for Men to heap up Teachers to themselves to tickle their own itching Ears, who are not fo commiffion'd as he appointed, now under the Gofpel, than it was under the Law. And this, all those who profefs Faith in Chrift, ought as certainly to know as any other the most important Truth in the World, fince the Efficacy of the Doctrine preach'd depends upon the Commiffion of the Preacher; as the Cure of the poor Serpent-bitten Ifraelites depended upon their looking up to that brazen Serpent only which Mofes had made by God's own Prefcription; and not upon looking up to any,tho' a more exquifite Piece of Work, made by any other Order, or by any other Hand.

While Men underftand not the Invalidity of all those Ordinances which their Teachers pretend to adminifter to them, nor their Prefumption in affuming the Spiritual Charge, every Thing goes down with them as glib as poffible; But when their unhappy Admirers come once to learn, that according to our Lord's original Inftitution, those who talk fo largely, and with fuch a feeming Authority, have really no Commiffion, no Authority at all for what they do: It will make them either utterly to reject all fuch pretended Apostles, or at leaft to be very curious and inquifitive into the Nature of those Doctrines which they deliver: For by their Doctrines and the Manner of delivering them, they very often betray themselves. Such Teachers, indeed, pretend not to coerce thofe who offend against their Injunctions by their Civil Sword. But they have their Anathemas too, and will adventure boldly to give up Men to the Devil; acting

therein

therein as if they were Governors when really they never had any Spiritual Authority at all invested in them. That felf-fent Preachers take upon themselves, when they find it fafe in every refpect, as highly as any, every one muft know who knows any thing: For when those who refus'd to conform to the establish'd Doctrine and Government of the Church of England were gotten uppermoft; they chaftis'd the Nation, not with Whips, but Scorpions. They know well enough, that they have a great many Adverfaries, and thofe fuch as by their own publick folemn Confeffion, are Men of extraordinary Parts and Learning, and of exemplary Piety and Holinefs. All the World. which is not wilfully blind, knows that the Writings of thofe Adverfaries of theirs are very numerous, weighty, clear, and in a Word, unanfwerable, either by them or any of their Friends and Favourers: And this those who take but a little Pains to examine them find. Yet it is no lefs than a Crime deferving the fevereft Cenfure for one of the Profelytes of Schifm, or a Haunter of Conventicles to be found read in any of them: It is as dangerous as it is for a Papift to be found reading the Bible in his native Language, or any other Heretical Book. How many have I my felf known, who fly out with the most furious and implacable Anger againft our publick Liturgy or Book of Common-Prayer, who never yet durft take the Liberty of looking into one, or examining for himself, whether there be any thing in it fo very Criminal as is pretended; and confequently are wholly ignorant of what is contain❜d in thofe facred and incomparable

rable Devotions! And how many has the World known, who by taking that Liberty to look into it, have been brought to a full Conformity to the Legal Difcipline of our Eftablish'd Church, and an Approbation of her Authentick Services. The Leaders of our feparate Affemblies will adventure to publish fome wretched Thing, fo very mean, that the only Hopes they build on from them, are that none of the Church will take any Notice of them, and therefore they may pals for unanfwerable; and fometimes they gain their Ends: And these Things muft with all the Recommendations imaginable be thruft into the Hands of their Followers, as if they were fufficient Defences of themselves, and fufficient Confutations of their Enemies. But if any Man of ferious Piety and Learning, do stoop fo low as fairly to animadvert upon their little trifling Difcourfes; wo to thofe poor Creatures of tender Confciences, as they call them, who fhall dare to take fuch wicked, fuch blafphemous Books, (for fuch are the kindeft Characters they can beftow upon them) into their Hands; as ifnone could contradict them, or expofe their Follies, but he must from that unhappy Time, commence an Enemy to Jefus Chrift, and to his Saints.

Now Men of real Piety and Ingenuity act by very different Meafures. In what they preach, or what they write, they aim not at Victory, but at Truth. Their Bufinefs is to undeceive those whofe Ignorance or Unwarinefs expos'd them to the Artifices of crafty Seducers, They are fo far from defiring that their Hearers or Readers would know only one Side of a Controverfy, when they have heard

that

that there is a Controverfy on Foot about fuch or fuch a Point; that if at all capable of it,they will perfuade them to read both Sides carefully, to compare diligently and impartially Reasons with Reafons,and Arguments with Arguments, that fo at laft they may know and embrace Truth upon good and fatisfactory Grounds. But falfe Teachers are not only faulty in this Particular. It was the Proteftation of St. Paul to the Ephefian Elders who attended him at Miletus, that he had not forborn to declare to them the whole Counfel of God, i. e. all those Doctrinal and Disciplinary Rules which were needful to be known by them, in Order to their eternal Salvation. These feparating Teachers, on the contrary, ftudy to conceal what is neceffary; and infift altogether either upon Things needlefs to that great End, or fuch as are obfcure and uncertain, or fuch as are certainly falfe and dangerous, while the weighty Fundamentals of found Religion are flighted or forgotten. Thus they will difcourfe at large upon Vifions, and Revelations, fuch as doubtlefs have excellent Interpretations belonging to them: But feeing they differ fo much among themselves concerning the right Interpretati on of them, it is a very natural Confequence from thence, that Almighty God never intended them as common Themes of popular Difcourfes. They will talk with infinite Vehemency and Confidence concerning Predefination, Election, Reprobation, concerning the Nature of God's Eternal Decrees, &c. by which they only perplex Mens Minds, but never fatisfy their Fears or Doubts. They make long Difcourfes to puff up their Hearers with Spi

ritual

ritual Pride, and to perfuade that they them felves, and they only are the true Saints, the Elect People of God, and thofe for whofe Sakes Earth and Heaven it felf were made; all which yet, if it were true in Fact, is more than they can ever make out, and more than the numerous Marks and Evidences can ever demonftrate.

They'll tell them of fuch ftrange Liberties purchas'd for them in particular by the preci ous Blood of Chrift, as may go a great Way to perfuade them, that that Lamb of God dy'd for no other End, but that thofe who affume to themselves the Name of God's own People might indulge themselves the more fearlefly in all manner of Abominations; that how quickfighted foever he may be as to the Crimes of other Men, yet cannot fee Sin in his Ele&, which Elect they are; and upon the Certainty of their being fo, their Teachers talk as if they were ready and willing to pawn their own Souls. Thefe ftrange kind of Saints encouraged by fuch dangerous and horrid Doctrines commit all manner of Wickedness with Greediness; they eagerly do Evil, that Good may come of it: For being affured already, that they are the Elect of God, they can fteal, defraud, break all manner of religious Oaths or holy Vows, whore, rebel against their natural Parents, their Spiritual Parents the lawful Bifhops and Governors of the Church,whom Chrift himself appointed to be the only Guardians of their Souls,and against their natural and rightful Sovereigns to whom they are engaged by their Birth, and by the Oath of God. They

can