A Christian Directory, Part 3: Christian Ecclesiastics

5. And to communicate is not only lawful in this case, where we cannot prove that the minister sinneth, but even when we suspect an ill design in him, which we cannot prove; yea, or when we can prove that his personal interpretation of the place, name, situation, and rails is unsound; for we assemble there to communicate in and according to the professed doctrine of christianity and the churches, and our own open profession, and not after every private opinion and error of the minister. As I may receive from an anabaptist or separatist notwithstanding his personal errors; so may I from another man, whose error destroyeth not his ministry, nor the ordinance, as long as I consent not to it, yea, and with the church profess my dissent.

6. Yet, cæteris paribus, every free man that hath his choice, should choose to communicate rather where there is most purity and least error, than with those that swerve more from regular exactness.

Quest. CXXIV. Is it lawful to use David's psalms in our assemblies?

Answ. Yes: 1. Christ used them at his last supper, as is most probable; and he ordinarily joined with the Jews that used them; and so did the apostles.

2. It is confessed lawful to read or say them; therefore also to sing them. For saying and singing difference not the main end.

3. They are suitable to our use, and were the liturgy of the Jewish church, not on a ceremonial account, but for that fitness which is common to us with them.

4. We are commanded in the New Testament to sing psalms; and we are not commanded to compose new ones; nor can every one make psalms, who is commanded to sing psalms. And if it be lawful to sing psalms of our own or our neighbour's making, much more of God's making by his Spirit in his prophets.369

Object. They are not suitable to all our cases, nor to all in the assembly.

Answ. 1. We may use them in that measure of suitableness to our cases which they have. You may join with a man in prayer who expresseth part of your wants, though he express not all. Else you must join with no man in the world.

2. If ungodly men are present when the faithful speak to God, must we not speak our proper case, because they are present? The minister in church administrations speaketh principally in the name of the faithful, and not of hypocrites. Must he leave out of his prayers all that is proper to the godly, merely because some wicked men are there? No more must the church do in singing unto God.

3. They that cannot speak every word in a psalm just as their own case, may yet speak it as instructive; otherwise they might not read or say it.

But the sectarian objections against singing David's psalms are so frivolous, that I will not tire the reader with any more.370

Quest. CXXV. May psalms be used as prayers, and praises, and thanksgivings, or only as instructive? even the reading as well as the singing of them?

Answ. The sober reader who knoweth not what errors others hold, will marvel that I trouble men with such questions. But I have oft been troubled with those that (having no other shift to deny the lawfulness of written and set forms of prayer) do affirm that psalms are neither to be read or sung at all as prayers, but only as doctrinal scriptures for instruction.371 But that this is false appeareth,

1. In that those that are real, material prayers, and praises, and thanksgivings, and were penned for that very use, as the titles show, and those that were so used by the Jewish synagogues where Christ was ordinarily present, may be so used by us: but such are the psalms both as said and sung.

2. And those that we are commanded to sing as psalms, and have Christ's example so to use, (who sung a hymn or psalm of praise at his last supper,) we also may so use: but, &c.

3. And those that are by God's Spirit fitted for use in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, and never forbidden so to be used, may by us be so used: but such are the psalms, &c. I will weary you with no more.

Quest. CXXVI. Are our church tunes lawful, being of man's invention?

Answ. Yes: they are a lawful invention, allowed us by God, and fitted to the general rules of edification. Scripture is no particular rule for such modes and circumstances.

Object. They breed a carnal pleasure by the melody, which is not fit for spiritual devotion.

Answ. 1. It is a lawful sensitive pleasure, sanctified to a holy use, not hindering, but greatly helping the soul in spiritual worship.

Either you call it carnal, because it gratifieth the sinful, corrupt inclinations of man; or only because it is sensitive, or a pleasure in the imagination and lower faculties. If the former, 1. There is nothing in it which is a necessary cause of any sinful pleasure, nor any impediment to spiritual pleasure. 2. But a lustful person will turn all sensitive pleasure into sin; our meat, and drink, and clothes, and houses, and friends, and health: the bread and wine in the sacrament may be thus abused.372

2. But you must know, that as our bodies are here united to our souls, so they act together, and while the sensitive part is subordinate to the rational, it is serviceable to it, and not a hinderance: when you come to have souls that are separated from the body, you shall use no bodily instruments; and yet even then it is uncertain to us, whether the sensitive powers of the soul do not accompany it, and be not used by it. But certainly in the meantime, he that will not use sense, shall not use reason. And he that acteth not sensibly, acteth not as a man: it is not a sin to be a man; and therefore not to see, to hear, to taste, to smell, &c. Nor is it a sin to taste sweetness in our meat or drink; nor is it a sinful pleasure for the eyes to behold the light, or the variety of the beauteous works of God, or to take pleasure in them. "His works are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein," Psal. cxi. 2.

You know not what it is to be a man, if you know not that God hath made all the senses to be the inlets of objects, and so of holy pleasure into the soul. Would he have given us eyes, and ears, and appetites, and made his creatures sweet and beauteous, that all might either be sin or useless to us? No: all things are sanctified, and pure to the pure.373 The sense is the natural way to the imagination, and that to the understanding; and he that will have no sensible and natural pleasure, shall have no spiritual pleasure: and he that will have none but sensitive pleasure, were better have none at all. It is therefore a foolish pretence of spirituality, to dream of acting without our senses, or avoiding those delights, which may and must be sanctified to us. Harmony and melody are so high a pleasure of the sense, that they are nearest to rational delights, if not participating of them, and exceedingly fitted to elevate the mind and affections unto God.

And as it is the very nature of true holiness, to be so suited to holy things, as that they may be our delight, and he is the genuine saint, and the best of christians, who most delighteth in God and holiness; so that is the best means to make us the best christians, which helpeth us best to these delights; and if any thing on earth be like to heaven, it is to have our delight in God. And therefore if any thing may make us heavenly, it is that which raiseth us to such delights. And therefore a choir of holy persons, melodiously singing the praises of Jehovah, are likest to the angelical society, Psal. cl.

Quest. CXXVII. Is church music by organs or such instruments, lawful?374

Answ. I know that in the persecuted and poorer times of the church, none such were used (when they had not temples, nor always a fixed meeting place). And that the author of the Quest. et Resp. in Justin Martyr speaketh against it (which Perkins and others cite to that purpose). And I grant,

1. That as it is in the power of weak, diseased christians, to make many things unlawful to their brethren lest we be hurtful to them, and to deprive us of much, not only of our liberties but our helps; so in abundance of congregations, church music is made unlawful by accident, through their mistake. For it is unlawful (cæteris paribus) by an unnecessary thing to occasion divisions in the churches; but where one part judgeth church music unlawful, for another part to use it, would occasion divisions in the churches, and drive away the other part. Therefore I would wish church music to be no where set up, but where the congregation can accord in the use of it; or at least where they will not divide thereupon.

2. And I think it unlawful to use such strains of music as are light, or as the congregation cannot easily be brought to understand; much more on purpose to commit the whole work of singing to the choristers, and exclude the congregation. I am not willing to join in such a church where I shall be shut out of this noble work of praise.

3. But plain, intelligible church music, which occasioneth not divisions, but the church agreeth in, for my part I never doubted to be lawful. For, 1. God set it up long after Moses' ceremonial law, by David, Solomon, &c.

2. It is not an instituted ceremony merely, but a natural help to the mind's alacrity: and it is a duty and not a sin to use the helps of nature and lawful art, though not to institute sacraments, &c. of our own. As it is lawful to use the comfortable helps of spectacles in reading the Bible, so is it of music to exhilarate the soul towards God.375

3. Jesus Christ joined with the Jews that used it, and never spake a word against it.

4. No Scripture forbiddeth it, therefore it is not unlawful.

5. Nothing can be against it, that I know of, but what is said against tunes and melody of voice. For whereas they say that it is a human invention; so are our tunes (and metre, and versions). Yea, it is not a human invention; as the last psalm and many others show, which call us to praise the Lord with instruments of music.

And whereas it is said to be a carnal mind of pleasure, they may say as much of a melodious, harmonious concert of voices, which is more excellent music than any instruments.

And whereas some say that they find it do them harm, so others say of melodious singing; but as wise men say, they find it do them good. And why should the experience of some prejudiced, self-conceited person, or of a half-man that knoweth not what melody is, be set against the experience of all others, and deprive them of all such helps and mercies, as these people say they find no benefit by.

And as some deride church music by many scornful names, so others do by singing (as some congregations near me testify, who these many years have forsaken it, and will not endure it; but their pastor is fain to unite them, by the constant and total omission of singing psalms). It is a great wrong that some do to ignorant christians, by putting such whimsies and scruples into their heads, which as soon as they enter, turn that to a scorn, and snare, and trouble, which might be a real help and comfort to them, as it is to others.

Quest. CXXVIII. Is the Lord's day a sabbath, and so to be called and kept, and that of divine institution? And is the seventh-day sabbath abrogated? &c

Answ. All the cases about the Lord's day (except those practical directions for keeping it, in the Economical part of this book) I have put into a peculiar treatise on that subject by itself; and therefore shall here pass them over, referring the reader to them in that discourse.

Quest. CXXIX. Is it lawful to appoint human holy days, and observe them?

Answ. This also I have spoke to in the foresaid treatise, and my "Disput. of Church Government and Cer." Briefly, 1. It is not lawful to appoint another weekly sabbath, or day wholly separated to the commemoration of our redemption: for that is to mend (pretendedly) the institutions of God; yea, and to contradict him who hath judged one day only in seven to be the fittest weekly proportion.

2. As part of some days may be weekly used in holy assemblies, so may whole days on just, extraordinary occasions, of prayer, preaching, humiliation, and thanksgiving.

3. The holy doctrine, lives, and sufferings of the martyrs and other holy men, hath been so great a mercy to the church, that (for any thing I know) it is lawful to keep anniversary thanksgivings in remembrance of them, and to encourage the weak, and provoke them to constancy and imitation.

4. But to dedicate days or temples to them in any higher sense, as the heathen and idolaters did to their heroes, is unlawful; or any way to intimate an attribution of divinity to them, by word or worship.

5. And they that live among such idolaters must take heed of giving them scandalous encouragement.

6. And they that scrupulously fear such sin more than there is cause, should not be forced to sin against their consciences.

7. But yet no christians should causelessly refuse that which is lawful, nor to join with the churches in holy exercises on the days of thankful commemoration of the apostles, and martyrs, and excellent instruments in the church; much less petulantly to work and set open shops to the offence of others; but rather to persuade all to imitate the holy lives of those saints to whom they give such honours.

Quest. CXXX. How far are the holy Scriptures a law and perfect rule to us?

Answ. 1. For all thoughts, words, affections, and actions, of divine faith and obedience (supposing still God's law of nature). For it is no believing God to believe what he never revealed; nor any trusting God, to trust that he will certainly give us that which he never either directly or indirectly promised; nor any obeying God, to do that which he never commanded.

2. The contents will best show the extent; whatever is revealed, promised, and commanded in it, for that it is a perfect rule. For certainly it is perfect in its kind and to its proper use.

3. It is a perfect rule for all that is of universal moral necessity; that is, whatever it is necessary that man believe, think, or do, in all ages and places of the world, this is of divine obligation. Whatever the world is universally bound to, (that is, all men in it,) it is certain that God's law in nature, or Scripture, or both, bindeth them to it. For the world hath no universal king or lawgiver but God.

4. God's own laws in nature and Scripture are a perfect rule for all the duties of the understanding, thoughts, affections, passions, immediately to be exercised on God himself; for no one else is a discerner or judge of such matters.376

5. It perfectly containeth all the essential and integral parts of the christian religion; so that nothing is of itself, and directly, any part of the christian religion which is not there.

6. It instituteth those sacraments perfectly, which are the seals of God's covenant with man, and the delivery of the benefits, and which are the badges or symbols of the disciples and religion of Christ in the world.

7. It determineth what faith, prayer, and obedience shall be his appointed means and conditions of justification, adoption, and salvation. And so what shall be professed and preached in his name to the world.

8. It is a perfect instrument of donation or conveyance of our right to Christ, and of pardon, and justification, and adoption, and the Holy Spirit's assistances, and of glory. As it is God's covenant, promise, or deed of gift.

9. It instituteth certain ministers as his own church officers, and perfectly describeth their office, as instituted by him.

10. It instituteth the form of his church universal, which is called his body; and also of particular holy societies for his worship; and prescribeth them certain duties, as the common worship there to be performed.

11. It determineth of a weekly day, even the first, to be separated for and used in this holy worship.

12. It is a perfect general rule for the regulating of those things, which it doth not command or forbid in particular. As that all be done wisely, to edification, in charity, peace, concord, season, order, &c.

13. It giveth to magistrates, pastors, parents, and other superiors, all that power by which they are authorized to oblige us, under God, to any undetermined particulars.

14. It is the perfect rule of Christ's judging, rewarding, and punishing at last, according to which he will proceed.

15. It is the only law that is made by primitive power.

16. And the only law that is made by infallible wisdom.

17. And the only law which is faultless, and hath nothing in it that will do the subject any harm.

18. And the only law which is from absolute power, the rule of all other laws, and from which there is finally no appeal.377

Thus far the holy Scripture with the law of nature is our perfect rule. But not in any of the following respects.

1. It is no particular revelation or perfect rule of natural sciences, as physics, metaphysics, &c.

2. It is no rule for the arts, for medicine, music, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, grammar, rhetoric, logic; nor for the mechanics, as navigation, architecture; and all the trades and occupations of men; no, not husbandry by which we have our food.

3. It is no particular rule for all the mutable, subordinate duties of any societies. It will not serve instead of all the statutes of this and all other lands, nor tell us, when the terms shall begin and end, nor what work every parent and master shall set his children and servants in his family, &c.

4. It is no full rule in particular for all those political principles which are the ground of human laws; as whether each republic be monarchical, aristocratical, or democratical; what person or of what family shall reign; who shall be his officers and judges, and how diversified; so of his treasury, munition, coin, &c.

5. It is no rule of propriety in particular, by which every man may know which is his own land, or house, or goods, or cattle.

6. It is no particular rule for our natural actions; what meat we shall eat; what clothes we shall wear; so of our rest, labour, &c.

7. It is no particular law or rule for any of all those actions and circumstances about religion or God's own ordinances, which he hath only commanded in general, and left in specie or particular to be determined by man according to his general laws; but of these next.

Quest. CXXXI. What additions or human inventions in or about religion, not commanded in Scripture, are lawful or unlawful?

Answ. 1. These following are unlawful. 1. To feign any new article of faith or doctrine, any precept, promise, threatening, prophecy, or revelation, falsely to father it upon God, and say, that it is of him, or his special word.378

2. To say that either that is written in the Bible which is not, or that any thing is the sense of a text which is not; and so that any thing is a sin or a duty by Scripture which is not. Or to father apocryphal books, or texts, or words upon the Spirit of Christ.

3. To make any law for the church universal, or as obligatory to all christians; which is to usurp the sovereignty of Christ; for which treasonable usurpation it is that protestants call the pope, antichrist.

4. To add new parts to the christian religion.

5. To make any law, which it did properly belong to the universal Sovereign to have made, if it should have been made at all: or which implieth an accusation of ignorance, oversight, error, or omission, in Christ and the holy Scriptures.

6. To make new laws for men's inward heart duties towards God.

7. To make new sacraments for the sealing of Christ's covenant and collation of his benefits therein contained, and to the public tesseræ, badges or symbols of christians and christianity in the world.

8. To feign new conditions of the covenant of God, and necessary means of our justification, adoption, and salvation.

9. To alter Christ's instituted church ministry, or add any that are supra-ordinate, co-ordinate, or derogatory to their office, or that stand on the like pretended ground, and for equal ends.

10. To make new spiritual societies or church forms which shall be either supra-ordinate, co-ordinate, or derogatory to the forms of Christ's institution.379

11. Any impositions upon the churches (be the thing never so lawful) which is made by a pretended power not derived from God and the Redeemer.380

12. Any thing that is contrary to the church's good and edification, to justice, charity, piety, order, unity, or peace.381

13. Any unnecessary burden imposed on the consciences of christians; especially as necessary either to their salvation, communion, liberty, or peace.

14. And the exercise of any power, pretended to be either primitive and underived, or infallible, or impeccable, or absolute.

15. In general, any thing that is contrary to the authority, matter, form, obligation, honour, or ends of the laws of God, in nature or Scripture.

16. Any thing which setteth up those judaical laws and ceremonies which Christ hath abrogated, in that form and respect in which he abrogated them.

17. Where there is a doubt among sober, conscionable christians, lest in obeying man they should sin against God and disobey his laws, and the matter doubted of is confessed unnecessary by the imposers: so infinite is the distance between God and man, and so wholly dependent on him are the highest, that they should be exceedingly unwilling to vie with the authority of their Maker in men's consciences, or to do any thing unnecessary which tendeth to compel men to tread down God's authority in their consciences, and to prefer man's. Much more unwilling should they be, to silence the sober preachers of Christ's gospel upon such accounts.

Quest. CXXXII. Is it unlawful to obey in all those cases, where it is unlawful to impose and command? Or in what cases? And how far pastors must be believed and obeyed?

Answ. I must entreat the reader carefully to distinguish here, 1. Between God's law forbidding rulers to do evil; and his law forbidding subjects or private men.

2. Between obedience formally so called; which is, when we therefore obey in conscience, because it is commanded, and the commander's authority is the formal reason and object of our obedience: and obedience material only, which is properly no obedience, but a doing the thing which is commanded upon other reasons, and not at all because it is commanded.

3. Between formal obedience to the office of the ruler in general, and formal obedience to him, as commanding this very matter in particular.

4. Between such authority in the ruler as will warrant his impositions before God for his own justification; and such authority as may make it my duty to obey him. And so I answer,

1. We shall not be judged by those laws of God which made the ruler's duty, but by that which made our own. It is not all one to say, Thou shalt not command it, and to say, Thou shalt not do it.

2. Whatever God absolutely forbiddeth men to do, we must not do, whoever command it.

3. There are many of the things forementioned absolutely and always unlawful, as being evil of themselves, which no man may either command or do; and there are some of them, which are only evil by accident, which may not be commanded, but may be done when contrary, weightier accidents do preponderate.

4. Many such things may be done materially on other reasons, (as for the church's good, the furtherance of the gospel, the winning of men to God, the avoiding of scandal, or of hurt to others or ourselves, &c.) when they are not to be done in formal obedience, out of conscience to the authority imposing (as if it be commanded by one that hath no just power).

5. Our actions may participate of obedience in general, as being actions of subjects, when they are not obedience in the full and perfect formality as to the particular. The last leaf of Richard Hooker's eighth book of Eccles. Polit. will show you the reason of this. He that hath not just power to command me this one particular act, yet may be my ruler in the general, and I am bound to honour him in general as my ruler; and to disobey him in a thing lawful for me to do, though not for him to command, may be dishonouring of him, and an appearance of disobedience and denial of his power.382 A parent is forbidden by God to command his child to speak an idle word, or to do a vain and useless action (much more a hurtful). Yet if a parent should command a child to speak an idle word, or do a vain action, the duty of obedience would make it at that time not to be vain and idle to him; yea, if he bid him throw away a cup of wine, or a piece of bread, which is evil when causeless, the child may be bound to do it: not only because he knoweth not but the parents may have lawful ends and reasons for their command, (as to try and exercise his obedience,) but also if he were sure that it were not so; because he is a subject, and the honouring of a parent is so great a good, and the dishonouring him by that disobedience may have such ill consequences, as will preponderate the evil of the loss of a cup of wine, &c. Yet in this case, the act of obedience is but mixed: it is an act of subjection or honour to a parent, because in general he is a governor: but it is but materially obedience in respect of that particular matter, which we know he had no authority to command.