SER M. to know whether you love the Lord your God XII. with all your Heart, and with all your soul Deut. xiii, 1, 2, 3. It was no Virtue in them to adhere to their own God, fo long as they were ignorant of any others: But if when Prophets came with Signs and Wonders, and tempted them to the Worship of strange Gods; if they then continued firm in the Worship of the God of Ifrael; they fhewed themselves his true and faithful Servants, and by no Means to be deluded from their Obedience to

him. This Trial therefore God was pleased to give them, by fuffering fuch Prophets to arife among them, that fo their Virtue might not be concealed for want of Opportunities of fhewing it. And for this Reafon St. Paul tells us, in the Words of my Text, it is neceflary there should be Herefies in the Chriftian Church, viz. that they which ftand the Proof may be made manifeft. Not that we are to believe that God makes fome Men Hereticks on purpose to manifeft the Orthodoxy of others; But only that he permits (as I have already obferved) Men beforehand affected with Pride and Vain-Glory, and addicted to Strife, Envyings and Contentions, to act according to thofe corrupt Affections and Difpofitions their Hearts. For this will naturally lead

them

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XII.

them to love and embrace new Doctrines and SER M. Opinions: And by this Means it will again happen that the humble, peaceable and fincere Christians will be distinguished and made known.

Thus then we fee that one Benefit arifing to the Church from the fpreading of Herefies, is the Manifeftation of thofe Members of it that are found and orthodox. And this brings to my Mind a directly different Confequence of the fame Means; and that is the clearing and purging it from fuch Members as are uselefs and unprofitable. And of these we may obferve two forts, the one light and wavering, the other wicked and fcandalous. The first Sort of these Men, I mean the Wavering and Inconftant, are indeed always forward enough to distinguish themselves, being, as the Apostle. fpeaks, continually like Children, toffed to and fro, and carried about with every Wind of Doctrine, Ephef. iv. 14. They think they must be of fome Religion, and therefore they profess one: But are very indifferent in their Choice, and for that Reafon are always upon the Change. But we know that lukewarm Chriftians God has an Abhorrence to; he has declared that those who are neither bot nor cold he will spue out of his Mouth; Rev.

iii. 16.

t

SERM. iii. 16. i. e. feparate them from the Congre

XII.

gation of fteady Chriftians: And therefore in order to effect it, he fuffers Herefies and Schifms to arife, that fuch Perfons as are only led by an Affectation of Novelty, and Love of Variety might be drawn from its Communion by the most natural Means.

And as these are thus feparated from the Church upon their own Accounts; fo doth God fometimes ufe the fame Method to remove the other Sort I just now mentioned, the Wicked and Scandalous, for the fake of the Faithful. For from these a more immediate Danger impends the Church: Nothing being apt to spread further or fafter, than the Infection of loose Principles and ill Examples. As therefore in the natural Man, it is always thought prudent to bear the Lofs of a mortified Member, rather than endanger the whole Body; fo in the Cafe before us, God rather chufes to cut off an infectious Part, than that the whole Church fhould be corrupted. But as the Method of Providence is feldom to use Violence; fo here he accomplishes his Defign by second Caufes; only permitting false Teachers to arife, by which Means thofe, whofe Principles are beforehand corrupted, readily run into new Errors, and fo cut off

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themselves from the Congregation of the Or- SER M, thodox, and rid the Church from the Scandal of their Lives.

But thirdly, Another Advantage defigned: by God to his Church from his Permiffion of Herefies, is the strengthening and confirming our Faith in the Truths we profefs. For, as I have already hinted, a bare Belief of the Doctrines of our Religion founded merely upon the Authority of those that taught it us, is what God will neither approve nor regard. He expects us to be well grounded in the Principles of our Religion, as well as taught to make an outward Profeffion of it: Since the being only able to repeat the Articles of our Creed, is but of fmall Importance, unless: we are also instructed in the Reasonableness of believing it; and (to speak in the Words of St. Peter) always ready to give an Answer to every Man, that afketh us a Reason of the Hope that is in us, 1 Pet. iii. 15. And therefore it is undoubtedly in order to fuch Erudition of us, that God fometimes. fuffers falfe Prophets and Teachers to vent new Doctrines, and call in Question the Catholick Faith. For fo long as the Church is quiet and undisturbed, and the fame Doctrines held by all; we are apt, as I obferved before, to take our Religion up

XII.

SER M. on Truft; and because no one controverts it's Truth, to reft contented with an implicit Belief of it. But when we find it's fundamental Articles ftruck at and opposed, we are then obliged to ftand upon our Guard: For Herefy, we are sensible, and even Infidelity, how abfurd foever, always find fome to embrace it's Errors; and yet we know that if any Members of the Church miscarry for want of due Inftruction, the Paftors must account to God for their Lofs: Thefe therefore can look upon fuch Occafions as no other than an immediate Call from God to ftrengthen and confirm the Faith of their Charge in the Doctrines difputed: For by this Means only are they able to fecure them from the poisonous Notions of the Oppofers of Truth, and to guard them from the Sleights of wicked Men, and cunning Craftiness of thofe that lie in wait to deceive, Ephef. iv. 14. And thus, in the End, through the arifing of Error, the Truth becomes more clearly known and univerfally established: And thofe that profeffed it before out of meer Compliance, only as they found it the prevailing Opinion; now embrace it from a fincere Conviction after a ferious and impartial Examination.

But

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