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Men will be afraid to imitate them, when they who fet the Example, get nothing but an ill Name by it: It makes fome men think that all Religion is a Cheat, and has nothing but this World at the bottom, when the more zealous men appear in doing good, the more they are fufpected of Hypocrify, and worldly Defigns.

And thus on the other hand, (as we know Mankind are very partial in their Affections) when those who do very wicked Actions, shall ftill be thought good men, and maintain their Reputation in the World, as having the root of the matter in them, though they are not without their Failings; this makes men believe, that they may be good, and yet live wickedly, if they do but take care of their Hearts; and they can easily perfuade themselves, that their Hearts are very good.

It were eafy to reckon up a great many Mifchiefs of this judging MensHearts, especially when Cenfures fall upon the Minifters of Religion, which weakens their Authority, and Counfels and Examples, and Reproofs; which was the cafe of St. Paul himself, who it feems was cenfured on all hands, but appeals from Man's Judgment to the Judgment of God; With me it is avery Small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's Judgment: yea, I judge not my felf: For I know nothing by my Self, yet am I not hereby justify'd: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the bidden things of darkness, and make manifeft the counfels of the heart: and then fhall every man have praise of God, I Cor. 4. 3, 4, 5.

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Let us then judge of mens Actions according to thofe Rules of Good and Evil which the Gospel has given us, but leave their Hearts to God,who alone knows the Secrets of Hearts, and who alone can judge them: This is God's Prerogative, and it is Prefumption in us to intermeddle with it; and worse than that, it is very dangerous too, with refpect to our own Account at the laft Judgment, as our Saviour tells us, 7. Mat. 1,2. Judge not, that ye be not judged: For with what judgment

ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you again. So that if we will judge, we ought to be favourable and charitable in our Judgment, if we defire to be judged favourably by God; And I believe there is none of us but will confefs, that we ftand in need of a very favourable Judgment; that God fhould make great Allowances for the Weakness, Ignorance, Folly, Miftakes, Inadvertencies, Surprizes, Temptations of Human Nature; and if we are fo far from making any favourable allowances for the Mifcarriages of our Brethren, that we fearch into their very Hearts and Thoughts, to find something to quarrel with; either to aggravate visible Faults; or to turn appearing and vifible Virtues into Faults, what may we expect from the Juft and Righteous Judge of the World? It is a known Rule of Righteoufnefs, To do as we would be done to; and all Mankind think it very juft, to fuffer what we do, to receive the fame measure we mete to others; and therefore we may make a Law to our felves, and by a fevere, rigorous, uncharitable Judgment of men, make God, not an Unjuft but yet a Severe and Rigorous Judge of us;

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And if he be fevere to mark what we have done amifs, who can stand before him?

2dly, As we muft not judge mens Hearts and Thoughts, much lefs muft we judge their Final State; to condemn them to Eternal Miseries, or to advance them to Eternal Glories, as we please; for this is to pre-judge the Judgment of God, and to prescribe to him, whom he fhall fave, and whom he fhall damn, by our own byafs'd and partial Affections. It becomes us to take care of our own Accounts, and to leave other men to the merciful Judgment of God: It is an argument of a very ill temper of mind, when men are hafty and forward in pronouncing the Sentence of Damnation againft others; it looks as if they had a mind fuch men fhould be damned; as if they would direct God what to do, left he should be too merciful: It is enough for us to confider what the Terms of Salvation are, which the Gospel has propofed to us; and to take care to perform thefe Terms our felves; whether other men have performed them or not, 'tis none of our business to judge; that God will do when he comes to judge the World: But all pious and charitable Chriftians, who confider what it is to be damned, are very unwilling to pronounce this Sentence upon any man.

Our Church has been extreamly blamed by fome men, for that Charity fhe has expreffed in her Of fice of Burial,towards all that die in her Communion,when the teaches us to pray,We meekly beseech Thee, O Father, to raife us from the death of Sin, unto the life of righteousness, that when we shall depart this

Life, we may reft in him, as our hope is this our Brother doth. And yet it may be the Perfon then buried, is known to have lived a very wicked and profligate Life: And how can we exprefs our Hope of the Salvation of fuch a man?

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Now the truth is, our Church never intended this Office of Burial for men of Profligate Lives, no more than fhe intended that fuch men fhould live and die in her Communion; for this Office is only for those who die in the Communion of the Church; and were Church-Difcipline duly exercis'd, all fuch notorious Sinners must have been flung out of Church-Communion: And those who raife the Clamour about this, have been one great Hindrance of exercising Difcipline, having weakened the Power and Authority of the Church by their Schifms and Factions: But taking things as they are, I confefs I can fee no Impiety in it, nor any fuch mighty Fault as is pretended. The Church does not pretend to judge any man's Final State, how wicked foever his Life was, that is God's Work, and the leaves them to him; and what great Fault is it to hope well, when we can't pretend to know enough of the worst of men, especially of the end and conclufion of their Lives, to pass a Final Sentence on them? there are a great many degrees of Hope, and one degree but the next remove from Defpair; that is, but the next remove from pronouncing Damnation against them and if we muft not do that, we may fay, we hope ftill: Suppofe our Hope be no more than a charitable Wifh, how can that offend God that we wish well even to very bad men? An excess of Charity, an Unwillingness

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that any Man fhould be eternally miferable, is no Fault; I am fure it is a greater to pronounce the final Sentence of Damnation against any Man.

But it is faid, That this encourages his wicked Companions who attend his Funeral, to hope they may be faved too, though they perfift in their Wickedness to the laft, as he did. Now indeed what little Matters may encourage fuch Men in Sin, I cannot fay, but there is no reafon that a faint and charitable Wifh fhould do this: If they know the Gofpel of Chrift, they know that he has threatned eternal Damnation against all impenitent Sinners; if they know the Do ctrine of the Church, they know the teaches the very fame thing; if they faw their wicked Com panion die, they faw his dying Horrors and Ago nies too, which few of them die without, if they have any time to confider their State; and when they know and fee all this, is there any reafon to hope they shall be faved in their Wickednefs, only because the Church will not Damn them, but referves them to the Judgment of God, and fends her charitable Wishes after them? At leaft this can be no Encouragement, when they are forewarned before-hand of it; which is the chief Reason why I take notice of it at this time.

Upon the fame Principle, I am not afhamed to own I have always been averfe to that Dif pute about the Salvation of Heathens; for this is to fit in Judgment on three parts of the World, and I am not the Judge of the World, nor of any part of it; and yet I know not what Character and Cenfures this plain Confef I 2

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