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Show knowledge and purity. Where more hath been given,the more will be r<quired of the Lot d. Yea I conceive it more agree.ble to the word ofT ruth, thac God will fooner feparate from a Church confiituted, for theirwh01Hh pollutions, then deny them Chmche! late for the hke pollutiom in· their firf\ conflitutiun. The people of J[rael were nut conllituttd a Nation•ll Church till the Lord gave them Nltionall Ordioances,and Nationall Officer<, and entered rhem together into a Nationall Covenant, F..;xod. 1 9· ), 6, Their Church-ef\ate belore, w•s rat '<er dumefl!call, difperf<d in· tv feverall·F amilfes.'Whcn they were rhus conlbtuted a NJtionall Church, and a(terwards fdl into an Idolatrous crime, the Lord direl:ted Moji1 tEl breake the Tables of his Coven•nt between them, and did alfo feperate his Tabernacle from them,till upon their re· pentance he renewed communion with them , Exoi:l. 3 2, 1 9· with , Exod·33·3· to7- Butyetthelikeldolauy{ifnotworte) being found in the fame People, when they dwelt in lEgypt, it did not hinder the Lord from accepting them unto a Nationall Con!litution of a Church-efiate. To C H A'· XVII.XVIII.XlX. H[s 17, 18, 19. Chapters are taken up,in EJumining and Anfwering my Anfwersw his fecond ObjeCtion,which he made w prove, a Necejfitie ~iug Hpon God!J mm, befor~ th~ can be ji t matter for Cb14rch fellow {hip, to fie, bewaile,repeltt ,and come out of falfe Cb~trc/,.,, Mi11ij!ery, Worfbip, and Government. To prove which, hi! fidl ObjeCtion, or Argument was taken from Ijji•b '52. 11. 2 Car, 6.l41 Is, I 6. WherttQ wt have.re:urned a Reply in, the former Chap. te:;;. Hi'. le.cond Objdrion was t•ken from the Confiffi"" made b; Juhm D,{c,p/.,, and the Profl!Jtt GermleJ before admi!Jinn intn Cburcbf- llun·fh,p,Mlt.3-6· A&. '9-•S.Whencchegathercd, ThatChri~iJn r.hurcbeJ are conflitu:ed of fud; memberJ~ arm,;~ opm and pl11ine confi, JJ_ion 4 their Jirmet: and if any jirmn be to b< con}<'j]cd ,,,d iJmmtcd ( Jc•nfo or Pagam(b) thrn Amicbrifrian drunkf,nne[Je and whoredom< m!!Ch .r.ore, O,•c, YCJ eM) jipping of tbe WboreJ Citp. To which Obj, Ctivn ot hi!, (to p•lfe by all verbal! veliration!, f,_ r I love not to t•ke up time abuuc words) the fubitance of my Anfwer wa two-fuld. 1. 1h•t to MAfttr Roge::r 7w~il~li:am=s.--~----9-7--'-- -I. ·'That it fl1a/ ~ot ntctffary to the Admiffion of memberr, that they fJxnlld foe, an1 ber~~atk the finfulne/Je of <very Jipping nf the whow Cup ( til be c•Ued It) (though the Whoru cMp doe more intoxicate the mind.' .1hm the dru1r~rd1 Cup ~oth the B•dy:) becaufo bodily drunb.tnneffe and ft'buredome ":' f~h notortow and groffe finnu, that no man h•ving trut <&pentance tn hm~, cannot bHr be convinced of the jinfolnejfe of them 1111d oftht nece.ffitte of repentance •[them in p.nticHiar,ifhe doe r<mem~ ber them. B~t the '!'ho~es CHp_ being a ?"Jftery of lniquitie,tbe Jinfulntjfe of every ]ippmg oftt, t1 nothtnJ,.fo evttknt and notoriom, "'that t'llti'J rtpenlant foHie dotb at firJI dijcerne it. And therefore a1 the 3000.Con ·1Jtrtl, Al:ts 2. 37•lo 47: were admittrd Into th~firjl Chrijlian Church, uprm tkt Profijfion oj thetr repentance of the tmmher of Chrijl, though they nett her fow ""' co~fi.Jfed a/J the [uperflitiout lea!l<ningJ wherewith the Phariftu had be'!'IICI5ed tb~m : fo here, &c. Yea and tbeTJiftipkt ·of]ohn (whom he_•nflanceth tn) though tk') did confiDe their ji1fllu, (the Publtcans thetrJ, the S•Hidtm their~, the People their!:)'" ,it the notoriollf fi'!'!" in~idmt to ~heir ca/Jin~J :yet it dotk 1r01 appear: that they conf1Jed thm PbarifatcaU polluttOns. And the 'Gentilu in Af!t. 19. 18, 19. !Ihottgh they conftJJid their c~~riom Jiru, and burnt the~r conjt<ring Boo~s, ;et it doth not appear<, tbat they co~<ftjjid {Ill tbetr liettlJ. Whereunto the Examiner rett1rneth a two-fold Arifwer • . I. That fpirituall whoretkme and drunf<.!nnejfe iJ not indeed fo eafilj 'difcerned llf corpora/1: but ;et not the lejfejinfull, hHt infinite!J tranfcm· ·dmt,"' much"' fPirituaJI fobriety exmdetb corporal/; and the bed ofthe moft High·GJd exceedetb thebedt ofm"'' r~~bo arebNt ck<jl aud a{he1. Rep!J. I· I tis an exorbitant Hyperbole to ma'<e every paffige of fpirituall whoredome,a Iinne infinitely tranfcendent above bodily whoredome. ·For fpirituall whoredom: is not infio[te in the aCt of it1 but oncly in refpef!t of the objef!t ofit, to wit, in ,efpea of the iDiinite God; ag•infl' whom it iSGqmrnitted. And is not bodily whoreJome infinite in th.c refpef!t alfo?Can a man defile himfelfe with bodily whoredome, and not Gone ag•inll the infinite God? Whu faith Jnfipb ? Gm. 3 9. 9. 2, 'Whatif lpirimall whorcdom<(thou~h lelfeev!dent) be more fiqfull then 'bcdily? The natttre of tt Ill' Evangelical! Repentance ft.mde1h not in teeing and bewailing every Iinne, no nor alw.tyes of the greateit,~ut of tho(c which are moU ~•idcnt and notorious. N n A |