6. How can the Ordinances of Cenfure and Excommunication be ever adminiftered, if there be no Societies agreeing to walk and worship together? If any Perfon be charged with a Fault or heinous Crime, he will reply, "He belongs not to any Society, who "shall affume a Right to deal with him and " cenfure him?" And it is impoffible that the whole visible Church of Chrift can meet together, or take Cognizance of fuch particular Caufes, and give Cenfures, unless we set up a Pope, or Council, or Conclave of Cardinals to do all this, and constrain all particular Churches to fubmit to their fovereign and univerfal Dictates.

There must be therefore an Agreement betwixt a Company of profeffing Chriftians, giving up themselves to one another, and receiving each other in the Lord, in order to maintain the Church of Chrift in the World, his Gospel, or his Honour; to fupport his Poor, or his Ministers, or the Purity of his Church, or of any holy Ordinance. Receive therefore the Apostles Exhortation. Rom. xv. 6, 7. That ye may with one Mind and one Mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, receive ye one another as Chrift alfo received us, to the Glory of God.

QUESTION V. When a Perfon is once joined to a particular Church, whether he may never worship with other Churches occafionally, or change his fixed Communion to another Church?

I

Anfwer, That this Agreement to worship together is not so strictly to be understood, as if none of thofe Perfons fhould ever worship any where elfe; for there are various Occafions in the Course of Life that may lead the Members of one Church now and then to worship with another. Since we all hold the fame Faith and Worship in the Effentials of it, we are to esteem ourselves in general Communion with the whole vifible Church of Chrift; and fometimes we join in Worship with others, merely to teftify our Charity and Christian Fellowship with those that in the Circumftantials of Religion differ from us; fometimes to accompany a particular Friend; to hear a particular Minifter; to attend on fome

some special Occafion of Prayer, or Preaching; on fuch Occafions we may very reafonably worship with various Affemblies: Or perhaps we may be called to travel from home, and to spend many Seasons of Worship absent from our own particular Community, and then we join with those Churches where Providence may caft us.

When Chriftians travel where they are unknown, or make any confiderable Stay in distant Places, they fhould carry with them a Letter of Recommendation from the Officers or Members of their own Church, to any Churches of Chrift, where they may come; such are the Letters that St. Paul speaks of. 2. Cor. iii. 1. Do we need Letters of Commendation to you, or from you? And thus he himself in his Letters recommends Chriftians to distant Churches, as Rom. xvi. 1, 2. I commend unto you, Phoebe, our Sifter, who is a Servant of the Church at Cenchrea, That ye receive her in the Lord as becometh Saints, i. e. that ye receive her to the Participation of Christian Ordinances, as well as affift her in any civil Affairs.

This Agreement or Church-Covenant, therefore, only obliges Perfons, as far as they can with tolerable Conveniency of Affairs and fpiritual Edification, to make that Church, of which they are Members, the ufual Place of their Worship, and efpecially M 3

their

their Participation of the Lord's Supper, whereby fpecial Communion is maintained. The Question concerning the changing of our fixed Communion from one Church to another, may be thus determined.

All Church-Fellowship is appointed for the publick Honour of God, for our mutual Affiftance and Edification in fpiritual Things, and for the Support of the Interest and Kingdom of Chrift amongMen. Whenfoever therefore any Member cannot attain these Ends in the particular Church he belongs to, after folemn Confideration and Prayer to God for Counsel, he may defire a Difmiffion to fome other Church, and upon these Reasons the Church ought to give it. A Brother, or a Sifter, is not in Bondage in fuch Cafes 37 and the Paftoral Office, and all ChurchPower is for Edification, and not for Deftruction, as St. Paul speaks, 2 Cor. xiii. 10.

Now this Neceffity of changing our Communion may happen feveral Ways: As when a Perfon removes his Habitation to fuch a. Distance, as that he cannot conveniently attend and perform the Duties of Church-Fellowship in that Society; or when the Church falls into pernicious Errors and Herefies; or when upon any other Account his own Edification in that Church is not to be attained; or when other neceffary Circumstances of Life, or Religion, make his Union to another Church of much more Importance.

But

But in thefe Cafes let the Confcience of a Man be well informed, and let him duly confider all Circumftances before he put this in Practice: For it argues a light and changeable Temper to be running always from one Church to another, and unbecoming the Spirit of the Gospel. Yet where the Reasons of removing this Communion from one Church to another are just and good, and after due Application to the Church, if they refuse to dismiss him, he may fairly depart without it, and join himfelf to any other Church that is fatisfied in his credible Profeffion of Chriftianity,