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ligion we profefs, and the master whom we ferve? Ah! my brethren, it must wound cvery Christian heart only to think of them. He would ask you with difdain, Which of thefe hoftile parties he is to inlist himself with? for one or other of them, he will think, he must join, if he is to be a Chriftian. But in his prefent difpofition, as a Heathen, he wifhes no ill to any of his fellow-creatures who do not invade his rights; and why should he involve himself in unneceffary broils and quar. rels? If it be alledged, that these wars are waged and carried on in the cause of Heaven, he will wonder, in the first place, how Heaven fhould come to have fo many oppofite and contradictory caufes to maintain at once; and then how it fhould come to ftand in need of the feeble efforts of human wrath and violence to affert its interefts. He would ask you, Whether Jefus Chrift intended to eftablifh one religion for his difciples, or a number of different ones? If the latter was his defign, he will fay, he feems to have fucceeded; but then, what is it you call the Christian" religion? If the former, how comes it to pass that his followers are in fact of so many different religions? Did he himself underftand what he intended to appoint? and did he know how to exprefs it? It would feem not, will the Heathen fay, fince his difciples cannot agree in faying what his religion is. You call the church of Chrift his kingdom; and you fay, that he who is the king of it

has

has all power in heaven and in earth. But while I, fays the infidel, behold this kingdom fo much divided against itself, I must conclude, that it is, fome how or other, very ill administered; and that the head of it wants either the power or the will to reduce it to order and peace. Did he intend to fow the feeds of eternal ftrife and difcord among men ? and to fet up a kingdom, wherein his fubjects fhould always purfue oppofite interefts in his name, and be perpetually hating and devouring one another for his fake * ?

I forbear, my brethren, to exprefs all the reproaches and blafphemies which the Heathen will be apt to pour out upon our holy religion, and its founder, while they fee the Christian world fplit into fuch a multitude of oppofite and contending parties, all intent upon each others ruin; and that, in those places † where there feems to be the greateft uniformity among them, matters are ftill a great deal worfe; because it is not a real uniformity, but only apparent; an uniformity not owing to choice or conviction, but to the groffeft ignorance and hypocrify; fupported only by the conftant exertion of an oppreffive worldly power, which either induftrioufly keeps them in the dark, or elfe forces them to diffemble their real fentiments, and to profefs outwardly what their hearts abhor.

See a fermon of the Reverend Mr James Peirce of Exon. on 1 Cor. i. 13. † In Popish countries.

Upon

1

Upon the whole, will the Heathen say, here is a fet of men who all profefs to follow one mafter only in the things of religion, and yet in fact each party follows another of their own; a fet of men who fay they belong to one body, and yet are formed into a thoufand feparate bodies, which all difclaim communion with one another; a fet of men, in fine, whom a ftranger would take to be all of one religion, (for they all call themselves Christians), and yet their religions, even according to their own accounts of them, are ás different as light and darknefs. What a contradiction must these Chriftians be! and what muft be the doctrine that infpires them with fuch fentiments, and leads them to fuch a conduct! Is it poffible that it can defcend from above, as they pretend?

But an intelligent Heathen, before he can be brought to attend without prejudice to the nature or evidences of our religion, will be apt to carry his inquiries into the manners of its profeffors fomewhat farther ftill; and from this general view of the Chriftian world, he will turn his eyes to the moral conduct and deportment of particular perfons; and when he finds that great numbers at least, if not the bulk, of Chriftians of all perfuafions, and even those of them who make the greatest noife about their religion, are as fenfual, as covetous, as revengeful, as treacherous and cruel, as Heathens themselves, he will afk, why he fhould be defired to embrace a religion which, VOL. III. N

if

if it does not make him worse, is not likely to make him any better than he is already? Chriftians, he observes, profess mainly to seek the happiness of another world; yet most of them appear to be entirely devoted to the interefts and pleasures of this. If any are otherwife minded, they are but few in comparison, and are generally laughed at by the rest, as fools and enthufiafts. In fhort, they do not follow the principles and maxims of their own religion, which is an argument that they themselves do not believe it. And though they affect to have great zeal for bringing others to the belief of it, and pretend to have no other view in this, but a defire of promoting the welfare of their fellow-creatures, and of making them eternally happy; yet it is manifeft from their conduct, that religion with them is nothing but a mere pretext to cover their bafe and finifter defigns; and that they regard it no farther than as a means of extending their empire over others, or of poffeffing themselves of their treasures.

Thus, I fay, will Heathens and enemies argue against our religion from the conduct of its profeffors; and thefe arguments will be fo many strong and invincible prejudices in their minds, fufficient to make them defpife it, and refufe to take any further trouble in examining, either what it is in itself, or by what evidences its divine authority is fupported. There have been many attempts made by Christians to propagate the gofpel in foreign

parts,

parts, and many fchèmes fet on foot for the converfion of Heathens and infidels; pious, I doubt not, and well meant; but, for my part, the more I confider the fubject now before us, together with the history of paft ages, the lefs hope am I allowed to entertain of the gofpel's being propagated with any great fuccefs abroad, till once it be better propagated at home; or of feeing ftrangers fubmit willingly to the yoke of Jefus Chrift, whilst it is borne with fo bad a grace by fo many of his pretended friends; and particularly, whilft there is fo little union among Chriftians with regard to their common faith. Chriftians ought to act with fome kind of confiftency: they should firft fettle and compofe their dif ferences amongst themfelves, before they pretend to spread that "gofpel of peace" which they profefs among foreigners: they fhould be generally agreed what their religion is, before they undertake to teach it to thofe who are entirely unacquainted with it in a word, they should fhew by their actions, that they themselves are really influenced by the faith of it, before they attempt to make others believe it. Then, indeed, we might juftly hope for the happiest fruits, and for greater triumphs to our religion than it hath had for many ages, but not fooner.

If all that call themfelves Chriftians would agrce to live according to the rules of their religion, which are not lefs clear than excellent; if they would bend their chief attention.

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