and especially to the Governors of it, that He Mat. 28, would be with them always to the End of the World, 20. that Promise must and will be made good; Truth muft ftill be publifh'd, and Labourers must be ftill fent into Chrift's Vineyard. That which is really the Religion of Chrift is a Plant of fuch a Nature, that as it flourishes very kindly under the Royal Shade; fo the Scorching Heats of perfecuting Tyranny cannot dry up its Roots, nor the furious Storms of Diabolical Rage and Malice break it or tear it up: And from hence it was, that, tho' in the Infancy of Christianity, there were, not many wife, not ma- 1 Cor. 1. ny mighty, not many noble who were call'd; tho' 26. the Devil feem'd to have driven a deluded World into a defperate Confpiracy against true Religion; yet all that Oppofition was impotent and ineffectual. As it is faid of Ifrael, under their Exod. 1. Egyptian Slavery, that the more they were afflicted 12. the more they multiplied and grew; fo the more the Enemies of Christianity endeavoured to repress it, the more either Jews or Gentiles out of either Malice or Ignorance perfecuted it; the Word of God prevail'd and spread and flourished in the World the more.

While the Apostles and their Companions and Succeffors had fuch undeniable Evidences of the Truth of what they preach'd, and the Neceffity of Preaching it; while they were fo inconteftably affur'd, that all Mankind lay then in the moft defpicably miferable Condition that was poffible; and that the Incarnation, the Life, the Death, the Refurrection and Afcenfion of Jefus Chrift were all real Matters of Fact, and of the utmost Importance to a miferable World: And while they were as throughly convinced, that

a

a hearty Belief of those weighty Truths concerning the Meffias, and an entire Submiffion to the Doctrine Preach'd by his Command and in his Name was the only proper and adequate Remedy for that univerfally miferable State; while the Princes of the World were generally Enemies to the Truth as it was in Chrift Jefus, and confequently were Enemies to themselves and their own real Happiness: While Matters were at this Pafs, who can wonder that the Apostles and their Brethren thought themselves obliged to obey God rather than Man? It is true, they knew their Obligation to Obedience to Humane Laws, (unless where they interfered with Laws unquestionably Divine) well enough; and therefore, they never went about to raife Broils or Tumults in the World, or to make Earthly Princes to fit uneafy upon their Thrones: but they made ufe of the moft gentle, ingenuous and obliging Methods to carry on their Heavenly Defigns; and by that calm and peaceful Temper, to which they reduced their Profelytes, they endeavoured to conquer the Difpleasure of jealous Potentates, and gave them to understand, both by their Do&rine, and by their Practices, that the more Chriftians they had for their Subjects, the more fecurely they might wear their Crown; and that true Religion was the only fteady and unmoveable Foundation of Love, Reverence and Fidelity.

But Princes and the great Men of this World are not very fuddenly convinced of these Things. Now their Backwardnefs in the Cafe contributed too much to the Infelicity of the Subjec World, and was a very dangerous Obftacle to the Progrefs of the Gofpel. Yet the Apoftles

were not difengaged from their Work by any fuch Difcouragements: but the more of Contradiction they met with from defperate Wretches, the more they fuffer'd from the bloody Rage of wicked and unreasonable Men; the more plentiful were the Effufions of God's Sacred Spirit upon them; and they were the more diligent in preaching themselves in their own Perfons, and in fending others to Preach, and they took all poffible Opportunities to propagate those Truths which they had receiv'd from their Mafter. They continued daily in the Temple, and breaking of Bread from Houfe to House (which many interpret of adminiftring the Lord's Supper) did eat their Meat with Singleness of Heart. A&s 2.46. They adminiftred the Sacrament of Baptifm, as there was Occafion: So we find Philip baptizing the newly converted Samaritans, and Acts 8.12. the Ethiopian Eunuch; Ananias baptizing the 38. lately converted Perfecutor Saul; Peter baptizing Cornelius and his Company, and St. Paul afterward, the Jailour and his Family. They ordain'd Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons according to the Neceffities of the Church: So Paul and Barnabas in their Travels, and Timothy and Titus by Commiffion from St. Paul,ordain'd Elders in every City, for the Ufe of thofe Provinces in which they were concern'd. To countervail the Oppofition of Temporal Powers, they did abundance of unquestionable Miracles in the Sight of the World, and fuch as tended apparently to the Honour of God, and the Good of Mankind. They admitted Converts into the Church, confirm'd fuch as were admitted, and exercis'd Ecclefiaftical Power and Jurifdiction upon all those Membersof the Church who be

hav'd

hav'd themselves irregularly. So St. Peter struck Ananias and Sapphira dead in the very Act of A& Lying to the Holy Ghoft, and abominable Sacrilege and Hypocrify: So St. Paul excommunicated the incestuous Corinthian, and deliver❜d Hymeneus and Philetus over to Satan: which Sentences these Apoftles denounced with fuch Authority, that, had all the Powers in the Universe efpous'd the Interefts of the Criminals fo cenfur'd, they could have done them no Service. Nor could the light Efteem which thofe Offenders might have had of thofe Church Cenfures have render'd their Conditions a whit the more tolerable; fince, tho' they had dy'd under that Sentence with all poffible Appearance of quiet and undisturbed Minds, their Lot at laft must have been Eternal Damnation from the Prefence of God. And indeed, upon the whole, it would have been an unreasonable Practice in those who were providentially defign'd to be the firft and Mafter Builders of the Chriftian Church, (when they receiv'd fo much of the Will of God with relation to a miferable finful perifhing World) had they yet been careless of imparting it to them, meerly becaufe the Supreme Civil Powers frown'd on them, and the Generality of the Spiteful World had not Sense enough to apprehend their own Neceffities.

It is true indeed, that as the Heathen World were generally unacquainted with the Mysteries of the Chriftian Religion; fo they understood nothing of the Validity of those Cenfures infli&ed upon offending Chriftians by the Governours of the Church: But from the general Behaviour of the Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons in the Primitive Times, we may rationally con

clude,

clude, that had the Princes and Magiftrates then. in Being, iffued out their Authentick Prohibitions, and had forbidden them to Cenfure any of their Chriftian Subjects on any pretended Spiritual Account whatsoever,upon Pain of incurring the feverest Penalties; the Bishops and Governours of the Church, notwithstanding fuch threatning Prohibitions, would have done their Duty, and would, as juft Occafion had been offer'd, have Cenfured all fcandalous Offenders fo long as they had pretended to have been Members of the Christian Body. For tho' Christian Bishops were obliged by the Precepts of their Religion to fubmit themfelves to their Temporal Superiors in all things lawful and honeft; yet to yield to fuch Injunctions as had been utterly inconfiftent with that Charge laid upon them by their Heavenly Mafter, and with the Prefervation of the very Being of a Church; fuch a Submiffion or Compliance could never have pass'd for a Practice either lawful or honeft in the Sight of God: And we have never yet met with any Reason to believe, but that the Cenfuring Power contributes as much as the Inftructing Power to the Happiness, and even the Exiftence of that Sacred Society. And hence it is, that we find that those Bishops, who, in perfecuting Times withdrew themselves from the greateft Violence of those bloody Storms; would from their most obfcure Retirements take Notice of all the Failures in Matters of Discipline, as well as in Matters of Doctrine in their Churches: of which we have a very remarkable Inftance in that holy Bishop and Martyr St. Cyprian; who, tho' he retired for a while from the Rage of the Decian Perfecution, yet in his Recefs could not but Cenfure the

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