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SERM. bauch and corrupt the christian doctrine, it is impoffible to reconcile a wicked life with any reasonable and well-grounded hopes of happiness in another world. No church hath that privilege, to fave a man upon any other terms, than thofe which our bleffed SAVIOUR hath declared in his holy gofpel. All religions are equal in this; that a bad man can be faved in none of them.

The church of Rome pretends their church and religion to be the only fafe and fure way to falvation; and yet, if their doctrine be true, concerning the intention of the priest, (and if it be not, they are much to blame in making it an article of their faith) I say, if it be true, that the intention of the priest is neceffary to the validity and virtue of the facraments; then there is no religion in the world, that runs the falvation of men upon more and greater hazards and uncertainties, and fuch as by no care and diligence of man in "working out his own falvation," are to be avoided and prevented.

As for the easier terms of falvation which they offer to men, they fignify nothing, if they be not able to make them good; which no man can reasonably believe they can do, that hath read the bible, and doth in any good measure understand the nature of GOD, and the defign of religion. For instance;

that after a long courfe of a moft lewd and flagitious life, a man may be reconciled to GOD, and have his fins forgiven at the laft gafp, upon confeffion of them to the priest, with that imperfect degree of contrition for them, which they call attrition, together with the abfolution of the priest.

Now attrition is a trouble for fin, merely for fear of the punishment of it. And this together with confeffion, and the abfolution of the priest, without

any.

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any hatred of fin for the evil and contrariety of it to SERM. the holy nature and law of GOD, and without the least spark of love to GOD, will do the finner's bufinefs, and put him into a state of grace and falvation, without any other grace or difpofition for falvation, but only the fear of hell and damnation. This, I confefs, is easy: but the great difficulty is, to believe it to be true. And certainly, no man that ever seriously confidered the nature of GOD and religion, can ever be perfuaded to build the hopes of his falvation upon fuch a quick-fand. The abfolution of all the priests in the world will not procure the forgiveness of God for any man, that is not disposed for his mercy by fuch a repentance, as the gofpel requires; which I am fure is very different from that which is required by the council of Trent.

They that offer heaven to men upon so very large and loose terms, give great caufe to fufpect, that they will never make good their offer; the terms are fo unreasonably cheap and eafy, that there muft be fome fraud and falfe dealing. And on the other hand, nothing ought to recommend our religion more to a wife and confiderate man, than that the terms of falvation which we propofe to men, viz. faith and repentance, and a fincere obedience to the precepts of the gofpel, manifefted in the tenure of a holy and virtuous life, are not only perfectly agreeable to the plain and conftant declaration of holy fcripture; but do likewife naturally tend to engage men most effectually to a good life, and thereby to make them "meet to be made partakers of the in"heritance of the faints in light." And therefore every body ought to be afraid of a religion, which makes fuch lavish offers of falvation, and to take heed how he ventures his foul upon them. For if,

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SERM. after all the hopes that are given of falvation upon fuch and fuch terms, the finner doth really miscarry and mifs of heaven; it is but very ill comfort to him, to be put into a fool's paradife, for a minute or two before he leaves the world, and the next moment after to find himself in the place of torments. I proceed to the

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5. And last particular I mentioned, as implied in the exhortation here in the text, viz. that we fhould "hold fast the profeffion of our faith without wavering," against all the cunning arts and infinuations of bufy and difputing men, whofe defign it is to unhinge men from their religion, and to gain profelytes to their party and faction. To this purpose there are feveral cautions given by our bleffed SAVIOUR and his apostles, Matth. xxiv. 4. "Take heed that no man deceive you; for many fhall come in my name, and shall deceive many. Eph. iv. 14. "That ye henceforth be no more children, toffed to "and fro, and carried about with every wind of doc"trine, by the fleight of men: v T xubía (the word fignifies the cunning of gamefters at dice) ત by the fleight of men, and the cunning craftinefs "whereby they lye in wait to deceive." And chap. v. 6. "Let no man deceive you with vain words." Col. ii. 8. "Beware left any man fpoil you through philofophy and vain deceit," that is by fophiftry and vain reasoning, under a pretence of philofophy. Heb. xiii. 9. "Be not carried about with divers "and strange doctrines." 2 Pet. iii. 17, "Beware " left you also, being led away with the error of the "wicked, fall from your own ftedfaftnefs." And this caution is enforced by an exprefs prediction of a great apoftafy which fhould happen in the christian church, by which many fhould be feduced, by pre

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tence of miracles, and by several arts of deceit and SER M. falfhood. This apoftafy St. Paul exprefly foretels, 2 Thef. ii. 1, 2, 3. "We befeech you, brethren, by "the coming of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, that

ye be not foon fhaken in mind, or be troubled, "neither by fpirit" (that is, by pretence to inspiration) "nor by word" (or meffage) "nor by letter ❝as from us, as that the day of CHRIST is at hand. "Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling

away, and that man of fin be revealed, the fon of perdition." And after a particular description of him, he adds, ver. 9." Whose coming is after the "working of Satan, with all power, and figns, and lying wonders, and in all deceitfulness of un" righteousness in them that perish." From all which he concludes, ver. 15. "Therefore, brethren, "ftand faft."

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The particular nature and kind of this apoftafy the. fame apostle defcribes more fully, 1 Tim. iv. 1, 2, 3. "Now the fpirit fpeaketh exprefly, that in the latter "times fome shall apoftatize from the faith, giving "heed to feducing fpirits and doctrines of devils,

fpeaking lies in hypocrify," (i. e. under a great pretence of fanctity, fpreading their pernicious errors) "forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain " from meats." This is a very lively and pat description of that great apoftafy in the chriftian church, which began in the western part of it, and hath spread itself far and wide. For there the spirit of error and falfhood has prevailed, under an hypocritical pretence of their being the only true church and true Chriftians in the world. There marriage, and feveral forts of meats, are forbidden to feveral ranks and orders of men. All the difficulty is, what is here

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SERM. meant by "doctrines of devils ;" and these certainly can be no other than doctrines tending to idolatry, which the fcripture every where doth in a particular manner afcribe to the devil, as the inventer and great promoter of it. And this is very much confirmed by what we find added in fome ancient Greek copies in this text, which runs thus ;"" in the latter times "some shall apoftatize from the faith; for they fhall worship the dead, as fome alfo in Ifrael worshipped." And then it follows" " giving heed to feducing fpirits, and doctrines of devils." So that the particular kind of idolatry, into which fome part of the chriftian church fhould apoftatize, is here pointed at; that they should worship fouls departed, or the fpirits of dead men; which was part of the heathen idolatry, into which the people of Ifrael did frequently relapfe. So that the spirit of GOD doth here foretel fuch an apoftafy in fome part of the christian church as the people of Ifrael were guilty of, in falling into the heathen idolatry. "They "fhall be worshippers of the dead, as the Ifraelites "alfo were."

And this is the great and dangerous feduction which the Chriftians are fo much cautioned against in the new teftament, and charged "to hold fast the "profeffion of the faith" against the cunning arts and infinuations of feducing fpirits; not but (as I faid before) that we are always to have an ear open to reason, and to be ready to hearken and to yield to that, whenever it is fairly propofed: but to be overreached and rooked out of one's religion, by little fophiftical arts and tricks, is childish and filly. After we are, upon due trial and examination of the grounds of our religion, fettled and established in it, we ought not to fuffer our felves to be removed from it, by the

groundless