ing, he says, chap. vi. 9, I am persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation. (Where we may again note, his being thus persuaded, evidently implies a positive judgment.) And in chap. xii. 22, &c. he speaks of them as visibly belonging to the glorious society of heaven. And in chap. xiii. 5, 6, he speaks of them as those who may boldly say, The Lord is my helper.....The Apostle James, writing to the Christians of the twelve tribes which were scattered abroad, speaks of them as regenerated persons (meaning as I observed before, those which were in good standing) chap. i. 18. "Of his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures....The Apostle Peter, writing to the Jewish Christians, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bythinia (large countries, and therefore they must in the whole be supposed to be a great multitude of people) to all these the apostle in the inscription or direction of his first Epistle, gives the title of elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. And in the verses next following, speaks of them as regenerated, "or begotten again to a lively hope, to an inheritance incorruptible," &c. And as "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation: And says to them in verses 8, 9. "Whom (namely Christ) having not seen, ye love; in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." And in verse 18, to the end, the apostle speaks of them as "redeemed from their vain conversation, by the precious blood of Christ....And as having purified their souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.... Being born again of incorruptible seed," &c. And in the former part of chap. ii. he speaks of them as "living stones, coming to Christ, and on him built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ....And as those that believe, to whom Christ is precious....As a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, called out of darkness into mar

vellous light." The church at Babylon, occasionally men tioned in chap. v. 13, is said to be elected together with them, And in his second Epistle (which appears by chap. iii. 1, to be written to the same persons) the inscription is, To them which have obtained like precious faith with us, i. e. with the apostles and servants of Christ. And in the third chapter, he tells them both his Epistles were designed to stir up their PURE minds. In the first Epistle of John, written (for ought appears) to professing Christians in general, chap. ii. 12, &c. the apostle tells them, "He writes to them because their sins were forgiven, because they had known him that was from the beginning.... Because they had overcome the wicked on," &c. In verses 20, 21, he tells them "they have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things; and that he did not write to them because they had not known the truth, but because they had known it," &c. And in verse 27, he says, "The anointing which ye have received of him, abideth in you, and ye need not that any man should teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie; and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." And in the beginning of chap. iii. he addresses them as those who were the sons of God, who when he should appear, should be like him, because they should see him as he is." In chap. iv. 4, he says, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome," &c.....The Apostle Jude, in his general Epistle, speaks much of apostates and their wickedness; but to other professing Christians, that had not fallen away, he says, verses 20, 21, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life :" Plainly supposing, that they had professed faith with love to God our Saviour, and were by the apostle considered as his friends and lovers....Many other passages to the like purpose might be observed in the epistles, but these may suffice.

1

Now how unaccountable would these things be, if the case was, that the members of the primitive Christian churches were not admitted into them under any such notion as their

being really godly persons and heirs of eternal life,nor with any respect of such a character appearing on them; and that they themselves joined to these churches without any such pretence, as having no such opinion of themselves!

But it is particularly evident that they had such an opinion of themselves, as well as the apostles of them, by many things the apostles say in the epistles. Thus, in Rom. viii. 15, 16, the apostle speaks of them as "having received the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of God bearing witness with their spirits, that they were the children of God." And chap. v. 2. Of their rejoicing in hope of the glory of God."....In 1 Cor. i. 7. He speaks of them as waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus." In chap. xv. 17, the apostle says to the members of the church of Corinth, "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins:" Plainly supposing that they hoped their sins were forgiven.... In Philip i. 25, 26, the apostle speaks of his coming to Philippi, to "increase their joy of faith, and that their rejoicing in Christ might be more abundant :" Implying (as was observed before) that they had received comfort already, in some degree as supposing themselves to have a saving interest in Christ....In 1 Thess. i. 10, he speaks of the members of the church of Thessalonica as "waiting for Christ from heaven, as one who had delivered them from the wrath to come."....In Heb. vi. 9, 19, he speaks of the Christian Hebrews as having that "hope which was an anchor to their souls."....The Apostle Peter, 1 Epist. 1. 3....6, 8, 9, speaks of the visible Christians he wrote to, as being "begotten to a living hope, of an inheritance incorruptible, &c. Wherein they greatly rejoiced," &c ....And even the members of the church of Laodicea, the very worst of all the seven churches of Asia, yet looked upon themselves as truly gracious persons, and made that profession; they said, "they were rich, and increased in goods, and knew not that they were wretched and miserable," &c. Rev. iii. 17.

It is also evident, that the members of these primitive churches had this judgment one of another, and of the members of the visible church of Christ in general....In 1 Thess.

iv. 13, &c. the apostle exhorts the Christian Thessalonians, in mourning for their deceased friends who were visible Christians, not to sorrow as the hopeless Heathen were wont to do for their departed friends; and that upon this consideration, that they had reason to expect to meet them again in glorious circumstances at the day of judgment, never to part more. The ground of comfort concerning their dead friends, which the apostle here speaks of, is evidently something more than such an hope as it may be supposed we ought to have of all that profess Christian doctrines, and are not scandalous in life, whom we must forbear to censure, because we do not know but they are true saints. The members of the church of Sardis, next to Laodicea, the worst of the seven churches of Asia, yet had a name that they lived though Christ, who speaks of these seven churches from heav en, in the character of the Searcher of Hearts (see Rev. ii. 23) explicitly tells them that they were dead; perhaps all in a dead frame, and the most in a dead state.

These things evidently shew, how all the Christian churches through the world were constituted in those days; and what sort of holiness or saintship it was, that all visible Christians in good standing had a visibility and profession of, in that apostolic age; and also what sort of visibility of this they had, viz. not only that which gave them right to a kind of negative charity, or freedom from censure, but that which might justly induce a positive judgment in their favor. The churches. that these epistles were written to, were all the principal churches in the world; some of them very large, as the churches of Corinth and Ephesus. Some of the epistles were directed to all the churches through large countries where the gospel had had great success, as the epistle to the Galatians. The epistle to the Hebrews was written to all the Jewish Christians in the land of Canaan, in distinction from the Jews that lived in other countries, who were called Hellenists or Grecians, because they generally spake the Greek tongue. The epistles of Peter were written to all the Christian Jews through many countries, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bythynia; where were great numbers of

Jews, beyond any other Gentile countries. The epistle of James was directed to all Christian Jews, scattered abroad through the whole world. The epistles of John and Jude, for ought appears in those epistles, were directed to all visible Christians through the whole world. And the Apostle Paul directs the first epistle to the Corinthians, not only to the members of that church, but to all professing Christians through the face of the earth: 1 Cor. i. 2, and chap. xiv. 33, speaking of the churches in general, he calls them all churches of the saints. And by what Christ says to the churches of Sardis and Laodicea in the Apocalypse, of whom more evil is said than of any Christian churches spoken of in the New Testament, it appears that even the members of those churches looked on themselves as in a state of salvation, and had such a name with others.

Here possibly some may object, and say, it will not follow from the apostles speaking to, and of the members of the primitive church after the manner which has been observed, as though they supposed them to be gracious persons, that therefore a profession and appearance of this was looked upon in those days as a requisite qualification for admission into the visible church; because another reason may be given for it, viz. Such was the extraordinary state of things at that day, that it so came to pass, that the greater part of those converted from Heathenism and Judaism to Christianity, were hopefully gracious persons, by reason of its being a day of such large communications of divine grace, and such great and unavoidable sufferings of professors, &c. And the apostles knowing those facts, might properly speak to, and of the churches, as if they were societies of truly gracious persons, because there was just ground on such accounts, to think the greater part of them to be so; although no profession or visibility of this was requisite in their members by the constitution of those churches, and the door of admission was as open for others as for such.

But it will appear, this cannot be a satisfactory nor true account of the matter, if we consider the following things.