5thly. When the Jews fell into wickedness and idolatry, priests as well as people, and GoD sent prophets to reprove them, yet none of these holy prophets did separate from communion with the wicked priests, and set up another priesthood in opposition to them. They did not think it lawful, how holy soever they were, to intrude themselves into the priesthood, as they had not been lawfully called and appointed.

These two cases go very strongly to prove that there is a duty to submit ourselves, for conscience sake, to the established order and manner in the Church, so long as the Church enjoins nothing which plainly contradicts the revealed will of God, and to perform which would therefore do violence to our sense of right.

6thly. Consider, further, the ground upon which our SAVIOUR ordered the authority of the Scribes and Pharisees to be respected, viz. because they sat in Moses' seat, (Matt. xxiii. 2.) i. e. because they were the lawfully appointed and regularly ordained ministers of the established religion. Moreover, throughout the Acts of the Apostles, where we are to look for the use and gradual formation of a system of Church government, in proportion as the converts become more numerous, and more widely scattered in different countries, we may trace a principle of union and of subordination throughout the various Churches and Assemblies of believers. Care too was taken for the continuance of this union and this subordination, both in the manner of appointing teachers, then, and in providing for their similar appointment for the time to come: and this manner of providing a due supply of fit persons for the ministry has been observed not only during the age of the Apostles, and their immediate successors, but it may be said through the first fifteen centuries after the establishment of Christianity.

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7thly. Turn to the solemn prayers of our SAVIOUR in the 17th chapter of St. John. Holy FATHER, keep through Thine own name, those whom Thou hast given to me, that they may be one as we are1;" and, again, in the same prayer, "neither pray I for

1 These words of our SAVIOUR I take as more than an indirect argument. They speak so clearly of all future believers in the Gospel, for whose unity He prays; the closeness of which proper unity, He illustrates by comparing it

these alone, but for them also, which shall believe on Me through their word, that they all may be one, as Thou, FATHER, art in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us." .... Would it not be in direct opposition to the spirit and letter of this prayer to justify every individual Christian in claiming the right of withdrawing himself from communion with the Church upon every slight difference of opinion? As if Christianity required of us no surrender whatever of the private judgment, and as if it were never right for a Christian silently to acquiesce in existing usages, or new ordinances, in things indifferent, when commanded by lawful authority, unless he was convinced of the benefit and propriety of them, which would, in fact, be to make every individual Christian a law unto himself in all things; or, to adapt our language to the day, as if it were never required to assent in religious matters in the same way as in civil matters, i. e. without being convinced of the advisableness or benefit of the thing enjoined, but merely because, on the one hand, lawful authority orders it, and, on the other, we see no danger to our souls in obeying it.

8thly. CHRIST hath given an authority to the Church, and therefore there is but one thing which can justify us in going against its authority, and that is, a firm conviction, that by doing what the Church orders, we should transgress some still more evident and higher command of God; as, e. g. when the Church of Rome pronounced it lawful to take away the lives of excommunicated princes. And is not separating from the Church transgressing its authority?

If any one ask, where is this authority spoken of in Scripture, let him consider the following texts.

"He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth Him that sent me." (Luke x. 16.)

"If he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." (Matt. xviii. 17.)

with the union between His FATHER and Himself, i. e. between the two first Persons of the blessed Trinity, in which Three are One. Can there he said to be such an union in the Christian Church if every one" hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation?”

"Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt. xviii. 18.)

"Whosesoever sin ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." (John xx. 23.) "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." (Matt. xxviii. 20.)

9thly. CHRIST hath appointed the Church as the only way unto eternal life. We read at the first, that the LORD added daily to the Church such as should be saved; and what was then done daily, hath been done since continually. CHRIST never appointed two ways to heaven; nor did He build a Church to save some, and make another institution for other men's salvation. "There

is no other name under heaven given unto men, whereby we must be saved, but the name of JESUS," and that is no otherwise given under heaven, than in the Church'.

Here, then, I finish my series of arguments. Not that there are not many others, which might be brought forward, to show, that Dissent is wrong; but I prefer confining my remarks to those which have something in common with one another. The principles upon which all the reasonings here given are in some sort founded, are, 1. the Christian duty of obedience; 2. of preserving unity; 3. of avoiding, in all cases where we can with a safe conscience, any giving occasion of offence, or pain, or perplexity, to our Christian brethren :-in other words, the duty of having an eye always to CHRISTIAN CHARITY, i. e. brotherly love, in our way of performing our duties, especially those about the limits of which we are not quite sure.

1 How is it we speak of the external unity of the visible Church, when there are many different Churches in different nations? "All the Church of GOD are united into one by the unity of discipline and government, by virtue whereof the same CHRIST ruleth in them all. For they have all the same pastoral guides, appointed, authorized, sanctified, and set apart by the appointment of GOD, by the direction of the SPIRIT, to direct and lead the people of GOD in the same way of eternal salvation: as therefore there is no Church where there is no order, no ministry; so, where the same order and ministry is, there is the same Church."-Pearson.

The sum of the matter as here set before you is this. If a man's separation from the Church be upon grounds which he really believes to be of vital importance, I have nothing to do with him. He acts from conscientious motives, and cannot remain in communion with a Church, which teaches what he holds to be false doctrines. "To his own master he standeth or falleth;" and it is not for me to judge how he has come to this conclusion. I can, however, fully understand, that so long as he holds such an opinion about our Church, he cannot have any thing to do with it, but must come out from it. But if I see a man attending the Church occasionally, as if he thought there was no positive harm in what is taught there, then I say, that man has not done rightly in becoming a Dissenter, because I gather from Scripture that it is a duty to submit to established authorities in religious matters, just as in political and civil matters, so long as there is no vital and essential difference between his own articles of faith, and those which the established Church maintains. He ought to submit in all things indifferent for conscience sake. And his only sound and sufficient defence for separating from the Church, is a belief, that he cannot be saved in it on account of its holding false doctrine. If he cannot say this, he has no sufficient reason for thus "rending CHRIST's body," by removing himself out of the Church, and for giving an example to others to set up some new sect for themselves upon any trifling ground of difference.

I will add only one more remark in conclusion, which is this. You read in the New Testament of great and important promises made to the Church, whatever that Church be: you read also of many very strong and sharp rebukes given to those, who caused dissensions and disputes in the Church, during the time of the Apostles you read also of the heavy condemnation, which will come upon those who have been partakers in these sins; and also you know the warnings of our SAVIOUR and of the Apostles, that in the latter days, the danger and subtilty of these errors and heresies would increase, so as to deceive (if it were possible) even the elect; and, lastly, you know, that even though persons think they are conscientiously obliged to make a schism, still

they may be condemned for this very false conviction of their deceitful hearts. Now, since all this is the case, would it not be prudent for a single man, who thinks of becoming a Dissenter, to consider seriously where he is most likely to come within the terms of these promises, and where he is least likely to be liable to the threats and denunciations above alluded to? Would it not be well to reason with himself somewhat on this wise: "The Church may not mean the Church, as some people understand it, who suppose that dissenters are left out of it; but still as I never heard any one say, that the Dissenters were the only true Church, and that the Established Church was shut out of the promises, because she was no part of the true Church, surely I am more safe, more likely to come in for a share of these blessings, if, while in other things I strive to do my duty without troubling myself to decide things, which in truth are too hard for me, I continue a member of the Established Church. By so doing, I follow the example of my forefathers, of my country, of holy martyrs before me, and rest my faith on the authority of those who are, by virtue of their office, successors of the Apostles; whereas, in the other case, I must, on my own judgment, set aside all this weight of authority, and do that, which is as much as to say, that till within the last three hundred years the whole world has been in darkness, and that I can see clearer than all those great, and good, and pious, and learned persons, who have lived and died before me in the faith." Surely it is the safer course to remain stedfastly in the Church, without halting between two opinions; there is more chance of your being right there.

NOTE.

P. S. In order that you may know whom you ought to look upon as your proper spiritual guides and governors, I lay before you the description given of them by the famous Dr. Isaac Barrow. "Those, I say, then, who constantly do profess and teach that sound and wholesome doctrine, which was delivered