But the Difference lies in this, that the Church is founded upon Laws that are given by Revelation. God hath established a vifible Society in the World by his own Authority, which he will have to be governed and maintained by Laws that himfelf hath revealed. And because that Right which this Society hath to maintain it felf, for the Purposes for which it was established, depends not upon any Worldly Honour and Authority, but upon the Authority of God alone, therefore it is called the Kingdom of God. And because this Authority was given by Revelation, therefore it is a diftinct Kingdom from that which is founded upon natural Laws, and takes in all Men as common.

We all know that the End of the Gospel is the Reformation and Salvation of Mankind, and that our Lord came to feek and to fave that which was lost, Luke 19. 10. In order to this he did feveral Things.

1. He was a Preacher of Righteousness, and the most perfect of that Kind that ever appeared in the World. He hath given us a full and clear Account of all Virtue and Piety, that we might know what is Sin, and what is Duty, and repent, and for the future obey accordingly.

2. To this he added Promises of the greatest Bleffings, for the Encouragement of Mankind to do what he required, Forgiveness,

giveness, and Everlasting Life after Death, and threatned fevere Condemnation to all that would not be won by those Promises.

3. Himself was offered to God a Sacrifice for our Sins, that the Juftice of God being thereby fatisfied, Mercy might be fhewn upon Repentance.

4. By his Refurrection from the Dead, and by his undeniable and frequent Miracles before, he plainly fhewed to all Men, that he came from God, and that all that he faid was True.

Now if no more had been done by him towards the Reformation and Salvation of Mankind than thefe Things, all afterwards, to whom the Knowledge of them fhould come, and who fhould believe them, and profess their Faith, might well have been preferred before any Sect of Philofophers, in as much as they could fhew a more excellent Doctrine, and prove it by more Divine Testimonies than any of the Philofophers could. But to guard the precious Truth, which was to be the great Means of the Salvation of Souls, Our Bleffed Lord, to whom all Authority in Heaven and Earth was committed, founded a Society for the Profeffion of his Truth and Faith, which he called his Church, and that in this manner: He chofe Twelve Apoftles, whom he fent abroad into the World to preach his Gofpel, he gave them Power and Authori

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ty to receive thofe whom they fhould convert into their Communion by baptizing them. As my Father bath fent me, fays he, fo fend I you. He breathed on them, and faid, Receive ye the Holy Ghoft. Whofefoever Sins ye remit, they are remitted, and whofefoever Sins ye retain, they are retained. And, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the End of the World. He gave them the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, to let into his Church, and to exclude from it; and having given them Authority, he commanded them to ufe it: Go ye into all Nations, fays he, and baptize them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghof. Which was as plain an Inftitution of a Society as ever was in the World. For what is a Society but a Company of Men enjoying the fame common Privileges, under the Condition of obeying the fame Laws, and fubmitting to the fame Authority? And in order to the Inftitution of the Church, here were Privileges propounded to Mankind, not to be enjoyed by them but upon Conditions of undertaking the Profeffion and Practice of the Gofpel, the Right to those Privileges being begun by Baptifm, and Perfons were appointed in behalf of the Church to judge who were fit to be baptized; and withal, after Admiffion into the Church, to remove thofe from the Privileges of it, who fhould depart from the Pu

rity of the Chriftian Life, and difhonour the Name of Chrift by Manifeft and Notorious Crimes. Now where Teachers and Directors were appointed, Privileges to be enjoyed, and Conditions to be undertaken in a folemn manner, and by vifible Tranfactions, All that were brought to the Pro-feffion of Chriftianity, were One Society with those to whom they were joined; and if all this was done by Divine Authority, then it is a Society of God's Inftitution. And this is that which we are often to understand by the Kingdom of God in the New Teftament. It will be befides the direct Scope of this Difcourfe to give you an Account of the feveral Advantages, which the Gospel gains by our Saviour's having incorporated his true Difciples into a vifible Body; I think it was only needful to fhew why the Church is fo many times called the Kingdom of God: The reafon is, because it is one Society or Communion of Believers, founded by God himself upon the Profeffion of that Truth which he hath revealed to Mankind, and their undertaking to live according to it. And by this we may come to understand our Saviour's Senfe in those Words, John 18. 36. My Kingdom is not of this World. If my Kingdom were of this World, then would my Servants fight. The Meaning is this: That the Church, which was that Kingdom of God he was to

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fet up in the World, was by him endowed with no Secular Force to maintain it felf. For if by Kingdom in that Place we underftand merely the Dominion and Authority of Christ himself, it is most certain this extended to all Things; for he had all Power given him in Heaven and Earth. But if his Kingdom be understood of that Society of Believers which he came to establish in the World, it is a plain Truth that he left them without any other Means to govern and keep themselves, but that of Spiritual Cenfures and Inflictions. That which made the Church fubmit to the Perfecution of the Empire was this; That Believers by virtue of their Christianity were bound to make an open Profeffion of Christ: They were baptized, they celebrated the Eucharift, they affembled for the Service of God, they conftantly communicated with their Spiritual Governours, that is, they acted as Men of a Religious Society: This made their Religion remarkable. But what was it that juftified them in all this, acknowledging the Law of the Empire was against them? Why, it was this; they were made a Society, for the Service of God, and the Profeffion of the true Faith, by an higher Authority than the Emperor's, the Authority of God himfelf; and therefore it was not enough for them to believe the Truth in their Hearts, and to live a Moral Life in

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