath. Swearing to the Lord, or Swearing in, or into the Name of the Lord, are equipollent Expressions in the Bible: the Prefixes Beth and Lamed are evidently used indifferently in this Case to signify the same Thing. Zeph. 1. 5. [Page 25] That swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham. The Word tran­slated, to the Lord, is Laihovah, with the Prefix Lamed; but to Malcham is Bemalcham with the Prefix Beth, into Malcham. In [...] King. xviii. 32. 'Tis said, Elijah built an Altar in the Name of the Lord; Beshem. Here the Prefix Beth is manifestly of the same Force with Lamed in 1 Kings viii.44. The House I have built for thy Name or to thy Name, Leshem.

God's People in Swearing to his Name, or into his Name, according to the Institution, solemnly profess'd two Things, viz. Their Faith and Obedience. The former Part of this Profession of Religion was called saying, The Lord liveth. Jer. v. 2. And tho' they say, The Lord liveth, yet surely they Swear falsely. Ver. 7. They have sworn by them that are no Gods: That is, They had openly professed Idol-Worship. Chap. iv. 2. Thou shalt Swear, The Lord liveth, in Truth, in Judgment, and in Righte­ousness; and the Nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. (Compare this with Isai. xlv. 23, 24, 25.) Jer. xliv, 26. Behold I have sworn by my great Name, saith the Lord, that my Name shall no more be named in the Mouth of any Man of Judah in all the Land of Egypt, saying, the Lord liveth. i. e. They shall never any more make any Pro­fession of the true God, and of the true Religion, but shall be wholly given up to Heathenism. See also Jer. xii. 16. & xvi. 14, 15. and xxiii. 7, 8. Hos. iv. 15. Amos viii. 14. & V. 5.

These Words CHAI JEHOVAH, Jehovah liveth, summarily com­prehended a Profession of Faith in that Alsufficiency and Immutability of God, which is implied in the Name JEHOVAH, and which Attributes are very often signified in Scripture by God's being the LIVING GOD, as is very manifest from Josh. iii. 10. 1 Sam.xvii.26,36. 2 Kin.xix.4, 16. Dan. vi. 26. Psal. xviii. 46. and innumerable other Places.

The other Thing professed in Swearing into the Lord was Obedience, called walking in the Name of the Lord. Mic. iv. 5. All People will walk every one in the Name of his God, and we will walk in the Name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. Still with the Prefix Beth. Beshem, as They were said to Swear Beshem, in the Name, or into the Name of the Lord.

This Institution, in Deuteronomy, of Swearing into the Name of the Lord, or visibly and explicitly uniting themselves to him in Covenant, was not prescribed as an extraordinary Duty, or a Duty to be performed on a Return from a general Apostacy, and some other extraordinary Oc­casions: But is evidently mention'd in the Institution as a Part of the publick Worship of God to be performed by all God's people, properly belonging to the visible Worshippers of Jehovah; and so 'tis very often mentioned by the Prophets, as I observed before, and could largely de­monstrate, if there were Occasion for it, and would not too much lengthen out this Discourse.

[Page 26] And this was not only an Institution belonging to Israel under the old Testament, but also to Gentile Converts, and Christians under the New-Testament. Thus God declares concerning the Gentile Nations, Jer. xii. 16. If they will diligently learn the Ways of my People, to SWEAR BY MY NAME, THE LORD LIVETH, as they taught my People to Swear by Baal: Then shall they be built in the midst of my People, i. e. They shall be added to my Church; or as the Apostle Paul expresses it, Eph. iii. 19,—22. They shall be no more Strangers & Foreigners, but Fellow Citizens with the Saints, and of the Houshold of God, and be built upon the Founda­tion of Christ; In whom all the BUILDING, fitly framed together &c.— In whom they also shall be BUILDED for an Habitation of God thro' the Spirit. So 'tis foretold, that the Way of publick Covenanting should be the Way of the Gentiles joining themselves to the Church in the Days of the Gospel, Isai. xliv. 3, 4, 5. I will pour Water upon him that is thirsty, and Floods upon the dry Ground; I wid pour my Spirit upon thy Seed, and my Blessing upon thine Offspring, and they shall spring up as among the Cross, as Willows by the Water-Courses; one shall say, I am the Lord's, and another shall call himself by the Name of Jacob, and another shall SUBSCRIBE WITH HIS HAND unto the Lord—As subscribing an Instrument whereby they bound themselves to the Lord. This was Subscribing and Covenanting themselves into the Name of Israel, and Swearing into the Name of the Lord, in the Language of those fore­mentioned Texts in Deuteronomy. So taking hold of God's Covenant, is foretold as the Way in which the Sons of the Stranger in the Days of the Gospel should be join'd to God's Church, and brought into God's Sanctu­ary, and to have Communion in its Worship and Ordinances, in Isai. lvi. 3, 6, 7. So in Isai. xix. 18. The future Conversion of the Gentiles in the Days of the Gospel, and their being brought to profess the true Religion is expressed by That, that they should SWEAR TO THE LORD OF HOSTS. In that Day shall five Cities in the Land of Egypt speak the Language of Canaan, and Swear to the Lord of Hosts. So in Jer.xxiii. 5,—8. It seems to be plainly foretold that after Christ is come and has wrought out his great Redemption, the same Way of publickly pro­fessing Faith in the Alsufficient and immutable God by Swearing, The Lord liveth, should be continued, which was instituted of old; but only with this Difference, that whereas formerly they Covenanted with God us their Redeemer out of Egypt, now they shall as it were forget that Work, and have a special Respect to a much greater Redemption. Behold, the Days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David a righteous Branch—Therefore they shall no more say, The Lord liveth which brought up the children of Israel out of the Land of Egypt; But, The Lord liveth which brought up and which led the Seed of the House of Israel out of the North Country &c. Another remarkable Place wherein it is plainly [Page 27] foretold that the like Method of professing Religion should be continued in the [...] of the Gospel, which was instituted in Israel, by Swearing or [...] Covenanting, is that, Isai. xlv. 22,—25. Look unto me, and be ye [...], all ye Ends of the Earth; for I am God, and there is none else: I have sworn by my self, the Word is gone out of my Mouth in Righ­teousness, and shall not return, that unto me every Knee shall bow, EVERY TONGUE SHALL SWEAR: truly shall one say, In the Lord have I Righ­teousness and Strength: even to Him shall Men come:— In the Lord shall all the Seed of Israel be justified and shall glory. This Prophecy will have its left Fulfilment at the Day of Judgment; but 'tis plain, that the Thing most directly intended is the Conversion of the Gentile World to the Christian Religion. What is here called Swearing, the Apostle in citing this Place once and again calls Confessing; Rom.xiv. 11.— Every Tongue shall confess to God. Phil. ii. 10.— That every Tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Which is the Word commonly used in the New-Testament to signify making a publick Profession of Religion. So Rom. x. 9, 10. If thou shalt confess with thy Mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine Heart, that God hath raised him from the Dead, thou shalt be saved: For with the Heart Man believeth unto Righteousness, and with the Mouth Confession is made unto Salvation. Where a publick Profession of Religion with the Mouth is evidently spoken of as a great Duty of all Christ's People, as well as believing in him; and ordinarily requisite to Salvation; not that it is necessary in the same Manner that Faith is, but in like Manner as Baptism is. Faith and verbal profession are jointly spoken of here as necessary to Salvation, in the same Manner as Faith and Baptism are, in Mar. xvi. 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. And I know no good Reason why we should not look on oral Profession and Covenanting with Christ, in those who are capable of it, as much of a stated Duty in the Christian Church, and an Institution uni­versally pertaining to the Followers of Christ, as Baptism.

And if it be so, that explicit open Covenanting with God be a great Duty required of all, as has been represented; then it ought to be ex­pected of Persons before they are admitted to the Privileges of the Adult in the Church of Christ. Surely it is proper, if this explicit Covenant­ing takes Place at all, that it should take Place before Persons come to those Ordinances wherein they by their own Act publickly confirm and seal this Covenant. This publick Transaction of Covenanting, which God has appointed, ought to be or have an Existence before we publickly confirm and seal this Transaction. It was that by which the Israelites of old were introduced into the Communion of God's nominal or visible Church and holy City; as appears by Isai. xlviii. 1, 2. Hear ye this, O House of Jacob, which ARE CALLED BY THE NAME OF ISRAEL, and are come forth out of the Waters of Judah, WHICH SWEAR BY THE [Page 28] NAME OF THE LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in Truth nor in Righteousness: FOR THEY CALL THEMSELVES OF THE HOLY CITY, &c. When and after what Manner particularly the Israe­lites ordinarily performed this explicit Covenanting, I don't know that we can be certain; but as it was first done on Occasion of God's first Promulgating his Law or Covenant at Mount Sinai, and was done again on Occasion of a Repetition or renew'd Promulgation of it on the Plains of Moob, and was done on Occasion of the publick reading of the Law in Josiah's Time (2 Kings xxiii. 3.) and was done after the Return from the Captivity on Occasion of the publick Reading of it at the Feast of Tabernacles ( Neh. Chap. viii, ix & x.) So it appears to me most likely, that it was done every seventh Year, when the Law of Covenant of God was, by divine Appointment, read in the Audience of all the People at the Feast of Tabernacles; at least done then by all who then heard the Law read the first Time, and who never had heard nor pub­lickly, own'd the Covenant of God before. There are good Evidences that they never had Communion in those Ordinances which God had ap­pointed as Seals of his Covenant, wherein they themselves were to be active, such as their Sacrifices &c. 'till they had done it: 'Tis plainly implied in Psal. 1. that it was the Manner in Israel vocally to own God's Covenant, or to take it into their Mouths, before they seal'd that Covenant in their Sacrifices See ver. 16 taken with the preceeding Part of the Psalm from ver. 5. And that they did it before they partook of the Passover (which indeed was one of their Sacrifices) or entred into the Sanctuary for Communion in the Temple Worship, is confirmed by the Words of Hezekiah when he proclaimed a Passover, 2 Chron.xxx.8. Now be ye not stiff-necked as your Fathers were; But yield your selves­unto the Lord (in the Hebrew, give the Hand to the Lord) and enter into his Sanctuary which he hath sanctified for ever, and serve the Lord your God. To give the Hand, seems to be Hebrew Phrase for entring into Covenant, or obliging themselves by Covenant. Ezra x. 19. And they gave their Hands, that they would put away their Wives. And, as has been already observed, it was foretold that Christians should in this Way be admitted to Communion in the Privileges of the Church of Christ.

Having thus established the Premisses of the Argument I intend, I now come,

Secondly, To that which I think must be the Consequence, viz. That none ought to be admitted to the Privileges of adult Persons in the Church of Christ, but such as make a Profession of real Piety. For the Covenant, to be owned or profess'd, is God's Covenant, which he has revealed as the Method of our spiritual Union with him, and our Acceptance as the Ob­jects of his eternal Favour; which is no other than the Covenant of [Page 29] Grace; at least it is so, without Dispute, in these Days of the Gospel. To own this Covenant, is to profess the Consent of our Hearts to it; and that is the Sum and Substance of true Piety. 'Tis not only a pro­fessing the Assent of our Understandings, that we understand there is Such a Covenant, or that we understand we are obliged to comply with it; but 'tis to profess the Consent of our Wills, it is to manifest that we do comply with it. There is mutual Profession in this Affair, a Pro­fession on Christ's Part, and a Profession on our Part; as it is in Mar­riage. And 'tis the same Sort of Profession that is made on both Sides, in this Respect, that each professes a Consent of Heart: Christ in his Word declares an entire Consent of Heart as to what he offers; and the visible Christian, in the Answer that he makes to it in his Christian Profession, declares a Consent and Compliance of Heart to his Proposal. Owning the Covenant is professing to make the Transaction of that Covenant our own. The Transaction of that Covenant is that of Espousals to Christ; on our Part, it is giving our Souls to Christ as his Spouse: There is no one Thing, that the Covenant of Grace is so often compared to in Scripture, as the Marriage-Covenant; and the visible Transaction, or mutual Profession there is between Christ and the visible Church, is abun­dantly compared to the mutual Profession there is in Marriage. In Marriage the Bride professes to yield to the Bridegroom's Suit, and to take him for her Husband, renouncing all others, and to give up her self to him to be entirely and forever possessed by him as his Wife. But he that professes this towards Christ, professes saving Faith. They that openly covenanted with God according to the Tenor of the Institution, Deut. x.20. they visibly united themselves to God in the Union of that Covenant: They professed on their Parts the Union of the Covenant of God, which was the Covenant of Grace. It is said in the Institution, Thou shalt cleave to the Lord and swear by his Name; or as the Words more literally are, Thou shalt unite into the Lord, and swear into his Name. So in Isai. lvi. 'Tis called a joining themselves to the Lord. But the union, cleaving, or joining of that Covenant is saving Faith, the grand Condition of the Co­venant of Christ, by which we are IN CHRIST: This is what brings us into the Lord. For a Person explicitly or professedly to enter into the Union or Relation of the Covenant of Grace with Christ, is the same as professedly to do that which on our Part is the uniting Act, and that is the Act of Faith. To profess the Covenant of Grace is to profess the Cove­nant, not as a Spectator, but as one immediately concerned in the Affair, as a Party in the Covenant profess'd; and this is to profess that in the Covenant which belongs to us as a Party, or to profess our Part in the Covenant; and that is the Soul's believing Acceptance of the Saviour. Christ's Part is Salvation, our Part is a saving Faith in him; not a feigned, [Page 30] but unfeigned Faith; not a common, but special and saving Faith; no other Faith than this is the Condition of the Covenant of Grace.

I know the Distinction that is made by some, between the internal and external Covenant; but I hope, the Divines that make this Distinction, would not be understood, that there are really and properly two Covenants of Grace; but only that those who profess the one only Covenant of Grace, are of two Sorts; There are those who comply with it internally and really, and others who do so only externally, that is, in Profession and Visibility. But he that externally and visibly complies with the Covenant of Grace, appears & professes to do so really.—There is also this Distinc­tion takes Place concerning the Covenant of Grace; the one only Cove­nant of Grace is exhibited two Ways, the one externally by the Preaching of the Word, the other internally and spiritually by enlightening the Mind rightly to understand the Word. But 'tis with the Covenant, as 'tis with the call of the Gospel: He that really complies with the external Call, has the internal Call; so he that truly complies with the external Proposal of God's Covenant, as visible Christians profess to do, do in­deed perform the inward Condition of it. But the New-Testament affords no more Foundation for supposing two real and properly distinct Cove­nants of Grace, than it does to suppose two Sorts of real Christians; the Unscripturalness of which latter Hypothesis I observed before.

When those Persons who were baptized in Infancy do properly own their baptismal Covenant, the meaning of it is, that they now being be­come capable to act for themselves, do professedly and explicitly make their Parents Act, in giving them up to God, their own, by expresly giving themselves up to God. But this no Person can do, without either being deceived, or dissembling and professing what he himself supposes to be a Falshoood, unless he supposes that he in his Heart consents to be God's. A Child of Christian Parents never does that for himself which his Parents did for him in Infancy, 'till he gives himself wholly to God. But surely he don't do it, who not only keeps back a Part, but the chief Part, his Heart and Soul. He that keeps back his Heart, does in Effect keep back all; and therefore, if he be sensible of it, is guilty of so­lemn wilful Mockery, if he at the same Time solemnly and pub­lickly professes that he gives himself up to God. If there are any Words used by such, which in their proper Signification imply that they give themselves up to God; and if these Words, as they intend them to be understood, and as they are understood by those that hear them, according to their established Use and Custom among that People, don't imply, that they do it really, but do truly reserve or keep back the chief Part; it ceases to be a Profession of giving themselves up to God, and so ceases to be a professed Covenanting with God, or owning God's Cove­nant; for the Thing which they profess, belongs to no Covenant of God, [Page 31] in being; for God has reveal'd no such Covenant, nor has any such Covenant of God any Existence, in which our transacting of the Covenant is a giving up our selves to him with Reserve, or holding back a Part, es­pecially holding back our Souls, our chief Part, and in Effect our All. There is no Covenant of God at all, that has these for its Terms; to be sure, this is not the Covenant of Grace. And therefore altho' such pub­lick and solemn professing may be a very unwarrantable and great Abuse of Words and taking God's Name in vain, 'tis no professed Covenanting with God.

One Thing, as has been observed, that belonged to Israel's Swearing into the Name of the Lord, was saying, the Lord liveth; whereby they professed their Faith in God's Alsufficiency, Immutability and Faithfulness. But if they really had such a Faith, it was a saving Grace. They who indeed trust in the Alsufficiency of God, he will surely be their alsufficient Portion; and they who trust in God's Immutability and Faithfulness, he surely will never leave nor forsake them. There were two Ways of Swearing, Jehovah liveth, that we read of in Scripture; one we read of Jer. ii. 2. Thou shalt Swear, The Lord liveth, in Truth, in Judgment, & in Righteousness: And the other Way is swearing falsely, which we read of in the next Chap.ver. 2.3. And though they say, The Lord liveth, yet surely they Swear falsely. (And certainly none ought to do this.) It follows, O Lord, are not thine Eyes upon the Truth? i. e. God desires Sincerity of Heart in those that profess Religion. Here a gracious Sincerity is op­posed to a false Profession; for when it is said, O Lord, are not thine Eyes upon the Truth? The Expression is parallel with those, Psal. li. 6. Behold thou desirest the Truth in the inward Parts. 1 Sam. xvi. 7. Man looketh on the outward Appearance, but the Lord looketh on the Heart. Psal. xi. 7. His Countenance doth behold the Upright. But these Texts speak of a gra­cious Sincerity. Those spoken of Jer. iv. 2. that swore, The Lord liv­eth, in Truth, in Judgment, and Righteousness, were gracious Persons, who had a thorough Conversion to God, as appears by the preceeding Verse, If thou wilt return, O Israel, Saith the Lord, return unto me. i. e. Don't do as you or Judah was charged with doing in the foregoing Chapter, ver. 10. Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole Heart, but feignedly. Don't do thus, but if thou wilt return, return unto me. And then it is added in the second Verse, And thou shalt swear, the Lord liveth, in Truth &c, that is, Then your Profession of Religion will be worth regarding, you will be indeed what you pretend to be, you will be Israelites indeed, in whose Profession is no Guile. They who said, The Lord liveth, in Truth, in Judgment, and in Righteousness; They said, The Lord liveth, as David did, Psal. xviii. 46. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock. And did as the Apostle says he did, 1 Tim. ix. 10. We trust in the LIVING GOD, who is the Saviour of all Men, specially of those [Page 32] that believe. And as he would have Timothy exhort rich Men to do, Chap.vi.17. That they trust not in uncertain Riches, but in the LIVING GOD. When the Apostle speaks of a Profession, of our Faith in Christ, as one Duty which all Christians ought to perform as they seek Salvation, 'tis the Profession of a saving Faith that he speaks of; His Words plainly imply it. If thou shalt confess with thy Mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine Heart that God hath raised him from the Dead, thou shalt be saved. The Faith which was to be profess'd with the Mouth was the same which the Apostle speaks of as in the Heart, but that is saving Faith. The Latter is yet plaine [...] in the following Words; For with the Heart Man believeth unto Righteousness, and with the Mouth Confession is made unto Salvation. Believing unto Righteousness, is saving Faith; but 'tis evi­dently the same Faith which is spoken of, as profess'd with the Mouth, in the next Words in the same Sentence. And that the Gentiles, in professing the Christian Religion or swearing to Christ, should profess saving Faith, is implied, Isai. xlv. 23, 24.— Every Tongue shall swear; surely shall one say, In the Lord have I Righteousness and Strength. i. e. should profess in­tirely to depend on Christ's Righteousness and Strength.

For Persons meerly to promise, that they will believe in Christ, or that they will hereafter comply with the Conditions and Duties of the Covenant of Grace, is not to own that Covenant. Such Persons don't profess now to enter into the Covenant of Grace with Christ, or into the Relation of that Covenant to Christ. All that they do at present, is only a speaking fair; They say, they will do it hereafter; they profess, that they 'will hereafter obey that Command of God, to believe on the Name of his son Jesus Christ. But what is such a Profession good for, an [...] what Credit is to be given to such Promises of future Obedience; when at the same Time they pretend no other at pre­sent than to live and continue in Rebellion against those great Commands which give no Allowance or Licence for Delay? They who do thus, instead of properly owning the Covenant, do rather for the present visi­bly reject it. 'Tis not unusual, in some Churches, where the Doctrine I oppose has been established, for Persons at the same Time that they come into the Church, and pretend to own the Covenant, freely to de­clare to their Neighbours, they have no Imagination that they have any true Faith in Christ or Love to him. Such Persons instead of being professedly united to Christ, in the Union of the Covenant of Grace, are rather visibly destitute of the Love of Christ; and so, instead of being qua­lified for Admission to the Lord's Supper, are rather exposed to that De­nunciation of the Apostle, [...]Cor. xvi. 22. If any Man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran atha.

That outward Covenanting, which is agreeable to Scripture-Insti­tution, is not only a promissing what is future (tho' that is not excluded) but a professing what is present, as it is in the Marriage-Covenant. (Tho' [Page 33] indeed it is true, that it was chiefly on Account of the Promise or Vow [...] there is in the Covenant, that it is called Swearing.) For a Woman to promise that she will hereafter renounce all other Men for the Sake of him who makes Suit to her, and will in some future Time accept of him for her Husband, is not for her now to enter into the Marriage Covenant with him: She that does this with a Man, professes now to accept of him, renouncing all others; tho' Promises of hereafter behaving to­wards him as a Wise, are also included in the Transaction. It seems as tho' the primitive Converts to Christianity, in the Profession they made of Religion, in order to their Admission into the Christian Church, and in their visibly entring into Covenant in order to the initiating Seal of the Covenant in Baptism, did not explicitly make any Promises of any Thing future, they only profess'd the present Sentiments and Habit of their Minds, they professed that they believed in Christ, and so were admitted into the Church by Baptism; and yet undoubtedly they were, according to fore­mention'd Prophecies, admitted in the Way of publick Covenanting, and as the Covenant-People of God they own'd the Covenant, before the Seal of the Covenant was applied. Their professing Faith in Christ was visi­bly owning the Covenant of Grace, because Faith in Christ was the grand Condition of that Covenant. Indeed, if the Faith which they profess'd in order to Baptism, was only a Historical or Doctrinal Faith (as some suppose) or any common Faith, it would not have been any visi­ble entring into the Covenant of Grace; for a common Faith is not the Condition of that Covenant; nor would there properly have been any Co­venanting in the Case. If we suppose, the Faith they professed was the Grace by which the Soul is united to Christ, their Profession was a cove­nanting in this Respect also, that it implied an Engagement of future Obedience; for true Faith in Christ includes in it's Nature an Accep­tance of him as our Lord and King, and devoting our selves to his Ser­vice: but a Profession of Historical Faith implies no Profession of accept­ing Christ as our King, nor Engagement to submit to him as such.

When the Israelites publickly covenanted with God according to the Institution in Deuteronomy, they did not only promise something future, but profess'd something present; they avouched Jehovah to be their God, and also promised to keep his Commands. Thus it was in that solemn Covenant-Transaction between God and the People on the Plains of Moab; which is summarily described, Deut. xxvi. 17, 18. Thou hast a­vouched the Lord this Day to be thy God, and to walk in his Ways, and to keep his Statures, and his Commandments, and his Judgments, and to hearken unto his Voice; and the Lord hath avouched thee this Day to be his peculiar People, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldst keep all his Command­ments. The People in avouching God for their God, profess'd a compli­ance with the Terms of the Covenant of Grace; as the Covenant of [Page 34] Grace is summarily express'd in those Words, I will be thy God, and thou shalt be my People. They that avouch the Lord to be their God, do pro­fess to accept of Jehovah as their God: and that is to accept him as the Object of their supreme Respect and Trust. For that which we chuss as the Object of our highest Regard, that and that only do we take as our God. None therefore that value and love the World more than Jehovah, can without lying, or being deceived, avouch Jehovah to be their God: And none that don't trust in Christ, but trust more in their own Strength or Righteousness, can avouch Christ to be their Saviour. To avouch God to be our God, is to profess that he is our God by our own Act; i. e. that we chuse him to be our chief Good and last End, the supreme Object of our Esteem and Regard, that we devote our selves to, and depend upon. And if we are sensible that we don't do this sincerely, we can't profess that we actually do it; for he that don't do it sincerely, don't do it at all: There is no Room for the Distinction of a moral Sincerity and gracious Sincerity in this Case: A supreme Respect of Heart to God, or a supreme Love to him, which is Real, is but of one Sort: It would be absurd, to talk of a morally sincere supream Love to God in those who really love Dirt and Dung more than him: Whoever does with any reality at all make God the Object of the supreme Regard of his Heart, i. e. certainly a gracious Person: And whoever don't make God the supreme Object of his Respect with a gracious Sincerity, certainly don't do it with any Sin­cerity. I fear, while leading People in many of our Congregations, who have no Thought of their having the least Spark of true Love to God in their Hearts, to say, publickly and solemnly, that They avouch God the Father, Son, and holy Ghost to be their God, and that They give themselves up to him, we have led 'em to say they know not what. To be sure, they are very obscure Expressions, if they mean any Thing that a carnal Man does, under the reigning Power of Sin and Enmity against God.

Here possibly it may be objected, that it is unreasonable to suppose any such Thing should be intended, in the Profession of the Congregation in the Wilderness, as a gracious Respect to GOD, that which is the Condition of God's Covenant, when we have Reason to think that so few of them were truly gracious. But I suppose, upon mature Consideration this will not appear at all unreasonable. 'Tis no more unreasonable to suppose this People to make a Profession of that Respect to God, which they had not in their Hearts now, than at o [...]er Times when we are informed they did so, as in Ezek. xxxiii. 31. They come unto thee as the People cometh, and they sit before thee as my People [i. e. as tho' they were my Saints, as they profess to be] For with their Mouth they shew much Love, but their Heart g [...]th after their Covetousness. So in the Apostles Time, that People profess'd that to be in their Hearts towards God, which was not there. The Apos­tle is speaking of them, when he says, Tit. i. 16, They profess that they [Page 35] know God, but in Works they deny him. This was common among that People; God declares 'em to be an hypocritical Nation, Isai. x. 6. And 'tis certain, this was the Case with them in the Wilderness; they there profess'd that Respect to God which they had not; as is evident by Psal. lxxviii. 36, 37. They did flatter him with their Mouth, and they lied unto him with their Tongue; For their Heart was not with him, neither were they stedfast in his Covenant. In owning the Covenant with God, they professed their Heart was right with him; as appears, because 'tis mentioned as an Evidence of their having lied or dealt falsely in their Profession, that their Heart was not right with him, and so proved not stedfast in God's Covenant, which they had owned. If their Heart had been right with God, they would have been truly pious Persons; which is a Demonstration, that what they profess'd, was true Piety. It also appears that if they had had such an Heart in them as they pretended to have, they would have been truly pious Per­sons, from Deut. v. where we have a Rehearsal of their Covenanting at Mount Sinai: Concerning this it is said, v. 28, 29. And the Lord heard the Voice of your Words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, They have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such an Heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my Commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their Children forever. The Peo­ple were mistaken about their Disposition and Preparation of Heart to go through the Business of God's Service, as the Man in the Parable, that undertook to build a Tower without counting the Cost. Nor need it seem at all incredible, that that Generation who covenanted at Mount Sinai, should, the greater Part of them, be deceived, and think their Hearts thoroughly disposed to give up themselves forever to God, if we consider how much they had strongly to move their Affections; the Wonders wrought in Egypt and at the Red Sea, where they were led through on dry Ground, and the Egyptians were so miraculously destroyed; whereby their Affections were greatly raised, and they sang God's Praises: And particularly what they now saw at Mount Sinai, of the astonishing Ma­nifestations of God's Majesty there. Probably the greater Part of the Sinners among them were deceived with false Affections; and if there were others that were less affected and who were not deceived, 'tis not incredible that they, in those Circumstances, should wilfully dissemble in their Profession, and so in a more gross Sense flatter God with their Lips, and lie to him with their Tongues. And these Things are more credible concerning that Generation, being a Generation peculiarly left to Hard­ness and Blindness of Mind in divine Matters, and peculiarly noted in the Book of Psalm [...] for Hypocrisy. And as to the Generation of their Chil­dren that own'd the Covenant on the Plains of Moab, they not only in like Manner had very much to move their Affections, the awful Judg­ments [Page 35] of God they had seen on their Fathers, God having brought them through the Wilderness, and subdued Sihon King of the Amorites, and Og the King of Bas [...]an before them, Moses's affecting Rehearsal of the whole Series of God's wonderful Dealings with them, together with his most pathetical Exhortations; but it was also a Time of great revival of Religion and powerful Influence of the Spirit of God, and that Generation was probably the most excellent Generation that ever was in Israel; to be sure, there is more Good and less Hurt spoken of them, than of any other Generation that we have any Account of in Scripture ^* A very great Part of them swore in Truth, in Judgment, and in Righteousness: And no wonder, that others at such a Time fell in, either deceiving, or being deceived, with com­mon Affections; as is usual in Times of great Works of God for his Church, and of the Flourishing of Religion. In succeeding Genera­tions, as the People grew more corrupt, I suppose, their Covenanting or Swearing into the Name of the Lord degenerated into a Matter of meer Form and Ceremony; even as subscribing religious Articles seems to have done with the Church of England; and as, 'tis to be feared, owning the Covenant, as 'tis called, has too much done in New-England; it being visibly a prevailing Custom for Persons to neglect this, 'till they come to be married, and then to do it for their Credit's Sake, and that their Chil­dren may be baptized. And I suppose, there was commonly a great Lax­ness in Israel among the Priests who had the Conduct of this Affair: And there were many Things in the Nature of that comparatively carnal Dispensation, which negatively gave Occasion for such Things; that is, whereby it had by no Means had so great a Tendency to prevent such­like Irregularities, tho' very wrong in themselves, as the more excellent Dispensation, introduced by Christ and his Apostles. And though these Things were testified against by the Prophets, before the Babylonish Cap­tivity; yet God, who is only wise, did designedly in a great Measure wink at these, and many other great Irregularities in the Church, 'till the Time of Reformation should come, which the Messiah was to have the Ho­nour of introducing. But of these Things I may perhaps have Occasion to say something more, when I come to answer the Objection concerning the Passover.

Now to return to the Argument from the Nature of covenanting with God, or owning God's Covenant: As to the Promises, which are herein, either explicitly or implicitly, made; the making these Promises implies a Profession of true Piety. For in the Covenant of Grace universal Obe­dience [Page 37] is engaged, Obedience to all the Commands of God; and the Per­formance of inward spiritual Duties is as much engaged in the Covenant of Grace, as external Duties; and in some Respects much more. There­fore he that visibly makes the Covenant of Grace his own, promises to perform those internal Duties, and to perform all Duties with a gracious Sincerity. We have no Warrant; in our Profession of God's Covenant, to divide the Duties of it, to take some and leave out others: Especially have we not Warrant to leave out those great Commands of believing with the Heart, of loving the Lord our God with all our Heart and with all our Soul, and our Neighbour as our selves: He that leaves out these, in Effect leaves out all; for these are the Sum of our whole Duty, and of all God's Commands: If we leave these out of our Profession, surely it is not the Covenant of Grace, which we profess. The Israelites when they covenanted with God at Mount Sinai, and said, when God had declared to 'em the ten Commandments, All that the Lord hath spoken will we do and be obedient; their Promise implied, that as they professed to know God, they wou'd in Works not deny, but own and honour him, and would be care­ful to conform to those two great Commandments, which are the Sum of all the ten, and concerning which God said, These Words which I command thee this Day, shall be in thine Heart. Deut. vi. 7.—So, when they cove­nanted on the Plains of Moab, they promised to keep and do God's Com­mands with all their Heart and with all their Soul, as is very evident by Deut. xxvi. 16, 17. So it was also when the People own'd their Covenant in Asa's Time, 2 Chron. xv. 12. They entred into a Covenant to seek the Lord God of their Fathers with all their Heart and with all their Soul. We have also another remarkable Instance, 2 Kings xxiii. 3. & 2 Chronicles xxxiv. 31.

Now he who is wholly under the Power of a carnal Mind, which is not subject to the Law of God, nor indeed can be, cannot promise these Things without either great Deceit, or the most manifest and palpable Absurdity. Promising supposes the Person to be conscious to himself, or perswaded of himself, that he has such an Heart in him; for his Lips pretend to de­clare his Heart. The Nature of a Promise implies Intention or Design: And proper real Intention implies Will, Disposition and Compliance of Heart. But no natural Man is properly willing to do these Duties, nor does his Heart comply with them: and to make natural Men believe otherwise, tends greatly to their Hurt. A natural Man may be willing, from Self-love and from sinister Views, to use Means and take Pains that he may obtain a Willingness or Disposition to these Duties: but that is a very different Thing from actually being Willing, or truly having a Disposition to them. So he may promise, that he will, from some Considerations or other, take great Pains to obtain such a Heart: But if he does so, this is not the Promise of the Covenant of Grace. Men may make many reli­gious [Page 38] Promises to God, and many Promises some Way relating to the Co­venant of Grace, that are not themselves the Promises of that Covenant; nor is there any Thing of the Nature of Covenanting in the Case, because altho' they should actually fulfil their Promises, God is not obliged by Promise to them. If a natural Man Promises to do all that it is possible for a natural Man to do in Religion, and fulfills his Promises, God is not obliged, by any Covenant that he has entred into with Man, to perform any Thing at all for him, respecting his saving Benefits. And therefore he that pro­mises these Things only, enters into no Covenant with God; because the very Notion of entring into Covenant with any Being, is entring into a mutual Agreement, doing or engaging that which, if done, the other Party becomes engaged on his Part. The New-Testament informs us but of one Covenant, God enters into with Mankind through Christ, and that is the Covenant of Grace; in which God obliges himself to nothing in us that is exclusive of unfeigned Faith, and the spiritual Duties that attend it: Therefore if a natural Man makes never so many Vows, that he will per­form all external Duties, and will pray for Help to do spiritual Duties, and for an Ability and Will to comply with the Covenant of Grace from such Principles as he has, he do's not lay hold of God's Covenant, nor properly enter into any Covenant with God: For we have no Opportunity to co­venant with God in any other Covenant, than that which he has revealed; he becomes a Covenant-Party in no other Covenant. 'Tis true, every natural Man that lives under the Gospel, is obliged to comply with the Terms of the Covenant of Grace; and if he promises to do it, his Promise may increase his Obligation, tho' he flattered God with his Mouth and lied to him with his Tongue, as the Children of Israel did in promising. But it will not thence follow, that they ought knowingly to make a lying Promise, or that Ministers and Churches should countenance them in so doing.

Indeed there is no natural Man but what deceives himself, if he thinks he is truly willing to perform external Obedience to God, universally and perseveringly through the various Trials of Life that he may expect. And therefore in promising it, he is either very deceitful, or is like the foolish deceived Man that undertook to build when he had not wherewith to finish. And if it be known by the Church, before whom the promises to build and finish, that at the same Time he don't pretend to have an Heart to finish, his Promise is worthy of no Credit or Regard from them, and can make nothing visible to 'em but his Presumption.

A great Confirmation of what has been said under this Head of cove­nanting, is that Text, Psal. 1. 16. But unto the Wicked God saith, What hast thou to do, to declare my Statutes, or that thou shou [...]est take my Covenant in thy Mouth? This Term, the Wicked, in the more general Use of it in Scripture, is apply'd in that Extent as to include all ungodly or graceless Persons, all that are under the reigning Power of Sin, and are the Objects [Page 39] of God's Anger, or exposed to his eternal Vengance; as might easily be made to appear by a particular Enumeration of Texts all over the Bible. All such are in Scripture called Workers of Iniquity, The Children of the wicked one. Matth. xiii. 38. All such are said to be of the Devil, [...] Joh. iii. 8. And to be the Children of the Devil, ver.10. The righteous and the wicked are in a multitude of Places in Scripture put in Opposition; and they are evidently opposed one to the other, and distinguished one from another in Scripture, as Saints and Sinners, holy and unholy, those that Fear God and those that Fear him not, those that love him and those that hate him. All Mankind are in Scripture divided by these Distinctions, and the Bible knows of no Neuters or third Sort. Indeed those who are really Wicked, may be visibly Righteous, Righteous in Profession and outward Appearance: But a Sort of Men who have no saving Grace, that yet are not really wick­ed Men, are a Sort of Men of human Invention, that the Scripture is entirely Ignorant of. 'Tis reasonable, to suppose, that by wicked Men here in this Psalm is meant all that hate Instruction, and reject God's Word (v. 17.) and not meerly such wicked Men as are guilty of those particular Crimes mention'd, ver.17,—20. Stealing, Adultery, Fraud and Backbiting. Tho' only some particular Ways of Wickedness are mention'd, yet we are not to understand that all others are excluded; yea the Words, in the Conclusion of the Paragraph, are expresly applied to all that forget God in such a Manner as to expose themselves to be torn in Pieces by God's Wrath in Hell, v. 22. Now consider this, ye that forget God, left I tear you in Pieces, and there be none to deliver. We can no more justly argue, that because some gross Sins are here specified, that no Sinners are meant but such as live in those or other gross Sins, than we can argue from Rev. xxii. 14, 15. That none shall be shut out of Heaven but only those who have lived in the gross Sins there mention'd; Blessed are they that do his Com­mandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the Gates into the City: For without are Dogs, and Sorcerers, and Murderers, and Idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Nothing is more common in Scripture, than in the Descriptions is gives, both of the godly and the ungodly, together with their general Character, to in­sert into the Description some particular excellent Practices of the one which Grace tends to, and some certain gross Sins of the other which there is a Foundation for in the reigning Corruption in their Hearts. So, Lying is mention'd as Part of the Character of all natural Men, Psal. lviii. 3, 4. (Who are there called wicked Men, as in Ps. 1.) The wicked are estranged, from the Womb; they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking Lies; Their Poison is like the Poison of a Serpent, &c. So it is said of the Wicked, Psal. x. 2, 3, 4, 7. His Mouth is full of Cursing and Bitterness. This the Apostle, Rom iii. cites as a Description of all natural Men. So it is said of the wicked, Psal, cxi. 3. They have [...] their Tongues [Page 40] as a Serpent, Adder's Poison is under their Lips; which the same Apostle in the same Place also cites as what is said of all natural Men. The very same gross Sins which are here mention'd in the fiftieth Psalm, are from Time to Time inserted in Solomon's Descriptions of the wicked Man, as opposed to the Righteous, in the Book of Proverbs: particularly the Sins mention'd in the 19th ver.of that Psalm, Thou givest thy Mouth to Evil, and thy Tongue frameth Deceit; are thus mention'd, as belonging to the Character of the wicked Man, Prov. xii. The Thoughts of the Righteous are right; but the Counsels of the Wicked are Deceit. The Words of the Wicked are to lie in wait for Blood; but the Mouth of the Upright shall deli­ver them. Nevertheless 'tis plain, that the wise Man in this Book, in his Distinction of the Righteous and the Wicked, means the same as Godly and Ungodly. Only reading the two foregoing Chapters will be enough to satisfy any of this. Observe Chap. x. 3, 7, 16, 20, 21, 24, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32. Chap. xi. 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 30, 31. Be­sides innumerable other like Texts all over the Book. In Chap. i. 16. 'tis said of Sinners, Their Feet run to Evil, and make haste to shed Blood. This the Apostle in Rom. iii. 15. cites as belonging to the Description of all natural Me [...]. So in the Description of the Wicked, Prov. iv. 14—19. 'Tis said, that they s [...]eep not unless they have done Mischief, that they drink the Wine of Violence, &c. and yet by the wicked there is meant the same with the graceless Man; as appears by the Antithesis, there made between him and the just or righteous whose Path is as the shining Light which shi­neth more and more to the perfect Day.

As a further Evidence that by the Wicked in this Psal. l. 16. is meant the same as the Ungodly or Graceless, it is to be observ'd, here is a pretty ma­nifest Antithesis, or Opposition between the Wicked, and the Saints, that shall be gathered to Christ at the Day of Judgment, spoken of ver. 5. There God speaking of his coming to Judgment, says Gather my SAINTS together, those that have made a COVENANT with me by Sacrifice: And then after shewing the Insufficiency of the Sacrifices of Beasts, implying that That is a greater Sacrifice by which these Saints make a COVENANT with him, it is added, But to the Wicked [that are not in the Number of my Saints] God doth say, What hast thou to do, to take my COVENANT into thy Mouth? Approving of the Covenanting of the former, but disap­proving the Covenanting of the latter. As to the gathering of God's Saints, there spoken, if we consider the foregoing and following Verses, it is evi­dently the same with that gathering of his Elect, when Christ comes in the Clouds of Heaven, which is spoken of, Matt. xxiv. 30. 31. And with that gathering of the Righteous, as his Wheat, into his Barn, at the Day of Judgment, spoken of Matt. xiii. And therefore there is as much Reason to suppose, that by the Wicked, which are opposed to them, is meant all graceless Persons, as there is so to understand the Do [...]rs of Iniquity, spoken [Page 41] of in that Matth. xiii. as those that are opposed to the Righteous, which shall then shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father, v. 43.—And there is one Thing more which still further confirms me in my Construc­tion of Psal l. 16. Which is, That the plain Reason here given against wicked Men's taking God's Covenant into their Mouths, holds good with Respect to all graceless Men, viz. Because they don't comply with, but reject the very Covenant, which they with their Mouths profess to own and consent to. ver.17. Seeing thou hatest Instruction, & castest my Words behind thee: As much as to say, ‘Thou rejectest and hast a reigning Enmity against my Statutes, which thou declarest and professeft a Compliance with.’ And this is the Spirit and Practice of all who live in the Sin of Unbelief and Rejection of Christ; they live in a Way that is altoge­ther inconsistent with the Covenant of Grace; for the Sum and sub­stance of the Condition and Engagement of that Covenant is what every natural Man is under the reigning Power of Enmity against, and lives in Contradiction to. Therefore, I think, it follows, that they who know it is thus with them, have nothing to do to take God's Covenant into their Mouths; or in other Words, have no Warrant to do this, until it be otherwise with them.

III. The Nature of Things seems to afford no great Reason why the People of Christ should not openly profess a proper Respect to him in their Hearts, as well as a true Notion of him in their Heads, or a right Opinion of him in their Judgments.

I can conceive of Nothing reasonably to be supposed the Design or End of a publick Profession of Religion, that don't as much require a Pro­fession of Honour, Esteem and Friendship of Heart towards Christ, as an orthodox Opinion about him; or why the former should not be as much expected and required in order to a being admitted into the Company of his Friends and Followers, as the Latter: it can't be because the former in it self is not as important, and as much to be look'd at, as the latter; seeing the very Essence of Religion itself consists in the former, and without it the latter is wholly vain, and makes us never the better; neither happier in our selves, nor more acceptable to God.—One End of a publick Profession of Religion is the giving publick Honour to God; But surely the Profession of inwrrd Esteem and a supreme Respect of Heart towards God is as agreeable to this Design, and more directly tending to it, that the declaring of right speculative Notions of him. We look upon it that our Friends do the more especially and directly put Ho­nour upon us, when upon proper Occasions they stand ready not only to own the Truth of such and such Facts concerning us, but also to testify their high Esteem and cordial and entire Regard to us. When Persons only manifest their doctrinal Knowledge of Things of Religion, and [Page 42] express the assent of their Judgments, but at the same Time make no Pretence to any other than a being wholly destitute of all true Love to God, and a being under the Dominion of Enmity against him, their Pro­fession is, in some Respects, very greatly to God's Dishonour: For they leave Reason for the Publick greatly to suspect that they hold the Truth in Unrighteousness, and that they are some of those that have both soon and hated Christ and his Father, Joh. xv. 24. Who of all Persons have the greatest Sin, and are most to God's Dishonour.

I am at a Loss, how that Visibility of Saintship, which the honoured Au­thor of the Appeal to the Learned, supposes to be all that is required in order to Admission to the Lord's Supper, can be much to God's Honour, viz. Such a Visibility as leaves Reason to believe, that the greater Part of those who have it, are Enemies to God in their Hearts, and inwardly the Servants of Sin. Such a Visibility of Religion as this, seems rather to in­crease a Visibility of Wickedness in the World, and so of God's Dishonour, than any Thing else; i. e. it makes more Wickedness visible to the Eye of an human Judgment, and gives Men Reason to think, there is more Wickedness in the World, than otherwise would be visible to them: Be­cause we have Reason to think, that those who live in a Rejection of Christ, under the Light of the Gospel, and the Knowledge and common Belief of it's Doctrine, have vastly greater Sin and Guilt than other Men. And that venerable Divine himself did abundantly teach this.

Christ came into the World to engage in a War with God's Enemies, Sin and Satan; and a great War there is maintain'd between them; which War is concerning us; and the Contest is, who shall have the Possession of OUR HEARTS. Now 'tis reasonable, under these Cir­cumstances, that we should declare on whose Side we are, whether on Christ's Side, or on the Side of his Enemies. If we would be admitted a­mong Christ's Friends and Followers, 'tis reasonable, that we should profess we are on the Lord's Side, and that we yield OUR HEARTS (which the Contest is about) to him, and not to his Rivals. And this seems plainly to be the Design and Nature of a publick Profession of Christ. If this Profession is not made, no Profession is made, that is worth regard­ing, or worth the making, in such a Case as this is, and to any such Purpose as a being admitted among his visible Friends. There is no other being on Christ's Side, in this Case, but a being so with an undivided Heart, preferring him to all his Rivals, and renouncing 'em all for his Sake. The Case admits of no Neutrality, or Luke-warmness, or a middle Sort of Persons with a moral Sincerity, or such a common Faith as is consistent with loving Sin and the World better than Christ. He that is not with me (says Christ) is against me. And therefore none do profess to be on Christ's Side, but they who profess to renounce his Rivals. For those who would be called Christians, to profess no higher Regard to Christ than [Page 43] what will admit of a superior Regard to the World, is more absurd than if a Woman pretending to marry a Man, and take him for her Husband, should profess to take him in some Sort, but yet not pretend to take him in such a Manner as is inconsistent with her allowing other Men a fuller Possession of her, & greater Intimacy with her, than she allows him. The Nature of the Case, as it stands between us and Jesus Christ, is such that an open solemn Profession of being entirely for him, and giving him the Possession of our Hearts, renouncing all Competitors, is more requisite in this Case, than a like Profession in any other Case. The Profession [...] intermediate Sort of State of our [...]ind, is very disagreeable to the [...] of Christ's Errand, Work, and Kingdom in the World, and all that be­longs to the Designs and Ends of h [...] [...]ministrations; and for Minist [...] and Churches openly to establish such a Kind of Profession of Christ [...] Part of his publick Service, which don't imply a Pretence of any more than Luke-warmness, is (I fear) to make a meer Sham of a solemn publick Profession of Christianity, and seems to be wholly without Wa [...]ant from the Word of God, and greatly to God's Dishonour.

It can't be justly here pretended, as a Reason why the Opinion con­cerning Doctrines should be profess'd, and not Friendship or Respect of Heart, that the former is more easily discerned and known by us, than the latter. For tho' it be true, that Men may be at a Loss concerning the latter, yet it's as true they may be so concerning the former too. They may be at a Loss in many Cases concerning the Fulness of the Determination of their own Inclination and Choice; and so they may concerning the Fulness of the Determination of their Judgment. I know of nothing in human Nature that hinders the Acts of Men's Wills being properly subject to their own Consciousness, any more than the Acts, of their Judgment; nor of any Reason to suppose that Men mayn't discern their own Consent, as well as their Assent. The Scripture plainly supposes gracious Dispositions and Acts to be Things properly under the Eye of Conscience. 2 Cor. xiii. 5. Know ye not your own selves? Joh. xxi. 15. Simon Son of Jonas, lovest thou me? and many other Places. Nor is the Nature of Godliness less made known, than the true Doctrines of Religion. Piety of Heart, in the more essential Things belonging to it, is as clearly revealed, as the Doctrines concerning the Nature of God, the Person of the Messiah, and the Method of his Redemption.

IV. We find in Scripture, that all those of God's professing People or visible Saints who are not truly pious, are represented as Counterfeits, as hav­ing Guile, Disguise, and a false Appearance, as making false Pretences, and as being Deceitful and Hypocrites.—Thus Christ says of Nathanael, Joh. 1.47. Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no Guile; that is, a truly gracious Person: implying, that those of God's professing People, who [Page 44] are not gracious, are guileful, and deceitful in their Profession. So Sin­ners in Zion, or in God's visible Church, are called Hypocrites, Isai. xxxiii. 14. The Sinners in Zion are afraid, Fearfulness hath surprized the Hypo­crites. Isai. xi. 17. Every one is an Hypocrite and an Evil-Doer. So they are called lying Children, Isai. xxx. 9. and Chap. lix. 13. and are represented as Lying in pretending to be of the Temple or Church of God. Jer. vii. 2, 4. Hear the Word of the Lord, all ye of Judah that enter in at these Gates to worship the Lord,—Trust ye not in lying Words, saying, The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord are these. They are spoken of as falsly calling themselves of the holy City, Isai. xlviii. 1, 2. They are called Silver-Dross, and [...]obate or refuse Silver (Ezek. xxii. 18. Jer. iv. 30.) which glisters [...] shows like true Silver, but has not it's inward Worth. So they are compared to adulte­rated Wine, Isai. i, 22. and to Trees full of Leaves, bidding fair for Fruit­fulness, Mat. xxi. 19. Clouds that look as if they were full of Rain, ye bring nothing but Wind, Jud. 12. Wells without Water, that do but cheat the thirsty Traveller, 2 Pet. ii. 13. A deceitful Bow, that appears good, but fails the Archer, Psal. lxxviii. 57. Hos. vii. 16.—Mr. Stoddard, in his Appeal to the learned, from Time to Time supposes all visible Saints who are not truly pious, to be Hypocrites, as in Pag. 15, 17, & 18.

Now what Ground or Reason can there be thus to represent those as visible Saints, or Members of God's visible Church, who are not truly pious, if the Profession of such don't imply any Pretence to true Piety: and when they never made a Pretence to any Thing more than common Grace, or moral sincerity, which many of them truly have, and therefore are not at all Hypocritical or deceitful in their Pretences, and are as much without Guile in what they make a Profession of, as Nathanal was? The Psalmist speaking of sincere Piety, calls it the Truth in the inward Parts. Psal. li. Behold, thou desirest the Truth in the inward Parts. It is called Truth with Reference to some Declaration or Profession made by God's visible People: But on the Hypothesis which I oppose, common Grace is as pro­perly the Truth in the inward Parts, in this Respect, as saving Grace. God says concerning Israel, Deut. xxxii. 5. Their Spot is not the Spot of his Children. God here speaks of himself as it were disappointed: The Words have Reference to some Profession they had made: For why should this Remark be made after this Manner, that there were Spots appeared upon them, shrewd Marks that they were not his Children, if they never pretended to be his Children, and never were accepted under any such Notion to any of the Privileges of his People?

God is pleased to represent himself in his Word as tho' he trusted the Profession of his visible People, and as disappointed when they did not ap­prove themselves as his faithful, stedfast and thorough Friends. Isai. lxiii. 8, 9, 10. For he said, surely they are my People, Children that will [Page 45] not lie. So he was their Saviour: In all their [...] he was afflicted. But they rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit; therefore he was turned to be their Enemy. The same is represented in many other Places. I suppose that God speaks after this Manner, because he in his present external Dealings with his visible People, don't act in the Capacity of the Searcher of Hearts, but accommodates himself to their Nature, and the present State and Circumstances of his Church, and speaks to them and treats them after the Manner of Men, and deals with them in their own Way. But supposing the Case to be even thus, there would be no Ground for such Representations if there were no Profession of true Godliness. When God is represented as trusting that Men will be his faithful Friends, we must understand that he trusts to their Pretences. But how improperly would the Matter be so represented, if there were no Pretences to trust to, no Pretences of any real thorough Friendship? However there may be a Profession of some common Affection that is morally Sincere, yet there is no Pretence of loving him more than, yea not so much as his Ene­mies. What Reason to trust that they will be faithful to God as their Master, when the Religion they profess amounts to no more than serving two Masters? What Reason to trust that they will be stable in their Ways, when they don't pretend to be of a single Heart, and all know that the double-minded Persons used to be unstable in all their Ways? Those who only profess moral Sincerity or common Grace, don't pretend to love God above the World. And such Grace is that God and Man know is liable to pass away as the early Dew and the Morning Cloud. If what Men profess amounts to nothing beyond Lukewarmness, it is not to be expected, that they will be faithful to the Death. If Men don't pretend to have any Oyl in their Vessels, what Cause can there be to trust that their Lamps will not go out? If they don't pretend to have any Root in them, what Cause is there for any Disappointment when they wither away?

When God in the forementioned Place Isai. lxiii. represents himself as trusting Isael's Profession, and saying, Surely they are my People, Children that will not lie; It can't be understood, as if he trusted that they were his People in that Sense, in which the ten Tribes were called God's Peo­ple after they had given up themselves to Idolatry for two or three Hun­dred Years together without once repenting: But surely they are my sincere Saints and Children, as they profess to be, Israelites indeed, without Guile; for surely they would not do so evil a Thing as to make a lying Profession. This seems to be the plain Import of the Words: It there­fore shews that the Profession they made was of real vital Godliness.

V. The eight first Verses of the lvi. Chap. of Isaiah, I think, afford good Evidence, that such Qualifications are requisite in order to a due [Page 46] coming to the Privileges of a visible Church-State, as I have insisted on.—In the four preceeding Chapters we have a Prophecy of Gospel-Times, the blessed State of Things which the Messiah should introduce. The Prophecy of the same Times is continued in the former Part of this Chap­ter. Here we have a Prophecy of the abolishing of the ceremonial Law, which was a Wall of Separation, that kept two Sorts of Persons, viz. Eunuchs and Gentiles, out from the Ordinances of the Church or Congre­gation of the Lord (for the Words Congregation and Church are the same) the Place of whose Meeting was in God's House, within God's Walls, ( Ver. 5.) and on God's holy Mountain, v. 7. That in the Ceremonial Law, which especially kept out the Gentiles, was the Law of Circumcision; and the Law that the Eunuch shall not enter into the Congregation or Church of the Lord, we have in Deut. xxiii. 1. Now here it is foretold that in the Days when God's Salvation shall be come, and his Righteousness re­vealed, by the coming of the Messiah, this Wall of Separation should be broken down, this Ceremonial Law removed out of the Way (But still taking Care to note, that the Law of the Sabbath shall be continued, as not being one of those ceremonial Observances which shall be abolished) and then it is declared what is the great Qualification, which should be looked at in those blessed Days, when these external ceremonial Qua­lifications of Circumcision and Soundness of Body should no more be in­sisted on, viz. Piety of Heart and Practice, ‘Joining themselves to the Lord, loving the Name of the Lord, to be his Servants, chusing the Things that please him, &c, ver.3. &c. Neither let the Son of the Stran­ger that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath ut­terly separated me from his People; neither let the Eunuch say, Be­hold, I am a dry Tree; For thus faith the Lord unto the Eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and chuse the Things that please me, and take hold of my Covenant, even unto them will I give in my House, and within my Walls, a Place, and a Name better than of Sons and of Daughters; I will give unto them an Everlasting Name, that shall not be cut off. Also the Sons of the Stranger that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the Name of the Lord, to be his Servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my Covenant: Even them will I bring to my holy Mountain, and make them joyful in my House of Prayer; their Burnt-Offerings and their Sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine Altar: For mine House shall be called an House of Prayer for all People. The Lord God which gathered the Outcasts of Israel, faith, Yet will I gather others to him besides those that are gathered unto him.’

VI. The Representations which CHRIST makes of his visible Church, from Time to Time, in his Discourses and Parables, make the Thing manifest which I have laid down.

[Page 47] As particularly the Representation which Christ makes in the latter End of Matth. vii. of the final Issue of Things with Respect of the diffe­rent Sorts of Members of his visible Church: Those that only say, Lord, Lord, and those who do the Will of his Father which is in Heaven; those who build their House upon a Rock, and those who build upon the Sand. They are all (of both Kinds) evidently such as have pretended to an high Ho­nour and Regard to Christ, have claimed an Interest in him, and accord­ingly hoped to be finally acknowledged and received as some of his. Those visible Christians who are not true Christians, for the present cry Lord, Lord; that is, are forward to profess Respect, and claim Relation to him; and will be greatly disappointed hereafter in not being own'd by him. They shall then come and cry Lord, Lord. This Compellation, Lord, is commonly given to Jesus Christ in the New-Testament, as signifying the special Relation which Christ stood in to his Disciples, rather than his universal Dominion. They shall then come and earnestly claim Relation, as 'tis represented of Israel of old, in the Day of their Distress and God's awful Judgments upon them, Hos. viii. 2. Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee. To know don't here intend speculative Knowledge, but knowing as one knows his own, has a peculiar Respect to, and owns and has an Interest in. These false Disciples shall not only claim Interest in Christ, but shall plead and bring Arguments to confirm their Claim; Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy Name, and in thy Name have cast out Devils, and in thy Name have done many wonderful Works? 'Tis evi­dently the Language of those that are dreadfully disappointed. Then (says Christ) I will profess unto them, I never knew you; Depart from me, ye that work Iniquity. q. d. ‘'Tho they profess a Relation to me, I will profess none to them; tho' they plead that they know me, and have an Interest in me, I will declare to them that I never own'd them as any of mine; and will bid 'em depart from me as those that I will never own, nor have any Thing to do with in such a Relation as they claim.’ Thus all the Hopes they had lived in of being hereafter receiv'd and own'd by Christ, as in the Number of his Friends and Fa­vourites, are dash'd in Pieces.—This is further illustrated by what follows in the Comparison of the Wise Man who built his House on a Rock; representing those professed Disciples who build their Hope of an Interest in him on a sure Foundation, whose House shall stand in the trying Day, and the Foolish Man who built his House on the Sand; representing those professed Disciples or Hearers of his Word, who build their Opinion and Hope of an Interest in him on a false Foundation, whose House in the great Time of Trial shall have a dreadful Fall, their vain Hope shall issue in dismal Disappointment and Confusion.

On the whole, 'tis manifest that all visible Christians or Saints, all Christ's professing Disciples or Hearers that profess him to be their Lord, [Page 48] according to the Scripture-Notion of professing Christ, are such profess a saving Interest in him and Relation to him, and live in the Hope of being hereafter own'd as those that are so interested and related.—By those that hear Christ's Sayings, in this Place, are not meant meerly Auditors of the Word preached; for there are many such who make no Pretence to an Interest in Christ, and have no such Hope or Opinion built on any Foun­dation at all: but those who profess to hearken to, believe and yield Sub­mission to the Word of Christ. This is confirmed by the Manner in which the Matter is express'd in Luke vi. Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: i. e. Whosoever visibly comes to me, and is one of my professed Disciples, &c.

This Matter is confirmed by that parallel Representation that Christ gives us in Luke xiii. 25.—29. of his final Disposal of the two different Sorts of Persons that are in the Kingdom or Church of God; viz. those who shall be allowed in his Church or Kingdom when it comes to its State of Glory, and those who, tho' they have visibly been in it, shall be thrust out of it. 'Tis represented of the latter, that they shall then come and claim Relation and Interest, and cry, Lord, Lord, open to us; and Christ shall answer, and say, I know you not whence you are. As much as to say "Why do you claim Relation and Acquaintance with me? You are Strangers to me, I don't own you." Then (it is said) They shall begin to say, We have eaten and drank in thy Presence, and thou hast taught in our Streets. As much as to say, "This is a strange Thing, that thou dost not own us! We are exceedingly surprized, that thou shouldst account us as Strangers that have no Part in thee, when we have eaten and drank in thy Presence, &c."—And when he shall finally insist upon it, that he don't own them and will have nothing to do with them as his, then there shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth; then they shall be fill'd with dismal Disappointment, Confusion and Despair, when they shall see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God, with whom they expected to dwell forever there, and they themselves thrust out. By this it is evident, that those visible Members of the Kingdom of God, that hereafter shall be cast out of it, are such as look upon themselves now inter­ested in Christ and the eternal Blessings of his Kingdom, and make that Profession.

The same is manifest by the Parable of the ten Virgins, Matth. xxv. In the first Verse it is said, The Kingdom of Heaven [i. e. the Church of Christ] is liken'd unto Ten Virgins. The two Sorts of Virgins evidently represent the two Sorts of Members of the visible Church of Christ; the Wise, those who are true Christians; and the Foolish, those who are apparent, but not true Christians. The foolish Virgins were to all Appearance the Children of the Bride-Chamber; they were such as to Appearance had ac­cepted of the Invitation to the Wedding, which represents the Invitations [Page 49] of the Gospel, wherein the Bridegroom and Bride say, Come; they herein had testified the same Respect to the Bridegroom and Bride, that the Wise had: the Parable naturally leads us to suppose, that they were to Appear­ance every Way of the same Society with the Wise, pretended to be the same Sort of Persons, in like Manner interested in the Bridegroom, and that they were received by the Wise under such a Notion; they made a Profession of the very same Kind of Honour and Regard to the Bridegroom in going forth to meet him with their Lamps, as his Friends to shew him Respect, and had the same Hope of enjoying the Privileges and Enter­tainments of the Wedding: There was a difference with Respect to Oil in their Vessels, but there was no difference with Respect to their Lamps. One Thing intended by their Lamps, as I suppose is agreed by all, is their Profession. This is the same in both; and in both it is a Profession of Grace, as a Lamp (from its known End and Use) is a Manifestation or shew of Oil. Another Thing signified by the Blaze of their Lamps seems to be the Light of Hope: Their Lamps signify in general the Appearance of Grace or Godliness, including both the Appearance of it to the View or Judgment of others, and also to their own View, and the Judgment they entertain of themselves: Their Lamps shone, not only on the Eyes of others, but also in their own Eyes. This is confirmed, because on the hearing the Midnight-Cry, they find their Lamps are gone out; which seems most naturally to represent this to us, that however Hypocrites may main­tain their Hopes while they live, and while their Judge is at a Distance, yet when they come to be alarmed by the Sound of the last Trumpet, their Hopes will immediately expire and vanish away, and very often fail them in the sensible Approaches of Death. Where is the Hope of the Hy­pocrite, when God takes away his Soul? But 'till the Midnight-Cry the foolish Virgins seem to entertain the same Hopes with the Wise; when they first went forth with the wise Virgins, their Lamps shone in their own Eyes and in the Eyes of others, in like Manner with the Lamps of the wise Virgins.—So that by this Parable it also appears, that all visible Mem­bers of the Christian Church or Kingdom of Heaven are those that pro­fess to be gracious Persons, as looking on themselves, and seeming, or at least pretending to be such.

And that true Piety is what Persons ought to look at in themselves as the Qualification that is a proper Ground for them to proceed upon, in coming into the visible Church of Christ and taking the Privileges of its Members, I think, is evident also from the Parable of the Marriage, which the King made for his Son, Matth. xxii. Particularly the 11th and 12th Verses, And when the King came in to see the Guests, he saw there a A [...]an which had not on a Wedding-Garment: And he faith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither, not having a Wedding-Garment? And he was Steechless.—Mr. Stoddard says ( Appeal, Pag. 4, 5.) ‘Here is a Repre­sentation [Page 50] of the Day of Judgment; and such Persons as come for Salvation without a Wedding-Garment shall be rejected in that Day. So that here being nothing sai [...] about the Lord's Supper, all arguing from this Scripture falls to the Ground.’ Upon which I take Leave to observe, that the King's coming in to see the Guests, means Christ's visiting his professing Church at the Day of Judgment, I make [...]o Doubt: But that the Guests coming into the King's House means Persons coming for Salvation at the Day of Judgment, I am not convinced. If it may properly be represented, that any Reprobates will come for Salvation at the Day of Judgment, they won't do so before the King appears; But Christ will appear first, and then they will come and cry to him for Salva­tion. Whereas, in this Parable, the Guests are represented as gathered together in the King's House before the King appears, and the King as coming in and finding 'em there; where they had entred while the Day of Grace lasted, while the Door was kept open, and Invitations given forth; and not like those who come for Salvation at the Day of Judgment, Luke xiii. 25. who came after the Door is shut, and stand without, knocking at the Door. I think, it is apparent beyond all Contradiction, that by the Guests coming into the King's House at the Invitation of the Servants, is intended Jews and Gentiles coming into the Christian Church, at the Preaching of Christ's Apostles and others, making Profession of Godliness and expecting to partake of the eternal Marriage-Supper. I shewed before, that that which is called the House of God in the New-Testament, is his Church. Here in this Parable the King first sends forth his Servants to call them that were bidden and they would not come; and they having repeatedly rejected the Invitation and evil intreated the Servants, the King sent forth his Armies and burnt up their City; representing the Jews being first invited, and rejecting the Invitations of the Gospel, and persecuting Christ's Ministers, and so provoking God to give up Jerusalem and the Nation to Destruction. Then the King sends forth his Servants into the high Ways, to call in all Sorts; upon which many flocked into the King's House; hereby most plainly representing the Preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, and their flocking into the Christian Church. This gathering of the Gentiles into the King's House, is BEFORE the Day of Judgment, and the Man without the Wedding-Garment among them. It fitly represents the Resorting that should be to the Christian Church, dur­ing the Day of Grace, through all Ages; but by no Means signifies Men's coming for Salvation after the Day of Grace is at an End, at Christ's appearing in the Clouds of Heaven. Let this Parable be compared with that parallel Place, Luke xiv. 16,—24. The Company gathered to the Marriage in this Parable, plainly represents the same Thing with the Company of Virgins gathered to the Marriage in the other Parable, Matth. xxv. viz. the Company of visible Sainte,-or the Company belong­ing [Page 51] to the visible Kingdom of Heaven; and therefore both Parables are introduced alike with these Words, The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto &c. As to the Man's being cast out of the King's House when the King comes in to see his Guests, 'tis agreeable to other Representations made of false Christians being thrust out of God's Kingdom at the Day of Judg­ment; the Servant's not abiding in the House for ever, tho' the Son abideth ever: God's taking away their Part out of the holy City, and blot­ting their Names out of the Book of Life, &c.

Mr. Stoddard says, "This Person that had not a Wedding-Garment, was a Reprobate; but every one that partakes of the Lord's Supper with­out Grace is not a Reprobate." I answer, all that will be found in the King's House without Grace when the King comes in to see the Guests, are doubtless Reprobates.

If it be questioned, whether by the Wedding-Garment be meant true Piety, or whether hereby is not intended moral Sincerity, let the Scrip­ture interpret it self; which elsewhere tells us plainly what the Wedding­Garment is at the Marriage of the Son of God: Rev.xix. 7, 8. The Marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made her self ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine Linnen, clean and white; for the fine Linnen is the Righteousness of Saints. None, I sup­pose, will say, this Righteousness that is so pure, is the common Grace of lukewarm Professors, and those that go about to serve God and Mammon. The same, Wedding-Garment we have Account of in Psal. xlv. 13, 14. The King's Daughter is all glorious within, her Cloathing is of wrought Gold: she shall be brought in unto the King in Raiment of Neeale work. But we need go no where else but to the Parable it self; that alone de­termines the Matter. The Wedding-Garment spoken of as that without which Professors win be excluded from among God's People at the Day of Judgment, is not moral Sincerity, or common Grace, but special sav­ing Grace. If common Grace were the Wedding-Garment intended, not only would the King cast out those that he found without a Wedding­Garment, but also many with a Wedding-Garment: for all such as shall be found then with no better Garment than moral Sincerity, will be bound Hand and Foot, and cast into outer Darkness; such a Wedding­Garment as this will not save 'em. So that true Piety, unfeigned Faith, or the Righteousness of Christ which is upon every one that believeth, is doubtless the Wedding-Garment intended. But if a Person has good and proper Ground to proceed on in coming into the King's House, that knows he is without this Wedding-Garment, why should the King upbraid him, saying, How camest thou in hither, not having a Wedding-Garment? And why should he be Speechless, when ask'd such a Question? Would he not have had a good Answer to make? viz. "Thou thy self hast given me Leave to come in hither, without a Wedding-Garment." Or this, "Thy [Page 52] own Word is my Warrant; which invited such as had only common Grace or moral Sincerity, to come in."

VII. If we consider what took Place, in Fact, in the Manner and Circumstances of the Admission of Members into the primitive Christian Church, and the Profession they made in order to their Admission, as we have these Things recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, it will further confirm the Point I have endeavoured to prove.

We have an Account from Time to Time, concerning these, of their first being awaken'd by the Preaching of the Apostles and other Mini­sters, and earnestly enquiring what they should do to be saved; and of their being directed to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus, as the Way to have their Sins blotted out, and to be saved; and then, upon their professing that they did believe, of their being baptized and admitted into the Christian Church. Now can any reasonably imagine, that these primi­tive Converts, when they made that Profession in order to their Admission, had any such Distinction in View as that which some now make, of two Sorts of real Christianity, two Sorts of sincere Faith and Repentance, one with a moral and another with a gracious Sincerity? Or that the A­postles, who discipled 'em and baptized 'em, had instructed 'em in any such Distinction? The History informs us of their teaching them but one Faith and Repentance; Believing in Christ that they might be saved, and Repentance for the Remission of Sins: and it would be unreasonable, to suppose, that a Thought of any lower or other Kind enter'd into the Heads of these Converts, when immediately upon their receiving such Instructions they professed Faith and Repentance; or that those who ad­mitted them understood 'em as meaning any lower or other Kind in what they professed.

Let us particularly consider what we are informed concerning those Multitudes, whose Admission we have an Account of in Acts [...]. We are told concerning the three Thousand first Converts, how that they were greatly awakened by the Preaching of the Apostles, pricked in their Hearts, made sensible of their Guilt and Misery; and said to Peter, and the rest of the Apostles, Men and Brethren, what shall we do? i. e. What shall we do to be saved, and that our Sins may be remitted? Upon which they directed them what they should do, viz. Repent, and be baptized, in the Name of the Lord Jesus, for the Remission of Sins. They are here directed into the Way of Salvation. viz. Faith and Repentance, with a proper Profession of these. Then, we are told, that they which gladly re­ceived the Word, were baptized: that is, They which appeared gladly to receive the Word, or manifested and professed a cordial and chearful Com­pliance [...] the Calls of the Word, with the Directions which the Apostles had given them. The Manifestation was doubtless by some Profession, [Page 53] and the Profession was of that Repentance for the Remission of Sins, and that Faith in Christ, which the Apostles had directed 'em to, in answer to their Enquiry, What they should do to be saved: I can see no Ground to sup­pose they tho't of any lower or other Kind. And it is evident by what fol­lows, that these [...] now looked upon it that they had complied with these Directions, & so were at Peace with God: Their Business now is to rejoyce and prais [...] God from Day to Day; They continued stedfastly in the Apostle's Doctrine and Fellowship—Continuing daily with one Accord in the Temple, and breaking Bread from House to House, they did eat their Meat with Gladness and Singleness of Heart, praising God. The Account of 'em now is not as [...] Persons under Awakenings, weary and heavy laden Sin­ners, under [...] Sense of Guil [...] and Wrath, pricked in their Hearts, as before; [...] Persons whose Sorrow was turned into Joy, looking on themselves as now in a good Estate. And in the last Verse it is [...]said, "The [...] to the Church daily such as should be saved; in the origi­nal it; [...], The saved, [...] was a common Appellation given to [...] Christians, or to all Members of the visible Christian Church. 'Tis as much as to say, the Converted, or the Regenerate. Being Converted is in cripture called a being Saved, because it is so in Effect; They were passed from Death to Life, Joh. v. 24. Tit. 1. 4. According to his Mercy he SAVED us, by the washing of REGENERATION, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. 2 Tim. 1. 9. Who hath SAVED us, and called us with an holy Calling. Not that all who were added to the visible Church were indeed regenerated, but they were so in Profession and Repute, and there­fore were so in Name. 1 Cor. i. 18. The preaching of the Cross is to them that perish, Foolishness; but unto us [i. e. us Christians] which are SAVED [ [...]] it is the Power of God. So those that from Time to Time were added to the primitive Church, were all called [...] The saved. Before, while under Awakenings, they used to inquire of their Teachers, what they should do to be saved; and the Directions that used to be given them, were to Repent and believe in Christ; and before they were admitted into the Church, they profess'd that they did so: and thenceforward, having visibly complied with the Terms proposed, they were call'd THE SAVED; it being supposed, that they now had obtain'd what they enquired after when they asked what they should do to be saved. Accordingly we find that after that, from Time to Time, Christ's Mini­ster's treated 'em no more as miserable perishing Sinners, but as true Converts; not setting before them their Sin and Misery to awaken them, and to convince them of the Necessity of a Saviour, exhorting them to fly from the Wrath to come, and seek Conversion to God; but exhorting them to hold fast the Profession of their Faith, to continue in the Grace of God, and persevere in Holiness; endeavouring by all Means to confirm, and strengthen them in Grace. Thus when a great Number believed and [Page 54] turned to the Lord at Antioch, Barnabas was sent to 'em; ‘who when he came, and had seen the Grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with Purpose of Heart they should cleave to the Lord.’ Acts xi. 23. See also Act. xiii. 43.—xiv. 22.—xv. 32, 41. & xx. 32. And when the Apostles heard of the Conversion of the Gentiles to the Christian Faith, visible by their Profession when they joined themselves to the Christian Church, they in Charity supposed and believed that God had given them saving Repentance, and an Heart-purifying Faith. Acts xi. 18. When they heard these Things, they held their Peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also granted unto the Gentiles REPENTANCE unto LIFE. Chap. xv. 9. And put no Difference between us and them, PURIFYING their HEARTS by FAITH.

If any should here object, that when such Multitudes were converted from Judaism and Heathenisim, and received into the Christian Church in so short a Season, it was impossible there should be Time for each one to say so much in his publick Profession, as to be any credible Exhibition of true Godliness to the Church: I answer, This Objection will soon va­nish, if we particularly consider how the Case was with those primitive Converts, and how they were dealt with by their Teachers. It was ap­parently the Manner of the first Preachers of the Gospel, when their Hear­ers were awaken'd and brought in good Earnest to enquire what they should do to be saved, then particularly to instruct them in the Way of Salvation, and explain to them what Qualifications must be in them, or what they must do in order to their being saved, agreable to Christ's Di­rection. Mar. xvi. 15. 16. This we find was the Method they took with the Three Thousand in the second Chap. of Acts, ver.37,—40. And it seems, they were particular and full in it: They said much more to 'em than the Words recorded. 'Tis said ver.40. With many other Words did Peter testify and exhort. And this we find to be the Course Paul and Silas took with the Taylor, Chap. xvi. Who also gave more large and full Instructions than are rehearsed in the History. And when they had thus instructed them, they doubtless saw to it, either by themselves or some others who assisted them, that their Instructions were understood by them, before they proceeded to baptize them (for I suppose, none with whom I have to do in this Controversy, will maintain, from the Apostle's Example, that we ought not to insist on a good Degree of doctrinal Knowledge in the Way and Terms of Salvation, as requisite to the Admission of Members into the Church) And after they were satisfied that they well understood these Things, it took up no great Time to make a Profession of them, or to declare that they did or found in themselves those Things they had been told of as necessary to their Salvation. Be sure, after they had been well in­form'd what saving Faith and Repentance were, it took up no more Time to profess that Faith and Repentance, than any other. In this Case not [Page 55] only the Converts Words, but the Words of the Preacher, which they consented to, and in Effect made their own, are to be taken into their Profession. For Persons that are known to be of an honest Character, and manifestly qualified with good doctrinal Knowledge of the Nature of true Godliness, in the more essential Things which belong to it, solemnly to profess they have or do those Things, is to make as credible a Pro­fession of Godliness as I insist upon. And we may also well suppose, that more Words were uttered by the Professors, and with other Circumstances to render them credi [...], than are Recorded in that very brief summary History, which we have of the primitive Church in the Acts of the Apostles; and also we may yet suppose one Thing further, viz. that in that extraor­dinary State of Things so particular [...] Profession was not requisite in order to the Church's Satisfaction, either of Doctrines assented to, or of the Consent and Disposition of the Heart, as may be expedient in a more ordi­nary State of Things; for various Reasons that might be given, would it not too much lengthen out this Discourse.

One Thing which makes it very evident, that the inspired Ministers of the primitive Christian Church looked upon saving Faith as the proper Matter of the Profession requisite in Order to Admission into the Church, is the Story of Philip and the Eunuch in Act. viii. For when the Eunuch desires to be baptized, Philip makes answer, ver.37. If thou believest with all thine Heart, thou mayst. Which Words, certainly imply, that believing with all his Heart was requisite in Order to his coming to this Ordinance properly and in a due Manner. I cannot conceive what should move Philip to utter these Words, or what he should aim at in them, if he at the same Time supposed, that the Eunuch had no manner of Need to look at any such Qualification in himself, or at all to inquire whether he had such a Faith, or no, in Order to determine whether he might present himself as the Subject of Baptism; many that are without it, being as properly qualified for this, as they that have it.

It is said by some, that Philip intended nothing more by believing with all his Heart, than that he believed that Doctrine, That Jesus Christ was the Son of God, with a moral Sincerity of Perswasion. But here again I desire, the Scripture may be allowed to be its own Interpreter. The Scrip­ture very much abounds with such Phrases as this, with all the Heart, or with the whole Heart, in speaking of religious Matters. And the manifest Intent of them is to signify a gracious Simplicity &godly Sincerity. Thus [...] Sam. xii. 20. ‘Turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your Hearts.’ So ver.24. ‘Only fear the Lord, and serve him in Truth, with all your Heart.’ [...] Kings viii. 23. ‘Who keepest Covenant and Mercy with thy Servants, that walk before thee with all their Heart.’ Chap. xiv. 8. ‘My Servant David, who kept my Commandments, and who followed me with all his Heart.’ [Page 56] Kings x. 31. ‘But Jehu took no Heed to walk in the Law of the Lord God of Israel with all his Heart.’ 2 Chron. xxii. 9. ‘ Jehoshaphat fought the Lord with all his Heart.’ Chap. xxxi. 20 21. ‘ Hezekiah wrought that which was good and right, and Truth before the Lord his God; and in every Work that he began in the Service of the House of God, and in the Law, and in the Commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his Heart.’ Psal. ix. 1. ‘I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole Heart.’ Ps. lxxxvi. 12. ‘I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my Heart, and will glorify thy Name.’ Ps. cxi. 1. ‘I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole Heart, in the Assembly of the Upright.’ and cxix. 2. ‘Blessed are they that keep his Testimo­nies, and that seek him with the whole Heart.’ ver. 10. ‘With my whole Heart have I sought thee.’ ver. 34. ‘Give me Understanding, and I shall keep thy Law, yea, I shall observe it with my whole Heart.’ ver. 69. ‘The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep thy Precepts with my whole Heart.’ Jer.xxiv. 7. ‘And I will give them an Heart to know me—for they shall return unto me with their whole Heart.’ Joel ii. 12, 13. ‘Turn ye even unto me with all your Heart,—and rent your Heart, and not your Garments.’ And we have the like Phrases in innumerable other Places. And I suppose that not so much as one Place can be produced, wherein there is the least Evidence or Appear­ence of their being used to signify any Thing but a gracious Sincerity. And indeed it must be a very improper Use of Language, to speak of those as performing Acts of Religion with all their Hearts, whose Heart the Scriptures do abundantly represent as under the reigning Power of Sin and Unbelief, and as those that don't give God their Hearts, but give them to other Things; as those who go about to serve two Masters, and as those who in­deed draw near to God with their Lips, but have at the same Time their Hearts far from him, and running more after other Things; and who have not a single Eye, nor single Heart. The Word Believe, in the New Testa­ment answers to the Word Trust in the Old; and therefore the Phrase used by Philip, of believing with all the Heart, is parallel to that in Prov. iii "Trust in the Lord with all thine Heart." And Believing with the Heart is [...] Phrase used in the New-Testament to signify saving Faith. Rom. x. 9, 10. ‘If thou shalt believe in thine Heart, that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; for with the Heart Men believeth unto Righteousness.’ The same is signified by obeying the Form of Doc­trine from the Heart, Rom. vi. 17, 18. ‘But God be thanked, that ye were the Servants of Sin,! but ye have obeyed from the Heart that Form of Doctrine which was delivered you; being then made free from Sin, ye became the Servants of Righteousness.’ Here it's manifest, that saving Faith is intended by obeying the Form of Doctrine from the Heart. And the same is signified as if it had been said, ye have believed [Page 57] with the Heart the Form of Doctrine. But Philip uses a yet stronger Ex­pression, he don't only say, if thou believest with the Heart, or from the Heart, but with ALL thine Heart. And besides, for any to suppose, that those same Persons which the Scriptures represent in some Places as un­der the Power of an evil Heart of Unbelief; and as double-minded with Re­gard to their Faith ( James i. 6, 7, 8.) and as those who tho' they believe for a While, yet have their Hearts like a Rock, in which Faith has no Root, (Luke viii.) And yet that this same Sort of Persons are in other Scripture, spoken of as believing with all their Heart; I say, for any to suppose this, would be to make the Sound or Voice of God's Word not very harmonious and consonant to it self.—And one Thing more I would observe on this Head, there is good Reason to suppose, that Philip, while he sat in the Chariot with the Eunuch, and (as we are told) preach'd unto him Jesus, had shewed to him the Way of Salvation, had open'd to him the Way of getting an Interest in Christ, or obtaining Salvation by him, viz. believing in him, agreeable to Christ's own Direction, Mark 16. 15, 16. And agreeable to what we find to be the Manner of the first Preachers of the Gospel: And therefore now when after this Discourse he puts it to the Eunuch, whether he believed with all his Heart; it is natural to suppose, that he meant whether he found his Heart acquiescing in the Gospel-Way of Savation, or whether he sincerely exercised that Belief in Christ which he had been inculcating; and it would be natural for the Eunuch so to understand him.

Here if it be objected, th [...] the Eunuch's Answer and the Profession he hereupon made (wherein he speaks nothing of his Heart, but barely says) I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, shows that he understood no more by the Enquiry, than whether he gave his Assent to that Doctrine: To this [...] answer; we must take this Confession of the Eunuch's toge­ther with Philip's Words, which they were a Reply to, and expound the one by the other. Nor is there any Reason but to understand it in the same Sense in which we find the Words of the like Confession elsewhere in the New-Testament, and as the Words of such a Confession were wont to be used in those Days; as particularly the Words of Peter's Confessi­on, [...] xvi. 16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art Christ the Son of the living God: Which was a Profession of saving Faith, as appears by what Christ says upon it. And we read, I Cor. xii. 3. No Man can say, that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. Not but that a Man might make a Profession in these Words without the Holy Ghost, but he could not do it heartily, or WITH ALL HIS HEART. So [...] Job. iv. 15. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. i. e. Whoever makes this Christian Con­fession (this Profession which all Christians were wont to make) cordially, or with his whole Heart, God dwells in him, &c. But it was thus that the Ernuch was put upon making this Confession.

[Page 58] VIII. 'Tis apparent by the Epistles of the Apostles to the primitive Christian Churches, their Manner of addressing and treating them thro'out all those Epistles, and what they say to 'em and of 'em, that all those Churches were constituted of Members so qualified as has been represented, having such a Visibility of Godliness as has been insisted on; those who were reputed to be real Saints, were taken into the Church under a No­tion of their being truly pious Persons, made that Profession, and had this Hope of themselves; and no natural or graceless Men were admitted designedly, but unawares, and beside the Aim of the primitive Churches and Ministers, and was done unawares; and that such as remain'd in good standing, and free from an offensive Behaviour, continued to have the Reputation and Esteem of real Saints, with the Apostles, and one with another.

There were Numbers indeed in these Churches, who after their Ad­mission fell into an offensive Behaviour; some of which the Apostles in their Epistles speak doubtfully of; others that had behaved themselves very scandalously, they speak of in Language that seems to suppose 'em to be wicked Men. The Apostle Paul, in his Epistles to the Corinthians, oftentimes speaks of some among them that had embraced heretical Opi­nions, and had behaved themselves in a very disorderly and schismatical Manner, whom he represents as exposed to Censure, and to whom he threat­ens Excommunication; and upon Occasion of so many Offences of this Kind appearing among them that for a while had been thought well of, he puts 'em all upon examining themselves, whether they were indeed in the Faith, and whether Christ was truly in them, as they and others had supposed, 2 Cor. xiii.—And the same Apostle speaks of great Numbers among the Galatians, who had made a high Profession, and were such as he had thought well of when they were first admitted into the Church, but since had given him Cause to doubt of their State, by giving Heed to Seducers that denied the great Gospel-Doctrine of Justification by Faith alone: Yet notwithstanding, the Apostle speaks of them in such Language as shews Surprize and Disappointment, and implies that he had looked upon them as true Christians, and hoped that his Labours among them had had a saving Effect upon them. Gal. i. 6. I marvel, that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the Grace of Christ, unto another Gospel. Chap. iv. II. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you Labour in vain. and ver.20. I desire to be present with you now, and change my Voice; for I stand in Doubt of you. As much as to say, ‘I have heretofore address'd you with the Voice of Love and Charity, as supposing you the dear Children of God; but now I begin to think of speaking to you in other Language.’ In the same Chapter, to shew them what little Reason he had had to expect that they would come to this, he puts 'em in Mind of the great Profession they had made, and the extraordinary Ap­pearances [Page 59] there had formerly been in them of servent Piety. ver.15. Where is the Blessedness you spake of? For I bear you Record, that if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own Eyes, and have given them unto me.—The Apostle James, in his Epistle, speaks of scandalous Persons among the twelve Tribes that were scattered abroad; some that were Men of unbridled Tongues; some that seem to have been a Kind of Antinomians in their Principles, and of a very bitter and violent Spirit, that reproached, condemned, and cursed their Brethren, and raised Wars and Fightings among professing Christians, and were also very unclean in their Practice, Adulterers and Adulteresses, Chap. iv. 4. And in the fifth Chap. of his Epistle, he seems to speak to the unbelieving Jews, who persecuted the Christians, ver.6.—And the Apostles are also often speaking of some that had once been admitted into the Church, crept in unawares, who had apostatized from Christanity, & finally proved notoriously wicked Men.—But otherwise, and as to such Members of the visible Church as continued in the same good Standing and Visibility of Christianity, wherein they were admitted, 'tis evident by the Epistles of the Apostles, they were all in the Eye of a Christian Judgment truly pious or gracious Persons. And here I desire the following Things may be particularly observed.

The Apostles continually in their Epistles speak to them and of them as supposing and judging them to be gracious Persons. Thus the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Church of the ROMANS, Chap. i. 7. speaks of the Members of that Church as beloved of God. In Chap. vi. 17, 18, &c. He ‘thanks God, that they had obeyed from the Heart that Form of Doctrine which had been delivered them, and were made free from Sin, and become the Servants of Righteousness, &c.’ The Apostle in giv­ing Thanks to God for this, must not only have a Kind of negative Cha­rity for them, as not knowing but that they were gracious Persons, and so charitably hoping (as we say) that it was so; but he seems to have form'd a positive Judgment that they were such: his Thanksgiving must at least be founded on rational Probability; since it would be but mocking of God, to give him Thanks for bestowing a Mercy which at the same Time he did not see Reason positively to believe was bestowed. In Chap. vii. 4, 5, 6. the Apostle speaks of them as those that once were in the Flesh, and were under the Law, but now delivered from the Law, and dead to it. In chap. viii. 15 and following Verses, he tells them, they had received the Spirit of Adoption, and speaks of them as having the Witness of the Spirit that they were the Children of God, Heirs of God, and joint Heirs with Christ. And the whole of his Discourse to the End of the Chapter im­plies, that he esteemed them truly gracious Persons. In Chap. ix. 23, 24. He speaks of the Christian Romans, together with all other Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, as Vessels of Mercy. In Chap. xiv. 6, 7, 8. Speaking [Page 60] of the Difference, that then was among professing Christians, in Point of Regard to [...] ceremonial Institutions of the Law, he speaks of both Par­ties as acting from a gracious Principle, and as those that lived to the Lord, and should die unto the Lord, ‘He that regardeth the Day, regardeth it unto the Lord, &c. For none of Us liveth to himself, and no Man [ i. e. none of us] dieth to himself; For whether we live, we live unto the Lord, or whether we die, we die upto the Lord; Whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's.’ In Chap. xv. 14. He says, ‘I my self also am perswaded of you, my Brethren, that ye are full of Goodness.’ His being thus perswaded implies a positive Judgment of Charity.—And the same Apostle in his first Epistle to the CORINTHIANS directs it to ‘the Church at Corinth, that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be Saints, with all that in every Place call on the Name of the Lord Jesus;’ i. e. to all visible Christians through the World, or all the Members of Christ's visible Church every where: And continuing his Speech of these, Chap. i. 8. He speaks of them as those ‘that God would confirm to the End, that they may be Blameless in the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ;’ Plainly speaking of them all as Persons, in Christian Esteem, savingly Converted. In the next Verse, he speaks of the Faithfulness of God as engaged thus to preserve 'em to Salvation, having called them to the Fellowship of his Son. And in the 30th Verse he speaks of them as having a saving Interest in Christ; ‘Of him are ye in Christ Jesus; who of God is made unto us, Wisdom, Righ­teousness, Sanctification and Redemption.’ In Chap. iii. 21, 22, 23. he says to the Members of the Church of Corinth, ‘All Things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the World, or Life, or Death, or Things present or Things to come; all are yours, and ye are Christ's.’ In Chap. iv. 15. He tells 'em, he had begotten 'em thro' the Gospel. In Chap. vi. I, 2, 3. He speaks of them as ‘those who shall judge the World, and shall judge Angels.’ and in ver.II. he says to 'em ‘Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified, in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of God.’ And in Chap. xv. 49. to the End, he speaks of them as having an Interest, with him and other Christians, in the Happiness and Glory of the Resurrection of the Just. And in his second Epistle, Chap. i. 7. He says to 'em ‘Our Hope of you is stedfast; knowing that as you are Partakers of the Suffer­ings, so shall ye be also of the Consolation.’ This stedfast Hope implies a positive Judgment. We must here understand the Apostle to speak of such Members of the Church of Corinth, as had not visibly backslidden, as they whom he elsewhere speaks doubtfully of. Again, in the 14th and 15th Verses, he speaks of a Confidence which he had, that they should be his Rejoycing in the Day of the Lord Jesus In all Reason we must conclude, there was a Visibility of Grace, carrying with it an apparent [Page 61] Probability in the Eyes of the Apostle, which was the Ground of this his Confidence. Such an apparent Probability, and his Confidence as built upon it, are both express'd in Chap. iii. 3, 4. Ye are manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ, ministered by us; written not with Ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in Tables of Stone, but in the fleshly Tables of the Heart; and such Trust have we thro' Christ to God-word. And in ver.18. he Apostle speaks of them, with himself and other Christians, as all with open Face beholding, as in a Glass, the Glory of the Lord, and being changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory.—And in the E­pistle to the Churches of GALATIA, Chap. iv. 26. the Apostle speaks of visible Christians as visibly belonging to Heaven the Jerusalem which is above. And ver.28, 29. represents them to be the Children of the Pro­mise, as Isaac was; and born after the Spirit. In the 6th ver.of the same Chapter he says to the Christian Galatians, Because ye are Sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your Hearts, crying, Abba, Father. And in Chap. vi. 1. he speaks of those of them that had not fallen into Scandal, as spiritual Persons.—In his Epistle to that great Church of EPHESUS, at the Beginning, he blesses God on Behalf of the Members of that Church, as being together with himself and all the Faithful in Christ Jesus, ‘Chosen in him before the Foundation of the World, to be holy and without Blame before Him in Love, being Predestinated to the Adoption of Children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good Pleasure of his Will, to the Praise of the Glory of his Grace, wherein God had made them accepted in the Beloved; in whom they had Redemption thro' his Blood, the Forgiveness of Sins.’ In Chap. i. 13, 14. he thus writes to them, ‘In whom ye also trusted—In whom after ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of Promise, which is the Earnest of our Inheritance, un­til the Redemption of the purchased Possession.’ And in Chap. ii. at the Beginning; ‘You hath he quicken'd, who were dead in Tres­passes and Sins.’ With much more, shewing that they were, in a charitable Esteem, regenerated Persons and Heirs of Salvation.—So in the Epistle to the Members of the Church of PHILIPPI, the Apostle saluting them in the Beginning of it, tells them that he ‘thanks God upon every Remembrance of them, for their Fellowship in the Gos­pel; being CONFIDENT of this very Thing, that he which had begun a good Work in them, would perform it until the Day of Christ: Even ( says he) as it is meet for me to think this of you all.’ If it was meet for him to think this of them, and to be confident of it, he had at least some appearing rational Probability to found his Judgment and Confidence upon; for surely it is not meet for reasonable Creatures to think at Random, and be confident without Reason. In ver.25, 26. He speaks of his ‘Confidence that he should come to them for their [Page 62] Furtherance and Joy of Faith, that their Rejoycing might be more abundant in Christ Jesus.’ Which Words certainly suppose that they were Persons who had already received Christ and Comfort in Him; had already obtained Faith and Joy in Christ, and only needed to have it in­creased.—In the Epistle to the Members of the Church of Colosse, the Apostle saluting them in the Beginning of the Epistle, ‘gives Thanks for their Faith in Christ Jesus, and Love to all Saints, and the Hope laid up for them in Heaven;’ and speaks of ‘the Gospel's bringing forth Fruit in them, since the Day they knew the Grace of God in Truth.’ i. e. since the Day of their saving Conversion. In Chap. i. 8. he speaks of "their Love in the Spirit." ver.12, 13, 14. He speaks of them as ‘made meet to be Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light; as being delivered from the Power of Darkness, and translated into the Kingdom of God's dear Son; as having Redemp­tion thro' Christ's Blood, and the Forgiveness of Sins.’ In Chap. iii. at the Beginning, he speaks of 'em as ‘risen with Christ; as being dead [i. e. to the Law, to Sin, and the World] as having their Life hid with Christ in God;’ and being such as, ‘when Christ their Life should appear, should appear with him in Glory.’ In ver.7. he speaks of them as ‘having once walked and lived in Lusts, but having now put off the old Man with his Deeds, and put on the new Man, which is renewed in Knowledge after the Image of Him that created him.’—In the first Epistle to the Members of the Church of Thessalo­nica, in Words annex'd to his Salutation, Chap. i. He declares what Kind of Visibility there was of their Election of God, in the Appearance there had been of true and saving Conversion, and their consequent holy Life, ver. 3,—7. And in the Beginning of the second Epistle he speaks of their Faith and Love greatly increasing; and in ver. 7, expresses his Confidence of meeting them in eternal Rest, when the Lord Jesus Christ should be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels. And in Chap. ii. 13. He gives Thanks to God, that from the Beginning he had chosen them to Salvation.—In the [...] to the Christian Hebrews, tho' the Apostle speaks of some that once belonged to their Churches, but had apostatized and proved themselves Hypocrites; yet concerning the rest that remain'd in good Standing, he says, Chap. vi. 9. I am perswaded better Things of you, and Things that accompany Salvation. (Where we may again note, his being thus perswaded evidently implies a positive Judgment.) And in Chap. xii. 22. &c. He speaks of them as visibly belonging to the glorious Society of Heaven. And in Chap. xiii. 5, 6. He speaks of them as those who may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper.—The Apostle James, writing to the Christians of the twelve Tribes which were scattered abroad, speaks of them as regenerated Persons (meaning, as I observed before, those which were in good Standing) Chap. l. 18. Of his own Will begat he us by the Word [Page 63] of Truth, that we should be a Kind of first Fruits of his Creatures,—The Apostle Peter writing to the Jewish Christians, scattered thro'out Pontus, Galetia, Cappadecia, Asia, and Bithynia (large Countries, and therefore they must in the whole be supposed to be a great Multitude of People) to all these the Apostle in the Inscription or Direction of his first Epistle, gives the Title of Elect, according to the Foreknowledge of God the Father, thro' Sanctification of the Spirit unto Obedience, & Sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ. And in the Versee next following, speaks of them as regenerated ‘or begotten again to a lively Hope, to an Inheritance incorruptible &c.’ And as ‘kept by the Power of God through Faith unto Salva­tion.’ And says to them in ver.8, 9. ‘Whom ( namely Christ) having not seen, ye love; in whom tho' now ye see him not, yet be­lieving, ye rejoyce with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory; receiving the End of your Faith, even the Salvation of your Souls.’ and in ver.18, to the End, the Apostle speaks of them as ‘redeemed from their vain Conversation, by the precious Blood of Christ,— And as having purified their Souls in obeying the Truth thro' the Spirit,—Being born again of incorruptible Seed, &c.’ And in the former Part of Chap. ii. he speaks of 'em as ‘living Stones, coming to Christ, and on him built up a spiritual House, an holy Priesthood, to offer up spi­ritual Sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ,— And As those that believe, to whom Christ is precious,— As a chosen Ge­neration, a royal Priesthood, an holy Nation, a peculiar People, called out of Darkness into marvellous Light.’ The Church at Babylon occasionally mention'd in Chap. v. 13. is said to be elected together with them. And in his second Epistle (which appears by Chap. iii. 1. to be written to the same Persons.) the Inscription is, To them which have obtain'd like precious Faith with us, i. e. with the Apostles and Servants of Christ. And in the third Chapter, he tells 'em, both his Epistles were designed to stir up their PURE Minds. In the 1st Epistle of John, written (for ought appears) to professing Christians in general, Chap. ii. 12, &c. the Apos­tle tells them, ‘he writes to them because their Sins were forgiven, be­cause they had known him that was from the Beginning,—Because they had overcome the wicked One, &c.’ In ver.20, 21. He tells 'em, ‘they have as Unction from the holy One, and know all Things; and that he did not write to 'em because they had not known the Truth, but because they had known it, &c.’ and in ver.27. He says, ‘The Anointing which ye have received of him, abideth in you, and ye need not that any Man should teach you; but as the same Anointing teacheth you of all Things, and is Truth, and is no Lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.’ And in the Beginning of the iiid Chap. he addresses them as those who were ‘the Sons of God, who when he should appear should be like him, because they should see [Page 64] him as he is,’ In Chap. iv. 4. He says, ‘Ye are of God, little Children, and have overcome &c.’—The Apostle Jude, in his general Epistle, speaks much of Apostates and their Wickedness; but to other prosessing Christians that had not fallen away, he says ve.r20, 21. ‘But ye, Beloved, building up your selves on your most holy Faith, praying in the holy Ghost, keep your selves in the Love of God, looking for the Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto eternal Life:’ Plainly supposing, that they had profess'd Faith with Love to God our Saviour, and were by the Apostle considered as his Friends and Lovers.—Many other Passages to the like Purpose might be observed in the Epistles, but these may suffice.

Now how unaccountable would these Things be, if the Case was, that the Members of the primitive Christian Churches were not admitted into them under any such Notion as their being really godly Persons and Heirs of eternal Life, nor with any Respect to such a Character appearing on them; and that they themselves join'd to these Churches without any such Pretence, as having no such Opinion of themselves!

But it is particularly evident that they had such an Opinion of them­selves, as well as the Apostles of them, by many Things the Apostles say in their Epistles. Thus, in Rom. viii. 15, 16. the Apostle speaks of them as having received the Spirit of Adoption, the Spirit of God bearing Witness with their Spirits, that they were the Children of God. And Chap. v. 2. Of their rejoycing in Hope of the Glory of God.—In 1 Cor. i. 7. He speaks of them as waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus. In Chap. xv. 17. the Apostle says to the Members of the Church of Corinth, If Christ be not raised, your Faith is vain, ye are yet in your Sins: Plainly supposing, that they hoped their Sins were forgiven.—In Philip. i. 25, 26. The Apostle speaks of his coming to Philippi to increase their Joy of Faith, and that their rejoycing in Christ might be more abundant [...]:—Implying (as was observed before) that they had received Comfort already, in some Degree as supposing themselves to have a saving Interest in Christ.—In 1 Thess. i. 10. Me speaks of the Members of the Church of Thessalonica as waiting for Christ from Heaven, as one who had delivered them from the Wrath to come.—In Heb. vi. 9, 19. He speaks of the Christian Hebrews as hav­ing that Hope which was an Anchor to their Souls.—The Apostle Peter, 1. Epis. i. 3,—6, 8, 9, speaks of the visible Christians he wrote to, as being begotten to a living Hope of an Inheritance incorruptible, &c.— Wherein they greatly rejoyced, &c.—And even the Members of the Church of Lao­dicea, the very worst of all the seven Churches of Asia, yet looked upon them­selves as truly gracious Persons, and made that Profession; They said, they were rich, and increased in Goods, and know not that they were wretched and miserable, &c. Rev.iii. 17.

[Page 65] 'Tis also evident, that the Members of these primitive Churches and this Judgment one of another, and [...] the Members of the visible Church of Christ in general.—In 1. Thes. iv. 13 &c. the Apostle exhorts the Christian Thessalonians, in Mourning for their deceased Friends who were visible Christians, not to sorrow as the hopeless Heathen were wont to do for their departed Friends; and that upon this Consideration, that they had Reason to expect to meet them again in glorious Circumstances at the Day of Judgment, never to part more. The Ground of Comfort concerning their dead Friends, which the Apostle here speaks of, is evi­dently something more than such an Hope as it may be supposed we ought to have of all that profess Christian Doctrines and are not Scandalous in Life, whom we must forbear to censure, because we don't know but they are true Saints.—The Members of the Church of Sardis, next to Laodicea, the worst of the seven Churches of Asia, yet had a Name that they lived; tho' Christ, who speaks to these seven Churches from Heaven in the Character of the Searcher of Hearts, (see Rev.ii. 23.) explicitly tells them, that they were dead; perhaps all in a dead Frame, and the most in a dead State.

These Things evidently shew, how all the Christian Churches through the World were constituted in those Days; and what Sort of Holiness or Saintship it was, that all visible Christians in good Standing had a Visibility and Profession of, in that Apostolick Age; and also what Sort of Visibility of this they had, viz. not only that which gave 'em Right to a Kind of Negative Charity, or freedom from Censure, but that which might justly induce a positive Judgment in their Favour. The Churches that these Epistles were written to, were all the principal Churches in the World; some of them very large, as the Churches of Corinth and Ephesus; some of the Epistles were directed to all the Churches through large Countries where the Gospel had had great Success, as the Epistle to the Galatians. The Epistle to the Hebrews was written to all the Jewish Christians in the Land of Canaan, in Distinction from the Jews that lived in other Countries, who were called Hellenists or Grecians, be­cause they generally spake the Greek Tongue. The Epistles of Peter were written to all the Christian Jews through many Countries, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia; where were great Numbers of Jews be­yond any other Gentile Countries. The Epistle of James was directed to all Christian Jews, scattered abroad thro' the whole World. The Epistles of John and Jude, for ought appears in those Epistles, were direc­ted to all visible Christians through the whole World. And the Apostle Paul directs the first Epistle to the Corinibians, not only to the Members of that Church, but to all professing Christians through the Face of the Earth. 1 Cor. i. 2. and Chap. 14. 33. Speaking of the Churches in gene­ral, he calls them all Churches of the Saints. And by what Christ says to the Churches of Sardis and Laodicea in the Apocalypse, of whom more [Page 66] Evil is said than of any Christian Churches spoken of in the New-Testa­ment, It appears that even the Members of those Churches looked on themselves as in a State of Salvation, and had such a Name with others.

Here possibly some may object, and say, It will not follow from the Apostles speaking to and of the Members of the primitive Church after the Manner which has been observed, as tho' they supposed 'em to be gracious Persons, that therefore a Profession and Appearance of this was looked upon in those Days as a requisite Qualification for Admission into the visible Church; because another Reason may be given for it, viz. Such was the extraordinary State of Things at that Day, that it so came to pass, that the greater Part of those converted from Heathenism and Judaism to Christianity, were hopefully gracious Persons, by Reason of its being a Day of such large Communications of divine Grace, and such great and unavoidable Sufferings of Professors, &c. And the Apostles knowing those Facts, might properly speak to and of the Churches as if they were Societies of truly gracious Persons, because there was just Ground, on such Accounts, to think the greater Part of them to be so; altho' no Profession or Visibility of this was requisite in their Members by th [...] Constitution of those Churches, and the Door of Admission was as open for others as for such.

But it will appear, this cannot be a Satisfactory nor true Account of the Matter, if we consider the following Things.

(1.) The Apostles in the very Superscription or Direction of their Let­ters to these Churches, and in their Salutations at the Beginning of their Epistles, Speak of them as gracious Persons. For Instance, The Apostle Peter in the Direction of his first Letter to all professing Jewish Christians through many Countries, says thus, To the strangers scattered through Pontus &c. Elect, according to the Foreknowledge of God the Father, through Sanc­tification of the Spirit unto Obedience, and sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ. And in directing his 2d Epistle to the same Persons, he says thus, Simon Peter a Servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have ob­tained like precious Faith with us, &c. And the Apostle 'Paul directs his Epistle to the Romans thus, To them that be at Rome, beloved of God. So he directs his first Epistle to the Corinthians thus, Unto the Church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are Sanctified in Christ Jesus. In what Sense he means Sanctified, his following Words shew, ver. 4, 7, 8, 9. The same was before observed of Words annexed to the Apostle's Saluta­tions in the Beginning of several of the Epistles. This shews, that the Apostles extend this Character as far as they do the Epistles themselves. Which surely would be very improper, and not agreeable to Truth, if the Apostles at the same Time knew very well that such a Character did not belong to Members of Churches, as such, and that they were not re­ceived into those Churches with any Regard to such Character, or upon [Page 67] the Account of any Right they had to be esteemed such Manner of Persons. In the Superscription of Letters to Societies of Men, we are wont to give 'em that Title or Denomination which properly belongs to 'em as Members of such a Body. Thus, if one should write to the Royal Society in London, or the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, it would be proper and natural to give 'em the Title of Learned; for whether every one of the Members truly deserve the Epithet, or not, yet the Title is agreable to their Pro­fession, & what is known to be aimed at & is professedly insisted on in the Admission of Members. But if one should write to the House of Commons, or to the East-India-Company, and in his Superscription give 'em the Title of Learned, this would be very improper and ill judg'd; because that Character don't belong to their Profession as Members of that Body, and Learning is not a Qualification looked at or insisted on in their Admission of Members; Nor wou'd it excuse the Impropriety, tho' the Writer might from his special Acquaintance know it to be Fact, that the greater Part of 'em were Men of Learning. If one Man should once happen thus to inscribe a Letter to 'em, it would be something strange; but more strange, if he should do it from Time to Time, or if it should appear by various Instanoes to be a Custom so to direct Letters to such Societies; as it seems to be the Manner of the Apostles, in their Epistles to Christian Churches, to address them under Titles which imply a Profession and Visibility of true Holiness.

(2.) The Apostle John in his general Epistle does very plainly mani­fest, that all whom he wrote to were supposed to have true Grace, in as much as he declares this the Qualification he has Respect to in writing to them, and lets them know he writes to 'em for that Reason, because they are supposed to be Persons of the Character of such as have known God, over come the wicked One, and have had their Sins forgiven them. I Joh. ii. 12, 13, 14, 21.

(3.) The Apostles, when speaking of such as they write to, viz. visi­ble Christians, as a Society, and representing what belongs to such a Kind or Sort of Society as the visible Church is, they speak of it as visibly (i. e. in Profession and Reputation) a Society of gracious Persons. So the Apostle Peter speaks of 'em as a spiritual House, an holy and royal Priesthood, an holy Nation, a peculiar People, a chosen or elect Generation, called out of Darkness into marvellous Light. 1. Pet. ii.—The Apostle Paul also speaks of them as the Family of God. Eph. ii. 19. And in the next Chapter he explains himself to mean that Family a Part of which is in Heaven. i. e. They were by Profession and in Visibility a Part of that heavenly and divine Family.

(4.) The Apostle Paul speaks expressly, and from Time to Time, of the Members of the Churches he wrote to, as all of them in Esteem and Visibility truly gracious Persons. Philip I. 6. ‘Being confident of this [Page 68] very Thing, that he which has begun a good Work in you will per­form it until the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ: Even as it is meet for me to think this of YOU ALL’ (that is, all singly taken, not collec­tively, according to the Distinction before observed) So Gal. iv. 26. "Jerusalem which is above, which is the Mother of us ALL." Rom. vi. ‘AS MANY OF US as have been baptized into Christ, have been bap­tized into his Death.’ Here he speaks of all that have been baptized; and in the Continuation of the Discourse, explaining what is here said, he speaks of their being ‘dead to Sin; no longer under the Law, but under Grace; having obeyed the Form of Doctrine from the Heart, being made free from Sin and become the Servants of Righteousness, &c.’ Rom. xiv. 7, 8. NONE OF US liveth to himself, and NO MAN "dieth to himself" (taken together with the Context) 2 Cor. iii. 18. "We ALL with open Face beholding as in a Glass, &c." and Gal. iii. "Ye are ALL the Children of God by Faith."

5. 'Tis evident, that even in those Churches where the greater Part of the Members were not true Saints, as in those degenerate Churches of Sardis and Laodicea, which we may suppose were become very lax in their Admissions and Discipline; yet they looked upo [...] themselves as truly gracious Persons, and had with others the Reputation of such.

(6.) If we should suppose, that by Reason of the extraordinary State of Things in that Day, the Apostles had Reason to think the bigger Part of the Members of Churches to be true Christians, yet unless Profession and Appearance of true Christianity was their proper Qualification and the Ground of their Admission, and unless it was supposed that all of them esteem'd themselves true Christians, it is altogether unaccountable that the Apostles in their Epistles to 'em never make any express particular Distinction between those different Sorts of Members. If the Churches were made up of Persons who the Apostles knew look'd on themselves in so exceeding different a State, some the Children of God, and others the Children of the Devil, some the high Favourites of Heaven and Heirs of eternal Glory, others the Children of Wrath, being under Condemna­tion to eternal Death, and every Moment in Danger of dropping into Hell: I say, if this was the Case, why do the Apostles make no Distinction in what they say to 'em or of 'em, in their Manner of addressing 'em, in the Things they set before 'em, and in the Counsels, Reproofs and War­nings they gave 'em? Why do the Apostles in their Epistles never apply themselves or direct their Speech to the unconverted Members of the Churches, in particular, in a Manner tending to awaken them & make them sensible of the miserable Condition they were in, and press them to seek the converting Grace of God. 'Tis to be considered, that the Apostle Paul was very particularly acquainted with the Circumstances of most of those Churches be wrote to; for he had been among them, was their spi­ritual [Page 69] Father, had been the Instrument of gathering and founding those Churches, and they had received all their Instructions and Directions relating to Christianity and their Soul-Concerns from him; nor can it be question'd but that many of them had open'd the Case of their Souls to him. And if he was sensible, that there was a Number among them that made no Pretensions to being in a regenerate State, and that he and others had no Reason to judge them to be in such a State, he knew that the Sin of such who lived in the Rejection of a Saviour, even in the very House of God, in the midst of Gospel-light, and in Violation of the most sacred Vows, was peculiarly aggravated, and their Guilt and State peculiarly dreadful. Why should he therefore never particularly and distinctly point his Addresses to such, applying himself to them in much Compassion to their Souls, and putting them in mind of their awful Circumstances? But instead of this, continually lumping all together, and indifferently addressing the whole Body, as if they were all in happy Circumstances, expressing his Charity for them all, and congratulating them all in their glorious and eternal Privileges; and instead of speaking to them in such a Manner as should have a Tendency to alarm them with a Sense of Danger, on the contrary, calling on all without Distinction, from Time to Time, to rejoyce? Philip iii. I. Finally, my Brethren, rejoyce in the Lord. So 2 Cor. xiii. 11. Finally, Brethren, be of good Comfort. Philip, iv. 4. Rejoyce in the Lord alway, and again I say, Rejoyce. The Matter is insisted upon as tho' Rejoycing were a Duty especially proper for them, and what they had the highest Reason for. The Apostle not only did not preach Terror to those whom he wrote to, but is careful to guard 'em against Fears of God's Wrath; as in I Thess. v. at the Beginning, when the Apostle there observes how that Christ will come on ungodly Men as a Thief in the Night, and when they shall say Peace and Safety, then sudden Destruction shall come upon them, as Travail on a Woman with Child, and they shall not escape; he immediately uses Caution, that the Members of the Church of Thessalonica should not take this to themselves, and be terrified, as tho' they were in Danger; and says in the next Words, But ye, Brethren, are not in Darkness, that that Day should overtake you as a Thief; ye are ALL the Children of Light, and the Children of the Day. And says in the 9, 10, & 11th Verses, For God hath not appointed us to Wrath, but to obtain Salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ; who died for us that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore Comfort yourselves together, and edify one another; even as also ye do. And ver.16. he says, Rejoyce ever­more. How diverse is this Way of treating Churches, from the Method in which faithful Ministers are wont to deal with their Congregations, wherein are many that make no Pretence to true Piety, and from the Way in which Mr. Stoddard was wont to deal with his Congregation! And how would he have undoubtedly judged such a Way of treating them [Page 70] the most direct Course in the World eternally to undo them? And shall we determine that the Apostle Paul was one of those Prophets who dawted with unter [...]pered Mortar, and sewed Pillows under all Arm-Holes, and hear'd the Hurt of immortal Souls slightly, crying Peace, 'Peace, when there was no Peace.—These Things make it most evident, that the primitive Churches were not constituted as those modern Church [...] where Persons knowing and owning themselves unregenerate, are admitted, on Principle.

If it be here objected, that the Apostle sometimes exhorts those that he writes to, to put off the Old-Man, and put on the New-Man, and to be re­newed in the Spirit of their Minds, &c. as exhorting them to seek Con­version. I answer, that the meaning is manifestly but this, That they should mortify the Remains of Corruption or the Old Man, and turn more and more from Sin to God. Thus he exhorts the Ephesians to be renewed, &c. Eph. iv. 22. 23. whom yet he had before in the same Epistle abundantly represented as savingly renewed already; as has been before observed. And the like might be shewn of other Instances.

(7.) It is a clear Evidence, not only that it happen'd the greater Part of the Members of the primitive Churches were to Appearance true Chris­tians; but that they were taken in under that Notion, and because there appeared in them Grounds of such an Estimation of them; and when any happen'd to be admitted that were otherwise, it was beside their Aim; In as much as when others were admitted, they are represented as bro't or crept in unawares. Thus the Matter is represented by the Apostles. Jude v. 4. There are certain Men crept in unawares,—ungodly Men, turning the Grace of God into Losciviousness. Gal. ii. 4. False Brethren, unawares bre't in. If it be said, these here spoken of were openly scandalous Persons and Hereticks: I answer, they were not openly scandalous when they were first brought in; nor is there any Reason to think they were Hereticks when admitted, tho' afterwards they turned Apostates. Mr. Stoddard says, it don't follow that all Hypocrites crept in unawares because some did. (Appeal, P. 17.) To which I would humbly say, it must be certainly true with Respect to all Hypocrites who were admitted, either that the Church which admitted them was aware they were such, or else was not. If there were some [of whom the ] Church was aware, that they were Hypocrites, at the Time when they were taken in, then the Church in admitting them did not follow the Rule that Mr. Stoddard often de­clares himself to suppose ought to be followed in admitting Members, viz. to admit none but what in a Judgment of rational Charity are true Christians. (Appeal P. 2, 3, 10, 28, 33, 67, 73, 93, 94,) But that not only Hereticks and designing Dissemblers crept in unawares, but that all false Brethrew, all Church-Members not truly gracious, did so, appears by such being represented as Bastards in a Family, who are false Children and false Heirs, brought into it unawares, and imposed upon the Disposers of [Page 71] those Privileges by Stealth. Heb. xii. 8. If, ye are without Chastisement, whereof all are Partakers, then are ye Bastards, and not Sons.

Thus it is abundantly manifest, from the Apostolical Writings, how the visible Church of Christ through the whole [...] was at first consti­tuted and ordered, under the Direction of the Apostles themselves, who Regulated it according to the Infallible Guidance of the Spirit of their great Lord and Master. And doubtless, as the Christian Church was constituted then, so it ought to be constituted now. What better Rule have we for our ecclesiastical Regulations in other Respects, than what was done in the primitive Churches, under the Apostles own Direction; as particularly the standing Officers of the Church, Presbyters and Deacons, the Method of Introducing Ministers in their Ordination, &c? In this Matter that I have insisted on, I think the Scripture is abundantly more full, than in those other Things.

IX. Another Evidence, that such as are taken into the Church, ought to be in the Eye of a Christian Judgment truly gracious or pious Persons, is his, that the Scripture represents the visible Church of Christ, as a So­ciety having it's several Members united by the Bond of christian bro­therly Love.

Besides that general Benevolence or Charity which the Saints have to Mankind, and which they exercise towards both the Evil and the Good in common, there is a peculiar and very distinguishing Kind of Affection, that every true Christian experiences towards those whom he looks upon as truly gracious Persons; whereby the Soul, at least at Times, is very sensibly and sweetly knit to such Persons, and there is an ineffable Oneness of Heart with them; whereby, to use the Scripture Phrase (Acts iv. 32.) They are of one Heart and one Soul: Which holy Affection is exercised towards others on Account of the spiritual Image of God in them, their supposed Relation to God as his Children, and to Christ as his Members, and to them as their spiritual Brethren in Christ. This sacred Affection is a very good & distinguishing Note of true Grace, much spoken of as such, in Scripture, under the Name of [...], The love of the Brethren, or bro­therly Love; and is called by Christ, The receiving a righteous Man, in the Name of a righteous Man, and receiving one of Christ's little Ones in the Name of a Disciple, or because he belongs to Christ, (Matt.x.41, 42. Mark ix.41.) And a loving one another as Christ has loved them (Joh. xiii. 34. & xv. 13, 14, 15.) having a peculiar Image of that Oneness which is between Christ himself and his Saints. (Compare Joh. xvii. 20th to the End.)

This Love the Apostles are often directing Christians to exercise to­wards Fellow-Members of the visible Church; as in Rom. xii. 10. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly Love. The Words are much more emphatical in the Original, and [...]o more livelily represent that [Page 72] peculiar Endearment that there is between gracious Persons, or those that look on one another as such; [...] The Expressions properly signifies, cleaving one to another with brotherly natural strong Endearment [...] With the like Emphasis and Energy does the Apostle Peter express himself, Epist. i. 22. Seeing ye have purified your Souls in obeying the Truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned Love of the Brethren ( [...]) See that ye' [...] another with a pure Heart ser­vently. Again, Chap. iii. 8. Finally, be ye all of one Mind, having Compassion one of another; love as Brethren; be pitiful, be courteous. The Words in the Greek are much more significant, elegant, and forcible; [...] The same peculiar Endearment the Apostle has doubtless Respect to in Chap. iv. Above all Things have servent Charity among yourselves. The Apostle Paul in his Epistles, from Time to Time, speaks of the visible Saints whom he writes to, as being united one to another with this Affection, and consi­ders it as a Note of their Piety. Col. 1. 4. We heard of your Faith in Christ Jesus, and of the LOVE which ye have to all Saints. I Thess. iv. 9. As touching BROTHERLY-LOVE, ye need not that I write unto you; for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. So, Phil. 5. Hearing of thy Love, and Faith which thou hast towards the Lord Jesus Christ, and towards all Saints. And this is what he exhorts to, Heb. xiii. 1. Let BROTHERLY-LOVE Continue. I Thess. v. 26. Greet all the Brethren with an holy Kiss. Compare 1 Cor. xvi. 20. 2 Cor. xiii. 12. and 1 Pet. v. 14.

This [...] or Love to the Brethren, is that Vertue which the A­postle John so much insists on in his first Epistle, as one of the most di­stinguishing Characteristicks of true Grace, and a peculiar Evidence that God dwelleth in us and we in God. By which must needs be understood a Love to Saints as Saints, or on Account of the spiritual Image of God supposed to be in them, and their spiritual Relation to God; according as it has always been understood by orthodox Divines. There is no reasonable Doubt can be made, but that the Apostle John in this Epistle has Respect to the same Sort of Love, which Christ prescribed to his Disciples, in that which he called by Way of Eminency HIS COMMANDMENT, and HIS NEW COMMANDMENT, which he gave as a great Mark of their being truly his Disciples, as this same Apostle gives an Account in his Gospel; and to which he plainly refers, when speaking of the Love of the Brethren in his Epistle, Chap. ii. 7, 8. and iii. 23. But that Love, which Christ speaks of in his new Commandment, is spoken of as between those that CHRIST loves, or is supposed to love; and which has his Love to 'em for its Ground and Pattern. And if this [...] this Love of the Brethren, so much spoken by Christ, and by the Apostles 'Paul and John, ben't that peculiar Affection which gracious Persons or true Saints have one to another, which is so great a Part and so remarkable an Exercise of true Grace, where is it spoken of, at all, in the New-Testament?

[Page 73] We see how often the Apostles exhort visible Christians to exercise this Affection to all other Members of the visible Church of Christ, and how often they speak of the Members of the visible Church as actually thus united, in Places already mentioned. In 2 Cor. ix. 14. the Apostle speaks of the Members of other Churches loving the Members of the Church of Corinth, with this peculiar Endearment and Oneness of Heart, for the Grace of God in them. And by their Prayer for you, which long after you, for the exceeding Grace of God in you. The Word, translated long after, is [...]; which properly signifies to love with an exceeding & dear Love. And this is represented as the Bond, that unites all the Members of the visible Church; Act. iv. 32. ‘And the Multitude of them that believed were of one Heart and one Soul.’ This is the same Thing which elsewhere is called being of one Mind: 1 Pet. iii. 8. ‘Finally, be ye all of one Mind.’ And being of the same Mind: 1 Cor. i. 10. "That ye be perfectly joined together in the same Mind." And being of the same Mind, Phil. iv. 2. ‘I beseech Euodies, and beseech Syntiche, that they be OF THE SAME MIND in the Lord.’ And being like-minded (the Word is the same in the Greek) Rom. xv. 5, 6. ‘Now the God of Patience and Consolation grant you to be LIKE-MINDED one towards another; that ye may with one Mind, and one Mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:’ There is Reason to think, that it is this Oneness of Mind, or being of one Heart and Soul, is meant by that Charity which the Apostle calls the Bond of Perfectness, Col. iii. 14. And represents as the Bond of Union between all the Members of the Body, in Eph. iv. 15, 16. ‘But speaking the Truth in LOVE, may grow up into him in all Things, which is the Head, even Christ; from whom the whole Body FITLY JOINED TOGETHER, AND COM­PACTED by that which every Joint supplieth, according to the ef­fectual Working in the Measure of every Part, maketh Increase of the Body unto the edifying it self in LOVE.’

Herein seems much to consist the Nature of Scandal in the Members of a Church, viz. Such an Offence as is a Wound & Interruption to this kind of Affection, being a Stumbling-Block to a Christian Judgment, in Regard of it's Esteem of the Offender as a real Christian, and what much lessens the visibility of his Christian Character. And therefore when Scandal is removed by visible Repentance, the Church is directed to con­firm their Love to the Offender, 2 Cor. ii. 8.

Now this intimate Affection towards others as Brethren in Christ and Fellow-Members of him, must have some Apprehension of the Understand­ing, some Judgment of the Mind, for it's Foundation. To say, that we must thus love others as visible Members of Christ, if any Thing else be meant, than that we must love them because they are visibly, or as they appear to our Judgment, real Members of Christ, is in Effect to say, that [Page 74] we must thus love them without any Foundation at all. In order to a real and servent Affection to another, on Account of some Amiableness of Qua­lification or Relation, the Mind must first judge there is that Amiableness in the Object. The Affections of the Mind are not so at Command that we can make 'em strongly to go forth to an Object as having such Loveli­ness, when at the same Time we don't positively judge any such Thing con­cerning them, but only hope it may be so, because we see no sufficient Reason to determine the contrary. There must be a positive Dictate of the Understanding, and some Degree of Satisfaction of the Judgment, to be a Ground of that Oneness of Heart and Soul, which is agreable to Scripture-Representations of [...] or brotherly Love. And a Supposition only of that moral Sincerity and Vertue, or common Grace, which some insist upon, tho' it may be a sufficient Ground of neighbourly and civil Affection, can't be a sufficient Ground of this intimate Affection to them as Brethren in the Family of a heavenly Father, this servent Love to them in the Bowels of Jesus Christ; that implying nothing in it incon­sistent with being Gospel Sinners and domestick Enemies in the House of God; which Christians know are the most hateful Enemies to Christ, of all the Enemies that he has.

It is a Thing well agreeing with the Wisdom of Christ, and that pe­culiar Favour he has manifested to his Saints, and with his Dealings with them in many other Respects, to suppose, he has made Provision in his Institutions, that they might have the Comfort of uniting, with such as their Hearts are united with in that holy intimate Affection which has been spoken of, in some special religious Exercises and Duties of Worship, and visible Intercourse with their Redeemer, joining with those concern­ing whom they can have some Satisfaction of Mind that they are cordi­ally united with them in adoring and expressing their Love to their com­mon Lord and Saviour, that they may with one Mind, with one Heart, and one Soul, as well as with one Mouth, glorify him; as in the forementioned Rom. xv. 5, 6. compared with Acts. iv. 32. This seems to be what this heavenly Affection naturally inclines to. And how eminently fit and pro­per for this Purpose is the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the Christian Church's great Feast of Love; wherein Christ's People fit together as Brethren in the Family of God, at their Father's Table, to feast on the Love of their Redeemer, commemorating his Sufferings for them, and his dying Love to them, and sealing their Love to him and one another?—It is hardly credible, that Christ has so ordered Things at that there are no instituted social Acts of Worship, wherein his Saints are to manifest their Respect to him, but such as wherein they ordinarily are obliged ( if the Rule for Admissions be carefully attended) to join with a Society of Fellow-Worshippers, concerning whom they have no Reason to think but that the bigger Part of them are Unconverted (and are more provoking [Page 75] Enemies to that Lord they love and adore, than most of the Very Heathen) which Mr. Stod and supposes to be the Case with the Members of the visible Church. Appeal. p. 16.

X. It is necessary, that those who partake of the Lord's Supper, should judge themselves truly and cordially to accept of CHRIST, as their only Sa­viour and chief Good; for this is what the Actions, which Communicants perform at the Lord's Table, are a solemn Profession of.

There is in the Lord's Supper a mutual solemn Profession of the two Parties transacting the Covenant of Grace, and visibly united in that Covenant; the Lord Christ by his Minister, on the one Hand, and the Communicants (who are professing Believers) on the other. The Ad­ministrator of the Ordinance acts in the Quality of Christ's Minister, acts in his Name, as representing him; and stands in the Place where Christ himself stood at the first Administration of this Sacrament, and in the original Institution of the Ordinance. Christ, by the Speeches and Actions of the Minister, makes a solemn Profession of his Part in the Co­venant of Grace: He exhibits the Sacrifice of his Body broken and his Blood shed; and in the Minister's offering the Sacramental Bread and Wine to the Communicants, Christ presents himself to the believing Com­municants, as their Propitiation and Bread of Life; and by these outward Signs confirms and seals his sincere Engagements to be their Saviour and Food, and to impart to them all the Benefits of his Propitiation and Salva­vation. And they in receiving what is offered, and eating and drinking the Symbols of Christ's Body and Blood, also profess their Part in the Co­venant of Grace: They profess to embrace the Promises and lay hold of the Hope set before them, to receive the Atonement, to receive Christ as their spiritual Food, and to feed upon him in their Hearts by Faith. Indeed what is professed on both Sides is the Heart: For Christ, in offering him­self, professes the Willingness of his Heart to be theirs who truly receive him; and the Communicants, on their Part, profess the Willingness of their Hearts to receive him, which they declare by significant Actions. They profess to take Christ as their spiritual Food, and Bread of Life. To accept of Christ as our Bread of Life, is to accept of him as our Savi­our and Portion; as Food is both the Means preserving Life, and is also the Refreshment and Comfort of Life. The Signification of the word Manna, that great Type of this Bread of Life, is a Portion. That which God offers to us as our Food, he offers as our Portion; and that which we accept as our Food, we accept as our Portions. Thus the Lord's Supper is plainly a mutual Renovation, Confirmation, and Seal of the Covenant of Grace: Both the covenanting Parties profess their Con­sent to their respective Parts in the Covenant, and each affixes his Seal to his Profession. And there is in this Ordinance the very same Thing acted [Page 76] over in Profession and sensible Signs, which is spiritually transacted between Christ and his Spouse in the Covenant that unites them. Here we have from Time to Time the glorious Bridegroom exhibiting himself with his great Love that is stronger than Death, appearing cloathed in Robes of Grace, and engaging himself, with all his Glory and Love, and it's infi­nite Benefits, to be theirs, who receive him: And here we have his Spouse accepting this Bridegroom, chusing him for her Friend, her only Saviour and Portion, and relying on him for all his Benefits. And thus the Co­venant-Transaction of this spiritual Marriage is confirmed and seal'd, from Time to Time. The Actions of the Communicants at the Lord's Table have as expressive and significant a Language, as the most solemn Words. When a Person in this Ordinance takes and eats and drinks those Things which represent Christ, the plain Meaning and implicit Profession of these his Actions, is this, ‘I take this crucified Jesus as my Saviour, my sweetest Food, my chief Portion, and the Life of my Soul, consenting to acquiesce in him as such, and to hunger and thirst after him only, renouncing all other Saviours, & all other Portions, for his Sake.’ The Actions, thus interpreted, are a proper Renovation and Ratification of the Covenant of Grace; and no otherwise. And those that take, and eat and drink the Sacramental Elements at the Lord's Table with any other Meaning, I fear, know not what they do.

The Actions at the Lord's Supper thus implying in their Nature and Signification, a renewing and confirming of the Covenant, there is a declarative explicit Covenanting supposed to preceed it; which is the Profession of Religion, before spoken of, that qualifies a Person for Ad­mission to the Lord's Supper. And there doubtless is, or ought to be, as much explicitly professed in Words, as is implicitly professed in these Actions; for by these significant Actions, the Comumnicant sets his Seal but to his Profession. The established Signs in the Lord's Supper are fully equivalent to Words; they are a renewing and reiterating the same Thing which was done before; only with this Difference, that now it is done by speaking Signs, whereas before it was by speaking Sounds. Our taking the Bread and Wine is as much a professing to accept of Christ, at least as a Woman's taking a Ring of the Bridegroom in her Marriage is a Profession and Seal of her taking him for her Husband. The Sacramental Elements in the Lord's Supper do represent Christ as a Party in Covenant, as truly as a Proxy represents a Prince to a foreign Lady in her Marriage; and lour taking those Elements is as truly a professing to accept of Christ, as in the other Case the Lady's taking the Proxy is her professing to accept the Prince as her Husband. Or the Matter may more fitly be represented by this Similitude: It is as if a Prince should send an Ambassador to a Woman in a foreign Land, pro­posing Marriage, and by his Ambassador should send her his Picture, [Page 77] and should desire her to manifest her Acceptance of his Suit, not only by professing her Acceptance in Words to his Ambassador, but in Token of her Sincerity openly to take or accept that Picture, and so Seal her Profession, by thus representing the Matter over again by a symbolical Action.

To suppose, Persons ought thus solemnly to profess that which at the same Time they don't at all imagine they experience in themselves, and don't really pretend to, is a very great Absurdity. For a Man Sacramentally to make such a Profession of Religion, proceeding avowedly on the Foot of such Doctrine, is to profess that which he don't profess; his Actions being no establish'd Signs of the Thing supposed to be pro­fessed, nor carrying in them the least Pretension to it. And therefore doing thus can be no Man's Duty; unless it be Men's Duty to make a solemn Profession of that which in Truth they make no Profession of. The Lord's Supper is most evidently a professing Ordinance; and the communicants Profession must be such as is adjusted to the Nature and Design of the Ordinance; which nothing short of Faith in the Blood of Christ will answer, even Faith unfeigned, which worketh by Love. A Profession therefore exclusive of this, is essentially defective, and quite unsuitable to the Character of a Communicant.

XI. When the Apostle says, 1 Cor. xi. 28. Let a Man examine him­self, and so let him eat—It seems to be much the most reasonable to understand it of trying himself with regard to the Truth of his Christianity, or Reality of his Grace; the same which the same Apostle directs the same Corinthians to, in his other Epistle, 2 Cor.xiii. 5. where the same Word is used in the Original. The Greek Word ( [...]) will not allow of what some have supposed to be the Apostle's Meaning, viz. that a Man should consider and enquire into his Circumstances, and the Ne­cessities of his Case, that he may know what are the Wants he should go to the Lord's Table for a Supply of. The Word properly signifies prov­ing or trying a Thing with Respect to it's Quality and Goodness, or in or­der to determine whether it be true and of the right Sort. And so the Word is always used in the New-Testament; unless that sometimes 'tis used as it were metonymically, and in such Places is variously translated, either discerning, or allowing, approving, liking, &c. these being the Effects of Trial. Nor is the Word used more frequently in the New Testament for any Sort of Trial whatever, than for the Trial of professors with Re­gard to their Grace or Piety. The Word (as Dr. Ames, in his Catecha­seos Sciagraphia, and Mr. Willard in his Body of Divinity, observe) is borrowed from Goldsmiths, properly signifying the Trial they make of their Silver and Gold, whether it be Genuine or Counterfeit: And with a manifest Allusion to this original Application of the Word, is often used [Page 78] in the New-Testament for a trying the Piety of Professors. 'Tis used with this View in all the following Texts. 1 Pet. i. 7. That the TRIAL of your Faith, being much more precious than of Gold that perisheth, tho' it be TRIED by Fire, might be found unto praise, &c. 1 Cor. iii. 13. The Fire shall TRY every Man's Work of what Sort it is. Jam. i. 3. The TRYING of your Faith worketh Patience. 1 Thes. ii. 4. God who TRIETH our Hearts. The same Word is used in 2 Cor. viii. 8. To PROVE the Sincerity of your Love. So, Gal. vi. 3, 4. If any Man thinketh himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself: But let every Man PROVE his own Work.—In all these Places there's the same Word in the Greek with that in the Text now under Consideration.

When the Apostle directs professing Christians to try themselves, using this Word indefinitely, as properly signifying the examining or proving a Thing whether it be Genuine, or Counterfeit, the most natural Construc­tion of his Advice is, that they should try themselves with Respect to their spiritual State and religious Profession, whether they are Disciples indeed, real and genuine Christians, or whether they are not false & hypocritical Professors. As if a Man should bring a Piece of Metal that had the Co­lour of Gold, with the Impress of the King's Coin, to a Goldsmith, and desire him to try that Money, without adding any Words to limit his Meaning, would not the Goldsmith naturally understand, that he was to try whether it was true Gold, or true Money. yea or no?

But here it is said by some, that the Context of the Passage under Debate (1 Cor. xi. 28.) does plainly limit the meaning of the Word in that Place; the Apostle there speaking of those Things that had appear'd a­mong the Communicants at Corinth, which were of a scandalous Nature, so doubtless unfitting 'em for the Lord's Supper; and therefore when the Apostle directs 'em to examine or prove themselves, 'tis but just, to suppose his meaning to be, that they should try whether they ben't dis­qualified by Scandal.—To this I answer, tho' the Apostle's putting the Corinthians upon trying themselves, was on Occasion of the mentioning some scandalous Practices found among them, yet this is by no Means any Argument of its being only his Meaning, that they should try themselves whether they were scandalous Persons; and not, that they should try whether they were true genuine Christians. The very Nature of Scandal (as was observed before) is, that which tends to obscure the Visibility of the Piety of Professors, and wound others Charity towards them, by bringing the Reality of their Grace into Doubt; and therefore what could be more natural, than for the Apostle, when mentioning such Scan­dals among the Corinthians, to put them upon trying the State of their Souls, and proving their Sincerity! This is certainly the Case in this Apo­stle's directing the same Persons to prove themselves, 2 Cor. xiii. 5. using the same Word there, [which he uses here, and giving his Direction on [Page 79] the like Occasion. For in the 2d Epistle (as well as in the first) his putting them on examining and proving themselves, was on Occasion of his mentioning some Scandals found among them; as is plain from the fore­going Context. And yet there it is expresly said, that the Thing con­cerning which he directs them to prove themselves, is, whether they be in the Faith, and whether Christ is in them. Nor is there any Thing more in the preceeding Context of one Place, than in that of the other, oblig­ing or leading us to understand the Apostle to intend only a trying whe­ther they were Scandalous, and not whether they were sincere Christians.

And as to the Words following in the next Verse; For he that eateth and arinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh Judgment to himself, not dis­cerning the Lord's Body: These Words, by no Means, make it evident (as some hold) that what the Apostle would have them examine them­selves about, is, whether they have doctrinal Knowledge, sufficient to un­derstand, that the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament signify the Body and Blood of Christ: But on the contrary, to interpret the Apostle in this Sense only, is unreasonable, upon several Accounts. (1) None can so much as go about such an Examination, without first knowing, that the Lord's Body and Blood is signified by these Elements. For meerly a Man's putting this Question to himself, Do I understand that this Bread and this Wine signify the Body & Blood of Christ? supposes him already to know it from a previous Information; and therefore to exhort Persons to go about such an Examination, would be absurd. And then (2) 'Tis incredible, that there should be any such gross Ignorance appearing in a Number of the Communicants in the Corinthian Church, if we consider what the Scripture informs us concerning that Church: As particularly, if we consider what an able and thorough Instructer and spiritual Father they had had, even the Apostle Paul, who founded that Church, bro't them out of their heathenish Darkness, and initiated them in the Christian Religion, and had instructed them in the Nature and Ends of Gospel­Ordinances, and continued at Corinth, constantly labouring in the Word and Doctrine for a long while together, no less than a Year & six Months; and, as we may well suppose, administring the Lord's Supper among them every Lord's Day; for the Apostle speaks of it as the Manner of that Church to communicate at the Lord's Table with such Frequency, 1 Cor. xvi. 2. And the Corinthian Church at that Day when the Apostle wrote this Epistle, was a Church noted for excelling in doctrinal Know­ledge; as is evident by Chap. i. 5, 6, 7. and several other Passages in the Epistle. Besides, the Communicants were expresly told at every Com­munion, every Week, when the Bread and Wine were delivered to them in the Administration, that that Bread signified the Body, and that Wine signified the Blood of Christ. And then besides, (3) The Apostle by his Argument in Chap. x. 16. supposes the Corinthians doctrinally ac­quainted [Page 80] with this Subject already. It therefore appears to me much more reasonable, to apprehend the Case to be thus; The offensive Be­haviour of the Communicants at Corinth gave the Apostle Reason to suspect, that some of them came to the Lord's Table without a proper Impression and true Sense of the great & glorious Things there signified; having no habitual Hunger or Relish for the spiritual Food there repre­sented, no inward vital and experimental Taste of that Flesh of the Son of Man, which is Meat indeed. The Word translated discerning, signifies to discriminate or distinguish. The Taste is the proper Sense whereby to discern or distinguish Food. Job xxxiv. 3. And 'tis a spiritual Sense or Taste which is that whereby we discern or distinguish spiritual Food. Heb. v. 14.— Those who by Reason of Use, have their Senses exercised to discern both Good and Evil. [...]&c. A Word of the same Root with that rendered discerning, in 1 Cor xi. 29. He that has no habitual Ap­petite to and Relish of that spiritual Food, which is represented and offered at the Lord's Table; he that has no spiritual Taste, where with to perceive any Thing more at the Lord's Supper, than in common Food; or that has no higher View, than with a little seeming Devotion to eat Bread, as it were in the Way of an Ordinance, but with us regarding in his Heart the spiritual Meaning and End of it, and without being at all suitably affected with the dying Love of Christ therein commemorated; such a one may most truly and properly be said not to discern the Lord's Body. When therefore the Apostle exhorts to Self-Examination as a Pre­parative for the Sacramental Supper, he may well be understood to put Professors upon inquiring whether they have such a Principle of Faith, by Means where of they are habitually in a Capacity and Disposition of Mind to discern the Lord's Body practically and spiritually (as well as speculatively and notionally) in their communicating at the Lord's Ta­ble: Which is what none can do who have but common Grace, or a Faith short of that which is justifying and saving. It's only a living Faith that capacitates Men to discern the Lord's Body in the Sacrament with that spiritual Sensation or spiritual Gust, which is suitable to the Nature and Design of the Ordinance, and which the Apostle seems principally to intend.

PART III.
OBJECTIONS answer'd

OBJECT. 1. The Scripture calls the Members of the visible Church by the Name of Disciples, Scholars, or Learners; and that suggests to us this Notion of the visible Church, that it is the School of Christ, into which Persons are admitted in order to their learning of Christ, and coming to spiritual Attainments, in the Use of the Means of Teaching, Dis­cipline and Training up, establish'd in the School. Now if this be a right Notion of the visible Church, then Reason shews that no other Qualifica­tions are necessary in order to a being Members of this School, than such a Faith and Disposition of Mind as are requisite to Persons putting them­selves under Christ as their Master and Teacher, and subjecting themselves to the Orders of the school. But a common Faith and moral Sincerity are sufficient for this. Therefore the Scripture leads us to suppose the visi­ble Church to be properly constituted of those who have these Qualifications, tho' they have not saving Faith and true Piety.

ANSW. I own, the Scripture calls the Members of the visible Church by the Name of Disciples. But I deny, it therefore follows that the Church which they are Members of, is duly and properly constituted of those who have not true Piety. Because, if this Consequence was good, then it would equally follow, that not only the visible, but also the invisible or mystical Church is properly constituted of those who have not unfeigned Faith and true Piety. For the Members of the mystical Church, as such, and to denote the special Character of such, are called Disciples; in Luke xiv. 26, 27, 33. and in Job. viii. 31. Chap. xiii. 35. and Chap. xv. 8. This shews, that in the Argument I am answering, there is no Connection between the Premisses and the Conclusion. For the Force of the Objec­tion consists in this, that the Members of the visible Church are called Disciples in Scripture: This is the Sum total of the Premisses: And if there be any Connection between the Premisses and the Conclusion, it must lie in the Truth of this Proposition; The Church whose Members are called by the Name of Disciples, as signifying their State and Quality as Mem­bers of that Society, that Church is properly and fitly constituted, not only of Persons truly pious, but of others that have meerly a common Faith and Vertue. But this Proposition, we have seen, is not true; and so there is no Con­nection between the former and latter Part of it, which are the same with the Premisses and Conclusion of this Argument.

[Page 82] 2. Tho' I don't deny, that the visible Church of Christ may fitly be represented as a School of Christ, where Persons are trained up in the Use of Means, in order to some spiritual Attainments: Yet it will not hence necessarily follow, that this is in order to all good Attainments; for it will not follow but that certain good Attainments may be pre-requisite, in order to a Place in the School. The Church of Christ is a School ap­pointed for the training up Christ's little Children, to greater Degrees of Knowledge, higher Privileges, and greater Serviceableness in this World, and more of a Meetness for the Possession of their eternal Inheritance. But there is no Necessity of supposing, that it is in order to fit them to become Christ's Children, or to be introduced into his Family; any more than there is a Necessity of supposing, because a Prince puts his Children under Tutors, that therefore it must be in order to their attaining to be of the royal Family. If it be necessary, that there should be a Church of Christ appointed as a School of Instruction and Discipline, to bring Persons to all good Attainments whatsoever, then it will follow, that there must be a visible Church constituted of scandalous and profane Persons and Hereticks, and all in common that assume the Christian Name, that so Means may be used with them in order to bring them to moral Sincerity, and an Acknow­ledgement of the Christian Faith.

3. I grant, that no other Qualifications are necessary in order to being Members of that School of Christ which is his visible Church, than such as are requisite in order to their subjecting themselves to Christ as their Master and Teacher, and subjecting themselves to the Laws and Orders of his School: Nevertheless I deny, that a common Faith and moral Sincerity are sufficient for this; Because none do truly subject themselves to Christ as their Master, but such as having their Hearts purify'd by Faith, are delivered from the reigning Power of Sin: for we can't subject our selves to obey two contrary Masters at the same Time. None do submit to Christ as their Teacher, but those who truly receive him as their Pro­phet, to teach them by his Word and Spirit; giving up themselves to his Teachings, sitting with Mary, as little Children, at Jesus Feet to bear his Word; and hearkning more to his Dictates, than those of their blind and deceitful Lusts, and relying on his Wisdom more than their own. The Scripture knows nothing of an ecclesiastical School consti­tuted of Enemies of the Cross of Christ, and appointed to bring such to be reconciled to him and submit to him as their Master. Neither have they who are not truly pious Persons, any true Disposition of Heart to submit to the Laws and Orders of Christ's School, the Rules which his Word prescribes to all his Scholars; such as, to love their Master supremely; to love one another as Brethren; and to love their Book, i. e. their Bible, more than vain Trifles and Amusements, yea, above Gold and Silver; to be faithful to the Interest of the Master and of the School; to depend on [Page 83] his Teachings; to cry to him for Knowledge; above all their Gettings, to get Understanding, &c.

4. Whatever Ways of constituting the Church may to us seem fit, proper and reasonable, the Question is, not what Constitution of Christ's Church seems convenient to human Wisdom but what Constitution is actually established by CHRIST'S infinite Wisdom. Doubtless, if Men should set their Wits to Work, and proceed according to what seems good in their Sight, they would greatly alter Christ's Constitution of his Church, to make it more convenient and beautiful, and would adorn it with a vast Variety of ingenious Inventions; as the Church of Rome has done. The Question is, whether this School of Christ which they talk of, made up very much of those who pretend to no Experiences or Attainments but what consist with their being Enemies of Christ in their Hearts, and who in Reality love the vilest Lust better than him, be that Church of Christ which in the New-Testament is denominated his City, his Temple, his Fa­mily, his Body, &c. by which Names the visible Church of Christ is there frequently called.

I acknowledge, that Means, of Christ's appointment, are to be used with those who are Christ's Enemies, and don't profess themselves any other, to change their Hearts, and bring them to be Christ's Friends and Disciples. Such Means are to be used with all Sorts of Persons, with Jews, Mahometans, Heathens, 'with nominal Christians that are Heretical or Vicious, the Profane, the Intemperate, the Unclean, and all other Enemies of Christ; and these Means to be used constantly, and laboriously. Scandalous Persons need to go to School, to learn to be Christians, as much as other Men. And there are many Persons that are not morally Sincere, who from selfish and sinister Views do consent ordinarily to go to Church, and so be in the Way of the Use of Means. And none ought to forbid 'em thus going to Christ's School, that they may be taught by him, in the Ministry of the Gospel. But yet it will not follow, that such a School is the Church of CHRIST. Human Laws can put Persons, even those who are very Vicious, into the School of Christ, in that Sense; they can oblige 'em constantly to be present at publick Teaching, and attend on the Means of Grace appointed by Christ, and dispensed in his Name: But human Laws can't join Men to the Church of Christ, and make them Membere of his Body.

OBJECT. II. Visible Saintship in the Scripture-Sense can't be the same with that which has been supposed and insisted on, viz. a being in the Eye of a rational Charity truly pious; because Israel of old were from Time to Time called God's People, when 'tis certain the greater Part of them were far from having any such visible Holiness as this, Thus the ten Tribes were called God's People, Hos. iv. 6. after [Page 84] they had revolted from the true Worship of God, and had obstinately continued in their idolatrous Worship at Bethel and Dan for about two Hundred and fifty Years, and were at that Time, a little before their Captivity especially, in the Height of their Wickedness. So the Jews are called God's, People in Ezek. xxxvi. 20. and other Places, at the Time of their Captivity in Babylon; a Time when most of them were abandon'd to all Kinds of the most horrid and open Impieties, as the Prophets frequently represent. Now 'tis certain, that the People at that Time were not called God's People because of any Visibility of true Piety to the Eve of Reason or of a rational Charity, because most of them were grosly Wicked, and declared their Sin as Sodom. And in the same Man­ner wherein the Jews of old were God's People, are the Members of the visible Christian Gentile Church God's People; for they are spoken [...] as graffed into the same Olive-Tree, from whence the former were broken off by Unbelief.

ANSW. The Argument proves too much, and therefore nothing at all. If those whom I oppose in this Controversy, bring this Objection, they will in Effect as much oppose Themselves in it, as me. The Objection, if it has any Force, equally militates against their and my Notion of visible Saintship. For those Jews, which it is alledg'd [...] God's People, and yet were so notoriously openly and [...] Wicked, had neither any Visibility of true Piety, nor yet of that moral Sincerity in the Profession and Duties of the true Religion, which the Opponents themselves suppose to be requisite in order to a proper visible Holiness, and a due Admission to the Privileges and Ordinances of the Church of God. None will pretend, that these obstinate Idolaters and impious Wretches had those Qualifications which are now requisite in order to an Admission to the Christian Sacraments. And therefore to what Purpose can they bring this Objection? Which, if it proves any Thing, over­throws my Scheme and their own both together, and both in an equally effectual Manner; and not only so, but will thoroughly destroy the Schemes of all Pretestants through the World, concerning the Quali­fications of the Subjects of Christian Ordinances. And therefore the Support of what I have laid down against those whom I oppose in this Controversy, requires no further Answer to this Objection. Neverthe­less, for the greater Satisfaction, I would here observe further:—

That such Appellations as God's People, God's Israel, and some other like Phrases, are used and applied in Scripture with considerable Diver­sity of Intention. Thus, we have a plain Distinction between the House of Israel, and the House of Israel, in Ezek. xx. 38, 39, 40. By the House of Israel in the 39th Verse is meant literally the Nation or Family of Israel: But by the House of Israel in the 40th Verse seems to be intended the spiritual House, the Body of God's visible Saints, that [Page 85] should attend the Ordinances of his publick Worship in Gospel-Times. So likewise there is a Distinction made between the House of Israel, & God's Disciples who should profess and visibly adhere to his Law and Testimony, in Isai. viii. 14,—17. And tho' the whole Nation of the Jews are often called God's People in those degenerate Times where in the Prophets were sent to reprove them, yet at the same Time they are charged as [...]salsly calling themselves of the holy City. Isai. xlviii. 2. And God often tells them, they are rather to be reckoned among Aliens, and to be looked upon as Chil­dren of the Ethiopians, or Posterity of the ancient Canaanites, on Account of their grosly wicked and scandalous Behaviour. See Amos ix. 7, 8, &c. Ezek. xvi. 2, 3, &c. ver.45, 46, &c. Isai. i. 10.

'Tis evident that God sometimes, according to the Methods of his mar­vellous Mercy and Long-suffering towards Mankind, has a merciful Res­pect to a degenerate Church, that is become exceeding corrupt in Regard that it is constituted of Members who have not those Quali­fications which ought to be insisted on: God continues still to have Respect to 'em so far as not utterly to forsake 'em, or wholly to deny his Confir­mation of and Blessing on their Administrations. And not being utterly renounced of God, their Administrations are to be looked upon as in some Respect valid, and the Society as in some Sort a People or Church of God. Which was the Case with the Church of Rome, at least 'till the Refor­mation and Council of Trent; for 'till then we must own their Baptisms and Ordinations to be valid.—The Church that the Pope sits in, is called The Temple of God. 2 Thes. ii. 4.

And with Regard to the People of Israel, 'tis very manifest, that some­thing diverse is oftentimes intended by that Nation's being God's People, from their being visible Saints, or visibly Holy, 'or having those Qualifica­tions which are requisite in order to a due Admission to the ecclesiastical Privileges of such. That Nation, that Family of Israel according to the Flesh, and with Regard to that external and carnal Qualification, were in some Sense adopted by God to be his peculiar People, and his Covenant­People. This is not only evident by what has been already observed, but also indisputably manifest from Rom. ix. 3, 4, 5. I have great Heaviness and continual Sorrow of Heart; for I could wish that my self were accursed from Christ for my Brethren, my Kinsmen ACCORDING TO THE FLESH, who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the ADOPTION, and the Glory, and the COVENANTS, and the giving of the Law, and the Service of God, and the PROMISES; whose are the Fathers; and of whom, concerning the Flesh, Christ came. 'Tis to be noted, that the Privileges here mention'd are spoken of as belonging to the Jews, not now as visible Saints, not as Pro­fessors of the true Religion, not as Members of the visible Church of Christ; but only as People of such a Nation, such a Blood, such an ex­ternal and carnal Relation to the Patriarchs their Ancestors, Isralites AC­CORDING [Page 86] TO THE FLESH. For the Apostle is speaking here of the unbelieving Jews, professed Unbelievers, that were out of the Chris­tian Church, and open visible Enemies to it, and such as had no Right to the external Privileges of Christ's People. So in Rom. xi. 28, 29. this Apostle speaks of the same unbelieving Jews, as in some Respect an elect People, and interested in the Calling, Promises and Covenants God formerly gave to their Fore-fathers, and as still beloved for their sakes. As concerning the Gospel, they are Enemies for your Sake; but as touching the Election, they are beloved for the Fathers sakes: For the Gifts and Calling of God are without Repentance. These Things are in these Places spoken of, not as Privileges belonging to the Jews now as a People of the right Religion, or in the true Church of visible Worshippers of God; but as a People of such a Pedigree or Blood; and that even after the ceasing of the Mosaic Administration. But these were Privileges more especially belonging to them under the Old Testament: They were a Family that God had chosen in Distinction from all others, to shew special Fa­vour to above all other Nations. 'Twas manifestly agreeable to God's Design to constitute Things so under the Old Testament, that the Means of Grace and spiritual Privileges and Blessings should be, tho' not wholly, yet in a great Measure confined to a particular Family, much more than those Privileges and Blessings are confined to any Posterity or Blood now under the Gospel. God did purposely so order Things that that Nation should by these Favours be distinguished, not only from those who were not Professors of the Worship of the true God, but also in a great Mea­sure from other Nations, by a Wall of Separation that he made. This was not meerly a Wall of Separation between Professors and Non-Professors (such a Wall of Separation as this remains still in the Days of the Gospel) but between NATION and NATIONS. God, if he pleases, may by his Sovereignty annex his Blessing, and in some Measure fix it, for his own Reasons, to a particular Blood, as well as to a particular Place or Spot of Ground, to a certain Building, to a particular Heap of Stones, or Altar of Brass, to particular Garments, and other external Things. And 'tis evident, that he actually did affix his Blessing to that particular external Family of Jacob, very much as he did to the City Jerusalem, that he chose to place his Name there, and to Mount Zion where he commanded the Blessing. God did not so affix his Blessing to Jerusalem or Mount Zion, as to limit himself, either by confining the Blessing wholly to that Place, never to bestow it elsewhere: nor by obliging himself always to bestow it on those that sought him there; nor yet obliging himself never to withdraw his Blessing from thence, by forsaking his dwelling Place there, and leaving it to be a common or profane Place: But he was pleased so to annex his Blessing to that Place, as to make it the Seat of his Bles­sing in a peculiar Manner, in great Distinction from other Places. In [Page 87] like Manner did he fix his Blessing to that Blood or Progeny of Jacob. It was a Family which he delighted in, and which he blessed in a peculiar Manner, and to which he in a great Measure confined the Blessing; but not so as to limit himself, or so as to oblige himself to bestow it on all of that Blood, or not to bestow it on others that were not of that Blood. He affixed his Blessing to both these, both to the Place and Nation, by sovereign Election. Psal. cxxxii. 13, 14, 15. He an­nex'd and fix'd his Blessing to both by Covenant. To that Nation he fix'd his Blessing by his Covenant with the Patriarchs. Indeed the main Thing, the Substance and Marrow of that Covenant which God made with Abraham and the other Patriarchs, was the Covenant of Grace, which is continued in these Days of the Gospel, and extends to all his spiritual Seed, of the Gentiles as well as Jews: But yet that Covenant with the Patriarchs contain'd other Things that were as it were Appendages to that great everlasting Covenant of Grace, Promises of lesser Matters, subservient to the grand Promise of the future Seed, and typical of Things appertaining to him. Such were those promises, that annexed the Bles­sing to a particular Country, viz. the Land of Canaan, and a particular Blood, viz. the Progeny of Isaac and Jacob. Just so it was also as to the Covenant God made with David that we have an Account of, 2 Sam. vii. and Psal cxxxii. If we consider that Covenant with Regard to what the Soul and Marrow of it was, it was the Covenant of Grace: But there were other Promises which were as it were Appendages of Things sub­servient to the grand Covenant, and typical of it's Benefits; such were Promises of the Blessing to the Nation of the literal Israel, and of continu­ing the temporal Crown of Israel to Davia's Posterity, and of fixing the Blessing to Jerusalem or Mount Zion, as the Place that he chose to set his Name there. And in this Sense it was that the very Family of Jacob were God's People by Covenant, or his Covenant-People, and his chosen People; yea and this even when they were no visible Saints, when they were edu­cated and lived in Idolatry, and made no Profession of the true Religion.

On the whole, it is evident that the very Nation of Israel, not as visi­ble Saints, but as the Progeny of Jacob according to the Flesh, were in some Respect a chosen People, a People of God, a Covenant People, an holy Nation; even as Jerusalem was a chosen City, the City of God, a holy City, and a City that God had engaged by Covenant to dwell in.

Thus a sovereign and alwise God was pleased to ordain Things with Respect to the Nation of Israel. Perhaps we may not be able to give all the Reasons of such a Constitution; but some of them seem to be pretty manifest; as

1. The great and main End of separating one particular Nation from all others, as God did the Nation of Israel, was to prepare the Way for the coming of the Messiah, who was to proceed of that Blood, God's Covenant [Page 88] with Abraham & the other Patriarchs implied that the Messiah should be of their [...] their Seed according to the Flesh. And therefore it was re­quisite that their Progeny according to the Flesh should be fenced in by a Wall of Separation, and made God's People. If the Messiah had been born of some of the Professors of Abraham's Religion, but of some other Na­tion, that Religion being propagated from Nation to Nation, as 'tis now under the Gospel, it would not have answered the Covenant with Abraham, for the Messiah to have been born of Abraham's Seed only in this Sense. The Messiah being by Covenant so related to Jacob's Pro­geny according to the Flesh, God was pleased, agreable to the Nature of such a Covenant, to shew great Respect to that People on Account of that extenal carnal Relation. Therefore the Apostle mentions it as one great Privilege, that of them according to the Flesh Christ came, Rom. ix. 5. As the introducing the Messiah and his Salvation and Kingdom was the special Design of all God's Dealings and peculiar Dispensations towards that People, the natural Result of this was, that great Account should be made of their being of that Nation, in God's Covenant Dealings withthem.

2. That Nation was a typical Nation. There was then literally a Land, that was the dwelling Place of God; which was a type of Hea­ven the true dwelling-place of God, and an external City of God, which was a type of the spiritual City of God; an external Temple of God, which was a type of the spiritual City of God; an external Temple of God, which was a Type of his spiritual Temple: So there was an external People and Family of God, by carnal Generation, which was a type of his spiritual Progeny: And the Covenant by which they were made a People of God, was a type of the Covenant of Grace; and so is sometimes re­presented as a Marriage-Covenant. God, agreable to the Nature of that Dispensation, Shew'd a great Regard to external and carnal Things in those Days, as types of spiritual Things. What a great Regard God did shew then to external carnal Qualifications for Privileges and Services, appears in this, that there is ten times so much said in the Books of Moses about such Qualifications in the Institutions of the Passover and Tabernacle-Ser­vices, as about any moral Qualifications whatsoever. And so much were such typical Qualifications insisted on, that even by the Law of Moses the Congregation of the Lord, or publick Congregation or Church (for the Word is the same) of visible Worshippers of God, and the Number of publick Professors of the true Religion, who were visible Saints, were not the same: For some were of the latter, that were not of the former; as particularly the Eunuchs, who were excluded the Con­gregation, tho' never so externally religious, yea truly pious; and so also Bastards, &c.

3. It was the sovereign Pleasure of God to chuse that Family, the Pos­terity of Jacob according to the Flesh, to reserve 'em for special Favours to the End of Time. And therefore they are still kept a distinct Nation, [Page 89] being still reserved for distinguishing Mercy in the latter Day, when they shall be restored to the Church of God. God is pleased in this Way to testify his Regard to their holy Ancestors, and his Regard to their exter­nal Relation to Christ. Therefore the Apostle still speaks of 'em as an elect Nation, and beloved for the Fathers sakes, even after they were broken off from the good Olive by Unbelief. God's Covenant with Abraham is in some Sense in Force with Respect to that People, and reaches them even to this Day; and yet surely they are not God's Covenant­People, in the Sense that visible Christians are. See Lev. xxvi. 42.

If it be here said, It was often foretold by the Prophets, that in the Days of the Gospel other Nations should be the People of God, as well as the Nation of the Jews: And when Christ sent forth his Apostles, he bid 'em go and disciple all Nations.

I answer; By a common Figure of Speech the prevailing Part of a Nation are called the Nation, and what is done to them is said to be done to the Nation, and what is done by them is said to be done by that Nation: And it is to be hoped, that the Time is coming when the prevailing Part of many Nations, yea of every Nation under Heaven, will be regularly brought into the visible Church of Christ. And if we by Nations in these Prophecies understand any other than the prevailing Part, and it be insisted on that we must understand it of all the People belonging to those Nations; there never yet has been any Nation in this Sense regularly brought into the visible Church of Christ, even according to the Scheme of those whom I oppose: For there never yet has been an whole Nation that were outwardly moral. And besides, what Mr. Blake says in his Treatise of the Covenant (pag. 238.) may be applied here, and serve as an Answer to this Objection. ‘The Pro­phecies of the old Testament (says he) of the Glory of the New­Testament-Times, are in Old Testament Phrases, by Way of Allu­sion to the Worship of those Times, set forth to us.’ In Rev.xxi. 24. Nations are spoken of, as having an Interest in the New-Jerusalem, which yet is represented as perfectly pure, without the least Degree of Pollution and Defilement. ver. 27. And as for the Command to the Apostles, to disciple all Nations, it was a Direction to them as to what they should attempt, or do as much towards as they could; not a Prediction of what they should bring to pass in their Day: for they never brought one half of any one Nation into the visible Christian Church, nor any at all in one half of the Nations in the World, it's very probable.

If it should here be further objected, that 'tis an Evidence that Gentile Christians are visible Saints, according to the New-Testament-Nation of visible Saintship, in the very same Manner as the whole Jewish Nation were 'till they were broken off by their obstinate Rejection of the [Page 90] Messiah; and the Gentile Christians represented as being grafted into the same Olive, from whence the Jews were broken off by Unbelief, Rom. xi. 17. &c.

I would inquire, What any one can intend by this Objection? Whe­ther it be this, viz. That we ought to insist on no higher or better Qua­lifications, in admitting Persons as Members of the Christian Church, and to all its Privileges, than the whole Nation of the Jews, of that Ge­neration which lived in Christ's Time, were possessed of, 'till they had obstinately persisted in their Rejection of him? If this is not intended, the Objection is nothing to the Purpose: Or, if this be intended, neither then is it to the Purpose of those with whom I have especially to do in this Controversy, who hold Orthodoxy, Knowledge of the Fundamental Doctrines of Religion, moral Sincerity, and a a good Conversation, to be Qualifications, which ought to be insisted on, in order to a visible Church-State: For a very great Part of those Jews were destitute of these Qualifications; Many of them were Sadducees, who denied a future State; others of them Herod [...]ans, who were occasional Conformists with the Romans in their Idolatries; the prevailing Sect among them were Pharisees, who open­ly professed the false Doctrine of Justification by the Works of the Law and external Privileges, that Leaven of the Pharisees, which Christ warns his Disciples to beware of: Many of them were scandalously ignorant, for their Teachers had taken away the Key of Knowledge: Multitudes were grosly vicious, for it was a Generation in which all Manner of Sin and Wickedness prevailed.

I think, that Text in Rom. xi. can be understood no otherwise, in any Consistence with plain Fact, than that the Gentile Christians suc­ceeded the Jews, who had been, either in themselves or Ancestors, the Children of Abraham, with Respect to a visible Interest in the Covenant of Grace (which, as has been observed, was the Substance & Marrow of the Covenant made with Abraham) until they were broken off from the Church, and ceased any longer to be visible Saints, by their open and obstinate Unbelief; (as indeed either they or their Ancestors had all been thus broken off from the Church of visible Saints; for every Branch or Family of the Stock of Jacob had been in the Church of visi­ble Saints, and each Branch withered and sail'd thro' Unbelief.) This was the highest and most important Sense, in which any of the Jews were externally the Children of Abraham, and implied the greatest Pri­vileges. But there was another Sense, in which the whole Nation, in­cluding even those of 'em who were no visible Saints, were his Children, which (as has been shewn) implied great Privileges, wherein Christian Gentiles do not succeed them, tho' they have additional ecclesiastical Pri­vileges, vastly beyond the Jews.

Whether I have succeeded, in rightly explaining these Matters, or no, yet my failing in it is of no great Importance with Regard to the [Page 91] Strength of the Objection, that occasioned my attempting it; which was, that scandalously wicked Men among the Jews are called God's People, &c. The Objection, as I observed, is as much against the Scheme of those whom I oppose, as against my Scheme; and therefore it as much concerns them, to find out some Explanation of the Matter, that shall shew something else is intended by it, than their having the Qualifications of visible Saints, as it does me; and a failing in such an Attempt as much affects and hurts their Cause, as it does mine.

OBJECT. III. Those in Israel, who made no Profession of Piety of Heart, did according to divine Institution partake of the Passover; a Jewish Sacrament, representing the same Things, and a Seal of the very same Covenant of Grace with the Lord's Supper; and particularly, it would be unreasonable to suppose, that all made a Profession of Godli­ness whom God commanded to keep that first Passover in Egypt, which the whole Congregation were required to keep, and there is no Shadow of any such Thing as their all first making a solemn publick Profession of those Things wherein true Piety consists: & so the People in general partook of the Passover, from to Generation to Generation; but it would be hard to suppose, that they all profess'd a supream Regard to God in their Hearts.

ANSW. 1. The Affair of the Israelites Participation of the Passover, and particularly that first Passover in Egypt, is attended with altogether as much Difficulty in Regard to the Qualifications which the Objectors themselves suppose requisite in Communicants at the Lord's Table, as with Regard to those which I insist upon; and if there be any Argument in the Case, it is fully as strong an Argument against their Scheme, as mine. One Thing they insist upon as a requisite Qualification for the Lord's Supper, is a publick Profession of Religion as to the essential Doctrines of it: But there is no more Shadow of a publick Profession of this Kind, preceeding that Passover in Egypt, than of a Profession of Godliness. Here not to insist on the great Doctrines of the Fall of Man, of our undone State by Nature, of the Trinity, of our Dependance in the free Grace of God for Justification &c. let us take only those two Doctrines of a future State of Rewards and Punishments, and the Doctrine of the Messiah to come, that Messiah who was represented in the Passover: Is there any more Appearance, in sacred Story, of the People's making a publick Profession in Egypt of these Doctrines before they partook of the Passover, than of their making Profession of the Love of God? And is there any more Probability of the former, than of the latter? Another Thing which they on the other Side suppose necessary to a due Atten­dance on the Lord's Supper, is, that when any have openly been guilty of gross Sins, they should before they come to this Sacrament, openly confess and bumble themselves for their Faults. Now 'tis evident by [Page 92] many Scriptures, that a great Part of the Children of Israel in Egypt had been guilty of joining with the Egyptians in worshipping their false gods, and had lived in Idolatry: But the History in Exodus gives us no Account of any publick solemn Confession of, or Humiliation for this great Sin, before they came to the Passover. Mr. Stoddard observes ( Appeal p. 58, 59) that there was in the Church of Israel a Way ap­pointed by God for the removal of Scandals; Men being required in that Case to offer up their Sacrifices, attended with Confession and visible Signs of Repentance. But where do we read of the People's offering up Sacrifices in Egypt, attended with Confession, for removing the Scandal of that most heinous Sin of Idolatry they had liv'd in? Or is there any more Probability of their publickly professing their Repentance and Hu­miliation for their Sin, before their celebrating the Passover, than of their publickly professing to love God above all? Another Thing which they suppose to be requisite in order to Admission to the Lord's Table, and about which they would have a particular Care be taken, is, that every Person admitted give Evidence of a competent Knowledge in the Doctrines of Religion, and none be allowed to partake who are grosly ignorant. Now there is no more Appearance of this with Regard to the Congre­gation in Egypt, than of a Profession of Godliness; and 'tis as difficult to suppose it. There is abundant Reason to suppose, that vast Numbers in that Nation, consisting of more than a Million of adult Persons, had been brought up in a great Degree of Ignorance, amidst their Slavery in Egypt, where the People seem to have almost forgotten the true God and the true Religion: And tho' Pains had been take by Moses, now for a short Season, to instruct the People better; yet, it must be consider'd, 'tis a very great Work, to take a whole Nation under such Degrees of Ignorance and Prejudice, and bring every one of them to a competent Degree of Knowledge in Religion; and a greater Work still for Moses both thus to instruct them, and also by Examination or otherwise, to come to a just Satisfaction, that all had indeed attain'd to such Knowledge.

Mr. Stoddard insists, that if Grace be requisite in the Lord's Supper, it would have been as much so in the Passover, in as much as the chief Thing the Passover (as well as the Lord's Supper) has Respect to & represents, is Christ's Sufferings. But if on this Account the same Qualifications are requisite in both Ordinances, then it would be as requisite that the Partakers should have Knowledge to discern the Lord's Body (in Mr. Stoddard's Sense of 1 Cor. xi. 29.) in the Passover, as in the Lord's Sup­per. But this certainly is as difficult to suppose, as that they profess'd Godliness: For how does it appear, that the People in general who par­took of the Passover, knew that it signified the Death of the Messiah, and the Way in which he should make Attonement for Sin by his Blood? [Page 93] Do's it look very likely that they should know this, when Christ's own Disciples had not Knowledge thus to discern the Lord's Body in the Passo­ver, of which they partook from Year to Year with their Master? Can it be supposed, they actually knew Christ's Death and the Design of it to be thereby signified, when they did not so much as realise the Fact it self, that Christ was to die, at least not 'till the Year before the last Passover? And besides how unreasonable would it be, to suppose, that the Jews understood what was signified, pertaining to Christ and Salvation by him, in all those many Kinds of Sacrifices, which they attended and partook of, and all the vast variety of Ceremonies belonging to them; all which Sacrifices were Sacramental Representations of Christ's Death, as well as the Sacrifice of the Passover? The Apostle tells us, that all these Things had a Shadow of Good Things to come, the Things concerning Christ; and yet there are many of them, which the Church of Christ to this Day don't understand; tho' we are under a thousand Times greater Advan­tage to understand them, than they were; having the New Testament, wherein God uses great plainness of Speech, to guide us, and living in Days wherein the Vail which Moses put over his Face is taken away in Christ, and the Vail of the Temple rent, and have the Substance and Antitype plainly exhibited, and so have Opportunity to compare these with those Shadows.

If it be objected, as a Difficulty that lies against our supposing a Pro­fession of Godliness requisite to a Participation of the Passover, that they who were uncircumcised, were expresly forbidden to partake, and if Con­version was as important and a more important Qualification than Cir­cumcision, why were not the unregenerate as expresly forbidden? I answer, why were not scandalous Sinners as expresly forbidden? And why was not moral Sincerity as expresly required as Circumcision?

If it be objected, that they were all expresly & strictly required to keep the Passover; but if Grace was requisite, and God knew that many of the Partakers would have no Grace, why would he give such universal Orders?

I answer; When God gave those Commands, he knew that the Com­mands, in all their Strictness, would reach many Persons who in the Time of the Passover would be without so much as moral Sincerity in Religion. Every Man in the Nation, of every Generation, and which should be in Being each Year, from the first Institution 'till the Death of Christ, were all (excepting such as were ceremonially unclean, or in a Journey) strictly required to keep the Feast of Passover; and yet God knew that Multi­tudes would be without the Qualification of moral Seriousness in Religion. It would be very unreasonable, to suppose, that every single Person in the Nation was morally serious, even in the very best Time that ever pass'd over the Nation; or that ever there was such a happy Day with that [Page 94] Nation, or any other Nation under Heaven, wherein all were morally sincere in Religion. How much then was it otherwise many Times with that Nation, which was so prone to Corruption, and so often generally involved in gross Wickedness? But the strict Command of God to keep the Passover reach'd the morally insincere, as well as others; they are no where excepted, any more than the unconverted. And as to any general Commands of God's Word, these no more required Men to turn from a State of moral Insincerity before they came to the Passover, than they re­quired 'em to turn from a graceless State.

But further, I reply, that God required them all to keep the Passover, no more strictly than he required them all to love the Lord their God with their whole Heart: And if God might strictly command this, He might also strictly command them to keep that Ordinance wherein they were especially to profess it, and seal their Profession of it. That evil Generation were not expresly forbidden to keep the Passover in suceeding Years, for the whole forty Years during which they went on provoking God, very often by gross sinning and open rebelling; but still the ex­press and strict Commands for the whole Congregation to keep the Passo­ver reach'd them, nor were they released from their Obligation.

If it be said, that we must suppose Multitudes in Israel attended the Passover, from Age to Age, without such a Visibility of Piety as I have insisted on; and yet we don't find their attending this Ordinance charged on them as a Sin, in Scripture: I answer, We must also suppose that Multitudes in Israel from Age to Age attended the Passover, who lived in moral Insincerity, yea and scandalous Wickedness. For the People in general very often notoriously corrupted themselves, and declined to Ways of open and great Transgression; and yet there is Reason to think, that in these Times of Corruption, for the most Part, they upheld Circum­cision and the Passover; and we don't find their attending on these Or­dinances under such Circumstances, any more expresly charged on them as a Sin, than their coming without Piety of Heart. The Ten Tribes con­tinued constantly in Idolatry for about 250 Years; and there is Ground to suppose, that in the mean Time they ordinarily kept up Circumcision and the Passover: For tho' they worshipped God by Images, yet they maintained most of the ceremonial Observances of the Law of Moses, called the Manner of the God of the Land, which their Priests taught the Samaritans, who were settled in their Stead, 2 Kings xvii. 26, 27. Never­theless we don't find Elijah, Elisha, or other Prophets that were sent a­mong them, reproving them for attending these Ordinances without the required moral Qualifications. Indeed there are some Things in the Writings of the Prophets, which may be interpreted as a Reproof of this; but no more as a Reproof of this, than of attending God's Ordinances, without a gracious Sincerity and true Piety of Heart and Life.

[Page 95] How many Seasons were there, wherein the People in general fell into and lived in Idolatry, that Scandal of Scandals, in the Times of the Judges, and in the Times of the Kings both in Judah and Israel? But still amidst all this Wickedness, they continued to attend the Sacrament of Cir­cumcision: We have every whit as much Evidence of it, as that they at­tended the Passover without a Profession of Godliness: We have no Ac­count of their ever leaving it off at such Seasons, nor any Hint of it's being renewed (as a Thing which had ceas'd) when they came to re­form. Tho' we have so full an Account of the Particulars of Josiah' Re­formation, after that long scandalous Reign of Manosseh, there is no Hint of any reviving of Circumcision, or returning to it after a Cessation. And where have we an Account of the People's being once reproved for attending this holy Sacrament while thus involved in scandalous Sin, in all the Old Testament? And where is this once charged on them as a Sin, any more than in the Case of unconverted Persons attending the Sacra­ment of the Passover. ^‡

ANSW. 2. Whatever was the Case with Respect to the Qualifications for the Sacraments of the Old Testament Dispensation, I humbly conceive 'tis nothing to the Purpose in the present Argument, nor needful to de­termine us with Respect to the Qualifications for the Sacraments of the Christian Dispensation, which is a Matter of such plain Fact in the New Testament. Far am I from thinking the Old Testament to be like an old Almanack out of Use; nay, I think it is evident from the New-Testa­ment, that some Things which had their first Institution under the Old­Testament, are continued under the New; for Instance, particularly, the Acceptance of the Infant-Seed of Believers as Children of the Cove­nant with their Parents; and probably some Things belonging to the Order and Discipline of Christian, Churches, had their first Beginning in the Jewish Synagogue. But yet all allow that the Old Testament Dis­pensation is out of Date, with it's Ordinances: And I think, in a Matter pertaining to the Constitution and Order of the New-Testament-Church, that is a Matter of Fact wherein the New-Testament it self is express, full and abundant, in such a Case to have Recourse to the Mosaic Dispensa­tion for Rules or Presidents to determine our Judgment, is quite need­less, and out of Reason. There is perhaps no Part of Divinity attended with so much Intricacy, and wherein orthodox Divines do so much differ, as the stating the precise Agreement and Difference between the two Dispensations of Moses and of Christ. And probably the Reason why God has left it so intricate, is, because our understanding the ancient [Page 96] Dispensation and God's Design in it is not of so great Importance, nor does so nearly concern us. Since God uses great Plainness of Speech in the New-Testament, which is as it were the Charter and municipal Law of the Christian Church, what Need we run back to the ceremo­nial and typical Institutions of an antiquated Dispensation, wherein God's declared Design was, to deliver divine Things in comparative Obscurity, hid under a Vail, and involved in Clouds?

We have no more Occasion for going to search among the Types, dark Revelations, and carnal Ordinances of the Old-Testament, to find out whether this Matter of Fact concerning the Constitution and Order of the New-Testament-Church be true, than we have Occasion for going there to find out whether any other Matter of Fact, we have an Account of in the New-Testament, be true; as particularly whether there were such Officers in the primitive Church as Bishops & Deacons, whether miraculous Gifts of the Spirit were common in the Apostles Days, whether the believing Gentiles were received into the primitive Christian Church, and the like.

ANSW. 3. I think, nothing can be alledged from the holy Scripture, that is sufficient to prove a Profession of Godliness to be not a Qualification requisite in order to a due and regular Participation of the Passover.

Altho' none of the requisite moral Qualifications for this Jewish Sa­crament, either of one Kind or other, are near so clearly made known in the Old Testament, as the Qualifications for the Christian Sacraments are in the New; and altho' the supposing a Visibility, either of moral Sincerity, or sanctifying Grace to be requisite, is (both respecting the one Case and the other) involved in some Obscurity and Difficulty; yet I would humbly offer what appears to me to be the Truth concerning that Matter, in the Things that follow.

(1.) Altho' the People in Egypt, before the first Passover, probably made no explicit publick Profession at all, either of their Humiliation for their former Idolatry, or of present Devotedness of Heart to God; it being before any particular Institution of an express publick Profession, either of Godliness, or Repentance in Case of Scandal: Yet I think, there was some Sort of publick Manifestation, or implicit Profession of both. Pro­bably in Egypt they implicitly professed the same Things, which they afterwards professed more expresly and solemnly in the Wilderness. The Israelites in Egypt had very much to affect their Hearts, before the last Plague, in the great Things that God had done for them; especially in some of the latter Plagues, wherein they were so remarkably distin­guished from the Egyptians: They seem now to be brought to a ten­der Frame, and a Disposition to shew much Respect to God (see Exod. xii.27.) and were probably now very forward to profess themselves devoted to him, and true Penitents.

[Page 97] (2) After the Institution of an explicit publick Profession of Devoted­ness to God, or (which is the same Thing) of true Piety of Heart, this was wont to be required in order to a partaking of the Passover and other Sacrifices and Sacraments that adult Persons were admitted to Accordingly all the adult Persons that were circumcised at Gilgal, had made this Profession a little before on the Plains of Moab; as has been already observed. Not that all of them were truly Gracious; but seeing they all had a Profession and Visibility, Christ in his Dealings with his Church as to external Things, acted not as the Searcher of Hearts, but as the Head of the visible Church, accommodating himself to the pre­sent State of Mankind; and therefore he represents himself in Scripture as trusting his People's Profession; as I formerly observed.

(3.) In degenerate Times in Israel, both Priests and People were very lax with Respect to Covenanting with God, and professing Devotedness to him; and these Professions were used, as publick Professsions common­ly are still in corrupt Times, meerly as Matters of Form and Ceremony, at least by great Multitudes.

(4.) Such was the Nature of the Levitical Dispensation, that it had in no Measure so great Tendency to preclude and prevent hypocritical Pro­fessions, as the New-Testament-Dispensation; particularly, on Account of the vastly greater Darkness of it. For the Covenant of Grace was not then so fully reveal'd, and consequently the Nature of the Conditions of that Covenant not then so well known: There was then a far more ob­scure Revelation of those great Duties of Repentance towards God and Faith in the Mediator, and of those Things wherein true Holiness con­sists, and wherein it is distinguished from other Things: Persons then had not equal Advantage to know their own Hearts, while viewing themselves in this comparatively dim Light of Moses's Law, as now they have in the clear Sun-shine of the Gospel. In that State of the Minority of the Church, the Nature of true Piety, as consisting in the Spirit of Adoption, or ingenuous filial Love to God, and as distinguished from a Spirit of Bondage, servile Fear, and Self-Love, was not so clearly made known. The Israelites were therefore the more ready to mistake, for true Piety, that moral Seriousness and those warm Affections and Reso­lutions that resulted from that Spirit of Bondage, which shewed it self in Israel remarkably at Mount Sinai; and which throughout all the Old-Testament-Times, they were especially incident to.

(5.) God was pleased in a great Measure to wink at and suffer (tho' he did not properly allow) that Laxness there was among the People, with Re­gard to the Visibility of Holiness, and the moral Qualifications requisite to an Attendance on their Sacraments: as also he did in many other Cases of great Irregularity, under that dark, imperfect, and compara­tively carnal Dispensation; such as Polygamy, putting away their Wives [Page 98] at Pleasure, the Revenger of Blood killing the Man-slayer, &c. and as he winked at the worshipping in High-Places in Solomon's Time (1 Kings iii. 4, 5.) and at the Neglect of keeping the Feast of Tabernacles according to the Law, from Joshua's Time 'till after the Captivity ( Neh viii. 17.) and as he winked at the Neglect of the Synagogue­Worship, or the publick Service of God in particular Congregations, 'till after the Captivity ^*, tho' the Light of Nature, together with the general Rules of the Law of Moses, did sufficiently teach and require it.

(6.) It seems to be from Time to Time foretold in the Prophecies of the old Testament, that there would be a great Alteration in this Respect, in the Days of the Gospel, that under the new Dispensation there should be far greater Purity in the Church. Thus, in the fore mention'd Place in Ezekiel it is foretold, that those who are [visibly] uncircumcised in Heart, should NO MORE enter into God's Sanctuary. Again Ezek. xx. 37, 38. And I will cause you to pass under the Rod, and will bring you into the Bond of the Covenant; and I will purge out from among you the Rebels, and them that transgress against me. It seems to be a Prophecy of the greater Purity of those who are visibly in Covenant with God. Isai, iv. 3. And it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion, and he that re­maineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living [i. e. has a Name to live, or is enrolled among the Saints] in Jerusalem. Isai, lii. 1. Put on thy beautiful Garments, O Jerusalem, the holy City; from henceforth there shall NO MORE come to thee the Uncircum­cised and the Unclean. Zech, xiv. 21. And in that Day, there shall be NO MORE the Canaanite in the House of the Lord.

(7.) This is just such an Alteration as might reasonably be expected from what we are taught of the whole Nature of the two Dispensations. As, the one had carnal Ordinances (so they are called Heb. ix. 10) the other a spiritual Service ( Joh. iv. 24.) The one an earthly Canaan, the other an heavenly; the one an external Jerusalem, the other a spiritual; the one an earthly high-Priest, the other an heavenly; the one a Worldly Sanctu­ary, the other a spiritual; the one a bodily and temporal Redemption (which is all that they generally discerned or understood in the Passover) the other a spiritual & eternal. And, agreably to these Things, it was so ordered in Providence, that Israel, the Congregation that should enter this worldly Sanctuary, and attend these carnal Ordinances, should be much more a worldly, carnal Congregation, than the New-Testament-Congre­gation. [Page 99] One Reason why it was ordered in Providence that there should be such a Difference, seems to be this, viz. That the Messiah might have the Honour of introducing a State of greater Purity and spiritual Glory. Hence God is said to find Fault with that ancient Dispensation of the Covenant, Heb. viii. 7, 8. And the Time of introducing the new Dis­pensation is called the Time of Reformation, Heb. ix. 10. And one Thing, wherein the Amendment of what God found Fault with in the former Dispensation should consist, the Apostle intimates, is the greater Pu­rity and Spirituality of the Church. Heb. viii. 7, 8, 11.

OBJECT. IV. 'Tis not reasonable, to suppose, that the Multitudes which John the Baptist baptized, made a Profession of saving Grace, or had any such Visibility of true Piety, as has been insisted on.

ANSW. Those whom John baptized, came to him confessing their Sins, making a Profession of some Kind of Repentance; and 'tis not reasonable to suppose, the Repentance they profess'd, was specifically or in Kind diverse from that which he had instructed 'em in and call'd them to, which is called Repentance for the Remission of Sins; and that is saving Repentance. John's Baptism is called the Baptism of Repentance for the Remission of sins: I know not how such a Phrase can be reasonably understood any other­wise, than so as to imply, that his Baptism was some Exhibition of that Repentance, and a Seal of the Profession of it. Baptism is a Seal of some Sort of religious Profession, in adult Persons: But the very Name of John's Baptism shews, that it was a Seal of a Profession of Repentance for the Re­mission of Sins. 'Tis said, Luke iii. 3. John PREACHED the Baptism of Repentance for the Remission of sins. What can be understood by this, but his preaching that Men should now speedily turn to God, by true Re­pentance and Faith in the promised Saviour, and come and confess their Sins, and openly declare this Repentance towards God, and Faith in the Lamb of God, and that they should confirm and Seal this their Profession by Baptism, as well as therein receive the Seal of God's Willingness to remit the Sins of such as had this Faith and Repentance. Accordingly, we are told, the People came and were baptized of him, confessing their Sins, ma­nifesting and professing that Sort of Repentance and Faith which he preach'd. They had no Notion of any other Sort of Repentance put into their Heads, that they could suppose John call'd them to profess in Baptism, but this accompanied with Faith in the Lamb whom he call'd them to behold; for he preach'd no other to'em. The People that John baptized, pro­fess'd both Repentance for the Remission of Sins, and also Faith in the Messiah; as is evident by Acts. xix. 4, 5. John verily baptized with the Baptism of Repentance, saying unto the People, that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on CHRIST JESUS: When they heard this [John's Preaching] they were baptized in the Name of the Lord JESUS.

[Page 100] If it be objected here, that we are told Matth. iii. 5, 6. There went cut to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the Region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their Sins; and that it is not to be imagined, all these made any credible Profession of saving Repen­tanc [...] and Faith! I answer, No more is to be understood by these Ex­pressions, according to the Phraseology of the Scripture, than that there was a very general Resort of People from these Places to John. Nor is any more to be understood by the like Term of Universality in Joh. iii. 26. They came to John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee be­yond Jordan, to whom thou bearest Witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and ALL MEN come to him. That is, there was a great Resort to him from all Quarters. 'Tis in no wise unreasonable, to suppose, there was indeed a very great Number of People that came to John from the Places men­tioned, who being exceedingly moved by his Preaching, in that Time of extraordinary Out pouring of the Spirit, made Profession of the Faith and Repentance which John preached. Doubtless there were many more Professors, than real Converts: But still in the great Resort to John, there were many of the latter Character; as we may infer from the Prophecy: as appears by Luk. i. 16, 17. ‘And many of the Children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the Spirit and Power of Elias, to turn the Hearts of the Fathers to the Children, and of the Disobedient to the Wisdom of the Just, to make ready a People prepared for the Lord.’ And from that Account of Fact in Matth. xi. 12. ‘From the Days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom, of Heaven suffereth Violence, and the Violent take it by Force.’ And in Luke xvi. 16. ‘The Law and the Prophets were until John: Since that Time the Kingdom of God is preached, and EVERY MAN presseth into it.’ Here the Expression is no less universal, than that which is objected in Matth. iii. 5, 6. As to those wicked Pharisees, that so much opposed Christ, some of them I sup­pose had been baptized by John, and then had a great Shew of Repen­tance and Faith; but they afterwards apostatized, and were much worse than ever before: Therefore Christ speaks of 'em as being like a House from which the unclean Spirit is visibly turned out for a while, and is left empty, swept and garnish'd, but afterward is repossessed, and has many Devils instead of one. Luk. xi. 24, &c. Yet as to the greater Part of these Pharisees, they were not baptized by John, as appears by Luk. vii.29, 30.

If it be further objected, that John in baptizing such Multitudes could not have Time to be sufficiently informed of those he baptized, whether their Profession of Godliness was credible, or no. I answer, That we are not particularly informed of the Circumstances of his teaching, and of the Assistance he was favour'd with, and the Means he had of Informa­tion concerning those whom he baptized: But we may be sure of one [Page 101] Thing, viz. He had as much Opportunity to inquire into the Credibility of their Profession, as he had to inquire into their doctrinal Knowledge & moral Character; which my Opponents suppose to be necessary, as well as I: And this is enough to silence the present Objection.

OBJECT. V. Christ says, Matth. xx. 16. and again Chap. xxii. 14. that many are called, but few are chosen. By which it is evident, that there are many, who belong to the visible Church, and yet but few real and true Saints; and that it is ordinarily thus, even under the New­Testament, and in Days of Gospel-Light: and therefore that Visibility of Saintship, whereby Persons are visible Saints in a Scripture-Sense, can't imply an apparent Probability of their being real Saints, or truly graci­ous Persons.

ANSW. In these Texts, by those that are called, are not meant those who are visible Saints, and have the requisite Qualifications for Christian Sacraments; but all such as have the external Call of the Word of God, and have it's Offers and Invitations made to them. And it is undoubt­edly true, and has been Matter of Fact, for the most Part, that of those called in this Sense, many have been but only called, and never truly obe­dient to the Call, few have been true Saints. So it was in the jewish Nation, which the Parable in the xxth of Matth. has a special Respect to; they in general had the external Call of God's Word, and in gene­ral attended many religious Duties, in Hopes of God's Favour and Re­ward, which is called labouring in God's Vineyard; and yet but few of them eventually obtained Salvation; nay, great Multitudes of those who were called in the Sense, were scandalous Persons, and gross Hypocrites. The Pharisees and Sadducees were called, and they laboured in the Vineyard, in the Sense of the Parable; for which they expected great Rewards, a­bove the Gentile Converts or Proselytes; wherefore their Eye was evil towards them, and they could not bear that they should be made equal to them: But still these Pharisees and Sadducees had not generally the intellectual and moral Qualifications, that my Opponents suppose requi­site for Christians Sacraments; being generally scandalous Persons, deny­ing some fundamental Principles of Religion, and explaining away some of it's most important Precepts. Thus, many in Christendom are called, by the outward Call of God's Word, and yet few of them are in a State of Salvation: But not all these that sit under the Sound of the Gospel, and hear its Invitations, are sit to come to Sacraments.

That by those who are called, in this Saying of our Saviour, is meant those that have the Gospel offer, and not those who belong to the Society of visible Saints, is evident beyond all Dispute, in Matth. xxii. 14. By the many that are called, are plainly intended the many that are invited to the Wedding. In the foregoing Parable, we have an Account of those [Page 102] that from Time to Time were bidden, or CALLED (for the Word is the same in the original ver. 3. And sent [...]e [...]th his Servants to CALL them that were CALLED [ [...]] and they would not come. This has Respect to the Jews, who refused not only savingly to come to Christ, but refused so much as to come into the visible Church of Christ. ver. 4. Again he sent forth other Servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden [or CALLED] Behold, I have prepared my Dinner, &c. Ver. 8 They which were bidden [or CALLED] were not worthy, Ver. 9. Go ye therefore to the high Ways, and as many as ye shall find, [...] [or CALL, [...]] to the Marriage, or nuptial Banquet; representing the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles; who upon it came into the King's House. i. e. the visi­ble Church, and among 'em one that had not a Wedding-Garment, who was bound Hand and Foot, and cast out, when the King came: And then, at the Conclusion, Christ adds this Remark, Ver 14. For many are CALLED or bidden [ [...]] but few are chosen; which must have Reference, not only to the M [...]n last mentioned, who came into the Wedding-House, the Christian visible Church, without a Wedding-Garment, but to those also mentioned before, who were called, but would not so much as come into the King's House, or join to the visible Christian Church. To sup­pose this Saying to have Reference only to that one Man who came with­out a Wedding Garment (representing one that comes into the visible Church, but is not a true Saint) would be to make the Introduction of this Aphorism, and it's Connection with what went before, very strange and unintelligible; because then it would be as much as to say thus, ‘ Mul­titudes came into the King's House, who were called, and the House was full of Guests; but among them was found one Man who was not chosen; for many are called, but few are chosen.’

OBJECT. VI. When the Servants of the Housholder, in the Parable of the Wheat and Tares ( Matth. xiii.) unexpectedly found Tares among the [...] they said to their Master, Wilt thou that we go and ga­ther them up? But he said, Now, last while ye gather up the Tares, ye root up also the Wheat wish them; [...] grow together until the Harvest. Which shews the Mind of Christ that we ought not to go about to make a Distinction between true Saints and apparent in this World, or aim at any such Thing as admitting true Saints only into the visible Church, but ought to let both be together in the Church 'till the Day of Judgment.

ANSW. 1. These Things in this Parable have no manner of Reference to Introduction into the Field, or Admission into the visible Church, as tho' no Care nor Measures shou'd be taken to prevent Tares being sours; or as tho' the Servants who had the Charge of the Field, would have done well to have taken Tares, appearing to be such, and planted them in the Field amongst the Wheat: No, instead of this, the Parable plainly implies [Page 103] the Contrary. But the Words cited have wholly Respect to a CASTING OUT and purging the Field, after the Tares had been introduced una­wares, and contrary to Design, through Men's Infirmity and Satan's Pro­curement. Concerning purging Tares out of the Field, or casting Men out of the Church, there is no Difference between me and those whom I oppose in the present Controversy: And therefore 'tis impossible, there should be any Objection from that which Christ says here concerning this Master, against Me, but what is as much of an Objection against Them; for we both hold the same Thing. It is agreed on all Hands, that adult Persons, actually admitted to Communion of the visible Church, however they may behave themselves so as to bring their spiritual State into Suspicion, yet ought not to be cast out, unless they are obstinate in Heresy or Scandal; lest, while we go about to root out the Tares, we should root out the Wheat also. And 'tis also agreed on all Hands, that when those represented under the Name of Tares bring forth such evil Fruit, such scandalous and obstinate Wickedness, as is plainly and visi­bly inconsistent with the Being of true Grace, they ought to be cast out. And therefore 'tis impossible, that this Objection should be any Thing to the Purpose.

ANSW. 2. I think, This parable, instead of being a just Objection against the Doctrine I maintain, is on the contrary a clear Evidence for it.

For (1.) The Parable sh [...]ws plainly, that if any are introduced into the Field of the Housholder, or Church of Christ, who prove to be not Wheat (i.e. not true Saints) they are bro't in unawares, or contrary to Design; and that they are what don't properly belong there. If Tares are as pro­perly to be sown in the Field, as is the Wheat, which must be the Case if the Lord's Supper be a converting Ordinance; then surely no Care ought to be taken to introduce Wheat only, and no Respect ought to be had more to the Qualities of Wheat in sowing the Field, than the Qualities of Tarer; nor is there any more Impropriety in the Tares having a Place there, than the Wheat: But this surely in altogether inconsistent with the Scope of the Parable.

(2.) This Parable plainly shews, that those who are in the visible Church, have all of them at first a Visibility, or Appearance to humane Sight, of true Grace, or of the Nature of true Saints. For it's ob­serv'd, Tares have this Property, that when they first appear, and 'till the Products of the Field arrive to some Maturity, they have such a Resem­blance of Wheat, that it is [...] to impossible to distinguish them.

OBJECT. VII. CHRIST Himself administred the Lord's Supper to Judas, whom he know at the same Time to be [...]; which is a full Evidence, that Grace is not in itself a requisite qualification in order to coming to the Lord's Supper [...] and if is [...] requisite in itself, a Profession of it can't be requisite.

[Page 104] ANSW. 1. 'Tis to me apparent, that Judas was not present at the Ad­ministration of the Lord's Supper. 'Tis true, he was present at the Pas­sover, and dipped with Christ in the Paschal Dish. The three former Evangelists do differ in the Order of the Account they give of this dipping in the Dish. Luke gives an Account of it after his Account of the Lord's Supper, Luke xxii. 21. But Matthew and Mark both give an Account of it before. (Matt. xxvi. 23. Mark xiv. 20.) And the like might be shown in abundance of Instances of these three Evangelists differing one from another in the Order of their Narratives; one places those Things in his History after others, which another places first; these sacred His­torians not undertaking to declare precisely the Date of every Incident, but regarding more the Truth of Facts, than the Order of Time. How­ever, in the present Case, the Nature of the Thing speaks for it self, and shews, that Judas's dipping with Christ in the Dish, or his Hand being with Christ on the Table, or receiving a Sop dipped in the Dish, must be in that Order wherein Matthew and Mark place it in their History, viz. at the Passover, antecedent to the Lord's Supper: For there is no such Thing in the Lord's Supper as dipping of Sops and dipping together in the Dish; but there was such a Thing in the Passover, where all had their Hand together in the Dish, and dipt their Sops in the bitter Sauce. None of these three Evangelists give us any Account of the Time when Judas went out: But John, who is vastly more particular as to what pass'd that Night, and is every where more exact as to the Order of Time than the other Evangelists, gives us an Account, and is very precise as to the Time, viz. that Jesus when he gave him the Sop, at the same Time sent him away, bidding him do quickly what he intended to do; and accordingly when he had received the Sop, he went immediately out. Joh. xiii. 27,—30. Now this Sop being at the Passover, 'tis evident he was not present at the Lord's Sup­per which followed. Many of the best Expositors are of this Opinion, such as Van Mastricht, Dr. Doddridge, and others.

ANSW. 2. If Judas was there, I deny the Consequence.—As I have observed once and again concerning the Lord's Dealings with his People under the old Testament, so under the New the same Observation takes Place: Christ did not come to judge the Secrets of Man, nor did ordinarily act, in his external Dealings with his Disciples, and in Administration of Ordinances, as the Searcher of Hearts; but rather as the Head of the visible Church, proceeding according to what was exhibitted in Profes­sion and Visibility; herein setting an Example to his Ministers, who should stand in his Place when he was gone, and act in his Name in the Ad­ministration of Ordinances. Judas had made the same Profession of Regard to his Master, and of forsaking all for him, as the other Disciples: And therefore Christ did not openly renounce him 'till he himself had destroyed his Profession and Visibility of Saintship, by publick scandalous [Page 105] Apostacy. Supposing then the Presence of Judas at the Lord's Supper, this affords no Consequence in Favour of what I oppose.

ANSW. 3. If they with whom I have to do in the Controversy, are not contented with the Answers already given, and think there is a remain­ing Difficulty in this Matter lying against my Scheme, I will venture to tell them, that the Difficulty lies full as hard against their own Scheme; and if there be any Strength at all in the Argument, it is to all Intents of the same Strength against the Need of those Qualifications which they themselves suppose to be necessary in order to an Approach to the Lord's Table, as against those which I think so. For altho' they don't think renewing saving Grace necessary, yet they suppose moral Seriousness or (as they variously speak) moral Sincerity in Religion to be necessary: They suppose it to be requisite, that Persons should have some Kind of serious Principle and View in coming to the Lord's Table; some Sort of Inten­tion of subjecting themselves to Christ, and of seeking and serving him, in general; and in particular some religious End in coming to the Sa­cramental Supper, some religious Respect to Christ in it. But now did not Christ at that Time perfectly know, that Judas had none of these Things? He knew he had nothing of Sincerity in the Christian Religion, or of Regard to Christ in that Ordinance, of any Sort whatsoever; he knew, that Satan had entred into him and filled his Heart, and that he was then cherishing in himself a malignant malicious Spirit against his Master, excited by the Reproof Christ had lately given him. (Compare Joh. xii 8. with Matth. xxvi. 8,—16. and Mark xiv. 4,—11.) and that he had already formed a traiterous murderous Design against him, and was now in the Prosecution of that bloody Design, having actually just before been to the chief Priests, and agreed with them to betray him for thirty Pieces of Silver. (See Matth xxvi. 14, 15, 16. Mark xiv. 10, 11. Luke xxii. 3,—6. & Joh. xiii. 2.) Christ knew these Things, and knew that Judas was utterly unqualified for the holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper; tho' it had not yet been made known to the Church, or the Disciples.—Therefore it concerns those on the contrary Part in this Controversy, to find out some Solution of this Difficulty, as much as it does me; and they will find they have as much Need to take Refuge in the Solution already given, in one or other of the two preceeding Answers to this Objection.

By the Way I would observe, that Christ's not excluding Judas from the Passover, under these Circumstances, knowing him to be thus unqualified. without so much as moral Sincerity, &c. is another Thing that effectually enervates all the Strength of the Objection against me, from the Passover: For Judas did not only in common with others fall under God's strict Command, in the Law of Moses, to keep this Feast, without any Ex­ception of his Case there to be found; but Christ himself with his own [Page 106] Hand gave him the Sop, a Part of the Paschal Feast; even altho' at the same Instant he had in View the Man's secret Wickedness and Hypo­crisy, the traiterous Design which was then in his Heart, and the horrid Conspiracy with the chief Priests, which he had already enter'd into, and was now in Prosecution of: this was then in Christ's Mind, and he intimated it to him, at the same Moment when he gave him the Sop, saying, What thou dost, do quickly. This demonstrates, that the Objection from the Passover is no stronger Argument against my Scheme, than the Scheme of those whom I oppose; because 'tis no stronger against the Necessity of sanctifying Grace, the Qualification for Christian Sacraments, which I insist upon, than it is against the Necessity of moral Seriousness or Sincerity, the Qualification which they insist upon.

OBJECT. VIII. If sanctifying Grace be an requisite Qualification in or­der to Persons due Access to Christian Sacraments, God would have given some certain Rule, whereby those who are to admit them, might know whether they have such Grace, or not.

This Objection was obviated in my starting the Question. However, I will say something further to it in this Place; and would here observe, that if there be any Strength in this Objection, it lies in the Truth of this Proposition, viz. That whatever Qualifications are requisite in order to Persons due Access to Christian Sacraments, God has given some certain Rule, whereby those who admit them, may know whether they have those Qualifications, or not. If this Proposition is not true, then there is no Force at all in the Argument. But I dare say, there is not a Divine, nor Christian of common Sense, on the Face of the Earth, that will assert and stand to it, that this Proposition is true: For there is none will deny, that some Sort of Belief of the Being of a God, some Sort of Belief that the Scriptures are the Word of God, that there is a future State of Rewards and Punishments, and that Jesus is the Messiah, are Qualifications requisite in order to Persons due Access to Christian Sa­craments; and yet God has given those who are to admit Persons no certain Rule, whereby they may know whether they believe any one of these Things. Neither has be given his Ministers or Churches any cer­tain Rule, whereby they may know whether any Person that offers himself for Admission to the Sacrament, was any Degree of moral Sin­cerity, moral Seriousness of Spirit, or any inward moral Qualification what­soever. These Things have all their Existence in the Soul, which is out of our Neighbour's View. Not therefore a Certainty, but a Profession and Visibility of these Things, must be the Rule of the Church's Pro­ceeding; and it is as good and as reasonable a Rule of Judgment con­cerning saving Grace, as it is concerning any other internal invisible Qua­lifications, which can't be certainly known by any but the Subject him­self.

[Page 107] OBJECT. IX. If sanctifying Grace be requisite to a due Approach to the Lord's Table, then no Man may come but he that knows he has such Grace. A Man must not only think he has a Right to the Lord's Supper, in order to his lawful partaking of it; but he must know he has a Right. If nothing but Sanctification gives him a real Right to the Lord's Supper, then nothing short of the Knowledge of Sanctification gives him a known Right to it: Only an Opinion and probable Hopes of a Right will not warrant his coming.

ANSW. 1. I desire those who insist on this as an invincible Argument, to consider calmly whether they themselves ever did, or ever will stand to it. For here these two Things are to be observed,

(1) If no Man may warrantably come to the Lord's Supper but such as know they have a Right, then no unconverted Persons may come unless they not only think, but know 'tis the Mind of God, that unconverted Persons should come, and know that he don't require Grace in order to their coming. For unless they know that Men may come without Grace, they can't know that they themselves have a Right to come being with­out Grace. And will any one assert and stand to it, that of Necessity all adult Persons, of every Age, Rank and Condition of Life, must be so versed in this Controversy, as to have a Certainty in this Matter, in or­der to their coming to the Lord's Supper? It would be most absurd for any to assert it a Point of easy Proof, the Evidence of which is so clear and obvious to every one of every Capacity, as to supersede all Occa­sion for their being studied in Divinity, in Order to a Certainty of it's Truth, That Persons may come to the sacred Table of the Lord, not­withstanding they know themselves to be unconverted! Especially consi­dering, it seems a Matter of plain Fact, that the Contrary to this Opinion has been in general the Judgment of Protestant Divines and Churches, from the Reformation to this Day; and that the bigger Part of the great­est Divines that have ever appeared in the World, who have spent their Lives in the diligent prayerful study of Divinity, have been fixed in the Reverse of that Opinion. This is sufficient at least to shew, that this Opinion is not so plain as not to be a disputable Point; and that the E­vidence of it is not so obvious to Persons of the lowest Capacity and lit­tle Inquiry, as that all may come to a Certainty in the Matter, without Difficulty and without Study.—I would humbly ask here. What has been the Case in Fact in our Churches, who have practised for so many Years on this Principle? Can it be pretended, or was it ever supposed, that the Communicants in general, even Persons of mean Intellectuals and low Education, not excepting the very Boys and Girls of sixteen Years old, that have been taken into the Church, had so studied Divi­nity, as not only to think, but know, that our pious Forefathers, and almost all the Protestant and Christian Divines in the World have been [Page 108] in an Error in this Matter? And have People ever been taught the Neces­sity of this previous Knowlege? Has it ever been insisted upon, that be­fore Persons come to the Lord's Supper they must look so far into the Case of a Right to the Lord's Supper, as to come not only to a full settled Opinion, but even Certainty in this Point? And has any one Minister or Church in their Admissions ever proceeded on the Supposition, that all whom they took into Communion were so versed in this Controversy, as this comes to? Has it ever been the Manner in examining them as to the Sufficiency of their Knowledge, to examine them as to their thoro' Acquaintance with this particular Controversy? Has it been the Man­ner to put by those who had only an Opinion and not a Certainty; even as the Priests who could not find their Register, were put by, 'till the Matter could be determined by Urim and Thummim? And I dare appeal to every Minister, and every Member of a Church that has been concern­ed in admitting Communicants, whether they ever imagined, or it ever entered into their Thought, concerning each One whose Admission they have consented to, that they had looked so much into this Matter, as not only to have settled their Opinion, but to be arriv'd to a proper Certainty?

(2) I desire it may be remember'd, the venerable Author of the Ap­peal to the Learned, did in his Ministry ever teach such Doctrine from whence it will unavoidably follow, that no one unconverted Man in the World can know he has Warrant to come to the Lord's Supper. For if any unconverted Man has Warrant to worship his Maker in this Way, it must be because God has given him Warrant by the Revelation of his Mind in the holy Scriptures. And therefore if any unconverted Man, not only think, but knows, he has Warrant from God, he must of Con­sequence, not only think, but know, that the Scriptures are the Word of God. But I believe all that survive of the stated Hearers of that emi­nent Divine, and all who were acquainted with him, well remember it to be a Doctrine which he often taught and much insisted on, that no natural Man knows the Scripture to be the Word of God; that altho' such may think so, yet they don't know it; and that at best they have but a doubtful Opinion: And he often would express himself thus; N [...] natu­ral Man is thoroughly, convinced, that the Scriptures are the Word of God; if they were convinced, they would be gained. Now, if so, 'tis impossible any natural [...] in the World should ever know, 'tis his Right, in his present Condition, to come to the Lord's Supper. True, he may think it is his Right, he may have that Opinion: but he can't know it; and so must not come, according to this Argument. For 'tis only the Word of God in the holy Scriptures, that gives a Man a Right to wor­ship the supream Being in this Sacramental Manner, and to come to him in this Way, or any other, as one in Covenant with him. The Lord's [Page 109] Supper being no Branch of natural Worship, Reason without Institution is no Ground of Duty or Right in this Affair. And hence 'tis plainly im­possible for those that don't so much as know the Scriptures are the Word of God, to know they have any good Ground of Duty or Right in this Matter. Therefore, supposing unconverted Men have a real Right, yet since they have no known Right, they have no Warrant (according to the Argument before us) to take and use their Right; and what Good then can their Right do them? Or how can they excuse them­selves from Presumption, in claiming a Right, which they don't know belongs to them?—It's said, A probable Hope that Persons are regene­rate, wont warrant them to come; if they come, they take a Liberty to do that which they don't know God gives them Leave to do, which is horrible Presumption in them. But if this be good arguing, I may as well say, a probable Opinion that unregenerate Men may communicate, wont warrant such to do it. They must have certain Knowledge of this: else, their Right being uncertain, they run a dreadful Venture in com­ing.

ANSW. 2. Men are liable to doubt concerning their moral Sincerity, as well as saving Grace. If an unconverted Man, sensible of his being under the reigning Power of Sin, was about to appear solemnly to own the Cove­nant (as it is commonly called) & to profess to give up himself to the Ser­vice of God in an universal & persevering Obedience; & at the same time knew, that if he did this, and seal'd this Profession at the Lord's Supper, without moral Sincerity (supposing him to understand the meaning of that Phrase) he should eat and drink Judgment to himself; and if accordingly, his Conscience being awakened, he was afraid of God's Judgment; in this Case, I believe, the Man would be every whit as liable to Doubts about his moral Sincerity, as godly Men are about their gracious Since­rity. And if it ben't Matter of Fact, that natural Men are so often exercised and troubled with Doubts about their moral Sincerity, as godly Men are about their Regeneration, I suppose it to be owing only to this Cause, viz. that godly Men being of more tender Consciences than those under the Dominion of Sin, are more afraid of God's Judgments, and more ready to tremble at his Word. The Divines on the other Side of the Question, suppose it to be requisite, that Communicants should be­lieve the Fundamental Doctrines of Religion with all their Heart (in the Sense of Act. viii. 37.) the Doctrine of three Persons and one God, in par­ticular: But I think, there can be no reasonable Doubt, that natural Men, who have so weak and poor a Kind of Faith in these Mysteries, if they were indeed as much afraid of terrible Consequences of their be­ing deceived in this Matter, or being not morally sincere in their Pro­fession of the Truth, as truly gracious Men are wont to be of Delusion concerning their Experience of a Work of Grace, or whether they are [Page 110] evangelically sincere in choosing God for their Portion; the former would be as frequently exercised with Doubts in the one Case, as the latter in the other. And I very much question, whether any Divine on the other Side of the Controversy would think it necessary, that natural Men in professing those Things should mean that they know they are morally sincere, or intend any more than that they trust they have that Sincerity, so far as they know their own Hearts. If a Man should come to 'em, proposing to join with the Church, and tell 'em, tho' indeed he was something afraid whether he believed the Doctrine of the Trinity with all his Heart, (meaning in a moral Sense) yet that he had often examined himself as to that Matter with the utmost Impartiality and Strictness he was capable of, and on the whole he found Reasons of probable Hope, and his preponderating Thought of himself was, that he was sincere in it; would they think such an One ought to be rejected, or would they advise him not to come to the Sacrament, because he did not certainly know he had this Sincerity, but only thought he had it!

ANSW. 3. If we suppose sanctifying Grace to be requisite in order to a being properly qualified, according to God's Word, for an Attendance on the Lord's Supper; yet it will not follow, that a Man must know he has this Qualification, in order to his being capable of conscienciously at­tending it. If he judges, that he has it, according to the best Light he can obtain, on the most careful Examination, with the Improvement of such Helps as he can get, the Advice of his Pastor, & c. he may be bound in Conscience to attend. And the Reason in this; Christians partaking of the Lord's Supper is not a Matter of meer Claim, or Right and Privi­lege, but a Matter of Duty and Obligation; being an Affair wherein another (even God) has a Claim and Demand on us. And as we ought to be careful, on the one Hand, that we proceed on good Grounds in taking to our selves a Privilege, le [...]t we take what we have no good Claim to; so we should be equally careful, on the other Hand, to proceed on good Grounds in what we with-hold from another, lest we don't with hold that from him which is his Due, & which he justly challenges from us. There­fore in a Case of this complex Nature, where a Thing is both a Matter of Right or Privilege to us, & also a Matter of Obligation to another, or a Right of his from us, the Danger of proceeding without Right and Truth is e­qual both Ways; and consequently, if we can't be absolutely sure either Way, here the best Judgment we can form, af [...]er all proper Endeavours to know the Truth, must govern and determine us; otherwise we shall designedly do that whereby, according to our own Judgment, we run the greatest Risque; which is certainly contrary to Reason. If the Question were only what a Man has a Right to, he might forbear 'till he were sure: But the Question is, not only whether he has Right to attend the Supper, but whether God also has not a Right to his [Page 111] Attendance there? Supposing it were meerly a Privilege, which I am allow'd in a certain specify'd Case, & there were no Command to take the Lord's-Supper even in that Case, but yet at the same Time there was a Command not to take unless that be the Case in Fact, then, supposing I am uncertain whether that be the Case with me or no, it will be safest to abstain: But supposing I am not only forbidden to take it, unless that be the Case with me, but positively commanded and required to take it, if that be the Case in Fact, then it is equally dangerous to neglect on Uncer­tainties, as to take on Uncertainties. In such a critical Situation, a Man must act according to the best of his Judgment on his Case; otherwise he wilfully runs into that which he thinks the greatest Danger of the two.

Thus it is in innumerable Cases in human Life. I shall give one plain Instance: A Man ought not to take upon him the Work of the Ministry, unless called to it in the Providence of God; For a Man has no Right to take this Honour to himself, unless called of God. Now let us suppose a young Man, of a liberal Education and well accomplish'd, to be at a Loss whether it is the Will of God that he should follow the Work of the Ministry; and he examines himself, and examines his Circum­stances, with great Seriousness and solemn Prayer, and well considers and weighs the Appearances in divine Providence: And yet when has done all, he is not come to a proper Certainty, that God calls him to this Work; but however, it looks so to him, according to the best Light he can obtain and the most careful Judgment he can form: now such a one appears obliged in Conscience to give himself to this Work. He must by no Means neglect it under a Notion that he must not take this Honour to him­self, 'till he knows he has a Right to it; because, tho' it be indeed a Privilege, yet it is not a Matter of meer Privilege, but a Matter of Duty too; and if he neglects it under these Circumstances, he neglects what ac­cording to his own best Judgment, he thinks God requires of him, and calls him to; which is to sin against his Conscience.

As to the Case of the Priests, that could not find their Register (Ezra ii.) alledged in the Appeal to the Learned (pag. 64.) it appears to me of no Force in this Argument; for if those Priests had had never so great As­surance in themselves of their Pedigree being good, or of their being de­scended from Priests, and should have professed such Assurance; yet it would not have availed, nor did they abstain from the Priesthood, because they wanted Satisfaction themselves, but they were subject to the Judg­ment of the Sanhedrim; whose Rule to judge of the Qualification spoken of, God had never made any Profession of the Parties themselves, but the Visibility of the Thing and Evidence of the Fact to their own Eyes: this Matter of Pedigree being an external Object, ordinarily within the View of Man; and not any Qualification of Heart. But this is not the Case with Regard to requisite Qualifications for the Lord's Supper, which [Page 112] being many of them internal invisible Things, seated in the Mind and Heart, such as the Belief of a supreme Being, & c. God has made a credi­ble Profession of these Things the Rule to direct in Admission of Persons to the Ordinance: Who in making this Profession are determin'd and govern'd by their own Judgment of themselves, and not by any Thing within the View of the Church.

OBJECT. X. The natural Consequence of the Doctrine which has been maintain'd, is the bringing Multitudes of Persons of a tender Con­science and true Piety into great Perplexities; who being at a Loss about the State of their Souls, must needs be as much in Suspence about their Duty: And 'tis not reasonable, to suppose, that God would order Things so in the Revelations of his Will, as to bring his own People into such Per­plexities.

ANSW. 1. It is for Want of the like Tenderness of Conscience which the Godly have, that the other Doctrine which insists on moral Sincerity, don't naturally bring those who are received to Communion on those Principles, into the same Perplexities, through their doubting of their mo­ral Sincerity, of their believing Mysteries with all their Heart, &c. as has been already observed. And a being free from Perplexity, only thro' Stupidity and Hardness of Heart, is worse than being in the greatest Per­plexity through Tenderness of Conscience.

ANSW. 2. Supposing the Doctrine which I have maintain'd, be indeed the Doctrine of God's Word, yet it will not follow, that the Perplexities true Saints are in through doubting of their State, are Effects owing to the Revelations of God's Word. Perplexity and Distress of Mind, not only on Occasion of the Lord's Supper, but innumerable other Occasions, is the natural and unavoidable Consequence of true Christians doubting of their State. But shall we therefore say, that all these Perplexities are owing to the Word of God? No, 'tis not owing to God, nor to any of his Revelations, that true Saints ever doubt of their State; his Revelations are plain and clear, and his Rules sufficient for Men to determine their own Condition by: But, for the most Part, 'tis owing to their own Sloth, and giving Way to their sinful Dispositions. Must God's Insti­tutions and Revelations be answerable for all the Perplexities Men bring on themselves, through their own Negligence and Unwatchfulness? 'Tis wisely ordered it should be so, that the Saints should escape Perplexity in no other Way than that of great Strictness, Diligence, and maintaining the lively, laborious and self-denying Exercises of Religion.

It might as well be said, that 'tis unreasonable to suppose, God should order Things so as to bring his own People into such Perplexities, as doubting Saints are wont to be exercised with in the sensible Ap­proaches of Death; when their Doubts tend to vastly greater Perplexity, [Page 113] than in their Approaches to the Lord's Table. If Christians would more thoroughly exercise themselves unto Godliness, labouring always to keep a Conscience void of Offence both towards God and towards Man, it would be the Way to have the Comfort and caste the Sweetness of Religion. If they would so run, not as uncertainly; so fight, not as they that beat the Air; it would be the Way for them to escape Perplexity, both in Or­dinances and Providences, and to rejoyce and enjoy God in both.— Not but that doubting of their State sometimes arises from other Causes, besides want of Watchfulness; it may arise from Melancholy, and some other peculiar Disadvantages. But however, it is not owing to God's Revelations nor Institutions; which, whatsoever we may suppose 'em to be, will not prevent the Perplexities of such Persons.

ANSW. 3. It appears to me reasonable, to suppose, that the Doctrine I maintain, if universally embraced by God's People, however it might be an accidental Occasion of Perplexity in many Instances, through their own Infirmity and Sin; yet, on the whole, would be a happy Occasion of much more Comfort to the Saints, than Trouble, as it would have a Tendency on every Return of the Lord's Supper, to put them on the strictest Examination and Trial of the State of their Souls, agreeable to that Rule of the Apostle 1 Cor. xi. 28. The Neglect of which great Duty of frequent and thorough Self-Examination, seems to be one main Cause of the Darkness and Perplexity of the Saints, and the Reason why they have so little Comfort in Ordinances, and so little Comfort in general.—Mr. Stoddard often taught his People, that Assurance is attainable, and that those who are true Saints might know it, if they would; i.e. if they would use proper Means and Endeavours in order to it.—And if so, then certainly it is not just, to charge those Perplexities on God's Institutions, which arise through Men's Negligence; nor would it be just on the Sup­position of God's Institutions being such as I suppose them to be.

OBJECT. XI. You may as well say, that unsanctified Persons may not attend any Duty of divine Worship whatsoever, as that they may not attend the Lord's Supper; for all Duties of Worship are holy, and require Holiness in order to an acceptable Performance of 'em, as well as that.

ANSW. If this Argument has any Foundation at all, it has it's Founda­tion in the supposed Truth of the following Propositions, viz. Whosoever is qualified for Admission to one Duty of divine Worship, it qualified for Ad­mission to all; and he that is unqualified for one, and may be forbidden one, is unqualified for all, and ought to be allowed to attend none. But certainly these Propositions are not true. There are many who are qualified for some Duties of Worship, and may be allowed, and are by no Means to be forbidden to attend 'em, who yet are not qualified for some others, nor by [Page 114] any Means to be admitted to 'em. As every Body grants, the Unbap­tised, the Excommunicated, Hereticks, scandalous Livers, & c. may be admitted to hear the Word preached; nevertheless they are not to be allowed to come to the Lord's Supper. Even excommunicated Persons remain still under the Law of the Sabbath, and are not to be forbidden to observe the Lord's Day. Ignorant Persons, such as have not Know­lege sufficient for an Approach to the Lord's Table, yet are not excused from the Duty of Prayer: They may pray to God to instruct them, and assist 'em in obtaining Knowlege. They who have been educated in Arianism and Socinianism, and are not yet brought off from these funda­mental Errors, and so are by no Means to be admitted to the Lord's Supper, yet may pray to God to assist 'em in their Studies, and guide them into the Truth, and for all other Mercies which they need. Socrates, that great Gentile Philosopher, who worshipped the true God, as he was led by the Light of Nature, might pray to God, and he attended his Duty when he did so; altho' he knew not the Revelation, which God had made of himself in his Word. That great Philosopher that was con­temporary with the Apostle Paul, I mean Seneca, who held one supream Being, and had in many Respects right Notions of the divine Perfections and Providence, tho' he did not embrace the Gospel, which at that Day was preached in the World; yet might pray to that supreme Being whom he acknowleged. And if his Brother Gallio at Corinth, when Paul preach'd there, had prayed to this supream Being to guide him into the Truth, that he might know whether the Doctrine Paul preached was true, he therein would have acted very becoming a reasonable Creature, and any one would have acted unreasonably in forbidding him: but yet surely neither of these Men was qualified for the Christian Sacraments. So that 'tis apparent, there is and ought to be a Distinction made between Duties of Worship, with Respect to Qualifications for them: and that which is a sufficient Qualification for Admission to one Duty, is not so for all. And there­fore the Position is not true, which is the Foundation whereon the whole Weight of this Argument rests. To say, that altho' it be true there ought to be Distinction made, in Admission to Duties of Worship, with Regard to some Qualifications, yet sanctifying Grace is not one of those Qualifications that make the Difference; would be but a giving up the Argument, and a perfect begging the Question.

'Tis said, There can be no Reason assigned, why unsanctified Persons may attend other Duties of Worship, and not the Lord's Supper. But I humbly conceive, this must be an Inadvertence. For there is a Rea­son very obvious from that necessary and very notable Distinction among Duties of Worship, which follows:

1. There are some Duties of Worship, that imply a Profession of God's Covenant: whose very Nature and Design is an Exhibition of those vital [Page 115] active Principles and inward Exercises, wherein consists the Condition of the Covenant of Grace, or that Union of Soul to God, which is the Union between Christ and his Spouse, entred into by an inward hearty con­senting to that Covenant. Such are the Christian Sacraments, whose very Design is to make and confirm a Profession of Compliance with that Covenant, and whose very Nature is to exhibit or express the uniting Acts of the Soul: those Sacramental Duties therefore can't, by any whose Hearts do not really consent to that Covenant, and whose Souls do not truly close with Christ, be attended, without either their being self-de­ceived, or else wilfully making a false Profession, and lying in a very aggravated Manner.

2. There are other Duties, which are not in their own Nature an Ex­hibition of a Covenant-Union with God, or of any Compliance with the Condition of the Covenant of Grace; but are the Expression of general Vertues, or Vertues in their largest Extent, including both special and com­mon. Thus Prayer, or asking Mercy of God, is in it's own Nature no Profession of a Compliance with the Covenant of Grace: 'Tis an Ex­pression of some Belief of the Being of a God, an Expression of some Sense of our Wants, some Sense of our need of Help, and some Sense of a need of God's Help, some Sense of our Dependance, & c. but not only such a Sense of these Things as is spiritual and saving. Indeed there are some Prayers proper to be made by Saints, and many Things proper to be express'd by them In Prayer, which imply the Profession of a spiritual Union of Heart to God through Christ, but such as no Hea­ven, no Heretick, nor natural Man whatever, can or ought to make. Prayer in general, and asking Mercy and Help from God, is no more a Profession of Consent to the Covenant of Grace, than Reading the Scriptures, or Meditation; or performing any Duty of Morality and natural Religion. A Mahometan may as well ask Mercy, as hear Instruc­tion: And any natural Man may as well express his Desires to God, as hear when God declares his Will to him. 'Tis true, when an unconverted Man prays, the Manner of his doing it is sinful. But when a natural Man, knowing himself to be so, comes to the Lord's Supper, the very Matter of what he does, in respect of the Profession he there makes, and his Pretension to lay Hold of God's Covenant, is a Lie, and a Lie told in the most solemn Manner.

In a Word, the venerable Mr. Stoddard himself, in his Doctrine of instituted Churches, has taught us to distinguish between Instituted and natural Acts of Religion. The Word and Prayer he places under the Head of moral Duty, and considers as common to all; but the Sacraments, according to what he says there, being instituted, are of special Admini­stration, and must be limitted agreeable to the Institution.

[Page 116] OBJECT. XII. [...] Supper has a proper Tendency to promote Men's Conversion [...] an affecting Representation of the greatest and most important Things of God's Word: It has a proper Tendency to awaken and humble Sinners; here being a Discovery of the terrible Anger of God for Sin, by the Infliction of the Curse upon Christ, when Sin was imputed to him; & the Representation here made of the dying Love of Christ has a Tendency to draw the Hearts of Sinners from Sin to God, & c.

ANSW. Unless it be an evident Truth, that what the Lord's Supper may have Tendency to promote, the same it was appointed to promote, nothing follows from this Argument. If the Argument affords any Consequence, the Consequence is built on the Tendency of the Lord's Supper. And if the Consequence be good and strong on this Foundation, as drawn from such Premisses, then wherever the Premisses hold, the Consequence holds; otherwise it must appear, that the Premisses and Consequence ben't con­nected. And now let us see how it is in Fact. Don't scandalous Per­sons need to have these very Effects wro't in their Hearts, which have been mentioned? Yes surely, They need them in a special Manner: They need to be awaken'd; they need to have an affecting Discovery of that terrible Wrath of God against Sin, which was manifested in a pe­culiar Manner by the terrible Effects of God's Wrath in the Sufferings of his own incarnate Son: Gross Sinners need this in some Respect more than others: They need to have their Hearts broken by an affecting View of the great & important Things of God's Word: They need especially to fly to Christ for Refuge, & therefore need to have their Hearts drawn. And seeing the Lord's Supper has so great a Tendency to promote these Things, if the Consequence from the Tendency of the Lord's Supper as inferring the End of its Appointment, be good, then it must be a Consequence also well infer'd, that the Lord's Supper was appointed for the reclaiming and bringing to Repentance scandalous Persons.

Here, for any to go to turn this off by saying, Scandalous Persons are expresly forbid, is but a giving up the Argument, and a begging the Question. 'Tis a giving up the Argument; since it allows the Conse­quence not to be good. For it allows, that not withstanding the proper Tendency of the Lord's Supper to promote a Design, yet it may be so that the Lord's Supper was not appointed with a View to promote that End.—And 'tis a begging the Question; since it supposes, that unconverted Men are not evidently forbidden, as well as scandalous Persons; which is the Thing in Controverly. If they be evidently forbid, that is as much to reasonable Creatures. (who need nothing but good Evidence) as if they were expresly forbidden.—To say here, that the Lord's Supper is a con­verting Ordinance only to orderly Members, and that there is another Ordi­nance appointed for bringing scandalous Persons to Repentance, this is no Solu­tion of the Difficulty; but is only another Instance of yielding up the [Page 117] Argument and begging the Question: For it plainly concedes, that the Tendency of an Ordinance don't prove it appointed to all the Ends, which it seems to have a Tendency to promote; and also supposes, that there is not any other Ordinance, appointed for the Converting of Sinners that are moral and orderly in their Lives, exclusive of this, which is the Thing in Question.

'Tis at best but very precarious arguing, from the seeming Tendency of Things, to the divine Appointment, or God's Will and Disposition with Respect to the Use of those Things. It looks as tho' it would have had a great Tendency to convince the Scribes and Pharisees, and to promote their Conversion, if they had been admitted into the Mount when Christ was transfigured: But yet it was not the Will of Christ, that they should admitted there, or any other but Peter, James and John. It seems as tho' it would have had a very great Tendency to convince and bring to Repentance the unbelieving Jews, if they had been allowed to see and converse freely with Christ after his Resurrection, and see him ascend into Heaven; But yet it was the Will of God, that none but Disciples should be admitted to these Privileges. So it seems as tho' it might have had a good Tendency, if all that were sincere Followers of Christ, Women as well as Men, had been allowed to be present at the Institution of the Lord's Supper: But yet it's commonly thought, none were admitted beside the Apostles.

Indeed the ever honoured Author of the Appeal to the Learned has sup­plied me with the true and proper Answer to this Objection, in the fol­lowing Words, pag. 27, 28. ‘The Efficacy of the Lord's Supper does depend upon the Blessing of God. Whatever TENDENCY Ordinan­ces have in their OWN NATURE to be serviceable to Men, yet they will not prevail any further than God doth bless them. The Weapons of our Warfare are mighty thro' God, 2 Cor. x. 4. It is God that teaches Men to profit, and makes them profitable and serviceable to Men's Souls. There is Reason to hope for a divine Blessing on the Lord's Supper, when it is administred to those that it ought to be ad­ministred to; God's Blessing is to be expected in God's Way. If Men act according to their own Humours and Fancies, and don't keep in the Way of Obedience, it is Presumption to expect God's Bles­sing. Matt. xv. 9 In vain do they Worship me, teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of Men. But when they are admitted to the Lord's Supper that God would have to be admitted, there is Ground to hope that he will make it profitable.’

OBJECT. XIII. All that are Members of the visible Church and in the external Covenant, and neither ignorant nor scandalous, are com­manded to perform all external Covenant-Duties; and particularly they [Page 118] commanded to attend the Lord's Supper, in those Words of Christ, This do in Remembrance of me

ANSW. This Argument is of no Force, without first taking for grant­ed the very Thing in Question. For this is plainly supposed in it, that however these Commands are given to such as are in the external Cove­nant, yet they are not given indefinitely, but with Exceptions and Reserves, and don't immediately reach all such; they don't reach those who are un­qualified, tho' they be in the external Covenant. Now the Question is, who are these that are unqualified? The Objection supposes, that only ignorant and scandalous Persons are so. But why are they only supposed unqualifi­ed; and not unconverted Persons too? Because 'tis taken for granted, that these are not unqualified. And thus the grand Point in Question is suppos'd, instead of being prov'd. Why are these Limitations only sing­led out, neither Ignorant nor Scandalous; and not others as well? The Answer must be, because these are all the Limitations which the Scripture makes: But this now is the very Thing in Question. Whereas, the Business of an Argument is to prove, and not to suppose, or take for grant­ed, the very Thing which is to be proved.

If it be here said, It is with good Reason that those who are Ignorant or Scandalous alone are supposed to be excepted in God's Command, and Obligations of the Covenant; for the Covenant spoken of in the Ob­jection, is the external Covenant, and this requires only external Duties; which alone are what lie within the Reach of Man's natural Power, and so in the Reach of his legal Power: God don't command or require what Men have no natural Power to perform, and which can't be performed before something else, some antecedent Duty, is performed, which an­tecedent Duty is not in their natural Power.

I reply, Still Things are but supposed, which should be prov'd, and which want Confirmation.

(1.) It is supposed, that those who have externally (i e. by oral Profession and Promise) enter'd into God's Covenant, are thereby obliged to no more than the external Duties of that Covenant: which is not proved, and, I humbly conceive, is certainly not the true State of the Case. They who have externally entred into God's Covenant, are by external Profession and Engagements entred into that one only Covenant of Grace, which the Scripture informs us of; and therefore are obliged to fulfil the Duties of that Covenant, which are chiefly internal. The Children of Israel, when they externally entred into Covenant with God at Mount Sinai, promised to perform all the Duties of the Covenant, to obey all the ten Commandments spoken by God in their Hearing, and written in Tables of Stone, which were therefore called the Tables of the Covenant; the Sum of which ten Commands was, to LOVE the Lord their God with all their HEART, and with all their SOUL, and to LOVE their Neighbour as [Page 119] themselves; which principally at least are internal Duties. In particular, they promised not to Covet; which is an internal Duty. They promised to have no other God before the Lord; which implied, that they would in their Hearts regard no other Being or Object whatever above God, or in Equality with him, but would give Him their supreme Respect.

(2) 'Tis supposed, that God do's not require Impossibilities of Men, in this Sense, that he do's not require those Things of them which are out of their natural Power, and particularly that he don't require 'em to be converted. But this is not proved; nor can I reconcile it with the Tenor of the Scripture-Revelation: And the chief Advocates for the Doctrine I oppose, have themselves abundantly asserted the contrary. The vene­rable Author forementioned, as every Body knows, that knew him, al­ways taught, that God justly requires Men to be converted, to repent of their Sins, and turn to the Lord, to close with Christ, and savingly to believe in him; and that in refusing to accept of Christ and turn to God, they disobey'd the divine Commands, and were guilty of the most heinous Sin; and that their moral Inability was no Excuse.

(3.) 'Tis supposed, that God don't command Men to do those Things which are not to be done 'till something else is done, that is not within the Reach of Men's natural Ability. This also is not proved; nor do I see how it can be true, even according to the Principles of those who insist on this Objection. The fore-mentioned memorable Divine ever taught, that God commandeth natural Men without Delay to believe in Christ; and yet he always held, that is was impossible for them to be­lieve 'till they had by a preceeding Act submitted to the Sovereignty of God; which yet, he held, Men never could do of Themselves, nor 'till humbled and bowed by powerful Convictions of God's Spirit. Again, He taught, that God commandeth natural Men to love Him with all their Heart: and yet he held, that this could not be 'till Men had first believed in Christ; the Exercise of Love being a Fruit of Faith: and believing in Christ, he supposed not to be within the Reach of Man's natural Ability. Further, he held, that God requireth of all Men holy spiritual and acceptable Obedience; and yet that such Obedience is not within the Reach of their natural Ability; and not only so, but that there must first be Love to God, before there could be new Obedience, and that this Love to God is not within the Reach of Men's natural Ability: nor yet only so, but that before this Love there must be Faith, which Faith is not within the Reach of Man's natural Power: and still not only so, but that before Faith there must be the Knowlege of God, which Knowlege is not in natural Men's Reach: and once more, not only so, but that even before the Knowlege of God there must be a thoro' Hu­miliation, which Humiliation Men could not work in themselves by any natural Power of their own. Now, must it needs be thought, notwith­standing [Page 120] all these Things, unreasonable to suppose, that God should com­mand those whom he has nourish'd and brought up, to honour him by giving an open Testimony of Love to Him; only because wicked Men can't testify Love 'till they have Love, and Love is nor in their natural Power! And is it any good Excuse in the Sight of God, for one who is under the highest Obligations to Him, and yet refuses Him suitable Honour by openly testifying his Love of Him, to plead that He has no Love to testify; but on the contrary, has an infinitely unreasonable Ha­tred? God may most reasonably require a proper Testimony and Pro­fession of Love to Him; and yet it may also be reasonable to suppose, at the same Time, He forbids Men to lie; or to declare that they have Love, when they have none: Because, tho' it be supposed, that God requires Men to testify Love to Him, yet he requires 'em to do it in a right Way, and in the true Order, viz. first loving Him, and then testi­fying their Love.

(4) I don't see how it can be true, that a Man, as he is naturally, has not a legal Power to be converted, accept of Christ, love God & c. By a legal Power to do a Thing, is plainly meant such Power as brings a Person properly within the Reach of a legal Obligation, or the Obligation of a Law or Command to do that Thing: But he that has such natural Faculties, as render him a proper Subject of moral Government, and as speak it a fit and proper Thing for him to love God & c. and as given him a natural Capacity herefor; such a one may properly be commande [...] [...] put under the Obligation of a Law to do Things so reasonable; notwith­standing any native Aversion and moral Inability in him to do his Duty, arising from the Power of Sin. This also, I must observe, was a known Doctrine of Mr. Stoddard's, and what he ever taught.

OBJECT. XIV. Either unsanctified Persons may lawfully come to the Lord's Supper, or it is unlawful for them to carry themselves as Saints; but it is not unlawful for them to carry themselves as Saints.

ANSW. 'Tis the Duty of unconverted Men both to become Saints, and to behave as Saints. The Scripture Rule is, Make the Tres good, that the Fruit may be good. Mr. Stoddard himself never supposed, that the Fruit of Saints was to be expected from Men, or could possibly be brought forth by them in Truth, 'till they were Saints.

And I see not how it's true, that unconverted Men ought, in every Respect, to do those external Things, which it is the Duty of a godly Man to do. 'Tis the Duty of a godly Man, conscious of his having given his Heart unto the Lord, to profess his Love to God and his Esteem of him above all, his unseigned Faith in Christ &c. and in his Closet-Devotions to thank God for these Graces as the Fruit of the Spi­it in him: But it is not the Duty of another that really has no Faith, [Page 121] nor Love to God, to do thus. Neither any more is it a natural Man's Duty to profess these Things in the Lord's Supper.—Mr. Stoddard taught it to be the Duty of Converts, on many Occasions, to profess their Faith and Love and other Graces before Men, by relating their Experiences in Conversation: But it would be great Wickedness, for such as know them­selves to be not Saints, thus to do because they would speak falsely, and utter Lies in so doing. Now, for the like Reason, it would be very sinful, for Men to profess and seal their Consent to the Covenant of Grace in the Lord's Supper, when they know at the same Time that they do not consent to it, nor have their Hearts at all in the Affair.

OBJECT. XV. This Scheme will keep out of the Church some true Saints; for there are some such who determine against themselves, and their prevailing Judgment is, that they are not Saints: and we had better let in several Hypocrites, than exclude one true Child of God.

ANSW. I think, 'tis much better to insist on some Visibility to Reason, of true Saintship, in admitting Members, even altho' this thro' Men's Infirmity and Darkness, and Satan's Temptations, be an Occasion of some true Saints abstaining; than by express Liberty given, to open the Door to as many as please, of those who have no Visibility of real Saint­ship, and make no Profession of it, nor Pretension to it; and that be­cause this Method tends to the Ruin and great Reproach of the Christian Church, and also to the Ruin of the Persons admitted.

1. It tends to the Reproach and Ruin of the Christian Church. For by the Rule which God hath given for Admissions, if it be carefully attended ('tis said) MORE Unconverted, than Converted Persons, will be admitted. It is then confessedly the Way to have the greater Part of the Members of the Christian Church ungodly Men; yea, so much greater, that the godly shall be but few in Comparison of the Ungodly; agreeable to their In­terpretation of that Saying of Christ, Many are called, but few are chosen. Now, if this be an exact State of the Case, it will demonstrably follow, on Scripture Principles, that the opening the Door so wide has a direct Tendency to bring Things to that Pass, that the jar bigger Part of the Members of Christian Churches shall not be Persons of so much as a se­rious consciencious Character, but such as are without even moral Since­rity, and don't make Religion at all their Business, neglecting and cast­ing off secret Prayer and other Duties, and living a Life of Carnality and Vanity, so far as they can, consistently with avoiding Church-Censures; which possibly may be sometimes to a great Degree. Ungodly Men may be morally sober, serious and consciencious, and may have what is called moral Sincerity, for a while; may have these Things in a consi­derable Measure, when they first come into the Church: But if their Hearts are not changed, there is no Probability at all of these Things continuing [Page 122] long. The Scripture has told us, that this their Goodness is apt to vanish like the Morning Cloud and Early Dew. How can it be expected but that the Religion should in a little Time wither away, which has no Root? How can it be expected, that the Lamp should burn long, without Oyl in the Vessel to seed it? If Lust be unmortify'd, and left in reigning Power in the Heart, it will sooner or later prevail; and at Length sweep away common Grace and moral Sincerity, however excited and maintain'd for a while by Conviction and temporary Affections. It will happen to them according to the true Proverb, The Dog it return'd to his Vomit; and the Swine that was wished, to his wallowing in the Mire It's said of the Hy­pocrite, Will be delight himself in the Almighty? Will be always call upon God?—And thus our Churches will be likely to be such Congregati­ons as the Psalmist said he hated, and would not sit with. Psal. xxvi. 4, 5. I have not sat with vain Persons, nor will I go in with Dissemblers; I have hated the Congregation of Evil Doers, nor will I sit with the Wicked. This will be the Way to have the Lord's Table ordinarily furnish'd with such Guests as allow themselves to live in known Sin, and so such as meet together from Time to Time only to crucify Christ afresh, instead of commemorating his Crucifixion with the Repentance, Faith, Gratitude and Love of Friends. And this is the Way to have the governing Part of the Church such as are not even consciencious Men, and are careless about the Honour and Interest of Religion. And the direct Tendency of that is, in process of Time, to introduce a prevailing Negligence in Discipline, and carelesness in seeking Ministers of a pious and worthy Character. And the next Step will be the Churches being filled with Persons openly vicious in Manners, or else scandalously erroneous in O­pinions: It's well if this be not already the Case in Fact with some Churches that have long professed & practised on the Principles I oppose. And if these Principles should be professed and proceeded on by Christian Churches every where, the natural Tendency of it would be, to have the bigger Part of what is called the Church of Christ, thro' the World, made up of vicious and erroneous Persons. And how greatly would this be to the Reproach of the Christian Church, and of the holy Name and Religion of Jesus Christ in the Sight of all Nations? ^*

[Page 123] And now is it not better, to have a few real living Christians kept back thro' Darkness and Scruples, than to open a Door for the letting in such universal Ruin as this? To illustrate it by a familiar Compari­son; Is it not better, when England is at War with France, to keep out of the British Realm a few loyal Englishmen, than to give Leave for as many treacherous Frenchmen to come in as please?

2. This Way tends to the eternal Ruin of the Parties admitted: For it lets in such yea it perswades such to come in, as know themselves to be impenitent and unbelieving, in a dreadful Manner to to take God's Name in vain; in vain to worship him, and abuse sacred Things, by solemnly performing those external Acts and Rites in the Name of God, which are instituted for declarative Signs and Professions of Repentance toward God, Faith in Christ, and Love to Him, at the same Time that they know themselves destitute of those Things which they profess to have. And is it not better, that some true Saints, thro' their own Weakness and Misunderstanding, should be kept away from the Lord's Table, which will not keep such out of Heaven; than voluntarily to bring in Multi­tudes of false Professors to partake unworthily, and in Effect to seal their own Condemnation?

OBJECT. XVI. You can't keep out Hypocrites, when all is said and done; but as many graceless Persons will be likely to get into the Church in the Way of a Profession of Godliness, as if nothing were insisted on but a Freedom from publick Scandal.

ANSW. It may possibly be so in some Places, thro' the Misconduct of Ministers and People, by Remissness in their Inquiries, Carelesness as to the proper Matter of a Profession, or setting up some mistaken Rules of Judgment; neglecting those Things which the Scripture insists upon as the most essential Articles in the Character of a real Saint; and substi­tuting others in the Room of them; such as Impressions on the Imagi­nation, instead of renewing Influences on the Heart; Pangs of Affection, instead of the habitual Temper of the Mind; a certain Method & Order of Impressions and Suggestions, instead of the Nature of Things experi­enced & c. But to say, that in Churches where the Nature, the Notes and Evidences of true Christianity, as described in the Scriptures, are well understood, taught and observed, there as many Hypocrites are likely to get in; or to suppose, that there as many of those Persons of an ho­nest Character, who are well instructed in these Rules, and well con­ducted by them, and judging of themselves by these Rules, do think them­selves true Saints, and accordingly make Profession of Godliness, and are admitted as Saints in a Judgment of rational Charity; (to suppose, I say) as many of these are likely to be carnal unconverted Men, as of those who make no such Pretence and have no such Hope, not exhibit any such [Page 124] Evidences to the Eye of a judicious Charity, is not so much an Objection against the Doctrine I am defending, as a Reflection upon the Scripture itself, with Regard to the Rules it gives, either for Persons to judge of their own State, or for others to form a charitable Judgment by, as if they were of little or no Service at all. We are in miserable Circum­stances indeed, if the Rules of God's holy Word in Things of such infi­nite Importance, are so ambiguous and uncertain, like the heathen Ora­cles. And it would be very strange, if in these Days of the Gospel, when God's Mind is revealed with such great Plainness of Speech, and the Canon of Scripture is compleated, it should ordinarily be the Case in Fact, that those who having a right doctrinal understanding of the Scripture, and judging themselves by it's Rules, do probably con­clude or seriously hope of themselves, that they are real Saints, are as many of them in a State of Sin and Condemnation, as others who have no such rational Hope concerning their good Estate, nor pretend to any special Experiences in Religion.

OBJECT. XVII. If a Profession of Godliness be a Thing required in order to Admission into the Church, there being some true Saints who doubt of their State, and from a tender Conscience will not dare to make such a Profession; and there being Others, that have no Grace, nor much Tenderness of Conscience, but great Presumption & Forward­ness, who will boldly make the highest Profession of Religion, and so will get Admittance: it will hence come to pass, that the very Thing, which will in Effect procure for the latter an Admission, rather than the former, will be their Presumption and Wickedness.

ANSW. 1. 'Tis no sufficient Objection against the Wholesomeness of a Rule established for the regulating the civil State of Mankind, that in some Instances Men's Wickedness may take Advantage by that Rule, so that even their Wickedness shall be the very Thing, which, by an Abuse of that Rule, procures them temporal Honours and Privileges. For such is the present State of Man in this evil World, that good Rules, in many Instances, are liable to be thus abused and perverted. As for Instance, there are many humane Laws or Rules, accounted wholesome and ne­cessary, by which an accus'd or suspected Person's own solemn Profession of Innocency, his asserting it upon Oath, shall be the Condition of Ac­quit [...]nce and Impunity; and the Want of such a Protestation or Pro­fession shall expose him to the Punishment: And yet by an Abuse of these Rules, in some Instances, nothing but the horrid Sin of Perjury, or that most presumptuous Wickedness of false Swearing, shall be the very Thing that acquits a Man: while another of a more tender Conscience, who fears an Oath, must suffer the Penalty of the Law.

[Page 125] 2. Those Rules, by all wise Lawgivers, are accounted wholesome, which prove of general good Tendency, notwithstanding any bad Con­sequences arising in some particular Instances. And as to the ecclesiasti­cal Rule now in Question, of Admission to Sacraments on a Profession of Godliness, when attended with requisite Circumstances; altho' this Rule in particular Instances may be an Occasion of some tender-hearted Christians abstaining, and some presumptuous Sinners being admitted, yet that don't hinder but that a proper Visibility of Holiness to the Eve of Reason, or a Probability of it in a Judgment of rational Christian Charity, may this Way be maintained, as the proper Qualification of Candidates for Ad­mission: nor does it hinder but that it may be reasonable and wholesome for Mankind, in their outward Conduct, to regulate themselves by such Probability; and that this should be a reasonable and good Rule for the Church to regulate themselves by in their Admissions; notwithstanding it's so happening in particular Instances, that Things are really diverse from, yea the very Reverse of, what they are visibly, Such a Profession as has been insisted on, when attended with requisite Circumstances, car­ries in it a rational Credibility in the Judgment of Christian Charity: For it ought to be attended with an honest and sober Character, and with Evidences of good doctrinal Knowledge, and with all proper, careful and diligent Instructions of a prudent Pastor: And tho' the Pastor is not to act as a Searcher of the Heart, or a Lord of Conscience in this Affair, yet that hinders not but that he may & ought to enquire particularly into the Experiences of the Souls committed to his Care and Charge, that he may be under the best Advantages to instruct and advise them, to apply the Teachings and Rules of God's Word unto them, for their Self-Exa­mination, to be Helpers of their Joy, and Promoters of their Salvation. However, finally, not any pretended extraordinary Skill of his in dis­cerning the Heart, but the Persons own serious Profession concerning what he finds in his own Soul, after he has been well instructed, must regulate the publick Conduct with Respect to him, where there is no other external visible Thing to contradict & over-rule it: And a serious Profession of Godliness, under these Circumstances, carries in it a Visi­bility to the Eye of the Church's rational and Christian Judgment.

3. If it be still insisted on, that a Rule of Admission into the Church can't be good, which is liab'e to such a Kind of Abuse as that fore-men­tioned, I must observe, This will overthrow the Rules that the Objectons themselves go by in their Admissions. For they insist upon it, that a Man must not only have Knowlege and be free of Scandal, but must appear orthodox and profess the common Faith. Now presumptuous Lying, for the Sake of the Honour of being in the Church, having Children baptized, & voting in ecclesiastical Affairs, may possibly be the very Thing that brings some Men into Church by this Rule; while greater Ten­derness [Page 126] of Conscience may be the very Thing that keeps others out. For Instance, a Man who secretly in his Mind gives no Credit to the com­monly received Doctrine of the Trinity, yet may, by pretending an assent to it, and in Hypocrisy making a publick Profession of it, get into the Church; when at the same Time another that equally disbelieves it, but has a more tender Conscience than to allow himself in solemnly telling a Lie, may by that very Means be kept off from the Communion, and lie out of the Church.

OBJECT. XVIII. It seems hardly reasonable to suppose, that the only wise God has made Men's Opinion of themselves, and a Profession of it, the Term of their Admission to Church Privileges; when we know, that very often the worst Men have the highest Opinion of themselves.

ANSW. 1. It must be granted me, that in Fact this is the Case, if any pro­per Profession at all is expected and required, whether it be of sanctifying Grace, or of moral Sincerity, or any Thing else that is good: And to be sure, nothing is required to be professed, or is worthy to be professed, any further than it is good.

ANSW. 2. If some Things, by the Confession of all, must be profess'd for that very Reason, because they are good, and of great Importance; then certainly it must be own'd very unreasonable, to say, that those Things wherein true Holiness consists are not to be professed, or that a Profession of them should not be required, for that same Reason, because they are good, even in the highest Degree, and infinitely the most impor­tant and most necessary Things of any in the World: And 'tis unrea­sonable to say, that it is the less to be expected we should profess sincere Friendship to Christ, because Friendship to Christ is the most excellent Qualification of any whatsoever, and the Contrary the most odious. How absurd is it to say this, meerly under a Notion that for a Man to profess what is so good and so reasonable, is to profess a high Opinion of himself!

ANSW. 3. Tho' some of the worst Men are apt to entertain the high­est Opinion of themselves, yet their Self Conceit is no Rule to the Church: But the apparent Credibility of Men's Profession is to be Ground of eccle­siastical Proceedings.

OBJECT. XIX. If it be necessary that adult Persons should make a Profession of Godliness, in order to their own Admission to Baptism, then undoubtedly it is necessary in order to their Children's being bapti­zed on their Account. For Parents can't convey to their Children a Right to this Sacrament, by vertue of any Qualifications lower than those requisite in order to their own Right: Children being admitted to Bap­tism, only as being as it were Parts and Members of their Parents. And [Page 127] besides, the Act of Parents in offering up their Children in a Sacrament, which is a Seal of the Covenant of Grace, is in them a solemn attending that Sacrament as Persons interested in the Covenant, and a publick Ma­nifestation of their approving and consenting to it, as truly as if they then offered up themselves to God in that Ordinance. Indeed it implies a renewed offering up themselves with their Children, and devoting both jointly to God in Covenant; Themselves, with their Children, as Parts of Themselves. But now what fearful Work will such Doctrine make amongst us! We shall have Multitudes unbaptized, who will go about without the external Badge of Christianity, and so in that Respect will be like Heathen. And this is the Way to have the Land full of Persons who are destitute of that which is spoken of in Scripture as ordinarily requisite to Men's Salvation; and it will bring a Reproach on vast Multi­tudes, with the Families they belong to: And not only so, but will tend to make them profane and heathenish; for by thus treating our Children, as tho' they had no Part in the Lord, we shall cause'em to cease from fearing the Lord; agreable to Josh xxii. 24, 25.

ANSW. 1. As to Children's being destitute of that which is spoken of in Scripture as one Thing ordinarily requisite to Salvation; I would ob­serve, that Baptism can do their Souls no Good any otherwise than thro' God's Blessing attending it: But we have no Reason to expect his Blessing with Baptism, if administred to those that it does not belong to by his Institution.

ANSW. 2. As to the Reproach, which will be brought on Parents and Children, by Children's going without Baptism, thro' the Parents neg­lecting a Profession of Godliness, and so visibly remaining among the Un­converted; if any insist on this Objection, I think it will favour of much Unreasonableness and even Stupidity.

It will favour of an unreasonable Spirit. Is it not enough, if God freely offers Men to own their Children and to give them the Honour of Bap­tism, in Case the Parents will turn from Sin and relinquish their Enmity against him, heartily give up themselves and their Children to him, and take upon them the Profession of Godliness?—If Men are truly excusable, in not turning to God thro' Christ, in not believing with the Heart, and in not confessing with the Mouth, why don't we openly plead that they are so? And why don't we teach Sinners, that they are not to blame for continuing among the Enemies of Christ, and neglecting and despi­sing his great Salvation? If they are not at all excusable in this, and it be wholly owing to their own indulged Lusts, that they refuse sincerely to give up themselves and their Children to God, then how unreasonable is it for them to complain that their Children are denied the Honour of having God's Mark set upon them as some of his? If Parents are angry at this, such a Temper shews 'em to be very senseless of their own vile [Page 128] Treatment of the blessed God. Should a Prince send to a Traitor in Pri­son, and upon opening the Prison-Doors, make him the Offer, that if he would come forth and submit himself to him, he should not only be par­don'd himself, but both he and his Children should have such and such Badges of Honour conferred upon them: yet if the Rebel's Enmity and Stoutness of Spirit against his Prince is such, that he could not find it in his Heart to comply with the gracious Offer, will he have any Cause to be angry, that his Children have not those Badges of Honour given them? And besides 'tis very much owing to Parents, that there are so many young People who can make no Profession of Godliness: they have themselves therefore to blame, if the Case be so, that proceeding on the Principles which have been maintain'd, there is like to rise a Generation of unbap­tized Persons. If Ancestors had thoroughly done their Duty to their Posterity in instructing, praying for, and governing their Children, and setting them good Examples, there is Reason to think, the Case would have been far otherwise.

The insisting on this Objection would savour of much Stupidity. For the Objection seems to suppose the Country to be full of those that are Unconverted, and so exposed every Moment to eternal Damnation; yet it seems we don't hear such great and general Complaints and lamentable Outcries concerning this. Now why is it looked upon so dreadful, to have great Numbers going without the Name and honourable Badge of Christianity, that there should be loud and general Exclamations con­cerning such a Calamity; when at the same Time it is no more resented and laid to Heart, that such Multitudes go without the Thing, which is in­finitely more dreadful? Why are we so silent about this? What is the Name good for, without the Thing? Can Parents bear to have their Children go about the World in the most odious and dangerous State of Soul, in Reality the Children of the Devil, and condemned to eternal Burnings; when at the same Time they can't bear to have 'em disgraced by going without the Honour of being baptized! An high Honour and Privilege this is; yet how can Parents be contented with the Sign, exclu­sive of the Thing signified! Why should they covet the external Honour for their Children, while they are so careless about the spiritual Blessing! Don't this argue a Senselesness of their own Misery, as well as of their Children's, in being in a Christless State? If a Man and his Child were both together bitten by a Viper, dreadfully swollen, and like to die, would it not argue Stupidity in the Parent, to be anxiously concerned only about his Child's having on a dirty Garment in such Circumstan­ces, and angry at others for not putting some outward Ornament upon it? But the Difference in this present Case is infinitely greater & more important. Let Parents pity their poor Children, because they are with­out Baptism; and pity themselves, who are in Danger of everlasting [Page 129] Misery, while they have no Interest in the Covenant of Grace, and so have no Right to Covenant-Favours or Honours, for themselves nor Children. No religious Honours, to be obtained in any other Way than by real Religion, are much worth contending for. And in Truth, it is no Honour at all to a Man, to have meerly the outward Badges of a Christian, without being a Christian indeed; any more than it would be an Honour to a Man that has no Learning, but is a meer Dunce, to have a Degree at College; or than it is for a Man who has no Valour, but is a grand Coward, to have an honourable Commission in an Army; which only serves, by the listing him up, to expose him to the deeper Reproach, and sets him forth as the more notable Object of Contempt.

ANSW. 3. Concerning the Tendency of this Way of confining Baptism to Professors of Godliness and their Children, to promote Irreligion and Profaneness; I would observe, First, That CHRIST is best able to judge of the Tendency of his own Institutions. Secondly, I am bold to say, that the supposing this Principle and Practice to have such a Tendency, is a great Mistake, contrary to Scripture and plain Reason and Experience. Indeed such a Tendency it would have, to shut Men out from having any Part in the Lord (in the Sense of the two Tribes and Half, Josh. xxii. 25.) or to fence them out by such a Partition-Wall as formerly was between Jews and Gentiles; and so to shut them out as to tell 'em, if they were never so much disposed to serve God, He was not ready to accept 'em; according to that Notion the Jews seem to have had of the uncircumcised Gentiles.—But only to forbear giving Men Honours they have no Title to, and not to Compliment them with the Name and Badge of God's People and Children, while they pretend to nothing but what is consistent with their being his Enemies, this has no such Tendency: But rather the contrary has very much this Ten­dency. For is it not found by constant Experience thro' all Ages, that blind corrupt Mankind, in Matters of Religion, are strongly disposed to rest in a Name, instead of the Thing; in the Shadow, instead of the Substance; and to make themselves easy with the former, in the Neglect of the latter? This over-valuing of common Grace, & moral Sincerity, as it is called; this building so much upon them, making them the Conditions of enjoying the [...] or God's Covenant, and the ap­pointed Privileges, and honourable and sacred Badges of God's Children; this, I can't but think, naturally tends to sooth and flatter the Pride of vain Man, while it tends to aggrandize those Things in Men's Eyes, which they, of themselves, are strongly disposed to magnify and trust in, without such Encouragements, to prompt 'em to it, yea, against all Dis­couragements and Disswasives that can possibly be used with them.

This Way of Proceeding greatly tends to establish the Negligence of Parents, and to confirm the Stupidity and Security of wicked Children.— [Page 130] If Baptism were denied to all Children, whose Parents did not profess Godliness, and in a Judgment of rational Charity appear real Saints, it would tend to excite pious Heads of Families to more thoro' Care and Pains in the religious Education of their Children, and to more servent Prayer for them, that they might be converted in Youth, before they en­ter into a married State; and so if they have Children, the Entail of the Covenant be secur'd.—And it would tend to awaken young People them­selves, as yet unconverted, especially when about to settle in the World. Their having no Right to Christian Privileges for their Children, in Case they should become Parents, would tend to lead 'em at such a Time se­riously to reflect on their own awful State; which, if they don't get out of it, must lay a Foundation for so much Calamity and Reproach to their Families. And if after their becoming Parents, they still remain unconverted, the melancholy Thought of their Children's going about without so much as the external Mark of Christians, would have a con­tinual Tendency to put 'em in Mind of, and affect 'em with their own Sin and Folly in neglecting to turn to God, by which they bring such visible Calamity and Disgrace on themselves and Families; They would have this additional Motive continually to stir 'em up to seek Grace for themselves and their Children: Whereas, the contrary Practice has a natural Tendency to quiet the Minds of Persons, both in their own and their Children's Unregeneracy. Yea, may it not be suspected, that the Way of baptizing the Children of such as never make any proper Pro­fession of Godliness, is an Expedient originally invented for that very End, to give Ease to Ancestors with Respect to their Posterity, in Times of general Declension and Degeneracy?

This Way of Proceeding greatly tends to establish the Stupidity and Irreligion of Children, as well as Negligence of Parents. 'Tis certain, that unconverted Parents do never truly give up their Children to God; since they don't truly give up themselves to him. And if neither of the Parents appear truly pious, in the Judgment of rational Cha­rity, there is not in this Case any Ground to expect that the Chil­dren will be brought up in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord, or that they will have any Thing worthy the Name of a Christian Education, how solemnly soever the Parents may promise it. The Faithfulness of Abraham was such as might be trusted in this Matter. See Gen. xviii.19. But Men that are not so much as visibly godly, upon what Grounds are they to be trusted? How can it be reasonably expected, that they should faithfully bring up their Children for GOD, who were never sincerely willing that their Children or Themselves should be his? And it will be but Presumption, to expect that those Children who are never given up to God, nor brought up for him, should prove religious, and be God's Children. There is no Manner of Reason to expect any other than that [Page 131] such Children ordinarily will grow up in Irreligion, whether they are bap­tized or not. And for Persons to go about with the Name and visible Seal of God, and the sacred Badge of Christianity upon them, having had their Bodies, by a holy Ordinance, consecrated to God as his Tem­ples, yet living in Irreligion and Ways of Wickedness, this serves to tend exceedingly to harden them, and establish in them an habitual Con­tempt of sacred Things. Such Persons, above all Men, are like to be the most harden'd and abandon'd, and most difficulty reclaimed: As it was with the wicked Jews, who were much more confirmed in their Wickedness, than those heathen Cities of Tyre and Sidon. To give that which is holy to those who are profane, or that we have no Manner of Reason from the Circumstances of Parentage and Education, to expect will be otherwise, is not the Way to make 'em better, but worse: 'Tis the Way to have them habitually trample holy Things under their Feet, and increase in Contempt of them, yea, even to turn again and rent us, and be more mischievous and hurtful Enemies of that which is Good, than otherwise they would be.

OBJECT. XX. Some Ministers have been greatly blessed in the other Way of Proceeding, and some Men have been converted at the Lord's Supper.

ANSW. Tho' we are to eye the Providence of God, and not disregard his Works, yet to interpret them to a Sense or apply them to a Use incon­sistent with the Scope of the Word of God, is a Misconstruction and Misapplication of them. God has not given us his Providence, but his Word to be our governing Rule. God is sovereign in his Dispensations of Providence; he bestowed the Blessing on Jacob, even when he had a Lie in his Mouth; he was pleased to meet with Solomon, and make known himself to him, and bless him in an extraordinary Manner, while he was worshipping in an high Place; he met with Saul, when in a Course of violent Opposition to him, and out of the Way of his Duty to the highest Degree, going to Damascus to persecute Christ; and even then bestowed the greatest Blessing upon him, that perhaps ever was bestowed on a meer Man. The Conduct of divine Providence, with it's Reasons, is too little understood by us, to be improved as our Rule. God has his Way in the Sea, his Path in the mighty Waters, and his Footsteps are not known: And he gives none Account of any of his Matters. But God has given us his Word to this very End that it might be our Rule; and therefore has fitted it to be so; has so ordered it that it may be understood by us. And strictly speaking, this is our only Rule. If we join any Thing else to it, as making it our Rule, we do that which we have no Warrant for, yea, that which God himself has forbidden. See Deut. iv. 2. Prov. xxx.6. And with Regard to God's blessing and succeeding of Ministers, have [Page 132] not some had remarkable Experience of it in the Way which I plead for, as well as some who have been for the Way I oppose? However, we can't conclude, that God sees nothing at all amiss in Ministers, because he blesses them. In general, he may see those Things in them which are very right and excellent; these he approves and regards, while he over looks and pardons their Mistakes in Opinion or Practice, and not­withstanding these is pleas'd to cro [...]n their Labours with his Blessing.

As to the two last Arguments in the Appeal to the Learned, concerning the Subjects of the Christian Sacraments, their being Members of the visible Church, and not the invisible; the Force of those Arguments de­pends entirely on the Resolution of that Question, Who are visible Saints? or what adult Persons are regularly admitted to the Privileges of Mem­bers of the visible Church? which Question has already been largely con­sidered: and I think, it has been demonstrated that they are those who exhibit a credible Profession and Visibility of Gospel-Holiness or vital Pre­ty, and not meerly of moral Sincerity. So that there is no Need of fur­ther debating the Point in this Place.

I might here mention many Things not yet taken Notice of, which some object as Inconveniencies attending the Scheme I have maintain'd: And if Men should set up their own Wit and Wisdom in Opposition to God's revealed Will, there is no End of the Objections of this Kind, which might be raised against any of God's Institutions. Some have found great Fault even with the Creation of the World, as being very inconveniently done, and have imagined that they could tell how it might be mended in a great many Respects. But however God's Altar may appear homely to us, yet if we lift up our Tool upon it to mend it, we shall pollute it. Laws & Institutions are given for the general Good, and not to avoid every particular Inconvenience. And however it may so happen, that some­times Inconveniencies (real to imaginary) may attend the Scheme I have maintain'd; yet I think, they are in no Measure equal to the manifest Conveniencies and happy Tendencies of it, or to the palpable Inconveni­encies and pernicious Consequences of the other.—I have already men­tion'd some Things of this Aspect, and would here briefly observe some other.

Thus, the Way of making such a Difference between outward Duties of Morality and Worship, and those great inward Duties of the Love of God and Acceptance of Christ, that the former must be visible, but that there need to be no Exhibition nor Pretence of the latter, in order to Persons being admitted into the visible Family of God; and that under a Notion of the latter being Impossibilities, but the other being within Men's Power; this, I think, has a direct Tendency to confirm in Men an Insensibility of the Heinousness of those Heart-Sins of Unbelief and Enmity against God [Page 133] our Saviour, which are the Source and Sum of all Wickedness; and tends to prevent their coming under a humbling Conviction of the Greatness and utter Inexcusableness of these Sins, which Men must be brought to if ever they obtain Salvation. Indeed 'tis a Way that not only has this Tendency, but has actually and apparently this Effect, and that to a great Degree.

The Effect of this Method of Proceeding in the Churches in New-Eng­land, which have fallen into it, is actually this. There are some that are received into these Churches under the Notion of their being in the Judgment of rational-Charity visible Saints or professing Saints, who yet at the same Time are actually open Professors of heinous Wickedness; I mean, he Wickedness of living in known Impenitence and Unbelief, the Wickedness of living in Enmity against God, and in the Rejection of Christ under the Gospel: Or, which is the same Thing, they are such as freely and frequently acknowledge, that they don't profess to be as yet born again, but look on themselves as really unconverted, as having never unfeignedly accepted of Christ; and they do either explicitly or impli­citly number themselves among those that love not the Lord Jesus Christ; of whom the Apostle says, let such be Anathema, Maran-atha! And ac­cordingly 'tis known, all over the Town where they live, that they make no Pretensions to any sanctifying Grace already obtained; nor of Conse­quence are they commonly looked upon at any other than unconverted Persons. Now, can this be judg'd the comely Order of the Gospel! or shall God be supposed the Author of such Confusion!

In this Way of Church proceeding, God's own Children and the true Disciples of Christ are obliged to receive those as their Brethren, admit them to the Communion of Saints, and embrace them in the highest Acts of Christian Society, even in their great Feast of Love, where they seed together on the Body and Blood of Christ, whom yet they have no Reason to look upon otherwise than as Enemies of the Crass of Christ, and Haters of their heavenly Father and dear Redeemer, they making no Pretension to any Thing at all inconsistent with those Characters; yet, in many Places, as I said before, freely professing this to be actually the Case with them.

Christ often forbids visible Christians, judging one another: But in this Way of ecclesiastical Proceeding, 'tis done continually, and looked upon as no Hurt; a great Part of those admitted into the Church are by others of the same Communion judged unconverted graceless Persons; and 'tis im­possible to avoid it, while we stretch not beyond the Bounds of a rational Charity.

This Method of Proceeding must inevitably have one of these two Consequences: Either there must be no publick Notice at all given of it when so signal a Work of Grace is wro't, as a Sinner's being bro't to [Page 134] repent and turn to God, and hopefully becomes the Subject of saving Conversion; or else this Notice must be given in the Way of Conversa­tion, by the Persons themselves, frequently, freely, and in all Companies, declaring their own Experiences. But surely, either of these Conse­quences must be very unhappy.—The former is so, viz. the forbidding and preventing any publick Notice being given on Earth of the Repen­tance of a Sinner, an Event so much to the Honour of God, and so much taken Notice of in Heaven, causing Joy in the Presence of the Angels of God, and tending so much to the Advancement of Religion in the World. For 'tis found by Experience, that scarce any one Thing has so great an Influence to awaken Sinners, and engage them to seek Salvation, and to quicken and animate Saints, as the Tidings of a Sinner's Repentance, or hopeful Conversion: God evidently makes use of it as an eminent Means of advancing Religion in a Time of remarkable Revival of Reli­gion. And to take a Course effectually to prevent such an Event's being notify'd on Earth, appears to me a counter-acting of God, in that which he ever makes use of as a chief Means of the Propagation of true Piety and which we have Reason to think he will make use of as one principal Means of the Conversion of the World in the glorious latter Day.—But now as to the other Way, the Way of giving Notice to the Publick of this Event, by particular Persons themselves publishing their own Experiences from Time to Time and from Place to Place, on all Occasions and before all Companies, I must confess, this is a Practice that appears to me attended with many Inconveniencies, yea, big with Mischiefs. The abundant Trial of this Method lately made, and the large Experience we have had of the evil Consequences of it, is enough to put all sober and judicious People for ever out of Conceit of it. I shall not pretend to enumerate all the Mischiefs attending it, which would be very tedious; but shall now only mention two Things. One is, the bad Effect it has upon the Persons themselves that practise it, in the great Tendency it has to spiritual Pride; insensibly begetting & establishing an evil Habit of Mind in that Respect, by the frequent Return of the Temp­tation, and this many Times when they are not guarded against it, and have no Time, by Consideration and Prayer to fortify their Minds. And then it has a very bad Effect on the Minds of others that hear their Com­munication, and so on the State of Religion in general, in this Way: It being thus the Custom for Persons of all Sorts, Young and Old, Wise and Unwise, Superiors and inferiors, freely to tell their own Experien­ces before all Companies, 'tis commonly done very injudiciously, often very rashly and foolishly, out of Season, and in Circumstances tending to defeat any good End. Even sincere Christians too frequently in their Conversation insist mainly on those Things that are no Part of (their true spiritual Experience; such as Impressions on their Fancy or Imagination, [Page 135] Suggestions of Facts by Passages of Scripture &c. in which Case Children and weak Persons that hear, are apt to form their Notions of Religion and true Piety by such experimental Communications, and much more than they do by the most solid and judicious Instructions out of the Word, they hear from the Pulpit: which is found to be one of the De­vices whereby Satan has an inexpressible Advantage to ruin the Souls of Men, and utterly to confound the Interest Of Religion.—This Matter of making a publick Profession of Godliness or Piety of Heart, is certainly a very important Affair, and ought to be under some publick Regulation, and under the Direction of skilful Guides, and not left to the Manage­ment of every Man, Woman and Child, according to their Humour or Fancy: And when it is done, it should be done with great Seriousness, Preparation and Prayer, as a solemn Act of publick Respect and Honour to God, in his House and in the Presence of his People, Not that I condemn but greatly approve of Persons speaking sometimes of their re­ligious Experiences in private Conversation, to proper Persons and on proper Occasions, with Modesty and Discretion, when the Glory of God and the Benefit or just Satisfaction of others require it of them.

In a Word, the Practice of promiscuous Admission, or that Way of taking all into the Church indifferently, as visible Saints, who are not ei­ther ignorant or scandalous, and at the same Time that Custom's taking Place of Persons publishing their own Conversion in common Conversation; where these two Things meet together, they unavoidably make two dis­tinct Kinds of visible Churches, or different Bodies of professing Saints, one within another, openly distinguished one from another, as it were by a visible dividing Line. One Company consisting of those who are vi­sibly gracious Christians, and open Professors of Godliness; another con­sisting of those who are visibly moral Livers, and only profess common Vertues, without pretending to any special and spiritual Experiences in their Hearts, and who therefore are not reputed to be Converts. I may appeal to those acquainted with the State of the Churches, whether this be not actually the Case in some, where this Method of Proceeding has been long established. But I leave the judicious Reader to make his own Remarks on this Case, and to determine, whether there be a just Foundation in Scripture or Reason for any such State of Things; which to me, I confess, carries the Face of glaring Absurdity.

And now I commit this whole Discourse (under God's Blessing) to the Reader's candid Reflection and impartial Judgment. I am sensible, it will be very difficult for many to be truly impartial in this Affair; their prejudices being very great against the Doctrine which I have main­tain'd. And I believe, I my self am the Person, who, above all other upon the Face of the Earth, have had most in my Circumstances to pre­judice me against this Doctrine, and to make me unwilling to receive [Page 136] Conviction of the Truth of it. However, the clear Evidence of God's Mind in his Word, as Things appear to me, has constrained me to think and act as I have now done. I dare not go contrary to such Texts as those. Levit. x. 10. Jer. xv. 19. Ezek. xxii. 26. & Chap. xliv. 6, 7, 8. And having been fully perswaded in my own Mind, what is the Scripture Rule in this Matter, after a most careful, painful, and long Search, I am wil­ling, in the faithful Prosecution of what appears to me of such Importance and so plainly the Mind and Will of God, to resign to his Providence, and leave the Event in his Hand.

It may'nt be improper to add here, as I have often had suggested to me the Probability of my being answer'd from the Press: If any one shall see Cause to undertake this, I have these reasonable Requests to make to him, viz. That he would avoid the ungenerous and unmanly Artifices used by too many Polemick Writers, while they turn aside to vain Jang­ling in carping at incidental Passages, and displaying their Wit upon some minute Particulars, or less material Things in the Author they oppose, with much Exclamation, if possible, to excite the ignorant and unwary Reader's Disrelish of the Author, and to make him appear contemptible, and so to get the Victory that Way; perhaps dwelling upon and glorying in some pretended Inconsistencies in some Parts of the Discourse, without ever entring thoro'ly into the Merits of the Cause, or closely encountring any of the main Arguments. If any one opposes me from the Press, I desire he would attend to the true State of the Question, and endeavour fairly to take off the Force of each Argument, by answering the same directly, and distinctly, with calm and close Reasoning: avoiding (as much as may be) both dogmatical Assertion and passionate Reflection. Sure I am, I shall not envy him the Applause of a Victory over me, however signal and compleat, if only gain'd by superior Light and convincing Evidence.—I would also request him to set his Name to his Performance, that I may in that Respect stand on even Ground with him before the World, in a Debate wherein the Publick is to judge between us. This will be the more reasonable, in Case he should mingle any Thing of Accusa­tion with his Arguing: 'Twas the Manner even of the heathen Romans, and reputed by them but just and equal, to have Accusers Face to Face.

May the GOD of all Grace and Peace unite us more in Judgment, Affection and Practice, that with one Heart and one Mouth we may glo­rify his Name thro' JESUS CHRIST. AMEN.