But laftly, their defign all along and continued practice among us, in the days of Queen Mary and Elizabeth. In the former of whofe reign, who is ignorant of the havock they made upon good and innocent men, haling them not only to prifons, but to the stake, because they could not worship a piece of bread, for God? And what they are now a doing God only knows; though in some measure their intentions have been discovered by their actions. Alas! what have these men to do with our faith in God? Is it any wrong to them, that we have faith in God according as we find caufe to believe? Is it not enough that we do approve our consciences to God, and to receive from God what he hath spoken? Is all this to no purpose, unless we will comply with their novel creeds, none of which were known in the days of the apostles, nor for feveral hundreds of years after? I fay, what juft caufe of provocation do the reformed religion give to these popish spirits: that because protestants cannot believe as the popish church doth, but are guided by reafon and scripture, the most facred things in the world; the one being the light of God's creaon and the other the revelation and refult of his will. Becaufe we cannot practice contrary to these, nor otherwife than our judgments and confciences allow of; therefore are we used, as they in Daniel by Nebuchadnezzar, thrown into the fiery furnace, and perfecuted with plunders, maffacres, and what the malice of these men can invent. Is this any religi-, ous motion think you? which always ought to be in obedience to God, and according to knowledge.

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If this be a heavy charge, I appeal to thofe that know them best, whether I charge them with any thing that is not apparently true.

But let us for a while, reafon with these men, concerning these principles and practices: and I ask them foberly, is this like the religion of him that came to feek and fave that which was loft, and that prayed for his murderers, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do? And St. Stephen, the first martyr, he wrote after his copy; Lord, lay not this fin to their charge. Is this the religion of him who rebuked his difciples for calling for fire from heaven, to deftroy them that did not follow them? They did not think of making a fire to do it, but they flew to heaven for vengeance; it must be fire from thence, and not of their kindling. And then, what was the cause? It was for an affront put upon our Saviour himself, which, if any thing, would have juftified them but our Saviour rebukes them, and tells them, that they knew not what spirits they were of; and exprefly declares to them, that his coming into the world, was to fave mens lives, and not to destroy them and they which carry on our Saviour's work, and are acted by a gofpel fpirit, they do the like. Was this fpirit of popery learnt of the bleffed Jefus, that was meek and lowly in heart, and bid us learn of him to be fuch? Is it not rather the spirit and work of him that goeth about like a roaring lion, feeking whom he may devour.? This indeed, is like the work of him that was a murderer from the beginning. Is this the fruit of that religion that allows no evil in any cafe whatfoever ?

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foever that requires patient bearing of wrongs, and doing good for evil? that if our enemy hunger, requires us to feed him, and if he thirft, to g ve him drink, and to win and overcome by genenefs, and heaping coals of fire upon our enemy's head; and doing, as God himself, who caufeth his fun to shine on the evil and the good, and sendeth Iain on the just and the unjust, and that is kind to ¡he unthankful and to the evil? Are thefe the fruits of the Spirit which are so famously described Gal. v 22. and Col. iii. 12. Love, joy, peace, long-fuffering, patience, &c. places that I have had so often occafion to mention in these discourses? And then the apostle chargeth us to forgive one another, even as God for Chrift's fake hath forgiven us and this was the life of our Saviour. He went about, doing good, healing the fick, comforting the difconfolate, and inftructing the ignorant, and reclaiming the difobedient, and bringing them to the wisdom of the juft. This was the work and business of our bleffed Saviour, all the time he lived in the world, and this is that which he expects from his followers. So that I may truly fay, christianity is the best principle of kindness that ever came into the world: but oft it cometh to pafs, that the corruption of the best proves the worst. And this I have obferved, that where modefty and loving affection, are the natural dowry; there in the degenerate state is the greatest impudence and cruelty. It hath been long obferved, that faction and mistaken zeal, are a kind of wild-fire. The more false any one is in his religion, the more fierce and furious: the more mistaken,

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the more impofing. The more any man's religion is his own, the more he is concerned for it, but cool and indifferent enough for that which is God's.

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I will give you a few inftances to fhew you the truth of this that the more falfe any man's religion is, the more furious he will be in maintaining it, Acts xxiii. 12. We read of fome men, that out of their great zeal for the mosaical law, banded together and bound themselves with an oath, that they would neither eat nor drink, till they had killed Paul. And I Kings xviii. we read of Baal's priefts, how that they cut themselves after their manner, with knives and lances, till the blood gufhed out upon them, and cryed from morning to evening, Baal, hear us, &c.

In like manner, we read of the worshippers of Diana, Acts xix. that they were full of wrath and confufion, crying out, Great is Diana of the Ephefians. Alfo, we read of Balaam, the falfe prophet, Numb. xxiii. how he built altars, and offered facrifice from one place to another, thinking by these to bribe God; and at last, built feven altars, and prepared feven bullocks and feven rams, hoping, by these to effect his defign: fo likewise we read of those that burnt incenfe to the queen of heaven, Jer. xliv. 17. They confess this practice of burning incenfe to the queen of heaven, and ferving other gods, whom neither they, nor their fathers had known and thefe furious zealots do fuch things in

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pursuit of their devotion, that the reason of mankind condemned. They made a religion to themfelves, and then did fuch things in pursuance of

their wild and bloody devotion, as the very reafon of mankind startled at ; as you may see, Jer. xxxii, 35. They made their fons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; a thing which God commanded them not, neither came it into his mind, Ezek. viii. 13, 14. You read of feveral a. bominations committed by the children of Ifrael, which were reprefented to the prophet, in the dark. These men even spoiled the good nature they were born with, by cruel practice, and they became the worse for their religion.

I do conclude, that far better is nature alone, take it as it is, than that religion which is infincere and false. I say it again, better nature alone, though debased, abused and neglected, the very refuse of God's creation, than that religion, which is falfe and infincere. For, Ariftotle, who is credible in matters of nature and reason, he hath observed, that man, by his nature and conftitution, is a mild and gentle creature, fitted for converse, and delighting in it. Certainly, were I to take an estimate of christianity, either from popery, or any of the grofs fuperftitions of the world, and the affected modes of perfons, I would return to philofophy again, and let christianity alone. For philosophy, so far as it goes, is fincere and true, and attains good effects: it mollifies mens fpirits, and rids them of all barbarity. True indeed, it is fhort of supernatural revelation, and these things the princes of the world did not know; (as we read, 1 Cor. ii. 14.) because they are spiritually discerned, that is, (according to the fenfe of the text) they are known only by reve