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Chrift dwindles away to nothing, and their Mafter takes no Pleasure in them. Now if our Flocks were really capable of all these Things, which they pretend to; Jeroboam's Policy, would be very reasonable, and the meaneft of the People for Birth, or Parts, or Honefty, would be the moft proper Tools to work with, and deftroy Souls the most effectually.

But fure I am, that God has order'd Matters otherwife; and that we are to give an Account to our Mafter, of our People, and not our People of us. It must be fuppos'd by Men of Confideration, that generally speaking, we know the Neceffities of our People, and what is fitteft for their Inftruction: Generally, we are more capable of knowing, when they tranfgrefs the Laws of God, than they do themselves: And it would be prodigioufly ftrange, if we fhould toil and ftudy, and pray for Abilities to do our Duties; and the meaneft of our Auditors fhould on the fudden, be able to difcern all our Errors and Deficiencies, our numerous Follies and Imperfections, and to teach us what we should do, and what we fhould difcourfe on And what is yet more ftrange, that those who are fo very quick-fighted and apprehenfive in thefe Matters, fhould be the moft loofe and ignorant of our Hearers: For the beft and wifeft of them never pretend to any fuch extraordinary Qualifications. It was the Boaft of David once, that God, thro' his Law had given him moreUnderstanding than all his Teachbut it was,becaufe God's Statutes were his Meditation. Others, it feems, by a contrary Praatice, by never examining, nor feriously me

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ditating on God's Word, have attain'd to the fame Excellency: But fuch are thofe of whom the Apostle fpeaks, They defire to be Teachers of the Law, understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But this we know at last, that those who are led by fuch Fancies, neither are, nor poffibly can be, good Chriftians. Good Chriftians will fubmit to their Lawful Teachers; Thefe vilify and defert them: Good Christians love thofe Preachers beft, who fearch deepeft into the Nature and Danger of their Sins; Thefe love thofe beft, who fow Pillows under their Elbows, and footh and flatter them in their Ways of Wickednefs: Good Chriftians defire earnestly to have proper Weapons put into their Hands againft improving Superftition, Idolatry and Separation: Thefe love to walk in new Ways, to find out new Teachers, to caft off every Bond, and to break every Yoke: Good Chriftians ftick clofeft to their Teachers, in the most difficult Times; These fly off and run into all Extravagancies of Do&trine and Practice, as if our Saviour had never appointed any Governors at all in his Church; or as if the Ways to Heaven were as various as the Caprice of every private Perfon's Brain. There needs no Prophetick Spirit to foretell what will be the Event of thefe Things. But to extenuate, if poffible, the Weight of thofe Judgments which we feel, or may juftly fear, I defire every one to confider feriously with me these Things.

1. How much a due Submiffion to the DoEtrine and Difcipline of our lawful Teachers, in Times of the feverest Trials, conduces to

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the Honour of that holy Religion which we profefs; whether we look upon it as the Chriitian Religion at large, or the Chriftian Religion reform'd from all the Deficiency's of Ignorance and Separation, or the Excrefcencies of Popih Superftition and Idolatry. Jerufalem the City of the Living God, is built as a City which is at Unity in it felf. That Unity is its Glory; That which renders the Church of God lovely to its Friends, and formidable to its Enemies. But wherein can that blessed Unity confift, but in the mutual Concurrence of pious Chriftians with their faithful Paftors, and with one another? It is the Duty of Paftors to watch for the Good of their Flocks; to take and deftroy thofe Foxes; thofe little Foxes, who by cunning Devices, infinuate themselves into all Societies of Men, only that they may do Mif chief, that they may unfettle Mens Minds, and under various Pretences, inftil into them dangerous and damnable Opinions. It is their Duty to oppofe thofe ravening Wolves, who come but as cruel Thieves to fteal and to kill and to deftroy; thofe open and profefs'd Adverfaries to true Piety, who make it their Bufinefs to fhame and banish all ferious Religion out of Doors. It is the Duty of those who are lawfully commiffion'd to feed the Flock of Chrift, to live fo agreeably to their own Doctrine; that while they preach to, and inftruct others, they themselves may not become Caft-aways. And if they are careful to do this, it is impoffible that they who are but poor frail Men,fhould do more toward advancing the Reputation of Religion. On the other Hand, VOL. II. N

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therefore, it is the Duty of their People, to try and examine, fo far as they are able, the Doctrine of their Teachers, by the Word of God to get a full and clear Satisfaction concerning the Lawfulness of their Teachers Call and Commiffion to dispense the Word of God, and to confecrate his Holy Sacraments: and when they are once throughly fatisfy'd in this Matter, they are obliged to love, honour, and encourage the true Labourers in God's Vineyard for their Work's Sake, and to obey their Doctrine with fincere and chearful Minds; to live fuitably to thofe Means of Grace which God affords them by the Hands of his own Minifters, giving all Diligence to make their Calling and Election fure. It is their Duty to be humble and lowly in their own Efteem, not too good to be inftru¿ted, too wife to be contradicted, too proud to be reprov'd, or too great to be approach'd by the Meannefs of God's immediate Officers, or by the Foolishness of Preaching: But they ought to be ever ready with Meekness to receive the engrafted Word, which is able to fave their Souls. They ought to be fo far from covering, denying, extenuating or pleading for their Sins, that they fhould be very careful to prevent any Sin from refting upon their Brethren, or Fellow-Believers, and to bring them to the open Light, if fofter Means will not reduce them, or reform the Sinner that fo those may fuffer open Shame and Punishment, who by their difagreeable Lives and Practices, have given juft Scandal or Caufe of Of fence, to the Church of God. And all Chritians ought to be truly charitable and tender

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hearted, one toward another; which Charity confifts, not in indulging their Miftakes, or foothing or countenancing them in their Errors; but in reproving them feriously and impartially for their Mifcarriages; in behaving themselves with fuch Prudence and Refolution, as not to encourage or feem to connive at their Faults, when they are obvious and undeniable; nor yet to condemn or cen fure them, when indeed they do only what is juftifiable or commendable.

These were the Methods, by which the holy Apoftles and their Succeffors rais'd the Reputation of Chriftianity, in its first Ages, above all the niceft Speculations of Philofophers concerning Honefty and Good; and thefe alone are the Ways by which Chriftianity may, if ever, he reftor'd to its antient Splendor. By these Methods, when a horrid Darkness had overfpread the Face of almoft the whole Chriftian World, we came happily to recover fome Sparks of pure and truly antient Light; which quickly broke out into a furprizing Flame, and foon produc'd our neceffary, but much envy'd Reformation. They were inteftine Schifms and Divifions which fully'd the firft Glories even of the Apoftolick Church; Divifions to which corrupt Mankind are fo incident, that even that Divine and Infallible Spirit, by which those wife Mafter-Builders were generally guided, could not entirely prevent or extinguish them. But how did the bleffed St. Paul deplore thofe unhappy Divifions? How did he refute the various foolish Pleas for them, and reprove and threaten the Dividers? How earnestly did

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