4. What Endeavours we are to use against them, when we are exhorted here, to beware of them.

Now having at that Time gone through the first and second of thefe; namely, what is meant by falfe Prophets, and having confidered the external Formality of their Sheeps Clothing; I proceed now to the third and fourth, namely, their interior bad Defigns; and the Endeavours we are to use against them.

III. The third Thing then we are to confider from this Caution is, the interior bad Designs of falfe Teachers; inwardly they are ravening Wolves. Two Things I apprehend are aimed at by this Compellation.

1. The Deftructiveness of their Doctrine.
2. Their cruel, perfecuting Tempers.

1. They resemble ravening Wolves, in the Destructiveness of their Doctrine; for there are a great many Doctrines delivered with a great external Shew of Serioufnefs and Piety, which yet make as great Havock of the Souls of Men, as downright Atheism and Irreligion itself could do, if it were taught with the utmoft Care and Diligence. And though these Doctrines may not perhaps be delivered with any express Design to promote Ungodlinefs, but by Men, whofe Sheeps Clothing gives them a good Off-fet; yet really the Tendency of the Doctrines themselves is exceeding pernicious, let there be ever fo great Tokens of Sanctity in the Teachers that maintain and propagate them. For fuch Doctrines are not propagated only by ill Men; the Word Clothing in

Scripture

Scripture being often applied to the inward Habits of the Mind, as well as to external Shew and Profeffion; and the better the Men are that spread dangerous Doctrines, fo much the more dangerous the Doctrines are. This Sheeps Clothing then must be taken, I think, in a larger Senfe than to be only the exterior or fair Shew of Hypocrites, who purposely diffemble their bad Intentions; it ought, I believe, to be extended to all the fair Off-fets of pernicious Doctrines, whether proceeding from the real, or only appearing Sanctity of its Teachers. For, were bad Doctrines only propagated by ill Men and Hypocrites, it would not be fo very hard a Matter to discover them: that which makes bad Doctrine fo dangerous, is, when it comes countenanced with all the Off-fets, not only of Learning and Eloquence, but of Piety and good Life. Instead of prying then into the Defigns of the Men, I fhall confine this Part of their Description to the Design and Tendency of their Doctrine, for this is properly to confider them as falfe Prophets; this being a Compellation, which will not only comprehend that groffer Sort of Hypocrites, who defignedly deceive others; but all those who teach dangerous falfe Doctrine, tending to obstruct that perfect Obedience, which Christ here requires, though they are firft deceived themfelves, and take the Doctrine for true.

The chief Thing then we are to enquire after, under this Character of the falfe Prophets being inwardly ravenous Wolves, is the Havock the pernicious Doctrine makes of the Souls of Men, under a fair Colour of Holinefs and Religion. To fet this in a true Light, it will be neceffary

to

to fhew the great Danger of fome Doctrines of thefe falfe Teachers, how deftructive they prove to the Souls of Men. And though in my former Discourse on this Text, I mentioned feveral of these under the Defcription of falfe Prophets, it will not be amifs to confider the fame, or others of the like Nature, under this Notion of Destructiveness to the Souls of Men: for nothing better answers the End of a Caution against them, than to be well informed as to the true Defcriptions of them. To inftance then in fome of the most pernicious of the Errors of false Prophets, in Order to the guarding you against

them.

1. Some of the most dangerous feem to be thofe, which endeavour to weaken our Belief of a future State, whether as to the Immortality of the Soul, or the Refurrection of the Body. There are both antient and modern Sadducees, who have made it their Bufinefs to cut off the Faith of thefe Things; and by that Means they cut the Sinews of all holy Practice: for if in this Life only we bave Hope, of all Men we are the most miferable.

2. Next to them who weaken the Belief of a future State, I know no Errors more dangerous, and indeed more pernicious to the Souls of Men, than those which, denying all revealed Religion, leave Men to follow the Wild-Fire of Enthufiasm, and the blind Fancies and Imaginations of their own Minds. And though this is exceeding dangerous, even to them who have had the Benefit of the Perufal of the holy Scriptures in their Education, whofe Fancies receive a religious Tincture from thofe good Principles they VOL. IV.

then

then learned, it would be found infinitely more dangerous to the Souls of Men, if that Enthufiafin had no fuch a Tincture and Reftraints of a religious Education, but were wholly guided by its own uninftructed and unpolished Conceptions.

3. It is but a little better than denying revealed Religion, to lock up the Ufe of the Scriptures from the common People in an unknown Tongue; which is to oblige them, instead of a divine Faith, to depend entirely on their Guides for the Rule both of their Faith and Duty; and if these Guides do err, then, the Blind must lead the Blind, till both fall into the Ditch.

4. Of great Affinity with this, is another Error of the Church of Rome, limiting the fole Interpretation of the Scripture to themselves, that a Man must not fee with his own Eyes, but with theirs. What is this but fetting up the Authority of Men to countermand the Authority of God; and inftead of Chrift, to fet up Masters upon Earth, that shall have the Dominion over our Faith?

5. Another pernicious Error, which evacuates the Force of thefe divine Precepts, is, the Doctrine of fuch falfe Teachers, who would derogate from their Authority as Precepts, and make them only Advices and Counfels of Perfection; fo that we may chuse whether we will obey them

or no.

6. A fixth dangerous Error, and most pernicious to the Souls of private Christians, is that of those, who reftrain the Doctrine of this Sermon, at least, as much as they think fit of it, to the Apostles; by which means they make a large

Gap for all private Chriftians to creep out from the Obligation of it. But this Error I formerly confuted at large, when I fhewed you who were meant by the Difciples, to whom this Sermon was first preached.

7. A feventh moft dangerous Error, which evacuates the Force of thefe divine Precepts, is, the attributing too much to the Use of our own free Will, as if we could of ourselves, at our Pleasure, reduce these noble Precepts into Practice, by the meer Strength of our own Refolutions and Endeavours. A true Senfe of the Neceffity of Grace, and of the conftant Use of Prayer for obtaining it, of the Exercife of Humility, Repentance, and Diligence for preferving it, and the acting upon these Principles, is abfolutely requifite towards reducing these excellent Duties into Practice. And they are falfe Prophets with a Witness, who deliver any Doctrine derogatory to this Grace of God, which our Saviour has here commanded us, fo importunately to afk, feek, and knock for.

8. It is a most pernicious Error, to think, on the other hand, that no Care or Endeavour of our own is requifite; but that while we are carelefs and negligent, and difufe the Means, God's Grace will do all for us. There must be a due Concurrence of these two, the Grace of God, and our own Endeavours, to produce a due Obedience to thofe excellent Precepts; as there must be a Seafonablenefs of Weather, and a Diligence of the Husbandman, to make a good Crop; and one of these without the other will not do.

9. It is a moft pernicious Error to place Religion more in Soundness of Opinions, than in $ 2 Holinefs