ways a double part, and is so scrupulously zealous for the glory of God, and the respect to be paid to the sacred pages, as to imagine a scripture story profaned if put upon a sign; in short, when I see a man ambitious, and resolved to sacrifice all to please the party in which he is engaged, sure I am, that one of this, or the like temper will shew a mighty zeal against any error, how innocent soever in itself; will be ready to condemn any one that opposes him as a heretic, and will be for all the arbitrary proceedings and tyrannical prosecutions, that he can promote. Such an haranguer will be obstinate in his opinion, positive and confident in what he asserts, and nothing, no not the whole bench of bishops should they be ready to deliver an opinion contrary to his, would be able to alter the least tittle of his haughty spirit. Were not this spirit of popery too rife among protestants, I had not digressed, but had soon proceeded to the

Second sort of persons under error, viz. such whose errors have no necessary connexion with their practice, but yet may, through accident, have an influence upon it. it. As the former sort of erroneous persons were innocent and free from guilt, because their error was involuntary, so are these, when the reason is the same. The guilt of error is always to be measured by the disposition of him that is under it. If therefore it be not the result of negligence or carelessness, but was taken up after mature deliberation, I see not how it can expose any one to punishment from God. Thus, for

instance, should a man mistake the meaning of the word Quoovoios, of one substance, when it is applied to the Son, and think it means one individual substance with the Father, and notwithstanding all he can do in examining and comparing texts of Scripture, should yet continue fixed in that, as the only means of understanding how the Father and Son are One; he would, where he to explain himself, be found guilty of the error of either Tritheism or Socinianism; but yet he would be free from guilt before God under these circumstances. Or, suppose that one should think the creed, commonly called of Athanasius, to be so agreeable to the tenor of Scripture, that it would be inconsistent with the true interest of the christian religion to have it expunged the book of Common Prayer. These, and abundant more such errors have certainly no necessary connexion with practice. But notwithstanding that, a man may be influenced by them in such a manner as to render himself justly punishable by man. Suppose, for example, that one in these circumstances were to become turbulent to his neighbours, and injurious to them, no doubt the civil magistrate would have a right to punish him, notwithstanding the erroneous person might think it a throwing up the essentials of faith, and the uniformity of worship, or a putting both them that differ from him, and himself too into a gulf of perdition, to suffer others to proceed in their ways. The civil magistrate is not to direct himself by the conscience of others, but is to take care of

the peace of society, the disturbance of which is, and ought to be, criminal before him. But then when these very actions come under the cognisance of God, at the great day of judgment, they will be considered in another manner; how far they were the effects of carelessness, of negligence, or sloth; and if the error itself was at first embraced as a real truth, and the obstacles which hindered the man from perceiving the truth were such as he could not surmount, after his best endeavours to know the truth, neither the error, nor its consequences, under these circumstances, will be punished by our equitable and righteous judge.

And here I think we may lay down this as a rule, by which we may judge of the importance of any error. All such things may a man err in safely, of which he may safely be ignorant; for if his salvation is not at stake by reason of his knowledge, supposing he masters the truth he aims at, it is superfluous knowledge in respect of salvation; and therefore if he mistakes it, he mistakes about something, which has no relation to his salvation.

But you will be apt perhaps to say, that evil thoughts are reckoned by our Saviour amongst the things which defile a man, Mat. xv. 19, 20. that they will certainly be punished, being certainly sinful; and that errors are evil thoughts, which injure the soul, which exclude the light of truth, and consequently defile and pollute the soul, and therefore must render a man. obnoxious to punishment.

I need not stay to tell you, that evil thoughts do not signify erroneous ones, but such as, if indulged and prosecuted, will produce evil actions. Certain it is, that first motions are not in our powers; and God could not be said to act with justice, much less with equity or mercy, should he punish what is not in our power to prevent. But if these first motions, which I suppose to be of evil thoughts, be indulged, if we take a pleasure in them, it is evident then that we declare our approbation of them, and consequently we maké them our own, and by that means the man is defiled, and will be punished for it.

Again, a man may be mistaken in numberless instances, which if he prosecutes, yet his errors will not produce any evil actions; but then a man cannot entertain an evil thought, but if he prosecutes that, it will produce wicked acts; which plainly shows a great difference between evil and erroneous thoughts.

To strengthen this, let me add an observation or two, viz. 1st. That nowhere in all the Scriptures do the Apostles, or our blessed Saviour, ever assert, that men should be punished for involuntary errors. 2dly. Everywhere, when occasion is taken to treat of the proceedings at the day of judgment, we find that our actions, and they only, are the subjects of inquiry. In that we have DONE good or evil, the WORKERS of iniquity are to be rewarded or punished. Vide Mat. vii. 21, 23; xiii. 41; xvi. 27; xxv. 31, 46; Luke xiii. 26; John v. 29; Rom. ii. 6, 7, 10, &c.

From these and other passages of the same import, I conclude that either the Judge of mankind has not truly told us the subjects of his inquiry at the last day, which would be blasphemy to say; or else involuntary errors will not be punished. I proceed to the

Third sort of erroneous persons, viz. such whose errors have a necessary connexion with practice, but yet the connexion is not by them seen. However plain and evident the consequences of them are to others, yet whilst they are denied and avoided as so much poison by them, who embrace the error, such mistake cannot be but very innocent. There is not a plainer connexion between any principle and its consequences, than there is between a fixed belief of a fatality, and the reasonableness of running up to a loaded cannon's mouth; or between a firm persuasion of God's having elected or reprobated men before they have done either good or evil, and the gratification of their inclinations; and yet numbers that steadily believe the one, will detest and abhor the other. It seems very clear, that if a man be absolutely predestinated to happiness, and cannot fall from grace, nothing should hinder him from indulging his appetites, or from enjoying all the pleasures of this life, since he cannot on any account fail of the next. Or in another instance, they that maintain good works not to be necessary to salvation, .but resolve all into faith, why should not they prosecute their pleasures, and give the loose to their appetites? Yet, notwithstanding