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fited moft, as to their Converfations, who are truly afraid to break any of God's Commands, to make vain or blafphemous Excufes to palliate their Crimes, to neglect the Participation of God's facred Ordinances or to be cenforious or uncharitable with refpect to their Neighbours?

Now, let our most forward or partial Enemies fpeak their Thoughts fincerely, are not thefe the Things perpetually inculcated by thofe who moft faithfully deliver the Doctrine of the Church of England? Do not we set forth Sin and Wickednefs in as odious Colours, and Virtue and true Piety as much pleafing to God, and as advantageous to Man, as any of thofe whom they look on as their moft powerful Preachers, in their separate Affemblies? Or let Men of unprejudiced Minds compare their printed Sermons, where to be fure they have filed and polifh'd their Thoughts with the utmoft Care, with those publish'd by the moft fteddy, or if they will, the moft rigid of the Bifhops and Presbyters of the Church of England; and fee which of the two Sorts of Sermons are moft likely to bring fuch as are without, into the Fold of the Church of Chrift; to bring a Papift to approve of our Reformation; an Atheift to the Acknowledgment of,and Submiffion to, reveal'd Religion; a Rebel to Fidelity and Obedience to his lawful Sovereign; or a general Debauchee, to good Manners and Sobriety: For empty canting, vain Repetitions and Arguments, without Nerves or Sinews, will never work to any Purpose upon fuch Criminals as these. Again, let any of our Schifmaticks, if they can, name thofe Sins, thofe Trefpaffes upon any of God's Gommandments,

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mandments, which we cherish or indulge; Let them thew thofe Duties toward God or our Brethren, which we beat out of Countenance, or difcourage; Did we, or any of our Brethren, ever find Fault with any for being too Good, or too holy, or for knowing too much, or pra&tifing too ftrictly? If we have been guilty of any of thefe Faults, our Accufers will fall under the fame Lash too: For in all those Pleas they have made for themselves, the ftrongest has been this; that they have preach'd the fame Doctrine with us; that they can all freely fubfcribe to Thirty Six of our Articles, and many to the whole Thirty Nine, But, when all is done, Man fpeaks only to the Ear, it is God who fpeaks to the Heart: We may be conftant and induftrious in our Minifterial Labours, we may ftudy earnestly to know the Will of God, and impart it to others with the greatest Freedom and Cheerfulnefs; Paul may plant, and Apollos may water, but God only gives the Increase. It is not all the Reafon contain❜d in our moft weighty Difcourfes, nor all the Earneftnefs of our most preffing and unanfwerable Arguments, nor the truly Evange lical Nature of our Doctrines, nor indeed any Thing, that can proceed from the best digefted Thoughts and Meditations in the World which can fo prevail, as to turn any obftinate and long practis'd Wretch from the Ways of Sin; unless God be pleas'd to add his Bleffing, to open the Sinner's Heart, and to speak Converfion and Reformation to him: We may by calm Arguing, it may be, reduce a Man to fhame for a By-pafs'd wicked Action; but God only can form and ftrengthen and render ef

fectual

fectual his Refolutions against repeating fuch Wickedness for the Time to come: God alone can give him true Repentance for Sins paft; and God alone can give him Grace, to bring forth Fruits agreeable to his Profeilion of Repentance.

If thefe Things then be true, where may we expect God's Favour and Bleffing, but in his Sanctuary? On whofe Labours are his Bleffings moft likely to defcend, but on those to whom he has given Commiffion to preach the Gospel. For let us look upon all the feveral Parties of thofe, who separate from the Church of England: They are numerous enough, but are they all Chriftians? Or do Chriftians edify under all their Doctrines? Do the Followers of their Schifmatical Teachers of every kind grow wifer and better, by being made Partakers of all thofe particular Opinions, by which they diftinguish themfelves from us and from one another in their feveral Affemblies? Fire and Water are not more contrary one to another, than the diftinguishing Tenets maintain'd by our different Sectaries. It is true, that they all agree in fome Doctrines; but they are either fuch, as are generally odious and deftructive to all human Society and folid Religion, or elfe fuch in which they agree with us; and who can tell, why Truth in the Mouth of a Bifhop or Presbyter of the Church of England, fhould not be as true, as in the Mouths of uncommiffion'd Intruders into that facred Office? Or is it only in those distinguishing Opinions I have fpoken of, that Men edify fo much under Diffenting Teachers? Then Contradictions may be true on both

Sides, at the fame Time, and they must be obftinately wilful indeed, who can ftumble at Tranfubftantiation. They have abus'd and vilify'd one another abundantly in their Writings; they have confuted one another in their Way; and whenever they have had an Opportunity, they have endeavour'd to cruth all fuch, as would not submit to their Tyranny: But certainly, if I believ'd those of another Party were in as fair a Way to Salvation as my felf, I would either unite with them in their Principles and Practices, or elfe I muft neceffarily own, that I love Divifion, only for Divifion's Sake, which is no very good Account for those to give of themselves, who pretend to Chriftianity. All those who apoftatize from us to any of the Diffenting Congregations, plead the fame thing in Defence of their Separation; they all dream of better Means of Edification; and furely no Body can condemn them for taking all imaginable Care of their own precious Souls. But then Men may hear, and join in the Roman Mafs, as well as in unpremeditated Prayers; for Papifts do fo too for greater Edification.

Now, it is certain, that all the Ways made ufe of, by our feveral Sectaries, can never be the most edifying Ways, whatever any of them may pretend to. Nay, it is as certain, that they may every one of them, be under very great Miftakes, when at the fame Time they every one fancy themfelves to be in the Right. And furely this is no Time for Men, who pretend to take fuch very great Care for their Souls, to run wildly after every new and freak

ifh Invention. It is to be confefs'd, to the Shame of themselves, and to the Difhonour of the Church of England, that many of those who call themselves her Members, yet act as her greatest and most inveterate Enemies. Ta verns and Brothels fteal them frequently from the publick worshiping Congregations. When they come to hear, they come with Ears only itching after Novelties, or to comply with a prevailing Fashion; and that every one may not look upon them as downright Atheists. They love their Sins too well, to believe God's or the Church's faithful Meffengers; and act, indeed, as if they neither fear'd Hell, nor hoped for Heaven. Such are the Ulcers, the Plague-Sores of any Chriftian Community. Others again make a fair Shew, and exprefs a plaufible Sobriety in their general Converse, and are ufually very well fpoken of in the Neighbourhood, as a good fort of Men: Yet they very feldom look into the Word of God, never regard the moft folemn Ordinances or Inftitutions of Heaven, fuch as Prayers, Catechifing, Sacraments, as if they were not at all concern'd in them; as if God in Chrift had given them as fo many meer Formalities; without any Regard, whether they were obferv'd or not: Frivolous worldly Pretences, wretched and finful Excufes are made ufe of by them in their own Defence; idle Shams, fuch as may pass upon Men, but fuch as will never fatisfy Almighty God, or reconcile him to their deceitful Practices. Such Men as thefe bring our holy Religion into Difesteem. They make it to be look'd on only as a Trick of defigning Priefts, to overaw a fuperftitious World.

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