*Luke 16. 20. 31. to his Brethren to warn them, left they alfo fhould come into that place of torment *; and I may fay it with fome Confidence, of the Bishops and Minifters of the present Church, what Abraham faid of Mofes and the Prophets, that is, those that taught them the Doctrine of Mofes and the Prophets, If they will not hear Mofes and the Prophets, neither will they be perfwaded, though one rofe from the Dead. The Bishops and Minifters of the present Church, having a like lawful Call to minifter in holy things, as all the Bishops and Minifters ever had from the Apoftle's Times to this day, and their fucceeding the Apoftles in this Miniftry, being undeniable by all that have not the forehead to reject all Church- hiftory, as well as the Scriptures, and having their Authority from Chrift as well as the Apoftles, for Eph.4.12. he gave fome Paftors and Teachers, as well as fome Apostles for the Work of the Miniftry, &c. till we all come in the Unity of the Faith, to a perfect Man, to the Measure of the Stature of the Fulness of Chrift, which will not be till the World's End; and being ordained by them who were ordained by them who were ordained by the Apoftles, or by Apoftolical Men, fuch as Timothy and Titus, and teaching the fame DoArine that the Apoftles taught, if they preach the found Doctrine contained in the Scriptures, there can be no regular continuing in the Apoftle's Doctrine, Fellowship and Communion, but by attending and communicating with the pre fent fent Ministry; and whofoever doth it not, neither would they the Miniftration of the Apostles themselves, if they were in Person amongst them, unless they did perhaps exercise their miraculous Power to awaken them to it, which Power none of us neither have, nor pretend to. obj. But if we must join with the effablished Miniftry (may fome fay) yet we hope we are at our Choice, which of them we will join with, even him whom we best like. Anf. What Obligation lies upon Chriftians, to their own Paftor or Minifter, and to that particular Church, wherein Providence hath fixed their Abode, or at least to another of the fame Communion, in cafe of a Churches too great distance unto which they belong, and that with their own Minifters exprefs or implicit Confent, I defign to fhew hereafter, mean while it fhall fuffice to fay, that this hath been the conftant Cuftom in the matter of Church-communion in the Churches of all Ages, and what influence Church-cuftoms should have upon Chriftian Practice might be shown at large from St. Paul's arguing; *If any Man feem to be conten * I Cor. II. 16. tious, we have no fuch Custom, neither the Churches of God. To conclude this Argument, if it be the Duty of all Chriftians to perform publick Divine Worship, and of every one for his part, to do his utmost to have the publick Worship conti nued and maintained in the Church of God; then then must it be as much their unquestioned Duty to refort to their Churches, and to communicate with their lawful Paftors, confecrated and appointed to teach the Chriftian Doctrine, adminifter the Sacraments, and to offer up the Sacrifices of publick Prayers and Praises amongst them, and if they were not in Duty obliged to fuch an external conftant actual Church communion with the prefent Ministry in all holy Offices and Administrations, and especially with their own proper Minifters, there would be apparent danger of an utter Failure of God's publick and folemn Worthip, and this they endeavour as much as lies in them, that neglect or abfent from it. 6. Indeed in no other way but this, that I have mentioned, can any good Order be kept in the Churches of God. Now it will be very needful here: Firft to fhew the Neceffity of due Order, and then what that due Order is. As for the former, we have the Apostle's Warrant to affirm it to be no less than the Ordinance and Commandment of God, that the Churches be managed and preferved in good order, for he fion must good faith, God is not the Authour * 1 Cor.14-33. of Confufion, but of Peace (in which, being opposed to ConfuOrder be neceffarily implied) as in all the Churches of the Saints, and he gives it for the Will of God, † That all things be done order, in refpect of which Order, he calls the Church a Body * and fets it forth as a Body fitly Ib. verf. 4. decently and in Eph. 4. 16. joined together and compacted, by that which every Joint fupplieth, in order to the edifying of it in love. Every Joint, that is, every Minifter, Officer or Governour in the Church (before mentioned) they are all as Joints in the Church, and Joints in the natural Body are the very Bonds and Ligaments of Union, compacting, joining and uniting the Members one to another; the Words (every Joint, and compacted, and joined together) are marvellous fignificant. What every Joint fupplieth muft compact the Body, and in no wife divide it, muft make many to be one Body, and not many Bodies of one. But to wave the force of these words, the very calling the Church a Body, doth fufficiently fhew, how neceffary good Order is in the Church; for it fuppofeth Churchminifters and Church-members, all of them in their proper places, and united to one another, by oblerving a ftrict Order, without which no Body politick can be a regular or orderly Society, but rather a confused Multitude, for all the Strength, Beauty and Ufefulness of any Society depends upon good Order among the Members thereof, much more than of a Church-fociety. God himself therefore ordained all things in an exact Order in the Church of the Jews, even forming it into a religious Common-wealth, and we know the fatal End of Corah, Dathan and Abiram, when they went out of that Order and raised a Schifm therein *, and a like firm clole and orderly Union Numb. 16. and Difpofition, both of Gover nours and Governed, both of Minifters and private private Chriftians, there ought to be in the Chriftian Church, as it fucceeds the Jewish Church, being grafted into it. To which end, Chrift ordained his Apoftles firft, to teach, and gather, and govern his Church, and to their Succeffors in the Ministry, he gave the fame (though but an ordinary) Authority, as is manifeft by his Promife to be with his Apostles to the End of * Mat.28.20. the World; for this he cannot be, otherwife than in their Succeffors in the Miniftry, feeing the Apostles had their limited time, and died as other Men, feeing then Order in the Church is fo neceffary by the Divine Ordinance and Commandment; let us in the next place examine, what Order was, and ought to be, obferved in the Church; and it is clear in all Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, and not obfcurely delivered in the Scriptures (provided we compare them together) that in thofe Chur. ches which the Apoftles and Apoftolical Perfons planted, they committed the chief Government to the Bishops as their Succeffors, fuch as Timothy provinciál Bishop of Ephesus and Titus of Creet, and † Elders or Presbyters were ordained in every City with this Charge*, To feed the Flock of God among them, taking the oversight of fuch Flocks, not by constraint but willingly, not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind. And as Believers grew more numerous, they and their Succeffors, the Bifhops foon found it neceffary to fort and diftinguish Congregations, according to the Habitations and Neighbour † * hoods, |