churchman; or whether he differs at all from the honest and sincere men of both appellations, I must leave to your own determination, having never yet been able to find any exact and settled meaning of these terms, to which both the contending parties, that use them, will agree.

By a churchman we all mean a christian who embraces the communion of the established church: to this add the word true, and then the character of a true churchman will be, first, that he is a true christian; and secondly, that he truly, and not in pretence only, embraces the communion of the established church.

First then, a true churchman is a true christian: that is to say, he unfeignedly, not only in the general, believes that the religion which was taught by Jesus Christ, and his Apostles, is the true religion; but also embraces and gives his assent to every doctrine that appears from the Holy Scriptures to have been taught by them: and where any doubt arises concerning the sense of Scripture, he not only endeavours to clear it by comparing parallel places, but also pays a great deference, in all such cases, to the opinion of the ancient fathers of the christian church; who being men of great and undoubted integrity, and also living, some in the Apostles' time, and others very near it, must needs be very proper judges of the true meaning of what they both taught and writ. Nor is it to him an objection against any such doctrine, that the thing is above his reason, or that he cannot frame a clear

and adequate notion in his mind of it: for although it is absolutely impossible for a rational being to give his assent to contradictions, or consequently, to believe any thing which plainly appears to be contrary to the evident principles of reason: yet considering, that as long as we are in this world, we know but in part, and prophesy in part, 1 Cor. xiii. 9. And we see (almost all things indeed, as some late philosophers have undertaken to prove, but more especially the things of God) but as through a glass; that is, darkly, v aiviyal, as it were in a riddle, as the margin of our Bibles has it, v. 12. Considering, this, I say, he is well assured that many things may be, and are true, which yet are beyond or very difficult to his conception: and therefore thinks himself bound to believe whatsoever God has deli vered in his holy word, according to the usual meaning and acceptation of the terms or expressions, although he has but very obscure and analogous notions of the things so delivered.

Again, as a true christian, he not only assents to and believes whatever he can find that God has declared; but he also makes it his great care and study, first, to know, and then conscientiously to practise, all and every part of his duty. What God has commanded he will not willingly omit : what he has forbidden he will not do, or comply with in those things where the law of God has determined nothing, to the best of his knowledge and power, he acts according to the rules of christian prudence, so as to give as little offence to any

one as possibly he can and where lawful authority enacts any thing that is not contrary to the laws of God, he gives obedience to it, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

Nor lastly, does our churchman, as a christian, think it enough to have a true faith, and himself to lead a good and godly life; but he judges it to be an inseparable property of true godliness, in his station, to do whatever in him lies, in order to bring others also to the same profession and practice and therefore he takes care not only to be holy, but also exemplary in his life! and to let his light so shine before men, that they seeing his good works, may follow his example; and thereby advance the honour of his church and religion; and glorify his Father which is in Heaven, Matth. v. 16. Nor does he fail, as occasion offers (besides shewing in his life a good example), to make use of sober and modest reproofs, admonitions, and whatever other means may be proper for him, to stop the course of vice and infidelity, and promote the practice of true virtue and piety, amongst all persons whatsoever, with whom he has any inter

course or converse.

Thus does our true churchman make it the first and chief part of his care, not only to be, but also (as far as without pride or.affectation he may) to appear a serious and true christian. And although he cannot but rejoice whenever he finds the interest of the church to be promoted, although it be done even by wicked men; as St. Paul did, that Christ

was preached, though not sincerely, but in pretence, and out of envy, strife, and contention, Phil. i. 18; yet wherever a man is known to be tainted with any principles, or to allow himself in any omissions or practices that are contrary to, or inconsistent with, the purity and strictness of the Gospel; however zealous he may appear for the church, yet he can never look upon him as a true churchman, any more than St. Paul did upon those envious and contentious preachers as good Christians. And thus much for the first part of our churchman's character; he is a true Christian. I proceed to the

Second, which is, that he truly embraces the Communion of the established Church. That is to

say,

First, he unfeignedly believes, that in the Communion of our Church, as by law established, nothing is wanting that is necessary to eternal salvation. He is fully persuaded that we embrace all the articles of the Christian faith; teach all the rules of a pious and good life, and omit no part of Christ's institution in the administration either of Baptism or the Lord's Supper: nor does he apprehend any more to be necessary to any man's salvation, besides a true faith, a holy life, to be regularly admitted into the church by baptism, and to partake of the benefits of Christ's passion, by a due participation of that bread and that cup which he himself has appointed for that purpose. And therefore a true churchman thinks he may safely challenge all the world to prove that any thing is E

VOL. II.

or can be necessary for the attainment of everlasting happiness, which is not as effectually to be had in the established Church, as in any society of Christians in the world.

Secondly, he is no less unfeignedly of opinion that our church requires nothing that is, or can be a hindrance of salvation, from any one who communicates with her. He knows nothing that can obstruct the salvation of any man, but sin; nor can he allow any thing to be a sin, but what is a transgression of God's law, 1 Joh. iii. 4. For where there is no law there is no transgression, Rom. iv. 15. that is to say, no sin. Here therefore he requires our adversaries to produce any one law of God, and to shew that any thing prescribed by our church, is either expressly or by good consequence contrary thereunto: and until this be done (which, though often demanded, never yet has been done) however some things in our constitution may be plausibly declaimed against by some that are disaffected to it; (and what almost is there against which ingenious men cannot frame some sort of objections) yet as long as nothing is therein to be found; but what, upon the strictest examination, will abide the test of God's law: he concludes that there is no manner of sin, and therefore no obstacle to salvation in our communion. And therefore when he finds our adversaries, with much noise and seeming pomp, dressing up their objections against the established church in hard words, and obscure and doubtful expressions; such as Po