deliberately guilty, who has any Senfe of Virtue, or is under any Awe or Reverence of the fupream Being. But I will not fay the fame of every Act of Intemperance, or Senfuality, or of every rash and halty Word or Action; becaufe thefe are Faults incident to a Mind, in the main, very well disposed, but thrown off its Guard by particular Accidents, or overborne by fome great Temptation. And yet even with Respect to Faults of the lower Kind, if the Returns of them are frequent, it is much to be feared that the Heart is not right: For it is feen and felt every Day in other Cafes, that what a Man diflikes thoroughly and refolves against earnestly, he is not often brought to comply with. A Difpofition founded upon right Notions of Things, is not foon loft, nor eafily fhaken. Anḍ therefore in fuch a Cafe I would not encourage Men to go hastily to the Sacrament upon the first new Refolution that may be taken (which for ought they can tell may be as vain as thofe that went before) but rather advife that by more Diligence and feverer Watchfulness over themselves, they would try to bring themfelves to fome fettled Temper; and when they find that they are gaining Ground, to come to the Lord's Table, which will be a Means to perfect what is wanting, and to confirm them in every good Work. Most Changes are gradual. The Change from Evil to Good is almost always fo; and I think it to be a clear Point, that fuch a Degree of Reformation as is fuitable to a good Beginning, will be fufficient to qualify us for the Lord's Table. This feems to be agreeable to the Senfe of our Church, which exhorts us to betocil our olan Sinfulness; and to confefs curfelves to Almighty God with full Purpale of Amendment of Life; and invites all to Drato near with Faith, and take the Holy Sacrament to their Comfort, who truly and earnedly repent of their Sins, and intend to lead a new Life. Confeffion of Sin to God with Refolutions of Amendment, are neceffary to Repertance in the very first State of it. For not to refolve againft Sin, is to perfift wilfully in Sin, which is incon F 3 fiftent fiftent with the Notion of Repentance. But when Mea refolve heartily, fomething will come of it; fome Change it will produce; and if it is not every thing we could wish, yet fo long (I fay) as the Effect is fuitable to our present Strength and Abilities, it will be accepted fo far at least as to qualify us for God's Ordinances; which are intended as Helps to farther Improvement, and therefore do not fuppofe us grown up to Perfection, when we first apply ourselves to the Ufe of them. When the Apoftles first preached the Gofpel, they had to do with Novices in Religion; with thofe who had no more Time than to be instructed, and convinced, and to begin well. Yet were fuch admitted to Baptifm; and if fuch are fit for Baptism, they are fit alfo for the Lord's Supper, which is every Chriftian's Birthright, till he hath forfeited it by Apoftafy from the Faith, or a Behaviour unworthy of his Profeffion. Lapfes may follow after receiving the Sacrament; and if they do, it will be a Reafon indeed for greater Care and Watchfulness; but it will not therefore follow, that what was before done was ill done, nor that we are obliged to abftain from the Sacrament for ever after. For, as I faid before, if we are never to communicate till we can be abfolutely fecure of our future Conduct, we must never communicate at all. It must be left to every Man's Confcience to apply thefe Rules to his own particular Cafe; in which there will always be need of Prudence and Caution, and fometimes, perhaps, of the Advice of some spiritual Guide. In view of this, our Church in one of her Invitations, having first recommended Self-Examination, directs the Minifter to say-If there be any of you who by this Means cannot quiet his own Conscience, but requireth farther Comfort sz Counsel, let him come to me, oz to fome other Difcreet and learned Minister of God's Word, and open his Grief, that by the Ministry of God's Holy Mozd, he may receive the Benefit of Ablolution, together with gholly, Counsel and and Advice, to the quieting of his Conscience, and the avoiding of all Scruple and Doubt. fulness. How little foever it may be practifed at prefent, it is furely a very prudent Method, when Men find their Confciences perplexed with Doubts and Scruples, to confult those in whom they have Confi. dence, and whom they may reasonably prefume are qualified by their Learning and Skill to give them proper Advice. We do this in all other Cafes; and if it were more frequently done in this, much Good would come of it. The Church of Rome hath carried this Point to great Abuse; and as we are ever apt to run from one Extream to another; from believing Confeffion to be neceffary in all Cafes, we are come almost to think it useful in none; to the great Hurt of Mens Confciences, and the Decay of true Religion. But as to that Part of this Order which concerns ABSOLUTION, because the true Intent of it may not, perhaps, be commonly understood, I fhail take this Opportunity to give a fhort Account of it, that every Chriftian may fee how much he is concerned in it. In the primitive Church it was the Custom to feparate those who by Apoftafy from the Faith, or by their ill Lives, had given publick Scandal, from the Use of the Sacrament, and other Parts of the Chriftian Worship; and after fome Time of Separation, and the proper Evidences of Repentance, to reconcile them again to the Church, upon an open Confeffion of their Faults. In Procefs of Time, when Corruptions grew in the Church, open Confeffions for publick Offences, were changed into private Confeffions for fecret Sins; which was a very different Thing, and had very different Effects. In the firft Way, Abfolution was nothing more than a Releasement from Church Cenfures, and a Restoration of the Offender to the, Privileges of vifible Communion. In the fecond, it had the Face of a Releasement from Guilt in the Sight of God; for having no Relation to any publick Scandal given, or to any Sentence of Separation paffed by the Church, it was natural to understand it as operating operating internally, in refpect of Confcience. This Occafioned great Licentioufnefs of Manners; for private Abfolutions not being hard to come at, Men grew lefs careful to amend their Lives; and the higher the Opinion of the Sacerdotal Power grew, (as it did, by Degrees, grow to an exorbitant Height) the Evil became fo much the worse. Our Reformers faw an Abuse in this Change of the ancient Difcipline, which they were not able to correct. But two Things they did. In the first Place, they put into the Communion Office a general Confefsion of Sins, and Prayer of Abfolution, to ferve instead of the private fpecial Confeffion and Abfolution, to those who could fo fatisfy themselves; leaving those who could not fatisfy their Confciences in this Way, ftill at Liberty to go to the Prieft for private Confeffion and Abfolution. This appears upon the Face of the foregoing Exhortation; which is directed to thofe only who can. not otherwife quiet their own Consciences; and will be more plainly feen by a Claufe in the first Book of King Edward, (ince expunged) in which it is faid, that fuch as fhould be fatisfied with a general Con"feffion, fhould not be offended with them that do "ufe, to their farther fatisfying the auricular fecret "Confeffion to the Priest. Nor that those who "thought it needful for the Quietnefs of their own "Confciences, particularly to open their Sins to the "Prieft, fhould be offended with those that are fatis"fied with their humble Confeffions to God, and the general Confeffions of the Church; but in all Things follow and keep the Rule of Charity." The fame Temper is oberved in the Office for the Vifitation of the Sick, where, after a Declaration of Faith, the Minifter is directed to move the fick Perfon to make a SPECIAL Confefion of his Sins, IF HE FEEL HIS CONSCIENCE TROUBLED WITH ANY WEIGHTY SIRE IT. You You fee in both Cafes, that private Confeffion and Abfolution are left as mere difcretionary Things, which both the Sick Person and the Communicant are directed to use or to omit, according to the State of their Confciences; in which our Reformers did fufficiently declare their own Opinions, that there was no Neceffity of fuch special Confeffion and Abfolution, to qualify Men for the Remiffion of Sin. But the Liberty granted to those who might be otherwife minded, was very prudent and neceffary, as Matters then stood. The Nation was but then recovering from Popery; and the Popish Notion of the Neceffity of Abfolution had laid fuch Hold upon the Minds of many, that had not this Temper been found for the quieting their Consciences, the Progrefs of the Reformation must greatly have been obftructed. But by this Indulgence many were invited in who would otherwife probably have stood out, and Time was given for these Prejudices to wear off, as in Fact they have done fince; infomuch, that (fo far as I know) this Order now stands an an useless Part of our Liturgy; and, fo long as it does ftand, will be an Evidence to Pofterity of the great Wisdom and Piety of our Reformers, who, in the Alterations which they made in the publick Offices, considered the Exigencies of the Times in which they lived, and ordered all Things as beft ferved to Chriftian Edification. Some, perhaps, may think that our Reformers went too far in their Compliances. In Things indiffer. ent (it may be faid) Mens Prejudices are to be indulged; but not in Things which touch the Effence of Religion, as all Opinions certainly do, which lead Men to place the Hopes of Forgiveness any where but in true Repentance. But this is not the Cafe here. For, in the next Place, our Reformers took Care to inculcate, in the strongest Terms, (without any of those. Softenings and Relaxations which prevailed, and do ftill prevail, in the Church of Rome) that without true, unfeigned Repentance, there can be no Remiffion of Sin. In the Form of Abfolution in the Communion Office |