breach of Communion and I know there are and have been many eminent Men in the Church of God who have wholly differ'd in their judgments about some abstruse Points of Divinity without prejudicing the Peace and Vnity either of the Church or State in regard they defended them only as their private Persuasions and were both too modest prudent and charitably honest to disturb the Peace and Quiet of the Church or State by endeavouring to impose their particular judgments in things not clear and evident as necessary Doctrines of Faith or Practice upon the Consciences of all other Men. The main and grand Differences between the Church of England and all those who have separated themselves from her Communion so far as I am able to discover by the Writings of the several Parties are either about the Government it self or about the circumstances and manner of Worship That there ought to be Government in the Church I suppose all Parties will readily acknowledge because a great Apostle tells us God is the God of Order and not of Confusion 1 Cor. 14.33 39. in all the Churches of God by which it is plain that that is no Church of God which is not under Government or which countenances Confusion and therefore the same Apostle absolutely commands That all things be done decently and with Order The thing that is complained of is That this way of Government by the Episcopal Hierarchie being no where in plain and positive Words and Commands thus set down ordered and established in Scripture which is the Rule of Conscience therefore it ought not to be imposed tyrannically and imperiously upon Men of weak and tender Consciences especially when another and better way of Government more agreeable to the Scriptures and Primitive Simplicity of the Gospel is now found out and discovered For though Government in its own Nature be absolutely necessary yet where God does not interpose any positive Command or Directions as he did concerning the Jewish Church there this or that Government are equally indifferent and the best is to be chosen and preferred before the rest How weak a Plea and Refuge this is to call for and expect plain and express Words Commands or Directions from Scripture for every thing we do or believe every Man must acknowledge who does but consider that we owe even the Belief of some of the Articles of our Faith to consequences from Scripture and not to plain positive and express words As for Example that of the Mystery of the Glorious Trinity in Vnity three Persons but one God which words are not to be found in all the Holy Canon How much more unreasonable is it then to expect express Words and Commands of Scripture for Government in the Church which is of a far more inferior Concern than Faith And how dangerous a matter it is to admit of this Proposition That nothing is to be believed or done for which there cannot be brought a clear and positive place of Scripture let all Christians judge And whether if it were as heartily practised as it is by some Men vigorously prest it would not root out the very foundation of all Religion But we will join issue with them upon the Point and give them a fair tryal at the Bar of Conscience their own Judge upon their own Assertion If therefore Government being undetermined by Scripture be indifferent whether this or that and the best to be preferred How shall it be determined and by what Authority which way of Government in the Church is the best For till there be such a determination as before has been made appear it can be no more than Private Opinion and therefore can lay no more Obligation upon any Mans Conscience to yield Obedience to it than any other particular Persuasion does which can only oblige those who are of the same Persuasion and only so long as they continue so and no longer nor any others who are not so persuaded and therefore by the Rule of Liberty of Conscience are free and ought not to be imposed upon for fear of wounding their tender Consciences which is the direct and ready way to have as many several Governments and distinct Churches as there are Men of several Minds and Persuasions about which is the best it being certain that if Men be left to their liberty every Man abounding in his own sence will esteem best of his own way and according to the Proverb Every Crow will think his own Bird fairest which in plain English at last must amount to Anarchy instead of Vnity and Confusion in the room of that Decency and Order which God expects and requires in all his Churches For the Scriptures leave it in suspence and at least are silent as to most particularities of Government there being no more plain and express words for any sort of Government which any of the Dissenters would establish than there are for that against which they contend and all Parties will plead the Scriptures speak as much or more for their way of Government than for any other Let us therefore try who will have the advantage and bid fairest for such a determination as shall oblige all mens Consciences according to the forementioned Rules how any indifferent matters of Opinion or Persuasion such as the Question in dispute must be according as they have stated it become necessary and obligatory to all mens Consciences First therefore we have reason to believe that the way of Government now establish'd in the Church of England is the best because we find it does not contradict any known Rule or positive Command of Scripture but on the contrary all its Commands Directions Doctrine and Practise are founded upon and derived if not from plain words as most of them are yet from most evident sense and consequences of Scripture which as before was intimated concerning the Articles of Faith are as obligatory to Conscience as Scripture it self Secondly This way of Government as it is now established appears to follow the better more sure and warrantable part of our Judgment in indifferent things so as to make them become obliging and that in both its branches viz. First it is agreeable to the Judgment Approbation Example and Practise of the best men in all Ages from the Apostolick times as will be evident to all who shall without partiality peruse the Scriptures themselves where there are many not imperfect traces and footsteps of this way of Government so far established as the Powers of the Heathen Governments who then had all the Civil and Temporal Jurisdiction would permit But there is a whole Cloud of Witnesses for it in the universal consent practise approbation and defence of all those holy men from the Apostles times who though not divinely inspired yet were men of such eminent Integrity and Piety as would not permit them to write any thing directly contrary to the Primitive truth which some of them did immediately receive from the mouths of the
parts of the Creation which do in obedience to his Will endeavour to promote those excellent Ends and Designs of his Glory in the happiness of the Creation shall as the Reward from his Bounty upon their Obedience be made partakers of that happiness they are capable of and which in his wisdom he sees best for them both here and hereafter And that those parts of the Creation who in opposition or contempt of so great goodness excellency and power endeavor to cross hinder and obstruct these great Ends of the Creation shall therefore be miserable both here and hereafter by the want of that happiness as also by such other penalties as the greatness of their Crimes deserves and their Natures are capable of CHAP. V. Of Conscience its Description what is its proper Employment and the manner of its Operation HAving shewn what Principles are the foundation of Conscience viz. a sence of that Duty which we owe to God and to one another The next inquiry must of necessity be how these Duties are to be performed so as they may be agreeable and acceptable to those to whom we are to pay them And herein common Reason obliges us to believe that we are bound to follow the directions of the Supreme Being so far as he has been pleased to manifest his Will and Pleasure to us Amongst Christians the Canon of the Holy Scripture has alwayes been taken for this Rule of Direction as being the Divine Revelation of the Will of GOD. And whosoever does seriously and attentively consider the scope of those Sacred Writings must of necessity confess them to owe their Original to the Divine Nature supposing it such as has before been described and universally believed for all their Commands Instructions and Exhortations are directly level'd at these great and glorious designs of the most excellent Spirit by promoting his Glory and the happiness of Mankind both here in this life and hereafter in the life to come So that now having found we owe a Duty and having likewise found a Rule for our direction how we ought to perform this Duty there will be no great difficulty to find what Conscience is for it is no other thing than that Principle which judges whether we have discharged our Duty according to this Rule and these Directions I do purposely avoid the Niceties of the Schools as too full of Curiosity and not at all conducing to my design which is to avoid all intricacy and perplexedness and to give such an easie proper and natural description and notion of Conscience that every man may find it in his own breast Conscience therefore is that Power which every Man hath within his own mind of judging all his thoughts words and actions whether they are agreeable to that which is the best Rule by which they ought to be directed Thus from a belief that there is a GOD and from the commands in Scripture to worship Him and Him onely my Conscience or Power that I have of judging my self immediately informs me that I ought not to neglect his Worship or to give it to any Creature If therefore I do either wholly or in part omit it or misplace my Worship my Conscience tells me I have done amiss because I have not followed the direction of the Rule Thus from the belief that I ought to contribute all I can to the accomplishment of the great and good design of the Almighty Being in promoting the happiness of all the parts of the Creation my Conscience presently informs me that I ought to do all the good I can in all senses unto all Men And on the contrary that therefore I must be careful to avoid doing any wilful injury to my self or to any other person whereby their present happiness may be impaired or their future lessened or prevented because in so doing I follow the directions of the Rule which only is satisfactory to Conscience whose office is to accuse me if I do wrong to encourage and acquit me if I do what is right and what I ought to do So that to make up Conscience there must be first a true and exact Rule for all our actions which we take the Scriptures to be as being as St. Paul saith sufficient to make the man of God wise unto salvation which I think is a sufficiency for a Rule beyond all exceptions and they who expect a better Rule certainly expect another End better I am sure it is impossible And as before was intimated if there were a necessity it were no hard task to prove the Scriptures in all particulars the most excellent Rule for the management of all humane Actions in order to the forementioned Ends of Gods Glory and the Happiness of the Universe Secondly There must be a true knowledge of this Rule Scientia before Conscientia which Preposition denotes only the private application of this knowledge to particular persons and things for this is most clear and evident that I must first know this or that is to be believed or done and after this or that manner before I can believe it to be my Duty or be able to pass a judgment upon my self that I have done well or ill in believing or not believing doing or not doing any thing or not doing it as I ought according to the direction of my Rule Lastly there must be an impartial and true judgment of my actions by this Rule that is whether they have been according to the directions of the Rule which is the proper employment of Conscience whose work is to measure my thoughts words and actions and to try whether they are conformable to the Rule by which I am bound to act and according to that judgment either to absolve or condemn me for them So that Conscience thus properly taken can only be exercised about such things as are certainly known and by consequence absolutely necessary to be done for such are all and only the commands and directions of the Rule according to that remarkable place of St. Paul Acts 24.16 concerning his own practice which ought to be a pattern to all men And herein do I exercise my self to have a Conscience void of offence towards God and towards Men. That is the proper and peculiar Employ of Conscience is to judge and determine whether I do my Duty to God and my Neighbour according to what I know is his Will revealed in his holy Word Now in regard that upon this true Notion of Conscience there lies a great deal of weight and it being the common mistake amongst weak minds to take every thing which is offer'd to them as such without a due examination for a matter of Conscience in the strictest sence I will endeavor to clear this Point and make it appear that Conscience is only directly concerned about such things as are certainly known and therefore absolutely necessary to be believed and done or not done First therefore we will inquire into the Nature and as I
Happiness hereafter in the Life of Immortality and Glory and therefore does so frequently promise to the Obedient all those things which may compose the happiness even of this Life the Bona Corporis Animi Fortunae all the good things of Body and Mind and Estate according to that saying of the Apostle 1 Tim. 6.6 1 Tim. 4.8 Godliness with contentment which it onely can give is great gain having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come Now the means which God commands us to use and the means which he directs are the most certain Rule for us to make a Judgment what is the End at which he would have us arrive For God is true and cannot lie though all men may be liars and therefore we are bound to believe him and that he cannot tell us one thing when he means another directly contrary to it as some men who call themselves Divines have both by Word and Writing publickly avowed and publish'd to the World If we look upon the Commands of the Law such as were not onely particular to the Jewish Nation in their Typical Service but common to all the children of Abraham by Faith we shall find that they all aim at this And the Two Tables written with the Divine Characters by the immediate Finger of God direct first his Worship secondly man's happiness by obedience to Superiours in the first Commandment with promise by Justice Chastity Temperance Truth and Honesty and all other Virtues which conduce to our happiness here in this Life and by making us partakers of the Divine Nature fitting and preparing us for the enjoyment of Heaven and Happiness hereafter And if we examine either the Doctrine or Practise of all holy Men so far as their Practise is recorded for our example we shall find that they have all a tendency to these very Ends. If we come to look into that Royal Law of Liberty the Gospel we shall find that all its Commands and Directions lead us to our own happiness witness that Golden and even by Heathens much celebrated Rule of our blessed Jesus To do to all men Matth. 7.12 as we would that they should do unto us A Rule to make all the World happy and a Rule which I am sure no Dissenter dare abide by and which surpasseth all that ever went before it and is the highest exaltation of Humane Nature even to such a degree as brings it to a near affinity and resemblance of the blessed Divinity Matth. 5.44 ad finem who makes his Sun to shine upon the just and unjust To love our enemies To bless those that curse us to do good to them that hate us and to pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us And the Disciples spake the same Language of their great Lord and Master who left his Peace and command of Unity to love one another as a Legacy among them and enforces it upon them with the most powerful persuasive If ye love me keep my commandments Joh. 14.15 telling them this love and unity should be the badge and distinction of their profession Joh. 13.35 By this shall all men know that you are my Disciples if ye love one another Thus there fore they command Piety and Unity Peace and Charity Love unfeigned Obedience to Magistrates and Ministers that Duty Honour and Respect which is due to any to be given unto them to live Justly Soberly Religiously in this present World in all Honesty Quietness Humility Chastity Temperance and all other Virtues and Goodness one toward another and as we have opportunity to do good unto all Let any man judge if these Rules were exactly followed if the Golden Age would not return and all men be as happy as heart can wish The Effects which they would produce plainly demonstrate the Ends for which they were designed Besides all agree to this That the great design of the Creation was the glory of the Creator now the same thing which glorifies the Creator does also make the Creature happy and that is Obedience to his Will Laws and Commands And that the Will of God is to be glorified by the Obedience and not Punishment of his Creatures as his first design in their Creation has already from his own protestation been shewn And the Apostle is as plain as positive in this point That God would have all men to be saved 1 Tim. 3.3,4 ver 6. by coming to the knowledge of the truth And for this purpose that Christ gave himself a ransome for all And whosoever does peruse the holy Gospel shall be forced to acknowledge that the whole design of it is That all men by the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ might come to yield obedience to his holy Laws and Directions and that by following them 2 Pet. 1.2 3 4 5 6 7. they might escape the pollutions and corruptions that is in the world through lust and be made partakers of the Divine Nature by living justly righteously and Godlike blameless and harmless as the Sons of God here in this world that so through the all-sufficient merits and satisfaction of the onely Son of God they may as the end of their Faith Hope Charity and Constancy be made partakers of that glorious Life and Immortality which he has purchased for them with his most precious Bloud So that as nothing can be more sutable to the excellency of the Divine Being than a design in their Creation that they should all be happy according to their several Capacities so nothing is more clear from the unanimous consent and design of the Holy Scriptures which contain the Will of God than that this was the great and ultimate End of the Omnipotent Creator in the framing the World and particularly in the Creation of Mankind to be happy both here and hereafter in a future state CHAP. XIV Some necessary Corollaries from the former Discourse with the Conclusion to all men to endeavour after Peace and Vnity FRom what has before been said we may draw these necessary and practical Consequences and Conclusions First That every man is obliged to yield obedience to Conscience upon pain of Eternal Damnation because every man is obliged under that penalty to walk according to the Scripture Rule which is that by which Conscience judges every man whether he does right or wrong according to what St. John tells us 1 Joh. 3.5 If our heart that is our Conscience condemn us God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things and most certainly will condemn us in that great and fearful Judgment-day And whosoever violates a known command of Scripture however he may colour it over with the fair pretence of Religion yet as St. Paul saith Rom. 3.7 Though the truth of God should abound through my lie unto his glory yet I shall be also judged as a sinner And so shall all those who with pretence of advancing