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religious confcience is the only true folid foundation upon which virtue can be built, give me leave, before I conclude, to let you see how neceffary fuch a confcience is to conduct us in every station and condition of our lives.

THAT a religious confcience is neceffary in any station, is confeffed even by those who tell us that all religion was invented by cunning men in order to keep the world in awe. For if religion, by the confeffion of its adver faries, be neceffary toward the well governing of mankind; then every wife man in power will be fure, not only to chufe out for every station under him, fuch perfons as are most likely to be kept in awe by religion, but likewife to carry fome appearance of it himself, or elfe he is a very weak politician. And accordingly, in any country, where great perfons affect to be open defpifers of religion, their counfels will be found at laft to be fully as deftructive to the ftate as to the church.

It was the advice of Jethro to his fon-in-law Mofes, to provide able men, fuch as fear God, men of truth, ba ting covetousness, and to place fuch over the people; and Mofes, who was as wife a ftatefman at least as any in this age, thought fit to follow that advice. Great abilities without the fear of God are most dangerous inftruments, when they are trufted with power. The laws of men have thought fit, that thofe who are called to any office of truft should be bound by an oath to the faithful difcharge of it: but an oath is an appeal to God, and therefore can have no influence except upon thofe who believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those that seek him, and a punisher of those who difo bey him and therefore we fee the laws themselves are forced to have recourse to confcience in these cases; because their penalties cannot reach the arts of cunning men, who can find ways to be guilty of a thousand injuftices, without being difcovered, or at leaft without being punished. And the reason why we find fo many frauds, abuses, and corruptions where any truft is conferred, can be no other, than that there is fo little conscience and religion left in the world; or at least that men, in their choice of inftruments, have private ends in view, which are very different from the fervice of the

public.

public. Befides, it is certain, that men who profefs to have no religion, are full as zealous to bring over profelytes as any Papift or Fanatic can be. And therefore, if those who are in ftation high enough to be of influence or example to others; if thofe (I fay) openly profefs a contempt or disbelief of religion, they will be fure to make all their dependents of their own principles; and what fecurity can the public expect from fuch perfons, whenever their interefts or. their lufts come into competition with their duty? It is very poffible for a man who hath the appearance of religion, and is a great pretender to confcience, to be wicked and a hypocrite; but it is impoffible for a man who openly de-clares against religion, to give any reasonable fecurity that he will not be falfe, and cruel, and corrupt, whenever a temptation offers, which he values more than he does the power wherewith he was trufted. And if fuch a man doth not betray his caufe and his master, it is only because the temptation was not properly offered, or the profit was too small, or the danger too great. And hence it is, that we find fo little truth or justice among us, because there are so very few, who, either in the fervice of the public, or in common dealings with each other, do ever look farther than their own advantage, and how to guard themselves against the laws of the country; which a man may do by favour, by fecrecy, or by cunning, tho' he breaks almost every law of God.

THEREFORE to conclude: It plainly appears, that unless men are guided by the advice, and judgment of confcience founded on religion, they an give no fecurity that they will be either good fubjects, faithful fervants of the public, or honeft in their mutual dealings; fince there is no other tie, thro' which the pride, or luft, or avarice, or ambition of mankind will not certainly break one time or other..

CONSIDER what has been said, &c.

In this moral effay, for I can scarce call it a fermon, the author inferts fome very ftriking obfervations upon fuch falfe notions of honour as are too prevalent in the world. [Here the particular paffage is quoted, beginning thus, "The other falfe prin. "ciple which fome men fet up in the place of confcience,""&c. P. 276. 1. 32. and ending thus, "in order to revenge it by the

Cc 3

dear

"death of an adversary,” p. 277. I. 14.-But you must be weary of quotations: and in excufe of thofe already made, I can only offer, that in comments upon original authors, quotations are often the best, and perhaps the only explanations that can fully answer the end propofed. I mean, that the original spirit is fo volatile, as not to admit of the leaft transfufion. In ordinary compofitions, the effence may be extracted, and the fubtileft parts diftilled: but Swift's fermons appeared a chymical preparation of fo extraor dinary and penetrating a nature, that I was resolved to send you as much of the ethereal fpirit as might be fafely conveyed by the post. Orrery.

SERM ON IV.

ON BROTHERLY LOVE*.

HEB. XI. I.

Let brotherly love continue.

N the early times of the gofpel, the Chriftians were

men, by the great and conftant love they bore to each other; which altho' it was done in obedience to the frequent injunctions of our Saviour and his Aroftles, yet, I confess, there feemeth to have been likewife á natural reafon, the very much promoted it.

Chriftians then were few and fcattered, living under perfecution by the Heathens round about them, in whofe hands was all the civil and military power; and there is nothing fo apt to unite the minds and hearts of men, or to beget love and tendernefs, as a general diftrefs. The first diffenfions between Chriftians took their beginning from the errors and herefies that arofe among them; many of those herefies, fometimes extinguished, and fometimes reviving, or fucceeded by others, remain to this day; and having been made inftruments to the pride, avarice, or ambition of ill-defigning men, by extinguishing

* This fermon is not in the Dublin edition.

extinguishing brotherly love, have been the cause of infinite calamities, as well as corruptions of faith and manners, in the Chriftian world.

THE laft legacy of Chrift was peace and mutual love; but then he foretold, that he came to fend a fword upon the earth. The primitive Chriftians accepted the legacy, and their fucceffors down to the prefent age have been largely fulfilling his prophecy. But whatever the practice of mankind hath been, or ftill continues, there is no duty more incumbent upon those who profefs the gofpel, than that of brotherly love; which whoever could restore in any degree among men, would be an instrument of more good to human fociety, than ever was, or will be done by all the statesmen and politi cians in the world.

!

Ir is upon this fubject of brotherly love that I intend to difcourfe at prefent; and the method I observe shall be as follows.

1. I will inquire into the caufes of this great want of brotherly love among us.

2. I will lay open the fad effects and confequences which our animofities and mutual hatred have pro»

duced.

3. I will use fome motives and exhortations that may perfuade you to embrace brotherly love, and continue in it.

I. I fhall inquire into the causes of this great want of brotherly love among us.

THIS nation of ours hath for an hundred years past been infested by two enemies, the Papifts and Fanatics; who each in their turns filled it with blood and flaughter, and for a time destroyed both the church and government. The memory of thefe events hath put all true Proteftants equally upon their guard against both these adverfaries; who, by confequence, do equally hate us. The Fanatics revile us, as too nearly approaching to Popery; and the Papifts condemn us, as bordering too much on Fanaticifm. The Papifts, God be praised, are, by the wisdom of our laws, put out of all visible poffibility of hurting us; befides, their religion is fo general

ly

ly abhorred, that they have no advocates or abettors among Proteftants to affift them. But the Fanatics are to be confidered in another light: they have had, of late years, the power, the luck, or the cunning to divide us among ourfelves; they have endeavoured to reprefent all thofe who have been fo bold as to oppose their errors and defigns, under the character of perfons difaffected to the government; and they have fo far fuc ceeded, that now-a-days, if a clergyman happens to preach with any zeal and vehemence against the fin or danger of fchifm, there will not want too many in his congregation ready enough to cenfure him, as hot and high-flying, an inflamer of mens minds, an enemy to moderation, and difloyal to his prince. This hath produced a formed and settled divifion between those who profefs the fame doctrine and difcipline, while they who call themselves moderate, are forced to widen their bottom, by facrificing their principles and their brethren to the incroachments and infolence of Diffenters; who are therefore anfwerable, as a principal cause of all that. hatred and animofity now reigning among us.

ANOTHER Caufe of the great want of brotherly love, is the weakness and folly of too many among you of the lower fort, who are made the tools and instruments of your betters to work their defigns, wherein you have no concern... Your numbers make you of ufe, and cunning men take the advantage by putting words into your mouths which you do not understand: then they fix good or ill characters to those words, as it beft ferves their purposes: and thus you are taught to love or hate, you know not what or why; you often fufpect your beft friends and nearest neighbours, even your teacher himself, without any reafon, if your leaders once taught you to call him by a name which they tell you fignifieth fome very bad thing.

A third caufe of our great want of brotherly love feemeth to be, that this duty is not fo often infifted on from the pulpit, as it ought to be in fuch times as thefe: on the contrary, it is to be doubted, whether doctrines are not fometimes delivered by an ungoverned zeal, a defire to be distinguished, or a view of interest, which produce quite different effects; when, upon occafions fet

apart

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