ART.
XIX.

In this likewife a distinction is to be made between what is effential to a facrament, and what is the exact observance of it according to the inftitution. Additions to the facraments do not annul them, though they corrupt them with that adulterate mixture. Therefore where the fponfions are made, and a washing with water is used with the words of Christ, there we own that there is a true baptifm: though there may be a large addition of other rites, which we reject as fuperftitious, though we do not pretend that they null the baptifm. But if any part of the inftitution is cut off, there we do not own the facrament to be true because it being an institution of Christ's, it can no more be esteemed a true facrament, than as it retains all that, which by the inftitution appears to be the main and effential parts of the action.

Upon this account it is, that fince Chrift appointed bread and wine for his other facrament, and that he not only bleffed both, but diftributed both, with words appropriated to each kind, we do not effeem that to be a true facrament, in which either the one or the other of thefe kinds is withdrawn.

But in the next place, there may be many things neceffary in the way of precept and order, both with relation to the facraments, and to the other public acts of worship, in which though additions or defects are erroneous and faulty, yet they do not annul the facraments.

We think none ought to baptize but men dedicated to the fervice of God, and ordained according to that conftitution that was fettled in the Church by the Apoftles; and yet baptifm by laicks, or by women, fuch as is most commonly practised in the Roman Church, is not esteemed null by us, nor is it repeated: because we make a difference between what is effential to a facrament, and what is requifite in the regular way of ufing it.

None can deny this among us, but those who will question the whole Christianity of the Roman Church, where the midwives do generally baptize: but if this invalidates the baptifm, then we must queftion all that is done among them: perfons fo baptized, if their baptifm is void, are neither truly ordained, nor capable of any other act of Church-communion. Therefore men's being in orders, or their being duly ordained, is not neceffary to the effence of the facrament of baptism, but only to the regularity of adminiftering it: and fo the want of it does not void it, but does only prove fuch men to be under fome defects and diforder in their conftitution.

Thus I have laid down thofe diftinctions that will guide us in the right understanding of this Article. If we believe that any fociety retains the fundamentals of Christianity, we do from that conclude it to be a true Church, to have a true baptifm,

and

XIX.

and the members of it to be capable of falvation. But we ART. are not upon that bound to affociate ourselves to their communion: for if they have the addition of falfe doctrines, or any unlawful parts of worship among them, we are not bound to join in that which we are perfuaded is error, idolatry, or fuperftition.

If the facraments that Chrift has appointed are observed and ministered by any Church as to the main of them, according to his inftitution, we are to own thofe for valid actions: but we are not for that bound to join in communion with them, if they have adulterated these with many mixtures and additions.

Thus a plain difference is made between our owning that a Church may retain the fundamentals of Chriftianity, a true baptifm, and true orders, which are a confequent upon the former, and our joining with that Church in fuch acts as we think are fo far vitiated, that they become unlawful to us to do them. Pursuant to this, we do neither repeat the baptifin, nor the ordinations of the Church of Rome: we acknowledge that our forefathers were both baptized and ordained in that communion: and we derive our prefent Chriftianity or baptifm, and our orders from thence yet we think that there were fo many unlawful actions, even in thofe rituals, befides the other corruptions of their worship, that we cannot join in fuch any more.

The being baptized in a Church does not tie a man to every thing in that Church; it only ties him to the covenant of Grace. The ftipulations which are made in baptifm, as well as in ordination, do only bind a man to the Christian faith, or to the faithful dispensing of that Gospel, and of those facraments, of which he is made a minifter: fo he who being convinced of the errors and corruptions of a Church, departs from them, and goes on in the purity of the Chriftian religion, does pursue the true effect both of his baptifm, and of his ordination vows. For these are to be confidered as ties upon him only to God and Chrift, and not to adhere to the other dictates of that body, in which he had his birth, baptism, and ordination.

The great objection against all this is, that it sets up a private judgment, it gives particular perfons a right of judging Churches: whereas the natural order is, that private perfons ought to be subject and obedient to the Church.

This muft needs feed pride and curiofity, it must break all order, and caft all things loose, if every fingle man, according to his reading and prefumption, will judge of Churches and Communions,

On

ART.

XIX.

Pf.cxix.

18, 35.

On this head it is very easy to employ a great deal of popular eloquence, to decry private men's examining of Scriptures, and forming their judgments of things out of them, and not fubmitting all to the judgment of the Church. But how abfurd foever this may feem, all parties do acknowledge that it must be done.

Those of the Church of Rome do teach, that a man born in the Greek Church, or among us, is bound to lay down his error, and his communion too, and to come over to them; and yet they allow our baptifm, as well as they do the ordinations of the Greek Church.

Thus they allow private men to judge, and that in fo great a point, as what Church and what Communion ought to be chofen or forfaken. And it is certain, that to judge of Churches and Communions, is a thing of that intricacy, that if private judgment is allowed here, there is no reason to deny it its full fcope as to all other matters.

God has given us rational faculties to guide and direct us; and we must make the most of these that we can: we muft judge with our own reasons, as well as fee with our own eyes neither can we, or ought we to refign up our underftandings to any others, unless we are convinced that God has impofed this upon us, by his making them infallible, fo that we are fecured from error if we follow them.

All this we must examine, and be well affured of it, otherwise it will be a very rafh, unmanly, and bafe thing in us, to muffle up our own understandings, and to deliver our reafon and faith over to others blindfold. Reafon is God's image in us; and as the use and application of our reafon, as well as of the freedom of our wills, are the higheft excellencies of the rational nature; fo they must be always claimed, and ought never to be parted with by us, but upon clear and certain authorities in the name of God, putting us implicitly under the dic

tates of others.

We may abufe the ufe of our reafon, as well as the liberty of our will; and may be damned for the one as well as the other. But when we let ourselves to make the best use we can of the freedom of our wills, we may and do upon that expect fecret affiftances. We have both the like promites, direction to the like prayers, and reafon to expect the fame illumination, to make us fee, know, and comprehend the truths of religion, that we have to expect that our powers fhall be inwardly ftrengthened to love and obey them. David prays that God may open his eyes, as well as that he may make him to go in his ways. The promifes in the Prophets concerning the Gospel-difpenfation carry in them the being

taught

XIX.

taught of God, as well as the being made to walk in his ways; ART. and the enlightening the mind, and the eyes of the mind to know, is prayed for by St. Paul, as well as that Chrift may dwell in their hearts.

Ephef i. 18. iii. 17.

Since then there is an affistance of the Divine grace given to fortify the understanding, as well as to enable the will, it follows that our understanding is to be employed by us in order to the finding out of the truth, as well as our will in order to the obeying of it. And though this may have very ill confequences, it does not follow from thence, that it is not true. No confequences can be worfe than the corruption that is in the world, and the damnation that follows upon fin ; and yet God permits it, because he has made us free creatures. Nor can any reafon be given why we should be lefs free in the use of our understanding, than we are in the use of our will; or why God fhould make it to be lefs poffible for us to fall into errors, than it is to commit fins. The wrath of God is as much denounced againft men that hold the truth in Rom. i. 18. unrighteoufnefs, as against other fins; and it is reckoned among 24, 26. the heaviest of curfes, to be given up to ftrong delufions, to be-2 Theff. ii. lieve a lie. Upon all these reasons therefore it seems clear, 11. that our understandings are left free to us as well as our wills; and if we obferve the ftyle and method of the Scriptures, we fhall find in them all over, a conftant appeal to a man's reafon, and to his intellectual faculties.

If the mere dictates of the Church, or of infallible men, had been the refolution or foundation of faith, there had been no need of fuch a long thread of reafoning and discourse, as both our Saviour used while on earth, and as the Apostles used in their writings. We fee the way of authority is not taken, but explanations are offered, proofs and illuftrations are brought to convince the mind; which fhews that God, in the clearest manifeftation of his will, would deal with us as with reasonable creatures, who are not to believe but upon perfuafion; and are to use our reafons in order to the attaining that perfuafion. And therefore upon the whole matter we ought not to believe doctrines to be true, because the Church teaches them; but we ought to fearch the Scriptures, and then, according as we find the doctrine of any Church to be true in the fundamentals, we ought to believe her to be a true Church; and if, befides this, the whole extent of the doctrine and worship, together not only with the effential parts of the facraments, but the whole adminiftration of them and the other rituals of any Church, are pure and true; then we ought to account fuch a Church true in the largest extent of the word true; and by consequence we ought to hold communion with it.

R

Another

ART.

XIX.

Matth.

18.

Another queftion may arife out of the first words of this Article, concerning the vifibility of this Church; Whether it must be always vifible? According to the diftinction hitherto xxviii. 20. made ufe of, the refolution of this will be foon made. There seem Matth. xvi. to be promifes in the Scriptures, of a perpetual duration of the Chriftian Church: I will be with you always, even to the end of the world and, the gates of hell fhall not prevail against the Church. The Jewish religion had a period prefixed, in which it was to come to an end: but the prophecies that are among the prophets, concerning the new difpenfation, feem to import not only its continuance, but its being continued ftill visible in the world. But as the Jewifh difpenfation was long continued, after they had fallen generally into fome very grofs errors; fo the Chriftian Church may be vifible ftill, though not infallible. God may preferve the fucceffion of a true Church as to the esfentials and fundamentals of faith, in the world, even though this fociety fhould fall into error. So a vifible fociety of Christians in a true Church, as to the effentials of our faith, is not controverted by us. We do only deny the infallibility of this true Church: and therefore we are not afraid of that queftion, Where was your Church before Henry the Eighth? We anfwer, It was where it is now, here in England, and in the other kingdoms of the world: only it was then corrupted, and it is now pure. There is therefore no fort of inconvenience in owning the conftant vifibility of a conftant fucceffion and Church of true Chriftians; true as to the effentials of the covenant of grace, though not true in all their doctrines. This feems to be a part of the glory of the Meffias, and of his kingdom, that he shall be ftill vifibly worshipped in the world by a body of men called by his name. But when vifibility is thus feparated from infallibility, and it is made out that a Church may be a true Church, though fhe has a large allay of errors and corruptions mixed in her conftitution and decifions; there will be no manner of inconvenience in owning a conftant visibility, even at the fame time that we charge the most eminent part of this vifible body with many errors, and with much corruption.

So far has the first part of this Article been treated of: from it we pass to the fecond, which affirms, that as the other Patriarchal and Apoftolical Churches, fuch as Jerufalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred, fo the Church of Rome has likewise erred, and that not only in their living, and manner of ceremonies, but also in matters of faith.

It is not queftioned but that the other Patriarchal Churches have erred; both that where our Saviour himself first taught, and which was governed by two of the Apoftles fucceffively, and those which were founded by St. Peter in perfon, or by proxy,

as