the Galatians to "ftand faft in that liberty, "wherewith Chrift had made them free, and "not to be entangled again with the yoke of bondage §." To Timothy he writes, "Be not ashamed of the teftimony of our lord,

nor of me his prifoner ||." And early in his epiftle to the Romans, with unshaken firmness and undaunted courage, he declares his own attachment to, and ready service in, the caufe of his master; "I am ready," fays he, to preach the gospel to you that are at "Rome alfo: for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Chrift; for it is the power of "God unto falvation, to every one that be

་་

lieveth, to the jew firft, and also to the " Greek **."

Let me afk, how can we, as protestants, justify our departure even from the "mother of

§ Gal. v. 1.

C 4

|| 2 Tim. 1. 8.

" harlots

** Rom. i. 15, 16. "It is to the last degree criminal "and dishonourable for a minister of the gospel to conceal "the truth, or in a timid and illiberal manner to approach "it, like Nicodemus in the night, for fear of the cenfures "of the world. Hoary and venerable error would to this "moment have maintained her throne, and the empire of darkness and dullness be perpetuated to the end of

❝ time,

"harlots and abominations of the earth †," but by consulting and reading our bible; primarily maintaining the fupreme and exclufive authority thereof, and thence confronting the idolatry and impieties of the Romanists, with the "moft fure word of prophecy, "whereunto we do well that we take heed,

"time, and there never would have existed any

66 as

fuch re

ligion as the chriftian, any fuch characters among man"kind as martyrs and confessors, or any fuch illustrious "æras in the annals of the world, as religious reforma

tions; had wife and good men ever complimented "priests and princes with believing as they believed, and "facrificed their understandings at the fhrine of the "popular fuperftition. Almighty God hath blessed, " and divine providence will continue to give a bleffing "and fuccefs to every attempt of this kind, to promote "rational religion, and the facred cause of truth, until "at laft those things, which now give juft offence to "intelligent and serious christians, which damp the spi"rit of their public devotions, which they ardently, but ❝ineffectually, wish were removed, will be totally ex"terminated, and the bleffed gospel in its primæval purity "and fimplicity, free from all human fchemes and cor"rupt admixtures, convince the understanding, confti

tute the faith, direct the practice, and infure the best "interefts and happiness of the whole world." Dr. Harwood's preface to his Five differtations. 1772. 8vo, + Rev. xvii. 14.

"as unto a light that fhineth in a dark place?"Secret things," fays Mofes, belong to the Lord our God; but thofe "things which are revealed, belong to us, " and to our children for ever †."

When we put on the character of minifters of a chriftian and proteftant church, it becomes a confideration of the first importance to us, how far our refpective engagements admit of any attempt towards the removal

* 2 Pet. i. 19. Since the first publication of this fermon, Mr. Evanfon has given to the world a very valuable tract entitled, "A letter to the right rev. Richard Hurd, D.D. lord "bishop of Worcester; wherein the importance of the "prophecies of the new Testament, and the nature of "the grand apoftacy predicted in them, are particularly " and impartially confidered." Printed for B. Law, 2d edit. 1792. In this tract, the author, with the fpirit of a free and confiftent protestant, destroys the limitation or appropriation of the predicted rife and reign of antichrift to the church of Rome. And surely the spirit of fuch prophecies reasonably extends to all churches, without diftinction of place or perfon, which claim and exercise the fame or the like fpiritual power: and the arguments of Mr. Evanson (as a critic or commentator) go a great way towards fixing the letter of fuch prophecies upon all other established churches which have paffed the fimple bounds of the chriftian fcriptures.

+ Deut. xxix. 29.

moval of these stumbling-blocks of offence, and thefe impediments to the free course of the gofpel, with which it was disfigured and incumbered before the reformation.

To many of our brethren, refpectable for their abilities as well as ftation, and truly amiable in their difpofitions, the previous engagement to a particular established system, has been thought to preclude all farther progrefs in the good and neceffary work of reformation, so nobly begun by our forefathers. One writer, indeed, (of fome note in the controverfy, and who was not without his followers) advanced the very reprehenfible paradox, that "authority once established

must be obeyed." A jew or an heathen would thank that writer for the conceffion, and would not fail to improve it to confiderable advantage, when either of them dif puted their faith with the chriftian; fo likewife would the papist when distressed by the irrefragable arguments of a confiftent protestant opponent. This doctrine of indifcriminate obedience, if as clofely followed in practice as maintained in theory, would long fince have rendered our political creed as precari

ous

ous as our religious faith; it would not only have militated against the effential obligations of a good chriftian, and good proteftant in the one cafe, but against thofe of a good citizen in the other *.

But

* It may not be thought unworthy the obfervation of the inquifitive reader that Dr. Tillotfon afferted, in a fermon on Jofh. xxiv. 15. preached at court the 2d of April, 1680, and which was unexpectedly commanded by the king to be published, that "no man without an ex"traordinary commiffion from heaven, teftified by work❝ing miracles as the apoftles did, ought to affront the "eftablished religion of a nation, though it be falfe, and "openly to draw men off from the profeffion of it in " contempt of the magiftrate and the law, &c." King Charles II. having flept most part of the time while the fermon was delivered, a nobleman ftepped up to him, as soon as it was over, and said, “'Tis pity your majesty "flept; for we had the rareft piece of hobbiẩm that ever • you heard in your life." "Od's fish, he shall print it "then," answered the king, and immediately called the lord-chamberlain, and gave him his command to the dean to print the fermon. When it came from the prefs, the dean fent a copy, as a prefent, to the juftly celebrated Mr. John Howe, who did not only write a long letter to him upon this erroneous doctrine, but expoftulated with him upon it in a friendly manner; Dr. Tillotson (then dean of Canterbury) burst into tears, and frankly acknowledged that it was not to be juftified. Dr.

Tillotson