there will immediately arife great Distances of Affection:For thefe Divifions, of Reuben there will be great thoughts of heart, furmizings,cenfures, jealousies,raylings,evil speaking, animofities, peevish. nes,malice, perverfe difputings, & every evil way:Each Congregation will have at leaft fome one little Propofition pe culiar to its felf,which all its Profelytes must be known by, which all their Thoughts must be perpetually running upon, & every one else must be called upon to come up to:the smallest gathe red Church cannot hold its Members together,unless it hath some particular thing to engage them upon, & to have them known by, for they cannot with any face feparate from all mankind,but they must have something to fay for it,

This contrivance however it be ab furd and dangerous will notwithstanding that, have alwayes many who will

be

very fond of it; for it is a molt ready way for every forward Fellow to think himself fome body, because he hath adopted himself into fuch a Sect; and then the next thing which he is to think upon is to try if he can

improve

improve the Notion a Hittle farther; for if fo, he fhall be the more taken notice of: And if he finds that his addition is but a little taking, he will then forfake his Masters, to fet up for himself, divide from that Church of which he hath been long a precious Member to gather a purer of his own. And fo his New Light will ferve most bravely for himself to shine in.

But if this had been a new and unheard of Invention, the Contrivers might then have been allowed to en tertain vaft hopes of it; but alas, it hath been often tryed, and hath alwayes brought Confufion along with it: And is it to be wondred at, that in variety of Worships the one doth look upon the other as erroneous, and perhaps impious? And then how lamentably muft that City be divided whose Inhabitants think themfelves bound, as they love God to hate one another; and it hath been often seen, that a Common Enemy hath crept in at these intestine Divifions, and deftroyed both, while the one, by reafon of different Communions, did not

enough

enough care to help the other.

Be our apprehenfions about divine Matters never fo different, I grant that we ought not for the fake of them to be wanting in the common Duties of Humanity to one another, or in our mutual Endeavours after the publick Good. I readily grant, that to be wanting in our affistance in either of these Cafes, is a great error 3 but alafs! it is too general an one, and Law-makers are to confider not only what men ought, but what they ufe to do. Why fhall I fight (faith one) for a Prince who is an Idolater ? and why should I (faith another) take any care to relieve that City which is only a Bundle of Schifmaticks, the greatest part whereof are in my efteem Blafphemers likewife? Jeroboam understood this very well, he did not caft off the true God, but only fet up another way of Worship, as eafily concluding that by perfwading them to be of another Religion, he should easily keep them to be another Kingdom; when their Faiths were once divided, the Nations would

never care to unite again.

And pray, tell me, what shall a Prince do in that Cafe, where are diverse ways of Worship allowed and frequented in the fame Nation? Shall he discountenance the Profeffors of any one, by keeping them out of all Office and Employment? If fo, he difobligeth that whole Profeffion lofeth fo many hearts; who fure will think themselves to be very hardly dealt with, in that they are difrefpected only out of their zeal for God, and because they follow the best of their Light. And what are they like to think of fuch a State, which doth refufe to employ them meerly upon this account, because they have tender Consciences, and dare not be prefent where the Gospel is defiled by a profane mixture of humane Inventions? Or, Secondly, fhall the Prince carry himself equally and indifferently towards all Perfwafions, countenance and prefer them all alike? This can hardly be, because that he himfelf must be of fome one, and that will think it felf not fairly dealt with,

if it have not some preeminence: And when he endeavours to shew himself indifferent to all Perfwafions, there will enough be immediatly ready to give it out, that he makes use of all Religions for his own ends, but himself is really of none; and fo perpaps none of them will be really for him: And thus by endeavouring to displease neither Party, he fhall certainly displease them both, at least the Zealots of all fides will represent him at the best as one lukewarm, and as fuch, only fit to be fpit out of all their Mouths.

Men may talk of their fine projects as long as they please; but furely where the Church is already so settled, as that it hath a great dependance upon the Government, and the Government hath a standing Influence upon that, thofe Politicks muft needs be very strange, which go about to alter or unfettle or put any check upon fuch a Constitution: And in oppofition to a Clergy thus regulated, it is no kindness fure to the Monarchy, to to go about to fet up fuch a Ministry

as