A SERMON Preached at St. LAURENCE JEWRY, Before the LORD-MAYOR, Aldermen, and Livery-Men, OF THE CITY of LONDON; On Saturday the 28th of September, 1695. AT THE Election of the LORD-MAYOR For the YEAR Ensuing. By JOHN WILLIAMS, D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty; and Rector of St. Mildred's Poultry, and St. Mary Cole.  
LONDON: Printed for Ri. Chiswell, and Tho. Cockerill, Senr and Junior; at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Churchyard; and at the Three Legs in the Poultry. MDCXCV.   

To the Right Honourable Sir THOMAS LANE, Lord-Mayor, Sir JOHN HOUBLON, Lord-Mayor Elect Of the City of LONDON. And the Court of ALDERMEN.  
RIGHT HONOURABLE,  
IT is not for me to think otherwise than well of a Performance which has the Order of your Court for its Publication. And it is in Obedience to that, and for promoting the same End for which this Sermon was Composed, that 'tis now Presented to Your Lordships, by  
Your Most Faithful, And Humble Servant, JOHN WILLIAMS.   

A SERMON Preached before the LORD-MAYOR, etc.  JOSHUA XXII. 31. Phineas the son of Eleazar the Priest, said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the Lord is among us, because ye have not committed this Trespass against the Lord: Now ye have delivered the Children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord. 
THESE Words are the Close of a solemn Debate between the Ten Tribes of Israel that had their Lot in Canaan, on the West of the River Jordan, and the Two Tribes and a Half that were situated on the East of it.  
The Occasion of which was this: After the Conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, and an End in all appearance put to that War, the Two Tribes and an Half, 
Numb. 32. 17, etc.  who till that time by the Command of Moses, and their own Promise, stood obliged to attend it, were dismissed by Joshua, and were upon return to their own Inheritance.  
When they landed on the other side, and before their dispersion to their several Homes, they agreed to build an Altar at the Place where the Children of Israel had first passed over, ver. 10. after the Pattern of that at Shiloh, ver. 28.  
This, to those that knew not their reason, nor their Motives leading to it, seemed an intolerable Presumption; since there was to be but one Altar for Sacrifice, ver. 23. and that at the place which God should choose to put his name there, Deut. 12. 5, 6.  
And then to set up another Altar in opposition to that, and to break off from the Communion of the Church established by God's Appointment among them, was in effect to set up another Religion, and to be guilty of Rebellion against the Lord, ver. 16. 19  
Upon Tidings therefore of this, the Ten Tribes gathered themselves together to Shiloh, the Place at that time where the Tabernacle was pitched, where God was worshipped, and whose Cause they were bound to defend; and according to the Precept of the Law they were resolved to proceed against them as Idolaters, if the Fact proved according to their Information, Deut. 13. 15.  
But here they proceeded like a wise and cautious People; for in matters of such Importance, and attended with such fatal Consequences as a Civil War, and the Destruction of Two of their Tribes, there needed great Deliberation, and a careful attendance to the Method in such cases prescribed in the same Law, (Deut. 13. 12, etc.) viz. If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities which the Lord thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other Gods (which we have not known) than thou shalt inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; that is, they were to use the utmost Care to obtain a true Information of the Fact.  
After this manner did the Western Tribes act in this case, and sent Phineas the Son of Eleazar the Priest, and Ten Princes, one out of each Tribe, to expostulate the matter with their Brethren, and to seek by fair means to reduce them.  
These Commissioners, as well as the whole Congregation, took the Case, as represented to them, for granted; and when they came to the place were Eye-Witnesses of the Fact: They saw the Altar, and that it was a Pattern of the Altar of the Lord; and like Persons zealous for the Good and Peace of their Country, and for the Purity and Honour of their Religion, they no sooner came, but they delivered their Errand, saying in the Name of the whole Congregation, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that ye have built you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the Lord? v. 16, etc.  
But after a patient and full hearing of the Charge, the Two Tribes utterly disclaim it, appealing to God, the Witness and Judge of all, That they were so far from erecting this Altar in opposition to that appointed by God as the only Altar for Sacrifice, that, on the contrary, it was built for asserting and maintaining their Right to it; and for fear lest (Jordan being their Border, and by which they were separated from the other Tribes) that in time to come they might have their Propriety and Interest in the True Altar questioned; and therefore they agreed to make an Altar after the Pattern of it, that might be a Witness and Memorial to Future Generations, That they on their side Jordan had as much a Right in that at Shiloh, as those that lived in the possession wherein the tabernacle of the Lord dwelled.  
When Phineas and the other Delegates heard this, they were pleased and fully satisfied in this Relation; and he concluded all in the Words of the Text, This day we perceive that the Lord is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord.  
In treating upon which Words, I design not to confine myself wholly unto them, but shall consider them as the Close of this Narrative; and accordingly I shall take the liberty to make some Observations from the whole.  
As, I observe,  
1. That Prepossessions and Misunderstandings are too often the occasion of great Divisions in the World, and of such as, if not prevented, draw after them very pernicious and fatal Consequences. Thus it was in the Case before us; it was a Report, a Hear-say, ver. 11. The children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben, Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasseh, have built an altar over-against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel. And upon this Report, the whole Congregation of the Ten Tribes assembled at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.  
2. There aught to be the speediest and most effectual Care taken for preventing the Ill Consequences of such Misunderstandings, and to take up the Case before it comes to the utmost extremity. It was so here. The exasperated Tribes, like Persons resolved to vindicate the Common Cause of Religion, came with the Sword in their hand; that if the supposed Delinquents should have acted according as it was represented, and should prove obstinate and incorrigible, they might proceed to the utmost severity. But they acted with all the Precaution necessary; they sent such Delegates as were in all points accomplished for such a Service, whether for Quality and Authority, for Prudence and Experience, who argued the Case with all the Arts of Respect and Endearment. They in the first place expostulate the matter with them; What trespass is this? etc.— Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us?— but that ye must turn this day from following the Lord? etc. And then with great Tenderness they offer any Terms in their power, and are freely willing, that if the Two Tribes like not their Habitation on the other side Jordan, and think their Possession unclean, that they might choose where they would among the other, rather than rebel against God by such a Separation.  
3. That the most proper Met●●d for preventing such Misunderstandings, and for composing Differences arising from such Misunderstandings, is Examination and Enquiry into the Cause, with Deliberation and Meekness, that they may see where the difference lies, and take the best course for the composing of it. It was so here, the Commissioners were prepossessed, and came with Prejudice, upon a false Information, or rather their Mistake grounded upon the Information; and withal, were zealously bend to punish the Aggressors. But their Zeal was governed by Prudence, it did not make them precipitate and rash, nor transport them beyond the bounds of Decency and Respect. They delivered the Sense of the Assembly, as became Representatives of so Venerable a Body as the Congregation of the Lord. They expostulate, and they argue; but it is with Softness and Candour: The Expostulation was affecting, and the Arguing strong, but the Condescension was equal to both. There were no Reproaches, no Hard Words, no bitter Reflections. They had to deal with Brethren, (though, as they supposed, notorious Offenders) and they used them as such. Let us view the Words again; What trespass is this?— Is the iniquity of Peor too little?— Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean (as perhaps you imagine) then pass ye over, etc. but rebel not.  
And the same way is to be taken for removing Prejudices and Misunderstandings, even by those that suffer, or are likely to suffer by them. And of this the Two Tribes are an admirable Example, in the Defence they make for themselves, and the Reply they give to this unexpected and hard Accusation. They were wrongfully charged with a Crime of a heinous nature, no less than Rebellion against God, and such as might have involved them in utter Ruin. They found how their Brethren of the other Tribes, upon a Misreport, were disposed to War upon them: And what Warmth might be expected upon such a Provocation, to find them so credulous, and forward, and exasperated for nothing? But see how on the contrary they behave themselves in their Resentments and Reply, which is as clam and modest, as it was grave and serious. They begin with a solemn and most pathetical Appeal to God, as a Witness of their Innocency, ver. 22. The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, he knoweth, etc. and conclude with as solemn a Protestation, ver. 29. God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn this day from following the Lord, to build an altar for burnt-offerings,— besides the altar of the Lord our God that is before his tabernacle.  
Here were no Invectives, no Recriminations, no Revile, no Charges of Slander and Calumny; but all was carried on with a becoming Modesty and Meekness.  
4. It is a comfortable Evidence of God's Presence with a People to bless, defend, and prosper them, when Mistakes are removed, Differences happily composed, and they are at Union and Peace among themselves. It was so here, when the Case was understood, and that after the fear of so dangerous and threatening a Rupture, it appeared that there was no sufficient ground for such a Surmise as the Ten Tribes had entertained, and all was quietly ended. So the Text; This day, said Phineas, we perceive that the Lord is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord.  
I shall treat of these in their Order.  
1. I observe that Prepossessions and Misunderstandings are too often the Occasion of great Divisions in the World; and os such, as if not timely prevented, draw after them very pernicious and fatal Consequences.  
We ought to have more Charity for Mankind than to think any of such Rancorous and Diabolical Tempers, as to do Evil for Evil's sake, and to divide the World, and break the Frame of Order and Government in pieces, solely for the sake of the Mischief consequent upon it, without any Provocation or Cause whatever.  
And yet if we come to look narrowly into the contentions among mankind, if it were not for Charity that inclines us to better thoughts, we should often be under a violent temptation to think there are some that quarrel for quarrelling's sake, when the matters in debate, and so hotly agitated on either side, are in their own nature, and are seen to be so by wise and discerning men, next to nothing, and not fit and worth the while to be enquired into, much less to be contended about; were it not to disabuse well-meaning persons, that are hurried along in the crowd, and carried away by the precipitance of those whom they follow, and whose Judgement they rely upon; or for preventing such mischief as sometimes ensues upon a neglect of them.  
Solomon tells us, That the beginning of strife is as when one letteth out Water, Prov. 17. 14. which perhaps begins in a few drops, but by degrees makes its own way, and at last becomes a Torrent, and bears down all before it. Now we can as little suppose that the Contentions which afterwards swell to so prodigious a height as by their force to carry away such Numbers along with them, should at first spring from contemptible causes and occasions; were it not that at length the Passions of men gradually inflame the Quarrel, or that those that ushered them into the world, and afterward kept up the Ball of Contention, did through mistake think them to be of great importance, when in reality they were of none. For if they had but the patience to trace them up to their original, they would see that they are in their nature or their reasons very weak and impertinent; and proceed from such principles and occasions as they would be ashamed to own, and which could never have got such a footing and ground, were it not that they rose, have grown and been hatched up under the favour of Mistakes and Prejudices.  
And yet these are occasions that the wisest of men are not above; and no more is it to be expected that ever they should be altogether free from such like Misunderstandings, than that they themselves should see every thing with their own eyes, hear all with their own ears, and need no information. No more is it to be expected, than they should be freed from all Passion and Resentments, from all Precipitancy and Error in Judgement. We have an Instance of this in the Case before us, when the whole Congregation was so far imposed upon by a mistaken Relation on one hand, and their own Imagination on the other (when they heard that the Two Tribes had built an Altar like that of Shiloh, and conceived it was an Altar for Sacrifice) that it had like to have engaged them in a Destructive War. It was so with Moses himself, in the case of the same people, when the Two Tribes and a Half applied themselves to him for a Possession on the other side Jordan, which he on the sudden misinterpreted, as if they consulted their own Ease and Safety, and so discouraged their Brethren; whereas their design was concurrent with his, and consistent with the aid he required, and they were willing to give to the other Tribes in the Wars of Canaan.  
And if we go from single Persons to a Multitude, the Case will admit of farther Exemplification; as it was with those at Epbesus, when some cried one thing, and some another; for the assembly was confused, and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together; but the Word was given, and those that were strangers to the first Rise of the Tumult, yet joined in the common Voice of Great is Diana of the Ephesians, Acts 19 32, 33.  
It is upon such Misunderstandings that the greatest Feuds in Church and State are for the most part graffed. We find very often that the Passions and Mistakes of men keep them more at a distance than the matters about which they contend; and if we can but bring them together to discourse the Point calmly, the Controversy is soon brought to an issue; and they readily own, that had they known so much before, and that the Adversary had been so disposed to a Reconciliation, and the Matter so capable of it, the Breach might have been long before made up, to their mutual quiet and satisfaction. And thus it is often in Disputes, whether about Religious or Civil Affairs. That which makes the Point in dispute considerable, and the Breach seemingly irreconcilable, is a Multitude of Words, a Troop of Exaggerations and Aggravations, much Passion and Vehemence, a Stiffness of Temper, and a Strangeness in Conversation; and when thus dressed up, it is no wonder, that though the Controversy be without life, and the Trumpet give an uncertain sound, yet all prepare themselves to the Battle.  
But if the matter were to be separated from these, and to stand alone, without all these Comments and pretended Expositions, it would appear to be quite another thing, and to afford little or no ground for such Contention.  
And this is evident to the Bystanders that are unconcerned, if not to the Litigants and Contenders themselves, when the Cloud of their Passion is removed, and the Heat of the Controversy is worn off.  
For what do we now think of the tedious and mischievous Controversy aforetime about Leaven in the Sacrament, that almost rend in pieces the Eastern and Western Churches, and made way for the Irruption of the Saracens? What of the Controversy in the last Age, concerning the Decrees and Five Points, which so divided our neighbouring Nation, and drew so many others into the quarrel? Not to mention the most impertinent of all, those many Feuds in the Romish Church, and in particular that of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, which Popes and Councils, after 300 years' dispute have been afraid to determine.  
And God knows what those that shall live in the Age or Ages after us will think of some Controversies that now disturb the Christian World, and which even in this Nation keep a foot Animosities, and uphold Separations?  
But to come nearer to our purpose, the Case is the same in Secular Matters, where Misunderstandings frequently begin, and keep up the Contention. Men quarrel about nothing, or what is extremely frivolous. 'Tis for the most part a Hear-say that begins the Quarrel; Characters of Persons they don't know, and Affairs they are not acquainted with, and know little more of than they do of the other World, or the most Foreign Nations in this; nay, perhaps they lose the first Scent and Point in debate; but the Heat continues, and brings new Matter upon the stage, and then they are to begin the world again.  
If indeed the Event in such Cases was of no greater concernment than the things they mistake in, it would not be much material whether persons were in the right or in the wrong. But it often happens the Mischief is not the less for the Misunderstanding; for when the Passions are once engaged, they make every little thing to be great, and Presumption shall pass for Right, and Show for Certainty; and than it shall be established as an infallible Maxim, That Right and Truth must upon no account be parted with; Fiat Justitia, & ruat Coelum. And then come in Contempt of Superiors, Defamations, Reproaches, and Invectives▪ Factions and Parties. And whilst, like the exasperated Jews (Acts 22. 23.) they throw dust into the Air, they see not one another; Friendship and Enmity are confounded; and at last, if they lose not the Cause they first appeared in, they lose that which is greater, Unity, Moderation, and Charity, and true Care for the Public Good. So that in the issue it proves like the Scaling of a Fort, when under the Covert of the Smoke the Enemy securely advances and surprises them; they betray the Public Peace, Order, and Constitution; and if there were an Enemy to seize it, (which God forbid) he would easily espy and make use of such an advantage.  
And therefore this is a Case not to be neglected. Which brings the next Head under Consideration, viz.  
2. There aught to be the speediest and most effectual Care taken for preventing the ill Consequences of such Misunderstandings; and to take up the Case before it comes to the utmost Extremity.  
The first thing here to be done, is, if it might be, the preventing Mistakes and Misunderstandings; but since it is impossible but that offences in that kind will come; the next is to rectify them, and by setting things in their proper light, and by giving all occasions and advantages for Enquiry and Satisfaction, to let them see they are mistaken either in the Truth or the Importance of the matters in dispute; and that if they should be in the right, it is but a strife of words, tending to no profit, but to the subversion of the Public Peace.  
For which reason there cannot be too much care taken, as Solomon advises in the place before quoted, The beginning of strife is as one letteth out water; therefore leave off, and so suppress contention before it be meddled with; before it gets footing and strength, and that it comes to distinguish a Party.  
And though here it's the part of every one, of what Capacity soever, to study to be quiet, and to preserve the Tranquillity and good Order of the Place, Nation, and City where he is; yet herein above all doth the Conduct of a Good Magistrate appear. In quiet and regular Times, when all things are easy and clam, an ordinary Care will be sufficient to guard the Community, and to preserve it from danger. But as the Skill of a Pilot is best seen and tried in a Storm, or Perilous Coasting: So is the Prudence and Courage of a Magistrate, when there are high Discontents and Oppositions; that he may know when to Act, and when to Forbear; when to Hold, and when to Yield; and to keep a Steady Hand between the Preserving his own Authority, and the Public Peace: That he may not betray his Authority, and expose the Honour of his Station to Contempt by a too hasty desire for Peace, and by too easy Compliances and Condescensions; nor on the other hand break the Peace, and endanger the Public, by being too tenacious of his Authority. It is then a difficult Task to temper the Minds of the Froward, to remove Prejudices, to bear with the Weak, and even the Impertinent; to convince the Mistaken, and like another St. Paul, to become all things to all: And above all, to prevent the ill Consequences of the Misunderstandings of such as mean well, but err dangerously; that are persons of Conscience, but yet whose Conscience through Mistake is set the wrong way; that think they do the Public (as others think they do God) Service, John 16. 2. when they take the ready way to bring all into Confusion.  
Such Persons are to be pitied, and used with Tenderness and Respect; and it may be worth the while to seek and endeavour their Satisfaction and Recovery, to lay open and convince them of their Mistakes: For if convinced, they will be made Hearty, Zealous, and Trusty Friends; and like St. Paul when reduced to the Belief of the Christian Doctrine, his Zeal and his Conscience went along with him, and he laboured more abundantly than all the rest of the Apostles.  
3. The most proper way for preventing the Mischiefs too often consequent upon such Misunderstandings, is to inquire into the Merits of the Cause; and patiently and deliberately to weigh what belongs to it.  
The Congregation in this Chapter went not headily on; but sent (as has been before said) proper Delegates to inquire into the Reasons upon which the Two Tribes proceeded: As to what was to follow, in case they found them perverse and obstinate, the Law was to be their Guide and Warrant; and that being a matter of great Importance they were very solicitous in. Now what Matter of Fact was to them, that Matter of Right is to us; and a person needs to be well advised, and has good reason to question his own Understanding, when he is sure that the Event of his present Design and Enterprise may, and in all probability will be very pernicious. He has need to deliberate, when he is not nor can be so sure he is in the right, as he is sure of the ill consequence of it, and of a consequence as mischievous as if he was in the wrong. He may justly then question the Truth, Lawfulness, and Necessity of it; Whether, for example, that is lawful, which will produce, or is likely to produce, the worst of effects, that is, Confusion: Or, Whether what he contends for is as necessary or more necessary than the Peace he must part with for it.  
I grant, that as a Necessary War is more eligible than a Shameful or Dangerous Peace; so there are those Rights and Privileges that are to be held faster than Peace: But when Peace and Order are such choice and valuable Blessings, that nothing is ordinarily more necessary than them to the Welfare of Mankind, and the Wellbeing of the World; I have sufficient cause to inquire into and to be satisfied in the Truth and Importance of those things which I must purchase at so dear a rate as the parting with my own Quiet, and the Public Peace and Order for.  
There are some cases where it is worth my while to venture my Life for preserving what I have, or obtaining what I desire, but when my Life is brought into imminent Hazard by an Enterprise, I have a warrantable reason to be well satisfied in the Truth and Certainty, the Excellency and Necessity of the things I venture it for.  
Therefore I take it for a certain Rule, That where the Advantage and Excellency of what I gain is not more than sufficient to counterbalance what I lose or part with for the sake of it, I may justly suspect, at least suspend and deliberate.  
And when the loss of such excellent things as Public Order and Peace are likely to be the Event of my present proceedings, and of the course that Affairs will be thereby put into, I have reason to consider, and to think I may be mistaken, and impartially to weigh all over again.  
For I cannot be mistaken about Peace and Order; they are beyond all exception to be valued and respected; but I may be mistaken in the Matters I pursue, or the Method in which I pursue them; and which I cannot pursue without putting those inestimable things into hazard.  
This is a matter that, if carefully attended, would go a great way toward the removing many Mistakes that trouble the Peace of the World, and break in upon the Established Order of a Nation or City.  
It is none of my design to intermeddle in those Affairs which belong to Persons of another Station; but I may, and it is our business to lay down Rules for the guiding of men's Consciences in points of Difficulty. And I think we may safely rely upon that as such, that there is nothing can bind against Peace and Order; and what always tends to Confusion, and breaks Order in pieces, wherever it comes, is deservedly to be suspected, and I may safely say must needs be false; that is, that which tends to bring things into the same state as they were in before, would have been without, and were brought out of by the establishing of Government.  
Here we must stick; and wherever this is, there a person must stop, as he would if upon the top of a Precipice, till he has searched to the utmost, and has received unquestionable satisfaction.  
The loss of Peace and Order, Unity and Charity, are the utmost extremity that a state of things can be brought into; and which are like the Life of another, that a person is not to take away, till he can no longer defend and preserve his own, and can run no farther: And are therefore to be kept always in our eye, and are the Polar Star by which we must judge of our Way, and guide ourselves in the Course we are to observe, whether to the right hand or to the left.  
For Mistakes in these things are extremely dangerous; and when matters of such Importance depend upon the Principles we espouse, and the Course we take, we cannot be too careful or inquisitive, before we proceed or engage too far in a design. We ought then to be as wary as we would be if our Life were therein nearly concerned.  
For Peace and Order are to the Public what Life is to ourselves, and are not to be parted with upon terms less urgent and necessary. And if as often as persons venture upon the doing of what has an apparent tendency to the Disturbance or Dissolution of Government, they would put their own Life into the Scale with it, the Balance would incline another way; and they would no more do what has a tendency to the one, without previous Consideration, than they would do what has a tendency to the other. And I should desire no better Security for the one than the other; for the Peace of the Government, than the Preservation of men's Lives. All would then be quiet, the Swords that are drawn, and the Contentions that fetch Blood of the Public, and endanger its safety, would be turned into ploughshares; and peace be within our walls, and prosperity within our palaces.  
But if we cannot prevent Misunderstandings, yet the mischievous Consequences may in great part be prevented; for there may be Charity where there are Mistakes; and Charity will teach us to be favourable in our opinions of others; and incline us to think, as it will teach us to do, no ill. Charity here begins at home, and will teach us to condemn the Faults we find there, in ourselves, Families, and Parties, before we adventure to pry into, publish and censure those of others. Charity will teach us to put ourselves into the circumstances of others, to bear with their infirmities, considering ourselves, according to the Apostle's Advice, Gal. 6. 1. lest we also be tempted; and to make the same allowances which, if in their condition and circumstances, we would desire others to make to us. If this were put into practice, though we may mistake, and there will be Misunderstandings, yet Mistakes would then do no great hurt; but would be like the Wild Beasts in the Holy Mountain, (Isa. 11. 9) that would lose their ravenous and venomous nature, and become cicurated, tame and innocent.  
And above all, there is a farther Blessing.  
For,  
4. Such a State and Temper is a comfortable Evidence of God's Presence with a People; as it is in the Text; This day we perceive the Lord is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord; and that they had made evident they were all of one mind, and alike steadfast in the profession of the same Religion.  
This, I say, is an evidence of God's Presence, where there is an union of Hearts and Affections, and a joint concurrence in the same Practice; for God is not the author of confusion, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, tumult and unquietness, but of peace, 1 Cor. 14. 33.  
Broils and Contentions might with allowance be continued among the Heathens, when their gods themselves were divided into Sides and Parties; but are not to be defended under the Christian Religion, where the end of the commandment is charity, 1 Tim. 1. 5. and that we worship but one and the same God.  
How excellent a state of things would there be, if this so Generous and Noble a Principle, Charity, and the peace of God ruled in our hearts, Col. 3. 15. and that each Party would strive to outdo and excel each other in?  
How excellent a state of things would it be, if the Inferior would not revile the Superior, nor the Superior set at nought the Inferior? That the Inferior would as much study to obey with Humility and Modesty, as the Superior to rule with Lenity and Moderation? And that among all, the Cause of a Friend might be examined with the same Exactness and Justice as that of an Enemy; and an Enemy's with the same Caution, Respect, and Indifference, as that of a Friend?  
What an excellent state of things would it be, if all the Tribes came hither this day, as they were wont to go up to Jerusalem, with one consent, Psal. 122. 4. and were one Body in Affection, as they are one by Constitution?  
It were to be wished, That there were but One Altar, and One Communion; that all the Nation were but one Church, and that with one mind and one mouth we did glorify God, even the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Rom. 15. 6.  
It were to be wished, That this Populous and Flourishing City were in all respects like Jerusalem in its most Prosperous and Happy State, a city compact together, and at perfect Unity in itself.  
How might we then hope to have God among us, and that might be our Song as it was theirs, We have a strong city, salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks, Isa. 26. 1.  
But next to that, is to be soft and gentle, calm and easy in our Differences. We cannot expect to be all of a mind, (that, if ever it be, must be the work of time, and a peculiar Act of the Divine Providence) but we may be peaceable and quiet, studious of the Common Good, and Zealous Promoters of it. We need not be fierce and bitter; we need not bite, worry, and devour one another, Gal. 5. 15. We need not backbite and calumniate, vilify and reproach; and search for matter to asperse, disparage, and load our Adversaries with, and be glad when we find it. We need not go out of this world, disquiet the Ashes, and blacken the Memories of the dead, and deal as barbarously with them, as the Philistines did with Saul, 1 Sam. 31. 9 when they cut off his Head, stripped off his Armour, and sent it round about to publish it among the people; as if there were not matter enough among the Living, to find those hateful Vices of Envy and Malice an Employment. We need not, lastly, be froward and sullen, and rather give up the whole, than not in all points have our own way; and expose all to inevitable ruin, than not have our own Humour, nay, our own Reason sometimes gratified: For then must we needs go out of the world.  
How becoming rather is it our Profession; how worthy of our common Religion; how much for the Safety and Honour of this Flourishing City; and which is more, for the Honour of Almighty God, whose Favour and Blessing we at this time come to seek, and whose Presence we trust is now among us, to depart hence with a steadfast Resolution of observing the excellent Rules of our Holy Religion, and of making good in Practice the Character given of Charity by the Apostle, 1 Cor. 13. 4, etc. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; Charity envieth not; Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up with Self conceit, nor prone to despise others; doth not behave itself unseemly in Words or Behaviour; seeketh not her own, to the prejudice of others; is not easily provoked; thinks and suspects no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, in the Slips, Miscarriages, and Faults of others, but rejoiceth in the truth, in whatever is praiseworthy, wherever it is: Bears and concealeth all things that are fit to be concealed; believeth all things, so as to put the best construction upon them that they are capable of; and hopeth all things, where it cannot and has no sufficient reason to believe; endureth all things, so as not to revenge any evil done to ourselves, and to do all we can for the good of others.  
If this be, we may have reason to say with Phineas in the Text, This day we perceive that the Lord is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass of Division and Strife against the Lord. That this may be the Event of our Preaching, our Prayers, and present Assembling together, God of his Infinite Goodness and Mercy grant, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  
FINIS.