for 'tis my Opinion, they give to both Quarter alike, who are not of their Church.

To itate their Notions more plainly, in order to obviate your Scheme; if we fuppofe the Island of Sicily to have a Set of Popish Bishops, with a fuccef five Impofition of Hands from the Apostles, if those Bishops fhould come to a sense of their Errours, and caft off the Superftitions of Popery, and at the fame time; not refufe Communion with any Branch of the Catholick and undefil'd Church, they would from that time Commence true Catholick Christians and Bishops, of the fame Catholick Church; but no Commision for that purpose can be good, without a Succeffive Impofition of Hands from the Apoftles, because all Epifcopal Powers are deriv'd from them alone; if therefore Martin Luther fhou'd have call'd himself a Bishop, he wou'd have been as far from being really fo, as an Ufurper wou'd be from a Lawful King.

Upon fuch a Succeffion our Reformation is Built, which has been Preferv'd like a Jewel in a Dung, hill, Safe, thro'all the Corruptions and Filth of Popery: And 'tis like a Commiffion from a Prince which retains its Reputation and Vigour, altho' it has been Ravish'd by Rebels, and Abus'd beyond the purpose thereof.

You ask a Material Question, p. 84. viz. If false Doctrines Juftifie a Separation from a Regular Succeffion of Bishops. Who is the Judge of thefe falfe Doftrines?

I Anfwer, That in plain and evident Points, a private Confcience is judge; but in difputed and undetermin'd Points, a private Judgment takes no place; but the Refolution of the Church must be expected.

If a Prince Commands me to break the 5th Commandment, my private Confcience Commands me

to

to Difobey him, but this does not give me a Power to draw to my Decifion, Queftions foreign in their Nature to an exprefs moral Command.

The perfuafion of an erroneous Confcience has no place in this Difpute between you and my felf; for the Confcience cannot be deceived in plain Morality, and if the mind of Man will pry into dubious Queftions, it can be no more justifiable or valid, than if a Civilian fhould arrogate to himself a Branch of Judicature in the common Law of Eng

land.

Your 86 and 87 Pages speak their Author to be a true Son of Latitude, you plead therein as much for Judaifm and Mahometanifm as for Christianity; you make every Man's Confcience to be ftandard in all cafes, for if the Confcience can never be fo far wrong as to make a Man incapable of being juftified by any Determination thereof; I cannot tell but there may be found confcientious Jews, and Confcientious Mahometans, and for ought I know to the contrary, confcientious Hotentots: But if all Religions are reduc'd to this level, farwel all Religious Contests. The Nonjuring end the publick Churches are both Right, if well meaning honest Perfons can be found therein.

You may endeavour to fling this off as the refult of the Nonjuring Principles, but 'tis purely your own, for if you deny all Church Authority, fuch Confequences infallibly flow. Your 88th Page opens the Scene, and you tell the Laity in plain terms, that the first Reformers, fcorn'd to infift upon fuch Trifles as a regular fucceffion of Clergy, (which by the by, is an utter Falfhood;) They reformed upon a perfuafion in their own Minds of the neceffity of departing from the Papift, and yet this very Notion you call an unchurching one in the preceding Paragraph, this unchurching Principle you have carried

on to a compleat height in your 89 Page, we cannot without renouncing Christianity expect Gods Graces, Benedictions, or Abfolutions from any Hands but his own, nor can we put the eternal Happiness of Mankind in their agreeing on external Communion with any one particular fet of Clergy without affronting God.

Altho' I have not declar'd my felf of any parti cular Communion hitherto, I do affure you, I am as one upon a worfe occafion faid before me, a Chris ftian; and I muft at the fame time affure you L cou'd forgive the last cited Paragraph from a Jem, a Turk, an Indian, Brachman, to come nearer, a Toland, a Collins, or any one but a Chriftian Bishop, under the fair pretence of afferting the Vitals of Religi on, and the Caufe of Jefus Chrift, Horefco Refereno, you have, as far as lay in your Power, made the Christian Religion a mere Imposture, you have made the Church of England only the Youngeft Daughter of Delufion, and the Nurfery of Prieftcraft.

For if the terms of Salvation do not depend upon any fet of Men, a fet of Clergy is fo far unneceffary, that Salvation may be as compleatly obtain'd without them; Preaching is the only part of their Office which can be ufeful to Mankind, and that no farther than as it harangues the People into à Confideration of Religion.

Adminiftring the Sacraments is a mere infignificant Operation; they are no terms of Salvation, and confer no Grace. The Bishops have no Power of Benedictions, confequently when they Bless the People they Lye in their Hearts, because they have.

no Power

But then, Sir, you are inexcufable in not Renouncing a Character which has entail'd upon you fuch pretended Powers; you was fent forth when

you

you was Ordain'd Prieft with a Power of Forgiving and Retaining Sins, and Afferting fuch Power is as you fay Renouncing Chriftianity, you have already Renounc'd it in Form, by receiving Orders in that Church, which in the Service for the Sick has repeated the Power of Abfolution in as ftrong Terms as Words can make.

Our Lord Jefus Chrift who hath left Power to his Church to Abfolve all Sinners who truly Repent and Believe in him, of his Great Mercy forgive thee thine Offences, and by his Authority committed to me I Abfolve thee from all thy C Sins; in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft: There the Abfolute and Authoritative Act of the Prieft is fully and compleatly exprefs'd, nor can I give a better Comment thereon than Mr. Chillingworth's, a Man of as Candid, Free, Impartial Thought as ever liv'd.

.

.

Can any be fo unreasonable as once to imagine with himself that when our Saviour after his Refurrection, having receiv'd, as himself faith, all Power, both in Heaven and Earth, having led Captivity Captive, and came then to bestow Gifts upon Men, when he, I fay, in fuch a Solemn manner, having first Breath'd i his Difci

ples; thereby Conveying and Infinuating the Holy "Ghost into their Hearts, Renew'd unto them, or C rather Confirm'd unto them and Seal'd that Glorious Commiffion which before he had given to Peter; fuftaining as it were the Perfon of the whole Church, whereby he delegated to them an Authority of Binding and Loofing Sins upon Earth, with a Promife that the Proceedings in the Court of Heaven fhou'd be Regulated by theirs on Earth; can any Man, I fay, think fo unworthy of our Saviour as to esteem thofe Words of his no better than Complement, for Court Holy Wa

ter. Yet fo Impudent have our Adverfaries of < Rome been in their Dealings with us, that they have 'dar'd to lay to, our Charge, as if we had fo mean a Conceit of the Gift of our Saviour's Keys, taking Advantage indeed from the unwary practice ' of fome Divines, who, out of too forward Zeal ' against the Church of Rome, have bended the Staff too much the contrary way, and instead of taking C away the Intolerable Burden of Sacramental, Univerfal neceffary Confeffions have feem'd to void and fruftrate all the Ufe and Exercife of the Keys.. Serm. 1. p. 100.

Matters again ftanding as you fee they do, fince 'Chrift for our Benefit and Comfort, hath given fuch Authority to his Minifters, upon your unfeign'd Repentance and Contrition to Abfolve and Release you from your Sins, Why shou'd I doubt or be unwilling to Exhort and Perfwade you to 'make the Advantage of this Gracious Promife of our Saviour's? Why fhou'd I envy you the participation of fo Heavenly a Bleffiing? Truly if I fhou'd deal thus with you, I fhou'd prove my felf a Malicious, Unchriftian, and Malignant Preacher, 'I fhou'd Wickedly and Unjustly, against my own Conscience, feek to Defraud you of thofe Glorious Bleffings which our Saviour hath intended for you ib.

،

He clofes up afterwards thus.

'You fee I have dealt honeftly and freely with you, it may be more freely than I fhall be thank'd for. But I fhou'd have Sinn'd against my own Soul, if I had done otherwife, I fhou'd have Confpir'd ' with our Adverfaries of Rome against our own Church, in affording them fuch an Advantage to Blafpheme our moft Holy and Undefil'd Religion. ib.