SERMON LIII. 143 all the parts of christian communion, which Ihave described. It is the evil mixture of the needless and fanciful inventions of men, with the plain and common dictates of the light of nature and scripture in public religion, and the imposition of these things upon conscience, that has been the disgrace and ruin of many christian churches, and is a high misdemeanour against Christ, who is the Lord and King of his church. Reason and revela- tion are the only principles of his religion, and of the govern- ment of his kingdom. H. " How little do they value the true interestsof the chris- tian religion, the public honour of Christ and his gospel, or the edificationand comfort of their own souls, who neglect this holy communion ?" There are twenty little excuses that some persons areready to make against uniting themselves in fellowship : But let conscience do its office, and examine sincerely whether such excuses will be a sufficient apology in the great day. A late emi- nent divine well known to some of us, viz. Mr. Nathaniel Tay- lor, gives this direction to those who have given up themselves to God in Jesus Christ. " Join yourselves, says he, as mem- bers to someparticular church of Christ or other. For the better edification of his body, our Saviour has appointed the erecting of particular churches. And wherever a sufficient number of persons were called, it was the constant practiceof the primitive times, to unite in such .societies as stated members of them, under the guidance and conduct of those pastors and teachers, which with their ownconsent the Holy Ghost had set over them to rule andfeed them. This is a constitution of Christ, which is directly thwarted and opposed by a generation of loose and rambling Christians, that content themselves with bare hearing, and that too in a very odd way. For they are a sort of volatile auditors, perpetually frisking to and fro, who can fix nowhere. Were all men ofthis humour, therecould be no such thing as particular churches, which Christ has appointed for the edifying of his members : And how they can rationally expect to flourish either in grace or peace, while they live in a direct opposition to a mani- fest institutionof our Lord Jesus, which was not more an effect of Ids authority, than of his wisdom and goodness, I wish men would seriously consider. Are any of you so self-sufficient that you needno pastor, nor the assistance of your fellow-Christians to watch over, admonish, rebuke, exhort, comfort, strengthen, andcounsel you ? Are there none ofthe churches of Christ that are pure enough ? None of them that have latitude or strictness enough for you ? None of them worthy enough for you to join yourself unto ? When our Lord hath given such variety of gifts tò his ministers, is there none of them whose abilities suit you, and please-your curious palates, that by settling under them you may be edified ? I may say to suchpersons as Constantine
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