God open their Eyes to see and adore that God who made them and cure their Souls of that most fatal and mortal Disease which makes them Beasts here and Devils hereafter Secondly Another Proposal I would make to these Men is That they would not publickly affront Religion that they would not so impudently attempt to laugh God and Religion out of the World that they would not make sport with those Things which other Men account Sacred that they would not prophane the Holy Scriptures by turning them into Ridicule or obscene and impious Burlesque This possibly will be thought a very odd Proposal to these Men who think it the only way to justify their Atheism by making Religion look ridiculously but yet had I to deal with reasonable Men though they were Atheists I would not despair of convincing them of the reasonableness of this Proposal For first this is nothing but what the Laws of Civility and good Manners require from them No well-bred Man will chuse to put a publick Affront upon his Friends and Neighbours though he sees them daily guilty of great Follies and Indiscretions The Laws of Conversation require us to treat all Men with just respects though their Understandings be of different makes and sizes and their Fortune and way of Life very different from our own much less then can a modest Man endure the thoughts of affronting Man-kind or laughing at any thing which is received or established by an Universal Consent Though the Belief of God were as very a Dream and Fancy as the Tales of Faries yet there is a certain Reverence due to Humane Nature at least from Men and since all Man-kind in all Ages of the World excepting some few wise and cautious Atheists have believed that there is a God and have honoured him with publick Worship it is an affront to Humane Nature to laugh at the Being of God though we do not believe it Nay this is not only an Affront to Humane Nature but to Publick Government In all Nations one Religion or other is established by a Law so that these Men do not only laugh at the Dreams and Dotages of single Men but at the united Counsels and most mature Resolves of all the World which is an Argument of great Boldness but of very little Wit or Manners A modest Man would be apt to suspect his own judgment of Things when he found himself opposed by the general Consent of all Men and the Wisdom of all the World but if this did not make him of the Common Opinion yet at least he would not rudely contradict it But not only the Wisdom but the Authority of Government is affronted by these Men when they laugh at such publick Constitutions at Religion considered as established by Law So much do such Men recede from the Principles of their great Master who though he had no great opinion of Religion in it self yet thought it something considerable when it became the Law of the Nation But neither the Wisdom nor Authority of Laws can command respect from some Men without a vigorous execution of them and that would soon teach them better Manners than ever they will learn in the School of Atheism Nay to laugh at the Being of God and at Religion is not only to affront the general sense of Man-kind and the Wisdom and Authority of all Governments but the Wisdom of the sagest Philosophers and the most inquisitive Men of all Ages Among all the Ancient Philosophers no Man expresly denied the Being of God or that Worship which was due to him Epicurus indeed denied his Providence which was only a more civil way of turning him out of the World though he pretended to worship him upon account of his infinite but idle and unactive Perfections Socrates died a Martyr for Religion and Plato and Aristotle did both acknowledg a supream Being and the later Philosophers though they differed about the Nature of God yet did not question but there was one so that the Being of a God is not the mistake meerly of a few ignorant unphilosophical Heads but has in all Ages had such Learned Patrons as at least do not deserve to be laughed at by Men of the least modesty and good breeding Secondly I would desire these Men to consider how little they consult their own Reputation in laughing at Religion it is a very silly thing for some few Men though they were in the right to think to out-laugh all the World the loudest laughter will always be on that side right or wrong where there are the greatest numbers though indeed all Men have such a veneration for God and Religion that such Abuses and Affronts of Religion do not so much provoke Men to laughter as to a holy jealousie and indignation No Man can endure with patience to hear that exposed to contempt which he admires and adores Such Atheistical Scoffers are looked on as the common Enemies of Mankind all Men but such like themselves abhor and scorn them fly their Company hate their very Names as Traitors to the Majesty of Heaven and the great Pests of Humane Conversation and the reproach and shame of Humane Nature And can any wise Man let his Opinions be what they will who designs to live happily in this World as me-thinks those above all others should desire who expect nothing hereafter think this the best way to happiness to forfeit the Love and Friendship of all Men who love and worship God or make any shew of Religion which are so much the greatest numbers that he does in a manner banish himself from Humane Conversation or render it very unpleasant and uneasy I know there are some who expect to gain the Reputation of great Wits and very cunning Men by unsetling Foundations and breaking a merry Jest upon Religion but they should consider that the generality of Men who will be Judges of these Matters whether they will or no look upon the Being of God as so plain and evident a Truth that that Man infallibly forfeits the reputation of his Understanding who sets up for Atheism Atheists may make a Scene and Theatre for themselves and admire and applaud one another but all the rest of the World despise them for indeed it is no argument of any great depth and subtilty to raise Objections and start Difficulties which a Man of very mean parts may do but it is a greater tryal of Judgment to answer them which the Atheist it seems cannot do when Men are so over-subtil that they cannot understand these plain and obvious Demonstrations which convince all Man-kind and are understood by every Plow-man such subtilty is never admired but despised And as for Wit it is so very undecent to jest with grave and serious Matters that though it have never so much Salt it is nauseous and offensive to sober Minds no Man admires his Wit who abuses his Prince his Father or his Friend Prophane Wit is the easiest of all as
not displease God and therefore chuse rather to displease Men but to pretend a Divine Command and Authority when we have none is like prophesying falsly in the Name of God and entitling the Divine Majesty to all our Dreams and Fancies it is to make new Laws which God never made and to set up a new Church and new Religion in his Name And if we consider what dreadful Woes and Curses are denounced against those who prophesy falsely in the Name of God it should make us all tremble to pretend a Divine Command without Divine Authority This we may see in the Prophet Ieremiah Then the Lord said unto me The Prophets prophesy lies in my Name and I sent them not neither have I commanded them neither spake unto them they prophesy to you a false Vision and Divination and a thing of nought and the deceit of their Heart I have heard what the Prophets said that prophesy lies in my Name saying I have dreamed I have dreamed How long shall this be in the Heart of the Prophets that prophesy Lies Yea they are Prophets of the deceit of their own Hearts Therefore behold I am against the Prophets saith the Lord that steal my words every one from his Neighbour Behold I am against the Prophets saith the Lord that use their Tongues and say He saith Behold I am against them that prophesy false Dreams saith the Lord and do tell them and cause my People to err by their Lies and by their lightness yet I sent them not nor commanded them therefore they shall not profit this People at all saith the Lord. Now tho we understand prophesying here of foretelling future Events in God's Name without any Revelation or Authority from him yet to pretend that God has commanded or forbidden any thing which he has not is not a less Crime than to prophesy Dreams and the deceit of our Hearts for the mischiefs which these false Prophesies did consisted in that ill influence they had upon Mens Lives that they hindred their Repentance and encouraged them in their licentious or idolatrous practices and therefore to preach up new Laws in God's Name is as great an Evil as it is to prophesy falsely in his Name and therefore no Man must pretend Conscience any further than the express Commands and Prohibitions of the Scripture To say that any thing is unlawful to be done which God has not forbid or that it is unlawful to do any things in Matters of Worship which God has not commanded is to prophesy falsely in God's Name when they can shew no such Law extant in the whole Bible You pretend Conscience it may be against hearing a form of Prayer or receiving the Sacrament kneeling or being present when the Minister uses a Surplice in Divine Administrations Consider now whether you do not falsely pretend a Divine Authority when you have none shew me where God has forbid the use of a form of Prayer or a Surplice or kneeling at the Lord's Supper or the Cross in Baptism If you think it sufficient that these are not commanded shew me but that Law That nothing must be done in the Worship of God but what he has commanded and if you can do neither as I am sure you can't then consider what an impious thing it is to say Thus saith the Lord when he hath not said it to make new Laws and bind them upon your own Consciences and impose them upon other Men by your own private Authority which is a much heavier imposition than the observation of some few innocent and indifferent Rites and Ceremonies Those who understand their Christian Liberty in the use of indifferent Things and therefore comply with all wholsome Constitutions of the Church in obedience to their Civil and Ecclesiastical Governors do not usurpe upon God's Authority but obey Divine Laws as Divine and Humane Laws as Humane but to pretend Conscience for disobeying our Governors in indifferent things is to teach for Doctrines the Commandments of Men to make that a Divine Law which God never made so viz. That we must do nothing in Religion which God hath not commanded tho it be commanded by our lawful Superiors Secondly I observe further That the meer pretence of Conscience is not a sufficient justification of any Action unless we can produce a Divine Law as the Rule of our Consciences It is not Conscience when we mean no more by it than our private Judgment and Opinions of Things but the Law of God which is the Rule of our Actions There never have been worse Actions done than have been done out of a pretence of Conscience and he must be a very uncharitable Man who believes that there never was a consciencious Pagan Papist or Mahometan and if to act according to our Consciences that is our Belief and Perswasion be sufficient to acquit us at God's Tribunal this must necessarily make all Religions indifferent for then an honest Pagan Papist or Turk who lives according to his own Perswasion is as acceptable to God as the most hearty and sincere Protestant then the Jews were very godly and devout Men when in Zeal for their Law they crucified Christ and persecuted his Apostles as believing that they did God good Service and therefore we must not content our selves if we act according to our Belief but we must be careful to believe a right for if we follow the guidance of a blind and ignorant Conscience we shall wander and go astray to the infinite danger of our Souls as our Saviour tells us That if the Blind lead the Blind they shall both fall into the Ditch These blind Men are such as have blind Consciences that is are ignorant of their Duty but yet may very sincerely follow their own Consciences and very safely too if Conscience right or wrong were a secure Guide Thirdly I observe further That we ought not to doubt and scruple any thing which is not forbid by a Divine Law The Law of God is the Rule of our Consciences and therefore to the Law and to the Testimony and if our Consciences do not speak according to them it is because there is no Light in them Some Men look upon it as a sign of great tenderness of Conscience to be doubtful and scrupulous and value themselves more by their Scruples than other Men do by the most clear and distinct Knowledg and therefore are afraid of being delivered from their Scruples and use great Art and Industry to ensnare and entangle themselves but I confess I shall never envy any Man this Attainment no more than I do a purblind Eye which sees very imperfectly and therefore gropes for its way with great caution and fear Now all Men agree that when we have any unnecessary Doubts and Scruples tho we must not act with such a scrupulous Conscience yet we ought to lay our Scruples aside But then the great Question is How we should do it unless Men can have Scruples
name has confined his more peculiar presence and favour to such Assemblies and one great reason of this is that he is pleased with the unity and uniformity of Worship for he hath expresly promised that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing they shall ask it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven for where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them This is the fundamental Charter of Christian Assemblies and the reason of it certainly is stronger the more universal the consent and agreement is for if Christ will be present with two or three who assemble in Christian love and charity and agree to put up the same Petitions to God much more when so many Christian Churches are confederated in the same Worship and offer up the same Prayers and Thanksgivings to God in the same words How powerful will the united Prayers of a whole National Church be to procure those blessings for us which we want For if unity and consent in Worship be so pleasing to God the greater this consent is the more pleasing it must be Especially considering that in this case we have not only the consent and agreement of private Christians in such acts of Worship but are confederated by the publick authority of the Church and therefore such publick Worship has the beauty and advantages of publick Order and Government If the Prayers of a particular Minister of Religion be so prevalent how much more those Prayers which have the stamp of Church Authority which are the Desires and Petitions of the whole Church even when they are offered up by a single Minister which cannot so well be said of any Prayer of his own and if we believe that God is the God of Peace and Order in the Church we cannot but think it very acceptable to him to observe good order in our Religious Worship Did men seriously consider these things they would be soon sensible of the great advantage of such publick Forms of Prayer and prefer the Prayers of the Church before any Prayers of a private composition or any suddain extempore effusions For publick Prayers prescribed by publick Authority and offered up by a publick Minister are alwayes in the Communion of the Church and virtually contain the Desires and Petitions of the whole Church CHAP. IV. Concerning the publick Administration of Baptism ANother great miscarriage of those who live in the Communion of our Church concerns the administration of Baptism Publick Baptism is now very much grown out of fashion most people look upon it as a very needless and troublesome Ceremony to carry their Children to the publick Congregation there to be solemnly admitted by Baptism into the fellowship of Christs Church They think it may be as well done in a private Chamber as soon as the Child is born with little company and with little noise As prevailing as this custom now is it is of a very late date even in this Church It seems to owe its original to the disputes about Ceremonies for when some men scrupled God-Fathers and God-Mothers and the use of the Sign of the Cross to avoid this they baptized their Children privately at home without either when they could meet with such a conscientious Conformist as could dispense with his Rule And when the Church of England was pulled down and the use of the Liturgy and Ceremonies forbid those who still retained their reverence and obedience to the Constitutions of the Church and would not partake in a prevailing Schism were forced to retire into private too and to baptize their Children at home and it is a hard thing to break a custome upon what occasion soever it was at first begun That which necessity occasioned is continued by some as a piece of State by others to save charge and trouble which might be much better saved by publick Baptism by others out of softness and tenderness a kind and indulgent Mother dares not expose a young Infant to the cold Air unless it be to send it to nurse I could never hear any thing pleaded for this practice that deserved an answer that which makes this custom prevail is that men do not consider the great decency and fitness and the many advantages of publick Baptism which I shall therefore now briefly represent By publick Baptism I mean that which is administred in the publick Congregation and in the publick place of Worship and the fitness and advantage of this will appear if we consider some few things 1. That Baptism is our solemn admission into the Christian Church and therefore ought to be administred in the publick Congregation Baptism makes us members of the body of Christ and unites us to the society of Christians and therefore is of a publick nature and therefore ought to be administred publickly For there is no other rule I know of whereby to determine the manner and circumstances of any action but to consider the nature of it there are some actions which are more proper to be done in private others which require some publick solemnities and it is as undecent to do a publick action i. e. an action of a publick nature privately as it is to do a private action in publick Now that is certainly of a publick nature which concerns a who'e society and such is the admission of Church-members and therefore ought to be done in the presence as well as by the authority of the Church The efficacy indeed of Baptism depends upon the Institution of Christ and therefore when it is rightly administred does not lose its vertue for want of some due circumstances but it is a great fault in those who wilfully and obstinately refuse to give all Christian offices their due solemnity 2. We may consider that Baptism contains a publick profession of our faith in Christ it is a publick owning of his Religion no adult person was ever admitted to Baptism without a profession of his faith in Christ in allusion to which as Learned Men think St. Peter calls Baptism not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience towards God The person to be baptized being examined about his faith in Christ and resolutions of obeying him Now the profession of our faith the more publick it is the more agreeable is it to the nature of Baptism and the constitution of the Christian Church which is a visible Society professing the faith of Christ and though indeed Infants who are baptized are not capable of making such a publick profession of their faith yet their Sponsors and Sureties are who undertake for their education in the Christian faith and certainly the publick Church is the most proper place for such a publick profession To baptize our Children privately looks as if we were ashamed of the Christian profession and there is not a more effectual way to root out Christianity than to destroy
A Practical DISCOURSE OF Religious Assemblies By WILL. SHERLOCK D. D. Rector of St. George Botolph-lane London LONDON Printed for Richard Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard M. DC LXXXI The Preface To his Beloved Parishioners the Inhabitants of St. George Botolph-lane and St. Botolph-Billingsgate Grace Peace and Truth be multiplied My Friends and Brethren I Hope we are all sensible of that great Account we must shortly give to God of all our Actions which obliges us as we love our Souls to take care both to know our Duty and to practise it neither to suffer our selves to be byassed by Interest Prejudice and Partiality in our Inquiries after Truth which is the common cause of many dangerous Mistakes in Religion nor to be overborn by any impetuous Lusts and Passions to the neglect or violation of it That Relation I stand in to you makes me concerned as I love my own Soul to take care of yours and tho there are many Men fitted with greater Abilities for the discharge of so weighty an Office yet I thank God I cannot charge my self with any wilful neglect either in informing my self or instructing you I am as careful as I can not to mistake my self and resolvedly honest not to conceal any part of your Duty from you tho in this Age plain and free dealing meets with no great encouragement The greatest hindrance I have in the exercise of my Ministry among you is That many of you who are as much bound to attend my Instructions as I am to instruct you and must as certainly give an account of your neglect as I must of mine do yet either wholly or in part withdraw your selves from your Parish Church and make it in that way impossible for me to discharge this Duty to you And therefore that I might not be wholly wanting in my Duty to you I have sent this little Book to wait on you at your Houses and to invite you to our Communion to convince you of the evil of such a Neglect and to remove those Mistakes and Prejudices which have kept you at a distance And since some of you who do not forsake my Ministry are yet guilty of other Neglects which are of very dangerous consequence especially the neglect of the Holy Supper of our Lord I have here admonished you of your Duty and offered the most prevailing Considerations I could think of to perswade you to it And now I hope you cannot take it ill if I endeavoured to make this Discourse which was designed for your Instruction as generally useful as might be and took a larger scope than I hope had been necessary had it been calculated only for your private use since I would not have you nor the World think that I charge you with all those Faults and Miscarriages which I there reprove but there are too many who are called Christians guilty of them all and possibly this Book may fall into the hands of some such Men and if it does I pray God they may find the benefit of such plain but seasonable Instructions But whatever other Men do I think I may in reason and justice expect from you that you will vouchsafe to read and consider this Discourse I have contrived it to be as plain and easy as I could but yet I fear some things may not be fitted to every Capacity for as there are different degrees of Knowledg among Men so I did not scrupulously confine my self to the lowest being as St. Paul speaks A Debtor to all Men to the Wise and to the Unwise And therefore if any of you find any thing above your reach do not presently fling the Book away for you will find those things which are of most general concernment fitted to very ordinary Understandings If you meet with any thing which you may think sharp or severe God is my Witness that I have no design to anger any Man in it and therefore have carefully avoided all unnecessary Severities but there are some severe Truths which yet must in many cases be spoken if we would do any good And those Patients who will not endure the severity of a Cure must perish under more gentle Remedies I only beg this requital of my pains and care of you That if you have any Objections against what is offered if you meet with any thing you do not understand you would consult me in it if you are offended at any thing let me know it first before you publish it to others and if you have nothing to oppose have a care of resisting the Evidence of Truth but comply with your Duty and rejoice that you are delivered from any Mistakes I beseech God give you a good understanding in all Things and Hearts obedient to the Truth and preserve you blameless until the coming of our Lord Iesus Christ. Which is the hearty prayer of Your faithful Friend and Servant in the Gospel of Christ W. Sherlock THE CONTENTS The Introduction OF Religion in general Page 1 What Religious Worship is Page 3 Of Publick Worship and the danger of forsaking publick Assemblies Page 4 The difference between Schisms in the Church and from the Church Page 7 The difference between Schism and Heresy Page 9 What is a publick Assembly for Religious Worship Page 15 A Scheme of the Design of the following Treatise Page 17 The seasonableness of this Discourse Page 18 Some Objections against it answered Page 20 Part I. Chapter 1. Section 1. COncerning Speculative Atheists Pag. 28 The Inclinations of Humane Nature to Religious Worship Pag. 29 What natural Inclinations are not owing to education Pag. 30 Inclination to Religious Worship natural and yet Idolatry and Polytheism not the Voice of Nature Pag. 32 How natural Inclinations to Religion prove the natural Notions of God imprinted on Mens minds Pag. 35 To scoff at Religion is contray to good Manners an affront to humane Nature to the Wisdom and Authority of Government and to the wisdom of Philosophers Pag. 40 To scoff at Religion exposes such Scoffers to contempt Pag. 42 To deride Religion is contrary to Mens Interest as being injurious to publick Societies Pag. 45 To affront God more dangerous than meer Atheism Pag. 46 Tho Religion were a mistake yet it is no ridiculous thing Pag. 48 Atheists should not wholly forsake Religious Assemblies Pag. 50 Non intermeddle in the Disputes of Religion Pag. 52 Section 2. Concerning the Practical Atheist Pag. 53 Irreligion as great an affront to God as Atheism Pag. 54 Not to worship is great injustice Pag. 56 Irreligion the most sordid Ingratitude Pag. 65 Our Baptismal Vow an Obligation to Religious Worship Pag. 73 Section 3. The danger of Irreligion both with respect to this World and the next Pag. 82 The folly of Irreligion Pag. 91 A serious Exhortation to take care of our Souls Pag. 98 Every part of Religious Worship fitted to the Wants and Necessities of our Souls Pag. 99 The care of our Souls our
greatest concernment Pag. 104 CHAP. II. COncerning Publick Worship Pag. 110 Publick Worship to be preferred before private tho it were not expresly commanded by God Pag. 111 Publick Worship a greater honour to God than private Devotions Pag. 116 External Worship must be publick Pag. 118 God is a publick Benefactor and therefore publick Worship is due to him Pag. 120 Publick Worship instituted by God under the Law Pag. 122 And by Christ under the Gospel the true Notion of a Church requires it Pag. 125 This proved from the nature of Christian Communion and Sacraments Pag. 126 The same proved from the Institution of the Gospel-Ministry and the power of the Keys Pag. 130 And from the publick profession of Christianity Pag. 133 And from the Duty of Princes to encourage and propagate Religion Pag. 134 CHAP. III. Section 1. COncerning those who plead Conscience for Separation and set up distinct Communions of their own Pag. 138 Some Inquiries with reference to their honesty and sincerity in this Matter Pag. 139 1. Whether they separate upon true Principles of Conscience the difference between private Opinion and Conscience and the use of this Distinction ibid 2. Whether they consider the great Evil of Schism Pag. 151 3. Whether they believe our Communion to be unlawful Pag. 156 4. How they came to think our Communion unlawful Pag. 156 5. Whether they ever impartially examined the Reasons of their Separation Pag. 170 6. How they behave themselves towards their Governors Pag. 184 Section 2. Some general Considerations in order to remove those Prejudices which some have entertained against the Worship of the Church of England Pag. 188 1. From the Nature of God Pag. 190 2. From the Nature of Christian Religion Pag. 193 3. From the Example of our Saviour Pag. 207 4. From the practice of the Apostles and the first and best Churches Pag. 208 Section 3. An answer to some popular Cavils Pag. 215 Concerning Will-Worship Pag. 216 Concerning Superstition Pag. 222 The Church of England charged with Idolatry Pag. 235 And with Popery Pag. 236 PART II. CHAP. I. COncerning Parochial Communion CHAP. II. Concerning irreverence in Worship 267 CHAP. III. Concerning the neglect of the publick Prayers of the Church 281 CHAP. IV. Concerning the publick administration of Baptism 289 CHAP. V. Concerning the publick instruction of Youth 296 CHAP. VI. Concerning the great neglect of the Lord's Supper ERRATA PAge 6. line 26 read Apollos P. 9. l. 13. r. and that none P. 18. l. 15. r. that they either P. 50. l. 14. f. we r. be P. 105. l. 18. r. you 'l P. 124. l. 26. r. who P. 164. l. 9. r. fell P. 185. l. 2. r. them P. 208. l. 6. r. so P. 212. l. 11. f. if r. that P. 219. l. 24. r. now though P. 224. l. 12 13. r. difficult P. 230. l. 5. r. had P. 331. l. 18. f. rule r. rite P. 346. l. 28. f. truth r. faith A Practical Discourse OF Religious Assemblies The INTRODUCTION 1. Containing a short Account of the nature of Christian Assemblies for Publick Worship 2. A Scheme of the Design of this following Treatise 3. The seasonableness of such a Discourse 1. RELIGION is the greatest Concernment of Mankind both with respect to this life and the next and the Worship of God is the most excellent part of Religion as having GOD the most excellent Being for its immediate Object This is the Work and constant Imployment of Angels and blessed Spirits in Heaven who see the Face of God dwell in his Presence admire his essential Glory and infinite Perfections and sing Eternal Hallelujah's to Him When we come to Heaven we shall have no unruly Passions and Appetites to govern and tho our Souls shall be transformed into a pure Flame of Divine Love yet there will be no place for the laborious exercise of Charity in pitying and relieving one another where all the Inhabitants shall be perfectly happy in the enjoyment of the most perfect Good Indeed in this World Temperance and Charity are no Christian Vertues but as they are acts of Worship that is as they flow from a great sense of God and veneration for him for God is the sole Object of Religion and to be sober and to be charitable upon some meaner Considerations without any respect to God as the last end of all is to serve our selves or our Friends or to follow the inclinations of our nature but is not properly the Service of God Whatsoever we do out of a just sense of God is in some respects an act of Worship for it is to honour the Deity which may as effectually be done by actions as by words verbal praises are of no value with God are meer lip-labour and formal complements when they are alone and produce no answerable effects in our lives This is what the Apostle calls a form of Godliness without the power of it Religion is nothing else but such a vital sense of God as excites in us devout affections and discovers it self in a divine and heavenly Conversation But yet that which we more strictly call Worship is the most visible and solemn expression of our Honour for God when we lift up our hearts and our eyes and hands to God in Prayers Praises and Thanksgivings and when it is sincere and hearty has a powerful influence upon the government of our Lives For what sincere Worshipper can be so void of all fear of God as to break his Laws and contemn his Authority and despise his Judgements and therefore that vain and hypocritical semblance of Religion wherewith some bad Men deceive themselves and flatter God is called the form of Godliness without the power it being only an external imitation of Religious Worship without that powerful sense of God which governs the Lives of truly devout and pious Men. And as the Worship of God is the most excellent part of Religion which has the most universal and most powerful influence upon our Lives So publick Worship is the most excellent Worship as you shall hear more hereafter Indeed the right and power of holding Publick Assemblies for Worship is the fundamental right of the Church whereon all Church-Authority depends as has been well observed and proved by a Learned Man of our Church The Power of the Keys signifies no more than Authority to take in and to shut out of the Church the first is done by Baptism the second by Church-Censures the highest of which is Excommunication which debarreth Men from all parts of Christian Communion And therefore the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews makes forsaking Christian Assemblies either to be an Apostacy from Christianity as it was in those days or at least a fair step towards it he exhorts those to whom he writ to hold fast the profession of their Faith without wavering that is to continue firm and stedfast in the profession of Christianity and in order to this gives them this Caution Not
all manner of Wickedness and naturally tends to harden Men in Sin and very often ends in down-right Atheism Men who have cast off all sense and reverence for God have no other restraint from the greatest Villanies but what the Laws of the Land their own natural Tempers their Education and Converse and such-like Considerations lay upon them which can keep very few Men who have cast off the Fear and Reverence of God within any tolerable bounds and thus Men run into the wildest Excesses and wound their Consciences and stain their Reputations till they grow hopeless desperate and impudent Sinners Men who are very bad and yet will not neglect their Prayers nor absent themselves wholly from Christian Assemblies do what they can find great checks of Conscience and have a great many sober Intervals they cannot say their Prayers and confess their Sins to God and beg his Pardon and Mercy but their Consciences will reproach them and put them at least upon some imperfect resolutions of amendment and when they attend the preaching of the Word they often are so startled and scared and labour under such strong Convictions that they are not able to resist any longer and the good Spirit of God does not wholly forsake those Men who attend the Publick Ministries of Grace but sometimes works such miraculous Cures as are the triumphs of a Soveraign Grace and therefore the Case of these Men can never be so desperate and hopeless as theirs is who take care to think of him as little as possibly they can and withdraw themselves from Publick Instructions that they may sin on without disturbance till they drop into Hell Thirdly Let us now consider the folly of Irreligion and there is the more reason to do this because the Irreligious and Profane the Practical as well as the Speculative Atheist is very apt to boast of his Wit and Understanding and to think himself much above the ordinary level of Mankind But the Spirit of God calls them Fools The Fool hath said in his Heart There is no God which is not meant of the Speculative but of the Practical Atheist who though he professeth to believe that there is a God yet lives as if there were none And if Religion be the onely true Wisdom Irreligion must be the greatest folly and yet so we are taught in Scripture that the fear of the Lord that is the Worship of God which is the most natural expression of our reverence of him that is Wisdom The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom a good understanding have all they that do his Commandments The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom and the Knowledg of the Holy is Understanding Now what I have already discoursed of the Evil and Danger proves also the Folly of Irreligion for what can be more foolish than that which contradicts the best Reason of our Minds and our natural Obligations to worship God founded on the highest Wisdom What can be more foolish than to undermine our own Interest to lay Trains of Misery for our selves and to forfeit our present and future Happiness That is cursed contemptible Wit which will droll away a Man's Life and his Soul together But besides all this the Folly of Irreligion will appear if we consider these two Things 1. That it transforms a Man into a Beast and then though such a Man may have all the wild conceits of Apes and Monkeys and the craft and subtilty of a Fox yet he has not the Understanding and Wisdom of a Man He may have an inferior sort of Wit and may be reckoned the top and perfection of the meer Animal and Sensitive Life but is fallen vastly below the Attainments of Men for it is not Reason but Religion which is the Glory and Perfection of Humane Nature as every one must acknowledg who believes that there is a God for God is the noblest Object of our Minds and to adore and worship him is to act according to the most excellent capacity of our Natures I doubt not at all but brute Creatures have an inferior degree of Reason fitted to the low Attainments of their Natures and that they commonly reason more wisely and truly in their own Concerns than Irreligious Men do in theirs but they cannot know God nor worship him they cannot see nor adore his infinite Perfections their Reason is confined to a narrow compass to those things which concern the preservation of their own Being and the enjoyments of their Natures and such a kind of Being is an Irreligious Man whose Reason indeed is capable of higher and nobler flights but is pinnioned down and confined to present and sensible Objects and serves only to corrupt and deprave a more excellent Nature into a brutish State Now if that be the true Wisdom and Glory the specifical Difference of a Man which distinguishes him from all inferior Creatures then Religon as the Scripture tells us must be his Wisdom and whatever Wit Irreligious Men may pretend to being so much below the Attainments nay being no better than the Corruption of Humane Nature it may set them a degree above the Wit of a Beast but is no better than folly in a Man 2. There is not a more certain demonstration of folly than for Men to act foolishly especially in Matters of vast Concernment and this consideration impeaches the Irreligious Man of the most despicable Folly as to give you some Instances of this Some neglect to worship God out of a careless trifling humour they never consider what God is how much they owe to him how intirely they are at his disposal what the danger and punishment of Irreligion is and if it be folly not to use the wisest Thoughts and best Consideration we have in matters of the greatest moment then Irreligion is Folly Others neglect the Worship of God because it disturbs them in the secure enjoyment of their Lusts and puts a great many black and melancholy Thoughts into their Heads which is just as wise as to shut our Eyes and run down a Precipice because it makes us melancholy to open our Eyes and see our Danger whereas a wise Man would rather chuse to open his Eyes that he might see how to avoid it Others take offence at Religion because they see a great many Hypocrites zealous pretenders to Religion and they had as good never mind Religion as be Hypocrites but is this a good Reason not to mind Religion because Hypocrites pretend to Religion when indeed they have none Cannot they be sincerely Religious though Hypocrites be not Are there not a great many Religious Men who are no Hypocrites And is not that a better Reason to be Religious without Hypocrisy than to be of no Religion to declare to all the World that we are not Hypocrites Others are scandalized at the great variety of Religions which are as contrary to each other as Light to Darkness and conclude that it is to no
worthy Communicants the pardon of their Sins and more firmly unites them to Christ their Head and to each other and intitles them to the powerful influence of that Divine Spirit which dwells in actuates and governs the whole Church and Body of Christ. Thus we are very ignorant and very unmindful of our Duty and God in great goodness has appointed a whole Order of Men whose Business it is to instruct us to teach us what we do not know and to mind us of those Things which we are apt to forget and has made it our Duty and a part of his Worship to attend their Instructions And though I hope in such an Age and such a Church as this there are a great many Christians so knowing that they need not be taught their Duty yet it is sad to consider how many very ignorant Professors there are that want to be instructed in the first Rudiments of Christian Knowledg and warm zealous and frequent Exhortations are of great use to the most knowing Christians And though a great many who have little other Religion are forward enough to hear Sermons yet it grieves me to think how many there are who will live die and perish for ever in their Ignorance because they refuse Instruction who can never be perswaded to attend either Sermons or Catechising or so much as reading the Scripture and yet these very Men could be contented to hear a large discourse of News or Trade or Merchandize or how they might order their Affairs to better advantage and are glad to be told of any Mistake or Error which might have been prejudicial to them in their secular Affairs And I need not tell you the Reason of this Difference they are in very good earnest to get this World but are very indifferent and unconcerned about the next So that all the parts of Religious Worship as they are expressions of our Reverence and Devotion for God so they immediately tend to the happiness of our Souls the Virtue of them is seen in transforming us into a Divine Nature in obtaining the Pardon of our Sins and the Supplies of God's Grace in making us Holy here and eternally Happy hereafter and therefore if we love our Souls let us constantly exercise our selves in all the Parts and Offices of Religious Worship And me-thinks it should be no such hard Matter to perswade Men to love and take care of their Souls for can any Man have a greater Concernment in the World than this For to love our Souls signifies no more than to love our Selves and to take care of our own happiness for the Soul is the Man the Body is only the Organ and Instrument of the Soul an earthly Tabernacle wherein it dwells in this state of its Pilgrimage but it is our Soul only that is capable of Joy and Pleasure or Grief and Sorrow and therefore as the Soul is either happy or miserable so is the Man and all Men desire to be happy this they seek with unwearied endeavours this makes all that busle and stir that is in the World that all Men are a catching after happiness and scrambling for it Why then you say What is the Dispute and Difficulty since all Men do love their Souls that is desire to be happy and it is only the Soul that relishes Happiness or is the Subject wherein Happiness dwells This is true and yet very few Men love their Souls for we must consider that the Soul of Man is capable of a two-fold happiness one as it lives in this gross Body of Flesh and Blood another as it lives without it in a separate state or receives it again refined and purged made a Heavenly and Spiritual Body Now as the Soul dwells in these Earthly Bodies it is apt to be mightily pleased with sensual Enjoyments and such Objects as are represented to us by our Senses and this is the Happiness which most Men are fond of in this World which tempts them to all those sensual Lusts which St. Iohn comprises under the Lusts of the Flesh the Lusts of the Eye and the Pride of Life but now this is not the greatest happiness of the Soul because dwelling in this Body is not its most perfect State it is to dwell but a little while in this Body and then can enjoy these bodily Pleasures no longer and therefore that is called the happiness of the Soul which is agreeable to its most perfect state of Life and commensurate to an eternal duration So that the Controversy in short is this Whether we will prefer an imperfect unsatisfactory momentary Happiness or such a Happiness which is the biggest our Souls are capable of and will last to Eternity and it is strange there should be any difficulty in this choice For can an Immortal Being who is to live Eternal Ages be satisfied with such perishing Joys as wax old and expire in half an Age It would be thought very strange that an Immortal Creature should grow weary of Life and be contented to fall into nothing after threescore or fourscore Years and yet this is a much more reasonable desire than to chuse such a happiness as will last but sixty or eighty Years when we must live for ever and therefore the Atheist is much a wiser Man than an irreligious and profane Worldling Every one contemns the folly of such a Prodigal who spends a fair Estate in a very short time and wasts away the rest of his Life in Poverty and Beggary and yet three or four Years pleasure bears some proportion to threescore or fourscore Years but threescore or fourscore Years have no proportion at all to Eternity Were there no other punishment of such Folly but to live for ever in a sense of our Want to find no sutable Objects to entertain our Minds but to languish perpetually with pining and unsatisfied Desires yet this were like the pain of perpetual Hunger and Thirst some-what worse than the delays of Hope even the torment of Despair And yet it is much worse still than this for such Men when they come into the other World will be convinced what Happiness it is they have lost when they shall see them come from the East and from the West from the North and from the South and sit down with Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the Kingdom of God and themselves shut out when they shall see victorious Saints who have triumphed over all the Follies and Vanities all the Smiles Flatteries and Terrors of this World cloathed with Bodies of pure Light and rewarded with immarcessible Crowns of Glory singing Eternal Halelujahs to their God and Saviour and when all the toys and pleasures of this World are gone and past and nothing is present but the happiness of the next it will infinitely more afflict them to think they have missed of Heaven than it would do now to lose their Estates and Honours and let slip any opportunity they had to make themselves the Universal Monarchs of the
History of the Reformation of the Church of England In two Vol. folio Bishop Sanderson's Sermons with his Life folio Fowlis his History of Romish Conspiracies Treasons and Usurpations folio Markham's Perfect Horseman octavo The History of the Powder-Treason with a Vindication thereof against the Author of the Catholick Apology and others to which is added a Parallel betwixt that and the present Plot quarto Dr. Parker's demonstration of the divine authority of the Law of Nature and Christian Religion quarto A Defence of Dr. Stillingfleet's Unreasonableness of Separation octavo Dr. Outram's Sermons on several occasions octavo now in the Press FINIS * Mr. Thorndyke's right of Christian Assemblies Heb. 10. v. 23. Vers. 26 27 28 29. 1 Cor. 1. 12. 1 Cor. 3. 3 4. 2 Tim. 3. 6 7 8. 1 John 2. 18 19. Acts 24. 14. 28. 22. 24. 5. 5. 17. 15. 5. Acts 21. 20 21 22 23 24. 1 Cor. 11. 18 19. Gal. 5. 20. 2 Pet. 2. 1. v. 4 5 6. v. 10. Exod. 22. 28. Acts 23. 4 5. Deut. 17. 12. 2 Pet. 2. 15. Jude v. 19. Scias nos primo in loco nec curiosos esse debere quid ille doceat cùm foris doceat quisquis ille est qualiscunque est Christianus non est qui in Christi Ecclesia non est Cypr. ad Anton. Epist. 52. Cyp. Ep. 39. Qui ergo in Ecclesia Christi morbidum aliquid pravumque sapiunt si correpti ut sanum rectumque sapiant resistunt contumaciter suaque pestifera mortifera dogmata emendare nolunt sed defensare persistunt Haeretici fiunt foras exeuntes habentur in exercentibus inimicis c. Aug. de Civ Dei lib. 18. cap. 51. See the Inquiry into the original of Evangelical Churches chap. 11. pag. 231. Dr. Cave's Primit Christianity par 1 ch 7. p. 171. Concil Gang. Can. 6. Dr. Stillingfl Unreasonableness of Separation Mr. Hobbs Psal. 95. 6. Psal. 100. 3 4. Mal. 1. 6. Psal. 50. 15. 86. 5 6 7. Psal. 91. 15. Psal 145. 18 19 20. Psal. 65. 2. Prov. 10. 22. Jam. 4. 2. 1 Tim. 4. 8. Tit. 2. 11 12. Job 28. 28. Psal. 111. 10. Prov. 9. 10. Tit. 2. 12. Psal 22. 22. Psal. 107. 32. Psal. 111. 1. Psal. 149. 1 2. Isa. 1. 13. Ephes. 4. 4. Acts 2. 42. Vers. 46. 1 Joh. 1. 3. 1 Cor. 12. 13. 1 Cor. 10. 26. 27. Mat. 10. 32 33. Rom. 14. 10 13 Mat. 5. 14 15. Rom. 14. 23. Jer. 14. 14. Jer. 23. 25 26. Vers. 30 31. Ephes. 4. 3 4. 1 Cor. 10. 16. 17. Ephes. 4. 15 16 Ephes. 2. 21. Joh. 17. 20 21. Phil. 2. 2. Joh. 13. 34 35. Acts 2. 42. 1 Joh. 2. 13. 1 Cor. 3. 3 4. 1 John 1. 3. Heb. 12. 22 23 24. Baxter's search for the English Schismat p. 12. Caeterum etsi vix ulla harum legum executio esset Donatistae tamen invidiosê odioseque clamabant sese injustè vexati causam tuam non jure agi sed vi opprimi delibatio Hist. Afric apud Optatum Quisquis vel quod potest arguendo corrigit vel quod corrigere non potest salvo pacis vinculo excludit vel quod salvo pacis vinculo excludere non potest aequitate improbat firmitate supportat hic est pacificus St. Aug contra Epist. Parmen l. 2. Joh. 4. 24. Eccles. 5. 2. Acts 21. 21 22 Col. 2. 21. Rom. 14. 17. Gal. 4. 1 2. Gal. 5. 1. Heb. 3. 5. 1 Cor. 14. 40 26. 2 Cor. 10. 8. Heb. 13. 17. John 10. 22. 1 Macab 4. 59. Luke 22. 25. Foxes and Firebrands Ep. ad Ianuar. Col. 2. 23. Lev. 22. 17. Acts 17. 22. Dr. Ham. of Superst Isa. 1. 11. Dr. Owen's Enquiry into the Original of Churches p. 14. John 13. 35. 1 Cor. 3. 9 6 7. Matth. 23. 2 3 De Vita Const. l. 4. c. 33. 1 Cor. 11. 10 Matth. 18. 19 20. 1 Pet. 3. 21. Phil. 2. 9 10 11. Matth. 26. 26 27 28. Mark 14. 22 23 24. Luke 22. 19 20. 1 Cor. 11. 23 24 25. Acts 2. 46. Apost Can. 9. Concil Antioch Can. 2. John 3. 16. Acts 9. 39. Ezra 9. 5. Psal. 141. 2. Heb. 9. 12. Acts 2. 46. Rev. 5. 12. 1 Cor. 15. Heb. 10. 28 29. 1 Cor. 10. 18. V. 21. Gen. 31. 46. V. 54. Heb. 9. 18 19 21. Psalm 50. 5. 1 Cor. 10. 17. Joh. 6. 53 54 56 57. V. 51. Hebr. 13. 10 11 12 13. Heb. 13. 15. Joh. 6. 56. 1 Cor. 12. 13. 2 Cor. 3. 8. Eph. 5. 30. Joh. 6. 54 57 58. Rom. 8. 11. 1 Cor. 12. 13. Rom. 6. 3 4 5. 1 Cor. 10. 16 17.
can worship God as well at home in their Closets or Families 3. Those who plead Conscience for their Separation and set up distinct Communions of their own The second Part is designed to correct some great Miscarriages in Publick Worship which some who profess to live in Communion with the Church of England are too notoriously guilty of Such as these 1. The forsaking the Communion of their Parish Churches without just cause for it 2. Irreverence in Worship 3. The neglect of a due attendance on the publick Prayers of the Church 4. The neglect of the Publick Administration of Baptism 5. That they neglect or refuse to submit their Children and Servants to Publick Instructions 6. That either never receive the Lord's Supper or very rarely III. The very naming these things must needs convince all Men who have any sense of Religion how seasonable this Discourse is for there was never any Age wherein there was more need of it And since Religion has so great an influence upon the government of Mens Lives the neglect or miscarriage of Publick Worship does not only tend to corrupt Mens Manners but has a very ill aspect upon Publick Affairs I confess it is a very ill time for any Man who prefers his own Ease and Quiet before the Service of God and of Religion to put forth to Sea in such a Storm and Hurricane when the passions of men are in such a ferment that they are hardly capable of coole thoughts and impatient of the gentlest Reproof and Opposition the most charitable Designs are misconstrued and nicknamed and whoever endeavours to convince Men of their Mistakes how careful soever he be to avoid all just occasion of offence is either a Railer or a Persecutor But these things I thank God do not much affect me and shall never affright me from any part of my Duty I value a good Name as much as other Men but am contented to be reproached for the sake of my Lord and Master who was Himself reproached and vilified by Scribes and Pharisees But that which I suppose will be thought most unseasonable at this time is what concerns the Dissenters from our present Establishment for this is now upon all occasions urged and thought a sufficient Answer to all such Discourses But can it be thought unseasonable to perswade Men not to forsake Christian Assemblies when it is grown so general a practice that many have lost all sense of the evil of it Is it not a fit season for the applications of the Physician when the Patient is dangerously sick of a mortal distemper Thanks be to our good God we still enjoy the Opportunities of Publick Worship and therefore have opportunity also of perswading and exhorting Men to return to the Communion of the Church How effectual indeed such Exhortations may be at such a time we cannot tell success in these matters does not so much depend upon the fittest season as upon the Grace of God and the good temper of the Ground where the Seed falls as our Saviour tells us in the Parable of the Sower Matth. 13. However in case of necessity a thing must be done when and as it may and I think there never was greater necessity for this Exhortation than in our days But that which I perceive makes some Men think it so unseasonable at this time to perswade Men to return to the Communion of the Church of England is because they are either in great hope to pull down the Church of England or at least to open the Door a little wider to let those in who are now excluded by some scruples of Conscience about some indifferent Rites and Ceremonies used in our Worship As for the first of these I wish with all my Soul that such seasonable Exhortations as these may prove very unseasonable for their Designs that it may bring Men to their Wits and make them consider what they are a doing when they go about to pull down the best Church in the World It may be very unseasonable indeed for them but it would be a very unseasonable and despicable piece of Folly and Modesty for all those who favour Sion to stand still and say nothing while they accomplish their Designs and bring their wicked Devices to pass As for the second sort who only desire to see the Church Doors a little wider to receive more honest and devout Men into our Communion I cannot imagine why they should conceive such Exhortations unseasonable at this time for are they afraid that such Discourses should so far satisfy all Men in our Communion that there should be no need of any alteration Truly I have no great hopes to see such blessed effects of the wisest and most convincing Discourses and if such a thing ever should be certainly no good men would be troubled at it since the great End they designed viz. To see all Men return to the Communion of the Church would be as effectually obtained and it is much more desirable to see Men rectify their own Mistakes than to alter wholsom Constitutions wherein there is always great danger and very seldom any great success witness the miserable Confusions of the last Age. Or do they think it impossible to vindicate the Church of England from unjust Imputations to wipe off that dirt which is cast upon her by her inveterate Enemies to discover the evil and danger of Schism and Separation without obstinately adhering to every Punctilio and opposing all reasonable Condescentions to the weakness or ignorance of others I am sure there is no consequence in this and it is a great Argument that they censure and revile Men before they know them We know how to distinguish between the lawfulness and necessity of things between some less material Circumstances of Worship and the Peace and Communion of the Christian Church Possibly the most zealous and most learned Defenders of the Church are most ready to any Reasonable Compliances when-ever Authority shall see fit We have a late Instance of it in an excellent Person than whom possibly no Man ever writ better for the Church nor ever hinted more reasonable and equal Proposals in the behalf of Dissenters The truth is it is as absolutely necessary to dispose Mens minds to Peace and Union by good Arguments and pious and earnest Exhortations as it is for Publick Authority to relax the Terms of Communion to give ease to some doubting and scrupulous Consciences for while Men have such superstitious Conceits that God is either pleased or displeased with doing or not doing some indifferent things in themselves considered with wearing or not wearing a Surplice or using or not using the Cross in Baptism when Men think that God will be angry with them for doing that which he hath no where forbid and that we must do nothing in the external Ministries of Religion but what he has expresly commanded and then I confess I do not see how we can perform any one Duty
of external Worship with a safe Conscience how we can pray either with or without a Form since neither of them is commanded in Scripture as the external circumstances of no one Duty are that I know of I say while Men have such wild unpracticable Notions in their Heads which when they are pursued to their last Issue overthrow all manner of external Order and Government in the Church and end in all the Confusions of Quakerism it is a vain thing to talk of Comprehensions and Concessions And while Men have no sense at all of the evil of Schism and Separation but think it as innocent a thing to set up Church against Church as to go from one Parish-Church to another it is evident that they will never desire to return to the Union of the Church who have no sense what a necessary duty Christian Communion is and what a damning Sin Schism is and therefore whoever does sincerely and cordially desire to see all sober Christians united in the same Communion must earnestly exhort perswade and convince as well as yield and comply The common Danger we are all in from the growing Power and secret Conspiracies of the Popish Faction makes all Men acknowledge the necessity and call aloud for Union Our Dissenters who never did nor are ever likely to unite in any thing but their Cries against Popery and their Designs of pulling down the Church of England think this a convenient opportunity to accomplish their Ends and have been very busy to libel Church and Church-men to say nothing now of the State this hath put many worthy Sons of the Church who are impatient to hear their Mother reviled and slandered upon the defensive part to vindicate the Reformation of our Church from their rude Calumnies and yet to express their readiness to comply and unite upon such Terms when ever Publick Authority shall see fit as would not utterly destroy our Constitution The first they have done beyond the possibility of a sober Reply and how fruitless their Charity is in attempting the second the Dissenters themselves will convince all men who cannot patiently hear of any other terms of Concord but the extirpation of the corrupt and Antichristian Church of England I am not ambitious to thrust my self into this Scuffle and therefore do not appear as a Disputant but make a close and serious Application to the Consciences of Men which I hope when the heat of Disputation is a little over may prove a more powerful conviction to all well-meaning Men than the best and most unanswerable Reasons have hitherto done PART I. Concerning those who wholly forsake Religious Assemblies CHAP. I. Containing an Address and Exhortation to those who have no sense at all of Religion or that Obligation which lies on them to worship God and take care of their Souls SECT I. Some Proposals made to the Speculative Atheist 1. That they would once more consider what strong and almost invincible Inclinations there are in Humane Nature to the Worship of God 2. That they would not publickly affront Religion 3. That they would not wholly forsake Religious Assemblies 4. That they would not intermeddle in the Disputes and Controversies of Religion FIrst I shall begin with those who withdraw themselves from Christian Assemblies out of profaneness for want of any due sense of Religion or that Obligation which lies on them to worship God and to take care of their own Souls And there are two sorts of these Men first the Speculative secondly the Practical Atheist First The Speculative Atheist who denies the being of God and therefore must of necessity despise his Worship for that which is not cannot be the Object of our Love or Fear or Religious Adorations Those indeed who do not believe that there is a God may in prudence conceal their Atheism and comply with the custom of their Country in performing all the External Acts of Worship but yet few Atheists have so much Wit or good breeding as not to affront the universal Belief and Practice of Mankind Now I shall not at present dispute the Case with these Men nor attempt to convince them of their great Folly and Madness in not worshipping God by proving that there is a God who ought to be worshipped This requires a larger Discourse than my present Design will allow and has been already done more than once with all the advantages of Reason and Learning by much better Pens and therefore I shall only make three or four very fair and reasonable Proposals to them First That they would once more seriously consider what strong and almost invincible Inclinations there are in Humane Nature to the Worship of God I do not argue now from Natural Notions and Anticipations or those common Maxims and Principles of Reason which are found in all Man-kind because the Atheist tells us That these are only the Principles of our Education and we should never have had such Conceits and Fancies in our Heads if we had not been taught them though it is a hard thing to give an account how these Principles should first come to be entertained in the World who taught them the first Man and how he came so readily to believe them and so carefully to propagate them to Posterity and it seems strange how Man-kind should so universally assent to such Principles as the Being of God and a Providence c. if at least they are not extreamly agreeable to the Make and Frame of our Minds though we should suppose them not to be Natural Notions But I say to let pass this now I shall only desire these Men to consult a little with the Inclinations of Nature which are not the Effects of Reason and Discourse but Natural Impressions the necessary Efforts Impetus and Tendencies of Nature as a Stone naturally falls downward and the Fire as naturally ascends Now it is impossible that any Education should put new Inclinations or new Passions into our Minds Education may direct our Natural Inclinations and Passions to Unnatural Objects but it can no more make new Inclinations and Passions than it can make a new Soul Now among all the Inclinations of Humane Nature there is none more strong and invincible than the Inclination to Religion to worship something or other as a God Though the Heathens were greatly mistaken in their Notion of a God and some worshipped the Sun Moon and Stars the Earth and Seas and Rivers and the meanest and most contemptible Creatures for Gods yet they all agreed in this universal Inclination to Religious Worship which is a plain Argument that this Universal Consent in Religion was more owing to the impulses and tendencies of a Reasonable Nature than to the clear and distinct Principles of Natural Reason for Reason always joins the Act and the Object together but Natural Inclinations are a blind and confused Principle of Action which thrusts forward to such an Act without a clear perception of its Object just as the Appetite