admitted, would fanctify all the wickednefs under heaven. St. Paul, as a zealous Jew, verily thought (that is, he was fincere in his opinion) that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth; fo he perfecuted the Chriftians furiously, and breathed out threatnings and flaughter. Now, as he had a good meaning in all he did, to what end was he converted, when his fincerity would have saved him in his former way? After his mind was better enlightened, he pronounced himself to have been the greatest of finners, for what he had thus done in the fincerity of his heart.

Thus it would be in all other cafes; he that acts fincerely upon bad principles, must be a bad man: a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit: and, "not he that commendeth himself is ap"proved, but whom the Lord commendeth." Upon the whole, he that will be faved, must be saved in the way which God hath appointed, and not in any way of his own. We fhall be judged at laft according to God's word, not according to any perfuafions we may have taken up, through the prejudices of education, or the perverseness of our own hearts; all of which are indeed no better than dreams, having no foundation but on that loose bottom of human imagination, on which are built all the visions of the night, and all the herefies in the world.

If thefe doctrines of abfolute election, immediate inspiration, the fufficiency of moral virtue, and juftification from fincerity, were true, it would follow, that God is unwife, inconsistent and improvident. For if he appoints a visible church, and its ordinances, as neceffary to make us members of the kingdom of heaven; and if he began the way of falvation by "adding to the church fuch as were to be faved;" and yet, with all this, has another private way of faving men, by a fecret decree which has no regard to any outward means, he is inconfiftent in ordaining them. And alfo, as the doctrine of immediate infpiration, or new revelation, without any figns or credentials from heaven, opens a way to every poffible delufion of the mind, either from its own vain conceits, or the fuggeftions of evil spirits, God muft be improvident in not fecuring us against fuch dangerous impofitions, which may introduce all kinds of wickedness into the world, under the fanction of a divine authority: an impoftor having nothing to do, but to perfuade himself, as any madman may do, that he acts by immediate infpiration. With this per

fuafion, men have butchered one another to make bloody bap→ tifms; have fet themselves up as kings and rulers of the new Jerufalem; have taken plurality of wives, and blasphemously perfonated God himself *. All the diforders of the last century were committed by fanatics, who affumed a privilege of feeking the Lord, and confulting, and receiving answers from him; while. their minds were bent upon the most horrible crimes of rebellion, robbery, facrilege, perfecution, and murder.

Then as to moral virtue; if that can fave those who are not added to the church, it must follow, that man never was loft, and that Chrift need not have come into the world. If fincerity in any perfuafion, good or bad, will recommend us to the favour of God, then will lies, if we do but believe them, anfwer all the purposes of truth: then is there no difference between good and evil; and it cannot be worth while to convert Jews, Turks, or Heathens, to the Gofpel, because they are as fafe in their own way. Such are the pleas by which fome men of neceffity, and fome of malignity, seek to justify themselves, when they leave the church, or defpife, or neglect its ordinances. But the foun"dation of God ftandeth fure."

After what has been faid, few words will be wanting to convince any thinking perfon of the dangers and evil confequences which must attend the fin of caufelefs feparation.

If men for falvation are brought out of the world into the church, they cannot poffibly for fake it, without hazard to their falvation. If the promifes of God, and the means of grace are committed to the church, we lofe them when we leave the church: at least it will be very hard to prove that we carry them away with us: and who would chufe to be under any uncertainty in a cafe of fuch importance?

Another evil is that of breaking the great rule of charity in our worship. We are commanded to glorify God with one mind and one mouth, and all to speak the fame thing. How contrary to this is the practice of following different ways of worfhip; fome totally difagreeing with others; and fome not deferving the name of any worfhip at all; for in fome of our affemblies,

* See Rofs's View of all Religions; particularly the Account of the Anabaptists of Germany. There was a treatise published under the name of a Hiftory of Modern Enthufiafm, between the years 1750 and 1760. We wish it were re-published. It gives a curious profpect of the effects of enthusiasm.

people meet to no purpose but to hear one another talk. There is no praying, no confeffion of fins, no abfolution, no thankf giving, no litany, no facraments! We read that the Apostles, when the Holy Ghoft defcended, were "all with one accord in one "place;" and fo ought Chriftians to be, if they would preferve the prefence of the spirit amongst them, who is the spirit of unity. And as the fpirit of unity in worship difpofes men to a more peaceable and charitable temper, fo the fpirit of divifion and fanaticifm is attended with violence and bitterness of language, and an intolerant perfecuting humour toward all who are not fanatics; especially toward the members of the church of England, which is defervedly placed at the head of the Proteftant reformation *.

* An author who put out a Syllabus of Lectures, in the year 1778, on the Principles of Non-conformity, fpeaks in the perfon of Jefus Chrift, upon the tribunal of judgment at the last day, and supposes him presenting to the world, on that tremendous occafion, his faithful servants, the Non-conformist ministers, as the great objects of his favour; and at the fame time fending off those holy tyrants, the bishops of the church of England, into everlasting fire, with that dreadful fentence-DEPART! And what are they to be damned for? Because they could not approve of non-conformity! a religion of negatives! They faw enough of its fruits to dislike it in former times, from its first appearance in this kingdom: but they did not fee, as we do now, that its end is infidelity to which it hath been tending for many years paft, and hath now attained it in the writings of Dr. Priestley, and the Unitarian affociation. Thefe lectures, with this dreadful fentence of damnation to the bishops, by Brother Robinson, were approved by the Eafter Affociation of Effex, at Harlow, and recommended to the fifterchurches by order of all. June 18, 1778. Of what character must these sister. churches be, if they are of the fame fpirit with Brother Robinson? Surely they are not chafte virgins, prefentable to a meek and merciful Saviour, who prayed for his murderers; but unmerciful harlots, curfing and damning the established church for retaining epifcopacy. Had there been no non-conformity, the poor bishops might have efcaped like other men, and have been entitled to their chance of mercy through the merits of their Redeemer, who died for them, and for all men, and fent forth the first bishops by his own immediate authority. What would fuch non-conformists do, if they had it in their power, who are provoked to fuch uncharitable ravings under the present most mild and moderate state of the church of England? The Lectures of Brother Robinfon, we are informed, were produced in the Houfe of Commons when the teft act was in question.

But the moft fuperlative inftance of fanatic malignity I ever yet faw, is to be found in the works of Milton, whofe malignity was rendered more malignant by the depreffed and afflicted condition to which the church was then reduced. He was a man of a bright and perfect imagination, and gifted with a wonderful choice of beautiful and descriptive expreffions. But the weapon is the worfe for its sharpness, when malice hath the handling of it: and imagination is a mirror which can reflect the fires of hell as well as the lights of heaven; of which, I think, we have an example in the following invective against the bishops of the church of England: But they that by

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There is also great hazard of lofing the doctrines, when we leave, the worship of the church. When the ten tribes revolted from the worship at Jerufalem, they foon loft the truth of their law, and fell into an idolatrous worshipping of the calves they had fet up in Dan and Bethel. Their government was troubled with great disorders, and their confufion ended in their utter difperfion. When men leave the worship of the church, it is very natural for them to become difaffected to its doctrines: and they who hate the Christian faith, will take part with those who are against the church; becaufe they forefee, that if the church be destroyed, the faith will be loft; as the light goes out when the lamp is broken. One of the moft malicious books that ever was written in this country against the Chriftian faith, was all of it apparently directed against the church: on which confideration, many, who then believed the Chriftian doctrines, were drawn in by a difaffection to the church, to take part with an infidel.

2. I am to remark farther, that with those who are ignorant and ill-instructed in the nature and ufe of the church, there is a perverse prejudice in favour of preaching; and confequently a fhocking neglect of those duties which belong to the people. It is a fine easy way for people with itching ears, to hear a preacher talk them into heaven; while they neglect all the more effential parts, of divine worship. Many hear a fermon with the fame vain curiosity as people hear a speech upon a stage, and consult nothing but their own amusement. And while the whole of the minifterial duty is fuppofed to confift in preaching, a man, who can bawl and rant, is tempted to take himself for a minifter of Jefus Chrift, without any regular miffion; of which fort we have multitudes in this kingdom at this time: and it is to be feared they

the impairing and diminution of the true faith, the diftreffes and fervitude of their country, afpire to high dignity, rule, and promotion here, after a fhameful end in this. life (which God grant them!) shall be thrown down eternally into the darkest and deepest gulph of hell; where under the defpiteful control, the trample and spurn of all the other damned, who, in the anguish of their torture, fhall have no other eafe than to exercise a raving and beastial tyranny over them, as their flaves and negroes, they shall remain in that plight for ever, the bafeft, the lowermoft, the most dejected, moft underfoot, and down trodden vaffals of perdition."-Conclufion of Milton's Treatise on Reformation: Vol. I. p. 274. If it were put to my option, whether I would be an ideot, without a fingle faculty of mind, or a fingle fenfe of the body; or whether I would have Milton's imagination, attended with this fiery fpirit of fanaticism, I should not hesitate one moment to determine.

are increasing. It is no uncommon thing for perfons of all persuasions to meet in the fame church to hear the fame preacher; many of whom have no communion with one another at any other time: how is a preacher to please such a mixt multitude of hearers, but by leaving the church of Chrift out of the question, and preaching a loose fort of religion, which will fit them all? Perhaps, if he were to speak the plain truth, and, from a fincere regard to their fouls, give them fuch information as they stand most in need of, many of them would leave him with indignation as there were those who would walk no longer with Jefus Christ, because they were not able to bear the things that were spoken by him. There is a fashion of inviting people to come to Chrift, without telling them where and how he is to be found. Besides, it is a great mistake to suppose, that the whole of religion confifts in our taking of Chrift; it is beginning at the wrong end: for Chrift is to take us, as he took the little children in his arms, and gave them his bleffing*. He faid to his difciples, "ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." There is a covenant between us and God, into which God, of his infinite grace, takes us; we do not take him, neither can we: and this confines us to the ordinances of the church, which are not of us, but are the gifts of God's free grace to us miferable finners: and Chriftians are united to God, and to one another, by the fervices of prayer, and the participation of the facraments, more than by the hearing of the word of God without them; which many hear for reafons of vanity and uncharitableness. Who are the best friends every minifter hath in his parish? They who attend the prayers and facraments with him; who are edified by his priesthood as well as by his preaching; and are active in the great work of their own falvation.

3. As the latter times of the Jewish church were very corrupt, and the doctrines of God were rendered of none effect by the inventions of men, it is agreeable to the prophecies of the New Teftament, that offences must come amongst us; that men must

* Mr. Locke, in his Reasonableness of Christianity, (a ftrange piece of divinity) is in the fame mistake. He makes baptism a visible act, whereby thofe, who believed Chrift to be the Meffiah, received him as their king. So again in the fame ftyle, he fays, that by baptism men enroll themselves in the kingdom of Jefus; which is but to fay in other words, that they write their own names in heaven. From such language as this, it is too apparent that Mr. Locke's ideas of the Chriftian priesthood and facra ments, were exceedingly low.