brethren have made so little conscience of the practice of it. It is not only Christ's command to tell the church, but Paul's to rebuke such before all; and the church hath constantly practised it till selfishness and formality caused them to be remiss in this and other duties together; and the Reformers have as much stood up for it as the rest; and as deeply are we engaged by vows, covenants, prayers, and other means, for the executing of it: of which more in the application. Austin saith, "Quæ peccantur coram omnibus, coram omnibus corripienda sunt, ut omnes timeant: Qui secreto peccant in te, secreto corripe; nam si solus nosti, et eum vis coram aliis arguere, non es corrector sed proditor." Greg. Mag. in Registro, saith, "Manifesta peccata non sunt occulta correctione purganda: sed palam sunt arguendi qui palam nocent; ut dum aperta objurgatione sanantur, hi qui eos imitando delinquerant, corrigantur. Dum enim unus corripitur, plurimi emendantur, et melius est ut pro multorum salute unus condemnetur, quam ut per unius licentiam multi periclitentur." Isidore saith, "Qui admonitus secretè de peccato corrigi negligit, publicè arguendus est, et vulnus quod occultè sanari nescit, manifestè debeat emendari." If any should say, that we shall thus be guilty of defaming men by publishing their crimes; I answer, in the words of Bernard sup. Cantic. "Cum carpuntur vitiæ, et inde scandalum oritur, ipse sibi scandali causa est, qui fecit quod argui debet; non ille qui arguit. Non ergo timeas contra charitatem esse, si unius scandalum multorum recompensaveris pace. Melius est enim ut pereat unus quam unitas." There is no room for a doubt, whether this be our duty, or whether we are unfaithful as to the performance of it. I doubt many of us that would be ashamed to omit Preaching or Praying half so much, have little considered what we do in the wilful neglect of this duty, and the rest of discipline so long as we have done. We little think how we have drawn the guilt of swearing, and drunkenness, and fornication, and other crimes upon our own heads, for want of using God's means for the cure of them. As Greg. Mag. saith in Registro, "Qui. non corrigit resecanda, committit: et facientis culpam habet, qui quod potest corrigere, negligit emendare,” saith the Comedian. "Si quid me scis fecisse inscite aut improbe, si id non accusas, tuipse objurgandus es." Plaut.

If any say, there is little likelihood that public, personal

reprehension should do good on them, because they will be but enraged by the shame, I answer :-[1.] Philo, a Jew, could say (de Sacrif. Abel and Cain), "We must endeavour, as far as we are able, to save those from their sins that shall certainly perish; imitating good physicians, who when they cannot save a sick man, do yet willingly try all means for cure, lest they seem to want success through their own neglects. [2.] I further answer, It ill beseems the silly creature to implead the ordinances of God as useless, or to reproach his service instead of doing it, and set their wits against their Maker. God can make use of his own ordinances, or else he would never have appointed them.-[3.] The usefulness of this discipline is apparent to the shaming of sin, and humbling of the sinner; and manifesting the holiness of Christ and his doctrine, and church before all the world. [4.] What would you have done with such sinners? give them up as hopeless? That were too cruel. Would you use other means? Why it is supposed that all other have been used without success; for this is the last remedy. -[5.] The Church of Christ hath found reason enough to use this course, even in times of persecution, when our carnal reason would have told them that they should then above all have forborne it, for fear of driving away all their converts.-[6.] The principal use of this public discipline is not for the offender himself, but for the church. It tendeth exceedingly to deter others from the like crimes, and so to keep pure the congregations, and their worship. Seneca could say, "Vitia transmittit ad posteros, qui præsentibus culpis ignoscit." And elsewhere, "Bonis nocet, qui malis parcit." If you say, that it will but restrain them as hypocrites, and not convert them: I answer, It may preserve others. And who knows how God may bless his ordinance, even to them? The restraint of sin is a benefit not to be contemned. "Audebo peccanti mala sua ostendere: vitia ejus si non excidero, inhibebo. Non desinent; sed intermittent: fortasse autem desinent, si intermittendi consuetudinem fecerint," said the Moralist. Sen. Epist. 40. The scorns that I have heard from many against the Scottish ministers, from bringing offenders to the stool of repentance, as if it were mere formality and hypocrisy, to take such a thing as satisfactory, when true repentance is absent, hath discovered more of the accuser's error than of theirs. For no

doubt, it is true repentance that they exhort men to; and it is true repentance which offenders do profess; and whether they truly profess it, who can tell but God? It is not for nothing that sin is brought to so much disgrace, and the church doth so far acquit themselves of it. But of this

next.

Next to the duty of public reproof must be joined an exhortation of the person to repentance, and to the public profession of it for the satisfaction of the church. For as the church is bound to avoid communion with impenitent, scandalous sinners, so when they have had the evidence of their sin, they must see some evidence of their repentance; for we cannot know them to be penitent without evidence. And what evidence is the church capable of, but their profession of repentance first, and their actual reformation afterwards? both which must be expected.

To these may be most fitly joined the public prayers of the church, and that both for the reproved before they are rejected, and for the rejected (some of them at least) that they may repent and be restored. But we are now upon the former. Though this is not expressly affixed to discipline, yet we have a sufficient discovery of God's will concerning it in the general precepts. We are commanded to pray always; and in all things, and for all men, and in all places : and all things are said to be sanctified by it. It is plain therefore, that so great a business as this should not be done without it! And who can have any just reason to be offended with us, if we pray to God for the changing of their hearts, and the pardon of their sins? It is therefore in my judgment a very laudable course of those churches that use for the three next days together to desire the congregation to join in earnest prayer to God for the opening of the sinner's eyes, softening his heart, and saving him from impenitency and eternal death! And though we have no express direction in Scripture just how long we shall stay to try whether the sinner be so impenitent, as to be necessarily excluded, yet we must follow the general directions, with such diversity as the case and quality of the person and former proceeding shall require; it being left to the discretion of the church, who are in general, to stay so long till the person manifest himself obstinate in his sin: not but that a temporary exclusion, called Suspension, may often

be inflicted in the meantime; but before we proceed to an exclusion à statu,' it is very meet (ordinarily) that three days' prayer for him and patience towards him should ante

cede.

And indeed, I see no reason why this course should not be much more frequent than it is; and that not only upon those that are members of our special charge, and do consent to discipline, but even to those that deny our pastoral oversight and discipline, and yet are our ordinary hearers. For so far as men have Christian communion or familiarity with us, so far are they capable of being excluded from communion. Though the members of our special charge have more full and special communion, and so are more capable of a more full and special exclusion; yet all those that dwell among us, and are our ordinary hearers, have some communion. For as they converse with us, so they hear the word, not as heathens, but as Christians, and members of the Universal Church into which they have been baptized; and they join with us in public prayers and praises in the celebration of the Lord's-day. From this therefore they are capable of being excluded, or from part of this, at least morally, if not locally. For the precept of avoiding, and withdrawing from, and not eating with such, is not restrained to the members of a governed church, but extended to all Christians that are capable of communion.

When these ungodly persons are sick, we have daily bills from them to request the prayers of the congregation: and if we must pray for them against sickness, and temporal death, I know no reason but we should much more earnestly pray for them against sin and eternal death. That we have not their consent, is no dissuasive: for that is their disease, and the very venom and malignity of it; and we do not take it to be sober arguing, to say, 'I may not pray for such a man against his sickness, because he is sick :' or, if he were not sick, I would pray against his sickness.' No more is it to say, 'If he were not impenitent, so as to refuse our prayers, I would pray that he might be saved from his impenitency.' I confess I do not take myself to have so strict a charge over this sort of men, who renounce my oversight, as I do over the rest that own it; and that is the reason why I have called no more of them to public repentance, because it requireth most commonly more time to examine

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the matter of fact, or deal with the person first more privately, that his impenitency may be discerned, than I can possibly spare from the duties which I owe to my special charge, to whom I am more indebted; and therefore may ordinarily expend no more on the rest (who are to me but as strangers, or men of another parish, and of no governed, particular church) than I can spare when I have done my main duty to my flock. But yet though I cannot use any such discipline on all that sort, nor am so much obliged to do it, yet some of them that are most notoriously and openly wicked, where less proof and short debates are requisite, I intend to deal thus with hereafter, having found some success in that kind already. But especially to all those whom we take for members of that particular church which we are pastors of, there is no question but this is our duty, and therefore where the whole parish are members, discipline must be exercised on the whole.

I confess much prudence is to be exercised in such proceedings, lest we do more hurt than good; but it must be such Christian prudence as ordereth duties, and suiteth them to their ends, and not such carnal prudence as shall enervate or exclude them. It may be fit therefore for younger ministers to consult with others, for the more cautious proceeding in such works. And in the performance of it, we should deal humbly, even when we deal most sharply, and make it appear that it is not from any contending or lordly disposition, nor an act of revenge for any injury; but a necessary duty which we cannot conscientiously avoid: and therefore it will be meet we disclaim all such animosities, and shew the people the commands of God obliging us to what we do. Neighbours and brethren, sin is so hateful an evil in the eyes of the most holy God, how light soever impenitent sinners make of it, that he hath provided the everlasting torments of hell for the punishment of it; and no less means can prevent that punishment than the sacrifice of the blood of the Son of God, applied to those that truly repent of it and forsake it, and therefore God that calleth all men to repentance, hath commanded us to exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day, lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin; (Heb. iii. 13;) and that we do not hate our brother in our heart, but in any wise rebuke our neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him; (Lev. xix.

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