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and render the Man and his Caufe the more ri diculous. And for the other Dangers, the fear of Perfecution, and the loofenefs of their Morals; he muit be a ftrange fort of Chriftian indeed, whom fuch Confiderations can prevail with to fall from his ftedfaftnefs, and hardly worth the while for. any Church to get or to preferve. And tho' I. fhould be glad by any honeft and Chriftian Mean's to promote the Interefts, and enlarge the Borders of the Church of England, yet I must confefs, that I am fo little concern d for fuch Members as these, that on the contrary I could almost wish that all those who will not be perfwaded to live Chriftianly in our Communion, would be fo kind to us as to live Unchriftianly out of it, rather than in it. The lofs of Ten Thousand fuch Profelytes would only leffen our Number, but neither our Honour nor our Intereft; nay, perhaps, would rather help to promote both For I fhould then begin to hope, that God: had indeed a Bleffing in ftore for us, could I once fee thefe Fonas's caft out, for whofe fake, perhaps, it is that the prefent Storm is fallen upon us; and whofe departure from us, may therefore, for ought I know, be the likelieft means to reftore to us the Bleffing of Peace and Security again.

But if there be then nothing in thefe Temptations that should draw us afide from our ftedfafinefs, I am fure,

2dly, There is more than enough in what St. Peter here offers, to engage us to continue firm to it. And because I may not now enlarge my felf, I will rather point it out to you, than infist upon it. For,

ift. It is with us now, as it was with the Chriftians in St. Peter's time: Thofe who would draw H

us

us away from our fedfaftnefs to the true Catho lick Faith, would bring in dangerous, I am unwilling with the Apoftle to fay, damnable Herefies, in the ftead of it. We do indeed charitably hope, That they, who by the Providence of God have been born in a different Communion from us, and bred up all their lives not only in an utter l norance of the right Faith, but in an irreconcilable hatred to it; who have been taught to damn us as Hereticks and Schifmaticks, and to value themfelves upon the fcore of their own pretended Catholicifm, if they are otherwife fincere in that Faith which they profess, and repent them truly of their fins, but especially of their uncharitableness to thofe that differ from them, may, through the extraordinary Mercy of God, be faved, notwithftanding fuch their Errors. But for us, who know their delufions; that whil'ft they damn all others as Hereticks, they are indeed themselves the moft perverse and obftinate that ever were; fhould we forfake our Truth, and go over to them, that lite tle Argument so often used on thefe occafions, That we confefs Men may be faved in their Church, but that they utterly deny they can be fo in Ours, and therefore that it is better to be on theirs, i.e. the fafer fide, would ftand us in fmall ftead ; and for all this Sophiftry, we fhould certainly. run a very great hazard of being damn'd for falling away; from our own fedfaftness. But,

2dly. A fecond Motive which our Apostle here offers to engage us to fuch a Conftancy, will arife from the Confideration of the exceeding great punishment that fhall be the confequence of fuch an Apoftacy. Now that in this cafe was fo much the more to be confider'd, in that the Punishment

which St. Peter here fpeaks of, was to fall upon them even in this prefent world. The Prophecies of Chrift for the Deftruction of the Jews being now juft ready to be accomplish'd, and in which the Apoftatizing Chriftians were alfo to be involved. But however, I neither have, nor would defire to have any fuch profpect with reference to the Seducers and their Profelytes in our Days, whofe Converfion, tho' I heartily with, yet, I thank God, I never did, I hope I never fhall defite their DeAruction: Yet certainly the Argument ought never the lefs to be confider'd, because it refpects only the Miferie's of another Life. There is more than enough in the confideration of Eternal Torments, to move the most indifferent Perfon, both to confider, and, if it may be, to prevent the enduring of them. And however Men may pleafe to put the Evil Day far from them, and hope that it fhall not, because it is their Intereft that it fhould not, too foon overtake them; yet neither can any of us fay how foon it may come upon us; and were it at never fo great diftance, yet let us but remember that when it does come, it brings an Eternity along with it, and we fhall be forced to confefs, That no prefent Confiderations, how great foever they may seem to be, are yet fit to ftand in Competition with it.

He must be a very foolish, or a very neceffitous Man indeed, that would part with the certain Reverfion of a Thoufand Pounds a Year, for the obtaining a prefent Peny. And yet fuch, or rather God knows infinitely greater, is the folly of that Man, who for any fecular Advantages whatfoever, fells his Soul; and thereby not only lofes his Title to all the Joys and Glories of Heaven, but exchanH 2

ges

ges them for a dreadful Portion of Fire and Brimflone for ever.

Bleffed Saviour! What is there in all thofe little Enjoyments Men here purfue with fo much greedinefs, that for the fake of them We fhould deny Thee, and that Faith which muft fave us when we appear before thee in Fudgment ! Behold! yet a little while, and there we must ftand to render a strict Account of all our Actions, and receive according to what we have done in the body, whether it be good or evil. And what then will all these Interests and Advantages avail us? What profit Shall we then have, tho' we could have gain'd the whole World, when we shall have loft our own Souls for the doing of it? How will it then please us, that we have renounc'd our Faith to preferve thofe little Enjoyments that are now no more; but the fad punishment of the foul Apoftacy to which they have tempted us, will continue for ever? Certainly, were the complying Hypocrite, but capable of reflecting what fhall be the end of his Apoftacy; could he but once think with the Prophet, Who can dwell with everlafting burnings? he would need no other motive to convince him of the Folly of fuch Courtly compliance, and to keep him from falling away from his own ftedfaftness.

3dly. But the Apoftle adds yet another Motive, and which having mention'd, I fhall conclude. We have feen the fad, the unspeakable, and what is. yet more, the eternal Mifery of him that falls from his fedfaftnefs. Could I now reprefent to you the as infinite Reward of the conftant Chriftian; could I delineate to you but a fmall part of thofe Joys which are prepared for fuch an One; what an il

luftrious

luftrious Crown of Glory fhall adorn his triumphant Head to all Eternity: I might then hope to have fully accomplish'd the Defign of this Exhortation, and to have effectually fecured you against falling away from your fedfaftness.

But this is an Argument above my Capacity to illuftrate. Eye hath not feen, nor ear I Cor. ii. 9. heard, nor does it enter into the heart of man to conceive, what God has prepared for them that love him. We have neither thoughts to imagine any thing comparable to its greatness, much less words to exprefs it. And methinks even this fhould be enough to recommend it to us, that we are not able to express it. That its Excellency fo far furpaffes whatever experience we can pretend to of any felicity in this Life, that we cannot fo much as found upon it any tolerable Apprehenfions of the Foys and Glories of the other. At least, this I am fure, that it ought to be more than enough to convince you, how incomparably more worthy our defires and purfuits fuch a reward of our firmness is, than whatsoever can be offered to draw us afide from it.

And now having fhown you both what it is to be truly fedfaft in our Faith, and how great an Obligation there lies upon us fo to be; what remains, but that I briefly close all with the last particular I proposed to speak to,

III. How highly neceffary in its felf, but efpecially how advantageous to this great end it is, that we should all of us endeavour what in us lies, To grow in Grace, and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Fefus Chrift?

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