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Books Printed for and Sold by Jonah Bowyer at the Rofe in Ludgate-Street.

Now in the Prefs, and will (peedily be publish'd the following Books.

T

Welve Sermons preach'd on feveral Occafions, by the Right Reverend Father in God George Lord Bishop of Bristol, 80.

The 5th and 6th Volumes of Dr. South's Sermons, never before printed:

A Voyage to the South Sea, and along the Coafts of Chili and Peru, in the Years 1712. 1713. and 1714. Particularly defcribing the Genius and Conftitution of the Inhabitants, as well Indians as Spaniards: Their Cuftoms and Manners; their natural History, Mines, Commodities, Traffick with Europe, &c. By Mon“ fieur Frezier, Engineer in ordinary to the French King; illuftrated with 37 Copper Cuts of the Coafts, Harbours, Cities, Plants and other Curiofities: printed from the Author's original Plates, inferted in the Paris Edition, with a Poftfcript by Dr. Edmund Halley, Savillian Profeffor of Geometry in the University of Ox ford and an Account of the Settlement, Commerce, and Riches of the Jefuits in Paraguay, 4to,

Now Publifh'd,

Forty Eight Sermons and Difcourfes on feveral Subjects and Occafions. In Four Volumes. By Robert South, D. D.

ΑΝ

ORIGINAL DRAUGHT

OF THE

Primitive Church, &c.

I

T is a melancholy Thing to fee, that after fo long a Settlement of the Christian Church in the World, and that by the greatest Evidence and Demonstration of Divine Wif dom and Power, that ever any Work of God was wrought amongst Men; ftill the Conftitution of this Church fhould want enquiring after: That this City of God, fet on purpose, by the Divine Founder of it, on a holy and confpicuous Hill, to the end that every fimple one who paffeth by, might readily fee it, and comfortably enter in to be faved, should be hid from Multitudes, even of ferious Enquirers after it, in thefe later Times. I have little Inclination to examine, what Occasion has been given, in the last or prefent Age, for such a wild Variety of Opinions about it, as has fill'd the Minds of too many Men with dangerous Amusements only, and afforded little or no comfortable

B

comfortable and folid Affurance of the Thing; for this (I fear ) would rather aggravate, than heal; and might teach our Enemies to reproach us, inftead of inftructing mistaken Friends: But wherefoever the Blame of all must lie, in refpect of Men, I am fure 'tis a forrowful Inftance to us all, of the too fuccessful Wiles of that Noted Adverfary in the Oracles of Truth, who, throughout every Age, has counterfeited the Works of God, that he might deceive the Children of Men; and because he can never extinguish the Light of Truth, has either rais'd Mifts to make it fhine dim, or formed Meteors of his own, that might be mistaken for it. Things are come to fuch a Height and Warmth amongst us now, that nothing lefs (I fear) than the interpofing Hand of Heaven, in a more than ordinary way, will ever undeceive the Multitudes of prejudiced Brethren in the nearer and remoter Parts of Christendom, and fo entirely repair the Breaches of this Holy City of God, as to make it (what it ought to be) in perfect Unity within itself.

Yet, when I meet with any promising Appearance of a vertuous Design to clear up all thefe Difficulties for us, and help us to a better Understanding with one another; the Subject does affect me; and I can't but have fome fecret Inclination to look into the Management of it: Not fo much to fatisfy myfelf in the Knowledge of a true Church, (which I blefs God I have long been fatisfied in) as that I can't be wholly unconcern'd for others; and would gladly fee, why, and how, we come,

to

to differ in fo great and plain a Matter, who fo generally agree in other Fundamentals of the Chriftian Truth.

This is the main Motive which induced me to look into the Treatife before me: The Title Page alone offering me a Subject, which I had a Veneration for; and the fhort Preface fairly intimating to me, that the learned Author had a proper Senfe of the Weightiness of the Argument he undertook, and as fairly promis'd a fuitable Integrity in the Performance of it: How far thefe encouraging Hints and folemn Promifes are made good in the Work itself, I shall leave to be determin'd by the Reader, when I have particularly confider'd the feveral Parts of this Elaborate Enquiry, which I now propofe to do, in Order as they lie.

CHAP. I.

To begin with his Firft Chapter then

wherein his main Bufinefs is, to examine the Primitive Notion of the Word Church; upon a due Apprehenfion whereof, he truly and ingenuously tells us, that a right Understanding of a great Part of his Difcourfe does depend. Nothing can be more proper and material therefore in the whole Enquiry before us, than to fettle this firft; wherein if we can happily agree, the whole Work will confiderably be fhorten'd to our Hands, and we fhall make a great Advance, at once, toB 2 wards

wards a friendly Accommodation, in several enfuing Particulars, which have fo near a Relation to this.

He mentions many Notions of a Church in thofe early Times, but fixes upon One only, as the ufual and common Acceptation of the Word, and which (he fays) he chiefly treats of and therefore, fince I mean to differ or difpute as little as I can, I fhall pass over most of the other lefs material Notions of it, at prefent, (how little foever I can confent to fome Particulars in them) and apply myself to confider that main and principal one, which is indeed the great Hinge upon which most of his other Speculations turn.

The Word Church (fays the) is frequently to be understood of a particular Church, i. e. of a Company of Believers, who at one Time, in one and the fame Place, did affociate themselves together, and concur in the Participation of all the Inftitutions and Ordinances of Fefus Chrift, with their proper Paftors and Minifters: And in this Senfe (fays he) we must understand the Church of Rome, the Church of Smyrna, the Church of Antioch, the Church of Athens, the Church of Alexandria, or the Church in any other fuch Place what foever, when we meet them in the earliest Writers of the Chriftian Church.

This is then his pofitive Definition of a Primitive particular Church: And to reprefent all fairly, let us hear his Inftances or Authorities for it from the venerable Fathers themfelves.

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