be pleased without Prejudice, to confider what will follow from hence.

1. Judge if the Established Government has not a reafon to be apprehensive of the defigns and practices of Men of this Opinion, who judge not only ours, but all other Church Governments befides their own, Anti-Christian, or which is all one, Anti-Scriptural, and utterly repugnant to the Word of God, and are fo far from being able to fubmit to any fuch, that they are oblig'd in Confcience, as they value the glory of God and the good of Souls, to endeavour the overthrow of any such Government, and the Establishment of their own, as that which Chrift exprefly requires.

2. If they believe this, then judge you whether their Clergy are not obliged to difabuse and undeceive their people, and to tell 'em plainly that Rites and Ceremonies are but the Pretences of Separation, that if we fhould quit at their request all thefe, it could give 'em no fatisfaction till their Form of Government fo exprefly requir'd by Christ and absolutely neceffary to the Being of a Church be set up; I am fure, if we have thought otherwife 'tis very fit we should be undeceiv'd and should know that this

is the true state of the Controversy between us and men of this Opinion, whe ther the Government now Establish'd fhall continue, or whether theirs fhall be erected on the ruins of it; and from the fame ground 'tis eafy for us to guess what fort of Toleration or Comprehenfion they (if they fhould prevail) could with a good Confcience afford to us, how far they could with a good Conscience connive at a Form of Church Government Anti-Chriftian and Repugnant to the Word of God.

3. All who are of this Opinion do utterly unchurch and condemn, not only ours, but all other Churches in Christendom besides their own.

And thus I think this Controversie a bout the Form of Ecclefiaftical Government is reduc'd to a very narrow compass; for if any man will hold that there is one only Form exprefly requir'd both in Effentials and Circumftantials as ab folutely neceffary to the Being of a Church, you see what Unanswerable difficulties, and Unaccountable abfurdities and inconveniencies this Opinion is clog'd with, and how Unreasonable it were that any Eftablish'd Government fhould give any Countenance to Men of C fuch

fuch a perfuafion; but if they believe that the Effentials or Fundamentals only of Church Government are plainly deliver'd, and exprefly prescribed, and that fuch only are neceffary and immutable, the Circumftantials in each Church being left to the prudence of Men conducting themselves by the General Rules of Scripture, then it is easily apparent that our Ecclefiaftical Conftitution wants no such Effentials, and that none can be more fit to fix and determine the Circumftantials of this Government than those whom God has appointed Governours in this Church, this being the command of the Apostle, Obey thofe that are fet over you in the Lord. Heb. 13. 17. and now I'll leave any honeft and fober Man to try whether he can by Fancy or Surmife, as much as guefs at a fhadow of reason to justifie a feparation from our Church on the Account of its Government.

3. I come now to the third Thing, the only thing remaining from whence any pretences for Separation can be rais'd, that is our Rites and Ceremonies.

I will not here enter into a particular, difcuffion of our Brethrens Arguments and Objections against each of our few

and

and harmless Rites and Ceremonies, but I will befeech all to confider,

I. That there cannot fo much as an Idea or notion of a Church poffibly be fram'd without fome Rites and Ceremonies to be admitted in it.

2. That for thefe we have no particular and definitive Rule in Scripture, which is a truth that will be evident.as long as there are any general Rules relating to this matter, to be found in the New Teftament, fuch as, Let all things be done to edification, 1 Cor 14. V. 26. And, Let all things be done decently and in order, verfe 40 for I think it will be next to an impoffibility to find out any fense or use in general Rules, relating to this matter, if all particulars were fix'd and determin'd accordingly.

3. As no Churches are without their Rites and Ceremonies, fo every Church, does take upon it felf, to fix and determine these, and indeed not only thofe of the Ausburgh Confeffion, but Calvin, and all thofe who have followed that way of Reformation, nay Andrew Melvil himself in his Platform of Presbytery for the Church of Scotland, exprefly declares that it belongs to the Church to determine all matters relating to the To € 2 πρέπον,

TРév, or decency and order in Circumftantials of Divine Worfhip. The Alsemblies Directory it felf could find no other foundation for the fixing and determining fuch things, but humane prudence, and by this they mean, no doubt on't, that of the Governours of the Church; and indeed it is ftark Nonfenfe to think otherwife, for if there must be Rites and Ceremonies, as to the Circumftantials of Religion, and these be not particularly determin'd, but left to general Rules, who can in common fense be thought fit to determine this matter, but the Governours in each Church? Thus far therefore I think I have advanc'd with great clearness, that no rational Man can find fault with our Church, either that we have Rites and Geremonies, or that they are determin'd by the Governours of the Church. All that can be therefore poffibly fanfy'd blameable, must be the Nature of our Ceremonies, and here tho I confess, my reafon cannot comprehend why they who are impowr'd to determine the Circumftantials of Religion, fhould not be the fittest Judges of the tendency of fuch Circumftantials to Decency, and Order, and Edification, yet for this time