men among us do sin against, who say we have lost our Scriptures, and our church, and our ministry in antichristian darkness, which hath choked the truth, and destroyed and drowned the certainty of all; and that, therefore, we must have new prophets, or apostles, and a new spirit of miracles, for the restoration of all. Do these men think that God must seal one and the same Scripture and religion with miracles, as often as they will be unbelieving? Is it not enough that he sealed it with the miracles of an age, before a thousand of witnesses in open congregations, in many countries; and that even those that quarrelled with the apostles, were forced to confess it, as being eye and ear-witnesses, being challenged to deny it if they could? Moses once sealed his doctrine by miracles; should the Jews say, they would not believe it, except it were so sealed over again, in every age? Should not these wretches, that in their ignorance cry for signs and wonders afresh, forgetting, or undervaluing, the old, (like the Israelites in the wilderness,) do better to blame their own unbelieving hearts, than God's providence? and rather beg and wait for a spirit of faith, than a spirit of miracles? Blessed be the great Governor of the world, and Lord of the church, that hath delivered us his Scriptures, and the testimony of his first miracles, in so clear, so certain, so infallible a way, as no book or matter of fact in the world hath the like. For all that is said against Rome, true or false, this is certainly true, that God hath kept them in the acknowledgment of his Scripture, though they sinfully magnify unwritten traditions of doctrines; yet they confess all the Scripture to be the word of God, and to be true, which we maintain, and have carefully preserved it to this day. And what silly souls are those to think, either that Rome could have corrupted the Scripture considerably, if they had been willing, (there being so many thousand copies among them, and some of more conscience than such corrupters would be,) or that the church of Rome was the only keeper of Scripture? Do they not know there are far more Christians in the world than all those of the church of Rome are? And that all they have kept the Scripture among them as safely and certainly as we could desire, as to all considerable things? Have not all the Greek churches in Muscovy, and through all the Turks' dominions in Asia and Africa, the Scripture pure? And have not the Ethiopian churches, which are exceedingly large, all the same Scripture as the church of Rome have, and we have? Is there any book

that ever the world saw, that had such means to preserve it from alteration or corruption? When so great a part of the world, and almost all the learned part of the world, have had it among them, as that which they held their hope of salvation by, and that which they take for their guide in worshipping God, having all ministers, whose constant office hath been to read it, and expound it in the open congregations; and have, every week, one day in seven set apart, wherein all the people should come together to hear the Scripture tead and expounded to them, as the law, by which they all must live, and by which God will judge them at the last. Let men be men, and not renounce their reason, nor turn stark mad, and let them tell us how it is possible that such a book should be considerably depraved, and the depravation take so generally through all the world, as that all the books should be the very same to this day? Except here and there a letter or inconsiderable word that differs through the fault of some transcribers: as our printers may now misprint a word.

2. Besides, do not these men see God accompanying this doctrine to this day, with the Spirit of sanctification and consolation? Certainly these men do but tempt God, and delude themselves and others, by talking of the loss of Scriptures, and church, and ministry, and manifest their own gross ignorance and unbelief. Though, for my part, I confess that I am strongly persuaded that some wicked, subtle Jesuits have fomented this opinion among us: for they may well know, that if they can once get the people to believe, that either there is no church or ministry, or Scripture, or else it must be the church of Rome, all reasonable men will easily believe rather that the church and ministry of Rome is true, than that there is none. For he that believeth not that there is a church, doth scarce believe, I think, that there is a Christ, the Head of the church. There are many such books lately gone forth, that confirm me in this opinion; such as William Parker's Answer to the Assemblies' Confession of Faith,' which maintains the main substance of the doctrine of Rome; only, instead of pleading the infallibility of the church or pope, they plead the necessity of new prophets. But it is easy, when that doctrine is once received, to show men the vanity of their grounds, and bring them to receive the same doctrines, upon other grounds: their prophets will be gazed after but a few days. A little time ever discovereth the folly of such pretenders; and then how easy is it for a papist to

challenge such to dispute about the grounds of their religion, and to show them that their prophets are deceivers; and therefore they must rather hearken to their church? In the mean time, it is a sad providence to us, that so many should be permitted to call other men, and their ways of worship, antichristian, and so long cry out of antichrist, till they are almost papists already, and more likely than others to turn such, when they are tempted.

Use III.

Hence, also, we may be informed that all these several parties in the world, by what name or title soever distinguished, that hold the substance of the christian religion, are not so many different religions, but are all but one true religion, and, cousequently, are all one church. But that there be no quarrel about mere words, take notice that I use the word, 'religion' not for every particular opinion or practice about the immediate worship of God, but for the body or frame of such doctrines and practices, called, commonly, our faith and profession: as Christianity is called one religion, or the christian faith, and Mahometanism another, and Judaism another. Otherwise, taking the word 'religion' for some particular parts of that frame, and that not essential, but merely integral, so it may be said, that there are as many religions among us, as there are particular differences about the worship of God. Yea, if you extend it to opinions or practices, which by the owners, are supposed and called essentials or fundamentals; and on a conceit of such necessity, are added to the main frame or body, yet not destroying or nulling that frame or body to which they are so added in this sense, also, I confess, there are many religions in the christian world, and many churches. But I shall now choose to take the word religion and church in the primitive sense, and so I say, that there is but one true religion and church in the world, and that is, the christian religion and church from which I exclude all and only those sects, parties, heretics, or infidels, that hold not the whole essence of this religion and church: both those that deny the whole or any one essential part, so denying it, as that they do not hold it. Here observe these three parts of my assertion :

1. They are not many religions, but one.

2. Not many churches, but one.

3. And every one is of the true religion and true church, and that is apparent from my text and experience set together;

because among all these several parties there is that doctrine and religion by which God doth convey the Spirit of sanctification now, and which he did seal with the Spirit of miracles at its first promulgation.

1. It is the fundamental and substantial parts, and not every inferior opinion, that denominate a religion. There are not so many religions in the world, as there are differences about the expounding of this or that particular text of Scripture, or as there are different opinions about inferior things; those among us, therefore, are silly people, that think we have as many religions as we have different parties. The ignorant people think that the episcopal party are of one religion, and the presbyterian of another, and the independent and separatist of another; and they think, that when the Common Prayer' was in use, there was one religion on foot, and now it is down, there is another: as if the nature and denominating form of religion lie in every accident or circumstance: so the papists would make the world believe, that we are of as many religions different among ourselves, as we have variety of opinions; when yet they maintain as great or greater differences among themselves, without any conceit of variety of religions. Witness the many and great differences, so long and hotly agitated, between the Dominicans and Jesuits, about grace, free-will, predestination, &c.; their quarrels about the virgin Mary's native innocency; the difference between the Spanish and the Italian parties in the Council of Trent, about episcopacy. Yea, the great irreconcilable difference that continues to this day among them, about the very master-part of their new-devised creed, Where is the seat of infallibility and supreme church power?' one party saith, it is in the pope alone; another, as the French clergy saith, it is in a general council; and some say, it must be in a concurrence of both: and it is.very observable what a case they have brought themselves into, and what a loss they are at in matters of religion, and what uncertainty they would bring all the christian world to, in religion, if they would but follow them; for they receive the Scripture for the word of God, upon the authority of the church, and the church must be the infallible church; and they are not yet agreed among themselves, what or who that infallible church is. How well, then, do they believe the Scripture and their religion: but this, on the by. There are not, then, so many religions as there are different opinions; except these differences be in the fundamental parts.

2. Nor are there so many different churches, as there are different opinions: Christ hath but one invisible church on earth; nor but one universal, visible church, containing all that make profession of the true religion, or doctrine of Christ, in the fundamentals; to call any other a church is to contradict or equivocate; Jews, Mahometans, pagans, are no church. Particular, visible churches, there are many, which are diversified by the variety of their meetings: for so every assembly of men, professing the true religion, is a true church; and if lawfully combined therein, they are a true political church; but all these are but parts of that one universal, visible church. Indeed, we use to give several parts of this church also the name of such and such a church, from some accidental respects: as to call it a national church, because it hath the advantage of a special association, by living in one country, under one magistrate, or because they are actually associated: so we call the church of England, Scotland, France, &c., as we call the same sea, the English, or French, or German sea: so also, from variety of opinions, we call one the church of the protestants, and another of the anabaptists, another of the Arminians; so the Lutheran, Calvinistic churches: but these are all so diversified merely from accidents or circumstances, and not as if there were any essential difference between them: for then they could not be so many churches; for Christ hath but one church, divided into so many congregations and associations, and diversified according to their various degrees of knowledge and purity; read Mr. Marshall's late sermon of "The Unity of the Church,' and Mr. Samuel Hudson, of 'The Church Universal:' not that we dream of any visible, supreme power over this one visible church. The papists understand not well the nature of the church's political constitution, or else they would never talk of that: but yet a visible organical church it is, even one political republic but the sovereign power or head is none but Christ, who is visible to the glorified part of his church in heaven, but not seen of the imperfect part on earth: and particular churches are not as so many commonwealths, but as so many corporations making up one commonwealth, and all under Christ, but none under one another; being all free, and having all their own officers and privileges; yet, all bound to maintain the strictest, and most general, and extended association, that nature and opportunity will permit, for the unity, strength, and edification of the whole. This is that one visible, yea, organ

VOL. XX.