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dom if it appear to be their duty, principle and intereft, the queftion is gained, and no-body is left to complain; and if I am mistaken, it is with fo great an inclination to ferve them all, that their good nature cannot but plead my excufe, especially when they confider I am neither moved by hopes nor fears: private lofs or gain being farther from my thought, than I hope they are from a good understanding.

I fay, first, then, it is the duty of all of them, because they all profefs that religion which makes it their common duty to do it; Chriftianity I mean: for no Chriftian ought to deprive any man of his native right, for matters of faith and worship towards God, in the way that he thinks most agreeable to the will of God;\ because it is neceffary to a Christian to believe, ‹ That faith is the gift of God alone, and that he only is Lord of confcience, and is able truly to enlighten, perfuade, and establish it;' and confequently that prejudicing men in their perfons or eftates, or depriving them of any ftation in the government, they might otherwife, in their turn, be capable to serve the publick in, is contrary to the tenderness and equity of that religion; which will yet farther appear, if we confider that Chriftianity is the fole religion of the world that is built on the principles of love; which brought with it the greatest evidences of truth; equally convincing our understandings with its light, and bearing down our fenfes with its miracles; which filenced the oracles of the Heathens by the • Divine power prefent with it, and vanquished their hearts, that had left nothing else to conquer, leading kings and emperors with their courts and armies in triumph, after the defpifed cross of him who was the holy and bleffed author of it.'

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It was he that laid not his religion in worldly empire, nor used the methods of worldly princes to propagate it; as it came from heaven, fo that only Thould have the honour of protecting and promoting it. His whole bufinefs to mankind from firft to laft, was love. It was firft love in his Father to fend him

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(as Saint John teaches) "God fo loved the world, that he fent his Son," &c. It was love in Jefus Chrift to come on that errand; that he, who thought it no robbery to be equal with God, fhould take the form of a fervant to adopt us children, and make himself of no reputation with the world, that he might make us of reputation with God his Father.'

And he did not only come in much love, but preached it and preffed it to both friends and foes; "Love "one another; love enemies; do good to them that

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hate you; forgive them that trefpafs against you; << what ye would that other men should do unto you, "do that unto them: by these things fhall all men "know you are my difciples; for I came not to de"ftroy mens lives," no, not for religion itself; "for my kingdom, power, force, weapons, and victory, "are not of this world." In all this, love prevails: it was his great, his new, his laft commandment; of all his difciples, the most pursued by his beloved one, that in his bofom had learned his heart, as his divine doctrine of love, in his epiftles, tells us.

As he lived in love, fo he died in love, with us, and for us, and that while we were rebellious too; ay, he prayed and died for them who put him to death, "fhewing us," fays St. Peter, "an example, that we "fhould follow his fteps." And what are they? Doubtless the fteps of love, the path he trod; "To "do good to mankind, enemies as well as friends, "that we may be like our heavenly Father, that "causes his fun to fhine, and his rain to fall upon "the juft and unjust." This must be the apostle's meaning, for the reft of his paffion was inimitable.

Now if this be the doctrine of Chrift, the nature of Christianity, the practice of the primitive church, that, like Adam, was created in full ftrength, beauty, and wisdom, and fo an example to fucceeding ages of religion, and to which we fo often refer as our original; with what pretence to a Chriftian confcience can any one stickle to keep imprifoning, banishing, impoverishing, hanging, and quartering laws on foot for

religion's

religion's fake, but efpecially against fuch as are, by creed, profeffors of Chriftianity as well as themfelves.

I know the cafe is put hard by those that have the laws on their fide; We do this to fave ourfelves ;' but an harder cafe than Chrift's can never be put, whofe answer in his, ought to refolve theirs fully.

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Chrift is fent by his Father for the falvation of the world: he introduces and proves his miffion by miracles, and the great authority of his word and doctrine: his followers, fully fatisfied who he was, whence he came, what he taught, and how eminently confirmed, grew impatient at contradiction; they could not bear the leaft diffent; for when fome of the Samaritans refused to entertain their Lord, becaufe they thought he was going for Jerufalem, (the place of their greatest averfion) thefe difciples were for having but the word from his mouth, and they would, in imitation of Elijah, have called for fire from heaven to have destroyed them. But he turned and rebuked them, and said, "Ye know not what manner of fpirit ye are of, for the Son of man is not come to deftroy mens lives, but to fave them." This answer is to purpose, and for all times, to be fure Chriftian ones; and the higher the pretenfions of any party are to Christianity, the more inexcufable if they practife the contrary. Would not Chrift then hurt them that refufed him, and can we hurt our neighbours for not receiving us? He condemned that fpirit in his difciples, and fhall we uphold the fame fpirit, and that by law too, which he condemned by his gospel? This is killing for God's fake, exprefly charged by "Chrift with impiety. "They fhall think," fays he to his difciples, they do God good fervice to kill you :" Who fhould think fo? Why the Christian perfecutors. Is it their property to do fo? Yes: What fhould one think then of thofe Chriftians that profefs it.

The Jews were grievously punished of God, for that abomination of facrificing their children to Moloch; but these laws, though they change the object,

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they have not leffened the fin; for they offer up man, woman, and child, and though they fay, It is to God, no matter for that, fince it makes their cafe worse; for it is to imagine that fo good, fo juft, fo fenfible, so merciful a being, can take pleasure in fo much cruelty. • Well, but if we must not knock folks on the head, what must we do with them? Take an answer at the mouth of truth and wifdom: "Let the tares and wheat grow together till the harveft:" What is that? He tells you," It is the end of the world:" fo that whatever the church of England is, it is certain Chrift is for a toleration, and his doctrine is always in fashion: what he was, he is, and will be: he went not by reasons of state, or customs of countries; his judgment was better built, who came to give law, and not to receive it, and it is a light and rule to all times. "And " he that loves father, or mother, or wife, or children, or house, or land, better than HIM," that is, bis doctrine (of which this is fo great a part)" is "not worthy of him;" and I fear no other reason induced the church of England to decline it.

To confirm what has been faid, though I defign brevity, let me not lofe another paffage very pregnant to our purpose: when his difciples had accomplished their first miffion, at their return they gave him the history of their travels: among the reft, they tell him of one they met with, "That in his name caft out "devils," but because he would not follow with them, they forbad him: here is at least a diffenting Chriftian, though a believer; yet, it feems, not one of that clofer congregation: we alfo fee their zeal and fentence. But what fays the mafter, yet alive and with them, the Infallible Doctor, in whofe mouth was no guile, who had not the spirit by measure, and was the great wifdom of God to his people, was he of the fame mind, or did he leave them without rule in the point? His answer is this: "And Jefus faid to them, "Forbid him not, for he that is not against us is for The prohibition is taken off, and their judgment reversed; and from his, to be fure, there lies no

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appeal,

appeal. For though a power of decifion were allowed to fome one or more on earth, in matters obfcure and undetermined, yet in cafes already adjudged by the • Son of God himself, who had the chair, and could not err, there can be no room for another judge.' Now to apply it, I must firft fay, I find no fuch difciples among thofe that are on the fide of keeping up the penal laws; God knows, the difparity is but too unequal. But next, if they were all twelve in Westminster-Abbey, and fhould be on the fide of upholding the penal laws (which is the wrong fide they were of before) I fhould beg their pardon, if I were of their master's mind, and objected his wisdom to their zeal, and his gentle rule to their harsh and narrow judgment. And I befeech the church of England to confider, that no pretence can excufe her diffent, and lefs her crofs practice, to the judgment of her Saviour: A judgment that feems given and fettled for the conduct of the church on the like occafions, in fucceeding times' and it is pity any worldly thing fhould have place with her to divert her obedience. Did Chrift then come to fave mens lives, and not to destroy them? And fhould fhe (fhe, I say, that pretends to be a reformed church) uphold those laws that do deftroy them? HE, alas! went to another village, instead of burning them, or theirs, for refufing him. And SHE forbids any, that belongs to any other, to lodge in her's, upon pain of lofing life or eftate this may make her a Samaritan indeed, but not the good one, whofe example would have taught her, inftead of these sharp and ruder remedies, to have poured the oil of peace and gladness into those chops and wounds, that time, and heats on all hands, had made in every religious party of men. Nor does fhe lofe any thing by repealing thofe laws, but the power of perfecuting; and a good church would never have the temptation. Come; fomebody must begin to forgive; let her not leave that honour to another, nor draw upon herself the guilt and mischief of refufing it. She pretends to fear the ftrokes of the Romanifts;

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