-78 - Mr. Jenkins's afternoon Sermon. natural or mortal filthineis, unfeemly, as looked upon by men a- gaillft Gods Law ; but from all thofecivil moral, lawful a6tions at , other times, that may refica any difhonour upon the work that bath been done, or upon the work that than be done, or that may render the place unmeet for religious Cervices afterwards : And lids is that that one calls a Negative, or a Privative reverence, a re- verence, or not doing fomething, not becattle the place is more ho- ly, but for decency and Orcle!.,confidering the religious duties per- formed in that place. So that things fiibfervient to Religion call for a Negative reverence, and are not Co to be ufed, as that the Re- ligious Cervices which are thereperformed and tranlaaed, fhould he made dilgraceful and difhonorable ; as the Breadof theSacra- Inent, after the Sacrament is done, is not lawful to be cart unto unreafonable creatures, becaule it refle&s difhonour upon the re- ligious fervice which we werebefore doing; fo, dirty water is not tobe put into the Communion cup, not that the Cup:is holy, but becatile it is a refleecionof difgrace upon that holy fervice where- in that Cup is made life of ; and that Cup is not tobe made life of to drunkennels. But in all this bear me witnefs that I .fay, all this is but a civil Reverence, and lb due to any place where there is any honourableConvention, as in the Parliament-houfe, or Prefence- Chamber, or the like. Having yielded this : 2. I mutt come now to deny what muft not be granted : and I likewife deny four things. I. It is not now in the times of the Gape' in any mans power to fet apart a place for Religious duties, fo as that it thould be unlaw- ful upon a due occation to Me it for civil employments, or that it thould be alwayes unlawful to alienate to other ufes, betides thofe tiles that are Divine ; the Bread and Wine fanEfified by Gods own inflitution by the Minifter, after the publick ufe and adminifira- tion of them in the Ordinance, arenot now holy, but theymay be eaten in a civil tire and way as our ordinary and common food. The Synagogues among the Jews were as holy as our Churches, they were for holy duties, as Prayer, Preaching, and the like, and dedi- cated to Gods Worthip, and yet you muft know there were civil employments tiled in thole places after the Religious Worship was done; and therefore in Mat. 23.34. faith our Saviour, fame of them youfball icourge inyour Synagogues. Hence we ufe to keep Courts and Confiftories in Churches amongft ns,and fome of them none of the bekand we ufe here among us in this City conftantly in ourChur- ches, (and I doubt not but it is lawful) for an Alderman in. his Ward to meet about fecular bufinefs, as to choofe Common-Coun- cil-
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