6. That Doctrine that lesseneth the priviledges of Believers under the New Testament, and maketh their Infants in a worse condition, then they were in under the Old Testament, cannot be the Doctrine of the Gospel. For the Gospel tells you, [160]that Jesus Christ was made a Surety of a better Testament, and that the new Covenant is a better Covenant; established upon better promises. This Rule will preserve you from the poyson of Anabaptism. For if the children of the Jews were circumcised, and the children of Christians should not be baptized, either it must be granted, that circumcision was of no benefit to the Jewish children, which is contrary to Rom. 3.1, 2. or it must be granted, that the children of the Jews had greater priviledges then the children of Christians.
7. That Doctrine that cryeth up Purity to the ruine of Unity, is contrary to the Doctrine of the Gospel. For the Gospel calleth for unity, as well as purity, 1 Cor. 1.10. Phil. 2.1, 2. Eph. 4.3, 4, 5, 6. And Christ prayed for the unity of his Church, as well as the Holiness, Joh. 17.21, 22. and it is prophesied of the times of the Gospel, That in those daies, God will give his people, one heart, and one way, and to serve him with one consent, Jer. 32.29. Zeph. 3.9. This Rule will teach you what to judg of the Congregational-way: For certainly that Government that carrieth in the front of it A tolleration of different Religions, and is not sufficient to keep the body of Christ in unity and purity, is not the Government of Christ.
8. Whatsoever Doctrine is contrary to the Rule of Faith, or to any duty required in the ten Commandements, or to any Petition of the Lords prayer, is not a Doctrine of Christ, and therefore to be rejected.
We might add many more Rules, but we forbear, lest we should be over-tedious. Our prayer to God for you is, That you may be fix't, not falling Stars, in the Firmament of his Church; Not children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of Doctrine; Not Reeds shaken with every wind, but firm Pillars in his house. Wherefore, Beloved Brethren, Stand fast and immoveable, alwayes abounding in the Work of the Lord; Forasmuch as you know, that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
But now, because he that would keep himself from the Errour of the times, must also keep himself from the sins of the times: (For it is sin that makes God give us up to errour, 2 Thess. 2.10, 11. and it is sin that makes a man like a piece of wax, ready to receive the impression of any errour. The women in Timothie were first laden with divers lusts, before they were led away captive to divers errours; and whosoever puts away a good confidence, will quickly concerning Faith make ship wrack, as we are told, 1 Tim. 1.19.) Therefore we are necessitated to inlarge our Exhortation to you in one particular more; which though it be the last, yet it is not the least of those things which we have to say unto you, and that is,
6. To exhort you, or rather to require and charge you, to keep your selves unspotted, not only from the errors and heresies, (as before) but also from the sins and iniquities of the times wherein you live. We say, unspotted, and so doth the Apostle, Jam. 1.27. It is not enough for you to keep your selves from being bemired and besmeared, but you must labour to keep your Garments so white, as not to have the least spot of defilement from the persons or places where you live. The Apostle tells us, That [161]in the last daies perillous times shall come: For men should be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to Parents, unthankfull, unholy, without naturall affection, truce-breakers, false Accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traytors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more then lovers of God; having a form of Godlinesse, but denying the power thereof. Those words, having a form of Godlinesse, must be understood, απο κοινου, and referred to all the other sins. And the meaning is, That men would be self-lovers, having a form of godlinesse, truce-breakers, having a form of godliness, truce-breakers, having a form of godlinesse, Traytors and false accusers, having a form of godlinesse, &c. They should cover all their ungodlinesse, under the specious form of Godliness: Such are the times in which we live, of which we may truly say, There were never fewer, and yet never more Saints; never more nominal, never fewer real Saints; Never more self-seekers, and yet never more that pretended to seek the interest of Christ. We are an hypocritall Nation, the people of Gods wrath; We have broken the Covenant of our God, even that Covenant, which in the day of our distress and fear, we made with hands lifted up to heaven. We are apostatized from our Principles and practices; We contemn the pretious ordinances, despise and abuse the Godly Ministers; We break the Sabbaths, hate the very name of Reformation, and scorn to submit to the sweet yoke of Christ and his Government; We are proud, secure, lyars, swearers, and forswearers, Murderers, drunkards, Adulterers, and oppressors: We have not learned Righteousnesse, but unrighteousness, by all the Judgements of God; We are worse and worse by all our deliverances; We have spilt the blood of Christ in the Sacrament, by our unworthy receiving, and therefore it hath been just with God to spill our blood. It would be too long to reckon up all the particular sins of Magistrates, Ministers, Husbands, wives, Fathers, Children, Masters, and Servants; neither is it the design of this Discourse. We may truly say with the Prophet, [162]Ah sinful Nation, a people laden with iniquity; a seed of evill doers, children that are corrupters, that have forsaken the Lord, that have provoked the holy One of Israel unto anger; that are gone away backward: Why should we be smitten any longer? we will revolt more and more, the whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint; from the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there if no soundness in us, but wounds and bruises, and putrified sores, &c.
Wherefore dearly beloved, we do most earnestly beseech you, in the bowels of Jesus Christ, that you would be deeply sensible of, and humbled for these evills that do so much abound in the midst of us, for which the Earth mourns, and the Heavens are black over us. Oh let your souls weep in secret, and your eyes weep sore, and run down with tears, and sigh to the breaking of your loyns, yea to the breaking of your hearts with godly sorrow, which may work in you repentance, never to be repented of. Mourn more for the sins that have brought these miseries upon us, then for the miseries our sins have brought; more, for burdening God with sin, then for being burdened with plagues; more for your hard hearts, then these hard times.
And we further intreat everie one of you, to put away the iniquity that is in his hand; to know every man the plague that is in his own heart; to search and try his waies, and to turn unto the Lord his God; to cease to do evill, and to learn to do well: to be tender of the oathes which he hath taken, or which may be offered unto him to take; to keep close to his Covenant; to prize the Ordinances, Reverence Godly Ministers, sanctifie the Sabbaths, to hate hypocrisie and self seeking, to receive the love of the truth, lest God give him over to believe lyes. Not to trust to his own understanding, lest God blind his understanding. To practise the truths he doth know, that God may reveal unto him the truths he doth not know; not to heap to himself teachers, having itching ears, lest he turn away his ears from the truth, and be turned unto fables; not to have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, in respect of persons, imbracing the Doctrine for the persons sake, and not the person for the Doctrines sake. To seek after the truth, for the truths sake, with uprightness of heart, and not for outward respects, lest God answer thee according to the Idols thou hast in thy heart. To labour to be more and more grounded in the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ; to study catechisme more diligently, and so to be led on to perfection, that he may not alwayes be a babe, unskilfull in the word of Righteousness, but by reason of use, may have his senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
In a word, we once more beseech you all that are admitted to our Sacraments, that your conversation may be as becometh the Gospell of Christ; and as you have given up your names unto Christ by profession, so give up your hearts to him, by universall, sincere, and constant obedience: And let every one that nameth the name of Christ, depart from iniquity.
OUr third and last Exhortation is unto all those that live within the bounds of the Province, and have not yet submitted to the Government, nor are admitted to the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ in the Presbyterian way: These may be reduced into two ranks: