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Show .J Chap. 3, 62·--------~-~~~~--~~~~~ of chis Covenant ,and the Church being nationall,and all chc: Ma~ iftrat<J being members of the Church from the firft plantauon~f ic, the Covenant of the Lord with his Church was not at allfoJPt· tiom co them, (who were parties to it themCelves )but ~cry acceptable; but in the <;!ayes of the new 'teft~t, the Magijlratu and Princes of the earth being A/ie11J and encm:u to the Church, _the Apo!Hes thoti?ht it mecte to fpe~~e of tlus Cov:nant not plam!J, but as it were 10 Parables and fzmi.lttudet; as knowmg the name of Covenants and Covenanter; might breed no fmall jellloufwr in CiviD Statu as (ecming molt dangerous to civil! peace, but yet in apt limilit~JJcs "ibey fo delcribe the cfiate of Churches as doth necef. farily imply a joynt Covenant,boch between the Lord,and them ~ne witb JJj,,J/gt :which may ferve for a !tcond argument to prove the point in hand, the receiving of Members byway of Covenant; for 1. they fo de!Cribc every Church of God, as a Citie of God, as the rJ£w Hierufolem, as the Church of the 7ewer at ~cir firll: conve~ fionis fiyled, Rev.21.4-'1nd the Churcbotthe Jewu, though it may be a more glol'iom Churcb then any of the Churcber of tb~ Gentilu, yet it partakcth in the common ntJture of them all, every trm Clnt1cb is as well a.CitieofGod, as the Churcb of the Jen•er; and hence the Members of the Church -'of Ephefm are calledfeUow·Citizem with the Saints, as being of the hou!hold, or Church of God, Epb.l.19. Now every Citie is founded in fomeconfeder~~eyby oath,ar fuchlike bond, and every Ciiiun is received into the tame Citie, by taking the fomt oath, or eni:ring into the fame bond, wherein the whole Citie fiandeth ingaged ; which holdeth forth to an intelligent heart, chat if every Church of the new Tefiament be a Citi~, and the Members thereof fellow-Citizens, then as the whole Church is planted and rounded in fome Covenant or Confukracie ; fo every Member of the Church is implanted and received into the funC: body, by tafting ho!J of the fame Covmant,and profeffing fubjeaion thereunto. ' Againe,when the Apofile fpeaketh of the planting of the Church of Corinth, calleth it eJP011[zng of it as a chafl:e Virgin unto Chrifr, zCor.n.z. ltimplyeth plainly, that he drew them all as one body to profe!fe their acceptance ofChrifi as an hwband to them all, and of one another,H m!mbm of the fome bot!J: ifhe had fpoken of kis conver['<~n of their p.~rtictllar fo11!u unto Chrifi, he would not have Se8:.4. havefpoken o~them as'"" virgin,but f<;> ~my [o11lu fo milny virgins; ~t now fpealdng of thrm all as onr urguz, It plainly argneth he! oyned them all as one vir*in i~to one body, and chat one bod Into a Covm_ant ofEJPoufous wnh Chrifi Jefus; for there are n~ Efpot~falls ~vnhout a covenant; :md therefore they that will take hold· of their Efpoufage, mutt take hold ofchcir covenant. 3· The mutuall relation wherein ~ll the n1embers in the Church fland one to another_, members to members, and all of them to their Officers, and thetr Officers to them, together with their mu-tuall intereft one in annther, and mutual! power one over anoch r doe all of them necdliuily imply a mqtuall confedcracie one wi~h an~ther; and th~t whofoever will partJ.ke_ herein, mufi p;utake in their confederaa~- S\tppofe a godly Chn fir an come over into t hefe parts las everyr.eare fomc or other doc) there is not any Minifter Of any of our Churches can :if#rpe P aftor~ll authori rie over him unlefii: thatChrifiian caU him thereumo, or profeffe his li.IbjeCl:i~n to bisMiRifiration,accordingcoGod. Norc.an ltrch a man expect any -?J1inijlm R111tchfit!ncffi RVer bim tH hi< Minijler' unle!fe the Minifiet1ee juft caufe to a:cept fitch a charge, and profrffi fo much. No CbJtrchin the Couiltrcy, nor all the member·s of any Church, Cdll tak'c upon them to Cenfore any ftranger, though an inhabitant a· ii\Qngft dte~unle(fc he give up himftlfe to them, and profe!fe his fubjeltion to the Gofpel of Chrill amongf1 them. Nor can he challengeji~ eb W.Jtcbfi,!mffifrom them, unle~e he have given ~tem a jujl t•Oto take upon t~em that care over hun. That Cht·:Jitan Iiberti< which the LOr d_Teius by his bloud hath purchafed for his Church, and for all his children, giveth them alllibmit to cboafl their owne Ojficm, and their owne fi:Oon·-Meinberr, unto whom to commit the care of their foules according to the rules of the Gofpel. Wefpeak not oflnfmtJ, who m•k! choice in their pJrmtJ, but of ilrch wbo know their libertie,andarecalledto fiand f:1IHn it: rill then that a matt tender and ofkr himfelfc to the Church, ( EO the Officers .and Members ofit) they have no power t<• rective him; For the Churcbts receiving a beleever( which is the Apofiles word,Rom.J + 1.) implyeth and prefuppPfeth his ojfering and giving up of"himfelfe unto them, in a proftjfod fllhj<{}ion to the Lord,~nd WltO them, ~ccording to the will of God; and t_heir Ym.ivi,g of him, implycth a~ holdeth forth II() lefie then thw profijjed acceptame of him un~ to |