Of National Churches, Chapter 7
Chap. VII. What is the Confederacy or Concord needful to a National Church.
§ 1. AFfirmatively. 1. A Baptiſmal Confederacy, to be all the true Subjects of one God, one Chriſt and Holy Ghoſt, againſt the Devil, World and Fleſh.
§ 2. 2. A Conſent to live as Chriſtians in Love to one another; and to addict our ſelves to the good of one another, ſpecially to the welfare of the whole Body, and to do as we would (juſtly) be done by.
§ 3. 3. To be all the Loyal ſubjects of one Chriſtian Soveraigns Power.
§ 4. 4. To be all for the publick Worſhiping of God and our Redeemer in Chriſtian Aſſemblies, guided and ruled by Chriſtian Paſtors (or Biſhops) qualified and deſcribed by Chriſt in his Word the inſtituter of the Paſtoral Office, and not of any new ſort of humane Miniſtry, or uncapable perſons that are wanting in any thing eſſential to the Office.
§ 5. 5. To take the Sacred Scripture for the Word of God, and the ſufficent Rule of Divine Faith and Holy living; And to profeſs an explicite Belief of the Creed as it was tranſmitted to us from the Apoſtolick Churches, and to take the Lords Prayer for the ſummary rule of our deſires and hopes; and the Decalogue as owned and expounded by Chriſt, for the ſummary rule of our Obedience, with the Sacraments inſtituted by him.
§ 6. 6. To profeſs Obedience to true Authority in Parents, Magiſtrates and Paſtors and all true Governours, ſo far as they are empowered by God, and to obey God above all, and no men againſt him and his Laws. And Rulers to profeſs to obey God, and Rule as his Miniſters for the Common welfare and to promote the obedience of Gods Laws.
§ 7. 7. For Magiſtrates, Paſtors and Parents, to profeſs their endeavour to promote the true Preaching of the Goſpel, and the tranſmitting of it in Purity to Poſterity, and to encourage and not unjuſtly forbid or hinder the publication and practice of it.
§ 8. Negatively, 1. It is not meet that this confederacy ſo appropriate the Body of the National Church, to any one Party or Sect though it ſhould be (or thought to be) ſounder or better than the reſt, excluding any that have all the neceſſaries before named, though they have many tolerable errors and imperfections.
§ 9. It is not lawful to make things unneceſſary to be taken or uſed as neceſſary to the National Church Unity. Nor to make ſnares and impoſe them by ſuch needleſs Laws, to ſilence or eject any true and tolerable Miniſters; much leſs the ſoundeſt; impoſing things ſinful or needleſs, or that are unfit to be the Conditions of Unity, and ſo unavoidably excluding capable Conſcionable worthy men for want of complying with thoſe terms, is the commoneſt cauſe of Schiſm in the Chriſtian World, and the effect of Ignorance, Pride and Tyranny, none being more worthy to be excluded than ſuch Schiſmatical excluders, that make the Laws that ſhould be the bonds of Concord, to be the greateſt Engines of Diviſion.
§ 10. The preſent Orthodox Proteſtant Nonconformiſts, are as truely Members of the Church of England, juſtly ſo called, as any Dioceſans or Conformiſts in the Land, and if they be not better confuted than hitherto they have been, they may truely be ſaid to be the ſoundeſt, moſt judicious, and moſt conſcionable, and the moſt peaceable Members of this Church. And to deny ſuch Nonconformiſts to be true and honourable parts of the Church of England, is but ſuch an effect of Ignorant Arrogance and Slanders as is the ſhame of the ſpeaker, and implieth ſome diſhonourable definition of the ſaid Church. And they that make their mutable Forms and Ceremonies eſſential to the Church, make a Ceremony of the Church it ſelf, and cannot anſwer the Papiſts that challenge us to prove its antiquity: Our Liturgy is not ſo old as Luthers time.
As Rome by claiming to be the whole Church, hath made many think that it is not ſo much as a part; ſo Conformiſts calling themſelves the whole Church of England, hath tempted many to take them for no part.
§ 11. But yet unſound and hurtful Members may be reſtrained and corrected, when they are not ſilenced or caſt out: And proving them true parts doth not prove them to be ſound parts, or ſuch as muſt not be rebuked. But tender avoiding ſin, by preferring Gods Law before Mans, and founding our Concord on Chriſts inſtituted capable terms, and not on the Sand of enſnaring humane Impoſitions, is far from being the mark of unſound Members. Yet meerly to tolerate them to Preach in deep Poverty that deſerve moſt encouragement, is not free from Injury and Schiſm.