III. Church-cenfures are neceffary for the reclaiming and gaining of offending brethren, for deterring of others from the like offences, for purging out of that leaven which might infect the whole lump, for vindicating the honour of Christ and the holy profeffion of the gofpel, and for preventing the wrath of God, which might justly fall upon the church, if they fhould fuffer his covenant, and the feals thereof, to be profaned by notorious and obftinate offenders c. IV. For the better attaining of these ends, the officers of the church are to proceed by admonition, fufpenfion from the facrament of the Lord's fupper for a season, and by excommunication from the church, according to the nature of the crime, and demerit of the perfon d. be swallowed up with overmuch forrow. v.8. Wherefore I beseech you, that you would confirm your love towards him. III. c (1 Cor. v. throughout.) 1 Tim. v. 20. Them that fin rebuke before all, that others alfo may fear. Matth. vii. 6. Give not. that which is holy unto the dogs, neither caft ye your pearls before fwine, left they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rent you. I Tim. i. 20. Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blafpheme. (1 Cor. xi. 27. to the end.) With Jude, 23. And others fave with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garments fpotted by the flefh. IV. di Theff. v. 12. And we befeech you brethren, to know them which lobour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you. 2 Theff. iii. 6. Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift, that ⚫ye withdraw yourfelves from every CHAP. brother that walketh diforderly, Acts F CHA P. XXXI, Of Synods and Councils. OR the better government and further edification of the church, there ought to be fuch affemblies as are commonly called fynods or councils a. II. As magiftrates may lawfully call a fynod of minifters, and other fit perfons, to confult and advise with about matters of religion b: fo if magiftrates be open enemies to the church, the ministers of Chrift, of themselves, by virtue of their office; or they, with other fit perfons upon delegation from their churches, may meet together in fuch affemblies . III. It belongeth to fynods and councils, minifterially to determine controverfies of faith, and cafes of confcience; I. a Acts xv. 2. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no fmall diffenfion and difputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, fhould go up to Jerufalem unto the apoftles and elders about this queftion. v. 4. And when they were come to Jerufalem, they were received of the church, and of the apoftles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. v. 6. And the apoftles and elders came together for to confider of this matter. II. b If. xlix. 23. And kings fhall be thy nurfing fathers, and their queens thy nurfing-mothers: they fhall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dult of thy feet, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they fhall not be ashamed that wait for me. 1 Tim. ii. 1. I exhort therefore, that first of all, fupplications, prayers, interceffions, and giving of thanks be made for all men : V. 2. For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godlinefs and honesty. (2 Chron. xix. 8. to the end.) 2 Chron. xxix. and xxx. chapters throughout.) Matth. ii, 4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and fcribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Chrift should be born. v. 5. And they faid unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea for thus it is written by the prophet. Prov. xi. 14. Where no counfel is, the people fall; but in the multitude of counfellors there is safety. : c Acts xv. 24. (See in letter a.) v. 22. Then pleased it the apoftles and elders, with the whole church, to fend chofen men of their own company to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas firnamed Barfabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren. V. 23 And wrote letters by them after this manner, the apoftles, and elders, and brethren fend greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentles in Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia. v. 25. It seemed good unto us, being affembled with one accord, to fend chofen men unto you, with our beloved Barnabas and Paul. Acts fcience; to fet down rules and directions for the better ordering of the public worship of God, and government of his church; to receive complaints in cafes of maladministration, and authoritatively to determine the fame: which decrees and determinations, if confonant to the word of God, are to be received with reverence and fubmiffion, not only for their agreement with the word, but alfo for the power whereby they are made, as being an ordinance of God, appointed thereunto in his word d. IV. All fynods or councils fince the apoftles times, whether general or particular, may err, and many have erred; therefore they are not to be made the rule of faith or practice, but to be used as an help in both ẹ. V. Synods and councils are to handle or conclude nothing but that which is ecclefiaftical: and are not to intermeddle with civil affairs, which concern the commonwealth, unless by way of humble petition, in cafes extraordinary; or by way of advice for fatisfaction of confcience, if they be thereunto required by the civil magiftrate f. III. d Acts xv. 15. 19. 24. 27. 28, 29, 30, 31. (See in the Bible.) Acts. xvi. 4. And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apoftles and elders which were at Jerufalem. Matth. xviii. 17. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man, and a publican. v. 18. Verily Ifay unto you, Whatfoever ye fhall bind on earth, fhall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye fhall loofe on earth, fhall be loofed in heaven. v. 19. Again I fay unto you, that if two of you fhall agree on earth, as touching any thing that they fhall afk, it fhall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. v. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midft of them. CHAP. IV. e Eph. ii. 20. And are built upon the foundation of the apoftles and prophets, Jefus Chrift himself being the chief corner-ftone. Acts xvii. 11. These were more noble than thofe in Theffalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the fcriptures daily, whether those things were fo. I Cor. ii. 5. That your faith fhould not stand in the wifdom of men, but in the power of God. 2 Cor. i. 24. Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye ftand. V. Luke xii. 13. And one of the company faid unto him, Master fpeak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. v. 14. And he faid unto him, Man, who made me a judge, or a divider over you? John xviii. 36. Jefus anfwered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom CHA P. XXXII. Of the State of Men after Death, and of the Refurrection of the Dead. T HE bodies of men after death, return to duft and fee corruption a; but their fouls (which neither die nor fleep) having an immortal fubfiftence, immediatley return to God who gave them b. The fouls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holinefs, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies c; and the fouls of the wicked are caft into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day d. for fouls feparated from the ledgeth none. kingdom were of this world, then would my fervants fight, that I fhould not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from bence. I. a Gen. iii. 19. In the fweat of thy face fhalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it waft thou taken: for duft thou art, and unto duft thou fhalt return: Acts. xiii. 36. For David, after he had ferved his own generation by the will of God fell on fleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and faw corruption. b Luke xxiii. 43. And Jefus faid unto him, Verily I fay unto thee, To-day fhalt thou be with me in paradife. Eccl. xii. 7. Then fhall the duft return to the earth as it was: and the fpirit fhall return unto God who gave it. c Heb. xii. 23. To the general affembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the fpirits of just men made perfect. 2 Cor. v. I. For, we know, that if our earthly houfe of this tabernacle were diffolved, we have a building Befides these two places bodies, the fcripture acknow II. At of God, an houfe not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. v. 6. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are abfent from the Lord v. 8. We are confident, I fay, and willing rather to be abfent from the body, and to be prefent with the Lord. Phil. i. 23. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having. a defire to depart, and to be with Chrift; which is far better. With Acts iii. 21. Whom the heaven must receive, until the times of reftitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, fince the world began. And Eph. iv. 10. He that defcended is the fame also that afcended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. d Luke xvi. 23. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and feèth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bofom. v. 24. And he cried, and faid, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and fend Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Acts X i. 25. II. At the laft day, fuch as are found alive shall not die, but be changed e: and all the dead fhall be raised up with the felf-fame bodies, and none other, although with different qualities, which fhall be united again to their fouls for ever f. III. The bodies of the unjuft fhall, by the power of Chrift, be raised to difhonour; the bodies of the juft, by his Spirit, unto honour, and be made conformable to his own glorious body g. G CHA P. XXXIII. Of the last Judgment. OD hath appointed a day, wherein he will judge the world in righteoufnefs by Jefus Chrift a, to i. 25. That he may take part of this miniftry and apostleship, from which Judas by tranfgreffion fell, that he might go to his own place. Jude 6. And the angels which kept not their firft eftate, but left their own habitation, he hath referved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day. v. 7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after ftrange flesh, are fet forth for an example, fuffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 1 Pet. iii. 19. By which alfo he went and preached unto the fpirits in prifon. II. e 1 Theff. iv. 17. Then we which are alive and remain, fhall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and fo fhall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Cor. xv. 51. Behold, I fhew you a mystery; we shall not all fleep, but we shall all be changed, v. 52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the laft trump, (for the trumpet fhall found,) and the dead fhall be raifed incorruptible, and we fhall be changed. f Job xix. 26. And though after whom my fkin, worms deftroy this body, and III. g Acts xxiv. 15. And have hope towards God, which they themselves alfo allow, that there fhall be a refurrection of the dead, both of the juft and unjust. John v. 28. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves fhall hear his voice. v. 29. And fhall come forth, they that have done good unto the refurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the refurrection of damnation. 1 Cor. xv. 43. (See in letter f.) Phil. iii. 21. Who hall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glor ous body, according to the working whereby |