artifices; how soon zeal is kindled into fury, and how soon concern for reputation mingles with a concern for truth; 10w readily the antagonists deviate into personal invecives, and instead of confuting the arguments, defame the ives of those whose doctrine they disapprove; and how often disputes terminate in uproar, riot, and persecution, every one is convinced, and too many have experienced. That diversity of opinions, which is the original source of such evils as these, cannot, therefore, be too diligently obviated; nor can too many endeavours be used to check the growth of new doctrines, and reclaim those that propagate them, before sects are formed, or schisms established.

This is not to be done by denying, or disputing, the right of private judgment, but by exhorting all men to exercise it in a proper manner, according to each man's measure of knowledge, abilities, and opportunities; and by endeavouring to remove all those difficulties which may obstruct the discovery of truth, and exposing the unreasonableness of such prejudices as may perplex or mislead the inquirer.

The prejudice, to which many of the disorders of the present age, in which infidelity, superstition, and enthusiasm, seem contending for empire over us, may be justly ascribed, is an overfondness of novelty, a desire of striking out new paths to peace and happiness, and a neglect of following the precept in the text of asking for the old paths, where is the good way, and walking therein. A "recept I shall, therefore, endeavour to illustrate,

FIRST: By laying before you the dangers of judging of religion, without long and diligent examination.

SECONDLY: By evincing the reasonableness of searching into antiquity, or of asking for the old paths. And THIRDLY: By shewing the happiness which attends a well-grounded belief, and steady practice of religion. FIRST: I propose to lay before you the dangers of judging of religion, without a long and diligent examina

tion.

VOL. IX.

ла

There is no tomek mere the favourite of the present age, han the innocence of errour accompanied with sineenity. This loeme has been cultivated with the utmost figence, niorce with all the arts of argument. and embellished with al the ornaments of eloquence, but perhaps not bounded with equal care, by proper limitations, nor preserved by just explication, from being a snare to pride. and a sumoung block to weakness.

That the Juige of all the earth will do right, that he will require in proportion to what he has given, and pu nish men for the misapplication or neglect of talents, not for the want of them; that he condemns no man for not seeing what he has hid from him, or for not attending to what he could never hear; seems to be the necessary, the inevitable consequence of his own attributes.

That errour, therefore, may be innocent will not be denied, because it undoubtedly may be sincere; but this concession will give very little countenance to the security and supineness, the coldness and indifference of the present generation, if we consider deliberately, how much is required to constitute that sincerity, which shall avert the wrath of God, and reconcile him to errour.

Sincerity is not barely a full persuasion of the truth of our assertions, a persuasion too often grounded upon a high opinion of our own sagacity, and confirmed, perhaps, by frequent triumphs over weak opponents, continually gaining new strength by a neglect of reexamination, which, perhaps, we decline, by industriously diverting our attention from any objections that arise in our thoughts, and suppressing any suspicion of a fallacy, before the mind has time to connect its ideas, to form arguments, and draw conclusions. Sincerity is not a heat of the heart, kept up by eager contentions or warm professions nor a tranquillity produced by confidence, and continued by indolence. There may be zeal without sincerity, and se curity without innocence. If we forbear to inquire through laziness or pride, or inquire with partiality, passion, preci pitancy; if we do not watch over the most hidden motions

of our hearts, and endeavour, with our utmost efforts, to Danish all those secret tendencies, and all those lurking nclinations, which operate very frequently without being ittended to even by ourselves; if we do not carry on our search without regard to the reputation of our teachers, our followers, or ourselves, and labour after truth with equal industry and caution; let us not presume to put any trust in our sincerity.

Such is the present weakness and corruption of human nature, that sincerity, real sincerity, is rarely to be found; but, till it be found, it is the last degree of folly to represent errour as innocent. By a God infinitely merciful, and propitiated by the death of our blessed Saviour, it may, indeed, be pardoned, but it cannot be justified.

But the greatest part of those that declaim with most vehemence in defence of their darling notions, seem to have very little claim even to pardon on account of their sincerity. It is difficult to conceive what time is allotted to religious questions and controversies by a man whose life is engrossed by the hurries of business, and whose thoughts are continually upon the stretch, to form plans for the improvement of his fortune, or the gratification of his ambition. Nor is it very probable, that such subjects are more seriously considered by men abandoned to pleasure, men who sit down to eat, and rise up to play, whose life is a circle of successive amusements, and whose hours are distinguished only by vicissitudes of pleasure. And yet the questions which these frequently decide, and decide without the least suspicion of their own qualifications, are often of a very intricate and complicated kind, which must be disentangled by a long and continued attention, and resolved with many restrictions and great caution.

Not only knowledge, judgment, and experience, but uninterrupted leisure and retirement are necessary, that the chain of reasoning may be preserved unbroken, and the mind perform its operations, without any hindrance from foreign objects.

To this end men have formerly retreated to solitudes

desirous with ourselves of discovering truth, 1, in some cases, better opportunities than we

ard to the order and government of the prich, we may doubtless follow their authority i security; they could not possibly be ignorant ecuted, and customs practised, by themselves; they, even supposing them corrupt, serve any i their own, by handing down false accounts to We are, therefore, to inquire from them, the rders established in the ministry from the aposs; the different employments of each, and their nks, subordinations, and degrees of authority. ir writings we are to vindicate the establishment hurch, and by the same writings are those who om us, in these particulars, to defend their con

is this the only, though perhaps the chief use of riters: for, in matters of faith, and points of dochose, at least, who lived in the ages nearest to the of the apostles, undoubtedly deserve to be con

The oral doctrines, and occasional explications apostles, would not be immediately forgotten, in urches to which they had preached, and which had ded to them, with the diligence and reverence which mission and character demanded. Their solutions of ulties, and determinations of doubtful questions, t have been treasured up in the memory of their auices, and transmitted for some time from father to son. ery thing, at least, that was declared by the inspired chers to be necessary to salvation, must have been carely recorded; and, therefore, what we find no traces of the Scripture, or the early fathers, as most of the pecuir tenets of the Romish church, must certainly be conluded to be not necessary. Thus, by consulting first the Holy Scriptures, and next the writers of the primitive church, we shall make ourselves acquainted with the will of God; thus shall we discover the good way, and find