Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: with, none of the leaft of which is this Serm. i. (not mentioned before ) that as often as we fhall find in any Church, fome Cir- cumftance or other of Government, not clearly made out to us by holy Text, fo often fhall we be unavoidably tempted by this Principle to make a Separation from it; and how often this is like to happen, I leave to the reafon of every Man, but indifferently read in Scripture, and to the experience of all Men to Judge. Do they laftly find fault with our Ceremonies? let them fhew us that the Church has no Power of inftituting any, or that ours are burthenfome for their number, or fuch in their Nature, as ne- ceifarily involve Men in the guilt of Su- perftition or Idolatry, which they will be able to do, when they fhew us the I- dol we adore, or that Superftitious Opinion in the Confeflion of our Church on which fuch a Superftitious Rite is founded; if nothing of this kind can be prov’d it will be found that our Brethren have been fo far from Lowlinefs, and Meek- nefs, from Long-fuffering and Forbearance, that they have broken the Peace and Unity of the Church, without any jufr grounds at all. And yet tho’ they fhould be able to prove fome one thing or other of this kind, yet neither would Vol. I. this be fufficient for their reparation; for tho’ they cannot peradventure do all we think them bound to do, yet there is much that they can do for the fake of Peace and Unity, which till they have done, they will be found guilty of Tranf. grefling this Rule of St. Paul. I come therefore, toconfider, 2. Whether our Brethren of the Separation have done all which they thern- felves acknowledge they Lawfully may do for preferving the Vnity of the Spirit in the Eond of Peace. As much as in you lies (faith St. Paul, Heb. 12. 14.) follow Peace with all Men. …
