to the honour and glory of God? I
wish that expression were struck out of our Prayer-books.

Liberty of conscience, properly speaking, is no more than the liberty of
possessing our own thoughts and opinions, which every man enjoys without
fear of the magistrate: But how far he shall publicly act in pursuance
of those opinions, is to be regulated by the laws of the country.
Perhaps, in my own thoughts, I prefer a well-instituted commonwealth
before a monarchy; and I know several others of the same opinion. Now,
if, upon this pretence, I should insist upon liberty of conscience, form
conventicles of republicans, and print books preferring that government
and condemning what is established, the magistrate would, with great
justice, hang me and my disciples. It is the same case in religion,
although not so avowed, where liberty of conscience, under the present
acceptation, equally produces revolutions, or at least convulsions and
disturbances in a state; which politicians would see well enough, if
their eyes were not blinded by faction, and of which these kingdoms, as
well as France, Sweden, and other countries, are flaming instances.
Cromwell's notion upon this article was natural and right; when, upon
the surrender of a town in Ireland, the Popish governor insisted upon an
article for liberty of conscience, Cromwell said, he meddled with no
man's conscience; but, if by liberty of conscience, the governor meant
the liberty of the mass, he had express orders from the Parliament of
England against admitting any such liberty at all.

It is impossible that anything so natural, so necessary, and so
universal as death, should ever have been designed by Providence as an
evil to mankind.

Although reason were intended by Providence to govern our passions, yet
it seems that, in two points of the greatest moment to the being and
continuance of the world, God hath intended our passions to prevail over
reason. The first is, the propagation of our species, since no wise man
ever married from the dictates of reason. The other is, the love of
life, which, from the dictates of reason, every man would despise, and
wish it at an end, or that it never had a beginning.

***** ***** ***** *****

FURTHER THOUGHTS ON

RELIGION.

The Scripture system of man's creation is what Christians are bound to
believe, and seems most agreeable of all others to probability and
reason. Adam was formed from a piece of clay,