of God, of the fame Effence or Substance with the Father, and the Belief of it as neceffary to Salvation; because so many Arians and Socinians, and other inexcufable Unbelievers, are involved in the dange-rous Confequences of that Doctrine: and for their fakes, and, it may be, fecretly for their own, they rack their Inventions to find out New, Loose, and Evasive Expofitions of that Fundamental Mystery of Christianity, and exprefs them in odd uncertain Terms, unknown to all Antiquity, and as different in Sense as in Sound, from the Language of the Catholick Church. I have faid Inexcufable Unbelievers, tho' these Gentlemen of Large Thoughts, and pretended Large Charity, would excufe them; because the Myftery is Incompre henfible, and the Manner of the Thing, as taught by the Catholick Church, Inconceivable by Human Understanding; but, let me fay, no otherwise inconceivable by us than fome Natural Myfteries are, which, tho' we cannot conceive, yet we believe. They will tell us in Behalf of these Unbe lievers, That Men's Minds are as different as their Faces; That our Brains, and the Cells in them, are of different Make, and, That all Men cannot believe alike. But, Sir, to fhew the Vanity of fuch Apologies, let us suppose that some of our Countrymen

were Trading among a People very remote from the Sea; imagine under the Foot of Mount Caucafus; and had told them, that the Waters of the River which run through the Capital City of England, did twice every Day, and fometimes oftner, run backwards up the fame Channel, down which the Stream had run not long before; And that the King of that People, as well as the People, wondring at this Relation, fhould fend Letters to the Queen, to defire Her Majefty, that if it was true, fhe would be pleased to confirm the Truth of it by an Answer with her Royal Seal; and that, after he received Her Majesty's moft Authentick Letter, fhould neverthelefs declare he would not believe the Thing, because he could not conceive the Manner of it, nor how it could poffibly be done; and thereupon alfo did brand the First Re lators of this Inconceivable Natural Myftery, as Lyars, and then banish them out of his Dominions: Suppofing all this, Sir; Do you think it were reasonable to make an Apology for fuch a Prince's obftinate Incredulity, who, upon the Authority of fuch Teftimonies, would not believe the Thing, because it was not only above his Understanding, but that of all the Philofophers in his Kingdom? I fay, would it be reasonable for fuch a Prince, and his Philofo

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Philofophers, to disbelieve, or doubt of that Thing, after fuch undoubted Human Authority for the Truth of it; or for others to paliate or excuse their obftinate Unbelief, because Men's Minds are not all alike, and their Brains of different Make? Sir, I wish the Gentlemen, for whofe Sake I have made this Comparison, would confider it, and no longer, under Pretence of Univerfal Charity, and the different Features of Minds, write in fuch Manner of the great Mystery of our Religion, as to confirm our Doubters or Unbelievers in their Scepticifm or Unbelief, and thereby give them Occafion to reject it as uncertain or false, rather than be involv'd in the Dreadful Confequence of their Unbelief, should it be, as it certainly is, a Divine Truth.

Then, as to the Practical Principles, which I call Precepts, or Commands, they are also as necessary to be obferv'd, as the other are to be believ'd; and, if I may fo fpeak, are as dear to God as any Article of Faith; and yet there and yet there is none of them, which fome Men of Latitude among us will not foften, and trim up into another Senfe, to please the Tranfgreffors of them to their Eternal Ruin.

Thus, Sir, that very Sect, which not only neglects, but defpifes the Two Sacraments as Temporary Inftitutions, or Ritual

Ordinances, appointed only for the Infant State of the Church, are not only allowed the Title of Chriftians, but reckon'd in the ordinary State of Salvation, by fome FreeThinkers, in the Broad Way, which leadeth to Deftruction. And then, as to the Political Doctrines, or Principles, relating to the Government of the Church; tho' it was the Confentient Belief of all Chriftians for Fifteen Hundred Years, that Bishops were the Succeffors of the Apostles, and as fuch only have Power to Ordain Ministers in the Church; yet have we Men, and Men of no ordinary Figures in the Church, that not only never Preach this Doctrine themselves, but do not love that others fhould Preach it, or Inftruct the Youth in it; because, fay they, It Unchurches the Foreign Churches. But, Sir, in the Name of God, is it this Receiv'd Principle of the Catholick Church that Unchurches Foreign Churches; or do they Unchurch themfelves, in continuing wilful Tranfgreffors of it? As, not to fpeak more of the Moral Precepts of Chriftianity; Is it, for Inftance, the Doctrine of Sobriety, or Juftice, or Temperance, or Purity, or Humility, that damns fo many Millions of Chriftians; or do they damn themselves by their wilful Violation of them? The Pofitive Laws of God are all Sacrofanct, especially thofe he

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bath Ordain'd for Government; and he will in no wife excufe the wilful Neglect, Contempt, or Tranfgreffion of them; but every fuch Tranfgreffion and Difobedience against the Polity of the Chriftian Theocracy, let the Number of Offenders be never fo great, fhall receive a juft Recompence of Reward. And therefore judge, Sir, who act moft like Primitive Chriftians, and the Faithful Servants of Chrift; thofe, who in all Meeknefs and Charity, fet this Receiv'd Principle concerning the Oecumenical Theocracy of the Myftical Ifrael, the Neceffity of Conformity and Obedience, and the Confequences of Difobedience to it, before the other Churches; or those, who footh and flatter them in their Error, because they are whole Nations; tho' most of them have abandon'd the Divine Order of Bishops, purely for Human Reasons of State; and particularly, because they have alienated the Revenues, by which they were maintained. Yet, Sir, the fame Perfons, who had rather this Principle were fupprefs'd, than that those Nations fhould, as they fpeak, be Unchurched by it, would (at least many of them) make no Difficulties to Unchurch Leffer Bodies of Chriftians by it; and let the Confequences which arife from it, have their full Force upon a few, tho' the Trafgreffi

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