the National Church, in which they serv'd God with any new fangled Devices of their own: No; they and the Scribes fat in Mofes Sear; they maintain'd the Publick allowed Forms of Regular Devotion, and read the Law of Mofes to the People: Nor did the Sadducees, tho' notorious Hereticks, make any Breach upon the Communion of the Church: So that the Spiritual Governors of the Jewish Church could not punish thofe Crimes they were wholly unacquainted with. And happy, thrice happy were this Age we live in, had our Cafe been like that of the Roman State; (who for many Years had made no Laws against Parricide, as imagining none could be guilty of fo unnatural a Crime) had we had no Laws against Church Dividers, and none wicked enoug to have deferv'd them, to have given Reasons or Occafions for fuch Inftitutions!

But what, or how great foever the Felicity of the Jewish Synagogue was, the Chriftian Church could not long boaft of any such unbroken Communion. Our bleffed Mafter,tho' He were the undoubted Monarch of his Church, yet when He took upon Him our Nature was only in a State of Exinanition or Humiliation; and therefore he feldom offer'd at any Authoritative A&, excepting only among the Twelve or the Seventy, his more intimate Difciples and Friends. But being then upon the actual Execution of his Prophetical Office, and being a Perfon lawfully commiffion'd from Heaven for the Work of a Prophet; he boldly and as a Prophet condemns and cenfures, both the Hypocrify and Immoralities of the Jews. And fo I understand what He fays, when he charges them with Paying Tithes Mat. 23.

of 24.

of Mint, Annife and Cummin, but omitting the weightier Things of the Law, Judgment, Mercy and Ifa. 59.8, Faith, &c. i. e. They omitted the due and im9, 10, 11, partial Execution of Juftice, which they had been fo often call'd to by the Prophets; they Jerem. 5 took no Care to fhow Love, Condefcenfion,

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Charity, Compaffion toward their Brethren; they easily and unconcernedly broke their Vows, Promifes and Engagements to God and to one another; and ftudy'd only to cheat,circumvent and defraud their Neighbours: Our Saviour Himfelf allows, that they taught what was fit to be done, but they themselves did nothing,

Again, the Holy Jefus cenfures their Infincerity in religious Matters, their erroneous, abfurd and impious Gloffes upon the Law of Mo fes, their unreasonable and impious Traditions, which, in effect, vacated that Law, their prefumptuous Additions to the Commands of God, which made them burthenfome and uneafy to the People. And tho' there were no actual Schisms yet among his own Followers, the Number being fmall, and his Authority to quell them irrefiftible; yet our Mafter, well knowing how foon fuch Things would be among them after his Afcenfion, takes particular Care to obviate all fuch Mifchiefs by his earneft Perfwafives to Love. It was the only New Commandment he would give them, that they should John 13. love one another; and hereby, fays he, shall all Men know that ye are my Difciples, if ye keep my Commandments, if ye have Love to one another. And all this Caution of our Mafter's was but too neceffary; the Progrefs of the Gofpel was like to be much greater than that of the Law; MoJes had made but a few Profelytes among the

35.

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Gentiles, but the Propagators of Christianity were commanded to make Difciples of all Nations: This Confideration mov'd all the Powers of Hell: And the Devil, with all his accurfed Politicks, could find out no more effectual Stratagem to hinder the Progrefs of the Chriftian Doctrine, than to fow the Seeds of Difcord and Division among the Profeffors of it, and fo when no Power elfe could deftroy them, to fet them upon destroying one another.

Now that Oppofition which was made to the Gospel by Secular Princes, gave great Opportunities to Men of perverfe Minds to defy the Authority even of the Apostles themfelves; when they found that they could shelter themfelves from the Lafhes of their Difcipline, under the Protection of the unbelieving Magiftrate. This gave those Mafter-Builders of the Church a new and a very unwelcome Task They had not only the Frowns and Prejudices of a malig nant World, and the Stratagems and violent Efforts of Hell from without 'to contend with; but they had Diftempers within their own Bowels, woful Breaches and Divifions among themfelves to discourage and vex them. They found their Master's Prediction made good, that it Luke 17. was impoffible but that Offences must come. They 2. endeavoured by all the kindest and the most prudent Methods to prevent, or where they could not do fo, to put an End to them: They intreated, argued, reprov'd, threatned, that there might be no more Divifions, and that Dividers might be no more liften'd to, nor follow'd: And, as St. Paul wifh'd for his beloved Galatians, Gal. 5.11. that they were cut off, not only by the Sentence of Excommunication from the Church, but by

fome

fome extraordinary Judgment, from the World, who troubled them: So we have no Reason to doubt, but that He and his Fellow. Labourers did actually and judicially cut them off from the Catholick Church without refpe& of Persons. For tho' we fhould fuppofe thofe Words of our Mat. 18. Saviour, If thy Hand or thy Foot offend thee, cut them off, and caft them from thee; if thine Eye of fend thee, pluck it out and caft it from thee; Tho' we fhould fuppose these Words might be fo far literally understood, as to intimate how little every private Chriftian ought to value the most ufeful Parts of their Bodies, when they seem to be any Hindrance to Him in his Way to Heavens yet we cannot but conclude, there's much more meant by and in these Words: For, as they were spoken by Chrift to his Disciples in particular, and were fpoken on Occation of that Queftion arifing among them, Who should be the greateft in the Kingdom of Heaven? a Question implying a fecret Kind of Pride in them who debated it, (which inward and concealed Pride is the firft Original of all Divisions) fo to obviate that Mischief, he would have them caft off all Intimacy or Communication with thofe who caus'd Offences or created Divifions in the Church.

And fince Intereft or a Partial Affection might make fome willing to extenuate, excufe or take no Notice of the Faults of fuch Perfons; these Words of our Saviour command that tho' fuch Offenders were dear to them as their Hands or Feet, or Eyes, the tendereft and the dearest Parts of a living Body; yet they fhould be cut off by the heaviest Sentence of the Church: Since it is better for a Man to lose his nearest and his deareft

dearest Friends, than for their Sake to be depriv'd of Heaven and everlasting Happiness. And this Glofs upon the Words of our Saviour agrees exactly with what he fays in another Place, He who lov th Father and Mother more than Mat. 20. me, is not worthy of me, and he who loveth Son or 37. Daughter more than me,is not worthy of me. It is needlefs to give any Inftances of what Crimes the Bifhops and Paftors of the Church of Chrift punish'd in their Way, in the fucceeding Ages; fince every one who looks into the Canons of the feveral Councils which have been receiv'd in their Code by the Catholick Church, will find,that they had no other Delign but to engage all the Members of Chrift's Myftical Body to live pure and holy Lives, and to prevent Errors and Herefies from getting any Footing among them: This Care then was incumbent upon the lawful Spiritual Governors of the Church; and they had a fufficient Authority beflow'd upon them to make Use of all proper Means for performing their Duties.

And now I would fain know what those who us'd to accufe the Legally establish'd Church of England of Perfecution (when no Trefpaffers were exempted from the Penalties of thofe Laws which were enacted on Purpose by the Government to restrain or punish them) would have her to do? We meddle not with the prefent State of Things: But our Bufinefs is to open the Eyes of many well-meaning but ignorant People who run away with the Notion, that all those who fuffer for tranfgreffing known Laws made by their own Confent, (if at least the Members of the House of Commons are the lawful Reprefentatives of the People, in religious Matters,) are perfecuted; And the Name of a Perfecuror