558 HOW TO DO,' GOOD 1'o MANY. first 300 years, and in the Arians' reign, and under Popery; but where sound and serious religion is owned by the magistrate, toler- ated churches are but as hospitals for the sick, and must not be the receptacle of,all the healthful. And, doubtless, if the Papists can but get the Protestant interest once into prohibited or tolerated conventicles, (as they will call them,) they have more than half overcome it, andwill not doubt to use it next as they do in France, and by one turn more to cast it out. The countenance of authori- ty will go far with the vulgar against all the scruples that men of conscience stick at, and they will mostly goto the allowed churches, whoever is there. Let us, therefore, lose no possession that we can justly get, nor be guilty of disgracing the honest conformists, but do all we can to keep up their reputation for thegood of souls. They see not matters ofdifference through the same glass that we do: they think us unwarrantably scrupulous. We,think the mat- ter of their sin to be vegy great ; but we knot that before God the degree of guilt is much according to the degree of men's negligence or unwillingness to know the truth, or to obey it ; and prejudice, education, and converse, make great, difference on men's appre- hensions. Charitymustnot reconcile us to sin ; but there is no end of uncharitable censuring each other. , It bath made me admire to hear some men's words against com- prehension, as they call it ; that theywould not have rulers revoke that which they judge to be heinous sin in their impositions, unless they will revoke all that they thinkunlawful', lest it should strength- en the parish churches, and weaken the tolerated or suffering, part. I will not here open the sin of this policy as it deserves ; but I wish , them to' read a small book called ' The Whole Duty of Nations,' said to be Mr. Thomas 'Beverley's. .viii. Ifyou love the common good, take heed lest, any injuries tempt you into sedition or unlawful wars : no man, that never tried them, can easily, believe what enemies wars and tumults are to reli- gion, and to common honesty and sobriety. Men are there so se- rious abouttheir lives and bodily safety that they have no room or time for serious worshiping of God : theLord's day is by necessity made a common day ; and all men's goods are almost common to the will of the soldiers : either power seems to authorize them,. or necessity to allow them to use the goods of others as their own, as if they were incapable of doing wrong : it is their, honor that can kill most ; and how little place there is, for 'love it is easy to conceive. I doubt not but it is lawful to fight for our king or country in a good cause. As nature giveth all private men a .right of private self-defence, and no more, so the same law of nature, which is God's law, giveth all nations a right of public self-defence against
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=