utterly forsake both profession of Christ and Communion with Christians, taking their leave of all Religion, this is to separate themselves by plain Apostacy. And St. Jude, to express the manner of their departure which by Apostacy fell away from the Faith of Christ, saith, "They separated themselves;" noting thereby, that it was not constraint of others, which forced them to depart; it was not infirmity and weakness in themselves; it was not fear of persecution to come upon them, whereat their hearts did fail; it was not grief of torments, whereof they had tasted, and were not able any longer to endure them: no, they voluntarily did

separate themselves" with a fully-settled and altogetherdetermined purpose, never to name the Lord Jesus any more, nor to have any fellowship with his Saints, but to bend all their counsel, and all their strength, to raze out their memorial from amongst men.

12. Now, because that by such examples, not only the hearts of Infidels were hardened against the Truth, but the minds of weak brethren also much troubled, the Holy Ghost hath given sentence of these backsliders, that they were carnal men, and had not the Spirit of Christ Jesus, lest any man having an over-weening of their persons should be over-much amazed and offended at their fall. For simple men, not able to discern their spirits, were brought by their Apostacy thus to reason with themselves: If Christ be the Son of the living God, if he have the words of eternal Life, if he be able to bring salvation to all men that come unto him, what meaneth this Apostacy and unconstrained departure? Why do his servants so willingly forsake him? Babes, be not deceived, his servants forsake him not. They that " separate themselves" were amongst his servants, but if they had been of his servants, they had not separated themselves. "They were amongst us, not of us," saith 1 John St. John; and St. Jude proveth it, because they were

[John viii. 35.]

Infalli

ble cvi

in the

that they

children.

"carnal," and "had not the Spirit." Will you judge of wheat by chaff, which the wind hath scattered from amongst it? Have the children no bread, because the dogs have not tasted it? Are Christians deceived of that salvation they looked for, because they denied the joys of the life to come which were no Christians? What if they seemed to be pillars and principal upholders of our Faith? What is that to us, which know that Angels have fallen from Heaven? Although if these men had been of us indeed (O the blessedness of a Christian man's estate!), they had stood surer than the Angels that had never departed from their place: whereas now we marvel not at their departure at all, neither are we prejudiced by their falling away; because they were not of us, sith they are fleshly, and have not the Spirit. Children abide in the house for ever; they are bondmen and bondwomen which are cast out.

13. It behoveth you therefore greatly, every man to dence examine his own estate, and try whether you be bond or Faithful, free, children or no children. I have told you already, that areGod's we must beware we presume not to sit as gods in judgment upon others, and rashly, as our conceit and fancy doth lead us, so to determine of this man, he is sincere, or of that man, he is an hypocrite; except by their falling away they make it manifest and known what they are. For who art thou that takest upon thee to judge another before the time? Judge thyself. God hath left us infallible evidence, whereby we may at any time give true and righteous sen

[Jas. iv. 12. 1 Cor.

iv. 5.]

iii. 14.]

tence upon ourselves. We cannot examine the hearts of [1 John other men, we may our own. "That we have passed from death to life, we know it (saith St. John), because we love [2 Cor. our brethren:" and "Know ye not your ownselves, how xiii. 5.] that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates?" I trust, beloved, we know that we are not reprobates, because our spirit doth bear us record, that the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ is in us.

14. It is as easy a matter for the Spirit within you to tell whose ye are, as for the eyes of your body to judge where you sit, or in what place you stand. For what saith Colos. 1. the Scripture? "Ye which were in times past strangers and enemies, because your minds were set on evil works, Christ hath now reconciled in the body of his flesh, through death, to make you holy and unblameable, and without fault in his sight; if you continue grounded and established in the Faith, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel:" and in the third to the Colossians, "Ye know, ver. 24. that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of that inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ." If we can make this account with ourselves-I was in times past dead in trespasses and sins, I walked after the prince that ruleth in the air, and after the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience; but God, who is rich in mercy, through his great love, wherewith he loved me, even when I was dead, hath quick'ned me in Christ. I was fierce, heady, proud, high-minded; but God hath made me like the child that is newly weaned: I loved pleasures more than God, I followed greedily the joys of this present world; I esteemed him that erected a stage or theatre, more than Solomon, which built a Temple to the Lord; the harp, viol, timbrel, and pipe, men-singers and women-singers, were at my feasts; it was my felicity to see my children dance before me; I said of every kind of vanity, O how sweet art thou unto my soul! All which things now are crucified to me, and I to them: now I hate the pride of life, and pomp of this world; now "I take as great delight in the way of thy [Psalm testimonies, O Lord, as in all riches;" now I find more joy of heart in my Lord and Saviour, than the worldly-minded man, when "his wheat and oil do much abound;" now I taste nothing sweet but the "bread which came down [John from Heaven, to give life unto the world;" now mine eyes see nothing but Jesus rising from the dead; now my ear refuseth all kind of melody, to hear the song of them that have gotten victory of the Beast, and of his image, and of his mark, and of the number of his name, that stand on the sea of glass, "having the harps of God, and (Rev. singing the Song of Moses the servant of God, and the *v.2, 3.] Song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, O King of Saints." Surely, if the Spirit have been thus effectual in the secret work of our regeneration unto newness of life; if we endeavour thus to frame ourselves anew; then we may say boldly with the blessed Apostle, in the tenth to the Hebrews, "We are not of them which with- [Heb. draw ourselves to perdition, but which follow Faith to the *. 39.] conservation of the soul." For they that fall away from the

[Gal. iv. 6.]

[John xvii.

Grace of God, and separate themselves unto perdition, they are fleshly and carnal, they have not God's Holy Spirit. But unto you, "because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts," to the end ye might know that Christ hath built you upon a rock unmoveable; that he hath registered your names in the Book of Life; that he hath bound himself in a sure and everlasting covenant to be your God, and the God of your children after you; that he hath suffered as much, groaned as oft, prayed as heartily, for you, as for Peter, "O Father, keep them

in thy name; O righteous Father, the world hath not known 25, 26.] thee, but I have known thee, and these have known that

The

thou hast sent me. I have declared thy name unto them, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them." The Lord of his infinite mercy give us hearts plentifully fraught with the treasure of this blessed assurance of Faith unto the end.

15. Here I must advertise all men that have the testifalsely mony of God's holy fear within their breasts to consider, how unkindly and injuriously our own countrymen and brethren have dealt with us by the space of four-and-twenty years, from time to time, as if we were the men of whom St. Jude here speaketh; never ceasing to charge us, some with Schism, some with Heresy, some with plain and manifest Apostacy, as if we had clean separated ourselves from Christ, utterly forsaken God, quite abjured Heaven, and trampled all Truth and all Religion under our feet. Against this third sort, God himself shall plead our cause in that day, when they shall answer us for these words, not we them. To others, by whom we are accused for Schism and Heresy, we have often made our reasonable and, in the sight of God, I trust, allowable answers. "For in the way which they call Heresy, we worship the God of our Fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets." That which they call Schism, we know to be our reasonable service unto God, and obedience to his voice, which crieth shrill in our ears, "Go out of Babylon, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." And therefore, when they rise up against us, having no quarrel but this, we need not to seek any farther for our Apology, than the words of Abiah to Jeroboam and his army; "Ο Jeroboam and Israel, hear you me; ought you not to know, 2 Chron. that the Lord God of Israel hath given the Kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him, and to his sons, by a Covenant of Salt?" that is to say, an everlasting Covenant. Jesuits and Papists, hear ye me, Ought you not to

xiii. 4,5.

viii. 11.

know that the Father hath given all power unto the Son, and hath made him the only Head over his Church, wherein he dwelleth as an husbandman in the midst of his vineyard, manuring it with the sweat of his own brows, not letting it forth to others? For, as it is in the Canticles, "Solomon had a vineyard in Baalhamon, he gave the Cant. vineyard unto keepers, every one bringing for the fruit thereof a thousand pieces of silver;" but " my Vineyard, [ver. 12.] which is mine, is before me," saith Christ. It is true, this is meant of the mystical Head set over the Body, which is not seen. But as he hath reserved the mystical administration of the Church invisible unto himself; so he hath committed the mystical government of congregations visible to the sons of David, by the same Covenant; whose sons they are in the governing of the flock of Christ, whomsoever the Holy Ghost hath set over them, to go before them, and to lead them in their several pastures, one in this congregation, another in that; as it is written, "Take heed unto your- Acts selves, and to all the flock whereof the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." Neither will ever The any Pope or Papist under the cope of Heaven be able to usurped prove the Romish Bishop's usurped Supremacy over all eye Churches by any one word of the Covenant of Salt, which is the Scripture. For the children in our streets do now laugh them to scorn, when they force, "Thou art Peter," to this purpose. The Pope hath no more reason to draw the Charter of his universal Authority from hence, than the brethren had to gather by the words of Christ in the last of St. John, that the Disciple whom Jesus loved should never die. "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to [John thee?" saith Christ. Straightways a report was raised 23.j

xx. 28.

Pope's

macy.

xxi. 22,

amongst the brethren, that this Disciple should not die : yet Jesus said not to him, He shall not die; but if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" Christ hath said in the sixteenth of St. Matthew's Gospel to Simon the son of Jonas, "I say to thee, Thou art Peter." Hence Matt.