upon the Church, the Antiquity, Succeffion, Infallibility of it; and, without either Modesty or Proof, call us Hereticks. If Men have Reason on their fide, if they have Scripture for what they fay, let them on God's Name produce it: We are always ready to confider and to fubmit to fuch Convictions. But otherwife to think to perfuade us that we are in utter darkness when we fee the Sun fhining in our Faces; That we must be damned for not believing that what we fee, and tafte, and know, to be but a bit of Bread, is not the Body of a Man; That they are not Infallible, who are actually involved in the groffeft Errors In a word, That our Church had no Being before Luther, every Article of whofe Faith is founded upon the Authority of the Holy Scriptures, and has been profeffed in all Ages of the Church from the Apostles to this Day, this is certainly one of the moft unreasonable Things in the whole World, and what ought not by any means to stagger our ftedfaftnefs.

And now having fecured our felves on both these fides, it only remains to preferve our Constancy;

3dly, That if at any time any Arguments should be offer'd to us that may deferve our regard," we then be fure to give them that due nd wife Examination that we ought to do.

It is a very great Weakness, and indeed a very great fault in many Perfons, that if at any time they begin to doubt in their Belief of any part of their Faith which they have been taught to profefs, they presently abandon their own Guides, and run for Satisfaction to those who are the profeffed Enemies

of

of their Religion. From henceforth they hear nothing but what is ill of their Church; they are taught more and more to fufpect the way that they are in; and then 'tis odds but a very little Examination fuffices to make them leave it.

This is certainly a very great fault, and will one Day prove of very dangerous Confequence. What fuch Perfons may think of changing their Religion, I cannot tell, but fure I am, our greatest Charity will hardly enable us to entertain any very comfortable Opinion of them. Nor are they fuch as thofe that we either fay, or believe may be Javed, notwithstanding the Errors and Corruptions of that Church with which they Communicate.

He that will make a fafe Change from one Religion to another, muft not think it enough to enquire into one or two Points, and having received a Satisfaction in them, embrace all the rest at a venture for their Sakes; but he must pass diftinctly through every Article in debate. He muft enquire, not only whether the Church of which he is at present a Member, be not mistaken in fome Points, it may be there is no Church in the World that is abfolutely free from all kind of Error; But whether those mistakes be of fuch a Confequence, that he cannot communicate any longer with it on the account of them. When this is done, the greatest difficulty will still remain, to examine with the fame Diligence every Article of that other Church to which he is tempted: For elfe, tho' he fhould have reason to forfake his own Church, he will yet be but little advantaged if he goes to another that is as bad, or, it may be, worfe than that. If there he fhould find the most part well, yet fo that there are but any One or Two Things fo Erroneous as to oblige

him to profess what he thinks to be falfe, or to pratife what is unlawful, even this will be fufficient to hinder him from reconciling himfelf to it. And in all this, there must be a ferious, and diligent, and impartial Search. There must be no prejudice in favour of the One, or against the Other; no defire that the Truth fhould be on this fide, rather on that: In fhort, nothing muft be omitted, whereby he might reasonably get better Information. And to all this Care, there must be added fervent Prayer to God for his affiftance. He who falls away from his firft Faith on any leffer Conviction than this, can never excufe himfelf from a Criminal Lightnefs in a matter of fuch Concern. And for him that fincerely does this, I fhall, for my part, be content that he fhould leave the Church of England, whenever he can be thus convinced that any other, but efpecially that the Church of Rome is a fafer way to Salvation.

And this may fuffice to have been faid to the first Particular; What that fedfaftness in Religion is, to which our Text exhorts us. I go on 2dly to fhew,

II. Upon what Motives it was that the Apoftle here ftirred up the Chriftians to whom he wrote, and that I am now in like manner to exhort you, to such a stedfaftness.

Now thefe our Text reduces to this One General Confideration ; That they both understood their Danger, and were exprefly forewarn'd by his Epiftle how careful it would behove them to be, to arm themselves against it: Te therefore, Beloved, feeing ye know thefe things before, Beware. And

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doubtless

doubtless it is not only a great Security, but ought to be alfo a great Engagement to fuch a Vigilance, to be thus exprefly forewarned of our Danger. And he who either neglecting or defpifing the Admonition, fuffers himself to be feduced from his own fledfaftnefs, muft certainly be utterly inexcufable both in the fight of God and Man for his Inconftancy.

But that which will aggravate this neglect yet much more, is the confideration of thofe Motives by which the Apoftle here cautions them to Beware, and which therefore I muft lay a little more diftinctly before you. Now fuch were especially these two.

ft. The dangerousness of thofe Seducers that were crept in amongst them: And this not fo much in respect of their cunning and diligence, tho' that too were confiderable; as of the Motives they ufed to draw them from their fedfaftnefs. There are, it may be, fcarce any two Things in the World, the weakness and corruption of Man's Nature confidered, more apt to feduce, than an eafy Practice, fupported with high Pretences; when both the way that is offer'd is extremely agreeable to our loofe Inclinations, and the Proponent wonderfully confident in the tender of it; And both thefe St. Peter here tells us, were to be found in the Hereticks against whom he forewarns them: And indeed twas upon this Account efpecially, that he feemed to be fo apprehenfive of their prevailing.

For when (fays he) they speak great 1 Cor. ii. 18. Swelling words of vanity, they allure

through the lufts of the flesh, through much wantonnefs. And therefore, as he faid before, ver. 2. Many fhall follow their Pernicious, or rather, as both the Original

Original Greek, and our own Marginal Note read it, their loofe, their lafcivious ways. But,

2dly. Another Danger there was, and that no less to be confidered than the foregoing. The Chriftians to whom he wrote, were under fome Trial and Perfecution for the Faith of Chrift, and these Hereticks who chiefly provided for the eafe and quiet of this prefent Life, had found out a remedy against that Danger too. They taught, That it was lawful on thefe Occafions to diffemble, or even to deny their Faith, and not to run any fuch hazards for it. Now this to weak Minds could not but be a ftrong Temptation to comply with them. Men, for the moft part, are very eafy in believing that, which they very much defire fhould be true. And therefore no wonder if our Apoftle thought himself highly concerned amidst all thefe Dangers, to exhort them to beware, left being led away with the Error of the wicked, they should fall from their own ftedfaftness.

Such was the ftate of thefe Chriftians; and I fhall not need to make any Application. But now, if as we have seen their Dangers, fo we fhall alfo confider the Arguments which the Apoftle here urges to confirm their Conftancy, we shall be forced to acknowledge them to be fuch, as ought in all reafon to have prevailed with them. For,

ft. As to the Temptations before mentioned, they are indeed but too apt to feduce, because we are few of us fo wife or fo good as we ought to be: But to an upright and fincere Chriftian, they will appear exceeding inconfiderable, and even deteftable. Confidence and Affurance stagger weak Minds: But if deftitute of folid Reafon, they only argue to wife Men the Vanity of the Undertaker,

and