value is such sobriety? Is it not worse than his drunkenness? for his drunkenness is beastly, and that is the worst you can say of it, but his sobriety is diabolical. You may apply this to other cases: and let me tell you, that if spiritual wickedness were but rightly understood, as it subsists in the devil the original of it all, men could never be cheated as they now are with the plausible speeches of those who lie in wait to deceive them: and I verily believe one good discourse upon the character of Satan, stripping that wolf of his philosopher's coat, and his sheep's cloathing, would have more effect toward keeping many people steady to the truth, than an hundred treatises upon particular points of doctrine. And this leads me naturally to shew you what arts are practised to propagate heresy and infidelity.

CHAP. II.

Of the Method of those who spread false Doctrine. As there were false prophets against the law of Moses, so we are told there shall be false prophets against the Gospel: and as the dignity and value of our law is above that of the Jews, we are bound to look more sharply after those who would corrupt it. The church never was, nor ever will be without them; and the apostle informs us, that as the church grows older they shall war worse and worse. Our Blessed Master has given us one rule for detecting them, which will seldom fail us: Beware (says he) of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing. Here their outward appearance is described: they make their approach to you, not as wolves, but as sheep; not as infidels, but as Christians; not as false prophets,

but as the only true prophets you ever met with. Indeed, my brethren, it is very weak and childish to imagine that nothing is sin but that which calls itself so. Does not every bad thing give itself a good name? The pirate says he goes upon the account; the smuggler calls himself a fair trader; the harlot gets her living in an honest way; the quaker calls his quakerism the true Christian divinity; Chubb calls his Christianity without its credenda, the true Gospel of Jesus Christ; and the Jesuit does little hurt in England, till he calls himself a true protestant. When a seducer makes an attempt upon your faith, you must not expect that he will give you notice of his intention at the market-cross, like a common cryer, and say, "Now, good people, look to yourselves, for "I am about to deny all the doctrines of the Gospel, "and am persuaded I can make a better religion than "that of the Bible." If he should make such a gross mistake as this, his master would either discard him as a traitor, or give him up as an instrument unfit for all the purposes of seduction. Satan himself, when engaged in the sublimest of his undertakings, never works in the odious character of Satan, but begins. with transforming himself into an Angel of Light : and his assistants, instead of avowing their wickedness, are generally more pompous and plausible in their professions than other men. Conscience, Reason, Charity, Piety, Purity, and a Love of Truth, are all their own, and others are no better than pretenders. Therefore when a false teacher makes an attempt upon your faith, you may expect him to accost you in words to this Effect-" My Christian Brethren, "I am a sincere Lover of the Gospel, and having the "deepest concern for its honour, I would guard you against those who decry human Reason, and forbid

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you to make use of it, that they may obtrude such "doctrines as are agreeable neither to Reason nor the "Word of God. Religion is the most valuable inheri

tance of the human race; and if by God's Blessing I "can bring you to entertain the same views of it with "myself, we shall rejoice together. Though Popery is "reformed, yet many errors still remain, which by "the use of Reason may be driven out. Reason is "the Gift of God, and so is the Scripture, and they "cannot be contrary to one another. There is a

spirit of censoriousness which many professing Chris"tians indulge with too little restraint: but the true "Christian beareth all things. My Brethren, be not "moved with the rash censures and reproaches of men; if you will live godly in Christ Jesus, you "must suffer persecution." These expressions are taken from a small canting Socinian Tract, sold for ONE PENNY, and dispersed in great numbers, to poison the minds of the common people. You would take the author for a sincere believer of the Holy Scripture, perfect in his Charity, and fortified with the Spirit of a Martyr. But be not deceived: all is not gold that glitters. Let me therefore beg your attention while I make some remarks on these extracts, to shew you that his attempts are quite contrary to his declarations, and his doctrines subversivė of the whole plan of Christianity: and then you will see what a vast difference there is between the sound of words and the sense of them.

In the first place then, all sensible people reckon it à very suspicious circumstance, when a man opens a cause with a panegyric upon himself. If a stranger, when you enter his shop, were to salute you with the praises of his own honesty, his strict regard to the honour of trade, and his love to all his customers,

past, present, and to come, you would look upon all this as a bait, and be certain he intended to cheat you. So our Socinian pamphleteer in his title calls himself a Lover of the Gospel: he dare not leave you to find this out by his book; but hopes you will be blinded toward the mischief of it by a good opinion of his character, before you enter upon it. He professes the deepest concern for the honour of the Gospel; but as he denies all its saving doctrines, who can take his word? Even though he should confirm it with an hundred oaths?

Then he exhorts you to make use of your own Reason; that is, to see things, with your own eyes, and not be imposed upon by what you are taught which is very excellent advice; but he has not followed it himself, neither does he intend that you should follow it. His notions are borrowed from Socinus, and his Deistical followers, particularly from Chubb the tallow-chandler, whose writings contain all the secrets of the present reforming Divinity. So that he cannot justly pretend to the merit of having used his own Reason. And as to you, he writes his pamphlet with the hope of bringing you to entertain the same views of Christianity with himself: therefore his compliments to your Reason are nothing but the flattery of one who is all the while supplanting your Reason, in order to make way for his own particular notions against Christianity. For this purpose he helps you to some interpretations of texts of Scripture, so very much out of the way, that your own Reason would never have hit upon them; neither would his, if he had not been told of them.

The imperfection of the Reformation is a topic much declaimed upon of late; and this author, in concert with the Divines of the Feathers Tavern, is

of opinion, that, though Popery is gone, many errors are still remaining. In answer to which, we have this to say for our Divines at the Reformation, that we are sure they believed the Scripture; and their writings shew that they understood it: but as to the Reformers of this present time, we are not sure they do either the one or the other. The Lovers of the Gospel in Luther's days took off the superstitious dress of Christianity, but left the body of it secure. If we go to work now, we must reform it to the bone; and even then some nice judges may be offended with the skeleton, and never rest till they have set up the Idol of Heathenism; as some attempted to do about fifty years ago; and their officiating minister was Mr. John Toland, who composed a form of divine service to the Infinite and Eternal Universe.

The author proceeds to assure us, that as Reason and the Scripture are each of them the Gift of God, they cannot be contrary to one another. Right Reason (when we have found out what that is) cannot possibly be contrary to the Scripture, because the Scripture contains the Reason of God; but the Reason of any particular Man may be very contrary to it. So that we want a distinction here: for when we speak of Reason in general terms, every man makes himself the compliment to think that his reason is the thing intended. But it is one thing to have the Gift of Reason as an human creature, and another thing to have the right use of it. The first we have by Nature; the second is the work of Grace: and if a writer puts one of these for the other, or imagines them to be the same thing, he will soon talk very absurdly. Voltaire has the Gift of Reason; but he has not the gift of using it; for on every subject that relates to Christianity, he reasons like an idiot; yet with a mischievous vein of