The nature and danger of heresies, opened in a sermon before the Honourable House…

The second is, the glory of Religion: Religion is clipped and darkened: It grows low and beggarly, when it is patched with error: It is a debasing of the gold to marry it with any metal of a courser birth; All Religion is by so much the more excellent, by how much the more of truth it hath; but when once it is adulterated, when once it is tainted and leavened with damnable errors, now the silver is become dross, the glory is departed from it: when a Religion is like the feet of Nebuchadnezzars image, which were part of clay, and part of iron, now it becomes low and contemptible: If the mixture of humane inventions abates of its glory, what an impairing is the mixture of corrupt, and poisonous, & faith-subverting doctrines?

The second is, the glory of Religion: Religion is clipt and darkned: It grows low and beggerly, when it is patched with errour: It is a debasing of the gold to marry it with any metall of a courser birth; All Religion is by so much the more excellent, by how much the more of truth it hath; but when once it is adulterated, when once it is tainted and leavened with damnable errours, now the silver is become drosse, the glory is departed from it: when a Religion is like the feet of Nebuchadnezzars image, which were part of clay, and part of iron, now it becomes low and contemptible: If the mixture of humane inventions abates of its glory, what an impairing is the mixture of corrupt, and poisonous, & faith-subverting doctrines?

The third is, not only the dignity, but also the very vital entity of a Church: Truth is the soul of that body, and falsehood is death unto it: Schisms do it much hurt, but nothing like vile doctrines: Schisms do ⟨p. 23⟩only rent the coat, but Heterodoxies do rent the heart: those pluck up the fence, but these pull down the building: those do tear away the children's lace, but these do bereave the children of their bread: those are a turbulent sea, these are a dead sea: those do scratch, but these do kill: Men talk much of un-churching, and of Antichrist, and limbs of Antichrist, but a Church is never more near to give up the ghost, then when it is most near to give up the truth: It is never nearer to be un-churched, and to be essentially Antichristed, then when the truth fails, and when abominable heresies and corrupt doctrines swarm in it: Mark seriously that place in