But, for God's fake, let us never direct laws against men for the cause of religion, or punish them before they have otherwife done amifs. Let mens works, not their opinions, turn the edge of the magiftrate's fword against them; elfe it is beheading them before they are born.

By the common law of this kingdom there must be fome real and proper overt act, that proves treason; fome malice, that proves fedition; and fome violent action, that proves a rout or riot. If fo, to call any fort of religious orders the one, or praying to God in any way out of fashion the other, is prepofterous; and punishing people for it, downright murder, or breach of the peace, according to the true ufe of words, and the old law of England.

If the church of England fears the growth of Popéry, let her be truer to the religion the owns, and betake herself to faith, rather than force, by a pious, humble, and a good example; to convince and perfuade; which is the highest honour to any church, and the greatest victory over men. I am for a national church, as well as fhe, fo it be by confent, and not by constraint. But coercive churches have the fame principle, though not the fame intereft. A church by law established, is a state church; and that is no argument of verity, unless the state that makes her fo be infallible; and because that will not be afferted, the other can never oblige the confcience, and confequently the compulfion fhe uses is unreafonable. This very principle juftifies the king of France, and the inquifition. For laws being equally of force in all countries where they are made, it must be as much a fault, in the church of England's judgment, to be a Proteftant at Rome, or a Calvinist at Paris, as to be a Papift at London: then where is truth or confcience, but in the laws of countries! which renders her an Hobbift, nothwithstanding her long and loud clamours against the Leviathan.

I beg her, for the love of Chrift, that she would think of these things, and not esteem me her enemy for performing the part of fo good a friend. Plaindealing

dealing becomes that character; no matter whether the way be agreeable, fo it be right: we are all to do our duty, and leave the reft to God: he can beft anfwer for our obedience, that commands it; and our dependance upon his word will be our fecurity in our conduct. What weight is it to a church, that she is the church by law eftablished, when no human law can make a true church? A true church is of Christ's making, and is by gospel established. It is a reflection to a church that would be thought true, to ftoop to human laws for her establishment. I have been often scandaled at that expreffion from the fons of the church of England, especially thofe of the robe, What do you talk for? Our religion is by law established;' as if that determined the queftion of its truth against all other perfuafions.

The Jews had this to say against our Saviour, "We "have a law, and by our law he ought to die." The primitive Chriftians, and fome of our first reformers, died as by law established, if that would mend the matter: but does that make it lawful to a Chrif tian confcience? We muft ever demur to this plea. No greater argument of a church's defection from Christianity than turning perfecutor. It is true, the fcripture fays, "The earth fhall help the woman;' but that was to fave herself, not to deftroy others: for it is the token that is given by the Holy Ghoft of a falfe church; "That none must buy or fell in her domi"nions, that will not receive her mark in their fore"head, or right hand :" that is, By going to church against conscience, or bribing luftily to ftay at • bome.'

Things do not change, though men do. Perfecution is ftill the fame, let the hand alter ever so often: but the fin may not; for doubtlefs it is greatest in thofe that make the highest claim to reformation. For while they plead their own light for doing fo, they hereby endeavour to extinguish another's light that cannot concur. What a man cannot do, it is not his fault he does not do; nor fhould he be compelled to do Bb 3

it,

No church

it, and leaft of all punished for not doing it. can give faith, and therefore cannot force it: for what is constrained, is not believed; fince faith is, in that fenfe, free, and constraint gives no time to affent: I fay, what I do not will, is not I; and what I do not chufe, is none of mine; and another's faith cannot fave me, though it fhould fave him. So that this method never obtains the end defigned, fince it faves nobody, because it converts nobody; it may breed bypocrify, but that is quite another thing than falvation.

What, then, is the use of penal laws? Only to fhew the fincerity of them that fuffer, and cruelty of those that make and execute them. And all time tells us they have ever failed those that have leaned upon them; they have always been lofers at laft: befides, it is a most unaccountable obftinacy in the church of England to stickle to uphold them: for, after having made it a matter of religion and confcience to addrefs the late king in behalf of this, to think he should leave confcience behind him in Flanders, or when they waited on him to the crown, that he should fend it thither upon a pilgrimage, is want of wit at beft; pardon the cenfure. Could they conscientiously oppofe his exclufion for his religion, and now his religion, because he will not leave it? Or can they reasonably maintain those tests that excluded him when duke of York, while they endured none to hinder him from the crown? I heartily beg the church of England's excufe, if I fay I cannot apprehend her: perhaps the fault is mine; but fure I am fhe is extremely dark. How could fhe hope for this king without his confcience? Or conceive that his honour or confcience would let him leave the members of his communion under the lafh of fo

many destroying laws? Would he be so served by a prince of her own religion, and fhe in the like circumftances? She would not, let her talk till doom'sday.

To object the king's promife, when he came to the crown, against the repeal of the penal laws, fhews not his infincerity, but her uncharitableness, or that

really

really she has a very weak place: for it is plain, the king first declared his own religion, and then promifed to maintain ber's; but was that to be without, or together with, his own? His words fhew he intended that his own should live, though the other might reign. I fay again, it is not credible that a prince of any fincerity can refuse a being to his own religion, when he continues another in its well-being. This were to act upon state, not confcience, and to make more confcience to uphold a religion he cannot be of, than of giving eafe to one his confcience obliges him to be of. I cannot imagine how this thought could enter into any head that had brains, or heart that had honesty. And, to fay true, they must be a fort of state-confciences, confciences as by law established,' that can follow the law against their convictions.

But this is not all I have to obferve from that objection it implies too evidently, first, that she thinks herself fhaken, if the penal laws be repealed; then "by law established," she must mean," established "by

by thofe penal laws." Secondly, That the king having promised to maintain her, as by law eftablished, he ought not to endeavour their repeal, by which she is eftablished. I confefs this is very clofe arguing; but then the muft not take it ill, if all men think her illfounded; for any thing muft be fo, that is established by deftroying laws! Laws, that time and practice have declared enemies to property and confcience. O let her not hold by that charter, nor point thither for her establishment and defence, if she would be thought a Chriftian church.

"Plutarch had rather one fhould think there never " was fuch a man in the world, than that Plutarch "was an ill man." Shall the church of England, that glories in a greater light, be more concerned for her power than her credit? To be, than to be that which the should be? I would fay, far be it from her, for her own fake; and, which is of much more moment, for the fake of the general cause of religion.

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Let us fee, therefore, if there be not another way of understanding thofe words, more decent to the king, and more honourable for her, viz. That the

is in the national chair, has the churches and revenues, and is mother of those that do not adhere to any feparate communion; and that the king has promised to maintain her in this poft, from the invafions of any other perfuafion that would wreft these • privileges out of her hand:' this he promised formerly; this he has very particularly repeated in his gracious declaration but to ruin men that would not conform, while himself was fo great a diffenter, and came fuch, to her knowledge, to the crown, can be no part of his promises, in the opinion of common fenfe and charity. Is there no difference to be observed, between not turning her out, and deftroying all others not of her communion? He will not turn her out; there is his promife: and he has not done it; there is his performance: nor will he do it, I am confident, if the pleases. But there is no manner of neceffity from this engagement, that all parties elfe are to be confounded. Though, if it were fo, it is ill divinity to press fuch promises upon a prince's confcience, that cannot be performed with a good one by any body.

Let us remember how often fhe has upbraided her diffenters with this, " Render to Cæfar the things that

are Cæfar's," whilft they have returned upon her the other half of the text," and render unto God the "things that are God's." It happens now that God and Cæfar are both of a mind, which perhaps does not always fall out, at least about the point in hand. Will the diffent from both now? Her cafe, believe me, will be doubtful then. I beg her to be confiderate. It is the greatest time of trial fhe has met with fince fhe was a church. To acquit herself like a member of Chrift's univerfal one, let her keep nothing that voids her pretenfions. The Babylonifh garment will undo her. Practices inconfiftent with her refor mation will ruin her. The martyrs blood won the

day,