XII.

SERM. and his holy Doctrines fet at naught; will it not be fome Comfort to those who profess themselves his Difciples, and Believers in him, to reflect a little that all fuch Reproaches, upon our Religion and it's Author, conduce in the End to the Advancement of the one, and the Glory of the other? And that by how much the Oppofition is more malicious and fierce, by fo much the Truth will come out at last more fplendid and bright? To give you then this Confolation at least, under that Deluge of Infidelity now broke in fo violently upon us, I fhall take Occafion from the Words Text to fhew

of

my

I. FIRST, How unreasonable it is to expect any otherwise than that Herefies, or Oppofitions to our Faith, fhould arise: And

II. SECONDLY, That when they do arise, they are always of Use and Benefit to the Church. And

I. FIRST, That it is unreasonable to expect otherwise than that Herefies should arise in the Church, St. Paul plainly hints by faying, they must be: There muft (faith he) alfo be Herefies among you. And that he means, by Herefies, Doctrines oppofite to fundamental

Articles

XII.

Articles of our Faith, is evident, because he SR RM. had spoken of their Schifms, or Divifions about leffer Points before: For in the Verfe immediately preceding, First of all (faith he) when ye come together in the Church, I hear that there be DIVISIONS, or, as the Greek expreffes it, SCHISмs amongst you, and I partly believe it: Now thefe Schifms or Divifions, as the remaining Part of the Chapter fhews, were about the Manner of their receiving the Communion of our Saviour's Body and Blood. He had heard of their Disorders, Confufions and Divifions relating to this Cafe, and in part he believed it: For there must also (faith he) be Herefies; or as the Words may be tranflated (Δεῖ γὰρ καὶ αἱρέσεις) There mult even be HERESIES among you, i. e. Oppofitions to the principal Articles of your Religion (as the Word generally fignifies in the Holy Scriptures) and therefore it is not incredible that Diffenfions and Divifions or Schifms fhould arife about Ceremonies and Things of less Importance. It is what the Logicians call Argumentum a Majore, an Argument where a lefs Thing is inferred from a greater. So that it is plain, the Apoftle mentions Schifms in one Verfe, and Herefies in the other, the Word Herefies muft fignify not only fome

SERM. thing different from Schifm, but also fomeXII. thing more pernicious and poisonous to the

Church.

And fuch Herefies (fays the Apoftle) muft be among you: The Words are stronger in the Greek, than they are in the Tranflation: Δεῖ γὰρ καὶ αἱρέσεις ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι : It behoves, it is fit, it is necessary that there should be even Herefies amongst you: They must be through the Obstinacy and Perverseness of Men; and they must be for the Trial and Exercise of the Church. The former of these Caufes belongs to my prefent Head, the other will properly introduce me to the next.

And in the first Place, I fuppofe the Apostle to affert the Neceffity of Herefies in the fame Sense that our Saviour afferts the Neceffity of Offences. It must needs be (faith he) that Offences come, Mat. xviii. 7. i. e. Confidering the natural Difpofitions and Tempers of Men, they cannot but arife: It is impoffible (as it is expreffed by another Evangelift) but that they will come, Luke xvii. 1. Not that the Neceffity of fuch Offences is abfolute, or to be imputed to any Compulfion upon Men from God: No, furely: For then our Lord would not fo immediately have subjoined, But wo to that Man by whom the Offence cometh.

XII.

The Neceffity of Offences therefore is only SER M. conditional, and upon Suppofition of the unreftrained Wickednefs and Oppofition of Men, which, unless kept in by a Force which God will never ufe, will naturally and neceffarily caufe Offences in the World. And just so it is in the Cafe before us: The Neceffity of Herefies does not arife from any Act of God's ordaining, but from the Pride, Vain-glory, Envyings and Contentions which will always be in the Minds of Men, and from God's Permiffion that Men fo affected fhould act according to the corrupt Inclinations and Difpofitions of their Hearts: Juft as Diseases will arife neceffarily in the Body, whilft Men are guilty of Intemperance and Debauchery which are the Sources of them. The common Frailties therefore and Corruptions of human Nature must neceffarily make way for Herefies in a Society compofed of Men: For [to borrow the Reasonings of a beauteous Preacher * on this very Text] "Chriftianity, though "it prefcribes the best Rules for the Govern

ment of our Paffions, and has provided the "noblest Support to our Infirmities; yet "does not intend to force or conftrain our

* Dr. Rogers's Act Sermon, p. 4, &c.

VOL. II.

R

"Obedience

SERM." Obedience to it's Laws, or to over-rule

XII.

our Liberty of tranfgreffing them. And "whenever the Want of Humility happens "C to be the defective Part of a Man's Tem

per or Virtue, a Perfon eminent in other "Refpects for his Graces and Abilities may "be the Occafion of this Evil to the Church. "A fuperior Knowledge, unless corrected with

a due Proportion of Modefty, is apt to elate " and puff up; to render us less capable of "Inftruction, and lefs fubmiffive to Autho"rity, than the Peace and Order of the "Church requires. It cannot but be observed "that of all Parts of our Knowledge, we are "inclined to be fondeft of thofe in which we "differ from other Men. Obvious and in

difputable Truths are generally regarded " with Indifference: 'Tis the Singularity "and Diftinction of our Knowledge, the

discovering fomething that others have "overlooked, which ftrikes us with Vanity "and affects us with Pleasure. This we la"bour to fupport with Arguments, and a"dorn with all our Eloquence, as an Ac

quifition of our own, and in which we imagine ourselves to have a fort of Property, exclufive of all the reft of Mankind. "And fo long as this Ambition is confined

ce

"to