ing able to do mischief to it, be they never so willing.

It is not in our power to doubt, but that the church of England is legitimately constituted, and founded upon all the principles of Christianity, which our Saviour himself declared to be the foundation of his church; and we are well assured, that it enjoins nothing to be believed or practised which excludes salvation, nor inhibits any thing that is necessary to it: which, if true, all subjects are bound to submit to it, as the law of their country, for conscience-sake. Nor is there any thing alleged to support this odious refractoriness, but that there is but one church, which is the church of Rome; and whosoever is not of that church, cannot be of a true church. They had need have a very unquestionable revelation of the truth of it, if they have nothing else but this weak dilemma to support an evident and manifest disobedience to their king, and the laws of their country. What warrant have any Englishmen to pay more reverence to the church of Rome than to the church of England? Is it only because that it is the only Christian church? Christ never allowed himself so little as one church. We no sooner hear the name of a church, than we hear of several churches, and several churches which in the newest infancy of Christianity entertained very different and contrary

opinions of religion; and some of them as dangerous, and of worse consequence, than any that are at this day between the Roman catholics and the church of England. The apostles themselves were never of one mind in all things; St Paul contradicted St Peter to his face, and pronounced that he was to blame; nor was St Peter behind hand with him, when he declared, "that he had in all his epistles spoken of many things, in which are some things hard to be understood, and so hard, that the unstable and unlearned did wrest (as they did other scriptures) unto their own destruction,” 2 Pet. iii. 16. And yet neither the one or the other thought themselves obliged to explain those hard things, which they knew would require new explanations when new questions (to which the new Christians were most inclined) should arise. St Paul would never have directed his several epistles to the several churches of the Christians in particular cities, or of particular nations, if the errors in any one (and errors were in all) made it cease to be a church. We see how it was when Christianity was first planted, and whilst the first planters of it were alive; and we have no reason to believe, when it was farther spread, that ever any two Christian nations did, or it may be now do, agree in one and the same opinion and judgment in all things which concern the doctrine

of Christ and his worship; and God forbid that we should' think that there is yet any one Christian nation in which Christ is not so taught, as that they may not be saved in it. "There is indeed one Lord, one faith, one baptism," Eph. iv. 5; that's true; but where is it said, there is but one church? which is the aphorism by which they puzzle weak men, and put them to enquire which is that church, that they may talk of antiquity, and fathers, and councils, and succession, to induce unskilful men to think theirs to be that one church; whereas, in those things wherein they differ from the church of England, (I speak for no other church) they have neither advantage from antiquity, from fathers, from councils, or from succession; but, on the contrary, in those particulars have entertained novelties, improprieties, and presumptions, unknown or odious to antiquity, fathers, and councils, and which are worthily and warrantably rejected by that excellently reformed church.

But is it then in the power of every supreme Christian magistrate and state, under pretence of reformation, to alter and change Christian religion, and the exercise and practice of it? No! nor in the power of all Christian magistrates and Christian states together, to alter or change it. What Christ instituted himself, and Christian religion was instituted by him, no Christian magistrate pretends,

or can have power to change; the pope himself, though he hath the presumption to attempt it, nor general councils, own or challenge any such power to themselves: but then we must not call any thing the essence of Christian religion, that is not contained in that his institution. There are two tables in the New, as well as in the Old Testament; the first contains the body and substance of Christian religion instituted by our Saviour himself, and explained as much as was necessary by his apostles, and comprehended in few, and plain, and easy words: "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent," John vi. 29. "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved," Rom. x. 9. He that heartily believes the birth, passion, and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, hath embraced the whole body of Christian religion. And then if he observes the second table, as he believes the first, his state of salvation can never be doubted by himself, nor questioned by any body else. The second table contains those Christian duties and practice which result from the doctrine of the first: "By their fruits you shall know them; whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and does them," says our Saviour, Matt. vii. 20, 24. "Now the fruit of the spirit is love, joy,

peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law; and they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts," Gal. v. 22, 23, 24. These are the two tables of Christian religion, and comprehend all that was instituted by our Saviour, and taught by his apostles as necessary to salvation. It was well enough foreseen and known, that there would be questions and doubts enough raised upon, and by occasion of both the first and the second table, which began abundantly in the same time; yet they would neither enlarge the text, nor the commentary, but thought they had provided for both, for all that was necessary for their understanding the interpreting the one, and the exercise of the other, when they made obedience to authority a vital part of the religion they prescribed: "Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, for there is no power but of God; the powers that be, are ordained of God," Rom. xiii. 1. "Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens shall be thy nursing mothers," Isa. xlix. 23, which nobody doubts was spoken of the church; God knowing that he had well provided for the cherishing and establishing the religion that he meant should be professed in and by his church, when he enjoined it as a duty incumbent on them, and the high office he entrusted them with, to take care