receiving continued accession, and disseminated in several parts of the earth, containing within it numerous congregations, all who were truly called Churches, as members of the same church; that church, I say, was after some time called the catholick church, that is to say, the name catholick was used by the Greeks to signify the whole.. For seeing every particular congregation professing the name of Christ, was from the beginning called a church; seeing likewise all such congregations considered together were originally comprehended under the name of the church; seeing these two notions of the word were different, it came to pass that for distinction sake at first they called the church, taken in the large and comprehensive sense, by as large and comprehensive a name, the catholick church.

Although this seem the first intention of those who gave the name catholick to the church, to signify thereby nothing else but the whole or universal church, yet those who followed did signify by the same that affection of the church, which floweth from the nature of it, and may be expressed by that word. At first they called the whole church catholick, meaning no more than the universal church; but having used that term some space of time, they considered how the nature of the church was to be universal, and in what that universality did consist.

As far then as the ancient fathers have expressed themselves, and as far as their expressions are agreeable with the descriptions of the church delivered in the scriptures, so far, I conceive, we may safely conclude that the church of Christ is truly catholick, and that the truly catholick church is the true church of Christ, which must necessarily be sufficient for the explication of this affection, which we acknowledge when we say, we believe in the catholick church.

The most obvious and most general notion of this catholicism consisteth in the diffusiveness of the church, grounded upon the commission given to the builders of it," Go teach all nations;" whereby they and their successors were authorized and empowered to gather congregations of believers, and so to extend the borders of the church unto the utmost parts of the earth. The synagogue of the Jews especially consisted of one nation, and

the public worship of God was confined to one country. "In Judah was God known, and his name was great in Israel; in Salem was his tabernacle, and his dwellingplace in Sion." "He showed his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel; he hath not dealt so with any nation," Psal. lxxvi. 1; cxlvii. 9. The temple was the only place in which the sacrifices should be offered, in which the priests could perform their office of ministration; and so under the law there was an enclosure divided from all the world besides. But God said unto his Son, "I will give the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession," Psal. ii. 8. And Christ commanded the apostles, saying, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature:" "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Thus the church of Christ, in its primary institution, was made to be of a diffusive nature, to spread and extend itself from the city of Jerusalem, where it first began, to all the parts and corners of the earth. From whence we find them in the Revelation crying to the Lamb, "Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation," Rev. v. 9. This reason did the ancient fathers render why the church was called catholick, and the nature of the church is so described in the scriptures.

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Secondly; they call the church of Christ the catholick church, because it teacheth all things which are necessary for a Christian to know, whether they be things in heaven or things in earth, whether they concern the condition of man in this life, or in the life to come. the Holy Ghost did lead the apostles into all truth, so did the apostles leave all truth unto the church, which teaching all the same, may be well called catholick, from the universality of necessary and saving truths retained

in it.

Thirdly; the church hath been thought fit to be called catholick in reference to the universal obedience which it prescribeth; both in respect of the persons, obliging men of all conditions; and in relation to the precepts,

requiring the performance of all the evangelical commands.

Fourthly; the church hath been yet farther called or reputed catholick, by reason of all graces given in it, whereby all diseases of the soul are healed, and spiritual virtues are disseminated, all the works and words and thoughts of men are regulated, till we become perfect men in Christ Jesus.

In all these four acceptions did some of the ancient fathers understand the church of Christ to be catholick, and every one of them doth certainly belong unto it. Wherefore I conclude that this catholicism, or second affection of the church, consisteth generally in universality, as embracing all sorts of persons, as to be disseminated through all nations, as comprehending all ages, as containing all necessary and saving truths, as obliging all conditions of men to all kind of obedience, as curing all diseases and planting all graces, in the souls of

men.

The necessity of believing the holy catholick church appeareth first in this, that Christ hath appointed it as the only way unto eternal life. We read at the first, that "the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved;" and, what was then daily done, hath been done since continually. Christ never appointed two ways to heaven; nor did he build a church to save some, and make another institution for other men's salvation. "There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved," but the name of Jesus; and that name is no otherwise given under heaven than in the church. As none were saved from the deluge but such as were within the ark of Noah, framed for their reception by the command of God; as none of the firstborn of Egypt lived, but such as were within those habitations, whose door-posts were sprinkled with blood by the appointment of God for their preservation; as none of the inhabitants of Jericho could escape the fire or sword, but such as were within the house of Rahab, for whose protection a covenant was made: so none shall ever escape the eternal wrath of God, who belong not to the church of God. This is the congregation of those per

sons here on earth who shall hereafter meet in heaven. These are the vessels of the tabernacle carried up and down, at last to be translated into, and fixed in, the temple.

Secondly; it is necessary to believe the church of Christ which is but one, that being in it we may take care never to cast ourselves, or be ejected, out of it. There is a power within the church to cast those out who do belong to it; for "If any neglect to hear the church," saith our Saviour, "let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican," Matt. xviii. 17. By great and scandalous offences, by incorrigible misdemeanors, we may incur the censure of the church of God; and while we are shut out by them, we stand excluded out of heaven. For our Saviour said to his apostles, upon whom he built his church, "Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained," John xx. 23. Again, a man may not only passively and involuntarily be rejected, but also may by an act of his own cast out or reject himself, not only by plain and complete apostasy, but by a defection from the unity of truth, falling into some damnable heresy; or by an active separation, deserting all which are in communion with the catholick church, and falling into an irrecoverable schism.

Thirdly; it is necessary to believe the church of Christ to be holy, lest we should presume to obtain any happiness by being of it, without that holiness which is required in it. It is not enough that the end, institution, and administration of the church are holy: but that there may be some real and permanent advantage received by it, it is necessary that the persons abiding in the communion of it should be really and effectually sanctified. Without which holiness the privileges of the church prove the greatest disadvantages; and the means of salvation neglected, tend to a punishment with aggravation. It is not only vain, but pernicious, to attend at the marriagefeast without a wedding-garment; and it is our Saviour's description of folly, to cry "Lord, Lord, open unto us,' while we are without oil in our lamps. We must acknowledge a necessity of holiness, when we confess that church alone who is holy can make us happy.

Fourthly; there is a necessity of believing the catholick church, because except a man be of that, he can be of none. For seeing the church which is truly catholick, containing within it all which are truly churches, whosoever is not of the catholick church, cannot be of the true church. That church alone which first began at Jerusalem on earth, will bring us to the Jerusalem in heaven; and that alone began there which always embraceth "the faith once delivered to the saints." Whatsoever church pretendeth to a new beginning, pretendeth at the same time to a new churchdom, and whatsoever is so new is none. So necessary it is to believe the holy catholick church.

Having thus far explicated the first part of this Article, I conceive every person sufficiently furnished with means of instruction what they ought to intend when they profess to believe the holy catholick church. For thereby every one is understood to declare thus much-I am fully persuaded, and make a free confession of this as of a necessary and infallible truth, that Christ, by the preaching of the apostles, did gather unto himself a church, consisting of thousands of believing persons and numerous congregations, to which he daily added such as should be saved, and will successively and daily add unto the same unto the end of the world: so that by the virtue of his all-sufficient promise, I am assured that there was, hath been hitherto, and now is, and hereafter shall be, so long as the sun and moon endure, a church of Christ, one and the same. church I believe in general holy in respect of the author, end, institution, and administration of it; particularly in the members here I acknowledge it really, and in the same hereafter perfectly, holy. I look upon this church not like that of the Jews, limited to one people, confined to one nation, but by the appointment and command of Christ, and by the efficacy of his assisting power, to be disseminated through all nations, to be extended to all places, to be propagated to all ages, to contain in it all truths necessary to be known, to exact absolute obedience from all men to the commands of Christ, and 'to furnish us with all graces necessary to make our

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