The Triumphs of the Reformed Religion in America, Part 2

The Triumphs of the Reformed Religion in America · Part 2

p. 47Part II. Or, Eliot, As a MINISTER.

Article I. His Miniſterial Accompliſhments.

THe Grace of God, which we have ſeen ſo Illuſtriouſl… Endowing and Adorni…g of our Eliot, as well Qualify'd him for, as Diſpoſ'd him to, the employment wherein he ſpent about Six Decads of his years; which was, The ſervice of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, in the miniſtry of the Goſpel. This was the work to which he apply'd himſelf; and he undertook it, I beleeve, with as Right Thoughts of it, and as Good Ends in it, as ever any man in our Da…s was acted with. He look'd upon the Con…uct of a Church, as a thing no leſs Dange…ou… than Important, and attended with ſo many Difficulties, Temptations, and H… miliations, as that nothing but a C…l from the Son of God, could have encouraged him unto the ſuſception of it He ſaw that fleſh and blood would find it no very pleaſ…nt thing, to be Oblig'd u…to the overſight of a Number, that by a ſolemn Covenan… ſhould be liſted among the Voluntiers of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt; that it was no eaſy thing to feed the fouls of ſuch a people and of the Children and the Neighbours which were to be brought into the ſame Sheepfold with them; to bear their manners with all patience, not being by any of their infirmities diſcouraged from Teaching of them, and from wa…ching & praying over them; to value them highly as the Flock which God has purch…ſed with his own blood, notwithſtanding all their miſcarriages; and in all to examine the Rule of Scripture for the warrant of whatever ſhall be done; and to Remember the Day of Judgment, wherein an Account muſt be given of all that has been done; having in the mean time no expectation of the Riches & Grandeurs which accompany a worldly Domination. It was herewithal his opinion, That (as the great Owen expreſſes it) notwithſtanding all the countenance that is given to any Church by the publick Miniſtry, yet whilſt we are in this world, thoſe who will faithfully diſcharge their Duty, as Miniſters of the Goſpel, ſhall have need to be prepared for ſuffering; and it was in a ſenſe of theſe things that he gave himſelf up to the ſacred Miniſtry. A Stranger to Regenera…ion can be but poorly Accompliſhed, for ſuch a Miniſtry; and however God may proſper the Sermons of ſuch a man for the advantage of his Church: however the building of the Ark may be help'd on by ſuch Carpenters as periſh in the Flood; & the Tyrians may do ſome work about the Temple, who arrive to no Worſhip in the Inner-Courts p. 49thereof, and, as Auſtin Expreſſed it, a Stone-cutter may convey water into a Garden, without having himſelf any advantage of it; Nevertheleſs, the unſanctif…'d Miniſter, how Gifted, how Able ſoever he may be, muſt have it ſtill ſaid unto him, Thou lackeſt one thing! and that, One Thing, our Eliot had. But the One Thing, was not, All! as indeed, it would not have been, Enough. God furniſhed him with a good meaſure of Learning too, which made him capable to, Divide the word aright. He was a moſt Acute Grammarian; and underſtood very well, the Languages wh ch God fi ſt wrote his Holy Bible in. He had a ſharp inſight into all the other Liberal Arts, and made little Sy…ems of them, for the uſe of certain Indians, whoſe exacter education he was deſirous of. But, above all, he had a moſt eminent skill in Th…dog…; and that which profane ſcoff…rs r…proached as the Diſgrace of the bleſſed A…ng all of whoſe Works always weigh down the p…reſt Gold, was the H…nour of our Eliot, namely to be Scriptura…ius Theologus, or, One mighty in the Word; wh…ch enabled him to convince Gainſayers, and on all occaſions to ſhow himſelf, A thorough Divine, and, A Workman that needed not be aſhamed.

In ſhort, he came like another B…zaleel, or Aholiab, unto the Service of the Tabernacle. And from one particularity in that part of h…s Learning, which lay in the Affairs of the Tabernacle, p. 50it was, that in a little Book of his we have thoſe lines, which for a certain cauſe I now tranſcribe; Oh that the Lord would put it (ſay… he) into the heart of ſome of his Religious and Learned Servants, to take ſuch pains about the Hebrew Language, as to fit it for univerſal Ʋſe! Conſidering, that above all Languages ſpoken by the lip of Man it is moſt capable to be enlarged, and fitted to expreſs all things, and motions, and notions, that our humane intellect, is capable of in this mortal life; conſidering alſo, that it is the Invention of God himſelf; and what one is fitter to be the univerſal Language, than that which it pleaſed our Lord Jeſus to make uſe of, when he ſpake from Heaven unto Paul!

Article II. His Family-Government.

THe Apoſtle Paul, reciting and requiring the Qualifications of a Goſpel Miniſter, gives Order, that he be, The Husband of one Wife, and one that ruleth well his own Houſe, having his Children in ſubjection with all gravity. It ſeems, that a mans carriage in his own Houſe is a part, or at leaſt a ſign, of his due Deportment in the Houſe of God; and then, I am ſure, our Eliot's was very Exemplary. That one Wife which p. 51was given to him truly from the Lord, he loved, prized, cheriſhed, with a kindneſs that notably repreſented the Compaſſion which he (thereby) taught his Church to expect from the Lord Jeſus Chriſt; and after he had lived with her for more than half an hundred years, he followed her to the Grave with Lamentations beyond thoſe, which the Jews from the figure of a letter in the Text, affirm, that Abraham deplored his aged Sarah with; her Departure made a deeper impreſſion upon him than what any common Affliction could. His whole Converſation with her, had that ſweetneſs, and that gravity and modeſty beautifying of it, that every one called them Z…cha…y and Elizabeth. His Family, was a little Bethel, for the Worſhip of God conſtantly and exactly maintained in it; and unto the daily prayers of the Family, his manner was to pr…fix the Reading of the Scripture; which being done, 'twas alſo his manner to make his young people chooſe a certain paſſage in the Chapter, and give him ſome Obſervation of their own upon it. By this method he did mightily ſharpen and impro…, as well as try, their Underſtandings, and endeavour to make them wiſe unto Salvation. He was likewiſe very ſtrict in the Education of his Children, and more careful to mend any error in their Hearts and Lives, than he could have been to cure a blemiſh in their Bodies. No Exorbitancies or Extravagan…ies could find a room under his Roof, nor was p. 52his Houſe any other than a School of Piety; one might have there ſeen a perpetual mixture of a Spartan & a Chr…ſtian D…ſcipl…ne. Whatever Decay there might be upon Family-Religion among us, as for our Eliot, we knew him, that he would command his Children, and his Houſhold after him, that they ſhould keep the way of the Lord.

Article III. His way of Preaching.

Such was he in his leſſ…r Family! and in his greater Family, he manifeſted ſtill more of his Regards to the rule of a Goſpel-miniſt…y. To his congregation, he was a Preacher that made it is care to give every one their meat in due ſeaſon. It was Food and not Froth; which in his public ſermons, he entertained the ſouls of his people with, he did not ſtarve them with empty and windy ſpeculations, or with ſuch things as, Animum non dant, quia non habent; much leſs did he k…ll them with ſuch poiſon as is now too commoly expoſed b… the Arminian and Socinian Doctors that have lately too often ſat in M…ſes's chair. His way of preaching was Very plai…: ſo that the very Lambs might wade, into his Diſcourſes on thoſe texts and themes, wherein Elephants might ſwim; and herewithal, it was very powerful, his Delivery p. 53was always very graceful and grateful; but when he was to uſe Reproofs and Warnings aga…nſt any Sin, his vo…ce would riſe into a warmth which had in it very much of Energy as well as Decency; he would brandiſh the Swords, and ſound the T…umpets of God againſt all Vice, with a moſt penetrating Livelineſs, and make his Pulpit, another Mount Sinai, for the flaſhes of Lightning therein diſplay'd againſt the Breaches of the Law given up n that burning Mountain. And, I obſerved, that there was uſually a ſpecia… Fervour in the R…bukes which he beſtow'd upon Carnality, a carnal frame and life in Profeſſors of Religion; when he was to brand the Earthly-mind…dneſs of Church-Members, and the Allowance & the Indulgence which they often gave un…o themſelves in ſenſual Delights, here he was a right Bodnerges; he then ſpoke, as 'twas ſa…d one of the Ancients did, Quot verba tot Fulmina, as many Thunderbolts as Words.

It was another property of his Preaching, that there was e…ermore much of CHR…ST in it; and with Paul, he could ſay, I determined to know nothing but Jeſus Chriſt; having that Bleſſed Name in his D…ſcourſes, with a frequency like that, with wh…ch Paul mentions it in his Epiſtles. As 'twas noted of Dr. Bodly, that whatever ſubject he were upon, in the Application ſtill his Ʋſe of it would be, to drive men unto the Lord Jeſus Chriſt; in like manner, the Lord Jeſus p. 54Chriſt was the Loadſtone which gave a touch to all the Sermons of our Eliot; a glorious, precious, lovely Chriſt was the point of Heaven which they ſtill verged unto. From this Inclination it was, that altho he Printed ſeveral Engliſh Books before he dy'd, yet his heart ſeemed not ſo much in any of them, as in that ſerious and ſavoury Book of his Entituled, The Harmony of the Goſpels, in the holy Hiſtory of Jeſus Chriſt. From hence alſo 'twas, that he would give that Advice to young Preachers, pray let there be much of Chriſt in your Miniſtry; and when he had heard a Sermon, which had any ſpecial Reliſh of a bleſſed Jeſus in it, he would ſay thereupon, O bl…ſſed be God, that we have Chriſt ſo much and ſo well preached in poor New England!

Moreover, he lik'd no Preaching, but what had been well-ſt…died for; and he would very much commend a Sermon which he could perceive had required ſome good Thinking and Reading in the Author of it. I have been preſent, when he has unto a Preach…r then juſt come home from the Aſſembly with him, thus expreſſed himſelf, Brother, there was Oyl required for the Service of the Sanctuary; but it muſt be beaten Oyl; I praiſe God, that I ſaw your Oyl ſo well beaten to day; the Lord help us always by good Study to beat out Oyl, that there may be no knots in our Sermons left undiſſolved, and that there may a clear light be thereby given in the Houſe of God! And yet he likewiſe look'd for ſomething a Sermon p. 55beſide and beyond the meer ſtudy of man, he was for having the Spirit of God, breathing in it and with it; and he was for ſpeaking thoſe things, from thoſe impreſſions and with thoſe Affections, which might compel the Hearer to ſay, The Spirit of God was here! I have heard him complain, It is a ſad thing, when a Sermon ſhall have that one Thing, The Spirit of God, wanting in it.

Article IV. His Cares about the Children of his people.

BUt he Remembred, that he had Lambs in hi… flock, and like another David he could not endure to ſee the Lion ſieze upon any of them. He always had a mighty concern upon his mind for little Children; 'twas an affectionate ſtroke in one of the little Papers which he publiſhed for them, Sure Chriſt is not willing to loſe …is Lambs; and I have cauſe to remember with what an hearty, fervent, zealous Application, he addreſs'd himſelf, when in the Name of the Neighbour Paſtors and Churches he gave me, The Right-hand of Fellowſhip, at my Ordination, and ſaid, Brother, Art thou a Lover of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt? Then, I pray Feed his Lambs.

One thing whereof he was very deſirous for p. 56poor Children, was the Covenanting of them; he was very ſollicitous that the Lambs might paſs under the Lords …ything Rod, & be brought under the B…nd of the Covenant. He vey openly and earneſtly maintained the cauſe of Infant-Baptiſm, againſt a ſort of perſons Riſen ſince the Reformation, (among which indeed there are many godly men, that were dear to the Soul of our Eliot) who forget that in the Goſpel Church-ſtate as well as in the J…wiſh, The Promiſe is to Believers and their Child en: and are unwilling to reckon Child…en among the Diſciples of Jeſus Chriſt: or to grant, That of ſuch is the Kingdom of Heaven: or to know, That the moſt undoub…ed Records of Antiquity affirm Infant Baptiſm to have been an uſage in all the Primitive Churches; That even before the early days of Nazianz n, Chryſ…ſ…om, Baſil, Athanaſius, Epiphanius, in the Greek, and Ambroſe Jerom, A…ſtin, in the Latin Church, all of which give glorious Teſtimonies for Infant Baptiſm, even Cyprian, before theſe aſſures us that in his days there was no doubt of it; and O…igen before him could ſay, 'Twas from the Apoſtles that the Church took up the Baptiſm of Infants; and Clemens Romanus before him could ſay, That Children ſhould be Recipients of the Diſcipline of Chriſt; beſides what plain evidence we have in Irenaeus and Juſtin Martyr; and that the very Arguments with which ſome of the Ancients did ſuperſtitiouſly adviſe the delay of Baptiſm, p. 57do at the ſame time confeſs the Divine Right of Infants in it. Our Eliot could by no means look upon the Infants of Godly Men, as Ʋnholy, and Ʋnbelievers, and unfit Subjects to have upon them a Mark of Dedication to the Lord.

Wherefore, when there was brought among us a Book of pious Mr. Norcot's, whereby ſome became Diſpoſed to, or Confirmed in, a prejudice againſt Paedo-Baptiſm, it was not long before Mr. Eliot publiſhed a little Anſwer thereunto; the firſt lines whereof preſently diſcover what a Temper he writ it with; ſays he, The Book ſpeaks with the voice of a Lamb, and I think the Author is a Godly, though Erring Broth… but he acts the cauſe of a Roaring Lion, who by … crafty ways, ſeeketh to devour the poor Lambs of the Flock of Chriſt. And ſo he goes on to plead the cauſe of them that cannot ſpeak for themſelves. No man could entertain a perſon of a different perſwaſion from himſelf, with more ſweetneſs and kindneſs, than he, when he ſaw, Aliquid Chriſti, or the Fear of God prevailing in them; he could uphold a moſt intimate Correſpondence with ſuch a man, as Mr. Jeſſey, as long as he lived; and yet he knew how to be an Hammer upon their unhappy Errors.

But having once Baptiſed the Children of his Covenanting Neighbours, he did not as too many Miniſters do, think, that he had now done with them. No, another thing wherein he was very laborious for poor Children was, the Catechiſing p. 58of them; he kept the great Ordinance of Catechiſing, both publickly & privately, & ſpent a world of time, about the end of the Second Century, before there had in the leaſt begun to Start up New Officers in the Church of God; we and there were perſons called unto the Office of Publick Teaching, who were not Paſtors, not Rulers, not called unto the Adminiſtration of other Ordinances; thoſe in the Church of Alexaandria, were of a ſpecial Remark and Renown for their Abilities this way; and their Employment was to Explain and to Defend the princi… of the Chriſtian Religion, unto all with …e …om they could be concerned. Here was the Catechiſt, with reference unto whom the Apoſtle ſays, Let the Catechiſed communicate unto him in all good things. Now, tho' ſome think, a Teacher purely as ſuch, hath no Right unto further Church Adminiſtrations, any more than the Rabby's or Doctors among the Jews, had to Offer Sacrifices in the Temple; yet he who is called to be a Tea…her, may at the ſame time alſo be called to be an Elder, and being now a Teaching Elder, he becomes intereſted in the whole Government of the Church, he has the power of all Sacred Adminiſtrations. 'Tis the latter and more compleat and perfect character, which the Churches of New-England have ſtill acknowledged in their Teachers; and ſuch a Teaching Elder did our Eliot remember himſelf to be. He thought himſelf under a particular Obligation to be that Officer, which the Apoſtle calls in 1 Cor. 4.15. An Inſtructor of the young; no… was he aſhamed, any more than ſome of th… worthieſt men among the Ancients were, to b… called, A Catechiſt. He would obſerve upon Joh. 21.15 That, the care of the Lambs, …onet hird part of the charge over the Church of God. …t would be incredible if I ſhould relate what pains he took to keep up the bleſſed Eccho's of Truth, between himſelf, and the young people of his Congregation; and what prudence he uſed, in ſuiting of his C…techiſms to the age and ſtrength of his little C…techumens. But one thing I muſt obſerve, which is, That altho' there may be, (as one has computed) no leſs than five hundred Catecoiſms extant, yet Mr. Eliot gave himſelf the Travail of adding to their number, … compoſing of ſome further. Catechiſms, whic… were more particularly deſigned as an Antido… for his own people, againſt the Contagion o… ſuch Errors as might threaten any peculiar danger to them. And the effect and ſucceſs of this Catechiſing, bore proportion to the indefatiga… ble induſtry with which he proſecuted it; it … a well-principled people that he has left behin… him. As when certain Jeſui…s were ſent amo…g the Waldenſes to corrupt their Children, they returned with much Diſappointment and Confuſion, becauſe the Children of ſeven years old, were well-principled enough to Encounter the moſt Learned of them all; ſo, if any Seducers were let looſe to wolve it among the good people p. 60of Roxbury, I am confident, they would find as little prey in that well-inſtructed place, as in any part of all the Countrey; no civil Penalties would ſignify ſo much to ſave any people from the Snares of buiſy Hereticks, as the unwearied Catechiſing of one Eliot has done to preſerve his people from the gangren of ill opinions.

There is a third inſtance of his Regards to the welfare of the poor Children under his charge; and that is, his perpetual Reſolution and Activity to ſupport a good School in the Town that belong'd unto him. A Grammar School he would always have, upon the place, whatever it coſt him; and he importun'd all other places to have the like. I can't forget the Ardour with which I once heard him pray, in a Synod of theſe Churches, which met at Boſton to conſider, How the miſcarriages which were among us might be prevented; I ſay, with what Fervour he uttered an Expreſſion to this purpoſe, Lord, for Schools every where among us! That our Schools may flouriſh! That every Member of this Aſſembly may go home and procure a good School to be encouraged in the Town where he lives! that before we dy, we may be ſo happy as to ſee a good School encouraged in every Plantation of the Country. God ſo bleſſed his Endeavours, that Roxbury could not live quietly without a Free School in the Town; and the iſſue of it has bin one thing, which has made me almoſt put the p. 61Title of Schola Illuſtris upon that little Nurſery; that is, that Roxbury has afforded more Scholars, firſt for the Colledge, and then for the Publick, than any Town of its bigneſs, or, if I miſtake not, of twice its bigneſs in all New-England. From the Spring of the School at Roxbury, there have run a large number of the ſtreams, which have made glad this whole City of God. I perſwade my ſelf, that the good people of Roxbury, will for-ever ſcorn to begrutch the Coſt, or to permit the Death, of a School which God has made ſuch an honour to them; and this the rather, becauſe their Deceaſed Eliot has left them a fair part of his own Eſtate, for the maintaing of the School in Roxbury; and I hope, or at leaſt, I wiſh, that the Miniſters of New-England may be as ungainſayably importunate with their people, as Mr. Eliot was with his, for Schools which may ſeaſonably tinge the young Souls of the Riſing Generation. A want of Education for them, is the blackeſt and ſaddeſt of all the bad Omens that are upon us.

Article V. His Church-Diſcipline.

IT yet more Endears unto us the Memory of our Eliot, that he was not only an Evangelical Miniſter, but alſo a true New-Engliſh one; p. 62he was a Proteſtant, and a Puritan, and one very full of that Spirit which acted the firſt Planters of this Country, in their peaceable Seceſſion from the unwarrantable things elſewhere impos'd upon their Conſciences. The Judgment and Practice of one that readily underwent all the miſery attending the Infancy of this Plantation, for the ſake of a true Church-order, is a thing which we young people ſhould count worthy to be enq…ired after; and ſince we ſaw him ſo well behaving himſelf in the Houſe of God, it cannot but be worth while to know what he thought about the Frame, and Form, and Conſtitution of that bleſſed Houſe.

He was a modeſt, humble, but very reaſonable N…n conformiſt un…o the Ceremonies, which have bin ſuch unhappy Apples of ſtrife, in the Church of England; otherwiſe the diſmal thickets of America, had ne…er ſeen ſuch a perſon in them. He could not count it lawful for him ordinarily to perform his Miniſterial Acts of ſolemn and public Prayer, by reading or uſing any Forms of Prayer compoſed by other perſons for him, as thouſands of Preachers do at this day. And th…s, not only becauſe an Ab…lity to expreſs the caſe of a Congregation in prayer, is a Miniſterihl Gift, which our Lord forbids his Miniſters to Neglect; and a Miniſter that ſhould only Read Forms of Sermons compoſed for him, would as truly diſcharge the Duty of Preaching, as one that ſh… only read ſuch Forms of prayers, would the dut… of praying in it; but alſo becauſe he could no… find that any Forms of prayer were uſed in an… p. 63part of the Church, until about four hundred years after Chriſt; nor any made for more than ſome ſingle Province until ſ…x hundred years; nor any impoſed until eight hundred, when all manner of Abominable Things began to be found in the Temple of God; and he had over and above, his particulrr Diſſatisfactions at the Engliſh Liturgy, for weighty cauſes rather increaſed than abated ſince his firſt notice of them. He could not wear a Surplice in and for the Worſhip of God; as well-knowing the Original of that unholy Veſtment, and agreeing with Dr. Abbot; who was no Fanatick, and yet ſays in his Book of Antichriſt, That all Prieſtly Garments, whereby Miniſters are diſtinguiſhed, from the reſt of the Church, are a ſpecial part of the character of the Beaſt. He could not uſe the Croſs in Baptiſm; foraſmuch as Dr. Taylor himſelf confeſſes, 'tis An Ʋninſtituted Ceremony retained as a part of External Worſhip; and ſo 'tis as much a violatiion of the Second Commandment in the Law of our God, as the oyl, cream, ſalt and ſpit…le, with which that Inſtitution has been defiled by the Roman Catholicks. Indeed, he thought with Learned Parker, That the Croſs is the greateſt Devil among the Idols of Rome. He could not Kneel before the Euchariſt; inaſmuch as it was a uſage introduced about the thirteenth Century, meerly to ſuit and ſerve the Idolatry of the Tranſubſtantiation. He conceived, that no proteſtation of ours could now free this geſture p. 64from the juſt interpretation of Idolatry, becauſe of the antecedent interpretation put upon it by thoſe that firſt contrived it, enjoyned it, and have hitherto maintained it; and it affrighted him to read what the Popiſh Writers aſſert about Kneeling, if the Sacramental Bread remain Bread after the Conſecration. He could not underſtand a Biſhop that ſhould not be ejuſdem Jurisdictionis, and much leſs one that ſhould not be ejuſdem Ordinis with a Presbyter; and when he ſaw the Clergy of a whole Nation at length & of late ſo much Annihilate themſelves, as to Subſcribe unto Canons which took away from every Pariſh-Miniſter, all Obligation to teach, or Authority to rule, in the Church of God, he ſoon ſaid upon it, Ʋnto their Aſſembly, mine Honour, be not thou Ʋnited.

It afflicted him to ſee theſe, and more ſuch as theſe, things continued in the Church of England, by the Artifice of certain perſons who were loth to have the Refomation carried on unto thoſe further Degrees which the moſt eminent of the firſt Reformers had in their Holy Deſigns; and it fill'd him with a juſt Horrour, and ſorrow! to ſee above twenty Hundred faithful Miniſters in one Black Day turned out of their employments, and ſeveral Thouſands of Chriſtians and Families in a little while Ruined, becauſe they could not ſwallow down ſuch unaccountable ſuperſtitions.

We ſee what was not his opinion! but let us hear, p. 65what it was. It was his as well as his maſter, the great Ramus …s principle, that in the Reformati…e of Churches to be now endeavoured things ought to be Reduced unto the Order wherein we find them at t…eir Primitive, Original, Apoſtolical Inſtitution. And in purſuance of this principle, he Juſtly Eſpouſed that way of Church-Government which we call, the Congregational; he was fully perſwaded, that the Church-ſtate which our Lord Chriſt hath inſtituted in the New Teſtament, is, In a Congregation or Society of Profeſſed Believers, Agreeing and Aſſembling together, among themſelves, with Officers, of Divine Appointment, for the Celebration of Evangelical Ordinances, and their own mutual Edification; For he ſaw it muſt be a cruel hardſhip uſed upon the Scriptures, to make them ſo much as Liſp the leaſt intimation of any other Church-ſtate preſcrib d unto us; and he could aſſert, That no Approved Writers, for the ſpace of two hundred years after Chriſt, make any mention of any other Organical, V…ſible, Profeſſing Church, but that onelyonly which is Congregational. He look'd upon the Congregational way as a Largeſs of Divine Bounty beſtow'd by the Lord Jeſus, on his people, that follow'd him into this Wilderneſs, with a peculiar zeal for Communion with him, in his pure Worſhip here. He perceived in it, a ſweet ſort of Temperament, between Rigid Presbyterianiſm, and Levelling Browniſm; So that on the one ſide, the Liberties of the people are not oppreſſed and p. 66overlaid; on the other ſide, the Authority of the Elders is not rendred inſignificant, but a d…ie Ballance is herein kept upon them both; And hence he cloſed with our platform of Church-Diſcipline, as being the neareſt of what he had yet ſeen, to the pattern in the Mount.

He could not comprehend, that this Church-ſtate can ariſe from any other Formal cauſe, But the Conſent, Conc…rrence, Confederation of thoſe concerned in it; he looked upon a Relation unto a Church, as not a Natural, or a Violent, but a Voluntary thing, and ſo that it is to be entred no otherwiſe than by an Holy Covenant, or, as the Scripture ſpeaks, by giving our ſelves firſt unto the Lo…d, and then one unto another. He could not think, that Baptiſm alone was to be accounted the cauſe, but rather the effect, of Church-member-ſhip; inaſmuch as upon the diſſolution of the Church to which a man belongs, his Baptiſm would not become a Nullity: nor that meer … rof ſſum would render men members of this or that Church; for then it would be impoſſible to cut off a corrupt member from that Body Politic: Nor that meer Co-habitation would make Church-members; for then the vileſt infidels would be actually incorporated with us And a Covenant, was all that he now ſaw remaining in the Inventory.

But for the Subjects to be admitted by Churches unto all the priviledges of this Fellowſhip p. 67with them he thought, they ought to be ſuch as a trying Charity, or a charitable Tryal, ſhould pronounce, Regenerate. He found the firſt Churches of the Goſpel mentioned in the Scripture, to be Churches of Saints; and that the Apoſtles writing to them, ſtill acknowledge them to be Holy Brethren, and ſuch as were made meet for to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light; and that a main end of Church-fellowſhip, is to repreſent unto the world, the Qualifications of thoſe that ſhall Aſcend into the Hill of the Lord, and Stand in his Holy Place forever. He would therefore have, Bona Mens, and Purum pectus, and Ʋita Innocens, required, as Lactantius tells us, they were in his Dayes, of all Communicants at the Table of the Lord; and with Holy Chryſoſtom, he would ſooner have given his Heart-blood, than, the Cup of the Lord, unto ſuch as had not the hopeful Marks of our Lord's Diſciples on them. The Churches of New-England ſtill retain a Cuſtom which the great Juſtin Martyr in the ſecond Century aſſures us to have been in the Primitive Churches of his Time; namely, To Examine thoſe they Receive, not only about their perſwaſion, but alſo whether they have attained unto a work of Grace upon their Souls. In the proſecution hereof, beſides the Enquiries of the Elders into the Knowledge and Belief and Converſation of them that offer themſelves unto Church-fellowſhip, it is expected, tho' I hope not with any ſeverity p. 68of impoſition, that in the Addreſſes which the… make to the Churches, they give ſome written, if not oral Account, of what impreſſions the Regenerating Word of God has had upon their Souls. This was a Cuſtum which this holy man had a marvellous eſteem and value for; and I have taken from his Mouth ſuch as theſe Expreſſions very publickly delivered thereabouts.

It is matter (ſaid he) of great Thankfulneſs, that we have Chriſt Confeſſed in our Churches, by ſuch as we Receive to full Communion there. They open the works of Chriſt in their Hearts, and the Relation thereof is an eminent Confeſſion of our Lord; experienced Saints can gather more than a little from it. It is indeed an Ordinance of wonderful benefit; the Lord planted many Vineyards in the firſt Settlement of this Countrey, and there were ma- Noble Vines in them; it was their Heavenly-mindedneſs which diſpos'd them to this Exerciſe, and by the upholding of it, the Churches are ſtill filled with Noble Vines; it mightily maintains purity of Churches. 'Tis the duty of every Chriſtian, With the mouth Confeſſion is made unto Salvation. As among the Jews, uſually moſt men did once in their life, celebrate a Jubilee; thus, this Confeſſion of Chriſt, is methinks, a ſort of Jubilee; and every good man among us, is at leaſt once in his life call'd unto it. It is a thing that gives great glory to the Lord Jeſus Chriſt; and younger Converts are p. 69thereby exceedingly Ed…fy'd; and the Souls of Devout Chriſtians are hereby very much ingratiated one unto another. The Devil knows what he does, when he thruſts ſo hard to get this Cuſtom out of our Churches. For my part, I would ſay in this caſe, Get thee behind me Satan; thou giveſt an horrible offence unto the Lord Jeſus Chriſt. Let us keep up this Ordinance with all gentleneſs; and where we ſee the leaſt ſpark of Grace held forth, let us prize it more than all the Wit in the world.

There were eſpecially two things, which he was loth to ſee, and yet fear'd he ſaw, falling in the Churches of New-England. One was, … thorough Eſtabliſhment of Ruling-Elders in our Churches; which he thought ſufficiently warranted by the Apoſtles mention of, Elders that Rule well, who yet labour not in Word and Doctrine. He was very deſirous to have prudent and gracious men ſet over our Churches, for the Aſſiſtence of their Paſtors, in the Church acts that concern the Admiſſion and Excl… ſ…n of Members, and the Inſpection of the Converſation led by the Communicants, and the Inſtruction of their ſeveral Families, and the Viſitation of the Afflicted in the Flock over which they ſhould preſide. Such Helps in Government had he himſelf been bleſſed withal; the laſt of which was the well-deſerving Elder Bowles; and of him, did this good man, in a Speech to a Synod of all the Churches in this Colony, take occaſion to p. 70ſay, There is my Brother Bowles, the godly Elder of our Church at Roxbury, God helps him to do great things among us! Had all our Paſtors been ſo well accommodated, it is poſſible there would be more encouragement given to ſuch an Office as that of Ruling Elders.

But the mention of a Synod brings to mind another thing, which he was Concerned, that we might never want; and that is, a frequent Repetition of Needful Synods in our Churches. For tho' he had a deep and a due care to preſerve the Rights of particular Churches, yet he thought all the Churches of the Lord Jeſus by their Ʋnion in what they profeſs, in what they intend, and in what they enioy, ſo compacted into one Body Myſtical, as that all the ſeveral particular Churches every where ſhould act with a regard unto the good of the whole, and unto the common Advice and Counſil of the Neighbourhood; which cannot be done always by Letters miſſive, like thoſe that paſſed between Corinth and Rome in the early dayes of Chriſtianity; but it requires a Convention of the Churches in Synods, by their Delegates and Meſſengers. He did not count Churches to be ſo Independent, as that they can always diſcharge their whole Duty, and yet not act in a conjunction with Neighbour-Churches; nor would he be of any Church that will not acknowledge it ſelf accountable to rightly compoſed Synods, which may have occaſion to enquire into the p. 71circumſtances of it; he ſaw the main Intereſt and Buſineſs of Churches might quickly come to be utterly loſt, if Synods were not often called for the Repairing of Inconveniences, and he was much in contriving for the regular and repeated meeting of ſuch Aſſemblies.

He wiſh'd for Councils to ſuppreſs all damnable Hereſies or pernicious Opinions that might ever ariſe among us; for Councils to extinguiſh all dangerous Diviſions, & ſcandalous Contentions which might ever begin to flame in our Borders; for Councils to rectify all Male-Adminiſtrations in the midſt of us, or to Recover any particular Churches out of any Diſorders which they may be plung'd into, for Councils to enquire into the Love, the Peace, the Holineſs ma…ntained by the ſeveral Churches; in fine, for Councils to ſend forth fit Labourers into thoſe parts of our Lords Harveſt; which are without the Goſpel of God. He beheld an Apoſtolical Precept and Pattern for ſuch Councils; and when ſuch Councils convened in the Name of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, by the conſent of ſeveral Churches concerned in mutual Communion, have Declared, Explained, Recommended the mind of God from his word unto us, he reckoned a truth ſo delivered, challenged an Obſervation from the particular Churches, with a very great Authority.

He therefore Printed an ingenious little Book wearing this Title, The Divine Management of p. 72Goſpel-Churches by the Ordinance of Councils, conſtituted in order according to the Scriptures, which may be a means of uniting thoſe two holy and eminent Parties, the Presbyterians, & the Congregational. It is a remarkable Conceſſion made by the Incomparable Jurieu who is not reckoned a Congregational man, in his Traite de L'Ʋnite de L'Egliſe, That the Apoſtolical Churches lived not in any Confederation for mutual Dependence. The grand Equipage of Metropolitans, of Primates, of Exarchs, of Patriarks, was yet unknown; nor does it any more appear to us, that the Churches then had their Provincial, National, and Oecumenical Synods; every Church was its own Miſtreſs, and independent on any other. But on the other ſide, our Eliot, who was no Presbyterian, conceived Synods to be the Inſtitutions of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, the Apoſtolical Churches themſelves acknowledging a Stamp of Divine Right upon them.

Such as theſe were the ſentiments of our Eliot; & his deſerved Reputation in the Churches of New-England, is that which has cauſed me to foreſee ſome Advantage and Benefit ariſing unto the concerns of the Goſpel, by ſo large a Recitation as I have now made thereof.

The Reader has now ſeen, An able Miniſter of the New-Teſtament.