gether in one Communion, and with one Mind, and one Mouth, glorify God, (as the Apostle expreffes it) God only knows. But fure I am, it is the Duty of every one of us, heartily to Pray for it; and not only fo, but in our Place and Station to contribute all we can towards it. It was this Confideration that put me upon the Choice of these Words of St. Paul, for my Argument at this Time: Let us therefore follow after the Things that make for Peace.

In treating of which, I fhall endeavour Two Things. First, To explain the Duty here recommended, by reducing it to its Particular Rules and Inftantes. Secondly, To fet before you the great Obligations that lie upon us to the Practice of it.

As to the Firft of these Things, viz. What is contained or implied in this Duty of Following after the Things that make for Peace; you may be pleased to take Notice, That this Duty hath a Twofold Object, according to the Two dif ferent Relations and Capacities in which we are to be confidered; namely, the Church our Common Mother, and Particular Chriftians our Brethren. In the First Relation, we are confidered as Subjects; in the other, as FellowChriftians. Now with refpect to the former, the Peace we are to purfue, implies Obedience, and the Prefervation of Communion, in Oppofition to Schifm and Separation. With refpect to the latter, it implies mutual Love and Charity, in Oppofition to Quarrels and Contentions. So that, you fee, my Business upon this Firft Head muft be, to fhew, what are the Particulars

Ba

ticulars of our Duty, or what are the Things that make for Peace, in both thefe Refpects.

I begin with what is due from us to the Church in order to Peace, as Peace ftands in Contra-diftinction to Schifm. And this Point I fhall beg leave to difcufs very plainly and particularly because I fear many of us have wrong Notions about it: And yet it is a mat-. ter of fuch Confequence, that the right underftanding of it would go a great way to the Cure of the fad Divifions that are among us.

John 15.1.

What I have to fay upon this Point, I fhall comprize in the Four following Propofitions; taking my Rife from the First Principle of Church-Society.

The First Propofition I lay down, is this, That every Chriftian is, by virtue of his Chriftianity, a Member of the Church of Chrift, and is bound to join in External Communion with it, where it can be had.

For the clearing of this, let it be taken Notice of, That the Method which our Saviour fet on foot for our Salvation, doth not so much confider us as fingle Perfons, as joined together in one common Society. It was his Defign, to gather to himself a Church out of Mankind, to erect and form a Body Politick, of which himself should be the Head, and particular Chriftians the Members; and in this Method, through Obedience to his Laws and Government, to bring Men to Salvation.

This is variously set forth to us in the New Teftament. Sometimes Chrift and Chriftians are reprefented under the Notion of a Vine;

of which He is the Root, and They are the Branches. Sometimes under the Notion of a 1 Cor. 12. Natural Body, of which Christ is the Head, and all Believers the Members. And accordingly, whatever Chrift is faid to have done, or fuffered for Mankind, he is faid to have done or fuffered for them, not as Scattered Individuals, but as Incorporated into a Church. Eph.5.25. Thus Chrift loved the Church, and gave himself As 20. for it. Chrift redeemed the Church with his own 28. Blood. Chrift is the Saviour of his Body, that is Eph.5.23. to fay, the Church; with many Paffages of the like Importance. The plain Confequence from hence is, That every Perfon, fo far as he is a Chriftian, fo far he is a Member of the Church. And agreeably hereto, it is very plain, that Baptifm, which is by all acknowledged, to be the Rite of Initiating us into Chriftianity, is in Scripture declared to be the Rite whereby we are entred and admitted into the Church. Thus St. Paul exprefly tells us, 1 Cor. 12. That by one Spirit we are all Baptized into one 13. Body.

Now then it being thus evident, that every Chriftian, as a Chaiftian, is a Member of that Body of Chrift which we call the Church; there will be little need of taking Pains to prove, that every fuch Perfon is obliged to join in External Communion with the Church, where he can do fo; for the very nature of this Church-membership doth imply it. Without this, neither the Ends of Church-Society, nor the Benefits accruing to us therefrom, can be attained.

I

First, not the Ends of it: The Ends of Church-Society are the more Solemn Worship of God, and the publick Profeffion of our Religion, and the mutual Edification one of another: Now, how thefe can be in any meafure attained, without affociating together in publick Af femblies and mutual Offices, and other Acts of External Communion with one another, cannot any ways be imagined.

And as little, in the Second Place, can it be conceived, how without this we can be made Partakers of the Benefits and Privileges that Christ hath made over to the Members of his Church. For we are to confider, that God hath fo ordered the matter, (and without doubt for this very Reafon, to unite us the more firmly in Society) that the Privileges of the Gospel, fuch as Pardon of Sin, and the Grace of the Holy Spirit, are not ordinarily conveyed to us fo immediately by God, but that there muft intervene the Ministry of Men. God's Holy Word and Sacraments are the Chanels in which they are derived to us; and those to whom he hath committed the Ministry of Reconciliation, and the Power of the Keys, are the Hands that must dispense them. We have no Promife of Spiritual Graces, but by these Means: So that in order to the partaking of them, there is an abfolute Neceffity laid upon us of joining and communicating with the Church.

It is true indeed, God doth not fo tie himfelf up to these Means, but that he can, and will, in fome Cafes, confer the Benefits of

them

them without them: As in Cafe of a General Apoftacy of the Church; or of Perfecution for Religion; or of an unjust Excommunication, or any other Cafe where Communion with a true vifible Church is denied to us. But though God doth act extraordinarily in extraordinary Cafes, where thefe Means cannot be had ; yet this doth not at all diminish, much less take away, the neceffity of making use of them when they can be had.

From what hath been difcourfed on this First Propofition, we may, by the way, gather thefe Two Things; I only name them;

1. How untrue their Pofition is, that maintain, That all our Obligation to Church-Communion doth arife from a voluntary Admiffion of ourselves into fome particular Congregation, and an explicit Promife or Engagement to join with it in Church-Ordinances.

2. How wildly and extravagantly they discourse, that talk of a Chriftianity at large, without relation to a Church, or Communion with any Society of Chriftians.

The Second Propofition is, That every one is bound to join in Communion with the establifbed National Church to which he belongs, fuppofing there be nothing in the Terms of its Communion that renders it unlawful for him fo to do.

For if we are bound to maintain Communion with the Catholick Church, as I have before proved, it is plain, that we are bound to maintain Communion with that Part of it, within whofe Verge the Divine Providence has caft us. For we cannot communicate