it gives him a divine and heavenly temper within himfelf, ART. and creates the tendereft union and firmelt happiness poffible XXXIV. among all the focieties of men: our Saviour has fo enlarged the obligation to it, as to make it, by the extent he has given it, a great and new commandment, by which all the world may be able to know and diftinguith his followers from the rest of mankind: and as all the Apostles infift much upon this in every one of their Epiftles, not excepting the fhorteft of them; fo St. John, who writ last of them, has dwelt more fully upon it than upon any other duty whatsoever. Our Saviour did particularly intend that his followers fhould be affociated into one body, and join together in order to their keeping up and inflaming their mutual love; and therefore he delivered his prayer to them all in the plural, to fhew that he intended that they fhould use it in a body: he appointed Baptifm as the way of receiving men into this body, and the Eucharift as a joint memorial that the body was to keep up that of his death. For this end he appointed Paftors to teach and keep his followers in a body: and in his last and longest prayer to the Father, he repeats this, that they might be one; that Joh. xvii. they might be kept in one (body), and made perfect in one, in 11. 21, 22, five feveral expreffions; which thews both how neceffary a part of his religion he meant this fhould be, and likewife intimates to us the danger that he forefaw, of his followers departing from it; which made him intercede fo earnestly for it. One expreffion that he has of this union, fhews how entire and tender he intended that it fhould be; for he prayed that the union might be fuch as that between the Father and bimfelf was. The Apoftles ufe the figure of a body frequently, to exprefs this union; than which nothing can be imagined that is more firmly knit together, and in which all the parts do more tenderly fympathize with one another. Upon all thefe confiderations we may very certainly gather, that the diffolving this union, the dislocating this body, and the doing any thing that may extinguish the love and charity by which Chriftians are to be made fo happy in themselves, and fo ufeful to one another, and by which the body of Chriftians grows much the firmer and ftronger, and fhines more in the world; that, I fay, the doing this upon flight grounds, must be a fin of a very high nature. Nothing can be a juft reafon either to carry men to it, or to juftify them in it, but the impofing on them unlawful terms of communion; for in that cafe it is certain, that we must obey God rather than man; that we muft feek truth and peace together; and that the rule of keeping 23. XXXIV. Acts xxiv. 16. ART. keeping a good confcience in all things, is laid thus, to do it first towards God, and then towards man. So that a schism that is occafioned by any Church's impofing unlawful terms of communion, lies at their door who impose them, and the guilt is wholly theirs. But without fuch a neceffity, it is certainly, both in its own nature, and in its confequences, one of the greatest of fins, to create needless difturbances in a Church, and to give occafion to all that alienation of mind, all thofe rafh cenfures, and unjuft judgments, that do arife from fuch divifions. This receives a very great aggravation, if the civil authority has concurred by a law to enjoin the obfervance of fuch indifferent things; for to all their lawful commands we owe Rom.xiii.5. an obedience, not only for fear, but for confcience fake; fince the authority of the magiftrate is chiefly to be employed in fuch matters. As to things that are either commanded or forbidden of God, the magiftrate has only the execution of these in his hands; fo that in thofe, his laws are only the fanctions and penalties of the laws of God. The fubject matter of his authority is about things which are of their own nature indifferent; but that may be made fit and proper means for the maintaining of order, union, and decency in the fociety: and therefore fuch laws as are made by him in thofe things, do certainly bind the confcience, and oblige the fubjects to obedience. Difobedience does alfo give fcandal to the weak. Scandal is a block or trap laid in the way of another, by which he is made to ftumble and fall. So this figure of giving scandal, or the laying a ftumbling-block in our brother's way, is applied to our doing of fuch actions as may prove the occafions of fin to others. Every man, according to the influence that his example or authority may have over others, who do too eafily and implicitly follow him, becomes thereby the more capable of giving them scandal ; that is, of drawing them after him to commit many fins: and fince men are under fetters, according to the perfuafions that they have of things, he who thinks a thing finful, does fin if he does it, as long as he is under that apprehenfion; because he deliberately ventures on that Rom. xiv. which he thinks offends God; even while he doubts of it, or makes a diflinction between meats, (for the word rendered doubts, fignifies alfo the making a difference,) be is damned (that is, felf-condemned, as acting againft his own fenfe of things) if he does it. Another man, that has larger thoughts and clearer ideas, may fee that there is no fin in an action, about which others may be ftill in doubt, and fo upon his own account he may certainly do it: but 23 507 if he has reason to believe that his doing that may draw ART. This explains the notion of fcandal, as it is ufed in the Epiftles: for there being feveral doubts raised at that time, concerning the lawfulness or obligation of obferving the Mofaical Law, and concerning the lawfulness of eating meats offered to idols, no general decifion was made, that went through that matter; the Apoftles having only decreed, that the Mofaical Law was not to be impofed on the Gentiles; but not having condemned fuch as might of their own accord have obferved fome parts of that Law, fcruples arofe about this; and fo here they gave great caution against the laying a fumbling-block in the way of Rom. xiv. their brethren. But it is vifible from this, that the fear of 13. giving fcandal does only take place where matters are free, and may be done or not done. But when laws are made, and an order is fettled, the fear of giving fcandal lies all on the fide of obedience: for a man of weight and authority, when he does not obey, gives fcruples and jealoufies to others, who will be apt to collect from his practice, that the thing is unlawful: he who does not conform himself to fettled orders, gives occafion to others, who see and obferve him, to imitate him in it; and thus he lays a fcandal or ftumbling-block in their way; and all the fins which they commit through their exceffive respect to him, and imitation of him, are in a very high degree to be put to his account, who gave them fuch occafion of falling. The fecond branch of this Article is against the unalterablenefs of laws made in matters indifferent; and it afferts the right of every national Church to take care of itself. That the laws of any one age of the Church cannot bind another, is very evident from this, that all legislature is still entire in the hands of those who have it. The laws of God do bind all men at all times; but the laws of the Church, as well as the laws of every state, are only provifions made upon the prefent ftate of things, from the fitnefs or unfitness that appears to be in them, for the great ends ART. ends of religion, or for the good of mankind. All thefe XXXIV. things are fubject to alteration, therefore the power of the Church is in every age entire, and is as great as it was in any one age fince the days in which the was under the conduct of men immediately infpired. So there can be no unalterable laws in matters indifferent. In this there neither is nor can be any controversy. An obftinate adhering to things, only becaufe they are ancient, when all the ends for which they were at first introduced do ceafe, is the limiting the Church in a point in which the ought ftill to preferve her liberty: fhe ought ftill to pursue thofe great rules in all her orders, of doing all things to edification, with decency, and for peace. The only question that can be made in this matter is, whether fuch general laws as have been made by greater bodies, by General Councils for inftance, or by thofe Synods whofe canons were received into the body of the canons of the Catholic Church whether thefe, I fay, may be altered by National Churches: or whether the body of Chriftians is fo to be reckoned one body, that all the parts of it are bound to fubmit, in matters indifferent, to the decrees of the body in general? It is certain, that all the parts of the Catholic Church ought to hold a communion one with another, and mutual commerce and correfpondence together: but this difference is to be obferved between the Chriftian and the Jewish religion, that the one was tied to one nation, and to one place, whereas the Chriftian religion is univerfal, to be fpread to all nations, among people of different climates and languages, and of different customs and tempers; and therefore, fince the power in indifferent matters is given the Church only in order to edification, every nation muft be the proper judge of that within itself. The Roman empire, though a great body, yet was all under one government; and therefore all the councils that were held while that empire ftood, are to be confidered only as national fynods, under one civil policy. The Chriftians of Perfia, India, or Ethiopia, were not fubject to the canons made by them, but were at full liberty to make rules and canons for themselves, And in the primitive times we fee a vaft diverfity in their rules and rituals. They were fo far from impofing general rules on all, that they left the Churches at full liberty: even the Council of Nice made very few rules: that of Conftantinople and Ephefus made fewer: and though the abuses that were growing in the fifth century, gave occafion to the Council of Chalcedon to make more canons, yet the number of thefe is but small; fo that the tyranny of of fubjecting particular Churches to laws that might be ART inconvenient for them, was not then brought into the XXXIV. Church. The corruptions that did afterwards overspread the Church, together with the papal ufurpations, and the new Canon Law that the Popes brought in, which was totally different from the old one, had worn out the remembrance of all the ancient canons; so it is not to be wondered at, if they were not much regarded at the Reformation. They were quite out of practice, and were then fcarce known. And as for the fubordination of Churches and Sees, together with the privileges and exemptions of them, these did all flow from the divifions of the Roman empire into diocefes and provinces, out of which the dignity and the dependencies of their cities did arife. But now that the Roman empire is gone, and that all the laws which they made are at an end, with the authority that made them; it is a vain thing to pretend to keep up the ancient dignities of Sees; fince the foundation upon which that was built is funk and gone. Every empire, kingdom, or ftate, is an entire body within itself. The magiftrate has that authority over all his fubjects, that he may keep them all at home, and hinder them from entering into any confultations or combinations, but fuch as fhall be under his direction: he may require the pastors of the Church under him to confult together about the beft methods for carrying on the ends of religion; but neither he nor they can be bound to stay for the concurrence of other Churches. In the way of managing this, every body of men has fomewhat peculiar to itself; and the paftors of that body are the propereft judges in that matter. We know that the feveral Churches, even while under one empire, had great varieties in their forms, as appears in the different practices of the Eastern and Western Churches: and as foon as the Roman empire was broken, we fee this variety did increase. The Gallican Churches had their miffals different from the Roman: and fome Churches of Italy followed the Ambrofian. But Charles the Great, in compliance with the defires of the Pope, got the Gallican Churches to depart from their own miffals, and to receive the Roman; which he might the rather do, intending to have raised a new empire; to which a conformity of rites might have been a great step. Even in this Church there was a great variety of ufages, which perhaps were begun under the Heptarchy, when the nation was fubdivided into feveral kingdoms. It is therefore fuitable to the nature of things, to the authority |