ticularly and more efpecially oblig'd to a Com-CHAP. pliance; because, in that Cafe, they become XVIII. the only legal and acceptable Means for fulfilling the End. And when the Law of the Means does so plainly appear to the Subject, to be not only in Affirmance of the Law of the End, but entirely framed for, declaratively promotive of, and actually serviceable to the End; Do we then, argues the Apostle, make void the [moral Law thro' Faith? God forbid; yea, we establish that Law. Whoever is honeft and fincere in profeffing Obedience to this Law, will be as fincere and obedient in embracing the other, and for the fake of the Religion of one, love the Religion of the other; if he confcientiously holds to the one, he cannot in his Confcience despise the other. BUT, to be fure, if he is falfe to the End, he will use all manner of Artifice to evade the Means. Or fhould he happen to doubt of the Law of the Means, and at the fame Time affect to give out among his Neighbours, how true is he to the End! when he himself, and all his Neighbours fee that Law has no other View, but the fulfilling the End, and must certainly for that Reason proceed from the fame Fountain of Authority, the other took its Rife from: He muft foon either lay afide his Doubts; or, if he fhould continue, and be troublesome with them, his Neighbour will folve them for him, and tell him a Truth he can't deny, that the true Reason of it is, because he difaffects and diflikes the End, at the Bottom of his Heart. CHAP. THIS accounts for that Scripture, why all Men have not Faith *, i. e. have not an Inclination of Will or orderly Difpofition of Heart to fuch wife and worthy Things, as ordains them, fets them in order to eternal Life: The Reason follows, because they are unreasonable and wicked Men, aroto, abfurd Perfons, Reason-Haters, Truthlefs Creatures, upon whofe Will the To. picks of common Reason and Perfuafion have loft their Influence; from whom, as from incurable Adverfaries to God, and their own Souls, it is therefore pray'd to be deliver'd. The Author of Characteristicks confeffes, "that the highest Good "and Happiness muft depend upon right Opi "nion +" And must not that right Opinion neceffarily extend to the right Means of attaining that highest Good and Happiness? To illuftrate thefe Matters; the Laws, fince the Reformation, which eftablifhed the Proteftant Religion and the English Liberties, rather fuppofed, than ferved the Subjects with effectual Means for that End; but they did the beft they could with those imperfect Means; till the happy Revolution came, which foon after fettled (Thanks be to God the Protector of the Reformation for his good Providence, for the Majority of one Vote in one of the Houfes!) the particular, explicit, effectual Means ever after for it, in the prefent happy Settlement. I afk then, though it was a Duty before for Men to do the best they could, are not all Subjects now, particularly, oblig'd to espouse, and adhere to this bleffed, explicit Law of the Means, and that inviolably, and without + Charact. Vol. III. pag. 169. any 2 Thef. iii. 2. any doubting? So, when the Saviour of the CHAP. World came to deliver Men from the Dominion XVIII. and Slavery of the Devil, tied and bound as they were to him in the Chain of their Sins, and blinded moreover by him with horrid Delufions; were all the Natives of thefe Dominions as fen-fible of the Value of Liberty in one Cafe, as in the other (not to fay how much one excels the other) or, of the Enjoyment of a much better Life from one Deliverance than the other, it could' not fail, but that every Soul would be, and appear to be as well affected to Jesus Christ, as to the prefent Government, and think it a Politeness of Honour and good Senfe of a Briton to be firmly attached to, and conftantly well behaved towards him, paramount to all other Honour, to all other little Politenefs: For this would retrieve the true gallant Politeness, confifting in general Humanity, Juftice, Veracity, Love of Virtue, and public Spirit, all which endear and fecure Society; and by degrees would polish off the modern, mean Politenefs, which appears out of Seafon in a Proteftant, and to the Dishonour of a Chriftian Nation, in Falfhood, Selfishness, licentious Opinions, Luxury of feveral Sorts, a Spirit of Infidelity, and a Multitude of Wants; and to increafe them the more, a fervile Imitation of the worst failings of the French. One is a Civil Virtue for the Civil Life of a British Subject, the other is a moral Divine Virtue for a moral and divine Life, begun in inward Peace with God here, and confummated in eternal Bleffednefs hereafter. AND if no Man can come to the Father but through him, the only appointed Mediator and. Peace-maker, how can the Rejecters of him pretend to go to the Father, or expect any Peace CHAP. with him in this Life, or the next? The Father XVIII. however is willing to have thofe Incogitant Per fons faved, but then he wills the Means alfo ; and that is, by their coming to the Knowledge of the Truth of that only Means, and making proper ufe of it. It would well become the Deift therefore to confider, whether he will not become justly fufpected of being a good Subject as well to one Government,, as the other. For does he imagine, that the prefent Administration of these Realms does not understand its Intereft better, than not to interpofe in time, for preventing fuch Sentiments from enlarging into a Fashion, (the Law of which has more fway over the fociable: Nature of moft Men than the Laws of God, or the Magiftrate) and for protecting the other Kingdom that is not of this World, as it is fo exceeding ferviceable to their own Kingdom, fo long as it keeps clear from the Corruptions of Irreligion and Popery: but their Irreligion against Christ, wherewith they go on to infect fuch vaft Multitudes, directly leads and paves the Way to the other, as I before amicably shew'd *; and that we all know is the Ruin of all. I CAN'T imagine why they don't rather chuse to submit to the Principal, in time, rather than be enfnar'd, having the Snare in Sight, into a Submiffion to his pretended Vicar. Is not feafonable Virtue to both Governments better than Death-bed Repentance? The Defign of King Charles II's Reign, according to a good Hiftorian, "feem'd to be to make us first Atheists, in or"der to make us Papifts." But do they think in their little Confcience that thofe evil Times are coming about again? Page 212, &c. of this Vol. СНАР. If after this nothing can be added to fhew, XVIII. the Wickedness of refufing Obedience to the Law of the Means, I fhall have Occafion afterwards to demonftrate the Folly of it to those who are fo wife in their own Conceit. Mean time, it may be proper to obferve how thofe things come about. And this will open the feveral Steps of Folly, in Mens Treatment of this Law of the Means, Faith in the Mediator, in the Particulars before explain'd. Now, it being agreed on all Sides, that this Faith carries with it a declar'd moral Obligation, and moft divine Direction to Purity and Holiness of Manners, therefore call'd boly Faith; where there is, and for fo long as there is an Irregularity, or Immorality in the Will as to that fort of Obedience to this Faith, in either not embracing it at all; or not as what it really is; or not putting it to its defign'd Ufe; naturally produces a correfponding Conduct in the Understanding, to keep up fome fort of outward Shew of Confiftency, or fome Kind of Senfe of inward Peace and Quiet in the Agent, fuch as it is. Therefore a refolv'd Adherence in the one fo commonly brings forth a Refusal of the other; a Corruption, or Latitude in one, a Corruption or Latitude in the other; a Neglect of the one, an Inconfideration of the other. Hence it comes to pafs, in the Nature of Things, that fome are Rejecters, others Corrupters by Principle; fome Doubters, others carelefs Negletters of it. 1 1. THE REJECTERS of this Faith are defired to examine their own Breafts, whether fome |