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And to convince Mr S. fully of the foolery of thefe principles, I will try what can be done with them either in a categorical or hypothetical fyllogifm, e. g. "A rule "is a rule; tradition is a rule; ergo, tradition is a rule." Again, "If a rule be a rule, then a rule is a rule; but a rule is a rule; ergo." How is any man the wifer for all this? But it may be Mr S. can make better work with them, and manage them more dexterously, fo as to principle any thing that can be folidly concluded in any controverfy.

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And now I hope at last to have given Mr S. full fatiffaction, fince he has brought me to the very point he defired, to acknowledge that I have no principles. And indeed, if there be no other to be had, but fuch as thefe, I do declare to all the world, that I neither have any principles, nor will have any.

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CONTENTS.

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SER. XI. The hazard of being faved in the church of R me.
1 Cor. iii. 15. But he himself fhall be fared; yet so as by

SER. XII. Of the inward peace and pleafure which attends religion. Pfal. cxix. 165. Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing fhall offend them,

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-Pfal.cxix.

SER. XIII. The nature and benefit of confideration.59. I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy teftimonies,

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SER. XIV. The folly and danger of irrefolution and delayingPfal. cxix. 60. I made hafte and delayed not to keep thy commandments,

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SER. XV. The diftinguishing character of a good and a bad man. 1 John iii. 10. In this the children of God are manifeft, and the children of the devil: Whofoever doth not righteousness, is not of God,

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SER. XVI. Of the joy which is in heaven at the repentance of a finner.- Luke xv. 7. I fay unto you, that likewife joy fhall be in heaven over one finner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine juft perfons, which need no repentance,

SRR. XVII. Of the fin against the Holy Ghoft.

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Matth. xii. 31.

32. Wherefore I fay unto yon, All manner of fin and blafphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blafphemy against the Holy Ghost hall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever Speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whofoever Speaketh gainst the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come,

SER. XVIII. The example of Jefus in doing good.
Who went about doing good,

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Acts x. 38.

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SER. XIX. On the fifth of November 1678. Before the Honourable houfe of Commons.- Luke ix. 55. 56, But he turned, and rebuked them, and faid, Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to defroy mens lives, but to fave them,

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SER. XX. Of love and charity. - John xiii. 34. 35. A new com mandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye alfo love one another. By this fall all men know that ye are my difciples, if ye love one another,

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SER. XXI. Of the trial of the fpirits. - John iv. 1. Beloved, believe not every Spirit, but try the Spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world,

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SER

The wisdom of being religious.

Joв xxviii. 28.

And unto man be faid, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil, is understanding、,

N this chapter Job difcourfeth of the fecrets of nature, and the unfearchable perfections of the works of God. And the refult of his discourse is this, That a perfect knowledge of nature is no where to be found but in the author of it; no lefs wisdom and understanding than that which made the world, and contrived this vaft and regular frame of nature, can thoroughly understand the philofophy of it, and comprehend fo vaft a defign. But yet there is a knowledge which is very proper to man, and lies level to human understanding; and that is, the knowledge of our Creator, and of the duty we owe to him the wisdom of pleafing God, by doing what he commands, and avoiding what he forbids. This knowledge and wisdom may be attained by man, and is fufficient to make him happy: And unto man he faid, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil, is understanding.

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Thefe words confift of two propofitions, which are not distinct in sense, but one and the fame thing variously exprefled; for wisdom and understanding are fynonymous words here: and though fometimes they have different notions, yet in the poetical books of fcripture they are moft frequently ufed as words equivalent; and do both of them indifferently fignify either a fpeculative knowledge of things, or a practical skill about them, accor ding to the exigency of the matter or thing fpoken of. And fo likewife the fear of the Lord, and departure from evil, are phrafes of a very near fenfe, and like importance: and therefore we find them feveral times put together in fcripture: Prov.iii.7. Fear the Lord, and depart from evil, VOL. I.

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Chap. xvi. 6. By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. So that they differ only as cause and effect; which, by a metonymy ufual in all forts of authors, are frequently put one for another.

Now, to fear the Lord, and to depart from evil, are phrafes which the fcripture ufeth in a very great latitude, to exprefs to us the fum of religion, and the whole of our duty. And because the large ufage of these phrafes is to be the foundation of my following dif courfe, I fhall, for the farther clearing of this matter, endeavour to fhew these two things.

1. That it is very ufual in the language of fcripture to express the whole of religion by thefe and fuch like phrafes.

2. The particular fitness of these two phrafes to defcribe religion.

I. It is very ufual in the language of fcripture to exprefs the whole of religion by fome eminent principle or part of religion.

The great principles of religion are, knowledge, faith, remembrance, love, and fear; by all which the fcripture afeth to exprefs the whole duty of man.

In the Old Teftament, by the knowledge, remembrance, and fear of God. Religion is called the knowledge of the Holy, Prov. xxx. iii. And wicked men are defcribed to be fuch as know not God, Jer. x. 25. So likewife by the fear of the Lord, frequently in this book of Job, and in the Pfalms and Proverbs. And then they that feared the Lord fpake often one to another, Mal. iii. 16. And the fear of God is exprefsly faid to be the fum of religion: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole of man, Eccl. xii. 13. And, on the contrary, the wicked are defcribed to be fuch as have not the fear of God before their eyes, Pfal. xxxvi. 1. And fo likewife by the remembrance of God: Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, Eccl. xii. 1.; that is, enter upon a religious courfe betimes, And, on the contrary, the character of the wicked is, that they forget God: The wicked fhall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God, Pfal. ix. 17. In the New Teftament, religion is ufually expreffed by faith in God and Christ, and the love of them, Hence it is, that true

Christians

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