Let a man confefs what doctrines he will, yet if he appear not hearty in the confeffion of the one faith, he cannot be a member of a congregation of Chrift's difciples; and they ought not to hold communion with him as a disciple: but however any man differ from other difciples of Christ, if he fhew a hearty agreement with them in the confeffion of the faith, as it is one, and effay to join himself to any congregation of Chrift's difciples, they are bound to receive him. If he decline to join to a company of difciples, feparated from the unbelieving world, and joined together in the confeffion of the one faith, and that because they do not all think in all things as he does, then he is, in this point, guilty of a breach of the catholic unity, and not they. Every difciple of Christ muft confefs the whole truths of Chrift, the very leaft of them, at all hazards, fo far as he knows them; but it is the con feffion of the one faith that makes a man a proper member of a church of Chrift, or a proper object of brotherly love.

The difciples of Chrift that confefs the faith of the Son of God, delivered for our offences, and raised again for cur juftification, do alfo call him Lord: for to this end "Chrift "both died and rofe again, that he might be Lord both of "the dead and of the living:" fo that "whether we live, we "live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the "Lord: whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's," Rom. xiv. 7. 8. 9. "The love of Christ constrains his difci "ples, because they thus judge, that if one died for all, "then were all dead: that they which live should not hence. "forth live to themselves, but to him that died for them, and "rofe again," 2 Cor. v. 14. 15.

As it is a vain thing to call Chrift Lord, and not study to do the things that he fays; fo, whofoever appears not to have a sense of his authority upon his confcience, but lives in open difobedience to his laws, and profeffes not repentance from dead works, nor a defire to obferve whatsoever he commands, cannot be, in the judgment of charity, accounted a disciple of Jefus Chrift.

The difciples of Chrift, therefore, are obfervers of his inflitutions, fo far as they know them: they call on the name of the Lord Jefus; they are ftudying to follow him in those commandments of God that are chiefly infifted on in his word; fuch as, the command to deny ourselves, and to take up our cross and follow him; the command to love our enemies, and bless them, and pray for them, and the like. But the trying commandment of the New Teftament, and

the diftinguishing fruit of faith, whereby the fincerity of our faith, and of all our obedience, is tried and manifefted, is the commandment of brotherly love; a peculiar love to the disciples of Chrift on his account, and for his fake, John xiii. 34. 35. John xv. 1 Cor. xiii. Heb. vi. 9. 10. 11. and 1 John. There must be a profeffion of this in all them that are to be accounted difciples of Chrift: "For by this fhall all men know "that we are his difciples, if we have love one to another. "And he that faith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, "is in darkness even until now; he that loveth his brother, "abideth in the light, and there is none occafion of stumbling " in him."

It seems to be one great end of the inftitution of a gofpel-church, that the difciples may be in the constant and regular practice of the duties of this love toward one another. This love refpects all the faints, all the difciples of Chrift throughout the world: but in vain do we pretend to love all the faints, while we fhew forth no more love to such of them as we have feen, than to the reft of the world. Our love to God is to be tried by our love to our brother, whom we have feen, John iv. 20.; and our love to the Lord Je fus will be measured by our love to them at the last day, Matth. xxv. from y 34. to the end. Now, there may be many of the difciples of Chrift whom we have but seldom accefs to fee, and fo cannot perform the duties of this love towards them but occafionally, and as providence fometimes offers opportunity; but it is neceffary, unto the establishment in the faith, the comfort and full affurance of hope, in the difciples of Chrift, and unto their mutual edification in love, that they be conftantly and regularly in the exercise of the duties of this love toward one another, where there is any company of them, that, by dwellings and circumstances, can conveniently perform thefe duties toward one another. Heb. vi. 10. 11. "God is not unrighteous, to forget your "work and labour of love, which ye have fhewed toward ❝his name, in that ye have ministered unto the faints, and do "minifter. And we defire that every one of you do fhew the "fame diligence, to the full assurance of hope unto the end." Col. ii. 1. 2. "I would that ye knew what great conflict I "have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh: that their hearts "might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto "all riches of the full affurance of understanding, to the ac"knowledgment of the mystery of God," &c. Heb. iii. 12.

13. "Take heed, brethren, left there be in any of you an ❝evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. "But exhort one another daily while it is called, To-day; "left any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of "fin." Heb. x. 23. 24. "Let us hold faft the profeffion of "our faith without wavering;-and let us confider one ano"ther to provoke unto love and good works: not forfaking "the affembling of ourfelves together, as the manner of "fome is; but exhorting one another," &c. 1 Theff. v. 11. "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one "another, even as also ye do." Į Cor. xii. 25. 26. 27. From these and fuch like places, it appears, that this conftant and regular practice of the duties of this love, must be in a congregation, or a company of difciples joined together, and affembling themselves together for that purpose; and this cannot take place but in a congregation of difciples. So this is one great end of the Lord's inftitution of a gospel-church. But unto this it is neceffary that all the members of fuch churches be fit objects of this brotherly love, and the duties. of it. Therefore, we find the members of the apostolic churches called the brethren, and brethren for whom Chrift died, according to the Lord's commandment: "That we "fhould love one another, even as he loved us." The Apostle's exhortation to the elders of the church of Ephefus, is remarkable to this purpose: "Take heed," fays he, "to "all the flock to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood." If there was any one of that flock or church of whom it could not be faid, in the judgment of charity, that he was purchafed with the blood of God, the ftrength of the Apoftle's argument for their taking heed to all the flock, and feeding them, would be gone with respect to that perfon. The church of the Theffalonians, 2 Theff. i. 3. is commended for this, that "the charity "of every one of them all toward each other abounded?" which could not be, if every one of them all had not been meet objects of this charity or brotherly love; for this love has only brethren in Chrift for the objects of it, i Theff. iv. 9. 10. To what purpose would all the members of the churches be fo frequently exhorted to love one another with this love, if this were not to be fuppofed, that they were all proper objects of this love, and the duties of it? We find the church at Ephefus, Rev. ii. 4. 5. condemned by the Lord for the decay of this love, and the fruits of it among them, and threatened with the diffolution of their church, the ta

king away of their candlestick out of its place, on that account for thus they came fhort of the end of their being a church. Some of the other Asian churches are condemned for holding in their communion fuch as were not meet objects of this love. The church of Corinth is called to refuse communion with every one called a brother, and living scanda. Joufly; and to purge out the old leaven, that they may be a new lump, 1 Cor. v. And, for their enlargement, and that they might not be straitened in their own bowels, they are exhorted, 2 Cor. vi. not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Perhaps there may be fome view there unto fome among them, who began to deny the refurrection, after they had confeffed the faith of Chrift. We are called in this matter of Chriftian communion, "To turn away from fuch "as have a form of godlinefs, denying the power of it," 2 Tim. iii. 5.; and "to withdraw ourselves from every bro"ther that walketh diforderly, in difobedience to the com"mands of Chrift," 2 Theff. iii. 6. And that great rule of difcipline laid down by our Lord, Matth. xviii. is fubfervient to the new commandment of love among his disciples in a church; as appears from the context: for when a brother trefpaffes, fo as our brotherly love to him may cool, we are to take the pains there prefcribed to reclaim him; but if he obftinately perfist against the endeavours of the church, then we are commanded to refuse communion, and not to walk in the peculiar duties of this love with him.

As the confeffion of the one faith gives a man a right to the title of a difciple; fo this brotherly love must proceed upon this unity of the faith: for otherwise it will be no more Chriftian brotherly love, but fectarian and party love, like that which takes place among the factions and parties of this world. In the profeffion of this catholic faith and love in Chrift, with the fruits of it, the first Chriftians were distin guished from the reft of the world, and united among them. felves, and were conformed to their Lord Jefus Chrift: fo they were defigned faints, the faints and faithful in Chrift Jefus; and all the first churches" were churches of fuch "faints," 1 Cor. xiv. 33. They were also represented in the vifion to John by golden candlesticks, on account of the matter of which they ought to be made up.

But against the fubferviency of Chrift's inftitution of a church, confifting only of his difciples, unto this new commandment of brotherly love, it is objected, not only that it ferves to make divifion, and raise animofities in the world,

but

but that it always, in all the ways wherein it has been at tempted in later ages, has occafioned divifion among the dif ciples of Chrift, and their feparation from one another.

As to the first thing in this objection, it lies as well against Chriftianity itself, and against the new commandment of brotherly love, as against a church, confifting only of proper objects of brotherly love. For it is certain, that commandment of Chrift, wherein we are injoined to take a peculiar complacence in his difciples on his account, and to love them for the peculiar relation they have to him, does not ob lige us to bestow this love upon all men: and, because in the duties of this love to them, we exprefs our love to Jefus Chrift, whom the world hates, and fo appear to the men of this world to be on his fide of that controverfy betwixt the feed of the woman and of the serpent, it is no marvel if the men of this world hate us; hence there will be an open divifion betwixt the difciples of Chrift, in their obedience to this command, and the men of this world, as our Lord hath warned us; and for this the world will be condemned at the laft day. See John xv. from 17. to the end, and xvi. 1. 2 Theff. i. 3.-6. 1 John iii. 11. 12. 13.

2.3.

But it is much to be lamented, that fince a fort of Chriftians have been made in great numbers, by the influence of the powers of the earth, and not by the influence of the gofpel upon their minds and hearts, and fince the outer court of God's house has been trodden under foot by the Gentiles under Antichrift, the difciples of Chrift, the objects of bro. therly love, have been divided and feparated from one ano. ther, upon attempts to revive Chrift's inftitution in this matter. Yet the blame cannot be laid upon his inftitution, but upon the difciples themselves. And for this confider, 1. In feveral of the fteps of reformation from the corruptions of Antichrift, the difciples of Chrift, through different measures of light, have been wofully divided from one another. Take, for instance, that divifion betwixt Luther, and those that stood with him, on the one hand, and Zuinglius and Calvin, and those that were with them, on the other, about the Lord's fupper. 2. By means of impofition, and the driving of uniformity, the difciples of Chrift have been fo far engaged in fects and parties, and have been trained up in fuch a regard every one to the way of his own fect, that any attempt to bring them into communion in love upon thofe things wherein they are all one, and all divided from the men of this world, however strictly joined with them in their fects, must VOL. I.

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