TO THE CONGREGATION AT PASTON, MY DEAR BRETHREN, HAVING more employment in my profession than will admit of my attending upon you so often as I wish, it is my endeavour, when I speak to you from the pulpit, to give you as much truth as I possibly can in a small compass. It can be no offence to any of you to suppose, that as members of a congregation gregation in the Church of England, you may stand in need of some serious admonition, concerning the nature of your profession. Too many there are, who follow the Church from custom, without considering and applying personally to themselves what the Religion of the Church teaches and requires. My business, in what I here present to you, is to put you in mind of the sense and spirit of your worship, and to prove that you can have no just cause to depart from it. It gave me a sincere pleasure to find that I was heard with so much attention when I spake to you upon this subject; and that you wished for an opportunity of reading and laying up in your minds what I then delivered. In consequence of which the following Discourses 1 Discourses are printed, and very affectionately recommended to your farther consideration. That God Almighty may give you his Grace to apply them effectually; to your comfort here, and your eternal happiness hereafter; is the hearty prayer of Your brother and servant, For Christ's sake, August 6, 1796. W. JONES. SERMON XVIII. HEAR THE CHURCH. MATTH. XVIII. 17. THERE are two sorts of Christians, who do not hear the Church; and of these, one sort is IN the Church. There are also two great errors, into which Christian people are betrayed; the first supposes, that the Church will save men without godliness; the second, that godliness will save men without the Church. The first was the error of the Jews, and is now the error of too many, who call themselves Churchmen: the other is the error of those that leave the Church to follow some private way of worship. Very plain rules may be laid down, by which both these parties may judge of themselves, if they will but be honest and sincere: and as the case of the |