The dying man's testament to the Church of Scotland, or, A treatise concerning scandal…

3. An Ordinance may be said to be polluted, upon this extrinsic consideration, to wit, when by some circumstance in it, or miscarriage of those that are about it, it is made common-like, and so wanteth that lustre and honourableness that it ought to have; by such a fault the Ordinance is made obnoxious to contempt, and is despised by others, contrary to the Lords allowance. Thus the Priests of old made the offerings of the Lord vile and contemptible, which was not by corrupting them in essentials, nor making them cease to be Ordinances, bu• by their miscarriages and corrupt irreverent way of going about them, they did lay that stumbling-block before others, to make them account these Ordinances contemptible. This may be diverse ways fallen into, As, 1. when the Officer, or Minister, hath a profane carnal carriage, So he maketh the Ordinance of the Ministry, and every other Ordinance vile in this sense: Thus, if an Elder or any other• should take on them to admonish while they are in drunkenness or passion, or such like, they do pollute that admonition, yet still these Ordinances are ⟨p. 149⟩Ordinances, and that admonition an admonition. 2. It is fallen into, when an Officer doth indiscreetly and indifferently administrate Ordinances to precious and vile, as if they were common things. Thus a reproof may be polluted when a manifest known contemner is reproved, because, so a pearl is cast before swine, which is derogatory to the excellency thereof. Thus a Minister may profane or pollute the most excellent promises or consolations of the Word, when he doth without discretion apply the same indifferently; or, without making difference between the tender and the untender and profane; yea, even between the hypocrites and the truly godly. This is not to divide the Word of God aright, and is indeed that which the Lord mainly accounteth to be Not separating of the precious from the vile, when peace is spoken to them to whom he never spoke […] This is also committed, when grossly scandalous persons are permitted, without the exercise of Discipline upon them▪ […] live in the Church, or are admitted to Sacraments, because so Gods institution is wronged, and the lustre thereof is lessened, and men are induced to think less thereof. 3.

3. An Ordinance may be said to be polluted, upon this extrinsick consideration, to wit, when by some circumstance in it, or miscarriage of those that are about it, it is made common-like, and so wanteth that luster and honourablenesse that it ought to have; by such a fault the Ordinance is made obnoxious to contempt, and is despised by others, contrary to the Lords allowance. Thus the Priests of old made the offerings of the Lord vile and contemptible, which was not by corrupting them in essentials, nor making them cease to be Ordinances, bu by their miscarriages and corrupt irreverent way of going about them, they did lay that stumbling-block before others, to make them account these Ordinances contemptible. This may be diverse wayes fallen into, As, 1. when the Officer, or Minister, hath a profane carnall carriage, So he maketh the Ordinance of the Ministery, and every other Ordinance vile in this sense: Thus, if an Elder or any other should take on them to admonish while they are in drunkennesse or passion, or such like, they do pollute that admonition, yet still these Ordinances are