how their being commanded, can make them unlawful; So that in this Cafe, there is no Sin in yielding Obedience to the Church, and confequently, no, Cause of withdrawing our Conmunion from it.

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Neither, Secondly, can it be true, that Errors in a Church as to Matter of Doctrines, or Corruptions as to Matter of Practice, fo long as thofe Errors and Corruptions are only fuffered, but not impofed, can be a fufficient Caufe of Separation; the Reafon is, because these Things are not Sins in us, fo long as we do not join with the Church in them. So that fo long as we can communicate with a Church, without either profeffing her Errors, or partaking in her finful Practices, as in the prefent Cafe it is fuppofed may do; fo long we are bound, upon the Princi ple before laid down, not to feparate from her.

Neither, in the Third and laft Place, is the enjoying a more profitable Miniftry, or living under a more pure Difcipline in a feparate Congregation, a juft Caufe of forfaking the Communion of the Church of which we are Mem bers: And the Reafon is, because we are not to commit a Sin for the promoting a good End. Now (as we have faid) it is a Sin to forfake the Communion of the Church, whereof we are Members, fo long as her Communion is not finful: but the Enjoyment of a lefs profitable Miniftry, or a lefs pure Difcipline, doth not make her Communion finful; therefore the Enjoyment of a more pure Miniftry, or a more profitable Difcipline, cannot make a Separation from her lawful.

T'hus

Thus have I, as briefly as I could, reprefented to you the Particulars of that Duty we owe to our common Mother, in the Prefervation of her Unity and Communion. And I hope I have not been fo zealous for Peace, as to have been at all injurious to Truth.

I am confident, I have faid nothing but what is very agreeable to Scripture and Reason, and the Sense of the best and ancienteft Chriftians: And I am certain, I have not intrenched upon any of thofe Grounds upon which our Ancestors proceeded to the Reformation of Religion among us. And for most of the Things here delivered, we have alfo the Suffrage of feveral, and those the most learned and moderate, of our diffenting Brethren.

And now, if after this, any one be offended, as indeed these kind of Difcourfes are feldom very acceptable; all I can say, is this, That the Truths here delivered, are really of fo great Importance to Religion and the publick Peace, that they ought not to be diffembled or fuppreffed, for any bad Reception they may meet with from fome Men: But as for the Manner of delivering them, I have taken all the Care I could, not to give Offence to any.

I now pafs on to the Second Part of my Task upon this Head; which is to confider the Duty recommended in the Text, with relation to particular Chriftians, our Brethren.

And here my Business is, to direct you to the Purfuit of thefe Things that make for Peace; as Peace fignifies mutual Love and Charity, in Oppofition to Strife, and Bitterness, and Contentions.

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The Things that make for Peace, in this Sense, are more especially thefe that follow, which I fhall deliver by way of Rules and Advices.

The First Rule is, to diftinguifh carefully between Matters of Faith, and Matters of Opinion; and as to thefe latter, to be willing that every one fhould enjoy the Liberty of judging for himself.

This is one Thing that would help very much to the extinguishing of those unnatural Heats and Animofities, which have long been the Reproach of Chriftians. If Men would fet no greater Value upon their Notions and Opinions, than they do deferve; if they would make a Difference between neceflary Points, and those that are not fo; and in thofe Things that are not neceffary, would not rigorously tie up others to their Meafures, but would allow every Man to abound in his own Senfe, fo long as the Church's Peace is not hereby injured, we fhould not have fo many bitter Quarrels and Heart-burnings among us. But, alas! whilft every one will frame a Syftem of Divinity of his own Head, and every puny Notion of that Syftem must be Chriften'd by the Name of an Article of Faith; and every Man that doth not believe juft as he doth, muft ftrait be a Heretick for not doing fo: How can it be expected but we must wrangle eternally?

It were heartily to be wifhed, that Chriftians would confider, that the Articles of Faith, those Things that God hath made neceffary by every one to be believed, in order to his

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Salvation, are but very few; and they are all of them fo plainly and clearly fet down in the Scripture, that it is impoffible for any fincere, honeft-minded Man to mifs of the true Senfe of them; and they have farther this Badge, to diftinguish them from all other Truths, that they have an immediate Influence upon Mens Lives, a direct Tendency, to make, Men Better; whereas moft of thofe Things. that make the Matter of our Controverfies, and about which we make fuch a Noise and Clamour, and for which we fo bitterly cenfure and anathematize one another, are quite, of another Nature: They are neither fo clear-, ly revealed or propounded in the Scripture, but that even good Men, through the great Dif ference of their Parts, Learning and Educa+ tion, may, after their beft Endeavours, vary in their Sentiments about them. Nor do they at all concern a Chriftian Life, but are Matters, of pure Notion and Speculation; fo that it cannot with any reafon, be pretended, that they are Points upon which Mens Salvation doth depend. It cannot be thought that God will, be offended with any Man for his Ignorance or Miftakes concerning them And, if not, if a Man may be a good Chriftian, and go to Heaven, whether he holds the right or the wrong Side in thefe Matters, for God's fake, why fhould we be angry with any one for having other Opinions about them, than we have? Why fhould we not rather permit Men to use their Understandings as well as they can, and where they fail of the Truth, to bear with them,

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them, as God himself without question will; than by tickling for every unneceffary Truth, deftroy that Peace, and Love, and Amity, that ought to be among Chriftians?

The Second Thing I would recommend, is a great Simplicity and Purity of Intention in the Purfuit of Truth; and at no hand to let Paffion, or Intereft, or any Self-end, be ingredient into our Religion.

The Practice of this would not more conduce to the Discovery of Truth, than it would to the promoting of Peace: For it is eafy to obferve, that it is not always a pure Concernment for the Truth, in the Points in Controversy, that makes us fo zealous, fo fierce, and fo obftinate in our Difputes for or againft them; but fomething, of which that is only the Mask and Pretence, fome By-ends that muft be ferved, fome Secular Intereft that we have efpoufed, which must be carried on.

- We have either engaged ourselves to fome Party, and fo its Interefts, right or wrong, must be promoted; or we have taken up an Opinion inconfiderately at the firft, and appeared in the Favour of it, and afterward our own Credit doth oblige us to defend it: Or we have received fome Slight or Difappointment from the Men of one Way, and fo in pure Pet and Revenge we pafs over to their Adverfaries Or it is for our Gain and Advantage, that the Differences among us be still kept on foot or we defire to get ourfelves a Name by fome great Atchievements in the Noble Science of Controverfies: Or we are poffeffed with

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