THE

PREFACE.

HE three great fubjects with which a Christian minifter is concerned, are the word of God, the church of God, and the Christian life. Circumstances and occafions will fometimes direct his thoughts to one of these, and sometimes to another: but fo long as any of the three are before him, he is within the circle of his duty.

I was led to the subject of the following Effay, by an accident. I am a curate in a country parish; who make it my bufinefs, and have found it my pleasure, to teach the children of my people privately in my own house, and publicly in the church; and I am, for the prefent, the only Sunday Schoolmafter of the place. In the courfe of my inftructions, I had occafion to obferve, that the catechifm of the church of England, though a moft excellent fummary of the Chriftian doctrine, is deficient in one point, viz, the conftitution of the church of Chrift; the knowledge of which, in a certain degree, is neceffary to the preservation of that charity which is the end of the commandment; and, for the want of which, fo many are drawn away from the church, who would certainly have remained with it, if they had known what it is. Yet is our catechifm not fo deficient, but that it includes the grand diftinction betwixt the world and the church; which diftinction being explained, I found we were poffeffed of a leading idea, which gave fo much light to my young pupils, that I determined to go through the fubject.

As I have been perfuaded, ever fince I began to think on these things, of the great importance of uniformity in worship amongft Chriftians, fo have I been led to obferve, on the other hand, the many evil confequences of non-conformity, with the dangerous delufions of the mind, arifing from the harangues of preachers pretending to extraordinary gifts, while they are but half learned in the Gofpel, which they undertake to publish, and are greatly mistaken in the fpirit of it. I fee how fome men are cheated with the appearance of being converted to godlinefs, when they are only converted from one fin to another; from loving the world, to hating their neighbours; from the coldnefs of church devotion, to an uncharitable heat against the church itself; from the moral philofophy of fome of our pulpits, to the Antinomian faith, which gives men a license to fin; from the drunkenness of the body, to the intoxication of the mind, with fpiritual pride and falfe doctrine.

I AM well affured that if this fubject of the church, now fo much neglected, and almoft forgotten by those who are moft concerned to understand it, fhould come to be better confidered; there would be more true piety, and more peace, more of thofe virtues which will be required in Heaven, and which must therefore be firft learned upon earth.

SOME amongst us err, because they know not the Scriptures; and others, because they never confidered the nature of the church. Some think they can make their own religion, and fo they defpife the word of God, and fall into infidelity. Others think they can make their own church, or even be a church unto themselves; and fo they fall into the delufions of enthusiasm, or the uncharitableness of fchifm. But, as

there is nothing to enlighten the minds of men in the doctrines of falvation, but the word of God, fo is there nothing that can unite their hearts and affections, but the church of God. "Ye are one bread, and one "body," faith the Apostle; one body by partaking of one bread; and that can only be in the fame com

munion.

In the

In the weighing of thefe things, the prevailing fpirit of the times, and the fanction which it may have given either to the profligate finner, or to the prefumptuous faint, are of no account upon the scale. fettling of principles, we are never to confider how the world hath practifed, but how God hath taught. The practice of the multitude, how great foever that multitude may be, hath no influence upon truth: yet it will ftagger the minds of many, aud carry them away, as with an overbearing torrent. Happy are they who have a better rule to direct them. They know that man applauds, highly applauds, what God abominates: and the higher the applaufe, the more room there is for fufpicion. They know that the voice of the multitude was against Jefus Chrift, when but few were for him; and they had hid themfelves, and dared not to speak their minds. When Noah followed the direction of God in building the ark, for the faving of his houfe, the world was against him. To them no ark was necessary, because they had determined amongst themfelves that there would be no flood; and confequently, that Noah was a bigot, whofe undertaking, while it expofed himself, was an invidious reflection upon the age. When the father of the faithful followed the calling of God, there were none to ftand by him. and encourage him; he was feparated from his nearest relations; and wherefoever he went, he was under fears

and dangers from people of a falfe perfuafion. When Jefus Chrift brought with him from Heaven, that light which was to be the glory of his people, one ruler of the Jews came to him by stealth in the night, to confult him as a teacher, come from God. So great was the authority of a blinded multitude, that a ruler of the people was afraid of being brought into difgrace, by converfing perfonally with the Saviour of the world!

THE times, therefore, and the people who live in them, are never to be confidered by us, when we are feeking or following the truth, on the ground of its own proper evidence. When it was afked, with a defign to perplex the people, who, of the rulers, or of the pharifees, had believed? Our Saviour gave them a different rule: why do ye not of yourfelves, faid he, judge what is right; without going first to confult those who are blinded by falfe learning, and, with an appearance of great fanctity, have impofed upon the people? See," faith one, how faft our doctrine is increafing all the learned are going after it; and you muft all fubmit to it in a very fhort time." And who are they that thus reafon with us? The very fame perfons who declaim fo loudly on the fallibility of all men; and yet hold themselves to be little lefs than infallible in the choice of their own opinions. Let error rife as high as it can; and let truth fink as low as a wicked world can reduce it; the difference betwixt them is the fame as ever; and we fhall ftill find it wifer and better to follow the fetting fun, as Columbus did when he difcovered the Indies. The meteor of herefy, which blazes and dazzles us for a while with its appearance, will burn out, and leave not a fpark behind; while the fun fets to rife again. Such will be the fate of the