come together," professing your design is "to eat of the Lord's Supper, every one of you taketh before another his own supper," as if it were a common meal. What then was the Schism? It seems in doing this, they divided into little parties, which cherished anger and resentment, one against another, even at that solemn season.

5. May it not be observed, (to make a little digression here, for the sake of those who are troubled with needless scruples on this head,) that the sin which the Apostle charges on the Communicants at Corinth in this chapter, is usually quite misunderstood. It was precisely this and nothing else," The taking one before another his own supper:" and in such a shocking manner, that while "one was hungry, another was drunken." By doing this, he says, ye eat and drink, (not damnation; a vile mistranslation of the word, but judgment, temporal judgment to yourselves : which sometimes shortened their lives. "For this cause”. for sinning in this vile manner, ❝ many are sick and weak among you." Observe here two things: First, What was the sin of the Corinthians? Mark it well and remember it. It was taking one before another his own supper, so that while one was hungry, another was drunken. Secondly, What was the punishment? It was bodily weakness and sickness, which, without repentance, might end in death. But what is this to you? You cannot commit their sin: therefore, you cannot incur their punishment.

6. But to return. It deserves to be seriously remarked, that, in this chapter, the Apostle uses the word Heresies as exactly equivalent with the word Schisms. "I hear," says he, ver. 18," that there are schisms among you, and I partly believe it :" he then adds, ver. 19, "for there must be heresies," (another word for the same thing,) "among you, that they which are approved among you, may be made manifest." As if he had said, "The wisdom of God permits it so to be, for this end, for the clear manifestation of those whose heart is right with him." This word, therefore, (Heresy,) which has been so strangely distorted for many centuries, as if it meant erroneous opinions, opinions contrary to the

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faith delivered to the saints, which has been made a pretence for destroying cities, depopulating countries, and shedding seas of innocent blood; has not the least reference to opinions, whether right or wrong. It simply means, wherever it occurs in Scripture, Divisions, or Parties in a religious community.

7. The third, and the only remaining place in this Epistle, wherein the Apostle uses this word, is the twenty-fifth verse of the twelfth chapter; where speaking of the Church, (he seems to mean the Church Universal, the whole Body of Christ) he observes, "God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked, that there might be no schism in the body," ver. 24, 25. He immediately fixes the meaning of his own words, "But that the members might have the same care one for another: and whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it." We may easily observe, that the word Schism here means the want of this tender care for each other. It undoubtedly means an alienation of affection in any of them toward their brethren: a division of heart, and parties springing therefrom, though they were still outwardly united together: though they still continued members of the same external Society.

8. But there seems to be one considerable objection against the supposing Heresy and Schism to mean the same thing. It is said, St. Peter, in the second chapter of his second epistle, takes the word Heresies in a quite different sense. His words are, ver. 1, "There shall be among you false teachers, who will bring in damnable" (or destructive) "heresies, denying the Lord that bought them." It does by no means appear, that St. Peter here takes the word Heresies in any other sense than St. Paul does. Even in this passage it does not appear to have any reference to opinions, good or bad. Rather it means, They will bring in, or occasion, destructive parties or sects, (so it is rendered in the common French translation) who deny the Lord that

bought them: such sects now swarm throughout the Christian world.

9. I shall be thankful to any one who will point out to me any other place in the inspired writings, where this word Schism is to be found. I remember only these three. And it is apparent to every impartial reader, that it does not in any of these mean, a separation from any Church or Body of Christians, whether with or without cause. So that the immense pains which have been taken both by Papists and Protestants, in writing whole volumes against Schism, as a separation, whether from the Church of Rome, or from the Church of England, exerting all their strength, and bringing all their learning, have been employed to mighty little purpose. They have been fighting with shadows of their own raising: violently combating a sin which had no existence, but in their own imagination, which is not once forbidden, no nor once mentioned either in the Old or New Testament.

10. "But is there no sin resembling what so many learned and pious writers have termed Schism? and against which all the members of religious communities have need to be carefully guarded?" I do not doubt but there is; and I cannot tell, whether this too may not, in a remote sense, be called Schism. I mean, "A causeless separation from a body of living Christians." There is no absurdity in taking the word in this sense, (though it be not strictly scriptural.) And it is certain all the members of Christian communities should be carefully guarded against it. For how little a thing soever it may seem, and how innocent soever it may be accounted, Schism, even in this sense, is both evil in itself, and productive of evil consequences.

11. It is evil in itself. To separate ourselves from a body of living Christians, with whom we were before united, is a grievous breach of the law of love. It is the nature of love to unite us together: and the greater the love, the stricter the union. And while this continues in its strength, nothing can divide those whom love has united. It is only when our love grows cold, that we can think of separating

from our brethren. And this is certainly the case with any who willingly separate from their Christian brethren. The pretences for separation may be innumerable, but want of love is always the real cause: otherwise, they would still hold the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. It is, therefore, contrary to all those commands of God, wherein brotherly love is enjoined: to that of St. Paul. "Let brotherly love continue:" that of St. John, "My beloved children, love one another :" and especially to that of our blessed Master, "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you." Yea, "by this," saith he, "shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another."

12. And as such a separation is evil in itself, being a breach of brotherly love, so it brings forth evil fruit; it is naturally productive of the most mischievous consequences. It opens a door to all unkind tempers, both in ourselves and others. It leads directly to a whole train of evil-surmisings, to severe and uncharitable judging of each other. It gives occasion to offence, to anger, and resentment, perhaps in ourselves as well as in our brethren, which, if not presently stopped, may issue in bitterness, malice, and settled hatred; creating a present hell wherever they are found, as a prelude to hell eternal.

13. But the ill consequences of even this species of Schism, do not terminate in the heart. Evil tempers cannot long remain within, before they are productive of outward fruit. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. As he whose heart is full of love, openeth his mouth with wisdom, and in his lips there is the law of kindness; so he whose heart is full of prejudice, anger, suspicion, or any unkind temper, will surely open his mouth in a manner corresponding with the disposition of his mind. And hence will arise, if not lying and slandering, (which yet will hardly be avoided) bitter words, tale-bearing, backbiting, and evil-speaking of every kind.

14. From evil words, from tale-bearing, backbiting, and evil-speaking, how many evil works will naturally flow!

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Anger, jealousy, envy, wrong tempers of every kind, do not vent themselves merely in words, but push men continually to all kind of ungodly and unrighteous actions. plentiful harvest of all the works of darkness, may be expected to spring from this source: whereby, in the end, thousands of souls, and not a few of those who once walked in the light of God's countenance, may be turned from the way of peace, and finally drowned in everlasting perdition

15. Well might our blessed Lord say, "Woe unto the world because of offences." Yet "it must needs be, that offences will come :" yea, abundance of them will, of necessity, arise, when a breach of this sort is made in any religious community; while they that leave it endeavour to justify themselves, by censuring those they separate from ; and these, on the other hand, retort the charge, and strive to lay the blame on them. But how mightily does all this altercation grieve the Holy Spirit of God! How does it hinder his mild and gentle operations in the souls both of one and the other! Heresies and Schisms, (in the scriptural sense of those words) will sooner or later be the consequence: parties will be formed on one and the other side, whereby the love of many will wax cold. The hunger and thirst after righteousness, after either the favour or the full image of God, together with the longing desires, wherewith so many were filled, of promoting the work of God in the souls of their brethren, will grow languid, and as offences increase, will gradually die away. And as the "fruit of the Spirit" withers away, "the works of the flesh" will again prevail: to the utter destruction, first of the power, and then of the very form of religion. These consequences are not imaginary, are not built on mere conjectures, but on plain matter of fact. This has been the case again and again within these last thirty or forty years: these have been the fruits which we have seen over and over, to be consequent on such a separation.

16. And what a grievous stumbling-block must these things be to those who are without! To those who are