An answer to two treatises of Mr. John Can, the leader of the English…An answer to two treatises of Mr. Iohn Can, the leader of the English…

To communicate in the true Worship of God, with Ministers no better than ignorant, idle, proud, cruel, covetous and profane Priests, no better than Scribes and Pharisees, is neither a vain worship, nor an abetting of the party in his sin, nor to rebel against the Lord, nor to commit spiritual whoredom, or to embrace the bosom of an harlot. These are great words to affright, but they are of no force to hurt, if a man will not cowardly yield without any combat. No, to communicate with such, when God called us thereunto, is to worship God aright, to reverence his ordinances, to rely on his grace, to hearken unto his voice, and submit unto his good pleasure. To such communicating he hath promised and vouchsafed his blessing, their service is acceptable unto God, because commanded by him, and they have found him graciously present to cheer and refresh them. It is without question, the Prophets, our Saviour, the Apostles, the Faithful in all ages have communicated with such in Gods Ordinances, but not in their sin: And what man well advised will say of that practice, that it was either Rebellion against God, or spiritual whoredom, or vain worship? The Faithful must not communicate with those societies in mind or body, where Christ is not at all present with the presence of his grace and love, nor in those polluted Congregations, ¹where real Idolatry is so practised, that they cannot be present, but they must partake therein: ²They must not communicate with false Prophets in things of their own devising, and which they bring merely upon their own brain, and not at all from God: but if ignorant, scandalous, corrupt men, who neither please God, nor are approved of him in their Office and Ministration, in a society professing the entire Faith of Christ, do by authority dispense the Ordinances of God, the Faithful may and ought to communicate with them, if they want power to redress and amend things out of order. They must not Communicate ⟨p. 16⟩in sin, but they may and ought to hold Communion in the exercises of Religion, with the true Church of Christ.

To communicate in the true Worship of God, with Ministers no better than ignorant, idle, proud, cruell, covetous and profane Priests, no better than Scribes and Pharisees, is neither a vaine worship, nor an abetting of the party in his sinne, nor to rebell against the Lord, nor to commit spirituall whoredome, or to embrace the bosome of an harlot. These are great words to affright, but they are of no force to hurt, if a man will not cowardly yeeld without any combate. No, to communicate with such, when God called us thereunto, is to worship God aright, to reverence his ordinances, to rely on his grace, to hearken unto his voice, and submit unto his good pleasure. To such communicating he hath promised and vouchsafed his blessing, their service is acceptable unto God, because commanded by him, and they have found him graciously present to cheere and refresh them. It is without question, the Prophets, our Saviour, the Apostles, the Faithfull in all ages have communicated with such in Gods Ordinances, but not in their sinne: And what man well advised will say of that practice, that it was either Rebellion against God, or spirituall whoredom, or vaine worship? The Faithfull must not communicate with those societies in mind or body, where Christ is not at all present with the presence of his grace and love, nor in those polluted Congregations,