»#* 
 

 I 
 
 £narm'edjer Iht'^Jetr^vem^^cdlJ^ff. 
 
A PLEA 
 
 FOR 
 
 CATHOLICK COMMUNION 
 
 IN THE 
 
 CHURCH OF GOD. 
 
 y 
 
 BY J. M. MASON. D. D. 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION, WITH CORRECTIONS. 
 
 NEW- YORK PRINTED: 
 LONDON; 
 
 RE-PRINTED FOR GALE AND FENNER, PATER-NOSTER ROW; 
 (By Assignment from the Author.) 
 
 AND SOLD BY OLIPHANT, WAUGH, AND INNES, EDINBURGH; 
 AND ANDREW AND JAMES DUNCAN, GLASGOW. 
 
 1816. 
 
Printed by S. Curtis, Southampton Place, CamberwelL 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 So long a time has elapsed since the ensuing 
 volume was promised, that the authour owes an 
 explanation of the causes which have retarded 
 its appearance. 
 
 The greater part of what was at first intended 
 for the press had been prepared nearly two 
 years before the proposals for printing it were 
 issued. In the mean time the subject had 
 undergone extensive discussion, and had ex- 
 cited inquiry in several parts of the United 
 States. The manuscript was found, upon 
 revision, to cover too narrow ground for the 
 range which the question had taken ; and the 
 whole was to be written over. This labour, 
 falling in with numerous and urgent avocations 
 pressing upon an impaired state of health, 
 proceeded, and could proceed, but slowly. It 
 was performed in short portions and at broken 
 intervals : The work swelled, by degrees, beyond 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 its anticipated limits ; was interrupted more than 
 once by the authour's absence from home; 
 and suspended for some time by other embar- 
 rassments. These things, it is hoped, will 
 furnish a reasonable apology for the delay. 
 
 The reader will probably observe that the 
 same thoughts now and then recur. This 
 was in some measure unavoidable, from the 
 affinity between topics which, however, required 
 a separate consideration. Nor was there much 
 solicitude to avoid it, as it is of benefit to many 
 in whose minds the general course of reasoning 
 might be confused or enfeebled without the aid 
 of occasional repetitions. 
 
 The printed proposals describe Part II. as 
 consisting of *' proof from aiithentick facts, 
 that " communion, on Catholick principles, is 
 *' agreeable to the faith and practice of the 
 " church of Christ, from the day of Pentecost to 
 *' the present time, with a few local and party 
 *' exceptions." That his terms may not be 
 stretched beyond his meaning, the authour 
 thinks it proper to disclaim any construction 
 which may be put upon them inconsistent with 
 his own elucidation in the work itself. 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 ■ The reader will not attribute to an affectation 
 of learning, the Latin and Greek quotations 
 which occupy so much of the margin in the 
 second part. Had the authour consulted merely 
 his own wishes, he should have been satisfied 
 with a simple reference to the primitive and 
 reformed writers. But as they are extremely 
 scarce in all parts of our country, and abso- 
 lutely inaccessible in most, it was thought 
 necessary to subjoin the original, in order that 
 readers who have the ability, might also have 
 the means, of judging whether his represen- 
 tations are correct or not. 
 
 He would also guard against a misconception 
 of his language respecting the feelings and 
 habits of religious sects in the United States. 
 It might be supposed that they are all in such 
 a state of mutual hostility as, without exception, 
 to decline each other's communion. This, how- 
 ever, is not the fact. Some of them have never 
 swerved so far from their duty : and within a 
 few years there has been a manifest relaxation 
 of sectarian rigour in several others. So that 
 the spirit of the Gospel, in the culture of fraternal 
 charity, has gained, upon a respectable scale, a 
 
Ti PREFACE. 
 
 visible-and growing ascendancy. This happy 
 
 alteration may be attributed, in a great degree, 
 to the influence of Missionary and Bible 
 Societies. 
 
 Still there is room for complaint, humiliation, 
 and rebuke : and remarks of such a character 
 must be viewed as referring to those among 
 whom the Sectarian continues to lord it over the 
 Christian. May that preposterous inversion 
 come speedily to an end ! May the Catholicism 
 of " grace and truth" wax stronger and stronger, 
 till " Ephraim shall not envy Judah," nor 
 " Judah vex Ephraim" — the strife of sect being 
 overcome and banished by the all-subduing 
 love of God our Saviour ! Amen ! 
 
 New York, April 16, 1816. 
 
^>..4"<t;^<g« 
 
 Preface to the Second E^^^^s . ^^ 
 
 The following work, being primarily designed 
 for churches in the United States, is more 
 particularly adapted to their circumstances. 
 This must account for some of its details in 
 fact and argument ; of which the first may 
 appear tedious, and the second superfluous, to 
 an English reader; but which are both indis- 
 pensable on the western side of the Atlantick ; 
 and which cannot well be omitted or curtailed 
 without such material alterations as are not 
 thought to be advisable. 
 
 The historical inductions are occasionally 
 interwoven with opinions for which the authour 
 is not responsible. He merely avails himself 
 of testimony to a matter of fact with which 
 alone he has any concern : the opinion coupled 
 with it, and sometimes inseparable from it, 
 being left to its proper owner. 
 
 In treating of the gradual change which passed 
 upon the external form of the church after the 
 
viii Preface to the Second Edition. 
 
 apostolick age, nothing can be more remote 
 from the authour's intention than to revive a 
 controversy about Episcopacy or any other 
 ecclesiastical order: but for the purpose o^ 
 shewing that in better times different views on 
 this head did not prejudice the communion of 
 Christians, the establishment of the fact that 
 such change had taken place, was judged to be 
 of importance. 
 
 Surprise has been expressed, that no notice 
 is taken of the debate now agitated among the 
 Baptist Churches concerning the propriety of 
 holding communion in the Lord's Supper with 
 their Psedobaptist brethren. The reason of this 
 omission is, that the discussion of the merits 
 6f any particular disagreement among Chris- 
 tians, was incompatible with the principle of 
 the book; which is to prove that all such 
 differences, be they what they may, are insuffi- 
 cient to justify the want of communion between 
 those who mutually own and honour each 
 other's Christianity. And could this objection 
 be set aside, an attempt to retread the ground 
 which bears the recent impress of the footsteps 
 of Mr. Hall of Leicester, would subject the 
 authour to an imputation which he is not 
 
Preface to the Second Edition. ix 
 
 ambitious of deserving. He shall, therefore, 
 only say that, in this matter, he concurs entirely 
 with that great advocate of evangelical charity: 
 and is utterly unable to perceive, with some 
 venerable men, how Psedobaptists may con- 
 sistently admit a Baptist to the Lord's table, 
 (which they are in the habit of doing) while the 
 kindness cannot be consistently returned by 
 their Baptist brother : seeing that in each 
 others' eyes, they are reciprocally destitute of a 
 •positive divijie ordinance, viz. in the eyes of a 
 Baptist, those who hold baptism without im- 
 mersion and extend it to infants, have really 
 no baptism at all; and are therefore, without 
 that divine ordinance — while, on the other hand 
 the Baptists do not admit infant baptism, and 
 so are, in the eyes of a Psedobaptist, without 
 that divine ordinance. 
 
 In the first edition the work was entitled, 
 *' A Plea for sacramental commwiion on Catholick 
 principles^ In the present the title has been 
 modified so as to render it more strictly con- 
 formable to the general tenour of the work. 
 
 London 16 Nov. 1816. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 -<■■<■■< .<>..►.>.>.. 
 
 In August^ 1810, a combination of 
 circumstances wholly providential, being 
 unsought and unexpected by all concerned, 
 led the third Associate Reformed Church in 
 the city of New- York, then recently formed 
 under the ministry of Dr. John M. Mason, 
 to hold their assemblies in the house belong- 
 ing to the church under the pastoral care of 
 Dr. John B. Romeyn, a minister of the 
 General Assembly of the Presbyterian 
 Church in North America. As the hours 
 of service were different, the one congrega- 
 tion succeeding the other in the same place 
 on the same day, the first effect of this 
 arrangement was their partial amalgamation 
 in the ordinary exercises of public worship 
 — the next, a mutual esteem growing out 
 
XU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of mutual acquaintance with each othei-^ as 
 united in the same precious faith; and, 
 finally, after a very short time, invitations 
 on both sides to join in commemorating, at 
 his own table, the love of that Saviour who 
 ^ave himself for them an offering and a sacri- 
 fice to God of a sweet-smelling savour. The 
 invitations were as cordially accepted as they 
 were frankly given. The bulk of the 
 members of both churches, as well as some 
 belonging to correlate churches, mingled 
 their affections and their testimony in the 
 holy ordinance. The ministers reciprocated 
 the services of the sacramental day ; and the 
 communion, thus established, has been 
 perpetuated with increasing delight and 
 attachment, and has extended itself to 
 ministers and private christians of other 
 churches. 
 
 Such an event, it is believed, had never 
 before occurred in the United States. The 
 Presbyterian Church in North America 
 sprang immediately from the established 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xlil 
 
 church of Scotland. The Associate Reformed 
 Churchy Presbyterian also^ was founded in 
 the union of ministers and people from the 
 two branches of the Secession in Scotland, 
 and from the Reformed Presbytery. 
 
 When they emigrated to this country, it 
 was not to be expected that the esprit du 
 corps, their characteristic feelings, should 
 perish in the Atlantick. All experience 
 justifies the poet's remark, 
 
 Coelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt ; * 
 
 and accordingly, like the mother-churches, 
 they maintained not only separate commu- 
 nions^ but much of the old reserve and 
 distance. 
 
 Portions of two denominations thus situ- 
 ated, laying aside their party distinctions, 
 coming together on the broad ground of 
 '^ one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, 
 one faith, one baptism, one God and Father 
 of all," and embracing each other in the 
 
 * A change of climate is not change of mind. 
 
Xiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 most sacred and tender offices of Christian 
 fellowship^ presented a scene of no common 
 or feeble interest. Its very novelty roused 
 attention ; and gave birth to speculations 
 various as the temper^ character^ and 
 condition of their authours. Rumour, with 
 her " hundred tongues," was active, as 
 usual, in bespeaking the public ear. Intel- 
 ligence, announcing the truth and more 
 than the truth, but yet not the whole truth • 
 and accompanied, occasionally, by surmises 
 and comments ill calculated to make a 
 favourable impression, was forwarded, with 
 industrious celerity, to distant parts of the 
 land. 
 
 The Associate Reformed Church, gene^ 
 rally speaking, had been strict, and even 
 exclusive, in her communion. The jealousy 
 naturally entertained by her toward the 
 General Assembly, was, to say the least, 
 not diminished by the collisions which had 
 taken place between some of their members, 
 especially in the western and southern parts 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xt 
 
 of the United States. All things^ there- 
 fore^ considered^ we are not to wonder that 
 the report of what happened at New- York 
 was received, by very many, with dislike 
 and alarm. This eflPect is so perfectly 
 analogous to the laws which govern feeling 
 in masses of men, that it could not have 
 been hindered but by a miracle, or something 
 very like a miracle. They are startled by 
 nothing so soon as by encroachment upon 
 their habits: and will rather permit their 
 understanding to be unfruitful, than the 
 routine of their thoughts and conduct to be 
 broken up. Let us not complain of this 
 propensity, although it may be, and often 
 is, indulged too far. It is a wise provision 
 in the economy of human nature, without 
 which there would be neither stability^ 
 order, nor comfort. Remove it, and the 
 past would furnish no lessons for the future : 
 Intellect would be wasted on premises 
 without conclusions, and life on experiments 
 without results. Therefore no principle is 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 more firmly established in the minds of all 
 who think correctly and act discreetly^ than 
 this — that wanton invasion of social habits is 
 of the essence of folly. Yet there is an 
 extreme of caution as reprehensible and 
 hurtful as the extreme of rashness. Till 
 human opinions become infallible, the 
 practices which grow out of them cannot be 
 always right. In many cases, as every 
 party acknowledges of every other, they 
 are decidedly wrong. It is thus settled by 
 common consent, and for the best of reasons, 
 that whatever be the courtesy due to publick 
 habit, we are not to bow before it with 
 superstitious reverence. We should treat it 
 as we are to treat our civil rulers — with 
 unfeigned respect, but with a reserve for the 
 obligation to obey God rather than man. 
 At no time, and upon no pretence, must it 
 be allowed to usurp the right of controling 
 conscience in matters of scriptural principle ; 
 nor to exert the pestilent prerogative of 
 abetting the cause of errour by arresting the 
 
INTRODUCTION. XVU 
 
 progress of inquiry after truth. Unless we 
 accede to this proposition^ the rock is swept 
 away from under our feet. The doctrine of 
 Reformation is the worst of heresies; and 
 every attempt to enforce it a profligate 
 insurrection against human peace. " Thou 
 that teachest another^ teachest thou not 
 thyself?" When there exist serious doubts^ 
 and those not hastily admitted^ whether 
 certain practical opinions^ i. e. opinions 
 which influence habit^ among Christians^ are 
 really serviceable or injurious to the interests 
 of pure Christianity^ an opportunity of 
 bringing their propriety to the test^ instead 
 of being lamented as an affliction^ should 
 be welcomed as a benefit. Such doubts have 
 been long entertained_, and^ as it is conceived^ 
 upon no slight grounds^ not concerning the 
 avowed doctrine of several orthodox churches 
 respecting Christian communion^ but con- 
 cerning their almost invariable practice on 
 that point. It has been^ it is at this moment^ 
 ipore than doubted^ whether the rigour of 
 their restrictive communion corresponds with 
 
 a 
 
XVm INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tlie genius of tlie gospel ; with the best spirit 
 of the best churches in the best of times ; or 
 with their own professed principles. The 
 writer of these pages confesses that such has 
 been long the state of his own mind. Con- 
 siderations of publick delicacy induced him^ 
 for a number of years^ not merely to abstain 
 fi'om the use of his liberty^ but to forego what 
 he accounted a high evangelical privilege ; 
 and to submit to these sacrifices under the 
 painful apprehension^ at least on some 
 occasions^ that he might be found to have 
 lent himself to mere party passions^ when 
 he ought to have immolated them on the 
 altar of love to Jesus Christy in expressions 
 of love which he was compelled to deny 
 even to those who bore the image of Christ.* 
 
 * One of these occasions it is impossible for him to forget. 
 He had been distributing tokens of admission to the Lord's Sup- 
 per, t After the congregation had retired, he perceived a young 
 
 t To prerent intrusions upon that holy ordinance, it has long 
 been the custom of the church of Scotland and others descended 
 from her, to give to the communicants small stamped pieces of 
 pewter or block tin, which are given back w^hen the receivers seat 
 themselves at the sacramental table. These pieces are called 
 Tokens, 
 
INTRODUCTION. XIX 
 
 He has not been alone in this embarrass- 
 ment. And he is far from regretting an 
 event which led him apd others of his 
 brethren to an exchange of communion 
 
 vroman at the lower end of an aisle reclining on a pew in a pensive 
 attitude. As he approached her, she said, " Sir, I am afraid I 
 have done wrong?" Why what have yoa done? " I went up 
 with the communicants, and received a token, but am not a 
 member of your church ; and I could not be at rest till I spoke 
 to you about it." To what church do you belong ? "To the 
 Dutch church: and, if you wish it, I can satisfy you of ray 
 character and standing there." But what made you come for a 
 token without mentioning the matter before ? "I had not an 
 opportunity, as I did not know in time that your communion was 
 to be next Lord's day. I am sorry if I have done wrong : but 
 I expect to leave the city on Tuesday; and to be absent, I cannot 
 tell how long, in a part of the counti-y where I shall have no 
 opportunity of communing ; and I wished, once more before I 
 went away, to join with Christians in showing forth my Saviour's 
 death." He consulted a moment with the church-officers who were 
 stiJl present and it was thought most expedient not to grant her 
 request. He communicated this answer as gently as possible to 
 the modest petitioner. She said not another word ; but with one 
 hand giving back the token, and with the other putting up her 
 kerchief to her eyes, she turned away, struggling with her anguish, 
 and the tears streaming down her cheeks. How did his heart smite 
 him ! He went home exclaiming to himself, " Can this be right ? 
 Is it possible that such is the law of the Redeemer's house ? " 
 It quickened his inqui'*ies ; his inquiries strengthened his doubts ; 
 and have terminated in the conviction that it was altogether 
 wrong. 
 
XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 most consonant^ as they believe^ to the 
 divine word, and to the very spirit and letter 
 of that form of sound doctrine which, in 
 the most solemn moment of theii* lives, 
 under the oath of God in their ordination-, 
 vows, they bound themselves to maintain and 
 to apply. He cannot regret such an event, 
 although it has cost him both trouble and 
 grief; because it invites a free discussion, 
 and may conduct to a comfortable decision, 
 of the great question concerning '^ the 
 communion of saints." With this view he 
 solicits calm and candid attention while 
 he endeavours to trace, >vithout disguise, 
 the general course of those reflections and 
 reasonings of which the result has created 
 so much publick agitation. 
 
PLEA 
 
 FOR 
 
 CATHOLICK COMMUNION, <fec. 
 
 PART L 
 
 The Scriptural Doctrine. 
 
 Strange as it may appear, it is nevertheless 
 true, that men who have the bible in their hands 
 as their otily rule of faith and practice, appeal 
 immediately to its testimony for their justification, 
 but very rarely for their information. They take 
 for granted that their peculiarities are right, and 
 that the only use of the scripture is to prove them. 
 Much is gained when, instead of putting their 
 language into the mouth of the book of God, the 
 book of God is allowed to sit in judgment upoii 
 themselves, and to pronounce its own verdict. 
 This is that course of truth which, however feebly, 
 we shall endeavour to follow. So that our leading 
 
 B 
 
2 A Plea for CathoUck Commumon. 
 
 inquiry contemplates the direct doctrine of the 
 scripture concerning Christian fellowship. 
 
 We must go to first principles : 
 
 There is no point more fully settled in the 
 scriptures, than this, that 
 
 The Church of God is one. 
 
 It were endless to collect all the proofs. Let 
 one suffice. Paul, or rather the Holy Ghost, who- 
 spake by his mouth and wrote with his pen, 
 has thus represented it. As the body is one, and 
 kath many members ; and all the members of that 
 one body, being many, are one body ; so also is 
 Christ. For by ^one Spirit are we all baptized 
 into one body, tvhether ive be Jews or Geyitiles, 
 whether we be bond or free; and have been all 
 7nade to drink into one Spirit. For the body w 
 not ONE member, bat many.* This analogy 
 between man's natural body and the spiritual 
 , body of Christ, which he elsewhere declares to 
 be the^church, | Paul presses at great length, and 
 with unusual minuteness. He does it, as any one 
 who shall seriously" peruse the context may see, 
 with the design of reproving and destroying 
 that vain glorious temper which had infected 
 the Corinthian converts ; each one arrogating 
 to himself, or to that class with which hi& 
 gifts more immediately connected him, a peculiar 
 
 1 Cor. xii, 12—14. f Eph. i. 22. 23.. iii. 16. iv. 3—13, 
 
3P, I. The Scriptural Doctfine. 3 
 
 pre-eminence and sanctity; as if he and his asso- 
 ciates were the special favourites of G<Dd, and 
 enjoyed so exclusively the nobler ministrations of 
 the Spirit, as to justify their contempt of others 
 whom they thought to be less distinguished. 
 In order to* demonstrate the unreasonableness 
 and unrighteousness of such conduct, he lays 
 down certain indisputable principles concerning 
 the natural body ; ex. gr. 
 
 1 . That the multitude of its members does not 
 destroy its unity, nor their relation to it as a whole 
 — ail the members of that one bodyy being many, are 
 ONE body : v \2. 
 
 2. That their union with the body is the founda- 
 tion of all the value, beauty, and excellence af the 
 members in their respective places, v. 15—24. 
 
 3. That the efficiency of the members consists 
 in their mutual co-operation as parts of a common 
 whole — that there should be no schism in the body. 
 V. 25. 
 
 4. That from their union with the body, there 
 results, by a divine constitution, a communion of 
 interests ; a sympathy of feeling, and a reciproca- 
 tion of benefits — that the members should have the 
 same care one for another : And whetlier one mem- 
 ber suffer, all the members suffer with it ; or one 
 member be honoured, all the members reJMce with it. 
 V. 25, 2G. 
 
 The use of this similitude Paul declares to be 
 an illustration of the unity of the church, and of 
 
 132 
 
4 A Plea for Catholick Commimion, 
 
 the intimate communion of believers. Now ye elf e 
 the body of Christ, and members in 'particular, v. 27. 
 
 It is true that he turns his argument directly 
 against the contentions in the Corinthian church 
 about the superiority or inferiority of public 
 offices and spiritual gifts. And God hath set some 
 in the church ; first, apostles, secondarily, prophets, 
 &'c. V 28 — 30. But it is also true that the pri??- 
 ciples of his argument are general; are equally 
 applicable to every thing w^hich tends to cherish 
 among Christians a party foeling, at the expense 
 of weakening the sense of their union, or of inter- 
 rupting their communion, as members of the body 
 of Christ; and were intended to be so applied: 
 For, 
 
 They are part of the ApostleV remonstrance 
 against the schismatic spirit which had split up 
 the church of Corinth into a number of factions : 
 one crying, " I am of Paul ;" another, " I am of 
 Apollos;" another, " I am of Cephas;" and ano- 
 ther, more proud and boasting more purity than 
 any of the rest, " I am of Christ." Scandalous, 
 however, as their schisms were, they had not 
 proceeded to separation, nor did they dream of 
 breaking communion. If the Apostle so sternly 
 reprehended their divisions as inconsistent with 
 the unity of the church, although they continued 
 in the same fellowship, what would he have 
 said, how would he have thundered forth his in- 
 dignant rebuke had they carried their contests 
 
p. I. The Scriptural Doctrine. 5 
 
 so far as to burst the bonds of communion, and, 
 by that fact, virtually to disown each other as 
 mem^bers of the body of Christ? 
 
 Moreover, the Apostle has himself extended 
 his argument to matters v^hich, v^ithout affecting 
 the substance of our faith, hope, or duty, do yet 
 produce great diversity of opinion and habit : and 
 has shown that they ought not to infringe upon 
 Christian union; and consequently, ought not 
 to infringe upon the expression of it in Christian 
 communion. Between the freeman and the 
 slave, between the barbarian and the Greek, 
 between the Gentile and the Jew, there existed 
 wide differences of condition and feeling, and 
 large sources of animosity. But, saith Paul, they 
 must all yield to the force, they must all bow 
 before the majesty, of this consideration ; — that 
 the Christian freeman and slave — the Christian 
 barbarian and Greek — the Christian Gentile and 
 Jew, have *' bi/ otie Spirit beefi all baptized into one 
 body.'' W]\2it is this but to say, that the union of 
 believers with each other as members of the body 
 of Christ, is more precious than any other union, 
 civil, national, or ecclesiastical ? and will always 
 outweigh, in the balanceof God's judgment, the 
 heaviest pleas which can be accumulated for re- 
 cognising any other in preference to it ; or for 
 not recognising it in preference to every other ? 
 
 Finally. The Apostle opposes the spirit of 
 Qcclesiastical faction to the spirit of Christian 
 
6 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 love.* This heavenly grace he exalts above 
 prophecies, tongues, know^ledge, the faith of 
 miracles, the most magnificent alms, the very 
 zeal of martyrdom! Now this love, the only cure 
 for the gangrene of party strife — the most cha- 
 racteristic feature of Christ's image in a renewed 
 man — the most precious fruit of his grace ; and 
 yet the fruit v/hich the bulk of his professed fol- 
 lowers seem to think themselves under hardly 
 any obligation to cultivate — this love is declared 
 to originate in the love of God shed abroad in the 
 heart ; and to be drawn out toward the brethren 
 precisely on this account, that they are the 
 children of God — the disciples of Christ — and 
 therefore not on account of their adherence to 
 one or another denomination, however sound it 
 may be in the faith. Hereby, said the master, 
 hereby shall all men Imow that ye are my disciples, 
 if ye have love one to another. -\ Every one, 
 adds the beloved John who lay in his bosom 
 and drank deeply into his spirit, every one that 
 loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begot- 
 ten of hi?n.^ And surely the description which 
 Paul has given of Christian love, in the chapter 
 before us, corresponds to anything else as well 
 as to that gloomy distance and sour disdain which 
 are cherished by some professed Christians to- 
 wards others of whose graces the light is at least 
 
 * 1 Cor. xni. t John xiii. 35. + 1 John v. I. 
 
p. r. The Scriptural I}octruw. 7 
 
 equal to their owd; and which, by a hardihood 
 not easily attained or equalled, are converted 
 into a testimony for Jesus Christ ! 
 
 Since, therefore, the Apostle has resembled 
 the unity of the Christian church and the union 
 of Christians, to the unity of the human body 
 and the union of its members; and since the 
 use of this similitude in his expostulation with 
 the Corinthian schismatics was only a special 
 application of a doctrine general in itself, and 
 applicable every where and always to feuds and 
 divisions among those who embrace subtantially 
 the same faith, let us, in few words, gather up 
 its results, and see how they bear upon the 
 subject of sacramental communion. 
 
 1. The body of Christ is one. 
 
 2. Every member of this body has, by a divine 
 constitution, utterly independent on his own will, 
 both union and communion with every other 
 member, as infallibly as hands and feet, eyes, 
 ears, and nose, are, by the very constitution of 
 the physical body, united together as parts of 
 a whole, and sympathise with each other ac- 
 cordingly. 
 
 3. The members of this body of Christ have 
 a common and unalienable interest in all the 
 provision which God has made for its nutriment, 
 growth, and consolation ; and that simply and 
 absolutely, because they arc members of that 
 body. Therefore, 
 
8 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 4. The members of the church of Christ, indi- 
 vidually and collectively, are under a moral 
 necessity, i. e. under the obligation of God's au- 
 thority, to recognise each other's character and 
 privileges ; and, consequently, not to deny the 
 tokens of such recognition. Sacramental com- 
 munion is one of those tokens : therefore, the 
 members of the church of Christ, as such, are 
 under the obligation of God's authority to recog- 
 nise their relation to Christ and to each other, 
 by joining^ together in sacramental communion. 
 Nor has any church upon earth the power to re- 
 fuse a seat at the table of the Lord to one whose 
 *^ conversation is as becometh the gospel." If 
 she has, she has derived it from some other 
 quarter than her master's grant : and founds the 
 privilege of communion with her in something 
 else than a person's ** having received Christ 
 Jesus the Lord, and walking in him." Let her 
 look to herself, and see what account she shall 
 be able to render of her usurpation. 
 
 This general conclusion, flowing irrefragably 
 from the scriptural doctrine of the unity of 
 Christ's body and the union and communion of 
 its members, is illustrated and confirmed by a 
 consideration of the tenure by which all Chris- 
 tian churches and people hold their Christian 
 privileges. 
 
 None whom these pages address will pretend 
 that there are no true Christians in the world but 
 
p. I. The Scriptural Doctrine. 9 
 
 themselves, and no true churches but their own 
 — that all others are mere heathen ; and all their 
 churches, synagogues of Satan. The very idea 
 of such arrogance is abhorred by those whose 
 feelings and practice are most adverse to free 
 communion. They profess to acknowledge and 
 honour other churches — to rejoice in the gifts 
 and graces of other Christians — to account 
 them *' as dear children" of God ; as " brethren 
 beloved" in their common Redeemer : nor is 
 there any reason to doubt the sincerity of such 
 professions. This is all right — Christian-like- — 
 just as it should be. But does it never appear 
 to these good men somewhat incongruous to 
 decline taking a family-meal with any of the 
 household of faith who do not happen to occupy 
 the same apartment with themselves? to own 
 them as "saints," and *' precious" saints; and 
 yet deny them the provision which belongs to 
 the saints? And at the moment of greeting 
 them as brethren, beloved brethren, to tell them, 
 " you shall not have, at the table where ice sup, 
 one crumb of the bread, nor one drop of the 
 wine which Jesus, both your Lord and ours, 
 has given to you as well as to us ?" This is 
 certainly an original way of expressing love! 
 
 But, to press the matter a little closer. These 
 true churches and Christians have a right to the 
 holy sacraments, or they have not. If not, it 
 is a contradiction to call them true churches : 
 
10 A Flea for CathoUck Cmmnmiion. 
 
 the rightful possession of the sacraments being 
 essential to the existence of a true church. 
 They have then such a right. How did they 
 obtain it ? By a grant from the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, unquestionably. He gave all church- 
 privileges to his church catholick ; and from this 
 catholick grant do all particular churches derive 
 their right to, and their property in whatever 
 privileges they enjoy.* Other true churches, 
 then, hold their right to all church privileges by 
 the very same tenure by which Ave hold ours : 
 and, consequently, the members of those 
 churches have the very same right to the table 
 of the Lord as the members of our own. By 
 what authority, therefore, does any particular 
 church undertake to invalidate a right bestowed 
 by Christ himself? And what less, or what 
 else, does she attempt, when she refuses to 
 admit Christians from other particular churches 
 to the participation of any ordinance which 
 Christ has established for their common use ? 
 The sacramental table is spread. I approach 
 and ask for a seat. You say, "No." ''Do you 
 dispute my Christian character and standing." 
 *' Not in the least." '' Why, then, am I re- 
 fused ?" " You do not belong to our church." 
 
 * See the Westminster Confession of Faith, ch. xv. and 
 Form of Church government, at the beginning ; with the scrip- 
 tural proofs. 
 
p. I. The Scriptural Doctrme. 1 1 
 
 " YoKr church! what do you mean by your 
 church ? Is it any thing more than a branch of 
 Christ's church? Whose table is this? Is it 
 the Lord's table, or yours? If yours and not 
 his, I have done. But if it is the Lord's, where 
 did you acquire the power of shutting out from 
 its mercies any one of his people ? I claim my 
 seat under my master's grant. Show me your 
 warrant for interfering with it." 
 
 Methinks it should require a stout heart to en- 
 counter such a challenge : and that the sturdiest 
 sectarian upon earth, not destitute of the fear of 
 God, should pause and tremble before he ven- 
 tured upon a final repulse. The language of 
 such an act is very clear and daring. " You 
 have, indeed, Christ's invitation to his table ; 
 but you have not mine. And without mine, his 
 shall not avail." Most fearful ! Christ Jesus 
 says, do this in remembrance of me. His servants 
 rise to obey his command ; and a fellow ser- 
 vant, acting in the name of that Christ Jesus, 
 under the oath of God, interposes his veto, and 
 says — " You shall not." Whose soul does not 
 shrink and shudder ! 
 
 Place the subject in another light. Is it, or is 
 it not the duty of Christians in all true churches to 
 show forth the Lord's death in the sacrament of 
 the supper ? If not, then we have true churches 
 and Christians under no obligation to observe 
 the most characteristic and discriminating 
 
12 A Plea for Catholick Communion, 
 
 of the Christian ordinances. Here, again, is 
 a contradiction nearly in terms. For who can 
 acknowledge a true church without sacraments ? 
 If it is — if it would be a great corruption, a 
 grievous sin in those churches to expel or neg- 
 lect their sacraments, and consign the memorial 
 of their Saviour's love to utter oblivion, it may 
 be further asked — ^whether, in acquitting them- 
 selves of their duty, they perform an acceptable 
 service unto God or not ? If they may, and do ; 
 and that with the most evident approbation from 
 above, as no sober Christian will deny, how 
 should an act of communion in " the body and 
 blood of the Lord," be lawful and commanded 
 to a person in one true church, and be unlawful 
 and forbidden to that same person in another ? 
 How should two persons both honour the Re- 
 deemer by communicating in their respective 
 churches, and both dishonour him by the very 
 same thing, if they should happen to exchange 
 places ? On what principle of truth or consist- 
 ency can any man ascribe to a subdivision of 
 God's church the privilege of controlling the 
 general laws by which the whole is to be 
 governed ; and the more than magic virtue of 
 transmuting the character of individuals and of 
 their worship, by the mere fact of their belong- 
 ing or not belonging to such subdivision ? So 
 that the question of their honouring the table of 
 the Lord, or their profaning and polluting it. 
 
V. I. The Script lo'al Doctrine. 13 
 
 shall turn precisely on this point. Whether they 
 are members of that particular church or not ? 
 Hence emerges a dilemma from which the bre- 
 thren we have to contend with will find it difficult 
 to make their escape. You must either avow or 
 disavow the doctrine which has just been im- 
 puted to your practice. Take your choice. If 
 you avow it, you stand self-convicted of cor- 
 rupting to their core the institutions of your 
 master. If you disavow it, why do you demand 
 more than the evidence of Christian character 
 as a qualification to communion with you ? On 
 this side of the dilemma you stand self-convicted 
 of repelling, without reason, your Christian 
 brethren from the table of the Lord. Either 
 way, your condemnation proceeds out of your 
 own mouth. 
 
 If any thing be wanting to this general argu- 
 ment, let us inquire at the Christian sacraments. 
 They are admitted, by all Protestants, to be but 
 two, Baptism and the Lord's supper. What is 
 their nature ? What their use ? And to whom 
 are they to be administered ? We may take our 
 answer from an authority unquestioned by the 
 parties to this discussion. 
 
 " Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the 
 covenant of grace, immediately instituted by 
 God, to represent Christ and his benefits ; and 
 to confirm our interest in him : as also to put a 
 visible difference between those that belong 
 
24 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 unto the church, and the rest of the world ; and 
 solemnly to engage them to the service of 
 Christ, according to his word."* 
 
 Assuming this account of the sacraments to be 
 scriptural, they are clearly the common property 
 of all Christians under the w^hole heaven. 
 
 1. " They are signs and seals of the covenant 
 of grace." Now, all believers, in all places of 
 Christ's kingdom upon earth, have their share in 
 the mercies of that covenant : therefore, all be- 
 iieverS) having the thing signified^ have a perfect 
 right to the sign. 
 
 2. They " represent Christ and his benefits, 
 and confirm an interest in him." Therefore, all 
 believers, being partakere of Christ and his 
 benefits ; in other words, having an interest in 
 him, are the proper recipients of those ordi- 
 nances whose use is to " confirm" that interest 
 to their faith. 
 
 3. " They put a visible difference between 
 those that belong to the church and the rest of 
 the world." Therefore, they who belong unto 
 the church of God, who are known and recog- 
 nised as Christians, have a right to this badge of 
 discrimination, and are bound to put it on and 
 wear it, as they shall have opportunity, in what- 
 ever part of God's church they may happen to 
 be. Consequently, they who so narrow the use 
 
 * Confession of Faith, ch. xxviii. 
 
p. I. The Scriptural Doctrine. 15 
 
 of this badge, as to make it distinguish r,ot 
 merely the church from the world ; the follower 
 from the foe of Christ Jesus ; but the church 
 from the church, the follower from the follower, 
 the friend from the friend of Christ Jesus ; and 
 thus to exhibit them as having separate Christian 
 interests, corrupt — not the form and circum- 
 stances — but the matter, but the substance, of 
 the holy sacraments. 
 
 4. They " solemnly engage believers to the 
 service of Christ according to his word." There- 
 fore all who have entered into his service, and 
 mean to regulate their lives by his word — and 
 what Christian does not ? — have a right to the 
 sacramental encouragement commensurate with 
 the sacramental oath. Which of them can inno- 
 cently refuse the oath ? To which of them may 
 the encouragement be innocently denied ? And 
 who art thou, sinful flesh, escaped by thy mas- 
 ter s grace from the damnation of hell, that 
 darest — yes — da rest, to keep back from the 
 vow and the consolations of thy master's table 
 any whom thou acknowledgest to be the objects 
 of his love ? 
 
 It results, 
 
 1. That they vv'ho have a right to sacramental 
 communion any where, have a right to it every 
 where ; and, conversely, that they who have 
 not a right to it every where, have a right to it 
 no where. 
 
16 A Plea for CathoUck Commimion. 
 
 2. That no qualification for such commmiioil 
 may, by the law of Christ, be exacted from any 
 individual other than visible Christianity; 
 i. e. a profession and practice becoming the 
 gospel, vv^ithout regard to those sectarian diffe- 
 rences which consist with the substance of 
 evangelical truth. 
 
p. ir. , Facts.— The ApostoUckVhKrch. 17 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Facts. 
 
 In questions concerning social observances 
 the first and most prevalent presumption is in 
 favour of those under which the existing genera- 
 tion was bom and educated. What they have 
 always seen before their own eyes, followed in 
 their own practice, and received by tradition 
 from their fathers, men generally consider as 
 having on its side the double advantage of pre- 
 scription and right. Without exercising much 
 thought on the matter, they have a sort of quiet 
 hereditary notion that it always was as it is, and 
 is as it ought to be. Whatever, therefore, has, 
 in their eye, the appearance of novelty, is an 
 object of suspicion. New and false- — new and 
 hurtful, are with them terms of equal import. 
 The conclusion would be sound were tlie 
 premises correct. In doctrines of faith and 
 ordinances of worship there can be no room for 
 original discoveries. The divine rule for both 
 remains as it was when the sacred canon was 
 closed. If we date from that period, then, in- 
 deed, every thing new, i. e. every thing unknown 
 to the inspired records, if proposed as an article 
 of faith or an institution of worship, is necessa- 
 rily false and hurtful. Here, novelty and crime 
 
 c 
 
18 A Plea for Cathotich Cominiinion, 
 
 are the same. Wherefore the essential merits of 
 controversies upon all such points are to be ex- 
 amined and decided by the scripture alone. 
 And every decision agreeable to the scripture 
 takes precedence of all others however ancient, 
 on the ground both of right and of prescription. 
 Of right) because it is the divine law which has 
 the sole prerogative of binding conscience — Of 
 prescription, because God's institutions in his 
 own church must ever be Jirst, and all devia- 
 tions from them, novelties : absolute novelties 
 in their commencement ; and comparative no- 
 velties at the latest moment of their existence 
 afterwards. On the strength of this principJe 
 did the Protestant Reformers expel the cor- 
 ruptions of Popery, although they were of old 
 standing; entwined for ages with the habits of 
 society ; cherished with unfeigned ecclesiastical 
 fondness; and hallowed by popular devotion. 
 To this principle we must ourselves submit — ^we 
 must even court its application to our own obser- 
 vances, if we hope to pass for the sons of those 
 who, at every personal hazard, and under every 
 dismaying prospect — through fire and through 
 flood : the fire of their own *' wood, hay, 
 stubble," kindled by their own hands ; and the 
 flood of vengeance poured around them out of 
 the mouth of the Dragon, bore off in safety the 
 gold, the silver, the precious stones, of evan- 
 gelical treasure; and re-established on earth, 
 by the succours of heaven, the almost ruined 
 
p . I T . Fads. — The ApostoUck Ch urch . 1 9 
 
 cause of truth and grace. Let us, therefore, 
 treading in the steps of those Christian heroes, 
 carry our inquiries back in order to ascertain 
 whether the catholick communion for which these 
 pages plead ; or the sectional communion, so to 
 speak, which characterizes many Christian de- 
 nominations, receives the most countenance 
 from the faith and practice of the church of 
 God through ages past. 
 
 The facts to be embraced by this inquiry may 
 be distributed into three classes : and are fur- 
 nished by the history of the church strictly 
 called Apostolical, i. e. as it existed in the days 
 of the Apostles themselves — by the history of 
 the primitive church which immediately suc- 
 ceeded — and by the history of the church as 
 renovated in the Reformatioti from Popery. 
 
 I. Facts from the Apostolic history. For 
 these we must go to the New Testament itself. 
 
 One of these facts occurs in the case of the 
 first converts who became such under the first 
 sermon after the full introduction of the New 
 Testament economy. When the Jews, " pricked 
 in their heart" by the plain and pungent preach- 
 ing of Peter, cried out, " Brethren, what shall 
 we do ?"' the Apostle replied, '* Repent and be 
 baptized every one of you, in the yuime. of Jesus 
 Christ, for the remission of sins."'* Let us view 
 the bearings of this transaction. 
 
 * Acts,ii. 14—38. 
 C 2 
 
20 A Pica for CathoVick Communion. 
 
 . ist. Peter had quoted a passage from the 
 prophet Joel, promising salvation to faith in, and 
 profession of, the Lord Jesus, v. 21. for thus he 
 proves and applies the sense of the oracle in his 
 subsequent reasoning. 
 
 2d. Peter represents this faith as having for 
 its object Christ crucified; i. e. Christ " who 
 bore our sins in his own body on the tree ;" the 
 substitute, the propitiatory sacrifice in the room 
 uf believers on him.* 
 
 3d. Having held up to their view Jesus the 
 crucified, the Christ, he requires them to change 
 all their erroneous notions concerning his per- 
 son, his kingdom, and his work ; and to receive 
 the truth in its simplicity — " Repeyit." 
 
 4th. On the supposition of such repentance 
 he commands them to "be baptized in the 
 name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.** 
 They drank in this precious doctrine as the 
 thirsty land drinks in the rain from heaven. 
 They *' gladly received his word;" and upon 
 receiving it " were baptized.'' 
 
 It appears, therefore, that in the very first 
 precedent for admission to the sacraments of the 
 New Testament, and that set under the inspi- 
 ration of the Holy Ghost, the only qualification 
 wds faith in the Lord Jesus as the Saviour ofsijDiers 
 by the blood of his cross — a faith manifested by a 
 credible profession of his name. 
 
 Another fact occurs in the case of the Ethio- 
 
 * 1 Pet. ii. 24. iii. 18. 
 
1?. II. Facts. — TJie ApostoUch Chmxh^ 21 
 
 pian Eunuch. The story is told in the eighth 
 chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Phihp 
 the evangelist, having, by divine admonition, 
 accosted this distinguished officer as he was re- 
 turning home from Jerusalem, and been cour- 
 teously invited into his chariot, instructed him,, 
 from a passage of Isaiah which he was then 
 reading, in the doctrine of Jesus the Messiah, 
 and of the nature and use of the Christian sa- 
 craments. The first is plainly asserted in v. 35. 
 and the second as plainly implied in v. 36. For 
 how could he ask such a question as, " See ! 
 here is water — what doth hinder me to be bap- 
 tized ?" if he had been taught nothing of that 
 sacrament? Philip replied, that if he was a 
 sincere believer in Jesus, he might. Without 
 delay he makes the requisite profession of his 
 faith, and is baptized accordingly.. 
 
 Here, in perfect conformity with the original 
 precedent already produced, is a minister of the 
 gospel acting under the immediate injunction of 
 the Holy Spirit, administering one of the sacra^ 
 mental ordinances to a new disciple upon no 
 other terms than a credible profession of faitli 
 in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 A third i<x.Q,t occurs in the history of Saul; 
 Acts, ix. That furious persecutor, having been 
 miraculously arrested on his journey to Damas- 
 cus in quest of the blood of the saints ; and un- 
 dergone, during the three days of his blindness 
 
22 A Flea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 a^d fasting, such discipline and instruction from 
 the Lord Jesus himself, as both changed his 
 heart and qualified him for the Apostleship, was 
 admitted forthwith to the sacrament of baptism. 
 Upon what ground ? Simply on the ground of 
 his belonging to Christ. For on this ground 
 Christ himself placed it. He is a chosen vessel 
 unto me, saith the Redeemer. That the know- 
 ledge of this fact was communicated by revela-* 
 iion to Ananias, is of no weight in the present 
 argument. For the question is not, *' How are 
 we to ascertain a man's Christianity?" But 
 whether, on the supposition of its being ascer- 
 tained, (which is always supposed when we 
 admit its existence,) " it is, in and of itself a 
 sufficient title to gospel ordinances in whatever 
 part of the church catholick they may happen to 
 be dispensed ? If it is not— if any thing more 
 than the evidence of Christian character be re^ 
 quisite to create both the right and the obliga- 
 tion to reciprocal communion, it is clear that an 
 immediate revelation from God certifying such 
 a character, would not form a valid claim to 
 communion. The Apostle elect of the Gentiles 
 should have gone unbaptized ! 
 
 A fourth fact occurs in the case of Cornelius, 
 th^ first Gentile admitted into the Christian 
 church. All the circumstances of his reception 
 are too minutely related in the tenth chapter of 
 the Acts, and are too familiar to every serious 
 
p. ir. . Facts.- — The ApostoUck Church. 23 
 
 reader, to allow of repetition in this place. Our 
 concern is with the concluding scene. 
 
 While Peter was opening up the plan of salva- 
 tion, " the Holy Ghost fell on all them which 
 heard the word. And they of the circumcision 
 which believed were astonished, as many as 
 came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles 
 also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
 For they heard them speak with tongues and 
 magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can ani^ 
 man forbid water, that these should not be baptized 
 
 which HAVE RECEIVED THE HoLY GhOST AS 
 
 WELL AS ^VE ? And he commanded them to be 
 baptized in the name of the Lord." v. 44 — 48. 
 
 This descent of the Holy Ghost was visible 
 proof of God's acceptance; and the sole principle 
 on which the Apostle pronounced them to be fit 
 subjects for sacramental recognition; and ac- 
 tually did admit them to all the privileges of the 
 Christian church. The news of such an event 
 was not slow in travelling. '* The Apostles and 
 brethren that were in Judea heard that the 
 Gentiles also had received the word of God."* 
 The account of Peter's share in this revolution 
 was too essential to be overlooked. His Jewish 
 brethren were stumbled and alarmed. No 
 sooner does he appear at Jerusalem, than a 
 complaint is tabled against him. *' They that 
 
 ^ Acts, ch. xii. 
 
24 A Plea for Caiholick Communion. 
 
 were of the circumcision contended with him." 
 V. 2, Well, what is the offence? He had held 
 corrupt communion! How? " Thou wentest in 
 to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with 
 them." V. 3. The fact was indisputable; but 
 the inference, viz. that he had acted irregularly, 
 if not irreligiously, was unfounded. His brethren 
 reasoned from their prejudices, and came 
 to their conclusion before they had examined 
 the merits of the cause. Nor is it unworthy 
 of remark, that, in their complaint, they laid 
 a great stress upon a circumstance which habit 
 had erected into ecclesiastical law, but which it 
 were vain to seek in any commandment of God— 
 the unlawfulness of religious or even social inter- 
 course with a Gentile ! And so heinous in their 
 eyes was this trangression of the "tradition of the 
 elders," that it served as a point of concentration 
 for their whole grievance. Thou wentest in to men 
 uncircumcised and didst eat with them ! N. B. It is 
 no new thing for good and, upright men, through 
 the force of prepossession, the want of informa- 
 tion, and precipitancy of judgment arising from 
 both, to blame that which God approves ; to set 
 themselves against that which God has autho- 
 rized ; and to be strenuous for that which God 
 disregards. This was the errour of Peter's 
 brethren. However, with the consciousness not 
 only of pure intention, but of laudable conduct, 
 he calmly listens to their accusation, and 
 
p. II. Facts. — 77/6 ApostoUck Church. 25 
 
 vindicates his proceedings in a manner equally 
 admirable for its meekness and its dignity. 
 " He rehearsed the matter from the beginning, 
 and expomided it by order unto them;" giving 
 a succinct history of the steps by which he was 
 led, under a divine communication, to the house 
 of Cornelius; of his preaching the gospel there; 
 and of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon his 
 Gentile hearers, v. 4—15. His reasoning upon 
 the facts is thus nervously summed up. " Then 
 remembered I the word of the Lord, how that 
 he said, Jolin indeed baptized iviih water ; but ye 
 shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch, 
 then, as God gave them the like gift as he did 
 unto us who beheved on the Lord Jesus Christ ; 
 
 what was I, that I could withstand God V 
 ■V. 16, 17. 
 
 The prominent points in this reasoning are, 
 1st. God has given to these Gentiles that holy 
 
 Spirit of whom the water in John's baptism was 
 
 a^n emblem and pledge. 
 
 2d. God has thus borne witness to them as his 
 
 children, and heirs of his promise. 
 
 3d. God has put them upon a perfect level 
 
 with ourselves, by this testimony to their faith in 
 
 Christ Jesus : so that whatever rights we have, 
 
 they have also ; and are intitled to receive their 
 
 privileges wiiih us and from us. 
 
 4th. Under this evidence of their gracious 
 
 relation to the Lord Jesus Christ, to refuse them 
 
S6 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 the seal of that relation were to resist God! 
 And, therefore, he commanded them to be bap- 
 tized in the name of the Lord : which is precisely' 
 equivalent to his administering the ordinance 
 with his own hands. 
 
 . The opposition ceased— the brethren were 
 satisfied. They had been warm in their dis- 
 pleasure; but they yielded to the light of truth — 
 they yielded magnanimously — when it was once 
 proved that these Gentiles were owned of God ; 
 were placed among his people, and blessed with 
 his Spirit ; the doubt was removed ; the debate 
 was over : and instead of cavilling, or hunting up 
 small distinctions by the aid of which they might 
 seem to acknowledge the Christian character of 
 the new converts and yet censure the Apostle 
 Peter for holding communion with them, they 
 joined together in humble thankfulness to God 
 for this additional display of his grace. " They 
 held their peace." — they had no more fault to 
 find, nor objections to make ; *' and glorified 
 God, saying, then hath God also to the Gentiles 
 granted repentance unto life." v. IS. Why should 
 it not be so still ? Why should not such proof of 
 Christian character in others, no matter whom, 
 as we deem sufiicient among ourselves, be at 
 this hour, as it was then, the rule of Christian 
 fellowship on the broadest scale ? And a refusal 
 •of that communion to any whom we own that 
 .God has owned by the same tokens which he 
 
p. II. Fads. — Tlie Apostolick Church. 27 
 
 has given to us, be now, as it would have been 
 then, a withstanding of God ? 
 
 h fifth fact occurs in the history of the reference 
 from Antioch, and of the proceedings thereon by 
 the Synod of Jerusalem. Acts, xv. 
 
 *' Certain men," ministers of the word, "which 
 came down from Judea taught the brethren, and 
 said, E.vcept ye be circumcised after the manner of 
 Moses, ye cannot be saved,'' v. 1. This doctrine, 
 false and dangerous, tending to subvert the entire 
 fabric of evangelical truth, Paul and Barnabas 
 promptly and firmly resisted, v. 2. But the erro- 
 neous teachers persevering, and being probably 
 supported by Jewish converts, with very little 
 prospect of gaining over the Gentiles; it was 
 judged expedient for the prevention of feuds, to 
 refer the question to the Apostles and Presbyters 
 at Jerusalem, v. 2. They accepted the reference 
 •■ — took the subject into consideration-— condemn- 
 ed the doctrine which had raised the ferment in 
 Antioch — prohibited the preaching of it in future 
 —and, with regard to the remaining differences, 
 advised both parties to forbearance and love. 
 V. 22—29. 
 
 The value of their decision, as a precedent for 
 posterity, lies in its p?inciple. On the one hand, 
 that venerable council would not endure, " no, 
 not for an hour," the least infringement upon that 
 prime essential of Christianity, thejustfication of 
 a sinner by faith alqi^e: nor, on the other, would 
 
28 A Plea for Catholick Communion, 
 
 they countenance the spirit of schism and separa-^ 
 tion, even for the sake of important differences 
 which left both sides in possession of the substan- 
 tialXxuih. On these matters they enjoined respect 
 to each others feehngs — they enjoined bearing 
 and forbearing — they enjoined " endeavours to 
 keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
 peace"^ — they did not enjoin, nor abet, nor in any 
 wise encourage, the disruption of communion. 
 Prejudice herself must confess that the variance 
 between the Gentile and Jewish believer on the 
 subject of circumcision and of the Mosaic law 
 generally, even without the notion of its necessity 
 to salvation, was much wider than the variance 
 betv/een many Christians who will not commune 
 together in the body and blood of their common 
 Lord. The sense of their union with him, accord- 
 ing to the Apostolic rule, should absorb their 
 inferiour discrepancies of opinion and practice 
 among themselves. But, directly reversing this 
 order, their inferiour discrepancies overpower 
 the sense of their union as one in him. O how 
 nnlike the spirit and the example of those 
 glorious days of the Son of man ! 
 
 The scriptural details might be prosecuted 
 further; but it is superfluous. They are all of one 
 complexion. Nor is there any hazard in asserting, 
 without qualification, that there is not in all the 
 New Testament one solitary doctrine or fact 
 which so much as implies, or can be made by 
 
p. II. .Fads. — The Primitive Church/ 29 
 
 any tolerable interpretation to appear to imply, 
 that the Lord Jesus has authorized the exaction 
 of any term whatever for the whole fellowship of 
 his church, other than visible Christianity. Ob- 
 jections will be noticed in their proper place. 
 
 II. The second class of facts is furnished by 
 the history of the primitive church from the days 
 of the Apostles to the close of the fourth century. 
 
 It was not more her character, during that 
 period, to profess Christianity, than it was to 
 assert her catholick iinity; and to cherish on all 
 occasions, the most tender solicitude for its 
 preservation. This is so evident, that an at- 
 tempt to set forth its proofs at large would be 
 altogether impertinent. No man who has only 
 glanced at the writings of the early fathers, will 
 raise a doubt on the subject. It is material, 
 however, to inquire in what, according to her 
 view, her unity consisted — by what it was 
 liable to be broken — and how it was to be 
 maintained. 
 
 Her unity consisted in her common faith, her 
 common institutions — and brotherly love. 
 
 1st. The chief principle of her unity was her 
 common faith ; i. e. the faith which was common 
 to her members all over the world. 
 - In the exposition of her faith, as a rallying 
 point of union, she confined herself to a few great 
 jjrinciples — principles which are, CA^ry where 
 
30 A Plea for Catholick Communion, 
 
 and at all times, vital to the religion of Jesus — ^ 
 and without which it is impossible there should 
 be either Christianity or Christians. Nothing 
 can be more simple, nor summed up with more 
 studious brevity than the early creeds, or as they 
 were called, symbols of the faith. That little 
 composition, familiarly known by the name of 
 the " Apostles creed,'' though probably not their 
 work, may give the reader a correct idea of their 
 general structure. For his further satisfaction, 
 however, I shall translate another specimen from 
 IrencEus, a disciple oi Poly carp, and a most stre- 
 nuo s defender of the purity of the faith against 
 various heresies. 
 
 *' The church, although scattered over the 
 whole world even to the extremities of the 
 earth, has received from the apostles and their 
 disciples, the faith, viz. on one God the 
 Father, almighty, that made the heaven and 
 the earth, and the seas, and all thingfs therein— 
 and on one Christ Jesus, the son of God, who 
 became incarnate for our salvation — and on the 
 Holy Spirit, who, by the prophets, preached 
 the dispensations, and the advents, and the 
 generation from a Virgin, and the suffering, 
 and the resurrection from the dead, and the 
 assumption, in flesh, into heaven, of our beloved 
 Lord Jesus Christ; and his coming again from 
 the heavens in the glory of the Father, to 
 
p. ir. The Primitive Church, 31 
 
 sum up all things, and raise all flesh of all 
 mankind; that to Christ Jesus, our Lord, and 
 God, and Saviour, and King, according to the 
 good pleasure of his father who is invisible, 
 every knee may bow of beings in heaven, in 
 earth and under the earth ; and every tongue 
 may confess to him; and that he may exercise 
 righteous judgment upon all ; may send spiritual 
 wickednesses, and transgressing and apostate 
 angels, and ungodly, and unjust, and lawless, 
 and blasphemous men, into eternal fire. But on 
 the righteous and holy — on those who have 
 kept his commandments and continued in his 
 love, whether from the beginning or after re- 
 pentance, may, with the gift of life, bestow 
 incorruption, and put them in possession of 
 eternal glory."* 
 
 * Fidelity rather than elegance has been consulted in this 
 translation. But that the reader may judge for himself, the 
 wiginal is subjoined. 
 
 H fxev yap EKKXjjffta, KaiTr^p Ka^' vXrjs ttjq oiKOVfievrjs Iwff 
 ^cparwK ri]c yrjQ ^leairapfiefr), Trapa Se riov AttotoXwj', Kai ru)v 
 tKEivMV fxa6r]T0)v 7rapaXa/3ov(ra rrjv eiQ kva deov Trarepa 
 "TravroicpaTopa, rov 7rETroir]KOTa Toy ovpa'vov, Kai ttjv yj/v, Kat 
 TUQ S^aXao-orar, kul irayrd ra (.v awrotc, -KiariV t^ciL ft? 
 kva \piffroy I/.terow, rov vioy rov 0iov, rov ccipKuiBevra 
 viTEp TrjQ iijxtrepaq (TU)Tr]pLaQ' kcu etc TJyevixa dyiov, to Cui 
 Twv vpo<j)r}Twy i:£Krjpvy^og tqq otKoyo^uiQ, kul Tag eXevaeLg, 
 i:ai rrjy etc TLapBei'ov yewTjaLV, Kat to iradog, Kai Ti)y 
 (.ytpciv eK vEKpoiv, /cat tt)v evaapKov etc tovq ovpayovg 
 U)a\i]\piy rov iiyari] j^ieyov XpJcrrou hjcov rov Kvpiov >//'wr, 
 
32 A Plea for CathoUck Commimion. 
 
 \ " This faith," proceeds Irenaeus, *' the church, 
 as I said before, has received, and though disper^ 
 sed over the whole world, assiduously preserves 
 as if she inhabited a single house; and believes in 
 these things as having but one heart and one soul ; 
 and with perfect harmony proclaims, teaches,, 
 hands down, these things as though she had but 
 one mouth. For though there are various and; 
 dissimilar languages in the world ; yet the power 
 of the faith transmitted is one and the same. 
 Neither the churches in Germany, nor in Iberia,^. 
 (Spain) *' nor among the CeltcE,'' (in France) " nor 
 in the East, nor in Egypt, nor in Libya, nor in the 
 middle regions of the world," (Jerusalem and the 
 adjacent districts) " believe or teach any other 
 
 scat TTjv EK T(i)v ovpcivwv tv TTj So^j] Tov TcciTpOQ TTapovaiav aurouj 
 fTTt TO avaK£(paXaiu)cra(T&cu ra iravra, kcu avatTTTjcrai Traaav 
 erctpKa TraariQ av^pw'KOTr]TOQ^ iva Xptorw Ij/cou, tm Kupty 
 7jf.iu)V^ icai 0£w, /cat ffijjrrjpt^ Kai /3a(Tt\ei, Kara rrjv evEoKiav tov 
 Tlarpog tov aopuTOv^ Tray yovv Kanxprj ETvavovpavcwv kcu eiriyeKitv 
 Kat KaTW^Ooviiov, Kai wacra yXwcrffa E^o[xoXo-/r}(Tr]Tai, kcu Kpifnv 
 oiKaiav £v TOLQ Tracri TroirjarjTai' ra fXEv TrvevfiaTiKa ttjq "Trovrjpiag^ 
 Kai ayyEkovQ 7rapafie(SrjK0TaQ, Kat ev airo'saaiq. yeyovorag^ kcu 
 Tove atTEpEig., KUL adiKovg^ kui uvojxovq^ kul (jXaacj/jj^ovg royv 
 ai'dpojTTWV Eig to aiwviov irvp Trefiipr]' TOig ce SiKaioic, kui oarioig, 
 Kat Tag evToXag avTov TETtjprjKoai, kul ev tt) ayuTcr) avtov 
 viajiEjXEVYiKocTL Toic (/,i£v) ott' apj^jjf, TOig ^E £K fiETavoiug, ^<arjv 
 yapitrujXEvog^ a(j)dap(Tiav SioprjarjTai, kul Bo^rjv auoviav 
 TTEonroitjm]. , 
 
 Iren. Adversus Hcereses. Lib. I. c. 3. p. 45. ed. Grade, 
 
p. II. Facts.T—The Primitive Church. . 33 
 
 doctrines. But as the Sun is one and the same 
 throughout the whole world; so the preaching of 
 the truth shines every where, and enlightens all 
 men who are willing to come to the knowledge 
 of truth. Nor will the most powerful in speech 
 among the governours of the churches say any 
 thing more than these ; (for no one can be above 
 his master;) nor the most feeble any thing less. 
 For as there is but one faith, he who is " able 
 to speak much cannot enlarge ; nor he who can 
 say little, diminish it."* 
 
 It is clear that this venerable father did not 
 mean to give the very words of any formula of 
 faith ; but to state substantially, those high and 
 leading truths in which all the churches of Christ 
 over the whole world harmonized ; and which 
 formed the doctrinal bond of their union. 
 
 It is also pertain, that as heresies, corrupting 
 any c«r^z;z^/ principle of Christianity, arose in the 
 church, her public profession met them by an 
 open and decisive assertion of the injured truth. 
 This necessarily enlarged, by degrees, the num- 
 ber of articles in her creed, as well as the scope 
 of her ministerial instruction. But her mainte- 
 nance of the faith was always pointed and brief. 
 She never launched out into wide discussion ; 
 
 * Iren. ib. c. 3. p. 46. See to the same purpose, Cyprian. 
 de unitate Ecdesia. 0pp. p. 108. ed. Fell. Oxon. 1683. 
 
 D 
 
34 A P leu for Catholick Communion. 
 
 never pursued principles to their remote conse- 
 quences ; nor embarrased her testimony by 
 numerous and minute applications. These were 
 left then as they ought to be now, and, in the 
 nature of things, must be, in a very great mea- 
 sure, to the intelligence and fidelity of her 
 ministry. But the basis of her communion was 
 laid so broad, in the vital doctrines of the gospel, 
 that all who " held the head," in whatever spot 
 of the globe, might join, as they had opportunity, 
 in the reciprocation of Christian kindnesses, and 
 the enjoyment of Christian privileges. For proof 
 of this a single fact will suffice. One of the most 
 copious of her confessions, framed toward the 
 close of the fourth century, or about A. D. 373, 
 nearly two hundred years after Irenaeus, was 
 designed, expressly, to guard and vindicate 
 the common faith against the numerous heresies 
 of the age. '* All the orthodox bishops," says 
 Epiphanius, " and, in a word, the whole 
 catholic church, in opposition to those heresies, 
 and conformably to the pre-established faith of 
 those holy fathers" (the Apostles and their 
 successors) *' affirm and maintain as follows; 
 We believe, <^t.* 
 
 * ^fxeig Ts Kai i]fJ.£iQ, icac TcavTtQ 6t opdoco^oi ETnaKoirot. kul 
 (TvXkrj[3cr]v Tratra i] ayia Ka0oXiK»j EfixXj^tr lairpog rag avaKv\paaag 
 hipeaEig ciKoXovQiog rr) twv ayiioy ekeivojv "Trarepojv Trporerayfiey^ 
 7naT€i, i/vTug Xeyofxey^ /^aXtora roig aytf Xvrp^ Trpoaiovaiv, 
 
p. II. Facts — The Primitive Church. 35 
 
 He then recites the creed at length. It is 
 substantially the same with the one already 
 quoted ; to the specifications of which it gives 
 greater amplitude, and closer application. Yet 
 this enlarged creed would not Jill, or more than 
 fill, THREE PAGES of the prcscnt work!! 
 
 It is now apparent in what the doctrinal unity 
 of the primitive church consisted. It was in 
 holding and professing the same faith on points 
 immediately affecting our eternal hope. 
 
 2d. The *eco/«^/ principle of her unity was found 
 in her common institutions. 
 
 These, again, without descending to subor- 
 dinate variations or local observances, were her 
 ministry, her worshipping assemblies, and her 
 sacraments. 
 
 Whatever alterations passed, in process of 
 time, upon i\\eform of her ministry and worship, 
 there was no place nor period in which their 
 substance was not accounted sacred. On the one 
 hand she resisted, with jealous promptitude, 
 every intrusion into her official functions; and, 
 on the other, her ministers were ministers of 
 her whole body, and so acknowledged and 
 employed wherever they happened to be, under 
 such restrictions only as prudence rendered 
 
 Iva airayyiXSwtn kcu Xeyoxri ovtwq. OKTE^OMEN ic. t. \. 
 Epiph. Ancor. 121. 0pp. T. 11. p. 123. Petavii. 1622. 
 
 d2 
 
36 A Pleaf&r Catholick Communion. 
 
 necessary for the preservation of public order. 
 A ministry and a ministry she understood not. 
 It was o)ie. To interdict a minister of the gos- 
 pel, with suitable credentials, from preaching or 
 other service of the sanctuary, in any particular 
 church whatever, on the pretence of its being 
 unlawful to receive him and to join with him in 
 ministerial communion, she would have held in 
 abomination. Severance of church from church 
 — worship from worship — sacraments from sa- 
 craments, under the notion of separate Christian 
 interests, and the denial of reciprocal fellowship, 
 she condemned and detested. Cyprian's treatise 
 on the unity of the church;* and his corres- 
 pondence relative to the Novatian schism, will 
 satisfy any candid man of the truth of this 
 representation. Proof in detail is forborne at 
 present, as it will be incorporated with subse- 
 quent matter; and will thus prevent a needless 
 if not wearisome repetition. 
 
 3d. The third great point of primitive unity 
 was, brotherly love. 
 
 Let brotherly love continue, is an injunction 
 among the last which proceeded from the sanc- 
 tified lips of Paul the apostle, the aged, the 
 martyr. And for the best of reasons. It is a 
 lesson the most likely to be forgotten, and the 
 
 * De unitate Ecdesice. 0pp. pp. 104 — 120. Ed. Fell. 
 
p. II. Facts.' — The Primitive Church. 37 
 
 most important to be remembered, of all the 
 practical lessons which have been given to the 
 children of men. The most likely to be forgotten : 
 because every form and particle of their depra- 
 vity has an interest in counteracting it — the 
 most important to be remembered : because it 
 is the principal proof of their reconciliation 
 and communion with God, and the mainspring 
 of their happiness both in this life and that which 
 is to come. Hatred, and her whole brood of 
 envyings, strifes, clamours, jealousies, discords, 
 are from hell — the undisputed progeny of Satan 
 — Charity, with her gentleness, kindness, long- 
 sufferings, mercies, meekness, and the whole 
 train of personal lovelinesses and social graces, 
 are from above; the fair and guileless offspring 
 of the " Father of lights." The very end of the 
 Redeemer's mission; the ultimate object of his 
 doctrines, his precepts, his example, his tears, 
 his sacrifice, was to overthrow the reign of malice, 
 and to rear upon its ruins the empire of love. 
 For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, 
 that he might destroy the works of the Devil. But 
 God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth 
 in God and God in him. On the contrary, he that 
 loveth not, knoweth not God. Thence the emphasis 
 of those memorable words of the Lord Jesus ; 
 Hereby shall all men know that ye are my disci- 
 ples, if ye have love one to another. In fact, the 
 religion which he has instituted and which hia 
 
38 A Pleafor Catholick Communion. 
 
 Spirit teaches, is the only religion upon the face 
 of the earth which makes love its principle. 
 Even Justification by faith is related to love as a 
 means to an end. It is he who " believeth 
 God," that worketh righteousness, and loves his 
 neighbour. 
 
 In this divine quality of their religion the pri- 
 mitive Christians shone forth with a lustre which 
 eclipses and darkens thd church of modern days. 
 That there existed then, as there exist now, 
 whisperings, and backbitings, and evil surmises 
 — that Jealousy raised strife, and ambition par- 
 ties — that the simple followed where the crafty 
 led — that Zeal often lent herself to vain glory 
 rather than to godly edifying; while Truth 
 frowned and Charity wept, is very certain. 
 Absolute freedom from those ungracious tem- 
 pers which divide and alienate even the wise 
 and good, is for the heavenly state. It belongs 
 not to flesh and blood : to men of " like pas- 
 sions;" and those passions too often sinful. 
 
 Yet with all her imperfections on this point ; 
 with all the wranglings and schisms which 
 sprung up in her bosom, the primitive church, 
 as a whole, presented a family picture which 
 should make us blush ; and would make us 
 blush, if we had not, by inveterate habits of 
 colUsion, and by the artifice of bestowing hal- 
 lowed names upon unhallowed things, rid our- 
 selves, in a great degree, of Christian shame. 
 
p. II. Facts, — The Primitive Church. 39 
 
 That which was the e.vception among the 
 " elders," seems to be the rule among the mo- 
 derns. Their concord was the rule, their disa- 
 greements the exception; our concord is the 
 exception, our disagreements the rule. We 
 should feel it to be a cruel satire, were any one 
 to say of us, as the Pagans said of the early 
 belieyers, " Behold, how these Christians love 
 one another!" 
 
 In this fraternal affection did they account 
 much of their unity to consist. Their most dis- 
 tinguished men laboured unweariedly to pre- 
 serve and promote it : and did not hesitate to 
 pronounce the violation of it to be a practical 
 renunciation of Christianity itself. 
 
 As the truth of this representation is generally 
 admitted, since it is every where the theme of 
 Christian panegyric, no authorities are quoted 
 to support it : for it would be idle to prove what 
 nobody denies. Yet if the reader should be at 
 all sceptical, he shall have his doubts removed 
 by what is to follow — the proof of some other 
 matters necessarily involving the proof of this 
 also. Proceed we, then, to inquire, 
 
 2. By what the primitive church considered 
 her unity as liable to be broken. 
 
 It may not be amiss to begin, after the good 
 old way ; and shew, negatively, what she did not 
 reckon as breaches of unity. In this predica- 
 ment, she comprehended all varieties of opinion 
 
40 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 and observance which do not subvert the foun- 
 dation of evangelical truth and order. All 
 which do not impeach a man's claim to the cha- 
 racter of a sincere disciple of the Lord Jesus. 
 Whatever they were, within these limits, they 
 did not, in her judgment, dissolve the bonds 
 of her union : by none of them was it impaired. 
 Not by a difference in rites and customs in 
 worship — 
 
 Nor by imperfrctions in moral discipline — • 
 Nor by diversities in the form of government — 
 Nor by dissonant views on subordinate points 
 of doctrine. 
 
 1st. Not by a difference in rites and cust(fms 
 in worship. 
 
 That there were discordant practices even 
 in the Apostolic church itself, is clear from the 
 records of the New Testament ; and equally 
 clear that they were not allowed to interrupt 
 the harmony of her communion. A great part 
 of Paul's argument, in his first epistle to the 
 Corinthians, ch. xi. concerning the decorum 
 which the sexes ought to study in their modes 
 of dress when engaged in public worship, rests 
 upon the habits of society. Now these, in so 
 far as they interfered neither with the ordi- 
 nances of worship nor with pure morals, might 
 very innocently vary in various places. He 
 winds up his remarks, after freely giving his 
 opinion on the question of propriety at that 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 41 
 
 time among the Corinthians, by saying. If any 
 man seem to be contentious, we have no such 
 CUSTOM, neither the churches of God. " A con- 
 tentious man," it is Calvin s comment; " A con- 
 tentious man is one who wantonly stirs up 
 strife, regardless of the prevalence of truth. 
 Such are all they who, without necessity, carp 
 at good and useful rites," &c. From the words 
 of the Apostle one thing is plain ; viz. that 
 matters of secondary moment, relating even to 
 the worship of God, are no justifiable cause of 
 *' contention" among Christians. 
 
 Does this construction appear too bold and 
 too broad ? It shall be confirmed by Paul him- 
 self. Wide differences of opinion and practice 
 existed between Christians in his time about the 
 distinction of meats and of days which were 
 established under the Jewish dispensation. The 
 discreet Apostle, aware of men's propensity to 
 bend every thing to their own rule with very 
 little regard to the feelings of others; and to 
 array their uncharitableness in the livery of zeal 
 for religion, interposes to prevent the sacrifice of 
 one party to the rashness or vanity of the other : 
 telling them that they might both serve God 
 acceptably. He that regardeth the day, regardetJi 
 it unto the Lord: and he that rcmrdeth not the. 
 day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that 
 eateth, eateth to the Lord; for he giveth God 
 thanks: ajul he that eateth not, to the Lord he 
 
42 A Plea for CathoUck Communion, 
 
 eateth not ; and givetk God thanks.* Be it so, 
 that Christians or Christian churches have scru- 
 ples and attachments which neither go the 
 whole length of evangelical freedom, nor even 
 rise up to the height of evangelical purity — be 
 it so, that they who see these infirmities are 
 themselves of clearer light, stronger faith, and 
 larger liberty. Yet they may not, says Paul, 
 pour contempt upon their brethren^: much less 
 stand at a haughty distance, as if they were 
 not disciples of a common master. Nor, may 
 those of less attainments, " the weak," as Paul 
 terms them, indulge even a censorious temper 
 toward the others. Instead of such unseemli- 
 ness, let us judge this rather, that iio man 'put 
 a stumhUng block or an occasion to fall in his 
 brothers way. " O Christians," exclaims he, 
 •* your best interests are untouched by these 
 inferiour disagreements. The kingdom of God is 
 not meat and drink ; but righteousness, and peace, 
 €tnd joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these 
 things, viz. righteousness, and peace, and joy 
 in the Holy Ghost, serveth Christ, is accept- 
 able TO God, and approved of men. Laying 
 aside, therefore, all j anglings and heart-burn- 
 ings about other matters, let us follow after the 
 things which make for peace; and things 
 
 * Rom. xiv. 6. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 43 
 
 wherewith one may edify, may build up, not pull 
 down, another.*'' This was Paul's advice con- 
 cerning disputes about the religious distinction 
 of meats and days. And when the contest re- 
 lative to circumcision had created warm blood 
 between Christians, he pursued the same heal- 
 ing course. Perpetually calling them off from 
 their subaltern polemics to their great concern, 
 which was worth fighting, and bleeding, and 
 burning for — he cries out, Circumcision is no- 
 thing, and uncircumcision is nothing ; but keeping 
 of the commandments of God f' — is — every thing ! 
 And again. In Christ Jesus neither circimicision 
 availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new 
 CREATURE. And tts many as walk according to this 
 rule, viz. that it is the being a new creature in 
 Christ Jesus, which contains the pith and mar- 
 row, the vigour and glory of our good confes- 
 sion, peace be on them and mercy ! Circumcised 
 or uncircumcised ; laying stress upon this cus-' 
 tom, or laying none, I have no quarrel with 
 them ; nor ought others to have any. For not- 
 withstanding this dissent, they all are the Israel 
 of God ; and such they shall be found and ac- 
 knowledged to be, ■ when many who are at 
 daggers-drawing about the carnal rite shall be 
 disowned by their Judge. For my own part. 
 
 * Rom. xiii. 17—19. t 1 Cor. vii. 19. 
 
44 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 saith the Apostle, I have things of much higher 
 moment to fill up my heart, my hours, and my 
 efforts. / am set for the defence of the Gospel; 
 and will not descend to these petty conflicts. 
 My back scarred with the scourge, my limbs 
 bruised with stones, for the cross of Christ, 
 will shew whether my resolution proceeds from 
 a selfish motive, or from a proper estimate of a 
 cause which will justify and repay my sufferings. 
 Fi^om henceforth let no man trouble me : for I hear 
 in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus!* Sage 
 and Hero ! every man in whose heart the love 
 of Jesus reigns, would fly to " kiss thy lips for 
 giving so right an answer. "f 
 
 As was his doctrine, so was his example. 
 He circumcised Timothy to sooth a Jewish pre- 
 judice J — he submitted, by the advice of the 
 Presbyters at Jerusalem, to a useless but harm- 
 less ceremony, in " purifying himself" along 
 with " four men who had a vow on them ;" for 
 the express purpose of disproving the charge 
 of his making war upon the " customs" — reli- 
 gious customs — customs belonging to divine 
 worship, which converts from the Jews had re- 
 tained from the ancient ceremonial.^ Summa- 
 rily, he accommodated himself to all classes of 
 men, and all their customs, whenever such 
 
 * Gal. vi. 15—17. t Prov. xxiv. 26. 
 
 X Acts, xvi. 3. § Acts, xxi. 20—26.. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 45 
 
 courtesy did not imply a surrender of truth. 
 About customs as customs he strove not. Yet 
 this same condescending, accommodating Paul, 
 who went every length consistently ^vith the 
 safety of substantial principles, would not stir 
 an hair's breadth at the hazard of injuring them. 
 Here he was unyielding, unmanageable, inex- 
 orable as Death. Upon such terms, however 
 innocent, or even laudable, customs and rites 
 might be in themselves ; however dear to a ten^ 
 der but misguided conscience, his maxim was 
 — " Touch not, taste not, handle not." Re- 
 move this single objection — shew that his com- 
 pliance was not exacted as an approbation — that 
 no vital truth was to be wounded — and, ** to 
 the Jew he became as a Jew — to those under 
 the law, as under the law — to those without the 
 law, as without the law — to all men all things"* 
 • — for what purpose? To '* gain some" — to 
 promote the common salvation! This is that 
 Paul the Apostle ! 
 
 The same spirit animated the church after he 
 had left it. When the Jewish controversy was 
 settled for ever, there was still a variety of ob- 
 servances in different places. They necessarily 
 arose out of different climate, previous habits, 
 social institutions, national character ; and were 
 
 * 1 Cor. ix. 21. 
 
46 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 as necessarily continued, and naturally increas- 
 ed. The general fact is stated and explained 
 in the ecclesiastical histories which are in every 
 one's hands. They produced, however, no dis- 
 cord nor inconvenience, till the middle of the 
 second century, when sharp and vehement con- 
 tests divided the Asiatic and western Christians 
 about the celebration of Easter. The former 
 keeping this feast on the fourteenth day of the 
 first Jewish month, three days before the anni- 
 versary of Christ's resurrection; the latter 
 keeping it on the night immediately precedittg 
 that anniversary.* This difference may appear 
 trifling to those who do not observe Easter at 
 all ; but to the primitive Christians it was far 
 from being a trifle. Their devotional habits, in 
 many things inaccurate, and in this among the 
 rest, made it a question of high importance. 
 Yet though neither party yielded to the other, 
 they did not, on that account, break the bonds 
 of charity.^ 
 
 Toward the end of the century, Victor, bishop 
 of Rome, as bishops were in those days, under- 
 took to force upon the Asiatic Christians the 
 custom of the west; and on their refusing to 
 comply, " broke communion with them, pro- 
 nounced them unworthy of the name of 
 
 * Mosheim, Yol. I. p. 203. f Mosheira, Vol. I. p. 204. 
 
p. IT. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 47 
 
 brethren, and excluded them from all fellow- 
 ship with the church of Rome."* But Victor 
 and his associates were obliged to give back ; 
 and both sides *' retained their own customs 
 until the fourth century, when the council of 
 Nice abolished that of the Asiatics, and ren- 
 dered the time of the celebration of Easter the 
 same through all the Christian churches.f 
 
 Th^re- is extant on this subject a fragment of 
 Ireti^tas, 'bemg^part of a letter which he wrote 
 iri'Tii§ owii name and the name of his brethren, 
 to Victor; and which had great influence in 
 healing the breach. It is worth inserting. 
 
 After admonishing Victor that he ought not, 
 for such a reason, " to cut off from communion 
 whole churches of God who observed the 
 custom handed down from their ancestors," he 
 adds : 
 
 '' Not only is there a controversy about the 
 day, but about the very form, of the fast. For 
 some think it ought to be kept for one day, 
 others for two, others even for several ; others 
 measure for their term forty hours, including both 
 night and day. And this variety among those 
 who keep it, has not originated in our times, 
 but prevailed long before us ; our predecessors, 
 it seems, not having been very scrupulous with 
 
 f Mosheim, Vol. I. p. 204, 205. t lb. 
 
48 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 regard to accuracy; but having adopted their 
 custom in their simpUcity and according to their 
 peculiar feelings, handed it down, thus diversi- 
 fied, to the succeeding age. But all these were 
 not, therefore, the less at peace among them- 
 selves, nor are we. The differejice about the fast 
 commends the agreement in the faith. 
 
 *' The Presbyters who, before -Sb^er, ruled the 
 church which you now govern ; we mean Ani- 
 cetus, Rnd Pius, Rnd Hyginus, diXid Telesphor us, 
 and Xystus, neither observed themselves, nor 
 permitted their people to observe, the day which 
 is kept by the Asiatic Christians : and, never- 
 theless, while they did not observe that day, they 
 maintained peace* with the other Presbyters 
 who did, when they visited them ; although the 
 observance was more obnoxious to them, than 
 the non-observance to the Asiatics ; yet never 
 were any, on account of this diversity, cast out 
 of the church. But the Presbyters who pre- 
 ceded you, and did not keep the day, sent the 
 Eucharist to the others who did. And when 
 blessed Poly carp went on a journey to Rome in 
 the time of Anicetus, and they had some little 
 difference about other matters, they immedi- 
 ately dropped it for the sake of peace ; and 
 
 * " Maintaining peace," in the phraseology of Irenasus ancl 
 the primitive ChristianSj is equivalent with " holding communion." 
 
p. II. Facts.' — The Primitive Church, 49 
 
 would by no means cherish contention on this 
 head. Anicetus could not, indeed, persuade 
 Polycarp to relinquish his observance; as 
 having always kept it with John, the disciple of 
 the Lord, and the other Apostles with whom he 
 had been conversant. Nor did Polycarp per- 
 suade Anicetus to adopt it, as he pleaded for 
 the necessity of retaining the custom of the 
 Presbyters who had gone before him. Yet 
 while things were in this state^ they held commu- 
 nion with each other. And in the church, Ani- 
 cetus, from pure respect, yielded to Polycarp the 
 dispensation of the Eucharist, and they amicably 
 separated from each other ; and the peace of 
 the whole church was preserved, both by those 
 who kept the day, and those who did not."* 
 Thus Irenseus. 
 
 * The importance of this document, on several accounts, will 
 be deemed a sufficient apology for accompanying it with the ori- 
 ginal, notwithstanding its length. 
 
 Ov yap fiovov irepi Ttjg fjfispag etTTiv >/ aficpiff^rjTTjffig, aWa 
 icai Trepi rov eidovg avrov rrjc vriareutQ. 'Oi /xfV yap oiovrat. 
 fiiay rijjiepav Seiv avrovg vrjffrevEiv' 6i Se Svo, 6i Se /^ TrXeiopag' 
 6i Se TEffcrapaKovra utpag, yfispivag te kui vvKTEptvag avfifXETpoviTL 
 TTjv ^ifiEpav avTwv. Kai Toiavrri fiEv iroiKiKia tu>v CTrirfpowrwr, 
 ov rvv E(j> 7^jLiwv yEyovvm, oXXa Kai ttoXv TrpoTspov ettl tujv 
 TTpo iifxtop, TU)v Tvapa to aicpi^Eg^ wg EiKog, KpaTovvnov, rrjy 
 Kafl' ttTrXorr/ra Kat idKanrrixov cuvTjQetav eig to fiETEVEiTa 
 ireiroirjKOTwr. Kat ov^ev fXarrov iravTEg ovtoi EiprjuEvaay te^ 
 Kox EiprivEvofiEV TTpog aWriXovg' i^ fj diaipwpia Ti]g vrjvrEiag Trfv 
 ofJLOVQiav r^g wtorewc ffvviaTrj(Tu 
 
^0 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 In the next century there was a keen contro- 
 versy concerning the vaUdity of baptism admi- 
 nistered by heretics, as well as concerning their 
 readmission into the Catholick church. Stepha- 
 nus, bishop of Rome, had acted with hauteur and 
 even violence towards the celebrated Cyprian. 
 This drew from Firmilianus, bishop of Csesarea 
 in Cappadocia, about A. D. 256, a letter to 
 Cyprian, in which is the following statement. 
 
 Kat ot Trpo 2wr?jpoe TrpttrfivTepoi bt TpoffvavTeg rrjQ e/cjcXT^ffiac, 
 i]g vvv a^Tjyj/, AviKtjtov Xeyofiev Kai IIiov, Tyivov re Kat 
 TeXeff^opoj^, Kcu Zvarov, ovte avroi STijpriarav, ovre roig fitr* 
 
 UVTOVQ ETTE-pSTTOV. Kat OVCEV eKcITTOV UVTOL [J.r) TTfpOVVTi^^ 
 
 iiprivevov toiq utto twv TrapoiKiuv tv alg tTVjpEtro Ep'^ofizvoig 
 7rp0£ avTOVQf KaiTOL fiaWov Evavriov rjv to rtjpeiv toiq fi-q 
 rripovac koX ovZettote Bia to elCoc tovto airEfiXijdTjdav Tiveg, 
 AW avroi fxr) TrjpovvTEg ol Trpo gov TrpEaftvTepoi toiq avro twv 
 TrapoiKioJV TTjpovffLV E'TTEfXTTOv Ev^^ctpiffTtav, Ktti "o^v fxaKaptov 
 YloXvKapTTOV E7ncr][Mr}(TavToe ry PwjLti; tin AviKrjTOVf kcu Trspi 
 aXKwv TLVOJV (jLiKpa aypvTEQ Trpog aWrfKovg., evdvg eip-qvevaav, 
 iTEpi TOVTOv Tov KEtpoXaiov f.ir) (j)iKepiffri]ffavT£g kavrovg. Ovrg 
 yap CI A.VLKi]Tog tov UoXvKapTrov "KEiaai zhwaro fi7] Trjpsiv, cits 
 xiera \wavvov tov fiadijTov Kvpiov y/xwv, ^ Xoittwv A.Tro(TTo\wv 
 olg (rvvci£TpL\pEv, asL TErrjprjKora' ovte ixrjv 6 JJoXvKapTrog tov 
 AvtxriTOV ETTEKTE TJjpEiv, XEyovTa, TTjV (Tvvrjdeiav TlOV Trpo aVTOV 
 
 -TTpEffftvTEpWV OipEXElV KaTE'yElV Kai TOVTOJV OVTWQ E-)(OVTll}V^ 
 
 EKOLVwvTjffau eavToig' Kai tv ty] EKKXrjffi^ 7rapcj^wp?/<r£ Tr)v 
 ev)(apLffTiav rw TLoXvKapiru), kut evTpoTtriv ctjXovoti, Kai yutr* 
 eipTjvrig a7r' aXXriXiov airrjXXayrjaav, iraffrjg njg EKKXrjcnag Eiprj* 
 vrjv e-)(0VTWV Kai tcop rj/pouvrwr, Kai t(i)v fxr) TYipovVTU)V. 
 
 Iren. ap. Euseb. H. E. L. VI. c. 24. T. I. p. 246—249. 
 
 Ed. Reading, 172a 
 
p. ir. 
 
 Facts. — Tlie Primitive Church. 
 
 " But that they who are at Rome do not en- 
 tirely observe all things which have been handed 
 down from the beginning ; and that they appeal 
 in vain to Apostolick authority for their own 
 usages, any one may know from the fact of his 
 seeing that there are some differences among 
 them about the days on which the Paschal feast" 
 (before Easter) " is to be kept; and about 
 many other particulars ofdivhie worship; and that 
 they have not precisely the same observances 
 there as prevail in Jerusalem. So likewise, in 
 a very great number of other provinces, many 
 things vary according to the diversity of place and 
 people; but iievertheless these variations have at no 
 time infringed the peace and unity of the Catholick 
 church : which Stephanus has now dared to 
 do ; breaking that peace, in regard to you, which 
 his predecessors always maintained with you," 
 (the African churches) *' in mutual love and 
 honour."* 
 
 * Eos autem qui Roraae sunt non ea in omnibus observare quae 
 sunt ab origine tradita, et frustra Apostolorum auctoritatem 
 praitendere ; scire quis etiam indc potest, quod circa celebrandos 
 dies paschae, et circa multa alia divinae rei sacramenta, videat esse 
 apud illos aliquas diversitates ; nee observari illic omnia aequaliter 
 quae Hierosol}Tnis observantur. Secundum quod in ceteris quoque 
 plurimis provinciis, multa pro locorum ct nominum diversitate 
 variantur; nee tamen propter hoc ab Ecclesis Catholicae pace 
 atque unitate aliquando discessum est. Quod nunc Steplianus 
 
 E 2 
 
52 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 The great Augustine, bishop of Hippo, who 
 flourished in the latter part of the fourth, and 
 beginning of the fifth century, has settled this 
 question with equal perspicuity and precision. 
 
 *' Concerning the various observances in va- 
 rious places," says he, " there is one most 
 wholesome rule to be followed : Wherever we 
 see or know to be instituted customs which are 
 not contrary to the faith, nor to good morals, 
 and which have any tendency to promote 
 amendment of life, we ought, instead of dis- 
 approving, to commend and imitate them, if tlae 
 infirmity of some do not oppose such a hin- 
 drance as shall do more harm than our compli- 
 ance can do good."* 
 
 Again : " I have often perceived, with pain 
 and grief, that weak Christians are exceedingly 
 
 ausus est facere, rumpens adversum vos pacem quam semper 
 antecessores ejus vobiscum amore et honore mutuo custodierunl- 
 
 CvPRiANi Opp. part : II. p. 220. 
 * De iis quse varie per diversa loca observantur, una in his 
 saluberrima regula tenenda est — ut quae non sunt contra Fidem, 
 neque contra bonos mores, et habent aliquid ad exhortationem 
 vitee melioris, ubicunque institui videmus, vel instituta cognosci- 
 mus, non solum non improberaus, sed etiam laudando et imitando 
 sectemur, si aliquorum infirmitas non ita impedit, ut majus 
 detrimentum sit. 
 
 August, ep. 119. ad Januarium, cap. 13. 
 opp. T. II. col. 576. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 53 
 
 disturbed by the contentious obstinacy or super- 
 stitious timidity of some brethren, who, in matters 
 of this sort, which ^cannot be certainly deter- 
 mined either by the authority of the Holy 
 Scripture, or tradition of the universal church, 
 or any utility in the reformation of life, being 
 led away by some petty reasoning of their own ; 
 or because they have been accustomed to see it 
 so in their own country ; or because they may 
 have met with it in their travels, and fancy 
 themselves so much the wiser — raise such liti- 
 gious questions,, as to think nothing right- but 
 what they do themselves."* 
 
 The venerable father has given us not merely 
 his own judgment, but, indirectly, the judgment 
 of the Catholick church. For he says that they 
 were only " some brethren ;" and those either 
 " obstinate," or " superstitiously timid," or 
 ** conceited," who created any contention about 
 
 * Sensi enim ssepe dolens et gemens multas infirmorum pertur- 
 tationes fiei'i, per quorundam fratrum contentiosam obstinationem, 
 vel superstitioFim timiditatem, qui in rebus hajusmodi^ qute neque 
 Scripturae sanctae auctoritate, neque universalis ecclesiae traditione ; 
 neque vitae corrigendte utilitate ad certum possunt terminum per- 
 venire (tantum quia subest qualiscunque ratiocinatio cogitantis, aut 
 quia in sua patria sic ipse consuevit, aut quia ibi vidit, ubi pere- 
 grinationem suam quo remotiorem a suis eo doctiorem factaitt 
 putat) tam litigiosas excitant quaestioues, ut nisi quod ipsi faciunt, 
 nihil rectum existiment. 
 
 August, ep. 118. ad eund. c. 11. 
 
54 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 difference of rites. With the church at large, 
 then, there was none : but they concurred with 
 him in the opinion, that in all such things " there 
 is no course more becoming a dignified and pru- 
 dent Christian, than to conform to the practice 
 of that particular church which he may happen 
 to visit."* 
 
 2d. The primitive church did not consider her 
 unity as broken, nor a sufficient cause of inter- 
 rupting communion as afforded, by imperfection 
 in her moral discipline. 
 
 That all the doctrines, precepts, promises, and 
 threatenings of God's word, and all the institu- 
 tions of his house, are designed and calculated 
 to produce universal purity in heart and life, 
 admits of no more doubt than the existence of 
 the Bible. For this purpose he has invested the 
 governours of the church with authority, and 
 made it their indispensable duty, not only to 
 instruct their people in ^' whatsoever things are 
 true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, and of good 
 report ;"t but to enforce their instructions by 
 vigilant pastoral inspection, and by moral coer- 
 cion of delinquents.!: And for the execution of 
 
 * Nee disciplina ulla est in his melior gravi prudentique Chris- 
 tiano, quara ut eo modo agat quo agere viderit Ecclesiam ad 
 quamcunque forte devenerit. August, ut sup. 
 
 t Phil. iv. 8. 
 
 t Mat, xviii. 17. 18. 1 Cor, v. 4^7, 13. Rev. ii. 20. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 55 
 
 this, no less than of every other, part of their 
 trust, they shall render an account to the Judge 
 of the quick and dead. Yet he has himself in- 
 formed them that the complete prevention or 
 cure of abuses and scandals is beyond their 
 reach — that tares will be so mingled with the 
 wheat as to render their separation, by human 
 hands, impracticable without the hazard of 
 rooting up the wheat also — and that while, in the 
 wise performance of their duty, they are to do 
 the best which their circumstances permit, they 
 must wait for the entire purgation of the church 
 till the second coming of the Son of man, who 
 shall then " send forth his angels, and they 
 shall gather out of his kingdom all things that 
 offend, and them who do iniquity."* 
 
 Nevertheless ' there have not been wanting in 
 the church of God attempts to effect what his 
 word pronounces to be impossible. Zeal with- 
 out knowledge — the generous but untrained 
 ardour of juvenile reformers, who can be taught 
 by experience alone, that " old Adam is too 
 hard for young Melancthon" — the well meant 
 but visionary projects of recluse devotion es- 
 tranged from real life and from the world, even 
 the Christian world, as it actually exists — and, 
 not unfrequently, that pragmatical officiousness 
 which proclaims, with Jehu, " Come and see 
 my zeal for the Lord! | and offers piles of incense 
 
 * Mat. xiii. 24—43. 
 
56 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 on the altar of its own vanity, for every shred 
 which it strews on the altar of God — all these 
 things have set men at work to find or to erect 
 an immaculate church. The success of the 
 experiment has been worthy of its wit. But 
 though it always has failed, and will forever fail, 
 of accomplishing its professed aim; it never has 
 failed, and never will fail, of producing one 
 deplorable consequence. It engenders and 
 nourishes a morbid humour, an unhappy fasti- 
 diousness, which make the religious tempera- 
 ment extremely irritable; fill the mind with 
 disgust, and the mouth with complaint ; and 
 finally break up, or forbid. Christian fellowship 
 under the pretence of superiour purity ; but, in 
 very deed, for faults, if not trivial in themselves^ 
 yet too often trivial in comparison with the 
 faults of the complainers. 
 
 But such causes of disunion or disafiection 
 between churches ; or of the withdrawing of 
 individuals from communion, provided nothing 
 sinful be imposed on them, receive no counte- 
 nance from the judgment or example of the 
 primitive Christians. 
 
 We know that grievous abuses prevailed in 
 several even of the Apostolick churches — 
 Corinth, Galatia, Philippi, Crete, Ephesus, 
 Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea,* 
 
 * Perhaps we may add the churches of the dispersion. See 
 the epistle of James. 
 
p. ir. Facts — The Primitive Church. 57 
 
 were all stained in their discipline ; some of 
 them with very foul blots, as every one con- 
 versant in the New Testament knows. They 
 were admonished, reproved, threatened, by the 
 Lord Jesus himself, through his servants Paul 
 and John; yet there is not a syllable enjoining 
 upon' others the disruption of communion with 
 them ; nor on the purer part of any of them to 
 withdraw from the more depraved majority. 
 On the contrary, the faithful few in Thyatira 
 are simply encouraged and commanded to 
 hold fast their integrity and their testimony.* 
 Nor is there a single instance of Christ's di- 
 recting his people, or any portion of them, to 
 break off church-communion by their own act, 
 except in the case of their departure from 
 apostate Rome. Now, although no conclusion 
 can be drawn from these facts in favour of 
 negligence, sloth, or other corruption in main- 
 taining the law of God's house, yet they do 
 show that, Christ Jesus himself being Judge, 
 it is the duty of Christians rather to endeavour 
 to rectify irregularities, than by deserting or 
 disowning churches in which they prevail to 
 remove, as much as in them lies, the only 
 human restraint upon the career of iniquity, 
 and suffer it to " drown in destruction and 
 
 * Rev. ii. 24. 
 
58 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 perdition," all the remaining interest and glory 
 of his cross. 
 
 By this rule did the church walk after the 
 days of the Apostles. Over the dishonour 
 brought upon her name by the misconduct of 
 some who bore it, did the noblest of her sons 
 mourn ; but they never thought of setting up 
 separate communions. Sore as was their 
 affliction on her account, they did not, in their 
 haste, betake themselves to a remedy more 
 fatal than the disease. Their scrupulousness 
 on this head was the more remarkable, as there 
 v/as much greater aberration from correct 
 conduct among both clergy and laity, in the 
 third century, than perhaps would be tolerated 
 now in either by any evangelical church. And 
 yet the most learned, laborious, holy men — the 
 most stern reprovers of public declension, were 
 the champions of one communion ; and the most 
 strenuous opposers of schism and separation. 
 
 The Novatians, who carried their rigour so 
 far as to shut the doors of readmission upon the 
 lapsed,* however penitent, refused to hold com- 
 munion with the rest of the church expressly on 
 account of her alleged corruptions. It was 
 
 * *' Zapsec?," was a term applied to those who after public 
 reception, by baptism, into the Christian church, had fallen into 
 any heinous sin ; especially shrinking from their faith in the time 
 of persecution. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 59 
 
 against them that Cyprian wrote his treatise on 
 the Unity of the Church : the whole bent of which 
 is to show that their separation was unscriptu- 
 ral tnd unlawful; and that they who will not 
 hold communion with all and every part of the 
 Catholick church, cast themselves out of her 
 pale, and forfeit their share in her benefits. 
 He urges the same doctrine in many of his 
 letters. Take an example : 
 
 " Although tares appear in the church, 
 neither our faith nor our charity ought to be 
 so hindred thereby as that we should go out 
 of the church because we perceive the tares 
 to be in it. Our duty is to labour that we 
 may be of the wheat ; so that when the wheat 
 shall be gathered into the Lord's garner, we 
 may reap the fruit of our work. The Apostle 
 says, that in a great house there are not only 
 vessels of gold and silver, but also of ivood and 
 of earth; and some to honour and some to dis- 
 honour. Let us, therefore, do our diligence, 
 and labour with all our might, that we may 
 be golden or silver vessels. But to break the 
 earthen vessels belongs only to the Lord, in 
 whose hands is the rod of iron. The servant 
 cannot be greater than his master: nor may 
 any one claim to himself what the Father 
 hath given to the Son alone; so as to imagine 
 that he possesses ability to ventilate and ' purge 
 the floor;' or by human judgment to separate 
 
60 A Flea for Catholkk Communion, 
 
 universally the tares from the wheat. By sucji 
 an attempt men display only a proud obstinacy 
 and a sacrilegious presumption, the effect of 
 depraved frenzy. And w^hile they assume to 
 themselves a powder beyond the claims of mild 
 righteousness, ih^j perish from the church''"^ 
 
 The DoNATisTS in Africa, treading in the 
 steps of the Novatians, set up a sectarian 
 communion upon the very same pretext. " The 
 church was polluted — ^there were bad men in 
 her fellowship— their consciences would not 
 permit them to remain, lest they should be 
 contaminated."— Such were the alleged reasons 
 
 * Nam etsi videntur in Ecclesia esse zizania, non tamen 
 impediri debet aut fides aut caritas nostra, ut quoniam zizania esse 
 in Ecclesia cernimus, ipsi de Ecclesia recedamus. Nobis tantum- 
 modo laborandum est ut frumentum esse possimus ut cum caeperit 
 frumentum Dominicis horreis condi, fructum pro opere nostro et 
 labore capiamus. Apostolus in Epistola sua dicit; in domo 
 autem magna non solum vasa sunt aurea et argentea, sed et 
 lignea, et fictilia, et qusedam quidem honorata, quasdam vero 
 inhonorata. Nos operam demus et quantum possumus laboremus, 
 ut vas aureum vel argenteum simus; ceterum fictilia vasa 
 confiringere Domino soli concessum est, cui et virga ferrea data 
 est. Esse non potest major Domino suo sqrvus. Nee quisquam 
 sibi quod soli filio pater tribuit, vindicare potest ; ut putet aud ad 
 aream ventilandam et nurgandum palam ferre se jam posse, aut a 
 frumento universa zizania humano jadicio segregare. Superba 
 est istaobstinatio et sacrilega presumptio, quam sibi furor pravus 
 assumit: et dum domininum sibi semper quidam plusquam mitis 
 justitia deposcit, assumunt, de Ecclesia pereunt. Cyp. ep. 54. 
 
p. II. Facts. — 7'he Primitive Church. 61 
 
 of their schism. We know in what light 
 their conduct was viewed. Augustine, their 
 chief antagonist, and a formidable one he was, 
 quotes Cyprian to prove that he was only 
 maintaining the doctrine which had been main- 
 tained before, and was the received doctrine 
 among Christians. *' In his letter to Anto- 
 nianus," says Augustine, " he shows that 
 before the final separation of the just and 
 the unjust, we are in no manner to withdraw 
 Jrom the unity of the church on account of the 
 commLvture of bad men with good''* — and then 
 transcribes a passage of the same purport, and 
 niearly in the same words ; though, if possible, 
 gtill more pointed than the one above. 
 
 In another tract he goes yet further. " I do 
 not say that I am to deny the communion of 
 the Donatists to be of the church of Christ, 
 because some who were bishops among them 
 
 * Cum enim ad Ant#nianum scribens ostendferet ante tempus 
 ultimas separationis justorum et iniquorum, nullo modo esse 
 propter commixtionem malorum ah ecdesice unitate receden- 
 dum; ubi declarat quam sit sanctus, et ilia quam meruit 
 martyrii claritate dignissimus, ait, " Quantus arrogantis tumor 
 est; quanta humilitatis et lenitatis oblivio, et arrogantiae sueb 
 quanta jactatio, ut quis audeat aut facere se posse credat, quod 
 Dfic apostolis concessit Dominus, ut zizania a frumento putet 
 Be posse disceruere," «&c. 
 
 August, contra Dojiaiistas, lib. IV. 0pp. 
 Tom. vii. col. iZ5. Froben, 1569. 
 
62 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 are convicted by ecclesiastical and civil pro- 
 cesses of having burnt the sacred volumes — 
 or because they did not carry their point in the 
 trial by the bishops w^hich they craved from 
 the Emperour — or because, on their appeal 
 to himself, they received from him a sentence 
 of condemnation — or because there are amonsr 
 them such leaders of the Circumcellionts — or 
 because the Circumcelliones commit such atro- 
 cious crimes — or because some of them throw 
 themselves headlong over precipices; or rush 
 into the flames which they have kindled for 
 themselves; or, by terrifying threats, compel 
 others to massacre them, and court so many 
 spontaneous and furious deaths, that they may 
 be revered as saints and martyrs — or because 
 drunken herds of male and female vagrants 
 flock to their sepulchres, and there, by day 
 and by night revel in wine and wickedness, 
 and corrupt themselves with the most flagitious 
 enormities. Let all that rabble pass for their 
 chafF, nor be of any prejudice to their wheat, 
 if themselves adhere to the church of God."* 
 
 He elsewhere addresses the Donatists m 
 this animated style. 
 
 * Nee ego dico ideo mihi esse credendum, communionera 
 Donati non esse ecclesiam Christi, quia quidam, qui apud eos 
 episcopi fuerunt, divina instrumenta ignibus tradidisse, gestisec- 
 clesiasticis et municipalibus et judicialibus convincunter — ^aut quia 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church, 63 
 
 *' You maintain that, by the contagion of 
 wicked Africans," (i. e. by holding communion 
 with the African churches, which the Donatists 
 pronounced to be too impure for their fellow- 
 ship) " by the contagion of wicked Africans 
 the church has perished from the face of the 
 earth, excepting what remains in the party 
 of Donatus as in the ' wheat' separated from 
 * tares and chaff' against the express declaration 
 of Cyprian, who says, that neither do good 
 men perish from the church on account of their 
 commixture with the bad; nor can these same 
 bad men be separated from their mixture with 
 the good before the time of the divine Judgment. 
 You are, therefore, according to your errour, or 
 
 in judicio episcoporum, quod ab Imperatore petiverunt, causam 
 suam non obtinuerunt ; aot quia provocantes ad ipsum Imperato- 
 rem, etiam ab ipso contrariam sibi sententiam meruerunt; aut 
 quia tales sunt apud eos Circumcellionum principes ; aut quia 
 tanta mala committunt Circumcelliones ; aut quia sunt apud eos 
 qui se per abrupta praecipitent ; vel concremando ignibus inferant, 
 quos ipsi sibimet accenderunt, aut trucidationem suam etiam 
 invitis hominibus terrendo extorqueant, et tot spontaneas et ftiri- 
 osas mortes, ut colantur ab hominibus, appetant ; aut quod ad 
 eorum sepulchra ebriosi greges vagorum et vagarum permixta ne- 
 quitia die noctuque se vino sepeliant, flagitiisque corrurapant. Sit 
 ista omnis turba palea eorum, nee fruraentis pra?judicet si ipsi ec- 
 clesiam teneut. 
 
 De unitate eccksia^, Opp.T. VII. col. 545.6. 
 
64 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 rather madness, compelled to embrace in your 
 accusation all the churches of which we read 
 in the apostolick and canonical scriptures — the 
 Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, 
 Thessalonians, Colossians, Philippians — the 
 church of Jerusalem, Antioch, Smyrna, Thy- 
 atira, Sardis, Pergamos, Philadelphia, Laodicea 
 ■ — So many other churches of Pontus, Cap- 
 padocia, Asia, Bithynia ; and all that range 
 of country from Jerusalem unto Illyricum, 
 which Paul testifies he had filled with the 
 gospel : not to mention other regions of wide 
 extent into which the church, planted by 
 Apostolick labours, has spread herself, and 
 where she has grown and is growing still. 
 Certainly all the churches here enumerated 
 from the holy scriptures, situated so far from 
 Africa, you are obliged to accuse as having 
 perished through the sins of their African 
 brethren. But the more easily to refute your 
 errour even those Africans whose sin you 
 dare falsely to charge upon other nations — 
 even those very Africans, I say, we are under 
 no necessity of defending. If they are inno- 
 cent, they are sharers with those transmarine 
 churches in the kingdom of God — If guilty, 
 they share with them as tares with the wheat ; 
 nor shall they be able to hurt, in Africa itself, 
 those who, although knowing their character. 
 
p. II. Tacts.— -The Primitive Church. (i5 
 
 will 7iot, on their account, separate themselves 
 from the unity of the church!'"'^ 
 
 Than this testimony nothing more ample and 
 decisive can be desired. It establishes the 
 
 * In the above extract the substantial facts have been regarded 
 rather than a scrupulously literal translation. But lest any one 
 should suppose that something more than brevity was intended, 
 as the worthy Father, in speaking of the church at Jerusalem, 
 asserts that the " Apostle James was her first bishop,'''' the 
 reader is presented with the original passage entire. 
 
 Vos contagione malorum Aphrorum periisse dicitis de orbe 
 terrarum, et in parte Donati ejus reliquias remansisse, tanquam 
 in frumentis a zizaniis et palecl separatis; contra Cyprianum 
 appertissime sentientes, qui dicit nee malorum permixtione bones 
 perire in ecclesia, nee eosdem malos posse ante tempus Judicii 
 divini a bonorum permixtione separari. Vos itaque, secundum 
 vestrum errorem vel potius furorem, accusare cogimini non 
 solum Caecilianum et ordinatores ejus, verum etiam illas 
 ecclesias quas in scripturis apostolicis et canonicis pariter legimus; 
 non soliim Romanorum, quo ex Aphrica ordinare paucis vestris 
 soletis episcopum, vervim etiam Corinthiorum, Galatarum, 
 Ephesiorum, Thessalonicensium, Colossensium, Philippensium, 
 ad quas apertissime scribit apostolus Paulus; Herosolymitanam, 
 quam primus apostolos Jacobus episcopatu suo rexit. Antio- 
 ehensem, ubi primb appellati sunt discipuli Christiani : Smyrnensem, 
 Thiatirensem, Sardensem, Pergamensem, Philadelphiensem, 
 Laodicensem, ad quas est apocalj'psis apostoli Joannis. Tot 
 alias ecclesias Ponti, Cappadocias, Asiu3, BithynicT, ad quas 
 scribit apostolus Petrus; et quicquid alias se Paulus ab Hieru- 
 salem usque Illyricum evangelic replevisse testatur: ut tareani 
 de aliis tarn latis atque universis terrarum partibus, in quas, 
 ex his apostolicis laboribus et plantationibus, porrecta crevit 
 
 F 
 
66 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 great fact, that the principles and conduct of 
 of the Donatists with regard to communion. 
 Christian and ministerial, were at war with 
 the faith aiid practice of the whole church of 
 God. Otherwise they could not have con- 
 demned that church as having perished through 
 the corruption of her unworthy members, nor 
 have been themselves condemned as having' 
 unjustifiably withdrawn from her communion,* 
 And wherein their general principles and 
 
 et crescit ecclesia. Istas certe ecclesias quas ex Uteris diviilis 
 atque canonicis nominavi, tarn longe ab Aphrica constitutas, 
 tanquara perierint ex peccatis Apbricorum, accusare cogimini; 
 nee corrigitis errorem qui vos ad tantum scelus nefaria dissensione 
 compellit. Nos autem, ut istep errorum vestrum facilius 
 cbnvincamus, nee ipsos Aphros quorum falsb crimen in cEeteras 
 etiam gentes perfundere audetis, nee ipsos, inquam, defendere 
 cogimur. Habent etiam cum illis transmarinis ecclesiis societatem 
 regni si innocentes fuerint; si autem nocentes, tanquam zizania 
 frumento : nee in Aphrica obesse potuerunt eis, qui se, propter 
 illos ETIAM COGNITOS, ah imitate ecclesice separate noluerunt. 
 August, contra Cresconium, Lib. III. cap. 38. 
 Opp. Tom. VII. col. 244. 
 
 * Should it be imagined that this reasoning will apply no less 
 to the Protestant reformation than to the schism of the Donatists ; 
 it v^ill be sufficient to remai'k, that there was no difference 
 in radical doctrines of faith between them and the orthodox, 
 as there was between the Protestants and Papal Rome. She 
 poisoned, by her corruptions, the- waters of the sanctuary ; and 
 those who did not choose to drink death out of her cup were 
 compelled to retire. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 67 
 
 j5ractice in this matter, and their reasonings in 
 defence of both, differ from those of such 
 churches as will hold no communion but with 
 the members of their own sect, let those good 
 and pure-intentioned men who favour the re- 
 striction, most solemnly consider. In one 
 thing there is, indeed, a remarkable difference. 
 The latter acknowledge as true churches and 
 exemplary Christians, many whose communion 
 they notwithstanding reject. But the former 
 saw that such a concession overturns the very 
 foundation upon which a separate communion 
 is reared. They, therefore, carried their prin- 
 ciples through ; and in order to justify their 
 schism, maintained that all but their own had 
 ceased to be true churches. On this head, the 
 palm of consistency, at least, must be awarded 
 to the Donatists ! 
 
 3d. Varieties of opinion and practice, with 
 respect to the modrjications of her external order, 
 were not considered by the primitive church as 
 inconsistent with her unity. 
 
 That there were such varieties ; that the 
 government of the church gradually altered 
 from the apostolick form ; and sooner in some 
 places than in others ; so that there were in 
 actual existence at the same moment different 
 forms of government in different parts of the 
 church, all dissentients from the hierarchy 
 agree. If, from the very days of the apostles 
 
 f2 
 
6B A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 downwards, for more than fifteen hundred 
 years, her order was uninterruptedly episcopal, 
 as many advocates of episcopacy maintain; 
 although even such an argument could not be 
 admitted against scriptural proof, yet it would 
 be extremely embarrassing to their opponents. 
 The difficulty of explaining so strange a phe- 
 nomenon, would create in conscientious men a 
 fear that there must be some mistake in such 
 a construction of holy writ as should be 
 thwarted by it ; and incline their minds to an 
 interpretation with which it should be found 
 to accord. The difficulty, however, does not 
 exist. Stubborn facts in the history of the 
 church refute the eipiscopal plea; and prove 
 that her prelatical constitution was the result 
 of changes which it required ages to effect. 
 
 It would be foreign from our purpose to 
 investigate this proposition at large. We 
 shall merely show that it has not been lightly 
 advanced. 
 
 In the fourth century, Jerome, " who, in 
 the judgment of Erasmus, was, without con- 
 troversy, by far the most learned and most 
 eloquent of all the Christians, and the prince 
 of Christian divines,"* taught the same thing. 
 His testimony, and the substance of the 
 
 Cave, His. Litt. Script. Ecclef. y^ '71 v,i 1 720. 
 
p. II. . Fads. — The Primitive Church. 69 
 
 reasoning upon it, are extracted from the 
 second volume of the Chj^istians Magazine. 
 
 " Thus he lays down both doctrine and fact 
 relative, to the government of the church, in 
 his commentary on Titus, i. 5. 
 
 ** That thou shouldest ordain Presbyters in 
 every city, as I had appointed thee.^ ' What sort 
 
 * " Qui qualis Presbyter debeat ordinari, in consequentibus 
 disserens hoc ait: Si quis est sine crimine, unius uxoris vir," 
 etcaetera: postea intulit, " Oportet n. Episcopum sine crimine 
 esse, tanquam Dei dispensatorem." Idem est ergo Presbyter 
 qui et Episcopus: et antequam, diaholi instiiictu, studia in 
 religione lierent, et diceretur in populis: " Ego sum Pauli, ego 
 Apollo, ego autem Ceph^:" communi Presbyteroruin consilio 
 ecclesiae gubernabantur. Postquam vero unusquisque eos, quos 
 baptizaverat, suos putaba tesse, non Christi : in toto orhe decretum 
 est, lit unus de Preshyteris electus superjyonereiur cceteris, ad 
 quern omnis ecclesice cura jpertineret, et scbismatum semina 
 tolierentur. Putet aliquis non scripturarum, sed nostram, esse 
 sententiam Episcopum et Presbyterum unum esse; et aliud 
 aetatis, aliud esse nomen officii; relegat Apostoli ad Philippenses 
 verba dicentis: Paulus et Tiraotheus servi Jesu Christi, omnibus 
 Sanctis in Christo Jesu, qui sunt Phillippis, cum Episcopis et 
 Diaconis, gratia vobis et pax, et reliqua. Phillippi una est 
 urbs Macedoniae : et certe in una civitate plures ut nuncupantur 
 Episcopi esse non poterant, Sed quia eosdem Episcopos ilio 
 tempore quos et Presbyteros appellabant, propterea indifferenter 
 de Episcopis quasi de Presbyteris est locutos. Adhuc hoc alicui 
 videatur ambiguum, nisi altero testimonio comprobetm\ In 
 Actibus Apostolorum scriptum est, quod cum venisset Apostolus 
 Miletum, miserit Ephesum, et vocaverit Presbyteros ecclesiae 
 cjusdem, quibus postea inter caetera sit locutus ; attendite vobisy. 
 
70 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 of Presbyters ought to be ordained he shows 
 afterwards — If a'ny he blameless, the hushand of 
 one wife. Sec. and then adds, for a bishop must 
 be blameless, as the steward of God, &c. A Pres- 
 byter, therefore, is the same as a bishop: and 
 before there were, by the instigatioji of the devily 
 parties in rehgion ; and it was said among 
 different people, I am of Paul, ami I of Apollos, 
 and I of Cephas, the churches were governed 
 by the joint counsel of the Presbyters. But 
 afterwards, when every one accounted those 
 whom he baptized as belonging to himself and 
 not to Christ, it was decreed throughout the 
 lohole world, that one, chosen from among the 
 Presbyters, should be put over the rest, 
 and that the whole care of the church should 
 be committed to him, and the seeds of schisms 
 taken away. 
 
 et omni gregi in quo vos Spiritus sanctus posuii Episcopos, 
 pascere ecclesiam Domini quam acquisivit per sanguinem snitm. 
 Et hoc diligentius observate, quo modo ^inius civitatis Ephesi 
 Presbyteros vocans, postea eosdem Episcopos dixerit — Haec 
 propterea, ut ostenderemus apiid veteres eosdem fuisse Presbyteros 
 quos et Episcopos. Paulatim vero, ut dissensionum plantaria 
 evellerenter, ad unum omnem solicitudinem esse delatam. — 
 Sicut ergo Presbjteri sciunt se ex ecclesice consuetvxline ei, 
 qui sibi propos tus fuerit, esse subjectos, ita Episcopi noverint 
 se magis coTisuetudine quam dispasitionis dominicce veritate^ 
 Presbyteris esse majores. 
 
 HiERONYMi CoJ7i. in Tit. I. i. 0pp. Tom. VI, 
 p. 168. ed. Fictorii^ Paris. 1623. FoL 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 71 
 
 . * Should any one think that this is my 
 private opinion, and not the doctrine of the 
 Scriptures, let him read the words of the 
 apostle in his epistle to the Philippians, ' Paul 
 and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, 
 to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at 
 Philippi, with the bishops and deacons,' &c. 
 Philippi is a single city of Macedonia; and cer- 
 tainly in one city there could not be severed 
 bishops, as they are now styled; but as they, 
 at that time, called the very same persons 
 bishops whom they called Presbyters, the 
 Apostle has spoken without distinction of 
 bishops as Presbyters. 
 
 ' Should this matter yet appear doubtful to 
 any one, unless it be proved by an additional 
 testimony; it is Avritten in the acts of the 
 Apostles, that when Paul had come to Miletum, 
 he sent to Ephesus and called the Presbyters 
 of that church, and among other things said to 
 them, * Take heed to yourselves and to all the 
 flock in which the Holy Spirit hath made you 
 bishops.' Take particular notice, that calling 
 the Presbyters of the single city of Ephesus, 
 he afterwards names the same persons Bishops.* 
 After further quotations from the epistle to the 
 Hebrews, and from Peter, he proceeds : ' Our in- 
 tention in these remarks is to show that among the 
 ancients. Presbyters and bishops were the very 
 sAJiE. But tliat BY little and little, thafe 
 
72 A Plea for Catholkk Communion. 
 
 the plants of dissentions might be plucked up, 
 the whole concern was devolved upon an in- 
 dividual. As the Presbyters, therefore, know 
 that they are subjected, by the custom of 
 THE CHURCH, to him who is set over them; 
 so let the Bishops know, that they are greater 
 than Presbyters more by custo^h than by 
 
 ANY real appointment OF CHRIST.' 
 
 " He pursues the same argument with great 
 point, in his famous epistle to Evagrius, assert- 
 ing and proving from the Scriptures, that in 
 the beginning, and during the Apostles' days, 
 a Bishop and a Presbyter were the same 
 thing. He then goes on: 'As to the fact, 
 that AFTERWARDS OHC was ELECTED to preside 
 over the rest, this was done as a remedy 
 against schism ; lest every one, drawing his 
 proselytes to himself, should rend the church 
 of Christ. For even at Alexandria, from the 
 Evangelist Mark to the Bishops Heraclas and 
 Dionysius, the Presbyters always chose one of 
 their number, placed him in a superiour station, 
 and gave him the title of Bishop : in the same 
 manner as if an army should make an em- 
 perour; or the deacons should choose from 
 among themselves, one whom they knew to be 
 particularly active, and should call him arch- 
 deacon. For, excepting ordination, what is 
 done by a Bishop which may not be done by a 
 Presbyter ? Nor is it to be supposed, that the 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 73 
 
 church should be one thing at Rome, and. 
 another in all the world besides. Both France, 
 and Britain, and Africa, and Persia, and the 
 East, and India, and all the barbarous nations, 
 worship one Christ, observe one rule of truth. 
 If you demand authority the globe is greater 
 than a city. Wherever a Bishop shall be 
 found, whether at Rome, or Eugubium, or 
 Constantinople, or Rhegium, or Alexandria, or 
 Tanis, he has the same pretensions, the same 
 priesthood.'* Observe, 
 
 " I. Jerome expressly denies the superiority 
 of Bishops to Presbyters, by divine right. To 
 prove his assertion on this head, he goes directly 
 
 * Quod autem postea wvus electus est, qui ceeteris preepo- 
 neretur, in sehismatis remedium factum est: ne unusquisque ad 
 se trahens Christi Ecclesiam rumperet. Nam at Alexandriae 
 a Marco Evangelista usque ad Heraclam et Dionysium Episcopos, 
 semper iinum ex se selectam, in excelsiori grada colocatinn, 
 Eipiscopum nominahant: quomodo si exercitus imperatorera 
 faciat\ aut diaconi eligant de se, quern industriam noverint, et 
 arclddiaconum vocent. Quid enim facit, excepta ordinatione, 
 Episcopus, quod presbyter non facial? Nee altera Romana; 
 urbis Ecclesia, altera totius orbis existiraanda est. Et Galliae, 
 et Britani*, et Africa, et Persis, et Oriens, et India, et onmes 
 barbarae nationes unum Christum adorant, unam observant 
 regulum vcritatis. Si auctoritas quseritur, orbis major est urbe. 
 Ubicumquc fuerit Episcopus, sive Romee, sive Eugubii, sive 
 Constantinopoli, sive Rhegii, sive Alexandriae, sive Tanis; 
 ejusdem meriti, ejusdem et sacerdotii. Hieron. 0pp. T. II. 
 p. 624. 
 
74 A Plea for CatJwlick Communion, 
 
 to the scriptures; and argues, as the advocates 
 of parity do, from the interchangeable titles of 
 Bishop and Presbyter ; from the directions givea 
 to them without the least intimation of difference, 
 in their authority; and from the powers of 
 Presbyters, undisputed in his day. 
 
 *' 2. Jerome states it as a historical fact^ 
 that, in the original constitution of the church, 
 before the devil had as much influence as he 
 acquired afterwards, the churches ivere governed 
 bif the joint counsels of the Presbyters. 
 
 " 3. Jerome states it as a historical fact, 
 that this government of the churches, by Pres- 
 byters alone, continued until, for the avoiding 
 of scandalous quarrels and schisms, it vv^as 
 thought expedient to alter it. * Afterwards,^ 
 says he, ' when every one accounted those 
 whom he baptized as belonging to himself and 
 not to Christ, it was decreed throughout the 
 whole iDorld, that one, chosen from among the 
 Presbyters, should be put over the rest; and 
 that the whole care of the church should be 
 committed to him.' 
 
 " 4. Jerome states it as a historical fact, that 
 this change in the government of the church — • 
 this creation of a superiour order of ministers, 
 took place, not at once, but by degrees, — 
 * Paulatim,' says he, * by little and little.' T|ie 
 precise date on which this innovation upon 
 primitive order commenced, he does not mention; 
 
p. IT. Fads.-^TJie Primitive Church. 75 
 
 but he says positively, that it did not take place 
 till the factious spirit of the Corinthians had 
 spread itself in different countries, to an 
 alarming extent. ' In populis/ is his expression. 
 Assuredly, this was not the work of a day. It 
 had not been accomplished when the apostolick 
 epistles were written, because Jerome appeals 
 to these for proof that the churches were then 
 governed by the joint counsels of Presbyters; 
 and it is incredible that such ruinous dissentions, 
 had they existed, should not have been noticed 
 in letters to others beside the Corinthians. The 
 disease, indeed, was of a nature to spread 
 rapidly; but still it must have had time to 
 travel. With all the zeal of Satan himself, and 
 of a parcel of wicked or foolish clergymen to 
 help him, it could not march from people to 
 people, and clime to clime, but in a course of 
 years. 
 
 " 5. Jerome states as historical facts, that 
 the elevation of one Presbyter over the others, 
 was a human contrivance; — was not imposed by 
 authority, but crept in by custom; — and that the 
 Presbyters of his day kneiv this very well. 
 ' As, therefore,' says he, ' the Presbyters know 
 that they are subjected to their superiour by 
 custom; .so let the bishops know tliat tlicy are 
 above the Presbyters, rather by the custom of 
 THE CHURCH, than by the Lord's appointment.^ 
 
 " 6. Jerome states it as a historical fact, that 
 
76 A Plea for CatJiolick Communion. . 
 
 the first bishops were made by the Presbyters 
 themselves ; and consequently they could neither 
 have, nor communicate any authority above 
 that of Presbyters. ' Afterwards,' says he, * to 
 prevent schism, one was elected to preside over 
 the rest.' Elected and commissioned by whom ? 
 By the Presbyters: for he immediately gives 
 you a broad fact which it is impossible to 
 explain away. ' At Alexandria,' he tells you, 
 / from the evangelist Mark, to the Bishops 
 Heraclas and Dionysius,' i. e. till about the 
 middle of the third century, ' the Presbyters 
 always chose one of their number, placed him in a 
 superiour station, and gave him the title of 
 Bishop/ 
 
 " 7. Jerome states it as a historical foct, that 
 even in his own day, that is, toward the end of 
 the fourth century, there was no power, except" 
 ing ordination exercised by a Bishop, which 
 might not be exercised by a Presbyter. ' What 
 does a Bishop,' he asks, * excepting ordination, 
 which a Presbyter niay not do ? ' . 
 
 " Two observations force themselves upon us. 
 
 *^ 1st. Jerome challenges the whole world, to 
 show in what prerogative a Presbyter was, at 
 that time, inferiour to a Bishop, excepting the 
 single power of ordination. A challenge which 
 common sense would have repressed, had 
 public opinion concerning the rights of Pres- 
 , bytejs allowed it to be successfully met. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 11 
 
 " 2d, Although it appears from Jerome 
 himself, that the prelates were not then in the 
 habit of associating the Presbyters with them- 
 selves, in an equal right of government, yet, as 
 he told the former, to their faces, that the right 
 was undeniable, and ought to be respected by 
 them, it presents us with a strong fact in the 
 progress of Episcopacy. Here was a power in 
 Presbyters, which though undisputed, lay, for 
 the most part, dormant. The transition from 
 disuse to denial, and from denial to extinction,- 
 of powers which the possessors have not 
 vigilance, integrity, or spirit to enforce, is 
 natural, short, and rapid. According to Jerome's 
 declarations, the hierarchy did not pretend to 
 the exclusive right of government. Therefore 
 there was but half a hierarchy according to 
 the present system. That the Bishops had, 
 sometime after, the powers of ordination and 
 government both, is clear. How did they 
 acquire the monopoly? By apostolick insti- 
 tution ? No. Jerome refutes that opinion from 
 the Scriptures and history. By apostolick 
 tradition ? No. For, in the latter part of the 
 fourth century their single prerogative over 
 Presbyters was the power of ordination. Go- 
 vernment was at first exercised by the Presby- 
 ters in common. When they had, by their 
 own act, placed a superiour over their own 
 heads, they rewarded his distinction, his toils, 
 
78 A Flea for CathoUclc Communmi. 
 
 and his perils, with a proportionate reverence ; 
 they grew slack about the maintenance of trouble- 
 some privilege ; till at length their courtesy, their 
 indolence, their love of peace, or their hope of 
 promotion, permitted their high and venerable 
 trust to glide into the hands of the prelates. We 
 have no doubt that the course of the ordairiing 
 power was similar, though swifter."* 
 
 f " This testimony of Jerome is seconded 
 by a more full one of Eutychius, Patriarch of 
 Alexandria, who, out of the Records and Tra- 
 ditions of that church, in his Arabick Originals 
 thereof, saith, (according to Selden's Translation 
 in his Comment, p. 29, 30.) * Mark the Evan- 
 gelist ordained, along with Hananius, twelve 
 Presbyters, who were always to remain with the 
 Patriarch; so that when the Patriarchate should 
 be vacant, they should elect, from the twelve 
 Presbyters, one on whose head the other eleven 
 should impose their hands and bless him, and create 
 
 * It is worthy of remark that the argument from Jerome for 
 the change in the original constitution of the church, is, in 
 several particulars, precisely similai" to that which Archdeacon 
 Paley has so ably managed for the truth of Christianity in 
 his Horce Paulince, 
 
 t In the following extract from Dri Owen's Plea for Scrip- 
 ture ordination, the Latin quotations are translated by the 
 authcur of this work, for the benefit of the unlearned reader ; 
 and the quotations themselves thrown into the margin. 
 
p/. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 79^ 
 
 him Patrimxh: and then should choose some 
 other distinguished man, as a fellow Presbyter, 
 in the place of him who was thus made Patri- 
 arch, so that their number should always be 
 twelve. Nor did this institution concerning the 
 Presbyters, viz. that the Patriarch should be 
 created from these Presbyters, go into disuse before 
 the time o/" Alexander, Patriarch of Alexan- 
 dria, 318. ^Q forbad the Presbyters to create a 
 Patriarch from that time : and decreed, that on 
 the death of one Patriarch, the Bishops should 
 meet and ordain his successour. He also de- 
 creed that, in case of a vacancy, they should, 
 without regard to place, choose either from 
 among these twelve Presbyters or any others 
 some man of peculiar worth, and give him the 
 title of Patriarch. And thus vanished that more 
 ancient itistitution, according to which the Patriarch 
 used to be created by Presbyters ; and in its place 
 came the ab^ve decree for creating him by 
 Bishops.^' 
 
 * ' Constituit item Marcus Evangelista duodecim Presbyteros 
 cum Hanania, qui semper manerent cum Patriarcha, acleo ut 
 cum vacaret Patriarchatus eligerent unum e duodecim Piesbyteris, 
 cujus capifi reliqui undecim mcmus itnponerent^ cumque btnedi- 
 cerent, et Patriarcham eum crearent: et dein virum aliquem 
 insignem eligereut, eamque Presbyterum secum constituercnf, 
 loco ejus qui sic factus est Patriarcha, ita ut semper extaront 
 duodecim. Neque diaiil ALEXANDRii^? ijidUidum hoc dc 
 
80 A Plea for CathoUck Coimniinion. 
 
 " Here is a full proof of Presbyters choosing' 
 and creating their Bishop, (whom Eutychius, 
 speaking in the language of his age, calls Patri- 
 arch,) and that by imposition of hands and 
 l^enediction, or prayer, without any other con- 
 secration : which custom continued several 
 ages, until at last the neighbouring Bishops 
 usurped the power of consecration, and left the 
 Presbyters neither the choice nor the creation 
 of their Bishop. 
 
 " Here we have also an instance of Presbyters 
 making Presbyters ; for Eutychius tells us, that 
 the same Presbyters that made their Bishop, 
 chose and ordained another person Presbyter in 
 his room ; and so constituted both Presbyters 
 and Bishops for several ages together. 
 
 " The Bishop of Worcester* tells us, out of 
 Johannes Cassianus, that about the year 390, one 
 
 Presbyteris, ut scilicet PatriarchcB crearentur e Preshyteris 
 duodecim, usque ad tempora Alexandri PatriarchcB Alexan- 
 drini, qui fint ex numero illo 318. Isautem vetuit, ne deinceps 
 Patriarcham Preshyteri crearent^ et decrevit ut, mortuo Patri- 
 archa, convenlrent Episcopi qui Patriarcham orclinarent. De- 
 crevit item ut, vacante Patriarchatu, eligerent sive ex quacumque 
 regione, sive ex duodecim illis Presbj^teris, sive aliis, ut res 
 terebat, virum aliquem eximium, eumque Patriarcham vo- 
 carent ; atque ita evanuit institutum illiid antiquius, quo creari 
 solitus a Preshyteris Patriarcha, et successit in locum fjus 
 decretum de Patriarcha ah Episcopis creandoJ' 
 * Staling. Iren.p. 380, 
 
p. ir. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 81 
 
 Abbot Daniel, inferiour to none in the desart 
 Scetis, was made a Deacon ' by Paphistutius, 
 a Presbyter of the same retreat ; for so greatly 
 was he charmed with the abbot's virtues, that 
 he was eager to associate with himself in the 
 honour of the Priesthood also, one whom he 
 knew to be his own equal in the excellence of 
 his life. Unable, therefore, to bear the thought 
 that he should remain any longer in the inferiour 
 order of the ministry, and anxious to provide 
 for himself a most worthy successour, he pro- 
 moted Daniel, during his own lifetime, to the 
 honour of the Presbyterial office.* 
 
 ^ -3^ "Sk ^ 7^ 
 
 " Here is a Presbyter ordained by a Presby- 
 ter, which we no where read was pronounced 
 null by Theophilus, then Bishop of Alexandria, 
 or any other of that time. Had it been either 
 irregular or unusual, doubtless it had been 
 censured. 
 
 *' The power of ordination and government was 
 in the hands of the captive Presbyters, under 
 
 * A. B. Paphnutio solitudinis ejusdem Presbjtero : in tantum 
 enim virtutibus ejus adgaudebat, ut quern vitae meritis sibi et 
 gratia parera noverat, coaequare sibi etiam Sacerdotii honore 
 festinaret. Siquidem nequaquam ferens in inferiore eura minis- 
 terio diutius immorari, optansque sibimet successionem dignissimam 
 providers, superstQS eum Presbyterii honore provexit. 
 
 Ct 
 
82 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 the Scythians beyond Ister, for about seventy 
 years, from the year 260, to the year 327 ; the 
 former being the year of their captivity under 
 Gahenus, the latter of the change of the go- 
 vernment under Constantine, when Urphilas. 
 was created Bishop by Eusebius, and others.* 
 
 " Hilary, or whoever was the Author in Q. ex 
 titroque Test, mixtim, affirms, That in Alexan- 
 dria, and throughout all Egypt, if a bishop be 
 wanting, a Presbyter consecrates-t It cannot be 
 said that " consecrate " here signifies the con- 
 secration of the Eucharist, for this might be 
 done by the Presbyter when the Bishop was 
 present.J If it be taken for confirmation, it 
 doth not prejudice our cause; for the Canon 
 limits the power of confirmation as well as or- 
 dination to the Bishop, as was also the power 
 of consecrating churches, if any should take 
 the word in that sense. 
 
 " We may understand the meaning by a pa- 
 rallel place of Hilary in Ambrose, who thus 
 speaks : § 
 
 " The writings of the Apostle" (Paul) " do 
 not in all things agree with the ordination which 
 
 * Philostorg. lib. 2. cap. 5. in Blond. Apol. 
 t In Alexandi-ia et per totam iS^gyptum si desit Episcopus, 
 consecrat Presbyter. Q. 2. 101. 
 
 X Presente Episcopo. § Comment, in Eph. 4. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church, 83 
 
 is now in the church : for even Timothy, (1 Tim, 
 iv. 14. 2 Tim. i. 6. a Presbyter created by him- 
 self) he calls ' Bishop ;' because the Presby- 
 ters were originally called Bishops ; so that as 
 one left the office, another who was next to him 
 should take his place. Finally, the Presbyters 
 in Egypt do, at this day, consecrate if a Bishop 
 be not present. But because the Presbyters, 
 who followed next in order, began to be found 
 unworthy of holding the first rank ; the mode 
 was changed by the care of a council, so that 
 not the order of rotation, but merit, should make 
 a Bishop, when constituted by the judgment of a 
 number of priests ; lest an unfit person should 
 seize the office at random, and be a scandal to 
 many."* 
 
 " The same Author saith also, in Tim. 3. 
 *' After the Bishop he subjoins the order of the 
 Deacon. For what other reason than this, that 
 
 * Ideo non per omnia conveniunt scripta Apostoli Ordinationi 
 qu* nunc in Ecclesia est, quia haec inter ipsa primordia sunt 
 scripta; nam et Timotheum (1 Tim. iv, 14. 2 Tim. i, 6. Pres- 
 byterum a se creatum) Episcopum vocat, quia primum Presbyteri 
 Episcopi appellabantur, ut recedente uno, sequens ei succederet. 
 Denique apud ^gyptum Presb3l;eri consignant, si prcesens n6n 
 sit Episcopus. Sed quia cceperunt sequentes Presb}teri indigni 
 ittveniri ad primatus tenendos, immutata est ratio prospicieflte 
 Concilio, ut non Ordo, sed raeritum crearet Episcopum, multonini 
 Sacerdotum judicio constitutum, ne indignus temere usurparet, et 
 ^sset multis scandalum. 
 
 G 2 ^ 
 
84 A Plea for CathoUck Coinmunlon. 
 
 a Bishop and Presbyter have the same ordina-: 
 tion. For each of them is a priest, but the 
 Bishop is first."* 
 
 *' Here note, 
 
 " 1 . That the ordination in Hilary's time did 
 not in all things agree with the writings of the 
 Apostle. That he speaks of the ordination of 
 Ministers is evident by the following words : 
 " A Presbyter created by himself." 
 
 " 2. At firet, Presbyters and Bishops were 
 of the same order and office, and had but one 
 ordination. " The ordination of a Bishop and 
 Presbyter is the same," which shows the 
 meaning of'' Ordinatio" in the former paragraph. 
 The Bishop, in Hilary's time, which was about 
 the year 380, under Damasus,f was but primus 
 Sacerdos, (first priest,) " and not of a superior 
 order : Peter is called tt^ojtoc, primus Apostolus, 
 (first Apostle) Matth. x, 2. and yet Protestants 
 hold all the Apostles to be equal. 
 
 3. " Spalatensisl infers from this quotation, 
 that at the begiming, when a Bishop died, there 
 was not so much as an election of him that was 
 to succeed, (much less any new ordination,) but 
 the eldest Presbyter came into the room of the 
 
 * Hilar. Diac. in Tim. 3. Post Episcopum, Diaconi Ordinem 
 subjicit. Quare, nisi quia Episcopi et Presbyteri una Ordinatio 
 est ? Uterque enim Sacerdos est, sed Episcopus primus est. 
 
 t Hilar. X De Repub. Eccles. I. 3. c. 3. 
 
p. II. Fads.' — The Primitive Church. 85 
 
 deceased Bishop. See the preface to Blondel's 
 Apology, p. 11, and 31. 
 
 "4. There was a change in the way of choos- 
 ing their Bishop ; "that not order," viz. order 
 of rotation, " but merit, should make a Bishop." 
 
 7^ * * * * 
 
 " 5. After this change the Presbyters chose 
 and made their Bishop ; for so Hilarius affirms 
 him to be — " Constituted by the judgment of a 
 number of Priests." 
 
 " 6. He adds, that in Egypt, " the Presby- 
 ters consecrate, if no Bishop be present." He 
 speaks in the foregoing words of the identity of 
 Bishops and Presbyters, and he brings this as a 
 confirmation of it, that in the absence of the 
 Bishop they might do those things which custom 
 had appropriated to the Bishops. " Consignare," 
 is some act of prerogative that the Bishops 
 challenged to themselves, which yet in their 
 absence the Presbyters might perform. Whe- 
 ther we understand it of ordination or confirm- 
 ation, in which they did ' Chrismate consignare,' 
 it is not material, for both were reserved to the 
 Bishop by the Canons. Though by comparing 
 this with the scope of Hilary's discourse, and 
 with the quotation out of the questions under 
 Austin's name, ' If a Bishop be wanting, a 
 Presbyter consecrates,' it should seem evidently 
 meant of ordination ; especially whe'n we find 
 " consignare" to be tak^n for '* consecrare" in 
 
86 A Plea for Catholick Communion^ 
 
 several authors, Arnob. lib. 3. Cypr. Ep. 2. Tu 
 tantum quern jam Spiritalibus castris cselestis 
 militia signavit.""* 
 
 To close this article. A Diocese, i. e. a dis- 
 trict under the government of a single Bishop, 
 contained, in the fourth century, a large number 
 of congregations, and could not possibly be 
 served by the ministrations in v^ord, sacraments, 
 and family inspection, by a single man. Some 
 episcopal sees were of great extent. That of 
 Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, was no less than 
 forty miles long, j" Summarily, Bishops, in those 
 days, were a sort of ecclesiastical princes 
 having thousands and ten thousands of ecclesi-' 
 astical subjects under their jurisdiction. This 
 will not be disputed. But a primitive Bishop 
 and bishoprick were quite other matters ; the 
 declaration of Mr. Bingham to the contrary 
 notwithstanding.^: We have yet, among what 
 are accounted the genuine epistles of Ignatius, 
 a letter to his friend Polycarp Bishop of 
 - 
 
 * Owen's Plea, &c. p. 128—140. 
 
 t Bingham, Orig. Ecdes. B. IX. ch. 2. Vol. I. p. 353. 
 FoL 
 
 J This very learned Divine says, that the " church, in settling 
 the bounds of Dioceses," according to " her first and primitive 
 model — went by the rule of government in every city, including 
 not only the city itself, but the suburbs or region lying about it 
 within the verge of its jurisdiction." 
 
 Orig. Ecdes. Book IX. c. 2. Vol. I. 354. 
 
p. IT. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 87 
 
 Smyrna, and a cotemporary of the Apostle 
 JoHM. In that letter he gives the following ad- 
 vice to Polycarp, with regard to the exercise of 
 his episcopal functions : 
 
 ** Let not the widows be neglected. Next to 
 the Lord, do thou exercise care over them. Let 
 nothing be done without thy sanction — Let your 
 assemblies be held frequently. Inquire after all 
 by name. T)o not overlook the men and maid ser- 
 vants. Yet let them not be puffed up : but let 
 them yield more perfect service to the glory of 
 God, that they may obtain from him a better 
 freedom. Let them not seek to acquire their 
 freedom at the public expense, lest they should 
 be found to be slaves of lust."* Here Bishop 
 Polycarp is directed to attend, in person, to the 
 church's widows — to meet with his people fre- 
 quently — to inquire after them all by iiame ; even 
 down to the very slaves — to see that this notice 
 from their Bishop be not abused by them, so as 
 
 * At x*?P"* i"*? afjteXeidojffav. fxera rov Kvpiov av avrujv 
 ^povTiirrrjQ eao. jxtj^ev avev rriQ yvwjujje trov yivEodb) — 
 TvKvoTEpov (Twaywyat yiveffduxrav. e^ 0N0MAT02 
 ITANTAS ^T/rei. SovXove Kai ^ovXag {xri virEpijfavei' aXXa 
 firfSe avTOL (j)vmov(Td(i)(xav, aXX' ac ^o^ay Qsov TrXewv 
 ^ouXeuerwffaj', t^a KpsiTrovoQ eXevdepiae tv)((i)(tiv airo 0eov. 
 fxT) aipETOxrav airo rov KOtvov sXevdepovadai, ii'a fxij ^ovXoi 
 £vpedu)(riv eTTtOvfiLag. 
 
 Ignat. Ep. ad Polycarp. apud PP. App. Tom. II. p. 91, 92. 
 
 ed.CLERici. Fol, 1724. 
 
88 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 to grow unruly, and to express impatience under 
 their condition, and an improper expectation of 
 being ransomed and set at liberty by the 
 church's charity. 
 
 These were then the functions of a Bishop, 
 Ignatius being judge. What must have been 
 the size of Polycarp's diocese to admit of his 
 performing them ? How could they be perform- 
 ed in the fourth century by a Bishop of Hippo 
 through a diocese forty miles long in a populous 
 country ? Or by a Bishop of Rome towards a 
 cure of more than a million of souls in the city 
 alone ?* One would think that the episcopal 
 powers and occupations of Augustine or 
 LiBERius could hardly have been quite the same 
 with those of Polycarp. 
 
 It appears, then, that the form of church go- 
 vernment gradually altered, so as to become, in 
 process of time, very diiferent from the apostor 
 lick establishment. And even if this be denied, 
 it is beyond all doubt that different opinions 
 prevailed in the primitive church concerning her 
 original order. For, not to mention that Jerome 
 could hardly be alone in his views ; could hardly 
 have appealed to the knowledge which the Pres- 
 byters of his day had of their own rights, 
 though nearly dormant, if such rights were 
 
 * Gibbon's Decl. and Fall. Vol. V. p. 289, 8vo. 1811. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 89 
 
 known never to have existed ; — the very same 
 sentiments were maintained with great accep- 
 tance among good people, by Aerius, a monk 
 and Presbyter of Armenia, in the fourth century; 
 and produced uneasiness throughout the exten- 
 sive districts of Armenia, Pontus, and Cappa- 
 docia.* 
 
 Yet all this variety of opinion and practice in 
 the matter of church-order, did not produce* 
 and therefore was not thought sufficient to 
 warrant, separate communions. For neither did 
 Jerome, Aerius, and their adherents, who openly 
 attacked the episcopacy of their day as destitute 
 of scriptural or apostolick sanction, withdraw, 
 on that account, from the fellowship of the 
 Catholick church, and set up, like the Nova- 
 tians and Donatists, a church of their own; 
 nor was there, so far as I have been able to 
 ascertain, any such measure taken, nor any 
 rent among Christians occasioned, in virtue of 
 disagreements under that head. However ani- 
 mated their discussions, and strong the conflict 
 of their feelings, neither did the opjDOsers of the 
 
 * MosHEiM, Vol. I. p. 376. MoRERi, Grand Dictionnaire 
 Historique, art. Aerius, T. I. p. 168. Aerius has been diarged 
 with the Arian heresy. A charge which seems to be at least 
 doubtful. But whether iH or well founded, it can have no ift- 
 fiucnce upon the case before us. 
 
90 A Plea for Catholkk Communion. 
 
 then existing order break oflP communion with 
 its advocates ; nor its advocates, who were the 
 practical majority, expel their opposers. In 
 different places they maintained their different 
 order, and in the same place their different sen- 
 timents, without bursting the bands of their 
 common union. On the contrary, it is worthy 
 of special remark, that Jerome himself, wlio 
 of all others most boldly bearded his cotempo- 
 rary prelates, and proved their official superiority 
 to be agaiiist the word of God, yet shuddered 
 at the thought of separation, and condemned 
 separatists in terms of unqualified reprobation. 
 On Prov. vi. 16 — 19, especially on those words. 
 He that soiveth discord among brethren, he thus 
 comments : The wise man, " enumerates six 
 capital crimes ; which, however, in comparison 
 with ' the sower of discord,' he puts by as of 
 minor importance : because the rupture of that 
 unity and brotherhood which the grace of the 
 Holy Ghost hath formed, is the most atrocious 
 deed of the whole. For a man may lift up his 
 eyes in pride ; may be guilty of lying ; may be 
 polluted with murder ; may plot mischief against 
 his neighbour; may employ his members in 
 other enormities — a profligate man, I say, may 
 bring these mischiefs upon himself or others, 
 and yet the peace of the church be preserved. 
 But DoNATus, and Arius, and their followers. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 91 
 
 have done what is worse ; for they have cut asunder 
 the harmony of brotherly union by sowifig 
 discord."^ 
 
 The result is, that different views and prac- 
 tices in the article of her government, were not 
 deemed by the primitive church to be incon- 
 sistent with her unity — with her one commu- 
 nion ; nor a justifiable cause of interrupting it. 
 
 4th. The same thing is to be said of differ- 
 ences in subordinate points of doctrine. 
 
 By *' subordinate doctrines" are meant all 
 those which may be either believed or doubted, 
 without sacrificing any vital principle of the 
 Christian Religion. 
 
 To draw the line of distinction between the 
 essentials and non-essentials of our most Holy 
 Faith, is at all times a delicate and difficult task. 
 To draw it with perfect accuracy is what no pru- 
 dent man will attempt. But that the distinction 
 
 * Enumerat sex capitalia crimina, quae tamen, comparatione 
 discordiam seniinantis, quasi minora deponit: quia nimirum 
 majus est facinus illud quo unitas et fraternitas qua; per 
 Spiriius Sancti gratiam est connexa, dissipatur. Potest enira 
 Cjuilibet oculos jactanter extollere; lingua mentiri ; homicidio 
 pollui ; mala proximo machinari ; aliis sceleribus membra subdeie 
 — Potest, inquam, perditus quisque hujusmodi mala vel sibi- 
 hietipsi vel aliis inferrc, pace scrvata Ecclesiae. At Donatus et 
 Arius, et eorem sequaces, gruvius est quodfecei'e: qui concord 
 diam fraternce unitatis, discordias seminando, scida-unt. 
 
 HiKRON. opp. T. VIII. p. 81. Fol. Paris, 1623. 
 
92 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 exists, that it cannot be abolished, and that 
 it is attended with important consequences, 
 no man of sober sense will deny. All the 
 members of the human body belong to its per- 
 fection, and have their peculiar uses. Yet a 
 finger or a toe does not hold the same place in 
 the system with an arm or a leg ; nor an arm or 
 leg the same place with the head or the heart. 
 The amputation of a finger may occasion death : 
 the amputation of a larger member often does 
 it. At the same time this operation does not 
 necessarily involve the death of the patient; 
 and, when limited to the extremities, frequently 
 subjects him to inconveniences comparatively 
 small. No one thinks of disputing his humanity 
 on account of such a privation. He may lose a 
 limb, and yet be active, useful, honoured, 
 happy ; much more so than many who escape 
 his misfortune : because he may have more lifo 
 in his remaining members than they have in 
 their whole number. But his head, his heart, 
 the substance of his body, are essential. Lop 
 oiF his arm, and his recovery may be dubious — 
 death may ensue. But cut off his head, cleave 
 his heart, divide his body, and the bloAV is 
 fatal — there is an end of the 7nan. 
 
 Thus also in the system of revelation. All, 
 the very least, of its truths belong to its perfec- 
 tion. Not one of them may voluntarily be re- 
 nounced ; nor any contrary errour be knowingly 
 
p. II. I^acts. — The Pmnitive Church. 93 
 
 embraced. Because, he who does either, resists 
 the obligation to " receive and obey the truth." 
 Just as he who *' keeps the whole law, and yet 
 offends in one point, is guilty of all."* The 
 entire authority of the lawgiver is in every pre- 
 cept. Sin, therefore, which is " transgression 
 of the law," whatever precept it may happen to 
 infringe, strikes at the pinncipk of obedience ; 
 and is ready, as occasion shall offer, to assume 
 any and every form of transgression — to violate 
 all the precepts of the law in succession, when 
 impelled by adequate inducement. For he — to 
 continue the Apostle's reasoning — he wjio 
 " kills," though he may " not commit adultery," 
 abstains from the latter crime through the influ- 
 ence of other considerations than the sacredness 
 of the law or the majesty of the lawgiver; 
 otherwise he would have refrained from 
 f killing ;" seeing that " he who said. Do not 
 commit adultery, said also. Do not kill" Conse- 
 quently, he who breaks one commandment 
 while he keeps another, when both are enjoined 
 by the same authority, shows that he is pre- 
 pared, on the occurrence of a suitable tempta- 
 tion, to break the other also. And whoever 
 (disbelieves this of himself, " deceiveth his own 
 heart ;" for sin is universal opposition to all of 
 
 * James, i. 10. 
 
94 A Plea for CathoUch Communion. 
 
 God in all of his law : and, therefore, according 
 to the inspired ethics, the transgression of one 
 precept is accounted simply " a transgression 
 of the law;" being an act of rebellion against 
 its whole obligation as operating in that precept. 
 It is upon this ground, that living in the com- 
 mission of any known sin, however small it may 
 appear, proves men to be destitute of the grace 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because they are 
 under the power oi the, principle of sin, which is 
 " enmity against God ;" and have not been 
 " reconciled to God by the death of his Son." 
 So that to venture upon sin, knowing it to be 
 sin, is a desperate experiment in any one who 
 does not intend to " lose his soul." 
 
 In like manner, resistance to God's truth, to 
 any of his truths when perceived to be truth, 
 argues the predominance of the spirit of false- 
 hood — a spirit which, as opportunity should 
 serve, would not hesitate to relinquish e?;erj/ truth 
 of his most holy word. Henceno Christian can 
 surrender the least tittle of that truth which he 
 believes to be the testimony of his God; nor 
 do any act which implies such a surrender. 
 Thousands of the " martyrs of Jesus," might 
 have saved themselves from the wild beast or 
 the stake, would they only have thrown a 
 handful of incense on a Heathen altar. But 
 they were aware of the construction which 
 their persecutors would put upon this deed ; 
 
V. II. 
 
 Facts. — The Primitive Church.:. 95 
 
 and, rather than do it, *' loved not their lives 
 unto the death." No motives, then, of con- 
 science, peace, charity, good to be effected, or 
 of what kind soever, can justify, much less 
 require, under any possible circumstances, the 
 sacrifice of a known truth. Such a sacrifice 
 might end in eternal ruin. On the other hand, 
 mistakes concerning particular truths, may 
 consist with the general power of truth over 
 the heart. Nay, it is nothing uncommon for 
 men's notions to be at war with their principles 
 — Their speculative judgment with their prac- 
 tical habits. Many times a sound head is joined 
 to an unsound heart ; and a sound heart to an 
 unsound head. Some perish because they do 
 not follow out their professed faith : and others 
 would perish if they did. The not perceiving, 
 and therefore not embracing, the consequences 
 of their errour preserves them '' from going 
 down to the pit." And as there is not a human 
 being perfectly exempt from errour, there is not 
 one of all them who " shall see the Lord," but 
 owes more or less to the same protection. How 
 far erroneous conceptions of divine truth may be 
 compatible with a state of pardon and heavenly 
 adoption, it would be presumptuous in us to 
 define. That is the prerogative of him who, 
 searching the heart, can weigh all its influences, 
 interests, and difficulties. But to try how far 
 we may go before we discern our salvation to 
 
96 A Plea for CathoUck Communion, 
 
 be in jeopardy, is the insanity of one who 
 should have his hmbs amputated higher and 
 higher in order to try how near the operation 
 might approach his vitals without destroying 
 his life. In judging for himself, every one must 
 make sure work by keeping on the safe side, 
 not wilfully rejecting any truth, nor adopting 
 any errour. In judging of others, he must go 
 every length which the charity of the gospel 
 dictates ; i. e. every length consistent with his 
 own attachment to, and support of, the truth; 
 and which does not rank amons: matters of 
 forbearance, a clearly vital doctrine of Chris- 
 tianity. This would be not charity, but treason 
 and murdej — Treason to the " amen, the 
 faithful and true witness" — murder to the soul 
 of our deluded neighbour. For as there are 
 injuries which infallibly kill the body, so there 
 are errours which infallibly kill the soul. If a 
 man be run through the heart, whether by 
 accident or design, whether by his own or 
 another's hand he dies. And if a man, from 
 whatever cause, renounce the obviously vital 
 doctrines of the gospel — he is not, cannot be, 
 a Christian — there is no relief for him; no 
 help ; no hope — he dies the death. Those 
 doctrines, therefore, must be the basis of all 
 Christian communion; and maintaining those 
 doctrines pure and entire, " holding the head," 
 Christ Jesus, as saith his apostle, his followers 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 97 
 
 may and should have open fellowship with 
 each other, on the ground of their common 
 faith; and ought not to refuse each other on 
 the ground of their inferiour differences. 
 
 Should it be asked, how shall I distinguish 
 an essential from a subordinate doctrine of the 
 gospel 1 The answer has been chiefly anticipated. 
 You are not under the necessity of nice and 
 subtle discriminations; and can certainly dis- 
 tinguish with sufficient accuracy for every 
 practicah purpose. You are in no danger of 
 mistaking a man's arm for his finger — his head 
 for his foot; nor of supposing that they are 
 equally important to his life. You cannot 
 imagine, for one, moment, that the question, 
 " whether Christ by his death purchased 
 temporal benefits or not for all mankind ?" is 
 like the question " whether or not he bought 
 his people unto God by his blood, in making 
 a true, proper, meritorious sacrifice for their 
 sin, when ' through the eternal Spirit he 
 offered up himself?'" Nor that the dispute, 
 *' whether the covenant of Redemption be dif- 
 ferent from the covenant of Grace?" or what 
 are so called, be in reality but one and the 
 same covenant viewed under different aspects ? 
 is to be classed with the dispute " whether 
 Jesus, the Lord our righteousness, is a mere 
 man like ourselves, or the ' true God' and, 
 therefore, ' eternal life V " — In deciding on the 
 
 H 
 
98 A Plea for CathoUck Commimion, 
 
 relative importance of such points there is no 
 room for hesitation. Whatever degree of mistake 
 may be reconciled with union to Christ, and an 
 interest in his salvation, it is not, it cannot be 
 a^matter of doubt among those who have tasted 
 his grace — that blaspheming his divinity — re- 
 jecting his propitiatory sacrifice; and the 
 justification of a sinner by faith only, in his 
 mediatorial merits — denying the personality, 
 divinity, renewing and sanctifying virtue of his 
 holy Spirit, and similar heresies; invalidate 
 every claim to the character of his disciples. 
 They who disown or explain away such truths 
 as these, pretend what they may, are no more 
 servants of Christ, nor partakers of his benefits, 
 than Jews, Mahometans,* or Pagans. 
 
 * There is a very curious, though almost forgotten paper, ill 
 which the Unitarians^ as they call themselves, in opposition to 
 those who hold the doctrine of the ever-blessed Trinity, expressly 
 claim kindred with the Mahometans. It is an address from two 
 English Socinians or Arians, (it matters little which) " in their 
 own names, and in that of a multitude of their persuasion," 
 whom they style " a wise and religious sort of people," to the 
 Morocco embassador at the court of Charles the II. and is 
 entitled, " An Ejnstle Dedicatory, to his illustrious Excel- 
 lency, Ameth Ben Ameth, Embassador of the mighty 
 Emperor of Fez and Morocco, to Charles II. King of 
 Great Britain.'''' 
 
 In this " epistle dedicatoiy," they tell his Mahometan 
 Excellency that the £iitli of his countryraeu and sect ig much 
 
t. ir. Facts. — The Primitive C/iUrch. 99 
 
 In the language of one whose scriptural 
 artillery has often battered down the " gates of 
 
 purer in the article •' touching the belief of an only sovereign 
 God," and " many other wholesome doctrines," than the faith 
 of either Papal or Protestant Christendom: seeing that about 
 these doctrines in which they, the Mahometans " persevere." 
 "this, our western part of the world," the British isles and 
 European continent, " are declined into several errours from 
 the integrity of their predecessors." And they " heartily salute 
 and congratulate his Excellency and all who were with him, 
 as totitries and fellow -worshippers of that sole Supreme 
 Deity of the Almighty Father and Creator." Observe, they 
 are not " fellow-worshippers" with Christians in this matter 
 (God be praised!) but with Mahometans — And they " greatly 
 rejoice and thank his Divine bounty that hath preserved the 
 Emperour of Morocco and his people," being Mahometans, 
 " in the excellent knowledge of that truth," already mentioned, 
 W'hich the Christian world, it seems, had lost ; and they assure 
 his Excellency, which is a certain verity, that " in those 
 important points," viz the Unitarian doctrines concerning God, 
 they *' draw nigher to the Mahometans, tlian all other 
 Protestant or Papal Christians" — And they furthermore state to 
 his Excellency, that they are their, the Mahometans," '•''■nearest 
 fellow-champions for those truths:" and, moreover, " that God 
 had raised up their Mahomet to defend the same truth ;" 
 viz. " the faith of one Supreme God with the sword, as 
 a scourge on those idolizing Christians,'''' i. e. ail Avho believe 
 in the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ; even as " they, with 
 their Unitarian brethren," had been accustomed to defend it 
 with their pens." Behold a " defender of the faith," far goodlier 
 than Henry the VIII; and much dearer to the Unitarians 
 than any of his successors not excepting EDW^iRD (he VT, or 
 
 11 2 
 
100 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 hell," " tliey neither know him, nor love him, 
 nor believe in him, nor do any wise belong 
 
 William of Orange! Behold an ancient dcoA. avowed alliance;, 
 *' The SWORD o/ Mahomet and the Unitarian -penP'' AH 
 this and more, in a style of fawning compliment^ fi'om a sect 
 of professed Christians to an embassador of the great. 
 IMPOSTURE: who probably honoured their two representatives, 
 the instant their backs were turned, with the ordinary loving 
 appellation of " Christian dogs.'''' 
 
 The whole of this precious " epistle," is prefixed to Leslie's 
 " Socinian controversy discussed.'''' Theol. Works, Vol. J. 
 207. 211. 
 
 Such an acknowleged coincidence between Unitarianisni and 
 Mahovietanism, goes far to justify the assertion, that there 
 is no very w'ide difference between Unitarians and Deists.. 
 But w^e are not left to construction or inference on this head. 
 The affinity is distinctly avowed by no less a personage than the. 
 Colossal English Socinian — the late Dr. Joseph Priestley. 
 In a letter to his friend, Mr. Belsham, dated " Northumberland, 
 April 23, 1813," speaking of Mr. Jefferson, former President 
 of the United States, the Doctor observes, that " he,", (Mr. 
 Jefferson,) " is generally considered as an unbeliever,'''' i. e* 
 an infidel. " If so, however, he cannot be far from us." 
 Here is a fair and full confession, that infidelity and Socinianism 
 are near neighbours ; or else, a person allowed to be an infidel, 
 would be " far off" from a Socinian, which Dr. Priestley 
 says is not the fact. We say so too ; and that they had much 
 better shake hands at once, than keep up an unmeaning war- 
 fare: especially, as Wm. Wells, Esq. of Boston, a gentleman 
 of talent and a scholar, " whose zeal," to quote. Mr. Belsham, 
 " whose zeal for truth," i. e. Socinianism, ' is beyond all 
 praise," has told us, in a letter to Mr. B. March 31, 1813, 
 
p. II. 
 
 Facts. — The Primitive Church. 101 
 
 unto him."* With such men there can be 
 neither communion nor compromise. They 
 are to be regarded as enemies of both the 
 cross and the crown of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 — as that spiritual Amalek with whom he and 
 his are sworn to have war, only war, and war 
 continually, " from generation to generation." 
 Not that any whom his love " constrains," are 
 to cherish hostile or uncourteous, or untender 
 feeling toward their persons; or to think them- 
 selves released, in their case, from the obliga- 
 tions of social kindness. God forbid! Neither 
 fidelity to the truth, nor intense affection to 
 the children of truth, involves such a con- 
 sequence. 
 
 " He," to repeat the words of Dr. Owen, 
 ** he who professeth love unto the saints, that 
 peculiar love%hich is required toward them; 
 and doth not exercise love in general towards 
 
 <^ that Unitarianism consists rather in not believing !!" (a) 
 Now a faith is so essential to the character of true Christians, 
 that the word of their God denominates them from that very 
 thiiig, believers ; then, the Unitarians, themselves, being judge?, 
 are far enough from Christians ! 
 
 * Dr. John Owen. 
 
 (a) See for these facts, and certain other curious matter, a 
 pamphlet, just re-published in Boston, entitled American 
 ITnitarianism, or, " The progress and present state of the 
 Unitarian churches in America,'''' 6fc. by the Rev, Thomas, 
 Belsbam, Essex-street, London. 
 
102 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 all men : much more if he make the pretence of 
 brotherly love the ground of alienating his 
 affection from the rest of mankind, can have 
 no assurance that the love he so professeth 
 is sincere, incorrupt, genuine, and without 
 dissimulation."* Even the most determined 
 enemies of the truth are not to be debarred 
 from this Christian philanthrophy. While we 
 hate, oppose, and would utterly destroy their 
 *' abominations," we would do good to them- 
 selves, as we have opportunity, both for this 
 life, and for that which is to come. Our 
 ** hearts desire and prayer for them is," and 
 ought to be, " that they may be saved" — that 
 Jesus of Nazareth, the '* Prince and Saviour'* 
 whom, not knowing, they *' persecute," would 
 appear unto them in the visions of his word—* 
 would *' open their blind eyes that the light of 
 the knowledge of the glory of God in his person 
 and work ** may shine into their hearts;" so 
 that obtaining mercy, like the illustrious convert 
 of Tarsus, because they act " ignorantly and 
 in unbelief;" they may, like him, learn to extol 
 the *' exceeding abundant grace of our Lord 
 Jesus;" and, like him too, "preach," or pro- 
 mote *' the faith" which they are labouring to 
 *' destroy." And the church shall " glorify 
 God in them." Amen ! 
 
 * Owen on Heb. VI. 9, Expos. Vol, III. 89. Fol. 
 
p. ir. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 103 
 
 But while they " remain in their unbelief" — 
 denying in fact, though acknowledging in 
 words, that " Just and Holy One," there is 
 an immeasurable gulf between them and real 
 Christians. They have no part in our heavenly 
 " David," nor any inheritance in our '* son of 
 Jesse." However painful the necessity, it is 
 still necessity which compels us to exclaim^ 
 *' O my soul, come not thou into their secret ! 
 unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou 
 united!" 
 
 Such was the judgment and practice of the 
 primitive church. The basis of her communion 
 was laid, as we have already seen, in the sub- 
 stantial doctrines of the gospel, as summed up 
 in her creed. This she required to be adopted 
 and professed by all who offered themselves to 
 her fellowship. It contained, then, her terms 
 OF COMMUNION. Consequently, agreement in 
 opinions about which Christians might differ 
 without impugning any of these doctrines, made 
 no part of those terms. In other words, she 
 did not consider such differences as violating 
 her unity. And how numerous they were, no 
 one needs be told who has looked into her 
 history. 
 
 Having seen what the primitive church did 
 BOt view as inconsistent with her visible unity,. 
 let us now inquire, j. 
 
104 A P leaf 07^ Catliolick Communion. 
 
 By what, in her judgment, it was liable to be 
 broken. This effect might be produced three 
 ways — 
 
 By schisms within her bosom ; 
 
 By the renunciation oi fundamental truth ; and 
 
 By withdrawing from her communion. 
 
 1st. Schisms within her bosom, in the rupture 
 of brotherly harmony, she always accounted 
 scandalous violations of her unity, even though 
 the bonds of external fellowship were not 
 thereby dissolved. Let the expostulation of 
 Clemens Romanus with the church of Corinth, 
 be both example and proof The professing 
 Christians in that city had given early indi- 
 cations of such a disorderly temper, as to call 
 for the authoritative interposition of the apostle 
 Paul. When the fire of contention has once 
 seized upon a community, and been fostered 
 by personal antipathies, its extinction is one of 
 the most rare and difficult of human things. 
 
 it may subside for a while, and even appear 
 to ^o out ; yet if any new brand of controversy 
 be thrown among the public passions, the 
 smothered flame will be rekindled, will seek its 
 wonted channels, and burst forth and rage with 
 increased violence. The same individuals, or 
 their descendants, will be regularly arrayed 
 against each other. Let there be only a 
 dispute, and a person of sense acquainted 
 
p, II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 105 
 
 with previous facts, shall be able, almost infallibly 
 to foretell how the parties will be arranged. If 
 two or three conspicuous individuals y\^1io for- 
 merly acted together, should declare themselves, 
 the die is cast. Their old opponents take the 
 other side as a matter of course. Thus social con- 
 flicts become hereditary; and revive under varied 
 shapes, long after "le original disagreement is 
 buried and forgotten. Should they, however, 
 be diverted from this their natural direction, 
 and even be happily terminated, they leave in 
 the social body a predisposition to the same 
 evil disease. This was probably the state of 
 the church of Corinth. It had been split up 
 into parties who attached themselves to par- 
 ticular ministers, and were more passionately 
 devoted, as ist usual, to the glory of their 
 respective chiefs, than to those great interests 
 in which they were equally concerned. Paul 
 had quelled their foolish tumults : but he is no 
 sooner gone to his crown of righteousness, than 
 they embark in a new strife. A number of 
 those who had quarrelled with each other 
 about their favourite teachers, now turn round, 
 and make common cause against the teachers 
 themselves. Such is the consistency of human 
 passions ! Such the stability of popular affection! 
 We learn the fact from Clemens Romanus, a 
 contemporary of the Apostles, * and perhaps the 
 
 j:usEB. E. H. Lib. V. c. 6. p. 217. 
 
106 A Plea for CatiioUck Comrrmn'wn^ 
 
 next to the Apostles in worth and dignity. We 
 also learn from him, the light in which the 
 litigious spirit of the Corinthians was viewed 
 by their fellow christians. In his first, which 
 is his genuine epistle to their church, he thus 
 pathetically remonstrates with them on the 
 subject of their feuds : 
 
 " Let us cleave to the innocent and the just: 
 for these are the elect of God. Why are there 
 strifes, and angry tempers, and dissentions, 
 and schisms, and fightings, among you ? Have, 
 we not one God, and one Christ, and one Spirit 
 poured out upon us ; and one calling in Christ ? 
 Why do we rend asunder the members of 
 Christ, and factiously strive against our own 
 body, and proceed to such a height of madness 
 as to forget that we are members one of another ? 
 Remember the words of our Lord Jesus : For 
 he said. Wo to that man ! It had been better for 
 Jiim not to have been born than to lay a stumbling- 
 block before one of my elect : it had been better for 
 him to be bound to a mill-stonCy and be "plunged 
 into the sea, than to stumble one of my little 
 ones. 
 
 " Your schism has perverted many ; has 
 thrown many into despondence ; many into 
 wavering; all of us into sorrow — and your 
 factions continue!"* 
 
 * ¥<6X\r.d(0fiev ovv tolq adwoiQ Kai hKaioig' eimv ^s ovrot 
 tKkeKTOL Tov Qeov, 'Iva n ep£i£, (Cot 6vp,ci, kcii h^offraciai^ 
 
p. IT. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 107 
 
 Again : *' Let hifn who has loye in Christ, 
 keep the commandments of Christ. The bond 
 of the love of God, who can set forth ? the 
 magnificence of his beauty who is sufficient to 
 express as he ought ? The height to which 
 love conducts is beyond all utterance. Love 
 permits no schism; love cherishes mo factions; 
 love does every thing in harmony ; by love all 
 the elect of God are perfected — without love, 
 nothing is acceptable to God."* 
 
 Kai (T^Lfffxara, iroXefiog re tv vjxiv ; 7} ov^l era deov E')(Ofj,£v % 
 Kai Eva \piiTTOv ; kul kv Yivzv^a ttjq yapiTOQ to eKy^vdev 
 e(j} 7]jdag ; kul fiia KXrjffig ev ^pitXTo) ; ira tl ^leXkojiev kiU 
 ciacFTTtJfXEV ra fXE\r] rov j^^piarov, kul '^ama^ofxEv "Trpoc ro 
 
 ClOfXa TO iSlOV ; KUL El£ TOffaVTrjV mrOVOiaV Ep-)(OlXEQu, i)Z£ 
 
 ETTiXadEcrdai {jfiag on fXEKri e(ti.iev a\Xi]\tx)v ; M.v,rjr7dijTE Tbiy 
 Xoyojv Irjaov tov Kvpiov ij^xwv. EtTre yap' Ovai fw avBptoirta 
 EKEivf KoXov i]v avTb) El ovK EyEVvrjOf], T] Ij/a TO)v ekXektwv 
 fiov aicavSaXiaai' KpEiTTOv rjv avTW irEpiTEdijvai fxvXov, kui 
 icaTdTroPTKTdrjvai eiq Trjv daXacraav, t) £va twv fxiKp<i)v fxov 
 (TKavoaXi(Tai. To <7^i(Tjua vjxmv rroXXovg BiE^pExpEV, itoXXovt 
 eig aOvfxtav, EJoaXey, TroXXovg £ig ^f^ayfiov, Tovg iravraig 
 ijfiag Eig XvirrjV Kat EinjjLOvog v^wv e'^iv fj (rrarrig. 
 
 Clem. Rom. Ep. I. ad. Cor. c. 46. ap. 
 
 P. P. App. Tom. I. p. 174, 5. 
 
 * 'O E)(U)v ayairriv ev XptTW TrjprjaaTOj tu tov Xpt<rov 
 TrapayyEXfxaTa. Tov ^Errfxov Ttjg ayairrjg tov Qeov Tig ^waTcu 
 Eli)yri(Taadat ; to fXEyaXEiov tjjc KaXXovrjg avTOv, Tig apKEi, «e 
 E^Ei, EiTTEiv ; TO vipog Eig avayEi y ayayrr], aj'EK^rjyrjTOV 
 f.'Tiv, Ayairrj EXI2MA ovk ^X^'* '"^7^''"'? ^^ 2!TA2IAZEI. 
 
108 A ■ Plea for Catholkk Communion. 
 
 The dissentions against which Clemens, after 
 the example of Paul, so divinely pleads, were 
 within the church. With all their strifes and 
 seditions among themselves, there was one 
 bond which they did not venture to break — 
 the bond of their common Christianity. This 
 still preserved their public union with each 
 other, and with the church of God. Yet 
 observe the topics which Clemens urges for the 
 restoration of concord. They are three : 
 
 (1.) All schisms; all dividing of Christian 
 from Christian— all things which prevent their 
 free, full, aifectionate, evangelical intercourse, 
 are at war with their relations as members of 
 the one body of Christ. 
 
 (2.) They are incompatible with the reigning 
 power of Christian love. 
 
 (3.) They hinder the progress of the gospel ; 
 they shake the faith of some ; produce apostacy 
 in others ; grieve the hearts and weaken the 
 hands of unwavering believers, and expose 
 their authours and abettors to the severest 
 comminations of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 If the many and woful contentions now in 
 
 ayairri iravta Troiei ev 'OMONOIAi. Ej^ ayarrrj ereXtKoOricrav 
 TravTEQ ol EKyeKTOL 70V QeoV ^i}(a aryairrig ovE^v evape'^ov 
 
 Id. lb. c. 48. p. 176, 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 10& 
 
 the church of Christ affect not her children 
 in the same manner, their indifference arises, 
 and can arise, from no other cause than their 
 having " left their first love." 
 
 Let this suffice for the first point. 
 
 2d. The primitive church considered the 
 renunciation of fundamental truth as inconsistent 
 with her unity. 
 
 This flowed, and must for ever flow, as a 
 necessary consequence from the very principle 
 of her being-, viz. her faith. She is built upon 
 the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 
 Jesus Christ himself beiiig the chief corner-stone ; 
 in whom all the building, ftly framed together f- 
 groweth unto an holy temple iti the Lord.* 
 
 The apostles and prophets, i. e. their inspired 
 doctrines, contain God's testimony concerning 
 that eternal life which he hath given to us in 
 his so^; '\ which divine testimony is addressed 
 to, and embraced by, the faith of his church.J 
 And as the sole foundation of faith, in every 
 possible form and degree, is testimony; so, 
 whatever rests upon testimony, must have faith 
 as its essential principle. Therefore, the church 
 of God, founded upon pure revelation, i. e. 
 upon his own testimony in his written word. 
 
 * Eph. ii. 20, 21. t 1 John. v. 11. 
 
 I The Bible, from beginning to end. 
 
110 A Plea for CathoUdc Commui^mi, 
 
 exists by faith, and by faith alone. As this is 
 not the time to " stop the mouths" of those 
 " vain talkers," who charge the doctrine which 
 so highly exalts tine faith of the church, with 
 depressing, in the same proportion, her love 
 and practice of moral virtue ; they shall be 
 dismissed with a single remark — Should a 
 man, on the search for *' true holiness," go in 
 quest of it among the unbelievers, the world 
 itself would account him vastly simple ! 
 
 To return. Try the common sense of man- 
 kind on this point. Ask them what they would 
 think of an unbelieving church of God? The 
 idea is shocking. Our understandings revolt 
 from its absurdity; our hearts from its im- 
 piety. No ingenuity has ever been able to 
 justify or even to palliate, before the bar of 
 plain dealing, subscription to creeds which the 
 subscriber does not sincerely believe, upon 
 the pretence of their being '* articles of peace ;'* 
 or of their admitting a construction which is 
 not their obvious, unlaboured, natural meaning. 
 This is jugglery all over. The two-faced oracle 
 of Delphos in the sanctuary of God. It 
 belongs to those deep disimulations. 
 
 That palter with us in a double sense: 
 That keep the word of promise to our ear, 
 And break it to our hope.* 
 
 * Shakespeare. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. Ill 
 
 The agreement thus apparently effected 
 between belief and unbelief; between faith 
 and no faith — the oil and water in Christian 
 doctrine; was well defined by one who 
 *' smacked" but little pf orthodoxy, to be, 
 *' not the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
 of peace ; but the union of knaves in the 
 bond of hypocrisy." 
 
 In such arts the early church was no adept. 
 That same Spirit of Gon who taught her the 
 most extended charity towards those who, with 
 all their differences, were one in *' the faith of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ," taught her also to con- 
 tend earnestly for that faith ; and not to receive 
 into her bosom, and nurture as her children, 
 any by whom it sbould be corrupted. " If 
 there come any unto youj' says John, " and bring 
 not this doctrine, receive him not into your house ^ 
 neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth 
 him * God speed,' is partaker of his evil deeds.''* 
 To that conspiracy against truth, which, under 
 the guise of charity, welcomes or endures 
 all sorts of doctrines, and those the most con- 
 tradictory, even concerning the person and 
 work of " God our Saviour," both the beloved 
 disciple and the church of his master were utter 
 
 * 2 John 10. II. 
 
112 A Pled for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 strangers. To deny any capital article of her 
 faith, was, in her view, to mar her symmetry, 
 to destroy her unity, to tear up her very foun- 
 dations. Hence her public creeds which she 
 required to be embraced by every candidate for 
 baptism — hence her stress upon her ONE faith 
 throughout the whole world — and her abhor- 
 rence of heresy and heretics. Hence the work 
 of Iren^us against the doctrinal heresies which 
 had troubled her peace until his day. Iren^us 
 was for sometime a contemporary of Polycarp, 
 having seen him, as he says himself, in the early 
 part of his hfe. This zealous vindicator of the 
 one faith of the church, tells us upon Poly- 
 carp's authority, as the story was related by 
 those who had it from Polycarp's own lips, 
 that the apostle Johx, having gone into a bath 
 at Ephesus, and. observed Cerinthus,* sprang 
 
 * Cerinthus, of the Gnostic sect, the earliest corrupters of 
 Christianity after (he Judaizing teachers, was in some respects the 
 prototype of the modem Unitarians. Among other fundamental 
 errours, he denied the proper divinity of Christy whom he cot- 
 sidered as the most glorious of the ceons, a set of created beings 
 — a notion from which the Arians are not very remote. He 
 denied also, that Jesus was born of a virgin, which he held to 
 be impossible ; and maintained, that he was the son of Joseph 
 and Marj^, in the ordinary course of nature- — a leading doctrine 
 of the SociNiANS of the present day ; and openly avowed, in a 
 note to Mat. i. ] S, in what is called an iinproved version of the 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 113 
 
 out immediately, exclaiming, " Let us Jiy, lest 
 the hath should fall — Ceriktiius, the enemy of 
 the truth, is there!'' And Polycarp himself 
 Laving fallen in with Marciox,* who begged 
 to be recognised by him as a brother, " / re- 
 cognise thee" cried Polycarp, " as the first born 
 
 New Testament^ printed at London in 1808, and reprinted M 
 Boston in 1809. Cerinthus, ho^vever, taught, tliat this Christ, 
 this unintelligible oeon, descended on the man Jesus at his baptism, 
 and flew away from him at his crucifixion, (a) We do not know 
 that any of his disciples, who dream after hira in other respects, 
 have dreamed this dream also. But it was needless to stop ; 
 while they were about it they might as well have dreamed the 
 whole, 
 
 * Marcion of Pontus, uttered horrible blasphemies, main- 
 taining, among other things, that " the God of Abraham and 
 the prophets is not the father of our Lord Jesus Christ ; but a 
 dijfferent being, the authour of evil, a delighter in wars, mutable 
 
 and self contradictory." 
 
 Iren. adv. 1 ha?r. Lib. I. c. 19, 20. 
 
 The expression addressed by this heretic to Polycarp, viz. 
 ETrtyti'WfTK-e j//jac, i. e. " Recognise us," was somewhat technical 
 in the primitive church ; and equivalent with a brotherly saluta- 
 tion. The deacons were accustomed to use it at ^he celebration 
 of the supper, frequently calling out to the communicants as they 
 came np, ETrtyu'wo-icere aWrjXovg, " Recognise each other 1^'' viz. 
 lest a Jew or profane person might approach the holy table. A 
 custom which throws light upon, and may have been burrowed 
 from, Paul's expression. 1 Cor. xvi. 18. Y.-myiruxjKEre. rove 
 TOLovTov^j " Acknowledge them that are such." — 
 
 H. Valesii, Annot. ad. Euseb. H, E. T. L 161. 
 
 (a) Iren. adver. haereses, Lib. I. c. 25, 
 1 
 
114 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 of Satan!''' " So religiously," adds Iren.i:us, 
 " did the Apostles and their disciples shun all 
 intercourse, even in conversation, with any of 
 those vv^ho adulterated the truth."* These traits 
 of primitive character b^ar as little resemblance 
 to the " charity" of the present age, as that 
 charity bears to real love to men or loyalty to 
 God. Cyprian is very explicit, " The 
 enemy," says he, " exposed and prostrated by 
 the coming of Christ — contrived a new fraud 
 that he might deceive the thoughtless under the 
 very sanction of the Christian name. He in- 
 vented heresies and schisms, that he might sub- 
 vert the faith, corrupt the truth, and rend 
 unity."! ^^^ ^^ t^^ ways, then, of rending 
 
 * Eto-iv OL aiajKooTSQ avTov (Polycarp) oti \b)avvr)s b tov 
 ^vpiov fiadrjrrje tv rn E^ecrw TropEvQeiQ Xovaaerdaiy ^rai icufv £(na 
 Ki/ptv^or, e'^rjXaTO tov BaAaveiou fjir) Xovaafxzvoc^ aXX' 
 STTsnrtJv, " (pvyMfiev, fjr] Kai to BaXavetov uv^Trtar)^ tvhov 
 OVTOC KT/pij/^ov TOV Tr]Q a\-qdeta^ eyjdpov.^^ Kai avTOf" 6 
 floA^KapTroc, M.apictbjvi Trore. eig oxpiv owrw eX^vtl Kat 
 ^rjtravTi, " ETrtyivwo-zce ^yua^," aTrcKpiS^j/, " ^/iriyiviofficui tov 
 •trpdiTOTOKOv TOV ^oTavaJ''' ToaavTi)v ol A.tto'^oXoi kui ol 
 fia^rjTai avnov e(rj(ov evXafleiav, Trpog to fir) ^e fJ^^XP*- ^^yov 
 Keivtjveiv Tin twv irapctx^iparrcrovTiov Tr]v aXriQtiav. 
 
 Iren. ap. EusEB. Lib. IV. c. 14. p. 161. 
 
 f Quid vero astutius, quidve subtilius, quam ut Chiisti advenlu, 
 
 detectus ac piostratus Inimicus— — — excogitaverit novam fraudem, 
 
 ut sub ipso Christiani nominis titulo fallat incautos? Haereses 
 
 iftvenit et schismata quibj^ subverteret fidem, veritatem corrum- 
 
 peret, sciiideret unitatein. 
 
 De Unit. Ecdes. 0pp. p. 165. 
 
p. II. 
 
 Facts. — The Primitive Church. 1 1 5 
 
 the unity of the church, was the subversion of 
 her faith ; which is the eiFect of fundamental 
 errour, and the design of that father of Hes 
 from whom it proceeds. 
 
 It is superfluous to multiply quotations. The 
 very term heresy, which simply signifies divi- 
 sion, was early appropriated to false doctrine, 
 for this very reason, that the bond of the 
 church's unity is faith in the teuth ; which 
 bond nothing more effectually unties than the 
 propagation of doctrinal falsehood. 
 
 3d. The unity of the primitive church was 
 broken by withdrawing from her communion ; or 
 which was, in her eyes, the same thing, the 
 setting up of separate and restricted commiinionsy 
 
 If custom, which reconciles men to both ab- 
 surdity and sin, had not familiarized the specta- 
 cle of evangelical churches alienated from, and 
 often arrayed against, each other — my soul 
 shudders — in the name of the Lord Jesus ! ! 
 it would be inconceivable how the idea of one 
 catholick church can be dissevered from that 
 of ONE catholick communion. That union 
 should not be a basis for communion — that 
 " particular churches, which are members of the 
 catholick church,"* as parts of one whole, should, 
 in their church-capacity, have no fellowship 
 
 * Con. of Faith, c!i. xxv, 4. 
 I 2 
 
W6 A jP lea for CafhoUck Communion. 
 
 with each other though they constitute but 
 one body — nay, that such fellowship should 
 be unwholesome, unholy, unlawful; although 
 as parts of one whole, they have the very same 
 means of life, health, vigour — is so desperate 
 an assault upon the sense of consistency — such 
 a Leviathan of a paradox, that the faculties of 
 poor human nature sink beneath it. 
 
 None of the ancients blundered in this style. 
 Orthodox or heterodox, they agreed in one 
 point, viz. that different communions exclude the 
 idea of unity. Hence, on the one hand, the 
 Novatians, Luciferians, Donatists^ who set up 
 restrictive communions, acted upon the avowed 
 principle that the Catholick church, from which 
 they withdrew, had ceased to be the church of 
 Christ. And, on the other hand, they who 
 condemned the separatists, held, that by the 
 very fact of their separate communion, they 
 threw themselves out of the church of God, 
 and ceased to be a part of her. The ground, 
 then, upon which they both stood is this, that 
 two churches refusing communion with each 
 other do thereby renounce their relation' to each 
 other as parts of a common whole : and that it 
 is idle to pretend that the public unity of the 
 church can be made to consist with such 
 divisions. 
 
 To give at full length the proofs of what is 
 here advanced, would be to transcribe a large 
 
p. ir. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 117 
 
 portion of the works of some of the early fathers. 
 It is assumed, as incontrovertible, by both 
 Cyprian and Augustine, in their respective 
 controversies v^ith the Novatians and Donatists; 
 and frequently asserted in the most formal and 
 unqualified manner. A specimen shall suffice. 
 
 After showing from the scriptures the visible 
 unity of the church, Cyprian thus demands : 
 
 " Does he who maintains not this unity, 
 imagine that he possesses the faith? Does he 
 who sets himself against the church, cherish a 
 confidence of his being m the church?" — 
 Again : " Whoever is disjoined from the church, 
 is joined to an adulteress ; is separated from the 
 promises made to the church. Nor can that 
 man attain to the rewards of Christ, who leaves 
 the church of Christ. He is an alien, he is 
 profane, he is an enemy."* Once more. " Let 
 no one, brethren, cause you to err from the 
 ways of the Lord. Let no one tear you. Chris- 
 tians, from the gospel of Christ. Let no one 
 remove from the church, the church's sons. 
 
 * Hanc Ecclesiae unitatera qui non tenet, tenere se fidem 
 credit ? Qui Ecclesise i-enititur et resistit, in EccIesiS^ se esse 
 confidit ? * * * Quisquis ab Ecclesi^, segregatus adulteras 
 jungitur ; a promissis Ecclesiae separatur. Nee pervenit ad 
 Christi praemia qui relinquit Ecclesiam Christi. Alienus est, 
 profanus est, hostis est. 
 
 Cyp. de Unitate Eccles. p. 108, 109. 
 
118 A Flea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 Let them, who are willing to perish, perish by 
 themselves. Let them who have departed from 
 the church remain without the church, alone."* 
 
 These things are spoken of the Novatians, who 
 were not accused of unsound doctrine ; who 
 carried their ecclesiastical discipline to an ex- 
 cessive rigour ; and who, from displeasure at 
 what they accounted the laxness of the church, 
 in dealing with the " lapsed," withdrew from 
 her fellowship, and formed a church and com- 
 munion of their own. It was the fact of this se- 
 paration, though under the plea of cultivating 
 and preserving a higher degree of purity, which 
 constituted their offence, and drew upon them 
 the general indignation of the church of God. 
 
 In a similar way Augustine speaks of fhe 
 Donatists and their schism. 
 
 " They who imagine that their own denomi- 
 nation is now clean wheat, have flown away 
 from the mixture of chaff and wheat, as if they 
 were pure chaff: and they who think that they 
 no longer feed with the goats under one shep- 
 herd, are severed, by the stratagems of wolves, 
 from the Lord's flock : and they who suppose 
 
 * Nemo vos, fratres, errare a Domini viis faciat. Nemo vos 
 Cliristianos ab evangelic Chi'isti rapiat. Nemo filios Ecclesiae de 
 Ecclesia tollat. Pereant sibi soli, qui perire voluerunt. Extra 
 Ecclesiam soli reraaneant, qui de Ecclesia recesserunt. 
 
 Id. Ep, XLIIl. p. 84. 
 
p. II. Facts, -^The Primitive Church. 119 
 
 that they are not gathered together with the bad 
 fish, are not only bad fish themselves, but have 
 broken the nets of unity."* 
 
 Jerome also, on Eph. iv, 3. observes " This 
 place bears particularly hard upon the heretics, 
 who.' break the bond of peace, yet think that 
 they maintain the * unity of the Spirit:' whereas 
 the unity of the Spirit is preserved by the bond 
 of peace. For when, instead of concord in 
 our professions, we cry out, / am of Paul — / 
 of Apollos — / of Cephas, we divide the unity of 
 the Spirit, and rend it into shreds. "f That the 
 venerable father meant his censure should 
 attach, with peculiar force, to those who had 
 receded from the Catholick fellowship of the 
 church and set up for themselves, is clear, not 
 
 * Qui congregationem suam jam frumentum purgatum putant a 
 commixtione frumenti et paleae tanquam pura palea volaverunt ; 
 et qui se sub uno pastore non adhuc cum hcedis pascere sentiunt, 
 luporum insidiis de grege Domini separati sunt: et qui cum malis 
 piscibus se congregates esse non putant, non solum mali pisces 
 sgjit, sed etiam unitatis retia diruperunt. 
 
 Aug. cont. Parm. Lib. III. c. 3. T. vii. 65. 
 
 t Hie locus vel maxime adversum hajreticos facit : qui, pacis 
 vinculo dissipato atque corrupto, putant se tenere spiritus uni- 
 tatem ; cum unitas spiritus in pacis vinculo conservetur. Quando 
 enim non id ipsum omnes loquimur -, et alius dicit, Ego sum 
 Pauli — Ego Apollo — Ego CephcB, dividimus spiritus unitatem j 
 et earn in partes ac membra discerpimus. 
 
 HiER. Comment ad. Eph. iv. 3. 0pp. T. VI. 176. 
 
120 A Plea f 07^ CathoUck Com^nunioiL 
 
 only from the nature of his argument, but also 
 from his sentiments formerly quoted. 
 
 Innumerable testimonies of the same sort are 
 at hand, but shall not be brought forward : as 
 the preceding fully establish, we believe, the 
 position advanced in the beginning of this sec- 
 tion, viz. that the primitive church accounted 
 her unity to be violated, by internal schisms — 
 by the reminciation of fundamental truth — and 
 by separate communions. 
 
 There remains yet a 
 
 3d. Inquiry. By what means was the visible 
 unity of the primitive church preserved and pro- 
 claimed t 
 
 The answer to this ques^fcion flows so naturally 
 from the foregoing discussion, that it might, 
 perhaps, be left to the reader's own inference. 
 But, to prevent uncertainty or mistakes, it 
 shall be given distinctly. 
 
 Her unity, then, was preserved and evinced, 
 chiefly, 
 
 1st. By an inflexible adherence to the great 
 truths of the gospel, as summed up in her 
 creed. Here was her one faith, with which she 
 permitted no tampering. This faith her mem- 
 bers, all the world over, were expected and re- 
 quired, not merely to abstain from denying, 
 which is at best a negative assurance, but also 
 to embrace and profess. 0n this point enough 
 has been said already. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 121 
 
 2cl. By her members' conforming to the cus- 
 toms and usages of any particular church which 
 they might happen to visit. 
 
 No local or national peculiarities were 
 allowed to usurp the rank of terms of commu- 
 nion. No small fastidiousness about matters 
 which affected not the substance of the Christian 
 profession, to disturb the Christian peace. 
 Whoever, from ignorance, vanity, moroseness, 
 or any other of those deceits which clothe a 
 factious temper in the habiliments of holy zeal, 
 and impute to religious prudery the virtues of a 
 tender conscience, made a noise about things 
 indifferent, and chose to be in dudgeon because 
 he could not fashion the world after his own 
 image, was considered as " ministering ques- 
 tions, rather than godly edifying;" as being 
 more a scandal than an ornament to the gospel. 
 This point also has been sufficiently handled 
 above. 
 
 3d. By respecting and supporting discipline 
 wheresoever and by whomsoever, within her 
 pale, inflicted. 
 
 A person censured by one church was, of 
 course, excluded from every other. No peti- 
 tions, penitence, complaint, or other expedient, 
 could avail for his admission without reconcilia- 
 tion to the church by which he had been cen- 
 sured. It was inconceivable to these Christian 
 " elders," how a sentence of one court of 
 Christ's kingdom should not be held valid and 
 
122 A Plea for Catkolick Communion. 
 
 jsaered by every other. To own a church as a 
 member of the church catholick, and yet to dis- 
 regard, or revise her acts of discipHne, is an 
 inconsistency into which they were cautious of 
 faUing. It was, in their eyes, equivalent to 
 rejecting her ministry and ordinances. So that 
 whatever subordinate differences might subsist 
 between them, while they acknowledged each 
 other as true churches, they never thought of 
 interfering with each other's judicial acts ; or 
 of releasing from censure each other's offend- 
 ers. Thus they reciprocated confidence, and 
 imparted mutual strength, declared their social 
 union, and drew, by their combined efforts, a 
 line of defence round the " city of God." So 
 thoroughly was this maxim understood, and so 
 generally applied, that " when Pope Zosimus 
 and Celestine took upon them to receive 
 appellants from the African churches, and 
 absolve those whom they had condemned. 
 St. Austin and all the African churches sharply 
 remonstrated against this as an irregular prac- 
 tice, violating the laws of unity, and the settled 
 rules of ecclesiastical commerce, which re- 
 quired. That no delinquent, excommumcated in one 
 church, should he absolved in another, without 
 giving satisfaction to his own church that censured 
 himr^ 
 
 * Bingham, B. XVI. Sec. 14. Vol. II. p. 20. Fol. with 
 the authorities there cited. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 123 
 
 4th. By holding ministerial and Christian 
 communion with all true churches, as opportu- 
 nity offered. That is to say, every church 
 received into communion as fully as her own 
 immediate members, ministers and private 
 Christians from any and every other church 
 under the whole heaven, upon evidence of their 
 good standing: which evidence, when they 
 were not otherwise sufficiently known, was 
 furnished by letters of recommendation, or 
 what we call testimonials or certificates, from 
 their respective churches. And, on the other 
 hand, ministers and private Christians deemed 
 it their duty, and made it their practice, to join 
 in communion with whatever church they 
 might happen to visit in any part of the world. 
 
 A strong example of this communion was 
 quoted before, in the case of Polycarp of 
 Smyrna, and Anicetus of Rome; and that at a 
 time when there existed warm disputes between 
 the Asiatic and European churches.* The strain 
 of the whole narrative in Eusebius shows that 
 this was not an exception to, but an instance of, 
 the ascertained and undisputed rule of church- 
 fellowship. As, indeed, a very simple consi- 
 deration fully proves. For the very intention 
 of PoLYCARp's journey to Rome was, to prevent 
 
 * Eus. E. H. L. V. 24. 
 
124 A Flea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 the communion of the Catholick church being 
 broken by subordinate differences: and he suc- 
 ceeded ; so that the peace of the whole church 
 was preserved. In token whereof, he not only 
 communicated with the church of Rome, but, 
 at the request of Anicetus, dispensed the 
 Lord's supper : one of the highest acts of 
 ministerial communion. 
 
 The whole correspondence between the 
 African and Roman churches, as contained in 
 the letters to and from CypRiAisr, is conducted 
 upon the same principle. Of this any one will 
 be satisfied who shall take the trouble to peruse 
 them. He will perceive that the proof of this 
 assertion lies rather in their general cast and 
 spirit, and in their obviously supposing the foct, 
 than in particular expressions. A proof of all 
 others the most decisive with those who know 
 how to estimate proof. A particular witness 
 may err or deceive : but public transactions 
 between social bodies, such as organized 
 churches, bearing upon their face the most inti- 
 mate and confidential co-operation with regard 
 to their most sacred internal concerns, and 
 those as forming one common interest, preclude 
 mistake and doubts, as to the fact of their social 
 communion. Such is the character of the 
 transactions mentioned in the correspondence of 
 Cyprian. It cannot, therefore, be produced 
 at length here, because that would require the 
 
p. ir. Facts. — The Primitive Church, 125 
 
 transcription of a volume. But for the sake of 
 those to whom a case is more satisfactory than a 
 principky I subjoin an extract from Cyprian's 
 thirty-second epistle, written to the Presbyters 
 and Deacons of Carthage during his exile. 
 
 Speaking of the letters which he had addressed 
 to the clergy at Rome, and of their answers he 
 says, *' Be as careful as possible, that what both 
 I and they have written, be made known to the 
 brethren. And, moreover, if there should be 
 present with you, or should happen to arrive, 
 dLuy foreign Bishops, my colleagues, or Presby- 
 ters, or Deacons, let them hear the whole. 
 And should they wish copies of these letters to 
 carry back to their connexions, aid them in the 
 transcription : although I have charged our 
 brother Saturus, the Reader, to let all who 
 may desire it have an opportunity of transcrib- 
 ing them, that somehow or other adjusting, in 
 the interim, the state of the churches, one 
 harmonious plan may be pursued by all."* 
 
 * Vog curate quantum potestis pro diligentiS, vesti'S., ut scripta 
 
 nostra et illorum rescripta fratribus nostris innotescant. Sed et si 
 
 qui de peregrinis Episcopi Collegae mei, vel Presbyteri, vel 
 
 Diacones praesentes fuerint, vel supervenerint, haec omnia de 
 
 vobis audiant; et si exempla epistolarum transcribere, et ad sues 
 
 perferre voluerint, facoltatem transcriptionis accipiant. Quaiiu'is 
 
 et Saturo Lectori fratri nostro mandaverim, ut singulis desideran- 
 
 tibus describendi faciat potestatem ; ut in Ecclesianiin statu quo- 
 
 quomodo interim componendo servetur omnibus iina et fida 
 
 consensio. 
 
 Cyp. op. 32. ed. Fell. p. 65. 
 
126 A Flea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 Two things appear to be settled by this letter :- 
 
 (1.) Cyprian would hardly dignify with the 
 appellation of his " colleagues," or invite to 
 Co-operation with himself in the affairs of his 
 own church, ministers with whom he did not, or' 
 would not, hold communion. 
 
 (2.) As these ministers, to whom his corres- 
 pondence with the Roman ministry was to be 
 imparted, belonged neither to the African nor 
 Roman church, but v/ere *' foreigners," 
 (peregrinis) it is clear, that the most intimate 
 ministerial communications was maintained 
 with churches of different nations and distant 
 places. 
 
 Observations like those upon Cyprian's ge- 
 neral correspondence, are applicable to the 
 letters of Athanasius, written at various times 
 to various individuals, orders, and churches. 
 But, for brevity's sake here also, one example 
 §hall suffice : 
 
 " There frequently comes to the city, a man 
 well qualified to preach in Greek. Whoever 
 study the gratification of their ears, hasten to 
 church, not to get healing to their souls, but 
 merely to catch the beauty of the compositioii.* 
 
 * That evil disease, the religious itch, which impoverishes the 
 seul to tickle the ear, is not only of long standing but of inve- 
 terate malignity. None languish more pitiably under its venom 
 than those who wish to be thought elegant Christians. Let theni. 
 pause- — they are likely to pay dear for a worthless gratification j 
 
p. II. Facts. — TJie Primitive Church, 127 
 
 The eloquent speaker goes away ; these tares 
 also go from the church, for they have nothing 
 of the wheat, nothing of faith. But the behever, 
 however elegantly the preacher speaks, makes 
 it his business to attend to what is said, whe- 
 ther it be in the Si/rian, Roma7i, or any other 
 tongue. For he regards the matter, not the words ."''^ 
 
 as " itching ears" naturally " turn away from the truth, and 
 are turned unto fablks." 
 
 * TiapayiVETai iroKKaKiQ uq ttoXiv avrip dvvafievoe oi^atTKeiy 
 TjWrjviffTt. 'O Tr}v aKOiqv QtkyofiEvOQ (nrsvdsL eig rrfV tKKKriffiavj 
 ov Tr]v larpeiav rrjg \pv^r]£^ aXAa t(jjv \o-/u>v to koXXoq 
 fiovov apiraaai. Aj'f^wpjjo-ev o evyXwrrwg XaXwv, ave^wpTjcs 
 Kai TTiQ eKKXr)(TiaQ to ^i^aviov ov yap cj^et to mrw^Ef, to 
 •Kiaroy. 'O ^e Triffrog, Kav evyXwrrwe (a) Xeyrj, ra Xsyofjieya 
 trirov^lu KaraKoxteiv K^y ^vpiirri, kccv P<t>jua«rri, k^v ^lofopia 
 yXMTTij' ov yap t,r]T£i Xoyovg, aXX' epya. 
 
 Athan. Horn, de Semente, Opp. T. II. 63. 
 
 ed. Benedict. 1698. Fol. 
 
 (a) Vide Cotelerii annot. ad Const. Apost. Lib. II. e. 58. T. I. 
 p. 269. This learned editor proposes to amend the text of Athan- 
 asius, by adding, after evyXwrr^e, the words kuv ayXorrwg, 
 so as to read " whether elegantly or inelegantly," But the addi- 
 tiou is unnecessary, if not hurtful, to the sense : the point of 
 which is, that serious Christians are not to be put oflF with the 
 eloquence of stile or manner. They look for something more and 
 something better. They look for their spiritual food in the " doc- 
 trine which is according to Godliness." This will compensate 
 thesm for the want of fine elocution, but the finest elocution will 
 not compensate for the want of this. 
 
12& A Pita for Cdtliolich Communion. 
 
 Alexandria, the city to which Athanasius 
 alludes, was the metropolis of what is known 
 in history as the Egyptian Diocese.* 
 
 From this extract it is clear that the churches 
 of Egypt, Syria, Italy, Greece, and indeed of 
 the whole world, held Christian and ministerial 
 communion with each other, as a ^natter of 
 course^ when opportunities occurred. 
 
 But not to multiply authorities which might 
 be tedious to the reader, and to put this point 
 at once beyond all question, there is, in the 
 compilation called the Apostolical constitutions , a 
 chapter with the following title : 
 • " Concerning letters of recommendation brought 
 hy STRANGERS, whether of the Laity, Clergy, 
 
 * Dioscesis, Aegyptiaca. According to Bingham, the 
 Archbishop of Alexandria, (at this time Athanasius himself,) 
 by whom the diocese was governed, had under him not only 
 about one hundred bishops, but it seems also, subordinate 
 Metropolitans or Archbishops : so as "to have the ordering 
 of ecclesiastical matters throughout all " Egypt, Thebais, 
 " Mareotes, Libya, Ammoniaca, Mareotis, and Pentapolis i^"* 
 i. e. a district comprehending several large provinces, exceeding 
 together nine hundi'ed miles in length, and five hundred iii 
 Breadth. Was this too an apostolick ordinance? Was thi^ 
 no alteration in the primitive order of the church ? Yet we 
 see that it did not break communion. 
 
p. II. Facts. — TJie Primitive Church. 129 
 
 or Bishops; and that there slwiild be no dis- 
 tinction,'' viz. between them and the members, 
 whether lay or clerical, of the church to which 
 they come. . 
 
 The chapter then proceeds : 
 
 " If there come from a church abroad 
 brethren or sisters with credentials, let tlie 
 deacon make the proper inquiry respecting 
 them, whether they profess the faith, belong 
 to the church, and be not contaminated with 
 heresy. And again, if a woman, whether she 
 be married or a widow. And thus having 
 ascertained that they are sound in the faith, 
 and of one accord with the church in the 
 things of the Lord, let him conduct every one 
 to his proper place. Should a presbyter come 
 from abroad, let him be received into ojjicial 
 communion by the presbyters. If a deacon, by 
 the deacon. If a bishop, let him take his seat 
 with the bishop, being accounted by him as 
 worthy of equal honour. And thou shalt 
 request him, O bishop, to address the people 
 i/'. the word of doctrine. For exhortation and 
 admonition by strangers is acceptable, and in 
 the highest degree useful. For no prophet, saith 
 Christ, is accepted in his own country. Tholi 
 shalt also employ him to offer the euchchrist : 
 And should he, out of respect to thee, with a 
 view, like a wise man, to maintain thy honour, 
 
 K 
 
L30 A Plea for Catholic^ Communion. 
 
 decline this service, thou shalt insist that he 
 at least bless the people''^ 
 
 Although these " Constitutions" are not of 
 apostolick authority, as the erratic and fanciful 
 Whiston imagined, f preferring them even 
 above the writings of a siiigle apostle; J but 
 the w^ork of some pretender two centuries 
 later, as the learned for the most part agree ; 
 yet they clearly show what was the state of 
 
 * Et he TiQ awo TTCipoiKiag a^eX^og r] ahe\(pri etteX^ 
 GV-aGiv EirLKOfiiCo^evoi^ Siaicorog exiKpivErw ra Kar avrovg, 
 
 aVUKplVOJV EL TVL'^OL, C/ifcXjJCTiaTtKOt, EL [JLTj UTTO aip£(TEW£ EKTl 
 
 u.Eao\v!TjXEVOi. Kcu ^toKlv, el vTravdpog rj x»?pa* Kai ovrta 
 yvovg ra kcit avrovg, ihg ektlv aXi]db)g ttl'^ol kul ofxoyviofxovEg 
 Ev TOLg KvpLaKoig, mrayETW ekw^ov Eig rov irpoffTjKovra avra 
 T07COV. El ^£ KaL 7rp£iTJ3vrEpog ciTTO TrapoLKiag etteXBoi, 
 
 '7rpoad£yE(jdu> vtto tu)v Trpea-fivTEpwv KoivioviKog' el ^e hiuKOvog^ 
 viro Twv liaicovdov' el ce ETngKoiroc, aw rw ETTiaKOTro) (ca^e^etrflw, 
 rrjg avrrjg a'i^ioviiEVog vtc avrov Tifxrjg. Kai Epojrrjo-Eig avrov, 
 b) ETTiaKoojE, vpoaXaXi^aaL rio Xaw Xoyovg, ^ihaKTiKovg' >/ yap 
 TWV ^EVO)V TrapaKXr/ffLg Kj vovBEcria EVTrapaheKTOc Kj wfrjXifXMrarr) 
 cr(pohpa. OvOELg yap TrpofrjTtjgj (l)r)(Tiv, CEKTog ev rr) iSia TraTpici. 
 
 T^TTLTpe-ipELg ^' aVTO) KUL T7]V EV^apL^LUV avoicTai' Eav ^£, CL 
 
 EvXafjEiav, o)g iTO(j)og, rrfv Ti/xrjv (tol rrjpwv, firj ^sXtjcnj 
 avEVEyicai, Kq.v Eig rov Xaov EvXoyiav avrov Troir]aracr&cu 
 Karavayicaareig. 
 
 Const. App. Lib. II. c, 58. ap. PP. App. ed. Cotel. 
 
 Tom. I. p. 268, 9. 
 t Whiston's pn'm. Christianity revived. VoL HI. p. II. 
 ; lb, p. 4. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Primitive Church. 131 
 
 the church respecting communion at the time 
 they were composed ; and what was the 
 current opinion concerning her uniform prac- 
 tice. Little stress, indeed, is to be laid on 
 that opinion, simply as such ; for it was un- 
 deniably erroneous in some other things of 
 moment. But as it coincides with the scriptural 
 doctrine of the unity of the church, and with 
 facts established by different witnesses, it is 
 entitled to more than ordinary credit in the 
 present argument. The mere fact of this 
 catholick communion, both Christian and 
 ministerial, being so sedulously kept up in 
 the third or fourth century, furnishes an almost 
 demonstrative proof that it was so from the 
 beginning. Human vanity and policy breed 
 discord, not peace ; put asunder what God 
 has joined ; never join what the Devil has put 
 asunder. So that the one communion of the 
 church, being directly contrary to the cor- 
 ruption of man and the interest of hell, could 
 never have existed without the ordinance and 
 operation of God. 
 
 It has now been proved, we hope, to the 
 conviction of the reader, that the communion 
 for which these pages plead, viz. the free and 
 full interchange of fellowship in all evangelical 
 ordinances, between believers of every name, 
 on the broad basis of their agreement in the 
 substantial doctrines of the cross, is precisely 
 
 K 2 
 
1-32 A Plea for CathoUck Commimion. 
 
 that communion which was maintained in the 
 primitive church, beginning with the days and 
 the example of the Apostles themselves. The 
 local and party exceptions to this general 
 position are furnished by the Novatians, Do- 
 natists and Luciferians, who have already been 
 noticed. The two former brought the principle 
 of catholick communion to a rigorous test: 
 and the discussions respecting their schisms, 
 terminated, as we have seen, in its triumph 
 as a principle of the most sacred obligation. 
 
 The sect of Luceferians, so named from 
 Lucifer, bishop of CagUari, in Sardima, was 
 •too feeble and ephemeral to attract regard on 
 the general question. The same remark ap- 
 plies to those very partial suspensions of 
 communion which arose most frequently from 
 personal considerations; and were rather effu- 
 sions of passion and spleen, than expressions 
 of opinions deliberately adopted, or authori- 
 tative precedents likely to be followed. They 
 were just sufficient to show the strength of 
 the ties which they endeavoured to break; 
 and to establish the doctrine which they 
 might be quoted to discredit. That doctrine, 
 which ■ the present argument aims to revive 
 and recommend ; and which the authour is 
 confident no material facts can be found to 
 invalidate. 
 
 Here, then, we take leave of the church in 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation. 133 
 
 her primitive state. Very soon did she forsake 
 and dishonour her holy caUing. Even in the 
 fourth century many grievous abuses had 
 Sprung up, grown rank, and brought forth 
 their poisonous fruit, especially in her vi^orship 
 and government. The policy of Coxstantixe 
 which secularized her form; his profusion, 
 which corrupted her virtue ; anil the meretri- 
 cious attire which banished her modesty, 
 prepared her for rapid infidelities to her 
 Lord, and for her final prostitution to the 
 Max of Six. From the fifth century may 
 be dated that career of shame which, par- 
 ticularly in the Western empire, she ran, with 
 wild incontinence, through the night of the 
 *' dark ages;" until she was branded from 
 above as the " Mother of Harlots axd 
 
 ABOMIXATIOXS OF THE EARTH."* 
 
 To carry down the inductions of facts during 
 these opprobrious centuries, would be an idle 
 expenditure of time and toil, as its results 
 would be of no value in the eyes of those for 
 whom these pages are penned. Omitting them 
 altogether, we resume our thread at that 
 eventful crisis, when the faithful remnant heard 
 and obeyed the mandate of their God. " Come 
 
 * Rev. xvii. 5. 
 
134 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 out of lier, my people, that ye be riot partakers of 
 her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues''^ 
 
 The reader perceives at once, that we allude 
 to the Reformation from Popery. 
 
 All who are conversant with the history of 
 that stupendous revolution, know that it turned 
 mainly on two points, viz. the faith and ivorship 
 of the church. The one was to be reclaimed 
 from its manifold perversions ; and the other 
 to to be disencumbered of a monstrous ritual. 
 By the first, the light of life in the doctrine of 
 the gospel was almost extinguished ; and by 
 the second, men were bowed down under a 
 load of superstitions which Fraud had been 
 accumulating for ages upon the back of 
 Igxorance. Both these evils were to be re- 
 medied. Truth was to be restored to her purity, 
 and worship to her simplicity. The minds of men 
 were to be liberated from their bondage, and the 
 word of God to reassume its authority. Tradition 
 was to fall under the sword of the command- 
 ment; and, " Thus saith the Lord," to dissipate 
 the figments of the elders. The mantle of the 
 Apostles fell upon the Reformers ; while the 
 *' Spirit of judgment and of burning," both 
 enlightened their path, and devoured the 
 thorns and briars which impeded their march. 
 
 * Rev. xviii. 4. 
 
p. ir. Facts.' — The Reformation. 135 
 
 The interests which they rose to vindicate ; 
 the severity of the conflict which they had to 
 sustain ; and the long train of consequences 
 which were to flow from their measures, called 
 forth that mighty talent, magnanimous feeling', 
 and elevated principle, which have nothing to 
 throw away upon trifles ; but endless treasures 
 of intellect and toil, of suffering and blood, to 
 lavish in the cause of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Protestant churches, therefore, from 
 the Reformation downwards, shall furnish our 
 
 Third class of facts. 
 
 On the several points enumerated above, viz. 
 defective moral discipline — different rites of 
 worship — diflferent views of external order — 
 and different opinions in subordinate doctrines, 
 there was a marked coincidence between the 
 views of the Reformers and of the primitive 
 Christians ; both agreeing that they are not 
 sufficient grounds of disunion among Christians, 
 nor of their excluding each other from the most 
 tender and ample fellowship in tlie things of 
 God. In the case of the Reformers this is 
 the more worthy of notice as a proof of their 
 having imbibed the pure spirit of the gospel ; 
 seeing they did not, like the first heralds of the 
 cross, issue from one nation and one spot with 
 simultaneous commissions, and after having 
 been educated together for several years by the 
 master himself : but were of different countries^ 
 
136 A Plea for Catholick Commumon. 
 
 languages, habits, prejudices; many of them 
 absolute strangers to each other, yet all drawing 
 their doctrines out of the one well of salvation — 
 the holy scripture. Their concord, therefore, 
 in matters about w^hich they had no guide but 
 the word of God, can hardly be attributed to 
 another cause than his " sending forth his light 
 and his truth." And they did declare them- 
 selves, very abundantly, both in word and 
 deed, upon the subject now before us. 
 • Their adversaries, the Papists, from whose 
 communion they had separated, denied their 
 whole claim to the character of Christian 
 churches. To repel such a charge, it was 
 necessary to determine from the word of God 
 what constitutes the true church; to give its 
 distinctive marks; and to show that they be- 
 longed to it themselves. In doing this, they 
 fixed upon such characteristics as are common, 
 even at the present hour, to all the churches 
 of Reformed Christendom, which have not lost 
 the faith of the Trinity and the atonement. 
 These characteristics are generally summed 
 up, in their confessions, under two heads. 
 
 1st. The pure doctrine of the gospel. 
 
 2d. The right administration of the sacra- 
 ments. 
 
 " The Church," says the Augustan con- 
 fession, drawn up by Melancthon, in 1530, 
 revised by Luther and other divines, and 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation. 137 
 
 published as the authentic expression of the 
 Lutheran faith, " The church, properly so 
 called, has her signs, viz. the pure and sound 
 doctrine of the gospel, and the right use of 
 the sacraments ; and for the true unity of the 
 Church, it is sufficient to agree in the doctrine of 
 the gospel and the right use of the sacraments.''* 
 That such was the sense of the Protestant 
 world, is evident from the testimonies referred 
 to in the margin, which afe not transcribed, 
 as it would only be a series of tautologies, 
 the very same thing being asserted nearly in 
 the same words.f What is meant by the " pure 
 gospel," and the due administration of the 
 sacraments, must be ascertained from the 
 confessions themselves. That they vary in 
 certain particulars ; some being more full, and 
 
 * Habet Ecclesia proprie dicta, signa sua, scilicet, purani 
 et sanam evangelii doctrinam, et rectum usum sacramentorum. 
 Et ad veram unitatem ecclesiae satis est consentire de doctrina 
 evangelii, et administratione Sacramentorum. 
 
 Syntag: Conf. p. 2. p. 13. Art. conf. vii. 
 
 t See apud Syntagma confessionum. 
 ruXFESS. Argentinens: a. D. 1530 Synt. part. I, p. 239 
 
 BOKOEMIC: 
 
 1535 
 
 2 - . 248 
 
 WiRTEMBURG : 
 
 1551 
 
 - . 184 
 
 Gallican: 
 
 1561 
 
 I - - 107 
 
 Anglic: 
 
 1562 
 
 - - 180 
 
 Helvet: 
 
 1566 
 
 - - 53 
 
 ScoTic: 
 
 1568 
 
 - . 150 
 
138 A Plea Jh?^ Catholick Communion, 
 
 others more brief; some more, and others 
 less precise ; some having what others want ; 
 and some even maintaining, in secondary mat- 
 ters, what has not the sanction of the rest is 
 unquestionable. It would have been a wonder 
 equal to the fable of the seventy-two translators 
 of the Old Testament into Greek,* had no such 
 diversity happened. But nothing can be more 
 clear or consoling than their harmony in all the 
 leading doctrines of the gospel, which are 
 known at this day as the doctrines of the 
 Reformation. Around these Christians ral- 
 lied with one heart and one soul. These were 
 the basis of their union and communion. Nor 
 is there such a thing as a sectarian note of 
 the church to be found either among their 
 public instruments of profession, or in any 
 protestant writer of eminence with v/hom the 
 authour is acquainted, whether of that or of 
 a subsequent age. 
 
 Now that they judged their concord in the 
 
 * The story is. that Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, 
 about two centuries and a half before Christ, shut up seventy- 
 two learned Jews, who had been sent from Jerusalem to trans- 
 late the law, in seventy-two different cells, till they had finished 
 their translation: when, mirahile dictii! the seventy- two versions 
 a'greed throughout in every tittle^ even to the very words .'.'" 
 See Justin: Martyr: cohort, ad Groecos^ p. 73. ed. Grabe. 
 8vo. 1703, 
 
p. 11. Facts. — The Reformation. 139 
 
 'capital articles of faith to be sufficient for 
 every purpose of Christian unity and fellow- 
 ship, is plain from their obvious intention, 
 which was, to justify themselves and their 
 principles from the calumnies of their adver- 
 saries. The great crime with which they were 
 charged was their renouncing the church. 
 They were stigmatised as schismatics, heretics, 
 fanatics, apostates, profligates. They replied, 
 that their departure was a matter not of choice, 
 but of necessity ; that they had no alternative 
 but to part with popery or with piety ; to put 
 their souls in jeopardy, or to withdraw from 
 Rome : and that instead of apostatising from 
 Jesus Christ, they were only returning to 
 the ancient faith which Rome had forsaken. 
 They accordingly laid open her abominations 
 to the world ; and with their bible in the 
 one hand, and their confession in the other^ 
 they proclaimed the truth which is " according 
 to godliness," Certainly, if it was to enjoy this 
 truth, and the worship connected with it, that 
 they broke communion with Rome, their very 
 act declares it to be the ground of communion 
 with each other ; for if it were not so, and so 
 viewed, they would have been self-convicted of 
 having lost the church of God in their zeal to 
 reform her, inasmuch as they would not have 
 retained enough to erect a church-communion. 
 But if they were not guilty of such folly; if 
 
140 A Plea f 07' Catholick Communmi. 
 
 they committed no such ridiculous suicide, as 
 every Protestant will insist; then it follows 
 that the doctrines of their confessions being 
 substantially the same, and excluding, often 
 avowedly, their other differences as not essential, 
 were, in their own eyes, the true and broad 
 foundation of church-communion. 
 
 This conclusion grows out of the very struc- 
 ture of their confessions ; but they have fortified 
 it by declarations which are of the nature, 
 and almost in the form, of a protest against 
 disunion, on account of those peculiar features 
 which may distinguish the churches of one 
 country or name from those of another without 
 infringing upon their common faith. All such 
 peculiarities, whether in government, worship, 
 discipline, manners, or modifications of doctrine, 
 they held to be subjects of brotherly forbear- 
 ance ; and no just cause of dissension, far less 
 of sectarian communion. On the contrary, like 
 the primitive christians, they maintained, that 
 the one church of God, scattered over the 
 whole earth, ought to have but one communion. 
 So that whoever is in communion with one 
 part of the Catholick church, is, by this very 
 fact, in communion with every other part ; 
 and is so to be acknowledged, received, and 
 cherished. 
 
 Lest L should be thought to exaggerate, they 
 shall speak for themselves. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Heformatlon. 141 
 
 The AuGSBURGH confession, (A. D. 1530,) 
 *' condemns the Donatists and their like."* 
 Now the Donatists, as was shown above, broke 
 off from the Catholick church on pretence of 
 her having bad men in her communion, and 
 even in her ministry. This, say the Lutheran 
 Protestants, was not a sufficient cause : they 
 of course condemn all those churches who 
 refuse communion with others on account of 
 defective moral discipline. 
 
 The Belgic confession, i. e. of Calvinist 
 Protestants in the United Provinces, (1561,) 
 thus lays down their faith respecting the 
 church : 
 
 *' We beheve and confess one catholick or 
 universal church; which is the true congre- 
 gation or assembly of all faithful Christians 
 who expect their whole salvation from Christ 
 Jesus alone ; as they are washed in his blood, 
 and sanctified and sealed by his Spirit. This 
 holy church is limited to no particular place 
 or person, but is spread over the whole earth ; 
 yet, through the power of faith, is joined and 
 united, all of it, by affection and will, in one 
 and the same spirit. 
 
 " We believe; that since this sacred assem- 
 bly and congregation consists of those who 
 
 * Art. viii, 
 
142: A Plea for Catholick Communimi. 
 
 shall be saved, and there is no salvatioii out of 
 it, no person, of whatever rank or dignity, may> 
 withdraw himself therefrom, so as to live sepa- 
 rately contented with his oivn custom only. But 
 oji the contrary, that all are bound to join 
 themselves to this assembly and carefully to 
 preserve the unity of the church, and freely to 
 submit themselves to her doctrine and dis- 
 cipline, bowing their neck to the yoke of 
 Christ; and as members in common of the 
 same body, to lay themselves out for the 
 edification of their brethren, as God has bestowed 
 his gifts upon them respectively. Moreover, 
 that these things may be the better observed, 
 it is the duty of all believers to disjoin them- 
 selves from those who are without the church, 
 and to join themselves to this assembly and 
 congregation of the faithful, whe?'ever God has 
 formed it. Whoever, therefore, shall forsake 
 that true church, or shall refuse to comiect 
 themselves with itj' (in whatever part of the 
 world it be,) " do openly resist the commandment 
 of God. 
 
 " We believe that the utmost diligence and 
 prudence are to be used in determining, ac- 
 cording to the word of God, which is that 
 true church, since all the sects upon earth 
 lay claim to the same title. We do not now 
 speak of hypocrites who are mingled with 
 good men in the church, although they do 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation. 143 
 
 not properly belong to her, but of distinguish- 
 ing the body and congregation of the true 
 church from all other sects which falsely 
 boast of being members thereof. 
 
 " By the following marks, therefore, shall 
 the true church be distinguished from the false. 
 If there flourish there the pure pleaching of the 
 gospel^ and the legitimate administration of the 
 sacraments according to the command of Christ. 
 If, moreover, right discipline be applied for the 
 coercion of vice ; if, in fine, to sum up all in 
 one word, she reduce every thing to the rule of 
 God's word, reject all things contrary thereunto, 
 and acknowledge Christ to he her 07dy head. By 
 these marks, we say, may be known the true 
 church, from which it is not lawful for" any one 
 to separate himself." * 
 
 ♦ Credimus et confitemur unicam Ecclesiam Catholicam, seu 
 Hniversaleni. Quce est vera congregatio seu ccetus oiunium 
 i&delium Christianorum, qui totam suam salutem ab uno Jesu 
 Christo expectant quatenus videlicet ipsius sanguine sunt abluti, 
 et per Spiritum ejus sanctificati atque obsignati. Haec porro 
 Ecclesia ut ab initio mundi, fuit, ita et usque ad ejus finpni 
 est perduratura. Id vel ex eo apparet, quod Cliristus rex 
 ffiturnus est, qui nunquam sine subditis esse potest. Ca?teruin 
 banc Ecclesiam Deus contra omnem mundi furorem et impetum 
 tuetur; quanivis ad aliquod tenipus parva adniodum et quasi 
 extincta in conspectu hominum appareat ; quemadmodum tempore 
 ijio periculosissimo Achabi Deus sibi septem Uiillia virorum 
 resei'vasse dicitur, qui nou flexcrcuit genu coram Baal. 
 
144 A Plea f 01^ CathoUck Co7nrminion. 
 
 Some of these expressions are very strong : 
 and, to one not acquainted with the circum- 
 stances under which they v/ere used, may 
 look as if they required spotless perfection in 
 a true church ; or absokite agreement in all 
 views of scriptural institutions. But the readei^ 
 must not permit himself to be carried away by 
 such a mistake ; nothing could be further from 
 the intention of this " good confession." Its 
 object is to show the Protestant church to 
 be a true church in opposition to the church of 
 Rome ; as is manifest from the sequel of this 
 very article, where the false church is described 
 as *' always attributing more to herself, her 
 
 Denique haec Ecclesia sancta iiullo est aut certo loco sita et 
 circumscripta, aut ullis certis ac singularibus personis astricta 
 aut alligata. Sed per omnem orbem terrarum sparsa atque 
 diffusa, quamvis anirao ac voluntate in uno eodemque spiritu, 
 virtute fidei, tota sit simul conjuncta atque unita. 
 
 Credimus summa sum diligentia, turn prudentia, ex Dei' 
 verbo esse inquirendum ac discernendum qusenam sit ilia vera 
 Ecclesia: quandoquidem omnes sectEe, quotquot hodie in mundo 
 vigent, EcclesiaB titulem nomenque usurpant atque praetexunt. 
 Nequaquam verb de hypocritarum coetu nunc loquimur, qui 
 bonis in Ecclesia sunt permisti, licet ad Ecclesiam proprie non 
 pertineant, in qua corpore sunt prsesentes; sed de distinguendo 
 duntaxat verae Ecclesise corpore ac congregatione, ab aliis 
 omnibus sectis quae se Ecclesiae membra esse falso gloriantur. 
 His igitur notis vera Ecclesia falsa discernekir. Si in ilia 
 pura Evangelii praedicatio legitimaque Sacramentorum ex Christi 
 
p. ir. Facts. — The Reformation. 14.5 
 
 institutions, and traditions, than to the word 
 of God — as not subjecting herself to the yoke 
 of Christ — as not administering the sacraments 
 according to his prescription ; but one while 
 adding to them, and another diminishing from 
 them- — as always relying more upon men than 
 upon Christ ; and as persecuting those who 
 aim at holy conformity to his law, and who 
 arraign her avarice, -idolatry, and other vices."* 
 Such phrases, therefore, as " the pure preach- 
 ing of the gospel" — " the administration of the 
 sacraments^6'cor^/7zo" to the command of Christ'^ 
 — " the right use of discipline" — " the reducing 
 every thing to the rule of GocFs ivorcF — ^' the 
 rejection of all things contrary thereto," must 
 be interpreted not so much of the actual attain- 
 ment of scriptural perfection by any churches 
 whatever, as of their avowed standard; the 
 test to which they submit their pretensions ; 
 and of their substantial character, whatever, 
 ill other respects, might be their failings or 
 differences. That this is the true meaning,. the 
 following considerations make evident : 
 
 praescripto adininistratio vigeat; si item recta disciplina Eccle- 
 siastica utatur ad coercenda vitia ; si denique, (ut uno verbo 
 cuncta complectamur,) ad norniau verbi Dei omnia exigat, ct 
 quaecunque huic adversantur, repudiet : Chi'istumque unicum 
 caput agnoscat. His, inquam, notis cerium est veram Ecclesiam 
 dignosci posse ; a qua fas non sit quonquam disjungi. 
 * Belgic; Confess, art 29. apud Sxjnt. Conf. part. I. p. 179. 
 
 L 
 
146 A Pled for Catholich Communion. 
 
 (1.) The Belgic churches themselves had not 
 then, and have not since, arrived at such purity 
 as their own confession, according to certain 
 expressions separately taken, seems to require.. 
 And they surely did not intend to say that 
 they had not themselves true churches, and 
 were unworthy of communion with others. 
 
 (2.) The churches adopting this confession, 
 approved the confession of the Swiss churches,; 
 commonly called the Helvetic confession, which, 
 as we shall presently see, disclaims the idea 
 of withdrawing from communion with the 
 churches of Germany, France, England, and 
 other Christian nations.* Their own act, 
 therefore, proclaims their communion with 
 these foreign churches, and no construction 
 may be put upon their words which shall 
 contradict their own practical commentary. 
 
 (3.) This same Belgic confession was unani- 
 mously approved by the continental divines at 
 the synod of Dordt, A. D. 1619 ; as " containing 
 no doctrine adverse to the declarations of holy 
 scripture; but, on the contrary, as agreeing 
 with the truth, and with the confessions of 
 the other reformed churches,"! It cannot, 
 then, be fairly understood in a sense hostile 
 
 * Syntag. Confess, part I. p. 4. 
 
 t Acta Synod. Dordrechtanje, Sess. cxlvi. p. 301 
 Dord. 1620. ' 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation. 147 
 
 to those confessions ; if we allow the delegates 
 from almost all Protestant Christendom to 
 have known any thing of the faith of their 
 respective churches : and among these churches 
 there was then, as there is now, great diversity 
 in many things. 
 
 The Belgic confession, therefore, waving all 
 minor differences between Christians, and bent 
 on supporting the great things of their com- 
 mon faith, contends for the church's unity on 
 this consecrated ground; and insists that it is. 
 the duty of every one who loves the Lord 
 Jesus> to hold communion with her through 
 the medium of any one of her branches to 
 which he may have access in any part of the 
 world. If there be but a true church, that is 
 enough to justify his participation of her ordi- 
 ^ances; and if she be the only true church, 
 there, to render such participation his hounden 
 duty. Thus the Belgic confession, and of course, 
 all who approved it. 
 
 As for rites, ceremonies, modifications of 
 external order, &c. which form the chief 
 differences among churches who hold the 
 main doctrines of faith, those same Christian 
 heroes, of whom thousands and ten thousands 
 were enrolled in " the noble army of martyrs," 
 speak in the following manner : 
 
 Augustan confession. " If doctrine and 
 faith be pure, no one, on account of dissimi- 
 
 Lv2 
 
148 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 lltude in human traditions, is to be deemed 
 a heretick, or a deserter of the Catholick 
 church. For the unity of the Cathohck church 
 Consists in the harmony of doctrine and faiths 
 not in human traditions ^ whereof there has 
 always been in the churches throughout the- 
 whole ivorld a great diversity*'^' 
 
 The BoHCEMic confession. " AUhough the 
 external face and form of our churches be now 
 peculiar, yet this is done for no other reason 
 than greater convenienx^e in teaching the word, 
 administering the sacraments, and terminating 
 disputes among brethren who may consult us. 
 As also for the exercise of discipline, by ex- 
 communicating those whose conduct merits 
 correction, and who, thtDugh infamous for their 
 open enormities, refuse to repent; and by re- 
 admitting them, upon repentance, to the 
 fellowship of the church, and the sacrament of 
 the Eucharist. We are not, therefore, separated 
 from the Catholick church, seeing we enjoy all 
 those things which properly appertain to her. 
 
 * Ia externis traditionibus abusus ,quidani mutati sunt; 
 quarum etiam si qua est dissimihtudo, si tamen doctrina et 
 fides pura sit, nemo propter illam traditionum humanarum 
 dissimilitudinem Iiabendus est hssreticus, aut desertor CatholicaS 
 Ecclesiee. Nam unitas Catholicas Ecclesiae consistit in doctrinae 
 et fidei consensu ^ non in traditionibus huraanis, quarum semper 
 in Ecclesiis per totum orbem magna fuit dissimilitudo. 
 
 August. Conf. Art. XXL 
 
p. ir. Facts. — The Reformation. 149 
 
 " As to the differences which may obtain 
 among the churches in external rites or ceremo- 
 nies, we think it of no importance ; for these 
 greatly vary among Christians according to va- 
 riety of place and nation. Ceremonies change; 
 but faith, Christ, the word, change not. There- 
 fore, a variety of ceremonies, if they be not 
 repugnant to the word of God, neither does> 
 harm to Christianity, nor separates from the 
 church. For true religion or Christian piety 
 does not consist in external rites or ceremonies,; 
 but in spiritual benefits : in righteousness, faith, 
 joy, peace, and true worship : there being first 
 laid, (as saith Paul) the foundation of the 
 apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself 
 being the chief corner stone, in whom, what- 
 ever building be compacted, it groweth unto aA 
 holy temple in the Lord."* See also the whole 
 
 * Quanquam autem nunc juxta externam faciem, et moduni 
 peculiarem habemus congregationem : hoc tamen apud nos non ob 
 aliud fit, quam ut commodius doceamus verbum, ministremus 
 Sacramenta, controversias et lites, si quando inter fratres expri- 
 antur, et nos cotisulant, dirimaraus, et ad Ecclesiasticara. disci- 
 plinam exercendam erga eos qui correctione digna committunt, 
 quique manifestis flagitiis infames, resipiscere nolunt, ut excom- 
 municatione ab Ecclesiis arceantur. Ubi vero resipuerunt, 
 vursum ad consortium Ecclesi® et Eucharistiae sacramenta ui ad- 
 mittantur. Non igitur ab Ecclesia catholica segregamur, cum. 
 earum rerum omnium quae propriae Ecclesiae sunt uisura habeamus. 
 . Quantum vero attiaet ad extemos ritus aut ceremonias, sicubi 
 
150 A Plea for Cathdlich Communion. 
 
 eighth article in the confession itself, " concern- 
 ing the holy Catholick church." 
 
 The Saxon confession. " In the mean time 
 there have been, and are, and will be, in the 
 church of God, men holding the foundation, 
 who have and have had, and will have, some 
 more some less light ; and sometimes saints too 
 build stubble upon the foundation ; since, espe- 
 cially in the wretchedness of the present times, 
 inany who have the beginnings of faith have not 
 the privilege of being instructed, and of con- 
 ferring with those who are more skilful. These, 
 however, are in the number of those whom it 
 is the will of God we should spare, (Ezek. 9.) 
 who groan and grieve on account of established 
 ferrour. A judgment, therefore, must and may 
 be formed chiefly from the voice of doctrine. 
 
 dissimiles in Ecclesiis sint, nihil referre putamus ; nam apud alios 
 alia}, pro gentium ac locorum verietate, inter Christianos 
 existunt. Mutantur ceremonife, non mutatur fides, Christus, aut 
 verbum. Non ergo aliae ceremoniae, si minus pugnent verbo 
 Dei, incommodant Christianismo, nee separant ab Ecclesia: 
 Non enim hsec religio aut Christiana pietas in ceremoniis aut 
 titibus extemis sita est, sed in spiritalibus bonis, justitia, fide, 
 gaudio, pace et vero eultu, jacto fundaraento (ut Paulus ait) 
 Apostolorum et Prophetarum, summo angulari lapide Christo 
 Jesu, in quo quacunque structura coagmentatur, ea crescit in 
 templura sanctum in Domino — 
 
 CoNF. BoHOEM. praif. apud. Syntag. Conf. 
 
 part 2. p. 232. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation. 1.51 
 
 what and where is the true church, which, by 
 the voice of true doctrine and the legitimate 
 use of the sacraments, is distinguished from all 
 other human societies ; and what the voice of 
 true doctrine is, the very writings of the 
 apostles and prophets, and the creeds, suffi- 
 ciently declare. In these there is no ambiguous 
 doctrine concerning the foundation, viz. con- 
 cerning the articles of faith, the essence and 
 will of God, the redemption of the Son, the 
 law, the promises, the use of the sacraments, 
 the ministry" — * 
 
 The Helvetic confession. " We lay so 
 great stress upon communion with the true 
 
 * Interea tamen fuerunt, sunt, et erunt in ecclesia Dei 
 homines retinentes fundamentum, etiamsi alii plus alii minus lucis 
 habuerunt, habent, et habebunt ; et interdum sancti etiam stipulas 
 extruunt supra fundamentum : cum praesertim in hac temporum 
 miseria multis qui habent initia fidei non concedatur ut erudiri et 
 cum doctioribus colloqui possint. Hi sunt tamen in eorum numero 
 quibus jubet Deus parci (jEzech. 9.) Qui gemont et dolent 
 propterea quod errores stabiliantur. Praecipue igitur et voce 
 doctrinse judicandum est, et judicari potest, quae et ubi sit vera 
 ecclesia quas voce veras doctrinae, deiude et legitime usu sacra- 
 mentorum ab aliis gentibus discernitur : et quae sit vox veraa 
 doctrinae ostendunt ipsa scripta prophetica et apostolica, et 
 symbola. In his non est ambigua doctrina de fundamento ; 
 videlicet, de articulis fidei, de essentia et voluntate Dei, de Filio 
 Redemptore, de lege, de promissionibus, de usu sacrameutorum^ 
 de ministerio. 
 
 Saxon : Conf. Art. 12. Synt. Conf. part. 2. p. 98. 
 
1^2 A Pka for Catholick^ Communion. 
 
 church of Christ, as to deny that they cg,n livq 
 before God, who do not communicate with the 
 true church of God but separate themselves 
 therefrom."* The confession then protests 
 against harsh judgment and conduct on account 
 of individual infirmity, or of abuses and corrup- 
 tions in particular churches ; and adds, " It is 
 to be observed, that we diligently teach in what 
 the truth and unity of the church principally 
 consist; that we may not rashly excite and 
 cherish schisms in the church. It consists not in 
 ceremonies and external rites, but rather i?i the 
 truth and unity of the CathoUck faith. The Ca 
 thoUck faith has not been delivered to us in humcin 
 laws, but in the divine scripture of which tJie 
 apostles' creed is a compend. Whence we read 
 that among the ancients there was great 
 diversity of rites which were entirely free, and 
 by which no one ever imagined the unity of 
 the church to be dissolved.''^ 
 
 * Communionem vero cum Ecclesia Christi vera tanti facimus, 
 iitnegeraus eos coram Deo vivere posse qui cum vera. Dei ecclesia 
 non communicant, sed ab ea se separant. 
 
 SvNTiiG : CoNF. p. 1. p. 54. art. 17. 
 
 f Observandum pragterea, diligenter docemus in quo potissi- 
 ni^m sit sita Veritas et unitas ecclesice, ne temere schismata 
 excitemus et in ecclesia foveamus. Sita est ilia non in casremo- 
 niis et ritibus externis, sed magis in veritate et unitate fidei 
 catholicae. Fides catholica non e.st nobis tradita humanis legibus, 
 ged seriptura divina cujus compendium est Symbolum Apostolic 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation. 153 
 
 , , In regard to rites and ceremonies, the 
 twenty-seventh article remarks, " That if dis- 
 cordant rites are found in the churches, let no 
 one, therefore, imagine, that the churches are 
 disunited. * It would be impossible,' says 
 Socrates,* ' to detail all the rites of the 
 churches in different countries. No religious 
 sects observe the same rites, although they 
 embrace the same doctrine concerning them. 
 For they who are of the same faith disagree with 
 each other about their rites.' Thus he. And 
 we, at this day, with different rites through our 
 churches in celebrating the Lord's supper, and 
 in some other things, do nevertheless preserve 
 agreement in doctrine and faith ; nor is the 
 unity and intercourse of our churches, by that 
 difference, torn asunder. The churches have 
 always used their liberty in such rites, as being 
 indifferent. And we do the same at this day."f 
 
 cum. Uiide legimus apud veteres rituum fuisse diversitatem 
 
 variam, sed earn liberam, qua nemo unquam existimavit dissolvi 
 
 unitatera ecclesiasticam. 
 
 Ib. p. 56. Art. ir. 
 
 * The ecclesiastical historian. 
 
 t Quod si in ecclesiis dispares inveniuntur ritus, nemo eccle- 
 sias existiraet ex eo esse dissidentes. Socrates, " Impossible 
 fuerit," inquit, " omnes ecclesiarum quae per civitates et regiones 
 sunt ritus conscribere. Nulla religio eosdem ritus custodit, 
 etiamsi eandem de illis doctrinam amplecatur. Etenim qui 
 ^jusdem sunt fidei, de ritibus inter se dissentiunt." Hsc ille. Et 
 
154 A Plea Jor Catlwlick Communion, 
 
 And lest any doubt or difficulty should re» 
 main on this subject, the subscribers to the 
 Helvetic confession thus express themselves in 
 their preface : 
 
 " Impartial readers will clearly perceive that 
 we have no communion with any sects or 
 heresies, which, for this very end, we mention 
 and reject in almost every chapter. They ^vill, 
 therefore, infer also, that we do not, by any 
 nefarious schism, separate and rend ourselves from 
 the holy churches of Christ, in Germany, France, 
 England, and other Christian nations: but that 
 we thoroughly agree with all and each of them 
 in this confession of Christ's truth, and embrace 
 them in unfeigned love : ' and although there be 
 discovered, in different churches, a certain 
 variety of expression and form of explaining 
 doctrine ; as also of rites or ceremonies accor- 
 ding to the received usage, convenience and 
 edification of particular churches, yet they will 
 notice, that these things never furnished, in any 
 period of the church, ground of dissentions 
 
 nos hodie ritus diversos in celebratione coenee Domini et in aliis 
 
 nonnnllis rebus habentes in nostris ecclesiis, in doctrina tamen et 
 
 fide non dissidemus, neqtfe unitas societasque ecclesiarum nostra- 
 
 rum ca re discinditur. Semper vero ecclesiae in hujusmodi ritibns, 
 
 sicut mediis, usaB sunt libertate. Id quod nos hodie quoque 
 
 facimus. 
 
 Ib. p. 82. 
 
p. ir. Facts. — The Reformatim, 155 
 
 and schism. The churches of Christ, as eccle- 
 siastical history shows, have always used their 
 liberty in this matter. For pious antiquity that 
 mutual agreement in the principal points of faith, 
 in orthodox understanding, and in brotherly 
 love, was abundantly sufficient'."* The rest of 
 the preface is in the same strain. 
 
 Let us briefly sum up the doctrine of these 
 extracts from the confession of the Swiss 
 churches. — They contend, 
 
 (1.) For liberty in rites and ceremonies of 
 worship — 
 
 * Ergo manifestissime ex his nostris aequi deprehendent 
 lectores, nihil nos quoque habere coramunionis cum ullis sectis 
 atque heeresibus quarum, hoc consilio, in singulis prope capitibus 
 mentionem facimus, easque rejicientes perstringimus. Colligent 
 itaque et illud, nos a Sanctis Christi ecclesiis GermaniiB, Gallice^ 
 AnglicB, aliarumque in orbe Christiano nationura, nefario schis- 
 mate non sejungere atque abrumpere : sed cum ipsis omnibus et 
 singulis, in hac confessa veritate Christiana, probe coosentire; 
 ipsasque charitate sincera complecti. 
 
 Tametsi vero in diversis ecclesiis quasdam deprehenditur varietaa 
 in loquutionibus et modo expositionis doctrinae, in ritibus item vel 
 ceremoniis, eaque recepta pro ecclesiarum quarumlibet ratione, 
 opportunitate, et edificatione ; nunquam tamen ea, ullis in Eccle- 
 siae temporibus, materiam dissensionibus et schismatibus visa est 
 suppeditare. Semper enim hac in re Chi'isti ecclesae usae sunt 
 libertate. Id quod in historia ecclesiastica videre licet. Abunde 
 pia; vetustati satis erat, mutuus ille in prcBcipuis Jidei dogmatibus, 
 inque sensu orthodoxo et charitate fraterna consensus. 
 
 IB. p. 12. 
 
1 56 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 (2.) For mutual forbearance in the article of 
 church government- — 
 
 (3.) For latitude in the forms of doctrinal ex- 
 pression, provided the substance of evangelical 
 truth be preserved : so as that diversity in any 
 or all of these things shall not break up the 
 peace of the churches.— And 
 
 (4.) For concord, communion, and love be- 
 tween them, upon the basis of their unity in 
 that faith and doctrine to which they all look 
 for their common salvation. 
 
 It might, however, be thought that these sen- 
 timents were peculiar to the Swiss churches ; 
 and, therefore, not a fair exhibition of the pre- 
 vailing principles of the Reformation. But it 
 so happens, that this confession was officially 
 addressed, in the preface which has just been 
 quoted, to Christians and Christian churches 
 throughout Europe ; and was approved by the 
 churches of England, Scotland, France, the 
 Uiiited Provinces, and by many of Poland, 
 Hungary, and Germany.* Now, in these 
 churches, there was a very great variety of 
 religious observances, as well as diiferences of 
 a higher order. Some of them, as the Dutch 
 
 * Eandem (confessionem) et comprobarunt ecclesife AngliEB, 
 Scotiae, Galliae, Belgii omnes: Polonicas quoque, Hungaricae, 
 atque Germaurcae multae. 
 
 ■ Synt^ Conf. part 1. p. 4. 
 
p. II. Facts.^The Reforimtion. ] 57 
 
 and Genevese, were Presbyterians: others, as 
 the English, were Episcopal ; and others again, 
 as the German, a sort of medium between 
 Episcopacy and Presbytery. Here, then, we 
 have the larger part of Protestant Christendom, 
 proclaiming with one mouth, and at a moment 
 when the Spirit of God and of glory rested 
 conspicuously upon them, that the greatest of 
 their differences, and many of them were , not 
 trifles, were not great enough to interrupt their 
 communion, or diminish their love : but were 
 all to be absorbed in the importance, all to dis- 
 appear in the light, of that grace and truth 
 which made them one in Christ Jesus. Nay, 
 that were they, for such causes, to separate 
 from each others' fellowship, they should be 
 guilty of a nefarious schism. And none of 
 them were more free, cheerful, and decided, in 
 asserting the obligation of this catholick com- 
 munion, than the Calvinistic Presbyterians I 
 
 Such a concurrence of public opinion and 
 feeling was nothing more than a concentration 
 of that private opinion and feeling which then 
 pervaded the church of God. The time had not 
 come when orthodox creeds were a party inheri- 
 tance. It was reserved for after ages to cherish 
 a hereditary veneration for confessions of faith 
 at variance, in material points, with the actual 
 state of principle in the churches which receive 
 them. The spectacle, now so familiar, was not 
 
158 A Flea for CathoUcJc Cominmiion. 
 
 yet exhibited, of contention for every thing in a 
 confession as for a consecrated trust ; and of violent 
 opposition to many of those very same things in 
 practical life — the curious and humiliating spec- 
 tacle of tender affection displayed toward it as 
 a " dead letter," and of unremitting hostility 
 to those who would bring it forth in its energy 
 as " a quickening spirit." 
 
 It may not be improper to give an example or 
 two, for the sake of readers who have not access 
 to the original sources of information. Luth er, 
 in a preface from his own pen to the Bohcemic 
 confession, which, it will be remembered, com- 
 prehends the faith of the Waldexses, has the 
 following remarks concerning the churches af 
 the Reformation : 
 
 *' We ought to give the greatest possible 
 thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who, according to the riches of his 
 glory, hath commanded to shine out of darkness 
 this light of his word, by which he would again 
 destroy death, and illumine life among us : and 
 to congratulate both them," (the Waldenses,) 
 " and ourselves, that we, who were far apart, 
 are now, by the destruction of the parting-wall 
 of suspicion, whereby we seemed heretics to each 
 other, brought near together, and gathered into 
 one fold under that one shepherd and bishop 
 of our souls, who is blessed forever, amen ! 
 
 *' But if certain differences" from other 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation. 169 
 
 churches, " occur in this confession of theirs 
 concerning rites and ceremonies, or celibacy, 
 let us remember, that all the rites and obser- 
 vances of all the churches never were, nor could 
 be, the same. Such an agreement is not per- 
 mitted by the various circumstances of time, 
 place, and men ; only let the doctrine of faith 
 and morals be preserved. For this ought to be 
 the same as Paul frequently admonishes ; * Speak 
 all the same thi7ig,' saith he. Again, * That with 
 one mouth you may glorify the God and Father of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ.' For that marriage 
 should be free among them," the Waldenses, 
 *' in the same manner, as it is among us, their 
 state and condition does not allow. In the 
 meantime, it is sufficient, that what is lawful 
 to all, is not taught to be sin to any, and is 
 believed, without injury to individual faith and 
 conscience."* 
 
 * Sed nunc prodeunt non Paulo cultiores et liberiores, ne dicam 
 etiam, illustiores et meliores ut sperem non ingratos neqne 
 inamabiles fore omnibus vere Christianis, ita ut sperem et gratias 
 nos agere oporteat quam maximas Deo et Patri D. N. Jesu 
 Christi, qui secundum divitias gloriae suae jussit e tenebris 
 splendescere lumen hoc verbi sui, quo denuo in nobis destrueret 
 mortem et illuminaret vitam: et gratulari tum illis, turn nobis, 
 quod qui inter nos ipsos quoque longfe fuimus, destructo nunc 
 interstitio suspicionis quo nobis mutuo haeretici videbamur, fecti 
 sumus prope, et reducti simul sumus in unum ovile sub unum 
 illura Pastorem et Episcopum aniraarum nottrarum, qui est 
 benedictus in secula. Amen. 
 
Ht60 A Plea for Catholick Communmi. 
 
 In a letter, 1535, to these same brethren of 
 the Waldenses in Bohemia, MsLAisrcTHoisr thus 
 writes : 
 
 " Since we agree in the principal articles of 
 Christian doctrine, let us embrace each other 
 with mutual love. Nor ought dissimilitude and 
 variety of rites and ceremonies to sever our af* 
 fections. Paul often discourses concerning 
 ceremonies, and forbids Christians to fall out on 
 account of their variety, although the ivorld fight 
 furiously about them.* 
 
 Quod si quae differentiae in hac eorum Confessione occurrent 
 
 de ritibus et cereiTioniis, vel de ctelibatu, meminerimus nunquam 
 
 fiiisse, neque potuisse omnium Ecetesiarum omnes ritus et obser- 
 
 vationes esse sequales vel easdem. Id enim non permittunt 
 
 hominura, regionum, temporum rationes et varietates, modo 
 
 salva sit doctrina fidei et raorum. Haec enim debet esse eadem, 
 
 ut Paulus saepe monet. Idem dicatis (inquitj omnes. Rursus, 
 
 Ut uno ore honorificetis Deum et Patrera Domini Nostri Jesu 
 
 Christi. Nam ut conjugium sit apud eos eo modo liberum, ut 
 
 apud nos, non sinit eorum status et conditio : Interim satis est, 
 
 quod cuilibet licitum, et nuUi peccatum esse docetur, et creditur 
 
 salva unius cujusque fide et conscientia. Commendo igitur in 
 
 Domino omnibus piis et banc Confessionem Fratrum, in qua 
 
 videbunt clare quanta injuria hactenus a Papistis fuerint damilati 
 
 et vexati. 
 
 Prcef. ad Conf. Bohoein. Synt. part 3. 
 
 ' * " Cum de praecipuis articulis Doctrinae Christianas inter noa 
 constet, complectamur nos mutuo amore. Neque dissimilitude et 
 varietas rituum et caeremoniarum di&jungere debet mentes nostras. 
 Saepe Paulus concionatur de caereraoniis, et prohibet Cliristiaij.08 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation. 161 
 
 . *' As to my own feelings toward you, be as- 
 sured, that I most earnestly wish that those who 
 love the gospel and desire to glorify the name 
 of Christ, would cultivate mutual love to each 
 other ; and so, by their common endeavours, 
 make their doctrine redound to the glory of 
 Christ, that they may not destroy themselves by 
 domestick feuds and discords, especially on 
 account of things for which it is not necessary 
 to excite disturbance." 
 
 By " things for which Christians ought not 
 to raise disturbance," Melancthon evidently 
 understands all things which belong not to the 
 " principal articles of Christian doctrine." 
 
 But among all the reformers, no one stands 
 forth a more conspicuous advocate for Catholick 
 communion than John Calvix.* 
 
 dissidere propter varietatem rituum et caeremoHiarum, quamvis 
 
 mundus propter caeremonias vehementer pugnet. 
 
 Ib. p. 280. 
 
 * The Paul of the Reformation. Had any thing been wanting 
 in his own writings, in the opinion of his contemporaries, in his 
 influence with the political and ecclesiastical cabinets of Pro- 
 testant Europe, and in the di'ead and terrour of the Papists — to 
 evince the greatness of this extraordinary man, it would have 
 been supplied by the rancorous malignitj' which assailed him 
 during his life ; and which has been hardly, if at all, abated by 
 his death. His very name seems at this day to blister the tribes 
 of errour in all its gradations ; and to form a solitary exception 
 to the reverence which the world entertains for departed genius. 
 
 M 
 
162 A Plea for Catholick Commimion. 
 
 His Institutes of the Christian religion^ first 
 published in 1536, and dedicated to Francis 
 the I. of France, are a professed commentary 
 upon that little doctrinal abstract, called " the 
 apostles' creed." On the article concerning the 
 *' Holy Catholick church, and the coynmunion of 
 saints J' which forms the basis of his fourth 
 book, he discusses, at length, in his first 
 chapter, this whole subject of church-com- 
 munion. He refutes the arguments which are 
 used at this hour, for separate communions — 
 And he maintains, with that point and decision 
 which so eminently characterize his pen, that it 
 is not lawful, but most unlawful — subversive of 
 Christian unity, and an affront to the majesty 
 in the heavens, to withdraw, upon any pretext 
 whatever, from communion with other churches 
 which are sound in the substantial faith. 
 
 Nothing could more ornament this work than 
 the insertion of his entire chapter. But as it 
 would extend to at least fifty pages, which 
 would far exceed the limits of quotation : and 
 as it is, like the most of his writings, too dense 
 for abridgement, the reader must put up with 
 
 More than two hundred and fifty years have elapsed since he 
 went to join the apostle whom he so much resembled, in the 
 kingdom of God ; and there is hardly an enemy to the truth, of 
 whatever size, who does not think it incumbent on him to derive 
 importance from " a gird," at the memory of Calvin. 
 
p. II. Fads. — The Reformation. 163 
 
 a passage or two, merely as a specimen, and 
 be referred to the chapter itself for more full 
 satisfaction. 
 
 '* Where the preached gospel is reverently- 
 heard, and the sacraments are not neglected, 
 there, during such time, there is no deceitful nor 
 ambiguous appearance of a church, of which no 
 man is permitted to despise the authority, to 
 disregard the admonitions, to resist the advices, 
 or to mock the chastisements : much less to 
 revolt from her, and to break her unity. For 
 the Lord lays so much stress upon communion 
 with his church, as to account that man a 
 fugitive and a deserter from religion, who shall 
 contumaciously alienate himself from any 
 Christian society luhich only cherishes the true 
 ministry of the word and sacraments. He so re- 
 commends her authority, as to reckon the 
 violation thereof a diminution of his own," which 
 1 Tim. iii. 15. Eph. i. 23. v. 27. are produced to 
 prove. Calvin then proceeds, '' Whence it 
 follows, that a departure from the church is a 
 denial of God and of Christ. Wherefore, we 
 ought to be the more on our guard against so 
 wicked a dissention. Because, while we en- 
 deavour, as much as in us hes, to effect the 
 ruin of God's truth, we deserve to be crushed 
 by the lightnings of his wrath. A more atrocious 
 crime cannot be imagined, than to violate, with 
 sacrilegious perfidy, the conjugal union which 
 
 M 2 
 
164 A Plea for Catholich Communion. 
 
 the only begotten Son of God has deigned to 
 contract with us."* 
 
 Again. '' Our assertion, that the pure minis- 
 try of the word and the pure celebration of the 
 sacraments, is a sufficient pledge and earnest of 
 our safety in embracing, as a church, the society 
 in which they shall both be found, goes so far as 
 this, that she is never to be renounced so long as 
 she shall persevere in them, although, in other 
 respects, she may abound in faults. Even in the 
 administration of doctrine or sacraments, some 
 lefect may possibly creep in ; which yet ought 
 not to alienate us from her communion. For all 
 
 * Ubi reverentur auditur Evangelii praedicatio, neque Sa- 
 cramenta negliguntur, illic pro eo tempore neque fallax nequfe 
 ambigua Ecclesias apparet facies : cujus vel auctoritatem spernere, 
 vel monita respuere, vel consiliis refragari, vel castigationes 
 ludere, nemini impune licet : multo minus ab ea deficere, ac ejus 
 abrumpere unitatera. Tanti enim Ecclesiae suae communionem 
 facit Dominus, ut pro transfuga et desertore religionis habeat, 
 quicunque se a qualibet Christiana societate quae modo verum 
 verbi ac sacramentorum ministerium colat, contumaciter alienarit. 
 Sic ejus auctoritatem commendat, ut dum ilia violatur, suam 
 
 ipsius imminutam censeat. — Unde sequitur, discessionem J^b 
 
 Ecclesia, Dei et Chi'isti abnegationem esse : quo magis a tarn 
 scelerato dissidio cavendum est : quia dum veritatis Dei ruinam, 
 quantum in nobis est, molimur, digni sumus ad quos conterendos 
 toto irrae suae impetu fiilminet. Nee uUum atrocius fingi crimsn 
 potest, quam sacrilega perfidia violare conjugium quod nobiscum 
 uuigeiutus Dei filius contrahere dignatus est. 
 
 Caivini, Inst. Lib. IV. c. 1. § 10. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation. 165 
 
 the heads of true doctrine are not of the same 
 rank. Some are so necessary to be known, that 
 they must be fixed and undisputed by all, as 
 the characteristic points of religion. Such as, 
 that ' there is one God' — that ' Christ is God, 
 and the Son of God' — that ' our salvatioa 
 depends upon the mercy of God,' and the like. 
 There are others which, although subjects of 
 controversy among the churches, do not destroy 
 the unity of the faith. If, for example, one 
 church, without the lust of contention, or ob- 
 stinacy in asserting its own opinion, should 
 think that the souls of believers departing from 
 the body speed their flight immediately to 
 heaven : another, not daring to determine any 
 thing about their place, holds it nevertheless for 
 certain that they live to the Lord. — What two 
 churches should fall out on such a matter as 
 this ? When Paul says, ' Let us, as many as 
 are perfect, be of one Mind: if in any thing ye 
 are of different mind, the Lord shall reveal this 
 also to you ; * does he not sufficiently indicate, 
 that disagreement in things not so very neces- 
 sary, ought not to be a source of divison 
 among Christians? To agree throughout is, 
 indeed, our first attainment : but since no man 
 is perfectly free from the clouds of ignorance, we 
 either shall leave no church at all, or we must 
 
 * Phil. iii. 15. 
 
166 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 forgive mistakes in those things where ignorance 
 may prevail without violating the substance of 
 religion, or hazarding the loss of salvation. I 
 would not here be understood to patronize even 
 the minutest errours, nor to express an opinion^ 
 that they ought to be cherished, in the slightest 
 degree, by flattery or connivance. But I say 
 that we may not, on account of smaller dis- 
 agreements, rashly forsake any church wherein 
 is preserved sound and unhurt, that doctrine 
 which forms the safeguard of piety, and that use 
 of the sacraments instituted by the Lord."* 
 
 * Quod dicimus purum verbi ministerium et purum in cele- 
 brandis sacraraentis ritum, idoneum esse pignus et arrhabonem, ut 
 tutp possimus societatem in qua utrumque extiterit, pro Ecclesia 
 amplexari, usque eo valet ut nusquam abjicienda sit quaradiu 
 in illis perstiterit, etiamsi multis alioqui vitiis scateat. Quin 
 etiam potest vel in doctrinse, vel in sacranientorum administra- 
 tione vitii quidpiam obrepere, . quod alienare nos ab ejus com- 
 munione non debeat. Non enim unius sunt forma; omnia ver^ 
 doctrinse capita. 'Sunt qusdam ita necesseria cognitu, ut fixa ' 
 esse et indubitata omnibus oporteat, ceu propria religionis placita :' 
 qualia sunt, Unum esse Deum. Christum Deum esse, ac Dei 
 Filium : In Dei misericordia salutem nobis cousistere : et similia. 
 Sunt alia, quae inter Ecclesias controversa, iidei tamen unitatem 
 non dirimant. Quffi enim ob hoc unum Ecclesise dissideant, si 
 altera citra contentionis libidinem, citra pervicaciam asserendi, 
 animas a corporibus demigrantes in coelum convolare putet ; 
 altera nihil ausit definire de loco, casterum vivere tamen Domino 
 certo statuat? Verba sunt apostoli, Qiiiciinque jterfecti sumusy 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation. 167 
 
 " In bearing with imperfections of life our in- 
 dulgence must proceed much furthev. For we 
 are here on very slippery ground, and Satan lies 
 in wait for us with no ordinary machinations. 
 There always have been some who, imbued with 
 a false persuasion of their absolute sanctity, as 
 if they had become a sort of supernatural beings, 
 disdained the society of all men in whom they 
 perceived the remains of human infirmity. 
 Such, in old time, were the Cathar'i, and (who 
 came very near their madness) the Donatists. 
 Such, at this day, are some of the Anabaptists, 
 who would fain appear to have made greater 
 proficiency than their neighbours. There are 
 others who go wrong more from an inconsiderate 
 zeal for righteousness, than from such senseless 
 
 idem sentiamus : siquid aliter sapitis, hoc quoqiie vobis 
 Dominus revelabit. Annon satis iadicat, dissensionem de re- 
 bus istis non ita necessariis, dissidii materiam esse noa debere 
 inter Chi'istianos? I^rimum quidem est ut per omnia consentiamus :, 
 sed quoniam nemo est qui non aliqua ignorantiae nubecula 
 obvolutus sit: aut nullam relinquamus Ecclesiam oportet, aut 
 hallucinationem condonemus in iis rebus quae et inviolata reli- 
 gjonis sunrnia et citra salutis jacturam ignorari possint. Hie 
 autem patrocinari erroribus vel minutissimis nolim, ut blandiendo- 
 et connivendo censeam fovendos: sed dico non temere ob qua- 
 slibet dissentiunculas deserendam nobis Ecclesiam in qua, 
 duntaxat ea salva et illibata doctrina retineatur qua constat 
 incolumitas pietatis, et Sacranventorum usus a Domino institutus 
 
 custodiatur. 
 
 Id. ibid, f 121. 
 
168 A Plea for Catholick CommuniGti. 
 
 pride. For when they see that the fruits of 
 practical Hfe among those who enjoy the gospel 
 do not correspond with its doctrine, they 
 immediately judge that no church is there. 
 The offence is indeed very just; and we, in 
 this most wretched age, give but too much 
 occasion for it: nor can we excuse our cursed 
 sloth, which the Lord will not permit to go un- 
 punished ; as he has already begun to chasten 
 it with heavy stripes. (Wo, therefore, to us 
 who, by our enormities, wound the weak con- 
 science !) But, on the other hand, they whom 
 I have mentioned, sin in their turn, by not 
 knowing how to set limits to their offence. 
 For where the Lord requires clemency, they, 
 without regarding it, abandon themselves to 
 immoderate severity. For because they do not 
 think the church is where there is not solid 
 purity and integrity of life, through their very 
 hatred of crimes they quit the lawful church 
 under the idea of shunning the faction of the 
 ungodly."* 
 
 * In vitae autem imperfectione toleranda multo longius pro- 
 cedere indulgentia nostra debet : hie enim valde lubricus est 
 lapsus: neque vulgaribus machinamentis hie Satan nobis insi- 
 diatur. Fuerunt enim semper qui falsa absolutae sanetimonite 
 persuasione imbuti, tanquam aerii quidam dasmones jam facti 
 essent, omnium hominum consortium -aspemarentur, in quibus 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation. 169 
 
 *' I do not deny that it is the duty of a piolis 
 man to withdraw from all private intimacy with 
 the wicked ; to entangle himself with them by 
 no voluntary bonds. But it is one thing to avoid 
 familiarity with bad men ; another, out of dislike 
 for them, to renounce communion with the 
 church. As to their deeming it sacrilege to par- 
 ticipate with such in the bread of the Lord, they 
 are much more rigid in that particular than 
 Paul, &c."* . ; 
 
 ■3^ y^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ■ 
 
 '■'-'■ — ' 
 
 humanum adhuc aliqui'd subesse cernerent. Tales olim erant 
 
 Cathari, et (qui ad eorum vesaniam accedebantj Donatistae. 
 
 Tales hodie sunt ex Anabaptistis' nonnuUi, qui supra alios voJunt 
 
 videri profecisse. Alii sunt qui inconsiderate magis justitise zelp 
 
 quam insana ilia superbia peccant Dum enim apud eos quibus 
 
 Evangelium annunciatur, ejus] doctriuce non respondere vitcB 
 
 fi'uctum vident, nullam illic esse Ecclesiain statim judicant. Jus- 
 
 tissima quidem est offensio, et cui plus satis occasionis hoc 
 
 miserrimo seculo praibemus : nee excusare licet maledictam 
 
 nostram ignaviam, quam Dominus impunitam non sinet : ut jam 
 
 gravibus flagellis castigare incipit. (Vae ergo nobis, qui tam 
 
 dissoluta flagitiorum licentia committimus ut propter nos vulne- 
 
 rentur imbecilles conscientiae \) Sed in hoc vicissim peccant illi 
 
 quos diximus, quod ofFensioni suae modum statuere nesciunt. 
 
 Nam ubi Dominus clementiam exigit, omissa ilia, totos se ira- 
 
 moderatae sever itati tradunt. Qui enim non putant esse Ecclesiam 
 
 ubi non est solida vitse puritas et integritas, scelerum odio a 
 
 legitima Ecclesia discedunt, dum a factiohe improborum de- 
 
 clinare se putant. 
 
 Ibid. §13. 
 
 "' N,on equideni nego quin pii hominis sit ab omni privata im- 
 proborum consuetudiue se subducere, nulla se voluntaria cum ipds 
 
170 A Pkajbr Catholich Communion. 
 
 " But although this temptation sometimes 
 besets good men through an inconsiderate zeal 
 for righteousness, yet we shall find, that too 
 great moroseness springs more from pride and 
 haughtiness, and a false-opinion of one's own 
 sanctity, than from true holiness : and the true 
 study of it. So that they who are most daring 
 and forward in promoting defection from a 
 church, have, for the most part, no other induce- 
 ment than to display their superiour goodness 
 by their contempt of every one else."* 
 
 Thus Calvin. — But before we leave him, it 
 will be proper to notice two or three things 
 which may be supposed to diminish the value 
 of his testimony. For it may be said, that his 
 " Institutes," being the work of a very young 
 
 necessitudine implicare : sed aliud est malorum fiigere con- 
 tubernium ; aliud, ipsorum odio, Ecclesise communionem re- 
 nunciare. Quod autem sacrilegium esse putant participare cum 
 illis panem Domini, in eo rigidiores multo sunt quam Paulus. 
 
 Ibid. § \5. 
 
 * Quanquara autem ex inconsiderato justitiae zelo hsec tentatio 
 bonis etiam interdum oboritur : hoc tamen reperiemus, nimiam 
 morositatem ex superbia magis et fastu falsaque sanctitatis 
 opinione, quam ex vera sanctitate veroque ejus studio nasci. 
 Itaque qui ad faciendam ab Ecclesia defectionem sunt aliis auda- 
 ciores, et quasi antesignani, ii ut plurimum nihil aliud causas 
 habent nisi ut omnium contemptu ostentent se aliis esse meliores. 
 
 Ibid. § 16. 
 
p. II. Facts. — The Reformation, 171 
 
 man, * want that stamp and seal of authority 
 which are impressed by mature age— that they 
 contain the views and feeUngs of an individual, 
 who, however distinguished, was still but one — 
 and that his strictures relate to the communion 
 of a Christian with his own church, and not to 
 his communion with other churches, or to their 
 intercommunion between themselves. 
 
 The first of these objections might be dis- 
 posed of promptly. No competent judge, who 
 has read the ^'^ Institutes," and has not sold 
 himself to prejudice or faction, would willingly 
 endanger the credit of his own understanding 
 2LtJi/'tj/, by questioning the intellectual maturity 
 of Calvin at twenty-four. The objection, how- 
 ever, has no place. Subsequent reflection, 
 observation, and experience, served only to 
 confirm his earlier judgment. In a letter to his 
 friend Farell, three years afterwards, he has 
 the following expressions : '' I only insisted 
 upon this, that they," the pious, " should not 
 schismatically rend asunder any church ; which, 
 although extremely corrupt in morals, and even 
 infected with strange doctrines, had not entirely 
 
 * They were written before he had completed the twentj-fifth 
 year of his age. He was born in July, 1 509, and his dedication 
 to Francis the I. bears the date of August, 1536. But a 
 previous edition had been published in 1535, 
 
172 A Plea Jor Catholick Communion. 
 
 revolted from that doctrine in which Paul 
 teaches tlmt the church of Christ is founded."* 
 
 To return to the *' Institutes." It is plain, 
 from their history, that they bear the richest 
 and ripest fruits which the mind of their author 
 had cultivated. Upon none of his productions 
 did he bestow so much pains and labour as upon 
 this. It is in reality his chef-cr oeuvre ; and so 
 he himself considered it. He was, therefore, 
 continually revising and retouching it, as it ran 
 through various editions, for the space of 
 twenty- three years; and it received its finishing, 
 from his elegant pen in 1559, when he was 
 Jifty years old, only five years before his 
 death, f 
 
 That he was but one is true ; yet a truth of 
 no importance to the argument ; unless it could 
 be demonstrated that he stood alone. How 
 different the fact was, the preceding pages 
 have already proved. And this very work, 
 as published in French and Latin, was drawn 
 
 * Hoc unum contendebam, ne schismate scinderent qualem- 
 cumque ecclesiam : quse, utcunque esset corruptissima moribus, 
 doctrinis etiam exoticis infecta, non tamen desciverit penitus &b 
 ea doctrina qua ecclesiam Christi fundari docet Paulus. 
 
 Calv. Epist. Opp. T. IX. p.' 6. 
 
 t See his epistle to the reader, prefixed to the " Institutes," 
 under date of 1st of August, 1559. Opp. T. IX. Amst. 
 1667. Fol. 
 
V. II. Facts.— The Reformation. 173 
 
 up in behalf of the French churches, to show 
 what sort of doctrines they beUeved and 
 taught ; so that it is, in some measure, a work 
 of piiblick authority ; and it obtained the un- 
 bounded applause and approbation of both 
 the learned and religious world. Even the 
 fastidious Scaliger who seldom praised any- 
 body but himself, or any thing but his own, 
 was among its admirers and eulogists. It 
 was translated into Italian, German, Flemish, 
 Spanish and English: and so often republished 
 in the original Latin, that Mons. Masson, by 
 a strong hyperbole, says, it was printed 
 ■*' a thousand times."* Calvin himself informs 
 us, that it met with the most encouraging 
 reception from the Christian publick — " with 
 such favour from almost all the pious,'' they 
 are his own words, " as he had not dared 
 even to wish, far less to expect." f It appears, 
 then, that his views of communion were the 
 views of reformed Europe, or the work which 
 contains them would never have been so 
 popular in the churches. 
 
 The idea that the communion referred to, 
 
 * Millies excusa. Vide Bavle, Diet. Historiqiie et Critique. 
 Art. Calvin, note F. 
 
 t eo piorum fere omnium favore, — quern nunquam 
 
 vote expetere, nedum sperare ausus fuissem. 
 
 Vid. ep. supra cit. 
 
174 A Plea for Catholkk Communion. 
 
 is communion with one's own particular church, 
 and not with other churches, either by ad- 
 mitting their members or joining in their 
 ordinances, has nothing to support it, but 
 flies in the face of the very chapter which 
 discusses the subject. Its title is, " Of the 
 TRUE CHURCH icith whicJi we are to cultivate 
 unity; because she is the mother of all the 
 pious"*— a designation belonging only to the 
 ONE church of God, and not to any sect. 
 And the third part of that chapter is devoted 
 to the proof of this proposition, ^' That we are 
 in no manner to forsake the catholick church and 
 the communioji of saints." " Oii ivhich account ,* 
 it is added, " the errours of the Novatians, 
 Anabaptists, and other schismatical ajid 
 IDLE-MINDED MEN, conceming this doctrine, 
 are abundantly 7-efuted.'''-\ But what Calvin 
 calls the ** errours of the Novatians," &c. are 
 precisely the arguments now urged against 
 the communion which these pages recommend 
 
 * De vera ecclesia cum qua colenda est unitas: quia 
 piorum omnium miter est. 
 
 f 3. A sancta ecclesia Catholica et sanctorum communione 
 non est ullo modo discedeudum : ea propter Novatianorum, 
 Anabaptistarum, ac ejusmodi schismaticorum et male feriatorum 
 hominum circa banc doctriiiam errores, a sect. 10. ad fin. cap. 
 abunde refulluntur. 
 
 Tom. IX. p. 270. 
 
p. II. IFacts. — The Reformation. 175 
 
 and vindicate. Therefore, the communion 
 spoken of, is not simply that which we ought 
 to maintain with our own particular branch 
 of the church, but which we ought to main- 
 tain with the whole church through the medium 
 of any one of her branches to which we have 
 access. That this is Calvin's meaning, appears 
 not only from the whole tenour of his discourse, 
 but also from his anxiety expressed in a letter 
 to Archbishop Cranmer, to unite all the re- 
 formed churches. Episcopacy was established 
 in England ; Calvin was a divine-right Pres- 
 byterian. Yet even that difference was not 
 sufficient, in his eyes, to hinder communion. 
 According to the first principle of the Refor- 
 mation, he was willing to compound for the 
 pure word and worship of God, i. e. in its 
 substance. For, in a letter of Oct. 22, 1548, 
 he congratulates the Lord Protector of England, 
 on his having been a principal instrument in 
 " restoring the pure and sincere worship of 
 God, and the sound preaching of his word."* 
 
 • Est sane de quo gratias agamus Deo et Patri nostro, quod 
 opera tua uti voluerit ad tantum opus, ut per te in primis 
 purura et sincerum suum cultum in regno Angliae restitueret ; 
 Praestiterit etiam ut salutis doctrina audiretur passin, et fideliter 
 annunciaretur omnibus qui aures arrigcre dignarentur. 
 
 Calv. Ejiist. p. 39. 
 
,176 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 Yet in that very letter he entreats the protector 
 to complete the work of reformation; and even 
 points out corruptions and abuses which needed 
 the knife. 
 
 No doubt can now remain as to the nature 
 of that communion for which Calvix, backed 
 by the greatest and best men of the age, so 
 nervously and eloquently contends. And their 
 support of his doctrine precludes the necessity 
 of further detail as to private opinion. Even 
 illustrious names might seem to be introduced 
 more for ostentation than for conviction. For 
 in very deed, the voice of Calvin, on this 
 subject, is the general voice of the people of 
 God in that age of grace and truth. 
 
 To their doctrine they added their example. 
 I do not say that their example corresponded 
 perfectly with their principles. It would be a 
 miracle of high degree, if they who are imper- 
 fect in all things else should be perfect in their 
 love. Nor have I forgotten the separation of 
 the Lutheran from the other Protestant churches. 
 Yet this took place against the sentiments of 
 Luther and his most distinguished associates. 
 It was not effected without a struggle : and 
 did not continue without magnanimous efforts 
 to heal the wound. 
 
 Calvin not only subscribed the Augustm, 
 i. e. the Lutheran confession, as he himself 
 
V. u. Facts. — The Reformatmi. 177 
 
 informs us ; * but he expressly declares, in a 
 letter to his friend Farell, that " the petty 
 peculiarities" in the Lutheran church, evidently 
 meaning that they were petty when compared 
 with the great things of the common salvation^ 
 were no just causes of disunion. ^ 
 
 Henry Altikg, professor of divinity at 
 Heidelberg, and afterwards at Groningen, and 
 a distinguished member of the Synod of 
 Dordt, J " assures us, that this was the common 
 opinion of the reformed divines who followed 
 BucER and Calvin. For, proposing this 
 question in his problems, ivhetlier the orthodox 
 may lawfully communicate in the Lord's supper 
 with the Lutherans ? — he resolves it in the 
 affirmative, upon these four arguments : 
 
 '* 1. Because they all agree in fundamentals. 
 
 *' 2. Because men ought to preserve unity in 
 the church, and hate schism. 
 
 '' 3. Because we have the example of the 
 prophets, and of Christ and his apostles, for 
 communicating in more corrupt churches than 
 the Lutherans are. 
 
 " 4. Because the best divines of the last 
 age," the Reformation, " have approved it, as 
 
 • Ep. SCHALINGIO, p. 113. 
 
 t CiLv. Farello. p. 9. 
 
 I B.IVLE, Diet. Crit. Art. ALTixa. Tom. L p. 169, 170, 
 N 
 
178 A Plea for CathoUck Commmiiojj. 
 
 Capito, Bucer, Calvijst, Martyr, Zanchy, 
 Ursin, Tossanus, PaRuEUs Scultetus, and 
 others : so77ie of wJw??i, as they had occasion, did 
 
 ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE ivith them," * 
 
 Peter Martyr, a man of high standing 
 among the reformers, went over to England at 
 the invitation of CRANMERby order of Edward 
 VI. ; and, though far enough from holding the 
 divine right of Episcopacy, scrupled not to join 
 in permanent communion with the church of 
 England, and to accept a theological chair 
 in the University of Oxford : and that he would 
 as freely have communed with the Lutherans, 
 had they been as forbearing as himself, may 
 be gathered from the disapprobation with which 
 he mentions the harsh behaviour of some 
 Lutheran ministers toward one of their brethren, 
 for kindly receiving the English Protestants 
 when they fled from the persecutions of bloody 
 Mary, and for communicating sometimes with 
 the church of Friezland.| 
 
 Knox, the Scottish Elijah, as firm a Pres- 
 byterian as Calvin himself, and still less 
 indulgent to what he considered as reliques 
 
 * Alting. Tkeol. Problem Par. 2. Prohl. 18. p. 331. 
 quoted as above by Bingham, Orig. eccies. Vol. II. p. 835. Fol. 
 
 t See his letter to Calvin, fi-om Strasburgh, 23d Sept. 1 555, 
 Sit the end of his Loci communes, p. 770. ed. Genev. 1634» 
 Fol. 
 
p. ir. Fads.— The Reformation. 179 
 
 of Papal superstition — even Knox — with all 
 his antiepiscopal feelings, " officiated for a 
 considerable time in the church of England"* 
 --—assisted in revising the JBooA- of Common 
 Prayer'\ — accepted, at Fratikfort on the Maine, 
 the charge of a congregation composed of 
 English exiles, differing much in their views 
 of publick worship — and, *' when the congre 
 gation had agreed to adopt the order of the 
 Genevan church, and requested him to proceed 
 to administer the communion according to it; 
 although he approved of that order, he de- 
 clined to carry it into practice until their 
 learned brethren in other places were con- 
 sulted. At the same time he signified that 
 he had not freedom to administer the sacra- 
 ments agreeably to the English liturgy. '"J The 
 difficulty resulted in a compromised " form of 
 worship, in Avhich some things were taken 
 from the English liturgy, and others added 
 which were thought suitable to tlieir circum- 
 stances. This was to continue in force until 
 the end of the next April ; and if any dispute 
 arose, in the interval, it was to be referred to 
 five of the most celebrated foreisfn divines. 
 
 • M'Crie's life of John Knox, Vol. I. p. 102. LoiuL 
 1813, 8v-o. 
 
 t Ib. p. 87. : Ib. p. 116. 
 
 N 2 
 
180 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 The agreement was subscribed by all the 
 members of the congregation; thanks were 
 publickly returned to God for the restoration 
 of harmony; and the communion was received 
 as a pledge of union, and the burial of all past 
 offences." * 
 
 It is well known to have been a favourite 
 object with Calvin to form a general union of 
 all the Protestant churches. This he never 
 could have proposed without a full conviction 
 that they were sufficiently united in principle 
 to be united in fact ; and to reciprocate, by 
 agreement, the most liberal and ample com- 
 munion in the things of Christ. The idea of 
 reducing them all exactly to his own standard 
 of propriety never entered his mind. He was 
 too much of a Christian to ask for so huge a 
 sacrifice ; and too much of a statesman to sup- 
 pose it possible. His plan, as is clear from the 
 whole drift of his writings and advices, would 
 have been to bind them up in a great confede- 
 ration ; bringing them as near to each other as 
 the state of public habit, under the influence 
 of mutual candour and concession, should 
 permit ; fixing them firmly there, and leaving 
 all the rest to evangelical liberty. So that, as 
 in old time, a Christian, passing from his own 
 
 Ib. p. 128. 
 
p. IT. Facts. — The Reformation. 181 
 
 church and country to another, should be 
 welcomed as a citizen of the kingdom of God, 
 and should conform peaceably to the order of 
 that province of the kingdom which should 
 thus receive him. Could he have succeeded in 
 removing the grosser offences which remained 
 in some of the churches, his wishes had been 
 fulfilled — his holy triumph completed. For as 
 no one more thoroughly detested, or pertina- 
 ciously resisted, whatever tended, even re- 
 motely, to ensnare conscience, or to reconcile 
 the minds of men to the superstitions and idolatry 
 of Rome ; so no one ever treated, with more 
 majestic diregard, those unessential peculiari- 
 ties about which so much heat is kindled by 
 vanity. Some of his critics have set down 
 such things to the score of his pride, mostly if 
 not merely, because they could not rise to the 
 level of his magnanimity: just as they have mis^ 
 taken for arrogance, that manly and subduing 
 spirit which walks in the upper regions of light 
 and truth. He, in effect, said to the Lutheran 
 and English churches. Keep your " smaller 
 observances ;" let us have no discord on their 
 account ; but let us march, in one solid column, 
 under the Captain of salvation ; and, with un- 
 divided counsels, pour in the legions of the 
 cross upon the territory of darkness and death, 
 " I wish," says he, in a letter to Cranmer, 
 " I wish it could be brought about, that men 
 
182 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 of learning and dignity from the principal 
 churches might have a meeting; and, after a 
 careful discussion of the several points of faith, 
 might hand dov^n to posterity the doctrine of 
 the scripture settled by their common judgment. 
 But among the greatest evils of our age this 
 also is to be reckoned, that our churches are 
 so distracted one from another, that human 
 society scarcely flourishes among us, much 
 less that holy communion between the members 
 of Christ, w^hich all profess in words, and few 
 sincerely cultivate in fact. — — Thus it happens, 
 that, by the dissipation of its members, the 
 body of the church lies prostrate and mangled. 
 As to myself, could I be of any service, I 
 should not hesitate, were it necessary, to cross 
 TEN seas for such a purpose. If the question 
 were only concerning giving aid to England, 
 that would be with me a sufficiently powerful 
 reason. Now, when the object is to obtain suck 
 an agreement of learned men upon strict soiptural 
 principles, as may accomplish an union of churches 
 in other respects widely asunder, I do not think 
 it lawful for me to decline any labours or 
 troubles r* 
 
 * Atque utinam impetrari posset, ut in locum aliquera docti 
 et graves viri ex praecipuis Ecclesiis coirent, ac singulis fidci 
 capitibus diligenter excussis, de communi omnium sententia 
 certam posteris traderent scripturss 4octrinam. Cssterum iii 
 
p. II. Facts.— The Reformation. ] 83 
 
 The reader will take notice, that this letter 
 was written in 1551, several years before some 
 of the principal Protestant confessions were 
 published. The consequence was, that the 
 churches had no ipro^er pub lick understanding 
 The mighty business of the reformation was 
 carried on, and the connexion of its interests 
 maintained, chiefly by the correspondence of 
 individuals in different parts of Europe. It is 
 this state of things in which churches, as such, 
 hardly knew one another, that Calvin de- 
 scribes, deplores, and wished to amend. 
 Nothing is further from his meaning, than that 
 their respective members would not commune 
 with each other in all Christian ordinances, as 
 they had opportunity. Repugnancies on that 
 
 maxirais seculi nostri 'malis hoc quoque numerandum est, quod 
 
 ita aliae ab aliis distractaj sunt Ecclesife, ut vix humana jam 
 
 inter nos vigeat societas, nedum emineat sancta membrorum 
 
 Cliristi conimunicatio, quam ore profitentur omnes, pauci reipsa 
 
 sincere colunt. Ita fit, ut membris dissipatis. lacerum jaceat 
 
 Ecclesiae corpus. Quantum ad me attinet, siquis mei usus fore 
 
 videbitur, ne decern quidem maria, si opus sit, ob earn rem 
 
 trajicere pigeat. Si de juvando tantum Anglise regno ageretuj-, 
 
 jam mihi ea satis legitima ratio foret. Nunc cum quseratur 
 
 gravis et ad scripturae norman probe compositus doctorum 
 
 liominum consensus, quo Ecclesiae procul alioqui dissitas inter 
 
 se coalescant, nullis vel laboribus vel molestiis parcere fas mihi 
 
 esse arbitror. 
 
 Calv. Epist, p. 64. 
 
184 ^ Flea for CathoUch Communion. 
 
 head were then confined to the Lutherans and 
 Ajiabaptists. When the Protestant churches 
 had, with one voice, glorified God in their good 
 confessions of his truth, one of the measures 
 which lay so near Calvin's heart was partially 
 executed. He would have preferred a joint- 
 confession, as the bond of visible union and 
 communion. Such a confession must necessa- 
 rily have excluded all local peculiarities — all 
 minute and secondary matters : and instead of 
 arguing the several classes of confessors to be 
 of different religious races on account of things 
 which depend upon climate, habit, state of 
 society, and such like incidents, would have 
 marked their common origin by their essential 
 resemblance. Varieties not afiecting the sub- 
 stance of religion would have been no better 
 reason with them for questioning a man's 
 relation to them and his claim upon their holiest 
 fellowship, than tawny skin or crisped hair is, 
 with believers in God's word, for denying to be 
 of their own species and entitled to their kind 
 offices, one who has their bones, sinews, flesh, 
 face, voice, faculties, and other proper attri- 
 butes of human nature. This is a scheme 
 worthy of reformers. It was Calvin's : it is 
 the Bible's. 
 
 What this lover of peace with truth projected 
 upon a large scale, was actually attempted and 
 executed, after his death, upon a smaJler one ; 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Poland. 185 
 
 sufficient, however, to shew which way the 
 current of Christian charity was setting in. 
 
 The agreement of Poland, (Polonice consensus) 
 at the Synod of Sendomir, in 1570, six years 
 after Calvin's decease, embracing the churches 
 of greater and lesser Poland, which were 
 organized under the Augsburgh or Lutheran 
 confession, and under the Helvetic or Swiss 
 confession, what would now be called Calvin- 
 istic; as also under the confession of the 
 Waldenses, was bottomed upon those com- 
 prehensive principles which supported the plan 
 of Calvin. 
 
 This consensus was for the express purpose 
 of wiping away the reproach of their enemies, 
 and of promoting brotherly concord and com- 
 munion on the ground of their agreement in the 
 leading truths of the gospel; all things else 
 being matters of forbearance. 
 
 * " Of this holy and mutual agreement," say 
 
 * Hujus autem sancti mutuique consensus vinculum fore arbi- 
 trati sumus convenimusque, ut, quemadmadum illi nos nostrasque 
 ecclesias, et confessionein nostram in hac Synodo publicatam, et 
 Fratrum, orthodoxas esse testantur ; Sic etiam nos illorum eccle- 
 gias eodem Christiano amore prosequamur, et orthodoxas 
 fateamur. Extremumque valedicanius et altum silentium impo- 
 namus omnibus rixis, distractionibus, dissidiis; quibus evangelii 
 cursus non sine maxima piorum offensione impeditus ■est ; et unde 
 adversariis nostris non levis calunmiandi et verae Christiance reli- 
 gionj nostrae contradicendi occasio sit subministrata. 
 
186 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 they, " we have thought and agreed that it 
 would be a confirmation, if as they," the 
 
 Quin potius paci et tranquillitati publicae studere, charitatem 
 mutuam execere, et operas mutuas ad asdificationem ecclesiae, pro 
 fratema conjunctione nostra, praestare debemus. 
 
 Adhasc recipimus mutuo consensu, omni studio nostris fratribus 
 omnibus persuasuros, atque eos invitaturos ad hunc Chi'istianum 
 et unanimem consensum amplectendum, colendum, et conservan- 
 dum; illumque alendum et obsignandum, praecipue auditione 
 verbi, (frequentando tarn hujus quam alterius cujusque confee- 
 sionis coetus) et sacramentorum usu : observato tamen recto 
 ordine, et gradu tam disciplinse quam consuetudinis uniuscujusque 
 Ecclesiae. 
 
 Ritus autem et cseremonias uniuscujusque ecclesise liberos hac 
 Concordia et conjunctione relinquimus. Non enim multum refert 
 qui ritus observentur, modo sarta tecta et incorrupta existat ipsa 
 doctrina et fimdamentum fidei ac salutis nostrae. Quem ad modum 
 et ipsa confessio Augustana et Saxonica de ea re docent ; et in 
 hac confessione nostra, in prajsenti Synodo Sendomiriensi publicata, 
 id ipsum expressimus. 
 
 -?r ^ ^ "7? "^ w 
 
 Atque ut Colophonem huic consensui et mutuas conccrdiae im- 
 ponamus, ad banc fratemam societatem conservandam tuendamque, 
 non incommodum fore putamus, in locum certum convenire, ubi 
 una ex mutuis confessionibus compendium corporis doctrinae 
 (improbitate hostium ad id adacti) eliceremus, et in publicum 
 ederemus ; ut invidorum hominum ora obturarentur cum maximo 
 omnium piorum solatio : sub titulo omnium ecclesiarum Poloni- 
 carum reformatarum, et Lithuanicarum, et Samogiticarum, 
 noslrae confessioni consentientium, 
 
 Datis igitur junctisque dextris, sancte promisimus et recepimus 
 invicem omnes, fidem et pacem colere, fovere, et in dies ad 
 sedificationem regni Dei magis magisque amplificare velle; 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Polaiid. 187 
 
 .Lutherans, " bear witness that we, and our 
 church, and our confession, pubhshed in this 
 Synod, and the churches and confession of the 
 brethren," ( Waldenses) " are orthodox : so also 
 we should manifest the same Christian love 
 toward their churches, and should acknowledge 
 their orthodoxy : and should, on both sides, 
 abandon and consign to silence, all quarrels, 
 distractions, and dissentions, by which the 
 course of the gospel, to the very great offence 
 of many pious people, is hindered ; and by 
 which no light occasion is furnished to our 
 adversaries, both of calumniating ourselves and 
 of opposing our true Christian religion. It is 
 rather our duty to study the public peace and 
 tranquility ; to exercise mutual charity ; and to 
 employ, according to our brotherly union, our 
 mutual efforts for the edification of the church. 
 " We, moreover, pledge ourselves to use our 
 utmost endeavours to persuade and invite all 
 our brethren to embrace, respect, and preserve 
 this our Christian and unanimous agreement; 
 and to cherish and seal it especially by hearing of 
 
 omnesque occasiones distractionis ecclesiarum evitatiiros. Denique, 
 
 se immemores oblitosque sui ipsius, ut veros Dei ministros decet, 
 
 solius Jesu Christi Salvatoris nostri gloriam promoturos ; et evan- 
 
 gelii ipsius veritatem propagatiiros turn factis turn dictis, 
 
 recepimus. 
 
 Synt. Conf. p. 2. p. 289, 290. 
 
188 A Flea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 the word, (in frequenting the assemblies^ of both 
 confessions,) and by the use of the sacraments : 
 always observing good order, and the rule both of 
 discipline and custom in each of the churches 
 resfectively . 
 
 " But the rites and ceremonies of each 
 church we do, by this our hearty consent, leave 
 free. For it makes little difference what rites 
 are observed, provided the fundamental doctrine 
 of our faith and salvation be untouched and. 
 uncorrupted, as the Augustan and Saxon con- 
 fession teach on that head; and as we have 
 expressed the same in this our confession, 
 published in the present Synod of Sendomir. 
 
 " And to complete this our consent and 
 agreement, we have thought that, in order to 
 preserve this our brotherly association, it will 
 not be inconvenient to meet at some appointed 
 place, where we may together form a compend 
 of doctrine taken from our mutual confessions ; 
 and publish it to the world to stop the mouths of 
 invidious men, and minister great consolation 
 to all the pious. 
 
 ** Having, therefore, given to each other the 
 right hand of union, we have all most sacredly 
 promised and pledged ourselves to cultivate, 
 nourish, and daily to aim at increasing, our 
 peace and faith, to the building up the kingdom 
 of God ; and that we will shun all occasions of 
 distracting the churches. Finally, we have 
 
p. II. Fads. — Protestant Churches. — Poland. 189 
 
 pledged ourselves, that, regardless of selfish 
 considerations as becomes the true ministers of 
 God, we will promote only the glory of Jesus 
 Christ our Saviour; and will propagate the 
 truth of his gospel in word and deed." 
 
 Next comes a prayer for the divine blessing ; 
 then the subscriptions to this agreement: and 
 the instrument closes with the 1st verse of the 
 cxxxiii psalm — " Behold how good and how plea- 
 sant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity ! ! " 
 
 A few days after the ratification of this coii- 
 sensus, viz. on the Lord's day, the 28th of May, 
 1570, it was carried into effect in the following 
 manner : viz. " The ministers, patrons, and 
 whole congregation of the Bohoemic confession, 
 both Poles and Germans of both sexes, pro- 
 ceeded in a body from their own to the Lutheran 
 place of worship, to attend morning service ; 
 and there, the hearers of both parties being 
 solemnly assembled, two of the Waldensian 
 ministers preached, one to the Poles, the other 
 to the Germans. In the same way, in the after- 
 noon, the congregation of the Augustan con- 
 fession, with their patrons and ministers, having 
 made a procession from their church through 
 the city, went to the church of the Bohemian 
 brethren, in the suburbs, the Poles to the Poles, 
 the Germans to the Germans ;* and there two 
 
 * i. e. the Lutheran Poles to the Bohemian Poles \ and the 
 Lutheran Germans to the Bohemian Germans. 
 
190 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 Lutheran ministers preached to them the word 
 of God. In each place, after reading the agree- 
 ment, the minsters gave their attestation aloud 
 to the holy concord and union ; and exhorted 
 their hearers on both sides to cherish and guard 
 it as a singular gift of God ; and, laying aside 
 all groundless suspicions of each other, now 
 that they had become one in the Lord and in his 
 truth, to keep his way and cultivate brotherly 
 love. This was accompanied with ardent 
 prayers to God, and with the greatest joy and 
 acclamation of all present, exclaiming, * Behold, 
 how good and fleasant it is for brethren to dwell 
 together in unity IT Finally, the Avhole being 
 made one church, sung with one voice that 
 hymn of exultation and thanksgiving, * We 
 praise thee, O God, &c'."* This " agreement," 
 was unanimously confirmed in a general Synod 
 2it Cracow, Sept. 1573. And, as the conclusion 
 of their business, " The whole Synod, the 
 brethren, superintendants, elders, ministers, 
 patrons, and all the rest, ratified and sealed 
 that holy consent and union ; and, finally, after 
 joining together in publick worship, and in the 
 communion of the body and blood of the Lord, ac- 
 cording to the ceremonies of the church at Cracow, 
 they returned home, rejoicing in brotherly love 
 and praising the Lord."t 
 
 * Synt. CoNF.p. 2. p. 296. 
 
 t Porro tota haec Cracoviensis SjTiodus, omnium confessionum 
 fratres, Superattendentes, Seniores, Miuistri, et Domini 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — France. 191 
 
 This same aoreement was reconfirmed in a 
 general Synod at Petrikoio, a town of Great 
 Poland, June 1578, and a regulation there 
 made, that a congregation of either confession, 
 (Lutheran or Calvinist,) might freely call a 
 minister from the other.* 
 
 The renewal of the agreement was repeated 
 in a general Synod at Uladislaw, 1583; and 
 again at Tornaw, in Hungary, 1595,1 and con- 
 tinued to be religiously observed as late at least 
 as 1634.J 
 
 This spirit was not confined to Poland. Of 
 all the Protestant churches none did more and 
 suffered more for the faith of Christ than the 
 churches of France. Purer in doctrine, fairer 
 
 Patroni, quorum hie sunt expressa nomina, et reliqui congrogati, 
 sanctum consensum ac unionera— coniii'marunt et obsignarunt: 
 denique, Sacra synaxi, corpus et sanguinem Domini simul per- 
 cipientes iis cseremoniis quas Ecclesia Cracoviensis in usu habet. 
 Atque ita, in amore fraterno gaudentes et Dominiun collaudantes, 
 ad sues redierunt. 
 
 Ib. p. 304. 
 
 * VII. Siquidem unio facta est inter nos Helvetjcae, Augu&- 
 tanae, et Bohcemicae confessioni addictos, liberum erit ecclesiae seu 
 Patronis coetus unius confessionis justis causis ac bono ordine, a 
 Superattendentibus alterius confessionis ministrum petere ac ad ae 
 vocare. 
 
 IB. p. 307. 
 
 t I«. p. 308. p. 316. 
 
 ♦ DlVENANTii Bent, ad JoH, DuHJEuai, p. 5. Cantab. 1640. 
 
192 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. • 
 
 in government, and chaster in discipline, the 
 world never sav^. Their treasure and their 
 blood flov^^ed alike, and flowed freely, in the^ 
 cause of their Redeemer. And none were more 
 forward in that labour of love, the attempt to 
 unite Christian churches in one great spiritual 
 commonwealth. 
 
 It appears, from the records of the Synod of 
 St. Foy, 1578, that an " assembly of many 
 deputies from sundry famous reformed churches, 
 kingdoms, and province^, at which attended 
 Mr. EsNARD, as a representative from several 
 French churches, met at Franckfort, in 1577, by 
 invitation of the Prince Elector John Casimir, 
 prince P«/a/me and duke of Bavaria — that they 
 laid down several means and expedients for 
 uniting all the reformed churches in Christendom 
 in one common bond of union ; as also for ter" 
 minating the differences which had risen up and 
 were fomented among them by their common 
 adversaries ; and for hindering some hot-headed 
 and bigotted divines from comdemning, as they 
 had threatened, even to Anathema, the greatest 
 and soundest part by far of the Christian 
 reformed churches — and, for the suppression of 
 such imprudent and wicked designs, unani- 
 mously resolved to petition the princes of the 
 empire, who adhered to the confession of 
 Auxhourg, i. e. the Lutheran princes — and had, 
 moreover, given an express charge, that one 
 
V. II. Facts. — Protest ani Churches. — France. 1.93 
 
 uniform confession of faith should be framed, a» 
 the general and common confession of all Pro- 
 testants ; and several copies of it sent to all 
 those kingdoms and provinces in which those 
 churches were gathered, to be examined and 
 approved by them, and to be crowned by their 
 joint consent and approbation." — It appears, 
 also, " that they had agreed upon the time and 
 place for the meeting of deputies from the 
 churches concerned, and that they had sent a 
 special invitation to the French churches to send 
 thither persons of approved piety, integrity, 
 and experience, with full powers to treat and 
 decide on all points of doctrine, and other 
 matters concerning the union, peace, and pre- 
 *servation of the churches, and the pure worship 
 pf God." 
 
 This proposal was received with great satis- 
 faction by the general Synod of the French 
 churches ; and four ministers, together with the 
 " most illustrious Lord Viscount of Tiirenne,'' 
 were appointed commissioners to the general 
 meeting of deputies.* 
 
 The same design was prosecuted by the 
 Synod of Figeac, in 1579, at which the con- 
 fession of faith of the Djiitch and French 
 churches in the low countries was approved ; 
 
 * Quick's Synodicon, Vol. I. p. 120, 12 L Fol. 
 o 
 
194 A Plea for CatholkkCommunmi. 
 
 and a consultation was held on the most proper 
 means to " remiite the several confessions of 
 all those nations which agree in doctrine, into 
 one common confession, and which may here^ 
 after be approved by all those nations. And 
 this pursuant to the project laid down in the 
 late conference at Neustadt, Sept. 1577."* 
 
 With equal willingness the Synod of Vitre, 
 1583, embraced a proposition made in their own 
 body for " an union and agreement between 
 the churches of Germany and theirs — they soli- 
 cited Mr. Chandieu to undertake a mission for 
 that purpose ; and Mr. Sahiar, after conference 
 with Lord DuPlessts, to write in their name 
 and by their authority on the subject, to the 
 princes and divines of Germany.')' 
 
 Twenty years afterwards, viz. in 1603, at the 
 Synod of Gap, the brethren of Dauphiny '* de- 
 sired that some means might be contrived for a 
 conference and union with the Lutheran 
 churches in Germany, that so the schism 
 between them and the French churches might 
 be removed." Whereupon, the assembly " de- 
 sirous to see the fruits of such a noble project. 
 
 * Ib. p. 133. It would seem from thisyithat there were two 
 conferences held in 1577 for a Protestant union ; one at Neustadt 
 in Brmiswick, Germany, and the other at Frankfort ; for this 
 latter also took place in September. Quick, Vol. I. p. 121. 
 
 t Quick's Synodicon, Vol. I. p. 153. 
 
p. II. Facts, — Protestant Churches. — France. 195 
 
 ordered letters to be despatched to the orthodox 
 universities of Germany, England, Geneva, 
 Basil, and Leyden ; and to Messieurs des Gourdon 
 and de Fontaines, in London, entreating them to 
 co-operate in effecting this holy union ; and that 
 princes might be engaged to put forth their 
 authority therein, that so they, the Protestant 
 churches, might all be more firmly united 
 among themselves in the confession of one and 
 the same doctrine."* 
 
 This zeal was quickened by a proposal for 
 such an union made by king James the VI. to 
 the French churches, obscurely hinted in a 
 letter from his majesty, March 15th, 1614 ; and 
 fully explained, on his authority, by Mr. David 
 Hume,-\ " for reuniting the churches of divers 
 nations into one and the selfsame confession 
 and doctrine." At their general Synod, held at 
 Tonneins the May following, they drew the out- 
 lines of a detailed plan of union, in which the 
 following are conspicuous features : 
 
 1. To avoid the Arminian controversy. 
 
 For they say, that instead of disputes about 
 
 * Ib. p. 289. 
 
 t Not the celebrated historian of tliat name, who lived more 
 than a century later ; but a countryman and probably kinsman of 
 his: a man of quite " another spirit," which seems to have 
 entirely evaporated before the family-blood found its way into the 
 veins of the unbelieving philosopher. 
 
 o 2 
 
196 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 religion, " it were better to lay on the table, 
 before the assembled delegates, the several 
 confessions of the reformed churches of Eng- 
 land, Scotland, France, the Netherlands, Switzer- 
 land, and the Palatinate, &c. ; and, that out of 
 all these confessions, there might be framed 
 one in commopi to them all, in which divers 
 points may be omitted the knowledge whereof 
 is not needful to our everlasting happiness. 
 Among which, the controversy moved by 
 Piscator, and several subtle opinions broached by 
 Vax ARMiiSr," (Arminius,) " about free will, the 
 saints' perseverance, and prcdesti7iatio7i, may be 
 reckoned r 
 
 2. To avoid contentions about ceremonies and 
 church-governvient — which they call '' quillets:" 
 i. e. subtleties, niceties : in regard to which they 
 say " A mutual declaration should be made, 
 and added unto the said confession, by which 
 the said deputies, in the names of their prin- 
 cipals, do declare, that the churches shall not 
 judge nor condewji one another for this difference, 
 it not hindering our mutual agreement in the same 
 faith and doctrine ; and that for all this, we may 
 cordially embrace each other as true believers and 
 joint-members of one and the same body.'' 
 
 Thus far the business was to proceed among 
 deputies from the reformed churches only. 
 They were to conclude after " a most religious 
 fast," with the celebration of the Lord's supper. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — France. W7 
 
 *' wherein the pastors from England and the 
 other nations should all communicate together." 
 And then to disperse, after appointing another 
 day for a new meeting within the year, that they 
 might haye an opportunity of consulting their 
 respective constituents. 
 
 During the interval means were to be used 
 for securing the attendance of some Lutheran 
 -divines at this second assembly : and in such 
 an expectation it was agreed, 
 
 3. To wave the points in debate between the 
 Reformed and the Lutherans : i. e. to express the 
 doctrine on these points iii terms which might 
 be safe for conscientious and satisfactory to 
 modest men r and, for this end, to model their 
 agreement after the Polonice consensus, or " con- 
 cordat of the Polish churches, made dX Sendomir, 
 in the year 1570." 
 
 This second assembly, like the first, was to 
 open with a solemn fast, and to close " with the 
 celebration of the holy supper of our Lord, at 
 which, both the Lutheran and other ministers 
 should communicate together."* 
 
 On this plan for Protestant union, it may be 
 proper to remark,. 
 
 First. That it did not contemplate merely the 
 reciprocation of ministerial and Christian fellow- 
 
 QuiCK, Vol. I. p. 434, 437. 
 
198 ^ Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 ship in the several churches, for that had been 
 in regular practice among Protestants all along : 
 the majority of the Lutherans excepted. It went 
 much further ; even to the organization of the 
 whole Protestant interest in a publick federative 
 union ; each of the component churches re- 
 taining, however, its own independence and 
 internal order. It was, in fact, Calvin's plan 
 revived, or rather prosecuted ; for it does not 
 appear to have been ever abandoned. 
 
 Secondly. That it furnished no proof of the 
 French churches, which tvere the most active 
 in promoting it, having at all declined from 
 their soundness in the faith, or their zeal in 
 maintaining it. For, three years afterwards^ 
 their general Synod of Vitre, appointed com^ 
 missioners to attend the Synod of Dordt for the 
 purpose of deciding on the several points of the 
 Anninian controversy; and, three years after 
 this, viz. at their general Synod held in the 
 town of Alez, 1620, they 'unanimously approved 
 the articles agreed upon at Dordt ; incorporated 
 them with their own canons, and ordered them 
 to be " sworn and subscribed to by the pastors 
 and elders of their churches, and by the doctors 
 and professors in their universities; and, also 
 by all those that were to be ordained and 
 admitted into the ministry, or into the pro- 
 fessor's chair in any of their universities ; with 
 a proviso, that if any one of these persons 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches.' — France. 199 
 
 should reject, either in whole or in part, 
 the doctrine contained in, and decided by, 
 the canons of the said council," of Dordt ; " or 
 refuse to take the oath of consent and appro- 
 bation, he should not be admitted into any office 
 or employment, either in their churches or 
 universities."* Thus unequivocally did they 
 assert, and take care to perpetuate in their 
 schools and pulpits, the pure doctrine of the 
 gospel. But to show how well they could unite 
 Catholicism with fidelity — the love of the 
 brethren with the love of truth ; and how cor- 
 dially they could take to their bosom the very 
 persons against whose errours they raised the 
 voice of their testimony, provided those errours 
 subverted not the foundation of their faith, the 
 following extract from the minutes of the second 
 Synod of Charenton, in 1631, will amply suffice : 
 
 " An act in favour of the Lutheran brethren." 
 
 " The province of Burgundij demanding^ 
 Whether the faithful of the Augustane con- 
 fession might be permitted to contract marriages in 
 our churches, and to present children in our churches 
 unto baptism, without a previous abjuration of those 
 opinions held by them contrary to the belief of our 
 churches? this Synod declareth that, inasmuch 
 
 * Quick, Vol. II. p. 37, 38. 
 
200 A Plea for Catholick Communion, 
 
 as the churches of the confession ofAusbouriy do 
 agree with the other reformed churches m the 
 principal and fundamental points of the true re- 
 ligion, and that there is neither superstition nor 
 idolatry in their worship ; the faithful of the 
 said confession, who with a spirit of love and 
 peaceableness do join themselves to the com- 
 munion of our churches in this kingdom, may 
 be, without any abjuration at all made by them, 
 admitted unto the Lord^s table with us; and, as 
 sureties, may j^re^ew^ children unto baptism ; they 
 promising the consistory, that they will never 
 solicit them, either directly or indirectly, to 
 transgress the doctrine believed and professed 
 in our churches ; but will be content to instruct 
 and educate them in those points and articles 
 which are in common between us and them, 
 and wherein both the Lutherans and we are 
 unanimously agreed."* 
 
 If from France we pass into Holland, we shall 
 there find the same generous feeling toward all 
 the parts of the church of God. Her early con- 
 fession, the Belgic already quoted, proves in 
 what light she contemplated the privilege and 
 duty of church-communion. That confession, 
 as has been stated, received the unqualified 
 approbation of the continental divines at the 
 Synod of Dordt, in 1618 ; and it received also, 
 
 * Quick, Vol. II. p. 297. 
 
?. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Holland. 201 
 
 with the exception of its articles upon church- 
 government, the approbation of the Episcopal 
 divines who were sent thither by James VI. 
 
 The assembhng of such a Synod and their 
 harmonious proceedings are the best practical 
 commentary upon the understood principle of 
 Protestant communion. Here was a collection 
 of representatives from the reformed churches of 
 Europe, France excepted whose deputies were 
 stopped by a mandate of the king ; various in 
 their modifications of order and rites of worship, 
 yet one in the common faith of the gospel. 
 Dutch, German, Genevese, Swiss, all non-episco- 
 pal, joined by an English bishop and other Epis- 
 copal delegates, met together to discuss and 
 decide one of the most serious and shaking con- 
 troversies that ever agitated the church of God. 
 Here they unite in the most solemn acts of 
 ministerial communion. The public prayers are 
 offered up by Presbyterians in their own manner. 
 By way of showing their concord and confidence, 
 they judge it expedient to have now and then 
 sermons in Latin before the Synod. They 
 begin with requesting the foreign divines to 
 undertake this service in order.* And the very 
 first man they place in the pulpit is Dr. Joseph 
 Hall, a high-toned Episcopalian, then Dean of 
 
 ' Act. Svnoi) Dordrrct, Scss. V. part 1. p. 18. 1620. FoL 
 
202 "^ A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 Worcester, and afterwards bishop of Norwich. 
 He preached to them from Eccles. vii. 16. In 
 his sermon he calls the Synod, thus composed, 
 '^ a most holy assembly of the prophets."* The 
 church of Holland, upon the supposition of her 
 adhering to " the faith which she had till then 
 received, and to the confession common to her 
 with the other churches;" he salutes as the "pure 
 spouse of Christ." And then exclaims, " we are 
 brethren, let us also be associates ! What have 
 we to do with the disgraceful titles of Remon- 
 strants, Contra-Hemonstrants, Calvinists, Armi- 
 nians ?t We are Christians, let us also be of one 
 
 * Sanctissima corona prophetarum. Ib. Sess. XVI. p. 38. 
 
 t These names were then recent, and had not settled down into 
 fixed appellations, as some of them have done since. They have 
 now become technical terms in theology and ecclesiastical 
 history ; and, like other technical terms, they convey very complex 
 ideas with more brevity and precision than could easily be done 
 by a periphrasis. Every organization of men, and every system 
 of principles must have a name. This, in itself, is of no im- 
 portance, but is useful for the purpose of discrimination. It 
 would be amusing, if it were not mortifying, to see with what 
 eagerness some men endeavour to fix a name upon others ; and 
 with what anxiety these again labour to shake it off. To call 
 one a Calvinest or an Arminian, is to impute to him the doctrine 
 maintained by Calvin or Arminius — but it proves nothing. To 
 refuse the appellation is not to reject the doctrine — and so proves 
 nothing. — ^It is all a petty squabble about words. " While dif- 
 ferences subsist, we must talk about them, and we may as well 
 use the phraseology which marks them. If " Calvinist" and 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Holland. 203 
 
 soul. We are one body, let us also be of one 
 mind. By that tremendous name of the Al- 
 mighty God — ^by the pious and gentle bosom of 
 our common mother — by your own souls — by 
 the most holy compassions of Jesus Christ our 
 Saviour ; aim at peace, brethren : enter into 
 peace ; that laying aside all prejudice, party- 
 spirit, and evil affections, we may all come to a 
 happy agreement in the same truth."* 
 
 " Arminian," are to be banished, there is n9 reason why 
 " Lutheran'"' and " Reformed," " Protestant" and " Papist," 
 " Socinian," *' Arian," " Universalist," " Episcopalian," " Pres- 
 byterian," and the whole series of party names should not go with 
 them. Suppose it done — cui bono ? what do you gain ? You 
 w^ould have to replace them Avith another set ; and there is the old 
 contest over again. Yet it is not to be denied, that hurtful 
 prejudices are sometimes associated with them. There is no 
 help for it. Such is sinful human nature, and we must take it as 
 we find it. 
 
 * Tllud totis viribus urgere, illud unum inculcare, ut 
 
 receptae hactenus fidei communique et vestrse et aliarum eccle- 
 siarum confessioni adhaerere usque velitis onmes. Quod si 
 feceritis, O felicem Belgicam ! O intemeratam Christi sponsam ! 
 
 O Rempublicam florentissimam ! Illud vero ut jam tandem 
 
 fiat, (jjiKoTifxtiffde i^Gv^aH^Eiv. Fratres sumus ; simus et college. 
 Quid nobis cum illo infami Remonstrantium, Contra-Remon- 
 strantium, Calvinianorum, Arminianorum titulot Christiani 
 sumus, simus et igo-J^vj(oi. Unura corpus sumus, simus ct 
 unanimes. Per tremendum illud omnipotentis Dei nomen — per 
 pium blandumque communis matris nostra^ gremium ; per vestras 
 ipsorum animas ; porque sanctissima Jesu Christi S'crvatoris nostri 
 visperei, pacem anibitc fratres pacem inite : et ita vos componite, 
 
204 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 On these extracts, which are in the general 
 strain of the sermon, it may not be unseasonable 
 to remark : 
 
 1. That the reformed churches. Episcopal 
 and non-episcopal, had no scruple, in those 
 days, of joining with each other in acts of 
 publick worship, according to their respective 
 usag-es. Much less did any of them look upon 
 any other as not being true churches, and upon 
 their ministry and ordinances as unlawful and 
 invalid. Such a notion concerning churches 
 without Episcopal order and ordination, had 
 not yet infected the church of England, and 
 curdled in her breasts the milk of Christian 
 kindness. Her representatives at Dordt, ex- 
 plicitly call the ministers of the Dutch church, 
 *' beloved brethren and fellow-ministersr * 
 
 2. The views and feelings expressed by Dr. 
 Hall corresponded entirely with those of the 
 whole Synod; for they call his discourse " most 
 learned and accurate," and gave him publick 
 thanks for it.f So that, considering how the 
 Synod was constituted, it may be taken an 
 official expression of the views and feelings of re- 
 formed Europe. And when this most venerable 
 
 ut, seposito omni praejudicio partiumque studio ac malo aflFectu, 
 
 in eadem onrnes veritate feliciter conspiremus. 
 
 Ib. Sess. XVI. 
 
 • Ib. paH 2. p, 224. f Ib. part 1. p. 38. 
 
V. II. Facts. — Pi'otestant Churches. — Holland. 205 
 
 assembly, inferiour in learning, talent, holiness, 
 and dignity, to none that had preceded it since 
 the great council of JVice, was about breaking 
 up ; the members mutually gave each other the 
 " right hand of brotherly communion,"* and 
 parted with embracings and tears. Here was 
 the most solemn formula, (the right hand of 
 fellowship) known in the church of God for re- 
 ceiving and acknowledging each other as 
 brethren in Christ and in the gospel of Christ — 
 the most sacred pledge of Christian and minis- 
 terial communion. Can a shadow of doubt 
 remain after the testimony of such a fact? Is 
 it a tolerable question, whether such men, or 
 the ministers and members of the churches 
 they represented, would sit down together at 
 the Lord's table ? 
 
 As to the church of Holland, it it well known, 
 that she practised the liberal communion of 
 which those illustrious deputies sanctioned the 
 principle, and set an example. For her mem- 
 bers before this communicated with the Browk- 
 isTs, the English independents who fled from 
 ecclesiastical oppression in their own country ; 
 although, by a singular inconsistency, the 
 Brownist teachers would not consent to reci- 
 f)rocate the communion any further than in 
 
 * iu. jmrt 2. p. '33Z. 
 
206 A Plea Jor Catholick Communion. 
 
 prayer and hearing the word : and that in the 
 face of their own protestation wherein they, 
 say, " We account the reformed churches as 
 true and genuine; We profess communion with 
 them in the sacred things of God ; and, as much as 
 in us lies, we cultivate it."* An inconsistency 
 which, it is heartily to be wished, had stood 
 alone; and, deeply to be regretted, has been 
 kept in countenance by the professions and 
 practice of later days : but which, at that time, 
 was equalled only by the inconsistency of the 
 government of England, in supporting, che-- 
 rishing, comforting, honouring the non-episcopal 
 churches abroad ; and discouraging, harrassing, 
 crushing the very same sort of churches at home. 
 The church of Holland was not only ready to 
 communicate in the sacraments with the English 
 dissenters as well as with the establishment, 
 but actually appointed one of the former, the 
 learned and excellent Dr. William Ames, a 
 professor of theology in the university of 
 Franeker. The same honour she proffered thirty 
 years after, i. e. in 1651, to that holy man of 
 God, Samuel Rutpierford, of St. Amhews in 
 Scotland, when she invited him to the professor's 
 
 * Ecclesias reformatas pro veris et genuinis habemus; cum 
 iisdem. in sacris Dei communionem profitemur ; et, quantum in 
 nobis est, colimus. — Robinson's declaration in Neal's History 
 of the Puritans. Vol. I. 437. 438. 4to. 1754. 
 
p. IT. Facts. — Protestant Churches.' — Holland. 207 
 
 chair in the city of Utrecht.^' In fact, the 
 churches of Holland and Scotland, like the re- 
 formed churches on the continent, considered 
 and treated each other as parts of a common 
 whole ; and furnished, by their connexion and 
 intercourse, as they had opportunity, a sample 
 of that catholick communion to which the 
 obligation is so clearly asserted in their con- 
 fessions. 
 
 The aspect of the British churches was much 
 less inviting. Even in the early part of the 
 reign of Elizabeth, imtender, not to say 
 violent measures were adopted toward those 
 who had conscientious objections to some ob- 
 servances in the establishment. But still the 
 great Protestant principle of communion was 
 not renounced ; it was not the nature, but the 
 application of that principle which produced 
 so much scruple on one side, and so much 
 oppression on the other. With all their co- 
 ercive zeal toward their own dissentients, 
 neither the civil or ecclesiastical government 
 of England thought of denying the lawfulness 
 and the duty of communion between the Pro- 
 testant churches, notwithstanding their varia- 
 tions from each other in smaller things. This 
 Avas sufficiently manifest, as has been noticed. 
 
 * Crookshank's History of the Church of Scotland^ 
 Vol. I. p. 116. Lond. 1749. 8vo. 
 
208 A Plea for CathoUck Commimion. 
 
 by their conduct relatite to the Synod of Dordt, 
 Their errour lay in making matter of compul- 
 sion toward their own people what was matter 
 of forbearance toward all others — in supposing 
 that certain diversities founds by experience, 
 to be innocent on the continent, must neces- 
 sarily be criminal, if not fatal, in England. 
 And the%,carried so far their passion for unity, 
 as to de'sSoy it by indiscreet means of enforcing 
 it. All this was an abuse, gross indeed but still 
 an abuse, of a sound and salutary principle. It 
 was reserved for the times, the temper, and the 
 influence of Bishop Laud, to reject the principle 
 itself. That able and- intrepid but fierce and 
 unpitying prelate, ^^t himself to pervert the 
 faith of the churcK of England ; to break o^ 
 her connexion with foreign Protestants; to 
 corrupt her worship by assimilating it, in 
 every possible manner, with the Popish ritual ; 
 and, by dint of power, to effect an external 
 imiformity over the island, at the expense of 
 producing real divisions, bitter feuds, public 
 weakness, and private misery. The very next 
 year after his elevation to the see of Canterbury, 
 (1634,) Lord Scudamore, instead of going to the 
 Protestant church at Charenton, as had been 
 the previous practice of the English ambassadors 
 at the French courts, " furnished his chapel 
 after the new fashion," (LaiuVs) " with candles 
 upon the altar, &c. ; and took care to publish. 
 
V. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — England. 209 
 
 upon all occasions, that ike church o/* England 
 looked not on the Huguenots as a part of their 
 communion y ^ 
 
 This was the first instance in which one of the 
 reformed churches openly renounced the fellow- 
 ship of another. It was a melancholy deed, and 
 a melancholy day. The alarm which it created 
 among foreign Protestants in Englancf^ and the 
 indignation which it excited on the continent, 
 proved how well established had been the doc- 
 trine of Protestant communion, and how precious 
 it was in the eyes of Protestant churches. By 
 that fatal act, England forfeited her pre-eminence 
 as the " bulwark of the reformation," and became 
 an object of disgust to the^jeign churches ; in- 
 somuch, that in her subsequent tribulations, she 
 could scarcely command their pity: whereas, 
 before this infatuated act of selfishness and 
 schism, she held the first rank in their respect 
 and affection. .^ 
 
 To those who are acquainted with the history 
 of this disastrous period, it would be super- 
 fluous to detail the mercies of Laud, and the 
 mysteries of the Star-chamber. To those who 
 have not such an acquaintance, our limits do 
 not allow us to present even an imperfect 
 sketch : and perhaps the nature of this volume 
 
 * Lord Clarendon, as cited by Neal.. Vol. I. 583. 
 ' P 
 
MO A Plea f 01^ CathoUck Communion. 
 
 forbids the attempt. Suffice it to observe, that 
 the contests in the church of England between 
 the high-handed conformists and their de- 
 murring brethren, furnished proof, and not 
 refutation, of the doctrine here advanced in 
 favour of cathohck communion. No whim, not 
 abuse, nor corruption, which they were not 
 i'equired to aj^prove, severed the Puritans from 
 the Established Church. They grieved, they 
 mourned, they expostulated, about things which 
 afflicted their consciences; but they thought 
 not of separation. Had they been allowed to 
 exonerate themselves from the charge of coun- 
 tenancing what, in all sincerity, they disallowed; 
 or, had they not been commanded to belie theil' 
 conviction by an explicit approbation of what 
 they abhorred, the name of dissenters from the 
 church of England had never been knoAvn. 
 Un-episcopal in their judgment they certainly 
 were ; as were all the continental Protestants, 
 iahd all the fathers of the British reformation. 
 They disliked, they loathed, certain exteriour 
 observances ; but still, had they been permitted 
 to dislike and to loathe without exciting public 
 disturbance — had they not been required to 
 deny vv^hat they believed to be truth, and to 
 profess what they believed to be falsehood — 
 had not the price of their peace in the esta- 
 blishment been rated so high as the perjury of 
 their souls before God, they had never been 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches, — England. 211 
 
 separated from the church of England. As it 
 was, they did not ret'n^e, they were driven from 
 her bosom : and they have thus left upon record 
 their testimony of martyrdom to the sacredness 
 of that communion which belongs to the church 
 of God, and to the criminality of dividing it 
 upon slight pretexts. The same thing may be 
 said of the rent begun in 1732, in the church 
 of Scotland. The Seceders did not voluntarily 
 withdraw, they were expelled. Had the Com- 
 mission of the General Assembly and the 
 General Assembly itself known their own 
 interests — had they listened more to the coun- 
 sels of Christian peace than to the pride of a 
 secular establishment, the church of Scotland 
 had been " one and indivisible." But like 
 England with her Laud and her Star-chamber^ 
 she chose to be ferocious : and she broke the 
 golden chain of her unity, perhaps never to 
 be repaired till those days of the " Son of 
 man" which, according to his word, we con- 
 fidently expect. In the mean time has hap- 
 pened what the nature of human passions 
 might forewarn us to anticipate : grievance has 
 been accumulated upon grievance, and com^ 
 plaint upon complaint. The point of honour 
 with the devotees of the establishment is to 
 heap contempt on the separatists ; and, with 
 the devotees of separation, to degrade the 
 
 p2 
 
212 A Plea for CathoUck Comynunlon. 
 
 establishment. And thus, while " high church,'* 
 on both sides of the Tweed, deals out its pro- 
 scriptions more in the spirit of the world than 
 in the bowels of Christ, the compliment is 
 returned by their antagonists with hearty good 
 will. Many things are 7iow alleged to justify 
 dissent from the church of England, and seces- 
 sion from the church of Scotland, which, we 
 know, were not among the original causes of 
 disunion. And so it is with all parties after 
 their disagreement has become inveterate. This 
 is humiliating, but it is true. And the arm of 
 Truth must not be unnerved, light her blow 
 where it may. 
 
 To return. The church of England continued 
 in this uncomfortable state. Power persecuting 
 jight, and right remonstrating to power — 
 >^he secular hierarchy commanding, and the 
 scriptural conscience disobeying and suffering, 
 till that memorable epoch in the reign of 
 Charles L — the meeting of the Assembly of 
 divines at Westminster, in 1643. 
 
 This Assembly was called for the express 
 purpose of reforming more perfectly " the 
 discipline, liturgy, and government of the 
 church," so that " such a government might 
 be settled in the church as should be most 
 agreeable to God's holy word, and most apt 
 to procure and preserve the peace of the 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Clncr cites. — England. 213 
 
 church at home, and nearer agreement with 
 the church of Scotland, and other reformed 
 churches abroad." 
 
 The assembly was originally composed of 
 Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Indepen- 
 dents; with commissioners, both lay and 
 clerical, from the church of Scotland. The 
 Episcopal divines withdrew at an early period 
 of their discussions, viz. before the introduc- 
 tion of the *' Solemn league and covenant,'' * 
 and the number of Independants was but 
 small ; t so that the business of the assembly 
 was managed principally by the Presbyterians. 
 
 On the form of church-government there was 
 much difference of judgment, long and warm 
 debate, and great embarrassment. 
 
 In the body of Christian doctrine there was 
 almost a perfect harmony. A few members 
 objected to " some expressions relating to 
 reprobation, to the imputution of the active as 
 well as passive obedience of Christ; and to several 
 passages in the chapters of liberty of conscience, 
 and church discipline ; but the confession, as far 
 as it related to articles of faith, passed the 
 Assembly and Parliament by a very great 
 majority ;" and was, without exception, adojDted 
 
 * Neale, II. 68. t Neale says, not above six" Vol. II, 
 p. U. 
 
214 A Plea for Catholick Communion, 
 
 by the church of Scotland. * The Independents, 
 when they formed themselves into a separate 
 body, thirteen years afterwards, i. e. in 1658, 
 published a confession of faith, called the 
 Savoy confrssion, which, for substance, is the 
 same as the Assembly's. " They have omitted 
 all those chapters in the Assembly's confession 
 which relate to discipline; as the 30th and 
 31st, with part of the 20th and 24th, relating 
 to the power of Synods, councils, church censures, 
 marriage and divorce, and the power of the civil 
 magistrate in matters of religion^ But " upon 
 the whole, the difference between these two 
 confessions in point of doctrine is so small, 
 that the modern Independents have, in a man- 
 ner, laid aside the use of it," (their own,) " in 
 their families, and agreed with the Presbyte- 
 rians in the use of the Assembly's catechism."'!' 
 In the result, therefore of the Westminster 
 Assembly's deliberation — an assembly not sur- 
 passed even by the Synod of Dordt, or the 
 council of Nice — we have the doctrinal judg- 
 ment of at least the English Presbyterians and 
 Independents, and of the whole church of 
 Scotland. That judgment in the article of 
 church-communion is the more important, as 
 the churches immediately concerned in the 
 
 Lb. 258. t Ib. 507. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — England. 215 
 
 present inquiry have sprung from them ; have 
 received, all of them the doctrine, many of 
 them the government, discipline, and worship, 
 settled by that most venerable assembly. So 
 that when we have the doctrine of the West- 
 minster confession of faith on the article of 
 communion, we have the faith avowed at this 
 moment of the church of Scotland — of both 
 branches of the secession in that country and 
 Ireland — of the Reformed Presbytery; of the 
 Synod of Relief in Scotland — of a large body 
 of English Independents — and of all, or nearly 
 all, the American churches which have de- 
 scended from them : that is, we have the 
 professed faith of all the Presbyterian churches 
 •jn Scotland, Ireland, and America (the Ai.,ociate 
 Reformed Church being one,) — and of the body 
 of English and American Independents. When 
 we shall have settled the doctrine of commu^ 
 nion, as taught in the Westminster confession, 
 we shall also have settled the principle which 
 these churches, at least the Presbyterian part 
 of them, have solemnly adopted and promised 
 to observe, as the rule of their ecclesiastical 
 conduct. With this general clue let us go to 
 the " Confession of faith." The 26th chapter 
 is entitled : 
 
 ** Of COMMUNION OF SAINTS :" 
 
 the doctrine concerning which it lays down in 
 the following terms : 
 
S16 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 " All saints that are united to Jesus Christ 
 their head, by his Spirit and by faith, have 
 fellowship with him in his graces^ sufferings, 
 death, resurrection, and glory. And, being 
 united to one another in love, they have 
 communion in each other's gifts and graces, 
 and are obliged to the performance of such 
 duties, publick and private, as do conduce 
 to their mutual good, both in the inward 
 and outward man. 
 
 '^ II. Saints by profession are bound to 
 maintain an holy fellowship and communion 
 in the worship of God, and in performing 
 such other spiritual services as tend to their 
 mutual edification : as also in relieving each 
 other in outward things, according to their 
 several abilities and necessities. Which com- 
 munion, as God offereth opportunity, is to be 
 extended unto all those who in every place 
 call upon the name of the Lord Jesus." 
 
 This latter section describes, apparently, the 
 communion which ought to subsist between 
 professed Christians in their relation to each 
 other as visible members of the church of 
 of God; asserting their joint title to, and 
 interest in, all the privileges of his house, and 
 their duty to participate therein with each 
 other, as they have opportunity, upon the single 
 ground of their being followers of the Lord 
 Jesus, 
 
p. II. Fa&ts.—zProtestant Churches. — Enoiand.2l7 
 
 to" 
 
 Let us view it a little more closely. 
 
 The parties are " saints by profession :" i. e, 
 those who make a credible profession of reli- 
 gion — whom, according to the rules of scriptural 
 judgment, we are to acknowledge as fellow- 
 christians. 
 
 The communion which they are to cherish 
 with each other is defined in its nature, its 
 extent, and in the principle of its application. 
 Its nature is threefold. It consists : 
 
 1. In social worship. 
 
 They are partners with each other in all that 
 is comprehended under " the worship of God:" 
 i. e. his instituted ordinances in his church. 
 
 This partnership is to be avowed and expressed 
 by open acts of mutual recognition — they are 
 ** to maintain qn holy fellowship and comynunion in 
 the worship of God.'^ 
 
 Their recognition of each other is not a matter 
 of choice or discretion, which they may do, or 
 omit, as they please. It is a duty which they 
 are not at liberty to forego — an imperative 
 obligation upon their consciences— they are 
 '* bound'' to maintain this communion. 
 
 2. In acts oi religious good-ivill : which, though 
 they fall not directly under the " worship of 
 God," are yet " such spiritual services as tend 
 to their mutual edification," 
 
 3. " In relieving each other in outward things 
 
218 A Plea f 07' Catholick Communmi, 
 
 according to their several abilities and necessi- 
 ties." 
 
 As to the extent of this communion in all its 
 branches — it is to embrace Christians as such : 
 
 1. Of every denomination — even " all vs^ho 
 call upon the name of the Lord Jesus." 
 
 2. Of every country and clime — even all who 
 *' in every place" call upon him. 
 
 The application of this doctrine is to be regu- 
 lated by providential occurrences : — '' as God 
 offereth opportunity." When you do not force 
 an occasion by the neglect of more pressing 
 duties ; but when in his providence he fairly 
 puts it in your way, you are not to shun, but 
 thankfully to accept such an '■ opportunity" 
 of testifying your love to his people by joining 
 with them in the ordinances dispensed among 
 them, or welcoming them to the ordijaance^ 
 dispensed among yourselves. 
 
 This seems to be a simple interpretation of 
 the article before us. Such an one as a man of 
 plain sense and upright heart, without any 
 previous bias, and regarding only the terms in 
 which it is couched, would put upon it. And 
 if such is, indeed, its meaning, there can be 
 no further debate. The churches concerned 
 have decided, by their own publick confession, 
 in favour of a communion as catholick and 
 generous as that of the Apostolick and Primi- 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — England. 219 
 
 tive and Protestant ages : and nothing remains 
 for them but to show, b}^ their example, that 
 they believe their own doctrine — that the pro- 
 fession which they are in the habit of making 
 to God and to man, is a fair exhibition of their 
 principles. 
 
 But the point will not be so easily yielded. 
 The respected brethren and venerable fathers 
 with whom this plea remonstrates, make a dis- 
 tinction which they think clears them from the 
 charge of inconsistency, and conciliates their 
 contracted communion with their adherence to 
 the Westminster confession. They distinguish 
 between church-communion and the communion of 
 saints ; or, as they sometimes express it. Chris- 
 tian communion. By the first, viz. church- 
 communion, they understand communion with a 
 church in her social character, as organized 
 under a particular form of doctrine, govern- 
 ment, and worship. By the second, viz. the 
 communion of saints or Christian communion, they 
 understand that communion which subsists 
 between Christians as individuals simply, 
 without reference to their church-connexion at 
 all. And some have even limited this commu- 
 nion, at least in the extent of the confession in 
 the article cited above, to " ministering with 
 our substance, by communications of it to supply 
 the necessities of the saints, or, in doing other 
 
220 A Plea for CathoUck Communion^ 
 
 offices of kindness :" which they suppose, " is 
 fully evident from the scriptures quoted by the 
 venerable assembly at Westminster in support 
 of that article."* The confession is therefore 
 considered not as treating of communion with 
 a church at all, but simply of that brotherly 
 love which should adorn the 'private intercour^B 
 of those who are called by the name of Christ. 
 
 If the distinction here stated, and as stated, 
 be sound, and the interpretation depending 
 upon it genuine, the Westminster confession 
 must doubtless be expunged from our roll of 
 witnesses. But if it should prove to be alto- 
 gether untenable, and the interpretation founded 
 upon it to be in direct repugnance to the article 
 which it is employed to explain, the refuge of 
 our opposing brethren will be swept away. 
 
 In combatting their distinction, which he 
 holds to be erroneous and hurtful, the authour 
 trusts to their candour for acquitting him from 
 
 * Re-exhibition of the Testimony hy a Committee of 
 the (Burgher) Associate Synod, 1778. Page 178, note*. 
 This performance, though not adopted by the Synod, and not to 
 be viewed as their act, yet being drawn up by their respectable 
 committee and published by their order, clothes its sentiments 
 with authority sufficient to justify the importance which the 
 authour has attached to the part under review. The remarksi 
 which immediately follow embrace other Christian Divines autt 
 Churches besides those of the Burgher communioiu 
 
p. n. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — En<j[land. 221 
 
 to' 
 
 the imputation of disrespect. He feels both 
 regret and grief at the necessity imposed on 
 him of differing from brethren whom he esteems 
 and loves, with whom he has taken, and hopes 
 yet to take " sweet counsel together, and to go 
 to the house of God in company" — from fathers 
 whose shoe's latchet he is scarce worthy to 
 unloose — from churches which have been and 
 are valiant for the truth, and which have dis- 
 tinguished themselves for their fidelity to the 
 testimony of Jesus. It was in their own school, 
 by imbibing their own spirit, that he first 
 learned to " call no man master upon earth ;" 
 and he would not pay them so miserable a 
 compliment as to refrain from pointing out their 
 mistake, from an unmanly fear of coming short 
 in the duties of tenderness and respect. The 
 weight of their names, the strength of their 
 habits, and the importance which they attach to 
 the distinction before us, not only justify, but 
 demand a close and full investigation. 
 
 It must strike every thinking reader as some- 
 what extraordinary, that the communion of a 
 church made up of visible saints — of Christians, 
 should not be the communion of saints, nor 
 Christian communion ! If the communion 
 which, in publick worship, saints hold with 
 saints, as such, is not *' communion of saints " 
 — which Christians there hold with Christians, 
 
^^2 A Plea for Catholkh Communion. 
 
 is not " Christian communion," what is it ? Do 
 the Christians disappear when the church 
 assembles ? Do the saints become nnsainted the 
 moment they sit down at the Lord's table ; so 
 that their communion in his body and blood i^ 
 iiot the communion of saints, nor at all signified 
 by that expression ? To say the least, here is 
 a smack of Babel: a strange confusion of 
 human speech! the words certainly do not 
 sound so : nor is it conceivable how such a 
 construction of them should suggest itself to 
 any man's mind, unless he had been reduced to 
 great straits by the pressure of some importu- 
 nate argument; and could fall upon no other 
 means to extricate himself. ' 
 
 Kor is it less extraordinary, that an instru- 
 ment prepared, like the confession of faith, 
 with the most cautious deliberation ; an instru- 
 ment remarkable, above all other uninspired 
 compositions, for denseness and perspicuity; • 
 for precision and amplitude, should treat pro- 
 fessedly of the church of God ; of her ministry, 
 her ordinances, her worship— and contain not 
 one syllable on that momentous topic, her com- 
 munion ! Shoidd be explicit and minute on the 
 private communion of her members, and silent 
 as death about their publick fellowship ! That 
 the very framers of this instrument should write 
 letters full of affection to foreign Protestant 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Chirches. — England. 223 
 
 churches; and should avoid, studiously avoid, 
 in their doctrine concerning the catholick 
 church, every thing which might inform their 
 correspondents in what Hght they were to be 
 Viewed — whether as fellow-communicants in 
 their Christian privileges, or as a profane refuse 
 of heathen men and publicans ! It is absolutely 
 incredible! Yet all this have they done, or 
 neglected to do, if the chapter on the " com* 
 munion of saints," is rightly interpreted of 
 Christian, to the exclusion oi church-c.omm.\m\on. 
 Such an idea is the more inadmissible, as all 
 the churches on both sides of the Atlantic^ 
 organized under the Westminster confession, 
 are in the same predicament. There is not one 
 of them whose authentick, standard confession 
 of their faith respecting the church of God, so 
 much as tells the other churches whether they 
 even own them as brethren in the Lord or not! 
 There is something wrong here : and it will do 
 no small service to the character of the 
 churches of the Westminster confession, to set 
 it right. For this end it will be proper, 
 
 1. To ascertain the meaning of the phrase, 
 " Communion of saints." 
 
 2. To examine the internal evidence of the 
 confession itself, coupled with the larger and 
 shorter Catechisms, which are only different 
 forms of the same body of general doctrine. 
 
 3. To compare these results with the views 
 
2^4 A Plea for CatJiolick Communion, 
 
 of church-communion which are known to have 
 prevailed about the period of which the West- 
 minster Assembly is the most conspicuous 
 incident. 
 
 1. For ascertaining the meaning of the phrase 
 '^ communion of saints," let it be remembered, 
 that at the time of forming the Westminster 
 confession it had beenof long use in the church 
 of God : so that it had become familiar as: a 
 technical expression; and may, therefore, be 
 taken only in its known and established sense. 
 It passed into the language of the churches 
 from that brief summary of Christian doctrine 
 called the " Apostles' creed." And as the 
 Westminster divines have annexed that sum- 
 mary to their own more enlarged work, they 
 have taught us that they understood the phrase 
 *' communion of saints " in the sense which is 
 affixed to it by the Apostles' creed, and which 
 had been received without contradiction or 
 variance down to their own day. 
 
 That little compend was current in the 
 Christian world without the clause " communion 
 of saints," until the end of the fourth, or begin- 
 ning of the fifth century. It was gradually, but 
 very cautiously and sparingly, enlarged, as 
 occasion required. And it was an occasion of 
 some deep and universal interest which could 
 avail for introducing a new clause into a fbr- 
 mula of such high authority, such boundless 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — England. 225 
 
 adoption, and such extreme brevity. Some 
 point of primary magnitude in the faith of the 
 whole Christian world, and vv^hich it was 
 deemed necessary to maintain by corresponding 
 testimony, must have been assailed — some 
 errour calculated to alarm the church " from 
 the one end of heaven even to the other end 
 of heaven," must have been broached, to cause 
 the insertion of a new member into that mi- 
 niature body of doctrine which contained the 
 radical faith of all believers from the rising to 
 the setting sun. What was it ? Amidst all the 
 heresies which infested the church for four 
 hundred years, had any one denied the obli- 
 gation upon Christians in their private capacity 
 to cultivate brotherly kindness? — to inter- 
 mingle their Chtistian affections ? — to abound 
 in deeds of munificence for each other's comfort, 
 and for the furtherance of the gospel ? * Was 
 
 * When the coldness and niggardliness of Christians among us 
 toward the most glorious objects of pious eiFort, are compared 
 with the ardour and bounty of the primitive believers, one cannot 
 help smiling, though in bitterness, at Cyprian"'s complaint, that 
 in his day, A. D. 251, Christians had so far degenerated from 
 their first love, as not to give the tenth part of their substance 
 to religious uses ! ! ! Nunc, says he, de patrimonio nee decimas 
 damus : ! (De unit: eceles: p. 1200 The writer knows a con- 
 gregation of very decent professor^s, in a very snug way of 
 living, who some years since gave, among them all, fifty dol- 
 lars to a seminary out of which the word of the gospel is expected 
 
$26 A Plea for CathoUch Communion. ; *! 
 
 there any doubt upon this head ? And can it- 
 be imagined that the publick creed, which 
 Christians held sacred, was enlarged for the 
 purpose of asserting what nobody disputed ? 
 This will not bear inquiry. 
 
 The troubles created by the Donatists began 
 near the commencement of the fourth century, 
 and raged with violence for a long series of 
 years. Their schism, as was shown above, con- 
 sisted precisely in their breaking off from the 
 Catholick church, and refusing to hold com- 
 muion with churches that were not of their own 
 body. Prior to this event the clause under 
 discussion was not in the Apostles' creed ; nor 
 is it to be found in any of the editions of that 
 instrument which have been preserved in 
 writings of an earlier date. The creed simply 
 said, " / believe in the Holy Catholick church, the 
 forgiveness of sins, &c. But after the schism of 
 the Donatists, in the time of Augustin their 
 great antagonist, it appears with " the com- 
 
 to go forth to feed their own children with the " bread of God ;'* 
 and. the last account of them is, that " they have not yet got 
 over this Herculean exertion I " He mourns to add, that there 
 ajre others, and they not poor, who give nothing, or next to 
 nothing ; and yet claim a full and even preponderating share of 
 the fruits for which they have not laboured, and which have beea 
 raised by men more indigent than themselves. O Saviour, do 
 these people love th^ ? Shame, where is thy blush T 
 
p. II. Fcicts. — Protestant Churches. — England. 227 
 
 t>" 
 
 munion of saints" between these two clauses ; 
 and reads, " / believe in the Holy Catholick 
 church, the communion of saints, the for-* 
 giveness of sinsj' Sec. 
 
 The fact is conclusive. We have here the 
 reason and origin of the phrase. It was to 
 maintain the principle of the union and com- 
 munion of the Catholick church, against the 
 schismatical doctrine and conduct of the 
 Bonatists; and so it is paraphrased by its 
 learned historian and commentator. Sir Peter 
 King. 
 
 *'The term Saints," says he, "being explained, 
 it will not be difficult to apprehend the meaning 
 of the other term Communion; which naturally 
 appears to be this ; that there is, and ought to be, 
 a mutual intercourse and society, fellowship and 
 communion, in all usual and regular ways, be- 
 tween the several respective churches and con- 
 gregations of Christians and believers, whereby 
 they declare unto the whole world, that although 
 both necessity and convenience oblige them to 
 assemble in distinct places, and compose dif- 
 ferent societies, yet, nevertheless, they are all 
 members of one and the same body of which 
 Jesus Christ is the head : that they are all guided 
 by the same spirit, communicate in the same 
 institutions, and are governed by the same 
 gcEferal rules ; so that whatsoever is regulai^y 
 performed and determined in one congregation, 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 A Plea for CathoUck Commmiion. 
 
 is assented to by all others ; and whosoever is 
 received to communion in one church, is freely 
 admitted i?2to any other T * 
 
 It is, therefore, clear that the phrase ^' com- 
 munion of saints," was, originally, so far from 
 signifying what is now called " Christian com- 
 munion" in opposition to *' cyzz^rc^-communion/' 
 that it signified exactly, or nearly, the reverse : 
 i. e. it not only comprehended, but strictly and 
 properly expressed, and was put into the creed 
 for the very purpose of expressing, church- 
 communion. And although it is couched in 
 terms which fairly embrace the whole fellowship 
 of believers, so as to allow that latitude of ex- 
 position which it receives in the Westminster 
 confession ; yet its immediate, primary, and 
 chief, if not sole intention, was to assert the 
 obligation upon all the churches of God through- 
 out the world, to commune with each other in 
 the most solemn offices of religion, as his pro- 
 vidence should furnish them with opportunities. 
 
 In this reigning sense was it handed down to 
 posterity, and understood at the reformation 
 more than eleven centuries after its adoption. 
 
 The Helvetic confession 
 
 Explains the church to be " a company of be- 
 lievers called or collected out of the world ; 
 
 * King's Critical History of the Apostles'' Creed, p. 342y 
 343, London, 1719. 8vo. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant CJiurches. — England. 229 
 
 addino- " I mean a communion of all the 
 saints ; viz. of them who really know the true 
 God, in Christ the Saviour, by his word and 
 spirit, who worship him aright : finally, who by 
 faith participate in all the benefits which are 
 freely offered to them through Christ. All 
 these are citizens of one city, living under the 
 same Lord, and the same laws, in the same 
 participation of all good things. For so the 
 Apostle has called them ; (fellow- citizens with 
 the saints and of the household of God :) Be- 
 stowing the appellation of 'saints' upon be- 
 lievers on earth, " who are sanctified by the 
 blood of the son of God. Eph. 2. L Cor. 6. 
 Of whom is hy all means to he understood that 
 article of the creed, I believe in the Holy 
 Catholick church, the communion of saints ."* 
 
 * Quando autem Deus ab initio salvos voluit fieri homines, et 
 ad agnitionem veritatis venire, oportet omnino semper fuisse, 
 nunc esse, et ad finem seculi futuram esse Ecclesiam: i. e. e 
 •jnundo evocatum vel collectura coetum fidelium ; Sanctorum, 
 inquam, omnium, communionem; eorum videlicet, qui Deum 
 verum in Christo Servatore per verbum et Spiritum Sanctum 
 vere colunt ; denique omnibus bonis per Christum gratuito 
 oblatis fide participant. Sunt isti omnes unius civitatis cives, 
 viventes sub eodera Domino, sub iisdem legibus, in eadem 
 omnium bonorum participatione. Sic enim hosconcives Sanctorum- 
 et domesticos Dei appellavit Apostolus : Sanctos appellans fideles 
 in terras, sanguine Filii Dei sanctiiicatos, Eph. 2. 1. Cor. 6. 
 
'230 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 Here the " communion of saints" is pro- 
 nounced to be the same, as the '' holy cathohck 
 <Jiurch ;" so that whatever the communion is, 
 it is chiirch-coTCimxmioYi. Nor can this be evaded 
 by urging that the confession has restricted the 
 definition of the church to true beHevers. It 
 has so : but then it is of believers as they 
 profess Christ, and are openly on his side, 
 forming, throughout the world, one great 
 society organized under his laws. It considers 
 real Christians to be, strictly speaking, the 
 church. But men cannot see into each other's 
 hearts. There is no other way of our knowing^ 
 who are believers but by the profession of their 
 faith with a corresponding behaviour. The con- 
 fession proceeds upon this fundamental rule of 
 society, civil and sacred, that, before the tribuiial 
 of human judgment, a man is what he appears to 
 be. It speaks, therefore, of the church of be- 
 lievers, as indicated by their visible profession, 
 walk, and order, in the gospel. In no other way 
 can she be known as a militant church — in no 
 other way can tares be mixed with her wheat-— 
 in IK) other way can she have '' a great many 
 particular churches upon earth, all referrible to 
 the true Carholick church"-' — in no other way 
 
 De quibus omnino intelligendus est symboli articulus, " Credo 
 sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem." 
 
 Ap. Syntag. coNF. pari 1. p. 5^0. 
 
p.u. Facts. — Protestant CJiurches. — England. 231 
 
 could she '" have her institutions, and be re- 
 gulated in one form among the Patriarchs before 
 the law — in another, by the law under Moses — 
 and in a third, by Christ through the gospel;" 
 all which this same article most fully maintains. 
 To the same purport, at a still earlier period, 
 
 speaks 
 
 7%e Confession o/' Basil: 
 
 "We believe in the holy Christian church, i. e. 
 the communion of saints ; the congregation of the 
 faithful in spirit, which is holy, and the spouse 
 of Christ. In which all those are citizens who 
 confess that Jesus is the Christ, the lamb of 
 God which taketli away the sins of the world; 
 and who demonstrate that ' faith of theirs by 
 works of love."* 
 
 The Strasburg Confession : 
 
 " Since the Saviour reigns truly, in these,'* 
 (the children of God) " they are properly called 
 * his church,' and, ' the communion,' i. e. the 
 society of saints, as the term * church' i» 
 explained in the Apostles' creed." f 
 
 * Credimus sanctam Christianam Ecclesiam, id est, coinmu- 
 nioneni sanctorum, congregationem fideliura in spiritu, quae sancta 
 et sponsa Christi est : In qua omnes illi cives sunt qui con- 
 litentur Jesum esse Christum, agnum Dei tollentem peccata 
 mundi ; atque eandem fidem per opera charitatis demonstrant. 
 
 IB. p. 9L 
 , t In his cum vere regnet Servator, proprie ejus ecclesia ei 
 
232 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 The BoHOEMic confession : 
 
 " We are most thoroughly persuaded, by 
 clear indications from the word of God, that our 
 ministers who do not overleap the bounds of 
 evangelical doctrine, are addicted to no he- 
 resies ; but are true ministers of Christ, and in 
 Christ's stead ; and are to be obeyed, by the 
 commandment of truth itself. Wherefore it 
 were most unlawful to withhold the communion 
 of saints with them ; especially as we are bound 
 thereto by this very article of the apostles' 
 creed ; / believe in the holy CathoUck church, the 
 communion of saints T^ 
 
 Calvin, 
 
 Who is more remarkable for nothing than for 
 his decision — who never trims, nor shuffles, nor 
 
 sanctorum Koivwvia, it est societas ; ut in syinbolo Apostolorum- 
 
 vocabulum " Ecclesiae" expositam est, nominantur. 
 
 Ib. p. 238. 
 * Persuasissimum itaque nobis est, hoc ipsum verbo Dei ut 
 
 Lydio lapide indicante, sacerdotes nostros, cum septa ipsa Evan- 
 
 gelicae doctrinse non transiliant, nullos hasresibus addictos, sed 
 
 ministros Chiisti ac veros vicarios esse ; quibus parendum esse 
 
 ipsa Veritas monet dictatque. Quo certe minus fas est, ut cum 
 
 his sanctorum comnninio detrectetur haberi ; praesertim as- 
 
 tringente nos ad hoc ipso Symboli Apostolici articulo, " Credo 
 
 ganctam ecclesiam, Sanctorum communionem. 
 
 Pr^f, in conf. Bohcem. Ib. part 2. p. 234* 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Eiwland. 233 
 
 &' 
 
 thinks by halves, has founded his whole doctrine 
 of church-communion upon this very article. And 
 in his exposition of the words " communion of 
 saints" thus expresses himself. 
 
 " This article of the creed has also some re- 
 spect to the external church ; that every one of 
 us may keep himself in brotherly concord with 
 all the children of God ; may yield to the church 
 her just authority ; in a word, may conduct him- 
 self as a sheep of the flock. And, therefore, 
 there is added, the communion of saints — 
 because it excellently expresses the quality of 
 the church : as if it had been said, the saints are 
 gathered into the fellowship of Christ upon this 
 condition, that they mutually communicate to 
 each other all the good things which God 
 bestows upon them. By which, however, the 
 diversity of his favours is not destroyed; as 
 we know that the gifts of the Spirit are variously 
 distributed ; nor is that political order plucked 
 up, by which every one is at liberty to possess 
 his own wealth in his private right; as it is 
 necessary, for the sake of preserving peace 
 among men, that the control of property should 
 be distinct and independent. But there is as- 
 serted such a community as Luke describes, that 
 the 7nultitude of believers had but one lieart and one 
 soul; and Paul, when he exhorts the Ephesians 
 to be one body and one spirit, as they are called in 
 em hope. For it cannot be, if they are truly 
 
234 A Plea for Catholick Communion. ? 
 
 persuaded that God is their common father, and 
 Christ their common head, but that joined to^- 
 gether in brotherly love, they will most freely 
 interchange their privileges."* 
 
 And, to put the matter beyond all question, 
 when he is shewing that " we are in no manner 
 to depart from the communion of saints," he 
 " refutes the errours of the Novatians, the J./M- 
 baptists and other schismatical and idle-minded 
 
 * Quanquara articulus Symboli ad externam quoque Ecclesiam 
 aliquatenus pertinet ; ut se quisque nostriim in fratemo consensu 
 cum omnibus Dei filiis contineat — Ecclesiae deferat quam me- 
 retur auctoritatem — denique se ita gerat ut ovis ex grege. Atque 
 ideo adjungitur Sanctorum communicatio : quae particula, 
 licet a veteribus fere praerterraissa sit, non tamen negligenda 
 est, quia Ecclesias qualitatem optima exprimit. Quasi dictum 
 esset, hac lege aggregari Sanctos in societ^tem Christi, ut 
 quaecunque in eos beneficia in eos confert inter se mutuo com- 
 municent. Quo tamen non tollitur gratiarum diversitas ; sicuti 
 scimus varie distribui Spiritus dona : neque etiam convellitnr 
 ordo politicus, quosuas cuique facultates privatim possidere licet; 
 ut necesse est, pacis inter homines conservand^ causa, rerum 
 dominia inter ipsos propria et distincta esse. Sed asseritur com- 
 munitas qualem Lucas describit, quod muUitudinis credentium 
 esset cor unum et anima una: et Paulus, quum hortatur 
 Ephesios ut sint unum corpus, unus spiritus, sicuti vocati sunt 
 inuna spe. Neque enim fieri potest, si vere persuasi sunt Deum 
 communem sibi omnibus patrem esse, et Christum commune 
 caput, quin, fratemo inter se amore conjuncti, ultro citroque sua 
 communicent. 
 
 Instit. Xtib. iv. cap. i. § S. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches.- — England, 235 
 
 .'men of the same stamp ;" whose schism we 
 know, consisted precisely in their refusing to 
 hold communion with other churches than their 
 own. This Calvin reprobates as a violation of 
 the " communion of saints ;" and considering 
 the unparalleled acceptance of his work with 
 the Reformed churches, his interpretation must 
 be regarded as their common judgment. Other 
 reformers speak in the same strain. 
 
 From the days of Calvin and the Reformation, 
 to the Westminster Assembly in 1643, no altera- 
 tion, on this point, appears to have occurred in 
 the sense of the religious world. Take two or 
 three proofs. 
 
 The 133d psalm beginning, Behold how good 
 and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together 
 in unity ! — has been applied, time immemorial, to 
 the harmony and love of Christians in their 
 church-communion. It is so at the present day; 
 and in several churches, particularly in those 
 which most strenuously support the distinction I am 
 combatting, is sung at the conclusion of Presby- 
 terial and Synodical meetings. Now the 
 Translators of the Bible have marked the con- 
 tents of this psalm as displaying " the benefits 
 of the COMMUNION OF SAINTS." Whether the 
 application is correct or incorrect, makes no 
 dijBPerence in the argument. For as it was 
 current in the Christian world, the Translators, 
 by their designation of the psalm, have shewn 
 
236 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 that, in their eyes, '' church-communion," and 
 " communion of saints," mean the same thing. 
 They were forty-seven of the most learned 
 Divines in England ; and can hardJy be supposed 
 to have mistaken the publick sense of an 
 expression so habitually repeated in the church 
 service. They performed their w^ork between 
 1606 and 1611. 
 
 Dr. John Davenant, one of the English 
 Divines at the Synod of Dordt, afterwards 
 bishop of Salisbury, in a letter written about 
 16S4, to John Durjsus, a Scotsman, cele- 
 brated for his endeavours to unite the Protestant 
 churches, thus expresses himself. " The 
 church of Rome alone has gone to such a high 
 pitch of pride and madness as to thrust out 
 from the " communion of saints,'' and devote to 
 hell, all the churches which refuse submission to 
 the antichristian yoke of absolute and blind 
 obedience."* 
 
 The most reverend and learned James Usher, 
 afterwards archbishop of Armagh, and one of 
 the original members of the Westminster As- 
 sembly, preached a sacramental sermon in 1620, 
 before the House of Commons, from 1 Cor. x. 
 .17. We, being many, are one bread and one body. : 
 for we are all partakers of that one bread. In 
 
 * Sentenia D. Davenantii, p. 6. Cant. 1640. l8ra,Q. 
 
P.LI. Fads.— Protestant Churches. ^-tlngtand. 237 
 
 this sermon, he observes, " the Apostle maketh 
 our partaking of the Lord's table to be a testi- 
 mony not only of the union and communion 
 which we have betwixt ourselves and with our 
 Head, (which he doth in the express words 
 which I have read,) but also of our disunion 
 and separation from all idolatrous worship. 
 
 " The effect, therefore, of that which 
 St. Paul in express terms here delivereth, is 
 the communion of saints ; which consisteth of two 
 parts, the fellowship which they have with the 
 Body, laid down in the beginning; and the 
 fellow^ship which they have with the Head, laid 
 down in the end of the verse." In expounding 
 the first part, he not only mentions explicitly 
 ** both our baptism and our drinking of the 
 Lord's cup," as bfjonging to the communion of 
 saints, but handles the sin of schism, or 
 ** making a rent in the church of God," as a 
 breach of this communion ; and he exhorts 
 Christians to " remember that as oft as we 
 come unto the Lord's table, so oft do we enter 
 into new bonds of peace, and tye ourselves 
 with firmer knots of love together : this blessed 
 communion being a sacred seal not only of the 
 union which we have with our Head by faith ; 
 but also of our conjunction with the other 
 members of the body" (the body of Christ,) " by 
 love.'"* 
 
 • P. 2—9. Lond. 1631. 4to. 
 
238; A Plea for Catholick Comynunion. , ^ 
 
 Richard Baxter, a holy man of God, of 
 merited celebrity in the church, and contem- 
 porary with the Westminster assembly, has, in 
 his treatise entitled A Christian Directory, ^ 
 long chapter on the nature of church union anc^ 
 communion, which is thus headed, " Directions 
 for the union and communion of saints ; ajid 
 the avoiding tmpeaceableness and schism."* His 
 6th direction is, ''Make nothing necessary tol 
 the unity of the Church, or tJie communion of 
 Christians, which God hath not made neces- 
 sary, or directed you to make so."'}' Here 
 " church-communion," " communion of saints,'* 
 and " communion of Christians," are evidently 
 used by Mr. Baxter as convertible terms ; and 
 it is equally evident that in using them thus in- 
 differently, the one for the other, he speaks the 
 language of the church in his 'day. 
 
 Furthermore. The Westminster confession 
 of faith was substantially adopted by the 
 churches of Connecticut assembled, by delega- 
 tion, at Saybrook, September 9th, 1708. Under 
 this very head, viz. the communion of saints^ 
 they have introduced the section we are now 
 considering, with the following variation : 
 *' which communion, though especially to be 
 exercised by them in the relations wherein they stand. 
 
 * Chap. viii. of said Treatise, Works^ Vol. i. p. 590— 608. 
 t Ib. p. 601. § 83. , 
 
p,ii. Facts.— Protestant Churches. — England. 239^ 
 
 whether in families or churches, yet, as God 
 offereth opportunity, is to be extended unto all" 
 those who in every place call upon the name of 
 the Lord Jesus."* Note, this " communion " 
 i^ to be exercised by " saints " in their church- 
 capacity ; it is therefore church-communion. 
 
 The very same sense continued to be aifixed"' 
 to it long after, and that in the church of Scot- 
 land; from which all the parties embarked in 
 this part of the discussion are derived. The 
 great and good Thomas Boston, who died in 
 1732, preached several sermons from 1 Cor. X. 
 17, which he afterwards reduced into a tract, 
 entitled, " The unity of the body of Christ, and 
 the duty the members awe one to one another?' His 
 text is the same with Usher's, quoted above, 
 and so is his general mode of treating it ; only 
 he is much more minute and ample than the 
 
 Irish prelate. 
 The broad doctrinal proposition which he 
 
 (Jevelopes and applies, is this ; 
 
 ** DocT. There is a communion of saints 
 among themselves, as being co?iJoined into one mys- 
 tical body of Christ declaimed and avouched by par- 
 takers of the sacraments, espcQially that of 
 the Lord's Supper, every one for themselves. ''\ 
 
 * A CONFESSION OF FAITH, &c. cliap. xxvii. p. 80. New 
 London, 1710. 12mo. 
 
 t Works, p. ^91. Edin. 1767. fol. 
 
240 A Plea for CathoUck ComntiinioH. 
 
 And again, he says that, " the sacraments are 
 the external bond of this communlonr* But 
 sacramental commmiion is " church-commu- 
 nion ; " therefore " church-communion" is *' the 
 communion of saints." 
 
 Nay, so firmly was this sense fixed in the 
 church, that the excellent John Brown, of 
 Haddington, even after he had been accustomed 
 to the distinction both in theory and practice, 
 (being, according to his worthy son and biogra- 
 pher, " strict, in what is called church-commu- 
 nion ;" and " as to what is named the communion 
 of saints, as distinguished from it, libey^al,") 
 even John Brown himself could not altogether 
 rid himself of the received interpretation, but, 
 forgetting the new distinction, thus expressed 
 himself concerning the Seceders, who left their 
 ministers in the established church of Scotland: 
 *' In vain you told them that their withdraw- 
 ment was a breaking up of the communion of 
 saints.'''' And again, '^ They," the seceders, 
 " challenged you to prove that Luther and 
 Calvin's obedience to that command," the com- 
 mand of God, to leave the church of Rome, 
 " amounted to a breaking up of the commimion 
 of saints r ■\ But the communion from which 
 
 * Ib. p. 294. 
 
 t An Historical Account of the Rise and Progress of the 
 Secession, p. 30, 31. Glasgow. 1780. 12mo. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — England. 241 
 
 Luther and Calvin withdrew was certainly 
 church-communion; therefore, Mr. Brown him- 
 self being judge, " chiirch-coramiinion " is 
 *' communion of saints." And so he has inad- 
 vertently exploded his own distinction upoiv 
 which he and his brethren were acting; and 
 upon which the secession-churches, their Ame-^ 
 rican descendants and some others have, for 
 the most part, continued to act to this hour.* 
 Let us return. 
 
 * The distinction between " church-communion," and "com- 
 munion of saints," so as to exclude the former from the latter, is 
 called a new one ; and it is proved to be so by the preceding his- 
 torical induction. The precise period of its adoption is not easy 
 to fix. But as it never appeared, so far as the authour can 
 ascertain, before the complete severance of the Seceders from the 
 Scottish establishment, it seems to have been then introduced, and 
 probably in the following manner. The Seceding brethren had 
 been in the habit of holding communion with faithful ministers of 
 the establishment, after the breacJi. But as contention between 
 the two parties waxed hot, and they were perhaps taxed with 
 inconsistency for holding communion with one part of a church, 
 and refusing it with another, the intercoiu'se became uncomfort- 
 able, and it was di'opped. But here arose a new difflculty. The 
 Seceders did not deny the church of Scotland to be a true church 
 of Chi'ist. Why then did they fly in the face of their own con- 
 fession of faith, by declining all comnmnion with her? Especially 
 ^s they stoutly maintained (hat they never renounced the church 
 of Scotland, but only a corrupt party in it. " Indeed! then one 
 .of two things: either expunge the article on that subject from 
 y^ur eonfession, or retread your steps." They could do neither. 
 
 R 
 
242 A Plea for Catholick Commimion. 
 
 It has now been proved that the principal, 
 the reigning idea of the term " communion of 
 saints," from its introduction into the Apostles' 
 creed, about the fifth century, through the 
 whole of the Reformation from Popery^ and 
 of the subsequent period, down to the sitting 
 of the Assembly at Westminster, was precisely 
 
 Their consciences would not permit the first, nor their feelings 
 the second. What was to be done ? If under " communion of 
 saints," their confession treats of " church-communion," the 
 contradiction is palpable: there is no escape. To avoid this 
 distress, they seem to have hit upon the distinction as it has ever 
 since been maintained ; and had it been a sound one, it would 
 eflfectually have served their purpose. For if the chapter on 
 " communion of saints," lays down, in its second section, the 
 doctrine of communion as it subsists between Christians in their 
 private character merely, and not as it subsists between them in 
 their public relations ; i. e. if it does not lay down the doctrine 
 of " church-communion," all was safe. The Seceders could very 
 consistently adhere to the confession, and yet renounce com- 
 Eiunion with the church of Scotland. And thus, instead of 
 being tossed backwards and forwards upon the horns of a 
 cruel dilemma, they very fairly and adroitly slipped out between 
 them. But if, as has been demonstrated, " communion of 
 saints" includes " church-communion," it is worth looking after 
 whether they are out of the reach of the horns yet. Let a 
 remark be made without offence, as it is with unfeigned respect, 
 that the Seceders missed their course when they rested their 
 vindication upon any other ground than their violent extrusion 
 from the church of Scotland. Should the writer have erred, 
 the gain is their own ; and they will pardon a mistake which, 
 if it originates in ignorance, has at least the merit of fraaknesa. , 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Eugland. 243 
 
 that of " cliurch-communion." Consequently 
 the chapter which, in their confession, they 
 have themselves entitled " Of communion of 
 Saints," whatever else it may include, must 
 be interpreted, according to the known and 
 undisputed sense of the phrase, as treating 
 expressly and officially of Church-communion. 
 
 2. Let us in the next place see what light 
 is shed on this subject by the confession itself; 
 so that the Westminster fathers may be their 
 own expositors* 
 
 In the Larger Catechism, which is nothing 
 but the confession reduced to question and 
 answer, the " communion of saints" is said to 
 be one of the " special privileges of the 
 VISIBLE CHURCH."* But a privilege which 
 belongs and is peculiar to her as the visible 
 churcli, belongs and is peculiar to her in her 
 church-cap^t^ This is so perfectly plain as to 
 be little more than a tautology. And the com- 
 munion which she enjoys in her church 
 capacity is, and can be, nothing else than 
 church-communion. Therefore, the confession 
 itself being judge, church-con\m\xmo\\ is the 
 communion of saints. 
 
 Again : The " holy fellowship and commu- 
 nion," which " saints by profession are bound 
 
 ' QPEST. 63. ■ 
 
 R 2 
 
244 A Plea f 07^ Catholick Commimion. 
 
 to maintain," is distributed into three parts 
 —It is to be maintained 
 
 (1.) " In the worship of God." 
 (2.) - " In other spiritual services." 
 (3.) " In reheving each other in outward 
 things." 
 
 In regard to the first of these, let the Con^ 
 fession itself explain what is meant by " the 
 >vorship of God," 
 
 ' '' The reading of the scriptures with godly 
 fear; the sound preaching, and conscionable 
 hearing of the word, in obedience unto God, 
 with understanding, faith, and reverence: 
 singing of psalins with grace in the heart; as 
 also the due administration and worthy i^eceiving 
 of the sacraments instituted by Christ; are all 
 •parts of the ordinary religious worship of God J' * 
 ■ For *' worship of God," in the 26th chapter 
 substitute the description of that worship in the 
 25th ; and we hstve the following result — 
 
 " Saints by profession are bound to maintain 
 a holy fellowship and communion in the publick 
 preaching and hearing of the word — in the 
 praises of God — and in the sacraments instii 
 tuted by Christ." 
 . If jtiiis i^ uot " church-communion," what is? 
 
 CoNF. OF FAITH. Chap. xxi. § 5. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Englatid. 245 
 
 Yet this, according to our " good confession," 
 belongs to the " communion of saints" by pro- 
 fession. Whatever else belongs to it, is refer- 
 rible to the second or third of the particulars 
 enumerated above, which, either one or bothy 
 comprehends all that has been or can be 
 assigned to the " communion of saints," by 
 those who oppose it to " church communion." 
 
 A word more. The " communion of saints," 
 even their church-coinxmxmon, " as God offereth 
 opportunity, is to be extended," says the con- 
 fession, " to all those who in every place call 
 upon the name of the Lord Jesus." * 
 
 * This clause, as we have seen above, some restrict to 
 the relief which Clu'istians are to give each other in temporal 
 liiatters! It is really a source of grief and humiliation, when 
 good and sensible men lower themselves to an evasion which, 
 contradicts the first principles of interpretation, and the very 
 references of the confession itself. 
 
 The chapter treats generally of " communion of saints."" In 
 the second paragraph it treats especially of the communion of 
 " saints by profession." " Which communion," it says, " is 
 to be extended," &c. The rules of grammar, as well as the 
 laws of interpretation, require that this expression embrace the 
 whole communion immediately before described: and cannot, 
 without palpable unfairness, be restrained to a single speci- 
 fication. 
 
 The annexed scriptures do indeed speak of communion in 
 temporal things, as was most meet. But among them there 
 i$ ianothei' reference to quotations under letter (c) ; which arc 
 alleged to prove that saints, " are obliged to the performance. 
 
246 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 It only remains 
 
 3. To compare the sense thus ascertained of 
 the phrase " commmiion of saints," and of the 
 chapter under that title in the Westminster 
 confession of faith, with the views of church- 
 communion which are known to have prevailed 
 at and about the time when it was drawn up. 
 Take such facts as the following. 
 
 There had been previously published, by the 
 joint authority of the French and Dutch 
 churches, a harmony of the Reformed con- 
 fessions, digested under distinct heads : So 
 that whatever is contained in the several 
 confessions on any one subject was gathered 
 into one chapter of the " harmony." And it 
 was compiled for the very end of showing to 
 the world the concord of Protestants, not ex- 
 cepting the Lutherans, in all matters which 
 ought to form the bond of union and com- 
 munion ; and thus to repel the reproach of the 
 
 of such duties, publick and private, as do conduce to their 
 mutual good, both in the inward and outward man." One 
 of them is 1 Thess. v. 2. " Wlierefore comfort yourselves 
 together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."'' There 
 is not a syllable about temporal things in the whole chapter: 
 and surely no one will be so gross as to maintain that the 
 mutual edification of believers is to be limited to their com- 
 munion in temporal things — ^to what has been called by an 
 expression facetiously severe — " communion in beef and 
 cabbage." 
 
t. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches.' — England. 247 
 
 Papists, that tliey were separated from each 
 other as much as from Rome. The preface 
 concludes with the following apostrophe. 
 . " Ye, therefore, most gracious Kings, Dukes, 
 Earls, Marquisses, most famous Barons and 
 noble Lords ; ye cities and commonwealths ; 
 ye most wise Pastors, Doctors, and to be 
 short, all Christian People professing the truth 
 of the Gospel, be present in souls and bodies, 
 suffer not the poison of discord to spread any 
 farther : but kill this hurtful serpent ; and 
 receive with a Christian mind, as is meet, and 
 as is offered unto you, this most sure token 
 and earnest of the everlasting friendship of the 
 French and Belgian churches with you, offered 
 to you in the face of the whole world ; that we, 
 being by a friendly league coupled together 
 in Christ, may vanquish all Antichrists, and 
 may sing that Hymn to the Lord our God^ 
 Behold! how good and joyful a thing it is for 
 brethren to dwell together in unity !" 
 
 This book was translated into English and 
 published in London, 1643, during the sitting 
 of the Westminster Assembly ; and not only 
 so, " but allowed by publique authoritie." This 
 " publique authoritie," without which no book 
 might be printed, was lodged, by parliament, 
 in June, 1643, for the department of Theology, 
 in the hands of twelve divines, seven of whom 
 
248 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 were members of the Assembly.^ Now it is 
 hardly possible that such a committee should 
 have licensed a book containing any thing 
 materially at variance with an important Chris- 
 tian doctrine as received by themselves, when 
 they formed part of a body of men who were 
 about to assert that very doctrine as so re- 
 ceived ; and concerning which there does not 
 appear to have been any difference among 
 them. 
 
 The Assembly itself addressed an official 
 letter, of November 30th, 1643, " To the 
 Belgick, French, Helvetian, and other 
 Kef ormed churches ;' whom they style "Right 
 Reverend and dearly beloved in our JLord 
 Jesus Christ."" " The inscription was, " To the 
 Reverend and learned pastors and elders of the 
 classes and churches of Zealand, our much 
 honoured brethren^ This letter was subscribed 
 not only by the Prolocutor, Assessors, and 
 Scribes of the Assembly, but by all the com- 
 missioners from the church of Scotland; among 
 whom were the ever famous and venerable 
 Samuel Rutherford, and George Gillespie; 
 The letter is full of affection and evinces pecu- 
 liar anxiety for the good opinion, sympathy. 
 
 * Neal, Vol. II. p. 33. compared with p. 38—41. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches, — England. 249 
 
 dnd prayers of those churches. It states, in sd 
 many words that the object of the Assembly 
 was " to commend such a platform to ouf 
 Zerubhabels' (the political governours) " as may 
 be most agreeable to God's sacred word, nearest 
 
 IN CONFORMITY TO THE BEST REFORMED 
 
 CHURCHES, and to establish unity among our- 
 selves." * 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that this letter, in ita 
 general address, specifies the Belgick, French^ 
 and Helvetian churches. Now these are the 
 very churches which signalized themselves on 
 the side of Catholick communion. The efforts 
 of the French church were formerly noticed — 
 the dispositions of the Belgick church in unison 
 with the French were sufficiently manifested by 
 the preface to the " Harmony" just quoted : 
 and the Helvetick church had declared she 
 should be guilty of a nefarious schism, should 
 she withdraw from communion with other 
 churches of the Reformation. Yet these are 
 the very churches to which the Westminster 
 Assembly wished most nearly to conform the 
 church in England : And in that wish they 
 were one with the Scottish Commissioners. 
 What shall we say to such a fact ? Shall wer 
 , say that the churches of England and ScotloiHiy 
 
 * Neal, Vol. 11. p. 62. 65. 
 
250 A Plea for CathoUck Communian. 
 
 through the medium of their representatives at 
 Westminster, trifled with the foreign churches I 
 That they would not hold communion with 
 those to whom they aimed at the " NEARj:st 
 conformity V That they approached these 
 churches with a lie in their mouth I and were 
 guilty of such cursed hypocrisy, as to hail 
 them as their " dearly beloved — their much, 
 honoured brethren, in our Lord Jesus Christ,^ 
 while at the very same moment they did not 
 account their ministers to be worthy of ap- 
 pearing in their pulpits,^ nor their people of 
 a seat with themselves at the table of the 
 Lord ? If not : if we recoil with horrour from 
 such an imputation, the alternative is clear; 
 they embraced, and were ready to exemplify, 
 equally with the Dutch, French, and Swissi 
 churches, the most liberal doctrine of com- 
 munion with all, of every name, '* who held 
 the Head." 
 
 That such was then the true state of principle 
 on the subject of communion — That it was so 
 intended to be expressed, and was so under- 
 stood when expressed, in the confession— that 
 like the Luthers, and Calvins, the Melanc- 
 THONs, and Bucers, and Martyrs; like the 
 Dutch, French, and Swiss churches, the West- 
 minster Assembly, and the evangelical interest 
 generally, was desirous of bottoming the com- 
 munion of the church upon the broad foundation 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. —En gland. 26\ 
 
 of the common faith, without regard to minor 
 differences, is one of the most incontestible 
 facts in ecclesiastical story. Besides the proofs 
 which have already been produced, let the 
 following, out of a multitude, suffice. 
 
 (1.) The English Axabaptists, in 1644, 
 while the Westminster Assembly was sitting, 
 published, their confession of faith, which was 
 strictly Calvinistical, excepting in the article 
 of baptism ; but on account of that difference 
 they declined communion with the other re- 
 formed churches — a narrowness which greatly 
 displeased and scandalized their Christian 
 neighbours. For, according to Neal, " The 
 people of this persuasion were more exposed to 
 the publick resentments, because they would hold 
 communion with none but such as had been 
 dipped." * 
 
 Two things are settled by this testimony. 
 
 First, That such sectarian communion was 
 contrary to the feelings and habits of the Cal- 
 vinistic churches at that time, or it would not 
 have drawn upon the Anabaptists " the publick 
 resentments." Thence, 
 
 Seco7idly, That in the judgment of these 
 churches, neither difference in the government 
 of the church, (the Anabaptists being Inde- 
 
 Vol. II. p. 112. 
 
252 A Plea for Catholick Communion. i 
 
 pendents,) nor different views of the subjects 
 and mode of baptism, are valid reasons foj 
 breaking up communion : and therefore that to 
 refuse communion on their account is a v^orse 
 violation of the law of Christ, than an errour 
 iA either or in both. 
 
 (2.) In 1654, five years, after the termination" 
 of the Assembly, the provincial Synod ofLondoft 
 published a book, entitled Jus Divinum Minis" 
 terii EvangcUcl ; or, The Divine Right of th6 
 Gospel 3Iimstry. The ministerial portion of a 
 committee of that Synod at its first meeting, in 
 1647, were all members of the Westminster 
 Assembly. One of them, Mr. Jeremiah 
 Whitaker, had a chief hand in composing 
 their work.* It is, therefore, reasonable to 
 conclude, that they not only knew, but ex- 
 pressed, the prevailing sentiments of the West-* 
 minster divines. In their preface, speaking of 
 the different sorts of men whom they had to 
 deal with, they say, to use their own words, 
 
 " 5. A fifth sort are Our Reverend brethren of 
 New and Old Englaiul of the congregational 
 way, who hold our churches to be true churches, 
 and our ministers true ministers, though they 
 differ from us in some lesser things. We have 
 been necessitated to fall upon some things 
 
 • Neal, Vol. II. p. 261, compared with p. 466, 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches.' — England. 253 
 
 wherein they and we disagree, and have re- 
 presented the reasons of our dissent. But yet 
 we here profess. That this disagreement shall 
 not hinder us from any Christian accord with 
 them in affection : That we can wilHngly 
 write upon our study-doors that motto which 
 Mr. Jeremiah Burroughes (who, a httle 
 before his death, did ambitiously endeavour 
 after union amongst brethren, as some of us 
 ean testify) persuades all scholars unto, 
 
 " Opinioimm varietas, et opmantium unitas non 
 
 sunt aavquTa." * 
 
 And that we shall be willing to entertain any 
 sincere motion (as we have also formerly de- 
 clared in our printed vindication) that shall 
 further a happy accommodation between us. 
 
 " Q, The last sort are the moderate, godly 
 episcopal men, that hold ordination by presby- 
 ters to be lawful and valid ; that a bishop and 
 9, presbyter are one and the same order of 
 ministry — that are orthodox in doctrinal truths ; 
 and yet hold, that the government of the church 
 by a perpetual moderator is most agreeable to 
 scrip ture-pattern . 
 
 *' Though herein we differ from them, yet we 
 are far from thinking that this difference should 
 hinder a happy union between them and lis. Nay, 
 
 * " Variety of opinions, and the unity of those who hold 
 them, are not incompatible." . ' 
 
254 A Plea for Catholick Communion* 
 
 we crave leave to profess to the v^^orld, that it" 
 will never, as we humbly conceive, be well with 
 England, till there he an union endeavoured and 
 effected between all those that are orthodox in doc-- 
 trine, though differing among themselves in som€ 
 circumstances about chw^ch-government. 
 
 " Memorable is the story of Bishop Ridlet 
 and Bishop Hooper, two famous Martyrs, who, 
 when they were out of prison, disagreed about 
 certain ceremonial garments : but when they 
 were put into prison they quickly and easily 
 agreed together. Adversity united them whom 
 prosperity divided"^ 
 
 (3.) The ministers and messengers of above 
 one hundred congregational churches ; among 
 them that prince of modern divines, John Owen, 
 and that very distinguished minister of Christ, 
 John Howe, met, at the Savoy, October 12, 
 1658 ; and adopted substantially the doctrines 
 of the Westminster confession ; among the rest,- 
 the chapter on the " communion of saints." 
 Now as this has been proved to comprehend 
 '' church-communion," it would never have 
 received the approbation of a Synod of con- 
 gregationalists if it had been supposed not to 
 leave the question about external order among 
 the matters of forbearance. Especially by a 
 
 • JPreface to Jus divimim-, &c. Lond. 1654. 4tQ. 
 
p. II. Facts.' — Protestant Churches. — England. 255 
 
 3ynod who agreed, '* that churches consisting 
 of persons sound in the faith, and of good con- 
 versation, ought not to refuse communion with 
 each other, though they walk not in all things ac- 
 a^ording to the same rule of church-order ; and if 
 they judge other churches to be true churches, 
 though less pure, they may receive to occasional 
 communion such members of those churches as 
 are credibly testified to be godly, and to live 
 without offence." * 
 
 This agreement is the more worthy of notice 
 on account of the influence which Dr. Owen is 
 conceded to have possessed in the Synod. For 
 there has not been, and cannot be a more stre- 
 nuous advocate for enlarged communion than 
 was that champion of the truth of Jesus, that 
 terrour and torment of its vital corrupters — the 
 Socinians. He maintains, that *' such a comr 
 munion of Churches is to be inquired after, as 
 from which no true church of Christ is, or can 
 be, excluded ; in whose actual exercise they 
 may and ought all to live ; and whereby the 
 general end of all churches in the edification of 
 the Catholick church, may be attained. This is 
 the true and only Catholicism of the church, 
 which whoever departs from, or substitutes any 
 thing else in the room of it, under that name. 
 
 ♦ Nealk, Vol. II. p. 508. 
 
256 A Plea for Catkolick Communion. 
 
 destroys its whole nature, and disturbs the 
 whole ecclesiastical harmony that is of Christ's 
 institution. 
 
 " However therefore, we plead for the rights, 
 of particular churches, yet our real controversy, 
 with most in the world is for the being, union, 
 and communion of the church Catholick, which 
 are variously perverted by many, separating it 
 into parties, and confining it to rules, measures, 
 and canons of their own finding out and estay 
 blishment."* 
 
 Again. " Had the Presbyterian government 
 been settled, at the King's," (Charles the H.) 
 *>'- restoration, by the encouragement and prot 
 tection of the practice of it, without a rigorous 
 imposition of every thing supposed by any to 
 belong thereunto, or a mixture of human con? 
 stitutions; if there had any appearance of a 
 schism or separation continued between the 
 parties, I do judge they would have been both 
 to blame. For as it cannot be expected that all 
 churches and all persons in them should agree 
 in all principles and practices belonging unto 
 church-order, nor was it so in the days of the 
 Apostles, nor ever since, among any true 
 churches of Christ : so all the fundamental prinr 
 cipks of church-communion would have been SQ 
 
 * Owen's True Nature of a Gospel Church. Chap. XI. 
 p. 237. 4to. 
 
l>. rr. Facts. — Protestant Churches.- — England. 257 
 
 fixed and agreed upon between them, and all 
 offences in worship so removed, as that it would 
 have been a matter of no great art absolutely to 
 unite them, or to maintain a firm communion 
 among them, no more than in the days of the 
 Apostles and the primitive times, in reference to 
 the differences that were among churches in 
 those days. For they allowed distinct communion 
 upon distinct apprehensions of things belonging 
 unto church-order or worship, all ^ keeping the 
 unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' If it 
 shall be asked, then, why they did not formerly 
 agree in the Assembly? I answer (1.) I was 
 none of them, and cannot tell. (2.) They did 
 agree, in my judgment, well enough ; if they 
 could have thought so : and farther I am not 
 concerned in the difference."* 
 
 When Dr. Oweist admits that the Presby- 
 terians and Independents " did not agree in the 
 Assembly ;" he means that they did not agree 
 in a scheme of publick ecclesiastical union . f 
 
 * Owen's Inquiry into the Original, &c. of Evangelical 
 Churches^ p. 347. 4to. 
 
 t The greater part of Christendom, in that age, had its head 
 full of the idea of a national church in alliance with the state ; 
 and to that national church every body must conform. They 
 therefore made a wide, but not a very scriptural, difference, 
 between the treatment of those who favoured a particular form 
 of church government at home, and those who favoured it abroad. 
 Wliat in the latter case was no obstacle to brotherly affection and 
 
 S 
 
258 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 That such was the real state of the case ; that 
 churches were kept asunder in England from 
 mere party feelmg, is roundly averred by one of 
 their noblest men, Mr. John Howe. *' I cannot 
 forget," says he, " that sometime discoursing" 
 with some very noted persons about the businesa 
 ©f union among Christians, it hath been freely 
 granted me, that there was not so much as a 
 principle left (among those the discourse had 
 reference to) upon which to disagree; and yet 
 the same fixed aversion to union continued as 
 before ; as a plain proof they were not principles^ 
 but ends we were to differ for." * 
 
 Let us, for a moment, hear this dignified ad- 
 vocate of Catholick fellowship plead its cause 
 in his own nervous language. 
 
 *' The more truly Catholick the communion of 
 Christians is, it is the more truly Christian^ \ 
 
 intercourse, was, in the former, an unpardonable offence ; fit to 
 be argued with by civil pains and penalties. Thus, when 
 Elizabeth's government was helping the Presbyterians of 
 France^ it was plaguing and persecuting the Presbyterians of 
 England, And when the Presbyterians gained the ascendancy 
 under Charles I. and Oliver Cromwell, nothing would do 
 but all the world must be Presbyterians ! and if the Theologians 
 could not enlighten them in the expediency of such a measure, 
 their lack of success must be supplied by that great ma&ter of 
 syllogisms — the attorney general ! 
 
 * Works, Vol. ii. p. 274, Lond. 1724. Fol. 
 
 t Works, Yol. ii. p. 338. Lond, 1724. FoL 
 
p.n. Facts.— Protestant Churches. — Ens;kmd. 259 
 
 ■t>' 
 
 " Nor is it mere Peace that is to be aimed at, 
 h\xi free, mutual, Christian-communion with such 
 as do all hold the Head Christ : 
 
 " As peace between nations infers commerce ; 
 so among Christian churches, it ought to infer 
 a fellowship in acts of worship. I wish there 
 were no cause to say this is declined when no 
 pretence is left against it but false accusation ; 
 none but what must be supported by lying and. 
 calumny. Too many are busy at inventing of 
 that which is no where to be found, that exists 
 not in the nature of things, that they may have 
 a colour for continued distance. And is not 
 this to fly in the face of the authority under 
 which we live, i. e. the ruling power of the 
 kingdom of Christ, the Prince of Peace ? Tis 
 strange they are not ashamed to be called 
 Christians : that they do not discard and 
 abandon the name, that can allow themselves in 
 such things ! And 'tis here to be noted, that 'tis 
 quite another thing, what is in itself true or false, 
 right or wrong; and what is to be a measure or 
 boundary of Christian-communion. Are we yet to 
 learn, that Christian-communion is not amongst 
 men that are perfect; but that are labouring 
 under manifold imperfections, both in knowledge 
 and holiness ! And whatsoever mistake in judg- 
 ment or obliquity in practice can consist with 
 holding the Head, ought to consist also with being 
 of the same Christian-communion ; not the same 
 
 s 2 
 
260 A Pka for Catholick Communion. 
 
 locally, which is impossible ; but the same occa- 
 sionally, as any providence invites, at this or 
 that time ; and mentally, in heart and spirit, at 
 all times. And to such peace (and consequently 
 communion) we are alt called, in one hoclij. Col. 
 iii. 15. We are expressly required to i^eceive one 
 another, (which cannot but mean into each others 
 communion,) and not to clouhtful disputations, 
 Rom. xiv. 1. If any be thought to be weak, 
 and thereupon to differ from us in some or other 
 sentiments, if the difference consists with 
 holding the Head, they are not, because they are 
 weak, to be refused communion, but received ; 
 and received, because the Lord has received them, 
 ver. 3. All that we should think Christ has 
 received into his communion, we ought to 
 receive into ours, Rom. xv. 7. Scriptures are 
 so express to this purpose, that nothing can be 
 more. 
 
 *' And indeed, to make new boundaries of 
 Christian-communion, is to make a new Christi- 
 anity, and a JVeiu Gospel, and new rules of 
 Christ's kingdom ; and by which to distinguish 
 subjects and rebels, and in effect to dethrone 
 him., to rival him in his highest prerogative, 
 viz. the establishing the terms of life and death 
 for men living under his Gospel : It is to confine 
 salvation, in the means of it, to such or such a 
 party, such a church, arbitrarily distinguished 
 from the rest of Christians ; as if the privileges 
 
F. 11. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — England. 261 
 
 of his kingdom belonged to a party only ; and 
 that, for instance, the Lord's Table were to lose 
 its name, and be no longer so called, but the 
 table of this or that church, constituted by rules 
 of their own devising. For if it be the Lord's 
 Table, they are to keep it free, to be approached 
 upon the Lord's terms, and not their own. In 
 the mean time, what higher invasion can there 
 be of Christ's rights ? and since the Christiau 
 church became so overwise above what is 
 written, in framing new doctrines and rules of 
 worship, how miserably it hath languished, and 
 been torn in pieces, they cannot be ignorant 
 who have read any thing of the history of it."* 
 
 (4.) Such were the prevailing sentiments 
 among the Independents. Let us now turn, 
 again to the PresbyteIuans ; and see how the 
 communion of the church appears under the 
 irradiation of their " burning and shining 
 lights." 
 
 Dr. M ANTON protests against " the breaking 
 off church-fellowship and communion, and 
 making rents in the body of Christ because of 
 difference of opinion in smaller matters, when 
 we agree in the more weighty things. We are 
 to walk together as far as we are agreed. Phil. 
 iii. 16. and e.r^er/z^/* wherein we differ, lying far 
 
 ^^ Howe's sermon, entitled " Peace, GocPs blessing i'^\ 
 Works, Vol. ii. p, 274. 
 
262 A Plea for Catholick Communion, 
 
 from the heart of religion, are nothing to faith 
 and the new creaturey wherein we agree. Gal. 
 V. 6. and vi. 15. The most weight should be 
 pitched upon the fundamentals and essentials of 
 religion : and where there is an agreement in 
 these, private differences in smaller matters 
 should not make us break off from one 
 another."* 
 
 What these '' smaller matters " are, which 
 according to this admirable divine, should be 
 no impediment to church-communion, his own 
 words indicate; they are ail things which 
 cannot be ranked among the essentials of Chris- 
 tianity ; whether they be matters of discipline 
 or worship, of government or doctrine. That 
 his language is not stretched, by this interpre- 
 tation, beyond its true meaning, he has himself 
 decided. '" The only lawful grounds of sepa- 
 ration," says he, '^ are three. 1. Intolerable 
 persecution. 2. Damnable heresy. 3. Gross 
 idolatry. "t Every thing else is tolerable, and 
 to be tolerated rather than burst the bands of 
 church- fellowship. 
 
 Mr. Richard Vines, a member of the 
 Assembly, and " a very learned and excellent 
 
 * Manton on JuDE. p. 164. Lond. 1658. 4to. 
 
 t i^- P" 496. In the margin he adds. ^' Under this head," 
 '(Intolerable Persecution) ^' is comprised sivful excomwiiaiicaf 
 tion,^'' Let them mark that whom it concerns, 
 
v.ii. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — ILn gland, 263 
 
 divine,"* in his " Treatise of the Sacrament of 
 the LorcTs Supper," has a chapter upon the fol- 
 lowing question, " Whether a godly man lawfully 
 may or ought to stand as a member of, and hold 
 communion in the ordinances of God with, such a 
 congregation as is mi.vt, as they call it ; that, is, 
 where men visibly scandalous in life and conversa- 
 tion are mingled with the good in the participation 
 and use of divine ordinances? Or, whether this 
 oni.vture of heterogeneals do not pollute the ordi- 
 7iances and the communion to the godly, so as thty 
 are concerned to separate from such communion ?" 
 
 The chapter is too long to be inserted entire : 
 a specimen shall suffice. 
 
 " The church may be corrupted many ways in 
 doctrine, ordinances, worship ; and this I account 
 the worst, because it is the corruption of the 
 best, as the corruption of blood that runs 
 through all the body, the poisoning of springs 
 and rivers that run through a nation, is worse 
 than a sore finger in the body, or a field of 
 thistles in the nation. And there are degrees 
 of this corruption, the doctrine in some remote 
 points, hay and stubble upon the foundation ; the 
 worship in some rituals or rites of men's inven- 
 tion or custom. How many Scripture churches 
 do ye find thus corrupted, and yet no separation 
 
 * Nr.al, Vol. ii. p. 86. 
 
264 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 of Christ from the Jewish church, nor any 
 command to the godly of Corinth, (in the pro- 
 vinces of Galatia,) or those of Asia, in the 
 Revelation; I must in such case avoid the cor- 
 ru-ption, hold the communion: hear theyn in 
 Aloses chair, and yet beware of their leaven. But 
 if corruptions invade the fundamentals, the 
 foundation of doctrine is destroyed, the worship 
 is become idolatrous, the leprosy is gotten into 
 the walls and substance of the house : and 
 which is above all, if the church impose such 
 laws of their communion, as their is necessity 
 of dojng or approving things unlawful, or I am 
 ruined or undone, then must I either break with 
 God or men, and in that case, come out of 
 Babylon. The churches of Protestants so sepa,- 
 rated from them of Rome ; it was a necessary 
 and just separation, the laws of their commu- 
 nion were ruinous to the soul, if we held it ; to 
 the body and life, if we held it not. 
 
 " In sum then, and in conclusion of this part 
 about doctrine and worship, which is but upon 
 the by to the question. If a corrupt church, as 
 Israel was, have iheir ordinances according to 
 the pattern in the Mount : if it may be said, as 
 Peter to Christ, John vi, 68, when some disciples 
 separated themselves. Thou hast the words of 
 eternal life; if, as Christ said in matters of 
 worship, Johi iv. Salvation is of the Jews ; then, 
 %^ he said. Whither shall ive go? Why do we 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — England, 265 
 
 separate ? And yet I would not be mistaken by 
 the simplest man, as if I accounted it separa- 
 tion, if a Christian hear a sermon, or receive 
 the sacrament in another congregation. For he 
 that takes a meal at another table, does not 
 thereby separate from his own house. Or if a 
 Christian, at liberty to dispose his dwelling, 
 shall remove and sit down imder more fruitful 
 ordinances ; I account not this secession a sepa- 
 ration, no more than if being sickly, and having 
 not health in the city, he remove his seat into 
 the country for purer air, because in so doing 
 he removes from the city, but renounces not 
 his freedom therein; nor disclaims, in like 
 proportion, the communion of the church."* 
 
 Richard Baxter thus writes : *' I do not 
 lay so great a stress upon the external modes 
 and forms of worship as many young professors 
 do. I have suspected myself, as perhaps the 
 reader may do, that this is from a cooling and 
 declining from my former zeal, (though the 
 truth is, I never much complied with men of 
 that mind.) But I find that Judgment and 
 Charity are the causes of it, as far as I am able 
 to discover. I cannot be so narrow in my prin- 
 ciples of church-communion as many are ; that 
 are so much for a liturgy, or so much against 
 
 • Chap. XX. p. 205, 206. Loncl. 1660. 4to. 
 
266 A Plea for Catholick Crnnmunlon. 
 
 it, so much for ceremonies, or so much against 
 them, that they can hold communion with no 
 church that is not of their mind and way. 'f I 
 were among the Greeks, the Lutherans, the 
 Independents ; yea, the Anabaptists, (that o^vn 
 no heresy, nor set themselves against charity 
 and peace,) I would hold some times occasional 
 communion with them as Christians, (if they 
 will give me leave, without forcing me to any 
 sinful subscription or action :) though my most 
 usual communion should be with that society 
 which I thought most agreeable to the word of 
 God, if I were free to choose. I cannot be of 
 their opinion that think God will not accept him 
 that prayeth by the common prayer book, and 
 that such forms are a self invented worship 
 which God rejecteth : Nor yet can I be of their 
 mind that say the like of extemporary prayers."* 
 Admirable principles, admirably expressed ! 
 Worthy of the man whom, bishop Wilkins 
 being judge, it was honour enough for one age 
 to produce: and who could say, as, "he said 
 to a friend, / can as willingly he a martyr for 
 LOVE, as for ariy article of the creed."'\' 
 
 With Mr. Baxter let us join Dr. William 
 Bates, to whom we are indebted for the two 
 
 * Baxter's Life, Part i. p. 133. 
 
 t Bates's Funeral Sermon for Mr. BaxteryWovks, p. 728, 
 Land. 1723. tol. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — England. 267 
 
 preceding anecdotes. The " silver Bates," as 
 he is styled by Mr. Hervey ; and one of the 
 ministers appointed to manage, on the part of 
 the Presbyterians, the conference held at the 
 Savoy, by order of Charles II, in I66I, 
 between them and a number of Episcopal 
 divines on the part of the established church. 
 
 ^' He was," says Mr. Howe, " for entire 
 union of all visible Christians, (or saints, or 
 believers, which in Scripture are equivalent 
 terms,) meaning by Christianity what is essen- 
 tial thereto, whether doctrinal, or practical ; as 
 by Humanity we mean what is essential to man, 
 severing accidents, as being not of the essence ; 
 and by visibility, the probable appearance thereof: 
 and for free communion of all such, of what- 
 soever persuasion, in avtra essential matters, 
 if they pleased. And this design he vigourously 
 pursued as long as there was any hope ; desist- 
 ing when it appeared hopeless, and resolving to 
 wait till God should give a Spirit suitable 
 hereto ; from an apprehension that when prin- 
 ciples on all hands were so easily accommo- 
 dable, and yet that there was with too many a 
 remaining insuperable reluctancy to the thing 
 itself, God must work the cure, and not man. 
 Accounting also, in the mean time, that not- 
 withstanding misrepresentations, it was better 
 to cast a mantle over the failings of brethren, 
 than be concerned to detect and expose them. 
 
268 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 Knowing that if we be principally solicitous for 
 the 7iame of God, he will in his own way and 
 time take care of ours. And in this sentiment 
 he was not alone."* 
 
 The foregoing are only a sample. We must 
 leave individuals, who are by far too numerous 
 to quote within reasonable bounds, and proceed 
 to a few facts which ascertain the collective 
 judginent and practice of numbers of those 
 wise and holy men who about that time were 
 the glory of England, 
 
 (5.) It will sui^rise most of the good people 
 who adhere to the Westminster Confession, (and 
 well they may,) as a rare, and perhaps un- 
 equalled exhibition of sound scriptural doctrine, 
 that the very Assembly who prepared it Avere 
 so far from refusing communion on account of 
 those things which now divide many precious 
 Christians and Christian churches, that notAvith- 
 standing all their convictions and complaints of 
 the abuses and corruptions in the discipline, 
 worship, and government of the established 
 church, they nevertheless remained steadily in 
 her fellowship ; nor did they leave it until they 
 were cast out by that cruel act for conformity 
 which would not allow them to mourn and 
 
 * Howe's Funeral Sermon for Dr. Bates, Works, Vol. ik 
 p. 456. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — England. 269 
 
 submit, but required them also to approve. 
 Then they arrived at the extreme hmit of for- 
 bearance. Communion with the Episcopal 
 church was not worth the sacrifice of truth and 
 honesty : When the terms of conformity became 
 sinful, there was no room for hesitation — they 
 forsook all to follow Christ. But before the 
 arrival of so afflicting a crisis, they endured 
 what they disliked for the sake of what they 
 loved — they bore with many and great defects 
 for the preservation of unity : and while they 
 had the substance of Christianity unincum- 
 bered with criminal conditions, they accounted 
 the rupture of communion a worse evil than the 
 scandals against which th^y remonstrated. 
 *' Remember," says Mr. Baxter, when the 
 spirit of schism began to spread its venom 
 among the Presbyterian and Independent Dis- 
 senters, '' Remember, that for the Common 
 Prayer, and Cere??iomes, and Prelacy, multi- 
 tudes of worthy, holy men, conformed to them 
 heretofore, from whom you would not have se- 
 parated ; such as Dr. Preston, Dr. Sibbs, Dr. 
 Taylor, Dr. Staughton, Mr. Gataker, and 
 most, by far, of the late Synod at Westminster.''''* 
 " When they went thither, they were," he says, 
 *' ALL conformists, savc about eight or nine, 
 and the Scots commissioners. "f 
 
 • Baxter's Life, Part ii. p. 439. t lb. Part iii. p. 149. 
 
270 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 Twelve years after the Assembly, viz. in 
 1660, '' the v^rell meaning Presbyterians J' as 
 Neal calls them; i. e the Presbyterians of the 
 most moderate and Catholick spirit — offered, 
 as a fJlan of accommodation w^ith the Episco- 
 palians, "Archbishop Usher's model of primitive 
 Episcopacy:" the chief feature of which is, 
 that, without destroying the distinctive titles of 
 arch-bishop, bishop, and presbyter, as known 
 in England, they might be conjoined in the 
 government of the church; a bishop being 
 perpetual president in the ecclesiastical assemblies 
 made up of Presbyters.* 
 
 They offered that '' the surplice, the cross in 
 baptism, and kneeling at the communion, should 
 be left indifferent." 
 
 " They were content to set aside the Assem- 
 bly's confession, and let the articles of the church 
 of England take place " with some few amend- 
 ments." In pursuance of this scheme, about 
 the middle of June, Mr. Calamy, Dr. 
 Reynolds, Mr. Ash, Mr. Baxter, Dr. Wallis, 
 D'r. Mantox, and Dr. Spurstow, waited upon 
 the king, being introduced by the Earl of 
 Manchester, to crave his majesty's interposition 
 for reconciiino- the differences in the church. 
 
 * Usher's Reduction of Episcopacy unto the Synoiical 
 Forin of. Government. Lond. 1658. 12mo. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — E?2gland. 271 
 
 that the people might not be deprived of their 
 faithful pastors."* 
 
 Charles received them very aifably; and 
 soon after issued a "declaration" which though 
 not equal to their just expectations, was yet so 
 favourable as to draw from the Presbyterians 
 about London, an address of thanks to his 
 majesty, which was " signed by Samuel Clark ^ 
 William Cooper, Thomas Case,^ Jo. Rawlinson, 
 Jo. Sheffield, Thomas Gouge, Gab. Sanger, El. 
 Pledger, Matthew Pool, Jo. Gibbon,* William 
 Whitaker, Thomas Jacomb, Thomas Lye, John 
 Jackson,* John Meriton, William Pates, with 
 many others."! The three marked* wer^ 
 members of the Assembly. 
 
 That the disposition to a compromise with the 
 church of England, conceding some pretty im- 
 portant points to her Episcopal predilections, 
 and stipulating merely for toleration and for- 
 bearance on other matters of external order, did 
 not flow from transient impressions, but from 
 mature conviction and settled judgment, is 
 proved by subsequent events. Fourteen years 
 afterwards, i. e. in 1675, when the rigours of 
 the establishment on the one side, and the 
 sufferings of the ejected ministers and their 
 people on the other, might be supposed to have 
 
 Neal, Vol. ii. p. 567. t Id. Ih. p. 3^68—584. 
 
2t2 A Plea for CatlioUck Communion. 
 
 produced mutual repugnance and exasperation* 
 Mr. Baxter drew up, at the request of a large 
 portion of the puritan interest, a " Profession 
 of Religion," containing, among other things, 
 the following clause ; " I do hold that the book 
 of Common Prayer, and of Bishops, Priests, and 
 Deacons, containeth in it nothing so disagreeable 
 to the word of God, as maketh it unlawful to 
 live in the peaceable communion of the church 
 that useth it."* Which accords entirely with 
 the "spirit of the English divines in the Assem- 
 bly, who were generally against abjuring 
 Episcopacy as simply unlawful.^ Consequently, 
 it never could have been their intention to 
 subject the communion of the church to such 
 rigorous limitations as have since been adopted 
 under the sanction of their name. 
 
 These professions were not idle words. Not 
 only did the Puritans in general commune with 
 each other, as they had opportunity, but also, 
 at least to a great extent, with the church of 
 England — with their brethren who hated them, and 
 east them out, yor their master s names sake; and 
 who said, as some others have said, in the act; 
 of beating their fellow servants, " Let the Lord 
 he glorifed r Take, as examples, the following- 
 eminent divines. 
 
 ^ Baxter's Life, Part iii. p. \%\. f Neal, yoLii..p. 50. 
 
p. u. Facts. — Protestant Churclies. — EmlancL 273 
 
 to" 
 
 Samuel Clark, father of the authour of 
 *' Annotatmis on tlie Bible,'" unable to subscribe 
 the act of uniformity, " laid aside his ministry, 
 and attended the church of England both as a 
 hearer and a communicaat. For, as he himself 
 says, he durst not separate from it; nor was 
 he satisfied dhout gatheinng a private church out 
 of a true church, which he judged the Church 
 of England to be."* 
 
 Zachary Croftotst, a warm advocate for the 
 solemn league and covenant, was sent a prisoner 
 to the Tower for his non-conformity ; and while 
 there, " he attended the chapel service, being 
 against separation from the parish-churches, 
 though he himself (as a minister) could not use 
 the common prayer or the ceremonies." And 
 when thus suffering for the truth's sake, by the 
 hand of the establishment, he actually wrote, 
 in the Tower, a tract entitled, " Reformation 
 not Separation; a Flea for Communion with the 
 Church:' &c.t 
 
 Henry Jessey, after his ejectment, turned 
 Baptist; *' and it proved no small honour and 
 advantage to the Baptists to have such a man 
 among them. But notwithstanding his differing 
 from his brethren in this, or any other point, he 
 
 * Non-conformist's Memorial, Lond. 1802. Vol, i. 101. 
 t //>. 103, 4. 
 
 T 
 
274 A Plea for CathoUck Comnlumon. 
 
 maintained the same Christian love and charity 
 to ail saints as before, not only as to fri.endly 
 conversation, but also in regard to church-com- 
 munion: and took great pains to promote the 
 same Catholick spirit among others."* 
 
 Dr. Thomas Gouge, of whom it has been 
 said by a distinguished prelate, that " all things 
 considered, there have not, since the primitive 
 times of Christianity, been many among the 
 sons of men to whom that glorious character of 
 the Son of God might be better applied, ' that 
 he went about doing good ;' although persecuted 
 for preaching, constantly attended the parish- 
 churches, and communicated there. "t 
 
 Richard Wavel, " was of congregational 
 principles, but of extensive charity. It was 
 his principle and constant practice to receive all 
 whom Christ had received, without any debate 
 about things of a doubtful Qiature^X 
 
 Dr. Edmuxd Staunton, President of Cc»;pz/« 
 Christi college, Oxford, and a member of the 
 Westminster Assembly, '^always accommodated 
 himself to those that differed from him, as far 
 as his love of truth would permit, saying. All 
 men must have their grains of allowance ; the most 
 knowing Christians know but in pai^t. He would 
 
 Mb. 130. 
 
 t Tillotson's Sermons, VoL-ii. p. 135. 8vo. Lond. 1757. 
 + NoNCONF. Mem. i. 213. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — England. 275 
 
 freely converse, and communicate also, with 
 those that held the Head, though in other tlmigs 
 erroneous." Yet, notwithstanding this latitude 
 of charity, " his ;:e^/for God (to use the words 
 of David) did eat him «/?."* 
 
 John Jones, " a bold reprover of sin, was 
 of the congregational persuasion, of a Catholick 
 spirit, and for holding communion with all that 
 agreed in the main points of Christianity, 
 though they entertained different sentiments 
 about lesser matters. He told some of his 
 friends who were for separating from their 
 brethren because they were not altogether of their 
 own principles, that, " for his part, he would be 
 one with every body that was one with Christ.^'^ 
 Admirable sentence ! worthy to be written, as a 
 motto, in letters of gold, over the doors of 
 every place of Christian worship. 
 
 William Bagshaw. " His administration 
 of the sacraments, especially that of the Lord's 
 Supper, was very solemn. As he would not 
 admit the grossly ignorant and profane to that 
 sacred feast, so he durst not exclude those in 
 whom he saw any thing of the image of Christ, 
 though they were of different sentiments from 
 him inJesser matters of religion.":]: 
 
 Edmund Calamy, *' abhorred a close and 
 
 • Ib.221, 227.. t Ib. 340. : Ib. 406. 
 T 2 
 
276 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 narrow spirit, which affects, or confines religion 
 to, a party: and was much rather for a compre- 
 hension" (i. e. for a scheme of union and com- 
 munion embracing those who are substantially 
 sound, leaving smaller matters free,) " than for 
 a perpetual separation."* 
 
 John Farrol : "an humble, peaceable, 
 laborious divine." When ejected for nonconfor- 
 mity, "his custom was to go to the publick" 
 (established) " church," (from which he had 
 been cast out,) " as his people also did ; and 
 either before or after to preach in private."t 
 
 Daniel Poyntell, so remarkably blessed 
 in his ministry that he had " scarcely a prayer- 
 less family in his parish," used, even after his 
 ejectment by the Bartholomew act, to hold 
 ministerial fellowship with the establishment; 
 by preaching after the order of the church of 
 England, as he had opportunity, to his old 
 flock at Staplehurst.'^ 
 
 Isaac Ambrose, the well-known authour of 
 the treatise entitled. Looking unto Jesus, was 
 one of above twenty ministers who met at Bolton, 
 after the Restoration of Charles II, " to 
 consult what course to take. Mr. Ambrose and 
 Mr. Cole, of Preston, declared before them all, 
 that they could read the Commofi Prayer, and 
 
 f Ib. Vol. ii. 208. t IB. 279. - I Ib. 336, 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — England. 277 
 
 should do it ; the state of their places requiring 
 it, in which, otherwise, their service was now 
 necessarily at an end." 
 
 |K^ " The ministers, considering the cir- 
 cumstances of their case, approved their 
 proceeding.''^ 
 
 John Richardson, " in his judgment about 
 church-matters was moderate and sober ; never 
 condemning any for differing from him about 
 conformity," (viz. to the church of England,) 
 *' whom he thought to be godly. He frequented 
 I>r. Cumberland's, (afterwards Bishop of Peter- 
 borough's,) lecture at Stamford. At Kirktor^ 
 he went constantly to the church, came 
 betimes, joined in the liturgy and received the 
 sacrament."'!' 
 
 Edmund Trench, in his diary, July 5, 1677, 
 remarks, that " troublesome, censorious, 
 dividing spirits had occasioned more thoughts 
 of those unhappy controversies about forms and 
 ceremonies, church-government, &c. and I was 
 still more satisfied, even when most serious, 
 that the bitter extremes of Dissenters, as well 
 as of rigid Conformists, were highly displeasing 
 to God : that spiritual pride, narrow-spirited 
 mistakes, and grievous wresting of the holy 
 Scriptures, were the evil roots of unchristian 
 
 *.Jb. 362. t Ib. 431. 
 
278 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 divisions and real schisnii I was much grieved 
 at such uncharitable and love-killing principles 
 and practices." 
 
 AgTeeably to this " Christian Catholicism," 
 he, on the one hand, offered to Mr. B. the 
 minister of the parish, " to preach once a day 
 gratis, and read the common prayer in the 
 afternoon ;" and " on the other hand, he refused 
 to countenance a certain non-conformist minister 
 there, as on other accounts, so principally for 
 his binding his people against all communion 
 with the parish churches." * 
 
 Matthew Mead, authour of The Almost 
 Christian tried and cast, " His judgment, in 
 reference to matters of church order, was for 
 union and communion of all visible Christians ; 
 viz. of such as did visibly ' hold the Head,' as to 
 the principal credenda and agenda of Christianity 
 — the great things belonging to the faith and 
 practice of a Christian ; so as nothing be made 
 necessary to Christian communion but what 
 Christ has made necessary, or what is indeed 
 necessary to one's being a Christian. What he 
 publickly essayed to this purpose the world 
 knows : and many more private endeavours and 
 strugglings of his for such an union, I have not 
 been unacquainted with. The unsuccessfulness 
 of which endeavours, he said, not long before 
 
 * Ib. 454, 455. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Eno-land. 279 
 
 b' 
 
 his last confinement, he thought would break 
 his heart." * 
 
 Francis Tallents. " In king Willianis 
 time, when overtures were made towards a 
 comprehension, some gentlemen, who greatly 
 valued his judgment, sent for him to London to 
 discourse v/ith him about it ; particularly con- 
 cerning the re-ordaining of such as were ordained 
 by presbyters. Upon mature deliberation he 
 declared that he could not submit to it : and drew 
 up his reasons at large. But he was much for 
 occasional conformity, as a token of charity 
 towards those whom we cannot statedly join 
 with. In 1691 he entered into his new place 
 of worship — and caused it to be written on the 
 walls " That it was built not for a faction, or 
 painty, but for promoting repentance and faith in 
 communion with all that love our Lord Jesus Christ 
 in sincerity.'' And in speaking of the glory of 
 the church in the latter times, he used to say, 
 *' When God shall repair its breaches and build 
 it up, the subtilties of the schools, and many 
 canons of councils, and customs of old, will be 
 laid aside ; and a great simplicity in things of 
 faith and worship will be owned and practised. 
 No more conditions shall he made for the 
 
 * Ib. 466. (from Howe's Sermon, Works. Vol. ii. 47 1.) 
 
280 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 communion of churches than Christ has made 
 for communion with him." * 
 
 Joseph Alleine, authour of that celebrated 
 book, entitled. An Alarm to the Unconverted, 
 though he suffered a long imprisonment because 
 he would not cease from his ministry after his 
 ejectment, yet " often attended the worship of 
 the parish churches, and encouraged his people 
 to do the same."t 
 
 Anthony Burgess, a member of the West- 
 minster Assembly, " after his ejectment, lived 
 in a very cheerful and pious manner, frequenting 
 and encouraging the ministry of the conforming 
 clergyman." ;f 
 
 George Hopkins, himself a Presbyterian, 
 after his ejectment " frequented the parish 
 church, with his family; received the holy 
 communion, and did all things required of him 
 as a lay member of the church of England." § 
 
 The reader must not suppose that these are 
 all the instances which can be quoted. They 
 are taken from a much larger list now before 
 me; and are given merely as a sample of the 
 views, feelings, and practice which prevailed 
 among the English Puritans at and near the 
 time of the Westminster Assembly. They 
 
 • IB. 155, 156. t IB. 211. t IB. 350. § Ib. 392. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches.- ~En^land.2^\ 
 
 ti' 
 
 furnish an index to the publick mind and habits. 
 The persons to whom they relate may be 
 considered, like the Assembly itself, as a sort 
 of committee reflecting the light, and reporting 
 the judgment of Evangelical England. They 
 were no creatures of faction. They were neither 
 obstinate in peculiarities, nor yet " driven 
 about by every wind of doctrine." In '* malice," 
 they were indeed " children ;" but in " under- 
 standing" they were " men." Such men, that 
 there was hardly an individual among them of 
 whom Nature, and Nature Christianized, might 
 not " stand up and say to all the world, this 
 was a MAN !" They were men of superiour talent, 
 of high scholarship, intimately acquainted with 
 the whole body of Christian theology and 
 history. They were deeply versed in the 
 Scriptures. They gave their days and nights 
 to the study of the sacred volumes. They 
 bowed implicitly to the authority of God ; but 
 would allow no other " lord of their conscience." 
 With all their meekness and submission to the 
 " higher powers" they were perfectly intractable 
 on the capital points of faith and duty. Neither 
 ecclesiastical nor secular authority ; no bishops 
 nor dukes; no king nor parliament; neither 
 flattery nor threats ; preferment nor penalties, 
 could move them here. Yet with this adaman- 
 tine firmness in essentials, they were gentle 
 and pliant in secondary things. For the " answer 
 
2^2 A Plea for CathoUck Corimimiion. 
 
 pf a good conscience," they " took joyfully the 
 spoiling of their goods ; enduring grief" to 
 prosecutions, fines, disgrace, poverty, hunger> 
 cold, bonds, banishment, death. Yet, under 
 this accumulation of sorrows, enough, one 
 would suppose to chill every warm feeling of 
 the heart, they were *' full of life and love ;" 
 they contended for communion with all Christian 
 churches, even with that cluirch whose rulers 
 were then oppressing them ! Christians look at 
 this fact. Remember it was these men, and 
 such as these, who framed the Westminster 
 confession; and say, upon your responsibility 
 before God, whether the construction which 
 shuts church- commu7iion out of their doctrine of 
 the commimion of saints can possibly be correct ? 
 It is certainly true — these pages shew it, that 
 much averson from communion, especially with 
 the establishment, was to be found, after the 
 Bartholomew-act, in some ministers and con- 
 gregations. But was it general ? Was it not 
 chiefly among *' gathered churches?"* Was it 
 
 * " Gathered" churches were formed by drawing away 
 members from the parish-churches, even where the ministry 
 was exemplary and the ministrations edifying. The effect was 
 worthy of the cause. Christian was pitted against Christian. 
 Heart-burnings necessarify followed. Love sunk as Jealousy 
 rose : and when sinful passions embittered communion, it was 
 naturally contracted within other limits than those fixed by 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. —France. 283 
 
 considered as conformable to Christian prin- 
 ciple ? As obedience to Christ ? As a solid and 
 pre-eminent part of a reformation-testimony ? 
 Or as the very reverse ? Did not the concurring 
 judgment of the best, wisCvSt, holiest, boldest, 
 most experienced advocates of, and sufferers for 
 the truth, lament it, condemn it, resist it ? Did 
 they not deplore its progress as the triumph of 
 petty strifes over gospel unity ? as a conspiracy 
 of pride and ignorance to lay waste the king- 
 dom of God' under pretext of defending it? 
 Open their volumes and answer. 
 
 The spirit of Catholick fellowship flourished, 
 amid suffering, on the continent also. The 
 ** burning fiery furnace" kindled anew, tried 
 and purified the churches of France ! but the 
 " smell of fire" passed not upon those garments 
 which they wore as followers of the Son of 
 
 Christian character. This culling system did not confine its 
 blessings to England. It has been no uncommon thing, on 
 the western side of the Atlantick, for a minister to be sent, on 
 a long journey, to preach to two or three individuals in the 
 midst of a district where pure gospel was established ; and to 
 set about the business of " gathering ;" i. e. to excite discontent 
 and desertion at the hazard, in many instances, of so dividing the 
 Christian strength of the district, as that, in a short time, it might 
 be destitute of the gospel altogether. If, " the Prince of the Devils" 
 ever relax his sternness, he cannot but smile at the dexterity with 
 which his work is frequently performed, and his interest promoted, 
 by Christian lianda. 
 
284 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 God. All that they endured from Papal perfidjr 
 was much too little to pervert their judgment 
 or poison their affections on the subject of 
 fraternal charity. Let them speak for them- 
 selves through their publick organ, the great 
 John Claude. In a v^ork which received their 
 official sanction, he says, * " The points which 
 
 * Chacim sait quels sont les points qui nous divisent ; que ce 
 ne sont ni des points de simple discipline, comme celui pour 
 lequel Victor Evesque de Rome separa son Eglise de celles 
 d' Asie qui celebroient la Pasque le quatorzieme jour de la 
 lune — ni simplement des questions d'ecole, qui ne consistent 
 qu'en des termes eloigne de la connoissance du peuple ; comme 
 celle qu'on appelle trium capitulorum, qui excita tant de 
 troubles du tems de TEmpereur Justinien, et du Pope Vigilius 
 — ni des simples interets personnels ; tels qu'on les a vas dans 
 les schismes des Antipapes — ni des crimes ou des accusations 
 purement personelles; comme dan^ le schisme des Donatistes^ — 
 ni mesme une corruption generale de moeurs ; bien qu'elle i\ist 
 tres grande dans le Clerge du tems de nos peres. Les articles 
 qui nous separent sont des points qui, selon nous, troublent 
 essenciellement la foy par laquelle nous sommes unis a Jesus 
 Christ— -des points qui alterent essenciellement le culte que nous 
 devons a Dieu ; qui gastent essenciellement les sources de nostre- 
 Justification ; et qui corrompent les moyens soit interieurs, soit 
 exterieurs, de nous acquerir la grace et la gloire. En un mot ; 
 ce sont des points que nous croyons entierement incompatibles 
 avec la salut : et qui, par consequent, nous empechent de 
 pouvoir donner le titre ou la qualite de vraye Eglise de Jesus 
 Christ a une party qui s'est affirmy dans leur profe^ion, 
 et dans leur pratique; et qui nous a volu contraindre a la 
 mesme chose. J'avoue qu'on ne peut dire que nos con» 
 
T?. ir. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Trance. 285 
 
 'divide us," (Papists and Protestants,) " are 
 points neither of simple discipline, as that for 
 which Victor bishop of Rome separated his 
 church from those of Asia, which celebrated 
 Easter on the 14th day of the moon — nor simply 
 scholastick questions which consist in terms 
 far removed from the knowledge of the people ; 
 as that which is called trium capitulorum, which 
 excited so many troubles in the time of the 
 emperour Justinian and pope Vigilius — nor 
 simple personal interests, as in the schisms 
 pf the antipopes — nor crimes nor accusations 
 purely personal, as in the schism of the Dona- 
 tists — nor even a general corruption of manners, 
 although it was very great in the Clergy during 
 the time of our fathers. The articles which 
 separate us are points which, in our view. 
 
 troverses soient toutes de cette importance : il-y-en a, sans doute, 
 qui sont de moindre poids et de moindre force, sur lesquelles ii 
 etoit boa de se reformer, mais qui pourtant n'eussent pas pQ, 
 donner seules un juste sujet de separation. Je mets en ce rang 
 la question du Lhnhe des anciens Peres — celle de la descente 
 locale de Jesus Christ aux Enfers — celle de la distinction des 
 Prestres et des Evesques de droit divin — celle de Tobservation 
 d'un Careme ; et quelques autres de cette nature, oil Ton voit 
 bien qu'il-y-avoit de Terreur et de la superstition a corriger; 
 mais qui n'aloient pas jusqu' a pouvoir causer une rupture de 
 communion. Aussi, n'est ce pas pour ces sortes de choses que 
 nos Peres ont quitte PEglise de Rome, &c. 
 
 Claude. Defense de la Reformation, p. 210. 4to. 1673. 
 
286 A Plea for Catholick Commu7iion. 
 
 trouble essentially the faith whereby we are 
 united to Jesus Christ — points which stlter, 
 essentially, the worship we owe to God ; which 
 damage essentially, the sources of our justifi- 
 cation ; and which corrupt the means, internal 
 and external, of obtaining both grace and glory. 
 In a word, they are points which we believe to 
 be altogether incompatible with salvation; and 
 which, consequently, do not permit us to give 
 the title or concede the quality of a true church 
 of Jesus Christ to a party which is confirmed 
 in their profession and practice ; and aims at 
 compelling us to the same thing. 
 
 " I acknowledge that our controversies are 
 not all of such importance. There are, without 
 doubt, some of less weight and force on which 
 reformation were desirable ; but which, never-* 
 theless, could not, of themselves, furnish a just 
 cause of separation. I place in this rank the 
 question about the Limhus* of the ancient 
 
 * A state of saints who, before the coining of Christ, had de- 
 parted this life : being neither hell, nor heaven, nor purgatory : 
 but without the sense of pain supposed in the first and last ; and 
 without the fhiition of the blessedness belonging to the second^ 
 was believed in by the church of Rome under the name of 
 Limhiis -patrum ; into which she teaches that Christ, after his 
 passion, literally descended ; and by his preaching there, delivered 
 the souls of the Fathers thus detained. * 
 
 * Catechismus Romanua ex decreto concilii TridentInIj et 
 PlI, V. 1596. p. 49. 12mo. 
 
p.n. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Scotland. ^87 
 
 fathers — that of the local descent of Jestjs 
 Christ into hell— that of the distinction between 
 presbyters and bishops by divine right — that of 
 the observation of Lent ; and some others of the 
 same sort ; where we readily perceive there 
 was errour and superstition to correct; hut 
 which were not sufficient to cause a rupture of 
 commujiion : Accordingly it was not for such 
 things that our fathers quitted the church of 
 Rome." 
 
 What think you, reader, of this declaration on 
 the part of the French churches in 1672, only a 
 few years before they were to pour out their 
 blood afresh as martyrs to the truth of the Lord 
 Jesus ? Does it bear any resemblance to our 
 sectarianism ? Has it any thing in common with 
 those maxims of disunion which put us apart 
 and render us mutually cold, suspicious, hostile ? 
 If this be staggering, what shall we say to a 
 publick deed of the church of Scotland nearly 
 /forty years later, placing church-communion 
 explicitely upon principles common to the Re- 
 formed Churches ? It is an act of her General 
 Assembly, entitled, " Act concerning the receiving 
 of strangers into church-communion, and baptizing 
 their children ;" and runs as follows : 
 
 " The General Assembly considering that all 
 due encouragement ought to be given to persons 
 educated in the protestant churches, who have 
 come, or may come, to reside in this country, 
 
288 A Flea for Catholick Communion^ 
 
 and may incline to join in communion with this 
 church ; Therefore they hereby recommend to 
 all ministers, in whose parishes any such stran- 
 ' gers may happen to reside, to shew all tender- 
 ness to them when they come to desire the 
 benefit of sealing ordinances: And if such 
 strangers, being free of scandal, and professing 
 their faith in Christ and obedience to him, shall 
 desire baptism to their children, ministers shall 
 cheerfully comply with their desire in admini- 
 strating the sacrament of baptism to their 
 children, upon the parents engaging to educate 
 them in the fear of God, and knowledge of 
 the principles of the Reformed Protestant re- 
 ligion." * 
 
 Let us analyze this act. 
 
 It was passed for the purpose of receiving 
 " strangers into church-communion ;" they cori^ 
 tinuing strangers, and not accounting themselves 
 plenary members of the church of Scotland. For 
 about the reception of a person wishing to 
 become such a member, and giving due satis- 
 faction as to his principles and character, there 
 could be no scruple in her ministers ; and no 
 necessity of an act of the General Assembly to 
 secure due " tenderness." Men are not apt to 
 
 * Acts of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 
 May, 1711. p. 22, 33. 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Scotland. 289 
 
 be harsh in their treatment of decent applicants 
 for admission into their church. 
 
 It contemplated and provided for the re- 
 ception of such strangers into habitual com- 
 munion. For it distinctly specifies their re- 
 siding in the country as strangers; and the 
 probability of their having several children to 
 offer in baptism ; and says nothing about the 
 term of their residence : all which puts their 
 case out of the limits of extraordi^iary and 
 transient fellowship. 
 
 In order to this regular, habitual, church- 
 communion, it does not require of these strangers 
 an approbation of all or any peculiarities in 
 the church of Scotland, but simply a credible 
 christian character, and a promise, when the 
 communion was in the form of baptism, to 
 educate their children, not — be it noticed — not 
 according to the standards of the church of 
 Scotland; but according to the pjinciples of 
 the Reformed Protestant religion ! — Hence it 
 appears, 
 
 1.. That this act was passed for the purpose 
 of facilitating communion with strangers who 
 did not even pretend to join the church of 
 Scotland as complete members. 
 
 2. That the church of Scotland, at this 
 time, required nothing as a term of full com- 
 munion with her, but what was common to 
 
 u 
 
290 A Plea for CathoUck Communion, 
 
 ** the principles of the Reformed Protestant 
 rehgion." And 
 
 3. That a member of any reformed church 
 in any part of the world,. not acting unworthy 
 of his profession, was entitled, upon that 
 ground, to an equal participation with her own 
 members in her most sacred, i. e. in her sealing 
 ordinances.* 
 
 Here is now the church of Scotland, the only 
 national church upon earth adhering to the 
 Westminster confession ; and which had ad- 
 hered to it from the beginning — the very 
 church from which we have sprung; and in that 
 state in which we glory to ,have sprung from 
 
 * Nor has she wavered on this point ever since : as is evident 
 from the light in which she views the church of England, whom 
 (I quote high authority) whom her members, Scottish Presby- 
 terians, '• have at all timeSy regarded as a true church of 
 Christ, and maintained the lawfulness of occasional communion 
 with her in her most solemn offices." Sir H. Moncriefp 
 Wellwood's Sermon of February 21st 1812, /or the benefit 
 of the Lancastrian school, Edinburgh, p. 81, notes. In 
 what degree soever her pastoral admonition of May 23d 1799, 
 in relation to " the Society for Propagating the gospel at 
 home,'''' may be thought to contravene her ov\ti principles, it ha« 
 been understood and applied by ministers and people both 
 within and without the establishment, with a rigour and extent 
 justified by neither its avowed design, its general spirit, nor ita 
 particular expressions. 
 
?.ii. Fads.- — Protestant Churches. — Scotland. 291 
 
 her, giving to the world her official construction 
 of the article concerning the '' communion of 
 saints r giving it freely and frankly; without 
 passion, or pressure, or party-feeiing : and 
 giving it in flat contradiction to the construction 
 of those who for the last eighty years have 
 claimed to be her genuine sons: but who were 
 under the pressure, if not of passion, yet cer- 
 tainly of party. * 
 
 . Who is likely to be right ? Christians ! as in 
 the sight of Gg>d, judge ye ! 
 
 On this particular point, viz. " the communion 
 of saints,'' the argument is conceived to have 
 fully made out the three following propositions — 
 
 1. That the phrase " communion of saints" 
 was originally intended to express " church- 
 communion;" and was understood to express 
 it by all parts of the Christian church down to 
 the time of the Westminster assembly. 
 
 2. That the very terms of the article so en- 
 titled in their confession, as well as collateral 
 expressions, prove that it must be understood 
 in the then established sense, and cannot admit 
 of. any other. 
 
 3. That it not only continued to be so under- 
 
 * The reader Avill remember that this work is immediately 
 designed for churches which have descended, though by separaticu, 
 from tha church of Scotland. 
 
 v2 
 
292 A Plea for CathoUck Communion, 
 
 stood privately and publickly ; by individuals 
 and by churches adopting that confession, for 
 nearly, if not quite, a century later ; but that 
 the opinion and practice of the best and holiest 
 men who were contemporary with, or flourished 
 shortly after, that memorable assembly, coin- 
 (iided perfectly with the doctrine of this volume. 
 It is not necessary to go into further details. 
 The preceding pages are believed to have shewn, 
 that the communion for which they plead is en- 
 joined in the word of God — ^was understood 
 to be so enjoined by the Apostolick and pri- 
 mitive church — was acted upon under that per- 
 suasion — ^was contended for in opposition to 
 every sort of sectaries — was asserted, and the 
 doctrine of it inserted, in the briefest summary 
 of faith ever current in the churches, . the 
 apostles' creed — was maintained at the revival 
 of the cause of God and truth at the Refor- 
 mation — was practised to the greatest extent 
 in the best of churches in the best of times — 
 was cordially received by that venerable repre- 
 sentation of evangelical interests, the assembly 
 of divines at Westminster — is in perfect unison 
 with the known convictions and conduct of the 
 most glorious champions of the cross whom 
 England ever saw — was not only received, but 
 is formally, explicitly, and fully, maintained in 
 their conf^-ssion of faith — has been reasserted 
 and vindicated by the church of Scotland, thirty 
 
p. II. Facts. — Protestant Churches. — Scotland. 293 
 
 years before the Secession — and stands, at this 
 hour, a conspicuous part of her solemn, publick 
 profession ; and of the solemn publick pro- 
 fession of churches which, on both sides of the 
 Atlantick, have joriginated from her. 
 
294 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 A Review of Objections. 
 
 WEKE it safe to reason from profession to 
 conduct, the inference from these premises 
 would be, that ail who have adopted the 
 Westminster confession of faith as the con- 
 fession of their own faith, would most cordially 
 reciprocate the best offices of Christian love ; 
 would join together in sweet communion; 
 would hail as a brother, and welcome to their 
 sacramental table, every one who bears the 
 image of their glorified Lord. 
 
 But what are the facts ? Not only is the 
 Catholick church divided, but many even of 
 those particular churches which are thus 
 united in the same faith, and organized under, 
 substantially, the same order, stand aloof from 
 each other as if they were " strangers and 
 foreigners," and not " fellow-citizens with the 
 saints and of the household of God." In some 
 of them, at least, the very fact of belonging 
 as a member to any other denomination, is a 
 regular and almost insuperable obstacle to 
 communion. If a Christian, however his cha- 
 racter and conversation may adorn the doctrine 
 of God his Saviour, should happen, in th« 
 
p.m. A Review of Objections. 295 
 
 co'urse of providence, to be present at one of 
 their ** solemn feasts," and should desire, with 
 them, to " pay his vows unto the Lord," he is 
 repulsed. " Why ? Are not his professed prin- 
 ciples the same with your own ?" ** The very 
 same." " Does he not give as satisfactory 
 proofs of ' living by faith upon the Son of God,' 
 as are given by those whom you invite, welcome, 
 urge to your sacramental fellowship ?" " It 
 cannot be denied." But identity of principle 
 and a life of faith upon the Son of God are lame 
 recommendations! It is not enough that he is a 
 Christian, he must also be a sectarian — to follow 
 Christ goes for nothing, unless he follow us : 
 And so, with the traits of his master's image 
 strong upon him, he is shut out among the 
 profane 1 1 
 
 On the other hand, when members of these 
 churches have an opportunity of shewing forth 
 the Lord's death in a church which wears his 
 name though it wear not theirs ; and breathes 
 his spirit, though it repeat not their watch- word, 
 nor keep their countersign ; they will not, when 
 asked touch his sacred memorials. This do in 
 remembrance of me," weighs upon their con- 
 sciences no where but in their own precincts : 
 and they will rather withhold their testimony to 
 his dying love, than recognise their union with 
 fellow-believers all whose feelings and habits 
 have not been melted down and amalgamated 
 
296 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 with their own peculiarities in the crucible of 
 party-zeal. Should they, however, at any time, 
 break through these restrictions— should they 
 mingle their tears of thankfulness and their 
 hymns of praise with theirs who having " ob- 
 tained like precious faith with themselves," are 
 putting their seal to their privileges and their 
 hope at the table of their common Lord, — they 
 become objects of suspicion ; their conduct is 
 reproved as disorderly ; the communion which 
 they have held is pronounced offensive; and 
 their brethren are as alarmed and indignant, as 
 if their honouring the Lord Jesus Christ in his 
 acknowledged ordinances and members were a 
 real scandal — an " iniquity to be punished by 
 the judges!!" 
 
 Nay, to such a length is this fastidiousness 
 carried in certain churches, that the simple 
 hearing of the gospel from the mouth of the 
 most faithful minister who happens not to be 
 within their own circle, is accounted an eccle- 
 siastical crime ; and a sufficient o-round of church- 
 censure ! And should such a minister be, on any 
 occasion, admitted in ministerial communion to 
 one of their pulpits, however honoured he may 
 have been of God — I tremble to write it — 
 Blasphemy itself could hardly excite a greater 
 ferment ! ! It would be vain to deny the accuracy 
 of this statement. It is the truth, the plain 
 truth, and nothing but the truth. The facts 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections. 297 
 
 which justify it are notorious to the whole 
 world. 
 
 Such being the relative situation of several 
 churches, comprising many congregations and 
 an immense multitude of individuals, it is 
 natural to inquire into the history of so strange 
 a phenomenon. 
 
 It may be laid down as a general rule with 
 regard to human disagreements, that the causes 
 which produce them are very different from the 
 reasons which are assigned for their vindication: 
 It being nothing uncommon with our sinful and 
 inconsistent race, to father upon Conscience the 
 offspring of Passion : and to clothe, with the 
 sanctions of religion, whatever accords with 
 the power of habit, or flatters the vanity of 
 name. But supposing the present case to be an 
 exception : that the churches have, in this 
 instance, escaped the common infirmity; and 
 that the alleged are the re^/ causes of their 
 distant, not to say hostile, deportment toward 
 each other ; it is impossible, considering the 
 scriptural doctrine and their own concurrent 
 faith concerning the unity of the body of Christ, 
 it is impossible for a sound mind to be con- 
 vinced by any thing short of demonstration, 
 that their actual state is either pleasing to 
 God or beneficial to man. Nor is this an un- 
 reasonable demand — For, 
 
 Every church refusing to hold communion 
 
298 A Flea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 with another, does, by that fact declare herself 
 to be too pure for such communion ; i. e. that 
 such communion would contaminate her in the 
 eyes of her God, and bring down upon her 
 the stroke of his displeasure. It needs no proof 
 that a church must be very sure of her own 
 pretensions before she venture upon such high 
 and dangerous ground — Very sure that the" 
 mantle of her excluding zeal does not cover 
 offences against the Lord her God quite as 
 provoking as those which she charges upon 
 others — that there is no place for the Jewish 
 proverb, Physician! heal thyself, or for the 
 heathen aphorism. 
 
 Fabula narratur — * 
 
 -mutato nomine de te 
 
 — that she does not wink at abuses in her own 
 members, which she laments and reprobates in 
 her neighbours. It is the more necessary for 
 her to be sure of her own sanctity as the very 
 assumption of a censorial power over her 
 Christian sisters invites the most unsparing 
 scrutiny ; and no honourable mark is affixed 
 by Truth itself, to those who, regardless of 
 
 * — Change but the name. 
 The character'' f your own. 
 
/ 
 
 p. III. A Review of Objections. 299 
 
 their own faults, say, Stand by thyself ; come not 
 near me ; for I am holier than thou ! 
 
 The refusal of one evangehcal church to hold 
 communion with another is, in appearance at 
 least, an offence against tlie visible unity of the 
 body of Christ, and against his commandment 
 to cultivate that unity at the expense of much 
 inconvenience, and even of many sacrifices. 
 Difference of denomination, it must be owned 
 does not necessarily involve this consequence : 
 but exclusive communions, founded on that 
 difference, it will be difficult to acquit from 
 the imputation. 
 
 In fine — To refuse communion with a church 
 or with her members is, in effect, to unchurch 
 her, and to declare that she is no church, and 
 that her members are no followers, of Jesus 
 Christ. At least it is a declaration that they 
 are so very corrupt as to render their commu- 
 nion unlawfil. Now such a declaration, whether 
 expressed or implied, can be viewed as nothing 
 less, on the part of those who make it, than an 
 ejccommimication in disguise — but a disguise so 
 thin that it might as well be dropped. For 
 what is excommunication (the heaviest penalty 
 in the kingdom of God) but a judicial exclusion 
 from the communion of the church on account 
 of the wnvorthiness of the excommunicated; 
 i. e. the tin Ian fulness of holding communion 
 with them ? If then you refuse communion with 
 a church or with individuals, justifying your 
 
300 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 refusal by the plea of their corruptnesst your 
 conduct is a virtual denial of their visible 
 Christianity; and, having already the substance, 
 wants nothing but the form, of an excommuni- 
 cating act. This consequence, viz. the virtual 
 unchurching and excommunicating all the 
 churches and people of God upon earth with 
 whom we refuse communion, is so dreadful that 
 every Christian heart shrinks from it with fear 
 and horrour. It is, therefore, disowned and 
 rejected by the most strenuous opponents of 
 catholick fellowship. "We are glad to acquit 
 their intentions; but cannot so easily acquit 
 their argument, or their practice. They sbut 
 out from their communion other Christians and 
 churches : what is this but excommunication ? 
 what more can they do to the blasphemer and 
 the profligate? This draws deep. For the 
 scriptural doctrine, common to Protestant 
 Christendom, is, that ** heinous violations of 
 the law of God in practice ; and such errours 
 ^ in principle as unhinge the Christian profession, 
 are the only scandals for which the sentence of 
 excommunication should be passed."* Where 
 it is inflicted, either formally or practically, for 
 less weighty reasons, for secular ends, or 
 through the influence of party-passions, there 
 
 • Discip. of the Asso. E^. Churchy B. ii* cL vi. Title, 
 ^* of excommunication." 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections. 301 
 
 can be but one opinion among Christians who 
 are not infatuated by their own share in the sin 
 < — it is a deed which the Lord our God will 
 never ratify in heaven ; and which owes to his 
 marvellous forbearance whatever immunity it 
 enjoys from prompt and exemplary punishment 
 on earth. 
 
 Seeing, therefore, that the refusing our com- 
 munion to other Christians when it is desired, 
 and the declining theirs when it is offered, in- 
 volve claims of great peril, if not of great pre- 
 sumption — are an apparent violation of that 
 unity which our master has commanded us to 
 maintain — and treat many members of the 
 household of faith like open unbelievers; virtually 
 excommunicating them, as if they were blots 
 and scandals to their holy calling — ^Seeing these 
 things, it becomes us to pause : to review our 
 jproceedings as those "who shall give account:" 
 and to be thoroughly satisfied, by an honest 
 and intelligent examination of the word of God, 
 that our reasons shall be found valid and our- 
 selves acquitted at his tribunal ; lest we meet 
 with the rebuke of those who " make sad the 
 hearts which he has not made sad ;" and instead 
 of honouring and comforting, " smite their 
 fellow-servants," with the aggravation of smiting 
 them in His name. 
 
302 A Flea. for Catholick Commioiion. . 
 
 What, then, are the objections to a more 
 liberal communion than we have been accus- 
 tomed to cherish? What are those imperative 
 considerations which, apparently, in the face 
 of plain scriptural injunction ; of our own 
 - solemn profession ; and of dangers enough, one 
 would suppose, to appal the stoutest heart, do, 
 nevertheless, forbid us to reciprocate frank and 
 cordial fellowship with all acknowledged Chris- 
 tians and Christian churches ? 
 
 In so far as the authour can discover, they 
 are, substantially, the following, viz. 
 
 '* That God may hold communion with those 
 with whom v/e may not — 
 
 ** That so general a communion as this plea 
 inculcates, would prostrate ail scriptural dis- 
 tinction between the precious and the vile, and 
 that salutary discipline by which the house of 
 God is to be kept from pollution — 
 
 " That it involves an approbation of abuses 
 and corruptions in churches with which it is 
 held; and thus makes us partakers of other 
 men's sins — 
 
 " That by giving publick countenance to 
 churches erroneous or corrupt, it destroys the 
 force, or at least shackles the freedom, of a 
 faithful testimony to Christ and his truth — 
 
 " That it not only diminishes the value, but 
 supersedes the necessity, and impeaches the 
 
p. III. . A Revieiv of Objections. 303 
 
 propriety, of all that service which, in every 
 age, the churches of God have rendered to 'pure 
 and undefiled religion,' by their judicial con- 
 fessions of faith — 
 
 " That as communion presupposes and is 
 founded upon union, it is a contradiction to 
 hold communion with churches with which we 
 are not united; and, therefore, that all such 
 communion is inconsistent with distinct eccle- 
 siastical organization — 
 
 " That whatever may have been the practice 
 of primitive times, the state of the church is so 
 greatly altered as to make the imitation of it 
 inexpedient, if not impracticable, now — 
 
 " That whereas the sentiments and examples 
 of holy men and evangelical churches, in later 
 days, may seem to thwart the strain of these 
 objections, and to tbrow their advocates into 
 the dilemma of either aspersing those whom 
 they profess to venerate, or convicting them- 
 selves of schism, all such sentiments and 
 examples were adapted to eMraordinary circum- 
 stances, and are indpplicable to any regular 
 settled state — and 
 
 " That all Christians, being one in spirit, the 
 best ends of their communion may be an- 
 swered, in their present state of separation, 
 without the evils incident to its wide extension." 
 
 If there are other objections affecting the 
 
304 A Plea for Catholick Communion. . 
 
 general question, they have not come to the 
 authour's knowledge, nor occurred to his re- 
 flexions. But if these, or any considerable 
 part of them, are well founded, there can be 
 no doubt that his whole preceding argument is 
 overthrown — that his doctrine labours under 
 some radical fallacy — and that the practice 
 which has grown out of it at Neiv-Yoi^k and 
 elsewhere, has given just offence, and merits 
 severe reprehension. 
 
 Yet plausible as they are, and solid as they 
 appear to many honest and respectable men, it 
 may be allowed, without the imputation of arro- 
 gance, to try their soundness : and, long as 
 they have had possession of the popular ear, to 
 shew that in this, as in other instances, the 
 popular favour has been unwisely bestowed. 
 
 Considering the very great difficulties with 
 which they would press us, it is surprising that 
 not one of them is so much as noticed in the word of 
 God ! If the communion of his church is to be 
 so circumscribed, not to say fastidious — If the 
 religious intercourse of his own people v/ith each 
 other is so materially influenced by variance in 
 things which may confessedly stand with the 
 substance of his truth and the power of his 
 grace — if Christians of different name, by 
 meeting at the table of their Redeemer break 
 down the hedges which he has set about his 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections . 305 
 
 vineyard; make themselves reciprocally charge- 
 able with whatever errour or sin may be found 
 in their respective denominations ; and instead 
 of building up, destroy his kingdom — it is 
 *' passing strange " that neither their master nor 
 his apostles should have cautioned them against 
 the peril ! Nay, that the language of his word 
 when treating of this very subject ; and espe- 
 cially when rectifying abuses and settling 
 controversies, should be absolutely silent on the 
 topics of objection ; and rather calculated to 
 lead Christians into mistake ! For it cannot be 
 denied, that while their union, love and fellow- 
 .ship, as members of His body, are inculcated 
 with deep solemnity and enforced by awful 
 motives, those impediments to communion, so 
 formidable in our eyes, have not even a 'place 
 among the inspired discussions ! Did not the 
 Lord Jesus foresee them? Were not human 
 infirmities and passions and sins the same in the 
 days of Paul as they have been ever since ? Do 
 not the writings of this wondrous man, and 
 the apostolick history by Luke, record facts 
 which modern opinion and practice — the opinion 
 and practice of many among ourselves — the 
 spirit of the foregoing objections, would consi- 
 der as not only warranting, but demanding, 
 separate connexions, and interdicting commu- 
 nion between their members? And yet did 
 either Paul or the other apostles advise or 
 
 X 
 
306 A Flea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 countenance any such measure ? On the con- 
 trary, while ice seem to dread communion 
 between all those who " call on the name of 
 the Lord Jesus," as dangerous to the purity of 
 his church and the answer of a good conscience, 
 did theif not seem to dread the disruption of it 
 as inconsistent with her unity, as unfriendly to 
 her peace, and scandalous to her name ? And 
 this, notwithstanding objections which were as 
 obvious then as they can be now ? Whence 
 this prodigious diiference between their views 
 and ours ? Did they not understand the interest 
 of the church ? Did they not regard it ? Did 
 they leave to the wisdom of these latter days a 
 remedy for evils against which their master 
 made no provision ? and commit to our hands 
 the finishing of His imperfect work ? Or in very 
 deed are the objections faulty and false ? This 
 is more probable. Let us, then, weigh them in 
 the balances, and see if we can discover 
 wherein they are wanting. 
 
 The scope of this treatise being to shew that 
 we are bound to fellowship with those whose 
 ** fellowship is with the Father and with his Son 
 Jesus Christ,"* 
 
 I. The first objection is for making short work 
 ,with the whole matter, by granting the premises 
 
 * 1 John, i, 3. 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections. 307 
 
 and denying the canclusion — maintaining that 
 *' God may and does hold communion with those 
 with whom we may not :" and, therefore, that 
 the superstructure of church-communion, -built 
 upon the foundation of communion with him, 
 falls to the ground. 
 
 Such an objection is of strange hearing in 
 Christian ears which have been unaccustomed 
 to it ; and may be treated as a phantom which 
 has been raised for the pleasure of laying it 
 again. But it is no phantom — It has a real 
 existence, and a strong power over men re- 
 spectable for their understanding, amiable for 
 their benevolence, and venerable for their piety. 
 It was urged upon the author many years ago, 
 by an excellent Anti-Burgher minister, * re- 
 markable for the cheerfulness of his temper and 
 the Catholicism of his feelings. The conv^er- 
 sation turned upon the separation of the Burgher 
 and Anti-Burgher churches. " Do you not 
 account the Burgher churches to be true 
 churches of Jesus Christ?" ' I do.' Do you 
 not believe that the gospel of Christ is purely 
 preached there, his ordinances scripturally ad- 
 ministered, his people edified, and his presence 
 enjoyed?" 'O yes.' "Why, then, will you 
 not hold communion with them ? " The reply 
 
 Thelate Reverend Mr. Alice, of Paisley. 
 X 2 
 
308 A Plea for Catholkk Commimori. 
 
 was in the very words quoted, ' God may hold 
 communion with those with whom we may 
 not.** The objection is, then, worthy of a 
 serious examination. 
 
 It must have one of three senses, viz. 
 
 Either that God holds secret communion with 
 some with whom his people, who are vitally 
 united to Christ, can have no such communion : 
 
 Or, That God holds seo^et communion with 
 some with whom his professing people may not 
 hold publick communion : 
 
 Or, that God holds publick communion with 
 some with whom his church may not hold it. 
 
 According to the frst of these senses, the 
 proposition is neither sound in itself, nor relative 
 to the argument. 
 
 Not sound in itself — God holds no secret 
 communion with an unregenerated man. And 
 all regenerated men have, in virtue of unioii 
 with Christ their head, both union and com- 
 munion with each other — union and communion 
 utterly independent on their own will ; and 
 which they can neither break nor avoid. 
 
 Not relative to the argument — For the ques- 
 tion is not about invisible and secret, but about 
 visible and publick communion. 
 
 • The same principle is stated more at length, though with 
 some confusion, in Wilson's Defence of the Reformation- 
 ■principles of the church of Scotland, p. 70. 1769. 
 
p. iir. A Review of Objections. 309 
 
 In its second sense, the proposition is true ^ 
 but not more applicable than in the first. For 
 no intelUgent Christian will admit that things 
 which are an absolute secret between God and 
 the soul, can be a rule of proceeding to his 
 church : nor is the right of communion with 
 her ever placed on such a footing. 
 
 In the third, which is its only remaining 
 sense, viz. that " God holds publick com- 
 munion with some with whom his church may 
 not," the proposition is, indeed, strictly ap- 
 plicable ; but, at the same time, materially 
 incorrect. 
 
 1. It runs directly counter to the strain of 
 scriptural authority. 
 
 *' That which we have seen and heard," says 
 John the beloved, *' declare we unto you, that 
 ye also may have fellowship with us : and truly 
 our fellowship is with the Father and with his 
 Son Jesus Christ." * 
 
 The gospel, according to this apostle, is " de- 
 clared" with a view of conferring upon men 
 those blessed privileges, that transcendently 
 valuable interest, of which he and his fellow- 
 believers had already the possession. He calls 
 it " fellowship ;" i. e. communion, or an interest 
 " common" to all concerned. But wherein 
 
 • 1 John, i. 3. 
 
310 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 consists its value ? What renders it so ineffably 
 desirable and glorious ? This : " Our fellowship, 
 our communion," saith the apostle, "is with the 
 Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." Now if 
 our communion with God is a sufficient reason 
 for inviting others to communion with us ; then 
 his communion with others is a sufficient reason 
 for our communion with them. For our invi- 
 tation must be addressed to believers or to 
 unbelievers. If to believers, it can be n» thing 
 short of a cordial welcome to participate with 
 lis in all our privileges as the " sons of God ;" 
 and so the apostle has settled the question of 
 the whole communion which Christians can have 
 together ; and settled it exactly and expHcitly 
 upon this principle, that they have communion 
 with God. If, on the other hand, our invitation 
 is to unbelievers ; it can mean nothing short of 
 an earnest exhortation to become sharers with 
 us, by faith, in all that fellowship which flows 
 from our fellowship with God. And would it 
 not be singularly inconsistent, thus to invite 
 ufibelievefs upon the very argument and plea 
 that " our communion is with God ;" and the 
 moment they become believers, and shew that 
 their communion also is with God, to turn 
 i^'ound and tell them that communion with him 
 is not a sufficient warrant for communion 
 with us ? 
 
 Again ; the apostle Paul lays upon Christians 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections. 311 
 
 the following injunction; *' Receive ye one 
 another as Christ also received us to the glory 
 of God."* 
 
 This " receiving" can be interpreted of 
 nothing but of their embracing each other in all 
 holy affection and fellowship ; for so Christ had 
 ** received" them. The injunction has for its 
 immediate object the repression of those jea- 
 lousies, alienations, and divisions, which had 
 originated, or were likely to originate, from the 
 dispute about meats and days in the church at 
 Rome. But the rule is general ; and has de- 
 cided. 
 
 That matters which destroy not communion 
 with Christ are not to destroy the communion 
 of Christians : But 
 
 That when one Christian, or party of Chris- 
 tians, sees the tokens of Christ's approbation 
 and presence with another, the warrant is 
 perfect, and the duty imperative, to reciprocate 
 the offices of brotherly love, with a kindness 
 and generosity modelled after Christ's example 
 to them both. If this does not import a com- 
 mand to hold communion, church- communion, 
 with all who give evidence of being in com- 
 munion with Christ; and precisely for that 
 
 * Rom. XV. 7. 
 
312 A Flea for Catholick Communifm. 
 
 reason, it will be difficult to find a command- 
 ment in the Bible. " There is no cause, tjiere-. 
 fore," says Calvin in his commentary on the 
 preceding verse, *' there is no cause for a 
 man's boasting that he will glorify God in his 
 own way. For of so great moment in God's 
 sight is the unity of his servants, that he will 
 not permit his glory to sound forth amidst dis- 
 sensions and strifes. This one thought should 
 effectually restrain that mad passion for contest 
 and quarrel which fills the minds of many at 
 the present day," * 
 
 2. The objection is subversive of all church- 
 communion whatsoever. 
 
 , Visible Christianity; i. e. a profession and 
 \valk such as we have a right to expect from the 
 disciples of Christ, is the only and the un- 
 contested ground of ecclesiastical fellowship. 
 . But what is this *' visible Christianity?" 
 Ttiis " profession and walk of Christ's disciples?" 
 ■Why is it required ? And what is its use ? Is 
 it any thing else than the external effect and 
 indication of communion with God ? Is it of 
 any other use in the present question than to 
 ascertain, as far as can be ascertained by 
 outward evidence, that its possessors are the 
 people of God ? If, then, communion with 
 
 Calv, Ppp. T, vii, p. 99. 
 
p. III. A Revieiv of Objections. 313 
 
 him — if being his people, owned of him as such, 
 is not, of itself, a sufficient reason for our com- 
 munion with them in those ordinances which 
 are appointed expressly for their benefit, there 
 can be no church-communion at all. The thing 
 is impossible : at least it is impossible in the 
 church of God — What communion, upon dif- 
 ferent principles, there may be in churches of 
 mcms making, is another question ; but a question 
 which it were profaneness and pollution so 
 much as to agitate. 
 
 Instead, therefore, of conceding that God 
 holds visible communion with some with whom 
 we may not, I shall reverse the position ; and 
 say, that I ought, and will, and shall, as I have 
 opportunity, hold communion with all who have 
 communion with God, to the whole extent of 
 the proof of such communion ; and account it 
 my unutterable privilege. I will not be afraid 
 nor ashamed to be found in company with any 
 person in ani/ thing, be it sacramental service ox 
 other act of worship, when the God of my sal- 
 vation deigns to be of the party. No power on 
 earth shall hinder me from saying, " I will go 
 with you," to any of whom I can add, " for God 
 is with you." On this ground I wi!l venture my 
 peace, my soul, my eternal blessednes ! And 
 let those who refuse to walk in " church-com- 
 n^iunion" with such as ** walk with God," look 
 
SI 4 A Plea for Catholick Communmi. 
 
 well after the account which they shall be able 
 to render. 
 
 11. The second objection supposes that " the 
 doctrine of church-communion, upon the prin- 
 ciple of the common salvation, with all who call 
 upon the name of the Lord Jesus, compels us to 
 admit every one who passes himself for a Chris- 
 tian; and thus, by abolishing the distinction 
 between the precious and the vile, prostrates the 
 scriptural discipline, and lays open the house of 
 God to utter profanation." 
 
 It will be well for those who make this objec- 
 tion, if they shall be found to distinguish, in 
 their own communion, between the ** precious 
 and the vile," with that anxiety which their 
 argument professes. 
 
 But to the argument itself. A general pro- 
 fession of Christianity, as is shewn by daily 
 experience, may be, and often is, compatible 
 with the want of every Christian influence, and 
 even with hostility to almost every Christian 
 doctrine. To let it serve as an apology for 
 errour and vice ; and, under its broad pro- 
 tection, to admit to communion men who evince 
 neither repentance toward God, nor faith toward 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, would be, indeed, to 
 confound the holy with the profane ; to turn the 
 temple of God into a den of thieves ; and to 
 destroy the very end and essence of sacramental 
 
p. iir. A Review of Objections. 315 
 
 fellowship. The objectors themselves cannot 
 have a more firm and founded abhorrence of 
 such infidel charity, such latitude of ruin, than 
 has the w^riter of these remarks. But they 
 should remember that if their objection is con^ 
 elusive against him, it is equally conclusive 
 against the confession of their faith, and the 
 w^ord of their God. For the language of both 
 extends the privilege of whatever communion 
 the church enjoys to all them who call upon the 
 name of the Lord Jesus. Such a consequence 
 they will assuredly disown and disprove. And 
 when they shall have vindicated their confession, 
 and their Bible from the charge of so great an 
 absurdity, they will have refuted their own 
 objection. 
 
 But I reply more directly, 
 
 1. That the objection is altogether inappli- 
 cable to the communion here defended. For it 
 is, expressly, communion with those who are 
 acknowledged to be Christians by the objectors 
 themselves. And surely communion with such 
 as give evidence of their having *' received 
 Christ Jesus the Lord, and of their walking in 
 him," contains neither principle nor precedent 
 for the admission of such as do not give proof 
 of either. To welcome friends and brethren is 
 not to encourage aliens and enemies. 
 
 2. *' Calling upon the name of the Lord 
 Jesus," is not a loose nor equivocal phrase. It 
 
316 A Plea for CathoUck Communion, 
 
 is a comprehensive, yet precise and well- 
 defined, character of a real and orderly Chris- 
 tian. Its terms must be interpreted by those 
 fuller declarations of the scripture to which it 
 refers, and of which it is a summary. 
 
 Thus, the " name" of Jesus includes whatever 
 is peculiar to him as the Saviour of sinners : ex. 
 gr. the doctrine of his person; of his righteous- 
 ness; of his sacrifice ; of his intercessio7i ; of his 
 authority — ^briefly, oi\iis, fulness, as the fountain 
 of all that grace which his redeemed receive 
 now, and of all that glory which they shall enjoy 
 hereafter. Therefore in the scriptural, which 
 is the only true sense, no man can name his 
 blessed name without cherishing the faith of 
 those cardinal truths which relate to his cha- 
 racter and work. 
 
 " Calling" upon his name, is equivalent to 
 such a profession of faith in him as contains 
 the embracing him in his saving offices — bearing 
 testimony to his cause and cross — waiting upon 
 him in his ordinances — addressing him in acts 
 of direct worship — submitting to his authority 
 : — and keeping his commandments. Let every 
 one, says Paul, who names the name of Christ 
 depart from iniquity. This is our great practical 
 test. They who are without the doctrine of 
 Christ, must not, indeed, presume to talk of 
 their virtues: But, on the other hand, thej^ 
 who do not glorify him as " made of God unto 
 
p. III. A Revieiv of Objections. 317 
 
 them sanctification, crucifying the flesh with its 
 affections and lusts," and studying to be " holy 
 in all manner of conversation," can derive no 
 true comfort from their doctrinal accuracy ; nor 
 be allowed to plead it as a valid title to sacra- 
 mental fellowship. *' Faith without works is 
 dead," in the judgment of both God and man. 
 
 If, therefore, a professed Christian shall reject 
 truths, or vent errours, affecting the substance of 
 the gospel ; or shall dishonour it by a wicked 
 life, he is a subject of the punitive discipline of 
 the church ; and, by the law of Christ, is to be 
 shut out from the communion of the faithful till 
 he acquire a sounder mind, and be recovered 
 from the snare of the devil. 
 
 About these things there can be little dif- 
 ference of opinion. All the churches concerned 
 in the present disquisition have, evidently, 
 when they explain themselves, the same view 
 of what is meant by " calling on the name of 
 the Lord Jesus." So that by extending our 
 communion to such as answer this description, 
 wherever they are found, we incur no danger 
 of throwing open the sanctuary of God to every 
 or to any intruder. It is very possible that 
 a grievous backslider may yet retain that " seed 
 of God" which abideth for ever ; and be, at the 
 very time of his scandal, a believer in heart ; 
 and one who shall, eventually, " see the Lord.'* 
 Such was Noah; such was Lot; such was 
 
318 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 David ; such was Peter. If it be the same with 
 others, so much the better for themselves. But 
 the church having no power to " search the 
 heart and try the reins of the children of men," 
 can look only ''on the outward appearance.'* 
 Whatever an applicant for her communion may 
 be in the sight of God, he is not, he cannot 
 be, a Christian in her sight, unless he visibly 
 maintain the faith, and keep the commandments, 
 of Jesus. She has nothing to do with his secret 
 stal^e. In this matter she is to believe only 
 ^hsii she can see ; or rather is to give credit for 
 what she cannot see, only on account of what 
 she can. Christianity of the heart, unattested 
 by Christianity of the mouth in " a good con- 
 fession," and of the life in " fruit unto holiness," 
 is, to her, no Christianity at ail. 
 
 The second objection, then, viz. that our 
 holding communion with Christians as such; 
 that is, purely on account of their being 
 Christians, cuts down the hedge of discipline, 
 and exposes the house of God to defilement, is 
 without foundation. 
 
 III. It is supposed, and asserted that " by 
 holding communion with members of churches 
 in which there exist corruptions or abuses, we 
 do virtually approve such abuses or corruptions; 
 and do thereby make ourselves partakers of 
 other men's sins." 
 
 Where is the church which has no corruptions ? 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections.. 319 
 
 no abuses ? nothing to correct ? Let us speak 
 out, and say that we ought never to communicate 
 but with the members of a perfect church ! 
 For every thing which falls short of perfection 
 is an abuse, is a corruption. And, as the rule 
 works both ways, other churches should not, 
 by our own argument, tolerate communion witlv 
 us whose claim to perfection is not quite in- 
 disputable. What a spectacle would this be ! 
 AVhat a spectacle is it already, in the eyes of 
 God, of angels, and of men! A number of 
 churches all wearing the name, pleading the 
 authority, possessing substantially the faith, 
 pretending to cherish the spirit, to imitate the 
 example, and to promote the kingdom, of their 
 Redeemer, refusing to hold communion with 
 each other on account of their respective cor- 
 ruptions ! ! Truth, open thy closed lips and 
 speak out. Say — and let the world hear it — 
 Say, that in the bosom of the church of God 
 there is found a feeling and a reasoning, the 
 real tendency of which is to shew that there 
 ought to be no sacramental fellowship between 
 Christians of different names under any possible 
 circumstances ; and that the whole doctrine of 
 his word concerning the communion of his 
 church, beyond the limits of a particular sect, 
 is a mere deception — a mockery of words 
 without meaning ! 
 
 This might be, and in itself is, a sufficient 
 
320 A Plea for CathoUck Coinmimion. 
 
 answer. But as the objection is a favourite 
 one, and calculated to perplex the tender 
 conscience, it merits a more thorough sifting. 
 
 It presents two cases ; 
 
 First, members of other churches communi-r 
 eating with us. 
 
 Secondly, our members communicating with 
 other churches. The principle, however, of 
 both cases being the same, they shall be 
 considered together. 
 
 The argument, then, is this ; 
 
 " We can neither admit to our sacramental 
 table members of other churches, nor ourselves 
 participate in theirs, because there are things 
 in their constitution or practice which we must 
 account to be corruptions ; so that by holding 
 communion with them in either form, we should, 
 by implication at least, approve what it is our 
 duty to condemn ; and thus bring sin upon our 
 own souls." 
 
 If this reasoning is correct; if the conclusion 
 fairly follows from the premises, a man must be 
 blind not to see, that, out of our own sect, there 
 is not now, and never has been, a church with 
 which, or with a single member of which, we 
 can or could have lawful communion. The 
 purest churches, the holiest of saints, the most 
 gallant sons of the truth — reformers, martyrs, 
 apostles, are all under the ban of this terribly 
 proscription, all sink under one fell stroke of 
 
p. III. A Review rjj Objections. 321 
 
 this desolating scythe ! For not a church can be 
 named from the present hour back to the first 
 age, which had no corruptions to condemn. 
 And is it, indeed, come to this, that neither 
 Romaine, nor Hervey ; neither Baxter nor Bates, 
 nor Calamy, nor Howe, nor Owen, nor Usher, 
 nor Rutherford — not Daillb nor Claude; not 
 Hooper, nor Ridley, nor Latimer, nor Cranmer, 
 — not Luther, nor Calvin, nor Knox, nor 
 Melancthon, nor Zuinglius ; nor Huss, nor 
 Wickliffe — no, nor yet Athanasius, nor Augus- 
 tine, nor Cyprian, nor Irenceus, nor Lgnatius, 
 nor Polycarp, nor Clemens ; not even Timothy, 
 or Titus, or P^rz//, or Jo/^7^ — not one on the 
 whole list of evangelical worthies, from the 
 martyr Stephen down to the missionary Vander 
 Kemp, could be permitted, were he on earth, 
 to take a seat with US, at the table of the 
 Lord ? For they were all in churches more 
 or less corrupted ; some of them corrupted 
 grievously ! 
 
 And what, let me ask, what, upon such 
 terms was the condition of God's witnesses 
 for truth during their struggle with Papal 
 Rome, before they " came out of. her?" Until 
 their separation the church of God was in her. 
 If the objection is sound, no person could law- 
 fully communicate with any of her members: 
 that is to say, God's own witnesses could not 
 lawfully communicate with his own church ! 
 
 Y 
 
322 A Plea for CattLoUcU Communion. 
 
 I have not forgotten the usual distinction 
 between a reforming and a declining church: 
 although it does not seem strong enough to 
 bear all the weight which has been laid upon 
 it. It is passed over here, not only because 
 the church of Rome for centuries of the 
 period referred to, was growing worse and 
 worse in a state of accelerated apostasy, but 
 also because the objection is equally conclusive 
 against communion with a church in any state 
 ivhatever, so long as she retains things which it 
 would be sinful to approve. Let us, therefore, 
 press it a little farther. 
 
 1. If communion with a church is to be in- 
 terpreted as an approbation of lier sins, then, 
 by the same rule, communion with an individual 
 is to be interpreted as an approbation of his 
 sins. And so the communion of saints is cut 
 up by the roots. 
 
 It avails nothing to say, that " as the sacra* 
 mental supper is the act of a church in her 
 social character, we do, by the very fact of 
 communion with her, acknowledge her as a 
 whole ; and thus, by implication at least, put 
 the seal of our approbation to whatever belongs 
 to her as a church.'' 
 
 The difficulty is precisely where it was. 
 I must also take an individual as a whole. 
 His communicating is an act of the whole man* 
 If I cannot, for the purposes of communion. 
 
p. iir. A Review of Objections. 323 
 
 separate the divine ordinances in a church from 
 her corruptions, how can I thus separate the 
 graces of a christian from his sins ? If by com- 
 munion with her in God's ordinances, I must 
 participate in her corruptions also, how can 
 I commune with a behever in his faith and 
 love, and not participate in the " sin that 
 dwelleth in him?" Let your objections set 
 out from any point, on any course, it cuts up^ 
 in its progress, all communion of saints by the 
 very roots. 
 
 2. If communicating, as a guest, with another 
 church, involves an approbation of her sins, by 
 the same rule communicating with my own 
 church involves an approbation of hers, and 
 renders me by so much the more inexcusable, 
 by how much a transient act of intercourse with 
 a church in her corruptions whether great or 
 small, is less culpable than that regular and 
 habitual intimacy with her which is unavoidable 
 by her members. And so we come again to 
 the old result ; viz. that there can be no lawful 
 church-communion upon earth : with this ad- 
 dition, that the most exceptionable and criminal 
 form in which it can possibly exist, is communion 
 with ones own church while a corruption or abuse 
 can be found in her skirts. ' 
 
 In order to evade this conclusion, good and 
 sensible men have resorted to a distinction of 
 which the soundness is m.ore than doubtful. 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 They say, that " what may be wrong in our 
 "^ own church is always supposed to be under 
 " our own government. As members of our own 
 *' church, we must always have some degree 
 *' of influence over our own government : an4 
 '' as it is our duty to exercise this influence, 
 " whatever it may be, at all times and to its 
 ^' utmost extent ; we may at all times indulge 
 '' the hope of having that wrong or those 
 " wrongs rectified. But with respect to the 
 " errours, or defects, or corruptions, of qther 
 " churches, till we become actual members, 
 " we can indulge no such hopes." 
 
 This reply, not only assumes it as quite 
 indisputable, that one Christian church has no 
 manner of concern with the purity or impurity 
 of another — a notion which, come from whence 
 it may, never touched the bib] e— but moreover, 
 instead of destroying the conclusion against 
 which it is levelled, does, in fact, surrender 
 the objection it was brought forward to defend. 
 That objection was and is, that by the_act of 
 communion with an erroneous or corrupted 
 church we patronise her errours or corruptions, 
 i. e. we contract pollution from contact with a 
 polluted society. But the contact cannot be 
 the less close, nor the pollution less contagious 
 from the circumstance of the society being our 
 own. Thence it follows that communion here,; 
 on account of its intimacy and extent, is worse 
 
p. III. . A Review of Objections. 325 
 
 than any where else, while there is any wrong 
 to be rectified among ourselves. No, says the 
 reply ; " We have influence, we have control 
 over our own defects" — therefore — what ? Why 
 truly, " we are 7wt involved in the sin of our 
 own church by our communion with her." No 
 other inference can repel the conclusion to. 
 which the objection was driven. But the whole 
 ground is changed : and it is now asserted that 
 our contamination does not proceed from com," 
 munion with a corrupted church ; but from our 
 inaUUty to purify her ! Here then, I repeat, is 
 an absolute surrender of the objection which 
 was to have been defended. And the reply 
 contains this curious doctrine, that vices which 
 we cannot cure spread their leprosy over us by 
 contact ; but vices we can cure, do not. And 
 that the shortest way of escaping the charge of 
 being partakers in other men's sins, is to go 
 over to their church : and then, as mernbers, we 
 ghall have influence in reforming her ! 
 
 But can we seriously persuade ourselves by 
 such reasoning, that we may safely communi- 
 cate at home though not abroad? Shall a man 
 keep at a prudent distance from the fire on his 
 neigbonr's hearth because he has no rightful 
 control over it; and thrust his naked foot 
 fearlessly into the fire on his own, because he 
 has a well at his door and may extinguish it 
 when he pleases ? Shall he avoid the dirt of hi^ 
 
326 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 neighbour's premises and wade through the 
 mire of his own, because he can cleanse the 
 one and not the other : Will his fire or his filth 
 be so charmed by his metaphysicks, or his 
 rights, as that the one shall not burn nor the 
 other defile him ? And shall the mere capacity 
 of influencing the reformation of a church, so 
 neutralize the poison of her sins as that it shall 
 be harmless to her members, while it continues 
 deleterious and may be mortal to her guests ? 
 Let us not deceive our souls with vain words. 
 There is ground to fear that notions such as 
 have now been combatted, quiet the con^ 
 sciences of many who might else be roused ; 
 and compose them securely to sleep under 
 abuses which would startle them in others. 
 They are pleased with dreaming of a power 
 which they never exercise. They can rectify 
 the faults of their own church but do not. And 
 thus year slips away after year ; and life after 
 life : reformation is loudly called for, and the 
 delay of it severely chided, every where but 
 
 at home ! A church which needs 710 reform 
 
 i^ yet a desideratum : and a church fairly and 
 honestly setting about the work of her own 
 reformation, is a glory not of this hemisphere. 
 In truth, human passions are so unmanageable 
 in nothing, as in what relates to human sins. Let 
 any man make the experiment, and he shall find 
 that to touch abuses which have become incor- 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections. 327 
 
 porated with the habits of society, is to kindle 
 a flame of the most fierce and inextinguishable 
 resentments. It is, therefore, perfectly wild to 
 place the lawfulness of communion with our 
 own church, and the unlawfulness of it with 
 another, upon the footing of our having some 
 influence over the former and none over the 
 latter. 
 
 It must he some strange mistake, some 
 potent illusion, which can have persuaded 
 worthy and sensible men to adopt such an 
 objection to Catholick communion ; and a more 
 than common distress in maintaining it, which 
 could reduce them to so feeble a defence, as 
 has now been exposed. What is it 1 Shortly 
 and simply this — 
 
 Taking it for granted, that communion ivith a 
 CHURCH or ivith her members, implies our appro- 
 bation of her in all things belonging to her actual 
 CONDITION as an organized body. 
 
 We have seen above, that, on such a prin- 
 ciple, society cannot exist. But, happily, the 
 whole world being judge, the principle assumed 
 is false. For it might be shewn to contradict 
 the practical understanding of men in all the 
 modifications of their intercourse. 
 
 The true and only safe rule of interpreting 
 social communion is, that it always goes so far 
 as the acts which express it ; but is not, iieces- 
 sarily, to be considered as extending further. 
 
328 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 This rule is of inspired authority. If any of 
 them that believe not, says Paul, hid you to a 
 foast, and ye be disposed to go : whatsoever is set 
 before you, eat, asking no question Jar conscience 
 sake. But if any man say unto, you, " This is 
 offered in sacrifice unto idols," eatnot.^ 
 
 The apostle here resolves a case of con- 
 science : viz. A Pagan invites his Clmstian neighs, 
 hour to an entertainment. May he lawfully accept 
 the invitation! 
 
 The inviter sustains a threefold character — as 
 a host- — as an infdel — and as an idolater. Thus 
 situated, he asks his Christian friend to eat v^ith 
 him ? " What shall I do ?" " Go," says the 
 apostle, "if you be so inclined." *' But how 
 shall I conduct myself with regard to my food ; 
 as, in all probability, some of the dishes will 
 be made up of flesh that has been sacrificed to 
 idols ?" " Raise no scruples," rejoins the 
 apostle. " You were invited to dine — you go 
 to dine. Your communion with your host is 
 neither in his irifidelity nor his idolatry, but 
 simply in his dinner." " What ! if part of that 
 dinner has been offered to idols ?" " That is no 
 concern of yours. The creature is in itself 
 good ; it is God's creature : it was granted to 
 you for food — its blood having been shed before 
 
 * 1 Cor. X. 27, 
 
p. III. . A Review of Objections. 329 
 
 an idol's altar injures the flesh no more than if 
 it had been shed in the slaughter-house. You 
 have nothing to do with it but as meat. Receive 
 it with thankfulness, and ask no questions." 
 *' But if my host should tell me, ' this meat is 
 a sacrifice to his idol-god ?' " " The case is 
 entirely altered. There is a new condition 
 introduced. You are now invited to fellowship 
 not only in meat, but in idolatry also. Your 
 course is plain. Eat not — not a mouthful : or 
 you are a partaker in your neighbour's sin." 
 
 Thq^ doctrine of the apostle relieves us at once 
 from the difficulty started by the objection under 
 review, and furnishes us with a sure and easy 
 rule of conscience in regard to church- fellow- 
 ship, viz. No particular act of communion is to 
 be iiiterpreted as reaching beyond itself, unless it 
 he coupled with other acts by an express or 
 KNOWN condition. 
 
 If, therefore, I sit down at the table of the 
 Lord in another church, or receive one of her 
 members to that holy table in my own, neither 
 my act nor his can fairly be construed as more 
 than an act of communion in " the body and 
 blood of the Lord." Neither of us has, by 
 virtue of that act, any thing to do with the 
 defects of our respective churches in other 
 matters. 
 
 " There are errours in doctrine " — you cry — - 
 " there are corruptions in worship-^there is 
 
330 A Flea for Catholick Cormmtnion, 
 
 unscriptural government — there is neglect of 
 discipline ! " 
 
 Be it so. Are these declensions such as 
 consist with " holding the head ?" If not, I 
 have fallen in with a *' synagogue of Satan.'* 
 And the question has no reference to commu- 
 nion with Satan or his synagogues. If they 
 ^re ; then is a seat at the Lord's table declared or 
 understood to be a sign of my approving them ? 
 If it is, Paul has decided for me. The table to 
 me is not the table of the Lord. But if there is 
 no such condition, the sins of my fellow- 
 worshippers are their own : and shall not stand 
 in the way of my testimony to Christ my 
 passover crucified for me. 
 
 " But if by communicating with a church 
 you do not acknowledge all that belongs to her, 
 what do you acknowledge ?" Much, very 
 much. I acknowledge her to be a church, a 
 true church of Jesus Christ — I acknowledge her 
 sacramental table for his own ordinance ; where 
 it is my duty to shew forth his death, and my 
 privilege to look for a blessed experience of its 
 benefits — This, all this, I acknowledge : ac- 
 knowledge cheerfully; and can do it without 
 following her directly or indirectly in those 
 things in which she does ];iot follow Christ. 
 
 Instead, therefore, of the sacraments being 
 ^arty-ordinances among Christians; i. e. ordi- 
 nances in which we bind ourselves to a sect ; 
 
p. III. A Rev'mv of Objections. 331 
 
 they are precisely those which are divested of 
 every sectarian quaHty and mark — those whose 
 place is emphatically in the church- catholick as 
 such; and which it is impossible, without 
 profane violence, to carry over the threshold of 
 any sectarian temple whatever. Yes, the holy 
 table is the badge of no party but the party of 
 the Son of God. It is here that they who 
 " know his name and put their trust in him," 
 may and should unite their liomage to his cross 
 and their fealty to his service, upon the broad 
 and glorious ground of his having *' loved them 
 and washed them from their sins in his own 
 blood." This is the place where Christians are 
 not to "put on, but to jiut off, the sectarian, and 
 to say each to his brother, " Beloved, let us 
 LOVE one another ; for love is of God." 
 
 Long as this article is, it cannot be finished 
 without removing another difficulty. " If we 
 are thus to hold communion with visible Chris- 
 tians and Christian churches, how shall we obey 
 the scriptures ?" What scriptures ? *' AH those 
 which require us to keep ourselves pure — To have 
 no fellowship with unfruitful ivorks of darkness — 
 to come out and be separate — especially, to with- 
 draw from evcrij brother that walketh disorderly" 
 The answer is short. All such scriptures are 
 misapplied. Commandments to separate from 
 idolatry — from the icorhl which lieth in luickedness 
 • — from the motlicr of harlots and abomiiuitions of 
 
332 A Plea for Catholick Cornmumon. 
 
 the earth^— from fellowship with men of any sort 
 i?t their sins, are indeed abundant, plain, and 
 peremptory. But a commandment for one 
 believer whose conversation is as becometh the 
 gospel, to refuse communion with another — for 
 one church of the Lord Jesus to refuse commu- 
 nion with another — such a commandment is not 
 in the Bible, nor any thing like it. The com- 
 mandments of Christ, as I have already proved j 
 are all of a contrary complexion. He does not 
 enjoin, he, forbids such a refusal. 
 
 The passage from 2 Thess. iii. 6, Now we 
 command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, that ye withdrawy our selves from 
 every brother that walketh disorderly and not after 
 the tradition ivhich ye received of its, has met 
 with peculiar hardships. Modern separatists 
 plead it as a warrant for their separation ; and 
 they may all plead it with equal propriety. In 
 the primitive church, however, it was quoted 
 the other way — against the separatists ; and 
 quoted as being decisive for their condemnation. 
 Not they who held, but they who declined to 
 hold, communion with other Christians and 
 churches, were branded as the " disorderly 
 brethren."* Both interpretations cannot be 
 right, although both may be wrong. And it 
 
 Cyprian. De umt. eccles. p. 119, 
 
p; III. A Review of Objections. 333 
 
 would be somewhat amusing, yet a little melan- 
 choly, if the text, instead of being on both 
 sides, should after all be on neither. Let us 
 see. 
 
 The word rendered " disorderly," and its 
 relatives, occur but four times in the New 
 Testament, and three of them are in this 
 chapter. They describe the character and 
 conduct of certain professors who availed them- 
 selves of the church's bounty to live in idleness, 
 and employed their leisure in disturbing their 
 neighbours. Thus Paul has explained his own 
 meaning, v. 11. JFor we hear, says he, that 
 there are some which walk disorderly among 
 
 you; WORKING NOT AT ALL, hut are BUSY- 
 BODIES. This he resented as a reproach to the 
 Christian calling; adding, v. 12. " Now them 
 that are such, we command and exhort by our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, 
 and eat their own bread." And by way of 
 stimulating them to honest industry, he reminds 
 the Thessalonians of an order he had passed 
 ' "Nvhen he was with them, viz. that no lazy 
 professor of religion should receive any support 
 from the publick charity: which is the import 
 of the " command," that if any would not avork, 
 neither should he eat. 
 
 From such " disorderly" persons the Thes- 
 salonians were charged to " withdraw ;" and 
 
3^34 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 the duty of Christians in similar cases, is still 
 the same. But how? 
 
 The charge was addressed to the Thessalo- 
 nians either in their publick or their private 
 character — either as a church, or as individuals. 
 If the former, it is a charge to have no church- 
 communion with the offender — if the latter, to 
 discountenance him by avoiding personal 
 intimacy. 
 
 That it is not the former ; i. e. not a charge to 
 withhold church communion seems clear, for 
 the following reasons. 
 
 1st. The terms are entirely diiferent from 
 those which the scripture elsewhere uses in 
 regard to church- fellowship. 
 
 2d. A church, in her collective capacityy 
 does not withdraw herself from communion with 
 an offender; she authoritatively ^2^^^ him awaif 
 from her communion. 1 Cor. v. 13. 
 
 3d. The " withdrawing," here enjoined, was 
 to be a means of bringing the disorderly brother 
 to a sense of his misbehaviour, and a compli- 
 ance with the apostle's mandate for abandoning 
 his idle and impertinent habits : in case of dis- 
 obedience, he was to be reported to the apostle 
 for ulterior judgment : and, in the mean time 
 his brethren were to " have no company with 
 him." V. 14. Therefore he was still in commu- 
 nion. 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections. 335 
 
 4th. Even after this " withdrawing" — this 
 ** reporting" — this " having no company with 
 him," he was ** not to be accounted as an 
 enemy, but to be admonished as a brother." 
 
 The alternative is, that Paul speaks of private 
 and familiar intercourse. His terms apply to 
 this exactly — The word rendered, " have com- 
 pany," is found but twice more in the new New 
 Testament, it is both times in his own writings, 
 and both times in that sense. He is, then, 
 directing the Thessalonian Christians how to 
 vindicate the worthy name whereby they were 
 called, in their private carriage toward the 
 *' disorderly brother;" with a view to prevent 
 the necessity of more coercive measures. They 
 were to shew their disapprobation and grief by 
 a reserve and distance, marking a strong con- 
 trast with the usual open, frank, and affectionate 
 character of Christian society. This was a 
 gentle, and delicate, but plain and pungent 
 reproof; calculated to sting a man of any in- 
 genuous feehng to the very heart. 
 
 They were to press upon him the apostolick 
 injunction; and to observe whether or not, 
 when seconded by their own example and 
 carriage, it was likely to produce any good 
 effect. 
 
 If he resisted these milder proceedings, they 
 were to decline his company altogether ; but to 
 leave with his conscience a friendly and faithful 
 
%S6 A Plea for CathoUck Cormiuinion. 
 
 admonition of his sin, of his disgrace, and of 
 his peril — ^that, if possible, he might be 
 brought to an honest shame, and a complete 
 reformation. 
 
 See how careful and cautious the great apostle 
 was in every thing affecting either the glory of 
 his master, or the feelings and privileges of his 
 fellow Christians. He knew, on the one hand, 
 no compromise with sin : but, on the other, he 
 knew nothing of that summary process of sus- 
 pension and excommunication by which it has 
 been fashionable in some churches both to 
 indulge the lust of the lash, and to get rid of 
 further trouble with offendins: members. 
 
 See also, how he has taught Christians in 
 their private capacity to maintain the dignity of 
 their profession — to be ministers of purity to 
 each other — and to aid in supporting the order 
 of the house of God. 
 
 But how does all this enjoin or justify our re- 
 fusing the fellowship of Christians whom we own 
 as " brethren in the Lord ;" and of churches 
 which we own as having his truth ? The 
 scripture has said " Withdraw from thriftless, 
 meddling, mischief-making religionists ;" there- 
 fore, my " beloved brother '"—-therefore, respected 
 churches of Jesus Christ, whosoever and what-- 
 soever ye be that go not under wzj/ sectarian 
 ^ame — I can have no communion with you If 
 Who that pretends to reason, will so gamble 
 
p. iir. A Review of Objections. 337 
 
 with his own understanding — who that pretends 
 to love, can so slander his own heart, as to 
 adopt such a monstrous '' therejore ?" 
 
 But we have not yet done. The objection 
 dies hard. It has been, it is, and will be 
 insisted on, that the principle oi Paul's decision 
 is general ; and that there is as good reason for 
 " withdrawing" from a churchy as from " a 
 brother that walketh disorderly." Agreed. But 
 you are no nearer your point than before. 
 Because we are not to have intercourse with a 
 church that " walks disorderly," does it follow 
 that we are to hold no communion with any 
 church or church-members, but our oion ? with 
 any that have defects and blemishes? This 
 inference is as monstrous as the other. It is 
 very certain that Paul did not thus understand 
 himself: For both his doctrine and practice, as 
 every page of his history shews, were of a 
 different sort. Did he say to the Christians of 
 his time, " the churches of Corinth, of Rome, 
 of Galatia are ' disorderly;' and you must 
 have no communion with them or with their 
 members ?" No such thing. Yet we, directly 
 in the face of apostolick principle and precedent, 
 ice seize upon an ungracious term ; we apply it 
 without ceremony to the churches around ; and 
 then shelter our sects and our schisms under the 
 authority of the scripture! We do in effect 
 say, that the Lord Jesus has commanded his 
 
338 A Plea for CathoUck Commumon. 
 
 people to break up his church into shreds and 
 fragments; and to have no commumon with 
 each other ; upon the pretext, ahke convenient 
 for them all, ithat they " walk disorderly!" 
 
 But have we well considered what we are 
 doing when we brand a Christian or a Christian 
 church as disorderly? Have we weighed the 
 sense, have we measured the opprobrium, of 
 that epithet? Have we remembered that as 
 used by the apostle it marks a character utterly 
 inconsistent with the power of true religion ? a 
 character which dishonours the name of the 
 Lord Jesus? And are we prepared to judge 
 thus of all the Christians and churches whose 
 communion we shun ? 
 
 Unveil thy face, O Truth, lift up thy voice, 
 and shake thy hand ! Not the law of God — not 
 scriptural interpretation' — ^not the spirit of bro- 
 therly-kindness — but Ignorance, but Jealousy, 
 but Vanity, but Passion, but Pride, occupy 
 the seat of Judgment, and fulminate -he charge, 
 *' Disorderly,'' against individuals and churches 
 in whom the " Refiner's fire" may find less 
 dross to "purge away" than in their self- 
 pleased accusers. Here is the mischief Every 
 one accounts that to be order which he has him- 
 self been accustomed to practise : and whoever 
 does not move precisely in his track, " walks 
 disorderly." 
 
 The question concerning a church, in order 
 
p. III. A Revieio of Objections. 339 
 
 to communion, ought to be, " What is her 
 substantial character? Has she the truth, the 
 ordinances, the Spirit, of Christ? Does she 
 own " the Head," and the Head own her ? 
 Then whatever be her failings, I too will own 
 her. I shall condemn them, lament them, pray 
 over them, and bear with them. I will not quarrel 
 with her about forms, about ceremonies, about 
 any of those points in which our disagreement 
 does not prevent us from being one in our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. For the sake of that transcendant 
 common interest T will walk with her in love 
 and fellowship." And thus it was once. But 
 all is reversed now. 
 
 The question is no longer about substance, but 
 about accident — not about those vital principles 
 and virtues which constitute the solid glory of 
 a church, and are the seal of God's own Spirit ; 
 but about imperfections which yet do neither 
 destroy their being, nor hinder their predomi- 
 nance : and especially about those things in 
 which she differs from our own peculiarities. 
 Here is the huge stumbling-block — the inex- 
 piable transgression. One of our churches 
 breaks her sacramental bread in company 
 with a sister-church, where the " Spirit of 
 grace" sheds down his holiest influence — where 
 the gospel " has a free course and is glorified" 
 — where the " image of the First-born," 
 throws its radiance around ; and " love of the 
 
 z2 
 
340 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 brethren" flows from heart to heart till the 
 swelling tide bursts forth in the gushingsof 
 hallowed transport ; and the scene compels that 
 reverential testimony, " How venerable is this 
 place ! Surely this is none other than the house 
 of God ! and this is the gate of Heaven !" '* But 
 with whom has she taken this ' sweet counsel.' 
 Do they follow us ? " *' Alas, no ! they only 
 follow Christ!" The charm is dissolved — They 
 are a " disorderly" church : Their communion 
 is foul! O my soul, how shall these things 
 appear when GOD arises to judgment ? 
 
 IV. It is contended, that free communion 
 " by giving publick countenance to churches 
 erroneous or corrupt, destroys the force, or at 
 least shackles the freedom of a faithful testimony 
 for Christ and his truth." 
 
 If that publick countenance which is given to 
 a church by communion with her, were of 
 course a publick countenance to her errours or 
 corruptions, the objection would be unanswer- 
 able. For it would.be v^ith the worst imaginable 
 grace that a man could remonstrate against sins 
 which he openly encourages by his own ex- 
 ample. But such is not the fact, as was largely 
 proved in the preceding article. And it is 
 surprising that they who make the objection 
 do not perceive that, like the former, it strikes, 
 with double force, at communion with our own 
 church so long as an. errour or. corruption 
 
p. III. A Revieiv of Objections. 341 
 
 adheres to her. For if occasional and partial 
 fellowship with a church is to shut the mouth, 
 or diminish the boldness, of our testimony 
 against her faults ; much more will that be the 
 effect of a fellowship complete and permanent. 
 And so in its zeal for pur^e communion, this 
 objection would banish all communion from the 
 face of the earth ! 
 
 But that the reply may be more direct and 
 ample, let us strip the objection of its form 
 and examine its substance — its principle. This 
 manifestly is, that friendship and intimacy are 
 incompatible ivith proper admonition! What say 
 Nature and E.vperience? Who may, with the 
 least hazard of displeasing, take the greatest 
 liberty of expostulation and rebuke ? One who 
 treats me coldly, who avoids my company, and 
 spurns an invitation to a meal in my house ? or 
 one who is kind, sociable, aifectionate in his 
 intercourse with me ? There can be but one 
 answer ; and that answer is in every man's 
 bosom. If you hope that I shall profit by your 
 reproofs, you must convince me of your love. 
 I will listen with candour and submission to a 
 friend who avails himself of his known regard 
 for me to tell me my faults frankly, yet ten- 
 derly, with an evident concern for my im- 
 provement : while resentment, resistance, and 
 recrimination will probably reward the officious- 
 ness which has no claim to such a freedom, and 
 
342 A Plea for Catholick Cdmmunion, 
 
 delights to mortify if not to expose me. It is 
 human nature in the child and in the man — in 
 the individual and in society : and all human 
 experience attests it. 
 
 Nothing, therefore, could be more unfortunate 
 than this objection. The very contrary is the 
 truth, They who respect a church; who honour 
 in her the ordinances of Jesus Christ, get an 
 access to her confidence which will be denied 
 to others. They acquire, by their affection, a 
 right which she will concede, to point out 
 wherein she " walks not uprightly according 
 to the truth of the gospel :" and they are likely, 
 in this way if at all, to be instrumental in doing 
 her good. Acknowledge, commend, rejoice in, 
 her excellencies ; and you may speak to her 
 freely, perhaps effectually, of her deficiencies.* 
 
 Such a temper and treatment would, indeed, 
 be irreconcilable with the notions, feelings, and 
 conduct which are but too common. They 
 would put out of countenance those Pharisaical 
 panegyricks which many are so fond of lavish- 
 ing upon '' OUR church" — They would smother 
 the noise of the brawler ; would spoil the trade 
 of ecclesiastical talebearers ; would reduce to 
 their proper insignificance the busy-bodies 
 whom strife makes important; would absolutely 
 
 * This is after the example of Christ himself. Rev. ii. 12. — 17. 
 
p. III. A Review of Ohjectio)2s. 343 
 
 strike dead those petty hostilities which tho- 
 rough drilled sectarians keep alive for the 
 pleasure, one would suppose, of having some- 
 thing to fight about — But they would create a 
 pause, a calm, in which might be heard the 
 voice of that celestial '' wisdom which is first 
 pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be 
 entreated, full of compassion and of good fruits, 
 without partiality and without hypocrisy." 
 
 Let us lay aside disguise. The antipathies 
 and collisions of evangelical churches form the 
 the most detestable warfare which the devil 
 has contrived to kindle in our miserable world. 
 And the worst of all is his success in persuading 
 multitudes of honest men, that in carrying on 
 the contest of their own sinful passions they 
 are " doing valiantly" for the cause of God. 
 And that when, instead of admiring the general 
 symmetry and healthful appearance of other 
 Christian bodies, they are keen, vigilant, inces- 
 sant, in looking for a freckle, a wart, or a 
 festering finger — when they open their ears to 
 every slander — when they are extenuating all 
 that is good in their neighbour, and magnifying 
 all that is bad — when they are giving, with much 
 satisfaction, shrewd hints that may leave a sting 
 m his soul — when they are preaching at him, 
 and praying at him; pouring out the gall of 
 their animosity in the very presence of God, 
 and before the throne of his grace — they are 
 
344 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 bearing a faithful testimony for Christ and his 
 truth I Whether he shall himself so account of 
 it, is another question. 
 
 This system has been tried long, and it never 
 yet did any good. It has reformed none, con- 
 vinced none, enlightened none. Let it be given 
 up, and its opposite adopted. Let us show 
 our fellow Christians that we embrace them in 
 the bowels of Jesus Christ — that we do not 
 consider " the children's bread" on their table 
 as '•' cast to the dogs." And let us shew it not 
 by idle professions, but by fact — let us eat of 
 their bread when they invite us ; and welcome 
 them in turn, to eat of our own. One year of 
 love will do more towards setting us mutually 
 right where we are wrong, than a millenium of 
 wrangling. 
 
 V. It is asserted, that '' general communion 
 among visible Christians will not only diminish 
 the value, but impeach the propriety of all that 
 service v/hich, in every age, the churches of 
 God have rendered to pure and undefiled 
 religion by their judicial confessions of faith." 
 More briefly thus ; " Catholick communion 
 subverts confessions of faith." 
 
 It would be marvellous indeed, if God's own 
 people could not maintain a testimony for himy 
 without disunion among themselves ! ! The 
 whole corps of infidels put togther is unable to 
 produce so conclusive an argument against 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections. 345 
 
 the Christian religion as a practical system » 
 But let us take heed how we strengthen their 
 hands by granting their assumptions — how we 
 confound a testimony for God and his truth 
 with a testimony for ourselves and our pecu- 
 liarities. Were it so ; were confessions of faith 
 designed to be the shibboleths, the symbols, 
 the flags, of religious, or rather irreligious, 
 factions — challenges to battle among believers 
 — wedges of dissention to split the church 
 of Christ into pieces, the objection would be 
 solid. 
 
 Admitting, however, the general unity of 
 Christians in those things which immediately 
 concern their common hope, it would prove, 
 not that catholick communion is improper ; but 
 that confessions are what some represent them 
 to be, mere nuisances : and, in that case, every 
 " son of peace" would labour for their de- 
 struction. But if they are intended, as indeed 
 they are, to proclaim wherein believers differ 
 from the carnal world ; and to be luminous 
 rallying points of their strength and efforts in 
 their conflict with the enemies of our Lord and 
 of his Christ ; it is inconceivable how they 
 should interfere with the broadest Christian 
 fellowship, or the broadest Christian fellowship 
 with them. Even those particulars in which 
 they might vary from each other, would but 
 
346 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 serve to set off, in the finest and most conso- 
 latory manner, the superiour worth and glory 
 of their higher agreements; and furnish a 
 suitable occasion for the exercise of that for- 
 bearance which is indispensable to " keeping 
 the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." 
 
 Certain it is that neither the Apostolick nor 
 the Reformed churches found their confessions 
 to be at war with their communion. The 
 former studiously avoided, in their " symbols" 
 of the faith, those inferiour matters about which 
 opinions and practise clashed then not less 
 than now : wisely confining their testimony to 
 the substantial truths of revelation ; and turning 
 their united forces against those substantial 
 heresies which, by sapping the foundations of 
 the common salvation, aimed at the overthrow 
 of the common interest. 
 
 The multiplied and essential corruptions of 
 Popery called for corresponding confessions in 
 the Reformed churches. But these, instead of 
 putting them asunder, brought them together ; 
 and were the very ground of their confidence, 
 communion, and co-operation. The Lutheran 
 church formed an unhappy exception : and even 
 that exception would not have existed, had the 
 spirit of her illustrious founder continued to 
 pervade her councils. 
 
 On this point many of my readers will be 
 
p. III. A Revkio of Objections. 347 
 
 startled by what they will think a very strange 
 assertion. It is, nevertheless, true ; and is an 
 induction from facts of which a number has 
 been already detailed. It is, that the churches 
 most sound in the faith, most correct in their 
 order, most pure in their worship, were also the 
 most liberal in their communion. Inquire at 
 the mouth of history, from the dawn of the 
 Reformation down to the Westminster Assembly, 
 who united the most faithful testimony to Christ 
 with the most fervent charity to Christians? 
 Who were most full in their confession of the 
 truth, and most catholick in their views of 
 church-communion ? Her answer is. They 
 were the Calv'mists — they were the Presby- 
 terians ! * 
 
 But allowing the objection to have much 
 greater weight than it has, when applied to 
 churches whose confessions do not perfectly 
 harmonize, how is it apphcable to those who 
 are oroanized under one and the same confession ? 
 This is the case of several churches on both 
 sides of the Atlantick, which yet have no inter- 
 communion. Theif can surely make no use of 
 it against each other. 
 
 • The question and answer relate to the great mass of Re- 
 formed Cliristondoin which was PiTsh/ierial ; and are not 
 intended to deny or to disparage the praise due to English 
 Independents. Sec above. 
 
348 A Flea for Catkolick Commimion, 
 
 Before we quit the subject of " confessions of 
 faith," it may be proper to notice a mistake, 
 which is growing more and more prevalent, 
 concerning their intention and use : I mean in 
 their present amplitude. They are supposed, 
 and in some instances, are declared, to contain 
 the terms of church-communion ; i. e. the terms 
 upon which, and upon which alone, an indi- 
 vidual can be admitted into church-fellowship. 
 There are good reasons for doubting whether 
 such an opinion is correct : and such a decla- 
 ration discreet. 
 
 To prevent misconceptions, the author would 
 observe, once for all, that no man is more 
 thoroughly convinced than himself of the pro- 
 priety, utility, and necessity of public con- 
 fessions of faith ; nor is less moved by the argu- 
 mentations of their adversaries. But whether, 
 like other good things, they are not liable 
 to abuse — whether they have not actually 
 been abused — and whether the application pro- 
 fessed to be made of them, at this moment, in 
 some churches, is not an abuse, may be worth 
 considering. 
 
 As the " fixed testimony" of a church, " by 
 which her principles are to be tried ;" or as her 
 *' judicial expression of the sense -in which she 
 understands the Holy Scriptures in their rela- 
 tion to the Doctrine, Government, and Worship 
 of the Christian church," when these things are 
 
A Review of Objections . 349 
 
 matters of controversy, it is difficult to conceive 
 how a confession of her faith can be dispensed 
 with. She must proclaim what she believes and 
 means to teach. This is her confession of faith ; 
 and is put into the hands of her officers to be by 
 them inculcated and supported. Nothing can 
 be more absurd than to employ as preachers 
 and guardians of her religion, men who, for 
 aught she knows, may labour to subvert the 
 whole system which she is endeavouring to 
 build up. She has, therefore, a right, and it is 
 her duty, on the ground of self-preservation as 
 well as of fidelity to her king, to exact from 
 them an explicit avowal of their belief on all 
 those topics which more nearly or remotely 
 affect the main interests of truth; and a 
 positive, unequivocating engagement to maintain 
 them. For this purpose she must bring them 
 to a test ; which can be done so effectually in no 
 form as that of requiring an approbation of her 
 confession. The security is not indeed perfect : 
 as some men will make any profession whatever 
 for lucre, for distinction, or for convenience : 
 and as the convictions of others may really 
 alter. But it is the best which can be adopted. 
 It keeps the recreant always within her grasp ; 
 and it is her own fault if, with such a control, 
 she allow him to poison the " wells of salvation," 
 or to pollute their streams. In her confession 
 
350 A Plea for Catholick Communmi. 
 
 of faith, then, are strictly and indispensably^ 
 her terms of official union. 
 
 But are these same terms to regulate private 
 communion ? When they go beyond the elemen- 
 tary doctrines of the gospel — when they are 
 expanded into a comprehensive system of Theo- 
 logy, as in the Westminster Confession, ought 
 they to be proposed for approbation, in all their 
 latitude, to every one who desires baptism for 
 his children, or a seat at the table of the Lord ? 
 
 Tbe reader is entreated not to be stumbled at 
 an answer which may thwart his prepossessions ; 
 but to listen and reflect before he pronounces. 
 The answer is, No. 
 
 1 . Because such was not the original design 
 of the Protestant confessions. 
 
 They were intended to raise and to display a 
 banner for the truth of Christ which had been 
 foully depraved, so especially by the man of 
 sin. And while they contained all those car- 
 dinal points which are essential to Christian 
 faith and fellowship ; they contained others, 
 which though not thus essential, are never- 
 theless important; and worthy to be main- 
 tained with zeal and constancy. 
 
 2. Because, being thus constructed, they 
 were not in fact terms of communion for private 
 Christians; nor even for the reciprocation of 
 ministerial fellowship ; as is plain — 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections. 351 
 
 From their absolute silence about such a 
 requisition — 
 
 From the communion which subsisted among 
 the members of the Reformed churches not- 
 withstanding the sUghter diversities in their 
 creeds — and 
 
 From the endeavours of the best of them to 
 effect, in addition to this communion, a complete 
 union of the Protestant interests. 
 
 The Westminster Confession gives not the 
 most distant hint of such a use. The church 
 of Scotland, herself, as has been proved, never 
 imposed it upon strangers ; no, nor upon her 
 own private members. " In so far," says one 
 of her professors of divinity, in a work ex- 
 pressly defending confessions of faith, " In so 
 far as is known to us, there is no act of 
 Assembly, nor even of any inferiour church- 
 judicature, establishing the Confession of Faith 
 a term of Christian communion, and requiring 
 an assent thereto from Christian parents in 
 order to their being admitted to all the pri- 
 vileges of church-communion, and particularly 
 the baptism of their children." And again; 
 
 '* As there is no established rule, nor any act 
 of Assembly, confining the benefits of baptism 
 to the behef of the several articles of our Con- 
 fession, and excluding from a participation of 
 this ordinance all persons who may in some 
 things difier from us ; so there was no ground 
 
352 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 in fact ever given to a person to complain of an 
 arbitrary imposition upon him in this respect : 
 Nor can any man, so far as we know, allege, 
 that he acquainted a minister that he had 
 scruples as to some articles of our Confession, 
 or was of a contrary opinion to them ; and, 
 therefore, that he could neither profess his own 
 belief of them, nor engage to educate his child 
 in them, and thereupon was denied access to 
 this sacrament. On the other hand, there have 
 been several instances of persons who, upon 
 their desire, were gratified in this particular ; 
 while none had ever reason to complain of a 
 refusal."* Such were the views and practice of 
 the church of Scotland before the Secession. 
 
 3. Because they cannot be, in effect, terms of 
 Christian communion. 
 
 . You may declare them to be so : You may 
 pass Synodical acts for that purpose. And 
 thus the V/estminster Confession of Faith, 
 Catechisms, Form of Church-government, and 
 Directories for worship, are declaratively and 
 legally terms of permanent communion or 
 membership in the Associate Reformed church. 
 
 * DuNLOP's Fall account of the several ends and uses of 
 confessions of faith &c. Edin. 1775, 12mo. p. 240, I. This 
 work was fiist published at Edinburgh, in 1719 ; thirteen years 
 before Ebenezer Ergkine's famous sermon wliich occasioned the 
 Secession. 
 
!>, III. A Revieio of Ohjections. 353 
 
 But declarations and acts of Synod cannot alter 
 the nature of things ; nor make that to be prac- 
 ticable which in itself is impracticable. Not 
 only the attainments, but the faculties of the 
 mass of mankind must be different from what 
 they ever have been before such extensive terms 
 of communion can be enforced. It belongs not 
 to church power to " call things that be not as 
 though they were." Will a discreet man suppose 
 that every plain Christian who knows enough 
 for his salvation, and has learned to " glorify 
 God in his body and his spirit," can also be ac- 
 quainted with the whole doctrine of those 
 standards ? A work which occupied for years 
 the care and study of a body of divines second 
 to none in the world ? which has condensed the 
 literature and labour of their lives ; and covers 
 the whole ground of didactick and polemick 
 Theology ? Is it a reasonable expectation that 
 every Christian, however unlettered, should be 
 able to grasp a work like this ? to distinguish 
 its numerous propositions ; and to fathom 
 their sense ? How many private members of 
 our churches, our best and most exemplary 
 members, could abide such an ordeal ? Specu- 
 lative zeal, which is always for carrying matters 
 with a high hand, and is never more confident 
 than when most in the wrong, may shut her 
 eyes and stop her ears — but the practical under- 
 standing revolts. Conscience and common 
 
 A a 
 
354 A Flea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 sense, when they came into contact with facts, 
 have always flinched from the fair apphcation 
 of such theoretical tests. I say theoretical tests; 
 for in the case before us they are not carried 
 into effect by their most strenuous advocates. 
 When a common person offers them his name 
 as a disciple of Jesus Christ, do they so much as 
 -pretend to measure his knowledge by the height, 
 and depth, and length, and breadth, of their 
 publick standards ? They do not — not a man 
 of them. If they did, and were to reject the 
 deficient, they might resign their houses of 
 worship to the bats at once. There would be 
 no place for one Christian in ten thousand. 
 And were their example universal, not a 
 church of God would be left standing from the 
 rising to the setting sun. They act very dif- 
 ferently, and far more wisely. They receive 
 their members upon a credible profession of 
 faith in Christ ; and in their inquiries into this 
 profession, they ;zez;er go into the details of their 
 own standards. Those truths which they dis- 
 tinctly propose, and of which they require a 
 confession, are, then, their real and their 07ily 
 practical test : and be it what it may, larger or 
 less, they do and must, in their administration 
 of the ordinances, naturally and necessarily 
 cut down their standards to that size. 
 
 Therefore, sacramental communion on those 
 vital principles which characterize the people 
 
p. III. A Revieio of Objectiojis. 355 
 
 of God in every age and country, is not incon- 
 sistent with the most perfect confessions of 
 faith ; nor does it at all interfere with their 
 proper use. 
 
 VI. It is alleged that " as communion pre- 
 . supposes, and is founded upon, union ; it is a 
 contradiction to hold communion with churches 
 with which we are not united : and, therefore, 
 all such communion is inconsistent with distinct 
 ecclesiastical organization." 
 
 The premises are granted : the conclusions 
 denied. Communion is indisputably an act 
 and expression of union. And it is on this 
 very ground that the reciprocal communion of 
 Christians and Christian churches is asserted 
 to be both their privilege and duty. They are 
 imited — they are one. They are one in interests 
 infinitely more valuable, they are united in 
 bonds infinitely more strong, than all the other 
 interests which subdivide them ; and all the 
 other bonds which unite their subdivisions. 
 For sectarian communion you must indeed be 
 united in a sect; for Christian communion you 
 must be united in Christ. Therefore, according 
 to the objection itself, if unity of sect be a 
 sufficient reason for all sectarian communion, 
 unity in Christ is a sufficient reason for all 
 Christian communion. This is our plea ; and 
 .we cannot be grieved at hearing it from the 
 mouth of an opponent. 
 
 A a2 
 
356 A Plea for CathoUck Communmi. 
 
 But the objection goes further, and maintains 
 that sections of the one church of Christ cannot 
 hold lawful communion with each other, unless 
 they be also united in one external denomina- 
 tion. Do they, who argue thus, perceive that 
 they assume the non-existence of the one 
 church of Christ ? — an entire change in the 
 nature of church fellowship ? — and the extinction 
 of Christian character and right out of the limits 
 of a particular sect ? Upon no other basis can 
 the conclusion rest, that formal union of sects 
 in one and the same organical body is essential 
 to their Christian fellov\^ship. Were it so indeed, 
 the hand which guides this pen would account 
 itself superlatively honoured in putting the 
 match to a train ¥/hich should explode under 
 their ramparts and citadels, and so break and 
 shatter and disperse them, that every trace 
 of their existence should disappear from under 
 heaven. 
 
 But the fallacy is palpable. 
 
 To say that communion is the fruit of union ; 
 and thence to argue, that something more than 
 Christian union is necessary to Christian com- 
 munion, is a sophism which can mislead no 
 one who permits himself to think. 
 
 Why does not the objector carry his doctrine 
 through, and maintain that communion betweeen 
 members of different congregations is incon- 
 sistent with their distinct organization ? and that 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections. 357 
 
 before it can be proper, they must all be melted 
 down into one congregation ? If you say that 
 " they are limbs of one larger body, and in 
 virtue of this their union have, and are bound 
 to have, communion v^^ith each other ;" I take 
 my ansv/er from your own lips and reply, that 
 " the different Christian churches are limbs of 
 that one larger body, the church-catholick ; 
 and in virtue of this their union are bound to 
 have communion with each other." A single 
 congregation; an organized portion of a sect 
 comprising several congregations ; the sect 
 itselt comprising several such portions, are all 
 limbs in their places. That one limb is greater 
 and another less, cannot alter the nature of 
 their relation to their bodies respectively. The 
 principle is one ; the analogy perfect ; and the 
 conclusion irresistible. This conclusion is, that 
 to maintain the necessity of amalgamating dif- 
 ferent sects into one set in order to communion 
 between their members, is to maintain, at the 
 the same time, the necessity of amalgamating 
 different congregations into one congregation, 
 in order to communion between their members : 
 And, that there is no argument for the commu- 
 nion of different congregations founded upon 
 their union in one sect, which is not equally 
 good for the communion of the sects them 
 selves on account of their union in one church- 
 catholick. 
 
358 A Plea for Catholkk Communion. 
 
 Christian communion, therefore, may subsist 
 in purity and power between different sections 
 of the church-catholick, without any such union 
 as the objection requires. However desirable 
 such an union be in itself ; and how extensively 
 soever it shall be effected when *' the Lord 
 shall build up Zion and appear to men in his 
 glory," there is room at least to doubt whether 
 it would noiu be expedient were it even prac- 
 ticable. Practicable and expedient in some 
 degree it probably is at the present hour ; and 
 is well worth the consideration of them who 
 perceive " how good and how pleasant it is for 
 brethren to dwell together in unity." On a large 
 scale the churches are not ripe for it. There 
 are opinions, feelings, habits, which must be 
 reduced much nearer than they are to some 
 common standard, before it could be attempted 
 without the danger of doing more harm than 
 good. But this is no reason against the cul- 
 tivation of friendly intercourse — against what 
 may be called church-hosp'itMity — against the 
 most ungrudging fellowship in holy ordinances, 
 as opportunity serves. Theywho should live very 
 uncomfortably together under the same roof, 
 may yet be excellent neighbours ; firm friends; 
 studious in the exchange of kind offices: and 
 their civilities, in process of tim.e, may improve 
 into alliances of mutual benefit. 
 
 Under this head, viz. the necessity of unioi^ 
 
p. III. A Revieiv of Objections. 359 
 
 in sect as a basis of church-communion, there has 
 been started a difficulty of so singular a cast, 
 that one hardly knows whether to pass it by 
 with a smile, or to give it a serious answer. 
 The former is best merited ; the latter more 
 respectful. 
 
 It is said, then, that " by admitting to our 
 fellowship persons who are not members of 
 our church, we make an unjust and invidious 
 distinction in their favour. Our own members 
 being subjects of our discipline ; the others not. 
 So that we exact harder conditions of com- 
 munion from our own family than we do from 
 strangers." 
 
 God has put his chastisements, whereof the 
 discipline of his house administered for edifica- 
 tion and not for destruction is a part, among 
 the privileges of his people. Art thou not sur- 
 prised. Christian reader, to hear it mentioned 
 as an hardship ? I see the blush mantling on 
 thy cheek : and shall spare thee the pain of 
 dwelling on so unseemly an imputation. 
 
 But there is a mistake. If by dishonouring 
 their high vocation, your guests should deserve 
 to be excluded from the communion of the 
 faithful, what is to hinder their exclusion from 
 yours ? This would be decisive ' discipline, and 
 as easily exercised towards them as towards 
 your own members. And whence arose the 
 
360 A Plea for CathoUck Communion. 
 
 notion that an offending brother cannot be 
 disciphned by any authority but tliat of the 
 particular congregation or sect to which he 
 more especially belongs ? When he can be re- 
 ferred thither Yv^ithout much inconvenience, it 
 is altogether preferable. But how did he acquire 
 a right to transgress with impunity, and be 
 from under the coercion of his master's law, 
 every where but within his own precincts? 
 And when did the church-catholick lose the 
 right of restraining a disorderly member by 
 the agency of any one particular church in 
 which he may have enjoyed her communion ? 
 No man, whom she has once acknowledged, 
 can free himself from Ms responsibility in any 
 part of the world. A single act of communion 
 in her peculiar mercies binds him as firmly to 
 her authority as ten thousand. And there can 
 be no reasonable doubt that an individual 
 bearing and disgracing the Christian name, 
 provided his church-membership be ascertained, 
 may, according to the statutes of the Redeemer's 
 kingdom, be called to account, reproved, ex- 
 communicated, by any Christian church on the 
 spot where he happens to be, even without an 
 act of formal communion there ; much more then 
 after such an act. Our confusion, perplexity, 
 errours, weakness, unfaithfulness, on this and 
 other great points of Christian order, we owe 
 
p. III. A Eevieio of Objections. 361 
 
 to our schisms : which, if they have not banished 
 the doctrine, have nearly obhterated the sense, 
 of the church's UNITY. 
 
 VII. It is objected that " M^hatever may 
 have been the condition of primitive times," 
 (in which c/z^^rc/^-communion was CathoUck- 
 communion,) " the state of the church is so 
 greatly altered as to make the imitation of them 
 inexpedient, if not impracticable, now." 
 
 That the imitation is not " impracticable," 
 appears from the complaint against some evan- 
 gelical churches at New- York and elsewhere — 
 their offence consisting precisely in the fact of 
 such imitation. That it is " inexpedient," is 
 thus far refuted by experience. No measure 
 of more auspicious influence within its sphere 
 was ever adopted. Ask the Christians imme- 
 diately concerned. 
 
 To ground the impropriety of Catholick com- 
 munion upon the difference between the preseiit 
 and primitive state of the church, is either to 
 betray lamentable ignorance ; or to convert sin 
 into an argument for its own justification. 
 
 It has been demonstrated over and over, that 
 there existed in the primitive, and even apos- 
 tolical church, causes of separation much more 
 weighty than those which some denominations 
 now assign for refusing the communion of others. 
 Yet no separation took place : no communion 
 was refused ; except by some who were held 
 
362 A Plea for Cathalick Communion, 
 
 to be deserters from the *' city of God," and 
 whose '' memorial has perished with them." 
 
 " But we are separated — we are broken up 
 into a variety of sects — we have ceased from 
 such cathoHck fellowship ; and our circum- 
 stances, in this view, are materially different 
 from those of the primitive church" — 
 
 True : and the difference is your reproach — 
 your shame — your crime. You have violated 
 the commandment of your I.ord and Saviour — 
 you have conspired against the unity of his 
 kingdom — you have lacerated and mangled his 
 glorious body — you have slandered the spirit 
 of his gospel — you have given occasion to his 
 enemies to blaspheme — and you plead this 
 unhallovv'ed condition into which your disobe- 
 dience has brought you, as a reason for remain- 
 ing in it ! No, Sin shall not be its own apology- 
 *' We have been addicted to falsehood, to 
 knavery, to uncleanness; therefore we may 
 continue to be false, knavish, unclean" — is just 
 .as good an argument, and will go just as far at 
 the tribunal of God, as, " We have split our- 
 selves up into sects : we have kept av/ay from 
 our Lord's table among his acknowledged 
 disciples : we have shut them out, in our turn, 
 from his table among us — therefore we must 
 go on in our wonted course !" Must you indeed ? 
 A rectified conscience would draw quite an 
 opposite inference. It would teach you to say, 
 
p. III. A 'Review of Objections, 363 
 
 ** The time past of our lives may suffice us to 
 have lived in disunion, suspicion, and strife. 
 Let us now ' search and try our ways,' and 
 endeavour henceforward to ' walk in love as 
 Christ also hath loved us'." 
 
 That there are obstacles to be surmounted in 
 forming and executing so divine a purpose, is 
 undeniable. But the greatest of them all is the 
 most sinful — the want of love — and therefore 
 the want of will. Remove these, and the rest 
 will vanish almost of their own accord. So the 
 primitive Christians found it : so did the Pro- 
 testant Reformers : and so have others who 
 cherished, though in a lower degree, their 
 brotherly spirit. 
 
 The facts are numerous and stubborn ; but the 
 argument from them is evaded by a distinction 
 which must briefly be examined. For it is said, 
 
 VIII. That " the sentiments and examples of 
 holy men and evangelical churches in latter 
 days, to which the friends of Catholick com- 
 munion so confidently appeal, were adapted to 
 extraordinary circumstances ; and are inapplicable 
 to a regular, settled state of the church." 
 
 It is clear as the light, that if this distinction 
 be unsound, its advocates cannot escape from 
 the dilemma of either aspersing those whom 
 they profess to honour, or convicting themselves 
 of schismatical conduct. They ought to have 
 been sure of their ground before they ventured 
 
364 A Plea for CathoUck Conmnmloyi. 
 
 upon it with so valuable a stake. Let us try 
 whether it will bear their weight. 
 
 The first thing which strikes us is, that it 
 should represent division, faction, rents, wrang-» 
 lings, as suited to an ordinary, regular, settled 
 state of the church ! and should allow nothing 
 but extraordinary circumstances to justify com- 
 munion among her members of different 
 denominations ! That the fellowship of Chris- 
 tians and Christian churches with each other, 
 as such, is disorderly and unlawful, except in 
 extraordinary circumstances 1 1 O Saviour, is such 
 thy church, and thy law ? 
 
 But " the legs of the lame are not equal.'" 
 If this distinction is just, Avhat becomes of the 
 plea on which our opposing brethren rest the 
 chief merits of their cause, viz. that by com- 
 munion with other churches than our own, or 
 with their members, we partake of their sins ? 
 
 That which is unlawful in itself can never be 
 rendered lawful by circumstances. But all 
 partaking of other men's sins is unlawful in 
 itself. Therefore, if Catholick comm.union in- 
 volves such a participation, it is unlawful in 
 itself, and cannot be justified by extraordinary 
 circumstances. Upon this principle the com- 
 munion of the Protestant churches was a com- 
 munion in each other's sin ! ! Which part will 
 our brethren take ? Will they give up their 
 main argument against the intercommunion of 
 
F, III. A Review of Objections, 365 
 
 acknowledged Christians ? or will they lay so 
 foul a charge at the door of those glorious men 
 who reformed the church of God at the expense 
 of their heart's blood ? 
 
 But the Reformers themselves were of 
 another mind. They put the lawfulness or un- 
 lawfulness — the propriety or impropriety of 
 church-communion, not upon the footing of 
 ordinary or extraordinary circumstances, but 
 upon the footing of the common faith. They 
 did so in their publick confessions, wherein they 
 show what the church is, and ought to be, 
 according to the Scriptures. They laid the 
 foundations of her communion in her unity as 
 the body of Christ. Their practice grew out 
 of their doctrine, not out of their circumstances^ 
 They did not in one breath maintain the imit^ 
 of the church ; in another, deny that unity to 
 be a sufficient basis for the communion of hex 
 members : then, in the face of their own 
 denials actually hold such communion ; and, to 
 crown all, justify their conduct by their extra- 
 ordinary circumstances! Such inconsistency, 
 confusion, and contradiction, never disgraced 
 the men whom the " Spirit of judgment and of 
 burning" employed to purify the house of God. 
 Their faith, their profession, and their example 
 corresponded. What they believed they 
 taught; and what they taught they exemplified. 
 
366 A Pleafoi^ Catholick Coynmunion. 
 
 Because they believed the church of Christ to 
 be one, their communion embraced her visible 
 members. 
 
 One objection is left.— -It is said, 
 
 IX. That *' all Christians being one in spirit, 
 the best ends of communion may be answered 
 in their present state of separation, without the 
 evils incident to its wide extension." 
 
 That believers have a spiritual fellowship with 
 each other as living members of the one living 
 body of Christ, is a truth not less full of con- 
 solation than their outward distance and divisions 
 are full of discomfort and shame. But how can 
 this be a substitute for their visible fellowship 
 in ordinances which are designed to display and 
 promote it? A communion with the whole 
 church not to be exemplified ! a communion 
 lawful and of high privilege, forbidden to be 
 expressed in that form which the master 
 appointed for the very purpose of expressing 
 it! How is it to be kept up ? If one Christian 
 or church may thus commune with another, 
 while the external evidence thereof is not only 
 withheld but prohibited, so may another ; so 
 may a thousand others ; so may all ; and the 
 visible church vanishes from among men ! Nay, 
 if the objection before us is of any weight or 
 value whatever, it avails much more than its 
 authours would be willing to accept. Carry it 
 
p. III. A Review of Objections. 367 
 
 through — Turn Quakers at once — Discard your 
 ministry and your sacraments — Fellov/ship in 
 spirit will answer your best ends. And you 
 ■will have no more trouble on the subject of 
 church-communion I 
 
368 A Flea for CathoUck Commmiimi, 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 IT remains to trace the consequences of sec- 
 tarian, as opposed to Catholick, communion. 
 
 These may be viewed in relation to ourselves 
 — to the church of God at large — and to the 
 surrounding world. 
 
 To ourselves.^ 
 
 1st. The first and most obvious consequence 
 is an utter self-cvcismi or excommunication from 
 all the rest of Christ's church upon earth. 
 
 That such is the fact, it would be illumin- 
 ating the sun to prove. For if there be on 
 earth Christian churches beside our own ; and 
 if we will have no communion with them, to 
 what less does our conduct amount than an 
 open renunciation of all visible concern Avith 
 them in the kingdom of God? If, indeed, we 
 do not hold them to be Christian churches — if 
 we claim the sole possession of that blessed 
 character; and arrogate to ourselves the e.vclusive 
 privilege of being the " General Assembly and 
 Church of the First-Born," we may escape 
 
 * The authour speaks in the person cf any sect which is in the 
 habit of confining its fellowship to its own members. 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 369 
 
 from the charge : But if Ave dare not proceed 
 to such a fearful length, our escape is impos- 
 sible. 
 
 Here then we are, in a state of excommuni- 
 cation : or, if you prefer the term, in a state 
 of non-communion with the church of the 
 living God. Isolated by our own act— under 
 a practical, and in some instances a doctrinal, 
 protest against fellowship with her in ordinances 
 which we enjoy only as a part of the great 
 whole. Yet with the *' great whole," we as a 
 part will have no intercourse — -will have nothing 
 to do. Is fellowship, then, with the acknow- 
 ledged church of God — fellowship direct and 
 avowed before angels and men, so vile in our 
 eyes ? Are we so lost to all sense of the 
 beauty, efficacy, and glory of the " unity of 
 the Spirit," as to be satisfied with our disunion? 
 and so infatuated as to imagine that in fostering 
 it we are " doing God service i*" Shall a 
 church turn her back upon the whole visible 
 interest of the Lord Jesus in the world, by 
 refusing the " right hand of fellowship" to 
 every portion of it but her own — and thus turn 
 her back upon all the manifestations of his 
 power, grace, •love, faithfulness, which he 
 there displays, and still hope for his blessing 
 upon herself? hope for his presence, for his 
 Spirit, for that holy " dew" under which she 
 " shall grow as the lily, and cast forth her 
 B b 
 
370 A Plea for Catholick Commimon. 
 
 roots as Lebanon ; her branches shall spread 
 and her beauty shall be as the olive tree, and 
 her smell as Lebanon ?" Has she a right in such 
 a temper to hope for such things ? Let the 
 question be answered by them who have life 
 enough left to tremble at that word of the 
 Lord, " Whoso shall offend one of these little 
 " ones which believe in me, it were better for 
 " him that a mill-stone were hanged about his 
 " neck, and that he were drowned in the depth 
 " of the sea." 
 
 2d. Our sectarian communion stamps the 
 brand of inconsistency , and throws an air of 
 insincerity, upon our most solemn professions. 
 
 We talk of the Catholick church — of her 
 unity — of her character — of her prerogatives; 
 and yet act as if these were unmeaning terms ; 
 'and all that we have to say of her, an " idle 
 tale." In ivords we found our title to our 
 church-privileges in our union with her — in 
 •deeds we avoid every publick, social expression 
 of that union, as if it were our dishonour, and 
 might prove to be our ruin. We laud her to 
 the heavens in theory: we call her Christ's 
 spouse and our mother — ^in practice we shun her 
 embrace, her touch, her atmcTsphere cane pejus 
 et angue; as if she were a rabid or venomous 
 animal. There is not a room in God's house, a 
 place in his temple, a province in his kingdom^ 
 fit for us to inhabit, or even to visit, but the one 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 371 
 
 in which we have been accustomed to dwell. 
 "WTien we spread our table, we call it the table 
 of the Lord. We invite his friends and prohibit 
 his enemies, according to his own rules. But 
 any who should imagine that we mean nothing 
 more than we say^ — that our invitation is 
 honestly intended for our master's friends ; and, 
 acceding to our own declared conditions, should 
 take us at our word, would grievously mistake. 
 They would find that not one in ten thousand of 
 them that " love the Lord Jesus Christ," and 
 endeavour to " walk even as he also walked," 
 comes within our scope — that all our descrip- 
 tions of Chinstians are only for Christians of our 
 sect. Is this '' simplicity and godly sincerity?" 
 Are unbelieving eyes shut to the contradiction, 
 or believing hearts untouched by the insult ? Be 
 fair at least. Come out openly and tell your 
 hearers, that however your language may sound, 
 you mean by the people of God, neither more 
 nor less than the members of your own church ! 
 You startle; you recoil; you sicken. Why? 
 Because the injustice is too flagrant, the incon- 
 sistency too gross, to bear the light. And shall 
 we pertinaciously do, under cover of a flimsy 
 veil, that which we have not the courage so 
 much as to look at when it stands before us with 
 the veil stripped off? 
 
 3d. Upon the individuals of a sect, their 
 B b 2 ' 
 
^72 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 restricted communion exerts an unhappy influ- 
 ence, with regard 
 
 To their religious intellect — > 
 
 To their practical judgment— and 
 
 To the direction of their zeal. 
 
 Upon the religious intellect sectarian feelings 
 and fellowship produce an effect analogous to 
 that of the division of labour upon mechanical 
 ingenuity. By concentrating its operations in 
 a few points, or perhaps in a single one, they 
 render it peculiarly acute and discriminating 
 within those limits, at the expense of enfeebling 
 or destroying its general power. Conversations 
 are cherished; books read; time expended; 
 faculties employed ; not for the purpose of 
 acquiring larger views of the Redeemer's truth, 
 grace, kingdom, and glory : but for the purpose 
 of training more accurate disputants upon the 
 heads of sectarian collision. Here men distin- 
 guish themselves ; here they shine ; here they 
 gratify their vanity , which they often mistake 
 for their coiiscience : '' What difference," ex- 
 claimed a zealous member of a nameless judi- 
 catory, when he was contending for a 'testimony' 
 over and above the recognised confession of 
 faith, " what difference will there be between 
 you and the General Assembly, if you have not 
 a- testimony V Such an exclamation from the 
 mouth of a man otherwise reasonable and 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 373 
 
 judicious, is a volume. It shows how the party- 
 soul is narrowed down : and how all its percep- 
 tions are directed to those things which put 
 Christians asunder, instead of those things 
 which should bring them together ; and which, 
 for their importance, may not, without degrada- 
 tion, be named in company with the causes of 
 their disunion. With one, the watch-word is 
 *' our excellent, our apostolical church" — with 
 another, " the doctrine of baptism" — with a 
 third, " the solemn league and covenant" — with 
 a fourth, " the Burgess oath" — with a fifth, 
 *' psalmody." Upon these subjects, and such 
 as these, their respective partisans collect their 
 information and their strength — they whet each 
 other till they become " as sharp as a needle." 
 A stranger hearing them talk on their favourite 
 topics, would be astonished at their under- 
 standing and answers. But lead them away 
 from their peculiarities to those things which 
 concern the kingdom of God — which are 
 common to the household of faith — which require 
 a general Christian mind — and how lamentable, 
 for the most part, is the falling off! " We 
 speak that we do know, and testify that we 
 have seen." And here is the explanation of that 
 ordinary phenomenon, that the rise of party- 
 sense is the fall of sacred knowledge. Sec- 
 tarian light puts out the Christian fire. 
 
 Nor does the practical judgment suffer loss. 
 
374 A Flea for Cdtholick Communion. 
 
 This is clearly seen in the estimate which 
 animated sectarians form of character. The 
 good qualities of their own adherent they readily 
 perceive, admire, and extol. His failings they 
 endure with patience; and his faults, which 
 they dare not justify, they can overlook and 
 extenuate. But should he quit ^/lezr connexion, 
 the first are disparaged, the second are no 
 longer tolerable, and the third swell into crimes. 
 On the other hand ; Virtues and graces in a 
 different party they are apt to admit with reluc- 
 tance ; and rarely without qualification. It 
 shall go hard if some *' dead fly" do not taint 
 the *' good ointment" — if some scrupulous 
 *' but," some " fear," some *' wish," do not 
 insinuate a doubt where there is no room for 
 denial: and relieve them from the pain, by 
 throwing a cloud over the lustre, of excellencies 
 riot their own. But lo ! all is altered ! The 
 light which only dazzled, grows suddenly mild 
 and cheering ! Our breasts fill with the " milk 
 of human kindness ;" and we welcome to our 
 hearts the very man whom a week before we 
 eyed askaunt, and should have thought to be a 
 ** ^p6t in our feast of charity !" Nay, we often 
 are summarily convinced that a person of 
 dubious character has been injured and perse- 
 cuted. Our inquiries are conducted with the 
 nicest delicacy. So gentle bur temper! sa 
 charitable our constructions! so large our 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Commtinion. 375 
 
 allowance for infirmity ! so deep our sympathy ! 
 Whence the miracle ? Has a seraph, with fire 
 from the altar of God, touched these men of 
 unclean lips, and taken away the stains which 
 alarmed our purity ? Oh no ! they are pre- 
 cisely what they were. Wherefore, then, this 
 change in eye-sight, in feelings, in behaviour ? 
 Simple inquirer, thou knowest nothing of party- 
 magick ! They have come, or are coming, or 
 are expected to come, over to US. 
 
 With such a perversion of the judgment it is 
 impossible that zeal should be well directed 
 either in the choice of its objects, or in the 
 mode of attaining them. The memory of an 
 observer who only glances over the scenes 
 which pass before him can furnish many ex- 
 amples of passions excited, principles sacrificed, 
 and efforts wasted, for the sake of party- 
 baubles ; while interests of primary importance 
 to the glory of earth and heaven are neglected 
 or thrust aside. It is inconsistent with the 
 nature of our faculties and affections to pursue 
 great and little things with equal ardour. He 
 who is occupied with the little, cannot rise to 
 the great. He who rises to the great, cannot 
 sink down to the little. A candidate for empire 
 will not fight for toys. He who can fight for 
 toys is unfit for empire. The man of " broad 
 phylacteries" will give himself no trouble 
 about the " robe of righteousness." The 
 
376 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 self-applauding " tither of mint and anise and 
 cummin," has not room in his soul for "judg- 
 ment and mercy and faith." V Therefore it 
 happens, that in proportion as the spirit of sect 
 gets into a church the spirit of the gospel goes 
 out. Anxiety about her peculiarities becomes a 
 substitute for the power of personal religion: 
 The noisy champion of her pre-eminence, the 
 proud observer of her ritual, will be a singular 
 exception to a general rule, if he do not contri- 
 bute little to the prosperity, and less to the 
 ornament, of the church of God. A sanctimo- 
 nious child of tradition, who counts it a mortal 
 sin to eat flesh on Friday, and dispenses mth 
 any precept of the decalogue that stands in the 
 way of his gratification, is not an absolute rarity. 
 The furious advocate, and the furious enemy, of 
 a liturgy, are in danger of being alike estranged 
 from the worship of God " in spirit and in 
 truth." Nor is it a chimerical fear, that in the 
 hot contentions about psalmody, which have 
 distracted and disgraced some of the American 
 churches, the praises of both parties may, at 
 'times, have died away without "' entering into 
 the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." It is a terri- 
 fying truth that living godhness languishes and 
 decays in some of the " most straitest sects of 
 our religion," their own members being judges; 
 and is succeeded by hard faced formahty. So 
 that the complaint uttered more than a century 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 377 
 
 ago by the venerable Owen, is not inapplicable 
 now. " Whilst men have contended about 
 ordinances and institutions, forms and ways of 
 religion, they have grown careless and regard- 
 less as unto personal holy conversation, to their 
 ruin. They have seemed like keepers of a vine- 
 yard, but their own vineyard they have. not kept. 
 How many have we seen withering away into a 
 dry sapless frame, under an hot, contending, 
 disputing spirit about ways and differences of 
 worship ? Whilst they have been intent on one 
 part of profession, the other of more importance 
 hath been neglected."* 
 
 This witness is true. And what is yet worse, 
 with such confessions from time to time on 
 their !ips, they proceed in the very same 
 course; and instead of awakening to a just 
 sense of their sin and folly, they " love to 
 have it so ;" and hold as their enemies, and as 
 the enemies of good order, all who endeavour 
 to cease from their "janglings;" and who, 
 laying greater stress upon the bond of their 
 union in him, than upon the party-coloured 
 thread of ecclesiastical faction, stretch out the 
 hand of fellowship to them " whp love the 
 Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." *' This is a 
 lamentation ; and shall be for a lamentation." 
 
 * On Heb. ch. iv. ]. vol. 2. 194. fol. 
 
378 A Plea for CathoUck Cmnmuniorti 
 
 II. Upon the church at large the system of 
 sectarian fellowship operates with a most 
 baneful power. 
 
 1. It is a practical rejection of her unity. 
 How she can be one, and yet sundered into a 
 thousand pieces — how her parts constitute a 
 beautiful harmonious ivhole, while they are 
 allowed to have no more visible conjuction 
 than if they were destitute of all affinity, is 
 a paradox beyond comprehension. To cut a 
 man off, by excommunication, from the whole 
 church, supposes her. to be one : Then to refuse 
 him, while he retains his standing, the benefits 
 of communion with the whole, supposes her 
 not to be one. Again, to admit him, pro- 
 fessedly, into that communion, and preclude 
 him from the use of it except in a little corner, 
 is at once to admit and to deny ^er unity, and 
 to play the robber with his privileges : mocking 
 him with sonorous titles which mean nothing. 
 And to make unity of sect necesssary to com- 
 munion in the church, is to take her fellowship 
 off from the basis on which her master laid it, 
 her CathoUck unity ; and to rest it upon a basis 
 of our own making, directly the contrary to 
 his, viz. her schisms ; i. e. to found all her actual 
 communion in the principle of her disunion. Iii 
 the mouths of men v/ho behave thus, what 
 intelligible sense can be annexed to the phrase, 
 '' unity of the church r\ 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 379 
 
 2. Sectarian communion breaks up the chanty , 
 which ought to subsist between all the members 
 of the body of Christ — 
 
 In their mutual benevolence : 
 
 In their sense of a common interest : 
 
 In the support which each should receive 
 from the other : and 
 
 In their co-operation to promote the kingdom 
 of God. 
 
 1st. The restricted communion of sects is 
 incompatible with their mutual benevolence. 
 
 It is not in the nature of things that men 
 should avoid each others company ; should 
 strive pertinaciously for the mastery ; should 
 put upon each other marks ofpublick dishonour; 
 and yet their " brotherly love continue." The 
 most amicable controversies are dangerous. 
 They seldom end as they begin. An argument 
 between friends is prone to gender animosity : 
 and if they separate with excited feelings, 
 alienation and enmity too frequently follow. 
 It is so with collective bodies. When they 
 are once apart, they gradually recede further 
 and further from each other. New points of 
 discrepancy arise ; create new subjects of con- 
 tention; open new sources of crimination ; gather 
 new faggots for the flame of party-passions; 
 present new obstacles to concord ; and thus 
 deface the fairest feature of Christianity— 
 " love to the brethren." How sadly this has 
 
380 A Plea for CathoUck Cominunion, 
 
 been verified needs no proof. *' This," saith 
 l)r. Owen, " is that whereon the Lord Christ 
 hath laid the weight of the manifestation of his 
 glory in the world : namely, the love that is 
 among his disciples ; which was foretold as the 
 peculiar glory of his rule and kingdom. But 
 there are only a few footsteps now left of it in 
 the visible church ; some marks only, that there 
 it hath been, and dwelt of old. It is, as unto 
 its lustre and splendour, retired to Heaven ; 
 abiding in its power and efficacious exercise 
 only in some corners of the earth, . and secret 
 retirements. Envy, Wrath, Selfishness, Love of. 
 the World, with Coldness in all the concerns of 
 religion, have possessed the place of it. And 
 in vain shall men wrangle and contend about 
 their differences in opinion, faith, and worship, 
 pretending to design the advancement of re- 
 ligion by imposing their persuasions on others : 
 Unless this holy love be again re-introduced 
 among all them who profess the name of Christ, 
 all the concerns of religion will more and more 
 run into ruin."* 
 
 One would imagine that churches of the 
 present day had been sitting for their picture 
 to this great master of moral painting. Yet, 
 with thankfulness to the God of peace, the 
 
 • On Heb. ;ciii. 1. 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 381 
 
 likeness must be acknowledged to be less 
 striking than it was some few years since ; 
 although too exact, even now, to be disputed 
 as if it were not drawn from life with the 
 pencil of truth. 
 
 One very remarkable circumstance here de- 
 serves our notice. Kind affections between 
 churches and their members have decreased in 
 the midst of eulogies upon the grace of love ; 
 cogent arguments on its importance ; and pa- 
 thetick persuasives to its exercise. How has 
 this happened ? '* The plain reason of it is, 
 because the love which men so contend for, 
 is confined to that practice in and of ecclesiastical 
 communion, whose measure they have fixed to 
 themselves. If you will do thus and thus ; go 
 in such or such ways ; so or so far ; leave off 
 such ways of fellowship in the gospel as you 
 have embraced, and think according unto the 
 mind of God, then you have love, else you have 
 none at all. How little either 7i7iity or love hath 
 been promoted by such principles and practices, 
 is now evident : yea, how much divisions, 
 animosities, and mutual alienations of minds 
 and affections have been increased by them." * 
 Thus the fever of sectarian zeal has weakened 
 
 * Owen on Heb. vi. 10, vol. iii. 106, Ibl. 
 
3^2 A Plea for Catholick Communidn. 
 
 the strength, and dried up the succulence, of 
 Catholick charity. 
 
 2d. The same restricting zeal tends to expel 
 from the churches a sense of their common 
 interest. 
 
 " My church" — " your church" — " his church," 
 are so incorporated with our habits of thinking 
 and acting, as to make us nearly forget they 
 are all members of one and the same church of 
 God. Hence we feel but little concern in each 
 other's welfare. The inspired rule has hardly 
 any more place in our feelings. " Whether one 
 member suffer, all the members suffer with it ; 
 or one member be honoured, all the members 
 rejoice with it." Their sufferings and their joys 
 are their own: we sympathize with them in 
 neither the one nor the other. Where is the 
 instance of a church rejoicing that the " word 
 of the Lord has free course and is glorified" in 
 another? Do they not rather rejoice in each 
 other's hurt ? Do they not seize, with evident 
 satisfaction and avidity, upon those blemishes 
 which provide matter for censure, and give a 
 ^plausible colour to comparisons ? Are they not 
 often eager to draw members away from sister 
 churches ? Do they not betray complacency in 
 accessions which build themselves up at the 
 expense of pulling the others down 1 Do they 
 not view and represent their increase by such 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Comnmnion. 383 
 
 means, as a proof that religion is flourishing? 
 Their church has indeed gained : But what is 
 gained by the church of Christ ? Alas ! this is a 
 question which they who " bite and devour one 
 another," are seldom at the trouble of asking. 
 And it is because their king is " God, and not 
 man," that they are not utterly " consumed one 
 of another." 
 
 3d. When churches lose the sense of their 
 common interest, they withhold from each other 
 that support which it is their duty, and might 
 otherwise be their inclination, to yield. 
 
 Each leaves the other to stand or fall by 
 herself. The invasions of an adversary upon 
 one, make little impression upon the rest. They 
 all doze in security, provided an attack be not 
 directly against their own possessions. They 
 see errours spreading, mischiefs growing, which 
 their timely interposition might contribute to 
 arrest ; and it would not be wanting were the 
 case formally their own : but as matters are, 
 *' it is none of their business." They stand by 
 and let the ruin work, till it be too late ; and 
 then console themselves with bearing their 
 *' testimony" against evils which they might 
 have prevented. Have they forgotten that in 
 spiritual as in temporal life, 
 
 tua res agitiir paries cum proximus ardet I 
 
 " your own house is in danger when your 
 
384 A Plea for Catholich Communion/ 
 
 neighbour's wall is on fire ? " or do they imagine 
 that the HOLY ONE is to be put off with such 
 negligent and selfish loyalty ? 
 
 They also decline to bear one another's bur- 
 dens: at least they do so to an extent which 
 infringes upon every principle of their relation 
 as parts of a great whole. 
 
 The good things of this world, where there is 
 no sort of lack, must be dealt out, if at all, with 
 a hand unusually sparing to those who are not of 
 *' our church." I am far from insinuating that 
 the opulent do justice to their means or their 
 professions within the boundaries of their own 
 sect. There is no duty in which, even thus 
 narrowed, they are more generally, more sin- 
 fully, and more shamefully, -deficient : and that 
 they shall find, many of them to their eternal 
 cost, when God shall make them feel that they 
 were only stewards, not iwo-prietors, of their 
 substance; and shall arraign them at his bar as 
 robbers of his treasury. But little as they 
 might do in any case, they do still less than 
 they would if the claims of Christ were always 
 backed by the claims of sect. And thus an 
 affluent Christian district permits a poorer one 
 to pine and languish through the want of aid 
 which it could most conveniently afford. If the 
 history of early believers, in the Acts of the 
 A'postles, may be credited, '* from the beginning- 
 it was not so." 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 385 
 
 Their restricted communion, moreover, teaches 
 different sects to dishonour each others Christian 
 character. Insomuch that the most ample 
 recommendations from one will not procure 
 admission to church-privileges in another ; and 
 the mere desire to go, upon whatever grounds, 
 from one to another, shall deprive a person of 
 every official document of his life and conver- 
 sation ; let it have been ever so exemplary and 
 edifying. Not a certificate of ecclesiastical 
 standing shall be given ; though most respect- 
 fully asked : and a Christian on whom there 
 has not lighted the breath of accusation, shall 
 be turned adrift, like a religious vagabond, to 
 sue for the courtesy of any church that may 
 please to take him in. What is this, but to 
 affront, in the face of the world, that particular 
 church which he wishes to join, as though she 
 were not of the " household of God ;" and to 
 treat him like an apostate simply for preferring 
 to be under her immediate inspection ? 
 
 To so great a length is this temper indulged, 
 as sometimes to corrupt moral discipline in the 
 church where it prevails, and to counteract it 
 in others where it does not. Who can think, 
 without shuddering, of a man's being called up 
 as an offender ^ and being required, on the peril 
 of censure, to confess his sin, and prornise 
 amendment, for — what. Christian reader, for 
 what ? — why — " tell it not in Gatb, publish it 
 c c 
 
3^6r A Flea for Catholick Conimiinlon. 
 
 not in the streets of Askelon" — for hearing "the 
 words of eternal life" from the mouth of an 
 unquestioned ambassador of our King, who has 
 not his credentials countersigned by US — more 
 briefly — from a minister who is not of our 
 .party!! That hearing "the glorious gospel of 
 the blessed God" in one of his own churches, 
 should be accounted a crime and a scandal in 
 another ! And that an attempt to remove from 
 one to another, should subject his servants to 
 the threat and the hazard of being thrown out 
 of them all ! — Did Paul ever expect it should 
 come to this ? 
 
 Even this is not the whole. To avoid censure 
 for misconduct, it is not a strange thing for 
 some people to be seized with sudden fits of 
 conscience, and get most oppoi;tune illumi- 
 nations of understanding — to steal away to 
 another church, then deny the jurisdiction they 
 have deserted; set up for peculiar humility, 
 zeal, and sanctity; and have their claims 
 admitted, and be themselves received, by the 
 churches to which they flee ! Nay, persons 
 under actual censure for immorality, have not 
 found it impracticable nor difficult to shelter 
 themselves in churches which most loudly ac- 
 cuse others of lukewarmness and laxity. They 
 who hold themselves to be too pure for commu- 
 nion with their brethren, should not try to 
 destroy what little vigbur of discipline may be 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 387 
 
 left, nor open their church-bosom as an asyhim 
 for fugitives from the law of God's house. 
 
 4th. The spirit of sect hinders the churches 
 which it governs from co-operating together in 
 promoting the kingdom of God. 
 
 In the United States, where, generally speak- 
 ing, there is no legal provision for the mainte- 
 nance of rehgion; and especially among the 
 new settlements, there is frequently, in vefy 
 small districts, a confluence of people from 
 various denominations. Their junction makes 
 a flourishing town, and would make a flourishing 
 church. They agree in primary, and disagree 
 in secondary principles : But they will not, for 
 the sake of the former, lay aside their contests 
 about the latter. Collectively they are able to 
 support the gospel in comfort and dignity — 
 separately, they cannot support it at all. They 
 will not compromise their smaller differences. 
 Every one must have his own way ; must be 
 completely gratified, in his predilections. The 
 rest must come to liim; he will neither go to 
 them, nor meet them upon common ground : 
 And the result is, that they all experience alike, 
 " not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, 
 but of hearing the word of the Lord." Sanctuary 
 they have none. They lose, by degrees, their 
 anxiety for the institutions of Christ. Their 
 feeble substitutes, their small social meetings, 
 without the " ministers of grace," soon die away. 
 
 c c 2 
 
388 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 Their Sabbaths are Pagan. Their children grow 
 up in ignorance, in unbelief, and in vice. Their 
 land, which smiles around them like the garden 
 of God, presents an unbroken scene of spiritual 
 desolation. In the course of one or two gene- 
 rations, the knowledge of God is almost oblite- 
 rated ; the name of Jesus is a foreign sound ; 
 his salvation an occult science : and while plenty 
 crowns their board, and health invigorates their 
 bodies, the bread of life blesses not their table, 
 and moral pestilence is sweeping their souls 
 into death. All this from the idolatry of " our" 
 church. They might have had Christ at the 
 expense of sect. They preferred sect, and they 
 are without Christ. How far the mischief shall 
 proceed, God only can tell. It is enough to 
 fill our hearts with grief, and to shake them 
 with terrour, that from the combination of this 
 with other causes, we have already a population 
 of SOME milljo:ns of our own colour, flesh and 
 blood, nearly as destitute of evangelical mercies 
 as the savage who yells on the banks of the 
 Missouri.* 
 
 * See, on this subject, an interesting tract by the Rev. LymaJ^ 
 Beecher, " On the importance of assisting young men o^ 
 parts and talents in obtaining an education for the gospel 
 ministry.'''' ^ip. 20. 
 
 The ingenious and inquisitive authour has calculated, from 
 various data, that out of the eight (rather nine) millions of 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 389 
 
 . When sectarian jealo«sy and pride lead pro- 
 fessing Christians thus to sacrifice themselves 
 and their children, it would be vain to look for 
 their concurrence in generous efforts for the 
 good of others. 
 
 How much yet remains to be done before 
 '* the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
 Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea;" how 
 much before it fill the corners of every Chris- 
 tian country, it would be superfluous to show. 
 " Darkness covers the earth ; and thick dark- 
 ness the people." Millions after millions go 
 down to the grave unacquainted with the 
 *' grace which bringeth salvation ;" uncheered 
 by the hope which conquers death. If the 
 
 souls whieli compose tlie population of the United States, jiviC 
 millions are either utterly without the stated ordinances of the 
 gospel, or are consigned to the most illiterate ministrations. 
 Supposing his calculations to exceed the fact, as it is difficult to 
 be accurate upon so great a scale ; yet, with every reduction 
 which fastidiousness itself can require, the result is sufficient to 
 alarm, to appal, and almost to overwhelm, a Christian who 
 compares the ratio of our increasing population with the probable 
 supply of the means of grace. 
 
 Several causes have no doubt concurred in producing our 
 deplorable state ; but that sectarian jealousies have not withheld 
 their full amount of influence, seems not to admit of a question. 
 The churches have been in a profound sleep as to this momentous 
 concern. The good God awaken thein with his own voice j for 
 every other is wasted on the wind ! 
 
390 A Plea for Catholick Communion. 
 
 world receive the knowledge of '' the only true 
 God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent," 
 they must owe the blessing to those who already 
 enjoy the " words of eternal life." — If the banner 
 of the cross ever wave triumphantly over the 
 last battlements of idolatry, it must be planted 
 by hands which have been washed in the blood 
 of the cross, — If the doctrines of kindness and 
 peace shall humanize the habitations of cruelty, 
 and subdue the sons of blood, they must flow 
 from the lips of those who have " tasted that 
 the Lord is gracious." Here is a field large 
 enough for their labours ; an object worthy of 
 their zeal. Here are conquests to be atchieved 
 infinitely more splendid than any which signa- 
 lize the heroes of the sword ; and a " recompense 
 of reward" as far above their brightest honours, 
 as "the crown of glory which fadeth not away," 
 is better than the breath of a " man that shall 
 die, and the son of man that shall become as 
 grass." The enterprise is stupendous ; the 
 thought is awful. Yet awful and stupendous 
 as they are, the thought is to be embodied in 
 fact, the enterprise to be a matter of history. 
 So saith the word of our God. And that Chris- 
 tians, were they hearty in the cause : half as 
 hearty as they are in getting the " mammon of 
 unrighteousness," are able to accomplish that 
 word, does not permit a doubt. But for its 
 accomplishment there must be a union of 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 391 
 
 counsels, of confidence, and of strength, un- 
 known in the church since the days of apos- 
 tohck harmony. To such an union nothing can 
 be more hostile than the spirit of sect. We do 
 hail indeed, with an exultation not unworthy, 
 we hope of bosoms which have been touched 
 by celestial fire, the auspicious dawnings of 
 such a day of love. The truly gracious efforts 
 in which the land of our fathers, the island of 
 Great Britain has taken the lead ; and keeps, 
 and seems destined to keep, the pre-eminence, 
 encourage us to anticipate things which many 
 prophets and wise men have desired to see 
 and have not seen them. Eternal blessings on 
 those children of the truth who have excited 
 what may one day prove " a general movement 
 of the church upon earth," in order to " speak 
 peace to the heathen !" — Upon those benefactors 
 of the nations, who have poured their offerings 
 into the treasury of God, and have joined their 
 hands with their opulence in the glorious work 
 of sending the Bible, which teaches sinners 
 what they " must do to be saved," to " all 
 peoples, and kindreds, and nations, and tongues." 
 — Upon those vigilant sons and daughters of 
 charity, who have gone out into the " high- 
 ways and hedges" of the country — into the 
 *' streets and lanes" of the city, " to seek," 
 like their adorable Redeemer, *'and to save that 
 which was lost ;" to bring the Sabbath, with its 
 
392 A. Plea for Catholick Communion, 
 
 mercies, into the cabins of the poor, and the 
 houses of the profane ; and to train up, by 
 labours worthy of the Lord's day, for " glory, 
 honour, and immortality," those wretched out- 
 casts who were candidates for infamy in this 
 world, and for perdition in the next ! 
 
 Whose heart does not swell with transport ? 
 Whose lips do not pour forth benedictions? 
 Who that names the name of Christ can refuse 
 his " God speed ?" But what do these things 
 involve, and how have they been accomplished ? 
 See it, O disciple of Jesus, and rejoice ! — They 
 involve, they have been accomplished by, the 
 prevalence of the Christian over the Secta- 
 RiAX ! No such thing was attempted by 
 modem believers; no such honours encircled 
 their brow, till the " Sun of righteousness, 
 arising upon them with healing in his wings," 
 melted their ices, warmed their soil, and made 
 their " wilderness to blossom as the rose." 
 
 Stronger proof of the baleful and blasting in- 
 fluence of sect on the " kingdom of God," no 
 man can ask, than the fact, now notorious to 
 the whole world, that what has been thus 
 effected for the one, has been done at the 
 expense of the other. If he wishes for con- 
 firmation, let him cast his eyes around. Let 
 him see in the caution, the management, the 
 address, which Christians of a Catholick spirit 
 are obliged to employ— in the slanders which. 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 393 
 
 though refuted on the spot, and put to deeper 
 and deeper shame by every moment of expe- 
 rience, still rear their front and maintain their 
 hardihood — in the coldness, shyness, distance, 
 of some Christian churches, who come not 
 YET "to the help of the Lord against the 
 mighty" — let him see in these things how 
 strong a rampart sectarianism throws up around 
 the camp of the Devil ! Let him shiver with 
 horrour when he hears, not from lying Fame but 
 from plain-dealing. Verity, that whole denomi- 
 nations are to be found — denominations sound 
 in the doctrine of Jesus, who are utterly unable 
 to impart the gospel to perishing Pagans and 
 Paganized Christians ; and who nevertheless, a 
 few individuals excepted, will not lift a finger, 
 will not contribute a farthing, toward enlighten- 
 ing their darkness; because, forsooth, the 
 candle cannot be carried in their candlestick! 
 What shall we, what can we say to such reluc- 
 tance ? Does it admit of more than one inter- 
 pretation ? viz. that they had rather these their 
 poor fellow-sinners should sink down to hell 
 under the brand of the curse, than rise up to 
 heaven with the " image and superscription" 
 of the Son of God, unless their own name be 
 entwined with his in the coronet of life ? They 
 mean not so : they think not so : they shrink 
 and tremble at the very idea. Then it is time 
 for them to examine by another standard than 
 
394 A Pl&a for Catholick Communian. 
 
 has regulated too many of their proceedings, 
 whether their deeds have not said so ; and 
 whether justice to their best principles and 
 affections does not require them to change their 
 bourse ! 
 
 III. We have yet to survey this sectarian 
 fellowship from another point of view — its 
 effects on the siirroimdmg world, 
 
 1st. The first effect is visible, and has 
 already been noticed. Many, who might have 
 rejoiced in the light of life, had Christian 
 churches been more concerned for the kingdom 
 of God than for the predominance of party, are 
 left to darkness and ruin. Let not the eager 
 partizan who might have put forth his helping 
 hand to save them from the pit, but would not, 
 imagine that his negligence will be unnoticed 
 when God "maketh inquisition for blood." The 
 eternal death of multitudes lies at the door of 
 our unseemly strife. 
 
 2d. We hinder the success of the gospel 
 where it is enjoyed even in purity. 
 
 With what face do we praise our religion as 
 the religion of love, when we live, or behave 
 as if we lived, in enmity ? If the same jea- 
 lousies, rivalships, antipathies, and other 
 passions wliich reign among secular men, reign, 
 or appear to reign, among us also, how shall we 
 prove that we are better than they ? What can 
 
p. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 395 
 
 we persuade them to think of the church but 
 that she is their own world in disguise, and so 
 much the worse for her claims to sanctity ? If, 
 without even the pretence of differing about 
 essential truths, sect clash with sect as harshly 
 and unkindly as any political factions whatever, 
 how shall the one take precedence of the other 
 in the scale of moral probity ? 
 
 These inquiries are too natural not to rise in 
 the mind of every reflecting man of the world. 
 Have they no tendency to put him further and 
 further from the faith of Jesus 1 to harden his 
 heart against the gospel of immortality? to 
 render its very terms designating moral cha- 
 racter ; such as " good conscience" — " spiritual- 
 mindedness" — " self-denial" — " bearing the 
 cross" — "following Christ," &c. suspicious, if not 
 odious in his eyes ? Whence proceed his sneers, 
 his ridicule, his flings of " hypocrisy,"' — " fana- 
 ticism," — " priestcraft," and the other con- 
 temptuous phrases with which his vocabulary is 
 so plentifully stocked ? " From the enmity of 
 his depraved heart," you will say — " because 
 the natural man receiveth not the things of the 
 Spirit of God." Doubtless. But is there no 
 stimulus to his enmity in the scandalous spec- 
 tacle of those who profess " one Lord, one 
 faith, one baptism, one hope of their calling," 
 playing the Jew and the Samaritan toward each 
 
396 A Plea for Catholick Conmunion* 
 
 other? — without communion, without confi- 
 dence, without religious " deaUngs" together^ — 
 ahenated, sundered, opposed, as if. their title to 
 heaven were founded in their mutual hostihty ? 
 Do not these things cause him to err, and turn 
 the Rock of salvation into " a stone of stumbling 
 and rock of oifence?" Do they not avert his 
 eye from the beauty of Zion; stop his ears 
 against the eulogy -of her converts; and put 
 into his mouth that bitter and biting taunt, 
 " These Christians have just religion enough to 
 hate one another heartily ?" 
 : Shall we wonder at his mistake ? How 
 should /?e recognise believers in the Lord Jesus, 
 if they do not seem to recognise each other ? 
 For in very deed, sectarians are Christians ia 
 disguise. The sectarian stands foremost, the 
 Christian behind. Sectarian distinctions are 
 masks : sectarian champions, ecclesiastical 
 knights covered Avith their armour, themselves 
 unseen. The masks are of all hues and all 
 features. They must be removed before you 
 can perceive that the com.batants are of one 
 species. Sectarianism stripped off, you see 
 the Christians, You discover the identity of 
 race — the family features — those beautiful fea- 
 tures in which they resemble their Father who 
 is in heaven; and are " conformed to the 
 image of the first-born among many brethren." 
 
V. IV. Consequences of Sectarian Communion. 397 
 
 Blessed likeness ! enchanting loveliness ! Are 
 the painted earth-made vizors which conceal 
 ** the human face divine," and substitute, in its 
 room, their own deformed and forbidding 
 visages, worth the price they cost us ? worth 
 the conflicts which have all the pains of military 
 warfare without its recompense? and all the 
 hardihood of chivalry without its generosity? 
 worth the broken unity, the blighted peace, the 
 tarnished beauty, the prostrate energy, the 
 humbled honour, of the church of God ? Ah 
 no ! Our hearts Jeel that they are hot. What 
 then remains but to lay aside our petty contests? 
 to strike our hands in a covenant of love — a 
 ** holy league," offensive and defensive, for the 
 common Christianity — to present our consoli- 
 dated front to the legions of errour and death ; 
 and march on, under the command and conduct 
 of the Captain of our salvation, till the nations 
 mingle their shouts in that thundering Alleluia-^ 
 " The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!" 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Printed by S. Curtis, Southampton Place, Camberwell. 
 
THEOLOGICAL WORKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY 
 GALE AND FENNER. 
 
 The STATESMAN'S MANUAL; 
 
 OR 
 
 The BIBLE the Beet Guide to Political Skill and Foresight: 
 
 A LAY SERMON, 
 
 Addressed to the Higher Classes of Society, with an Appendix 
 
 containing Comments and Essays connected with the Study of the 
 
 Inspired Writings. 
 
 By S. T. COLERIDGE, Esq. 
 
 By the same Authoi', 
 In the press, a Second Lay SERIWOisr, addressed to the Middle 
 Classes of Society on the present Distress. 
 
 2. THE LIFE OF PHILIP MELANCTHON, comprising 
 an account of the most important Transactions of the Reforma- 
 tion. By F. A. Cox, A. M. of Hackney. 8vo. Embellished with 
 a full length Portrait, and a fac simile of his Hand Writing, 
 price 14*. boards. 
 
 " We repeat with earnestness that the study of such a character, 
 W'hich is now offered to the public in a tangible and not unpleasing 
 form would be peculiarly seasonable at present." 
 
 Quarterly Revieic, xxvil. 242. 
 
 3. An English Translation of the celebrated BLAISE PASCAL'S 
 PROVINCIAL LETTERS on the Theological Controversies of 
 
 -the Jesuits. 
 
 The discernment displayed by this great writer in the present 
 work, whilst it established his reputation as a metaphysical dis- 
 putant, induced Voltaire, notwithstanding his strong prejudices 
 against the Author, to ascribe to his PROVINCIAL Letters the 
 fixation of the French Language, and to say that '• Moliere's best 
 Comedies do not excel them in wit, nor the compositions of 
 Bossuet in sublimity."— On the revival of the order of the Jesuits 
 in Europe, this Work will be found to contain much interesting 
 matter. 
 
 The Smallest Concordance ever printed. 
 
 4. A CONCORDANCE to the HOLY SCRIPTURES of the 
 OLD and NEW TESTAMENT, by the Rev. JOHN BROWN, 
 
 of Haddington. Miniature Edition, 3s. 6rf. boards. Printed by 
 CORRALL. 
 
 5. ANECDOTES, Religious, Moral and Entertaining; alpha- 
 betically arranged, and interspersed with a variety of useful Obser- 
 vations, selected by the late Rev. CHARLES BuCK. Vol. 3. 
 
 This chaste Selection of Anecdotes may be safely recommended 
 to Families and Schools, as containing the same kind of excellent 
 materials for convei'sation and the memory, whicli the first and 
 second volumes have been so largely acknowledged to po^5ess. Sec 
 NewEvang, Blag. Nov. 181(5. 
 
Works recently published by Gale and Fenner. 
 
 6. A MANUAL OF LATIN GRAMMAR, intended to com- 
 bme the aneient Plan of Grammatical Institution, originally en- 
 joined by royal authority, with the advantages of modern improve- 
 ment. By John Pye Smith, D. D. 12mo. Second Edition 
 improved, price 2s. 6d. 
 
 The above is especially designed for Schools ; but an Edition 
 IS taken off in which some prefatory Hints and Observations 
 on the Method of commencing and pursuing Classical Learning by 
 private Study are given, and other Observations interspersed to 
 facilitate this laudable pursuit. 
 
 7. FAREWELL SERMONS of some of the most eminent of the 
 Nonconformist Ministers, delivered at the period of their Eject- 
 ment by the Act of Uniformity, in the year 1662; to which is 
 prefixed a Historical and Biographical Preface. One volume, 8vo. 
 
 8. BRIEF MEMOIRS of FOUR CHRISTIAN HINDOOS, 
 
 deceased ; published at Serampore, with Profiles and a Preface. 
 
 This highly interesting Tract has been transmitted by the Baptigt 
 Missionaries in India. 
 
 9. A THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY ; containing Definitions 
 of all Religious Terms, a comprehensive View of eveiy article in 
 the System of Divinity, an impartial Account of all the principal 
 Denominations which have subsisted in the Religious World from 
 the Birth of Christ to the present day ; together with an accurate 
 Statement of the most remarkable transactions and events recorded 
 in Ecclesiastical History. By the late Rev. Charles BUCK, 
 A new Edition, being the fourth. 
 
 10. CONFORMITY to the WORLD inconsistent with the 
 Profession of Christianity. A Dialogue. By the Rev. THOMAS 
 T. Biddulph, M. a. One vol. 12mo. 
 
 11. A HEBREW GRAMMAR in the English Language. 
 By Joseph Samuel C. F. Frey, price with the Book of 
 Psalms, 10*. 6rf. without it 6». 
 
 12. INSTITUTES of the CHRISTIAN RELIGION. By 
 John Calvin. Translated from the original Latin, and collated 
 with the Author's last edition in Fi'ench, by John Allen, in 
 3 Thick vols. 8vo. Embellished with a Portrait of the Author, 
 price 21. 5 s. boards. 
 
 In the Press. 
 
 SERMONS by the Rev. JOHN MARTIN, of Keppel-street; 
 taken in Short-hand by Mr. Palmer. Two volumes, octavo. 
 
 FEMALE SCRIPTURE BIOGRAPHY. By the Rev. 
 F. A. Cox, M. A. of Hackney, Author of the life of Philip 
 Melanctuon, &c. &c. intended as a Supplement to the Rev. T« 
 Robinson's Scripture Characters. Two volumes, octavo. 
 
^ ■';/?vfe^ 
 
 .^^■■:^ 
 
 
 K 
 
 rdig 
 
 fi'^^ilKiVi 
 
 ■rO.-^ 
 
0L0-ym'' 
 
 
 
 W\ 
 
 
 
 ^%^ 
 
 
 
 '">^:', 
 
jOiMj^^SiJv