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sanctified in all that draw near him, and hateth the impure and unholy, and will have all his children holy as he is holy.

4. And to tell us the fitness of all God's children for his favour and salvation.

Q. 6. Wherein consisteth the holiness of the church?

A. 1. Christ their Head is perfectly holy. 2. The gospel and law of Christ, which is our objective faith and rule, are holy. 3. The founders of the church were eminently holy. 4. All sincere Christians are truly holy, and marked out as such for salvation. 5. The common ministers have a holy office. 6. The church worship, as God's ordinances, are holy works. 7. All that are baptised, and profess Christianity, are holy as to profession, and so far separated from the infidel world, though not sincerely to salvation.

Q. 7. What is it now that you call The Holy Catholic Church? A. It is the universality of Christians, headed by Jesus Christ. Or, it is a holy kingdom, consisting of Jesus Christ, the Head, and all sincere Christians, the sincere members, and all professed Christians, the professing members; first founded and gathered by the Holy Ghost, eminently working in the apostles and evangelists, recording the doctrine and laws of Christ for their government to the end, and guided by his ministers, and sanctifying Spirit, according to those laws and doctrine in various degrees of grace and gifts.

Q. 8. What is it that makes all churches to be one?

A. 1. Materially their concord in their same qualifications, which is called, (Eph. iv. 3,)" the unity of the Spirit." They are all that are sincere, sanctified by the same Spirit, and have the same essentials of faith, hope, baptismal covenant, and love and the hypocrites profess the same.

2. Formally their common union with, and relation to, God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, that is, to Jesus Christ their Head, bringing them home to God the Father by the Spirit.

Q. 9. Is there no one ministerial head of all the church on earth?

A. No: neither one man, nor one council, or collection of men. For, 1. None are naturally capable of being one supreme pastor, teacher, priest, and ruler over all the nations of the earth, nor can so much as know them, or have human converse with

* Eph. i. 22, 23, and v. 23, 24; Col. i. 18, 19, 24; Matt. xvi. 18; 1 Cor. xii. 28-30; Acts ii. 47.

* John xvii. 21, 23 ; 1 Cor. xii. 5, 27–29; Eph. iv. 5–7; Matt. xxviii. 19.

them. And a council gathered equally out of all the world, as one such supreme, is a more gross fiction of impossibles than that of a Pope.

2. And Christ, that never so qualified any, never gave any such power. But all pastors are like the judges, justices, and mayors that rule subordinately under one king, in their several precincts, and not like an universal viceroy, lieutenant, or aristocracy, or parliament.

Q. 10. But is not monarchy the best form of government, and should not the church have the best?

A. 1. Yes and therefore Christ is its monarch, who is capable of it.

2. But a human, universal monarchy of all the world is not best. Nor was ever an Alexander, a Cæsar, or any man, so mad, as soberly to pretend to it. Who is the man that you would have to be king at the antipodes, and over all the kings on earth?

3. Yea, the case of the church is liker that of schools and colleges, that rule volunteers in order to teaching them. And did ever papist think that all the schools on earth of grammarians, philosophers, physicians, &c., should have one human, supreme schoolmaster, or a council or college of such to rule them?

Q. 11. But Christ is not a visible Head, and the church is visible?

A. We deny not the visibility of the church, but we must not feign it to be more visible than it is. 1. It consisteth of visible subjects. 2. Their profession is visible, and their worship. 3. They have visible pastors in all the particular churches, as every school hath its schoolmaster. 4. Christ was visible in the flesh on earth. 5. He was after seen of Stephen and Paul. 6. He is now visible in heaven, as the king in his court. 7. And he will come in glorious visibility shortly, to judge the world. 8. And his laws are visible by which he ruleth us and will judge us. If all this visibility will not satisfy men, Christ will not approve of usurpation for more visibility.

Q. 12. Of what use is this article to us?

A. 1. To tell us that Christ died not in vain, but will certainly have a holy church which he will save."

↳ 1 Cor. xi. 3; Eph. v. 23 ; Col. ii. 10, 18, and ii. 19; Acts xiv. 23 ; Tit. i. 5 ; Eph. ii. 20; Acts viii. 36; ix., and xxii. 14; Rev. i. 7; Matt. xxv. 40.'

Eph. v. 27; Acts ii. 47, and xx. 28; 1 Cor. x. 32; Eph. iii. 10; Col. i. 18, 24; Eph. if. 2:; Heb. ii. 12; 1 Thess. v. 12, 13; Eph. iv. 16; 1 Tim. iii. 15.

2. To show us, in the blessed effect, that the sanctification of the Spirit is not a fancy, but a holy church is renewed and saved by it.

3. To tell us that God forsaketh not the earth, though he permit ignorance, infidelity, and wickedness to abound, and malice to persecute the truth: still God hath a holy church which he will preserve and save. And though this or that church may apostatise, and cease, there shall be still a catholic church on earth.

4. To mind us of the wonderful providence of God, which so continueth and preserveth a holy people, hated by open enemies, and wicked hypocrites, by Satan and all his instruments on earth.

5. To teach us to love the unity of Christians, and carefully maintain it, and not to tear the church by the engines of proud men's needless snares, nor to be rashly censorious of any, or excommunicate them unjustly, nor to separate from any, further than they separate from Christ, but to rejoice in our common union in christian faith and love, and not let wrongs, or infirmities of Christians, or carnal interests, or pride or passion, nor different opinions about things not necessary to our unity, destroy our love or peace, or break this holy bond.

CHAP. XIX.

"The Communion of Saints."

Q. 1. How is this article joined to the former ?

A. As it belongs to our belief in the Holy Ghost, it tells us the effect of his sanctification: and as it belongs to our belief of the holy catholic church, it tells us the end of church relation, that saints may live in holy communion.

Q. 2. What is it to be a saint?

A. To be separated from a common and unclean conversation unto God, and to be absolutely devoted to him, to love, serve and trust him, and hope for his salvation.

Q. 3. Are all saints that are members of the catholic church? A. Yes, by profession, if not in sincerity: all that are sincere and living members of the church, are really devoted to God by heart-consent; and the rest are devoted by baptism, and out

ward profession, and are hypocrites, pretending falsely to be real saints.d

Q. 4. Why then doth the Church of Rome canonize some few, and call them saints, if all Christians be saints?

A. By saints they mean extraordinary saints: but their appropriating the name to such, much tendeth to delude the people, as if they might be saved though they be not saints.

Q. 5. What is meant by the Communion of Saints?

A. Such a frame and practice of heart and life towards one another as supposeth union, such as is between the members of the body.

Q. 6. Wherein doth this communion consist?

A. 1. In their common love to God, faith in Christ, and sanctification by the Spirit. 2. In their love to one another as themselves.f 3. In their care for one another's welfare, and endeavour to promote it as their own :8 and when love makes all their goods so far common to all Christians within their converse, as that they do to their power supply their wants in the order and measure that God's providence, and their relations and acquaintance direct them; preferring the relief of others' necessities, before their own superfluity or fulness. 4. In their joining, as with one mind and soul and mouth, in God's public worship, and that in the holy order under their respective pastors, which Christ, by his Spirit in the apostles, hath instituted.h

Q. 7. Why is our joining in the Lord's supper called our communion?

A. Because it is a special symbol, badge, and expression of it instituted by Christ, to signify our communion with him and one another.

Q. S. Is that to be only a communion of saints?

A. Yes, that in a special manner is appropriated to saints: other parts of communion, (as eating together, relieving each other, duties of religion, &c.,) are so far to be used toward unbelievers, that they are not so meet to be the distinguishing symbols of Christians: but the two sacraments, baptism for

1 Cor. i. 1, 2; Rom. i. 7; xii. 15, and xv. 25, 26, 31; 1 Cor. xiv. 33, and xvi. 1, 15.

e 2 Cor. i. 1; Eph. i. 1; v. 3, aud vi. 18; Phil. i. 1; Col. i. 2; Heb. xiii. 24;

Acts iv.

f Col. i. 4; 1 Peter i. 22.

Heb. xiii. 2, 3; 1 Tim. vi. 18.

1 Cor. x. 16; 2 Cor. vi. 14; Heb. x. 22, 24; John xiii. 34, 35; 1 Thes. v. 12, 13.

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entrance, and the Lord's supper, for continuance of communion, Christ hath purposely appointed for such badges or signs of his people as separate from the world.'

Q. 9. By what order are others to be kept from church communion?

A. Christ hath instituted the office of the sacred ministry for this end, that when they have made disciples to him, they may be entrusted with the keys of his church, that is, especially the administration of these sacraments, first judging who is fit to be entered by baptism, and then who is fit for continued communion.k

Q. 10. May not the pastors, by this means, become church tyrants?

A. We must not put down all government for fear of tyranny; else kingdoms, armies, colleges, schools, must be all dissolved, as well as churches: somebody must be trusted with this power; and who is fitter than they who are called to it as their office, and therefore supposed best qualified for it.

Q. 11. What if none were trusted with it, and sacraments left free to all?

A. Then sacraments would be no sacraments, and the church would be no church: if any man or woman that would, might baptise whom, and when, they would, they might baptise Turks and heathens, and that over and over, who come in scorn; and they might baptise without a profession of true faith; or upon a false profession. And if every man might give the Lord's supper to another, it might be brought into ale-houses and taverns, in merriment, or as a charm, or every infidel or enemy might in scorn profane it: do you think that if baptism and the Lord's supper were thus administered, that they would be any symbols or badges of Christianity, or of a church, or any means of salvation? No Christians ever dreamt of such profanation.

Q. 12. But why may not the pastors themselves give them to all that will?

A. Either you would have them forced to do so, or to do it

1 Matt. xxvi. 26; 1 Cor. xi. 21, 22, 24, &c.; Acts xx. 7; 1 Cor. x. 16; Acts ii. 42, 46.

* Matt. xvi. 19, and xxiv. 45, 46; 1 Cor. iv. 1, 2; Acts xx. 20, 28; 1 Thes. v. 12, 13; Heb. xiii. 7, 17, 24.

11 Cor. v. ; 2 Thes. iii.; Tit. iii. 10; 2 Cor. vi. 16, 17; 1 Cor. i. 1, 2, and 2 Cor. i. 1; Eph. i. 1, 2.

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