are a Rule alfo of what is Indifferent: And the fame Light that shews what is necessary to be done, and what is necessary not to be done, does withal thew what is Lawful to be done or to be forborn. And as an Erroneous perfwafion that fomething is Lawful which God hath forbidden, will not acquit any Man, that hath the means of better Information, from Sin, in doing according to his Perfwafion of the Lawfulness of what he does: So neither will any Mans Erroneous Perswasion that his Superiors require him to do what is Unlawfal, when the thing it felf is Lawful, acquit him of the Guilt of Difobedience in following that Perfwasion. In 'what degrees this or that Mans Ignorance in these things is culpable,God only knoweth for the most part, and therefore he only can Judge the World in Righteoufnefs. But more or lefs culpable it is in All that have means of Knowledge. And it concerns every one of us, as we love our own Souls, to confider Impartially, what God hath Commanded and what he hath forbidden in his Word, and confequently what he has left to our Liberty; and that because his Word is a Rule fufficiently plain as to these things.

For if thofe to whom God hath given Authority being corrupted in their Judgments by Paffion or any Worldly Intereft, take those things to be Lawful which God hath forbidden,and impofe them upon All that are fubject to their Rule; their Perfwafion fhall not hinder their being grievous Sinners against God, nor Exempt them from being anfwerable to him for abusing their Authority, and for all the pernicious confequences thereof in drawing fome Men into Wicked Practices, and in punishing others for well doing. And by like Reafon, if Subjects not rightly attending to the Rule of their Duty, are grown to a Perfwafion that those things are Unlawful, which their Superiors injoin them to do; whereas in

deed

deed they are Indifferent; and thereupon refuse to do them: This Perfwafion fhall not acquit them before God, nor hinder them from being answerable for Abufingtheir Liberty, and for all the pernicious Confequences of their Difobedience, in Setting a bad Example, in Breaking the Peace of the Church, in Disturbing Publick Order, and, which very often happens, in Giving occafion to the worst of Men to profane the Name of God, and to fpeak Evil and Blafphemous things of his Holy Religion. I fay, Ignorance will help no more in this later cafe than in the former, because it is as eafie for the Subject to know what is Indifferent, as for the Ruler to know what is Unlawful. These confiderations I confess do more properly belong to the last Plea of Confcience ; but it was very convenient to touch upon them here, where we have been inquiring what things they are, in which Authority is to over-rule private Judgment, and to determine the Practice of Inferiors; and withal how great a difference there is between the Church of Rome, and the Church of England in Anfwering this Common Question: Who fhall be the Fudge?

3. I come now to the last Difference confequent upon the two first refpecting Authority, and Terms of Communion, and that is the Difference of the Principles upon which each fide Separates, as to their tendency either to maintain, or to overthrow one Communion among ft Chriftians.

This will fall under a double Confideration. 1. That of maintaining one Communion amongst Christians in this Kingdom. 2. That of maintaining one Communion with Forreign Churches. I fhall begin with the -Firft.

1. As to Unity at home. The Romanist pretends that upon the grounds of our Reformation, Divifions and Separations

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parations will be endless amongst us; We also pretend that the principles of the Separation from the Church of England, tend to the fame: But with what difference of Reason on each fide, it is easy to Judge by what has been faid already. We have Reason to think there would be no end of Divifions, if a Competent Authority, injoining nothing but what is Lawful to be done in the Communion of Chriftians, is not to be obeyed: And certainly this may be very true, although it be falfe, that to Submit to the Authority of the Roman Church, and that too in things Unlawful to be done by any Christian,or by any Man, is neceffary to prevent Divifions. We fay farther, that there can be no need of an Ecclefiaftical Tyranny on the one hand, and a blind Obedience on the other, to keep thofe Chriftians together in one Communion that live within one Jurifdiction; if a due ufe of Authority in Lawful Superiors on the one hand, and a Dutiful Subjection of Inferiors thereunto, on the other, would do the business, as most certainly it would. But if fome Men will be Stubborn, we cannot help that, any more than we can hinder other Men from being Tyrants. But we are fure it concerns both the one and the other, as much as their Salvation concerns them,not to be fo. And if this confideration will not keep them within bounds, and make them Wife and Honeft; they must Answer it to God one day. And in the mean time Subjects that Suffer Unjustly for refufing to Obey the Wicked Commands of their Superiors, muft bear it as patiently as they can, and by their Prayers to God, and their Meek Obedience to their Rulers in all Lawful things, endeavour to recover themselves into their good Opinion. And Superiors that are vexed with Froward and Disorderly Subjects who break Chriftian Communion when no just Cause is given them, must do what they can to lay

the Truth before them; and if this be to no purpose, they must use their Authority as Prudently as they can to prevent the Evil Example from going farther.

We are fenfible what advantages the Papists make to themselves against our Reformation by the examples of Diffenters, and the Diffenters by the Papifts. When the Papists have Men and Women of weak understandings to deal with, they tell them, that the Reformation is run out into feveral Sects and Parties, and no Man can tell where Separation will end: If therefore you Love Unity, return to the Church of Rome where we are all of one Faith and Communion. The Separatifts on the other fide fet off their claims to an unrestrainable Liberty of choofing in what Communion to Worfhip God, by fhewing to their Profelytes the Tyranny of the Roman Church. Now we of the Church of England are as much against the Tyrannical Ufurpations of that Church as the Diffenters, and as much for Unity against cauflefs Separation, and for Obedience to Lawful Authority againfi Stubbornness, as the Romanifts. And both these upon principles that confift well with one another. We fay on the one fide that a Foreigner fhould not affect an Authority over us, and that those who have the Authority, ought to require nothing in the Communion of Chriftians, but what is agreeable to Gods Word, and Lawful to be done: And on the other fide, that in fuch things we ought to do what is Commanded, and by no means to run into a Separate Communion. Upon these principles we departed from Rome, and stick where we are; and I trust that through the Grace of God, we fhall neither go back to Rome, nor run after the Separation, there being no need, either of the former to preserve Unity, or of the later to avoid Tyranny.

To draw to a conclufion of this matter; The main Reason

Reason of our Separation from Rome was this, that we could not continue in her Communion, without doing things that God hath plainly forbidden: The Reformation of our Church was at first effected by, and hath all along stood upon Good and Just Authority: She does not only hold forth all neceflary means of Salvation, but the requires nothing to be done in her Communion that is contrary to Gods Word. And therefore we hold our felves bound under the pain of Schifm to continue in her Communion. Now I do not understand how upon these principles Men must run into Endless Separations, unless it be impoffible for us whatever we pretend) to know who are our Lawful Governours, and to know what God hath Commanded, and what he hath Forbidden us to do. And I muft confess if these things be Impoffible to be known 'tis a Foolish thing for any Man to trouble his Confcience with Cafes of Communion and Separation. As for the Diffenters (to omit the Independents whofe Churches are in their very Conftitution inconfiftent with Submitting to a Common Authority in matters of Worship) they have forfaken us for nothing but because the Terms of our Worship, or our two or three Ceremonies in it, are not Commanded in Gods Word, and because in things left otherwise to our Liberty, we are determined by the Authority of our Superiors: Or because these things might be better ordered, and because the Communion which they have taken upon them to fet up in Oppofition to the Church of England is purer than ours, though ours be a Lawful Communion. Now thefe principles do indeed tend to Endless Separations unless these Men could tell us either how we could be United in one Communion, though all of us believed it Unlawful to Obey a Competent Authority that fhould prefume to determin any Indifferent things relating to Gods Worship;