W/Jat ,Separatio11 is a1Juty. Acts 20. 17· H; Jentto Ephcfus and ca!'ed the Eldm •f the Church: 28. 'iak,.t bud " your felvu ano to aU the.JL>ck.., ovrr wbtch the Holy Ghoft bath made you overfem, to feed the Cl!urch of God-– So 1ThdT. 5-1 2, 13· Heb..r 3· 7• 17, 24, &c. I Cor. 7• >3• Ifthe rohole Church becomttogether into one place, &c. Thus far 1t IS no que£loon but Church-{orms and Government is of Divine appoint· m~nt; And man can no more alter this, ot:Jct up fuch other without Gods confenr than a fubjcfr can alter or m1ke Corporations without the Kings coufenr. 2· But he:fides thefe two' forrs of Divine infiitution, there .are other allowable affociations which fame call Churchts: God hath tcquired thefc particul3r Ohurcbu to hold fuch Communion as they.are capable of, for promoting the common Ends of Chrithaniry: And Prudence is left to determine of the Times and Places, and rnaoncr of their Pa~ flors Affemblics, Councils a11d Correfpondencies according to Gods general Rule:. If any·will call thtfe COuncils, or the Affociations engaged for fpecial corrcfpondencies, by th~ name of Churches 1 Will not trouble any with a jlrife about the NtJme: In this cafe fo far as men have power to make ·that AlfQQiation or Combination which they call a Church, fo alfo if they make Officers fuited to ics end!, not encroaching upon the Churches or Offi.:ers of Cluifts own inllitution, I a in none of thofe that will contend againtt them : Nor will this allow us to deny Communion with them. 3· And in rhofe Churches which Chrifi himfelf hath infiituted, ther~are Officm that make but for the Intcgri– ty, and not for the Political Elfence of the Church : As Deacons, and all Pallors or Prcsbyrers mon: than One. For it is not clTemial to it to have any DeacoJJJ, or ma;1y PtiftorJ, As to this fort of Of~ ficers Chrill hath appointed them, and it is not in mans power to alter his i.nfiitution, nor to fer up any fuch like in co·ordination with thefe : But yet if they !hould do [o, as long as the true Ef· fentials of the Ch!.!-tch remain : I am not to deny communion with that Church, fo I own not this corruption. 4• But thc!e are alfo as circumfta~tia~ cmploymcnts about God!Worfhip, fo Officer 1 to do rhofe e.mploymenr.s, wluch men. m•y lawfully m~ttute : As Clerks? C:hurch-wudens, Door-keepers, Ringers, &c. lt IS not the addmg of thefe that IS any fin. By thlS ttme you may li:c pi>inly both how ·far Chur.:hcs , Officers, and Church·G?vernmcnt is i.ur:t :f!ivino, and how far man may o.r may not add or a\te.r, and what I meant m my Propofinon, VIZ. 'That if men introduce a Uew Vniverfal Head to the Church Catholick._ 1 or a new Head to particular Cburcbu, inftead of tb.zt c;j'Cbrijl- 1 injf.itutiuH, tbi1 M in fc:nfu Politico, ro make new [peciu of Churches, ancl dejtroy tbofe tbat Chrijf 1 bath. iJJjlituted ; ( for the p:~rt gubcrnanl, and pars gubern:Jta arc the effemial Conltituents of a Church.) And with fuch a Church as fuch in [pecie, 1 mufi have no communion ( which is our cafe with the Papal Church;) though iritb the Mmri•l pms of that Church, as members of Chrifi, 1 riuy hold communion fiill. ·9· 30. 5·lf particular members are guilty of ohainate impenitency in true Hlrcfie, or ungodli– nt_fr or any fcandalous crime, the Church may and mull remove fuch from h~r communion; For it is theCommrmion of Saint!. And the offender is the Caufe of this feparation. But not deny· ~· 31· 6.lf • whole Church be guilty of fome notorious lcandalous fin, and refufe with obfiinacy ing her to be to R~pent ~nd Reform, when admonithed byneighbour Churches, or if that Church do rhus defend a Church,uu~ fucJJ a ji11 in any of her members, fo as openly to own it; other Churches mJy refufc communion }~~~1:[e~1i. 11 w~th her, till fhe R~pent a.nd be Refd!med. Or if they ke ,auiC: to hold communion with her in other p2rt: But fo rcfpeCh,.yet in thi-1 they mufl have none. difowning h(r ~· .g 2· 7· If any Church will admit none to her perfon3l Communion, but thofe that will take fome as .in a Tb!ff.;. falfc O.tth, orfubfcribe any untruth, or tell a lye) though that Churchdo think it to he truc,(as the Trent Oith which theid.Jrictls all fwcar ), it is not bwful to do any fuch uolawful thing to obtain ~;;~h:"JecommuniOn with that Church : And he tha.t refufeth in this cafe to commit this fin, is no way guilcy raining rhe of the feparation, but is commendable for being true to God: And thou~h the cafe m1y be fad to be purit:l of do- deprived of the liberty of publick \Vot!hip, and the benefits of pubhck corrununioo with that &r.ined€1th re· Church,•yet fin is worfe; and¥- obedience is better than Sa.crificc :. God will not be fervcd with fin, quu~ rh~ d nor accept the Sacrifice of a difobcdient fuol, Eccltf. 5· 1, 2· Nor mull we lye to glorific him, nor ~:~f~~~n:" . do evil that good may come by it: Jull is the damnariono[fuch fcrvers of God, Ronz. z. 7, 8. All to 2uy unl2w- pubtick Wor£hip is rather to be omitted, than any one fin committed to enjoy it; ( Though neither ful o• fufpe_- !hould · be done where it is poiTible to do betttr ). lt is not fo unwife to think to feed a man with ~1~~ P~~~Jce, Poyfons, as to think to fervc God acceptably by fin. !~~J~~Zit;~~: and.. communion witb that Church infuch things, without incurring the guilt ofShifm. Mr.Sr~Ui,l;jlta Im:ic. 1 ,, 11 • ~ISam,JS,l2. Ptov.Js.8. ' 9·. 33· S.lf any one Churc~ would ampitioufly Ufurp a Governing power over 0thers (., Romt doth over the world ) it is no unwarrantable feparat1on to refufe the Government of chat Ufurping Church. we may hold Communion with' them as Chrifiians, and yet refufe te he thtir {ubjcds. And therefore it is a proud and ignorant compla.int of the Church of B.ome, that the Prordtan(s [tpar.Jte frcm them as to Communi!Jn, bccaufe they will not take them for their Gavtrnourl. 9 34~ "~9. If any by violence will banifh or ca.ll out th~ true Bifhops Ol PaHors of _the Church, and fet up Ufurpers in their ficad (as in tjle Atri~ns perfccmion it was commonly done ), it is no· culpa~lc fepzra(i0n, but laudable and a duty, for the people to own their Relation ro their rruc Pafiors,and deny communion with the Ufurpers; as the people of the Ea{lern Churches did commonly ·refufe communion with the intruding Bifhops, even to the D'ath, telling the Civil Rulers, that rhey had Bi!h<l\>s oftheir own, to whom they would adhere.
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