Argum. 3. And thus you must be uncertain of any to be saved, because they are not visible.

Argum. 4. And you must be uncertain of the continuance of the force of the promise, and of pardon, and sanctification.

Argum. 5. Experience and sense itself confutes you. Open your eyes and ears: do you not see Christians in holy exercises? Do you not hear them make profession of their faith? It is a fine world, when we must be fain to dispute whether there be such a people whom we every day converse and talk with! You may better question, whether there be any Turks or Jews in the world! And as well question, whether there be any men in the world! And how should such be disputed with!

3. For the third opinion, which yields an universal visible church, but not a political, it is a gross contradiction.

Argum. Where there is a sovereign, and subjects, and ruler, and such as are under his rule, there is a political body or society. For the pars imperans,' and 'pars subdita,' do constitute every commonwealth: and the relations of these two parties, the ruling part, and the ruled part, is the form of the republic. This is undeniable. But here are these two parts: for Christ is the ruling part, and the church or Christians are the ruled part: and therefore you must either deny that there is a Christ to be King, or that there are Christians his subjects; or else you must confess a political church.

But some of this opinion say, We confess there is a visible body headed by Christ, who is to us invisible, though visible in the heavens; but this makes not the church to be visibly political, unless 'secundum quod ;' but here is no visible universal head.'

Answ. 1. We perceive now whereabout you are, and from whom, and for whom you fetch your arguments. You must have a Pope, it seems, or else no visible political church: We deny that either Pope or, General Council, are the visible heads of the church. We maintain that the church is no otherwise visible in its policy, than in these respects. 1. As the body is visible, and their obedience, As 2. The laws are visible by which they are governed. 3. As the inferior officers or ministers are visible. And 4.

As Christ the Head is visible in heaven, there is no other visibility of polity to be here expected.

4. The next opinion denieth only, that there are any true particular political churches. Against this I argue thus :

Argum. 1. If there be no particular churches, there is no universal church: for there can be no whole, if there be no parts: and political particular churches are those principal constitutive parts of the universal, which the Scripture mentioneth. But I have proved that there is an universal church, which is the whole: therefore there are particular political churches, which are parts.

Argum. 2. If there be particular Christian societies with overseers, then there are particular political churches: for a church hath but two essential parts; the guiding or ruling part, which is the elders or overseers, and the guided and ruled part, which are the people. Now here are both these: therefore there are particular political churches. That here are Christian assemblies methinks I should not need to prove, to men that see them day to day, and plead against them. The only question, therefore, remaining is, Whether the elders or teachers be true officers or elders, or not? And in the upshot this is all the question, and you can stick on no other (nor well on this) without declaring yourselves to be infidels: and this is a question that belongs not to this place, but I purposely refer you to what I have already published hereupon.

II. My next address is, to them that are so solicitous to know which is the true church among all the parties in the world that pretend to it. Silly souls! they are hearkening to that party, and to that party, and turn it may be to one, and to another, to find the true universal church; I speak not in contempt, but in compassion: but I must say, you deal much more like bedlams than Christians, or reasonable men. You run up and down from room to room to find the house, and ask, is the parlour it? or is the hall it? or is the kitchen, or the coal-house it? Why, every one is a part of it; and all the rooms make up the house. You are in the wood, and cannot find it for trees: But you ask, which of these sort of trees is the wood? Is it the oak, or the ash, or the elm, or poplar? or is it the hawthorn, or the bramble? Why, it is all together. You are studying which of the members is the man: Is the hand the man?

or is it the foot? or is it the eye? or the heart? or which is it? Why, it is the whole body and soul, in which all parts and faculties are comprised. You wisely ask, Which part is the whole? Why, no part is the whole. Which is the catholic church? Is it the Protestants, the Calvinists, or the Lutherans, the Papists, the Greeks, the Æthiopians, or which is it? Why, it is never any one of them, but all together that are truly Christians. Good Lord! what a pitiful state is the poor church in, when we must look abroad and see such abundance running up and down the world, and asking which is the world? Whether this country be the world, or that country be the world? They are as it were running up and down England to look for England, and ask, whether this town be England, or whether it be the other? They are as men running up and down London to inquire for London, and ask, whether this house be London, or that street be London? or some other? Thus are they in the midst of the church of Christ inquiring after the church, and asking, Whether it be this party of Christians, or whether it be the other? Why, you doating wretches, it is all Christians in the world of what sort soever, that are truly so, that constitute the catholic church.

Indeed if your question were only, Which is the purest, or soundest, or safest part of the church, then there were some sense in it, and I could quickly give you advice for your resolution; but that is reserved for a following part of the discourse. If you only ask, whether the parlour or the coal-house be the better part or room of the house? or whether the oak or the bramble be the better part of the wood? I should soon give you an answer. So if you ask, Whether the Protestants, or Papists, or Greeks, be the sounder part of the church? I should soon answer you. The same family may have in it both infants and men at age, sound men and sick men; some that have but small distempers, and some that have the plague or leprosy and yet all are men, and members of the family and so hath the church of God such members.

'Object. But will you make all sects and heretics in the world to be members of the catholic church?'

Answ. No: there are none members of the church but Christians. If you call any Christians heretics, those are members of the church: but those heretics that are no

Christians, are no church-members. If they deny any essential point of Christianity, they are not Christians, but analogically, equivocally, or secundum quid.' I tell you, all that are true believers, justified and sanctified, are true living members of the church: and all that profess true faith and holiness, are true members, and no others, at age and use of reason. Your inquiry, therefore, should be, Which are true Christians? And what is true Christianity? And what heresies deny the essentials of Christianity? And then you may soon know who are of the church.

Object.Abundance of the errors now common in the world, do subvert the foundation, or destroy the essentials of Christianity.'

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Answ. It is not every consequential destroying of the essentials that will prove a man no Christian. For almost every error in the matters of faith and morality doth consequentially subvert the foundation, because of the concatenation of truths together, and their dependance on each other. And so every man on earth should perish if this were inconsistent with Christianity for all men err in matters revealed and propounded by God in Scripture to their knowledge and belief. He that holdeth fast the essentials of religion by a practical belief, shall be saved by it, though he hold any opinions which consequently subvert the truth, and doth not understand that they do subvert it for this is the best men's case. But if he so hold the error, as seeing that it overthrows an essential point, and so holdeth not that point which it is against, this man is not a Christian. Every drop of water is contrary to fire, and yet a great fire is not put out by a single drop. Every degree of sickness, or natural decay, hath a contrariety to health and life: and yet every man is not dead that is sick; nor any man, I think: nor is it every sickness that procureth death. The promise is, "He that believeth shall be saved:" and, therefore, as long as he believeth all the essential verities, it is no contrary opinion that can unchristen him, or unchurch him.

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Object. But how shall we know a visible Christian by this, when we know not whether he hold the truth, or not;' Answ. By men's profession the visibility of their faith is easily discerned. If they say they believe that Christ rose from the dead, I am to take them as believers of it, not

VOL. XVI.

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X

withstanding they should hold some error, that hath a remote" opposition to it. But if they directly deny it, I have no reasonto think they believe it; and if they will hold two directly contradictory propositions, they are madmen, and to be believed in neither. The Lutherans maintain, That Christ hath a true human nature; and yet some of them say, That it is everywhere. Though this be contrary to the former by consequence; yet I am bound to judge that they take Christ to be true man still, because indeed they do so, not seeing the contradiction.

But if a man by his contradiction in other terms, do manifest that he doth not believe the truth which he professeth to believe, but speaks the words while he denies the sense; this is to deny the matter itself: for it is the sense that is the doctrine and so he denies himself to be a Christian. For example: If he say, that Christ is risen, and by Christ tell you he meaneth his own spirit; and by rising he meaneth his rising from sin, as the Familists do, and no more: this is to deny the resurrection of Christ.

Object. But will you dishonour Christ and his church by taking in all sects and erroneous persons, that held the essentials: What a linseywoolsey garment will this be? What a large and mingled church will you make?'

Answ. The largeness is no dishonour to it: but by overnarrowing it many sects do dishonour it. The corruptions and infirmities are indeed a dishonour to it: but that reflects not at all on Christ, yea, it maketh for his honour, both that he is so exceeding compassionate as to extend his love and mercy so far, and to bear with such distempers, and pardon such miscarriages of his servants: And should your eye be evil because he is good? O how ill doth it beseem that man that needeth exceeding mercy himself, even to save him from damnation, to be opening his mouth against the mercy of Christ to others! Yea, to repine at, and even reproach the mercy that he liveth by, and must save him, if ever he be saved. Why man, hast not thou as much need of tender indulgence and mercy thyself, to keep thee in the church, and in the favour of God, and bring thee to heaven, as Anabaptists, Separatists, Arminians, Lutherans, and many such sects have, to continue them in the number of catholic Christians? If thou have not their errors, thou hast others,