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known, most of them, to be the Men who, in a Reign preceding, had like, by their great Moderation and Temper, to have ruin'd our Religion, Laws, and Liberty; yet now they were cried up as the only proper Perfons to protect and affert them, their grofs Railing magnified as Zeal, and their flavish Obfequiousness was made as Argument of their Affection to the Government, tho' they had given the fame Proofs of both before to him they then railed

at.

By thefe a Comprehenfion was laboured, which might admit into the Dignities of the Church and State a Medly of Men, who, ever fince the first Spawning of their Sect, have been profefs'd Enemies of both, fome of which, however they may call themfelves Proteftants, have not yet been able to prove themselves Chriftians. To bring about this Project, on which the main home Strength of their Scheme depended, the principal Gentlemen all over England, whofe Principles and Penetration they feared, were brought into Difgrace with the King and the Mob, whom they perfuaded, whoever had the Courage to oppose their Party, was a Papift, a Jacobite, or a Favourer of France, and difaffected to the Government, as they called themselves. Inftead of thofe, they brought into the Commiffions of the Lieutenancy and Peace, almost all England over, a Set of Fellows of no Fortune, Honour or Reputation, or Gentlemen of known Aversion to the Monarchy and Church of England, that by thefe Promotions the Courage of the Diffenters might be rouzed, and the Ambition of the Mob elevated to afpire to the like Preferments, by infulting their best Patriots, and trampling upon Authority. How far they fucceeded in these Attempts may befeen in the almost universal Corruption and Depravation of the meaner People throughout England, and the Affronts which were fo openly put upon the laft Parliament by that Party; and tho' we are highly obliged to, and ever ought to be fenfible of the gallant Stand then made by many worthy Gentlemen of both Houfes in our Defence, yet it is to Providence that we owe the entire Defeat of these curs'd Designs, if yet we may reckon that Work compleat.

The Countenance of the Court, the Hopes of Preferment, and the Clamour and Impudence of the mercenary Promoters of thefe dangerous Defigns, prevail'd upon the Simplicity of the well-meaning People, whom it is neceffary, at this Time, to undeceive, especially thofe who are truly of the Church of England. But feeing fome, whom, from their outward Profeffion, they thought Churchmen, go into a wrong Interett, have been mifled to bear them Company, without apprehending their true Intent and Meaning; to arm all fuch, and all Proteftant Diffenters, who have no othir Aim than the peaceable Enjoyment of their own Confcience and Worship, however erroneous, it may fuffice to give fuch general Cautions as will distinguish with what Principle, and upon what Views Men act, without defending to perfonal Reflections, how well foever deferved by fome People.

God has been graciously pleased to give us a Queen as truly English by InInclination, as by Birth, who, both by Principle and Practice, has given us undoubted Demonstration of her fincere Affection and Zeal for our Church and

and Constitution. If therefore we do not make use of this Bleffing to fecond her pious Intentions, and establish both for ever, we should be guilty of a great Neglect of Providence, and perhaps put ourselves out of the Protection of it for ever hereafter.

This is not faid to inflame any body against those who diffent from us in Opinion, but to warn against the Practices of those who (without any Regard to Religion) have By-ends to purfue, and encourage one Party only to the Destruction of both

Reason and Experience have both taught, that our Church and Conftitution muft of Neceffity ftand or fall together; and that all those, of whatfoever Sect or Denomination, who have aim'd at the Subversion of one, have labour'd the Destruction of the other likewife. It will therefore highly behove all Proteftants, Lovers of the English Conftitution, whether they be Conformists to the established Church or not, to contribute their utmost Endeavours towards the Support of it; fince with that the English Constitution and Liberty muft neceffarily fink. The Reign of Queen Mary, the Ufurpation of the Rump, and the Tyranny of Oliver, have, to our Sorrow, manifeftly evinced this long fince; therefore they who aim only at Liberty of Confcience, of which they are now fecure, while they continue quiet, can have no Interest to shake that Fabrick under which alone they can be sheltred.

I fhall not enquire upon what Motives (but it is expected that upon the Conclufion of this Seffions) this Queen fhould diffolve this Parliament. Upon Suppofition that it will be fo, it may not be improper to fhew how much it imports the People to be wife and circumfpect in their next Choice: For if they fhall hereafter be fo unfteady, fo loofe, and fo corrupt as they have been in many of their late Elections, they will lofe the fairest Opportunity that they ever had to refettle both Church and State, and give fuch Head to Faction and Corruption, as may in Time give them Power to dismount their Conftitution.

The People ought to confider, that when they have made Choice of their Representatives, they have parted with their Power, and lodg'd it in them for fo long a Time as they continue to be fuch; and therefore they ought to be very cautious and wary in the Difpofition of fuch a Truft, and to be very fure of the Fidelity of the Perfons in whom they place it. To arrive at fuch a Certainty as feems neceffary in fo great a Cafe, appears from the Experiences of many Ages to be very difficult, but more especially in this, when the pretended Principles, and real Practices of fome Men (who were defirous to have been thought the only true Friends to the Government) have been found fo little of a Piece, to eftablish fuch a Criterion as fhall infallibly diftinguish the Sound from the Unfound (if the Ufe of Terms may be allowed, by which a certain Party have affected to difcriminate themfelves) feems almost morally impoffible; but it may not be very hard to affign fome Marks, which may certainly fhew that the Perfons who bear them are altogether unfit for that Truft and Dignity.

The

The profefs'd Diffenters from the Church here eftablish'd by Law, have (one would think) pafs'd a Sort of a Bill of Exclufion upon themselves, and with their own. Hands fhut the Door of the Houfe of Commons against themselves But fo fupinely fecure were the Church of England Men, that they have lent their Hands to their Enemies to force open that Door for them which they had fufficiently barr'd against themselves. This is what some Men, who would be thought Friends to the Church, and wife for it, labour'd hard for, under the Name of Comprehenfion, a Thing that wou'd let in every. Man of what Sect foever that is not called a Papift, except the true Church of England Men, whom only they would exclude. There is little Need of Warning to those who are truely folicitous for the Church, and understand rightly wherein its true Excellence and Securitity confifts; but as few are gifted with fo much Penetration and Difcernment, there are many who profefsi themselves her Sons, who have given her, thro' their Imprudence, many cruel and dangerous Wounds, not exempting fome who have their daily Bread from her, whom we must in Charity believe to have acted what they did without any true Forefight of the natural Tendency of their Actions.

There are two Sorts of People who ought efpecially to be inform'd of fome Errors both in Judgment and Practice, which (if purfu'd) may in Time prove fatal to them; the Perfons hereby meant, are, firft, fuch as think Ecclefiaftick Policy and external Forms of Worship Things indifferent, that may without Detriment be altered, or changed, according to the Pleasure of the fupreme Magiftrate, the Humour of the People, or the Circumftances of the Times; and next, the modeft Proteftant Disjenters, (who, I hope, are the greatest Part of them) who, tho' diffatisfied with the Form of Worship establish'd in the Church of England, yet, by their Separation, aim at nothing more than the Liberty of ferving God in their own Way.

It is not the Bufinefs of this Paper to convince either of thefe Parties of their Errors; let one think themfelves right in their Indifference, and t'other in their Separation; let us wave the religious Part of the Argument, and confider only, how in Prudence both thefe Sorts of Mnn ought to act, in regard to the Civil Conftitution of England; for otherwife they ought not to have the Benefit and Protection of it.

The first of these being indifferent as to the Form of Ecclefiaftical Worship and Government, can't be fuppos'd to concern themselves farther about it, than to fecure the Eafe and Quiet of the Laity, from the Impofi ion and Tyranny of Priests; what they offer farther, may juftly be fufpected of Self-defign and Intereft.

It were eafy to prove, were the Matter to be contefted, that the Church of England is the most reasonably constituted both to Doctrine and Discipline, for the Eafe of the Laity, and the Ends of Religin, of any Christian Church in the World; for as our Church claims no implicit Faith, as that of Rome does, so neither do her Priests ufurp any Power or Jurifdiction overthe Confciences of those whom they are to instruct and take Care of, or pretend to determine of particular Election or Reprobation, as most of our Pro

testant

testant Diffenting Minifters do, and thereby gain an Afcendant over the Confciences of ignorant timorous People, which is fcarce confiftent with Freedom of Mind, or Liberty of Confcience. But fhould the Church of England be destroyed, fome one of these must be fet up; or I prefume no Man would have us without a national Church of fome kind or other: And let the Man of Indifference pitch upon which of the known Forms he pleases, and he will find himself infinitely more crampt by it, and more a Slave to the Priests, than ever he thought himself in the Church of England. But should the Church of England be diffolved, before the feveral Sects and Parties were agreed what to fet up in the Room of it, what then were we to expect, but that they should fall together by the Ears, and that the crafty Priest that had the best Knack of leading the Mob by the Ears, muft neceffarily, in the Conclufion, have the fole Direction of all fpiritual Matters; and confequently we should fall into a worfe Sort of Popery than that of the Church of Rome? This is no Chimera, no melancholy Dream or Fancy, but fuch a Truth as Obfervation and Experience of former Times, even in thefe Kingdoms, have furnished. This, I fuppofe, may fuffice to convince the indifferent Man, that it will be impoffible for him to alter our Ecclefiaftical Conftitution for the better, according to his Notions.

As for the Proteftant Diffenters, whofe Scruples, whether juft or unjust, hinder him from conforming to the Difcipline and Worship of our Church, if he aims at nothing more than the Liberty of worshipping in Purity, according to his own Senfe, he has already, and need not doubt the Indulgence of the Queen, fo long as he behaves himself with that inoffenfive Modesty, and peaceable Difpofition towards the national Church, which is due from a private Separatift, who would not incur the Censure and Penalties of a tur bulent Schifmatick.

But fuppofing the Diffenters were not fo modeft in their Defires, (as it is hoped most of 'em are) confidering the Number and Variety of Sects, and the Weakness of each of them apart, what Benefit can any one Party propofe, to itself from the Ruin of the establish'd Church, were they able to effect it? Does their Diffention from the Church of England unite them either in Doctrine or Difcipline? Does it bring them nearer to a Conformity with one another? No, but fo much the contrary, could they prevail against the Church, they would be bitterer Enemies to one another than ever they were to the Church. We have experienc'd this Truth in those unhappy Days when the Crown and Mitre were trampled upon, and God's Houfe made a Den of Thieves, that fell out and were ready to cut each others Throats about the Poffeffion and Divifion of it. Our Sectaries then faw how impracticable a Comprehenfion was, and that there was not one Sect among them that did did not think worse of all the reft than of the Church they labour'd to pull down. But we have more recent Inftances than that, which prove that they cannot bear even the Dawning of Hopes with any tolerable good Accord. We have feen the two Sticks which a falfe Prophet of theirs had pronounced

* Sermon on the Union of the Pefbyterians and Independents, preach'd at Pinner's-Hall. VOL. III.

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to

to be made one for ever, foon fever'd, and made ufe of to break each others Heads. An Inftance which plainly proves that Faction fhall never be at Reft or Unity.

Such Diffenters as I have mentioned ought to be fatisfied with the prefent Indulgence which the Church allows them, and refting themselves contented with the undisturbed Exercife of their Religion and Confcience, to give the eftablished Church no Jealoufy of their Ill-meaning or Defigns, and thereby provoke them, and indeed, make it neceffary to lay them under greater Restraints and Incapacities than are at prefent intended them, or by deftroying (were they able) that Church which now protects them, to fall under the Tyranny of a Sect which would have no fuch Tenderness for them.

But if they entertain any Hopes that they, even united, fhall be able to bid Defiance to the established Church, they are extremely mistaken in their own Strength; for tho' they have been able to make a confiderable Noife and Buftle in the World, yet were they themfelves but weak and inconfiderable; the main Strength of their Party lay in an auxiliary Body of falfe Church-goers, who joined them, not out of any Love or Refpect to them, but to their own private Intereft. These were Men whofe Eyes were always fix'd on the Countenance of the Court, Men that were always refolved to be on the funny Side, be that whatever it was; these are a Sort of Court Weather-cocks that veer about with every Wind, and watch the Difpofition of Minifters and Favourites fo carefully, that they understand a Nod, or a Shrug, and are ready to execute their Pleafure, be it what it will, before it is plainly fignified; however, they may thank their Stars, that they wanted not a Set of Minifters who could make very broad Signs, otherwise they might officiously have mistaken them, and followed the Words of their Directions contrary to their Meaning. It is hardly to be thought that the Diffenters will depend on thefe Sun-Flowers for their Affiftance at this Time of Day; there is now the fhady Side, and thefe are tender Plants, that cannot endure it. They had no other Reafon for joining them before, than that they were favoured by the late Miniftry; and they will leave them now, because they are not like to be fo by the future. If therefore the Diffenters be Masters of any Temper or Prudence, they will not venture, by a vain Struggle at this Time, to urge thofe who are infinitely the Majority of the People, and have as well the Laws of the Land, as the Queen and her Court on their Side, to have them in diftruft, and confequently under Guard; it may therefore be worth their while feriously to confider this, and not by a fruitless Oppofition to exp fe at once the Weaknefs and ill Intentions of their Party, but peaceably to enjoy that Liberty of Confcience, and free Exercife of their Religion, which no good Church of England Man will repine at, while they appear to aim at no more.

As for the Church-goers, who pretend to be Sons of the Church, and yet have joined our Enemies in all their Votes, it is plain that Preferment, not Principle, was the Star that guided them; and it is to as much Purpose to reafon with the Weather-cock at St. James's as them; the fame Argument

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