Contempt and Scorn of Mankind, they fuffer Injuries without redrefs; and if they muft be damn'd hereafter, for being harafs'd at this rate here, they have the heaviest fate of all Mankind. But as defpicable as thefe Men are, yet there are fome, who will fear where no fear is; and it looks as if fome Men were afraid of even these helpless Creatures; and I am inclineable to think, that our Author is one of them, because he fets them out as if he had a mind to fet the Government upon them. I fhall not fo far concern my felf as to undertake their defence; but I hope I may be allowed to do them that Juftice, as to relate two things, which I find they unanimoufly agree to fay for themfelves. 1st, That an Oath, if not taken in Truth, in Judgment and Righteoufneß, is one of the moft dreadful and dangerous things in the World. For when he fwears with his Hand upon the Gospel, he renounceth his Right to any thing contained in that Book, and invokes God to deprive him of all Intereft in Fefus Chrift, all Helps from the means of Grace, all Benefits of the bleffed Gofpel; that inftead of Comforts, he would load him with all Curfes here, and make him eternally miferable hereafter; if what he fay be not true, or he do not perform what he promife. A Life void of all true Comfort here is bad, but eternal Damnation is infinitely worfe. And therefore, fay they, if a Man have any doubt or fcruple in this cafe, it were better for him to fuffer any thing from Man, rather than incur the heavy Curfe of God, and pronounce his Damnation with his own Mouth. 2dly, They fay they cannot approve of Lay Deprivations; becaufe the Confequence hereof muft imvoidably lead to downright Eraftianifm; and · then your bufinefs is not to enquire what Religion Chrift left, but what the Civil Magiftrate will allow; and fo we may be in danger of lofing our

holy

holy Religion it felf. But though they cannot fubmit to these things, yet they fay, they are willing to live quietly, if they may be fuffer'd fo to do But if the Government think that they have not fuffer'd enough already, they must be content to fuffer more; they have no other Remedy, but to appeal and apply themfelves to God.

(39.) He hath referved his Dearly beloved Brethren to come up laft in the Rear; in hope, I fuppose, that they might come off with dry Heads, when the reft had ftood the brunt of the Battel. But the Caufe being theirs, I think they ought to have fought it themselves; and if all thofe Auxiliaries had been left out, I think there had been no harm done. Because they are his Proteftant Diffenters of England, with whom our prefent bufinefs is, and among other Queftions he puts with refpect to them, this is moft agreeable to his former Pofition: Whether they are in as great danger of Damnation as moral Heathens, or thofe that live in Murther or Adultery? (p. 65.) Now this is what I have all along told you I intend to bring to a fair Tryal at the laft; and therefore I defire I may be excufed, if I engage not in it at prefent. And now I was in hope I had done with his Hiftorical part, but I find my felf deceived. For, that he might be fure to give us enough of it, he makes a Recapitulation of the whole, and at every turn makes his ufual unfavory Question, Were thefe, thofe, or the other damn'd? No reasonable Man, I hope, will expect that I fhould repeat all my Answers: But that the Author may not think himfelf altogether flighted, I fhall give him one general Answer, and that, I hope, will prove fufficient. Good Examples are like Light-houses or Land-marks, which upon occafion not only inftru&t us how to avoid the Danger, but alfo diret us how to fteer

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fteer our Courfe: But bad Examples are like Circe, which, if hearked to, will bewitch and transform us into Brutes; and inftead of affording us any means to recover our felves, will make us daily worfe. Our Author hath raked together all the Dirt and Filth of former and later Times, and to what purpose, unless to make us more filthy ftill, and that we may exceed in Wickednefs and Troublesomeness all that went before us? It is not a fmall number of Schifms which he hath reckoned up; and to what other end, but to fave all the Schifmaticks? For he most outragioufly cries out against any that fhall dare to pronounce them damın'd And to what end are all thefe fav'd, but to confirm all our prefent Schifmaticks in their froward doings, to keep all our Schifms on foot, and encourage their daily increafe? This is the manifeft Defign and plain Confequence of all his Reafoning. Now, because he likes this fo well, I will give him two or three parallel Inftances, and make the like Inferences, and let him tell us how he likes them. A Man robs upon the Road, is taken, condemn'd and executed; but by God's Bleffing upon fome faithful Minifter's pains, is firft made fenfible of his Sin, heartily repents, and to his power makes fatisfaction; thall this Man be damn'd? No: Therefore you may rob upon the High-way. Again, One Man kills another; but when he has done, he has no quiet in his Mind, Bloodguiltines terrifies his Confcience, he bewails his Condition, is truly forrowful for his Sin, and would give the World, if it were in his power, that the fact had not been committed, or could be undone again; but for all that, he fhall be bang'd; but fhall he be damn'd too? No: Therefore take Courage, you may commit Murther. Once more, and I have done: A boyfterous Fellow is found guilty of a Rape, but before he fuffers

fuffers the Law, his Sin and the danger of it is fo effectually reprefented to him, that he bitterly bemoans himself, and gives all the Teftimonies of a fincere Repentance, for that and all other Sins; fhall this Man be damn'd? No: Therefore you may give the loofe to your Lufts, and ravish Women. Thefe are fuch abominable Inferences, as even an immoral Heathen would blufh to own; and yet this is the direct Confequence of his Doctrine, with this only difference, which makes it rather worse, That in tendernefs to his Schifmatick he would not only fave him from Damnation hereafter, but he would not have him in the leaft punish'd here. This is very unbecoming any Man, much more him, who will call himself a Minifter of the Gospel. For whatever is our Charity, we ought not to fpeak or treat fo of any Sin, as to give encouragement to it. As for thofe that are in their Graves, what have we to do with their Perfons? But whatever becomes of them, it is certain we ought not to follow them in their Faults, as we are taught here. And as for those, who are living, if any of them live in a course of Sin, it would ill become us to fay, Go on, you may be fav'd; but we rather ought to tell fuch, that they are in a state of Damnation; for to footh them in Sin, is the greatest Cruelty, but to make them fo fenfible of it, as to forfake it, is the greatest Charity; and nothing more likely to awaken them, than to reprefent to them the Danger: And yet we cannot use our Author's huffing Phrafe of them, and fay they are actually damn'd. For as yet they have the means to escape, and may do fo, if they make a right ufe of them: But whether they efcape or not, the Crime is to be condemn'd, and we ought not to give the leaft encouragement to that Sin, which is the Peft of the Church, and makes Men the Troublers of Ifrael, which is always the effect of K 4 Schifi,

Schifm. Damnation (faith our Author, p. 68.) is a terrible thing, to be driven from the prefence of the Lord, and be caft into everlasting Fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels, by the righteous Judgment of God, to be tormented there for ever; bow dreadful is this? Nothing can be more true, and I with all Men would well confider it, and lay it to heart; but then I doubt not, but that hereafter I fhall make it appear, that Schifm is a damnable Sin, tending to bring Men into this terrible dreadful Condition; and if he have a mind to perfuade Men to run the hazard of it, he may; I cannot help it, though truly forry for it: But if I fhould do fo, I fear, that would be a damnable Sin in me: And this I defire him feriously to think of, as well for others fake as his own. And fo I leave his unhappy Hiftory, to examine his other Topicks in their courfe.

CHAP.