And, to fpeak freely in this matter, I cannot think, till I be better informed, which I am always ready to be, that any pretence of confcience warrants any man that is not extraordinarily commiffioned, as the Apoftles and first publishers of the gofpel were, and cannot juftify that commiflion by miracles as they did, to affront the establifhed religion of a nation, though it be falfe, and openly to draw men off from the profeffion of it, in contempt of the magiftrate and the law. All that perfons of a different religion can in fuch a cafe reasonably pretend to, is, to enjoy the private liberty and exercife of their own confcience and religion; for which they ought to be very thankful, and to forbear the open making of profelytes to their own religion, though they be never fo fure that they are in the right, till they have either an extraordinary commiffion from God to that purpofe, or the providence of God make way for it by the permiffion or connivance of the magiftrate. Not but that every man hath a right to publish and propagate the true religion, and to declare it against a falfe one; but there is no obligation upon any man to attempt this to no purpose, and when without a miracle it can have no other effect but the lofs of his own life, unless he have an immediate command and commiffion from God to this purpofe, and be endued with a power of miracles, as a publick feal and teftimony of that commiffion: which was the cafe of the Apoftles, who, after they had received an immediate commiffion, were not to enter upon the execution of it, but to stay at Jerufalem till they were endued with power from on high. In this case, a man is to abide all hazards, and may reafonably expect both extraordinary affiftance and fuccefs, as the Apoftles had, and even a miraculous protection till his work be done; and, after that, if he be called to fuffer martyrdom, a fupernatural fupport under those fufferings.

And that they are guilty however of grofs hypocrify who pretend a further obligation of confcience in this matter, I fhall give this plain demonftration, which relies upon conceffions generally made on all hands, and by all parties. No Proteftant, that I know of, holds himfelf obliged to go and preach up his religion, and make converts, in Spain or Italy: nor do either the Pro

teftant

testant ministers or Popish priests think themselves bound in confcience to preach the gofpel in Turky, and to confute the Alcoran, to convert the Mahometans. And what is the reafon? Becaufe of the feverity of the inqui fition in Popish countries, and of the laws in Turky. But doth the danger then alter the obligation of confcience? No, certainly; but it makes men throw off the falfe pretence and difguife of it. But where there is a real obligation of confcience, danger fhould not deter men from their duty, as it did not the Apostles: which fhews their cafe to be different from ours, and that probably this matter was stated right at firft. So that whatever is pretended, this is certain, that the priests and Jefuits of the church of Rome have in truth no more obligation of confcience to make converts here in England than in Sweden or Turky; where it seems the evident danger of the attempt hath for thefe many years given them a perfect discharge from their duty in this par ticular. I fhall join the

Third and Fourth obfervations together, That though the true religion may have feveral prejudices and objections against it, yet, upon examination, there will be found thofe real advantages on its fide, that it may fafely be referred to any confiderate man's choice: If it feem evil unto you to ferve the Lord, chufe you this day whom you will ferne. If it feem evil unto you; intimating, that to fome perfons, and upon fome accounts, it may appear fo. But when the matter is truly reprefented, the choice is not difficult, nor requires any long de-liberation: Chufe you this day whom you will ferve. Let but the caufe be fully and impartially heard, and a wife...... man may determine himself upon the fpot, and give his. verdict without ever going from the bar.

The true religion hath always lain under fome preju dices with partial and inconfiderate men; which commonly fpring from one of these two caufes; either the prepoffeffions of a contrary religion, or the contrariety of the true religion to the vitious inclinations and practices of men; which ufually lies at the bottom of all: prejudice against religion. Religion is an enemy to mens beloved lufts; and therefore they are enemies to religion..

M 3

Ser. 27. religion. I begin with the first, which is as much as I fhall be able to compafs at this time.

I. The prepoffeffions of a falfe religion; which commonly pretends two advantages on its fide, antiquity, and univerfality; and is wont to object to the true religion, novelty and fingularity. And both thefe are intimated both before and after the text: Put away the gods which your fathers ferved on the other fide of the flood, and in Egypt. And chufe you this day whom you will ferve, whether the gods which your fathers ferved on the other fide of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whofe land ye dwell. Idolatry was the religion of their fathers, and had fpread itfelf over the greatest and most ancient nations of the world, and the most famous for learning and arts, the Chaldeans and Egyptians; and was the religion of the Amorites, and the nations round about them. So that Joshua represents the Heathen religion with all its ftrength and advantage; and does not diffemble its confident pretence to antiquity and univerfality, whereby they would alfo infinuate the novelty and fingularity of the worship of the God of Ifrael. And it is very well worthy our obfervation, that one or both of thefe have always been the exceptions of falfe religions, efpecially of idolatry and fuperftition, against the true religion. The ancient idolaters of the world pretended their religion to be ancient and universal; that their fathers ferved thefe gods, and that the worship of the God of Ifrael was a plain innovation upon the ancient and catholick religion of the world, and that the very first rife and original of it was within the memory of their fathers. And no doubt they were almoft perpetually upon the Jews with that pert question, Where was your religion before Abraham? and telling them, that it was the religion of a very fmall part and corner of the world, confined within a little territory; but the great nations of the world, the Egyptians and Chaldeans, famous for all kind of knowledge and wifdom, and indeed all the nations round about them, worshipped other gods; and therefore it was an intolerable arrogance and fingularity in them, to condemn their fathers, and all the world, to be of a religion different from all other nations, and

hereby

hereby to separate themselves, and make a schism from the rest of mankind.

And when the gofpel appeared in the world, which the Apostle to the Hebrews, to prevent the fcandal of that word, calls the time of reformation, the Jews and Heathen ftill renewed the fame objections against Chriftianity. The Jews urged againft it, not the ancient fcriptures, and the true word of God; but that which they pretended to be of much greater authority, the unwritten word, the ancient and conftant traditions of their church; and branded this new religion with the name of herefy: After the way (faith St. Paul) that you call berefy, fo worship I the God of my fathers; believing all things that are written in the law and in the prophets. By which we fee, that they of the church of Rome were not the first who called it herefy, to reject human traditions, and to make the fcriptures the rule of faith. This was done long before by their reverend predeceffors, the fcribes and Pharifees.

And the Gentiles, they pretended against it both antiquity and univerfality, the conftant belief and practice of all ages, and almoft all places of the world. Sequimur majores noftros, qui feliciter fecuti funt fuos, fays Symmachus: "We follow our forefathers, who happily followed "theirs ;" but you bring in a new religion, never known nor heard of in the world before.

And when the Christian religion was most miferably depraved and corrupted, in that dismal night of ignorance which overspread these Western parts of the world about the ninth and tenth centuries; and many pernicious doctrines and fuperftitious practices were introduced, to the woful defacing of the Chriftian religion, and making it quite another thing from what our Saviour had left it; and these corruptions and abufes had continued for feveral ages: no fooner was a reformation attempted, but the church of Rome make the fame outcry of novelty and fingularity: and though we have fubftantially answered it a thousand times, yet we cannot obtain of them to forbear that threadbare question, Where was your religion before Luther?

I fhall therefore apply myself to answer these two exceptions with all the brevity and clearness I can: and I

doubt

doubt not to make it appear, that as to the point of uni verfality, (though that be no ways neceffary to justify the truth of any religion), ours is not inferior to theirs, if we take in the Chriftians of all ages, and of all parts of the world: and as to the point of antiquity, that our faith, and the doctrines of our religion, have clearly the advantage of theirs; all our faith being unquestionably ancient, theirs not fo.

This

1. As to the point of univerfality, which they of the church of Rome, I know not for what reafon, will needs make an infeparable property and mark of the true church. And they never flout at the Proteftant religion with fo good a grace among the ignorant people, as when they are bragging of their numbers, and defpifing poor Proteftancy, becaufe embraced by fo few. peftilent Northern herefy, as of late they fcornfully call it, is entertained, it feems, only in this cold and cloudy corner of the world, by a company of dull ftupid people, that can neither penetrate into the proofs nor the poffibility of transubstantiation; whereas, to the more refined Southern wits, all these difficult and obfcure points. are as clear as the fun at noon-day.

But to fpeak to the thing itself: If number be ne→ ceffary to prove the truth and goodness of any religion, ours, upon inquiry, will be found not fo inconfiderable as our adverfaries would make it; thofe of the Reformed religion, according to the most exact calculations that have been made by learned men, being efteemed not much unequal in number to thofe of the Romifh perfuafion. But then, if we take in the ancient Chriftian church, whofe faith was the fame with ours, and other Christian churches at this day, which altogether are vastly greater and more numerous than the Roman church, and which agree with us, feveral of them in very confiderable doctrines and practices in difpute between us and the church of Rome, and all of them in difclaiming that fundamental point of the Roman religion, and sum of Christianity, as Bellarmine calls it, I mean the fupremacy of the Bishop of Rome over all Chriftians and churches in the world; then the number on our fide will be much greater than on theirs.

But we will not ftand upon this advantage with them. Suppose