which hold the main doctrines of faith, from having sacramental communion with one another. To this purpose, the Augsburgh Confession: "The unity of the catholic church, consists in the harmony of doctrine "and faith; not in human traditions, whereof there has always been "in the churches great diversity.”* ·

The Bohemian Confession: "The face and form of our church, "which are now peculiar, are retained for no other reason, than greater "convenience in teaching the word. administering the sacraments, and "for the exercise of discipline. A variety of ceremonies, if they be "not repugnant to the word of God, neither does harm to the word of "God, nor separates from the church."+

The Helvetian: "The truth and unity of the church, consists not "in ceremonies and external rites; but rather in the truth and unity "of the catholic faith. The catholic faith has not been delivered to "us in human laws, but in the Divine scriptures. The churches have "always used their liberty in such rites, as being indifferent. And we "do the same at this day."‡

The subscribers to the Helvetian Confession, thus express themselves in their preface: "Impartial readers will clearly perceive, that "we have no communion with any sects or heretics, which, for this 66 very end, we mention and repeat in almost every chapter. They "will therefore infer also, that we do not, by any nefarious schism, "separate and rend ourselves from the holy church of Christ in Ger"many, France, England, and other christian nations; but, that we "thoroughly agree with each and all of them, in this Confession of "Christ's truths, and embrace them in unfeigned love. And although "there be discovered, in different churches, a certain variety of ex"pression and form of explaining doctrine; as also, of rites or cere"monies according to the received usage, convenience and edification "of particular churches; yet they will notice that these things never "furnished, in any period of the church, ground of dissensions and "schisms. The churches of Christ, as ecclesiastical history shows, "have always used their liberty in this matter. Pious antiquity ac"counted mutual agreement in the principal doctrine of faith, and in "brotherly love sufficient." The rest of the preface is in the same strain.

This Confession, was officially addressed in the preface to christians and christian churches, throughout Europe; and was approved by the churches of England, Scotland, France, the United Provinces, and by many of Poland, Hungary and Germany. Now, in these churches, there was a great variety of religious observances, as well as differences of a higher order. Some of them, as the Dutch and Germans, were Calvinists in doctrine, and Presbyterians in government: others, as the English, were Episcopal; and others again, as the German, a sort of medium between Episcopacy and Presbytery.

To the same purpose, are the following words of the Saxon Confession drawn up in the year 1551. "In the mean time, there have been, "and are, and will be, in the church of God, men holding the foundation, who have had, and will have, some more, and some less, light:

"and, sometimes, saints too build stubble upon the foundation; since, "especially in the wretchedness of the present times, many who have "the beginnings of faith, have not the privilege of being instructed, "and of conferring with those who are more skilful. These, however, "are in the number of those, whom, it is the will of God, we should 66 spare; who groan and grieve, because errors are established. A "judgement, therefore, must and may be formed, what and where is "the true church, by the voice of true doctrine, and the legitimate use "of the sacraments; and what the voice of true doctrine is, the very "writings of the apostles and prophets, and the creeds, sufficiently "declare. In these, there is no ambiguous doctrine, concerning the "foundation; that is, concerning the articles of faith, the essence and "will of God, the Son our Redeemer, the law, the promises, the use of "the sacraments, the ministry."*

How severely does the Helvetian Confession condemn separation from the true church of Christ! "We lay so great stress," says that Confession, "upon communion with the true church of Christ, as to "deny that they can live before God, who do not communicate with "the true church of God, but separate themselves therefrom."+

In short, these extracts from the Confessions of the reformed churches, shew, that they contended, 1st, for liberty in rites and ceremonies of worship; 2ndly, for mutual forbearance in the article of church government; 3dly, for latitude in the forms of doctrinal expression, provided the substance of evangelical truth be preserved; so as that diversity in any or all these things, shall not break up the peace of the churches, nor hinder sacramental communion; and 4thly, for concord, communion and love between them, upon the basis of their unity in that faith and doctrine, to which they all look for their common salvation.‡

Ruf. The expressions in these Confessions, respecting the evil of separating from the true church of God, taken abstractedly, are not to be understood of any particular visible church, but of the catholic church. This is the church, out of the communion of which we cannot live before God. This is what the Belgick Confession calls, the true congregation or assembly of all faithful christians, who expect their whole salvation from Jesus Christ alone; as they are washed in his blood, and sanctified and sealed by his Spirit. It is not like a particular church, as that Confession observes, limited to one particular place, but is dispersed through the whole world. The Papists held the particular church of Rome, to be the catholic or universal church. Protestants, on the contrary, always taught that no society of professing christians, who had the marks, formerly mentioned, of a true church of Christ, was separated from the catholic church.

With respect to rites and ceremonies, there is much harmony in their Confessions.

In the Belgick Confession, we have these words: "Though it be "good and useful for the church rulers to agree on, and settle, some "certain order for the conservation of the body of the church; yet, "they ought to guard, with the utmost care, against swerving from "those things, which Christ our Master has instituted. Wherefore, "we reject all human inventions, and all laws, which may be intro

* Plea, &c. pages 157, 158. † Ib. page 158. + lb. page 169.

duced by any to bind the conscience with regard to the worship of God."

The same doctrine is taught more largely in some of the other confessions; particularly, in the Saxon, which was drawn in 1551. "Ways of worship," says that Confession, "devised by men, without "the command of God, never were nor are the worship of God. God "is far from approving the presumption, so common among men, of "inventing methods of worship, that is, works which have it for their ❝ immediate end, that God, through them, may receive religious wor"ship. Hence, he exclaims, In vain do they worship me according "the commandments of men. This presumption is every where re"proved in the prophets and in Paul. But the acts of true religious worship, are acts or services which God hath commanded. Thus, "God still directs us to his commands as our warrant in this matter: "saying, as in Ezek. xx. Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers; "but walk in my statutes. And in Psal. cxix. Thy word is a lamp to my feet.

66

"The church of Christ," says the Confession of the church of Basil, "uses all her endeavours to preserve the bonds of peace and love in *unity; and therefore she has nothing to do with sects, and rules of "the Popish orders about the distinction of days, meats, vestments "and ceremonies."

In the Confession presented to the emperor Charles the fifth, by the embassadors of the cities of Argentor, Memmingen, Constance and Lindau, in 1530, we have the following passage: The human traditions, which the churches consider as condemned in scripture, are "those only which they find inconsistent with the law of God; such "as those binding men's conscience to the observation of certain meat, "drink, or times; or forbidding to marry. But those which are con"sonant to scripture and good morals, and are for the benefit of men, "and which, though they are not expressed in so many words in scrip"ture, yet flow from the law of love which enjoins all things to be "done decently, may be reckoned rather Divine than human. Such "are these traditions of Paul: that the women should not pray in the "church with their heads uncovered; nor the men with their heads "covered; that when they were going to communicate, they should wait for one another; that no one should speak in an unknown "tongue in the public assemblies without an interpreter; that the pro"phets should speak in order without interrupting one another."||

* Credimus, quamvis utile et bonum sit, Gubernatores Ecclesiæ ordinem aliquem certum inter se, ad conservationem corporis Ecclesiæ instituere et stabilere; debere tamen cos studiose cavere ne ab iis deflectant, quæ Christus unicus Magister noster constituit. Quapropter rejicimus omnia inventa humana, omnesque leges pro cultu Dei a quo cunque introduci possunt, ut iisdem consciente ullo omnino modo devinciantur. Belgick Confession, art. xxxii.

† At ethelothreskeiai excogitatæ ab hominibus sine mandato Dei, nec fuerunt, nec sunt cultus Dei. Nequaquam probat Deus audaciam homininum, qui tamen semper usitate fuit, fingendi cultus, id est opera quorum finis immediatus sit, ut Deus per ea honore adficiaIdeo exclamat, &c. Sed veri cultus sunt opera a Deo mandata, &c. Conf. Saxonica De ritibus in ecclesia institutis.

tur.

+ Christi Ecclesia cum sectis et ordinum regulis, ad discrimen dierum, ciborum, vestium et ceremoniarum compositis, nullomodo communicat. Confess. Basilgensi. art. v.

Inter traditiones quæ in Scripturis damnantur, nullas numerant, nisi quæ cum lege

Bei pugnant, quales sunt quæ de cibo, &c. Confess Argentinensi, cap. 14.

"With regard to ecclesiastical rites," says the Augsburgh Confession, written by Melanchthon, in 1530, "which are instituted by hu"man authority, our churches teach, that such of them are to be ob"served, as may be observed without sin; such as are conducive to "tranquillity and good order in the church; as some holy days, some "pious songs. These, however, are to be considered as things in"different, which, out of the case of scandal or offence, may be omit"ted."*

This Confession says farther concerning such observances: "They "do not belong to that religious worship which is necessary. Christ "forbids human ceremonies to be considered as worship. He does "not forbid the retaining of such traditions for a political end; that "is, for the sake of good order: but he denies that they are worship, "when he says, In vain do they worship me. e."+.

"We confess," says the Wirtemberg Confession, which was drawn up in 1552," that the bishops, with the consent of their church, may "appoint orders of holy days, and of lectures or sermons for edifi"cation, and for the teaching of the true faith in Christ. But it is "not lawful to restore the ancient rites of the law, or to devise new "ones to signify some truth already set forth in the gospel; such as "the lighting of wax candles in daylight to signify the light of the "gospel; or using crosses on banners to signify the victory of Christ "by the cross."

From these quotations it appears, that the confessions of the Reformed churches harmoniously teach, that no church ought to admit as parts of religious worship any rites or ceremonies not appointed in the word of God, or to impose religious significations on them.

The statement of the Belgick and Saxon Confessions is perfectly adjusted to this principle. As to what some of these confessions say about holy days and pious songs introduced by men into the public worship of the church, though the retaining of them be a real deviation from this principle, it is no designed contradiction of it; while these usages are not stated as necessary parts of religious worship, and while there is no opposition intended to the other confessions. So that we find nothing in the confessions of the reformed churches, concerning rites and ceremonies, in favour of the catholic communion now contended for: that is, in favour of the practice of sacramental communion with avowed and obstinate opposers of any article, essential or non-essential, of our public scriptural profession,

There is no less harmony in the doctrine of these confessions with regard to church government. They never represent a bishop as having greater or any other power than that of an ordinary pastor or minister of the church.

* De ritibus ecclesiasticis qui sunt humano auctoritate instituti, docent, &c. Confess. Aug. art. 15.

† Tales observationes sunt res adiaphore, quæ extra scandali casum omitti possunt: non sunt necessarii cultus. Christus vetat humanas cæremonas habere pro cultibus. Non enim prohibet condere traditiones ad finem politicum, hoc est, propter bonum ordinem, sed cultus esse negat, cum ait, Frustra colunt me. Confess. Aug. De Discrimine Ciborum et similibus Traditionibus Pontificiis.

Fatemur hoc quod Episcopus liceat cum ecclesiæ suæ consensu ordinationes, &c. Confess. Wirtemberg. De cæremoniis ecclesiasticis.

66

The Augsburgh Confession says, "It is our judgement, that the power of the keys, or that of the bishop according to the gospel, is "the authority or command of God to preach the gospel, to remit or "retain sins, and to administer the sacraments: for Christ sends the "apostles with this charge; As my Father hath sent me, so I send you. "Receive ye the Holy Spirit. Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are "remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retain"ed. Go, preach the gospel to every creature. This authority is ex❝ercised in teaching or preaching the gospel, and in dispensing the "sacraments. According to the gospel, or as they speak, de jure di"vino, no jurisdiction belongs to bishops, that is, to them to whom "the ministry of the word and sacraments is committed, but that of "remitting sins; and also, that of discerning the true doctrine, and "of rejecting such doctrine as is different from that of the gospel, and "of excluding persons, whose impiety is known, from the communion "of the church."*

The truth is thus expressed in the Helvetian Confession: "The "authority, or office given to all the ministers in the church, is one and equal. It is certain, that, in the beginning, the bishops and "presbyters governed the church by common consent and labour. "No one preferred himself to another; none usurped greater authori"ty or power over his fellow bishops; for they remembered the words "of the Lord, He who will be chief among you, let him be your ser"vant. Jerome says, That bishops were above presbyters rather by "custom, than by any real Divine appointment. Such was his judge"ment. None, therefore, can justly prohibit us from returning to the "Divine appointment, and from receiving it as preferable to a human "custom."+

The Belgick Confession is abundantly explicit on this head: "We "believe," says that form of sound words, "that the church ought to "be governed by that scriptural polity, which God hath taught us in his word; that is, that there should be ministers or pastors in it to "preach the word of God, and to administer the sacraments; and that "there should be seniors or elders and deacons; who, with the pastors 66 may constitute what may be called the senate of the church. We ❝believe, that the ministers, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen "to their several functions by the legitimate election of the church, "with calling on the name of the Lord, and in that order which is taught in the word of God. As to the ministers of the Divine word, "they have the same power and authority, as being all alike ministers of Christ, the only universal Bishop and Head of the church."‡

Nostri sentiunt, potestatem clavium seu potestatem Episcoporum juxta Evangelium potestatem esse, seu mandatum Dei, prædicandi Evangelii, remittendi et retinendi peccata, et administrandi sacramenta. Nam cum hoc mandato Christus mittit apostoles, Joannis xx. 21, 22, 23. Marci xvi. 15. Hæc potestas tantum exercetur docendo seu prædicando Evangelium, et porrigendo sacramenta. Augustana Confessione de Potestate Ecclesiastica.

†Data est omnibus in Ecclesia ministris una et æqualis potestas, vive functio. Certe ab initio Episcopi et Presbyteri ecclesiam communi opera gubernaverint. Nullus alteri se prætulit, &c. Helvet. Conf. Chap. 18. De ministris Ecclesiæ ipsorumque institutione et officio.

# Art. 30, 31.