1)ire8ions for you11g [hrifliaizs. verfing With your fdvcs; like a man that is afraid to lye in his own hoU{e when he ihinks i; ~~~ntcd with feme apparitions. And th~s the pevil w?uld make all your Religion to.be but like the unwinding of abottom of Yarn, or a Skem of Silk that tsnvelled ~that you rrlay cafi tt away tn1wea~ rincfs or d•efpair. 9 . 5 • Your Remedy againfi this dai1gerous temptation is, to remember thin you. are yet young in knowledge, ana that .Ignorance is like ~ariznefi that will caufe douhtr and di.fficultier a'.'d fears ; and that all tbcfe will vamfh as your L1ght mcreafeth .: and therefore you muft watt mpattence, till y\?~ riper knowledge fit you for fatisfaelion: And in the !"~an time be f~re ihat .you take up .Yo~r hearts moll with the great, fundamental, neccffary, p!am and certam p01tlts, Whtch your falvatton IS laid upon and which are more fuitcd tQ your fiate and ll(ength: If you will be gnawing bones, \9hcn y 01 ; 0 1onld be fuckin~ milk, a~1d have not patience to (lay till you are pafl your childhood, no .marvel if you find them hard, and If ther flick m your throats, or break your teeth. See that you live upon God in Chrifl, and love and pra6t1fc what you know, and thmk of the excellency of fo much as is already revealed to you : You know already what IS the end that you muft feek, and where your Happinefs 'confifteil}; and what Chrifl hath done to prepare it for you, and how you muft be juftitied and fanelitiedand walk withGod.: Have y~n God, and Chrift, atid Heaven to think on and all the mercies of the Gofpel to dehght m, and w11l ydu lay by thefe as common,matters, or'overlook them, and perplex 'your felv'es abO,ut every difficulty in yOur way? Make cleanWorkbe– fore you as you go, and live in ~he joyful acknowledgement 0( ~he Mer~i~s w~ich )~ou hav~ rece~vcd, and of the pradlcc of t~c things you know, and the!, your difficult!CS Will vamfh as you 55 go on. f 5 'I · ..~ d · h h ·r f S 11 · d d. ' ' ·· · 9.6. 2 .Anothero aranswieSts, toco'UO'u'n youwtt t enoaeo t a:zu, an 1ver.s .opm1- i.Byvarious ons in Religion: while the Popifh Se& tell you rhat if you will be faved, you muft.}ie bf I heir S•Eh. Chnr<h; and others fay, you mnft be of theix5: And when you find that the SeCts are many, and their reafonings fuch as you cannot anfwer, fbu will be in danger either to take up fome of their Sed i'(!r~rbat d~ceits, or to be confound;d among them all, not k,nowing which Church and Religidn to ~~~0J~i~~;5 choofe. bominumque , diflenlio: Et qui 1 non iden; ~omin;it in fenlibus, hos .n:.ttur:l ctrtos fU~:.tmus: Jtla qur al~is li~, aliis fcc~1s, n~c ii~de~ fempcr ut\o modo vidcn~ tur, fil\ae!Te dtc~mus; Q!lOd ell lbngc ahtu.--AnimJs omnC1tenduntut mfidt<£,&c. Cucrodt L~~Jb.lt. 1.p:tg.19I, V:i.c.rt, §· 7· But here confider, that tl!ere is but One Univerful .Church of Chriflians in the world, of which ChrH\ is the Only King and Head~ an~ every Chri~1an is a member. You were Sacram~ntally adinitted into this Catho\'ick Church by Bapufm, and SpU'ituaUy by your being born of tbe Spirit: 'you have all the promifes of the Gofpel, th~t if you Believe in Chrift you fhall be faved ; ancf that all the Jiving members of this Chur<h are loved by Chrill as members of his body, and {ball be prefented nnfpotted to the Father, by him who is the Saviour of his body, Eph. 5· 23, 24, 25,26 27 , 2 9. And that b.yOm Spirit r;e are all ~aptized or enlete4 into thi1. ~ne body, 1 CO!· 12· 12, ~3: Ifthen thou hafl[aztiJ, and love, and the Spmt, thou art ccrtamly a Chrijhan, and a meml>er ofChntt and of this Vniverfal Church of Chrillians. And if ther·e were any other Church, but whar are th; Part! of this one) then this were not Vniverfal, and Chrifl: mufi: have two bodies. Thou art not faved for being a member of tlie Church of Rome, or Corinth, or Ephefur, or Philippi, or 1hcf!alonica, or of any other fuch; but for being a member of the Vniverfal Church or bMy ofChrijf, that is, a Cbrijlian. And as thou art a fubje& of the King, and a member of this Kingdom, whatever Corpo– ration thou be a member of ( perhaps fometirne ofone, and fornetime of another ) fo thou art a fubjc& of Chriil, what ever p"ticular Church thou be of: For it is no Church, if they be not C~njli: mtr, or fubjeels ofChril\. For one SeCt then to fay, Ourr is the true Chu'rch; and anothe'r ,to fay, Nay, but ours i~ the true Church, is as mad as to dif~ut~, whether your Hall, or Kitchin, or Par1or; orColc-houfc, ts your Hotife : and for one to fay, Thts IS the Houfe; and another, Nay, bUt it iS that : wlien a child can tell them, that the befl is but a part, and the houft conraineth them all ! Ancl for the Papifls that take on them to be the whole, and deny all others to be Chri!lians and faved except the fubje~s of the Pope of Rome, it isfo irrational, Antichrifiian a fiCtion and ufurpation: and udious, cruell and groundlefs a damn'!fion, of the far greateil part of the body ofChrill, that its fitter for dctrj!aiion, than di.jprite. And if fuch a crack would frighten the world out ol their wits, no doubt but other Bifhops alfo would make ufe of it, and fay, All are damned that will not be f~bje& to us. But if you would fee the folly and mifchiefdPopery, both in this and other points, I refer you to my Treatifeof the CatboliclzChurch, and my 'Kej for'Catholick.J, .and my S'afe Religion, and my Di.jpmat. again]! J olmfon, and my Winding-jbeetf.r Popery. 9. s. 3· Another temp<ation to confound you in your Religion, is, by filling your heads witb Pro· i. By ScmFil' ili!:al fcruprtlofiiy ; fo that you cannot go on for doubting every llep wHethc:r you go right : and lofiry. when you fhould cheerfully ferve your Mailer, you will do nothing but difquiet your minds with fcruples, whether this or that be right"Ot wrdng. Your remedy here, is not by calling away all care of pleafing God, br fear of fii1ning, or by debauehing·cbnfcience; but by a cheesful and quiet obedience to God, fo far as you knoW his will, and an upright willingnefs and endeavour to i.tnder1\and it better ; and a thankful receiting tlie Gofpel-pardon for your failings and idfitmities. Be faithful in your obedience; but live ilill ~pon Chrifl, andt~ink not of real:hing to any fuch obedi~ ence, as {ball fet ~ou above the need ·of hiS ments, and a aa~Jy pardon of your tins: Do th~ hi!]! ysl. ean to k_now the wtll of God and d, 1t: Bur when you know the Elfentials of Religion, oind obey- tin1 cerely;
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